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savor something new

The Queen City’s culinary community has been making headlines as host city for Bravo’s Top Chef Season 23 and for its newly minted Michelin shine. Get a taste for why Charlotte is claiming its place on the culinary map.

FROM THE EDITOR

Charlotte’s star is rising — in food circles, at least. Back in November, the city was buzzing over the Michelin Guide awards, which for the first time honored restaurants across the American South. As a magazine editor, I can attest that there’s no such thing as a “perfect” list, but the travel guide’s lineup of 13 Charlotte-area spots was a good start.

We’re now home to a single Michelin-starred restaurant, Counter- (baby steps!). Led by chef Sam Hart, Counter- is well-known as an immersive tastingmenu restaurant that’s as much about the experience as the food. A lesser-known fact about Counter- is that the restaurant donates a portion of proceeds to three local nonprofits, including The Bulb. Staff members volunteer at the free mobile farmers markets; the chef described it as “our love and passion” at a dinner I attended at Counter- last year. “Food insecurity can be solved,” Hart said, “and every single person is worth being loved.” The restaurant is doing its small part.

Other Michelin nods went to Lang Van, the beloved, family-owned Vietnamese spot in east Charlotte that earned a Bib Gourmand, plus 11 other “recommended” Queen City restaurants.

Then in February, a group of about 10 Charlotte chefs and mixologists took over the prestigious James Beard Foundation’s Platform space in New York City for a special dinner (see the photos on page 109).

And we really punched our ticket to the

big leagues when the longrunning Bravo series “Top Chef” came to town last summer and fall to film Season 23, which premieres March 3 on the Peacock app (March 9 on Bravo). As an early fan of the show, it was a “wow” moment to spend time on set with longtime hosts Gail Simmons and Tom Colicchio, along with the amazing Kristen Kish, a “Top Chef” winner who joined as a host in 2024. When, months ago, contributor Olivia Lee pitched the idea for a series on women leading Charlotte kitchens, we had no idea that Stagioni chef Brittany Cochran would be announced as a cheftestant on the show. Cochran couldn’t share much about her “Top Chef” experience, but you can get to know her better in Olivia’s story on page 76. As the season unfolds, look for more “Top Chef” updates on our website, southparkmagazine. com, and in an upcoming issue. Finally, to celebrate the city’s robust culinary scene, the fourth annual Savor Charlotte returns March 11-28. You can find more details about that on page 51. Let’s eat! SP

1–Beverage director Jenna “Duckie” Reynolds at Mal Pan (page 36)

2–SouthPark resident Rebecca Combs (page 44)

3–Closet crush: The English Room’s Holly Phillips (page 22)

4–Writer Krisha Chachra castle-hopping in Ireland (page 98)

March

BLVD.

22 | style

Closet crush: Holly Phillips

28 | people

Tastemakers: Chantal DePraeter

30 | cuisine

Left Coast flavor, Latin heart at The Story of Mi Cariño

36 | spirits

The Jaguareté by Mal Pan’s Jenna Reynolds

40 | wellness

Through La Bodeguita, therapist Michelle Fernandez provides a place to create.

44 | community

Fourth-generation Charlottean Rebecca Combs shapes what’s next.

50 | happenings

March calendar of events

DEPARTMENTS

54 | well + wise

Creating space for care

57 | bookshelf

March’s new releases

59 | omnivorous reader

A golfer’s life: a sweetly crafted tale of an obsession with the game

61 | simple life

The enduring inspiration of a dear friend

109 | swirl

Parties, fundraisers and events around Charlotte

112 | in plain view

Hoss Haley’s 40-foot, Jenga-like sculpture seems to defy gravity

ABOUT THE COVER:

Camarones Kora, a shrimp dish at The Story of Mi Carino, photograph by Peter Taylor

SPRING ARTS PREVIEW

66 | Boléro, Bruno and bluegrass by Page Leggett

From classical and pop icons to humorous hillbillies, spring brings a plethora of cultural events to the Queen City.

FEATURES

76 | In the kitchen with Stagioni’s Brittany Cochran by Olivia Lee | photographs by Peter Taylor

From executive chef to ‘Top Chef,’ Brittany Cochran wins over Charlotte diners, one pasta bowl at a time.

82 | New tradition by Cathy Martin | photographs by Chris Edwards Nashville designer Becky Nielsen brings a youthful flair to a Myers Park home filled with family heirlooms.

90 | From fossils to fame by Hampton Williams Hofer

At the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, a new dinosaur species paints a different picture of the Cretaceous period as we knew it.

TRAVEL

94 | Classy coastal by Andrea Cooper

The 40-year-old Sanderling Resort gets a topto-bottom redesign, with a new restaurant from acclaimed North Carolina chef Vivian Howard.

98 | Land of castles by Krisha Chachra

From Dublin to Dromoland: A couples’ road trip across Ireland in search of whiskey, writers and wild Atlantic views.

SPECIAL SECTION

103 | 2026 Legal Elite

Top Charlotte lawyers in select specialties.

Charlotte Wine + Food Week (CW+FW) presented by Truist returns for its 38th year of fundraising with a wine and food event for every taste, all for a good cause. Event proceeds will benefit Charlotte-area children's charities, including Beds for Kids, Digi-Bridge, Families Forward Charlotte, and Wayfinders.

The festivities will take place at various venues around Charlotte, NC. CW+FW begins with vintner dinners at Charlotte's top restaurants, followed by the Collector's Gala & Live Auction designed for the savviest of wine connoisseurs. The weekend continues with the Grand Tasting on Saturday night featuring 100+ carefully selected wines, tastings from Charlotte-area restaurants, and live music. The Week will wrap up with our beloved Rosé Brunch, followed by the close of the week-long mobile auction featuring exciting wine lots and experiences.

1230 West Morehead St., Suite 308

Charlotte, NC 28208

704-523-6987

southparkmagazine.com

Ben Kinney Publisher publisher@southparkmagazine.com

Cathy Martin Editor cathy@southparkmagazine.com

Sharon Smith Assistant Editor sharon@southparkmagazine.com

Andie Rose Creative Director

Alyssa Kennedy Art Director alyssamagazines@gmail.com

Whitley Adkins Style Editor

Sarah Fligel Proofreader

Contributing Editors David Mildenberg, Michael J. Solender

Contributing Writers

Michelle Boudin, Taylor Bowler, Krisha Chachra, Andrea Cooper, Jim Dodson, Asha Ellison, Hampton Williams Hofer, Juliet Lam Kuehnle, Amanda Lea, Olivia Lee, Page Leggett, Stephen Smith

Contributing Photographers

Daniel Coston, Justin Driscoll, Chris Edwards, Richard Israel, Amy Kolodziej, Peter Taylor

Contributing Illustrator Gerry O’Neill

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Published by Old North State Magazines LLC.

©Copyright 2026. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. Volume 30, Issue 3

High Expectations for Local Banking

Expect the extraordinary as Dogwood State Bank and TowneBank come together in North and South Carolina.

We welcome Steve Jones as President of the Carolinas and Dogwood as a division of TowneBank.

Say “I do” to SouthPark!

Krisha Chachra is a Charlotte-based travel writer for local and national magazines and host of SouthPark Magazine’s podcast, “SouthPark Says with Krisha Chachra.” She has visited 55-plus countries across six continents and now embraces her spa era. She moved to Charlotte in 2020 from Virginia, where she served as an elected official and vice mayor of Blacksburg. A former NPR reporter, USA Today contributor and White House fundraiser, Krisha’s writing and work appears at krishachachra.com

Classically trained during the golden age of film photography, Justin Driscoll is is known for his dramatic, intentional approach to composition and prides himself on getting the shot right in-camera, wihtout heavy editing. When he’s not behind the lens, Justin can be found enjoying quiet time in the woods or having singalongs with his twin daughters. He’s an avid vinyl collector, guitar-gear enthusiast and dedicated fan of both kinds of music — punk and hardcore. You’ll often find him at shows, either photographing the chaos or contributing to it as a guitarist with his own band. See more of his work at justindriscollphotography.com

Publication date: Spring 2026

Space deadline: Friday, March 20

Don’t miss the opportunity to be a part of Weddings by SouthPark this spring. Reach brides- and grooms-to-be in this targeted, beautiful issue of wedding inspiration and resources. Contact Jane Rodewald at 704-621-9198 or Lynda Kuehni at 704-891-2222 to learn more. Visit us online at southparkmagazine.com/advertise.

Juliet Lam Kuehnle is a nationally recognized therapist who goes to therapy, keynote speaker and founder of the mental wellness brand Yep, I Go To Therapy and Sun Counseling & Wellness, a group therapy practice for all ages. Known for blending clinical expertise with humor, warmth and real-world strategies, she helps audiences and clients understand their minds, reduce stigma and build emotional resilience. Juliet is the author of Who You Callin’ Crazy?! and creator of multiple tools for therapy-on-the-go. Follow her work, resources, and insights @YepIGoToTherapy

blvd.

people, places, things

LIGHT THE NIGHTS

On March 26, Biltmore debuts Luminere, an outdoor experience that will transform the grand Asheville estate’s gardens and facade with light, motion and sound. Projections highlighting key moments in the estate’s 130-year history will be accompanied by a musical score featuring the Asheville Symphony. Guests can also enjoy picnics on the grounds and craft beverages in the gardens. Luminere runs select evenings March 26 – Oct. 18. Tickets start at $60 and are available at biltmore.com SP

CLOSET CRUSH

HOLLY PHILLIPS

by Whitley Adkins | photographs by Amy Kolo

The English Room founder Holly Phillips is known for her colorful, bold interior design and her mega-popular blog by the same name. Six years ago, Phillips and her husband, Marshall, returned to the 1963 Eastover home where she grew up. “I bought it from my parents,” says the mother of three. “My closet is my mother’s closet. I’m a shopping addict. I love horses, dogs and clothes.” Phillips takes us on a tour of her closet and shows us what changes she’s made — and what remains the same. Comments have been edited for length and clarity.

STYLE + DESIGN

Personal style: Colorful, eclectic, Western. Caftans and cowboy boots.

Earliest fashion memories: I had a pretty epic neon phase in middle school. Fiorucci, an Italian (kind of) punk brand, had a bunch of neon sweatshirts. I remember making my mother buy me these neon pink Betsey Johnson ballet flats with a Velcro ankle strap. My classmates were like, WTF is she wearing? I loved it. T. Edwards was a store at SouthPark that had all the Guess jeans. I wanted a pair of Guess overalls so badly, I put them on layaway and paid maybe $20/week until I got them. They were $80, which was a lot at the time. Guess overalls, jellies and Candie’s shoes — my mother thought they were so tacky. They were so good.

How did you start your blog? It was built out of my shopping habit. It started as all design-focused, then I slowly started adding more fashion. So it’s a mix of travel, fashion, design — and now I have several weekly columns: Art Love Monday, Textile Tuesday (or Travel), Wallpaper Wednesday, Things I Love Thursday, Retail Friday, Eye Candy Saturday, Link Lovin’ Sunday.

Describe the relationship between your fashion and design styles, and how that translates with your clients. Both are colorful and eclectic. I am more daring with myself than most clients are willing

to be. I have a midcentury-modern, new-construction project in Anniston, Alabama, in which I’m very simpatico with the clients. The house is loosely based on a house in Palm Springs, California. They are willing to push the envelope. They have an incredible art collection and are willing to try to be bold. Has your style changed through the years? I think it’s been somewhat consistent. I’ve never wanted to dress like anyone else. Even in high school, I loved Western fringe and boots and concho belts.

Favorite occasion to get dressed? Any Texas trip or Western adventure.

SHOPPING + INSPO

Besides Iris Apfel, who are your style icons? Dolly Parton, Eloise (the fictional character), Goldie Hawn in Overboard — her shoe shelf that rotates in the yacht and her cherry jewelry. So good. Favorite designers/labels: I am high-low everything. I spend my money on boots, bags and jewelry. Alemais, Etro, some old-school Pucci. I love La Vie Style House caftans. I shouldn’t like fast fashion, but I love it all — J.Crew, Boden, H&M, Zara.

Favorite places to shop: Matches Fashion (RIP) and Shopbop. I love buying special things when I travel. If I’m going to buy nice shoes, I buy Gucci — they fit me, and I like them, and they are fun. What about that cowboy boot obsession? My mother had a pair of custom purple lizard Larry Mahan boots made for me in high school, and that kicked it off. My oldest daughter, Violet, worked for City Boots for four years. Then her boot obsession started, too. The Evil Eye boot was kind of a collaboration with Lizzy Bentley, the owner of City Boots. I didn’t design it, but they photographed the boots in my house, and I wore them in the photos.

Em b ra c e the beauty of the season at Specialty Sho p s SouthPark — a beautiful outdoor destination f or s p ring shoppin g and dining. Discover new arriva l s in charming boutiqu e s , explore must-have styles f rom distinctive brands, a nd savor the sunshi ne w ith al fresco dining a t any of our restauran t s .

Celebrate fresh beginnin gs this spring at Sp e cialty Shops SouthPark.

BrickTop’s | Paco’s Tacos & Tequila | Renaissance Patisserie | Toscana Ristorante Italiano Amina Rubinacci | Anthony Vince’ Nail Spa | Bedside Manor | Drybar | Elizabeth Bruns, Inc. Jewelers Ivy & Leo | Scout & Molly’s Boutique | Studio Fire | Thrive | Williams-Sonoma

Now Open: LAKE, Ann Mashburn & Sid Mashburn

THIS OR THAT

Leather or rattan bag: Rattan. I have a collection of rattan weird animals.

Cheetah print or floral sequin: That is like asking me Sophie’s Choice!

Mini or maxi skirt: Used to be mini, but probably going more maxi these days.

Birkenstocks or stacked heel: I hate to say it, but it’s probably Birks these days.

