Downtown comes alive over
weekend with Streetscene
By PATRICIA SMfTH-DEERING
Chronide Staff Writer
They came by the thousands,
by car, by skateboard, by bicycle,
by motorcycle, mothers and
fathers pushing babies in strollers
or tugging wide-eyed toddlers by
the hand, young lovers linked
arm-in-arm, kids running wild
through the streets crowded with
the display stands of vendors
hawking their wares.
And everywhere the wonder
ful mix of aromas from polish
sausages with onions and green
peppers, popcorn, cotton candy,
spiraled French fries, and other
culinary treats to make mouths
water and delight the taste buds.
That was only part of the
scene at last weekend's
Streetscene. The two-day festival,
produced by the Urban Arts of the
Arts Council Inc. and this year,
sponsored entirely by the organi
zation, featured six stages 4hat.hacL
specialties that would appeal to
almost every taste.
There was the sensational
Sandra Reeves-Phillips, well
known vocalist and actress, who
held the crowd in the palm of her
hand as she presented her one
woman show dedicated to "The
Late Great Ladies of Jazz and
Blues." But, her closing rendition
of "Lean on Me^^^which she sang
in ihje movie of the same name,
brought the crowd in Corpening
Plaza Park to its feet.
Other favorites were the Cor
nelius Brothers and Sister Rose,
who sang their hits from the '70s
including their popular "Treat Her
Like A Lady" and "Too Late To
Turn Back Now."
At the end of their single con
cert on Saturday, they auto
graphed photos and sold tapes,
which caused one elderly black
man observing the crowd to com
ment, "It's good to see black peo
ple making some of that money
for a change."
The Chairman of the Board
proved they are still "the premiere
beach band." And the Voices of
KMS, a local gospel group, took
everyone back to church Sunday
with their spirited renditions.
Returning this year was the
Jazz Minister, blowing old jazz
and blues tunes on his saxophone
as passersby donated money in the
large plastic garbage can he had
placed beside him.
Aside from its entertainment,
Streetscene has become known
over the years for its arts and
crafts. Among the more interest
ing by African-American vendors
were^he hand-cafved wooden
dancing dolls and soldiers made
by George Servance Jr. of
Thomasville, one of the folk
artists and craftsmen at Folkscene.
All in all, this year's
Streetscene was very successful,
according to Reggie Johnson,
executive director for the Urban
Arts of the Arts Council Inc. Just
how successful, Johnson couldn't
say yet.
"We're counting the money
now," he said. Because the Urban
Arts co^ld noi find^ sponsor for ?
this year's event, the organization
bore all of the expenses. Whether
the event that seemed to be
enjoyed by all of the thousands
who attended will be held again
next year depends on three things,
said Johnson.
"A lot depends upon what we
did in terms of revenue (this year),
' whether or not sponsors can be
found, and on putting it
(Streetscene) in a position to pay
for itself through the concession
stands."
But, Johnson is optimistic. He
feels that as the community
becomes more aware of how the
event is funded, they will be more ?
willing to support it through pur
chases of things like T-shirts,
posters, and other products sold at
the Streetscene concessions
Photos by L.B. Speas Jr.
Above left, Sandra Reeves-Phllllpa captivated Street scene watchers with her rendition of Blllle
Holiday's classic tunes; above center, Streetscene revellers Jam to the music of one of the many
groups providing entertainment; above right, one group of Streetscene folks couldn't resist
dancing to the beat; and below, the local gospel group Voices of K.M.S. provided soul- stirring
music at Sunday's Streetscene festivities.
Piedmont Opera Theatre to present Cinderella by Rossini
Piedmont Opera Theatre opens
its 1990-91 season with the tuneful
"Cinderella" ("La Cenerentola") by
Rossini. Performances will take
place on Friday, Sept. 21, at & p.m.;
Sunday, Sept. 23, at 3 p.m., and
Tuesday, Sept. 25, at 8 p.m. at the
Stevens Center in downtown Win
ston-Salem. The opera will be sung
in English. Tickets range from $6
$20, with a $ 1 discount for students 7
and seniors. For reservations, call
(919)725-2022.
Rossini's opera varies some
what from the traditional t airy -tale
"Cinderella". The story concerns
Angelina, called Cinderella because
she is always cleaning the cinders
from the fireplace. Her stepfather,
?regret
Gregory Rahming
Don Magnifico, has squandered the
dowry left by her father, and their
palace has fallen into disrepair. Cin
derella's two stepsisters, Clorinda
and Tisbe, treat her as their servant.
