On June 19, 2019, Eastern North Carolinians will celebrate JUNETEENTH with the launch of The African American Heritage & Cultural Center of New Bern.
June 19 is JUNETEENTH, the national celebration of the emancipation of formerly enslaved peoples. The AAHCC launch is June 19 from 6-8 p.m. at 408 Hancock St. in New Bern.
Rick Fisher, newly elected Board President said, “JUNETEENTH was chosen because of its significance to African Americans throughout the country. Launching on JUNETEENTH in New Bern demonstrates our organization’s commitment to presenting the historical impact and progression of African American heritage and culture in Eastern North Carolina.”
The African American Heritage & Cultural Center (AAHCC) launch on JUNETEENTH is one event among many planned that week throughout New Bern.
“Our leadership looks forward to all the events and encourages families throughout the region to come to New Bern for the JUNETEENTH celebrations,” Fisher said.
“We are planning an evening of fellowship, good traditional food, music, and art”, said Board Vice-President Ann Herndon. “I’m honored to be on the founding Board of Directors and look forward to AAHCC’s first public event.”
Details and tickets for the event are available on EventBrite. The program begins at 6 p.m. and registrants are encouraged to park in the nearby free parking lot and arrive by 5:45.
AAHCC is strategic group of community leaders, elected officials and nonprofit organization leaders that gathered early in 2018 to discuss the continuing need to increase the visibility of the heritage of eastern North Carolina’s African American community.
Beyond the recorded history of the region that is included in traditional educational environments exists an important legacy of remarkable and determined individuals who contributed to the development of this region. As 2018 discussion continued, these early AAHCC leaders determined to established a 501(c)(3) nonprofit which would collaborate with existing nonprofits, organizations and groups to secure resources to present a broad spectrum of the African American Experience.
Future AAHCC programs will include developing an oral history library with universal access, and presenting creative performances, seminars and lectures, exhibitions of artwork including murals, artifacts and personal collections, along with music, food and live art events.
ADDITIONAL JUNETEENTH EVENTS IN NEW BERN
AAHCC’s June 19 launch is one of many JUNETEENTH events throughout New Bern:
• Friday, June 14 at 5-8 p.m. JUNETEENTH Opening Reception featuring a month- long exhibit of eight local African American artists at Craven Arts Council, Bank of the Arts, 317 Middle Street
• Monday June 17 at 7 p.m. Juneteenth Week Kickoff with Charles Tendell Podcast
• Tuesday June 18, Community Service/Health Day Health and Mental Health Free Screenings at the OMEGA Center. Watch for publication of registration details
• JUNETEENTH Wednesday June 19 at 6-8 p.m. AAHCC Public Lunch – register on EventBrite.
• Thursday June 20 at 7 p.m. Tryon Palace African American Lecture, NC History Center
• Friday June 21 at 7 p.m. “Celebration of Cultures” hosted by Y.U.P. Annual Rooftop Social, 401 Middle Street. Registration required.
• Saturday June 22, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. DufFest Presents Juneteenth hosted by GDRC, Stanley White Field
• Saturday, June 22, HBCA DAY at Omega Center. Watch for publication of registration details
• Sunday June 23 is Community Freedom and Fellowship Day at Local Churches and Union Point Park Recreation. Watch for publication of details
• Sunday June 23 Gospel Concert being planned at OMEGA Center. Watch for publication of details
The African American Heritage & Cultural Center of New Bern is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in New Bern North Carolina and serving communities throughout Eastern North Carolina. Contact information: Post Office Box 1354, NBNC 28563-1354 or TheCenterofNewBern@gmail.com.
In early 2019, AAHCC became a nonprofit organization and elected is founding Board of Directors and Officers.
Officers are Rick Fisher – President
Ann Herndon – Vice-President
Kathy Adolph – Secretary
Jim Copland – Treasurer
Board Directors – Carol Bonner Becton, Maria Cho, and Tahira Coble Copland.
AAHCC is staffed by Executive Director Carrie Gallagher.
