Food Lion Speed Street

For more than 25 years, the 600 Festival Association has been commemorating the May races at Lowe's Motor Speedway with spectacular family-oriented events that personify the tremendous growth of motor sports.

Celebrating its 15th year, Food Lion Speed Street transforms the streets of Uptown Charlotte into a showcase of motor sports with non-stop entertainment on three stages, appearances by top Sprint Cup Drivers, dynamic exhibits for all ages and an amazing assembly of NASCAR show cars and simulators.

600 Festival

Lessons of History

Last week, a handful of movers and shakers from the last decades of Charlotte's development converged to discuss the future of Uptown. Hugh McColl, Jr., Harvey Gantt, Rolfe Neill, Wendell White and David Ivey all played a role in creating the vibrant center city we enjoy today. Having watched Charlotte grow across a forty-year period, this group remembers that the climb was not always directly upward, and views our current condition as a short pause in our long-term economic rise. Click here for the complete Charlotte Observer story by Doug Smith.

Charlotte leaders predict uptown will rise again
By Doug Smith
dougsmith@charlotteobserver.com

High-rise residences, office towers, museums, an arena and an entertainment complex have fueled an unprecedented boom in the urban core that could surpass $6 billion in investment by the end of the decade.

Now, as that wave of projects nears completion, center city backers worry that the lingering recession and the troubles of uptown's big banks will bring development to a halt.

There is a pause, but uptown's growth will resume, say five leaders who helped guide center city development during the past 30 years.

Like them, I lived in Charlotte in the late-1980s when mortgage rates ran in double digits and homes languished on the market for ages. I feared this was the new norm and that I would never afford my own home. Well, in time things did change - interest rates dropped (they're currently at their lowest point since the 1950s) and homes sold. I even bought one. So, as we ponder whether we are now living the new norm, pause and remember the ups and downs of our recent past.

WBT Holiday On Ice 2008

Great traditions start with WBT... and WBT's Holiday on Ice is no exception. Tucked away in Uptown Charlotte's most scenic park is the area's only outdoor ice rink. There's no better way to get in the holiday spirit than skating with your friends and family among the holiday decorations in uptown. Join us for skating and holiday cheer at WBT's Holiday on Ice... on the Green in Uptown.

The Grand Opening is Wednesday, November 26th and runs until Saturday, January 10th.



Hours vary between holidays and school dates.

Admission: $7
Skate Rental: $3

wbt.com

Center City Trifecta:

A trio of Uptown Charlotte happenings for your weekend and beyond

One
Mother Load
The Blumenthal Center opens its new Stage Door Theater with the one-woman show Mother Load. This off-Broadway hit by Amy Wilson, inspired by her trials as a mother of three, promises to have moms and non-moms alike laughing over Wilson’s satirical quest to be the perfect mother.

When: Through October 26 with various matinee and evening performance times.
Where: Stage Door Theater
How Much: $29.50-$34.50

Two
Novello
This festival of books and reading opens its 18th season on Thursday with suspense writer and attorney Scott Turow, best know for “Presumed Innocent.” Novello runs through October 30 and features best-selling authors Khaled Hosseini and Armistead Maupin as well as interactive and family-focused events. Many are free.

A Novello Evening with Scott Turow
When: October 2 at 7:00
Where: Imaginon
How Much: $15

Three
Charlotte Symphony Orchestra
The handsome and dynamic Andrew Grams is back! This popular candidate for CSO Music Director returns – this time leading the orchestra through Dvorak and Berlioz. Argentine pianist and 2006 Gilmore Artist Award winner Ingrid Fliter performs Schumann.

When: October 3 & 4 at 8:00
Where: Belk Theater
How Much: $15-$72


Deborah Cox is a free-lance writer and residential real estate broker who lives in Uptown Charlotte’s First Ward. Contact her at dcox@livinguptown.com.

Center City Trfecta

A trio of Uptown Charlotte happenings for your weekend and beyond

One
Charlotte Shout’s Culinary Arts Experience
Learn the culinary secrets of celebrity chefs, taste the best from 14 of Charlotte’s finest restaurants, experience fine wine and boutique vodka – if this sounds like your kind of festival (it’s certainly mine) head down to Johnson & Wales University this weekend. Activities kick-off Friday at 5:00 and run through Saturday evening.

