DADA to celebrate more than 30 years of the ARTS in downtown Winston-Salem

The 30 + Festival, to be held Sun., Sept. 27,  from noon until 10 PM, will celebrate the founding of studios on 6th and Trade Streets during the early 1980's by a handful of artists and guided by visionary artist Ron Propst and wife Tamara Propst. This pioneer effort was the seed for what has become the Winston-Salem Downtown Arts District. The Arts District has continued to grow into the vibrant and eclectic mix of galleries, studios, shops, businesses and residences, saturated in the arts and the arts life, that is found today along 6th, Trade and Liberty Streets.

The Downtown Arts District Association (DADA), Is another product of those early group efforts and is the coordinating organization for 30+.

Plans for the festival began in the fall of 2015 and will include visual, performing and literary arts by Arts District Artists - The Dance Stage to showcase various types of movement, a Literary area with readings, booking signings and more, extensive Art and Craft demos and Exhibitions by galleries and artists studios, some of which are opening especially for the festival, Food & Beverage areas by district restaurants and bars, food trucks, The 30+ Chalk Contest on Liberty St with adult & youth categories a film and image screenings by district artists and the 30+ Stage located in the intersection of 6^th and Trade featuring headliner The Devon Allman Band, son of legendary bluesman, Gregg Allman. 

Current sponsors include:

*YES! Weekly, The Millennium Fund, Camel City BBQ Factory, City of W-S, NC

*Woodland Moth / The LAAC, North Trade Street Arts

*IMG, Frank L. Blum, 560 North Trade Street

*Charles M. Mull, Mast General Store, Mike Hester Building Company, Walter Robbs Callahan & Pierce, The Arts Council of WS/FC

*Steel Group Architects, The B-String, George Jacobs, retro art ware, We Believed, The Ron Propst Family, Studio 7, Andrew Graphic Design

For more information on The 30+ Festival visit on line at 30plusfestws.com, like us on facebook at 30plusfestival and follow on twitter @30PlusFestWS or you can email at 30plusfestival@gmail.com.

HASH TAGS for the festival include #30plusfestws #30plusfestivalws #WSDAD30plus

Visitors are encouraged to tag their photos so the festival coordinators can post them after the event on the 30+ Festival Web Page 

www.30plusfestws.com includes a complete page on

·      Festival SCHEDULE

·      MAIN STAGE SCHEDULE

·      Musicians on 30+ Stage with links to their official web sites

·      Participating LOCATIONS and schedule of demos and events

·      STREET CHALK Contest and entry forms

·      Literary Area information

·      Dance Stage information

·      Current MAP of the Festival

·      PRESS tab with the logo and other information

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· 30+ STAGE LINE UP - 6^th and Trade Intersection)

·      NOON - Opening Ceremonies

·      1 PM - STRUT2 - a fashion extravaganza of clothing design/hair/make up from the Arts District in a performance by models and dancers to music from the ARTS DISTRICT and friends (sponsored by retro art ware and NTSA)

·      1:45 - The B-Kin Band (in a benefit show for DADA)

·      3:00  Luxuriant Sedans followed immediately by

·      4:00 The B-String All Stars (sponsored by The B-String)

·      5:30 PM - AURA3 opening for Bobby and The Good Times (FCEA Award for Best New Band 2014)

·      Presentation of Awards, Sponsors & Dignitaries by The Downtown Arts District Association

·      7:30 - Devon Allman Band (sponsored by Woodland Moth /The LAAC & Bucked Up Productions)

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· DANCE STAGE -  600 block of Trade near 7^th Street (Noon until 5 PM)

· American Belly Dance

· Sky dance (Modern Dance Troupe)

· Ongoing performances from Noon - 5 PM

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· FREE YOGA CLASSES & Events

· The Green Space & at Yoga Gallery both on Liberty Street  - 11 AM until 6:30 PM 

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· SELF GUIDED PUBLIC ART TOUR in the ARTS DISTRICT of W-S - INFO sheets available at the 30+ INFO BOOTH next to the Main Stage

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· STREET CHALK Contest -Noon until 5 PM

· Judging at 5:30

· Register at INFO desk during festival OR pre-register at Kindred Spirits (500 block of Trade) North Trade Street Arts (600 Block of Trade)

· $100 to Best ADULT, $25 to Best YOUTH & People’s Choice AWARD

· $1.00 per vote at Info Booth as a fund raiser for DADA 1^st Friday Gallery Hops

PICTORIAL POST MARK in honor of The 30+ Festival - United States Post Office - get your mail stamped with a special post mark !

