Hickory – In the story of Elf the Musical, on stage December 1st through 17th at the Hickory Community Theatre, one of the crucial characters is Jovie, a department store elf that becomes Buddy the Elf’s love interest. At...
Read MoreIf you’ve seen any number of films featuring actress Greta Gerwig’s acting or writing talents then you’re probably pretty familiar with her onscreen persona. It’s hard to articulate precisely but there’s a uniqueness there...
Read MoreThe latest exhibit in the ongoing attempts of Warner Brothers to launch DC Comics as a serious contender to the cinematic throne of competitor Marvel Comics, Justice League, is a tough cookie to assess. Being that it’s neither...
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Gratitude isn’t a seasonal pastime. Never has been. However poignant it seems, once a year we are...
Read MoreMERRY CHRISTMAS!!! And a one…and a two and a… Grab your coat and let’s get hopping! Fa-la-la-la-la…la-la-la…la! Time to do holiday shopping!Fa-la-la-la-la…la-la-la…la! Don we now our gay apparel! Fa-la-la-la-la…la-la-WOAH…hold...
Read MoreNewton, NC – This is your chance to step into the spotlight! The Green Room Community Theatre is holding auditions for the upcoming production of A Streetcar Named Desire, a show playing in the intimate Black Box Theatre...
Read MoreHickory – Hey, kids! Would you like a chance to show off your history knowledge? Ridgeview branch library is having a history themed Jeopardy-style game on Tuesday, November 21, beginning at 4:30 pm. We’ll play in teams...
Read MoreHickory – The Hickory International Council (HIC) is currently accepting applications for grants of up to $500 for community organizations that provide programs supportive of the goals, purposes, and projects of the HIC....
Read MoreHickory – Fairly new to Hickory, but by no means new to theatre, Juan Holquin is playing the lead role of Buddy in Elf the Musical, coming up on the Jeffers Theatre stage from December 1st through the 17th. Tickets are now...
Read MoreNewton, NC – The Green Room Community Theatre is thrilled to present Chitty, Chitty, Bang, Bang – opening Friday, November 17, 2017 in the McCreary Theatre at the Old Post Office Playhouse in historic downtown...
Read MoreHickory – Carolina Moonlighter President Lee deArmond announces that the group will be singing in several venues this holiday season. In addition to singing at Pinecrest, Kingston Residence, and Trinity Ridge Retirement...
Read MoreIt’s sad to see seasoned veterans of the acting profession working overtime to give it everything they’ve got and yet being saddled with the thankless task of having so little with which to work. That, in a nutshell, is the core...
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The ambulance ride wasn’t altogether unpleasant…what little I remembered of it. They allowed my...
Read MoreYou might think I’m not keen on birthdays because I’ve been turning 29 for as long as I can remember. On the contrary, I’m a huge fan. I celebrate mine all month! Plus, why I try real hard to wish everyone on FB “Happy, Happy...
Read MoreFairbanks, AK (AP) A man accused of stealing a motorized shopping cart from an Alaska grocery store didn’t get very far or go very fast before his low-speed getaway attempt was foiled by police. The battery-operated cart with a...
Read MoreThe character of Thor has always been—for my money, anyway—one of the least interesting in the Marvel Comics pantheon. The third installment to focus solely on the hammer wielding ‘God of Thunder’ is another effort that, like...
Read MoreThe latest adaptation of the celebrated Agatha Christie mystery, Murder on the Orient Express, doesn’t exactly succeed on all levels but at least it does have one thing going for it—star power. You can imagine the studio bean...
Read MoreHickory – The Hickory Community Theatre is bringing the official stage adaptation of the film Elf, Jr. to Hickory for the Christmas season. Director Sonya Briggs has announced the cast for the production, which will be on...
Read MoreHickory – The aroma of fresh cooked seafood, the taste of local craft beers and the sounds of The Extraordinaires will assault your senses when you step onto Union Square on November 11, where the Fourth Annual Shuck ‘n...
Read MoreHickory – The doggone good comedy Sylvia begins its 10 performance run this Friday, November 3rd, in the Hickory Community Theatre’s Firemen’s Kitchen and continues through Sunday, November 19th. Sylvia is a modern...
Read MoreSean Baker’s The Florida Project is another film—along with the recent release Brad’s Status—that has restored my faith in the kind of filmmaking that I so desperately crave. This is a film about people and the struggles that...
