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Wrap up Black Philanthropy Month 2022 with an in-person book-talk exploration of the historical roots of African American philanthropy, its power and impact today. This program will feature Tyrone McKinley Freeman, Ph.D., international award-winning author of Madam C. J. Walker’s Gospel of Giving: Black Women’s Philanthropy During Jim Crow.

This book-talk and book-signing event is organized and brought to the community by NGAAP (New Generation of African American Philanthropists) and the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts+Culture, in celebration of Black Philanthropy Month in Charlotte (#BPM2022CLT).

This program is presented by PNC Bank.

“The Pedrito Martinez Group is writing a new chapter in Cuban music history” - NPR All Things Considered.

Havana-born Latin Jazz superstar, percussionist Perdito Martinez delivers the vibrant Afro-Cuban sounds to the JAZZ ROOM Stage along with his powerhouse ensemble, performing his captivating traditional and high-energy dance worthy grooves. Martinez has performed or recorded with Wynton Marsalis, Sting, Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, Angelique Kidjo, Chucho Valdés and James Taylor.
Founding member of the highly successful Yerba Buena, Pedrito formed Pedrito Martinez Group in 2005. He is considered the world’s first-call rumbero.
FEATURING
Pedrito Martinez
Manuel Marquez
Issac Delgado
Jose Lovell
Manuel Orza

The JAZZ ROOM provides a casual and intimate setting with tables and a full bar, reminiscent of the classic jazz rooms of yesteryear.

Join us for an evening of live music with violinist Andrew Finn Magill! A North Carolina native, Andrew Finn Magill, will provide an interactive performance and lecture on the “evolution of Irish and Scottish fiddle traditions in the Appalachian Mountains.” Participants will enjoy fascinating historical information and a toe-tapping musical performance.

Beer, wine, and seltzers will be available for purchase. Light refreshments will also be served. Doors open at 6:00 p.m.

Tosca is in love with the artist Mario Cavaradossi, but the head of the secret police, Baron Scarpia, is after him for political differences… and after Tosca to make her Mrs. Scarpia. A roller coaster story with thrilling music to match!

Composer George Gershwin was inspired to write Porgy and Bess while on a working vacation. His interest in synthesizing jazz with classical music was infused with the music he heard in South Carolina. Initially a commercial failure, Porgy and Bess came to be considered one of the most important American operas of the twentieth century and an American cultural classic, even if critics could not quite figure out how to evaluate it or decide whether it was opera or simply an ambitious Broadway musical.

A wealthy businessman falls for a “working girl” with a big heart and offers her a better life. But class differences may keep them apart. Sound familiar? That’s the plot of Pretty Woman. But long before, it was the plot of Verdi’s La traviata.

Thanks to special funding by the ASC Culture Blocks Program, Matthews Playhouse of the Performing Arts will present a special FREE outdoor performance of Princess Fearless, a one-act play for young people in Matthews’ Stumptown Park at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, September 24, 2022. The original play, based on the book, “Princess Fearless: Walking to School”, is recommended for children in grades 2-5. Local playwright Lakeetha Blakeney (also known as Keetha B.) is the author of this empowering story that follows fourth grade student Louise “Lou” Miller, a young girl who must overcome her fears of a neighborhood dog. Seating is general admission and is first come, first served.

In addition to the free outdoor performance, Matthews Playhouse will present regular ticketed performances​ of Princess Fearless on stage at the Fullwood Theatre September 23rd - October 2nd. Tickets to these performances range between $10 - $18 per person and can be purchased here.

Weekday performances for school groups will take place September 26, 27, 29, 30 at 9:30 am & 11:30 am. Financial assistance for Title 1 Schools is available from the Matthews Playhouse Sponsor-A-Student Fund. Educators may visit matthewsplayhouse.com to learn more about special field trip opportunities for their students.

Labor Day Weekend the 15th Annual Happy Valley Fiddlers Convention returns to Caldwell County, NC Featuring camping by the Yadkin River Headwaters, Storytelling, Children’s Activities, Authors, Craft & Food Vendors, Cakewalks, Saturday’s Music and Dance Competition, and a Sunday Concert welcoming back the Kruger Brothers, Jack Lawrence, The Harris Brothers and other acts. Competition registration and Ticket information is available at happyvalleyfiddlers.org

Queens music, design, and communications programs collaborate to present Gilbert and Sullivan's Iolanthe.

