Hickory – Catawba Science Center is excited to announce a free event on the day of the solar eclipse. From 1:00 – 3:00 pm on Monday August 21st, there will be various activities for families to participate in surrounding...
Read MoreHickory – According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a group of nuns is called a “superfluity.” Artistic Director Pamela Livingstone has assembled a superior superfluity of supporting nuns for the Hickory Community...
Read MorePinhole Projection Hands-on Pinhole Projection A convenient method for safe viewing of the partially eclipsed Sun is pinhole projection. You simply pass sunlight through a small opening (for example, a hole punched in an index...
Read MoreHickory – For the first time in 99 years a total solar eclipse will take place in the United States on Monday, August 21. Lenoir-Rhyne University is taking part in the event in a unique way, as a team of students prepare to...
Read MoreHickory – On Monday, August 21, at 10:30 am, there will be a special Sun & Stars Story Time for children of all ages. We will read books about the sun, moon and universe and look at a yardstick sized model of an...
Read MoreRosman, NC – NOTE: Hickory and the surrounding area will never be in total darkness (“totality”) during Monday’s eclipse. It is dangerous to look directly at the sun during the eclipse without special eclipse glasses. This...
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This column is a Chainsaw Classic, previously seen in FOCUS. Saw will be back next week! There are...
Read MoreHickory – On Saturday, August 5th, before a crowd of over 200 people, the Hickory Community Theatre presented its annual Kay Awards to honor volunteers from the 2016-2017 Season. A total of 11 awards were presented, nine...
Read MoreHickory – OUTright Youth of Catawba Valley is holding a fun, Amazing Race themed fundraiser on August 19, from 9 a.m.–4:00 p.m. at 748 4th St. SW., Hickory, NC. Modeled after CBS’s Amazing Race, OUTright’s Amazing Race for...
Read MoreRaleigh, NC – In anticipation of the solar eclipse scheduled to take place on Monday, August 21, the State Highway Patrol is placing an emphasis on safe travel. Due to the expected number of people taking part in the event,...
Read MoreRosman, NC – Astronomers at the Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute (PARI) remind the public of the upcoming annual Perseid Meteor Shower. Meteors result from particles of dust causing the atmosphere to glow as the particles...
Read MoreBethlehem, NC – The Bethlehem Branch Library will feature Bethlehem Artist Kate Worm in a special exhibition of watercolor and gouache painting featuring over 20 studio works of Alexander County creeks. The exhibition will...
Read MoreHickory – The 2017 Footcandle Film Festival is coming to the Drendel Auditorium at the SALT Block the weekend of September 22nd to 24th. This is the third year of the film festival and will bring thirty-three films for...
Read MoreHickory – Two actors from Rent, Clay Hennessee and Juan Holquin, are working together again in Sister Act, the opening musical and the new season at the Hickory Community Theatre. Performances start on September 1st and...
Read MoreValdese, NC – On the second Saturday of each August, Valdese, North Carolina celebrates its heritage with the Waldensian Festival. Now in its 42nd year, the festival will be held on August 11th and 12th. This annual event...
Read MoreOscar winning director Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker) is back with her latest film based on historical events, Detroit, and it’s a welcome return to form. After a five-year layoff since her last film Zero Dark Thirty, Bigelow...
Read MoreAnnabelle: Creation, the latest in Warner Brothers/New Line’s Conjuring franchise, is about as good as you could hope in the second film outing featuring the demonic doll of the film’s title. The character was first introduced...
Read MoreHickory – Who is ready for a community PRIDE that celebrates everyone? We are! So join us September 2, 2017 for 3rd Annual PRIDEPALOOZA. This year PRIDEPALOOZA is joined by Special Guest: Comedian, Actor, Singer, & Badass...
Read MoreHickory – The Hickory Community Theatre is holding its annual Kay Awards and volunteer celebration this Saturday, August 5th at 8pm in the Jeffers Theatre. The Theatre encourages all members of the community to come out...
Read MoreValdese, NC – On the second Saturday of each August, Valdese, North Carolina celebrates its heritage with the Waldensian Festival. Now in its 41st year, the festival will be held on August 11th and 12th. This annual event...
Read MoreWarner: Unforgettable (2017) (* ½) This turgid tale of a psychopathic woman stalking her ex husband and his family is anything but unforgettable. Another nail in the coffin that is actress Katherine Heigl’s big screen movie...