Read MoreThe career of George Clooney as director is an interesting case to be sure. This, of course, isn’t to be confused with the career of George Clooney, the actor, which is another subject altogether. Clooney’s work behind the...
Read MorePonder your life for a moment. Especially now, while the holiday season is upon us. It’s this time of year we are asked to articulate what we are grateful for during Thanksgiving dinner. Christmas brings added reminders about...
Read MoreLionsgate: A Ghost Story (2017) (**) A woman is haunted by the ghost of her husband in this artsy fartsy take on an oft told supernatural tale. Pretentious. Rooney Mara and Casey Affleck star. Extras include commentary and...
Read MoreThe tragic story of a an Arizona unit of local firemen known as the Granite Mountain Hotshots serves as the basis for the cinematic recounting of their story in Only the Brave. Now I don’t have to tell you that this isn’t the...
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Director Marc Foster’s failed attempt at a mystery-thriller, All I See is You, is the kind of film...
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In just a few more nights the bowels of Hell will open upon an unsuspecting world. The balance...
Read MoreSarah had begged every year since she was five to go. Sternly warned by her mother not to tag along this year, Sarah ignored her pleas and fled out the door. “Who wants to hand out candy, anyway?” she mused. Quickly catching up...
Read MoreHickory – The upcoming comedy Sylvia, opening November 3rd in the Hickory Community Theatre’s Firemen’s Kitchen, features three experienced actors as the three main characters. The story begins when middle-aged,...
Read MoreHickory – Soon “Trick or Treaters” will be roaming the county to find treats on Halloween. Before sending them out, parents should take extra precautions to ensure the safety of these goblins. The Hickory Fire...
Read MoreHickory – The Foreigner, a hilarious farce on stage at the Hickory Community Theatre, concludes its run this weekend. Final performances are Thursday, October 26th through Sunday, October 29th. The story takes place in a...
Read MoreHickory – In Sylvia, the upcoming comedy opening November 3rd in the Hickory Community Theatre’s Firemen’s Kitchen, veteran local actor Joshua Yoder takes on three distinctly different roles. Yoder, an actor, director,...
Read MoreHickory – In the continuation of Lenoir-Rhyne University’s 2017-18 Concert Series, the Tesla Quartet and Friends will perform on Sunday, Oct. 29, at 4 p.m. in Grace Chapel. As last year’s audience favorite, the quartet plans to...
Read MoreHickory – The Hickory Music Factory (HMF) hosts an old fashioned 1940s Christmas Radio Hour at SALT Block – Drendel Auditorium (243 Third Avenue NE Hickory, 28601) on Saturday December 9, 2017. This fifth annual...
Read MoreLenoir, NC – As the leaves turn gold and the mountain air cools, the pit masters will don their aprons and start up their smokers on October 20th at the third annual Smoking in the Foothills Barbecue Competition and...
Read MoreHickory – Full Circle Arts of Hickory is announcing the public reception evening for its Annual Fall Competition, to be held Oct.26, 2017 from 6-8:00 pm. The show will run the 4 weeks from Oct. 26 – Nov. 25. Every...
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Hickory – After a brief hiatus for Oktoberfest, the Hickory Community Theatre’s popular...
Read MoreAdmittedly, I’m a sucker for dramatizations of real life events rooted in the world of politics. Excellent examples of this would be JFK and Nixon, to cite only two films that spring readily to mind. What those films have in...
Read MoreI’m an ‘info’ junkie! One of my passions is soaking up details like a sponge. Sorta makes me a chasm of useless information. Actually, knowledge isn’t useless if you use it. Therefore, I take unrequested liberties in emitting...
Read MoreThe first thing his senses acknowledge is the smell—a putrefying, rotting stench. His gorge rises in involuntary response. Quickly sitting up, he stifles it back. Sunlight streams into the room from two perpendicular windows,...
Read MoreOctober 7, 2017 By W. Gerald Cochran Hickory, NC The Western Piedmont Symphony opened its 53rd season with a concert featuring Rhapsody in Blue at the P.E. Monroe Auditorium on the campus of Lenoir-Rhyne University. This concert...
Read MoreHickory – Benjamin Thomas, guest director at the Hickory Community Theatre has just announced the casting for the Theatre’s upcoming production of Sylvia, a comedy by A.R. Gurney. It’s the story of an adorable stray dog...