Celebrate New Bern’s heritage and resilience with the New Bern Historical Society’s Heritage Homes Tour April 12-13.
Traditional historic homes, restorations in progress, newly completed renovations, and beautiful gardens will all be on display, many for the very first time. For two days visitors will be invited to tour 18 remarkable properties in five historic neighborhoods — Downtown, Dryborough, Riverside, Ghent, and DeGraffenried Park.
When you take a break at the Garden Party at the Heritage Homes Tour, you’ll be entertained by some of the area’s most popular musicians. Taking the Back Porch Stage at the Attmore-Oliver House from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. on Friday and Saturday will be Simon Spalding, The Duzan Duo, The DownEast Dulcimers and Big Jim and Kathy Kohler. The New Bern Historical Society is planning an exciting two-day event and the addition of live music means an extra layer of fun, and all part of your ticket. After a stop for refreshments and music at the Garden Party, you’ll be ready to continue your Tour.
Master Gardeners will present special Heritage Horticulture information, and guide visitors through three gardens, including the Historical Society’s Heritage Garden. Food trucks along the route will offer lunches to help guest maximize their tour schedules.
Tickets, good for both days, are available at New Bern Historical Society office at 511 Broad Street (252-638-8558) and on line atwww.NewBernHistorical.org/tickets. They are also available at outlets at Mitchell Hardware on Craven Street, the Bank of the Arts on Middle Street, Harris Teeter on MLK Blvd and in Carolina Colours. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 the day of the tour, and $15 for active duty military, students, and those in groups of 10 or larger.
The New Bern Historical Society celebrates and promotes New Bern and its heritage through events and education. Offices are located in the historic Attmore-Oliver House at 511 Broad Street in New Bern. For more information, call 252-638-8558 or go www.NewBernHistorical.org orwww.facebook.com/NewBernHistoricalSociety.
Turnbull House in Riverside built in 1925
Jerkins Richardson House in Downtown Historic District built in 1848.
CHERRY POINT— Allies for Cherry Point’s Tomorrow (ACT) will host the 4th Annual Brews & Bites on Friday, May 3 from 5- 9 p.m. The event will be located on the Neuse River, at the end of Broad Street, and will feature the return of New Bern’s own internationally-acclaimed stunt pilot, Hubie Tolson.
Attendees will experience an evening on the river’s edge sampling wine, local craft brews from Brutopia and Shortway Brewing, and food from The Tiny Tornado and Dank Burrito. There will be live music from Glorianna’s Tom Gossin and an air show performance by Hubie Tolson.
Brews & Bites was created as a community event to raise awareness for ACT’s efforts to protect and grow MCAS Cherry Point—this area’s largest economic engine and the largest employer in Craven and Carteret counties. All proceeds will benefit continuing efforts to cement the successful future of the base, which includes the next-generation F-35B Joint Strike Fighter.
ACT President and Havelock Mayor Will Lewis, said, “We were extremely pleased with the success of last year’s event and the support shown for Cherry Point. This year, especially with a return performance from Hubie Tolson, we feel we can reach even more people in our community and spread the word about the vital impact the base has on our economy.”
Tickets for the event are $35 per person. Food is additional. To purchase tickets online, go to www.alliesforcherrypoint.com.
Allies for Cherry Point’s Tomorrow (ACT) advocates for the existence and success of Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, Fleet Readiness Center East and its civilian enterprises. Board members include leaders from Craven, Carteret, Pamlico, and Jones Counties who work closely with Congressional and legislative delegations to push for laws and budget appropriations that will help preserve and grow MCAS Cherry Point—a base crucial to the success of the U.S. military and the economy of the region. For more information, call (252) 631-5021 or visit www.alliesforcherrypoint.com.
A free annual event, Carnival of Colors, will be Saturday, March 30, from noon to 2 p.m. at the North Carolina History Center, 529 S. Front Street, New Bern. The event celebrates cancer patients, survivors and legacies.
