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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Ole Mill Days Celebrates History In Hope Mills by KIMBERLY SMALLS Every year the Town of Hope Mills celebrates its history with the Ole Mill Days Fall Festival. The one-day event will be held Oct. 23 at the Hope Mills Municipal Park. Originally, called the Pumpkin Festival, the annual event was changed to Ole Mill Days six years ago as a way to recognize the various mills that once populated the town. Sponsored by the Hope Mills Parks and Recreation Department, the festival has vendors, storytelling, rides for kids, a chili cook-off, tractor pull, costume con- test and dance and music performances. Scheduled performances by gospel artist Larry Chason and country artist Larry Frick are new events added to this year’s festival. “We wanted to have something for everybody,” said Kenny Bullock, program supervisor. “So we added gospel and country [music].” In addition, Bullock says there was more emphasis on attracting more craft vendors to the event. “We’ll still have food vendors,” he said, “but we wanted [the festival] geared more to craft vendors.” participate. So far 21 vendors have confi rmed, and Bullock expects up to 40 vendors to Planning for Ole Mill Days begins in January. Bullock said the Recreation Department places advertisements in local newspapers to attract new vendors and notifi es prior participants so they can sign up. Turn out for the festival is usually good. Bullock said on average about 2,000 people attend the event each year. While the Ole Mill Days has been a success, Bullock wants the festival to continue to become larger, possibly becoming a two or three day event. And he welcomes input from the citizens on ways to improve the festival “We’re open for suggestions” he noted. Events will be held at the Hope Mills Municipal Park, 577 Rockfi sh Rd. For more information, call 910-424- 4500. KIMBERLY SMALLS, Contributing Writer. COMMENTS? 484-6200 ext. 222 or editor@upandcomingweekly.com. Time 8-11 a.m. 11 a.m. 12 p.m. 12:30 – 5p.m. 12:30 – 4 p.m. 12:30 p.m. 1 p.m. 1:30 p.m. 2 p.m. 2:15 p.m. 3 p.m. 3:30 p.m. 4 p.m. 4:30 – 6 p.m. 6 p.m. Vendor Setup Chili Cook Off Welcome by Hope Mills Mayor Eddie Dees Tractor Pull Kid’s Games, Pony & Friends, Train Rides Larry Chason (Gospel Artist) Belly Dancing, Ballet Dancing Hot Wings Contest Mill Reunion (Hope Mills Recreation Center) and Quilt Showcase Cheerleading Exhibition (Hope Mills Recreation Department Cheer Squads) Larry Chason Announcement of Chili Cook Off Win- ners Pumpkin Contest Larry Frick (Country Artist) Haunted House, South View Key Club and Announcement of Costume Con- test Winners Family Tradition: Codringtons Bring Music to Life by TOM HENNESSEY Jazz has been called the “sound of surprise” and the “freedom principle.” It is often a family tradition. All of those descriptions meet the jazz story of Ray Codrington and his son Reggie. They have met all of these factors in their jazz journey. Reggie grew up aware that his father was active in the local and music scene. He grew up in a world where the electric sounds of smooth jazz are widely heard and local production of CDs was an option. Reggie took his smooth sax sounds in that direction. He also grew up with the reali- ties of Ataxic Cerebral Palsy {ACP}, a chronic condition that impacts on muscle coordination and depth perception. He and his family suffered through many operations in his childhood. Music was a blessing and release for him. This was strengthened by his parents’ gift at age18 of a curved soprano saxophone, an instrument that fi t him perfectly physically and musically. He has recorded and released seven CDs including “Expressions” and “C-Note.” His three most recent releases show a range of directions. “Sunny Days” has a spiritual theme including tunes such as “Fruits of the Spirit” and “Walking with Jesus.” “Christmas with Pops” includes traditional Christmas songs. Reggie’s most recent release “Visions of Dreams” focuses on romance with songs like “Every Time I See Your Smile” and “The Softer Side of Me.” Reggie writes many of his own tunes. When Reggie’s father Ray started playing in the 1950s, bop was the jazz style. Ray grew up in Dunn and had a variety of musical infl u- ences in this area. He was a regular at The Groove Dave Blume’s jazz club in the B&B Bowling Lanes on Ft. Bragg Rd here in Fayetteville. Ray went to Howard University and there became part of the JFK quintet with 19 year-old Andrew White on sax, Harry Killgo on piano, Walter Booker Jr. on bass, and Mickey Newman on drums. Cannonball Adderley discovered them at DC’s famous jazz club, the Bohemian Gardens, and helped them put out their fi rst album in 1961. Ray wrote several of the numbers on the disc including “Nairod.” This fi rst proj- ect, “New Jazz Frontiers From Washington,” was followed in 1962 by “Young 14 UCW OCTOBER 20-26, 2010 Ideas.” The group has a strong post bop feel with White very aware of the work of John Coltrane and Eric Dolphy. Codrington’s work has more edge than many trumpeters at that time. The titles refl ected the new spirit in politics and culture around the “New Frontier” of John F. Kennedy’s presidency. The music business and Kennedy’s assassination moved the members in different directions after 1963. Ray recorded live with the Jazz Compos- ers’ Orchestra including Steve Lacy and Paul Bley in April 1965. Eventually joining tenor man Eddie Harris, Ray recorded “The In Sound” in 1965 and “Mean Greens” in 1966 with Harris. Ray took the original recorded trumpet solo on Harris’s classic composition “Freedom Jazz Dance” before Miles Davis made the tune famous. Ray eventually chose to leave the national scene and return to Fayetteville. He has remained active in the eastern North Carolina jazz scene from the 1970s to the present. He was a long time member of “Group Sax” with Greg Gelb and other Triangle area musicians. Fayetteville-based, singer-songwriter Frank Hardwick included Ray in his band Studio-E on the project Charged Par- ticles. Ray has played with and encouraged many young talents like his own son Reggie and bassist John Brown. He has taught at East Carolina University. Ray has been very active in recent years performing live with Reggie in smooth jazz settings and John Brown and others in mainstream jazz formats. He has recorded with drummer Thomas Taylor. Ray played trumpet and wrote the tune “Thank You, Lord” for pianist Larry Willis’s Sanctuary album. His earlier work both with Eddie Harris and the JFK Quintet has been reissued on CD and has gained fans on the Internet. Together they have maintained a family tradition in the jazz world. Reggie will be continuing that tradition with a concert at the Crown Center Ballroom in Fayetteville on October 22. Fore more info or tickets call 438-4100. TOM HENNESSEY, Contributing Writer. COMMENTS? 484-6200 ext. 222 or editor@upandcomingweekly.com. WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM SCHEDULE OF EVENTS Event