Read MoreStatsville, NC – Carolina BalloonFest will celebrate its 44th year on October 20-22. A favorite festival among many families, this three-day event held in Statesville, NC, is filled with live entertainment, attractions,...
Read MoreHickory – The Hickory Community Theatre’s hit production of Larry Shue’s hilarious comedy The Foreigner is taking this weekend off to accommodate the Hickory Downtown Development Association’s (HDDA) annual Oktoberfest...
Read MoreHickory – On Friday, October 27, Union Square will be teeming with super heroes, princesses, fairy tale folks, monsters and creatures from other worlds as HDDA presents the annual Candy Crawl. Costumed children aged 12...
Read MoreHickory – On Tuesday, October 24th, the Children’s Advocacy and Protection Center (CAPC) will hold a Vigil in downtown Hickory. It will be under the Sails at noon on that day. We will be remembering the children in North...
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Hickory – Reserved seating tickets are now on sale for the Hickory Community Theatre’s...
Read MoreThe following words will be considered heresy to most serious fans of cinema. Now, having said that then I’ll say this—I never really cared for Ridley Scott’s 1982 film Blade Runner. It isn’t that I haven’t tried. I’ve seen it...
Read MoreIn our modern, overly-socially networked society, if you want a “scary story” all you have to do is “Google it.” And the internet will readily dish you up a piping hot helping of Creepy Pasta. Usually served to a party of one...
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I was in the hot tub one morning chatting with an old friend when I kept insisting, “The future is...
Read MoreNewton, NC – Don’t miss the Foothill Folk Art Festival Preview Night on Friday, October 6 from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm! Your ticket will grant you exclusive advance access to amazing works by the area’s best folk artists...
Read MoreHickory – See you on Saturday, October 7, for the second annual Hickory Big Splash – Seaplanes on Lake Hickory from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m.! Come to Lake Hickory, Wittenburg Access (89 Wildlife Access Rd., Hickory) to...
Read MoreHickory – The Thirteenth Annual EmergeOrtho Oktoberfest 5K Footrace and Fun Run will take place on Saturday, October 14, at 8:00 am in downtown Hickory as part of Downtown Hickory’s Oktoberfest. The Fun Run (1 city block)...
Read MoreThe story of the celebrated 1973 tennis match between Billy Jean King and Bobby Riggs gets its second go round, this time as a feature film—the first attempt was a 2001 ABC TV Movie—in the engaging and involving Battle of the...
Read MoreIf you are a certain type of film goer, you know that every once in a great while a movie comes along that seems to be about and made just for you. Films like this speak to us personally as human beings. They give us insight...
Read MoreTaunton, MA (AP) A couple born on the same day at the same Massachusetts hospital have exchanged vows more than two decades later. The Taunton Gazette reports that Jessica Gomes and Aaron Bairos got married Sept. 9. Each was...
Read MoreIt’s cooling down outside, autumn has begun to fall, mosquitoes are dying, pumpkin butchery has started as we officially begin the three month long gauntlet that is the holiday season. During this time of year we here at Have...
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Summit/Lionsgate Entertainment: All Eyez on Me (2017) (**) The long awaited biopic of rapper Tupac Shakur turns out to be not much more than a greatest hits collection of events in the man’s life. Extras include Deleted scenes,...
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Hickory – Get ready for three days of jam-packed music, food and fun, as Hickory celebrates...
Read MoreHickory – Catawba Valley Camera Club and Hickory Museum of Art (HMA) present An Evening with Joel Sartore on Saturday, October 14. This event is presented in conjunction with the exhibition ENDANGERED: Joel Sartore...
Read MoreHickory – The side-splitting southern comedy The Foreigner begins its 10 performance run this Friday, October 6th at the Hickory Community Theatre. It’s the story of Charlie, a guest at a fishing lodge in Georgia who’s shy...
Read MoreBallston, NY (AP) A New York man who stopped at a convenience store to put air in his tires and ended up buying a lottery ticket has won a $1 million jackpot. State lottery officials on Friday introduced 19-year-old Anthony...
Read MoreNewton, NC – The second annual Foothills Folk Art Festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 7, in Downtown Newton. The festival is a partnership between the Downtown Newton Development Association and...
