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.
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/178176
STAFF PUBLISHER Bill Bowman bbowman@upandcomingweekly.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Janice Burton editor@upandcomingweekly.com OPERATIONS OFFICER Paulette Naylor accounting@upandcomingweekly.com EDITOR Stephanie Crider stephanie@upandcomingweekly.com ART DIRECTOR Alicia Miller art@upandcomingweekly.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS D.G. Martin, Pitt Dickey, Margaret Dickson, John Hood, Erinn Crider, Shanessa Fenner, Heather Griffiths DISTRIBUTION MANAGER/ OFFICE COORDINATOR Laurel Handforth laurel@upandcomingweekly.com MARKETING/SALES Cynthia Deere cynthia@upandcomingweekly.com Linda McAlister Brown linda@upandcomingweekly.com Kristy Sykes kristy@upandcomingweekly.com Beverly Pone beverlypone@upandcomingweekly.com ––––––––––– Up & Coming Weekly www.upandcomingweekly.com 208 Rowan Street P.O. Box 53461 Fayetteville, NC 28305 PHONE: (910) 484-6200 FAX: (910) 484-9218 Up & Coming Weekly is a "Quality of Life" publication with local features, news and information on what's happening in and around the Fayetteville/Cumberland County community. Up & Coming Weekly is published weekly on Wednesdays. Up & Coming Weekly welcomes manuscripts, photographs and artwork for publication consideration, but assumes no responsibility for them. We cannot accept responsibility for the return of unsolicited manuscripts or material. Opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. The publisher reserves the right to edit or reject copy submitted for publication. Up & Coming Weekly is free of charge and distributed at indoor and outdoor locations throughout Fayetteville, Fort Bragg, Pope Air Force Base, Hope Mills and Spring Lake. Readers are limited to one copy per person. Subscriptions can be purchased for $30 for six months or $60 for 12 months, delivered weekly by first class mail. ©2007 by F&B Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of editorial or advertisements without permission is strictly prohibited. INSIDE Calendar. .......................................... 24 . Concert Connection......................... 38 Movie................................................ 40 TV...................................................... 41 PUBLISHER'S PEN Cumberland County's Fair: County Tradition — Awesome Fun by BILL BOWMAN I've heard people say that Cumberland County should not be in the coliseum and event business. Yes, I agree. However, I have also heard some say that Cumberland County should not be in the county fair business. Are you kidding me? This, is an absurd notion. Actually, it is the kind of event our county should support, nurture and actively involve itself in. The Cumberland County Fair has been in successful existence serving our community for more than 50 years. And, this year's theme "A Family Heritage" spoke volumes of the tradition, hospitality and economic vitality the Cumberland County agricultural community contributes to our quality of life. Ahhhh! The sights, sounds and smells of this year's fair will remain with me for a long time. I have no idea how many people attended this year's 11-day event but, I will bet that Fair Manager Hubert Bullard and Fair President Lynn Tollett and their dozens of community volunteers will post record numbers. People came from all over the Cape Fear Region to participate in this traditional annual celebration and recognition of the products grown and produced by our local agricultural community. My guess would be that many of the people attending the fair didn't even know we have an agricultural community. I write about this only because our Coliseum Complex is in transition. This is a good thing. A new private-management firm is slated to take over shortly with a plan to revitalize the Crown Complex into a valuable community asset so it can better serve the entire community. This task is very doable and I think the Coliseum Board has made an excellent choice in Fayetteville's Weather Forecast Thursday September 26 Friday September 27 4 SEPT 25 - OCT 1, 2013 High 83° Low 56° Mostly Sunny High 82° Low 56° Mostly Sunny the Philadelphia-based Global Spectrum Company. However, a word of caution is appropriate here. In this transition, as in many past Cumberland County transactions and transitions, we undoubtedly will have people scrambling behind the scenes and standing in the shadows ready to wield power, influence and trump up expertise in hopes of directing and influencing the decision of this new company. And for what? Personal gain. It seems to be in Cumberland County's DNA. It is my hope that the powers that be will not let this happen and the best and most current example just may be the controversy over our Cumberland County Fair. Here we have a documented North Carolina State Champion AAA Fair, a nationally acclaimed and recognized Champion of Champions Fair and, most recently, a national 2012 Premier Agricultural Fair. The Cumberland County Fair has a long tradition and a rightful place in our community. It is a unique community asset that should be treasured and preserved and its future should not be dictated by people who cannot distinguish a parking lot carnival from a certified, licensed agricultural fair. Again, many thanks and kudos to Ms.Tollett and her loyal volunteers; Hubert Bullard for his leadership and perseverance and to the tens of thousands of men, women and children who came to experience the fun and excitement of our own agricultural fair midway. See ya next year! BILL BOWMAN, Publisher, Up & Coming Weekly, COMMENTS? editor@upandcomingweekly.com. Saturday September 28 Call 910.354.1679 Sunday September 29 24 / High 84° Low 56° Isolated Storms Free Wheelin' Feelin'........................ 42 Horoscopes/Advice Goddess.......... 43 Classifieds......................................... 44 Games............................................... 46 Monday September 30 Tuesday October 1 High 82° Low 59° Partly Cloudy High 82º Low 60º Partly Cloudy High 82º Low 60º Scattered Showers 7 Forecast available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM