Bad Daddies, on the Village Green Sunday.

It’s shaping up to be an active weekend in Davidson, especially Saturday morning. First the YMCA’s benefit triathalon will send bikers through town (see below for the route); Then the new freshmen at Davidson College – all 483 of them – will take their annual walking tour of town. Warm up your “friendly townie” wave for all these folks.

Meanwhile, the weekend also features a soprano concert Friday evening, a town trip to the Energy Explorium Saturday afternoon, Davidson Express at the last Bluegrass Saturdays event in Cornelius and the Bad Daddies in a Concert on the Green Sunday. Finally, if you’re enjoying the Olympics on the telly, get ready for Team USA (which has a very local connection that we explain below) in the baseball finals.

Weekend of Aug. 21-24

THURSDAY

Live music this weekend at Summit Coffee include Billy Jones Thursday, The Orsons Friday and the Rick Spreitzer Trio Saturday. Bands play on the back patio (or upstairs if its raining) from 8 – 11 p.m.

The new group of Ultimate Frisbee enthusiasts looking to form a local league in this area will hold an organizing meeting tonight, Thursday, starting at 7 p.m. at the Lake Norman YMCA in Cornelius. Details in our Aug. 11 news item.

Coach Dick Cooke of Davidson College and Team USA

FRIDAY

If you are enjoying the Olympics, keep in mind that in baseball, Team USA faces defending champion Cuba in semifinal play Friday morning at 6 a.m. (that’s Eastern – as in eastern US – time). Helping to coach the team is our own Dick Cooke, coach of the Davidson College baseball team. Coach Cooke has a blog (read about this in our Aug. 15 news item) which tells in exciting detail about the contentious game with China, which resulted in ejections and hospitalizations. Wow!

Jenny Giduz (left) and Annie Rhodes

Young sopranos Jenny Giduz and Annie Rhodes, with accompanist Theresa Woody-Rhodes, will sing opera and Broadway songs in a free public vocal recital Friday, starting at 8 p.m. in the Lingle Chapel of Davidson College Presbyterian Church. The program includes 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

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 week the market hosts corporate chef Karl Hoffman, who will prepare foods made with local ingredients from the market. Musical entertainment will be provided by Work Release String Band.

Cornelius Presbyterian Church concludes its August Bluegrass Saturdays series featuring “Davidson Express” 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 Lake Norman YMCA will hold its 14th annual triathlon Saturday starting at 7 a.m. More than 750 athletes are expected to be swimming, biking and running (in that order), and note that the 16.8 mile bike course goes through Davidson. The bike course starts and finishes at the Y, heading down Davidson-Concord Road to Shearer Road and then along parts of Main Street back to the Y. Proceeds benefit YMCA outreach efforts. Volunteers are needed on race day. Contact: Amber Baker, 704-716-4444 or amber.baker@ymcacharlotte.org.

DavidsonReads presents a visit Saturday afternoon to the Duke Energy Explorium, with exhibits on energy, a 25-minute movie on the creation of Lake Norman, and a nature trail hike. Participants should plan to meet at 2 p.m. at the Explorium. The trip will give residents a bit of background as they read this fall’s featured book “One Foot in Eden,” by Ron Rash. The book takes place in 1950s Carolinas, in a region bought by the “Carolina Power Co.” which is about to run people off their land, and flood it. Preregistration at www.d-recs.org. Find more details in our Aug. 19 news item.

SUNDAY

Downtown Davidson Inc. presents another Concert on the Green with The Bad Daddies, a pop band. The concert is scheduled from 6-8 p.m. Sunday on the village green. The audience is encouraged to bring a blanket and chair and enjoy the show. The picnic theme of the week: “funkiest picnic,” with prizes awarded by Downtown Davidson representatives. For more details: www.downtowndavidson.org

MARK YOUR CALENDAR!

• MONDAY, AUG. 25 – First day of school, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.
• 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.
• TUESDAY, AUG. 26, 6 p.m., Town Hall, 216 S. Main St. – August Town Board work session.
• 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.
• 

  U.S. Army Chorus, Aug. 29 at DCPC

  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.

• 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
  

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

  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.

• MONDAY, SEPT. 1 – Labor Day. Most public offices and banks closed. CATS buses operate on a Sunday schedule, with no express service.
• WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 3, 7 p.m., Charles Mack Citizens Center, Mooresville – Public meeting to seek citizen input on a proposed interlocal agreement with Davidson and Mooresville that would govern development and boating on Lake Davidson. Background: Aug. 4, 2008, “Meeting Tues. to look at Lake Davidson’s future.”
• 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.
• FRIDAY, SEPT. 12, 9 a.m., Birkdale Golf Club, Huntersville -2008 Lake Norman Kiwanis Club Charity Golf Tournament, to benefit local children and families in need. Registration begins at 8 a.m., shotgun start at 9. Prizes awarded, including hole-in-one awards. Details: Robin Noud, 704-860-6688. Register online: www.golfdigestplanner.com/6722-KiwanisGolf2008/
• FRIDAY, SEPT. 19, 5-8 p.m., Beaver Dam historic park, 19600 Davidson-Concord Road – 10th Annual BBQ, Blanket and Bluegrass festival, sponsored by Davidson Parks & Recreation. Live music with Kent Dowell & Friends bring lawn games or play in one of the inflatables. BBQ prices range from $4-$8 while supplies last. For more information, please call Davidson Parks and Recreation at 704-892-3349.
• 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, 7:30 p.m., St. Alban’s Church, 301 Caldwell Lane – St. Albans Neighborhood Discussion Group hosts a forum for at-large candidates for Mecklenburg County Commission.

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