SOUNDS: Johnny Cash Bash @ Southpaw 2/28

Well, it's sold-out but maybe you can figure a way into Brooklyn Country's bash in honor of Johnny Cash's 77th Birthday - tomorrow night (2/28) @ Southpaw in Brooklyn....featuring an all night tribute to Johnny Cash including a full rendition of "JC @ San Quentin!"

HOME IS WHERE THE ART IS: YOU F*CKED MY HOUSE UP!

“Unless I let you know ahead of time (or unless you're some shithot shit), you probably won't get very much money for playing here. If you're a band from Athens you will not get any money for playing here, and if you're from Atlanta it will probably be gas money and a little extra for some vitamins and healthy treats. If you're a touring band please let me know your expectations and I will let you know if YOU'RE DREAMIN', but the cap is 100 dollars or so. 200 MAX. 300 if you're Stevie Ray Vaughn or Cindy Crawford. Please keep in mind that I am a waitress and I only get money back for the kegs if the show does really well or its an all-local show. $$$FUMAR$$$”

The Secret Squirrel is a “residential social club” in Athens, GA. Rick says: “Mercer West hosts late night house parties that usually start after 2 am and usually last until 5 am. He probably won't answer his phone and the voice mail will say that you have reached the Money Machine. Leave a message for Mercer anyway.”

Charlotte, NC’s Yardwork plays @ Secret Squirrel Feb 27, 11PM

SOUNDS: Jason Isbell @ Bowery Ballroom 2/26

"There is a mental treatment facility here in Florence called The 400 Unit," says Jason Isbell. "About once a week they would drive downtown and take, I guess, the six or eight healthiest people in the facility and let 'em go downtown. Give 'em all like $15 apiece to go get some lunch. You'd immediately recognize who it was and why they were there; they all had nametags on, saying kinda strange stuff to everybody. And trying to get a sandwich at the same time."

"When I started thinking about a band, and how we get to a new town and everybody gets $15 and gets out of the van, goes out and tries to get a sandwich, it kinda reminded me of that."

Ex-Drive By Trucker Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit perform live @ NY's Bowery Ballroom tomorrow (2/26) night.

STAGE: Chuck. Chuck.Chuck. in Bklyn 2/26 - 28

Chuck.Chuck.Chuck. a new work by Immediate Medium

Based on Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying, Chuck.Chuck.Chuck. follows the family members of Addie Bundren as they leave their home to fulfill her dying wish - to be returned to her birthplace for burial. Through text, video, live music and dance, the project examines subterranean connections that exist within families and among communities. Patterns emerge from the crap shoot of history and congeal as the Bundrens go about the often terrible business of living.

The nihilists say it is the end; the fundamentalists, the beginning; when in reality it is no more than a single tenant or family moving out of a tenement or town.

all shows start at 8:30pm @ the COLLAPSABLE HOLE
146 Metropolitan Ave. at Berry, Williamsburg, Brooklyn
L train to Bedford, G train to Metropolitan.
[Click for Map]

$15 door
$12 advance online purchase
www.theatermania.com
or call 212-352-3101

Immediate Medium: mission

Immediate Medium, Inc. (IM) is a non-profit performance collaborative founded in 2002 and dedicated to building a community of artists through the creation of works of art utilizing live performance and multimedia. We seek to challenge formal distinctions between performance, dance, film, sculpture and architecture in order to create new works of experiential art that engage and provoke creators and audience alike.

history

Members of the company came together at Yale while studying and exploring mostly traditional approaches to theatre, sculpture, film, photography and dance. After moving to New york, company members began to work across media and more collaboratively, not elevating one artistic medium above another.

MARDI GRAS TAKES MANHATTAN!!

NOLA native and Loyola alum Ashley White Fryer gives us to lowdown to the showdown. She'll be dropping it like it's hot all over NYC tonight:

Mardi Gras is always the hardest time for a New Orleans expat to be away from home. As Fat Tuesday approaches, I can close my eyes and smell Popeye’s chicken mingling with the sound of police sirens and the scent of exhaust fumes as the parade inches closer. Yet, like every year since I moved to the Big Apple nearly eight years ago, I’ll be streaming the WWOZ Mardi Gras broadcast (www.wwoz.org) from my office in midtown. Sigh. Luckily, there are plenty of celebrations around the city this Tuesday to lift my spirits. Here’s a short list of those looking for an excuse to don their purple, green, and gold.

Below 14^th Street:

Mara’s Homemade (342 East 6^th Street, between 1^st and 2^nd Avenues)

Mara Levi and her husband David know Southern food. The authentic New Orleans cuisine and Arkansas barbeque at Mara’s Homemade never disappoint. On Mardi Gras day, Mara offers a special menu (see http://www.marashomemade.com/Mardi%20Gras%202009.htm) featuring some of her best dishes. Seating begins at 4 PM and continues until the last customer leaves.

Philip Marie (569 Hudson Street at West 11^th).

If you’re looking for a low-key Mardi Gras celebration in the form of a good meal, Philip Marie is offering a dinner for $29.95 (menu at http://www.philipmarie.com/documents/53.html). There are two seatings available (at 6 and 9 PM), and live zydeco by The Gotham Playboys.

The Delta Grill (700 9^th Avenue at 48^th Street)

A $20 admission price at The Delta Grill will get you a Hurricane and all-you-can-eat Cajun buffet. Dance to the live music of Citigrass, and get there early—doors are at 5 PM, food begins at 6, and the music starts at 7.

Acme Bar & Grill (9 Great Jones St. between Broadway and Lafayette)

Mardi Gras revelers get two parties in one at Acme Bar & Grill. On Fat Tuesday, a DJ will spin upstairs, while a zydeco band performs downstairs. Best of all, 16 ounce hurricanes go for $8.

Back Forty (190 Avenue B at 12^th Street)

This Mardi Gras, Back Forty is throwing a birthday celebration for Sixpoint Brewery (a Brooklyn-based microbrewery) in honor of their 5^th anniversary. $50 per person buys you heaping platters of their “Cajun favorites” paired with Sixpoint Brews. Communal dining will encourage the party; reservations are recommended.

Jimmy’s No. 43 (43 East 7^th Street between 2^nd and 3^rd Avenues)

Benefiting Food Services NYC, Jimmy’s No. 43’s Mardi Gras Party features $5 pints and bottles of Abita, as well as gumbo and jambalaya specials.

The Town Tavern (134 West 3^rd Street near MacDougal Street)

The Town Tavern will host their fifth annual “Kegs and Eggs Fat Tuesday Throwdown.” In true New Orleans style, the party on Fat Tuesday starts at 8 AM, with a $12 unlimited Louisiana breakfast buffet offering with Budweiser draught until 10:30 AM. If you’d prefer to start a bit later, not to worry—2-for-1 Hurricanes are available all day, as well as $2 pitchers from 7-9 PM, and $4 pitchers from 9-11 PM. At the stroke of midnight, the patron wearing the most beads will receive $500 cash plus a $500 Town Tavern gift certificate, although there is a high-heel prerequisite (men, start practicing the stuffing of your feet into those red pumps right away.) A $5 cover charge will benefit The American Red Cross.

Above 14^th Street:

The Bourbon Street Bar & Grille (346 West 46^th Street, between 8^th and 9^th Avenues)

The relatively new and opulent New Orleans restaurant (complete with wrought iron balconies) will feature music by the Sugartones New Orleans brass band, an “earn your beads” contest (hmm), and a sampling menu including a live crawfish boil, king cake, jambalaya, and seafood gumbo.

Bourbon Street (407 Amsterdam Avenue, between 79^th and 80^th Streets)

This Upper West Side hangout (not to be confused with the Bar & Grill above) frequented by former Big Easy residents (especially during Saints NFL games) throws a party starting at noon on Tuesday, featuring a live DJ, beads, and drink specials throughout the afternoon and evening.

