Archive for the ‘Feature’ Category
September 3rd, 2010
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Want some tasty food at 3am or breakfast for dinner, then Mattie’s Diner is the place for you. Located at the NC Music Factory , Mattie’s Diner provides a unique atmosphere and great food at a reasonable price. Open late every night and open 24-7 on Thursday-Sunday. Check out our video with the co-owner Matt King to get all the details about this great place.
Long before ABC’s Supernanny, Jo Frost, was sending pint-sized terrors to the naughty spot, Helen Lyndon Goff aka P.L. Travers of Queensland, Australia had other ideas of how troublesome tots and their equally wayward parents could be whipped into shape. Travers answer to the proper British turn-of-the-century house in disarray was the bustle bobbing, umbrella toting, omniscience of London’s own uber-nanny, Mary Poppins.
When Travers introduced the world to Poppins through a series of children’s novels published beginning in 1934, she could hardly imagine her acerbic and slightly mystical protagonist would capture the hearts of millions of children across the pond. I, along with scores of baby-boomers, came to know Poppins through her iconic portrayal by Julie Andrews in the 1964 Disney film classic, Mary Poppins.
Some forty years later, with the full force of Leviathan merchandising and corporate bankrolling behind the brand, Disney struck again bringing Poppins alive onstage on Broadway where she has enjoyed both box office and critical success ever since. Queen City residents can thank Cameron Mackintosh, the venerable Broadway producer, for the current over-the top performance by the touring company at the Blumenthal. This show brings many of the West-End ensemble to the stage for an evening of Cockney accents, elaborate staging, and resplendent costumes all surrounding a tepid plot-line that serves as a mere backdrop for whimsical and ever familiar show tunes.
The Blumenthal was overflowing with families Friday evening. Suburban grade-schoolers were in their finest evening wear. Little girls sported taffy colored dresses, hair bows the circumference of their owner’s heads and heels that were the cause of more than one tumble in the lobby. No matter, they were there to witness their first Broadway show, and what a show it was.
From the opening Chim Chim Cher-ee to the closing Supercalifragilisticexpiaidocious encore medley, the brilliantly constructed ensemble cast maintained an energy level that was just slightly below uncontrollable frenzy. The plot is as indicated, thin; Poppins (Caroline Sheen – as self billed, is practically perfect in every way) appears on the scene of the not-so-tightly controlled household of George (Laird Mackintosh) and Winifred (Blythe Wilson) Banks in a last ditch attempt to restore order and joy into the chaotic and too tightly wound family.
The near three hour performance suffers slightly from peaking too early as the true show stopper comes early in act one with Jolly Holiday. Bert, in a polished and never restrained performance by Dominic Roberts, leads the cast of statuary and park patrons in explaining through song and dance the powers of MP to the Banks children, deftly played by Camille Mancuso and Talon Ackerman. The shift from a flatly lit almost black and white stage to one in brilliant color, screaming with bold primary hues through the course of this number was mesmerizing.
The shifting, rolling and collapsible sets transformed the proscenium stage to 17 Cherry Tree Lane with remarkable ease and detail. The kitchen scene where Sheen truly shines in administering A Spoonful of Sugar to the children after a calamitous episode is another act one highlight. The Bank’s household help, Mrs. Brill (Rachel Izen) and Robertson Ay (Dennis Moench) are a perfectly paired comic team that offer set ups to Sheen’s straight laced punch line deliveries.
Act two tries mightily to recapture the energy of the show’s first half and with the sublimely wicked and high octane Brimstone and Treacle performance of Ellen Harvey’s Miss Andrew, they nearly pull it off. Alas the show’s final hour runs low on batteries and relies more on the wizardry of Sheen who floats in and out of scenes with her magical umbrella. Credit to Roberts who leads the Step and Time dance number close to the enthusiasm seen in act one including a tribute to Fred Astaire where he dances literally while climbing all around the stage, including tap dancing while suspended upside down some thirty feet in the air.
A fine ensemble cast, strong voices all, round out a very entertaining evening that is just short of magical in its waning conclusion.
The set design, lighting and special effects take this production to the edge, leaving the children wide eyed and their parents content that their splurge on show tickets was worth the expenditure. This Mary Poppins proves that anything can happen and it usually does.
The Blumenthal Performing Arts Center Hosts Mary Poppins at the Belk Theater as part of their Broadway Lights Series through September 19. Info at: http://www.blumenthalcenter.org/
watch this video in HD on YouTube
Hip-hop artist Cut Chemist, known among other things for his collaborations with the likes of DJ Shadow and Jurassic 5, was in town a little over a week ago on tour with the Red Bull Music Academy.