Dog or horse: I cannot

choose. You have to have a lot of each.

Wardrobe staple or statement piece: Statement piece, obviously.

Hoops or studs: Earrings are my weakness. I like big ones, but I tend to wear the same earrings all the time, because I have a helmet on my head five or six days a week (for riding horses). I always have huggies on.

Turquoise, gold or orange? All of the above.

THE CLOSET

The design: I recently replaced the floors with Charlestonbased Mirth Studio. I replaced the mirrored doors with louvered doors with brass Indian tiger hardware. The walls were painted by Robert Jackson, a decorative painter for Mario Buatta, who designed this home for my parents in the early ’80s. In the bathroom, there is a fake painted window and there are fake prints on the wall.

Dressing-room design advice: I think it’s better when you can see everything, because you will wear it, which is why I have the rack in the middle. It helps curate the current flow of whatever you are wearing.

Design hacks: Have less sh*t than I do. Don’t be a hoarder like me. I’m a collector, is the problem. The pool noodles are a City Boots hack — it keeps your boots straight.

Favorite items: In the winter, I get into a rut and could wear a white button-down, black leather leggings or pants, tons of jewelry and some crazy coat every day. In summer, it’s easy dresses and caftans. Squash blossoms, rattan bags, cowboy boots and cowboy hats. SP

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Top 25 Private Practice, Overall Top Institution, All Specialties–Nationally

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66 Physicians in All Specialities –Recognized as Top Doctors

While we are humbled by these accolades from our peers and medical experts, we know that the ultimate measure of success is to be the first choice for our patients, year after year.

Experience the Tryon difference today: tryonmed.com

TASTEMAKERS

CHANTAL DEPRAETER

by Michelle Boudin

Chantal DePraeter was practically born into fashion. Raised in Quebec, Canada, she grew up speaking French and moved often as a result of her father’s job as CEO of an international textile firm. The family’s last stop was Greenville, South Carolina, during her senior year of high school. After graduating from the University of South Carolina, she landed in Charlotte 22 years ago and began moving her way up in retail, eventually working for a custom clothier.

“My clients would ask me if I could help them find specialoccasion outfits, and then I started getting into my customers’ closets,” DePraeter says. Covid was a big turning point for her career, as people wanted to purge and get organized. “I started working with some of the Panthers players and other high-profile people in town, and I formed my own company, Chantilly Style.” DePraeter also worked at Sloan, ran social media for several local boutiques, and was the fashion director for Fashion Breathes Life, an annual benefit for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Last summer, she decided to leave retail behind and go all in on styling. “This business isn’t just about dressing people. It’s about how people feel about themselves. It’s really more about psychology than clothing. At the end of the day, I just want people to feel good.”

Comments have been edited for length and clarity.

EAT + DRINK: For fun and casual I love Superica — the food is always fresh, and they have the best skinny-spicy margarita. Rooster’s has the best barbecue chicken around. For more upscale, Albertine and Toscana for Italian and a great girls’ night out.

GETAWAY: Being from Montreal, I love it and my family is still there. I went for the F1 race last June and it was amazing. Banff & Lake Louise is one of the most serene places for a family vacation. For a couples’ getaway, I love Banyan Tree Mayakoba (in Riviera Maya), and Montage Los Cabos. For skiing out west, Deer Valley and Big Sky

SHOPPING: Obviously Sloan is near and dear to me — they carry some great brands, from Ramy Brook to Karina Grimaldi, and unique styles. Boem — I love to get fun going-out tops and good jeans there. Also KK Bloom, Vestique and Chosen. Local jewelry designers Noelle Muñoz and Kristin Hayes are absolutely fab humans, and their talent and creativity is unbelievable.

WELLNESS: I go to Infinity MedSpa and Wellness for everything — hormone replacement, Botox and facials.

FITNESS: Meredith at BK Pilates — I’ve been doing Pilates there for the last two years and it has absolutely changed my body.

SALON: Salon 8 for blowouts and extensions. New Creations in uptown for color — Nat has been doing my color for 14 years. SP

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LEFT-COAST FLAVOR, LATIN HEART

At The Story of Mi Cariño in South End, Vince Giancarlo and Hector González-Mora expand the boundaries of Latin cuisine. by Taylor Bowler | photographs by Peter Taylor

“There’s a movement in California called Alta California cuisine,” says Vince Giancarlo, culinary director of B-Side Hospitality Group. “It’s a migration of Mexican food from the motherland to areas of Los Angeles and Baja California. In LA, they call it ‘Alta California.’ In Charlotte, we’d love to coin it ‘Left Coast Latino.’”

In late January, Giancarlo, along with Hector González-Mora and the team at B-Side Group, opened The Story of Mi Cariño (“my darling” in Spanish) in the former VANA space in South End. The menu is rooted in Alta California cuisine, which uses traditional Mexican ingredients like masa, mole and chiles but incorporates Spanish colonial and Californian influences. Americanized Mexican dishes often combine basic ingredients like tortillas, refried beans, lettuce and cheese. Mi Cariño recasts Mexican cuisine in an upscale context with American-style Wagyu, housemade queso Oaxaca, and rare, small-batch mezcals.

Giancarlo designed the menu with GonzálezMora, the former chef and owner of El Toro Bruto and Noche Bruta. González-Mora, a Los Angeles native born to Mexican parents, leads the kitchen

at Mi Cariño. Core items like guacamole, ceviche, tacos and Wagyu ribeye anchor the menu, but they serve a rotation of seasonal dishes, too.

“I like to utilize Asian ingredients as well,” González-Mora says. “We’re making ponzu in-house — like a very citrusy, layered soy sauce — and we’ll ferment our own chili sauces. It’s not just one-tone Mexican food, which is acidic and salty and can sometimes be very redundant in flavors. We’re layering it with sweetness from the miso and ponzu.”

The Ceviche Tropicoso is inspired by a curry-infused ceviche he tried in Mexico City. González-Mora’s version uses tom kha gai, a Thai soup flavored with coconut, chiles and lemongrass. The Truffle Corn Dip, he says, isn’t Mexican or Latin but aligns with the spirit of the menu.

“I wanted to do something with lush ingredients and work with truffles and caviar (appearing on the Madonna Oysters) because I’m not always cooking with that stuff. These aren’t ingredients in my grandmother’s pantry,” he says, “but the way we present it and serve it, you’ll know it has a reference to the chiles with the smokiness.”

They also make queso Oaxaca in-house several times a week. The mild, stretchy cheese, often described as Mexico’s version of mozzarella, is something Giancarlo calls “a lost art.” The sourdough tortillas are another product of time, patience and skill.

“Sometimes with tortillas, you taste the shortening and the flour,” GonzálezMora says, “but these ones have some complexity, a slight acidity, some nuttiness, and we’re using a good quality beef fat rendered from our own beef.”

“Hector hasn’t made a tortilla yet that I haven’t thought was the greatest

thing ever,” Giancarlo adds. “You can eat them by themselves without anything on them, and they’re delicious. You can’t get these at Harris Teeter.”

Other highlights include Camarones Kora, a González-Mora family recipe that combines shrimp with a citrusy, chili-garlic butter sauce, and Akaushi Wagyu Ribeye paired with miso porridge.

“We’re dry-aging some of the beef with mezcal,” Giancarlo says. “It is next-world.”

The agave program matches the complexity of the food. Beverage director Henry Schmulling focuses on tequila and mezcal as well as lesserknown spirits like raicilla, sotol and bacanora. Classic and signature cocktails incorporate fresh juices, aguas frescas and handcrafted syrups — and match the energy of the music when the DJ takes over after dark.

Giancarlo, who ran Cantina 1511 for six years, says the 85-seat Mi Cariño bears little resemblance to that concept — or other cantinas and taquerias in Charlotte.

“The tacos aren’t the star,” he says. “They dance well with the rest of the menu. There are some ceviches, high-end steaks and pork dishes that nobody’s going to expect. It’s all going to be in that breadth of Alta California.” SP

GOOD SPIRITS

THE JAGUARETÉ

BY JENNA REYNOLDS

by Asha Ellison | photographs by Justin Driscoll

Jenna Reynolds never envisioned a career behind the bar. It’s one of those things that happened by chance and changed her life for the better.

A former student of theoretical mathematics at Carnegie Mellon, Reynolds, beverage director at Charlotte’s Chango Food Group, measured her life in complex equations before measuring it in ounces — until an unexpected loss caused her to pivot.

“I lost my mom during my final year of school,” Reynolds recalls. “So, I left Pittsburgh and came back [home to Waxhaw] to help my dad and my little sister.”

FROM PROOFS TO POURS

When Reynolds, endearingly known as “Duckie,” returned home, she took a job pouring beer at a family friend’s taphouse.

“I’d never worked in a restaurant a day in my life,” she laughs. “But it’s how I could afford to help my family and get an apartment.” Her transition to bartending in 2022 was somewhat of a whirlwind. Only a year later, she was recognized by the United States Bartenders

Guild as a top-five finalist in the organization’s World Class competition. She felt empowered.

“At that point, I realized that I was much happier and more fulfilled as a person because I got to impact people’s lives every day. So I keep doing it,” she says.

PUSHING BOUNDARIES

When Reynolds isn’t participating in cocktail competitions, wowing audiences with imaginative, playful or sentimental beverages, you’ll find her behind the bar at SouthPark’s Taqueria Mal Pan or Tacos El Malo and its speakeasy, Hermanita, in Plaza Midwood.

“If I can create a lasting memory for someone celebrating an anniversary or have a positive impact on someone who’s had a rough day, it really means a lot to me,” she says.

Reynolds’ team keeps it classic at Mal Pan, with margaritas, palomas and hibiscus drinks that honor and amplify the original recipes of restaurant owner Andre Lomeli. But over at Hermanita, Reynolds finds joy in pushing creative boundaries and experimenting, fueling her curiosity and honing her craft.

“In theoretical mathematics, you are creating knowledge and breaking new ground every day,” she says. “In a way, that’s what I do now. With spirits, there’s no way we can ever know everything, and I’m passionate about learning something new every day.”

PRECISION WITH PRACTICE

As winter transitions to spring, Reynolds offers one of Mal Pan’s most refreshing cocktail recipes, the Jaguareté, for the home bartender’s next challenge. The cocktail balances the smokiness of mezcal, the bitterness of Campari and the floral notes of hibiscus. When it comes to cocktails, precision comes with practice, according to Reynolds.

“Master the classics first,” she advises. “If you know how to make a classic margarita or old-fashioned, you’ll be able to make a flavored or more experimental one. You’ll start to learn how sugars and bitters work together, and eventually, you’ll have mastered the art of balancing a cocktail.” SP

THE JAGUARETÉ

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 ounce mezcal (Reynolds recommends 400 Conejos)

1/4 ounce Campari

1 ounce hibiscus water (recipe below)

1/2 ounce fresh orange juice

1/2 ounce cinnamon simple syrup (recipe below)

4-5 mint leaves

1 cinnamon stick

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker.

2. Add ice.

3. Shake and double strain using both a cocktail strainer and a mesh strainer into desired glass (Reynolds recommends a chilled Collins glass or julep cup).

4. Garnish with a cinnamon stick and a generous amount of mint.

HIBISCUS WATER

4 cups water

1 cup dried hibiscus leaves (available at Latin grocery stores)

3/4 cup sugar

1. Pour water in a pot and bring to a boil.

2. Add the hibiscus leaves and let simmer for 10 minutes.

3. Add sugar and stir. Turn off heat and let the water cool down.

4. Store in the refrigerator.

CINNAMON SIMPLE SYRUP

2 cups water

4 cinnamon sticks

1 1/2 cups sugar

1. Add water and cinnamon to a small sauce pot and bring to boil.

2. Simmer for 10 minutes, and strain out the cinnamon sticks.

3. Return mixture to a boil; add sugar and stir until dissolved.

4. Let syrup cool to room temperature before use.

Guiding You Home in Charlotte and Beyond.

HEALING ARTS

Through La Bodeguita, therapist Michelle Fernandez provides a place to create.

by Taylor Bowler

La Bodeguita is a wellness studio and craft cafe, but instead of ordering food, guests order paints, brushes, stamps and other art supplies for a self-led crafting experience. The evening and weekend sessions last about two hours, depending on the medium, and participants can be of any experience level. They’re welcome to bring their own food and drinks, and chatting and collaborating with others is strongly encouraged.

“Connection is one of my favorite words, and I think it’s something we’re missing in this post-Covid day and age,” says founder Michelle Fernandez. “People are looking for a space to connect to someone else that feels safe, that feels low-stakes, where they can show up in curiosity and authenticity. That’s the common thread throughout. La Bodeguita centers on the idea that we are all creative when given the time and space.”

Fernandez, 33, launched La Bodeguita in June 2025 in a vintage Airstream in Camp North End’s Boileryard District. In October, she expanded to a brick and mortar on neighboring Statesville Avenue.

Now, she uses the new space to host wellness workshops, themed artsand-crafts programming, artist residencies and group discussions.

La Bodeguita is at the crossroads of everything Fernandez does best. She’s a licensed mental-health counselor with a specialty in art therapy and a passion for small business. Since 2021, she’s seen clients in a group practice, but now that La Bodeguita has moved into its new space, she sees her therapy clients in the Airstream.

MAKING LEMONADE

Fernandez was born in Miami to a Cuban father and Panamanian mother and moved to Charlotte at age 10.

“I was a crafty girl, always working on something,” she says. “Every time a new Pottery Barn Kids catalog came out, I redid my room. Not with furniture — we didn’t have money like that. I’d do it with paper and drawings. I was always creating houses and outfits for my dolls. It started early, and at every painful moment or fracture point in my life, creation has come back.”

JoAnn Georger Congratulations

for 30 years of providing service and style to Charlotte’s best dressed men!

“JoAnn and I met 30 years ago. She was looking for a job, and we were looking for a sales associate. We agreed that she was not the perfect candidate and that we were not offering the perfect job. We decided to give it a try. What a wonderful outcome.

JoAnn proved to be one of the best all time employees we ever had. We will miss her, and her many devoted customers will miss her. We wish her the best of everything as she moves into retirement. What a lucky meeting 30 years ago.”

The Village at SouthPark

4310 Sharon Road

704.366.4523

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“La Bodeguita centers on the idea that we are all creative when given the time and space.”

BUILDING A COMMUNITY HUB

Limoncitos gained an enthusiastic following and inspired Fernandez to launch Fresh Squeezed Craft Club, a free community class on the first Sunday of each month at Arts+ in Plaza Midwood. She did that for about four months, then Camp North End reached out to do more with the Limoncitos brand. Fernandez teed up La Bodeguita.

“I saw a craft cafe in New York and really wanted to start one,” she says. “I knew Camp North End would buy into creative ideas more than your traditional landlord. So I pitched them on this concept: What if we took Craft Club’s idea and fleshed it out with a full craft cafe?”

She landed on the name La Bodeguita (little bodega) for a few reasons.

“I’m Latina, and culture is super important,” she says. “Bodegas, historically, served as a landing place once a migrant came over and was homesick. These neighborhood corner stores reconnected them with their culture, and we saw them become a community hub. I just love the parallel of connection and community.”

The craft cafe operates Friday through Sunday, and sessions can be reserved through La Bodeguita’s online portal. Most sessions cost $15-32. The menu rotates seasonally, and each person can order their own “dish” just like at a restaurant. Fernandez says she gets a mix of individuals, friend groups and dates.

ART AS THERAPY

After earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Rollins College in Florida, she returned to Charlotte to get a master’s in communication and media studies at Queens University. But life had taken an unexpected turn.

“I got pregnant at 22,” she says. “That really threw me for a loop.” She kept pushing academically, though, and decided to go for a second master’s in counseling at Wake Forest University. Then came the pandemic.

“I was really struggling because I had a 4-year-old, and I was in this rigorous program that went all online,” she says. “I

was losing my mind a little bit. My therapist said, ‘It’s not a good time to go to the hospital with panic attacks. Why don’t we start with something more somatic? You talked a lot about making things as a kid. Let’s start there.’”

While completing her degree at Wake, Fernandez started an Instagram account called Limoncitos (little lemons), which she calls her “creative brain dump.”

“In the midst of a bitter moment, my therapist said, ‘You’ve got to make your lemonade,’” she says. “My mom used to say that when I was a kid, too.”

As she’s balanced her full-time counseling job with La Bodeguita, Fernandez has begun to see a common thread in the people she serves: loneliness.

“The primary thing holding them back, it’s not anxiety and depression, but the environmental factors that we’re living in, and they’re lonely in that,” she says. “We’re seeing a whole new wave of therapy post-Covid. Talk therapy has its place, but we know trauma moves through the body physically. You feel your anger before you speak your anger. So when you’re activating all these parts of your brain through color, movement and creativity, that, in itself, is an intervention.” SP

ROOTS & WINGS

Lifelong Charlottean Rebecca Combs has always known where she comes from. Now, she’s shaping what’s next.

by Amanda Lea | photographs by Richard Israel

As 33-year-old Rebecca Combs looks out the window from her new apartment in SouthPark, she can see the stretch of land where her grandmother’s house once stood. The view is a reminder that while her Charlotte roots run deep, she is also stepping into something entirely her own.

“When I look out my window, I can feel her here with me,” Combs says. “It reminds me of who I am and who I am choosing to become.”

Combs is a fourth-generation Charlottean and a Providence High School graduate who now lives a mile from where her mother grew up in a home on the former Morrocroft farm. Her connection to the city is strong, but her faith in herself has been fiercely earned.

OPENING DOORS

Diagnosed with scoliosis and cerebral palsy when she was just a year old, Combs has spent her life navigating surgeries, therapies and the everyday logistics of living with limited mobility. She has used a wheelchair since childhood and relied on her family for support, but that reliance never limited her ambition.

Attending college at the University of Alabama was a turning point for Combs. She found a community of friends with a range of abilities, including a Paralympian who became one of her closest friends.

“It was my first time being around such a large group of people, and many of them were like me,” she says. “It gave me a huge confidence boost.”

After graduating with a degree in accounting, she spent several years working at the YMCA of Greater Charlotte before transitioning to a remote role processing workers’ compensation claims. The job offered flexibility and stability, but a long-held

goal remained: She wanted a home of her own — a place where she could build routines, make decisions independently and live life on her terms.

TIME TO FLY

In 2024, she decided it was time.

“My sister got engaged and was starting her next chapter, and I realized I was ready to do the same,” Combs says. “I wanted to spread my wings and live on my own.”

To prepare, Combs began occupational therapy to build the everyday skills she would need to live independently. Sessions focused on using the oven, knife skills and learning how to pace tasks throughout the day.

“I needed to learn how to do all the things that make daily life work,” Combs says. With that foundation in place, she made her first solo medical decision.

“Growing up, my parents were always the ones making those decisions for me,” Combs says. “This was the first time I made one completely for myself.” She chose to undergo hyperselective neurectomy, a specialized surgery aimed at improving movement in her hand and arm. For years, tight muscles in her left arm caused her thumb to pull inward, limiting her grip and making everyday tasks harder. The procedure targets the nerves responsible for that constant tension and reduces their signals so the hand can move with more freedom and control.

“It was a big surgery with a lot of risk,” Combs says. “But I knew it was the right choice for me.”

She had the procedure in May 2025, followed by six weeks in a cast and another round of occupational therapy to rebuild strength and function. The recovery was slow, but it strengthened her confidence in living on her own.

“I knew my goal was to live independently, and this felt like the best way to move toward that,” she says.

ROOM TO GROW

While recovering, she began searching for an apartment that would be a good fit for her needs, but she quickly encountered challenges. Many places advertised as accessible did not truly meet her needs.

“A lot of apartments checked the box on paper, but in reality they just did not work,” Combs says. “There were bathtubs instead of roll-in showers, or layouts that would not work for me. Some places were too big or too expensive. It was discouraging.”

Then she found The Residence at SouthPark.

“From the moment they picked up the phone, it felt different,” Combs says. When she toured the apartment, still recovering, she immediately noticed the open layout of the bathroom and the space to move comfortably. Staff also worked with her on adjustments like installing a countertop microwave and adding grab bars.

“There have only been a few moments in my life when I just

“People have told me I can’t do things, and that is usually the best way to make me do something.”

johndabbsltd.com

knew something was right,” Combs says. “The first was when I first saw Alabama’s campus. The second was being in this apartment.”

In June, she moved in, and everything shifted. For the first time, Combs could set her own routines, cook her own meals and enjoy the everyday independence she had long imagined.

“Sometimes I just roll around thinking, this is mine. I am doing this,” she says. “It feels silly to be so proud of something many people do earlier in life, but that wave of pride hits me every time.”

Even after settling in, Combs continued working toward greater independence. In fall 2025, she had another procedure on two of her fingers to make everyday tasks a little easier.

“It’s made a big difference,” she says. “Every bit of movement I gain helps me do more on my own.”

FINDING FREEDOM

Living alone also brought some anxiety. Combs grew up with three sisters and was used to having people around. Her family still lives just 15 minutes away, and nightly phone calls while she cooks dinner help maintain that closeness. At the same time, she has begun building a new community. Neighbors have slipped notes under her door offering help. She attends events at the apartment complex and has already made friends.

She also credits the SouthPark Skipper service, which provides wheelchair-accessible transportation around the neighborhood.

“For someone who doesn’t drive, it gives me more independence to run errands, meet friends, or just get out and about on my own,” Combs says.

Her advice to others navigating similar barriers is simple: “Do not settle,” Combs says. “Be clear about what you want, and be patient. Trust that it will work out.”

Balancing work, health and home life continues to be a learning process.

“Every task takes energy,” she says. “I’ve had to learn how to protect it.” Timers, a robot vacuum and structured routines help, but so does giving herself grace. “I can decide when I want to cook dinner or watch the sunset,” Combs says. “That freedom matters more than people realize.”

THE NEXT CHAPTER

Outside of work, Combs enjoys cooking, volunteering with the Special Olympics and helping in the nursery at St. Gabriel’s Catholic Church. Working on puzzles and building Lego sets helps her improve hand-eye coordination. She is also a devoted Alabama football fan.

“I could tell you more about football than you would ever want to know,” Combs says.

Over the holidays, she decorated her first Christmas tree, a ritual she had long imagined.

“Turning on the lights at the end of the day just made me smile,” Combs says.

Looking ahead, Combs says she hopes to be a mom someday and would love a service dog, but for now she is proud of the life she is building.

“I had a goal, and I made it happen,” she says. “People have told me I can’t do things, and that is usually the best way to make me do something.”

With her family history woven into the city’s fabric, Combs feels an even stronger sense of belonging in a place she has watched grow and change. SouthPark has long been part of her family’s story, but this chapter is entirely hers. SP

March HAPPENINGS

For more arts events, view our Spring Arts Preview on page 66.

Through Her Eyes film series various dates

The Carolina Theatre rolls out this series to celebrate Women’s History Month. Films include: A League of Their Own, Mulan, Wakanda Forever and Barbie. Winter Works: Boundless through March 21

Charlotte Ballet presents Kamuyot by Ohad Naharin and the premiere of On Three by N.C.-based choreographer Nicole Vaughan-Diaz. There’s live music and a photography exhibit on view during intermission. Center for Dance; tickets start at $38.

Final Draught with Meagan Church

March 2

The Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Foundation’s beloved series is back at Divine Barrel Brewing with the bestselling author of The Mad Wife, The Girls We Sent Away and The Last Carolina Girl. Each $20 ticket includes a beverage and refreshments.

Rob Reiner Double Feature

March 7

Carolina Theatre hosts a back-to-back showing of Stand By Me and When Harry Met Sally on what would have been the actor/director’s 79th birthday. Tickets are $16.

Suffs

March 10-15

The Tony Award-winning musical follows the brilliant, passionate and funny American women who fought tirelessly for the right to vote. Belk Theater; tickets start around $47.

Green River Revival

March 14

Watch as the Whitewater Center’s resident leprechaun transforms the river green for St. Patrick’s Day. Start the day with the Color Me Green 5K Trail Run before rafting down the river and listening to live music. Free, but parking is $13.

St. Patrick’s Day Parade

March 14

Uptown goes green as colorful floats and pipe bands help celebrate the day. The parade starts at 11 a.m., with an all-day festival kicking off at 10 a.m.

Run Jen Run 5K & Festival

March 21

Now in its 14th year, this event brings

big energy to Symphony Park while supporting local families reeling from the financial burden of a breast-cancer diagnosis. Proceeds benefit the Go Jen Go Foundation. New this year: Survivors, thrivers and fighters can register for free.

Pat Metheny

March 24

The jazz guitarist, composer and 20-time Grammy Award-winner comes to Knight Theater fresh off the release of a new album, Side Eye III. Tickets start around $65.

Nouveau Now

March 28

The UNC Charlotte departments of dance and music present a production created specifically for Carolina Theatre with inspiration from Martha Graham to the fusion of jazz and hip hop. Tickets are $17. SP

Scan the QR code on your mobile device to stay updated on events at southparkmagazine.com.

SAVOR CHARLOTTE

The two-week celebration of the Queen City’s cuisine scene returns March 11-28 with collabs, special menus and can’t-miss culinary events. Choose your restaurant, make your reservation (depending on venue) and savor the experience. Here are a few:

Taste of the Mint

The Mint Museum and Mariposa — March 12 and 19

This is where fine dining and fine art intersect. After a specially designed tasting menu and optional wine pairings, enjoy a guided tour of select artwork.

Food Science on the Rocks

Discovery Place Science — March 20

Get hands-on with food-themed science experiences.

Bo’s Bougie Brunch

Merchant & Trade — March 21

It’s Bojangles, kicked up a few notches. Take in the rooftop view while noshing on the “Billionaire’s Chicken Biscuit” (with gold leaf and caviar) and “Bougie Bo Rounds” (truffle crème fraîche, caviar and salmon roe), which were big hits last time. And it wouldn’t be brunch without a cocktail made with Bo’s sweet tea.

Brisket & Biscuits: BBQ Brunch Town Brewing Co. — March 28

Charlotte’s top pitmasters bring brunch to the brewery with a menu that includes biscuits and barbecue gravy, a brisket doughnut sandwich, chargrilled oysters and more.

WCREATING SPACE FOR CARE

When life keeps moving while we try to heal

by Juliet Lam Kuehnle

ouldn’t it be nice if mental-health struggles existed in clearly defined seasons: a breakdown, followed by a pause, reflection and then a clean return to normal life? There is sometimes an assumption that “healing” requires retreat that allows us to step away from our responsibilities, regroup and then reenter the world fully renewed. But for most of us, that simply isn’t how it happens.

As a therapist, I do not define healing as an end goal, a box you check that means you’ve taken all the “correct” steps and have therefore achieved complete relief. The process of moving through and processing one’s emotions while finding growth and balance is all healing. Trusting oneself to do so is healing.

Life doesn’t slow down when you’re grieving. Deadlines and tasks don’t wait when anxiety spikes. Parenting doesn’t stop when depression hits. Work, relationships, creativity and expectations continue to demand our attention even when we’re struggling.

Many times, I have had the pleasure of speaking with actress Chryssie Whitehead. Her life’s work, in the current season, has been performing a deeply vulnerable creative project about her own history with mental illness — while the rest of her life continues on. What stands out to me is the resilience required to keep going amid pain, alongside the continued healing and growth.

