Our Town Cinemas has "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" and other offerings this weekend.

By BILL KISER
DavidsonNews.net

OK, a show of hands — how many readers made resolutions for the New Year? And how many of you have kept them so far? If you’re in that majority that made (and broke) resolutions, make up for it by resolving to take advantage of the activities available in our area this weekend.

For the civic-minded, the second in a series of public planning workshops on Davidson’s plans for development along the proposed Red Line Regional Rail Line will be held Thursday night at the Davidson Town Hall.

Summit Coffee in downtown Davidson will have the grand opening of its new upstairs Freckled Dog Pub on Friday evening, with plenty of microbrews and music to go around. Summit Coffee also will also have live music on Thursday and Saturday nights.

A teetotaler (or just someone who vowed to lay off the hard stuff after a wild New Year’s celebration)? Then check out Tea Time at Wooden Stone Gallery on Saturday afternoon in Davidson. You can try out an assortment of teas, and sample cupcakes made by SweetCakes of Cornelius. Read the full story

Charlotte Children's Choir performs Sunday afternoon at St. Alban's.

By BILL KISER
DavidsonNews.net

While Mother Nature can’t seem to make up her mind what season it is — is it winter or spring? — the coming weekend has plenty of opportunities to get into the holiday spirit. On Friday, Community School of Davidson hosts a “Gifts for the Greater Good” fair. On Sunday, teens at Davidson College Presbyterian Church re-enact the story of Christ’s birth at the annual White Gift Christmas Pageant. That’s followed by a soup and sandwich supper. Meanwhile, the 80-member Charlotte Children’s Choir will perform a concert of holiday carols Sunday afternoon in the Music at St. Alban’s series. In other holiday events, Davidson Day School’s early childhood, kindergarten and first-grade classes will showcase the holiday traditions from around the world during the school’s second-annual Season of Light on Saturday morning; the Cornelius Town Hall will hold a holiday program for special-needs people and their families on Saturday afternoon. And Santa Claus will make a breakfast appearance at Davidson’s Lake Norman Cottage on Sunday. Read the full story

Paul Studtmann with the damaged "Falling Down Man" by Charlie Spear. (Bill Giduz photo)

Can damage actually increase the value of a piece of art? A Davidson College philosophy professor thinks so, and he’ll test the theory in a benefit auction this Friday, Dec. 9., at Summit Coffee in Davidson. The event begins at 8 p.m.

Philosophy professor Paul Studtmann will auction a 2-foot by 3-foot painting complete with its badly bowed steel frame. The painting was damaged in transit from the studio of artist Charlie Spear of Indianapolis to Prof. Studtmann in Davidson.

The acrylic-on-wood image titled “Falling Down Man” depicts a marionette heaped on the ground, which Mr. Spear intended as a statement about the plight of the homeless. Read the full story

The Summit Twilight 5K will be downtown Friday, with running, music and a downtown festival. Click for info.

By BILL KISER
DavidsonNews.Net

It’s a weekend made for the jocks in your house with a number of sporting events — for participants and spectators alike. Football tops the list, with high schools well into the postseason and Davidson College closing out its 2011 schedule at Homecoming. Meanwhile, Summit Coffee has the first of a planned series of Twilight 5K festivals in downtown Davidson. Read the full story

Ballet Hispanico performs at Davidson College Wednesday.

By BILL KISER
DavidsonNews.net

It’s the first week of November, and as the mercury begins its autumn slide toward winter weather, events in and around Davidson head indoors. Ballet Hispanico, the nation’s preeminent Hispanic-American dance group, performs Wednesday, while the Grammy-nominated Plain White T’s are on stage Friday, both at Davidson College’s Duke Family Performance Hall. Hough High School’s theater department will perform “Our Town”, the Thornton Wilder classic, on Thursday through Saturday nights; and the Connie Company — the Davidson Community Players’ youth program — will open its eight-show run of “Schoolhouse Rock Live!” with two shows daily on Saturday and Sunday. Read the full story

Dustin Edge played the Wonderland Ballroom in Washington last week. Click for more photos on his website. (Alicia Gutierrez photo)

Dustin Edge, the former front man for Davidson-based touring band Cast Iron Filter, will reunite with some of his former band mates for a free concert Thursday night at Summit Coffee on Main Street.

He’ll be joined by other former Cast Iron Filter members Mike Orlando (mandolin), Mason Bissett (bass guitar), and Tim Helfrich (drums). The show begins at 8 p.m. at Summit, 128 S. Main St. Read the full story