Southern Hospitality (1460 2^nd Avenue between 76^th and 77^th Streets)

When it comes to Mardi Gras, Justin Timberlake’s BBQ joint does not disappoint. Aside from $6 Frozen Hurricanes and Frozen Cazadores Margaritas all week long, on Fat Tuesday, choose from Magic Hat Beer Specials, or upgrade to a $45 VIP Premium Open Bar from 8 PM-midnight. Mike Preen & The Hot Six will provide live music, and cash prizes will be awarded for “Best Mardi Gras Spirit.”

The Underscore below Bar East (1733 1^st Avenue at 90^th Street)

For the second year, The Underscore will host a fundraiser thrown by New Orleans natives to raise money for the New Orleans Habitat for Humanity. A $30 cover charge gets you some grub and unlimited well drinks from 7-10 PM. The party includes live music and raffles.

Social (795 8^th Avenue, between 48^th and 49^th Streets)

Upscale Midtown West pub Social is offering Happy Hour all day until 8 PM on Fat Tuesday, including $3.50 Bud, Bud Light, and Coors Light bottles, $4.50 well drinks, and $4.50 glasses of Merlot and Pinot Grigio.

TG Whitney’s (244 East 53^rd St. between 2^nd and 3^rd Avenues)

Starting at 8 PM, this post-frat boy hangout features $4 Hurricanes, $3 “Voodoo” shots and $3 New Orleans beers, plus free beads and giveaways throughout the night.

Latitude (783 8^th Avenue, between 47^th and 48^th Streets)

This Hell’s Kitchen hotspot will feature drink specials all day long, including $6 Hurricanes, $4 Shark Bite Shots, and $3.75 Bud and Coors Light.

The Mean Fiddler (266 West 47^th Street, between Broadway and 8^th Avenue)

Not only are there drink specials at the Mean Fiddler on Fat Tuesday ($3 Coors Light, $4 Corona, $4 shots of Southern Comfort, and $5 Hurricanes), but should you become the master of the dance floor after taking advantage of those specials, you may be fortunate enough to win one of the prizes offered for the best dancers. Free beads and giveaways throughout the night complete the party.

Rogue Bar (757 6^th Avenue between 25^th and 26^th Streets)

All day long, Rogue Bar is offering $3 Abitas and New Orleans food specials. At 7 PM, the bar will hold giveaways with prizes.

MJ Armstrong’s (329 First Avenue between 19^th and 20^th Streets)

It may not be exactly like watching Bacchus roll down the streets of New Orleans, but MJ Armstrong’s will hold “Fat Tuesday Rock ‘N’ Roll Trivia” as part of their Mardi Gras festivities. The winning team will receive a $50 bar tab, which would go far with their drink specials for the evening ($3 Hurricanes, $3 SoCo and Lime, $2 PBR and Bacardi specials).

MARDI GRAS Benefit @ Hibernia Bar & Grill NYC

photo credit pscholtes/city pages

Mardi Gras Benefit: Hibernia Bar and Grill to Raise Awareness and Funds for New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and Foundation

Where: Hibernia
401 West 50th Street
New York, NY 10019
212-969-9703

When: Tuesday, February 24, 2009 7:00 PM

What: In celebration of Fat Tuesday and Mardi Gras, Hibernia Bar and Grill will host an event for New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and Foundation, where a suggested donation upon entry will benefit music education in the New Orleans community. Hibernia will be transformed into a French Quarter lounge filled with sounds of Zydeco, purple, gold and green beads, masks, balloons and savory Hurricane's at the bar.