As a therapist, this is a familiar dynamic. But sometimes, this is especially common among high-functioning, achievement-oriented individuals. Many people are incredibly skilled at continuing to perform, produce and show up while unraveling inside. They are praised for their strength, admired for their composure and rarely asked how much effort it takes simply to stay upright.

This is where our cultural language around mental health begins to fail us. We have to understand that functioning is not the same as being well, as this is one of the most damaging assumptions we make. If someone is working, parenting, socializing or achieving, we

conclude that distress can’t be that serious. But, clinically, we know the opposite is often true.

High-functioning distress is frequently more difficult to identify, more likely to be minimized and more dangerous to carry alone. People who appear capable on the outside often delay seeking support because they don’t feel entitled to it. They tell themselves that others have it worse, that they should be able to manage, that this is simply the price of ambition or responsibility.

The nervous system, however, doesn’t measure pain by productivity. It responds to sustained pressure, lack of safety, emotional suppression and overload. You can meet every obligation on your calendar and still be deeply dysregulated.

“Remember that you do not need to fall apart to deserve care. You do not have to reach a crisis to justify slowing down.”

It’s important not to perpetuate an unspoken expectation of composure. Success, stability and access to resources can create the illusion that emotional struggle is either unlikely or self-indulgent. The message then becomes that difficulty should be handled quietly and efficiently.

Trauma, mood disorders, grief and anxiety do not discriminate. What differs is how comfortable people feel acknowledging distress and how long they wait before addressing it.

Elevating the conversation about mental wellness means allowing for nuance. It means recognizing that someone can be

both successful and struggling, privileged and overwhelmed, deeply capable and deeply exhausted.

Instead of asking ourselves, “Can I get through this?” which is a question that implies endurance at all costs, I often invite clients to consider asking what their nervous systems might need in order to move through this with less harm. This shift acknowledges reality without demanding collapse. It creates space for care, even when stopping is not an option. When stepping away from responsibilities isn’t feasible, regulation becomes about containment rather than escape. Here are some protective strategies to practice:

1. Name the reality clearly. Saying, “I am doing something demanding while I am emotionally taxed,” reduces internal conflict. It replaces self-criticism with accuracy.

2. Shrink the time horizon. Overwhelm escalates when we try to carry the future all at once. Focus on what is required in the next hour, not the entire week or outcome. The nervous system responds better to manageable segments than vague endurance.

3. Build in micro-choice. Choice restores agency, even in small ways: Decide how you show up, when you stop for the day or what boundary protects your energy.

4. Separate identity from performance. This is especially

important for those whose sense of self is intertwined with competence or achievement. You are not defined by how well you hold things together. Productivity is not proof of wellness.

5. Create one place where you do not perform. Whether it is therapy, a trusted relationship or solitary reflection, your nervous system needs at least one environment where nothing is expected of you beyond honesty.

Remember that you do not need to fall apart to deserve care. You do not have to reach a crisis to justify slowing down. And you do not have to wait until everything is finished to tend to your mental health. While healing often does not arrive with a pause button, it does come through better language, clearer boundaries and permission to acknowledge what is actually happening. One of the most self-respecting things you can say is, “I’m still showing up and this is harder than it looks.” All of this makes room for a more humane way of living. SP

Juliet Kuehnle is a therapist and owner of Sun Counseling & Wellness.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Juliet is hosting a Benefit Cabaret for Dancing with the Stars of Charlotte with Chryssie Whitehead — plus other local and Broadway performers — on March 31 at the Long Room. Proceeds benefit The Katie Blessing Center, Novant Health Agnes Binder Weisiger Breast Health Center and Go Jen Go Foundation.

MARCH BOOKS

Notable new releases

compiled by Sally Brewster

Ruby Falls by Gin Phillips

In 1928, a Chattanooga man disappears down a hole in the ground and discovers a 150-foot waterfall in the middle of a mountain that he names after his wife: Ruby Falls. Within months, visitors can buy tickets to see the falls for themselves. But the Great Depression is tough timing for a natural wonder, and a shrewd public-relations ploy seems like the only way to save Ruby Falls. A famous mind reader agrees to launch himself into the caverns, where he will attempt to locate a hidden hatpin using only his psychic abilities. Ada Smith and another local guide have been asked to follow the mind reader’s party, staying out of sight, as a safety net in case of a broken leg or busted flashlights. One of them will be dead before the end of the day. Faced with a corpse and the stark reality that one of the people in her midst is a killer, Ada needs to get everyone back above ground before their light runs out.

The Golden Boy by Patricia Finn

After an involuntary retirement from his high-flying Hollywood career, Stafford Hopkins has retreated to a luxury estate on Maui, along with his wife Agnes, both grimly resigned to life in a paradise where neither feels fully at home. Stafford is ready to retreat into himself, too, when a letter arrives with shocking news. Stafford has been named guardian of four children he didn’t know existed: the grandchildren of his late childhood friend, Bobby Shepherd. Returning to both the hardscrabble farming town and a dark secret he’d tried to forget for decades, Stafford is forced to confront his past so he can rebuild his future — and to redirect the fates of his family and the four young people suddenly in his care.

Service Ready: A Story of Love, Restaurants, and the Power of Hospitality by Molly Irani

Growing up with parents who owned a restaurant, Irani understood the power of service but also had a keen understanding of the industry’s challenges. When her husband, Meherwan, wanted to open a restaurant that would serve the Indian street food of his childhood, Irani thought he was nuts. And yet, the couple turned this unlikely dream into a vibrant reality. Chai Pani eventually won the James Beard Award for Outstanding Restaurant in America and was named one of 50 favorite restaurants in America by The New York Times in 2021. The couple have

since launched multiple Chai Pani locations, the fast-growing spin-off, Botiwalla, and the popular spice business, Spicewalla. In Service Ready, Irani shares the 10 core principles that have shaped their path, offering essential lessons for any industry. She opens up about the challenges and rewards of being business partners with your life partner and shares how she and Meherwan learned to merge their strengths in order to thrive. As she reflects on navigating a recession, a global pandemic and the devastating floods in Asheville, she explores resilience, innovation and how to create a strong culture in any workplace.

A Far-flung Life by

M.L. Stedman

Set in remote western Australia, where the MacBride family leases nearly 1 million acres and tends to 20,000 sheep, this novel begins in 1958 when a truck accident kills the family’s patriarch and eldest son and leaves the youngest son, 17-year-old Matt, severely injured. Saddled with cognitive issues and memory loss, he faces a long road to recovery under the care of his mother, Lorna, and 20-year-old sister, Rose. Months later, a confounding drunken incident exacerbates the tragedy, forcing Matt to cover up terrible secrets. By 1969, new arrival Bonnie Edquist, a surveyor for a mining company, threatens to upend Matt’s safe and quiet way of life, while a nosy postmistress and a self-righteous police officer start to uncover his closely guarded secrets.

A World Appears: A Journey Into Consciousness by Michael Pollan

When it comes to the phenomenon that is consciousness, there is one point on which scientists, philosophers and artists all agree: It feels like something to be us. Yet the fact that we have subjective experience of the world remains one of nature’s greatest mysteries. How is it that our mental operations are accompanied by feelings, thoughts and a sense of self? What would a scientific investigation of our inner life look like, when we have as little distance and perspective on it as fish do of the sea? In A World Appears, Michael Pollan traces the unmapped continent that is consciousness, bringing radically different perspectives — scientific, philosophical, literary, spiritual and psychedelic — to see what each can teach us about this central fact of life. SP

Sally Brewster is the proprietor of Park Road Books, 4139 Park Road, parkroadbooks.com.

A GOLFER’S LIFE

A sweetly crafted tale of an obsession with the game by

Stephen E. Smith

In longtime North Carolina-native golf writer Bill Fields’ A Quick Nine Before Dark, there are no scandals, no shocking moral shortcomings, no vilifications of former friends — just storytelling at its best, with efficient use of descriptive prose.

Born in Pinehurst in 1959, Fields’ obsession with sports began when he was a child, gravitating toward any game that involved a ball. When he failed to become a basketball star, he turned to golf, though his focus on the game waxed and waned until he was a student at UNC Chapel Hill, where he wrote for The Daily Tar Heel. After graduation, he knocked around the golf world, promoting the game, until he eventually landed at Golf World, where he spent much of his career.

Fields covered tournaments in the United States and overseas, which brought him into contact with the greatest golfers of our time. How many golfers can boast that they’ve played the game with Sam Snead and Tiger Woods?

But A Quick Nine Before Dark is more than another golf book — it’s also about becoming a writer and what it takes to remain ascendant in a field where technology advances at breakneck speed. From the moment Fields, as an elementary-school kid, put pencil to paper and wrote, “I like to write,” his life had been about arranging the right words in the best possible order.

Fields’ writing is unfailingly lucid, exact and engaging. When he feels the need to shine, he does precisely that, as with this excerpted Golf World description of Davis Love III as he captured a major title: “The conclusion to the 97th PGA Championship was soggy and sweet, like strawberries and sponge cake. As quickly as the late afternoon rain had come on Sunday to Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York, it stopped, and the sun peeked through an angry sky. Two rainbows arched over the course at just the right moment, as if scripted by Frank Capra himself, and for Davis Love III, there wasn’t a burden in sight.”

When the occasional somber moment intrudes, it’s handled with grace and thoughtful solemnity, as when Fields learns by phone that his former wife, Marianne, has died: “Nothing in divorce-recovery books, the radio talk-show advice, or the support of friends in the wake of a failed marriage had prepared me for those words.” The deaths of his mother and father are likewise handled unsentimentally but with a necessary touch of sentiment: “Life is ragged. Voids linger. Loose ends are everywhere.”

Today, Fields lives in Connecticut, but in his book, Carolina readers will recognize familiar places like Knollwood, Foxfire Golf Club and Mid Pines. Even if you’ve never whacked a golf ball, it’s easy to be swept up by Fields’ beautifully crafted prose and the twists and turns of his life as a golf writer. SP

THE WINDING PATH

The enduring inspiration of a dear friend by Jim

Dodson

Every year as March returns and my garden springs to life, I think of a remarkable woman who changed my life.

Her name was Celetta Randolph Jones, “Randy” for short, a beloved figure in the city of Atlanta’s business, arts and philanthropic circles. Five years my senior and leagues ahead of me in terms of spiritual growth, Randy was introduced to me by my editor, Andrew Sparks, during my first week on the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Sunday Magazine staff.

At that time, in the spring of 1977, Randy was running The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation and had stopped by the magazine to introduce herself and plumb my interest in historic preservation.

“Something tells me you two are bound to become best friends,” Andy wryly observed, a prophetic remark if there ever was one.

In short order, Randy became my best friend and confidant, the one person I felt comfortable with discussing matters of life and death, heart and soul. Our love affair was a case of what the ancients called agape, transcending romance and superficial attraction. Besides, Randy was secretly dating an Episcopal priest, which I kidded her about relentlessly. She loved to give the needle back about the young women I went out with in those seven years of our deepening friendship.

Though she never married, “Aunt Randy” was the godmother of half a dozen of her nieces and nephews and, eventually, my own daughter, Maggie.

During my first few years in the so-called “city too busy to hate,” I frequently wrote about the darker side of the booming New South — race violence, corrupt politicians, unrepentant Klansmen, the missing and murdered, and young people who flocked to the city seeking fame and fortune only to lose their way and, sometimes, their lives.

A life-changing moment came to me late one Saturday night. As I stood in my darkened backyard waiting for my dog, McGee, to do her business, I witnessed my next-door neighbor, an Emory University med student, being gunned down in an alleged drug hit. He died as we waited for the ambulance to arrive.

Not surprisingly, it was Randy who helped me make sense of this. The morning after my neighbor’s murder, I opened my Bible for the first time in years and was struck by a reference that Jesus repeatedly makes about the “Kingdom of Heaven.” That evening at dinner, I grumbled, “So where the hell on Earth is the so-called Kingdom of Heaven?”

Randy simply smiled. “It’s already here, my love. Inside us. You just have to see it.”

I was a wee bit annoyed by her assurance.

Randy was a classy and calm Presbyterian with an unshakable faith. I was a backslid Episcopalian who hadn’t darkened a church doorway since my college days.

Purely because of Randy, however, I attended services the next Sunday at historic All Saints’ Episcopal Church in

downtown Atlanta — a place known for keeping its doors open to the homeless. I soon took a job writing about the suffering of developing nations for the Presiding Bishop’s Fund for World Relief, and even made a vow that, going forward, I would only write about subjects and people who had a positive impact on life. Randy was my inspiration.

I lived up to that vow, and even briefly entertained taking myself off to the seminary, until a crusty old bishop from Alabama suggested that I could “probably serve the Lord much better by writing than preaching.”

My pal Randy gave her famous, sultry laugh when I mentioned his somewhat frank comment — and she agreed with him.

During my final years in Atlanta, Randy and I met at least once a week for lunch or dinner to talk about the events of the day and the mysteries of this world. She also spent several Christmases with my family in North Carolina, attended both of my marriages, visited my young brood in Maine and joined us for a joyous spring vacation at our favorite Georgia beach.

In many ways, she became the Dodson family godmother and probably the closest I’ll ever come to knowing a living saint — though she would laugh at such a silly notion.

Over the decades, as Southern springtime returned, wherever I happened to be in the world, Randy would track me down by

phone. She’d finish our talk with a couple of meaningful questions: So, Jim, are we any closer to the Kingdom of Heaven? And, how is your beautiful garden growing?

She and I had visited public gardens together many times. Randy hailed from Thomasville, a small south Georgia town known as the “City of Roses,” and knew that once I’d swapped bigcity life for small-town living, I’d become a committed man of the Earth like my rural kin before me. There was no going back, she knew, on gardening or faith.

Randy passed away peacefully in October 2022. Her funeral service was packed with people whose lives she had touched, from business leaders to artists, church members to childhood friends, plus a half dozen godchildren and yours truly. The sanctuary overflowed with stories of her generosity and quiet wisdom, and the service was a testament to the wide effect she had not only in Atlanta but in the hearts of everyone fortunate enough to know her.