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Participating BARS offering special hours during the festival

The Garage -  Kick Off Party Saturday 26^th

AND Open from 6-10 PM Sunday 27^th

Single Brothers - open for festival - 600 block of Trade

Tiki Bar - open for festival - 7^th and Trade

Silver Moon - open for festival - 600 block of Trade

Finnigan’s Wake - open for festival - 600 block of Trade

6^th and Vine - open for festival - 6^th Street

Participating Restaurants open during the festival or offering special hours

Mary’s of Course - opens 10 AM for 30 + Breakfast (700 block of Trade)

6^th and Vine - open during festival (6^th Street)

Rusty Bumper Ice Cream - open special hours during festival (500 block of Trade)

Finnigan’s Wake - open during festival (600 block of Trade)

Mission Pizza - open during festival (700 block of Trade)

FOOD TRUCKS - 600 Block of Liberty Street

SOFT DRINKS & Water - next to Main Stage at 6^th and Trade

INFO BOOTH - next to Main Stage - BAND MERCH, 30+ and DADA INFO, Contest Registration, QR code & 30+ Web Site Info, Self Guided Tour Info, Fund Raiser Info, Street Chalk Info

For more info

www.30plusfestws.com"

- A Press Release

Award Winning Food Writer and Cookbook Author to Visit Winston-Salem

SHERI CASTLE

Sheri Castle to speak and give cooking demonstration at

Mary’s on Wed., Oct.15

"Winston-Salem, NC (September 30, 2014) – Sheri Castle,  award-winning food writer and cookbook author, will speak and give a cooking demonstration at Mary’s Gourmet Diner, 723 Trade Street,  at 11:00 a.m., Wednesday. October 15.  Admission is free is free and no reservations are required.

Castle  talk about her latest book, The Southern Living Community Cookbook: Celebrating food and fellowship in the American South, which is scheduled for release by Oxmoor Press the following day.  Representatives of Bookmarks will be present, however, with books for purchase and signing by Castle.

Mary Haglund, co-owner and chef at Mary’s, said, “Sheri Castle is one of the most sought after personalities in southern culinary circles.  Her first book, The New Southern Garden Cookbook, received a lot of attention and won several awards. We are so privileged to have her here with us on the eve of the launch of this  book which already is receiving a lot of attention.”

Castle’s appearance at Mary’s Gourmet Diner  is part of The Winston-Salem Journal’s Local Food series and Journal Food Editor, Michael Hastings, will serve as emcee.  Earlier in the morning, Haglund and Castle will appear jointly on live remotes broadcast from Mary’s by FOX 8’s Shannon Smith between 7 and 9 a.m.

In preparation for this book, Castle reviewed every recipe submitted to Southern Living magazine by readers over a period of more than 50 years.   From them she gleaned more than 200 recipes for inclusion in The Southern Living Community Cookbook.  Born in nearby Watauga County, Castle has an entertaining, down-home style that made her the perfect choice to author this major Southern Living release.

Southern Living editors had this to say about The Sothern Living Community Cookbook:

“People feel deep affection for their local community cookbooks, especially those well-worn volumes that serve as a timestamp of a particular place and time. No other type of recipe collection is more generous, gracious, and welcoming. Before we give you a bite, we Southern cooks have to tell you about what we've made. A memorable Southern cookbook holds good food and a good read, the equivalent of a brimming recipe box plus the scribbled notes and whispered secrets that cover the tips, advice, and stories that a generous cook shares with family members, friends, and neighbors.”"

- A Press Release

Help bring the Mantis King back home to Trade Street

The Mantis King, a sculpture by artist Stewart Knight, went missing from his spot in front of the IMG Building on Trade Street in the Downtown Arts District of Winston-Salem.

Knight reports that the Mantis King was vandalized and stolen at about 2 a.m. on Aug. 28. Anyone with information on the Mantis King's whereabouts is asked to contact Knight at 336.209.1236.

Winston-Salem council approves first entertainment district

Ziggy's, a Winston-Salem music venue, is in the heart of the new entertainment district.

The Winston-Salem City Council said, "Let it rock!" with a lopsided 7-1 vote on Monday night to approve an entertainment district encompassing Ziggy's and the District Roof Top Bar & Grille, drowning out the objections of neighbors to the south in the Downtown Arts District.

The applicants, represented by consultant Drew Gerstmyer, lined up support from a powerful set of influential players, including the Downtown Winston-Salem Partnership, the Wake Forest Innovation Quarter and Goler Community Development Corp., whose leaders spoke in support of the rezoning, which is designed to protect entertainment venues from complaints by residents.

But the president of the Downtown Arts District Association and a couple business owners on Trade Street urged council to turn down the request, citing concerns about public safety, sanitation and parking.

Councilwoman Molly Leight, who represents the South Ward, cast the lone no vote.

"Downtown is like Legos; it's building blocks," said Councilwoman Wanda Merschel, the Northwest Ward representative. "And this community has been bringing out our Lego set for years and years. We brought out the expanded sidewalks. We brought out two ways on 4th Street. We brought out the restaurant row. This community has just put Lego after Lego after Lego out there. And one of the next things, I hope, will be a business improvement district, because we don't want to be guilty of our own success.... I view this as just another key Lego piece going into the development of downtown."

