It’s a creative arts weekend for Davidson, with playwrights hanging around town, Summit Coffee hosting a benefit for the Children’s Arts Project and the Farmer’s Market presenting a special food session for kids. Be sure to find time for the Friday evening reading of the new play “Masterpiece” by members of the New River Dramatists, who are in residency this weekend.

Music lovers will be able to hear bluegrass in Cornelius Saturday morning, local musicians all day at Summit Saturday or enjoy an evening with “Captain Lou” on the North Harbor Club patio Sunday. There’s also a community meeting for religious groups interested in partnering with Bailey Middle School, a lecture for the local AGLOW chapter and support group sessions for both Alzheimers and Fibromyalgia/Lupus/Multiple Sclerosis.

Weekend of Aug.14-17

Bailey Middle School representatives are hosting a meeting Thursday evening on how area churches can partner with middle school staff and students. See more in our Aug. 5 school news report. The meeting will be held at the middle school and begins at 6 p.m. Bailey principal Jennifer Dean is hoping to meet area church or temple pastors, rabbis, church council members, youth group leaders, social outreach program directors, etcetera.

Live music this weekend at Summit Coffee include Attila’s Honey Thursday from 8 – 11 p.m., and a special SummitCares Benefit Concert Saturday, noon until 11 p.m. to benefit the Children’s Arts Project. The day will feature creative art crafts for children of all ages on the lawn in back of the coffee house and dozens of local musicians taking turns on the patio stage. Donations encouraged, and Summit will donate 5 percent sales to the Cornelius-based CAP.

Main Street Books will host story hour for the five and under crowd Friday, starting at 10 a.m.

The August meeting of the local support group for people with Fibromyalgia/Lupus/Multiple sclerosis will be held Friday, starting at 10 a.m., in room 216 of Davidson United Methodist Church. The featured speaker will be neurologist, Dr. Ki Jung.

The New River Dramatists, a non-profit theater group, will present a reading Friday evening of the new play “Masterpiece,” by M.Z. Ribalow which tells the story of a European artist who forges paintings of Vermeer during the Nazi era. The free reading (donations will be accepted to benefit Davidson Community Players and children with AIDS) will be held at Davidson United Methodist Church Friday starting at 8 p.m. The reading is part of a weekend residency in Davidson and Cornelius which features daily workshops for reading and critiquing plays and screenplays. Sessions are open to the public. For more info, see the New River Dramatists residency page on DavidsonNews.net.

The new Davidson Farmers Market will continue Saturday, 8 a.m. – noon, offering shoppers fresh local produce and meats, baked items, flowers and more. The market hosts Kids Day this weekend with a program called “Locavore 101” on food prep for kids by dietitians Holmes Ayer and Elizabeth Root. There will also live music with the band Dry Run, and chef Mark Hibbs of Ratcliffe on the Green will be preparing food with items from local farmers. The market is held near Town Hall.

The Davidson chapter of AGLOW, a Christian women’s group, will host a presentation Saturday on the power of the Holy Spirit. Rollo and Judy Leimer will be the featured speakers. Coffee and registration begin at 9:30 a.m., and the meeting follows at 10 a.m. The Leimers have been married for 51 years and both preach and counsel on “the fullness of the Holy Spirit.” Mr. Leimer is a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police chaplain and retired Lutheran pastor.

Cornelius Presbyterian Church continues its August Bluegrass Saturdays series featuring “Southern Junction” on stage 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. The concert series wraps up with Davidson Express on Aug. 23.

The August support group meeting for Alzheimer’s and dementia family caregivers will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday in the Davidson United Methodist Church congregation house. Meetings are held the third Saturday of each month. The group is part of the Western Carolina chapter of the national Alzheimer’s Association.

The North Harbor Club will host live music by “Captain Lou” on the deck Sunday, 7 – 10 p.m. The club is located at Davidson Landing and you don’t have to be a member to dine or enjoy the music.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR!

Jenny Giduz (left) and Annie Rhodes

• FRIDAY, AUG. 22, 8 p.m., Davidson College Presbyterian Church Lingle Chapel – Young sopranos Jenny Giduz and Annie Rhodes, with accompanist Theresa Woody-Rhodes, will sing opera and Broadway songs in a free public vocal recital. The program includdes classical duets and solos by composers such as Brahms, Handel, Mozart and Vivaldi, as well as popular favorites from Broadway musicals. Ms. Rhodes is a rising senior at North Mecklenburg High School and studies voice with Kathryn Withers. Ms. Giduz studies voice with Jacquelyn Culpepper, and is a rising freshman at UNC School of the Arts where she will study with Marilyn Taylor. A reception will follow the recital. Information: 704-892-1296.
• 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
• MONDAY, AUG. 25, 6 p.m., Homewood Suites, off Griffith Street at I-77 Exit 30 – Iron Horse Auction Co. auctions the “custom-built, executive home” at 1022 Concord Road. Details: IronHorseAuction.com.
• WEDNESDAY, AUG. 27, 2 to 3:30 p.m., Davidson Parks & Recreation office, 416 Armour St. – Davidson Senior Scholars program about Alzheimer’s Disease, with representatives of the Alzheimer’s Association. Free. Registration recommended, but not required. Call 704-892-3349.
• 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. Free, donations to DCPC accepted.


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.
• SATURDAY, SEPT. 20, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Davidson Village Green – Lake Norman Baby Fair, hosted by La Leche League of Lake Norman. With speakers on childbirth, breastfeeding, aromatherapy, money management for families, and family nutrition. Info available about fitness and childbirth classes, prenatal and postpartum counseling, custom photography, birth announcements, baby gear, and more. Also, La Leche League Leaders will be available to answer questions and offer information about breastfeeding. Free. Information: llloflakenorman.wordpress.com.
• 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.

SUBMIT YOUR EVENT
Send listings and press releases to us at editor@davidsonnews.net. Don’t forget to include a contact phone number, in case we have questions.