Congressman Mel Watt

Congressman Mel Watt will be in Davidson Thursday evening to talk with constituents about our old friends, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and also to answer questions on how legislators are reacting to the current housing crises. Davidson sits at the southern end of North Carolina’s 12th Congressional District, which Mel Watt has represented since 1992.

Also this weekend, keep in mind the CD release party for Billy Jones at Summit Coffee, the annual summer blood drive at St. Alban’s, a book chat on “The Shack,” and a bluegrass concert in Cornelius.  And don’t forget to catch the Olympics, which open on 8/8/08.  To get a local take on the Games, check out Davidson College head baseball coach Dick Cooke’s blog from Beijing!

Weekend of August 7 – 10

U.S. Rep. Mel Watt will hold a local town meeting at the Davidson Town Hall Thursday, from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. He will address housing issues, including predatory lending, new housing legislation and the mortgage crisis. For more information, call Marcia Webster, 704-892-4486 , or email marcia@davidsonhousing.org. See our July 30 news item for details.

A low-cost microchip clinic for pets will be held Friday at the Huntersville PETCO (exit 25), sponsored by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Animal Care & Control and Friends for Life LKN Humane Rescue. The event will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and participants are asked to contribute an $8 donation. Fore details, call 704-895-7643 .

Rev. Brenda Tapia and Ruth Pittard will be hosting a dinner and book talk Friday, 7-9 p.m. at Rev. Tapia’s home, 101 Mallard Court. They’ll lead a discussion of “The Shack” by William P. Young, and serve a home-cooked dinner. A $20 charge will cover dinner and dessert; please RSVP at 704-892-8926 . Bring your copy of the book to the discussion. Limited to the first 8 people who register.

The new Davidson Farmers Market will continue Saturday, 8 a.m. – noon, offering shoppers fresh local produce and meats, baked items, flowers and more. This weekend will feature music by Dave Herring and the Eastbound String Machine. The market is held near Town Hall.

St. Alban’s Episcopal Church will host its annual summer blood drive Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Community Blood Center of the Carolinas Bloodmobile will be parked at St. Albans, with appointments scheduled at 15-minute intervals. CBCC provides blood to 14 area hospitals and reports that each unit can save as many as three lives. Contact Jeff Ready to schedule an appointment by calling 704-896-2625 or emailing him at jsready@mi-connection.com.

Cornelius Presbyterian Church will hold the opening concert in its August Bluegrass Saturdays series featuring the “Prograssive Y-allternative” sounds of local bluegrass band Moonshine Racers. , with music from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Admission is free, though donations will be accepted. Food and beverages will also be available. The church is located at 21250 Catawba Avenue and can be reached by phone at 704-892-5577 . On the calendar for the August concert series are: Southern Junction on Aug. 16, and Davidson Express on Aug. 23.

Summit Coffee will celebrate the release of local songster Billy Jones’s latest CD, “Time,” with a party from 8-11 p.m. Saturday. The CD will be for sale and Mr. Jones will play a concert featuring him and several musicians who worked in the studio with him for this latest effort. Billy Jones sings ballads and folk music and is both a songwriter and a guitar teacher. He recorded all the tracks for his newest CD in Davidson, with the production assistance of former Davidson College employee, Jason Brewer.Other live music includes the Velcrows Thursday and the Mike Strauss Trio Friday. Musicians play from 8-11 p.m. on the back veranda, with the upstairs used for rain dates.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR!

