Oh, bless your heart! New cloud-based voice service serves up CLT information … and Southern sass.
Sure to be the hottest Charlotte gift this holiday season!
We may not have won the HQ2 bid in 2018, but Charlotte is getting a great consolation prize: the first generation of Sharona Royale, just in time for the holiday season! This Charlotte-centric virtual assistant is perfectly calibrated to help you navigate life in the Queen City … served up with Southern charm and attitude. Order now and enjoy the premium edition with “OGClt” and “Carpetbagger” modes. You and your family will enjoy real-time information on Charlotte news, sports, traffic, entertainment, directions and more. Watch it now.
This is a parody video produced by Charlotte Is Creative and Charlotte Star Room.
Park Road Shopping Center Sign Restoration
On the way to a morning meeting at Amelie’s at the Park Road Shopping Center Backlot, we rolled up on the center’s vintage sign monument being disassembled (all 400 pieces of it.) But, worry not, we have it under good authority that this staple of period design isn’t going anywhere. It’s being restored to its former glory. We’ll let you know when we hear more about when it will be reinstalled.
More Pride on the East Side
In other news related to vintage shopping centers, Charlotte artist Sharon Dowell, with assistance from Irisol Gonzales, has completed a new mural at the Eastway Crossing Shopping Center. It complements an existing Eastside Pride mural artist Rosalia Torres-Weiner added to the center earlier this year. Stay tuned to tomorrow’s Biscuit for an interview with Sharon about the project.
Each month, Charlotte Is Creative awards HUG (Helpful Unfettered Gifts) micro-grants to Charlotte creatives doing incredible work across the city. At $250, a HUG is a little love bomb of cash to nudge individuals or organizations (for-profit or nonprofit) working on community-facing creative initiatives in the Charlotte area.
Coach McNeely is Crushing It
Fresh off his amazing recovery from a double lung transplant, HUG recipient “Coach” William R. McNeely, Jr. is at it again. Coach is taking his Do Greater Foundation on the road with the Do Greater Creative Lab, a mobile tech truck, designed to provide underserved communities with access to resources students need to be college and career ready in whatever they pursue after high school. Think of it as a mobile Apple Store classroom that teaches design, coding, photography, videography, leadership, entrepreneurship and character building skills. Coach used the HUG he got in September to buy the Lab’s first iPad. Learn more about the Do Greater Foundation.
You can never have too many HUGS, so here are a few more “HUGgees” in action.
- James Carlevatti, owner of The Little Studio, was in the second class of HUG recipients in 2017. He used his HUG to help buy a second pottery wheel. Today, he has expanded his classes and his space … and WBTV chronicled his story on QC Morning.
- Charlotte theatre maven, Anne Lambert of Charlotte’s Off-Broadway, got a HUG to help produce her sister’s original play, “Confidence” (which premiered in Charlotte last fall), in New York. And, now … it’s running on 42nd Street through Dec. 7.
- Last month, Benjamin Hurst, an Earth and Environmental science teacher at Providence High School, got a HUG for his vegan kitchen show on YouTube, “Vegan Stevens” … and, boy, is he cooking. Learn how to make Venezuelan arepas vegan style.
Read about more about what other HUGgees did with their micro-grant. If you’ve got a creative project that needs a little love, apply for a HUG.
‘Tis the season of events in Charlotte. Okay, we hear you, it’s always the season of events in Charlotte. With so many choices, what to do? Here are some of our faves coming up this weekend.
Local Comic Shop Day – November 23 @ Heroes Aren’t Hard To Find
Excelsior and long live the local comic shop! Local Comic Shop Day is a day focused on celebrating (you guessed it) local comic shops. Our “go-to comic cave” is the #OGclt Heroes Aren’t Hard To Find in Elizabeth. It’s a place where you can find the classics, the new stuff and indie comics. Opened by comic shop legend Shelton Drum in 1980, Heroes will guide you to unique art styles and stories of countless artists and writers. This Saturday, Heroes is the place to be, with exclusive “Local Comic Shop Day” comics available for purchase and the fellas behind Cartoonist Kayfabe, Ed Piskor and Jim Rugg, signing autographs. For more information, click here.
Make plans to return to the scene of the crime on November 30 for their Toys For Tots Annual Superhero Toy Drive. Donate and be a child’s very own superhero this Christmas.
More Events This Weekend
Thank you for being a puppet! Your heart is true, you’re a pal and made of feeeeeeellllllttttt.
The Golden Girls Show: A Puppet Parody
November 21-23 – Booth Playhouse
Bring your Thanksgiving feast to the next level.
National Farm City Week
November 23 – Charlotte Regional Farmers Market
Instead of giving your money to Best Buy and Walmart next Friday, support over 20 local vendors this Sunday.
Hot Stuff Holiday Market
November 24 – Petra’s
If you like your tunes like you like your food — “southern fried” — then this is the Sunday kickback you need to be at.
The Southern Fried Kickback
November 24 – Recess CLT
Let Charlotte’s master mixologist make you a drink. Then, ask him to make you another.
Bob Peters Bourbon Bash
November 24 – Skylark Social Club
You hear (and read) our Charlotte stories. Now, we want to hear yours.
If you have something you want to share about your experience in the Queen City — a hidden gem you found, a person you know who’s doing amazing things here, a story about what brought you to Charlotte, opinions on what makes this city great (or what frustrates you) — let us know. Give our Google voice mailbox a call (704) 835-0193 and let it rip. We may follow up with you for a story, pop it up on our social feeds or use your recording on the weekly Biscuit podcast.
We think anywhere you can add art and a splash of color to the Queen City, you should. Charlotte artist Laurie Smithwick agrees with us. She’s the mastermind behind the “Amplify the Signal” project, which used a grant from the South End Creative Lab to transform boring utility boxes on South Boulevard into works of art. Smithwick helped chose 8 artists from over 54 submissions to have their work printed on vinyl wraps and attached to the utility boxes. Each artist worked to make their art relate to the South End landmarks surrounding their assigned box. Our favorite? This whimsical depiction of a dog perfectly located next to Long Animal Hospital, a veterinarian clinic that’s provided care to pets in Charlotte since 1948. This piece by artist Chase Brannock is named “Dog Walkers.”
This Queen City exploration is powered by OrthoCarolina.
DIDJA’ MISS THE LAST BATCH?
Don’t go around hungry, y’all. If you missed the last batch of the Biscuit, don’t worry. We’ve kept it warm for you. Click here to dig in!
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