Read MoreIn last week’s article we paid homage, in memory and tale, to the late great George A. Romero (February 4, 1940 – July 16, 2017), whose cult classic horror film Night of the Living Dead unleashed an undead horde upon an...
Read MoreI guess it’s a good thing I’d already heard about the now infamous pie-eating scene in director David Lowery’s film A Ghost Story. If you haven’t heard about it yet then allow me to indulge you. It’s a sequence running nearly...
Read MoreHickory – Sister Act, a musical based on the hit film starring Whoopi Goldberg, which opens September 1st at the Hickory Community Theatre, is a “fish out of water” comedy where a lounge singer who witnessed a murder is...
Read MoreMorganton, NC – One of the most important yet least-known chapters of American history took place just north of Morganton, NC. You can celebrate this 450-year-old piece of Carolina history at the Remembering the Encounter:...
Read MoreHickory – The second production in the RugBug Theatre’s summer series at the Hickory Community Theatre, Goldilocks and Her New Pals, begins its six show run on Thursday, August 3, at 2:30pm, in the Firemen’s Kitchen....
Read MoreHickory – A fundraiser for the Hickory Soup Kitchen hopes to raise $5000 with a dinner and live music event on August 12, 6pm till 11pm. The Soup ’N Sounds Benefit is Sean Jarman’s 50th Birthday Bash, and Sean is...
Read MoreHickory – The Hickory Parks and Recreation Department announces registration for Men’s and Women’s Fall Soccer leagues. Four teams are needed in order to have the league. Cost to enter is $242.00 per team, and must be paid...
Read MoreHickory, NC – There are just three more chances to catch Dragon Stew, presented by the Hickory Community Theatre’s RugBug Theatre program. Performances are this weekend, Thursday at 2:30pm, Friday at 11:30am and Saturday...
Read MoreHickory – On Saturday, August 19, Safe Harbor Rescue Mission will be holding their 4th Annual Bedspread Derby Race, and you won’t want to miss out on all the FUN! Grab 4 of your friends/coworkers, build a bed on wheels,...
Read MoreIt is just before dawn on the morning of July 16, 2019. The dim light of early morning illuminates long dead fluorescents dangling overhead. Pain shoots through my back and limbs in protest of the previous night’s sleeping...
Read MoreConsistency has always been a litmus test as to whether a film passes or fails on my terms. Take the latest graphic novel/comic book adaptation Atomic Blonde, for instance. Here is a film where in one scene a character gets...
Read MoreThe life and times of folk painter Maud Lewis forms the basis of Irish filmmaker Aisling Walsh’s biopic Maudie, a quietly affecting tale that is more than elevated by the performances of its two leads, Sally Hawkins and Ethan...
Read MoreHickory – Artistic Director Pamela Livingstone has announced her cast for the Hickory Community Theatre’s production of the musical, Sister Act, based on the popular film starring Whoopi Goldberg. The story is about a...
Read MoreHudson, NC – The classic Broadway musical, Annie will be presented as the 2017 Fall Hudson Dinner Theatre Production. The play will be performed on Thursday through Saturday, October 19th, 20th, 21st, 26th, 27th and 28th...
Read MoreHickory – Hickory Oktoberfest 2017 is excited to announce that John Németh will be the headliner for the Pavilion Stage on Friday, October 13, at 9:30 pm. Don’t try to snatch him back and hold him, he’s a man on the move....
Read MoreHickory – Now through August 10, 2017, Catawba County United Way (CCUW) is conducting its annual Stuff the Bus school supply drive. With United Way’s focus on education, this community-wide collection drive of school...
Read MoreHickory – The Catawba Valley Paralegal Association (CVPA) will hold its monthly meeting on Tuesday, August 8, 2017 at 6:00 p.m. at the Catawba Valley Community College west wing Room 120 in Hickory, NC. Sandy Costner,...
Read MoreHickory – Lenoir-Rhyne University, a leader in nursing education, recently announced plans to launch its Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) and Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP) in the fall of 2018. The DNP will be LRU’s...
Read MoreStatesville, NC – Start 2 Finish is proud to announce the 2017 Crossroads Classic bicycle race and festival will take place in Statesville, North Carolina August 4 – 6. Downtown Statesville Development Corporation and the...
Read MoreHickory – Michael Beadle, author of 3 collections of poetry, Touring Writer in Residence for NC Schools, and Chair of the Gilbert Chappell Distinguished Poets Series for the NC Poetry Society will teach a workshop on...
