Greensboro Daily Photo

Autumn 2021

Happy fall; it is the first day of autumn. We leave the summer behind and edge into the cooler weather and fewer hours of daylight. The above photo, taken in northwest Gre3ensboro shows a doe trying to decide where she should rest for the night. Local deer hunters will know that Guilford County is currently in the season to hunt deer with bow and arrow, and males only. The females are still tending their young. We are in the central deer zone.

Many people feed urban deer and even try to keep them as pets. Wildlife experts advise us that the deer are actually better off if they have to forage on their own and they eat a diet that is healthier for them. Fawns who are fed on urban lawns don't learn to forage- a survival skill. It is not legal to keep a deer as a pet. So, they are best admired from afar. They are such beautiful creature. Happy Wednesday. Happy deer hunting, our favorite way; with a camera! Happy autumn. It is a beautiful season in Greensboro.

"Bestway" on Market Street

Sometimes in a city there are people in our lives, we may not know much about them, but we come to take for granted that we will see them. Sometimes they bring us joy, sometimes the feeling is more neutral, and sometimes it is even negative- but we know we will see them. As we were walking to the opening of the North Carolina Folk Festival last week, someone walked past this man on a scooter and said, "Hi Bestway." We kind of looked at the man walking by and he said to us, "That's the guy that plays music out in front of Bestway. We see him all the time." Then we realized that we, too, recognized him and had seen him on many occasions out in front of the Bestway Grocery Store on Walker Avenue. When we asked him if we could take this picture downtown, we tried to interview him, but he had to go park his scooter and get settled into the festival.

Seeing him reminded us of how often we see him, really enjoy interacting with him, and also enjoy his musical talent, without really knowing much about him. Perhaps that is OK. Sometimes, people don't want us to know that much about them. However, we intend to let "Bestway" know we appreciate his talent and that seeing him in front of Bestway when we shop there is something we've come to expect. If he is not there, we wonder if he is OK. The gig economy is really unpredictable. You can be sure next time we walk past when he is playing, we'll drop a few bills in his instrument case, let him know how much we appreciate his music, and.... most importantly..... ask him his name!

Tabernacle Church at 544 South Mendenhall

Today's photo is the "Power for Living" Tabernacle Church at 544 South Mendenhall Street. The church is located in the College Hill neighborhood, very near Church of the Covenant. We featured this church the first year we started Greensboro Daily Photo  in 2009 (see here), and just checked back in here a few weeks ago. The church still has the same pastor, T.J. Patterson, and, unfortunately, still doesn't have a website or much of an internet present. The same blue door is there, but the brick is no longer bright white; it is more almond color. In 2009, the electric scooter industry was not on the radar screen. In 2021, it people can ride scooters to church. Oh, how times are changing. 

Happy Sunday and may you find a spiritual home (if you are seeking one). Greensboro has plenty of options from small like Tabernacle Church to churches with thousands of congregants. There is something for everyone, regardless of your religion.

Ode to Kudzu

You know it is late summer in Greensboro when the kudzu plants are in full bloom and some of the pods have gone to seed. They say kudzu is the plant that ate the south as it is especially fond of our climate. In early summer, has tenacious roots and can grow up to a foot a day!  If you visit the Wal-Mart on North Battleground, you can see the kudzu covered trees. Some patches of the trails along Atlantic & Yadkin Greenway at Lake Brandt are covered with kudzu- which is where this photo was taken. At least the blossoms are fragrant, smelling something like wild grapes. We wonder if some civic groups could get volunteers to go out and tackle the kudzu. Or, is it just here to stay? Kudzu takes over vegetation by blocking out light. 

If you want to learn more about kudzu, read here. If you want to see kudzu, head out for a hike. Some people make baskets out of the woody, mature vines; and, some people make jelly out of the flowers. So, if you want to forage for some free food or basket-making material, head to your nearest kudzu patch. Oh, and by the way, there really is at least one ode to kudzu. See here!

Happy Saturday. For those of us who aren't at the beach, in the mountains, at Hoppin' John at Shakori Hills, or Merlefest, let's hit the trails and explore Greensboro!

Leah Junquera

Last Friday, en route to the North Carolina Folk Festival, we happened upon UNCG's Greensboro Project Space where Leah Junquera was installing art for her show. The gallery is the off-campus contemporary art center for the UNCG School of Art. It is in a new location, at 111 East February One Place, right beside Cincy's. Leah is a recent graduate with an MFA in painting. She loves to paint landscapes that focus on the relationships between trees and the earth. Leah is originally from the foothills of the Adirondack Park in New York and the landscape from that area really influences her work. According to her website, "her paintings oscillate between physical landscape and inner space"... and she "investigates where expired hopes go." Her paintings have thought provoking titles like, "Where do we go from here?" and "She sewed all the curtains herself before she even knew the road existed." 

