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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Cape Fear Botanical Garden's Food and Wine Festival ... a Perfect Complement to the Annual Plant Sale by ERINN CRIDER For years the Cape Fear Botanical Garden has held its annual plant sale celebration of spring for anyone and everyone. with good results, but this year it has undergone some major changes Suraci expresses this same sentiment by saying "We are trying to appeal — including the name of the event. The Garden Food & Wine Festival, to a much broader audience. We have the traditional plants festival with a featuring the 13th Annual Plant Sale is all the name implies and more. Come twist. Of course we want more people to come to the garden, but we also to the garden on April 20 and see for yourself. don't want to offend the loyals. We want this to Meg Suraci, the assistant director of complement what we already have in way that development and marketing says that this year all will enjoy." people should expect, "Plants, wine, and arts For any gardening event the true challenge and crafts. The plant sale has always been is the weather, and the same holds true for the feature of our festival, but we have been this festival. A warm and bright sun-shiny day looking to expand. Our existing events seemed would without a doubt make the festival all a natural thing to add on to as they have been the more enjoyable, but the weather is not the working really well. deciding factor. With or without the sun, the "We will be accompanying the plant love with Cape Fear Botanical Garden Food and Wine food love. There are several different vendors Festival will be fun and exciting, full of lovely and a lot of variety. There will be food, pottery, plants, demonstrations of all sorts and live garden art and wine," she continued. "We will music. "We pray for great weather because this Cape Fear Botanical Garden is adding new features to this year's have live demonstrations for cooking, with a is a rain or shine event, but we are optimistic," plant sale. In addition to plants there will be food, wine and art. strong theme of farm-to-table food. We will Suraci explained. also have a demonstration from a sommelier The festival will be held on April 20 at the and demonstrations from our garden experts on gardening and on herb Cape Fear Botanical Garden. The garden is located at 536 N. Eastern Blvd. gardens. There will be lots of vendors and a lot of variety." More information can be found online at capefearbg.org or by calling 486Adding huge changes to an already sizable event does not come without 0221. The festival begins at 10 a.m. and runs until 3 p.m. its challenges however. This festival has been an annual event, and as such Admission is free for members and children under the age of there are many attendees who have loved the event in its original form. 5. Admission for adults is $8, $7 for Organizers are hopeful that loyal visitors to the garden will be pleasantly adults with a military id, and $2.50 for ERINN CRIDER, Contributing surprised and new visitors will be engaged and won over, too. These new children between the ages of 5 and 12. Writer, COMMENTS? Editor@ upandcomingweekly.com. additions have an incredible potential to making the festival an exciting Child Advocacy Center Celebrates 20 Years of Service by ROBERTA HUMPHRIES Twenty years ago in April 1993, a group of dedicated and concerned community professionals came together to solve a problem. Their purpose — to alleviate the trauma that children experienced once a disclosure of abuse occurred. At that time, the very system that was intended to protect these young victims was in fact causing them further suffering by the uncoordinated processes of investigation, prosecution and treatment. After a year of research and planning, this devoted group of individuals opened the doors of the Child Advocacy Center in 1994 with the aid of funding from the Governor's Crime Commission and donated space on the campus of Cape Fear Valley Health System. The center provided a location for specially trained professionals to conduct child-abuse interviews in a centralized and non-threatening location. That same year, the Child Abuse Evaluation Clinic was established at Southern Regional Area Health Education Center allowing local physicians to become trained to provide the necessary child abuse physical exams in Cumberland County. In 2000, with the generous assistance of a three-year signature project grant from the Junior League of Fayetteville, the Child Advocacy Center moved into larger quarters in a rented building on Ray Avenue. The facility allowed the Child Advocacy Center to expand its programs and serve ever-increasing numbers of children in a safe and child-friendly environment. It received accreditation through the National Children's Alliance in 2003. Over the years, the CAC incorporated prevention of child abuse into its mission, bringing Recognizing and Reporting Child Abuse, The Period 14 UCW APRIL 17-23, 2013 of Purple Crying Shaken Baby Prevention and Darkness-to-Light Sexual Abuse Prevention training to the community. In 2012, due to unfortunate circumstances regarding the owner of its leased building, the CAC found itself in a facility that was facing foreclosure. The Board of Directors sprang into action identifying possible options for a new home. A generous and committed anonymous donor came forward and provided funding for a down payment so that the CAC could purchase its own building with a monthly mortgage payment that was less than its previous rental fee. Twenty years after the original group of visionary leaders began planning for an advocacy center for child abuse victims in Cumberland County, the CAC moved into its new permanent home at 222 Rowan Street in February of 2013. During its history, the center has served more than 5,000 children and their families. On Apr. 18 from 5-7:30 p.m., the Child Advocacy Center will host an open house at its new facility. The public is cordially invited to attend. The event will celebrate the center's 20 years of service and will also offer the opportunity to give thanks for the continued generosity and dedication of hundreds of grantors, donors and volunteers. Due to their commitment, the CAC is on a firm foundation to fulfill its mission of providing healing and hope to child abuse victims in the years to come, while working towards its vision of a community where children live in a safe and nurturing environment free from sexual and physical abuse. ROBERTA HUMPHRIES, Contributing Writer, COMMENTS? Editor@upandcomingweekly.com. WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM