Fifteen-year-old Mattie Lee Watson dreams of men, not boys. So when James T. Cullowee, the Kudzu King, arrives in Cooper County, North Carolina in 1941 to spread the gospel of kudzu—claiming that it will improve the soil, feed cattle at almost no cost, even cure headaches—Mattie is ready. Mr. Cullowee is determined to sell the entire county on the future of kudzu, and organizes a kudzu festival, complete with a beauty pageant. Mattie is determined to be crowned Kudzu Queen and capture the attentions of the Kudzu King. As she learns more about Cullowee, however, she discovers that he, like the kudzu he promotes, has a dark and predatory side. When she finds she is not the only one threatened, she devises a plan to bring him down. Based on historical facts, The Kudzu Queen unravels a tangle of sexuality, power, race, and kudzu through the voice of an irresistibly delightful (and mostly honest) narrator. Mimi Herman is the author of The Kudzu Queen, Logophilia and A Field Guide to Human Emotions. She codirects Writeaways writing workshops in the United States and abroad, and is a Kennedy Center teaching artist. Mimi lives in a 1925 bungalow in Durham, North Carolina.

Jazz nights are continuing on Wednesdays so don't miss out on the chance to hear some great holiday jazz this month, sprinkled in alongside your classic favorites. Here are our upcoming performers 02/22- Dave Quick Jazz 03/01- Kris Whitenack Trio 03/08- Tony Galiani Band 03/15- Dave Quick Jazz 03/22- Lauren Meehan Band So make a reservation and join us for dinner tonight! Lounge menu served in the dining room, and the lounge, and our full dinner menu as well.

Join French Connections and many other vendors and exhibitors on February 23-26, 2023, as we celebrate the 34th annual Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival at the Hampton Roads Convention Center! As we get ready to celebrate the 34th annual Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival, we reflect on all the positive times we’ve spent together and the joyfulness of all those years of quilts. We consider ourselves fortunate to have been part of this Festival. The Merchants Mall will feature everything for quilt, fiber, wearable & textile artists, and home sewers. In addition, MAQF will present the finest collection of quilt, garment, and fiber art exhibitions including quilt and wearable art prize money competitions. Rounding out the event will be workshops and lectures presented by leading instructors along with demonstrations throughout the Merchants Mall.

A rock and roll drummer abandons his successful music career to pursue his true passion and discovers a deeper understanding of artistic fulfillment in this episodic memoir of swapping one dream for another In the mid-1990s, fresh out of high school, Nic Brown was living his childhood dream as a rock and roll drummer. Signing a major label record deal, playing big shows, hitting the charts, giving interviews in Rolling Stone, appearing on The Tonight Show—what could be better for a young artist? But contrary to expectations, getting a shot at his artistic dream early in life was a destabilizing shock. The more he achieved, the more accolades that came his way, the less sure Brown became about his path. Only a few years into a promising musical career, he discovered the crux of his discontent: he was never meant to remain behind the drums. In fact, his true artistic path lay in a radically different direction entirely: he decided to become a writer, embarking on a journey leading him to attend the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, publish novels and short stories, and teach literature to college students across the country. Bang Bang Crash tells the story of Nic Brown’s unusual journey to gain new strength, presence of mind, and sense of perspective, enabling him to discover an even greater life of artistic fulfillment. Nic Brown is the author of the novels In Every Way, Doubles, and Floodmarkers, which was selected as an Editors' Choice by The New York Times Book Review. He is the fiction editor of the South Carolina Review, and his writing has appeared in The New York Times and the Harvard Review, among many other publications. As a drummer, he has worked with Athenaeum, Ben Lee, Longwave, Skeleton Key, and Eszter Balint. A graduate of Columbia University […]

Save up to 50% when you shop great brands for clothing, gifts, and shoes at New Horizons Downtown and New Horizons West, February 25 - March 8.

The 10 countries that make up Southeast Asia offer a kaleidoscope of cultural and spiritual diversity - wrapped in rainforests, crowned by volcanoes, and studded with ruins of lost civilizations. The tiger is a powerful religious and cultural symbol for the people of Southeast Asia, but the species is also one of the most endangered mammals in the world. Join Carolina Tiger Rescue as we celebrate the tiger and look toward a future when tigers are no longer endangered. Enjoy an evening filled with good friends, fine food and drink, fun silent and live auction items, and dancing! The Annual Black Tie & Tails Ball benefits the amazing animals at Carolina Tiger Rescue.

