By BILL KISER
DavidsonNews.net

It’s a week for cerebral and community-oriented pursuits in Davidson and the surrounding area, with lectures, discussions, concerts, fundraisers and the annual cleanup of Lake Norman and its shoreline.

The Davidson College Symphony Orchestra will hold the first “course” in its “Musical Meal” series of performances on Tuesday night at the Duke Family Performance Hall, while the famed Second City comedy troupe will perform at the Duke Family Performance Hall on Friday night.

The Davidson Farmer’s Market will open Saturday morning, with farmers and producers offering a variety of locally-grown and raised fruits, vegetables, baked goods, meats, flowers, herbs, plants and more. Read the full story

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

"The Help," a new film based on the best-selling book by Kathryn Stockett, opens at Our Town Cinemas this week.

By KARYN JESTER
DavidsonNews.net

The Cornelius Planning Board and the Lake Norman Marine Commission have meetings on Monday and the Davidson Board of Commissioners and the Lake Norman Community Development Council have meetings on Tuesday. Other meetings this week include Davidson’s Coalition for Fiscal Responsibility and the Lake Norman Transportation Commission. There’s an International Tournament of Champions wheelchair basketball tournament this week in Huntersville, where 250 athletes from around the world will be competing. The Baroque Orchestra of North Carolina will be playing at Davidson College Presbyterian Church on Friday and Davidson College Wildcats Fan Day is on Saturday.

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

“The Help” is also this year’s DavidsonReads community reading book.  The 7 p.m. screening next Tuesday, Aug. 16, is a kick-off for a series of events related to the book. That show is sold out, but tickets remain for all other shows, Our Town Cinemas’ Jan Black said Monday. Some book clubs may be planning to see the film. Ms. Black said reservations for groups are available by contacting the box office (see information at right).  Read the full story

Playing in the 1-year anniversary of the Songwriter Showcase at Summit Coffee on Thursday are, from left: Etta Lea Kuhlman, host Rob McHale, and E-S Guthrie.

By KARYN JESTER
DavidsonNews.net

Summer reading kicks off at the Davidson public library branch on Wednesday with stories, music and dancing on the Village Green. The Cornelius Outdoor Summer Cinema series opens this week with the movie “Where the Wild Things Are” outside JV Washam Elementary school. The Davidson Community Players will be presenting the play “Ragtime” starting Thursday at the Duke Performance Hall on the Davidson College campus. The Charlotte Symphony plays its “Musical Travels” program at the McGuire Nuclear Station on Friday and there’s a guided walking tour of Cornelius on Saturday. Meanwhile, Davidson’s Concerts on the Green are back Sunday, with the Beatles’ tribute band The Back Beat.

These events and more below, or in our day-by-day calendar at right. At right on this page, see our movie show times listings for Our Town Cinemas where “Green Lantern” opens, joining “The Hangover Part II,” “Kung Fu Panda 2,” “X-Men: First Class,” “Super 8,” and “Bridesmaids.” Read the full story

By KARYN JESTER
DavidsonNews.net

The week ahead in and around Davidson includes a variety of public meetings, a visit to Davidson College by U.S. Poet Laureate W.S. Merwin, and a screening of the documentary “Play Again” at Community School of Davidson on Wednesday. Elected officials from Cornelius, Huntersville, Mooresville and Davidson will have a four-town dinner on Thursday. And Davidson Town Day is on Saturday along with the Annual Town Day Book Sale and a 5K race to raise money for Davidson-Cornelius Child Development Center.

These events and more below, or in our day-by-day calendar at right. At right on this page, see our movie show times listings for Our Town Cinemas where “Thor” opens on Friday, joining “Fast Five,” “Water for Elephants,” “Rio,” and “Atlas Shrugged: Part I.” Read the full story

Our calendar this week is filing up with holiday-themed events, from a Dinner and Children’s Pageant at NorthCross Church Wednesday to the Come Ye Faithful Christmas Performance at Mt. Zion United Methodist Church Sunday.  It’s Take Out Tuesday at Donato’s Pizza to benefit Davidson Elementary’s Parent Teacher Organization, while the Davidson Town Board takes up an “urban chicken” ordinance and other matters Tuesday night. Meanwhile, Davidson Parks & Rec and North Meck Senior Center both have free programs for seniors.  The town planning department hosts a public workshop Wednesday and Thursday to help plan development of the 74-acre Mayes property off Davidson-Concord Road.  And Davidson Community Players’ “A Christmas Story” is in its final week.

These events and more below, or in our day-by-day calendar at right. Also at right on this page, see our movie listings for Our Town Cinemas, where they’re showing “Waiting for Superman,” “Love and Other Drugs,” “Tangled” and “Harry Potter.” And coming at week’s end: “It’s a Wonderful Life,” which runs Dec 10-16. All tickets for this classic holiday film are $7, with $1 of each ticket donated to Ada Jenkins Center, and Toys for Tots. Read the full story