As my spiritual life has grown and deepened across the years, I’ve come to believe the Kingdom of Heaven might indeed be nearby. In the Gospel of Luke, it’s simply called the “Kingdom of God” and makes clear — as Randy did — that it “lies within” everyone.

Wherever it exists, I have my late friend, Randy Jones, to thank for putting me on the winding path. SP

Boléro, Bruno and bluegrass

From classical and pop icons to humorous hillbillies, spring brings a plethora of cultural events to Charlotte.

by Page Leggett

Snow and ice this winter meant several highly anticipated plays and concerts were canceled. So, come the spring thaw, we’ll be all the more eager to be entertained. And Charlotte’s cultural institutions are ready to deliver. A couple have very ambitious plans:

• Celebrate America’s 250th birthday at the Charlotte Museum of History with the American Revolution: The Augmented Exhibition, opening April 14. Videogame technology lets you insert yourself into historic events like the signing of the Declaration of Independence. charlottemuseum.org

• One of opera’s biggest stars returns to

Charlotte for her directorial debut. Denyce Graves does double duty, as she’ll also star in Opera Carolina’s The Medium (April 17-19) at Belk Theater. Gian Carlo Menotti’s two-act opera focuses on a fraudulent fortune teller driven mad by a gnawing fear that the dearly departed can really return from the dead to haunt us. blumenthalarts.org

We’ll share more about the Mint Museum’s Caravaggio/Revolution: Baroque Masterpieces from the Roberto Longhi Foundation in our April issue. Fewer than 50 works are attributed to the master of shadow and light who died at just 38. One of those, along with others by Baroque masters, is headed from Florence

to the QC for a show that runs April 26 –Oct. 15. mintmuseum.org

But that’s not all. Read on for more of what we’re looking forward to.

MARCH

Ravel’s Boléro, Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, March 6 – 7 Boléro’s reputation as one of classical music’s sexiest songs was cemented in the 1979 rom-com 10, starring Dudley Moore and a bikinied and braided Bo Derek. Millions of people who’d never heard of Ravel were suddenly fans, and album sales soared. The song often described as “seductive” and “hypnotic” is the climax

of a CSO program that features Bedřich Smetana’s “The Moldau” from Má Vlast (“My Country”), inspired by a river in his native Bohemia (now Czechoslovakia).

Charlotte composer Malek Jandali’s Clarinet Concerto is a tribute to his native Syria. And Brazilian-American composer Clarice Assad blends sounds from the two Americas in Sin Fronteras (“Without Borders”). Christopher James Lees conducts a program about the power of home. charlottesymphony.org

Lauren Gunderson’s The Revolutionists, presented by The Warehouse Studio Theatre in Cornelius, March 13 – 28 Atlanta native Gunderson, known for her feminist themes and strong female characters, turns the French Revolution into a

… comedy. The four revolutionary characters are Marie Antoinette — of “Let them eat cake” fame, playwright Olympe de Gouges, unlikely assassin Charlotte Corday and Haitian rebel and spy Marianne Angelle. The play’s subject is described as “art and activism, feminism and terrorism, compatriots and chosen sisters, and how we actually go about changing the world.” Reneé Welsh Noel directs, and Warehouse founder (and actor/ director/professor) Marla Brown produces. warehousestudiotheatrelkn.org

David McGee: The Griot and the Nightingale, Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, March 14 – Aug. 23 Harvard, the Dallas Museum of Art, the Seattle Civic Art Collection and other

impressive institutions have David McGee’s work in their permanent collections. But the African-American artist, known for his incisive social commentary, has never had a major museum present a comprehensive survey of his work — until now. The Bechtler’s retrospective of his art from the early 1990s to now includes more than 100 paintings and works on paper. The Louisiana native’s work explores race, class and the changing nature of language and features literary, musical and pop cultural allusions. bechtler.org

Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival, Knight Theater, March 15

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the film festival that celebrates achievements in what they call “outdoor storytelling.” (Or, what

Mint Museum Uptown at Levine Center for the Arts | 500 South Tryon Street | Charlotte, NC 28202 | 704.337.2000 | mintmuseum.org | @themintmuseum

David McGee, Blackbird from Avenging Angels series, 2023, Watercolor on paper, 60 x 40 inches. Collection of Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Museum purchase funded by Nina and Michael Zilkha, 2024.3

I call, “documentaries about extreme sports I’d never have the guts or ability to attempt.”)

Over the years, festival films have depicted visually impaired mountain climbers, crosscountry skiers traversing frozen lakes and kayakers going over waterfalls. Each fall, the festival is held in Banff, Alberta, Canada before hitting the road. It comes to Charlotte for one day only. Learn more at banffcentre. ca/banffmountainfestival; buy tickets at carolinatix.org.

God of Carnage, Theatre Charlotte, March 20 – April 5

There are parents who defend their children’s bad behavior no matter what. And then there are the characters in Yasmina Reza’s 2009 Tony Award-winning play. After one 11-year-old hits another, their parents meet to discuss the incident like adults. But their confab quickly devolves into a four-way temper tantrum. The dark comedy reminds us that playground fights don’t necessarily cease as we grow up — they just move indoors. The original Broadway production was the third-longest running play of the 2000s. theatrecharlotte.org

David McGee, Up Drives Black and the Fall of Babel from Complications of Water series, 2017, Oil on canvas, 60 x 48 inches. Collection of Lisa Rich and John McLaughlin.

Sheena Easton at Cain Center for the Arts, March 22

Those of us who grew up in the ’80s will recall the earworm that was Sheena Easton’s “Morning Train.” It was everywhere. Four decades on, Easton’s a Vegas darling, a Grammy-winning, multiplatinum artist and the only performer to land top-five hits on five major Billboard charts. The Scottish chanteuse has also done TV (“Miami Vice,” “Highlander”) and Broadway (Grease, Man of La Mancha). cainarts.org

AI and the Future of Everything with Nita Farahany and Nicholas Thompson, presented by Queens University of Charlotte Learning Society, March 26 The future is here. We didn’t get flying cars and robot maids, as “The Jetsons” predicted. But we did get assistance on our laptops in the form of artificial intelligence. As CEO of The Atlantic and former editor-in-chief of Wired, Thompson has witnessed important AI breakthroughs firsthand. Farahany, an expert on the ethical and legal ramifications of emerging technologies, explores that topic in her latest book, The Battle for Your Brain.

The duo will share their perspectives on how AI is shaping our daily lives and the future. Learn to harness AI before it can harness you. queens.edu

Disney’s Frozen the Broadway Musical, Children’s Theatre of Charlotte, March 28 – April 26

“Let It Go” sold nearly 11 million copies when it came out in 2014. It’s the theme song from Frozen, a fairy tale of selfacceptance, authenticity and — surprise! — familial, rather than romantic, love. The princess gets something better than a handsome prince; she gets a renewed bond with her sister. Fun QC connection: Former Charlottean Kristen Anderson-Lopez and her husband, Robert Lopez, wrote the music and lyrics, including the memorable lines, “I don’t care what they’re going to say/Let the storm rage on/The cold never bothered me anyway.” ctcharlotte.org

APRIL

Eric Church with Ashley McBryde, Spectrum Center, April 4

The pride and joy of Granite Falls has come

a long way since playing Jimmy Buffett covers in dive bars. His live shows are known for their excitement, and Church is known for his stamina. With hits like “Drink in My Hand,” “Jack Daniels” and “Hungover & Hard Up,” you can imagine the atmosphere at a Church show is a bit different from being in church. ticketmaster.com

CeCe Winans: More Than This Tour, April 9

Here’s a concert that will feel like going to church. Winans and her nine siblings were raised in Detroit by parents who listened only to gospel music. She’s won 18 Grammys — more than any other female gospel singer. Her Ovens Auditorium show is a homecoming for Winans, who first came to the QC in 1981 to sing on Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker’s The PTL Club. Originally part of the larger Winans family group, CeCe

and her brother, BeBe, enjoyed crossover success as a duo with songs like “Addictive Love” and “I’ll Take You There.” But unlike her close friend, the late Whitney Houston, Winans has mostly stuck with the genre she loves best. boplex.com or ticketmaster.com.

Jason Salmon, The Comedy Zone, April 22 Salmon wasn’t always — and still isn’t — a political stand-up comic, but Trump 2.0 has brought out that side of him. Each week, Salmon takes to social media to do an “Another Weird Week” recap. His quick commentaries, some of which have more than 1 million hits, always end with the catch phrase, “Stay ornery.” His YouTube standup special, “Biscuits and Gravity,” covers Gen X, men who get pedicures and his confusion over weddings. (“That’s a grown woman pretending to be a princess.”) The Texas native is known for clean comedy that

SPRING ARTS PREVIEW

doesn’t offend — unless you’re offended by his spot-on comedic critiques of the current administration. cltcomedyzone.com

The Lifespan of a Fact, Davidson Community Players at Armour Street Theatre, April 9 – 26

Author and humorist David Sedaris famously said that his autobiographical stories are “true enough,” meaning they’re based in fact but may be embellished. John D’Agata, a writer and professor at the University of Iowa’s Writers’ Workshop (which is even harder to get in than Harvard!) may subscribe to the same theory. When D’Agata turns in a magazine story about the suicide of a 16-year-old boy in Las Vegas, Jim Fingal, a newly minted Harvard grad, is assigned to fact check. But Fingal’s insistence on the literal truth is at odds with D’Agata’s belief that “true enough” should suffice. The magazine editor must balance serving the truth with serving the reader as she referees the extended battle between the two. This true story became a book and then a comedic Broadway play starring Daniel Radcliffe as Fingal. The play is recommended for ages 15 and up. davidsoncommunityplayers.org

Stereophonic, presented by Blumenthal Arts at Knight Theater, April 15 – 26

The most Tony Award-nominated play of all time examines an up-and-coming rock band (thought to be based on Fleetwood Mac during its Rumours era) recording a new album. Written by David Adjmi and featuring original music by Arcade Fire’s Will Butler, the play shows us musical geniuses at work, under pressure, as they hope for their big break while simultaneously trying not to break up. After earning 13 Tony nominations, Stereophonic went on to win five, including Best Play. blumenthalarts.org

The Cleverlys, Cain Center for the Arts, April 17

I never realized how much I wanted comedic bluegrass until I heard the Cleverlys. Founded in 2009 by Arkansas native Paul Harris, the band with an evolving lineup has a (fictional) backstory that involves the father and four uncles of Harris’ alter-ego, Digger Cleverly, starting the band in 1952. When not touring, he runs an alpaca farm that “produces everything from alpaca sausages and dairy products to woolly lingerie — though the latter hasn’t quite caught on yet.” Their schtick is decidedly not serious, but

you know they’ve got serious talent because they’re regulars on the prestigious Grand Ole Opry stage. You’ll likely know most songs they perform, since their repertoire includes bluegrass versions of hits like Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance,” Destiny’s Child’s “Say My Name” and The Black Eyed Peas’ “Let’s Get it Started.” cainarts.org

St. Paul and the Broken Bones, The Fillmore, April 17

Singer Paul Janeway and bassist Jesse Phillips formed their first band in the mid2000s in Birmingham, Alabama. Later joined by Browan Lollar, formerly of The 400 Unit (Jason Isbell’s band) and three others, they recorded their first full-length album, Half the City, at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. That’s the same place where Aretha Franklin, The Rolling Stones, Wilson Pickett, Bob Dylan, Etta James and Isbell have recorded. Today, they’re an eight-piece band with an impressive horn section and an international reputation. The adjective often used to describe their live performances — “high-energy” — doesn’t begin to cover it. I’m surprised Janeway doesn’t have to leave the stage on a stretcher; he makes Springsteen look lazy by comparison. fillmorenc.com

Bruno Mars, Bank of America Stadium, April 29

Girls (and guys), hit your hallelujah. When Bruno Mars’ “The Romantic Tour” hits Charlotte, it’ll be his first time here in over a decade. Barely 40, the artist formerly known as Peter Gene Hernandez has already attained pop-icon status. (That’s not surprising since he got his start as a kid in Honolulu doing impersonations of another icon: Elvis.) He’s wowed sellout crowds at two Super Bowls and has sold over 150 million records worldwide. Celebrated as much for his showmanship as his three-octave tenor vocal range, many of his songs (“Just the Way You Are,” “Grenade,” “I Just Might”) are party-playlist essentials. Special guests Anderson .Paak and Leon Thomas gon’ show up, show out and show Charlotte what “Uptown Funk” means. ticketmaster.com

MAY

Intimate Apparel, Piedmont Players Theatre, May 1 - 10

Playwright Lynn Nottage’s Intimate Apparel, which premiered in 2003, tells the story of Esther, a Black seamstress in 1905 New

York City who makes lingerie for society women (as well as prostitutes) and diligently saves her money. Esther longs for love and believes she’s found it when, through a mutual acquaintance, she begins getting letters from George, a Caribbean man working on the Panama Canal. Esther finds herself more drawn to her fabric supplier — a kindly Hasidic shopkeeper — yet they know a future for them is impossible. George proposes marriage, and Esther agrees. But he’s not the man he seems. Nottage explores themes like race, class, gender and loneliness in what is perhaps her most deeply personal play, based on the life of her great-grandmother. Salisbury’s historic Meroney Theater, built in 1905, is a gorgeous venue; it and Intimate Apparel should prove worth the drive. piedmontplayers.com

Judy Gold at the Carolina Theatre, May 7

The writer/comedian’s takes on family, politics and modern life have won her an Emmy Award and legions of fans. Her stand-up is described as both insightful and outrageous. The title of her book, which debuted as the No. 1 comedy release on Amazon and was featured in The New York Times Book Review, tells you where

NEWBERRY OPERA HOUSE. Big Shows. Historic Stage.