The event includes New Bern Get Your Color On Board members, Cancer Resource Groups including CarolinaEast Hospital and CCHC, Local Business Sponsors, Music provided by Strung Together, Live Painting by local Artist Sarah Brumbaugh, event guests and more.
New Bern Get Your Color On (NBGYCO) is a community organization that strives to promote awareness and education as well as support hose affected by all types of cancer. Proceeds from our efforts are used to provide care and comfort to cancer patients within our community.
You’ll want to get your taxes done and your schedule freed up for the myriad of events and activities in and around Downtown New Bern the weekend of April 12-14. The weekend is packed with home tours, a concert, art gallery tours, a 5K run, and wine, beer and spirits tastings.
“What’s nice about it is that it brings all kinds of elements together,” said Lynne Harakal, director of Swiss Bear Inc., the Main Street organization for Downtown New Bern.
Whether you’re a local or coming in town for the weekend, there are opportunities for a lot of different activities, she said.
New to Downtown New Bern are Saturday arts and music events that use Bear Plaza as their venue. Starting in April and continuing through MumFest in October, music and arts events will be held in Bear Plaza.
Saturday Sessions, a music event, will be held on the first and third Saturdays. Art-themed events will be held on second and fourth Saturdays. Rare fifth Saturdays will alternate between music and the arts. All events will include arts and story-time activities for children.
“Overdue for a community like ours is to have something like this,” Harakal said. “We should be having regularly scheduled music and arts downtown.”
Event hours are 1-5 p.m. Saturdays at Bear Plaza, which intersects with Middle Street between South Front and Pollock streets.
Early risers can start at Farmers Market, have lunch and then catch music or arts. Late risers can start at Bear Plaza, have dinner downtown, and then catch a play at New Bern Civic Theatre or enjoy cocktails, beer and wine at Downtown New Bern’s numerous night spots.
Coming from out of town and want to stay for the weekend? Not a problem. New Bern has a wealth of hotels, motels, and bed & breakfasts that will suit all tastes. Go to https://www.visitnewbern.com/where-to-stay-new-bern-nc/ for more information.
Colorfest will hold its annual event, Night Out With The Arts (NOWTA), on May 10 at the New Bern Golf & Country Club.
Attendees will be introduced to the Colorfest Team, sponsors, and learn more about the things that Colorfest aspires to do in the community. The event will also feature live music by Songstress Rasheeda Waddell and Band, comedy, art exhibition from local artist, live painting and an art auction. All proceeds raised go towards paints, supplies, art scholarships and to the community Colorfest serves. Dinner will also be served.
Those who wish to become a sponsor can call 404-725-3053 or email colorfestinnewbern@gmail.com by March 20.
EVENT INFORMATION:
Night Out With The Arts
Date: May 10, 2019
Time: Doors open at 7 p.m. Show is 8-11 p.m.
Location: New Bern Golf & Country Club, 4301 Country Club Road, New Bern
Cost: $30 General Admission (include entertainment, meal and one complementary raffle ticket)
On the web: www.colorfestinc.org
Since 2011, founder, Derrick Bryant has come back to his hometown and helped beautify the area by painting murals downtown on Queen Street in 2011 and 2016. He’s developed an event/program for youth to tackle problems and have fun at the same time.
Colorfest is an event for youth of all ages to come out and take part in helping to beautify the city of New Bern. Future Colorfest projects are being planned to reach the communities in Eastern North Carolina and Georgia.
A main focus of the Colorfest Team is to break chains in impoverished communities. It sees the arts as a way to give young artist positive ways to channel their creative energy and talents.
“For many years we have seen the decline of funding in schools for art based programs, causing children to lose access to curriculum that would otherwise enhance and nurture the creative process,” Bryant said in a news release.
Colorfest Inc. active sponsors 2018-19 include Walmart, American Airlines, Kiss 102, Baker’s Kitchen, Bern Investment Group,The Tiny Tornado, and B.L.U.U.
