Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame-bound Sheryl Crow is the scheduled headliner for the Fourth at the Fort Celebration on Fort Liberty at the Main Post Parade Field. Gates open at 3 p.m. Tuesday, according to the Morale, Welfare and Recreation program and a post spokeswoman. The 82nd All-American Rock Band will perform from 4:45 to 5:45 p.m.; a Golden Knights parachute demonstration is at 5:45 p.m.; a flag ceremony and the national anthem are set at 6:13 p.m.; and pop-rock singer Gavin DeGraw will perform from 6:45 to 7:45 p.m. Crow, scheduled for induction at the 38th annual Rock and Roll Hall Fame on Nov. 3, will take the stage at 8:30 p.m. Fireworks are scheduled at 9:45 p.m. Visitors will need proper identification to access the base.
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Folks will be celebrating with an Independence Concert on July 4 at Festival Park in downtown Fayetteville, thanks to the sponsoring Public Works Commission, city of Fayetteville, Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra and an $8,000 grant from the Arts Council of Fayetteville-Cumberland County. Gates will open at 6 p.m., according to a city news release, with the Fayetteville Symphonic Band performing at 7:15 p.m., Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra at about 8:15 p.m., accompanied by the 82nd Airborne Division Band. The celebration will feature food trucks, vendors, a children’s area and fireworks at the conclusion of the concert. There is no charge to attend the concert. Or you might wish to take in the July 4th FAYcation block party from 7 to 10 p.m. on Maxwell Street and hosted by Cool Spring Downtown District. The party will include music by various DJs and reggae performer Petra; food vendors; a beer garden; and yard and water games for families.
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Hope Mills will get a jump on Independence Day, according to the town website, with its annual celebration scheduled for Saturday. A parade is scheduled at 4 p.m., followed at 5 p.m. with food trucks, vendors and live music featuring Paige King Johnson and Krispee Biscuits at Hope Mills Municipal Park. Fireworks are planned for 9 p.m. It’s all sponsored by Hope Mills Parks & Recreation Department.
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“It’s easy to celebrate the Fourth responsibly,” Col. Freddy Johnson Jr., commander of the N.C. State Highway Patrol, says in a news release about driving and drinking on July 4. “It’s a lot more difficult and often impossible to correct the mistakes people make when they drink and drive. So, please make a plan to get home safely so you don’t risk your life or someone else’s.” Ditto, says Mark Ezzell, director of the N.C. Governor’s Highway Safety Program. “We want people to have a good time, but it’s never wise to drink and then operate a car, truck, boat or any vehicle,” Ezzell says. “If you plan to drink alcohol this holiday weekend, or any day, rely on a designated driver, call a friend, or use a cab or a ride-sharing service.” The “Booze It & Lose It” campaign began Monday and ends July 9, according to the release, and the “Dry Water” campaign runs Saturday through Monday.
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“I’m really honored to stand before you,” Nicko Poulos said Monday night after Mayor Mitch Colvin and the City Council presented a proclamation honoring Superior Bakery Day, for the Fayetteville business founded by Poulos’ father, the late John Poulos, and his mother, Kay Poulos. “Thank you on behalf of my mother and my wife, Kay Poulos and Kathy Poulos, and the entire Poulos family. This means a lot. I stand on the shoulders of my father, as Mrs. Jensen said, who started the bakery in 1956. He taught us to work hard, he taught us to serve our church and to serve our community, and we do that every day to honor him.” Councilwoman Kathy Keefe Jensen said her mother and Kay Poulos were lifetime friends and that reading the proclamation was the proudest moment she has experienced in her 10 years on the council. John and Kay Poulos opened the business in the small strip-shopping center on Raeford Road, where brownies were a nickel in 1956 and a chocolate and cream-filled éclair was every kid’s delight. He made our pies and birthday cakes, and my birthday cakes from the time I was 4 years old. John Poulos was a Greek businessman who was devoted to his Sts. Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church, his wife, his children, the Cape Fear Kiwanis Club and this community. Nicko Poulos manages the bakery now located on Hope Mills Road. John Spiros Poulos died at age 89 on July 19, 2020, and this city could not have honored a more worthy man that John Spiros Poulos and his beloved bakery.
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“PWC is thrilled to continue supporting this community event, which has become a cherished tradition,” Lamont Hinson, community relations associate with the Fayetteville Public Works Commission, says in a news release about PWC Public Works Exhibition on display through July 22 at the Arts Council of Fayetteville-Cumberland County at 301 Hay St. The exhibit includes the works of local and regional artists including paintings, drawings, prints, photography, sculptures, ceramics, etc. “Through the arts, we aim to foster a stronger sense of connection within our community and bring vibrancy to our downtown areas. Come and see the amazing creativity of our talented local neighbors.” Bob Pinson, the new president and chief executive officer of the Arts Council, is lauding the exhibit. “This exhibit offers a fair opportunity for individuals of all ages and backgrounds to publicly express their artistic talents,” Pinson says in the news release. “Art has the power to convey powerful messages and promote dialogue, making it a universal language that can help bring people together and build our community. Whether you’re a highly trained artist or a self-taught beginner, there’s an artist inside each of us waiting to be discovered.”
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“Bill, thank you again for the article,” Gail Riddle writes in an email about our June 21 CityView column about Gail and Glenn Riddle completing their quest of visiting every Major League Baseball venue. “We’ve received lots of messages; some as far away as Arkansas. See, you’ve always had a far reach.” The couple were at Minute Maid Park, home of the Houston Astros, on April 29-30 to finish off seeing all 30 Major League playing fields, stadiums and parks.
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“Thanks, Bill, for publishing my comments, and Roberta was the first one I heard from and she was very appreciative,” Sue Perkins, formerly of Fayetteville and now residing in Wilmington, writes about her recent email about Robert Humphries, who retired as executive director of the Child Advocacy Center. “Her retirement reception was very nice and well attended with past and present board members, staff and volunteers that I enjoyed seeing again. Of course, there were some extremely nice words spoken about her and her time at the Child Advocacy Center, and all were well deserved.”
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“Bill, hope all is well, and so glad you and your big barrel of ink are still cranking out a great product,” Lorene McBryde, wife of former Mayor Milo McBryde, writes in an email. “Milo’s grandfather, Carl Bland, was a typesetter at the old Fayetteville Observer downtown. He died in 1981. Milo was gifted with a typesetter drawer, probably mid-’80s. We don’t know if it came from the FO or not. The very old label on the drawer says ‘8-pt. Bernhard Gothic Medium.’ We were cleaning out the attic, and I got it down and cleaned it a little. Are these things a dime a dozen, or would some charity or museum like to have it? I’m ignorant on such things. I do, however, recall loving the smell of mimeograph ink in junior high school. Different matter.” Those typesetter drawers, Lorene, were used in the days of hot type, aka lead type, cast on grids for the old Goss printing press at The Fayetteville Observer. They were used before ‘cold type’ came along. I’d call the Museum of the Cape Fear. Or even the Cumberland County Headquarters Library. We should never throw away history. And, by the way, I loved the smell of that mimeograph ink, too.
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“Hi, Mr. Kirby: I am writing about a ‘staff report’ article about the survey being done presently of historic buildings/architecture in vast parts of Cumberland County,” Reggie Barton writes in an email about a news release published on June 25 in CityView stating that surveyors are working with the cultural resources consulting firm JMT Inc., which is conducting the survey on behalf of the county to document historic buildings and landscapes from the early 19th century through the 1970s. “I am always interested in and appreciative of all attention given to historic preservation in Fayetteville/Cumberland County, and thanks to CityView for the coverage of this effort. I am writing to point out that there was a very extensive inventory of historically notable Cumberland County buildings conducted back in the 1980s under the auspices of the North Carolina Department of Archives and History. Two delightful and knowledgeable historians, Dru Haley and Linda Jaspers, were ‘on-site’ in Cumberland County at different times for a considerable amount of time to guide preparation of this inventory. I do not know for certain where their final report was filed, but I would certainly think N.C. Archives has it, and perhaps the Cumberland County Public Library. If the current researchers can access it, it should prove to be a valuable asset to them in their current efforts. I send this email to you in hopes you can pass this info along to the current researchers and/or to anyone else who is involved in historic preservation for Fayetteville/Cumberland County.”
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Ray Codrington was that gifted jazz musician and band leader with a God-given talent for the saxophone and the trumpet with few peers. He not only performed with soul legends to include Gladys Knight, the late Jackie Wilson and the late Little Richard, Mr. Codrington shared his musical talents with this community and was inducted in 2013 into the Performing Arts Hall of Fame. Raymond “Ray” Codrington died at age 86 on May 28.
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It was a fitting farewell Thursday to the late newspaper and magazine columnist Roger Mercer at Cape Fear Botanical Garden. “In 1988, Dr. Bruce Williams’ Fayetteville Technical Community College horticulture students asked why there was no botanical garden in Fayetteville,” Linda Sue Barnes, a garden board member, would tell those who came to remember Mercer and his love for daylilies, camellias, magnolias, azaleas, plants and people. “In 1989, plans for the botanical garden happened. The leadership of Roger and Martha Duell got things done. He supported the garden with his plants, like he did the camellia and orchid clubs. He was very generous. He gave tours here to children and played his saxophone for kids. He has been a friend to the Cape Fear Botanical Garden from Day 1.” Roger Mercer died at age 76 on June 15. “Roger Mercer followed his dream,” brother David Mercer would say, “and his dream was about flowers and people.” And those daylilies Roger Mercer loved to grow at his garden home. Thursday’s celebration of life would conclude with “In the Garden,” led by Chuck Umstead and Teresa Hathcock. A fitting, if you will, farewell.
Bill Kirby Jr. can be reached at billkirby49@gmail.com or 910-624-1961.
