Arts & Culture

As printed in the Chapel Hill Herald on Saturday, April 7th:

We're coming up on the first anniversary of last year's Apple Chill debacle and rightful cancellation, and it seems to be on people's minds. Last week the Town Council approved a plan for a new summer concert series and craft festival conceived at least in part to substitute for the absence of the old event. I think the plans they passed sound nice and will be good for the community. But I still think the lack of a townwide celebration in the spring that brings folks in from around the region before the students go home will leave a void.

I believe there's a solution to that problem, though -- a solution that would bring people together, be unlikely to create the sort of crime problems associated with Apple Chill, and provide a wonderful model of town/gown relations.

Nothing brings the disparate elements of the Chapel Hill community together more than UNC basketball.

Likewise, nothing brings more folks from around the state into our community and spending money than UNC basketball.

I actually think often of what our lives will be like after the assumption of plentiful and cheap petroleum is gone. For example in Chapel Hill, homes in walking distance of the campus will be even more valuable than they are now. How about homes near Carolina North? If we have managed to get some transit infrastructure into place, that will also drive the value of locations if the only appealing way to get to RTP is by transit. Or will RTP go away, a relic of the dinosaur age of cars? Will we see 10-story buildings in downtown Carrboro?

Anyway, like I said, I think about this, so I am very intrigued abut this film that is "a provocative look at the world of oil scarcity set in Orange County in the near future."

CARRBORO -- A group of concerned citizens, sponsored by local organizations, will hold a public meeting on April 5 at 7 p.m. at the Century Center to address our energy future with a focus on local solutions to global problems.

Guest Post by Sammy Slade

While going to get breakfast this morning 9 a.m., I was pleasantly surprised to find this sign pasted on the Good Neighbor Rules sign at Weaver Street Market. The person who was about to take the sign down kindly allowed me to photograph it before she did so. I asked if she worked for Carr Mill Mall. She said no, she works for Weaver Street Market. When I asked why she was taking it down if she was not Carr Mill Mall she explained that she was responsible for P.R. with Weaver Street Market and that they wanted to maintain a good relationship with the mall. When someone complimented the 'political message on the piece of art' the P.R. person agreed and said that she 'just wished people would post it elsewhere'.

 
(Click above for larger versions.)