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Graphic photos by Amanda Clark & Jo Anne Cooper
Rickelle Alfaro, of Nashville, takes a photo moment with the Nashville Exchange Moose at the Blooming Festival on Friday night.
Ava Pappas, 3, enjoys the carousel with her grandmother, Brenda Culpepper, of Rocky Mount. Ava was visiting from Holly Springs.
Nash Central High School’s marching band performs during the parade.
These are trying times on the goat farm.
In 2013, we’ve already had both of our electric power boxes for our fence go out; a thunderstorm dropped a 30-foot tree on the wire part of the fence; our best goat died under mysterious circumstances; several chickens were assassinated; and I’ve been shocked, cut, tripped, smashed fingers and chased down several jailbreaks.
What in the world is going on in Nashville?
Hopefully everyone in North Carolina knows about Nashville’s Blooming Festival but if you don’t, you may have been wondering what was going on this weekend, since Downtown Nashville was lit up like a Christmas tree!
The 17th Nashville Blooming Festival is now behind us but not without some good memories and a few growing pains.
It’s hard to believe it was 17 years ago we held the first event with around 4,000 people attending. This year’s event brought well over the expected 25,000. We possibly reached that number by the end of Friday night!
By:
Letter to the Editor:
Dear Editor;
As the Fantastic Shakers sang their last song and the Ferris Wheel took its last spin at the carnival, the 17th Annual Nashville Blooming Festival came to an end.
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A PICTORIAL LOOK INTO THE PAST
I PASSED! –– This photo was originally published in The Graphic on June 8, 1967. Deborah Grizzle and Fredrick Franklin were happy as they peeped at their final report cards. Deborah was being promoted to the eleventh grade at Northern Nash while Frederick was being promoted to the eighth grade at Nashville.
By:
Amanda Clark, Graphic Staff Writer
Nash County Commissioners gave their stamp of approval for a study that will help determine the type of industries to recruit to the county.
John Gessaman, CEO of Carolina Gateway Partnership, presented a proposal to commissioners last Monday during the board’s regular meeting on developipn a Nash County Target Industry Plan.
The Rocky Mount Unemployment Office is offering extended hours to better serve the community.
The local office was selected as a pilot office to try out the extension of its hours. Extended hours began on April 1 and has gone well so far, said Manager Diane Thomas.
So far, the Rocky Mount office has served 36 customers and taken 10 phone calls during the extended hours.
Jut Crumpler (right) picks up the grill he won Saturday by registering at the Annual Lions Club Blooming Festival drawing which helps the visually impaired. Pictured presenting the grill is Lions’ President Mary Boehm.
By:
Amanda Clark, Graphic Staff Writer
A lawsuit continues to linger over the property where Sandy Grove Primitive Baptist Church once stood. But the loss of the actual church building two years ago hasn’t stopped community members from meeting on the church property.
A handful of community members met on the grounds March 31 for a special Easter service. This is the third year Easter services have been held on the church grounds.
Castalia area churches joined together to host Castalia Community Prayer Day on Saturday, April 27. This is the third time the event has been held. This year’s event also served as a fundraiser for a local boy, Jesus Ortiz, who was hit by a car while trying to board his school bus. A barbecue chicken plate sale was held to raise money to assist the family with medical expenses. Pictured above, Ortiz (center) talks with Sonia Hawkins (far left) a friend of the family and Jennifer Edwards (far right), who lives near Ortiz.
The Rocky Mount Breakfast and Evening Optimist Clubs hosted the 2012 – 2013 Youth Appreciation Awards Banquet on Tuesday, March 26, 2013 at Union Missionary Baptist Church.
The banquet recognized outstanding student achievement from area high schools. The students were selected by their teachers for outstanding academic excellence and civic participation.
Two high school seniors, Carlos Villanueva, of Durham, and Judie Taylor, of Battleboro, have earned tuition scholarships in the local level of The Art Institutes and Americans for the Arts “You Can Create Tomorrow” Poster Design Competition.
Several Nash County residents have been admitted to Saint Augustine’s University for the fall semester.
Locals admitted include Alicia Whitaker, Derek Gay, Tyrika Ricahrdson and Anissa Battle, all of Nashville. and Demarious Alston, of Spring Hope.
Nash Central High School will present the musical Footlose on May 16, 17 and 18 at 7 p.m. and on May 19 at 2 p.m. All shows will be held at the Imperial Centre in Rocky Mount. Tickets are $7 in advance or $10 at the door. Pictured above, Nash Central students rehearse on Monday night for the show.
NASH ARTS PRESENTS GEE HAW - The play Gee Haw will be shown at Nash Arts on May 16, 17 and 18 at 7:30 p.m. and on May 19 at 2:30 p.m. The play, described as a hillbilly comedy, is written by Bryan McCoury and directed by Jim Singleton. Admission is $10. Call 459-4734 for tickets. Pictured above Linda Hopkins and Tammy Joyner Reason (L-R) ride in their Gee Haw attire during the Blooming Festival parade to promote the play.
The May third and final spring concert of the 2013 season at Warren County’s historic Cherry Hill will feature three members of the Meredith College faculty in a Sunday event. The concert, which commemorates Alice Vaiden Williams, will begin at 3 p.m. Sunday, May 19.
Approximately 200 Nash-Rocky Mount Public Schools middle and high school students came together March 26 for the annual All-County band performances at Minges Auditorium at Wesleyan College’s Dunn Center.
Kenton Morgan, an 8th grade student at Red Oak Middle School, said he was excited to have participated in the concert.
The Nash County Soil and Water Conservation District held its annual appreciation luncheon on Thursday, May 9 at Rose Hill. For over 30 years, the district has held a luncheon every spring to promote conservation efforts and to show its appreciation to the people and agencies who support those efforts. Pictured above (L-R) is David McLeod, Assistant Commissioner of Agriculture and Bobby Joe Fisher, Soil and Water Conservation District Board member.
The O.D. Moore Scholarship Foundation is gearing up for its Fourth Annual Golf Tournament, slated for Friday, May 24.
The golf tournament is held in memory of the O.D. Moore Scholarship Foundation President, Mr. Henry Earl Coley.
B. Mayo Boddie, Sr., Chairman of the NorthEastern Entrepreneur Roundtable (NEER), has announced the names of the four finalists for the organization’s 2013 Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
“We received a large number of highly qualified nominations for this year’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award competition and this made it difficult for our selection committee to narrow the field...
Duke Energy Progress has chosen a 320-acre section of the Middlesex Corporate Centre to participate in the utility’s 2013 Site Readiness Program to prepare the location for potential industrial development.
Duke Energy’s Site Readiness Program is designed to help communities served by the utility compete for new companies and jobs.