Read MoreIt’s usually a good barometer as to how emotionally invested I am in a film when I repeatedly have to remind myself not to let my mind drift and to focus on what’s at hand. I mention that due to the fact that I can’t recall the...
Read MoreTo paraphrase a line of dialogue from the nearly fifty-year old initial entry in the series, those ‘damn dirty apes’ are back. War for the Planet of the Apes, in case you aren’t in the know or have forgotten, is the third and...
Read MoreThe days begin rather early here at the House o’ Saw during the course of the average 40+ hour workweek. The morning is greeted (and despised) by the eldest member of the clan (yours truly) rising sometime shortly after 5 am and...
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Hickory – The Symphony is pleased to announce their 53rd season. Under the baton of Maestro John Gordon Ross, the award-winning Western Piedmont Symphony will perform many of your classical favorites. For example, George...
Read MoreConover, NC – Sipes Orchard Home of Conover was recently awarded a grant for $20,000 from the Ronald McDonald House Charities of North Carolina (RMHC of NC) to provide funds to support the purchase of two vehicles to...
Read MoreHickory – The first show in Hickory Community Theatre’s summer RugBug Theatre season, Dragon Stew, begins performances today, July 20, at 2:30pm. Tickets are $5 at the door. Cookie and the Queen will do anything to beat...
Read MoreHudson, NC – On Monday, July 24th, at 6:30 PM, the Town of Hudson is holding auditions for a dog to play Sandy in our upcoming fall production of the classic musical, Annie. The auditions will be held in the auditorium of...
Read MoreHickory – A group of local volunteers are planning the sixth year of TEDxHickory, a full-day event to be held November 18, 2017 at the The Belk Centrum at Lenoir-Rhyne University. The independently organized event —...
Read MoreHickory – On Sunday, July 23, 2017 at 3pm and again at 6pm, Hickory International Council will present Folkmoot Festival dancers. The second show is a sponsored show and has only 100 tickets available to the public. ...
Read MoreHickory – Are you amazing, love challenges and get excited about cash prizes?! If so,gather up teammates and enter in OUTright Youth’s Amazing Race around Hickory on Saturday, August 19, 9am-4pm. Patterned after the CBS...
Read MoreHudson, NC – The classic Broadway musical, Annie will be presented as the 2017 Fall Hudson Dinner Theatre Production. The play will be performed on Thursday through Saturday, October 19th, 20th, 21st, 26th, 27th and 28th...
Read MoreHickory – July means time for the beach! Let library staff help you create a pair of beach-inspired candle holders using a glass cylinders, sisal rope and shells on Saturday, July 22nd 10:00 am – noon. Glass...
Read MoreHickory – Registration for Bumble Bee Soccer is now underway at the Hickory Parks and Recreation Department Administrative Offices located at 1451 8th St. Dr. NE, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Monday through...
Read MoreSam Elliot is a great actor, no question about it. I’ve often wondered what kind of career he’d have had if things had gotten started for him about thirty years earlier. As luck would have it he was just starting out as the...
Read MoreThe critical darling of last winter’s Sundance film fest, The Big Sick, has finally arrived and I’m pleased to report that it lives up to any and all expectations. This is yet another wonderful example of a studio-Amazon Studios...
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Long gone is the evening, as darkness falls across the land, the midnight hour close at hand. Yes,...
Read MoreHickory – Director Murray Phillips has just announced his casting choices for Dragon Stew, the first show in this summer’s RugBug Theatre season. In the story of Dragon Stew, Drew the Dragon has to work out a plan so she...
Read MoreCharlotte, NC – Two bridges in Cleveland County and five in Lincoln County will be undergoing replacement, thanks to an $8.5 million contract awarded by the N.C. Department of Transportation to R.E. Burns and Sons Co. of...
Read MoreHickory – The Hickory Community Theatre is holding auditions on Monday and Tuesday, July 10th and 11th at 7:00pm for the musical, Sister Act, based on the popular film starring Whoopi Goldberg. Actors interested in being...
Read MoreNewton, NC – The annual Soldiers Reunion 30-60-100 Mile Century Bike Ride will be held Sunday, Aug. 20. The event begins with a mass start at the Newton Recreation Center at 8 a.m. All bicycle rides will be conducted at each...
Read MoreConover, NC – Hartman’s Haven Dog Rescue is challenging the community to come together and collect one million pennies to benefit rescued dogs in our area. Hartman’s will gladly accept them loose or rolled, all money collected...