Why: New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and Foundation is a nonprofit organization where proceeds support the foundation's year-round community development activities in the areas of education, economic development and cultural programming

STAGE: Blanche Survives Katrina in a FEMA Trailer Named Desire

One natural disaster strikes another! Experience the solo show sensation that took the 2008 New York International Fringe Festival by storm. Winner of the Village Voice Audience Award and FringeNYC's Outstanding Solo Show, this outrageous, politically incorrect comedy imagines Tennessee Williams’s tragic heroine has neither aged, nor left New Orleans. She was there when Katrina hit; she was sent to the Superdome; she was evacuated to Shreveport and entangled in the heartless bureaucracy of FEMA. Hers is a refugee story whose politics and pathos you have read, but one you've never experienced through the eyes of the desperately deliberately fragile, alcoholic, codependent, sex-addicted Blanche DuBois — America’s most broken woman™

Blanche Survives Katrina is playing now thru March 15 @ Soho Playhouse

OF NOTE: Alabama Chanin in NYC

Natalie Chanin is in NYC today to present her new collection to editors and buyers. As always, a transformative and inspiring experience.

The Songbirds

Alabama Chanin

Fall /Winter 2009 Presentation for Press & Buyers:

"The Songbirds"

Celebrating with song and substenance on

Friday, February 20, 2009

Noon - 3pm in NYC

With a special performance by Allison Moore

SCENE: GA Bulldogs NYC Pub Crawl (2/21 @ 5:30PM)

photo credit ivan corsa

The University of Georgia's NYC Dawgs is hosting a Walking Tour/Pub Crawl this coming Saturday, February 21 at 5:30pm. All are welcome. Gators and Tigers are already signed up. Participants need to sign up in advance through the UGA regional website. See links and information below. Tour is limited to 30 people. Cost is $20 per person. Beverages are very reasonably priced

What better way to enjoy a Saturday night then to learn about the history of Greenwich Village and its taverns, and then to sample some of the liquid refreshments along the way. On this tour, you’ll see some of the area’s most classic pubs and speakeasies — all with historic associations. Stops include the haunts of Ernest Hemingway and Edna St Vincent Millay, a tavern associated with founding father Thomas Paine, and a watering hole frequented by Robert Kennedy and Norman Mailer, just to name a few. Some southern references will be included - just for this group!

Cost of refreshments are extra, so come armed with some extra cash and a thirst for history, and enjoy the camaraderie of a historic tavern tour!

Tour will take place regardless of weather since we will be able to warm up in the various locations. More information to come.

Click here to register.

JOB OP: Kentucky Derby Chief Party Officer

Churchill Downs is hiring for the best "job" in America:

2009 KENTUCKY DERBY CHIEF PARTY OFFICER

It’s time for "Stymie,” your 2008 Chief Party Officer to hand off his crown to the new 2009 Kentucky Derby CPO and he wants YOU to apply for the job!

HURRY! DEADLINE TO ENTER IS FEBRUARY 28th, TO GET YOUR VIDEOS IN!

Enter now for your chance to become the 2009 Kentucky Derby CPO. Here's what you need to do:

1. Click on the link and complete the CPO contest entry form.
2. Once your entry form has been submitted, you will be sent to our official Chief Party Officer Facebook page.
3. On Facebook, click “Become a Fan,” at the top of the page, then upload your two-minute video explaining why you think you have what it takes to become the 2009 Kentucky Derby CPO!

SOUNDS: Ralph Stanley & His Clinch Mountain Boys

Most folks in NYC are probably most familiar with Ralph Stanley from the film O Brother, Where Art Thou. Ralph was born in Dickenson County, Virginia, where he still resides when he's not on the road. After 55 years in the business, he's still the best banjo picker and tenor singer in bluegrass music. As a recording artist, he has performed on more than 170 albums, tapes, and CDs. He's also written many songs himself and with his brother, the late Carter Stanley. Ralph's played throughout the United States and in many foreign lands, too, including several tours of Japan. In addition to the many honors Ralph has received as a bluegrass musician, including membership on the Grand Ole Opry, he is also a Shriner, a member of the Primitive Baptist Universalist Church, and active in his local community, having served on the Dickenson County School Board.

The Clinch Mountain Boys currently live in scattered communities in the mountains of Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky. They meet up in Coeburn, where their tour bus is parked and head out on the road. Their typical work week starts on Wednesday or Thursday and wraps up on Sunday, when they normally head in home for a couple days of well-deserved rest before starting out all over again.

