-? Photo hj J.n? Ooliolo
j* brass band porforms on fb# stroots a# downtown.
* _ (J ' *v
NBTF
pvm page All
> The site was also home to sev
?;eral outdoor concerts last week
?frnd a massive block party Satur
* day. ?
> Actor Hal Williams of "22T
;Iame and "A Time to Kill" actress
-Jonea Stewart made frequent mid
' night visits to the eatery. They
"leasted on soul food like macaroni
?ind cheese, deep-fried fish and
ribs.
! One of the vendors at the
eatery constantly referred to
Williams as Lester, the character
he played on the popular sitcom.
One night the vendor jokingly
asked Williams about the where:
abouts of his television wife Mary.
it m a ? ? t I
"Mary s at nome, ne respond- i*
ed with a smile. ?? ^
Nightly celebrity receptions
provided a more structured way
for the public to meet celebrities.
Fans formed long lines each night
in a huge ballroom in the Adam's
Mark and waited that turn to I
meet the stars, who sat at tables in
; a roped-ofl" section of the room.
Actress Loretta Devine attend
ed one of the receptions, but she
opted not to sit behind the rope
like her many actor pals. Devine,
who starred in "Waiting to
Exhale" and "The Preacher's
Wife," sat at one of the tables pro
vided for the general public, listen
ing intently as a local band
brought down the house.
A slimmed-down Devine went
unnoticed, even when she took to
the dance floor with several fans.
I But when word got out, people
'quickly formed a beeline to the
?actress' table, where she signed
-autographs, gave out hugs and
for nirtnres_
.f, r
[ Devine said it was her first time
mm Winston-Salem. She came from
?Wilmington - where she is shoot
ing "Freedom/Song" with Danfiy
[Glover to see the plays "Step
ping Into Tomorrow" and "The
'Trial of One Shortsighted Black
; Woman..."
[ When asked why she chose to
?sit with the public and not other
'celebrities, Devine answered with
[her trademark smile and distinc
J tive voice.
"I don't like that rope thing,"
[she said. "Everyone here-is realty
, [great and they really want to talk
/ ?to you....That's what we are here
[ for. It's not like you're at the super
:marketer at dinner."
J Even during the interview,
-Devine took a few seconds to
[acknowledge her fans. She burst
[into laughter as one lady came up
-and imitated her famous "I hope
-he is not watching me" walk from
["Exhale."
[ Devine applauded the city for
-staging such a festival. She said
'that arts events of any kind are a
["good thing," especially for a city's
[pocketbook.
? "It boosts everything," she
[said.
1 Her appearance nere was an
-unbilled and unexpected surprise,
? -but Devine said that perhaps next
?time she'll play more of an active
'role at the festival.
"Hopefully, I will (come back
?to Winston-Salem), and I'll per
'form next time," she said.
I Actor Renauld White was seen
?all over downtown last week in
T between his performances as the
'lead character in the play "Julius
^Caesar Set in Africa."
At well over 6 feet tall. White
'was hard to miss. His face is more
^famous than his name. Starting as
?a model in the 1970s, White
?became one of the first black mod
els to grace the cover of GQ Mag
^azine. <
He has since appeared in
numerous television series and the
'atrical works. White was among
-the masses looking on during one
-of Otesha's late night perfor
mances last week.
I Though it was nearing 2
-o'clock in the morning. White and
'the others showed no signs of
.slowing down. '
\ "I never experienced anything
?like this," he said, the drums beat
ing behind him. "I think this is by
far a unique and one-of-a-kind sit
uation in the world. I've been to
?
other gatherings of people of
color, but something like this is
truly in its own world."
White said the city welcomed
him with open arms. The people he
met on his frequent trips down
town went out of their way to
make him feel comfortable. He
says several people even invited
him home to eat dinner with their
families.
"I think it's an amazing city
(and) a very appealing city. I'd love
to come back," he said.