• MONDAY, AUG. 11, 7 p.m., Ben & Jerry’s, 202 S. Main St. – Free outdoor summer movie series, with Disney’s “Cars.” Trivia and prizes begin at 7, movie begins at dark.
• TUESDAY, AUG. 12, 7 p.m., Town Hall, 216 S. Main St. – Monthly Town Board meeting. Agenda to be posted on the town website.
• TUESDAY, AUG. 12, 6:30 p.m., St. Therese Catholic Church, 217 Brawley School Road, Mooresville – “Immigration Reform Forum: Exposing the Dilemma,” an educational forum on the moral and legal complexities of immigration. Speakers: immigration attorney Cynthia Aziz, UNCC Asst Prof. Daniel Grano, business attorney Steve Garfinkel and Jesuit Brother Ricardo Greeley. Info: 704-664-3992 .
• THURSDAY, AUG. 14, 7:30 a.m., Homewood Suites near Exit 30 – Monthly meeting of Downtown Davidson Inc. Agenda includes a tour of the new hotel.
• THURSDAY, AUG. 14, 6 p.m., Bailey Middle School – Meeting on how area churches can partner with middle school staff and students. See more in our Aug. 5 school news report.
• FRIDAY, AUG. 15, 10 a.m., room 216 in Davidson United Methodist Church – August meeting of the local support group for people with Fibromyalgia/Lupus/Multiple sclerosis. Speaker will be neurologist, Dr. Ki Jung.
• SATURDAY, AUG. 16, 11:30 to 1 p.m., Cornelius Presbyterian Church, 21250 Catawba Ave., Cornelius – “Bluegrass Concert Saturdays” series featuring Southern Junction. Admission free, donations accepted. Food and beverages available. Details: 704-892-5577
• SATURDAY, AUG. 23, 11:30 to 1 p.m., Cornelius Presbyterian Church, 21250 Catawba Ave., Cornelius – “Bluegrass Concert Saturdays” series featuring local bluegrass band Davidson Express. Admission free, donations accepted. Food and beverages available. Details: 704-892-5577
• SUNDAY, AUG. 24, 6-8 p.m., Village Green – Downtown Davidson Inc. presents another Concert on the Green with The Bad Daddies. Free. Picnic theme: “funkiest picnic.” Details: www.downtowndavidson.org
• WEDNESDAY, AUG. 27, 5 p.m., Davidson College Richardson Stadium – Davidson College freshman “Cake Race,” a 1.7-mile foot race in which incoming freshman compete for cakes supplied town residents and members of the college community. Students choose cakes according to their order of finish – will you bake the cake that gets chosen first? Cakes may be delivered to the Baker Sports Complex main lobby on Tuesday or Wednesday before the race. For details, call Brenda Daugherty, Davidson physical education and recreation, 704-894-2342 or brdaugherty@davidson.edu.
• FRIDAY, AUG. 29, 7:30 p.m., Davidson College Presbyterian Church sanctuary, Main Street and Concord Road – The U.S. Army Chorus presents a free concert, one of only two stops they’re making this summer in North Carolina.
  

  Michael Karras, appearing at the Vaudeville Extravaganza Aug. 30-31.

• SATURDAY, AUG. 30, 7:30 p.m., and SUNDAY, AUG. 31, 2 p.m., Davidson College Duke Family Performance Hall – annual Family Vaudeville Extravaganza, emceed by The Great Fettucini (Steve Langley of Huntersville) and including juggler Michael Karras, Japanese diabolo master Tempei, comedy magician Chris Hannibal and silent comic “Mr. Robb” Zeiser. Saturday night’s show is part of the 19th annual Hurricane Hugo Juggling Festival on the Village Green that morning from 9 a.m. to noon. Tickets to the Family Vaudeville Extravaganza are $5, available online anytime at www.davidson.edu/tickets or beginning Aug. 21 by phone at 704-894-2135 .
• SUNDAY, SEPT 7, 6-8 p.m., Village Green – Concert on the Green, with the hometown bluegrass band Davidson Express. Free. Bring a picnic – they’ll give an award for “most colorful.” Details: www.downtowndavidson.org.
• SUNDAY, SEPT. 21, 4 p.m., Davidson United Methodist Church, 233 S. Main St. – “Gospels and Spirituals” concert with performances by the Adult and Youth Music Ministries of the church. Followed by an ice cream social in the Fellowship Hall. Donations accepted, with proceeds benefiting a new “Music Academy” outreach program for children in the Lake Norman area. More information is available by calling Kevin Turner, director of music and worship, 704-892-8277 , ext. 281, or by email at kturner@davidsonumc.org.
• SUNDAY, SEPT. 21, 6-8 p.m., Village Green – Davidson College Symphony and Jazz Band play the season’s finale Concert on the Green. Free. Bring a picnic: they’ll have a contest for “most collegiate.” Details: www.downtowndavidson.org
• THURSDAY, SEPT. 25, 7 p.m., St. Alban’s Church, 301 Caldwell Lane – (TENTATIVE DATE) St. Albans Neighborhood Discussion Group hosts a forum for at-large candidates for Mecklenburg County Commission.

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