There are times when I hate being a local...
...and this weekend is definitely one of them.
It's Race Week in Charlotte, NC. The Coca-Cola 600 is at Lowe's Motor Speedway. 50,000 obsessed race fans descend on Charlotte and the area for the weekend. Traffic is just hell. I had to actually drive by LMS...it took me 10 minutes to get past the intersection of Speedway Blvd (now renamed Bruton Smith Blvd after :LMS's owner) and Concord Parkway South. And everyone here either drives like a maniac or like a snail because they're lost. Usually, we get out of Charlotte for Memorial Day weekend and go somewhere else, but I don't think we're going to do that this year. At least I know enough to stay away from LMS. Technically the speedway's in Concord, not Charlotte, and a lot of the drivers actually live in Mooresville (north of Charlotte, on Lake Norman), but the city becomes one big gridlock.
On the good side, I did make some pretty good contacts. There's a store in Birkdale (between Charlotte and Mooresville) called One Neighborhood. It sells "fair trade" items, which means that they're made by people from all over the world, and the artisans are compensated for their work. I was particularly drawn to the drums...I have a flat drum and a djembe here at home, plus rainsticks, shakers, and other percussive instruments. The guy who runs the place, David, is a nice guy. There are drum teachers who play at the store, and occasionally they have drum circles. Also, David's trying to get some sort of artist network started in the area. (The artsy area of Charlotte is NoDa (North Davidson), but there isn't anything much for people who live north of the city and south of Lake Norman. It's kind of a "dead zone".) I told him about my own art, and he seemed pretty interested. There might be a chance for me to display my work...we'll see. It's not easy for new artists to get into the pipeline, so to speak.
Working on writing, editing and generally trying not to go nuts. Tomorrow, Michael's class has a picnic at Reedy Creek Park. I'm supposed to bring mac and cheese and extra cups. At least M&C is something that Michael AND Christina are willing to eat.
Till later,
Annie
It's Race Week in Charlotte, NC. The Coca-Cola 600 is at Lowe's Motor Speedway. 50,000 obsessed race fans descend on Charlotte and the area for the weekend. Traffic is just hell. I had to actually drive by LMS...it took me 10 minutes to get past the intersection of Speedway Blvd (now renamed Bruton Smith Blvd after :LMS's owner) and Concord Parkway South. And everyone here either drives like a maniac or like a snail because they're lost. Usually, we get out of Charlotte for Memorial Day weekend and go somewhere else, but I don't think we're going to do that this year. At least I know enough to stay away from LMS. Technically the speedway's in Concord, not Charlotte, and a lot of the drivers actually live in Mooresville (north of Charlotte, on Lake Norman), but the city becomes one big gridlock.
On the good side, I did make some pretty good contacts. There's a store in Birkdale (between Charlotte and Mooresville) called One Neighborhood. It sells "fair trade" items, which means that they're made by people from all over the world, and the artisans are compensated for their work. I was particularly drawn to the drums...I have a flat drum and a djembe here at home, plus rainsticks, shakers, and other percussive instruments. The guy who runs the place, David, is a nice guy. There are drum teachers who play at the store, and occasionally they have drum circles. Also, David's trying to get some sort of artist network started in the area. (The artsy area of Charlotte is NoDa (North Davidson), but there isn't anything much for people who live north of the city and south of Lake Norman. It's kind of a "dead zone".) I told him about my own art, and he seemed pretty interested. There might be a chance for me to display my work...we'll see. It's not easy for new artists to get into the pipeline, so to speak.
Working on writing, editing and generally trying not to go nuts. Tomorrow, Michael's class has a picnic at Reedy Creek Park. I'm supposed to bring mac and cheese and extra cups. At least M&C is something that Michael AND Christina are willing to eat.
Till later,
Annie