Laura Wolff Sees the Soul of the Charlotte Skyline
 PHOTO CREDIT: Laura Wolff If Charlotte’s skyline has a soul, Laura Wolff, gameday photographer for the Charlotte Knights, is in the right place to find it.
“I love the Charlotte skyline because it is always changing,” she said. “Yes, they are always adding buildings to it, but the appearance also changes based on the conditions. [T]he soul of our skyline is the vibrancy.”
Wolff was recently featured on an episode of WFAE’s podcast, FAQ City, answering the question, “Where are the best places to take pictures of the skyline?” And, that prompted us to reach out and learn more of the legend behind the lens.
Click here for a bigger picture on how Laura got to Charlotte and fell in with the city, the skyline and the creative community.
 PHOTO CREDIT: Jessica Baryla Liz Clasen-Kelly is Finding Creative Ways to End Homelessness
This was always going to be a big year for Liz Clasen-Kelly, chief executive officer of Roof Above, an organization working to end homelessness in Charlotte.
Developing creative and innovative initiatives to offer immediate housing and, ultimately, permanent housing for members of the homeless community is a challenge in a good year. But, trying to merge two seasoned nonprofits in the middle of a pandemic is something completely different.
We asked Clasen-Kelly, honored with the 2020 Community Voice Award from Interact Studio last week, about the three biggest challenges she and her team at Roof Above are facing right now. Here’s part of what she had to say:
“Housing is the solution to homelessness, but affordable housing is disappearing from our community. In 2010, 51% of all apartments rented for less than $800, and that dropped to 25% in 2018. We must find ways to protect the affordable housing that exists and to create additional affordability.”
Six Local Nonprofits Chosen for 12 Months of Intensive Instruction
Next Stage Nonprofit Planning & Consulting has announced the six members of the 2021 cohort of CULTIVATE, a yearlong virtual learning program established in 2018 to help leaders of local nonprofits prepare for long-term sustainability and community impact. Members of the 2021 CULTIVATE cohort are Adoption Support Alliance, Carolina Youth Coalition, Do Greater Foundation, GenOne CLT, Project Bolt and She Built This City.
“The 2021 cohort is diverse in organizational size, mission focus and background — but they each articulated a clear strategic opportunity to explore during their time in CULTIVATE and a desire to operate in collaboration with other nonprofits,” said Caylin Haldeman, director of CULTIVATE.
C3Lab awarded sculptor Meredith Dallas top prize for her piece, “My Spine,” at their juried art show, Intersection. The exhibition is open to the public through Jan. 31. Read more.
Social Venture Partners Charlotte has selected nine of its SEED20 alumni to participate in Seed 2 Harvest, a virtual training series where coaches will help each organization produce strategies and short videos to promote their work. The program will also offer three public, online discussions with the Seed 2 Harvest class about their work in Charlotte and the lessons they’ve learned. Read more.
Meredith Connelly, the artist in charge of the annual “Lights” installation at the U.S. National Whitewater Center, announced an internship for a local creative interested in working and learning about fabrication, private commissions, public art projects and functioning as a small business. A modest stipend is available. Read more.
 PHOTO CREDIT: Logan Cyrus PODCAST: Celebrating 5 Years of Creative Troublemaking
This week marks the fifth birthday of the Charlotte chapter of CreativeMornings (CM/CLT). What started as an effort to gather people together once a month to share, laugh, learn and celebrate Charlotte’s creative community has inspired many collaborations, as well as the development of the HUG micro-grant program, Queen City Quiz Show and Charlotte Is Creative, the nonprofit parent of The Biscuit.
To mark the occasion, Matt Olin and Tim Miner, local organizers of CM/CLT and founders of Charlotte Is Creative, sat down to reflect on how the last five years have changed their lives, what they’ve learned about Charlotte’s creative community and the challenges that lie ahead in the next five years. Listen here.
 Click this photo to watch the “12 Days of the QC.” VIDEO: Who Needs 23 Birds? We Want 12 Days of the QC.
‘Tis the season to sing a really, really, really long holiday song about receiving 12 sets of gifts nobody actually wants. Sure, five golden rings would be nice. Heck, we’d settle for just two (our hope burns eternal, Panthers and Hornets.)
But, who needs the rest? Leaping lords and pipers piping? A collection of 23 birds!?!?! No thanks. To better reflect what December is like in Charlotte, we ordered up a new song for the season, “The 12 Days of the QC.” So, grab your sweet tea and click the button below for a listen. This parody video was made by Charlotte Star Room and features singers from Carolina Voices. Tune in to hear a free virtual performance of their Singing Christmas Tree on December 12 at 7:00PM on their Web site.
 Click the image to watch this QC@3 segment. VIDEO: Three (OK Five, Really) of our New Best Friends
One of our great joys at The Biscuit is meeting new Queen City creatives. While we’re not bumping into new friends in the real world these days, we are finding them on Instagram — folks like photographer Bae Hart and street artist Happy Mutants. Last week, we got to introduce a few more people to Mary King at WBTV’s QC Life. Watch the segment below and make three new best friends.
Know of a Queen City creative we should know? Tell us here.
 PHOTO CREDIT: Ernesto Moreno Gallery of #COUNTONMECLT Murals
There are many ways to fight a pandemic. One way is with a paintbrush.
Over the past few months, we have shared information about Charlotte artists using their skills to artfully encourage the public to wash their hands, wait six feet apart and wear masks. All of this was part of the #CountOnMeCLT initiative launched by Mecklenburg County.
Now, all four windows — scattered across East, West and South Charlotte and Uptown — are ready and waiting for you. Maybe it’s time to go on a Photo Safari of your own.
Hear from the artists and see directions to (and photos of) all four windows.
We’re willing to bet you’ve been to NoDa many times. (If you haven’t yet, finish reading this, stop what you’re doing and get over there immediately.) But, have you taken a left on 36th Street at The Evening Muse to discover one of the coolest old signs in Charlotte?
On the right, just beyond the light rail overpass, the Herrin Bros. Coal & Ice sign awaits you, faded and weather-worn with its plucky devil raising his pitchfork high as a reminder of Charlotte’s past.
It’s cool. Really cool. In fact, it’s been one of the symbols of Charlotte’s coolness since 1929, when neighbors relied on Herrin’s ice for refrigeration and coal for heating.
While Herrin’s is still in operation, making ice for restaurants, events and more, the site is slated for a future mixed-use development. We suggest you light a fire under yourself and get out there to see (and photograph) the Herrin Bros. sign for yourself.
DIRECTIONS: 315 E 36th St., Charlotte, N.C. 28206
Don’t go ’round hungry. If you missed the last batch of The Biscuit, don’t worry. We’ve kept it warm for you. This batch featured:
- Info on 10 of the best cookie bakeries in the Queen City
- A call for mural artists from the City of Charlotte
- How to tell Mecklenburg County that arts funding is critical to you
- A podcast chat with Chef Ron Alhert of the Community Culinary School of Charlotte
- 5 Ridiculous Questions with artist Lo’Vonia Parks
- Finding “Happy Mutants” on the streets
- The history of the two “shotgun houses” on 7th Street
Click here to dig in, y‘all.
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