By Shawn D. Allison, II
Peace. My people, there’s a lot going on this weekend—and I’m talking more than events. However, in the spirit of culture, there’s quite a few goodies happening in our town.
—FRIDAY 9/23—
From the brilliant and beautiful mind of Kenya Phifer-Jones of The Legacy Theatre Company comes an all-new stage performance full of love, marriage, trust and of course—drama. “Forever 4 What” is the tale of a young married couple’s eventful and emotional weekend with family, fallacies and many tests of faith. There will be two performances: Friday, 9/23 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, 9/24 at 6:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased here: http://www.carolinatix.org/events/detail/forever-4-what-1. Both performances will be held at The Duke Energy Theatre at Spirit Square. The address is 345 N. College St. in Uptown.
Calling all youth! School’s all the way in and once again it’s time for the BreatheINK Youth Poetry Open Mic! Young’ns get those new pieces ready and complete those final edits on old poems and everyone get ready to share your stories among an amazing group of young artists. There will also be planning our first ever Poetry Flash Mob to perform the next night at Festival in the Park! So grab somebody new, somebody old, and anyone else you can think of and let’s get ready to spread the greatness of poetry to the rest of the city. Admission is FREE to attend and the words start flying at 8 p.m. Spirit Square is located at 345 N. College St. in Uptown. #BreatheINK
Get ready to have your body jacked into another atmosphere this evening at FireWater for the 1 year anniversary of The SoulJunkies! Set the dance floor on fire to the best of House, Deep House, Downtempo, Funk and Soul provided by DJ Jazzy Bee, DJ Karizma and special guest, DJ Johnnie Davis! The party starts at 9 p.m. FireWater is located at 8708 J.W. Clay Blvd. in the University Area.
Jazz N’ Soul Music has been on a serious hot streak this year providing some of the best live entertainment in the QC! At The Tavern, things get real ‘funkdafied’ as DV8Shun takes the stage blending a truly organic mixture of Rock, Soul and Funk! This perfectly blended band is anchored by guitarist supreme Ron “Smoov” Brown, vocalist extraordinaire—the compleat chanteuse GiGi Mack, and a host of other talented musicians! Tickets can be purchased here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/dv8shun-a-blast-of-funk-and-rock-featuring-dv8-tickets-27744454410. Showtime is at 9 p.m. The Tavern is located at 300 E. Morehead St. in Uptown. #JazzNSoul
—SATURDAY 9/24—-
Put some color and vigor in your Saturday afternoon and head down to Advent Coworking for the “Queen City Urban Art Showcase!” The spectrum of radiance is filled with work from some of Crown Town’s brightest and upcoming talents and they want you to experience their work. Admission is FREE to attend. The event begins at 12:30 p.m. Advent Coworking is located at 933 Louise Ave. in the Plaza-Midwood District.
Bring the family out to Charlotte’s West Side and come out to the Early Voting Block Party! Enjoy food, live entertainment, meet elected officials, community leaders and neighbors, learning about candidates and laws, networking and registering to vote! This event is FREE and open to the public. The event begins at 1 p.m. The address of the event is 2311 LaSalle St.
Enjoy an afternoon of fly, rich art from the beautifully talented Tiffany M. Wilkins as she presents a brand new showcase “Chocolate Art.” Feast your eyes upon wonderfully constructed chocolate-covered canvasses full of live, vigor, color and positive energy! Admission is FREE to attend and the event starts at 1 p.m. The showcase will be held at the Double Oaks Masonic Outreach Center located at 1326 Prince Hall Ave. in the Double Oaks Community.
This afternoon, re-center your being at Dupp & Swat and come out as local herbal beverage maker Musa Moon, LLC hosts the “D.I.Y. Mason Jar Herb Garden Workshop.” Come sip some tea and engage in a relaxing workshop where you will get to learn about the healing properties of the designated herbs, leave with ideas for herbal remedies and fellowship with others. Tickets can be purchased here: http://www.eventbrite.com/e/diy-mason-jar-herb-garden-workshop-tickets-27501185787?aff=efbevent. The event begins at 2 p.m. Dupp & Swat is located at 2424 N. Davidson St. in the NoDa District.
