The students are here!  Davidson College is swarming with 490 freshmen and their parents.  Many are already acquainted through Facebook, making orientation easier.  Once the car is unpacked and the mini-fridge stocked, parents will give a parting hug, shed a tear (perhaps) and drive home without their sons and daughters.  For those bright young students of the Class of 2015, we say WELCOME!

Around Davidson has news of John and Missy Kuykendall’s summer trip, a report on ReadDavidson 2011 and wedding congratulations to the Elliotts.  There is also a Noteworthy Note from Jody Seymour. Read the full story

Harry Potter fans posed at Our Town Cinemas before the midnight screening Thursday. (Our Town Cinemas photo)

Harry Potter fans came out in record numbers at movie theaters across the country late Thursday night, including the Our Town Cinemas in Davidson, Birkdale Cinemas in Huntersville, Concord Mills and other area theaters. They were there for a midnight premiere of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2,” the final movie in the eight-film saga.

Curtis Fainn, managing partner at Our Town Cinemas, said officials at Warner Bros. Studios told him Friday morning that the midnight shows nationwide grossed as much as $44.5 million, more than most movies make during their entire runs. The movie broke previous midnight record of $30 million, set by “Twilight Eclipse,” the movie theater said in a press release Friday. Read the full story

Public officials, investors, managers and other local business people cut a ribbon to celebrate the 1st anniversary of Our Town Cinemas on Dec. 1. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

A year ago Our Town Cinemas opened in Davidson, hoping to lure movie-goers to a venue unlike the area’s big megaplexes. As the theater celebrated its birthday last week, its chief said he’s pleased that his vision for a family-friendly environment has come to life.

Also this week, a preview of the Town of Davidson’s program Thursday, Dec. 9, featuring a visit by the director of the N.C. Main Street Program who will talk about how to improve and promote the town’s shopping district.
Read the full story

Davidson has many cultural gems for a town its size, from theater and film to art and music. Some offerings even rival what’s available in major cities, and that would have to include Music @ St. Alban’s, an annual festival of music that ranges from classical to Celtic to choral. This year’s series begins Sunday, Sept. 19, at 3 p.m. with a program called “BachFest V: Bach to the Future.” Read our season preview and find out how to get a discount on tickets in The Guide, CLICK HERE>

Also in The Guide today:

Our Davidson Weekend Calendar, with information on the many events in and around Davidson this weekend, including a Friday concert on the Green, a Hough High home football game and two literary events tonight.

A preview and interview with the filmmaker of “The Trial,” a locally produced film that premieres this weekend at Our Town Cinemas.

Our Literary Calendar, with listings of upcoming lectures, reading and writers’ gatherings.

In The Guide, CLICK HERE>

Okay, we all hear enough about Save the Planet, but do we ever get off the couch and do something?  Today a group from the community travels to Charlotte to visit the county’s recycling center and learn more about what can be recycled and reused from our weekly waste.  That’s a good start but let’s change directions for a moment and think about a different kind of waste:  water.  How many of us let the faucet run while we brush our teeth or rinse a plate.  How about those 20 minute showers?  We expect clean water 24/7 from our taps. But statistics tell us that of the six billion people on earth, 1.1 billion do not have access to safe, clean drinking water.

Today Around Davidson focuses on former Davidsonian Gill Holland Jr. noting his “Green” work in Louisville, Ky., and his film about water, as well as current Davidsonians Hayden Boyd and Ben Wyatt working with a simple shallow well program to bring clean drinking water to villages in sub-Saharan Africa.

There are also a few Noteworthy Notes about upcoming events in our town and a chance meeting of two young people in Raleigh with Davidson connections. Read the full story

Davidson’s Our Town Cinemas this weekend will host the premiere of “The Trial,” a locally-produced film based on a novel by Charlotte writer and lawyer Robert Whitlow. It’s the second film based on a Whitlow book by Huntersville filmmaker Gary Wheeler and his partners. And this weekend’s premiere continues Our Town Cinemas’ efforts to cut its own path as a small independent moviehouse. Read David Boraks’s full story in The Guide, CLICK HERE>

World Cup fever has hit Davidson, and in true Davidsonian fashion someone figured out how to plan a fund-raiser around Saturday’s England vs. USA opening round match. Read more about the crowd that watched the thrilling match on the big screen at Our Town Cinemas, in Sports, CLICK HERE>

Our Town Cinemas in Sadler Square opens a limited run for the North Carolina-produced independent film “Wesley” today (Friday, April 23). Director the Rev. John Jackman will be here to talk about the film at Friday afternoon screenings. Story in The Guide.