White also praised the festival
and the arts in general.
If there are no arts in a town or
city, there is a deficit, he said mat
ter-of-factly. In that sense, Win
ston-Salem is truly rich, he added.
"Out of (the festival) a seed of
culture has blossomed into this <
tree that has fruit for everyone," he
said.
tf
1
The moon and the stare?
I
Even as Hamlin was leading a <
contingent of celebrities in a gal
lant midnight march through the
streets of downtown for the festi
val's closing ceremony, a buzz was
in the air that the curtain had fall
en for the final time on the
National Black Theatre Festival in
Winston-Salem.
Sources who wanted to remain
nameless said that representatives
from Charlotte liked what they
saw at this year's festival, so much
so that the city is prepared to offer
Hamlin the moon to go along
wjth his theater festival stars.
Hamlin has made it no secret
that he would like more financial -
support for the festival from the
city of Winston-Salem. But sup
port has not been as forthcoming
as festival organizers would have
liked.
During the city's most recent
budget talks, the festival was
awarded its largest single financial
contribution from the city ever -
$100,000 - but only after the black
Democrats on the Board of Alder
men nickeled-and-dimed their way
to that figure. ? ,
The award was $50,000 less
than Hamlin had requested.
"There's always more that can
be done," said Alderman Nelson
Malloy Friday night as he enjoyed
some of the activities downtown.
"If we are striving for perfection
and trying to be the best that we
can be, there is always room for
improvements. We should not rest
on our laurels."
But with bigger and flashier
North Carolina cities reportedly
willing to put their money where
their mouths are, many fear the
festival will go the way of the
CIAA Basketball Tournament,
which will be held in Raleigh next
year after a six-year stay here.
During a rare breather one day
before the festival wrapped up,
Hamlin said he wanted to keep the
festival in Winston-Salem, but he
said he cannot assure residents
here that it will return in 2001.
"I can assure the people that I
want to be here. Whether that is
realistic or not depends very much
on the funds we are able to raise
from our local constituents," he
said.
Hamlin said over the next two
years he will continue to lobby for
support for the festival from the
city as well as corporate entities.
He said this year"s festival was
$50,000 to $75,000 short, but, he
says, "if you're going to go into
debt this is worth going into debt
for."
Regardless, Hamlin said that
fans have told him that the 1999
festival was the best yet. He tends
to agree. He says the stars, the
crowds and especially the hun
dreds of devoted festival volun
teers were great.
"The volunteers were absolute
ly crucial to our operation. All the
different aspects that they served
save us lots of money," he said. "If
we had to pay our volunteers we
could not afford to (do) it."
Preparations for the 2001 festi
val have already begun, Hamlin
said, although the location of the
festival may be somewhat fuzzy.
He said the 2001 festival will con
tinue with "fringe" productions,
stage productions by college stu
dents which made their debut at
this year's festival.
The next festival will also fea
ture more hip-hop-oriented the
atrical productions, Hamlin said. 1
Festival organizers see nothing
but more success by making a seri
ous effort to entice young people
into the fold.
"(Hip-hop) is the youth cul
ture," Hamlin said.
As scores of people began to
pour out of the Adam's Mark
early last Sunday morning, there
was great excitement amid the
mass exodus, even tnougn me festi
val had come to an end.
Between the laughs and the
sound of footsteps, people could
be overheard talking about "the
next time" or "2001" as they made
mental plans for the next round of
plays and parties.
But only Hamlin knows
whether the party will be here, 60
miles away in Charlotte or in one
of a growing handful of other anx
ious cities. s
"1 want to stay here," Hamlin
said. "It just means we have to find
things more accessible to us, and I
know that is a difficult thing tot ask
with a city like this, but nonethe
less we are going to ask them any
way."
1
u Photo by T. Kevin Walker
Larry Loon Hamlin talks with Oiasapi Oyataran in tha lobby of tha
Adam's Mark.
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