Dr. Ralph Stanley & His Clinch Mountain Boys bring bluegrass down from the mountain and park it on 42nd Street tonight (2/18) @ BB King's.

STAGE: Conversation with a Kleagle

Photo credit: Underwood & Underwood/Corbis

Inspired by events in the life of civil rights leader, Walter White, the play takes place during the height of a lynching epidemic in the late 1920's. A black writer, passing for white, travels to the deep South to interview a kleagle (a recruiter for the Ku Klux Klan). When his true racial identity is discovered he escapes, only to find that his rescuer's family paid a dear price, a price that brings the writer back down south to confront the kleagle and the Klan. Playing now thru March 15 @ 13th Street Repertory.

Conversation with a Kleagle by Rudy Gray is one of those rare shows that is important enough and powerful enough to warrant strong support and a large audience… Much of this play’s power comes from its revelation of the true face and danger of racism, often hidden behind carefully crafted personal facades or strategically controlled government positions… This play is an incredibly worthy piece of theatre. (NYTheatre.com, Ross Chappell)

SCENE: 3 Looks At Appalachia

Photo credit: Robert & Shiiko Alexander

Like so many before her, Diane Sawyer travels to her home state of Kentucky tonight to report on the extreme poverty that continues to exist in the eastern part of the state. The special airs tonight (2/13) on ABC's 20/20 @ 10PM.

From ABC: "Isolated pockets in Central Appalachia have three times the national poverty rate, an epidemic of prescription drug abuse, the shortest life span in the nation, toothlessness, cancer and chronic depression. It's been 41 years since Robert Kennedy called on the rest of America to reach out and help the people of Appalachia. For nearly two years, ABC News cameras followed four Appalachian children, each one facing unimaginable obstacles."

Early previews about this upcoming story on the ABC site drew over 150 responses, many of which were in protest by "educated and non-toothless" eastern Kentuckyians defending their part of the state. This sentiment is also shared by a very cool (thoughtful and exhaustive) blog called Hillbilly Savants whose mission statement reads:

"This blog is about our Appalachia - the real one, not the Hollywood-stereotype nor the third-world nation-esque stereotype being sold by do-gooders, or even the neo-Romantic sylvan stereotype that Rousseau would probably buy into. It should be interesting."

For more views of the Appalachian region (beyond Kentucky) be sure to check out the winners of the 6th Annual Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition (AMPC) on view at the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts in Boone, NC from March 6 - June 6, 2009.

The Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition (AMPC) is a program of Appalachian's Outdoor Programs in partnership with the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation and the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts. The AMPC has grown to become a prominent regional competition attracting the work of amateur and professional photographers from up and down the East Coast allowing them the opportunity to celebrate the unique people, places, and pursuits that distinguish the Southern Appalachians.

The AMPC is sponsored by Virtual Blue Ridge, the premier Blue Ridge Parkway resource with generous support from Bistro Roca and Antlers Bar of Blowing Rock, NC and Peabody's Beer and Wine Merchants of Boone, NC.

AMPC does more than highlight the great talent of the amateur and professional photographers whose images are selected. A large portion of the proceeds subsidize the cost of Appalachian students participating in Outdoor Programs Student Outdoor Learning Expeditions (SOLE). SOLE trips are educational journeys of discovery that take Appalachian students around the world. Previous SOLE trips have taken students to New Zealand, Alaska, Fiji and Wales and award academic credit to participating students.

For more information about the 2009 competition and its partners and sponsors, visit www.op.appstate.edu.

SCENE: Celebrate Mardis Gras in NYC with SEC & LSU Alum (2/14)

Photo credit: Paul Mannix

NYC Southeastern Conference/Louisiana State University Chapter Mardi Gras throwdown!

Saturday, February 14, 2009 from 10 PM to 1 AM EST @ Legends on 33rd St.

Hey y'all. It’s Carnival Time in the Big Apple, time to get together, eat, drink and be merry. The smells of King Cakes and Hurricanes are already running through our heads. Dress up in a costume and come act a fool. Bring your biggest and best beads to celebrate the Holiday with us.Everyone is invited so bring your friends and let everyone know its Mardi Gras Time!This celebration has nothing to do on Valentines Day? Come celebrate Mardi Gras with us! Have plans for Valentines Day? Come celebrate Mardi Gras after you have your nice romantic dinner!