I synced up w/ Justin Aswell & Ill-use of local group Mr. Invisible to do an interview. We took him to Wax Museum on Monroe Rd to go crate digging, and pick his brain about his latest work.
Photos of the interview, courtesy, Kevin Womack, are embedded below and available on Flickr.
The Democratic National Committee Summer Meeting in St Louis, MO (#STL) begins tomorrow. Representatives of bidding cities will have a ‘meeting of the minds’ to discuss political approach for the 2012 DNC.
This morning at 10AM EST we strongly encourage the city of Charlotte (because we’ve got a bid in for the DNC, too) and the state of NC to cause a stir on Twitter using all/some/any of the following hashtags: #DNC #CLT #CLT2012 #DNC10.
Tweet what you love about our state! The #DNC/#DNC10 tag is the most important because it’s got the largest number of eyes on it and its a good way to bring our state to the forefront in a positive way.
Regardless of political affiliation having the DNC in Charlotte is an economic stimulus we can’t help but rally together for. It’ll bring $150-$200 MILLION dollars to our city/region. Our libraries and public services are facing closure or reduction as funds all around have been dwindling. This bid could bring about the Queen City’s best features being given national attention and put Charlotte on the map! We all know we’re not some back country bumpkins but the perception is still there that we are.
So here we go everyone! Tweet about why you love Charlotte, why you love living NC, what’s great about our people here, etc but first and foremost, let’s have this be about how great WE are not about what’s bad about anyone else. We’re all friends here!
#DNC hashtag party ends at 12:00pm our time today.
Amélie’s French Bakery just signed the lease on a new location uptown, at the base of 330 S. Tryon (or as you might know it, right below the big “Charlotte Chamber” sign).
They’ll be serving pre-packaged sandwiches and salads, select pastries, and of course, coffee, tea, etc.
They won’t be strictly 24/7, instead saying they’ll have “event-driven hours”, in other words, staying open if people are there.
I ran uptown to scope out the location, and happened to find owner Lynn St. Laurent, who said she had been there since 6am. She showed me inside and let me take some video to share here.
Lynn says they’re aiming to open on September 1st, though it might be sooner.
Thanks to @UD400, who tipped us off on the location through Twitter.
#IgniteCLT was last night at The Neighborhood Theatre in the heart of NoDa. Local visionaries and tech nerds gathered to be inspired and, if you weren’t there, you missed a killer version of Happy Birthday being sung to presenter Becky Knight. It’s not often you get to hear 200+ people sing Happy Birthday to a community member. It was awesome. The whole night was fantastic.
Here are some highlights from the first iteration of Ignite Charlotte:
Jim Van Fleet (aka: Professor Sideburns) provided a killer list of resources for startups during his talk called Starting Charlotte’s Future. But,he says, “First things first, we’ve got to start talking about it!” and here are some online places Jim recommends to find people to talk with and/or get your startup funded:
Wed3,IMAF,Self-help, @cltlaunch, Area Fifteen, Startup Weekend Charlotte, meetup.com
“Webinars that don’t suck” actually didn’t suck even though it was about webinars which are possibly the bane of any office worker’s existence at some point or another in their career. @dawnladams and @techherding kept it engaging!
Dwayne Waite was by far the best dressed there, hands down. He gave a clever presentation called Setting the Record Straight: The Real Retrosexual Male.
Warren Cooksey did a fine job of educating the crowd on how to instruct their government and how to lobby well and presented some great real life pics of his work as a city council person.
Rajeev Kulkarni made everyone’s brains bubble (in a good way!) with his talk on 3D printing.
I was so excited after learning Lemonade Day is coming to Charlotte May 1st, 2011! They’re all about teaching kids entrepreneurial skills, who can’t support that?? They’re new and just getting started but here’s their twitter name: @lemonadedayclt
Dave Bell, the Camping Services Director with Charlotte YMCA and summer camp evangelist behind @campleadership, told us how camp councilors make the best, most awesome employees ever.
Local social media favorite Adam Holden-Bache wowed everyone with his great infographics during his informative talk called The Problem with Data and Statistics.
Here’s the entire speaker list, everyone who presented did an amazing job! Check it out!
Three Charlotte-based companies:
- Yap (@YapMe)
- 3tailer (@3tailer)
- and goodmortgage.com (@goodmortgage)
… were named among the top 25 North Carolina companies to watch by CED (@CEDNC, Council for Entrepreneurial Development), a private nonprofit organization that promotes local entrepreneurial efforts.
“From 2006 through 2009, these companies collectively generated $334 million in revenue and added 443 employees (both in North Carolina and out of state), reflecting a 232 percent increase in revenue and 176 percent increase in jobs for the four-year period. That translates into a 51 percent annual revenue growth and 41 percent annual growth in employees.”
watch this video in HD on Vimeo
Sarah and Victor Lytvinenko form Raleigh Denim, a local (OK, Raleigh-based) company using mostly local materials including locally manufactured denim (Cone Mills, to be exact). They’re making waves worldwide, despite their mission to revitalize the North Carolina garment industry.
You can buy Raleigh Denim at Niche Market on Camden, whose blog pointed me to the above video produced by David Huppert for UNC-TV.
We recently had a chance to tour the new Mint Museum uptown, and wow! I’ll let the pictures above and video below speak for themselves.
Calling all foodies, a new healthy eating option is opening in South End this week!
Luna’s Living Kitchen is a new, local restaurant serving a variety of vegetarian, vegan or raw food meals, treats and drinks. Located next to the Atherton Mills Farmer’s Market, Luna’s prides itself on using nothing but the finest organic and local ingredients. Luna’s serves healthy entrees, salads, desserts, smoothies and juices six days a week and should definitely appeal to the hugely growing market interested in healthy, organic and local food.
Luna’s is the brainchild of local restaurateurs, Juliana Luna, Randy Powell and Andy Thewlis. For Luna especially, opening “Luna’s” is extension of what she wants to do as far as educating people about making healthy food choices. Says Luna:
“I think that food is one of the first needs of all human beings and if you provide your community with proper food and nutrition, you can do a lot of (good) work… this is what I’m trying to do here.”
Luna’s menu is different from most eateries, because it’s menu is all vegetarian, vegan or “raw”. Raw food especially is a new concept for many. Raw foodists believe that food is best uncooked and unprocessed, and by eating food in it’s purest form, you can get the most possible nutrients out of it. While the lifestyle isn’t much of secret to those who frequent local farmers markets or health food stores, it’s still a foreign concept to most Charlotteans. That is something Luna’s hopes to change soon. Luna’s wants to welcome to raw foodies, vegans/vegetarians and non-vegans/vegetarians alike.
Some of the specialties on the menu include the Lunasagna (a raw version of lasagna made with zucchini noodles, sun-dried tomato sauce and green cashew cheese) and the Sprouted Quinoa-Kamut Veggie Burger. They even make their own raw granola (which is no surprise, since much of the food is produced on-site or comes from local producers.) Luna’s serves a variety of juices, drinks and smoothies. Including their own home-brewed kombucha tea, a drink which has developed quite a cult following nationwide, and just recently locally for its health benefits.
In fact, local health gurus should be already familiar with the faces behind the counter. Luna, Powell & Thewlis used to work at Real Food Charlotte, another restaurant which served healthy, vegetarian and vegan cuisine before it closed unexpectedly last year. Instead of letting it keep her down, Luna is hoping to use her Real Food Charlotte experience as a springboard for better things with “Luna’s.” To her, food is like art. And she hopes to spread that knowledge to her customers. “I have a passion for food, and especially everything related to educating people through food.”
In addition to making great food, Luna’s wants to be a one-stop shop for healthy living. Luna’s has set up a library full of books on vegetarianism, veganism, raw food, yoga, holistic living and more. Also, there are plans in the work to host health lectures twice a month with local health experts. Eating at Luna’s is also good for the environment and the local community. The restaurant does in-store recycling and composting, and all their plates, cups and utensils are biodegradable. In addition, the art and store fixtures were produced by local artists and craftspeople.
Luna’s is located at 2102 South Blvd, Suite 15o in the Atherton Mills Complex, between the Atherton Mills Farmer’s Market and Evolution Gym. They’re open Monday through Thursday, 11am – 7pm; and Friday through Saturday, 8am – 3pm (closed Sunday).
phone: 704-333-0008
Website: http://lunaslivingkitchen.com
Facebook: Luna’s Living Kitchen Facebook Page
Twitter: @lunaskitchen
Posted in City, Feature, Health, Retail, South End, raw, raw foodism, restaurant, vegan, veganism, vegetarian
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