Read MoreHickory – The Foreigner, the hilarious comedy by Larry Shue that opens October 6th at the Hickory Community Theatre, takes place at a remote Georgia fishing lodge where a visitor has come to get away from his troubles and...
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Newton, NC – The Green Room’s presents its annual Shakespeare in the Park Series! This is...
Read MoreHickory – Hickory’s Oktoberfest is the place to be on October 13, 14 and 15, 2017 when the festival will be celebrating its 32nd year! There will be music, amusement rides, games, food vendors, arts and crafts, vendors and...
Read MoreHudson, NC – The Town of Hudson is presenting its 24th dinner theatre production, the iconic, classic musical, “Annie.” The show will play at the Hudson Uptown Building (HUB) on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, October...
Read MoreSeveral years ago, immediately after taking in the 1989 Oscar winner, Born on the Fourth of July, I found my daughter marveling at Tom Cruise’s revelatory performance in the film. ‘He really can act’ was the comment that sprang...
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“Alright now boys, you’re all old enough to have got “the talk” from your daddies. But skootch a...
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As most of you know, I’ve shared my personal pet peeve 6-pack in the past. Certainly, over...
Read MoreEver have one of those friends who only calls when they need something? I’d venture a guess and say you’re on their C List. Let’s face it, we maneuver through life utilizing established lists. Quite under the radar…even...
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What’s the first memory you remember? What’s the last recollection you recall? Do you recollect...
Read MoreIf there’s one reason to recommend the sequel Kingsman: The Golden Circle, it would be Elton John. Yes, that Elton John, in what is going to come up on my year-end list as one of the most inspired moments of casting in any film...
Read MoreDarren Aronofsky’s first film after a three year layoff, mother!, is the type of unruly beast that launches great discussions and stirs deep emotions. For days after seeing it I couldn’t stop thinking about it, which is usually...
Read MoreHickory – In The Foreigner, the comedy by Larry Shue that opens October 6th at the Hickory Community Theatre, the central character, Charlie, comes with his friend Froggy to stay at a fishing lodge in Georgia. Charlie is...
Read MoreHickory – After a very busy summer of recording and traveling, the Tesla Quartet returns for their third year as the Hickory Metro Quartet in Residence. The first Friends of the Quartet Chamber Classics concert will be...
Read MoreHickory – This year’s Pavilion Stage offers an awesome line up of traditional German music along with an eclectic mix of fantastic talent. The Foothills Oompah Band starts the festivities on Friday, October 13, beginning...
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Newton, NC – The Green Room Community Theatre is ready to take you to Fleet Street in London...
Read MoreHickory – Pink Heals Cruis’in’ For Love Toy and Food Drive will be Saturday, September 23, at Court Street Bar & Grille in Mtn. View, 3-6pm. Ten minutes and $5-$10 can make a huge difference in your community. Please...
Read MoreHickory – During the weekend of September 22nd-24th, filmmakers from around the world will be traveling to Hickory, North Carolina to show their films at the 3rd annual Footcandle Film Festival. Tickets are still...
Read MoreHickory – The annual Oktoberfest celebration in Hickory, Oct. 13-15, will once again feature the construction of a Castle of Cans to help feed those in need in Catawba County. The county wide canned food drive provides added...
Read MoreHickory – Sister Act the Musical, a local audience favorite at the Hickory Community Theatre, is about to end its run with four final performances this weekend. The comedic story centers around Deloris Van Cartier, an...
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Hickory – Olde Hickory Brewery released the 2017 edition of Daniel Boone at Hops &...
Read MoreHickory – Saturday, September 16, is the 8th annual Catawba Valley Pride festival! Come join the fun, food and community and the World’s Shortest Pride Parade at 1pm! Catawba Valley Pride affirms the lives of...
Read MoreHickory – Friday, October 13, 2017 brings the King Biscuit Trio to the stage at 7:00 pm. They make music. Loud rock and roll, country, R&B, and comedy, and whatever you and your friends wanna hear. They take everything...
Read MoreLincolnton, NC – The apples are plentiful, and organizers of the 45th Lincoln County Apple Festival say that all is ready for the big event on Saturday, September 16, no matter what the weather is! “If it rains, we will...
Read MoreHickory – September 21 will bring a wealth of talent to the streets of Downtown Hickory. The Downtown Hickory Art Crawl is an easy walk around a four-city block area of Downtown Hickory featuring art and music. There...
