Over 1,000 people attended the 7th Annual Fearrington Folk Art Show held one cold but sunny weekend last month in The Fearrington Barn.  Such continued strong response and the involvement of dozens of Southern artists have made the Folk Art show one of the best in the region.  This year,  admission was donated to the Chatham OutReach Alliance Food Pantry (CORA), which helps feed Chatham County families in need.  Together, we raised nearly $7,000!  This year's show featured veteran artists like Sam 'The Dot Man' McMillan and Danny Doughty who have been with the Fearrington show from the beginning, and also new folks like Bart Schultz, aka 'The Masking Tape Guy',  who created some of the most amazing art out of, well, tape.  Unusual and most definitely interesting.  Visit Bart's blog for a look (and note the photo of Bart and local legend Clyde Jones at the show).  Mark your calendars for next year's Folk Art Show -  Feb. 20th and 21st!

-Greg

Last week I visited the brand new Durham Performing Arts Center to hear Anthony Bourdain, author, chef and currently the culinary world's biggest baddest bad boy. He relished discussing the grossest things he's eaten while filming his Travel Channel adventure program - meats we don't discuss on our fair village blog - and the packed audience ate it up!  He expressed both his impatience with the sillier trends of food TV and passion about great food wherever it can be found (including a favorite, eastern North Carolina barbeque).
 
Equally interesting was the theater itself, since it was my first trip to the brand new facility.  Located about 20 miles north of Fearrington in downtown Durham's American Tobacco District - an ambitious renovation of an important historic site - DPAC is a stunning building, inside and out.  Featuring 2,800 seats, it is designed to host large touring Broadway shows plus concerts and special events.   Every seat is a good one, the attendants are courteous, and there's ample parking.  DPAC is a tremendous addition to the cultural scene in the Triangle.

-Greg