Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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MAY 31-JUNE 6, 2017 UCW 15 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Legends Pub is a special place. If you've ever been there, you know that walking through the door is like coming to the very best kind of family reunion. e laughter, the camaraderie, the feeling of acceptance … these are the elements that keep people coming back. Within the walls of Legends is an even more tight- knit group: e Gypsy Women. rough deploy- ments, divorce, tragedy, illness as well as gradu- ations, weddings, babies and everything else life has thrown at them, the Gypsy Women have stood together, looking out for each other and for those around them. ey've shared life's joys and tragedies — together. It was in this spirit of sisterhood that the first Spring Fling was born 21 years ago. Every year since then, Legends Pub Owner Holly Whitley and the Gypsy Women have hosted the Spring Fling. It's a time for fun, food, games, motorcycles and more. But it is also a time for helping others. In the event's history, it has raised tens of thousands of dollars and helped individuals and organizations alike. is year, the event falls on June 9-11. Proceeds benefit the North Carolina State Veterans Home. Kick off the weekend on Friday, June 9, with pool, music and fun at Legends Pub. Saturday, June 10, is the Scott Sather Memorial Run. e first bike goes out at noon. Sather was a regular at Legends. He was assigned to the 24th Special Tactics Squadron, an elite Air Force opera- tions unit assigned to the Joint Special Operations Command at Pope Army Air Field. Sather was killed in Iraq on April 8, 2003. "He was one of our dearest friends and a loyal customer," said Whitley. "Scott supported everything we did and was always there when we needed help with something. Losing him was a real blow for us. He touched so many lives." e Scott Sather Memo- rial Run is a part of the Spring Fling every year. "He was the first airman killed in Iraq," Whitley added. "It took over 11 years to get his memorial into Freedom Memorial Park. e monument well describes who Scott was." Sunday, June 11 is the bike show and rodeo. Whilt- ley said this is a fun way to end the weekend, relaxing with friends. In addition to donating proceeds to the NC Vet- erans Home, one of the ways Whitley aims to help the NC Veterans Home is by providing toiletries and other necessities. Like everything Whitley does, it's going to be fun. "We are filling brown paper bags with things like toothpaste, shampoo and body wash. "We are going to 'sell' the bags at the Spring Fling so people can 'adopt' a veteran when they purchase the bags. ey can write a personal note on the bags and really make a veteran feel special and let them know they care," Whitley explained. Legends will do- nate them to the NC Veterans Home. She added that Legends will also accept donations for the home to include things like packages of new socks, sweaters and sweat pants. Legends Pub is filled with both active duty service members and veterans on any given night, and the choice to support those who served seemed natural, Whitley said. So many of the Legends family, several of them service members and veterans, have ended up on "the wall" at the back of the bar. is wall is adorned with photographs and memoriabilia honoring those lost to war, to illness, to accidents or to unfortunate circumstances. And in true Legends style, the wall is a place in the bar where memories are recounted and adventures and hijinx relived. Located on Cochran Avenue, the N.C. State Vet- erans home is certified by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and works in conjunction with the Department of Veterans Services to provide compre- hensive 24-hour care to aged and infirm veterans. e NC Veterans Home provides services that include dietetic programming; hospice; I.V. therapy; laundry; medication management; memory support unit; occupational therapy; oxygen therapy; pain management; pharmacy; physical therapy; recre- ational activities; religious services; short-term reha- bilitation; speech therapy; tracheotomy; volunteer services; and wound care management. Come out to the Legends Pub Annual Spring Fling to honor and to celebrate those with us and those passed with a crowd that's sure to make you feel at home. Call Legends at (910) 867-2364 for more information. Legends Pub Annual Spring Fling: Gypsy Women Never Forget by STEPHANIE CRIDER STEPHANIE CRIDER, Editor. COMMENTS? Editor@ upandcomingweekly.com. 910.484.6200 It was in a spirit of sisterhood forged from sharing life's joys and tragedies together that the first Spring Fling was born 21 years ago. The Scott Sather Memorial Run is a part of the Spring Fling every year. Legends will donate proceeds from the event to the NC Veterans Home. COVER STORY