(From left to right) Indian Trail artist, Karen Zimmerman, and Indian Trail Community Development Specialist Susan Didier hanging art for display in the new Indian Trail Cultural Arts Center.

INDIAN TRAIL – Residents of Indian Trail are invited to enjoy a day full of art and culture this weekend while celebrating the grand opening of the town’s new Cultural Arts Center.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Cultural Arts Center will take place at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 20. The center is located on Navajo Trail off of Indian Trail Road in the former town hall building.

“All town offices were moved across the street so we were able to open space for the Cultural Arts Center,” explained Rebecca Carter, public information officer and events coordinator for the town. “We had to do minimal construction, just some fresh paint and things; the space was pretty much already there, we just freshened it up a little bit.”

The Piedmont Cultural Arts Festival is an annual event, this year celebrating the opening of the center and taking place on the same day, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The event is free and open to the public at Crossing Paths Park, across the street from the town hall/arts center.

“Our goal is always to provide free entertainment options to the public,” Carter said. “We’ll have lots of free things to do like art projects, a petting zoo and face painting.”

In addition, Carter said different artists from Indian Trail offered to display their art for the ribbon-cutting ceremony; the Matt Stratford Band will perform along with other music performances at the Crossing Paths Park Amphitheater; and local artists and crafts people will have booths and food vendors also will be available.

The dance groups Imagine Academy and Masterpiece Studios, both in Indian Trail, will perform at the festival.

“We are thrilled to be able to provide this quality of life amenity for Indian Trail residents,” said Kelly Barnhardt, community and economic development director for the town.  “We came up with the tagline ‘Inspire, Create, Educate’ for this center and we hope children and adults of all ages will come out and see what it is all about.”

“We’ll have over 40 art vendors in the park that day and lots of food vendors will be there,” Carter said. “We have a great band playing and really great dance performances.”

The town received a grant from Lowe’s Home Improvement of Indian Trail for $1,000 worth of ceiling tiles for use in the center.

“Indian Trail arts students will be able to paint and decorate those to be permanently displayed in the arts center,” Carter said.

The completed tiles, made using techniques students learn in the classroom, will be used to create an educational “art sky” for Cultural Arts Center visitors to enjoy.

“This partnership and donation from Lowe’s Home Improvement is a great example of what we hoped to accomplish with area businesses for the benefit of our residents,” Barnhardt said. “We are extremely excited to see what the future brings with the new Cultural Arts Center.”

The goal of the art center will be to have specific art showings for the community throughout the year and to offer classes by partnering with organizations and artists in the community, Carter explained.

“We can offer the classes at a reduced cost because of donations from local businesses,” she said.
Carter said a similar event was held in the town last year, under the name Folk Life Festival. “We felt like people didn’t really understand what that meant, so we decided to call it something different this year,” Carter explained.

The festival was inspired by a perceived need for more arts activities in the Indian Trail community, Carter said.

“I don’t think that we have as many cultural art activities in our community,” she said. “I think that Waxhaw has a great artists’ community and Matthews holds a lot of great arts events and this is something we would like to bring to our community. Even further, it will give residents the opportunity to experience these kinds of activities here so they don’t have to travel.”

Parking for the event will be available at the new Cultural Arts Center and in a grass lot beside the sheriff’s office’s satellite location. Parking is free for the event, Carter said.

The Indian Trail Town Council approved the development of the center as a part of the 2012-2013 budget. A new town hall is planned for the future at a different location.

For more information, go to www.indiantrail.org or contact Rebecca Carter at 704-821-5401 or rcarter@admin.
indiantrail.org.

At Learn with Laughter, students can learn the finer points of acting and filmmaking. A grant the group recently received will help more kids afford to go learn at the school.

With shows like “Homeland” and films like “The Hunger Games” recently filming in the area, Union County’s Learn with Laughter acting and film school just got another boost toward giving locals their close-up.

The program has received an enrichment arts grant every year since 2009 from the Union County Community Arts Council, and recently got another one from the group. Grants allow Learn with Laughter to lower tuition rates and provide scholarships so more people can hone their acting skills.

“Every year that I receive a grant it allows us to lower the tuition for all students, and it also allows for scholarship for those who are financially disadvantaged,” said Linda Watt, the founder of Learn with Laughter.

The school must reapply for the grant every year, giving the arts counsel a budget for what the money will be used for. Learn with Laughter will provide two filmmaking and editing students with scholarships and five acting and scene study students with scholarships, said Watt. Students must provide documentation that their family is below the poverty line in order to qualify for the grant. If more students apply than there are scholarships, the school will hold a lottery to decide who receives the scholarship.

Learn with Laughter, a nonprofit, opened in 2004 because of the lack of acting schools that taught “method” acting skills, said Watt. She had tried to find an acting school for her son after moving to the Charlotte area, but in the end just decided to do it herself.

“We actually started in 2004 to offer educational material over the website and other educational materials that compliments PBS programs.  Then we started doing art shows for children where they sold greeting cards,” Watt said.

The acting and scene study classes the school offers are eight sessions long at two hours per session, while the filmmaking and editing classes are five sessions and last three hours per session.  Students involved in the filmmaking classes are given a DVD of the film they make at the end of the sessions.

“The equipment the (filmmaking) students use is professional equipment.  It’s broadcast quality equipment,” Watt said.  “When they get done with the sessions here they have a real understanding of what it takes to shoot something and edit it.”

Twenty students can enroll in the acting and scene study classes at one time, but the filmmaking and editing classes can only hold eight students because there aren’t enough computers.

“What the program does is for the serious student it helps them enter higher levels of education in the arts or they are going out with their higher education and going into professional world,” Watt said.

Classes offered by Learn with Laughter are:
• Acting and Scene Study at CATA High School – ages 9 to 17
Tuesdays, Oct. 9, 16, 23 and 30 and Nov. 6, 13, 20 and 27
5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Space still available. Prorate by one class $160.

• Professional Filmmaking and Editing in Weddington – ages 14 to 18
Saturdays, Oct. 13 and 27 and Nov. 3, 10 and 17
10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Only eight spaces available, $375.

People were placing artwork wherever they pleased, McLaurin said, and some pieces were sharp and dangerous.  Now, with the help of the newly created Waxhaw Beautification Committee, McLaurin hopes to see a plan developed for the art displayed in the town.

“We now want to have a community art plan.  Where do we want to see art in the town?  Are there specific types of art do we want to see?  And how can we market our art program so we get a diversity of art,” McLaurin said.

The plan will designate where people would like to see artwork in Waxhaw, what types of art should go in those spots, how to get funding to support the art and how to pick the pieces for each area.

Waxhaw officials hope these steps will help preserve the history of the town and also push them forward as the town continues to grow and develop.

The Waxhaw Beautification Committee currently is accepting applications from people interested in creating the community art plan. The consultant does not have to live in Waxhaw, but must provide a well-developed plan with the steps Waxhaw needs to take to achieve their goal.

Explains the town’s website, “the Waxhaw Beautification Committee would like to determine the best plan for acquiring, determining locations and type of art all as they relate to the wants and needs of our citizens.”

Proposals are due by Friday, Oct. 5, at 5 p.m.  No late proposals will be accepted or considered for review.  The beautification committee will begin reviewing submissions on Monday, Oct. 8, and plans to give their recommendation to the Waxhaw Board of Commission on Oct. 23.  They have already received some submissions but hope to see more come in before the deadline.

To get a proposal accepted, the consultant would need to research community desires, designate a set of site-specific locations for various forms of art, review and evaluate the current art policy for the town and give ideas of how to raise funds for new projects.

This should all be presented to the board of commissioners to help them make their decision.

Consultants should make 10 bound copies of their plan, as well as a digital copy, for the committee to look over.  The proposals should include the follow sections:

Executive summary, approach and methodology, project deliverables, project management approach, detailed and itemized pricing, appendix: references, appendix: project team staffing, appendix: company overview and appendix: most recent examples of work.

The Waxhaw Board of Commissioners hopes to have their decision finalized next year.  Those interested in submitting a proposal or speaking with the town about their next steps can contact McLaurin at 704-843-2195, ext. 225, or mmclaurin@waxhaw.com.

In its fourth year, Taste of Union is a food-tasting event where patrons can try samples of food from all over the county. It also will include a silent auction, raffle prizes and live music.

Representative for Taste of Union, Linda Hastings, said many restaurants and caterers have registered to participate so far, including Bibi – A Beautiful Taste, Bonfire Bar & Grill, Brusters Ice Cream, Byrds Soul Food, Chili’s, Courthouse Cupcakes, Crossroads Grill, Hathaways Fried Chicken, Jo’s Jo’s BBQ, Just Chillin’ Frozen Yogurt, La Vida Mocha, Logans, Michael Angelo’s Pizza House, Old School Mills Fresh House, Olive Garden, Pizza Palace, Southern Foods at Home, Spiro’s Hilltop, Stegall Smoked Turkey, The Cookie Jar, Sweet Dreams Bakery and Zaxby’s.

“It’s a very festive affair, great fellowship and fun,” Hastings said. “For one ticket price, guests can eat to their heart’s content – no one goes away hungry. Tickets go on sale soon.”

Live music at the event is currently being secured, but so far, Hastings said Xavier Lewis, a pop and R&B singer and 2008 America’s Got Talent semifinalist, will perform. Lewis has won national accolades for his song “Give Back,” co-written by Hosea James Givan II.

Hastings said Taste of Union, which will run from 5 to 8 p.m. on Sept. 29, is important to residents of the county.

“It gives residents a wonderful opportunity to fellowship at a community event which highlights all the kinds of restaurants in our community – mom and pops and national chains.”

The restaurants benefit from the event, too, Hastings said.

“The restaurants appreciate the exposure,” she said.

Funds raised at the event will benefit Operation Reach Out.

“Operation Reach Out provides emergency food, clothing, furniture, fuel, special needs and household items to those in crisis situations and offers a daily Bible study and free lunch,” Hastings said.

Operation Reach Out also collects perishable food from grocery stores and produce centers and distributes about 270,000 pounds per year to more than 5,300 families and operates Finders Keepers, a resale shop which funds the program, Hastings said.

“Taste of Union was actually founded by Operation Reach Out,” she said. “Volunteers for the ministry organize it every year. This is our fourth year and it’s always been very successful and well-attended.”

Tickets will be sold for $20 in advance and $25 at the door. For more information, visit facebook.com/tasteofunion, www.tasteofunion.org or call 980-322-2573.

To participate as a sponsor or restaurant, or to donate an item for the silent auction, email tasteofunion@gmail.com or call Operation Reach Out at 704-289-4237.

Find more information on Operation Reach Out at the group’s website, www.operationreachout.org.

Known as “The Golden Platter,” former Platters member Milton Bullock will take the stage in a concert to benefit the Unionville Lions Club. The concert, “Back Down Memory Lane,” takes place Saturday, Aug. 25, at 6:30 p.m. at Benton’s Crossroads Baptist Church’s family life center, located at 109 E. Lawyers Road in Monroe.

“Back Down Memory Lane” also features Mary “Bubbling Brown Sugar” Tate, one of the original Motown singers. Together, Bullock and Tate will take audience members back in time with music from the 1950s and 60s.

Bullock’s first encounter with a Lions Club occurred in 1999 when Hurricane Floyd devastated his hometown of Princeville. Members of an out-of-town Lions Club were instrumental in helping his friends and neighbors rise above the destruction the hurricane caused. “It was the Lions Club that was the first to come and help my hometown get back on its feet,” Bullock said.

Since then, Bullock has established a Lions Club in Princeville and currently serves as the club’s president. He also travels to many different towns, performing to support their Lions Clubs.

Rachel Walker, president of the Unionville Lions Club, heard Bullock perform about two years ago at a Lions Club event in the Outer Banks. At a Lions Club auction in Raleigh this spring, Walker and her husband bid on and won a Milton Bullock concert, which they used for their 50th anniversary celebration.

Walker got to know Bullock personally and learned more about his Lions Club fundraising efforts. One thing led to another, and with the help of several local sponsors – including Union Power Cooperative and the Union County Community Arts Council – Walker booked Bullock to perform for the Unionville Lions Club.

“I’m really excited about the concert,” Walker said. “I think that it’s wonderful that he’s willing to use his ‘celebrity’ to help raise money for our club.”

Bullock was first discovered on a whim when he was visiting his uncle in Brooklyn, N.Y. Then a teenager, Bullock would often sing to himself as he worked outside. One day, a woman passing by stopped and told Bullock she’d been listening to him sing for three days and asked him if he’d ever considered singing professionally. The woman knew the publisher of the group The Platters in Manhattan and connected Bullock with the group.

Bullock subsequently joined The Platters and performed as the group’s first tenor from 1965 to 1971. During that time, the group released a number of worldwide hit singles, such as “Only You,” “The Great Pretender,” “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” and “Sweet, Sweet Lovin’.”

Following his departure from the group, Bullock branched out into film work, playing roles in motion pictures like “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York,” “Prelude to a Kiss,” “Straight Talk” with Dolly Parton and the underground boxing movie “Gladiator.”
Bullock also began charity work and established the Do It For the Kids Foundation, which promotes the welfare of America’s youth.

Do It For the Kids is collaborating with the Lions Club to raise money to purchase a camera that uses newly discovered technology that can detect dormant eye issues in children as early as six months that may cause vision problems after age 8.

With this new technology, these conditions can be detected before they start surfacing, allowing families and doctors to take steps to prevent, avoid or alleviate serious problems. The cameras cost about $10,000 each, which is why successful and frequent fundraising is critical. “There are eye issues that are overlooked because (doctors) are still using the old method of covering one eye,” Bullock said. “We’re trying to get this camera in every district in the country. The services don’t cost the parent or kid one dime, only time. That’s what propels me and drives me beyond my imagination. It’s critical that our kids see.”

Which is why Bullock continues to travel, performing for Lions Clubs every chance he gets. “That’s how I want to be remembered,” he said. “I want to do something for kids here in America first, and then in the world. That’s what drives me more than anything else, so when God calls my name he will say ‘job well done.’”

Want to go?
Tickets are $10 in advance or $12 at the door, with free admission for children under 12. Fans can bring their old Platters albums to be autographed, and CDs will be available for purchase. For tickets and more information, contact Rachel Walker at 704-289-1752, Dale Austin at 704-282-9173 or Betty Hinson at 704-574-2287.

by Ciera Choate

The Union County Community Arts Council was recently nominated for an award due to its hard work educating people about the arts. Photo courtesy of UCCAC

“It was a total surprise,” executive director of the council, Barbara Faulk, said. The council hasn’t got around to celebrating their nomination yet, but plans to after working through all the details and making the nomination public.

The Artists Music Guild sorted through 12,000 entries, picking 10 to 15 nominees for each of the 26 categories. The difference between the Heritage Awards and other award ceremonies is peers choose the nominees, not fans.

“We open up with a poll for entries; at that point anyone may nominate anyone that they feel are deserving,” explained Robert Collins from the Artists Music Guild. “What happens is we then we go through a complete certification period with the entire artistic board and we go through each submission to make sure it meets our quality standards.”

The Union County Community Arts Council, founded in 1980, works with 35,000 students in 55 schools all across Union County, as well as various individuals and organizations to promote and support the art community. From putting on programs in schools to funding artists’ projects and organizations, the Union County Community Arts Council does what it can to enhance the Union County arts community.

Once nominated, the organizations are required to submit a YouTube video that helps the judges see what they do and who they are. Every member of the guild is allowed a vote for the nominations and decide who they want to vote for by going through Google searches, YouTube videos and LinkedIn searches to see what organizations meet the requirements and prestige of the award.

“That’s why the Heritage Award is such a prestigious award. We really do look and examine at each entry,” Collins said.

After the nominees are chosen the head of the artistic review board will anonymously select 26 members from the guild to chose five people from the public to serve on a review committee and help select the winners of each category. Guild members who are selected must remain anonymous through the entire process.

Each voting member votes independently of each other and anonymously to ensure the winners are not announced until the night of the PBS broadcast on Nov.
10.

Find more information about the arts council at its website, www.unionarts.org.

by Ciera Choate

The girls of Union County’s Sports and Fine Arts Center recently competed in Myrtle Beach, S.C., and will return there next week. Photo courtesy of Sports and Fine Arts Center

INDIAN TRAIL – Union County’s Sports and Fine Arts Center Dance Team scored in the Top 5 in six categories during their recent Starbound National Talent Competition in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

The Indian Trail team, which specializes in acrobatics, competed June 16 against the Candy Apples Dance School – featured on the Lifetime Network’s television show “Dance Moms” – and many other dance schools.

“(The dancers) were just ecstatic.  If anything it’s given them a shot,” Maresa Pettigrew, the owner and director of the Sports and Fine Arts Center, said. The team will now travel back to Myrtle Beach for their national dance competition, Show Stoppers, from Monday, July 2, to Saturday, July 7.

Sports and Fine Arts Center placed in the overalls in many categories from soloists to duos and trios to groups at the June 16 event.  Blaire Brown, 12, took third place in the junior soloists category; Kendyl DeVonde, 16, took third place for the senior soloists and Konner LaFon, 15, took first place for the senior novice soloists.

“We were really excited because (Candy Apples Dance) dances 10 to 12 hours a week, and we only dance three to five,” Pettigrew said.

In the competitive group category, the school took third place with their “Temple” routine and fifth place with their “Indifferent” routine.

The Sports and Fine Arts Center also placed third in the novice duo and trio category with their “Nothing Else Matters” dance and first in the competitive senior duo and trio category with their dance “Barely Hanging.”

Photo courtesy of Sports and Fine Arts Center

Pettigrew and her dancers were unaware the Candy Apples team was going to be at the competition until they arrived and had to sign waivers that would allow the camera crews to film them during the competition. While the television show is known for it’s high level of drama, Pettigrew said that was not apparent during the competition.

“In my opinion they are very talented, but they dance a lot of hours a week,” Pettigrew said.  “They were very respectful.  We didn’t see any drama, but there will probably be something that comes up on TV.”

When first arriving at the competition the dancers were star struck by the faces they were used to seeing on television, but Pettigrew said the hype eventually died down and the girls focused and did their best.  “We are pretty good and we have been working hard,” she said.

Now the team gets ready for their national competition. This will be the first time the school will take their 18 dancers and 12 routines to a national competition all together.

“Before this year I only took a couple of dancers, but this year we are all going together as a team,” Pettigrew said.

Along with competition classes, the Sports and Fine Arts Center also offers classes for those not interested in competing.  According to Pettigrew, they also allow students to take competition classes and learn the routines even if they do not plan on competing.

Find more information at the group’s website, www.sportsandfineartscenter.com or email sportsfineartscenter@windstream.net. The studio is located at 1426 Babbage Lane, Indian Trail.

More than 100 students from the Union County area auditioned this year for a chance to perform with the Union Symphony Youth Orchestra. Photo courtesy of Union Youth Orchestra

INDIAN TRAIL — Two weeks ago, the Union Symphony Youth Orchestra held its annual auditions for the 2012-13 concert season. More than 100 students came out to audition for the coveted spots.

Those who earned their spot on stage for next year include:

First violin: Jessica Caviness, Corina Donica, Rebecca Gaskins, Elise Gilliam, Alyssa Jones, Aathmika Krishna, Casey McGuirt, Suzanne McLendon, Lakshmi Prakash,  Catrina Rateb, Irmak Saklayici, Jessica Turcotte and John Paul Zalaquett.

Second violin: Victoria Amaral, Mary Kathryn Barry, Emanuela Elisei, Glaubersil Figueroa, Stephen Gaynier, Erica Jordan, Sunnie Kwak, Kelly Manning, Taryn Miller, Alexis Mitchell, Savannah Rollins, Lydia Tabor, Andrew Traywick and Megan Zhang.

Viola: Marissa Berger, Delaney Brigman, Shireen Iyer, Hannah Javidi, Shaun Rainey, Khala Shoulders, Kate Stevens and Kristina Wang.

Violoncello: Benjamin Adams, Sean Berger, Jordan Bjerken, Ivy Conatser, Rachel McNichols, Nadia Neman, Kathryn Quinn, Ashley Wise and Connor Frunzi, first alternate.

Violoncello double bass: Kailey Gaskins, Moriah Kimel and Mark Miner.

Flute: Iris Chong, Dayna Hagstedt, Justin Laramee (doubling on piccolo) and Anna Honeycutt, first alternate

Oboe: Garrett McCloskey, Morgan Guinther and Zoe Branson (doubling on English Horn).