What could possibly be better than a day of enjoying some of the freshest oysters the Tri-State has to offer? Throwing a whole hog on the BBQ to go with it! We are super excited to announce PIGS AND PEARLS ... a brand new event where Postal Fish Company will be teaming up with Lily Den Farms, Fair Game Beverage, BMC Brewing, and Carolina Cravings for an amazing meal at The Plant on Lorax Lane on Sunday, February 26. Whole hog BBQ, oysters, smoked chicken, cornbread, banana rellenitos, and more. Tickets are $65 per person and they go on sale TODAY (1/21) at 2:30pm. Also, a limited amount of VIP tickets will be available for $100 and includes shucked raw oysters.

Jazz nights are continuing on Wednesdays so don't miss out on the chance to hear some great holiday jazz this month, sprinkled in alongside your classic favorites. Here are our upcoming performers 03/01- Kris Whitenack Trio 03/08- Tony Galiani Band 03/15- Dave Quick Jazz 03/22- Lauren Meehan Band So make a reservation and join us for dinner tonight! Lounge menu served in the dining room, and the lounge, and our full dinner menu as well.

We are having a reception for our Featured Artist - Peter Falotico. The Reception is Sunday, March 5th, from 2-4 pm. Everyone is invited! The influence of Persian Art, Manuscript Illumination, Cloisonné, Suprematism, artists Omar Rayo and Joseph Albers can be seen in my creations. Being selected to study fine arts at Hunter College by the sculptor Tony Smith, learning the techniques created by printmaker Vincent Longo and the color theorist Sandy Wurmfeld challenged my creative beliefs. As a student, I attended museums and galleries. Seeing fantastic art and viewing current trends helped develop my ideas. I use technical pens to create equidistant continuous lines that are carefully balanced, between positive and negative spaces. I call them Vonal. Additionally, I create embellished embossings, which I call Goffratura Abbelitto. Within my compositions, I seek emotional balance. I love what I do and continue to create. ~Peter Falotico

Jazz nights are continuing on Wednesdays so don't miss out on the chance to hear some great holiday jazz this month, sprinkled in alongside your classic favorites. Here are our upcoming performers 03/08- Tony Galiani Band 03/15- Dave Quick Jazz 03/22- Lauren Meehan Band So make a reservation and join us for dinner tonight! Lounge menu served in the dining room, and the lounge, and our full dinner menu as well.

Jazz nights are continuing on Wednesdays so don't miss out on the chance to hear some great holiday jazz this month, sprinkled in alongside your classic favorites. Here are our upcoming performers 03/15- Dave Quick Jazz 03/22- Lauren Meehan Band So make a reservation and join us for dinner tonight! Lounge menu served in the dining room, and the lounge, and our full dinner menu as well.

Join us on Friday, March 17th and Saturday, March 18th as Chef Ingram shows off some of his culinary creations with a special tasting menu. Featuring Corned Ostrich with a Guinness Mustard, Smashed Brussel Sprouts, and an Irish Coffee Float for dessert. Reservations.

Join PBA member John M. Crowell, with New York Life, and the VFW Post 7313 in donating blood! The Blood Connection will be at the Pittsboro Lowe's Hardware parking lot (Bellemont Station) on Saturday, March 18, from 8-1. Appointments preferred; see the link below.

The Chatham County Republican Party convention will be March 18 at 08:30 AM in the George Moses Horton School gymnasium. In general, you must be a registered Republican as of January 31, 2023 in order to be a voting delegate at the convention. You must attend the county convention in order to be a voting delegate at the district or state conventions. To register for the Chatham Convention, please go here: https://secure.winred.com/ccgop-ec60b911/convention23. Registration will close on March 16 at noon. There will be no on-site registration: everyone must pre-register.

Jazz nights are continuing on Wednesdays so don't miss out on the chance to hear some great holiday jazz this month, sprinkled in alongside your classic favorites. Here are our upcoming performers 03/22- Lauren Meehan Band So make a reservation and join us for dinner tonight! Lounge menu served in the dining room, and the lounge, and our full dinner menu as well.

Chatham County's Spring Ag Fest returns March 25, 2023, celebrating Agriculture in Chatham County with antique tractors & farm equipment, Smokey Bear, livestock exhibits & exhibitions, food trucks, tons of local vendors, & free pony rides (provided by Chatham County Farm Bureau)! PBA member Maple View Mobile will be part of the food truck rodeo. Sample some of their delicious ice cream!