Read MoreNewton, NC – The Newton Parks and Recreation Department will sponsor the 28th Annual Southern Biscuit Soldiers Reunion 5K Run/Walk and One-Mile Fun Run on Saturday, Aug. 19. The family friendly event will begin at the Newton...
Read MoreHickory – Hickory’s Oktoberfest 2017 is now accepting applications for Arts and Crafts vendors. Celebrating its 32nd year, this annual festival will be held October 13, 14, and 15, 2017 in Downtown Hickory NC. Estimated...
Read MoreHickory – Hickory’s 12-year-old reading series, Poetry Hickory, will feature Kannapolis artist and poet, Shane Manier, at Taste Full Beans Coffeehouse & Gallery in downtown Hickory on Tuesday, July 11. Manier is the...
Read MoreIt’s surprising that the sixth Spider Man film, second reboot and third attempt at launching a Spidey franchise in fifteen years (ponder that one, if you will), turns out to be the slightest and most inconsequential of all of...
Read MoreWell…here we are again. Welcome to the 7th anniversary of what is proving to be the most pointless writing attempts to make the world a better place of this author’s career. Yes, as you can tell by this week’s collage of...
Read MoreBy Adam Long Lionsgate: Dirty Dancing (2017) (**) The recent made for TV redo of this beloved 80s milestone is even more ammunition in the argument against remakes. It does add nearly twenty minutes to the original’s running...
Read MoreHickory – Summer is here and it is time for the Fourth of July holiday. For many people, this holiday means food, fun, and fireworks. Yes, fireworks can be fun; but they also can be very dangerous and some are illegal. ...
Read MoreHickory – In their June 20 meeting, City Council approved a policy that would allow permitted mobile food vendors to operate in certain City of Hickory parks and some downtown parking lots. In an effort to craft a broad food...
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Mile High Fourth of July, Banner Elk and Beech Mountain, June 30 – July 4 For the second...
Read MoreHickory – The Hickory Community Theatre’s production of Chapter Two comes to a close this weekend. The four final performances of the Neil Simon comedy are Thursday though Sunday, June 29 to July 2 in the Firemen’s...
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Hickory – The Hickory Crawdads, in conjunction with the Wright Family and Habitat for...
Read MoreWriter/director Edgar Wright’s Baby Driver is a welcome change in the sea of sameness that passes for mainstream cinemas these days. With the preponderance of super hero extravaganzas and sequels that litter multiplexes on a...
Read MoreDirector Donald Siegel’s 1971 film The Beguiled has always been one of the undiscovered classics of its decade in my humble opinion. In spite of the iconic Clint Eastwood getting top billing in the film, and the fact it was...
Read MoreHOLY CRAPOLA!!! The offense and resentment of every over-reactive, feminist advocate and activist, just burned through this paper. Then proceeded to travel back in time, through the printing process, passed the editing board (if...
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Nearly twenty-one years after the death of actor-rapper Tupac Shakur, the long awaited biopic detailing his brief and troubled life has finally arrived. One would think that a project with such a long gestation period couldn’t...
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All right, before we go diving head-first into the deep end of a shallow pool, a quick note to you...
Read MoreHickory – Hickory Downtown Development Association (HDDA) has been designated as an accredited Main Street America™ program for meeting rigorous performance standards set by the National Main Street Center. Each year, the...
Read MoreHickory – The Hickory Community Theatre closes out its 68th Season with Neil Simon’s semi-autobiographical comedy, Chapter Two. The comic romance opens this weekend, with performances June 22nd through the 25th, the...
Read MoreNewton, NC – Bring your lawn chairs and blankets and enjoy a free movie as the Newton Recreation Department kicks off the annual Movies in the Park series on June 23. The free movies begin at dusk at Southside Park, located at...
Read MoreNewton, NC – The Catawba County Library is hosting an exclusive post-World War II exhibit at the Sherrills Ford-Terrell Branch June 23rd – July 3rd. The 15-panel exhibit focuses on the relief efforts for child Holocaust...
Read MoreMorganton, NC – The site of the first European inland settlement in the United States will be open to the public during the annual Field Day at the historic Joara site on Saturday, June 24. This summer marks the 450th...
Read MoreHickory – “One of the biggest challenges local artists face is making people aware of what they make and where you can find them or their work,” says Teena Stewart. That’s a primary reason Teena Stewart and Anne Fredley...
Read MoreNewton, NC – The Catawba County Library is a great place to learn, act, and grow as they host the second year of the Advanced Gardener Series at two of their branch locations throughout 2017. The upcoming presentation of the...