Everyone slide over to ‘Stache House this afternoon as Ms. Terry Berry of TerryBerry Events hosts the “Fall Festish Day Party!” Get comfortable in those cool fall threads as DJ Ngenius sets the mood with the best of Hip Hop and R&B from today and yesteryear! Admission is FREE and the fun starts at 4 p.m. If you desire to reserve a table, please shoot a text message to (336)-251-4230. The party will be held at ‘Stache House Bar & Lounge. 1520 South Blvd. in Historic South End. #TerryBerryEvents
Slide out to C3 Lab and take an artistic journey back in time with the “Queen City Anthology.” It’s an interactive photography retrospective from the Charlotte music scene of the 90’s featuring never before seen photos from the archives of local photographer Daniel Coston. Admission is FREE to attend and the jump off is at 6 p.m. C3 Lab is located at 2525 Distribution St. in Historic South End.
This evening, join the Guerilla Poets and several other cool cats for “ENCORE! Open Mic!” at The Last Word. Every 4th Saturday of the month, gather ‘round as various and diverse individuals engage an open mic with song, poetry and riveting visual artwork. This is a love-filled atmosphere and if you are the drawing/painting type, I strongly suggest this event for you! Admission is FREE and the love starts at 7 p.m. The Last Word is located at 5744 N. Tryon St. #GuerillaPoets
You want more soul? I got you some! This evening at BluNotes, come and get a full body experience at the all-new “Rare Soul Series!” Headlining and hosting tonight is crooner Eliah Soul featuring Rhythm4U, the astonishly gorgeous Blanche J., Big Mike from Day 26 and the illustrious Kefia Rollerson! If you have never heard any of these riveting acts perform before your ears seriously need to play a game of catch up! Tickets are $10 and can be purchased here: http://www.blunotes.com/raresoultickets/advancedtickets. Showtime is at 8 p.m. BluNotes is located at 3425 David Cox Rd. in the University Area.
Everyone be prepared to set the dance floor on fire at Petra’s this evening for the September edition of Su Casa! Celebrate the entrance of the Fall Equinox with the best of Afrobeat, Soca, AfroHouse, Reggae, Dancehall, The Funk, Soul, R&B, Jazz, Downtempo, House and more! Enjoy facepainting from Catherine Courtlandt, a live mural from Jimi Thompson and vendors with lots of fly goodies! Admission is $10 and the beat starts at 10 p.m. Petra’s is located at 1919 Commonwealth Ave. in the Plaza-Midwood District.
—-SUNDAY 9/25—
The seasons change and so does our center of spiritual gravity. If you want to realign your inner selves, come out to Bilva Yoga Studios and join host Ashakti Wellness for the Fall Yoga Flow Series. Today’s session is entitled “Chakra Yoga” and will be conducted by the lovely Asha Sims. Admission is $10 per person and the session begins at 11 a.m. Bilva Yoga Studios is located at 10230 Berkley Place Dr. in the University Area.
Join Sickle Cell Partners of the Carolinas and Google Fiber for a Sickle Cell Family Fun Day to raise awareness and educate the community about Sickle Cell Disease. This event is FREE and open to the public. The afternoon will include kids’ activities, sickle cell information stations, a photo booth, bubble mania, a community blood drive and food and drinks. The event begins at 2 p.m. and will be held at Google Fiber Space. The address is 301 E. 7th St. in Uptown.
I ask everyone to please keep the peace this weekend as tensions and emotions are already very high from this week’s unfortunate events. Love one another and always keep the faith!
Live. Laugh. Love. Learn. Listen. Give.
#WeekendWarrior #TheBlackFerrisBueller