Taj Mahal with special guest Kaïa Kater April 18, 2026 at 7:30 PM

World-class artists. Historic surroundings. An intimate live music experience you won’t forget. Newberry Opera House sits at the center of downtown Newberry, SC, steps f rom dining, shopping, and local charm.

SPRING ARTS PREVIEW

she stands. It’s called Yes I Can Say That: When They Come for the Comedians, We Are All in Trouble, and it’s (obviously) about free speech. thecarolina.com

One Thousand Pieces, presented by Charlotte Ballet at Knight Theater, May 7 - 10

Marc Chagall’s “American Windows,” part of the Art Institute of Chicago’s collection, was Alejandro Cerrudo’s inspiration for creating One Thousand Pieces, which premiered in Chicago in 2012. The Charlotte Ballet artistic director’s works have been performed by more than 20 professional dance companies across the globe. “Cerrudo always makes his dancers move like gyroscopes in perpetual motion, constantly spinning, ducking, weaving, tangling and detangling,” wrote one critic in a glowing review of a 2024 Pacific Northwest Ballet production. One Thousand Pieces is set to the

music of Phillip Glass, performed live by the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra. charlotteballet.org

Sting, Truliant Amphitheater, May 18

The venue formerly known as PNC Pavilion hosts the legendary former frontman of The Police. The former Gordon Sumner’s early hits include “Every Breath You Take,” “Roxanne,” “Message in a Bottle” and “Don’t Stand So Close to Me,” a song whose literary allusions (to Nabakov’s Lolita) remind you of the English teacher he was before becoming an international superstar. His solo hits include “Fields of Gold,” “Fortress Around Your Heart” and the haunting tribute to his late father, “Why Should I Cry for You?” The elder Mr. Sumner was a milkman who encouraged his son to live a big life. The son obviously obliged. truliantamp.com SP

Carolina Fine Art’s Featured Artist Show with Lynn Alker OPENING RECEPTION FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 5-8PM

Regular gallery hours: 10-5, Tuesday-Saturday

300 S Sharon Amity Road | carolinafineart.com | carolina.fineart

WOMEN WHO LEAD:

This is the first installment in a four-part series featuring trailblazing women in Charlotte’s culinary scene. From chefs to bakers, mixologists to food-truck owners, local talents talk passion, perseverance and navigating their industries with grit and grace.

IN THE KITCHEN

WITH STAGIONI’S BRITTANY COCHRAN

From executive chef to ‘Top Chef,’ Brittany Cochran wins over the hearts and souls of Charlotte diners, one pasta bowl at a time.

by Olivia Lee | photographs by Peter Taylor

It’s Friday night, and my husband and I arrive at Stagioni, as we do almost every week. As we enter, he grabs the antique brass doorknob to open the aged wooden door, the kind that closes and doesn’t quite fit into the frame. Stagioni is dark and intimate, dimly lit by low-hanging red lights reminiscent of old Georgian-era jewels.

The hostess greets us with a warm smile and leads us to the cozy six-seat bar. Without hesitation, the bartender begins to pour a glass of Velenosi — a Montepulciano and Sangiovese blend — for my husband and a coupe of Terre Gaie prosecco for me. “Hi, how are you?” she asks, as she turns to order us meatballs. She knows the succession of our meal. She knows the pace of each course. And she knows that we like to linger in the corner of the bar, talking for several hours.

The meatballs arrive in a black stone bowl — slow-simmered ground pork coated in house-made marinara, sprinkled with grated Parmesan cheese and served with a crusty ciabatta for soaking up the sauce. I take a sip of the prosecco, and take a deep breath. In that moment, comfort is the only thing that I feel. And, as a nurse practitioner, for the first time that week I feel like I’m the one being taken care of.

As we eat our meal, Brittany Cochran, Stagioni’s executive chef, stands quietly in the shadows, her arms folded as she observes the dining room. Her eyes scan the tables as she listens to the laughter of guests, waiting for the joyful silence that inevitably occurs when the food arrives and the first bites are taken.

AN EARLY LOVE FOR FOOD

During grade school, Cochran spent summers at her grandparents’ house in Columbus, Ohio, helping plant crops in their garden and tending to them until it was time to harvest and either can or use for cooking. Being a part of the agricultural process from start to finish is where her love for food began.

Cochran studied culinary arts and hospitality management at Charlotte’s Johnson & Wales University, before venturing off to New York with a friend.

“We had no job, no apartment, probably a couple hundred bucks in our pocket, a U-Haul full of college furniture and ended up finding a great place in Crown Heights, Brooklyn,” recalls Cochran. Three days later, she walked into Forgione, Mark Forgione’s Michelin-starred New American restaurant in Tribeca, and introduced herself to the sous chef. She started as a line cook two days later and worked there for the next three and a half years.

“It was no joke,” Cochran says. “It was an intense restaurant, and it was a very busy restaurant.” After Forgione, she worked for 10 months at Marea, a white-tablecloth, coastal Italian restaurant with two Michelin stars and a brigade-style kitchen that was humbling to a young chef, Cochran says. “You run out of something, they kick you off the line and you have to walk

with your tail between your legs, and then you kind of get demoted and then you have to start back over again.”

Missing the connections with customers she had experienced at Forgione, Cochran decided it was time to return to Charlotte. Working at Mimosa Grill in uptown, she learned the business side of the industry: inventory, scheduling, event planning and catering.

Shortly after the onset of the pandemic, Cochran remembers being on her hands and knees, scrubbing the restaurant’s baseboards, preparing for guests to return. That’s when she received a text from Bruce Moffett, the owner of Moffett Restaurant Group, about another job opportunity. In July 2020, Cochran was hired as executive chef at Moffett’s seasonal Italian restaurant, Stagioni, Four Seasons of Food.

A CHANGE FOR THE BETTER

Cochran, who develops the menu and manages the kitchen at Stagioni, joined a seasoned staff who had worked together for several years.

“And during Covid, nobody knows what’s going on. So having that stress of being the new guy, the top guy, understaffed during Covid, nervous about presenting menu ideas to my chef owner, it was intimidating.” After slowly making a few modifications, Cochran noticed that one by one, her staff started leaving. She reached out to her mentor Mark Forgione, who reminded her of the unprecedented nature of the time.

“‘Don’t walk away. Keep your head down and cook your food,’” he told Cochran. It was the confidence boost she needed as she showed Moffett her capabilities. But still, something was off, so she started going to therapy.

“I have changed drastically since I first started [at Stagioni]. I came in very hard. I came in very rough, not fun to work with, I’ll be honest. And that took a lot for me to accept and recognize,” Cochran says. “But I’ve made changes, because with that behavior — being too hard, being too New York — it pushed staff away ... And I don’t blame them.”

Cochran wanted to create an environment that fostered empowerment, where her staff felt supported to overcome obstacles while still learning, growing and perfecting their craft. She adjusted her communication style and realized she could be direct without being degrading.

One day, during a busy service in the middle of the summer, she found her sauce cook in the walk-in freezer, stressed and overwhelmed.

“I don’t know where I’m at,” he told Cochran. “The tickets you’re asking for, I don’t have.” In the past, Cochran might have responded with frustration. Instead, she listened attentively and offered him reassurance. Ultimately, the two walked out of the freezer and finished service working side-by-side.

For Cochran, therapy was not only a gift to herself but to her staff, many of whom have been with her for several years now.

“I’m very honored, and I’m really proud of that,” she says. “I want to be their Mark [Forgione]. I want to be their mentor, so when they decide to move on, they can come back and lean on me, and be proud to say that they worked for me because that’s how much Mark means to me. I would love to carry that on.”

GRACE UNDER PRESSURE

Stagioni draws inspiration from its name, which means “seasons” in Italian. The menu changes regularly and is influenced by ingredients grown by local farmers.

“I like to take flavors that are recognizable and kind of turn it into something [a little different],” Cochran says. “For example, everybody knows vodka sauce. Everybody knows spicy vodka sauce. But we did a smoked, spicy vodka sauce because it pulls in a little bit of Southern. [Since we’re in the South], it’s still recognizable. It’s not too weird — it’s tasty, it’s simple, it’s well done.”

A guest favorite is the mortadella pizza, which was inspired by a dish Cochran had on a trip to Brighton, England. Cochran’s version is made with pistachio cream; topped with mozzarella, mortadella, pistachio pesto and basil; finished with a large ball of burrata; and drizzled with hot honey.

In the kitchen, Cochran says she thrives under pressure, which allows her to keep her cool while directing her staff of seven. She knows at what times during service that the pace will pick up, requiring everyone to execute with precision and expedition.

“We can tell the way the dining room sits, the way the tickets come in, but it’s my job to be like, ‘OK, listen to my pace. Don’t worry about the ticket machine that has not stopped for an hour. Just listen to my call and we’ll get through this.’ And then once we do and we can all kind of breathe, I’m like ‘Get ready. It’s going to come again at 8 o’clock.’”

Cochran loves the hustle and bustle, the loud voices, the sound of the sauté pans slamming against the burners and the noise of the dishwasher rumbling. But above all, she loves the laughter of the dining room. Stagioni’s openkitchen design gives her a front-row seat to witness and interact with diners.

“One thing that is probably my favorite … [guests will be] laughing, they’re having a great time. And then when food hits, it goes silent. And I think that’s awesome. That means that they are just enjoying.”

This spring, guests might recognize Cochran outside of the kitchen at Stagioni as one of the participants on Season 23 of the Bravo competition series “Top Chef.” She couldn’t share much about her experience filming, but she admits it was one of the hardest things she has ever done.

At times, she worried about her performance and wondered whether she deserved to be on the show.

After speaking with her therapist, she was reminded how fortunate she was for the opportunity. And while the experience was challenging, she learned about other

cuisines and developed special friendships with other participating chefs.

“I can honestly say that being selected for ‘Top Chef’ … getting to represent my home city of Charlotte … is the greatest honor of my career. To join this amazingly talented group of chefs is a professional highlight. I feel like I have upped my game to a truly national playing field, and I am beyond grateful.”

KEEP THEM COMING BACK

Back at Stagioni, the bartender clears our appetizer plates and another glass of wine is automatically poured.

“Are you going to get your usual or are you going to mix it up?” she asks. “Our usual,” my husband excitedly replies.

While the Spicy Vodka Radiatori is no longer on the menu, Cochran still makes it for us. It’s become something we look forward to each week. As we talk for this story, Cochran tells me that the kitchen made a large batch of vodka sauce before the dish was retired. “We freeze it in portion cups, so that when you guys come, we’ll pull it,” she says. “[When the ticket comes in,] we know Ryan and Olivia are here.”

For the first time during our almost two-hour interview, I don’t know what to say; I am taken aback by this act of kindness. “Oh my goodness, thank you so much,” I manage to reply, though my response doesn’t fully capture the appreciation that I feel for her hospitality.

Stagioni is a neighborhood spot with lots of regulars. Cochran wants to stay true to the dishes that keep guests coming back, like the pizzas and PEI mussels steeped in a white-wine broth with crushed tomatoes and pepperoni. But she’s also ready to begin branching out and pushing boundaries, both on and off the plate.

“It’s not rare that females are in the culinary industry anymore, they are running restaurants and leading kitchens.” And without a doubt, Cochran is one of Charlotte’s rising culinary stars. SP

BAG LADY BRUNCH

Returning on TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2026 | 10:30 AM

Carmel Country Club 4735 Carmel Rd, Charlotte, NC 28226

Purchase your tickets now to bid on hundreds of new and gently used designer handbags, jewelry, experiences, and more!

Keynote Speaker Lorraine Holeman, LPC, LPC-S

To purchase tickets, visit our website.

Hosted by: Patriot Military Family Foundation 129 Fast Lane, Suite 200 Mooresville, NC 28117 (704) 401-2066 | events@pmff.us

Along with the family’s inherited furniture, designer Becky Nielsen helped incorporate a collection of vintage wooden duck decoys throughout the home. Reese Pittman’s great grandfather, Claude Milton Mapp, was a craftsman and avid collector from eastern Virginia. Reese owns about 35 decoys from Mapp’s collection.

NEW TRADITION

Nashville designer Becky Nielsen brings a youthful flair to a Myers Park home filled with family heirlooms. by

Opposite page: Modernizing the kitchen was a top priority for the homeowners. The custom metal hood is one of Kirsten’s favorite details. Designer Becky Nielsen converted a small closet just off the kitchen into a wine room.

KKirsten and Reese Pittman knew they’d need a designer who embraced a traditional style when they set out to remodel their 1951 Myers Park home.

“We inherited a lot of family heirlooms and antique furniture, mostly from Reese’s side of the family, and we knew we wanted to incorporate that into our home,” Kirsten says. A mutual friend referred them to Becky Nielsen, a Nashville, Tennesseebased interior designer.

“We were looking for a designer who really understood the traditional aesthetic, who could incorporate antiques and ‘brown’ furniture while also making it young and fresh. I thought Becky had a beautiful sense of style and does that really well.”

The couple also wanted to create a home that fit their lifestyle as active parents of two young boys. Fortunately, the existing footprint of the two-story, brick home with a wraparound front porch worked well for the family.

“The house always had really good bones, that’s why we bought it — it’s why we liked it,” Kirsten says.

“We didn’t really do anything with the layout,” adds Nielsen, who grew up in North Carolina and relocated to Nashville four years ago after working in New York and Los Angeles for AD100 designer Mark D. Sikes.

In the kitchen, the designer swapped ’90s-era beige cabinets with a classic white Shaker style. Though the footprint didn’t change much, Nielsen suggested replacing three separate, small windows to open up the view. “I wanted to give them a big span of windows over the sink so they could look out.”