Read MoreWinston-Salem, NC – On his first bookstore tour in 25 years, John Grisham will visit Bookmarks at its new location at 634 West Fourth Street #110 in Winston-Salem on Wednesday, July 12 to promote his new novel, Camino Island....
Read MoreHickory – The next eight-week Furniture Fundamentals class required to enter the Catawba Valley Furniture Academy will start July 18 and is open for registration. Taught four days a week from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., the class...
Read MoreTaylorsville, NC – Free summer concerts are back! The Hiddenite Arts and Heritage Center’s “Summer on the Square Free Concert Series” kicks off June 16th with The Ya Yas! Don’t miss it – 7:00...
Read MoreNewton, NC – The Newton Recreation Department kicks off the annual Movies in the Park series on Friday, June 23, with a free showing of “The Lego Batman Movie.” The movie will begin at dusk at Southside Park, located at 1775...
Read MoreHickory – In the Hickory Community Theatre’s upcoming production of Neil Simon’s Chapter Two, running June 22nd through July 2nd, newcomer Leslie Garvett takes on her very first role, opposite Bob Smith, an actor who’s...
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Newton, NC – The Catawba County Library has launched their Summer Learning Program for 2017 with...
Read MoreHickory – An Opening Celebration for the Beer-Type Logos installation by Hickory, NC graphic designer, Matt Everley will be held on Saturday, June 17, from 7:00-9:00 PM in Hickory Museum of Art’s Entrance Gallery....
Read MoreValdese, NC – Valdese Family Friday Night Summer Series will continue their season with Emily Minor, a former American Idol Contestant, on June 16th at 7:00pm in the Wells Fargo/Town Parking lot in downtown. North Carolina...
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Before we begin, a serious moment of reverent silence. It seems ironically coincidental and...
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In Paris Can Wait, Diane Lane’s character, Anne Lockwood, is a small town girl from the American...
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One of the most clichéd tropes in horror films is the dream sequence that turns out to be a fake...
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Hickory – Music In The Mill proudly presents Adam Craig with opening act, Devon Gilfillian on...
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Catawba Co., NC – Eat, Drink, and Be Local is back for the 4th annual celebration of...
Read MoreNewton, NC – The final show of The Green Room Community Theatre’s 30th season continues this Friday, June 9, at the Old Post Office Playhouse. This hilarious comedy will be in the 90-seat Black Box Theatre, so get your...
Read MoreHickory – Join the Downtown Hickory Farmers Market & Merchants on Saturday June 10 from 8am – 1pm for our Lavender Festival! Smokey Mountain Lavender Farms is hauling in fresh cut lavender bundles. Bob Sinclair &...
Read MoreHickory – Enjoy an uplifting hour of women power and an appetizing lunch on Tuesday, June 13, from Noon til 1pm at the Women’s Resource Center. The guest speaker will be Diane Albers, author of “Planet Heartbreak.” The...
Read MoreHickory – Friday, June 9, the City of Hickory’s 2017 Sails Original Music Series will feature Ed Snodderly Band, a folk-music band born and raised in Tennessee. Snodderly is a singer-songwriter immersed in country and bluegrass...
Read MoreI really like Debra Winger and I’ve missed seeing her onscreen in the sixteen years since we last saw her in a theatrical feature. Her superb performance in The Lovers—one of the best things about the film and something that...
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Hickory – Sessions of Tai Chi Classes will be offered at Patrick Beaver Memorial Library on Monday evenings at 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. from June 19th – July 10th and July 24th – August 14th. This low-impact exercise takes you through a...
Read MoreHickory – Join us for a program with author Kao Kalia Yang at Patrick Beaver Memorial Library on Tuesday, June 20, 2017 at 6:30 p.m. Yang is the author of the award-winning book, The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir (Coffee...
Read MoreNewton, NC – The Newton Elks Lodge #2042 will host a Flag Day Service on Wednesday, June 14th at their West J Street, Newton location. The service will celebrate the history of the seven official flags that have flown over...
Read MoreHickory – Join the Western Piedmont Symphony orchestra for another FREE musical extravaganza under the sails in downtown Hickory. This extremely popular concert will be held on Sunday, June 25 from 6-8 pm. Invite your...
Read MoreHickory – Richard Allen Taylor received the 2015 Irene Blair Honeycutt Legacy Award for his service to the writing community as Founding Editor of Kakalak: Anthology of Carolinas Poetry. He is also the author of 3...
Read MoreHickory – The Hickory Community Theatre’s upcoming production of Neil Simon’s Chapter Two features two popular local actors in leading roles. Dorothy Best and Christopher Honsaker have each appeared in several shows at the...
Read MoreHickory – On Tuesday, June 13, Adult Children of Aging Parents meeting (ACAP), John J. Maron, Director, Investor Protection & Education Services Program, NC Department of the Secretary of State Securities Division,...
Read MoreHickory – Director Thom Hutchens has just announced his cast for Chapter Two, the semi-autobiographical comedy by Neil Simon, opening June 22 at the Hickory Community Theatre. This is a production by the Encore Players,...
Read MoreEver since I was kid I’ve always thought the character of Wonder Woman was one of the dullest in the entire lot of DC comics. I mean, when you think about it what is it that makes her so special? You’d be hard pressed to name...
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Universal: The Space Between Us (2017) (**) A boy who’s spent his entire life on Mars falls for an...
Read MoreThe biggest complaint I’ve heard in regard to the fifth outing of the interminable Pirates of the Caribbean series of films is that it suffers from franchise fatigue. While that gripe does carry some merit and is a point that...
Read MoreAhhh! …what a perfect, majestically beautiful day! The sun shines overhead in a brisk blue sky as puffy white clouds drift lazily by, accompanied by a gentle breeze…Ahhh! Laid back, surrounded in soft padded bliss, in a recliner...
Read MoreHickory, Conover & Newton, NC – DOT is back with Greenway’s Find Me Fridays starting June 16th 2017 & Rider Appreciation Day June 30th 2017. Greenway wants to guide everyone to the local adventures along the bus...
Read MoreNewton, NC – Newton’s historic 1924 Courthouse Square will resound with music and art this summer as Carolina Vines and the Downtown Newton Development Association present Get Your NewtOn! – Art Evenings on the...
Read MoreHickory – Rent, the rock musical about a group of impoverished young artists in 1980’s New York, begins its final weekend of four performances this Thursday, June 1 at 7:30pm at the Hickory Community Theatre. Tickets are...
Read MoreLincolnton, NC – 2017’s Hog Happenin’ keeps getting bigger! If you want to try the best of the best BBQ and like 80’s hair metal, you definitely don’t want to miss this year’s event! The festival is Friday, June 2, from 6...
Read MoreConover, NC – Thrills, chills and spills aplenty for young and old alike will come to downtown Conover Saturday afternoon, June 3, at 2:00 P.M. as the world famous units of Oasis Shriners stage a parade that has...
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Hickory, NC – Friday, June 2, the City of Hickory’s 2017 Sails Original Music Series will feature...
Read MoreIt interesting to see what thirty-eight years can do in terms of the life of a movie franchise. Take the example of Alien: Covenant. This is the third-entry in the Alien series filmmaker Ridley Scott has directed since he helmed...
Read More“If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands” (clap clap). “If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands” (clap clap). “If you’re happy and you know it, then your face will surely show it J! If you’re happy and you know...
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In the aftermath of Mother’s Day I was surprised to hear a woman in the Y locker room express to...
Read MoreHickory – It’s here! Another year has sped by and the new Swimsuit & Summer Guide from FOCUS will be on the stands next Thursday, May 25! There’s still time for interested businesses to advertise in this iconic issue....
Read MoreNewton, NC – Get ready to rock ‘n’ roll with All Shook Up opening at The Green Room Community Theatre on May 5, 2017. Inspired by and featuring the songs of Elvis Presley®, All Shook Up will remind you of days gone by and...
Read MoreHickory – The Hickory Community Theatre’s production of Rent, the smash Broadway musical that opened last weekend to enthusiastic crowds, continues this weekend with performances Thursday through Sunday on the Jeffers...
Read MoreHickory – Taste Full Beans Coffeehouse & Gallery, Bottega: A Soulful Place, Full Circle Arts, Thistle Dew Nicely, and The Natural Olive will hold their 5th monthly Art in the Afternoon from 1:00 to 4:00 on Saturday,...
Read More“On behalf of the Democratic Party of Catawba County, it’s officers, auxiliaries, and members, we offer our sincere condolences to Mrs. Donna Wright and the entire family of Mayor Rudy Wright. We are saddened to hear of the loss...
Read MoreHickory – Thursday, May 18, will have visitors to Downtown Hickory “crawling”! The first Downtown Hickory Art Crawl of the year will be happening from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm. There will be art, music, demonstrations and more...