The Prince, here called Don
Ramiro, needs to marry immediate
ly or, according to his father's law,
he will be disinherited. The Prince's
wise tutor, Alidoro, disguises him
seTT as a beggar and visits all the"
houses in the village looking for a
wife for the Prince, who will be
kind and loving. Of course, he rec
om mends Cinderella, and when the
Prince visits the house he falls in
love with Cinderella on sight.
In due course, there is a ball,
and it is Alidoro (notihe traditional
fairy godmother) who ensures that
Cinderella attends. Since the Italian
censors wouldn't allow Cinderella
to show her foot, Rossini couldn't
let her leave her glass slipper as the
clue to her identity. Instead she
gives the Prince one of a pair of
jeweled bracelets as a token of her
love. Eventually, the Prince finds
the lowly servant girl, who has the
matching bracelet and recognizes
her as his true love, Cinderella.
Throughout the action, comedy is
provided by Cinderella's father, who
gets drunk at the ball, and by the
two stepsisters in their desperate
efforts to attract the Prince's atten
tion. Rossini has filled the score
"with brilliant ^howstopping arias
and tuneful melodies, as he did in
"The Barber of Seville."
The cast for Piedmont Opera
Theatre's production of "Cinderella"
consists of nationally known and
talented local singers. The part of
Cinderella will be sung by mezzo
soprano Melanie Sonnenberg, who
was last seen here as Nicklausse in
The Tales of Hoffmann." The
Prince, Don Ramiro, will be sung
by tenor Glenn Siebert, making his
Piedmont Opera Theatre debut.
Siebert has performed with major
opera companies both here and in
Europe,
Tenor John Davies, a favorite
with Winston-Salem audiences, will
-sing the comic role of Don Magnifi
co, Cinderella's father. Davies' most
recent appearance here was as
Figaro in last year's production of
"The Marriage of Figaro." The part
of Dandini, the Prince's valet, will
be sung by bass-baritone Gregory
Rahming, another newcomer to
Piedmont Opera Theatre. Rahming
recently completed a two-yeai
Jenure withJhe Miami Opera Young
_ Artist Program and has earned
enthusiastic reviews for his frequent
appearances at the Ashlawn-High
land Festival in Charlottesville, Va.
The two ugly sisters are both
Winston-Salem residents. Soprano
Alice Pierce makes her Piedmont
Please see page A 13
Newell represents city at United Nations environmental congress conference
By TRACY L. PROSSER
Chronide Staff Writer
Alderman Virginia K.
Newell's grandchildren are telling
their mother to recycle, and until
Newell attended a conference on
environmental problems, their
: requests- were being ignored.
Now that Grandmother Newell is
getting involved with environ
mental issues, she just may start
; recycling, Alderman Newell said.
This is an example of the
awareness the World Congress of
j Local Governments for a Substan
tial Future is trying to begin in
everyone's household. Newell
represented Winston-Salem at the
m.
congress, a conference held at the
United Nations headquarters in
New York City.
A portion of the stated mis
sion of the congress reads, "Glob
ally, local governments are often
in the best position to correct
unsustainable land use, construc
tion, transportation, energy, agri
culture and waste management
practices of modern life."
The gathering of almost 2,000
representatives from 35 nations
worldwide focused exchanging
successful local strategies in an
effort to implement a global envi
ronmental agenda. "Act locally,
think globally," was the slogan
used at the conference, said
mmm
Virginia Newell
Newell, who attended the confer
ence in New York Sept. 5-8 in
place of Mayor Martha S. Wood.
"Each country, city, or munic
ipality, if you will, must take own
ership of this earth and do what it
is supposed to do," she said.
On the local level, recycling
projects can be implemented
before they become mandatory, as
they are in some cities, Newell
said.
Planting trees is another effort
to improve the environment that
can be made on the local level.
"Trees make the good air. They
give us oxygen and take on the
carbon dioxide," Newell said. She
said people at the congress told
her that many nurseries are will
ing to donate trees, and she would
like to get local groups to plant
them.
Many people are not con
cerned about the trees that were
knocked down during the tornado
last year, Newell said. She would
like to see a tree per month plant
ed in the city, she said.
One of the biggest problems
to the environment is the
transportation system, which con
tributes to pollution and the deple
tion of the ozone layer. Local
solutions to this involve car pool
ing, Newell suggested, and the
construction of a rail system
between Winston-Salem and
Greensboro.
"At the end, we created an
international secretariat with a
council similar to the United
Nations," Newell said. The
responsibility of the secretariat
will be to monitor the environ
mental problems globally, she
said.
In 1992, the group will partic
ipate in the U.N. Conference on
Environment and Development,
The secretariat could also be
involved in planning regional con
ferences of loffal governments
immediately following the confer
ence.
Robinson gets another chance to run for School Board
Vernon Robinson
By TRACY L. PROSSER
Chronicle Staff Writer
Vernon Robinson, a well
known Republican African-Ameri
can, will get his shot at running for
the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County
Board of Education.
At an emergency executive ses
sion of the Republican Party of
Forsyth County Monday, Sept. 10,
Robinson was elected to fill the
vacated spot of Gary W. Templeton,
a Republican candidate who with
drew from the school board race
exactly 90 days before the election.
On Aug. 21, the Forsyth Coun
ty Board of Elections ruled that
Templeton could not be replaced on
the ballot. Their decision was con
sistent with a ruling by the North
Carolina Board of Elections not to
allow Marshall A. Rauch of Gaston
County, a candidate who withdrew
from the race for state senator, to be
replaced on the ballot.
A Supreme Court judge over
turned the state board's decision and
the ruling was not appealed. Subse
quently, the local Board of Elec
tions decided to allow a replace
ment for Templeton to be placed on
the ballot.
The two Republicans vying for
the candidacy were Robinson, cate
gorized in the meeting as a theorist,
and Peggy Bodenheimer, who has
extensive practical experience with
school involvement.
Robinson is an assistant profes
sor of business at Winston-Salem
State University. In addition to run
ning for the school board before
this year, he made an unsuccessful
bid for State Senator in 1988.
In nominating Robinson, Nate
Pendley told the executive commit
tee Robinson was a proven cam
paigner who has instant credibility
on educational issues and a high
visibility in the community. "He is
a proven fundraiser," Pendley said.
"He'll get 5,000 votes out of East
Winston the other candidates won't
get"
Robinson said he supports let
ting parents choose which schoOt
their child should attend. He said
he would like real school reform,
not just money added to the school
system budget.
"Having lost three elections in
a row," Robinson said after he was
selected, "this feels a whole lot bet
ter than thau!^
COMMUNITY NEWS
DEADLINES ...
The Chronicle welcomes
community news and calendar
items. Announcements should be
concise and typed or neatly
printed. They should include the
day, time, place and sponsors of
the event, plus a number to call
for additional information.
Announcements should be
addressed to the Winston-Salem
Chronicle Community News,
P.O. Box 3154, Winston-Salem,
N.C. 27102.
The deadline for announce
ments is Monday at 5:30 p.m.
Rescue Mission to celebrate 23 years of service to Winston-Salem's homeieec
Chronicle Staff Report
The Winston-Salem Rescue
Mission will be celebrating 23 years
of dedicated service to the hoip^less
in Winston-Salem on Sept 17. The
- public is invited to a special
anniversary service which will be
held at 7:30 at Gospel Light Baptist
Church, Walkertown, N.C.
At this service, recognition will
be given to those who have helped
this ministry provide an open door
to serve the homeless 24 hours a
day for 23 years.
Testimonies will be shared by
those whose lives have been
changcd over the years.
A report of the accomplish
ments of the Rescue Mission will be
given by Rev. A. Neal Wilcox, who
has served as executive director of
c
the ministry since he and his wife
Barbara, who serves as his secre
tary, came to Winston-Salem at the
request of the newly formed board
of directors in June 1967.
There will be special music and
Dr. Fred Brown from Chattanooga,
TN, will be the special speaker. Dr.
Brown is a well-known evangelist
and conference speaker.
The Rescue Mission opened its
do^rs on July 22, 1967 to the home
less, hungry and hurting with 25
beds. It has since expanded and
now cares for up to 85 homeless
nightly.
In 23 years the mission has
provided 425,832 nights' lodgings
to the homeless. The kitchen has
provided 1,181,441 meals to the
hungry. There have been 10,562
men housed and 37,048 articles of
clothing given.
Thousands of items of furnish
ings have been provided for the
needy in the Mission Outlet Stores
at 705 North Trade Street and the
comer of Oak and Seventh Streets.
Over 19,190 services have been
held with an attendance of over
359,812 and 1,056 professions of
faith and rededications.
The mission director, staff and
board, as well as the thousands of
clierHs who have been ministered
to, thank the community for its
financial support, donations of
usable items, words of encourage
ment and prayers for the past 23
years.
Together they have made a
great impact on the Piedmont of
North Carolina.