Saturday, November 12, 7:30pm

Sunday, November 13, 3:00 and 7:30pm

When Victorian fairies descend on the corrupt politicians of the English Parliament, madness, love, and hilarity result. Meant as an allegory for the rise of the women's suffrage movement, Gilbert’s ruthless political satire and surprisingly modern feminist ideals combine with Sullivan’s beautiful music to create magic worthy of fairies!

The Queens production will be directed by Alistair Donkin, award-winning director and former member of the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company, the original theatrical company that staged Gilbert & Sullivan operas dating back to the 1870s. It is musically directed by Dr. Justin Smith, with sets designed by Professor Michael O’Neill.

Free tickets are available for student, civic, religious, and other groups. For more information, please reach out to Dr. Justin Smith at smithj11@queens.edu.

Join us to hear from Dr. Damaris Puñales–Alpízar, an Associate Professor of Hispanic Studies and Chair of the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures at Case Western Reserve. She studied Journalism at the University of Havana and has worked as a journalist in Cuba, Belize, and Mexico. In Belize, she founded Conexión, the first bilingual and trans-border newspaper. In Mexico, she was a correspondent for regional and national mass media.
She completed her Ph.D. at the University of Iowa, and since then she has worked at Case Western Reserve University, where she teaches courses on the Caribbean and Latin American literature and culture. Her areas of expertise include Cuban and Caribbean Narrative and Culture, Contemporary Latin American Literature, Transatlantic Studies, Cold War Studies in Latin America, and Translation Studies. She is the founder and director of the study abroad program of CWRU in Cuba.
During the 2013–2015 period, Puñales-Alpízar was elected delegate from the Great Lakes region to the Modern Language Association.
She has published the books The Damn Circumstance. Scholarly Writings on Cuban Literature. Leiden: Almenara Press (2020) and Written in Cyrillic. The Soviet Ideal in the post-1990 Cuban Cultural Production. Santiago de Chile: Cuarto Propio (2012). She has edited the academic volumes Sieges to the Lettered Cayman: Literature and Power in the Cuban Revolution. Prague: Carolina University Press (2018) -in collaboration with Emilio J. Gallardo Saborido and Jesús Gómez de Tejada-, and The Atlantic as Frontier: Cultural Mediations between Cuba and Spain. Madrid: Verbum (2014).
Her scholarly articles have appeared in leading academic journals in United States, Cuba, Russia, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Peru, France, and Spain, such as Revista de Crítica Literaria Latinoamericana, Revista de Estudios Hispánicos, Caribbean Studies, Revista Iberoamericana, Habana Elegante, Kamchatka, Vallejo&Co, Revista de Letras, Artelogie, Cuadernos del Sur, Teatro, Cuadernos del Centro de Estudios Latinoamericanos, etc.
In 2018, Dr. Puñales-Alpízar was a Fulbright Scholar in Russia to complete research for her next scholarly project. She is now finishing a manuscript on the geopolitics of socialist translations.
Regularly, she writes and translates for the Collective Arts Network Journal, CAN, in Cleveland, and publishes op-ed pieces in a Spain newspaper. She is a Member of the Board of LatinUS Theater Experience Company, in Cleveland.
https://ems.davidson.edu/MasterCalendar/EventDetails.aspx?EventDetailId=143929

Vince Beiser is an award-winning journalist and author of the book The World in a Grain: The Story of Sand and How It Transformed Civilization. The book has been translated into five languages, was a finalist for a 2019 PEN America award and a California Book Award, and spawned a TEDx talk. Vince is currently at work on a new book, Power Metal, about the trillion-dollar global scramble for the rare metals we need to transition to a world run on re-newable energy—and the human and environmental damage that may come with it.

He has exposed conditions in California's harshest prisons, trained with troops bound for Iraq, ridden with first responders to disasters in Haiti and Nepal, and hunted down other stories from around the world for publications including Wired, The Los Angeles Times Magazine, Harper's, The Atlantic, The Village Voice, The New Republic, The Nation, Mother Jones, Playboy, Rolling Stone and The New York Times.

Vince's work has been honored by Investigative Reporters and Editors, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Columbia, Medill and Missouri Graduate Schools of Journalism, the American Society of Journalists and Authors, the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies and many other institutions. He has also twice been part of a team that won the National Magazine Award for General Excellence, the magazine industry's highest honor.