Double islands provide separate spaces for meal prep and for dining or doing homework. Soapstone and walnut countertops, beadboard, and a striped Roman shade add subtle texture. A breezy blue-and-white color scheme, rattan counter stools and

white wicker dining chairs evoke feelings of a welcoming Southern porch or sunroom.

In the sunken family room, Nielsen kept the coffered stainedwood ceiling beams but painted them a bright white to match the rest of the trim. New sofas, chairs, draperies and a sisal rug bring a crisp, clean aesthetic to the space.

With a houseful of boys, Nielsen wanted to add a feminine flair in the dining room, via pink silk draperies and a blue-and-white botanical wallpaper.

“We really loved the original wallpaper,” Kirsten says. Nielsen had planned to keep it and build the design around it. Then a minor construction mishap damaged it beyond repair, so Nielsen found a surprisingly similar pattern to replace it.

The primary bath was designed as a serene retreat with a timeless feel, lots of storage and a vanity area — a priority

for Kirsten. Nielsen opted for a bolder look in the adjacent bedroom with a Schumacher wallpaper in a trellis design. She reupholstered the headboard of the antique bed in a dark green to pop against the aqua of the wallpaper. An antique cane-backed bench was refreshed with a new striped fabric seat.

While Nielsen acknowledges the challenge of working with so much existing furniture, she says it’s those time-honored pieces and accessories that give the home a cozy factor. The family room, in particular, turned out better than expected, the designer says. “I really need to give credit to a lot of their things that make it cozy.”

The entire project took about a year, but because the homeowners and designer were aligned from the start, it was a smooth process, Kirsten says.

“We were just super in sync from the beginning on the vision.” SP

FROM FOSSIL TO FAME

At the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, a new dinosaur species paints a different picture of the Cretaceous period as we knew it.

by Hampton Williams Hofer

Step into the SECU DinoLab at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh, and you may find yourself shoulder-to-shoulder with a paleontologist dusting off a specimen or examining a slide with a microscope. This high-tech research laboratory is open to the public, a chance for regular folks to see real science in action. And it’s home to a pair of very famous residents: the Dueling Dinosaurs.

The Dueling Dinosaurs — thought to be the remains of an intact tyrannosaur and Triceratops who died 67 million years ago — are considered perhaps the most significant fossils ever recovered from Montana’s storied Hell Creek Formation. For one, the specimens were nearly complete and exceptionally well-preserved. For another, these two dinosaurs had interacted, likely even died fighting, as evidenced by teeth fragments embedded in the Triceratops. They were first unearthed in 2006 by Clayton Phillips, a Montana rancher and self-styled dinosaur cowboy, who excavated and stored

the specimens while spreading word of his discovery.

By 2016, Lindsay Zanno, head of paleontology at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, had heard of the fossils. She and her team traveled to New York, where the Dueling Dinosaurs were being stored, to verify the legitimacy of the fossils, then on to Montana to examine the conditions of the landscape from which they were excavated.

Convinced of their importance, Zanno, along with the Friends of the NCMNS, worked to raise funds to not only bring the Dueling Dinosaurs to North Carolina, but to build them a new home worthy of what she knew would be one of the most significant paleontological finds of the century. The museum acquired the dinosaurs in 2020 — and got to work.

The museum built a new annex to support the Dueling Dinosaurs’ 31,000 pounds of bone, sediment and plaster. Unlike the way fossils have been treated in the past, the Dueling

Dinosaurs would not be fully excavated and reassembled, but remain within their plaster preparations — all the better to learn clues about how they behaved and appeared. (In the stone surrounding the Triceratops, for example, are impressions left by octagonal formations on its frill, offering insights into how the dinosaur’s skin may have looked and felt.) While paleontologists had historically spent their research work dusting bones in dark museum basements, their work at the NCMNS would literally be brought to light. Visitors can see them, talk to them, ask questions and observe their work in real time. The SECU DinoLab at the NCMNS, which opened in spring 2024, revolutionized the visitor experience with this groundbreaking exhibition.

A SCIENTIFIC GIFT

The remarkably preserved fossils and whatever Cretaceous secrets they held were, as Zanno said at the time, like “a big, unopened Christmas present.” Now, less than two years since the museum welcomed the Dueling Dinosaurs, the first gift has been unwrapped. And it’s a whole new species, flipping decades of T. rex research on its head.

The small tyrannosaur was believed to have been a teenage T. rex for the 20 years since Phillips spotted its pelvis weathering out of the ground. Using CT scans and imaging to look inside the blocks of earth housing the fossils, paleontologists at the NCMNS uncovered characteristics in their tyrannosaur specimen that set it apart from a T. rex, including larger forelimbs, more teeth, fewer tail vertebrae and distinct nerve patterns. In addition, growth rings and spinal-fusion data proved that the specimen was an

adult. But at 18 feet long and 1,500 pounds, it is only around a tenth of the body mass and half the length of a full-grown T. rex.

That meant that the small tyrannosaur is, in fact, a mature Nanotyrannus lancensis.

“The implications are difficult to overstate,” says Zanno. “The fact is, much of our current understanding of T. rex was built on three decades of research that unknowingly mixed data from Nanotyrannus with that of Tyrannosaurus — two different tyrannosaurs that aren’t even closely related. Most of that research now needs a second look.”

Along with co-author Dr. James Napoli, a vertebrate paleontologist at Stony Brook University, Zanno published the findings of their study in Nature this past October.

The scientific gift of the Dueling Dinosaurs exhibit will continue to give, as Nanotyrannus changes much of what paleontologists have believed about history’s most famous dinosaur and the world in which it reigned supreme. A long-standing debate in the realm of paleontology questioned whether Nanotyrannus was a distinct species or simply an adolescent T. rex. Zanno and Napoli showed that the Nanotyrannus at the NCMNS is biologically incompatible with a T. rex — meaning that the T. rex’s dominance in the final million years leading up to the asteroid was not unchallenged. “To me, what’s exciting about this discovery is that it opens the door to a whole new series of questions about how these drastically different predators — one built for brute strength and one built for speed — interacted in the twilight of the dinosaurs. What we can say right now is that life at the end of the Cretaceous was a lot more colorful than we had imagined,” says Zanno.

A DINOSAUR REBORN

Though smaller than T. rex, Nanotyrannus was still a valiant competitor, and a quicker, more agile hunter. Its existence proves that predator diversity at the end of the age of the dinosaurs was richer than previous research suggests. Now, a new question arises: How many other mistakenly identified dinosaur species could be hiding in plain sight?

“Scientists have long debated whether dinosaurs were thriving or diminishing when the asteroid struck,” Zanno says. “Without understanding the number of dinosaurs alive at the time and the ecological roles they filled, we cannot document how mass-extinction events have shaped life on our planet in the past, nor how they are likely to affect us in the future.”

Zanno and Napoli conducted exhaustive research before releasing their findings in Nature, work supported by the State of North Carolina, N.C. State University, the Friends of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and the Dueling Dinosaurs Capital Campaign. Their process included examining more than 200 other tyrannosaur fossils. One of those, like the specimen at the museum, was originally believed to be a teenage T. rex, but also ended up being a fully-grown Nanotyrannus Interestingly, this specimen differed enough from Nanotyrannus lancensis at the museum for them to conclude it was, in fact, a new species entirely. (Zanno and Napoli named it Nanotyrannus lethaeus after the underworld River Nethe in Greek Mythology, where souls who drank the water forgot their past lives and were ready to be reborn.)

“Nanotyrannus was clearly an animal capable of speed,

darting about on long limbs, unlike its bulkier cousin, T. rex. It also had powerful, dextrous arms, large hands, a shorter tail and unserrated peg-like teeth at the front of the mouth — oddly, not that dissimilar from yours and mine,” says Zanno. “But how fast could it run? How did it hunt? What was its favorite prey?” I am excited to dive into Nanotyrannus itself. We know next to nothing about its biology; in a very real way, this is a dinosaur being reborn to the scientific community.”

ONLY THE BEGINNING

The specimens at the NCMNS have affectionately been named after two North Carolina locations. Murphy, the Triceratops, is named for the westernmost town in the state, signifying the strength and longevity of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Manteo, the Nanotyrannus, is named for the coastal town on Roanoke Island, home to The Lost Colony and the original American mystery. It suits the Nanotyrannus, a name that now represents question, discovery and the spirit of exploration.

Zanno says this is just the beginning.

“We have decades of incredible research in the pipeline on the Dueling Dinosaurs. This is all made possible not just by the outstanding preservation of the fossil carcasses and the talent and dedication of the team we have put together, but also by the community backing we have received,” says Zanno. “The people of North Carolina and beyond banded together to protect these fossils for science and the public alike — a powerful force for good that will continue to pay dividends. We simply can’t wait to keep sharing the excitement with all.” SP

CLASSY COASTAL

The 40-year-old Sanderling Resort gets a top-to-bottom redesign, with a new restaurant from acclaimed North Carolina chef Vivian Howard. by

Andrea Cooper

Welcoming flames from the firepit toasted us and our marshmallows in equal measure as we huddled and laughed in the 40-degree chill. It was my family’s first night at The Sanderling, named by readers of Condé Nast Traveler last year as the top resort in the South. We would feel plenty of other warm moments during our winter stay at this recently redesigned resort in tiny Duck on the Outer Banks.

The Sanderling takes full advantage of the resort’s pristine location, framed by the Atlantic Ocean and the Currituck Sound just 200 yards away. A redesign last year by Ward + Gray encourages relaxation with a palette of soft beachy colors, four-poster beds, textured fabrics and rooms with balconies overlooking the sound, dunes or ocean. The two-story main beach house — The Sanderling’s first building constructed in 1985 — offers cozy nooks to enjoy the views or play games. Accommodations include 123 guest rooms and six vacation homes. A new venue with views of the sound hosts weddings and special events.

The renovation brought acclaimed chef Vivian Howard to The Sanderling in the form of her new seasonal restaurant, Theodosia. Howard, author of The New York Times bestseller Deep Run Roots: Stories and Recipes from My Corner of the South and star of the PBS show “A Chef’s Life,” plays with Southern flavors and the sea’s bounty on the menu. Diners can blend the two: Start with the clam chowder with soft-shell crab nuggets, followed by the blueberry BBQ duck entree, with lemon pie or muscadine sorbet for dessert. Theodosia will open for the season by Mother’s Day.

One hallmark of luxury is having more than you need where you are. Activities at The Sanderling are developed with on-site convenience in mind. Guests can start the day with a guided yoga session by the ocean and breakfast at the Lifesaving Station. The resort’s casual restaurant is located in the renovated Caffey’s Inlet Life Saving Station No. 5 from 1899, where teams once saved shipwreck survivors and their cargo.

The Sanderling’s sizable pools include a zero-entry version for kids and a separate adults-only “tranquility” pool. On the property, Kitty Hawk Kites offers surfboard, kayak and paddleboard rentals. The company can also book adventures from spearfishing to horseback riding on the beach to parasailing.

Bikes are complimentary for exploring the Duck Boardwalk with its shops, spectacular sunsets and prime spots for watching egrets, willets and other waterfowl on Currituck Sound. (Hey, there’s a reason this place is called Duck.) Coastal painting kits, movie nights, s’mores setups by the fire and stargazing are other low-key pleasures. If all that activity makes you want to lie down, do it in style at the resort’s spa. I can vouch for the couple’s massage, topped off by a cool drink on the patio overlooking the sound. Next time, I’d try a warm bamboo massage to ease tight muscles from too many

EXCURSIONS NEARBY

• We had one of our best Outer Banks meals at N.C. Coast Grill & Bar in Duck. Try the cast-iron scallops in a black-cherry gastrique, set atop wild mushrooms.

• See Corolla’s legendary herd of wild horses. We booked an open-air tour with Corolla Outback Adventures and appreciated the guide’s knowledgeable commentary about the Spanish mustangs who have lived here since the 1500s. Maybe you’ll get lucky and see ponies galloping on the beach or playing in the surf. Even the sight of wild horses munching on shrubbery in a remote neighborhood, accessible only by a 4x4 vehicle on the beach, was magnetic.

• The Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills is a fascinating introduction into the two men who helped all of us fly.

• Explore downtown Manteo with its appealing waterfront, restaurants and shops. Highlights include River Walk Gallery featuring local artists, Downtown Books with Outer Banks titles, and Mia’s Bake Shop & Tea Room with homemade treats.

• Take in a classic movie or show at The Pioneer Theater in Manteo, which calls itself “the oldest family-owned independent theater in the country,” founded in 1918. Artifacts in the lobby include a photo of a local boy who made good and a ladder with an illustrious history. The photo shows actor and Manteo resident Andy Griffith on the ladder, adding his name to the marquee to promote the East Coast premiere of his 1957 debut movie, A Face in the Crowd.

hours at the computer. Should your pup need a vacation too, he can stay for an additional fee and receive a bed, bowls, bandana and peanut butter treat upon check-in. Duck was 17 years away from being incorporated as a town when The Sanderling opened in 1985. Though the population swells to more than 20,000 during the peak summer season, Duck’s year-round residents number fewer than a thousand. That’s part of the charm, combined with a surprisingly walkable “downtown.”

Some families return to the Outer Banks year after year for family trips. Charlotteans typically choose closer summer destinations like Carolina Beach or Isle of Palms. A little more time in the car gets you to a place where it feels like the sand, wind and sky all began.

GETTING THERE: Located on the Northern Outer Banks, Duck is about a 6-hour drive from Charlotte. SP

LAND OF CASTLES

From Dublin to Dromoland: A couples’ road trip across Ireland in search of whiskey, writers and wild Atlantic views. by

Krisha Chachra

From coast to coast, Ireland’s lush landscapes, literary history and pub culture make it an ideal destination for an adult adventure. Castle hopping is popular — there are about 30,000 of them across the country — and the running joke is that tourists eventually tire of “ABC” (another bloody castle).