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I must fully confess that I never understood the adulation for the 1990 TV movie adaptation of...
Read MoreOne of the most frustrating, mind-boggling and not really thought through, borderline stupid questions asked of me as a contributing writer to this fine piece of newsprint is, “Why doesn’t Have Chainsaw Will Travel contain...
Read MoreSitting here waiting on the electrician. He’s delayed due to heavy rain as crawling under the house prevails, since attic access is impracticable. However, as the clock ticks the kitchen chills. Insulation had been removed...
Read MoreHickory – In Larry Shue’s play The Foreigner, opening October 6th at the Hickory Community Theatre, there is a romantic heart that beats under the hilarious comedy. Two newcomers to the Hickory theatre, one who is in her...
Read MoreHickory – Lenoir-Rhyne University’s Visiting Writers Series will return for its 29th season, on Thursday, September 14 as it presents Colson Whitehead at 7 p.m. in P.E. Monroe Auditorium. For nearly three decades, the series has...
Read MoreParamount: Baywatch (2017) (**) The usual reliable presence of Dwayne Johnson can’t even save this big screen adaptation of the fondly remembered series of the 80s/early 90s. The best that can be said is that it’s tolerable....
Read MoreHickory – Safe Harbor Rescue Mission will hold a special screening of “Out of Reach,” a short documentary about medicine abuse created by a teen filmmaker, at 7pm, September 25 at Carolina Theater, 222 1st Avenue, NW,...
Read MoreHickory – The upcoming production of Larry Shue’s comedy The Foreigner at Hickory Community Theatre, which runs October 6-29 on the Mainstage in the Jeffers Theatre, features two local actors who each have an extensive...
Read MoreHickory – Hickory Museum of Art (HMA) presents the fifth annual Autolawn Party from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9 on the SALT Block Lawn, located at 243 Third Avenue N.E., Hickory. The fundraising event to benefit HMA...
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Hickory – The audience favorite Sister Act the Musical returns to the Hickory Community...
Read MoreHickory – Blue Knights NC XI is sponsoring a Poker Run to Benefit Donnie Holbrook to help with expenses after several surgeries this summer. Registration is at Hooter’s in Hickory on Sunday September 24th from 11am. Till...
Read MoreDallas, NC – The Gaston County Museum of Art & History in partnership with the Town of Dallas is excited to announce the last performance in the 2017 Court Square Summer Concert Series: The Catalinas. The event is...
Read MoreHickory – The 7th Annual Butts and Beans BBQ Challenge, sponsored by VonDrehle Corporation, Frye Regional Medical Center, Oakwood Homes and Catawba Valley Medical Center, is a fundraising event with proceeds going to the...
Read MoreSeptember 3, 2017 some time…well before dawn. Not to be confused with “sometime” well before dawn; as in, some notable event that occurs occasionally at a particular time before sun-up. But rather some time, as in an actual...
Read MoreI must admit that I quite enjoy seeing a matinee idol type using his or her celebrity status to tackle unconventional projects that likely wouldn’t get financed without the star’s involvement. This is certainly the case with...
Read MoreApps are the new remote control! And who doesn’t fondly remember their first? Never to be forgotten was the day we sat on the couch, pointed a button-riddled plastic life-altering device, pressed a control and “POOF!” changed...
Read MoreDirector Matt Ruskin’s (The Infiltrator) new film Crown Heights tells a story that we’ve seen many times before and in many other incarnations and not breaking much new ground in the process. It’s the story of a man wrongfully...
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Steven Soderbergh , the director with a nearly perfect record—his film Full Frontal being one of...
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“The world is a vampire, (DUN DUN DUN DUN DUN DUN) sent to dra-aaa-ain. Secret destroyers, (DUN...
Read MoreHickory – The Hickory Community Theatre has just announced the cast of The Foreigner, the hilarious southern comedy by Larry Shue. The play runs October 6-29 on the Mainstage in the Jeffers Theatre. This play is a “fish...
Read MoreHickory – The sixth anniversary of TEDxHickory will be coming to The Belk Centrum at Lenoir-Rhyne University November 18th. This independently organized event, licensed by TED, will feature a combination of live speakers...
Read MoreHickory – Join the Humane Society of Catawba County on Sunday, September 10, at 4pm, for an evening of craft brews in support of a great cause! Tickets are $35 and available at Crescent Moon Cafe’ or HSCC Hickory....