Sarah joined Intel as Vice President of International Government Affairs on February 14, 2021, with decades of global policy expertise and a proven track record of developing new policy platforms and executing global strategy.
Before joining Intel, she served as the Associate Vice President and Head of Global Health Policy/ESG Strategy for Organon, a spin-off of Merck Pharmaceutical company, and was Merck’s Associate Vice President, Public Policy for China, Japan, and the Emerging Markets.Before joining Merck, Ms. Kemp was the Deputy Under Secretary for the International Trade Administration at the U.S. Department of Commerce in Washington, D.C. In this role, she oversaw a $485 million annual budget and 2,100 trade and investment professionals based in 108 US cities and 76 markets worldwide.
Prior to her time in D.C., she was the Minister Counselor for Commercial Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, overseeing the U.S. Department of Commerce’s trade promotion and trade policy activities in its operations in Beijing, Chengdu, Shanghai, Wuhan, Shenyang, and Guangzhou. As a career Foreign Service Officer, she served as the Country Manager in China and Vietnam and had multiple postings in Beijing, Hong Kong, and Bangkok. Ms. Kemp joined Commerce as a Presidential Management Fellow.
She received her MBA from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, her Master of Public Administration from Columbia University, and her Bachelor of Arts in Physiological–Anthropology from Hamilton College. Ms. Kemp is an independent board member of NTIC. And a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on China.

Once dubbed the most “outstanding solo Jazz performer” by 'Downbeat Magazine,' Christian Tamburr is an award-winning musician accomplished on the piano and trap set as well as world and orchestral percussion. Still, his true talent is exhibited through his instrument of choice, the vibraphone. Tamburr joins the Ziad Jazz Quartet to pay tribute to some iconic jazz vibraphonists such as Lionel Hampton, Milt Jackson, Roy Ayers, Gary Burton, and more. Joining Christian Tamburr on stage will be Ziad Rabie (saxophone), Lovell Bradford (piano), Ron Brendle (bass), and Al Sergel (drums) performing "Flying Home," "Little B’s Poem," and "Libertango."

PERFORMANCE
Concerts are performed at 6 and 8:15 PM. Each concert is 75 minutes with no intermission. Doors open at 5:30 PM for the 6 PM concert and 7:45 PM for the 8:15 PM concert. Enjoy light bites and a cash bar.

GENERAL ADMISSION
Tickets are $20 for the public and $16 for museum members. Buy tickets online, over the phone at 704.353.9209 or at the admission desk. All ticket holders who purchase in advance of the concert are guaranteed a seat.

“How Indigenous People Helped Start and Win the American Revolution”
Professor Woody Holton, Department of History, USC Columbia

Native Americans seeking to retain their sacred lands and spiritual strength exerted surprisingly strong indirect influence on the British Parliament, resulting in policies that infuriated thousands of white colonists and helped propel them toward declaring independence. Then in the ensuing war, Native warriors achieved much more success than many historians realize, for instance, thwarting more than a dozen U.S. efforts to capture Fort Detroit, where they received arms and ammunition from their British allies.

To attend the lecture in person, please call (803) 313-7172 or email usclnasp@mailbox.sc.edu to reserve your spot.

To attend via Zoom, register via this link: https://bit.ly/3UJj3PK

We cordially invite our community to attend a Charlotte- Mecklenburg School Board non-partisan Candidate Forum for 2022. All School Board Candidates for the 2022 election received an invitation to participate in this forum.

This event is sponsored by the following non-partisan organizations.
1. Rameses Temple #51
2. Rameses Court #78
3. The Mecklenburg County Chapter of the NAACP
4. Little Rock A.M.E Zion Church


The Forum will take place on Thursday, October 20, 2022, at Little Rock A.M.E. Zion Church, 401 N. McDowell St, from 7:00 PM- 9:00 PM.

A community event will take place from 5:00 PM- 7:00 PM, a food distribution hosted by Second Harvest, Novant Health will provide wellness checks, and school supplies will be distributed by The Mecklenburg Chapter of the NAACP. The Charlotte Section of the National Council of Negro Women will host a registration drive.

The moderator for this event will be Charlotte's own Education Reporter Courtney Cole WBTV.

Wondering how you will survive the weeks surrounding Thanksgiving and Christmas? Are you dreading the holidays, knowing that everything has changed and that happy memories from past years can’t be recreated?

