09/10/2011

Despite dry conditions, significant rainfall is predicted Sunday into Wednesday for the Catawba River system!      I'm here in Morganton, near Lake James, in western NC. Though Tropical Storm Lee is moving from the Louisiana coast, it is forecast to merge with an approaching cold front on Monday, Labor Day.   We sure could use the rain, but predicted rainfall totals for the southern Appalachians and the Carolinas Monday and Tuesday are at 5-7 inches for the mountains and 3 - 5 inches for the Piedmont.      In the Atlantic, current forecast tracks keep Hurricane Katia offshore of the Carolinas and East Coast, taking it back out to sea next weekend.   What I know from experience is that when significant rainfall hits the mountains, it rushes down our way through (among others) the rivers ... 09/04/2011

Got it calendared? It starts next Friday, Sept. 9, with Food! Fun! Music!! Free Outdoor Concerts Friday and Saturday Crafts Galore Kid & Teen Zones Festival Food Fare Wine Garden Food and Wine Event at the Cedars featuring Chef Aaron Deal Downtown Art Walk Visit www.downtownmorganton.com   for the full schedule of events. Watch this for a preview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsA3KemZX3Y     SEE YOU HERE!   09/01/2011

One of the City of Morganton's most precious gems is the City of Morganton Municipal Auditorium (affectionately known as CoMMA) - 1000 seats in a beautiful structure offering great entertainment beginning in the Fall and ending late Spring, celebrating its 25th season in 2011-2012. First in the impressive season line-up is the production, GRITS: Girls Raised in the South - The Musical! based on the book by Deborah Ford and Edie Hand-Plume. Think four women, four generations, four points of view. Think your Mama, your sister, your Grandma, your best friend. It'll be as southern as sweet tea, collard greens and 'naner pudding, weaving in country music, jazz, the blues, and doo-wop. It's not every day that a Girl Raised in the South will tell you her story, so just sit down a spell, listen... 08/31/2011

Historic Morganton Festival September 9-10, 2011 Country Crazy Weekend to celebrate 30 years! Come enjoy everything that makes the Historic Morganton Festival the exciting event that it is: friends, food, fun, crafts and free music! Friday night, head over to City Stage for opening ceremonies at 7:30, followed by a FREE concert by national country recording artist DAVID NAIL!   Saturday night, City Stage features national country singer RODNEY ATKINS, starting at 8:30. There's also lots of other music throughout the weekend. Stay tuned for more on the Downtown Art Walk, Food & wine event at The Cedars, featuring Chef Aaron Deal, and much more. Come on down, y'all - you won't be disappointed! 08/27/2011

        Inspiration Found MESH Gallery's newest exhibit, Inspiration Found, opens August 29th and features local artist Angel H. Vite. A reception for the artist will be held on Friday, September 2nd from 6:00-8:00PM Angel is a self-taught artist working in oil to capture mountainous landscapes, seascapes, and still lifes. He enjoys the play of light and shade and paints with a style ranging from classic realism to surrealism. While he has exhibited and won awards in shows from Blowing Rock to Statesville to Charlotte, this will be Angel's first single artist exhibit. He often donates the revenue from the sale of his painting to charities, including the American Red Cross, the Cancer Society, Centro Latino of Caldwell County, and Aids Leadership Foothills Area Alliance, Inc. MESH Galle... 08/25/2011

    You just have to love the opening line, “You’re holding in your hands what is possibly the strangest trail guide ever assembled, meant to describe all the adventures to be had here in Morganton, NC.” Since Morganton has recently been dubbed “The Trailhead of Western North Carolina,” there’s just plenty to see. The Golden Leaf Foundation provided for the preparation and publishing of this guide, and you can have your very own by requesting it from www.DiscoverBurkeCounty.com  or calling our Travel and Tourism office at 888.462.2921. So what can you expect? A witty (think Bill Bryson, or at least our local facsimile) “…definitive guide to hiking, biking, shopping, dining, and lazing about” for Morganton and Burke County NC. There are Auto and Motorcycle Trails, Road Cycling Trails,  t... 08/08/2011

              My family first visited Lake James when I was 6 years old - long before there was any development, and when the closest you could live to the lake was above the Duke Power (now Duke Energy) easement. But you could walk through the woods, jump off the rocks, and the pristine waters at the foot of the mountains was yours to use - ideal! There were very few boats then, but our neighbor had one, and as a result all us kids learned to water ski. We'd go down to the lake after breakfast and stay until the hunger was so bad we couldn't stand it - usually late afternoon, when we'd climb back up the hill, tired, sunburned, hungry - and content, completely content. I wouldn't trade anything for those childhood summers. Later in life, my sister and I joked that any one wanting to ma... 07/30/2011

This small city in western NC never ceases to amaze! I love living in a place where the downtown is so vibrant. Check it out...   07/29/2011

IT'S HOT OUT THERE!! But if you're in downtown Morganton NC this afternoon, indulge your nostalgic side and take advantage of an exhibit at our City Hall! Just stop by City Hall and see the antique Coke machine display. Bring 75c and get an ice-cold bottle from this one. Choose from Coke, Nehi, Root Beer, RC and more. (My friend Kelly Russell suggests you bring your own nabs.) Can't believe I'm old enough to call these machines "antique." But you just gotta love living in a small town in the South in the summer!! 07/27/2011