Cost:$35.00 prepay/$40.00 at the door. Get your tickets here.
There is no physical ticket to print out. There will be a list at the door.
Includes: All you can drink Hurricanes and Domestic Drafts; Live band and all of your Mardi Gras favorites.

SCENE: The Civil War comes to NYC tomorrow (2/13) @ 6PM

Ken Burns celebrates Lincoln's 200th birthday with a discussion and signing of his Civil War DVD set tomorrow (2/13) @ 6PM at Borders on 57th St & Park Ave.

For over 25 years, filmmaker Ken Burns has been producing films that are unafraid of controversy and tragedy. History made them famous. Ken Burns made them real. Hailed as a film masterpiece and landmark in historical storytelling, Ken Burns's epic documentary, The Civil War, brings to life America's most destructive and defining conflict. Borders and Ken Burns celebrate Lincoln's birthday with a chance for fans to discuss and have him sign their copy of The Civil War DVD set.

SCENE/WORDS: Southern Writers Reading Series @ Happy Ending tonight (2/11) at 8PM

Photo Credit: Bruce Newman/NY Times

Virginia native Ekoko Omadeke runs the monthly Southern Writers Reading Series at Happy Ending in NYC. I ask the one question that matters most:

WHY a Southern Writers series in NYC?
I decided to a Southern Writer's Reading Series for several reasons. The main reason I decided to do the SWRS is because I feel the south is often misunderstood and misrepresented to those who are not from the region. To many people, the south is simply the McCain voting bible belt, states of the former Confederacy and the root of racism in America. However, the south is just as diverse, culturally, ethnically, politically, and artistically as New York. A reading series is a great way to demonstrate excellent people, writers and artists can come from the south.

Another reason I decided to the series is in response to the numerous barbecue and jazz joints throughout the city. I've been living in NY since August and learned early on, people in NY seem enchanted with the South However, many of the owners of "southern" restaurants and establishments are not from the south. One restaurant in particular served catfish with a mustard aioli. I feel as someone born and raised in Virginia, I am in a better position to accurately represent the region socially, culturally, and artistically.

Omadeke works with graduate students in the area to cull the best of the best for the monthly series.

February 11th's readers are:

Dave Grumblatt, a Kentucky native and fiction MFA candidate at NYU and

Ebony Golden, a Texas native and creative director of Betty's Daughter Arts Collaborative.

The two featured Southern authors are followed by an open mike (sign up begins at 7:30PM). “Bring poetry or fiction to share and a mind ready to experience the mythic South without ever leaving Manhattan.”

After Feb 11, upcoming dates include March 11, April 8, June 10 and July 8.

Happy Ending Lounge @ 8PM - FREE

302 Broome Street (Forsyth/Eldridge)

Subway: B/D to Grand Street, or J/M/Z to Bowery

FILM: TULIA, TEXAS tonight on PBS @ 10PM

"Tulia, Texas" is the story of a small town's search for justice and the price Americans pay for the war on drugs. The film premeieres tonight (2/10) at 10PM on the Emmy Award-winning PBS series, Independent Lens.

On July 23, 1999, undercover narcotics officer Thomas Coleman executed one of the biggest drug stings in Texas history. By the end of the blazing summer day, Coleman and his drug task force had rounded up and arrested dozens of residents of the small farming town of Tulia. Thirty-nine of the 46 people accused of selling drugs to Coleman were African American.

More than 10 percent of Tulia's adult black population was locked up and Tulia newspapers applauded the drug sting, christening Coleman the "lone ranger" and reporting on the accused using headlines such as "Tulia Streets Cleared of Garbage."

When the first defendants stood trial, Tulia juries handed down guilty verdicts with stiff sentences ranging from 20 to 90 years in prison. Many defendants, despite claims of innocence but fearful of a similar fate, accepted plea-bargains for probation or reduced prison time.

