Arts & Lifestyle
RtorRun board newMes
The 17th Annual RiverRun International
Film Festival will be held April 18-27,2015in
Winston-Salem, Festival organizers announced
recently.
Two new members have been added to the
RiverRun Advisory Board - filmmaker Barry
Jenkins and animation producer Linda Beck -
both of whom served
as 2014 jurors for
RiverRun for films in
competition.
Jenkins is an
award-winning film
maker based in
Oakland, Calif. He
worked as an assistant
on the television
movie "Their Eyes
Were Watching God."
His feature film
debut, "Medicine for
Melancholy," was
Jenkins
released in theaters by
. IFC Films and hailed as one of the best films of
2009 by A.O. Scott of The New York Times.
In 2010, Jenkins co-founded the commer
! cial collective Strike Anywhere Films. A nomi
* nee for several Spirit and Gotham Awards,
Jenkins' recent projects include the shorts "Tall
Enough," "A Young
- Couple," "Remigration" and "Chlorophyl." In
addition to being a curator and presenter at the
Telluride Film Festival, he is a United States
Artists Smith Fellow and was recently named
one of the 20 Directors to Watch in world cine
ma by The New York Times.
Beck is a producer and development scout
with a passion for connecting artists and execu
tives. She has produced content for children
? (Nickelodeon. Disney) and adults (History
Channel, A&E, PBS) and is equally at home in
both animation boutiques and major networks.
Beck is co-president of ASIFA-East, the East
Coast Chapter of the International Animated
Film Association.
Fundrabing book sale
The Shepherd's Center of Greater Winston
Salem will hold its 27th Annual Used Book
Sale on Thursday, May 1 and Friday, May 2
from 9 a.m. - 9 p.m. and on Saturday, May 3
from 8 a.m. - 1 pm. Parking and admission are
free.
The sale will be held in the Education
Building at the
Dixie Classic
Fairgrounds.
Entrance for park
ing is through
Gate 5 from
Deacon
Boulevard.
Thousands of
used books and
of Greater Wui?ton-S*lem
other items will be on hand at exceptional
prices. All proceeds from the sale benefit the
Shepherd's Center's programs and services for
older adults in our community.
The Shepherd's Center is an interfaith min
istry whose mission is to support and promote
successful aging through direct services, educa
tional. volunteer and support programs for older
adults. The center relies heavily on individuals
for the financial and volunteer support of our
ministry with older adults in the community.
For more information, contact the
Shepherd's Center at 336-748-0217 or visit
www.shepherdscenter.org.
Youth Symphony concert
The Winston-Salem Symphony Youth
Symphony will perform a free concert on
Sunday, May 4 at 7:30 p.m. at the Stevens
Center of the University of North Carolina
School of the Arts, 405 W. Fourth St This con
cert will be Maestro Matthew Troy's final con
cert with the Youth Symphony.
"Ensuring that this concert is free and open
to the public is just one j
of the many ways that
the musicians of the
Youth Symphony give
back to the communi
ty," said Troy, associate
conductor of the
Winston-Salem
Symphony and Music
Director of the
Winston-Salem
Symphony Youth
Symphony. "These
youth orchestra con
certs are a chance to
Troy
hear high caliber musicians who are the stars of
tomorrow and this will certainly be the case
with the May 4th concert. I am especially proud
of their hard work and dramatic growth during
my tenure as conductor."
The Winston-Salem Symphony Youth
Symphony is for advanced students and is con
ducted by Troy. The Youth Symphony will per
form "Rosamunde Overture" by Franz
Schubert; "Lt. Kij? Suite" by Serge Prokofiev;
and "Piano Concerto No. 2, Mvt. 1" by Camille
Saint-Saens. which will be performed by Paul
Cline. winner of the Youth Symphony Concerto
Competition.
The Winston-Salem Symphony Youth
Orchestras is part of the Winston-Salem
Symphony and includes about 130 student
musicians The Winston-Salem Symphony
Youth Orchestras are currently comprised of
three full orchestras for aspiring musicians in
the first through twelfth grades.
For more information, visit wssyo.org.
?
Curtis stopping by HP Library
CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT
Award-winning children's author Christopher Paul Curtis will help kick-off Children's Book Week with a visit to the
Wmtr' I ^?'nt Public Library, 901 Main Street in High Point, on Monday, May 12 at 6:30 p.m.
7 Liirns is tne autnor or seven boolcs tor children and young adults,
including "The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963," which was recently
made into a successful television movie.
The Flint, Mich, native's other titles include "Bud, Not Buddy,"
"Bucking the Sarge," "Mr. Chickee's Funny Money," "Mr. Chickee's
Messy Mission," "Elijah of Buxton" and "The Mighty Miss Malone."
Curtis spent his first 13 years after high school on the assembly line
at Flint's Fisher Body Plant, where he hung car doors.
His writing has been greatly influenced by his family. His grandfa
thers were Earl "Lefty" Lewis, a Negro Baseball League pitcher, and
1930's bandleader Herman E. Curtis Sr. of Herman Curtis and the Dusky
Devastators of the Depression.
