Davidson Express plays Cornelus Presbyterian Church's Bluegrass and BBQ festival Saturday.
By BILL KISER
DavidsonNews.net
Ready for the weekend? There’s plenty to see and do in the Lake Norman region – from arts and entertainment, all the way to the Warrior Dash for those in search of more physical activities. Chaz Willomon plays at Summit Coffee in Davidson on Thursday and there’s also live music during the weekend at Hickory Tavern in Huntersville, Unleashed in Cornelius and Campania Cafe in Davidson. Friday, the Movies in the Park series screens 
“Tangled,” on a inflatable outdoor screen at North Mecklenburg Park in Huntersville. Saturday, the Davidson Farmer’s Market will be open with local farmers offering a variety of produce, and on Sunday concerts are being held at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church and Davidson United Methodist Church.
Oh yeah, there’s also the Warrior Dash at Rural Hill in Huntersville, a three-mile road race that takes competitors through a variety of obstacles – walls, water and mud pits, cargo nets, even fire.
These events and more below, or in our day-by-day calendar at right. Also, at right on this page, see our movie show times listings for Our Town Cinemas where “Winnie the Pooh” opens on Friday, joining “Fright Night,” “Spy Kids 4,” “The Help,” “Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” and “Crazy, Stupid, Love.” Our Town Cinemas is in the midst of its End of Summer Celebration – three weeks of kids movies. Everyone – kids and adults – gets in at kids’ admission price of $6.50.
THURSDAY, AUGUST 25
Historic Preservation Commission, 5:15-8 p.m., Cornelius Town Hall, 21445 Catawba Ave., Cornelius – Regular meeting of the Cornelius Historic Preservation Commission. www.cornelius.org
Business After Hours, 5:30-7 p.m., Galway Hooker, 1704 Kenton Drive, Cornelius – Lake Norman Chamber Business After Hours.
Green Drinks Lake Norman, 5:30-7 p.m., Campania Cafe, South Main Square, 416 S. Main St., Davidson – Green Drinks Lake Norman, a meetup for people interested in and involved in “green” business and sustainability. This month’s topic will be nature deficit, with guest Carolyn Walker of Woodland Discovery, which promotes nature-based play to enhanced the cognitive and social development of children. Co-sponsored by the PiES business incubator. Info: 704-896-0094, www.pies-northcarolina.org or www.facebook.com/greenbusinessincubator
Patio-palooza, 6:30 p.m., Hickory Tavern, 9526 Birkdale Crossings Dr., Huntersville – Live acoustic music every Thursday in the Beer Garden and patio. No Cover. Info: 704-897-8490.
Art Exhibition Opening, 7-9 p.m., Van Every & Smith Galleries, Davidson College, Davidson – An opening reception for the larger-than-life works of “biological architecture” of Kendall Buster and mixed media work by local artist Chris Watts. The reception will feature a gallery talk by Buster. Info: 704-894-2519.
Live music at Summit Coffee, 8-11 p.m., Summit Coffee, 128 S. Main St. – Live music: Chaz Willomon. Info: 704-895-9090.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 26
Chamber Focus Friday, 8-10 a.m., Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce offices, 19900 W. Catawba Ave, Cornelius – The Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce is hosting a small business financing session for area businesses on the Capital Access program. Several local banks in the region and N.C. Rep. Rodney Moore will be in attendance. Free. Details at www.lakenormanchamber.org.
Global Cafe, 10 a.m., Cornelius Public library, 21105 Catawba Ave., Cornelius – Learn about America’s history and culture while improving your English conversational skills. No registration necessary. Info: 704-416-3800.
Architectural Review Board, noon-2 p.m., Cornelius Town Hall, 21445 Catawba Ave., Cornelius – Regular meeting of the Cornelius Architectural Review Board. www.cornelius.org.
Movies in the Park, 6 p.m., North Mecklenburg Park, 16131 Old Statesville Rd., Huntersville – Come watch the movie “Tangled” on a large inflatable outdoor movie screen. Free popcorn and drinks. Park opens at 6 p.m. with pre-movie activities like corn hole, frisbee and football. The movie will start about 9 p.m. Details: www.moviesintheparkhuntersville.com.
Party on the Porch, 6:30-9 p.m., Campania Cafe, 416 S. Main St., Davidson – Live music every Friday night. Info: 704-987-5111.
Murder Mystery Performance, 8 p.m., the Warehouse Performing Arts Center, 9216-A Westmoreland Rd., Cornelius – Murder mystery troupe, About Town Tours present “Murder is Par For The Course,” an interactive whodunit where the audience becomes investigators, working with a detective to solve the case. Tickets are $20. Reservations can be made by calling 704-619-0429 or emailing tickets@warehousepac.com.
Davidson women’s soccer vs. Providence, 7 p.m., Davidson College Alumni Stadium – Davidson women’s soccer vs. Providence. Game preview an info on DavidsonWildcats.com.
Live music at Summit Coffee, 8-11 p.m., Summit Coffee, 128 S. Main St. – Live music: Rusty Knox. Info: 704-895-9090.
Live music at Unleashed, 9 p.m., Club Unleashed, 20924 Torrence Chapel Rd., Cornelius – Live music: One Less Reason. Tickets are $8 in advance and $10 on the day of the show. Info: 704-655-2621.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 27
Lake Norman YMCA Triathlon, 7 a.m., Lake Norman YMCA, 21300 Davidson St., Cornelius – 2011 Lake Norman Triathlon, with 750-meter swim, 16.8-mile bike and 5k run. Could affect traffic on Davidson/Cornelius streets. Details in our Aug. 24 preview, Lake Norman Y triathlon takes to the streets Saturday.”