Read MoreLondon (AP) A 101-year-old D-Day veteran has become the oldest person in the world to skydive. Bryson William Verdun Hayes completed a tandem skydive from 15,000 feet (4,500 meters) with members of his extended family on Sunday...
Read MoreHickory – The Hickory Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) is celebrating tourism throughout the month of May. Since 1983, the National Travel and Tourism Week has been the first full week of May, which is May 7 – 13...
Read MoreHickory – The 18th Annual Spring Art at the Farm will be held at the Farm, located at 5726 Grace Chapel Road in Hickory, NC, on Saturday, May 6, 2017 from 10 am to 5 pm. Stop by to share refreshments and browse the works...
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Hickory – FOCUS thanks the many terrific men and women who entered its 2017 Swimsuit Model...
Read MoreHickory – Hickory Museum of Art (HMA) brings a compelling new exhibit and installation from photographer Brian Lackey entitled Past Lives, featuring guest curator and HMA Board of Trustees Co-Vice President, Kit Cannon. Past...
Read MoreHickory – The story of Rent is set into motion by the character of Benjamin Coffin, III, who was once a roommate of four major characters – Mark, Roger, Maureen and Tom Collins. Before the events in Rent, Coffin moved out,...
Read MoreHickory – The next Poetry Hickory will take place at 7:00 PM on May 9 at Taste Full Beans Coffeehouse in downtown Hickory. Featured writers will be Maryrose Carroll and Earl LeClaire. Maryrose Carroll refers to herself as...
Read MoreTaylorsville, NC – Everyone is invited to come out to the 2nd Annual Taylorsville Apple Blossom Festival in the streets of downtown Taylorsville on Saturday, May 6th, 2017 from 9am – 5pm, brought to you by the...
Read MoreHickory – This Saturday night, May 6, at the Hickory Community Theatre, local legend Nathan Hefner will present “Stardust,” his concert tribute to the golden age of popular music, with songs like “I’ve Got You Under My...
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Paramount: Office Christmas Party (2016) (**) To impress a client, a couple of hard partying...
Read MoreWith loads of sitcom style humor to spare and a vibe that’s best described as too cool for school, Guardians of the Galaxy, Volume 2, the latest in the annual springtime Marvel Films sweepstakes, unfortunately comes up short...
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It has been said “Good things come to those who wait.” Many believe this mantra has its roots in...
Read MoreHickory – There has been a change of location for the National Day of Prayer in Hickory on May 4th. Due to weather the NDOP will be held at Corinth Reformed Church, located at 150 16th Ave. NW, Hickory, NC 28601. The...
Read MoreHickory – The Catawba County Democratic Party (CCDP) is hosting a municipal office and school board information night on May 8 for people interested in running for these offices this year. The November 2017 ballot will...
Read MoreI have to give it to the creative team behind the genre bending indie film Colossal. Somehow, they’ve managed to take two seemingly unrelated genres—middle aged angst and giant monsters—and meshed them together in a way that on...
Read MoreLast week’s article concluded with this statement- Next week: “Is Chainsaw the Anti-Christ and how can we stop him!” My sincerest apologies are extended to those of you who rushed out to grab this week’s edition ready to read,...
Read MoreIt’s been said people resemble their dogs and vice versa. Oddly, this usually refers to looks. However, your favorite canine breed’s personality traits may reflect your own. Although, there is much to be said about popular...
Read MoreNewton, NC – Please join the Catawba County arts community on Saturday, April 22nd at Old Post Office Playhouse for the second in this season’s series of “Friends of John Coffey” concerts featuring triple threat Laurice...
Read MoreHickory – In 1567, Juan Pardo and 130 men departed from the South Carolina coast, bound for Mexico through the interior of what is now North Carolina and South Carolina. Over time, six forts were built and tentative...
Read MoreHickory – The most known piece of music in the popular rock musical “Rent”, is “Seasons of Love,” a simultaneously uplifting and heart-rending song that poses the question of how to properly quantify the value of a year in...
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Hickory – If you haven’t entered to be considered for this iconic issue of FOCUS, or if you...
Read MoreDirector Martin Brest’s 1979 film Going in Style was remarkable in that he wasn’t even thirty when he made the film and yet it so sharply captured the trials and tribulations of growing old. The film’s plot involves three bored...
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B movies with A movie budgets seem to be the norm today. Even the superhero extravaganzas that...
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Paramount: Beavis and Butt-Head: The Complete Collection (various ratings) (DVD only) is a...
