Golf tournaments start the week off, with a Lake Norman Chamber women’s tourney, and a Hough High golf tournament to raise money for the school’s Athletic Booster Club’s scholarship and capital fund. Also, the Town of Cornelius kicks off its summer cinema series this Wednesday, and North Mecklenburg High’s boosters have their tourney Thursday. Meanwhile, kids can sign up for the summer reading programs during a Davidson Public Library open house on Tuesday, an event that will also feature the Cat in the Hat and the Paws to Read dogs. On Wednesday, Frank Roche, called “talk radio’s chief economist,” will be speaking at the North Mecklenburg Republican Women’s dinner meeting. Several government boards will be meeting this week as well — the Cornelius Planning Board, the Regional Transportation Commission, the Lake Norman Marine Commission and the Davidson Planning Department. End the week at Latta Plantation, with an open hearth cooking demonstration or visit Kannapolis for Tribute Band Rock Night as part of its summer concert series. Or head to the village green in Davidson to hear the Lake Norman Big Band perform.

And don’t forget to check out the showtimes at right for Our Town Cinemas in Davidson, where “Madagascar 3″ is now playing, and “Rock of Ages” premieres at 12:01 a.m. Friday. And tickets go on sale Monday, June 11, at noon for the new Batman flick, “The Dark Knight Rises.”
They’ll have a midnight Show Thursday, July 19, on three screens. Details at right.

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Mooresville Downtown Commission announcement
MOORESVILLE – The Mooresville Downtown Commission is proud to kick off “Live in the 115,” a series of free open-air rock shows in John Franklin Moore Park on the corner of Main and Center streets. The live summer shows take place on five Friday evenings: June 8, July 13, Aug. 10, Sept. 14 and Oct. 12. Read the full story

Band of Oz plays a Davidson Concert on the Green Sunday.

By CRAIG PADDOCK
DavidsonNews.net

Celebrate the end of school this Saturday night with pizza, ice cream and live music on the Davidson Village Green. It’s the second Finale festival, a party and fundraiser organized by sixth-graders Spencer Barnes and James Shaul. Money goes to the Cornelius Animal Shelter. The festival is just one of many things to do outside.  All weekend long, you can check out the 12th annual Lake Norman Hospice Regatta at the Lake Norman Yacht Club. The Reed Gold Mine is the site of the 2012 Pan-O-Lympics, with games and gold panning contests for kids and adults.  Kannapolis offers “Cars II” this Friday night as part of its Movies in the Park series. Or head down to Charlotte Friday, Saturday or Sunday to get a “Taste of Charlotte,” the annual festival of food and entertainment.  You could stay busy inside as well. Davidson College is hosting reunions throughout the weekend, art exhibits are opening up in Mooresville and Charlotte and live music is to be found at various venues. It’s also the last weekend for the “Car Craze” comedy plays.

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Coach Bob McKillop guest bartends at Flatiron Thursday to help Ada Jenkins Center.

Davidson College’s 2012 reunions are Thursday to Sunday on campus, the big event in town later this week. Stand Up NC holds its monthly meeting this Wednesday, with guest speakers Dan Forest, candidate for lieutenant governor of North Carolina; Supreme Court Justice Paul Newby and Iredell Co. District Court Judge Julia Lynn Gullet. Librarian Rosanna Losee discusses “1900-1939 – A Time for Change” Thursday in the first program in her three-part series on American history and culture at Cornelius Public Library. Local libraries also have story times for babies, toddlers and preschoolers. Beautiful scenes of Lake Norman will be the spotlight Tuesday with the opening of Jan Black’s exhibit “Sunsets, Sailboats & Scenery” at the Cornelius Arts Center. Looking toward the weekend, the “Car Craze” comedy plays continue Thursday through Saturday at Warehouse PAC in Cornelius. Reed Gold Mine is hosting a gold-panning competition and the “Pan-O-Lympics,” games open to youngsters and adults alike. And W.A. Hough High School graduates its first class this Saturday. And wrap up your weekend with another Davidson Concert on the Green, featuring the beach music of Band of Oz. Read the full story

Concert on the Green Sunday in Davidson.

“Car Craze,” a series of short plays celebrating our love affair with cars, gets cranked up this weekend at Warehouse Performing Arts Center in Cornelius. If running is more your speed, Davidson ultra-marathoner Jeff McGonnell will be running around the Village Green for 24 hours to raise funds for Batten Disease research.  Join him for a two-hour shift  or enjoy live music at Summit Coffee in Davidson or lobsters at the LobsterFest in Mooresville. Concerts this weekend include jazz by the Lake Norman Big Band in Cornelius or reggae by The Dickens in Davidson. Or take in Preacher Stone and Darrell Harwood as part of the  Kannapolis Summer Concert Series or a Bob Dylan tribute at The Birdsnest in Davidson.

Details below, or in our day-by-day calendar at right. And check out the movie showtimes at right for Our Town Cinemas, where “Men in Black 3″ is among the offerings and it’s your last chance to “Battleship” and “The Dictator.” Read the full story

Lake Norman Big Band plays in the Cornelius Concert Series Friday.

The unofficial first week of summer features plenty to do outside. Events include an outdoor movie at North Mecklenburg Park  in Huntersville Friday and a Davidson Concert on the Green Sunday with reggae band The Dickens. Ultra-marathoner and Davidson resident Jeff McGonnell will be running laps around the Village Green in Davidson for 24 hours in the 2nd annual “Loopy for a Cause,” to raise funds for Batten Disease research — he’s looking for runners to help in two-hour shifts. On Friday, Lake Norman Big Band plays at Mt. Zion United Methodist Church in Cornelius. And come celebrate the automobile with the comedy play festival “Car Craze” at Warehouse Performing Arts Center in Cornelius. Now in its second year, the festival opens Thursday and runs Thursdays through Saturdays through May 9.  And it’s graduation season:  Pine Lake Preparatory Upper School will have its ceremony in Mooresville Saturday.

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