September 26-27
Johnson & Wales University
Tokens are required for restaurant booths; tickets to the Grey Goose Vodka tasting are $10, otherwise most events are free.
www.Charlotteshout.com

Two
The Lieutenant of Inishmore
Plot twists, humor and carnage abound in this story of political terrorism involving a ruthless Irish Liberation Army Lieutenant and his beloved cat, Wee Thomas. Don’t let finances keep you from this dark comedy by award-winning playwright Martin McDonagh -- Wednesday, October 1, is “Pay What You Can Night”.

Through October 11
Actor’s Theatre of Charlotte
Tickets from $24 at www.actorstheatrecharlotte.org


Three
NBC’s Last Comic Standing Live Tour
If you loved it on TV, experience it live! Laugh to finalists Marcus, Jeff Dye, Louis Ramey, Iliza Shlesinger and Jim Tavare. Even if you never saw the TV version, check it out – Charlotte’s a bit thin on stand-up, and these days, we could all use a good laugh.

September 28, 7pm
Belk Theater
Tickets from $21 at www.BlumenthalCenter.org

Autumn Entertainment Uptown

Despite sultry temps, the fall entertainment season rolled in to Uptown Charlotte this past weekend with Blues, Brews & Barbecue, an annual festival of Southern food and music. Over this two-day event, visitors watched pig races, competed in the corn hole championship and sampled barbeque prepared by some of the country’s best grillers – not to mention groovin’ to some great music and washing it down with a brew or two.

For musical tastes that run toward the classical, the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra opened its 77th season with performances Friday and Saturday night of Mahler and Mozart, conducted by Christof Perick and featuring world-class soprano Heidi Meier The CSO’s season runs through early May and offers 18 Classics and Pops Concerts featuring internationally-recognized performers backed by Charlotte’s own professional orchestra. Season and individual tickets are available and affordable, with individual tickets starting at only $15. So if you’ve never seen a professional symphony in action, give them a listen. Next performance: September 26 & 27 starring the Smothers Brothers.

In theater, this weekend brought Collaborative Arts’ Sitcoms Live! and sketch comedy troupe Robot Johnson to Spirit Square. Don’t worry if you missed this comedic combo – performances continue Thursday - Saturday through September 27. (Friday and Saturday only for Robot Johnson.) Tickets are a bargain at $15 for Sitcoms and $10 for Robot Johnson.

Charlotte is home to several small theatre groups that lend their talents to a wide range of works in a variety of venues, mostly Uptown. The Blumenthal Center presents traveling Broadway hits like Legally Blond, the Musical, and spotlights a variety of contemporary music, comedy and drama.

For the sports minded, the Carolina Panthers opened their at-home season Sunday afternoon with another teeth-gnashing victory -- this time over the Chicago Bears. The Panthers will soon be joined by the Charlotte Checkers and Charlotte Bobcats who open their home seasons in the coming months at Time Warner Cable Arena.

This is just a sampling of what Uptown Charlotte offers in the coming months. So get out and enjoy your favorite entertainment, or better yet, try something new. With ticket prices as low as $10 – some events are even free – you only risk a couple hours of your time.

Parking is relatively easy and cheap, but better yet, ride the Lynx Blue Line. Park-n-ride lots are free and round-trip tickets are only $2.60. Now, get Uptown and have fun!

Deborah Cox is a free-lance writer and residential real estate broker who lives in Uptown Charlotte’s First Ward. Contact her at dcox@livinguptown.com.

Uptown Charlotte v. Historic Pineville

I came across some Pineville bashing on The Naked City blog and I thought what a perfect example of the anti-uptown.

Even more significant, compared to the rest of Pineville, its downtown is like a b-b rolling around a six-lane highway. The rest of Pineville is the worst of suburban retail sprawl: strip centers, power centers, a enclosed regional mall, big box stores clear to the horizon -- all of it unwalkable, all of it a traffic nightmare at virtually all times of day. Pineville is famed throughout the metro Charlotte region as the worst possible example of unplanned retail development -- not that that has stopped other places (Concord Mills in Concord, University City, Albemarle Road, etc.) from trying to steal that designation.

It is famous in local circles, also, for refusing to let Charlotte's newly opened light rail line into town. The wildly successful transit line now ends at the Pineville city limits.

I will not pick at P-ville but rather extol the livability of center city Charlotte. We are eminently walkable. We have a myriad of housing options. Retail is here with more on the way and the night life is booming. Our bus system is extensive and the light rail line is a big success. The uptown crime stats are always some of the lowest numbers in the city. And as we are theoretically in a "buyers market" there is no better time to find a place in uptown Charlotte.