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/262402
12 FEBRUARY 19-25, 2014 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Youth for Christ will host a fundraising event to benefit the youth of the Fayetteville community on Feb. 28. The event is set to take place at New Life Center, Haymount United Methodist Church. The event features Bob Stromberg, a clean comedian and inspirational speaker who grew up in the Allegheny Mountains of rural Pennsylvania. He has traveled the world starring in the megahit theatrical production Triple Espresso; a production that can only be described as a highly-caffeinated comedy. Triple Espresso has been seen by nearly two million people in dozens of cities ranging from Seattle to the West End of London, and has become the longest running stage production in the history of San Diego, Minneapolis and the entire state of Iowa. Stromberg is also known for his many appearances on the award winning TV comedy Bananas. "Stromberg has done this kind of work with Youth for Christ chapters throughout the country," said John McIntyre, executive director at Youth for Christ. "He's a comedian by trade, but what's neat is the reason he likes to work with Youth for Christ chapters is that when he was a young man, people came in and helped influence his life. So this is part of his story." Aside from the theatrical productions and TV comedy shows Stromberg is featured in, he is known for several books such as Finding the Magnificent in Lower Mundane, the award winning, beautifully illustrated family story The Miracle at Stinky Bay and the best selling Why Geese Fly Farther Than Eagles. Stromberg has been delighting audiences of all ages with his perfect blend of standup, story and shtick for more than 30 years. He's always clean and his presentation is a disarming healthy blend of knee-slapping comedy and a whole lot of wholesome encouragement. "This event is a fundraiser," said McIntyre. "We are nonprofit and we exist on the generosity of folks who love the mission and really get behind it. This event is a neat way to say, 'Thank you,' to those people who give, and it's going to be a solid hour of comedy, man." "This guy is hilarious. We want folks to have a good time. We want people that don't know about us to hear about us — and hear about some good things that are happening and feel good about supporting it." "A lot of events are built around personality or groups, depending on what those people are known for," said McIntyre. "Like when the Crown brought in Bill Cosby, or when people go see other comedians or whatever show they go see. There's something that they know they're going for, and Bob is one of the few comedians who has a similar heart [as Bill Cosby] and wants to support the mission of Youth for Christ." "We love this kind of event and we hope to make this event an annual one," said McIntyre. "We'll obviously need to rotate comedians because people want to see different acts, but as people have the same mindset, the same heart and the same purpose — we'll see how it goes as we move forward." Tickets are on sale now! For more information, or to purchase tickets, go to www.yfcfay.org, or call (910) 433-5630. Youth For Christ Hosts Comedy Hour by JOSE GREEN Comedian Bob Stromberg is set to perform at Haymount United Methodist Church on Feb. 28 JOSE´GREEN, Intern, COM- MENTS? Editor@upandcomin- gweekly.com. Fayetteville State University will host the 4th Annual Frederick Douglass Debates on Monday, Feb. 24 at 11 a.m. in Seabrook Auditorium on the campus of Fayetteville State University. The university will debate Hampton University. "It is a public debate series that started four years ago at FSU," said William Thomas, lecturer and director of debate at Fayetteville State University. " We invited another debate team from another university to come in and debate on three issues of social significance to tie in partially to Black History Month and issues that Frederick Douglass may have been interested in." Thomas added that they wanted to bring two historically black colleges and universities together for the debate. The significant topics debated include the stand-your-ground law, prayer/religion in school and other public areas and the Affordable Healthcare Act. Stand your ground is a type of defense law that gives individuals the right to use deadly force to defend themselves without any requirement to evade or retreat from a dangerous situation. Prayer and religion in school entails that in the United States, school prayer is proscribed in accordance with the establishment clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution which provides the foundation for the separation of church and state. The Affordable Health Care Act puts consumers back in charge of their healthcare. Under the new law, a new patient's "Bill of Rights" gives the American people the stability and flexibility they need to make informed choices about their health. "The debate team decided that we wanted to do something to service our community," said Thomas. " We could use the skills that the students have in debating to help educate the community about issues that are important and timely to the community." Special guest judges are Mayor Chris Rey of Spring Lake, Dr. Karla Holloway, professor of Duke University and lawyer Katherine Hudson from Legal Aid of North Carolina. " We invite community judges that people will recognize and that will help draw in an audience so they can come in and learn more about the issues," said Thomas. " Winning the debate is not really the point." Thomas added that the winning team will receive a glass bowl trophy. Invitations were sent to all of the schools in Cumberland County in order to bring students to see the debate. "Please come out and support the debate," said Thomas. "Most people feel that debates are boring but it will be full of energy and it is a really entertaining event." The event is free and open to the public. For more information contact William Thomas at wthomas3@uncfsu.edu. Frederick Douglass Debates Return to FSU by DR. SHANESSA FENNER DR. SHANESSA FENNER, Principal WT Brown Elementary School, Contributing Writer, COMMENTS? Editor@upandcomingweekly.com. The 4th Annual Frederick Douglass Debates are scheduled for Feb. 24 at Fayetteville State University.