Davidson Farmer’s Market, 8 a.m. to noon, downtown Davidson next to Town Hall – Local farmers and vendors selling meats, produce, dairy products, baked goods, and other items every Saturday through November. For more information: www.davidsonfarmersmarket.org. DavidsonNews.net is pleased to be a sponsor of the Davidson Farmers Market.
ReadDavidson Bake-Off, 8 a.m., Davidson Farmer’s Market, downtown Davidson next to Town Hall – Tasty baking features prominently in “The Help,” so ReadDavidson is asking people to bake something mentioned in the book using as many ingredients as possible from the market, and bring a finished product for market visitors to taste and vote upon. More details to come.
Warrior Dash, 9 a.m., Historic Rural Hill, 4431 Neck Rd., Huntersville – The Warrior Dash is described as a “hellish” 3.08-mile race unlike any other, with obstacles of fire, water, mud, and obstructed paths, ropes, ladders, and brutal fun for athletes and spectators. Visit www.warriordash.com for further details.
Hummingbird Festival, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Reedy Creek Nature Center, 2900 Rocky River Rd., Charlotte – Free festival that features banding demonstrations, nature hikes, craft vendors, predators of hummingbirds and kids’ activities. Info: charmeck.org.
Bluegrass Festival & BBQ, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Cornelius Presbyterian Church, 21209 Catawba Ave., Cornelius – CPC hosts great food and bluegrass bands on Saturdays in August. Free Admission. BBQ plates are $8 for adults and $5 for children. The band Davidson Express plays Aug. 27. Call 704-892-5577 for tickets.
Villages of South Main open house, Noon to 5 p.m., Villages of South Main, off South Main Street behind Merrill-Jennings Galleries – The Villages of South Main will offer a “sneak preview” of first 12 townhomes. Also Sunday, Aug. 28. See more in our Aug. 24, 2011, preview.
Pride Charlotte Festival, noon-8 p.m., S. Tryon St., between 3rd and Stonewall, Charlotte – Culmination of a week-long slate of events highlighting the social, cultural, ethnic, artistic and political diversity of the metro Charlotte area’s LGBT community. Includes multiple stages of entertainment, musicians, bands, comedy and dance performers, a children’s area and numerous participating vending booths. Info: www.pridecharlotte.com.
Currents Commodore Cover Dog, 3-8 p.m., Historic Beaver Dam, 19600 Davidson Concord Rd., Davidson – Registration and preshow activities start at 3 p.m. The Pageant Pup Contest starts at 4 p.m. There will be a music concert from 6-8 p.m. Info: www.pageantpup.com.
RockBus Concert: Kid Rock, 4 p.m., Prohibition, 200 N. Tryon St., Charlotte – Cost is $20 for bus ride and includes transportation to and from Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, a few cold ones on the way to Verizon, and free cover into Prohibition after the show. There will also be a pick-up from the ReFRESH pool party at the Blake Hotel. Check-in at Prohibition at 4-4:45 p.m. Details and tickets at www.rockhouseevents.com.
Live music at Summit Coffee, 8-11 p.m., Summit Coffee, 128 S. Main St. – Live music: Rick Spreitzer Band. Info: 704-895-9090.
Live music at Miciah’s, 9 p.m., Miciah’s Speak Easy, 229 Medical Park Rd., Mooresville – Live music: SkinTonz. Info: 704-799-0095.
SUNDAY, AUGUST 28
The Stove Project, Davidson United Methodist Church, 233 S. Main St., Davidson – The Guatemala Mission Team of Davidson United Methodist Church, in partnership with Our Town’s Habitat, will erect two typical Guatemalan “huts” on the front lawn of the church to demonstrate the significant impact simple stoves with pipes that carry the smoke outside can make – all for about $100.
Warrior Dash, 9 a.m., Historic Rural Hill, 4431 Neck Rd., Huntersville – The Warrior Dash is described as a “hellish” 3.08-mile race unlike any other, with obstacles of fire, water, mud, and obstructed paths, ropes, ladders, and brutal fun for athletes and spectators. Visit www.warriordash.com for further details.
Villages of South Main open house, 1 to 5 p.m., Villages of South Main, off South Main Street behind Merrill-Jennings Galleries – The Villages of South Main will offer a “sneak preview” of first 12 townhomes. Also Saturday, Aug. 27. See more in our Aug. 24, 2011, preview.
Davidson women’s soccer vs. Florida Gulf Coast, 1 p.m., Davidson College Alumni Stadium – Davidson women’s soccer vs. Florida Gulf Coast Eagles. Game preview an info on DavidsonWildcats.com.
Piano & Organ Concert, 4 p.m., St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, 301 Caldwell Ln., Davidson – Clara Gerdes will perform a piano and organ concert featuring works by Pachelbel, Bach, Brahms, Debussy and more. For more information, email allison_elrod@yahoo.com.
Ethics Panel, 7 p.m., Alvarez College Union Smith 900 Room, Davidson College, Davidson – Davidson College invites the public to a panel discussion of “Contraception and Abortion: Ethics and Public Policy.” Jessica Bearden-Laurenz, director of public policy at Planned Parenthood Health Systems, will discuss the topic with Davidson’s David Perry, professor of applied ethics. Free and open to the public. Info: 704-894-2095.
Pipes & Poetry, 5 p.m., Davidson United Methodist Church, 233 S. Main St., Davidson – Dr. Katie Ann McCarty will perform organ pieces from Bach, Vidor, Durufle, Correa de Arauxo and Sandresky, accompanied by poetry readings. This concert is free and open to the public, and childcare will be provided. A love offering will be accepted to benefit DUMC’s Music Academy for children in the Lake Norman area who do not have access to music education. For more information, visit www.davidsonumc.org.
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