Curtis
Curtis books nave been awarded one Newbery Medal, two Newbery
Honor Awards and three Coretta Scott King Awards, along with many other prestigious honors.
Curtis is also expected to spend the day meeting and presenting programs to the students at Montlieu Academy of
Technology. His library event is free and open to the public. Call 883-3666 or visit www.highpointpubliclibrary.com for
more information.
See acclaimed playwright's shows for free
CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT
Two plays by Garrett Davis, a nationally acclaimed play
wright who lives in Winston-Salem, will be staged here during
the Dementia Counseling & Care Conference.
The Twin City Quarter Marriott will host the conference
from May 8-10; however, the plays.
"Forget Me Not" and "Mama's Girls,"
will be staged at the Arts Council
Theatre, 610 Coliseum Drive.
"Forget Me Not" will play on
Thursday, May 8 at 7:30 p.m. This pro
duction has been touring the country
since 2009 and is currently on a national
tour sponsored by the African American
Network Against Alzheimer's. It's the
story of one family's struggle to accept
the fact that the head of their family has
been diagnosed with Alzheimer's.
Davis
"Alzheimer's disease is impacting over one million African
Americans and their families in devastating ways," said
Stephanie Monroe, director of the AAN. "ThaHjumber is pro
jected to double in the coming years. 'Forget Me Not' will help
us spread the word about this disease and encourage communi
ties to join our national effort to find a cure by 2020."
"Mama's Girls" will be staged on Saturday, May 10 at 3
p.m. The performance is supported by AARP's Prepare to Care
program, an initiative that helps caregivers. The play depicts
how a family deals with the care of their aging mother.
"As many of the play's attendees provide care for loved ones
and others in the community on a regular basis, 'Mama's Girl's'
will not only entertain, but inspire," said AARP NC State
Director Doug Dickerson. "The play will provide useful infor
mation which they can apply in their everyday lives."
Davis, CEO and founder of Gdavis Productions, also heads
the nationally acclaimed Forget Me Not Project and serves as an
ambassador for the National Alzheimer's Association. He was
named the 2012 Alzheimer's "Advocate of the Year."
Both performances are free and open to the public. For
instructions on how to obtain a free ticket needed for admission,
contact Gdavis Productions Offices at 336-448-1805.
Press Photo
The cast of "Mama's Girls."
Student Poet Laureate crowned
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
Mariah Rowdy, a junior at Reynolds
High School, has won the 2014 Poet
Laureate competition.
"I am so surprised," Rowdy said.
"There are so many amazing poets here."
Rowdy's poem - "Black and White"
- explored what it was like to have one
parent who is black and one parent who
is white and to find yourself not quite in
either world.
It opens with:
Black and White
Mixed
Told we are too white
For the black kids
And too black
For the white kids
Never fitting in
Always standing out
Her parents - Norman Rowdy and
Karen Lordeman-Rowdy - were both
there. Rowdy, who plans to become an
elementary school teacher, is a member
of the Superintendent's Student
Advisory Board.
"She is so smart and so courageous,"
said Superintendent Beverly Emory.
Twenty-four students wrote poems
for the seventh annual Poet Laureate
Project, which is jointly sponsored by
Forsyth Education Partnership and
Winston-Salem/Forsyth County
Schools. First place came with $100,
second with $75 and third with $50.
In the first phase of the competition,
judges read the students' poems and
awarded points based on content. Later,
students recited or read their poems -
some did a little of both - to the audience
in the school system's Education
Building, and judges awarded additional
points for presentation. The combined
scores determined the winners.
Nonnie C. Egbuna, a sophomore at
Paisley IB Magnet School, placed sec
ond; and Mary Kerr, a junior at Atkins
Academic & Technology High School,
placed third.
Egbuna has been performing for a
while.
"1 do shows all the time," she said.
"For a couple of years now, 1 have been
doing it seriously."
Kerr has been writing poetry on and
off since the fourth grade.
"I do it for the sake of it, but winning
See Poets on A9
WS/rC Schools Photo
Winner Mariah Rowdy (center) with Nonnie C. Egbuna and Mary Kerr (right).
WSSU singers headed to Big Apple
SPF CIAI TO THE CHRONICLf
The choir from Winston
Salem State University will be
among the Distinguished
Concert Singers International
for the performance of "The
Cry of Jeremiah" at its New
York City premiere at the
Lincoln Center on Saturday,
May 10, at 7 p.m.
Composed by Dr.
Rosephanye Dunn Powell,
who is one of American's pre
mier women composers of
choral music, "The Cry of
Jeremiah" is in four move
ments and follows the
prophet's feelings of abandon
ment and redemption by
God. Powell combines the
ancient text with music that
draws from both the African
American heritage and classi
cal music traditions.
The program is part of the
Distinguished Concerts
t
International New York
(DCINY) spring
series. DCINY strives to
make music accessible and
affordable to all patrons while
presenting music from many
genres including classical,
jazz and world music. Their
concerts take place at such
world renowned venues as
Carnegie Hall and Lincoln
Center.
Tickets are $40 and avail
able online at www.lineoln
center.org.
? ? ? ? ?I ?J???fcJB??M
WSSU Photo by Garrett Garms
Members of the acclaimed WSSU Choir.