Latisha Catchatoorian
Courtesy of the Carrboro Commons

Jack Watson, an art teacher at Chapel Hill High School, had an idea. Take the events of Haiti and turn them into inspiration for a class art project. Then take that art project and turn it into a fundraiser for the earthquake-ravaged country.

At least $800 has been raised for the American Red Cross relief effort through the “Art for Haiti” exhibit at Open Eye Café. More »

A low-cost rabies vaccination clinic offered by the Orange County Animal Services Department is set for March 16 from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Animal Services Center on Eubanks Road.

The vaccination fee is $5, which must be paid in cash. Dogs must be on leashes and cats must be in carriers. Animals that may be nervous or unsettled should be kept in a vehicle for their vaccination.

The Organization of African Students’ Interests and Solidarity at UNC will host its 30th annual Africa Week March 15-20. This year’s Africa Week theme, titled “Diamond in the Rough,” will highlight the beauty of Africa, with emphasis on both the issues that plague Africa and the different ethnic and cultural traditions that surround the continent.

Events include a March 17 art auction to raise funds for Carolina for Kiberia and the Malaria No More project.

More information at unc.edu/oasis

Three women civil rights veterans will speak, and one will screen her film about the “desegregation and resegregation of U.S. public schools,” in two events March 16 at the university.

Constance Curry, producer of the film The Intolerable Burden, will screen and discuss her project at noon in Toy Lounge on the fourth floor of Dey Hall.

At 6 p.m., Curry will be joined by Efia Nwangaza, a lawyer and director of the Afrikan-Amerikan Institute for Policy Studies and Planning in Greenville, S.C., and Theresa El-Amin, the founder of the Southern Anti-Racism Network, for a program called “Women of SNCC: Civil Rights Activism in the 1960s and Today.” The event will be in the Nelson Mandela Auditorium of the FedEx Global Education Center.

For more information, visit womenofsnccspeakout.web.unc.edu

Individuals with disabilities and their allies in Chapel Hill, Carrboro, UNC and the Triangle are being invited to participate in a special art and social networking project by artist Park McArthur. The project, Presence Is Progress, is being organized and sponsored by the Town of Chapel Hill’s Public Arts Office.

Presence Is Progress was conceived as a series of collective mobilizations/performances to encourage community bonding, public awareness, dialog and questioning. Each mobilization will utilize different pathways and sidewalks between Carrboro and Chapel Hill. The mobilizations are designed to highlight existing and new relationships between the participants, the participants and the surrounding architectural infrastructure and the participants and the observers who witness the mobilizations.

The first Presence Is Progress mobilization will take place Saturday, March 6 at 2 p.m. at the Carrboro ArtsCenter, 300 East Main St. It will last 30 minutes and end with food and time for socializing. A second mobilization will take place March 27 in Chapel Hill. A website, presenceisprogress.wordpress.com, has been set up for updates, questions and comments.

Thanks to warmer weather this weekend, the North Carolina Botanical Garden’s daily plant sale will open for the season on Saturday.
The opening will feature the hardiest spring plants. The garden’s selection of native perennials, ferns and woody plants will continue to expand as the weather warms. Hours for the sale are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays and Saturday and from 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday. All sales support the garden’s outreach and conservation programs.

UNC will dedicate the new Eve Marie Carson Garden on March 4 at 4 p.m. Named for Carolina’s former student body president, the garden is located on Polk Place, off Cameron Avenue behind the Campus Y. A tribute to Carson, the garden also is intended as a place of honor for all Carolina students, past and future, who passed away before they graduated.

Speakers at the event will be Chancellor Holden Thorp; Bob Winston, chair of the UNC Board of Trustees; Student Body President Jasmin Jones; former Student Body President Seth Dearmin; and Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Peggy Jablonski.

Taylor Sisk
Staff Writer

CHAPEL HILL — Like society at large, faith communities often struggle with the complexities of mental illness – how to know, how to help, what to say.

Recognizing the need for better insight, a multi-congregational organization called Faith Connections on Mental Illness convened a forum at Binkley Baptist Church this past Sunday titled “Faith, Hope and Love: When One Suffers from a Mental Illness.” This was the second year the forum was held. Approximately a hundred people attended. More »

RECENTLY . . .

Valarie Schwartz

Good ideas, like art and wine, improve with time.

In 1983, when Moreton Neal attended a fundraiser for the fledgling Women’s Center, she spent her time at the ice cream social held at Pyewacket (a popular quasi-vegetarian restaurant in The Courtyard from 1977-2002) envisioning a better way to raise money. More »

Elizabeth Jensen
Courtesy of the Carrboro Commons

Ayla, a golden retriever, can open refrigerators, flip light switches, open and close doors, help take off clothing, pick up dropped objects and phone for help. She learned these skills at Eyes Ears Nose and Paws, a training center for assistance dogs in Carrboro.

Gretchen Aylsworth is Ayla’s puppy parent. She’s seen Ayla grow and learn a lot throughout the year. But training Ayla has changed her, too, she said. More »

The budget process for reviewing community needs is underway, and the Carrboro Board of Aldermen and town manager welcome feedback from town residents. The final budget is planned for adoption on June 15. Carrboro residents may email written suggestions to the town’s website at swilliamson@townofcarrboro.org, write to the town clerk at 301 West Main Street, Carrboro, N.C. 27510 or fax comments to her at 918-4456.

The Town of Chapel Hill is seeking volunteers to serve on special events planning committees for the July 4th Celebration and the annual Festifall Arts Festival in October.

Special-events planning committees work with a staff liaison to plan, develop and evaluate events. Committees usually meet monthly and may meet more frequently as the event time draws near. Meetings begin in March.

To get involved, print and complete an application at townofchapelhill.org/communityevents and email to Wes Tilghman at wtilghman@townofchapelhill.org or fax to 932-2923. You may also call 968-2823 for an application or for more information. There is no deadline for applications.

Carrboro Parks Project (CPP) is a nonprofit community organization that works to improve the quality of life in Carrboro through the protection and improvement of parks and recreational facilities. With the help of community members, CPP has been able to complete four projects since 2001.

The CPP is currently looking for new members and project ideas. You can participate by emailing your suggestions to info@carrboroparks.org or by attending a meeting tonight (Thurs.) at 7 p.m. in room 4 of the Century Center. For more information, visit carrboroparks.org

RECENTLY . . .

Valarie Schwartz

Calm usually does not describe an artist at his or her first solo exhibit.

Calm, happy and comfortable can all be applied to Ben Gunter, 27, at his first solo show at Carrboro Town Hall last week. Gunter greeted friends, family and supporters — many who had never seen his work — with hugs, high fives and relaxed smiles. For this young man, support and networks keep him functional. More »

The Center for Sustainable Enterprise rescheduled its Feb. 11 discussion of innovations in green building, “Wanted: Radical Confidence: Why the Future is in Our Hands Today” with Rob Watson and Dennis Quaintance, for March 19 at 5:30 p.m.

The event is part of the center’s Leaders in Sustainability series and is co-hosted and co-sponsored by the N.C. Triangle Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council.
A reception will follow the free event. Please respond to cse@unc.edu if you plan to attend. Parking will be available in the business school parking deck. For more information, call 962-1499.