  I've been writing about the TGIF free concert series here in Morganton NC, which will end at the end of July. Don't be sad - we've got the Historic Morganton Festival coming up on September 9 & 10, 2011! Details are available at www.downtownmorganton.com . And I'll be posting more later. But guess what?  These folks had so much fun at TGIF that they'll be back for the Historic Morganton Festival - OUTSTANDING! Check out The Broadcast on YouTube, and make your plans to be here! We'll be looking for  you!     07/15/2011

OK, I've got to admit that it's dangerous to me to visit Arthur & Lyle, Distinct Home Decor and Custom Design Studio, located right downtown at 102 N. Sterling Street in Morganton, NC. Why dangerous? I want to buy it all! Matt Carswell, Owner, and Steven Brown, Designer, have opened this beautiful store to supply us locals (and you visitors) with such goodies as Claire Beckman "lotions and potions" and Votivo candles, among many others such as flowers, trays, Hurricane lamps, small tables, and on and on. Get the picture? You might what to call before you come to check on their store hours (828-433-1800), or you just might want to order something by phone. I'd encourage you to do the former, because that way you get to visit beautiful downtown Morganton (www.downtownmorganton.com), and p... 07/11/2011

SO excited! The Chef and front manager from one of my favorite restaurants in Hickory, NC, have opened a fabulous new restaurant in Morganton, NC! Welcome, Bryan and Aimee - you've brightened our main street, where Root & Vine is located at 139 W. Union Street, immensely! Check out their menu at www.rootandvinerestaurant.com . Their phone number is 828-433-1540, and email is rootandvine@yahoo.com. You'll want to come visit, for sure, so plan a meal some day other than Sunday or Monday to come join them there. While you're in town, you'll want to visit one of the other businesses I've reviewed recently, like Kala Gallery or Arthur & Lyle, or one of many others that will be reviewed on my blog in short order! Morganton, NC is a wonderful town - you owe yourself a visit!   07/11/2011

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    It's back - the Red, White and Bluegrass Festival in Morganton, NC! After being nominated in 2010 as the International Bluegrass Event of the Year, this great festival is back with both acts from last year and lots of new faces - including Ricky Skaggs headlining the final night! There's music, there's camping, there's picking and strumming, there's a a Bluegrass Camp for Kids - so much to do, so little time! The 2011 Festival will kick off on Thursday, June 30, at Catawba Meadows Park in Morganton with a free Fan Appreciation Day, followed by four more days of bluegrass before a fitting culmination: a fireworks show on July 4th! You'll want to know all the details, and there are many, so why not check out the website for the event: www.redwhiteandbluegrassfestival.com.  Don't forge... 06/28/2011

Peace, Love & Joy in the New Future The upcoming exhibition at MESH Gallery  brings Winston-Salem, North Carolina artist Ricky Needham's unique vision of the future to the gallery in downtown Morganton, NC.If living in a world where there's always a carnival, cars fly and people of all races love each other sounds good to you, then you will enjoy Ricky's show, Peace, Love & Joy in the New Future. There will be  a reception for the artist on Friday, July 8th at 6 pm. Visit Mesh Gallery in Morganton for a great evening, or stop by to visit the exhibition at  114-B West Union Street ,Morganton, NC  28655. Phone: (828) 437-1957 or art@meshgallery.com .   06/28/2011

    Been to a free TGIF Concert in Morganton, NC, yet this year? This Friday, June 3, the Morganton Rotary Club vies with the Men's Club at the BBQ Challenge!! Bring a lawn chair or a blanket, relax on the historic courthouse square in Downtown Morganton, and enjoy free music with family and friends! Come early - food vendors and beer/wine tents open at 6 pm! Music by Skinny Legs and All!  You've just got to love a band with that name!!! Need more info? www.DowntownMorganton.com     06/01/2011

Downtown Morganton, NC may be just the place for you if you are an artist! Our Burke Arts Council is sponsoring a Downtown Artist Project.  Briefly, its goals are to: *      Identify, review, and place visual artists in appropriate, affordable spaces to meet individual needs.*      Create spaces in Morganton for visual artists to create, display, discuss and sell artwork.*      By request, potentially place artists in group settings that could fulfill individual needs. The Downtown Artist Project steering committee aims to support and create opportunities for visual artists working in downtown Morganton.  The hope is that a large creative cluster will increase cultural tourism and provide a stimulus for economic development throughout Morganton and Burke County, NC! You'll want more inf... 05/21/2011

The  wonderful Friday night tradition of TGIF is up and running for the summer, though July 4th, in Morganton, NC! If you haven't been, you need to make your plans! Usually the concert on the Courthouse lawn (bring your own lawnchairs, refreshments - adult and otherwise - and food is served at a modest cost, and there are also may wonderful restaurants within walking distance) is one of several things going on downtown. For example, last weekend the opening concert featured the popular band THROWDOWN JONES, and the Art of Chocolate was going on (see my previous post). Horsedrawn carriage rides were offered, and one of my favorite new stores, Kala - A Contemporary Craft Gallery, was open for shopping. This week, Friday, May 13th, THE BROADCAST is featured in concert on the lawn at the Co... 05/12/2011

The arts are alive and well this spring in Morganton, NC.! Join us at this opening later this week...   This exhibition of black & white photography by Tim Barnwell features images from his 3 books documenting the Appalachian landscape and its people. These images capture people and ways of living that are rare and sometimes disappearing from the Appalachian Mountains. A reception for the artist, Tim Barnwell, will be held Friday evening, May 13th from 6 - 8:30 pm. As a special treat, poets Tim Peeler and Ted Pope will be reading from their new book, Waiting for Charlie Brown. We hope you will come join us for a fun evening!  114 W. Union Street, Morganton, North Carolina 28655   05/10/2011