Mayor Pro Tem Vivian Burke echoed Merschel's sentiment that the city has invested too much in downtown development to not take the next step.

The council's action creates an entertainment district with relaxed regulations for noise to encourage entertainment facilities catering to young people north of 7th Street on either side of Trade Street, reaching beyond 9th Street.

"I think the thing all of us are talking about is the concern for safety," said Kathy Gaultin, president of the Downtown Arts District Association. "We have a lot of businesses that are currently in the proposed area of the district. We have a lot more traffic than we used to have. We also have a lot more sanitation issues. We have a lot more safety issues. I don't know if more people misbehave or we just have a larger demographic."

Antonina Whaples, a 25-year-old Wake Forest University graduate, recently took over Kindred Spirits, a new-age store on Trade Street, with her husband, an Iraq war veteran. She said the entertainment district would imperil the nearby arts district south of 7th street, especially fledgeling business owners.

"My main concern is that this entertainment district isn't going to assist in the younger generation's ability to make entrepreneurial success in Winston-Salem, especially downtown," she said. "I don't think I have to tell any of you that it's hard out there for college graduates. I worked for an entire year after graduation as a bagger. Through ingenuity, hard work and an excellent business loan I was able to make this happen.

"I'm very concerned that this entertainment district is going to bring in some energies to the downtown district that is not going to be supportive to the artists that are downtown," Whaples continued. "Artists are the kind of people we need without the worry of our rent going up, insurance increasing because of worries about theft and dangerous people downtown after hours. There's concerns about those things. When people are inebriated, the danger increases. I don't have to tell you being a young woman, it's dangerous to walk out of your store at night. You want to feel comfortable."

Will Knott, a member of the arts district association, noted that the district already has a number of bars and restaurants, some of which are members of the association. He said the galleries that operate during the daytime are challenged when patrons of the bars who are over-served leave their cars parked on the street overnight. Finnigan's Wake, the Silver Moon Saloon and Single Brothers are among the bars located on Trade Street south of 7th Street.

"We are a vibrant, but we are a fragile neighborhood — small businesses, many of them that are marginal in their profitability," Knott said.

"The E district would also encourage crime — just sort of natural, goes with it," Knott added. "I've talked to Drew and his people, and they understand and talk about additional security, but it is a factor. It can create a seediness that the art pioneers have worked hard to get rid of. The tourists — 60 percent or so of our business comes from out-of-town people. If tourists, people in the hotels, don't feel comfortable, they're not coming down. They're not buying art."

Councilman Robert Clark, who represents the West Ward, acknowledge the growing pains that attend balancing growth between art galleries and entertainment facilities.

"Knowing there's a lot of beer served," he said, "I have a feeling we may have a problem with public urination."

Larry Olds said a provision in the ordinance when council created the new zoning category last November that prohibits other entertainment districts within a mile radius was "a serious oversight and mistake."

"We should have several entertainment districts in downtown," he said.

Greg Carlyle, owner of the Millennium Center at 5th and Trade streets, did not attend the city council meeting. But minutes from the June 13 City-County Planning Board meeting reflect that he stated that the zoning change would put him at a competitive disadvantage because he will be ineligible to rezone his property as an entertainment district.

Three speakers lined up in support of the initiative.

"I think this represents progress," said Jason Thiel, president of the Downtown Winston-Salem Partnership. "I think in some cases you do want to allow for the higher volume of music and outdoor entertainment. I think you see that in most of the cities that we compete with as peers."

Eric Tomlinson, president of Wake Forest Innovation Quarter, said he had recently been at an establishment near 7th and Trade streets "winding down" with a group of colleagues.

"I had a lot of fun doing that," he said, "and I can see how that would attract a lot of youth and a lot of energy into our city."

Michael Suggs, executive director of Goler Community Development Corp. — a nonprofit involved in housing development and other revitalization efforts in the area directly to the east of the entertainment district — also urged approval.

"We think it's going to be a good thing that's going to spur some economic growth in the area," Suggs said. "If you look at the picture, it's literally the hole in the doughnut. It's not connected to any particular development. We think doing this type of project, it has the potential to connect particularly the area of Kimberly Park to some of the things that are happening."

Councilman Derwin Montgomery, who represents the East Ward, said the rezoning represents an opportunity to lay a foundation for a harmonious mix of uses in an area that to date has few residents "with the understanding that when you move in residential you'll have that understanding between those two."

"Other cities are watching us to see how this works," Montgomery concluded, "and I think we're going to be an opportunity for others around the state to be able to copy what we've done here in Winston-Salem."

Disclosure: YES! Weekly's publisher is a part owner of Ziggy's, one of the subject properties in the new entertainment district.