By BILL KISER
DavidsonNews.net

Public meetings, fund-raisers and author visits at Davidson College are on the calendar in the area this week. On Saturday, the Davidson Lands Conservancy hosts the Green Day festival and its annual the Run for Green half-marathon, 10K and 5K runs. Know Your Farms has its annual farm tour this weekend. The Lake Norman Beer Festival is Saturday at Galway Hooker in Cornelius, and Mooresville’s HealthReach Community Clinic raises money Saturday at the Blues & Burritos benefit.

Neil White, author of the memoir “In the Sanctuary of Outcasts,” will give a reading Tuesday morning at Davidson College, while MIT’s Ethan Zuckerman lectures Tuesday night at the college on “Does the Internet Change the Way We Connect?” The Lake Norman Marine Commission and Cornelius Planning Board both meet Monday, the Davidson Town Board meets Tuesday night, and the Lake Norman Transportation Commission convenes Wednesday night in Mooresville. Read the full story

Steve Langley is emcee of the Vaudeville Extravaganza at Davidson College Saturday night, part of the 2011 Hurricane Hugo Juggling festival. Ed Haponik (right) will demonstrate his yo-yo prowess.

By BILL KISER
DavidsonNews.net

Had a tough week at work? Depressed because the kids are back in school? Cheer up – the weekend’s here, and there’s plenty to do – with kids and without. The Carolina Panthers play their final home preseason game on Thursday night, and an Extreme Tailgate Party is planned in downtown Charlotte before the game. The Hurricane Hugo Juggling Festival, including two nights of fire juggling and a world record attempt for most simultaneous paddle ballers, runs Friday to Sunday. And don’t forget the festival’s Vaudeville Extravaganza Saturday night at Davidson College. In Charlotte, Bechtler Museum of Modern Art in Charlotte will host a tribute to jazz great Dizzy Gillespie, and both Davidson Day and Hough High have high school football games on the road.

On Saturday, a Punt, Pass & Kick competition will be at Smithville Park in Cornelius, the two-day F2C Control Line Airplane Team Racing Trials begins at David B. Waymer Flying Field in Huntersville, while Fall Into Huntersville begins at Discovery Place Kids in downtown Huntersville. On Sunday, the Davidson-based Sunday Union Band will perform at  Davidson Concert on the Green. Read the full story

Summit Songwriters Showcase Thursday features (from left) Lindy Dobbins, Mike Alicke, host Rob McHale, and Billy Jones.

By KARYN JESTER
DavidsonNews.net

Summit Coffee hosts its August Songwriters Showcase on Thursday, featuring Billy Jones, Lindy Dobbins, Rob McHale and Mike Alicke. Public radio station WFAE-FM in Charlotte hosts an open house Friday to mark its 30th anniversary. Cornelius Presbyterian Church’s Bluegrass and BBQ Festival and Cornelius’s 70s Night in the Park are both on Saturday. The weekend comes to a close with a Concert on the Green with the Rusty Knox Band.

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 “Fright Night” and “Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World” open, joining “The Help,” “Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” “Crazy, Stupid, Love,” and “Cowboys & Aliens.”

Read the full story

Rusty Knox and his band play a Concert on the Green Sunday in Davidson.

By KARYN JESTER
DavidsonNews.net

ReadDavidson kicks off the 2011 Davidson community reading series this week with a screening Tuesday of the movie “The Help,” based on this year’s book. The next Summit Songwriters Showcase is Thursday, featuring Billy Jones, Lindy Dobbins, host Rob McHale and opening act Mike Alicke. On Friday, WFAE-FM celebrates its 30th anniversary with an open house at its University City studios. It’s 70s Night in the Park on Saturday in Bailey Road Park, with Da Throwback Band, while the Rusty Knox Band plays a Davidson Concert on the GreenSunday. And just a reminder: Summit Coffee in Davidson is closed Monday while they install new counters.

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 “Fright Night” and “Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World” open, joining “The Help,” “Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” “Crazy, Stupid, Love,” and “Cowboys & Aliens.” Read the full story

Billy Jones (left) and Mason Bissett and the Pocket will play three nights this weekend.

By KARYN JESTER
DavidsonNews.net

It’s a big weekend for local music in and around Davidson. A parade of local bands plays Saturday night at the 3rd annual Barnstock music festival in Huntersville, for fans 15 and up. (It’s a fund-raiser for Davidson Volunteer Fire Department.) Local favorites Billy Jones & The Pocket – the house band at Summit Coffee in Davidson – have three nights on stage – Thursday at Summit, Friday at Old Folks Barnstock in Huntersville, and Sunday at a downtown Davidson Concert on the Green. Meanwhile, Old Folks Barnstock Friday is an over-21 version of Barnstock, also featuring the Rusty Knox Band and Wayward Suns. At midday Saturday, Cornelius Presbyterian Church’s Bluegrass and BBQ series kicks off with a performance by Homeward Bound.  And Saturday night,  it’s Country Night in the Park at Bailey Road Park with former American Idol contestant Chris Lane and his Chris Lane Band.  Our calendar at week’s end also includes a couple of  meetings: the Cornelius Parks, Arts, Recreation and Culture Commission meets Thursday and there’s a Davidson Merchants Meeting on Friday.

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 “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” opens on Friday, joining “Captain America:The First Avenger,” “Crazy, Stupid, Love,” “Cowboys & Aliens” and “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.” Read the full story

By KARYN JESTER
DavidsonNews.net

Mike Santoro is lead vocalist for The Stranger, a Billy Joel Tribute that plays a Concert on the Green Sunday.

This weekend’s fun starts at midnight Thursday, when “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2″ opens at area theaters. Stop by Char-Grill in a Harry Potter costume and get a free “magic milkshake” and other prizes for correctly answering trivia questions. In Cornelius, poet Bonita Knott will be at the Warehouse on Friday and Saturday. The Mooresville Habitat for Humanity ReStore Community Fest is on Saturday and includes a yard sale, business expo and farmer’s market. And The Stranger, a Billy Joel tribute band, will be playing a Davidson Concert on the Green Sunday.

Also, at right on this page, see our movie show times listings for Our Town Cinemas where “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2″ opens, joining “Zookeeper,” “Larry Crowne,” “Transformers: Dark of the Moon,” and “Cars 2.” Read the full story