Clarinet: Jordan Laird, Rebecca Mulligan, Melissa Fu, first alternate and Kyrsten Rudock, second alternate.

Bass clarinet: Max Robbins and Aaron Hougui, first alternate.

Bassoon: Nicholas Laramee and Mariah Croffut.

Horn: Walter Bonar, Sam Strader, Philips Clarke, Tommy Donagan and Alexander Adams, first alternate.

Trumpet: Kyle Johnson, Matthew Bishop and Kahliq McCorkle.

Trombone: Melissa Hagstedt, Adrienne Bonar and Drew Baucom.

Tuba: Ben Laramee

Percussion: Samantha Kuhn, Amber Dennis and Devonry Supria.

Concertmaster for the 2012-13 season is David Donica.

And for its exciting fourth season, the youth orchestra welcomes its new director Tom LaJoie, who also is the director of the Symphony Orchestra at UNC Charlotte.

“He has extensive experience at all levels of music education from elementary through college level,” said Union Symphony’s Executive Director Kim Norwood. He has taught orchestra, advanced placement music theory, and IB music in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools system for 19 years. He also has been guest conductor for various honor ensembles such as the Western Region Repertory Orchestra and the York County Senior String Honors Orchestra.

“He has a great deal of experience with full orchestras as well, has frequently programmed for his top ensemble at Myers Park and for the symphony orchestra at UNC Charlotte,” Norwood said. “Being a string pedagogue, LaJoie brings these skills to instruction for technique to achieve the best sound possible in performance. We look forward to this season with Tom LaJoie.”

And this year, the youth symphony orchestra also has added USYO Prelude, a junior string orchestra, and they will be under the direction of conductor Sabrina Howard, the former president of the N.C. School Orchestra Association. She is currently the strings instructor at Charlotte Latin School with more than 20 years of teaching experience.

The USYO Prelude is made up of Genna Rivers, Olivia Gerik, Lucy Liss, Cecilia Atwood, Sarah Austin, Paula Bravver, Jacqueline Adams, Johanna Jackley, Sarah Mills, Anna Honeycutt, Defne Akyurek, Abril C Ruiz-Lopez, Zealy Helms, John Trull, Gilles Turcotte and Mikaela Austin on violin, and Connor Frunzi on cello.

For more information on the Union Symphony Youth Orchestra, visit www.usyo.org.

Soloist Yulia Zharavleva will perform Antonin Dvorak’s violin concerto, opus 53, during the Union Symphony Orchestra’s season opener Sept. 30 at 4 p.m. at The Batte Center at Wingate University. Photo courtesy of Union Symphony Orchestra

The Union Symphony Orchestra has announced its upcoming concert series and it includes soloist Yulia Zharavleva at its opening event.
The season starts Sept. 30 with two concerts.

The Union Symphony Youth Orchestra performs Sept. 30 at 4 p.m., with its new conductor Tom Lajoie at Marvin Ridge High School, 2825 Crane Road, Waxhaw. Admission is free.

Also Sept. 30 at 4 p.m. is the Union Symphony Orchestra’s opening concert, “The Answer,” with conductor Richard Rosenberg and soloist Yulia Zharavleva performing Antonin Dvorak’s violin concerto, opus 53. A reception will follow the concert in the rotunda at the The Batte Center at Wingate University. Tickets range from $15 to $25.

At 7:30 p.m. Nov. 2 to 3, the Wingate University Student Opera performs “The Pirates of Penzance” with the Union Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Dr. Jessie Wright Martin at the Batte Center at Wingate. Tickets cost $15.

On Dec. 2 at 5 p.m. the Union Symphony Orchestra performs “A Christmas Concert” with Central United Methodist Church of Monroe Festival Choir and a Community Holiday Chorus, directed by James O’Dell at the Central United Methodist Church in Monroe. Admission is free.

At 4 p.m. Dec. 16, Union Symphony Youth Orchestra presents its fall concert with conductor Tom LaJoie at Marvin Ridge High School, 2825 Crane Road, Waxhaw. Tickets cost $12.

And to kick off the new year on Jan. 13 at 4 p.m., the Union Symphony Orchestra performs “Bursting in Song” with the Union Symphony Youth Orchestra, conducted by Richard Rosenberg, as well as “Dinner Music for a Bunch of Hungry Cannibals” by Raymond Scott, and “The Song of the Nightingale” by Igor Stravinsky. Tickets range from $15 to $25.

At 6 p.m. Feb. 9, the Union Symphony hosts its Valentine’s Gala, “Up Close and Personal,” which will feature romantic dining and dancing, location to be announced later. Tickets cost $100 and are by reservation only.

And at 4 p.m. April 14, the Union Symphony Youth Orchestra performs its spring concert with conductor Tom LaJoie at the Batte Center at Wingate University. Tickets cost $12.

Ticket subscriptions for the Union Symphony’s seventh season are available by calling the Batte Center Box Office at 704-233-8300. For more information on the Union Symphony Orchestra, and its upcoming season, visit www.unionsymphony.org.

by Josh Whitener

Artist Barbara Funderburk points to her favorite tree house in the mural she created for United Family Services’ Tree House Children’s Advocacy Center. Josh Whitener/UCW photo

MONROE – Since it was founded in 2005, United Family Services’ children’s branch has been known as the Tree House Children’s Advocacy Center. And now, thanks to local artist Barbara Funderburk, children can finally see the “tree house” through a new 20 x 8 1/2-foot mural.

The Tree House Center provides a child-friendly atmosphere for victims of child abuse to receive medical examinations, forensic interviews, counseling and crisis intervention and advocacy. The center strives to make all of its rooms as appealing to children as possible, with a medical exam full of stuffed animals, a counseling room that has a sand table and colorful artwork on all the walls.

But until recently, there was no tree house at the Tree House Center.

“Kids who came in here were always asking to see the tree house,” said Pam Caskey, south region director for United Family Services. “They didn’t understand that was just the name of it. But this (mural) gives them a chance to see the tree house.”

Recently, thanks to a twist of fate, Caskey and Funderburk crossed paths several times. Funderburk was responsible for the murals in the children’s sections in all of the Union County libraries. She also has painted a handful of murals for churches and children’s centers. After talking with Funderburk – and having seen her work – Caskey knew she was the right choice for the job.

The mural, done in acrylic paint, features not one, but two different tree houses, each uniquely designed to represent the fundamentals of the Tree House Center. The tree house on the left is a more standard tree house, with a lookout platform at the top. One child is pulling another up onto a lower platform, symbolizing “children helping children.” A tire swing with two children dangles from a branch, symbolizing children at play.

The tree house on the right is a more whimsical design, with a spiral staircase leading to the top and several “mini houses” along the way. The tree house features more iridescent colors to symbolize hope. One girl stands at the top of the tree house, looking out from the window.

“She’s made it to the top,” Funderburk said. “She’s there, she’s safe.”

Funderburk is surprised to hear people’s responses when they tell her which tree house appeals to them the most.

“I thought (the tree house on the left) might relate more to older boys because it’s more realistic, it’s got more ladders and so forth,” she said. “But that’s not necessarily the case. It’s split between the two. It’s really interesting, and I wish I could do some kind of study on why children select the one or the other.”

Between the tree houses is a lake with a large rising moon reflecting off the water. The mural features more children holding hands and helping each other, and two girls, representing multi-ethnicity, sit near the bank of the lake, gazing out across the water.

“I wanted to incorporate lakes, and I wanted to set it also at an evening period, which is a peaceful time of the day,” Funderburk said. “Things have begun to quiet down then.”
In the sky are three hot air balloons, which are the only way to get to the tree houses, according to Funderburk. To the right is a rushing waterfall and several birch trees bearing the red and gold colors of leaves in the fall, both of which Funderburk placed in the mural to accentuate the peaceful atmosphere.

Funderburk began work on the mural at the end of April, working for four weeks on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday mornings. She worked an average of 18 hours per week, putting about 70 hours total into the project.

And it was worth every bit of it, she said.

“To get an opportunity to do something that benefits children who really had no voice in things that happened to them, if they find any courage or solace or comfort in this mural, then, oh, I will sleep so well at night,” Funderburk said.

Caskey and the rest of the staff at United Family Services are grateful for community members like Funderburk who donate their time and talent to the organization.

“We’re very fortunate to have different members in the community to make this a very child and family friendly place where kids want to come, or they don’t want to leave, or they want to come back,” she said.