Read More“The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow; but children grow up as I’ve learned to my sorrow. So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep! I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.” The final verse exerted from the poem-...
Read MoreHickory – The macabre crime story, The Drowning Girls, which sold out its first two performances, continues its run this weekend, beginning Thursday, March 2nd at 7:30pm. The play follows the true story of “The Brides in...
Read MoreWe all want. We all need. The concept of want vs. needs has roots in the dawn of civilization. Early man ‘wanted’ food, shelter, and matches to light the grill. However, since backyard bar-b-que-ing wasn’t invented yet, early...
Read MoreHickory – Mr. Tumnus, Mr. Beaver and Mrs. Beaver are the first of the fantasy characters from the land of Narnia who appear in the story. In the Hickory Community Theatre’s upcoming production of The Lion, the Witch and...
Read MoreHickory – Poetry Hickory will host the 4th annual Kakalak All-Star Poetry Celebration as its next monthly reading at 7:00 PM on March 14 at Taste Full Beans Coffeehouse. Featured readers will include Joyce Compton Brown of...
Read MoreHickory – Friends of Ridgeview Library, Hickory Museum of Art and Women’s Resource Center invite the community to join together at an Awards Program and Reception to celebrate and honor contributions by women around the world...
Read MoreHickory – Lenoir-Rhyne University’s Visiting Writers Series will present New York Times best-selling author, Erik Larson, on Thursday, March 9, at 7 p.m. in P.E. Monroe Auditorium. Prior to his presentation, Larson will hold a...
Read MoreIt’s old news by now that Hollywood studios are not renowned for taking chances. If something works they tend to bludgeon an idea to death until it dies from overexposure or, worse, audience indifference. With the runaway...
Read MoreThe struggles of African Americans in a country that prides itself in being the land of the free forms the basis of director Raoul Peck’s incendiary documentary, I Am Not Your Negro. Based on a proposed book project by the...
Read More“There is an empty chair, and part of me cannot believe, that I will never again sit there. My heart will always grieve, but I know my tears are less for you…and more for me. Your pain is gone and your soul flies free, and I...
Read MoreShhhh…just relax. That’s right, sit back in your recliner. Now, ease it back until you are fully reclined. Better? Good. Slowly take a deep breath in…now exhale and release that pesky pent-up tension. Again, deep breath...
Read MoreLincolnton- While you were making preparation to decorate your home for the Christmas and Hanukkah season, did you find in your dresser drawer, attic, or garage a pair (s) of unwanted eyeglasses? But don’t know what to do with...
Read MoreHickory – Artistic Director Pamela Livingingstone has announced her cast for the Hickory Community Theatre’s upcoming production of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. This modern take on the classic tragedy will feature multimedia...
Read MoreValdese, NC – Auditions for Old Colony Players production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical, “Oklahoma!” will be held on Sunday, January 8th and Monday, January 9th at the Old Rock School in Valdese. Edyth Pruitt will be...
Read MoreHickory – In honor of the life and legacy the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Lenoir-Rhyne University’s Office of Multicultural Affairs and Institute for Faith and Learning (IFL) will present a commemorative lecture by...
Read MoreHickory – The Hickory Community Theatre’s upcoming Firemen’s Kitchen production of Glorious!, a warm hearted comedy about famous, and famously awful, singer Florence Foster Jenkins is being staged under the capable hands...
Read MoreHickory – Local artist Sigrid Hice will conduct a Book Arts class at the Ridgeview Library on Tuesday, January 10, 2017 at 12:00 noon. Participants will create a non-traditional origami accordion book or a spiral book out...
Read MoreShalom and good tidings unto you dear reader; welcome to 2017. We will not waste time belittling your intelligence or lying to you by wishing you a universally standardized, not to mention over used, over rated and all too...
Read MoreAfter a noticeable absence of over five years, director Mike Mills is back with 20th Century Women, the much-anticipated follow-up to his 2011 critical darling, Beginners. The latter film engendered lots of good will for...
Read MoreTo state that the films of director Jim Jarmusch are slow going will probably be old news by now, at least to those familiar with the lauded filmmaker’s works. His films aren’t about plot. As such, the classic screenplay...
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Universal: Jason Bourne (2016) (**) Matt Damon returns in the latest outing of the ongoing Bourne...
Read MoreEver feel like you’re grasping for straws? This idiom initially used the analogy of a drowning man desperately grasping for anything to stay afloat, even a straw. An extreme example, however, as I mused over the idea of grasping...
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