Eastern North Carolina’s most popular band for all ages will perform for the fourth time at ShamRockin’ 2019, a St Patrick’s Celebration Friday night, March 15th in New Bern. The annual dinner and party will be held at New Bern’s History Center starting at 6PM with traditional Irish dinner while being entertained by Tom & Dahlin’ with Celtic songs and music…. cash bar with beer, wine and popcorn ..and then dance to the high energy sounds of TrainWreck playing hits like Play That Funky Music, Stayin’ alive, Billie Jean, That’s What I Like, Proud Mary, Keep Your Hands to Yourself….Motown, Rock ,Disco, R&B music from the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s and today…for all ages 18 an over. Tickets available now at Mitchell’s in New Bern and on-line at newbernrotaryclub.org or $25 at the door. Order now, limited seating. Sham-Rockin’2019 is a trademark fund raising event of the Rotary Club of New Bern.
Desperate to find the perfect way to impress your Sweetheart on Valentine’s Day? The Southern Gentlemen Barbershop Chorus has the perfect solution. Simply order a Singing Valentine by calling 252-288-9132.
The cost this year has been reduced to $25 because of the hardships caused by Hurricane Florence and can be paid by credit card or check in advance. Monies have been used in part to support the charitable giving of the Chorus to MERCI Clinic, The Coastal Women’s Shelter and New Beginnings, the opioid recovery program of Bayboro’s Hope Clinic.
A Barbershop Quartet in traditional attire will deliver two sentimental love songs, a long stemmed Red Rose, a Valentine Card signed with your personal message and will provide a photograph to record the special moment. A complimentary ticket to the Chorus’ annual show in April is included.
This will take place on Thursday, Feb. 14for non-military and on Wednesday, Feb. 13 for wives and sweethearts of our military (which will be provided free of charge). Deliveries can be made to residences, businesses, schools, hospitals, nursing homes, gyms, restaurants, or any place else between the hours of 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. in the New Bern and Havelock areas.
To order a Singing Valentine, call 252-288-9132. (Active duty military can order a free Singing Valentine by emailing David Parker.
Craven Community College will celebrate Black History Month with events hosted on the New Bern and Havelock campuses. “Hidden Figures and Community Involvement” will be held Friday, Feb. 8 from 6-8 p.m. on the New Bern Campus and “Unfolding History: Black History Reflections” will be held Thursday, Feb. 14 from 4:30-6 p.m. on the Havelock Campus.
“Hidden Figures and Community Involvement” will celebrate the ways African American organizations and individuals in the region have improved local communities. Guest speaker Chris Suggs, who founded the nonprofit Kinston Teens, Inc. at the age of 14, will discuss his work in Kinston and the positive impact young people can have on their own communities. Other organizations participating in the event include the Craven CC Foundation, Neuse River Bridge Run, Craven Arts Council, Tryon Palace and New Bern Civic Theatre.
“I love being able to coordinate events that bring our community, students, staff and faculty together in meaningful ways,” said Emily Stewart, Craven CC campus life coordinator. “A community college not only provides a place to further your educational goals, but it is a place to come together and connect and learn from each other. When a community can celebrate together, everyone thrives.”
“Hidden Figures and Community Involvement” will be held in the Student Center on the New Bern Campus. There will be refreshments, ticket giveaways to the New Bern Civic Theatre play Miss Evers’ Boys and community organizations on hand to help participants discover different ways they can get involved. Craven CC’s singing student ambassador group, Encore!, will also perform.
On the Havelock Campus, historian Nelson McDaniel will present “Unfolding History: Black History Reflections” as an exploration of African American achievements and contributions to Craven County’s history.
McDaniel was born in New Bern and attended UNC-Chapel Hill, George Washington and Georgetown Universities, New York University and the University of Lyon. For 30 years, he was a teacher at the Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia. McDaniel has served in various volunteer capacities, including the New Bern 300th, New Bern Historical Society, Camps Sea Gull and Seafarer, Christ Church, Tryon Palace Foundation, Carolina East Foundation, Kellenberger Foundation, Craven Arts Council, Coastal Carolina Chamber Music Festival and Swiss Bear.