Read MoreHickory – The musical comedy Sister Act the Musical hits the stage at Hickory Community Theatre beginning this Friday, September 1st on the Mainstage in the Jeffers Theatre. Performances run through September 17th. This is...
Read MoreConover, NC – The City of Conover is proud to be hosting the Vietnam Veterans Memorial traveling wall from September 8, 2017, through September 11, 2017 at Conover Station. The Memorial will be accessible 24/7, with tour...
Read MoreHudson, NC – The Town of Hudson announces that the cast has been selected and that tickets went on sale on Monday, August 28th for their 24th Dinner Theatre Production, the classic Broadway Musical, “Annie.” The play will...
Read MoreWoodbridge, NJ (AP) Some talk and laughs paid off for a waitress in New Jersey. Brianna Siegel served a couple on Tuesday evening at Bar Louie in Woodbridge. After they paid their $20 bill, they handed her an envelope and told...
Read MoreHickory – Splash event on Lake Hickory from 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. at Wittenburg Access (89 Wildlife Access Rd., Hickory, NC) and the Hickory Regional Airport (3101 9th Ave. Dr. NW, Hickory, NC). This fund-raising event...
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Newton, NC – Bandits on the Run, a criminal, whimsical musical trio from New York City, will...
Read MoreHickory – The 104th Hickory American Legion Fair will begin on Wednesday, August 30th, and run through Monday, September 4th. The theme of this year’s fair is A Fair To Remember, and will feature several new attractions as...
Read MoreHickory – Getting the best results at work, at home and in your personal life takes organization and planning. Join certified professional organizer Melinda Smith on Saturday, August 26th at 10:00 am at Patrick Beaver...
Read MoreHickory – A group of community partners came together to revitalize the Old Ridgeview Branch Library. The building will be used as a history center and meeting space. The building received interior and exterior...
Read MoreHickory – The plot of Sister Act, the musical comedy opening Friday, September 1st at the Hickory Community Theatre, kicks into gear when lounge singer Deloris Van Cartier witnesses a murder perpetrated by her sometime boyfriend...
Read MoreWriter-director Taylor Sheridan, following hot on the heels of the commercial and critical success of his much-heralded directorial debut from last year, Hell or High Water, has returned with his follow up, Wind River. When one...
Read MoreFormer Vice President Al Gore keeps soldiering on in his fight to stem the tide of global warming in the aptly titled film, An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth To Power. The film is, of course, a follow up to the similarly titled...
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It seems like only yesterday that our tiny Tot (a.k.a. the grand-saw, a.k.a. Gabriel) was...
Read MoreIn This Corner of the World is based on the Japanese Manga, an illustrated story similar to the graphic novel in America. As such it brilliantly utilized that form of storytelling in order to humanize the struggles of the...
Read MoreThere have been so many WWII era movies that another one hardly makes a blip these days. What sets the new German import 13 Minutes apart from so many others is that it dramatizes a story that most have either read about or, at...
Read MoreLast week we revisited an older “classic” HCSAWWT column entitled “You only get one,” in which we discussed several ways you could meet your final demise, that death is a surprise to everyone. Whether it’s spontaneous, planned...
Read MoreNewton, NC – The Green Room Community Theatre is pleased to announce auditions for Faith County, the second production of the 2017/2018 Season. Faith County takes place somewhere in the middle of nowhere in the south,...
Read MoreHickory – The Hickory Downtown Development Association is looking for artists to participate in the September 21 Art Crawl. With so many exceptional artists in the area, we are sure this will be an exciting event! Artists...
Read MoreHickory – The class of 1967 at Hickory High School will be celebrating their 50th year with a reunion at the Hickory Metro Convention Center on Saturday evening, September 23, beginning at 6 p.m. Pre-reunion events are...
Read MoreVale, NC – The 12th Annual Grape Stomp Festival will be held Saturday, August 26th and Sunday, August 27th at Woodmill Winery, Inc. located at 1350 Woodmill Winery Road in Vale. GPS co-ordinance are 1560 John Beam Road....
Read MoreBy Seth Borenstein, Ap Science Writer Washington (AP) – The sun is about to spill some of its secrets, maybe even reveal a few hidden truths of the cosmos. And you can get in on the act next week if you are in the right...
Read MoreHickory – 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...
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