Mychal Wynn, one of the world’s premiere authorities on black male achievement, school improvement planning, closing the minority achievement gap and college planning, will speak at the Smith Middle School Auditorium on August 4. Wynn will discuss why identifying, analyzing and understanding the unique societal, home and community variables that impact all students identified as “at risk” is prerequisite to developing holistic and effective strategies for closing the achievement gap and preparing students for college.

The session is sponsored by the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Minority Student Achievement Team and will run from 4:30 to 6 p.m.

The Town of Chapel Hill’s Justice in Action Committee will host a community viewing and discussion of A Class Divided at 7 tonight (Thursday) in the Council Chamber at the Chapel Hill Town Hall.

The event is the first in a series of outreach events designed to engage the community in open and frank conversations about race relations in Chapel Hill. The committee is planning a Unity in Heritage Festival for the fall, as well as a Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration in spring 2009.
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The Bynum Friday night concert series means to keep the now-closed Bynum General Store a social and community hub. So every Friday they throw a party there.

Performing this week are Bill and Libby Hicks from 7 to 9 p.m. Food and non-alcoholic drinks are for sale and wood art and paintings will be on display and sale. And from 7 to 8 p.m. kids can enjoy Craft Time.

The program is sponsored by the Chatham Arts Council. For more information contact bynumfrontporch@gmail.com.

Carrboro High School is holding its Jaguar Baseball Camp for youths aged 10-12 on Monday, August 11 through Friday, August 15, from 9 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. The cost is $95, and includes camp t-shirt, water bottle and Friday cook-out.
This year’s camp will focus on teaching the basic fundamentals of baseball and teaching the player to play with confidence. For more information or to receive a registration form, please contact Nat Tyndall at natunc@aol.com or 632-4062.

The Carrboro Recreation and Parks Department is accepting volunteer coach applications for youth baseball and basketball programs. For information and an application, call 918-7364.

The Carrboro Recreation and Parks Department is sponsoring and co-sponsoring a number of sports opportunities for kids. Classes and leagues involve:

Soccer C.L.A.S.S. (Children Learning Athletic Sports Skills) for kids and parents. Children age 4-6 and parents can learn the basic skills of soccer. Saturdays, 9 to 10 a.m. from September 6 to October 11. The fee is $47 per child.
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The Community Church of Chapel Hill, Unitarian Universalist, will present its 2008 Straley lecture series on Sundays in July and through August 10. The lectures start at noon with a lunch and end by 1:30 p.m. To register for childcare or for more information call 929-5983 or 942-5735. Speakers are members of the church that have volunteered or done outreach in fields like the environment, the Orange County Organizing Comittee, race relations and for South America.

From July 22 to 26 The Cave and Mansion 462 will host Femme Fest to benefit the Girls Rock Camp of NC and the Rape Crisis Center of Chapel Hill. Each venue will host two bands each night, all with female leads, and donate the proceeds.

Internationalist Books and Community Center will be holding a yard sale fundraiser on August 9 at 2408 Honeysuckle Road in Chapel Hill. The bookstore is accepting donations of books, clothes, furniture and other household goods and odds and ends at the store. Call 942-1740 first if you plan to donate large furniture. The sale starts early.

The United Church of Chapel Hill will host Tim Nonn, national coordinator of Tents of Hope, an advocacy movement for the people of Darfur, Sudan. Tents of Hope are artistic tents created by congregations and other communities as focal points for learning about and helping war-torn Darfur. Tim Nonn will give a sermon, themed “We are All Connected,” on July 27 at 8:45 and 11 a.m.

The United Church of Chapel Hill has a Tent of Hope on its front lawn, designed and painted by churchgoers. The tent is intended to be symbolic of the tents used by the millions of refugees displaced by the violence.
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(clockwise from left) Chelsea James, Camille Johnson, Christopher Stephens-Brown and Jabari Foust sit at the front of the stage during a rehearsal of a scene from The Music Man at PlayMaker’s Paul Green Theatre on Tuesday. The American musical is part of the ArtsCenter’s Summer Youth Conservatory program, which gives young actors a chance to work with seasoned professional instructors. Photo by Jordan Timpy.

Local talent will be on exhibition by a cast of 40 theatrical youngsters for a production of The Music Man, running today (Thursday) through Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2p.m, all at the Paul Green Theatre on Country Club Road in Chapel Hill.

Meredith Wilson’s The Music Man is the tale of the coy Harold Hill, a conman posing as a bandleader and instrument salesman with intentions of exploiting the naiveté of the town — of course, not without the obligatory plot twist.
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By Valarie Schwartz

Even the abundance of recent rain could not remove the grunge from our drought-dirty vehicles, so the car wash at Carrboro High School last Saturday brought an easy clean and helped the school’s cross country team raise funds for camp, travel and supplies.

A new school builds a reputation on many levels, and according to assistant coach Sarah Hallenbeck the cross country team started its first year out on the right foot.
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Special Events

Locally Grown — July 25, Chapel Hill hosts a downtown event highlighting local food, crafts and music from 8-10:30pm.

Computer classes — free computer classes: Internet, Email, Word, Excel, Powerpoint, NC Live. Registration required. Wednesdays, through Aug. 6, 7pm Century Center 918-7387 cybrary@co.orange.nc.us
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The Carrboro Recreation and Parks Department is accepting volunteer coach applications for youth baseball and basketball programs. For information and an application, call 918-7364.

The Carrboro Recreation and Parks Department is sponsoring and co-sponsoring a number of sports opportunities for kids. Classes and leagues involve:

The Mini-kickers Soccer Camp, July 21-24 from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. for ages 3-5. $35.

Half Day Soccer Camp, July 21-24 from 8:30-11:30 a.m. for ages 6-12. $95.

Soccer C.L.A.S.S. (Children Learning Athletic Sports Skills) for kids and parents. Children age 4-6 and parents can learn the basic skills of soccer. Saturdays, 9 to 10 a.m. from September 6 to October 11. The fee is $47 per child.
Sandlot baseball for ages 9-12, weekly mornings in July.
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