Leah is especially fond of the color blue, all of the hues from turquoise to ultramarine. She has a deep understanding of color theory and it comes through in her paintings. This talented young artist has paintings available in all price points, and we predict her work will become well known. It is so wonderful UNCG has a gallery downtown and you do not have to be UNCG affiliated to show there or to be involved in their events. Community engagement is a priority. The gallery is free and open to the public. If you time your visit just right, you can get a hot dog at Cincy's and see Leah's artwork at the same time. If you are super lucky, Leah will be there you to take you on a mini-journey through her installation.

50+ Artists

A few years ago, Bobby Craddock (second from left with a scratched cornea) formed the 50+ Artists Group, for older creatives to gather, talk art, nurture their creativity and find ways to show and sell their art. This past Saturday, the Greensboro group went on location to Danbury in Stokes County. They went to visit the Stokes County Arts Council to see what ideas could be brought back to Greensboro. The arts building on 500 Main Street in Danbury has a gallery, a shop for selling art, a coffee shop, a theatre/venue for gathering, workshop space, and studio space. There are plans for even more features for the property. 

In the above photo, five members of the 50+ group are seated in the studio where artist Craig Richards paints and displays his work. Craig took time out of painting a landscape to take a few photos for our group. Seated, from left to right, are members, Joyce Lind Terres, Bobby Craddock, Janis Antonek, Mavis Liddell, and Carlton Craig. Being surrounded by Craig's art (see back wall), talking art, and getting ideas to bring back to Greensboro made for a very productive day. If you are interested in joining the group, and are close enough to Greensboro to take advantage of the meet ups, talks, and shows, please see the 50+ Artists Community on Facebook. In the above group alone, there is expertise in mixed-media art, assemblage, found-art jewelry, photography, oil and acrylic painting and woodworking. There are 150+ members of 50+ artists, all with special talents and on their own creative journey!

Happy Thursday!

The Day the Cheerwine Van Came to Town

Cheerwine was created in Salisbury, NC, in nearby Rowan County, in 1917. Cheerwine set up at the 2021 North Carolina Folk Festival, offering free samples of regular and sugar-free Cheerwine. Their booth wasn't swamped, but people consistently wandered by for a sample. They were also selling cans of the unique cherry flavored beverage. It is always fun during special events when there are give-aways. Cheerwine has been very innovative with product development and marketing in the 2000s. There is Cheerwine ice cream, Cheerwine punch, and Cheerwine Krispy Kreme doughnuts. 

While Greensboro can't claim Cheerwine, just a few miles from this booth, we have our own flavor company. Mother Murphy is a food flavoring business that was established in in1946. For 75 years, those scents from very secret recipes have been wafting through Greensboro. Mother Murphy boasts a flavor library of of more than 60,000 flavors. Their motto is "If you can imagine it, we can create it."  Salisbury has Cheerwine and New Bern has Pepsi; we challenge you to order some special flavor from Mother Murphy and create the next soda sensation. Then, you can set up at an upcoming festival and we can snap a photo and boast that your soft drink was created right here in Greensboro, North Carolina! 

For those who were around in the Boar & Castle Days, you may remember the Green Drink. Hmmmm......

Happy Wednesday; happy innovating!

NC Folk Fest #DGSO Stage

One of the many nice things about the North Carolina Folk Festival is the way it brings people together, people from all walks of life. On Saturday, from 5-8pm, the 9/11 Memorial Ceremony was held on the #DGSO Stage at the 500 block of South Elm Street, at MLK Jr. Drive. With Jim Gallucci's sculpture as a backdrop and Café Pasta feeding first responders, people spoke, played, music, danced, and expressed appreciation. In the above photo, the group "Doby," is preparing to perform and Keith Holliday is speaking about the event.

Doby is a funk/soul group from Greensboro, NC. Robin Easter fronts the band. Jonathan Wilson, Leo Kishore, Jeff Yetter, and Bon Lozaga are the other band members (see here). Keith Holliday, a former mayor of Greensboro, is the development associate for the economic development organization, Downtown Greensboro, or #DGSO. This was the #DGSO stage. Doby's set was fabulous and, standing around watching, we concluded that Robin and Keith know just about everyone in Greensboro. The event was special and the setting was just perfect. The NC Folk Festival will return in one year and two days. In the meantime, we'll be on the lookout for Doby's next gig and for #DGSO's next big event!

Happy Tuesday!