Slowly, striking inconsistencies in Coleman's investigatory work from misidentifications of defendants to contradicting dates on his reports and time sheets began to surface and a 2003 hearing, in the same courthouse where the Tulia defendants had been tried and convicted years before, ensued. Presiding Judge Ron Chapman concluded Coleman "was the most devious, non-responsive law enforcement witness this court witnesses in 25 years on the bench in Texas." Prosecutors immediately pursued felony perjury charges against Coleman.

In August 2003, Texas Governor Rick Perry pardoned all the convicted Tulia defendants. A civil lawsuit resulted in a multi-county $6 million settlement and was shared among the defendants and their attorneys. Coleman was found guilty of aggravated perjury, receiving ten years probation and a felony charge that bars him from ever working in law enforcement again.

EAT: “Craque” Is For Lovers

It goes by many names: White Trash, Puppy Chow, Muddy Buddies…but Montgomery, AL native, and current New Yorker, Freida Orange calls her version of this “very southern snack” Craque.


“For years now my sister Freida has been making a delicious treat for almost every special occasion,” says sister Maxine Orange. “... she takes it to parties, she gives it as gifts, la la la. So this year, she decided to package it up and sell it so you can give it to your friends and serve it at your parties! Her friends were calling it crack – I suppose because it is so addictive! To make it a little more catchy, (and because we are not crack-heads...) we've re-named it CRAQUE!”

So what is it?? Craque consists of bite-sized pieces of chocolate and peanut butter (Skippy, NOT the stuff that was recalled!) in crunchy shells covered in powdered sugar. It's delicious and, yes, addictive!!

Freida was born and raised in Montgomery, Alabama where she still has a rather large and wonderful family. She has a degree in Journalism from The University of Georgia (Go Dawgs!) in Athens. Freida moved to New York in 2000 and has had amazing experiences working in film and television since. She’s been making these delicious snacks for years and had been told numerous times she should package and sell them. She finally had time to do it during the 2008 holiday season and “Craque” has taken on a life of its own.

Freida peddles her “Craque” online on Etsy and at Bonsignour in NYC’s West Village. It’s the perfect fix for Valentine’s Day (which happens to be Freida’s b-day as well)!!

SCENE/ART: UPCOMING SOUTHERN ARTS FESTIVALS

Coles Corner Image

The South nabs half the spots on American Style Magazine’s readers’ poll of the top arts festivals in the county (Feb 09 issue, out now):

Kentucky Crafted: The Market Louisville, Ky.

Kentucky Crafted: The Market is something of a hybrid show. The first two days are only open to the trade. Once the weekend hits, the show opens to the public, who turn out en masse to purchase work made exclusively by Kentucky artisans. “It’s well-stocked with a variety of talented artists,” explains attendee Jennifer Escobar of Berea, Ky. “The entertainment is high quality, the city is lovely, and the food is excellent!” Kentucky Crafted: The Market reopens to the public Feb. 21-22 at the Kentucky Exposition Center. For details, visit www.artscouncil.ky.gov.

Bayou City Art Festival Houston, Texas

“The weather is always great, the music is always great, and the art is always great!” says reader Danielle Foulkrod-Chema of Pearland, Texas. The Bayou City Art Festival, held biannually in Houston, seems to be blessed with good weather; many of its supporters specifically mentioned it as a highlight of the festival. Food, atmosphere and children’s activities also earned raves, but the art is what makes this festival a perennial reader favorite. The Bayou City Art Festival returns to Memorial Park March 27-29 and will surround City Hall Oct. 10-11. To learn more, visit www.bayoucityartfestival.com.

St. James Court Art Show Louisville, Ky.

With a backdrop of historic homes almost as picturesque as the art on display, the St. James Court Art Show is among the largest in the country, with 750 juried exhibitors. “The vendors and visitors come from all over the U.S., and you have such a mix of wonderful items to view and purchase,” enthuses local resident Donna Wallace. The festival has grown significantly since its 1957 inception as a clothesline exhibition, and is still produced by a group of five nonprofits. The show returns Oct. 2-4. To learn more, visit www.stjamescourtartshow.com.