This Surviving the Holidays seminar is especially for people who are grieving a loved one’s death. You’ll learn:

How to deal with the many emotions you’ll face during the holidays
What to do about traditions and other coming changes
Helpful tips for surviving social events
How to discover hope for your future

Join award-winning author and speaker, Kathy Izard, HopeWay's Director of Medical Services, Kevin Marra, MD, and a panel of HopeWay’s mental health experts to hear stories about connection and the science behind why it matters. They will weigh in on how connection impacts our brain development from infancy to adulthood, various ways to find connection through the world around us and how to strengthen the relationships in our lives.

Join Catawba photographer Alex Osborn for a conversation about community building and his work in the exhibit “Discussions with Elders: A Photographic Essay."

This event will be held in person and via Zoom. To attend via Zoom, please register at the following link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAqdemhrTIqEtbpOEd1Tf-mRhgw7DTvuSUZ.

The 2022 BayHaven Food & Wine Festival will feature numerous intimate, multi-course chef dinners, a large tasting event and a tailgate celebration to close out the event. Celebrate “Homecoming” for five days featuring Black foodways drawing inspiration from historically Black colleges and universities!

Wednesday, Oct. 19
Friends of James Beard Dinner: This Friends of James Beard Benefit dinner will feature six courses and four wine pairings from featured participants:
Host Chef/JBF Award Nominee Gregory Collier, BayHaven Restaurant Group, Charlotte, NC
Kenyatta Ashford, Neutral Ground, Chattanooga, TN
Tavel Bristol-Joseph, Emmer Hospitality Group, Austin, TX
JBF Award Semifinalist Cleophus Hethington, Ębí Chop Bar, Atlanta
JBF Award Winner Ricky Moore, Saltbox Seafood Joint, Durham, NC
JBF Award Semifinalist Keith Rhodes, Catch, Wilmington, DE
Tiesha Whittaker, Buttermilk Boutique, Clayton, NC
Appetizers and cocktail reception begins at 6 p.m., dinner starts at 7:15 p.m. $275

Thursday, Oct. 20
Chef Zoe and Friends: This all-women dinner, led by chef Zoe Adjonyoh, author of “Zoe's Ghana Kitchen” and Director of Women’s Leadership Programs at the James Beard Foundation, will feature six courses and three cocktail pairings. Featured participants include:
Courtney Evans, Leah & Louise, Charlotte, NC
Selasie Dotse, Elade Test Kitchen, San Francisco, CA
Nana Wilmot, Love That I Knead Supper Club, Philadelphia, PA
Guests will receive a copy of Adjonyoh’s book and spices.
6:30-9:30 p.m., $275

"Green With Envy" Vegan & Vegetarian Dinner: Experience an impressive lineup of chefs and 3 cocktails. partnering with Plantivia wellness and featured participants:
Adjoa Courtney aka Chef Joya, Cooking With Joya, Charlotte, NC
JBF Award Semifinalist Cleophus Hethington, Ębí Chop Bar, Atlanta, GA
Elaina Ruth, Tempest, Charleston, SC
Enrika Williams, Fauna Foodworks, Jackson, MS
Adrian Lipscombe, La Crosse, WI
Xavier Smith, Neomed, Rootstown, Ohio
Brett Wright, New York, NY
Shanita Mcafee Bryant, The Prospect KC
6:30-9:30 p.m., $215

Friday, Oct. 21
Seafood 202 Dinner: The six-course dinner, featuring wine pairings and live music al fresco will feature the following chefs:
Tonya and David Thomas, H3irloom Food Group, Baltimore, MD
Kristi Brown-Wokoma, That Brown Girl Cooks!, Seattle, WA
Jamie Davis, The Hackney, Washington, NC
Chad Lewis, Haymaker, Charlotte, NC
Chris Scott, Butterfunk Biscuit Company, New York, NY
Lawrence Weeks, North of Bourbon, Louisville, KY
Duane Nutter, Southern National, Mobile, AL
6:30-9:30 p.m., $235

Homecoming Gala: Put on your nicest threads and dancing shoes – this event will have you reliving your best college homecoming dance days. Chef stations, entertainment and top mixologists and winemakers – it’s an adult prom, featuring:
Whitney Thomas, Serenidad/Vantrece Hospitality Group, Atlanta, GA
Joleen Usher, Leah & Louise, Charlotte, NC
Chayil Johnson, Community Matters Cafe, Charlotte, NC
Stephen Jones, The Larder + The Delta, Phoenix, AZ
Jelisa Montalvo, Dorothy's Catering 2, Fayetteville, NC
Ben Welch, Lucy Quinn, Milwaukee, WI
Oscar Johnson and Daryl Cooper, Jimmy Pearls, Charlotte, NC
Josh Swinney, Sincère Fare, Atlanta, GA
Robert Butts, Twisted Soul Cookhouse & Pours, Atlanta, GA
Tiesha Whittaker, Buttermilk Boutique, Clayton, NC
Courtney Evans, Leah & Louise, Charlotte, NC
Brandon Staton, Leah & Louise, Charlotte, NC
6:30-10 p.m, $225