“Black history laid the foundation for much of American history,” said Sylvia King, Craven CC director of student services on the Havelock Campus. “Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks paved the way for so many of the freedoms that we enjoy today. For example, many people went to see the movie “Hidden Figures” and were surprised to learn that Katherine Johnson, a mathematician who worked with NASA to put John Glenn into orbit, was an African American.”
The presentation will take place in the Institute of Aeronautical Technology Hangar at 305 Cunningham Blvd. Light refreshments will be served.
“This event is to empower us with knowledge so that we can continue to grow as Americans and to teach the generations to come that the United States is great,” said King. “Knowing the past opens the door to the future—this statement is true not just for the past but for the history that is in the making today.”
Both events are free and open to the public. For more information on the New Bern event, contact Stewart at 252-514-0562 or stewarte@cravencc.edu. For information on the Havelock event, contact King at 252-444-2120 orkingsy@cravencc.edu.
Wit Tuttell, the
Executive Director of Visit NC, announced the 2019 Cycle North Carolina
“Mountains to Coast” Route in a pre-recorded video released at the Cycle North
Carolina Route Announcement Party, held at Tobacco Road Sports Café &
Brewery in downtown Raleigh on January 30.
To view the video of
the “Mountains to Coast” Tour announcement, visit the Mountains to Coast
portion of the website at https://www.ncsports.org/ (the
video will be posted by Thursday, Jan 31st).
The twenty-first
annual ride is scheduled for a Blowing Rock to Atlantic Beach route, from September
28 to October 5, 2019. With beautiful
tourist stops along scenic back roads, the “Mountains to Coast” trek is the
highlight of the year for many cyclists from across the nation.
Cycle North Carolina will begin
its full-service, cross-state ride on September 28th in Blowing Rock,
and will arrive at the Atlantic Beach Boardwalk on October 5th, with
1,100 bicyclists expected to participate.
Over the course of the week, riders will bike an average of 60 miles per
day. Additional overnight stays are
planned for the towns of Hickory, Spencer, Siler City, Clayton, Greenville and
New Bern.
The Cycle North Carolina
“Mountains to Coast” Tour is the state’s only cross-state, fully-supported ride
created in 1999 with the N.C. Division of Tourism, Capital Broadcasting
Company, the N.C. Department of Transportation and North Carolina Amateur
Sports as founding partners. Cycle North
Carolina was developed to promote North Carolina’s scenic beauty, heritage
tourism, visitor attractions, historic sites, state parks, fitness, healthy
lifestyles and the benefits of bicycling to individuals and our state. During the past 20 years, Cycle North
Carolina has stopped overnight in more than 100 North Carolina towns and
visited over 700 North Carolina communities.
Online registration is
open at www.ncsports.org. Cycle North Carolina will be capping
registration at 1,100 riders, so interested riders are encouraged to register
early, to avoid missing out on the highlight of the year for bicycling in North
Carolina.
In addition to the
“Mountains to Coast” Tour, Cycle North Carolina will host the Coastal Ride in
Edenton, NC, April 26-28, 2019. Cycle
North Carolina will also host its sixth annual Mountain Ride in Brevard, NC,
August 3-4, 2019. Registration both
rides is open at www.ncsports.org.
Cycle
North Carolina is presented by Retire NC. Partner organizations of Cycle North
Carolina include: Powerade, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina,
BB&T, Capitol Broadcasting Company, Harris Teeter, Morningstar Law Group,
the N.C. Department of Transportation and Cycling Spoken Here.
CHERRY POINT— Allies for Cherry Point’s Tomorrow (ACT) will host the 4th Annual Brews & Bites on Friday, May 3 from 5- 9 p.m. The event will be located on the Neuse River, at the end of Broad Street, and will feature the return of New Bern’s own internationally-acclaimed stunt pilot, Hubie Tolson.