Francisco’s Farm Arts Festival at Midway College Midway, Ky.

Another festival earning accolades for its idyllic setting is the still-young Francisco’s Farm Arts Festival, held on the campus of Midway College in Midway, Ky., a 205-acre working farm. “Francisco’s Farm is an outstanding art festival drawing artists and craftspeople from several states,” says supporter Jane Vancee of Versailles, Ky. “It is held in a beautiful setting … as pretty as any place in England!” The fifth annual event takes place June 27-28 in the heart of Kentucky horse country with more than 150 artists working in all mediums. Visit www.franciscosfarm.org for information

Kentuck Festival of the Arts Northport, Ala.

“I make a pilgrimage to Kentuck every year because I am guaranteed to find amazing work, and ninety-five percent of the time I get to meet the artist who created it,” says Ashley Day of Brooklyn, N.Y. “The quality is consistently outstanding.” Few other shows in the top 10 received so many votes from out-of-towners, singling this fair out as a particularly special event. With more than 300 artists in a wooded park, the festival features a wide range of work, from contemporary craft to folk and outsider art. The festival returns Oct. 17-18. For more information, visit www.kentuck.org.

BOOK: The Fireman's Wife

My friend (ok, so she’s just my Facebook friend and I don’t actually know her) Hollis Gillespie vouched for this book a little while ago and that’s good enough for me:

It’s June 1970. As the low country of South Carolina burns in a seven-month drought, Cassie Johnson longs for escape: both from her husband, Peck, the town’s newly promoted fire chief, who seems more interested in saving everyone else’s life than in living his own, and from the low country marshes where Cassie has never quite felt at home. But as Peck and Cassie drift apart, their teenage daughter, Kelly, finds herself torn between her parents and her desperate need for normalcy. It will take a tumultuous journey back to the North Carolina mountains before Cassie can begin to understand the complicated love that resides, unrecognized, deep in her heart.

From a masterly voice in Southern fiction, The Fireman’s Wife is an emotionally bare and moving novel about one woman’s struggle to do what’s right–for her family, for her love, and for herself. (source)

Catch Riggs’ book tour this week:

2/6/2009
City Lights Bookstore & Cafe
3 East Jackson St. Sylva, NC 28779
828-586-9499

2/7/2009
Osondu Booksellers
184 N. Main Street
Waynesville, NC 28786
828-456-8062

2/7/2009
Malaprops Bookstore
55 Haywood Street
Asheville, NC 28801
828-254-6734

STAGE: Sex Slaves in Mississippi??

There are 5,218 people living in Aberdeen, Mississippi. This is the story of 17 of them and the men that caused all of the trouble.

The whole thing started when Viola Haygood, the Assistant Librarian at the Charles B. Evans Memorial Library, fell in love for the umpteenth time. This one was new in town.

He was tall.

He was dark.

He was handsome.

And he smelled really good.

It was the dark coincidence of his arrival that caused the locals to comment.
Someone was kidnapping Aberdeen’s young women.

They were eating cheese nachos at Big Otis’s Saloon one night and gone the next. Not so much as a by-your-leave.
The town was getting nervous.

They were locking the stately front doors of their antebellum homes and the aluminum screen doors of their double-wide trailers. For the first time. Ever.

They would have called in the FBI but they didn’t have to, as that particular organization was proud to boast a national office on Aberdeen’s Main Street that runs along the scenic banks of the Tombigbee River.

This was a town in an uproar.

Dirty deeds being done dirt cheap.

Women being snapped up and carted off to who knows where.

FBI running up and down the streets like they knew which way was up.

Reporters descending like locusts.

Lawyers locking and loading.

And actor Frank Blocker plays them all.

Southern Gothic Novel: The Aberdeen Mississippi Sex-Slave Incident runs now through Wednesday, February 25, 2009 at Stage Left Studio Inc. in NYC.