Saturday, Oct. 22
Pep Rally Tasting Tent: Don’t miss the main event! Enjoy bites and beverages from more than 75 chefs, winemakers and mixologists from across the country.
11 a.m.-3 p.m., $150

Second Semester Dinner:
What is wild game? Anything from quail to rabbit to gator. Taste a hunter’s bounty in six courses and four wines, featuring:
Ederique Goudia, Taste the Diaspora, Detroit, MI
Lawrence Weeks, North of Bourbon, Louisville, KY
Joleen Usher, Leah & Louise, Charlotte, NC
Kenny Gilbert, Silkie’s Chicken and Champagne Bar, Jacksonville, NC
Brandon Staton, Leah & Louise, Charlotte, NC
Whitney Thomas, Serenidad/Vantrece Hospitality Group, Atlanta, GA
Robert Butts, Twisted Soul Cookhouse & Pours, Atlanta, GA
6:30-9:30 p.m., $185

Sunday, Oct. 23
Alumni "Set It Off" Brunch: Come set it off at this multi-course brunch with a variety of wines, music, cocktails & fun featuring:
Lamar Moore, River North Dining And Entertainment, Chicago, IL
Jamie Davis, The Hackney, Washington, NC
Kenneth Gilbert, Silkie’s Chicken and Champagne Bar, Jacksonville, NC
Stephen Jones, The Larder + The Delta, Phoenix, AZ
11a-2p, $185

Post-Game Tailgate: The grand finale of the five-day festival is a tailgate-style BBQ cookout with multiple food stations (some vegan/vegetarian options) and curated cocktails and beer, featuring:
Tiffany Williams, Exquisite Catering & Events, Chicago, IL
Jamie Barnes, What The Fries, Charlotte, NC
Adrian Lipscombe, La Crosse, WI
Joshua Lee, Lake & Oak BBQ, Atlanta, GA
Reyaña Radcliff, Your Braisen Chef, Charlotte, NC
Armani Johnson, Prince George’s County, MD
5:30-8:30, $115

Maria Pacheco was born in Guatemala and is a biologist, an entrepreneur and founder of the Wakami system. She is also a mother and a firm believer that collective dreams are unstoppable. Her life’s work has been to find ways to link people who are stuck in cycles of poverty to markets that can create cycles of prosperity.
Maria come from a country that suffered from a 32-year civil war in which much of the infrastructure of the country was destroyed. The people who suffered the most during the war were always the women and children from our rural communities who faced violence, malnutrition and being displaced from their homes. The challenges in her country seemed hopeless.
After graduating from Cornell University in the United States as a Fulbright Scholar and with a master’s degree in biology, she felt lost. Her country was suffering, and she didn’t know how to change things. At one point, she went to a remote village where famine had been declared and women were having to make choices as to which children would eat and which would receive medical care. They were literally making choices as to which child they loved would live and which child they loved would die. She asked the people in the villages how she could help. They said: “If you can sell what we produce, the rest we can do.” That simple response changed my life.
From that moment on, Maria began her journey of connecting remote communities to markets that would buy what they could make.
Over the next 25 years she created value chains for different communities that produced a variety of products that could connect these communities to the markets. These included the Nativos S, A value chain which is now producing over $1 Million annually of fiber bands for Ron Zacapa rum products; the El Conejo de Sacalá wood products project employing over 500 people in helping the reforestation of Guatemala while also producing income from wood products; and Wakami, an international fashion accessories business which currently sell products produced by rural women in 13 countries around the world.
Maria learned to transform her discouragement into an energy of creativity. Her journey has led to remarkable relationships with powerful women around the world. She became a founder of Vital Voices Central American network and the Guatemalan chapter. She is a part of the Vital Voices Global Advisory Council. Maria is also part of the Leadership Initiative of the Aspen Institute and have partnered with organizations such as the United Nations Foundation, USAID and Rotary International.