Only a handful have been converted into luxury accommodations. Ashford Castle, an 800-year-old stronghold in County Mayo, is perhaps the most famous. But on a recent couples’ trip, we discovered that Ireland’s true romance lies elsewhere: wandering into restaurants, singing along with live musicians, popping into museums and listening to stories in Irish pubs.

Irish poet and playwright Brendan Behan once wrote that he was “a drinker with a writer’s problem.” After a few days in Dublin, it’s hard not to notice the inverse. Ireland is a nation of writers with a thirst — one that is quenched often.

Storyteller and tour guide Sean Cuddy explained that after gaining independence from Britain in 1922, Ireland was plunged into a painful civil war. Rather than glorifying the generals and politicians who remind them of this “embarrassing time in history,” the country honors its identity through art and language. Statues of James Joyce (at least four in Dublin) stand on street corners, Oscar Wilde reclines in a public park, and music spills out of pubs at all hours. It’s a culture that welcomes you in easily — especially if you’re willing to share a pint, a bowl of stew and a good story.

PINTS AND PASSAGES

For a spirited immersion into Dublin’s literary life, reserve a spot on one of the city’s famed literary pub crawls. Led by actors and professional storytellers, our tour unfolded more like a performance than a history lesson. Colm and John, longtime musicians and actors, guided us through pubs once frequented by Joyce, Wilde, Samuel Beckett, George Bernard Shaw, W.B. Yeats and Michael Collins, an Irish revolutionary and soldier. Between pints, they recite passages from Ulysses, read aloud letters between writers and lovers, and sing ballads that quickly turn into group singalongs. Dublin, they remind us, is a city where literature isn’t studied quietly — it’s “argued, sung, toasted and very much alive.”

We ventured out from The Duke to Davy Byrne’s to O’Neill’s, and onward to The Old Stand, sipping Irish whiskey and soaking in their stories.

“All ballads are living ghosts,” Colm told us. “And all ghosts long for a living voice.”

Historic voices are preserved at Trinity College, one of the world’s oldest universities, founded in 1592. The Book of Kells, housed in the Long Room of the Old Library, has survived Viking raids, underground burial, theft and restoration. Written by monks around 800 A.D., the illuminated manuscript contains the four Gospels of the New Testament painstakingly illustrated and adorned by hand. Soon, the library will undergo major renovations,

and the book will be temporarily relocated as preservationists digitize it in 3D. Marble busts of great thinkers that now line the Old Library will be replaced by talking holograms, debating their ideas and expertise with each other during the restoration.

No visit to Dublin is complete without a stop at the Jameson Distillery, offering insights — and samples — of the whiskey that defines Irish hospitality, or the Guinness Storehouse, which tells the story of a stout so iconic it’s synonymous with Irish identity.

At the end of the tour, we posed for a photo later printed onto the foam of a perfectly poured pint — totally touristy and totally fun.

FROM CITY TO COUNTRYSIDE

After a few days in Dublin, we rented a car and ventured west, trading city streets for rolling countryside. Adjusting to driving on the left side of the road, we took it slow along the M7 motorway and paused in Limerick. At Katie Dalys pub, just steps from King

John’s Castle (ABC!), we ordered pints and attempted to recite limericks — pulling from memory and the internet — earning applause from amused patrons.

The landscape unfurled like a green silk carpet as we arrived at Dromoland Castle. Constructed during the Renaissance and rebuilt in the early 19th century, the castle now operates as a luxury hotel, complete with tapestry ceilings, grand rooms and European elegance. Guests can golf, book spa and massage treatments on quartz tables, practice morning meditation, or learn falconry. At night, ballad singers perform by the fire, taking requests as guests sing along, nightcaps in hand.

Just a short drive from Dromoland are the Cliffs of Moher. Climb the path that leads above the rock face and peer down at the Atlantic Ocean crashing below. As the wind whips violently around you, it is easy to feel fragile atop the towering cliffs. For a different perspective, we boarded a small boat from Doolin Pier, a private “seafari” with suspension seating to absorb the waves. From the water, the sea stacks — giant stones standing apart from the cliffs — appear otherworldly, their vertical faces dotted with nesting seabirds, their bases battered endlessly by surf.

row houses along the river, while fast-footed dancers take center stage at Trad on the Prom — a local showcase of dancers who once toured with Lord of the Dance or Riverdance. International flags fly above the Latin Quarter in a nod to Galway’s global population, and renowned writers’ statues appear again — on benches, in parks, on bustling corners.

The boat carried us onward to Inisheer, one of the Aran Islands, home to just 350 residents whose families have lived there for generations. We explored on foot and by horse-drawn carriage, visiting a famous shipwreck stranded improbably on the shore. Local lore suggests the iconic Aran sweaters were once knit with distinct family patterns so fishermen could be identified if lost at sea.

A LITTLE SONG & DANCE

Continuing north, we stopped in Galway, the cultural heart of western Ireland. A stay at Glenlo Abbey offered emerald fairways, manicured gardens and a dining-car restaurant housed in a vintage train. In the city, medieval walls frame the world famous pastel

Returning to Dublin, we made time for the National Museum and the National Library of Ireland, home to a permanent W.B. Yeats exhibit. On our final night at The Shelbourne, we wandered downstairs to the 1824 Bar, once again enveloped by literary quotes on the walls. Brendan Behan’s words echoed once more: “I only drink on two occasions — when I’m thirsty, and when I’m not.”

Thirsty for one last taste of Ireland, we ended at Temple Bar, where a Joyce statue stands guard at the entrance as musicians lead singalongs inside. Strangers press shoulder to shoulder, voices belting out familiar Irish bar songs. Don’t worry if you arrive alone — here, they’ll tell you, there are no strangers. Only friends you haven’t met yet. SP

MORE THAN JUST A CONVERSATION

PARTNER FIRST, PRODUCER SECOND

Evrybdy Studios knows how to tell a story, and they want to tell yours. Robbie Shaw, Founder and CEO of the studio and creator of podcast “Champagne Problems,” realized he had a passion and love for the art of conversation. He wanted the conversations he was having around mental health, adversity, and perseverance to be accessible beyond the scope of a one on one interaction. The answer? Going digital. He founded Evrybdy Studios with a team of “audio/video creators and marketing experts” who are excitingly ahead of the game when it comes to utilizing authentic conversation to establish trust, thought leadership, and brand awareness.

THE FUTURE OF BRANDING

Robbie and the team create full-service podcast solutions for businesses ranging from brand strategy to production and distribution. With today’s shift towards digital-first marketing solutions, Evrybdy Studios hasn’t just jumped on the bandwagon, they’ve started to drive it. In just two years, they’ve curated content from world-class experts, brand sponsorships and renowned guests, and have garnered more than 400k downloads across their client podcasts.

STANDING OUT AND MAKING ROOM

In a world where podcasts and audio/visual services seem saturated, Evrybdy Studios stands out by serving B2B and B2C organizations, helping them reach their target audience. “It’s not about popularity, it’s about getting information, thought leadership, and brand awareness to the exact people you’re trying to reach,” says Robbie about the intention and purpose behind podcasting. They carefully and masterfully create unique packages for each client considering business needs, making room for your stories and sharing your conversations with everybody.

Modern Legal

Calm leadership, genuine advocacy and meticulous strategy define this family law and mediation practice. From the first phone call to final resolution, Modern Legal is committed to delivering what they call an “Awesome Without Exception” experience – one grounded in clear communication, high standards and a deep respect for the people they serve. Practice founder and family law attorney Theresa Viera and family law attorney and certified mediator Deb Dilman were recognized in this year’s Legal Elite in Family Law for good reason. Of note, Theresa was named the 2026 Family Law Hall of Fame Winner by Legal Elite, Business North Carolina.

Practicing both family law and mediation allows the firm to support clients at their most vulnerable while also offering a dignified path forward. In legal representation, the team provides steady guidance through complex and emotional issues such as child custody, child support, spousal support and equitable distribution. In mediation, they help individuals step out of conflict and into collaboration, crafting customized agreements that reflect real lives, not one-size-fits-all court orders.

The work is deeply personal, and moments of transformation solidify the firm’s purpose. Whether helping a homeless mother move from crisis to stability or watching parties who once felt worlds apart find common ground for the sake of their children, the Modern Legal team witnesses daily proof that the best results happen when heart and expertise work together. Guided by values of empowerment, perseverance and innovation, the team leads with honesty, clarity and a desire to advocate with a genuine heart. They help clients understand their options to choose the path that best protects their goals. Above all, the firm wants clients to know this: You are not alone. Modern Legal supports people through life’s hardest transitions, helping people regain control of their lives to push forward with confidence.

CELEBRATING EXCELLENCE:

CHARLOTTE’S TOP LAWYERS IN SELECTED SPECIALTIES RECOGNIZED AMONG NORTH CAROLINA’S 25TH CLASS OF LEGAL ELITE

Each year, SouthPark’s sister publication, Business North Carolina, publishes a list of the state’s Legal Elite, attorneys chosen by their peers as being top in their field. To identify the 25th Legal Elite class, Business North Carolina contracted DataJoe Research, a Boulder, Colorado-based software and research company specializing in data collection and verification.

DataJoe facilitated an online peer-voting process of all active members of the North Carolina Bar. Attorneys without an active license or who had disciplinary infractions were excluded from the list. Lawyers can’t vote for themselves or for members of the Legal Elite Hall of Fame (previous top vote-getters in a particular specialty). Votes for attorneys from another firm are weighted more heavily than votes for colleagues at the same firm. For research/methodology questions, contact the research team at surveys@datajoe.com.

DataJoe and Business North Carolina recognize that there are many talented lawyers who are not listed. This is a subset of talented professionals across the state. Inclusion in the list is based on the opinions of responding lawyers in North Carolina. DataJoe thoroughly ensures fair voting, but the company understands that the results of this survey nomination and internet research campaign are not an objective metric.

This year, fewer than 1,100 lawyers were selected as Legal Elite. In this section, we highlight Legal Elite winners practicing in selected specialties in the Charlotte region. To view the full list, visit: businessnc.com/legal-elite.

Business North Carolina’s 2026 LEGAL ELITE

Four McIlveen Family Law attorneys selected Angela McIlveen • Joshua L. Finney • Alexander French • Jack Taggart

This marks the 25th class of Business North Carolina’s Legal Elite—honoring the state’s top lawyers as chosen by their peers. Fewer than 1,100 made the list, compared with more than 30,000 attorneys regulated by the North Carolina State Bar.

McIlveen Family Law represents clients across North Carolina in complex divorce, custody, support, and high-asset matters—where privacy, strategy, and long-term stability matter. Whether a case resolves through negotiation, mediation, or the courtroom, our team brings clear advice, thorough preparation, and calm leadership from start to finish.

Trusted counsel for life’s highest-stakes transitions. Charlotte + Raleigh strength. Statewide reach.

With offices in Charlotte, Gastonia, and Raleigh, we’re built to serve families throughout North Carolina. North Carolina Board Certified Family Law Specialists in every office.

BANKRUPTCY

Stacy C. Cordes, Cordes Law

David R. Badger, David R. Badger

Joseph W. Grier, Grier Wright Martinez

Michael Leon Martinez, Grier Wright Martinez

Melanie Raubach, Hamilton Stephens Steele + Martin

Glenn Clark Thompson, Hamilton Stephens Steele + Martin

Matthew Alexander Winer, Hamilton Stephens Steele + Martin

Cole Hayes, Hayes Law

Lydia C. Stoney, Hendren Redwine & Malone

Richard B. Fennell, James McElroy & Diehl

Trey Rayburn, McGuire Woods

Andrew Thomas Houston, Moon Wright Houston

Luis Manuel Lluberas, Moore & Van Allen

Alan W. Pope, Moore & Van Allen

Paul Rudd Baynard, Offit Kurman Attorneys At Law

Chip Ford, Parker Poe

Jack Miller, Rayburn Cooper & Durham

Richard Rayburn, Rayburn Cooper & Durham

David M. Shilli, Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson

Andrew W.J. Tarr, Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson

Ronald D.P. Bruckmann, Schumacher Loop & Kendrick

Felton E. Parrish, Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor

HALL OF FAME: J. Michael Booe, Kennedy Covington (2002, 2003); C. Richard Rayburn Jr., Rayburn Cooper & Durham (2006); Richard S. Wright, Moon Wright and

Houston (2016); Heather W. Culp, Essex Richards (2017); John “Woody” C. Woodman, Essex Richards (2021); Matt Tomsic, Rayburn Cooper & Durham (2023)

BUSINESS

Thomas Duke Ricks, Alexander Ricks

Stephen M. Bennett, Arnold & Smith

Matthew R. Joyner, Bishop Dulaney Joyner & Abner

William P. Bray, Bray & Long

Fred Parker, Gardner Skelton

Catherine A. Barnes, James McElroy & Diehl

Nick Kendall, Johnston Allison & Hord

David Scott Rugani, Johnston Allison & Hord

Katherine Kliebert, Kliebert Law

Carolyn P. Meade, Moore & Van Allen

Joseph W. Norman, Moore & Van Allen

Rob Rust, Moore & Van Allen

Scott Cooper, Rayburn Cooper & Durham

Ross Fulton, Rayburn Cooper & Durham

Jacob A. Johnson, Robertson & Associates

Patrick S. Bryant, Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson

Caroline Wannamaker Sink, Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson

Philip S. Chubb, Shumaker

Loop & Kendrick

Paul A. Steffens, Troutman

Pepper Locke

Sophia Pappalardo, Willmer Caudill

Matt Villmer, Willmer Caudill

Patrick T. Strubbe, Womble

Bond Dickinson

HALL OF FAME: Russell

M. Robinson II, Robinson,

Bradshaw & Hinson (2002, 2003); J. Norfleet Pruden III, Kennedy Covington (2005); Robin L. Hinson, Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson (2007); Peter C. Buck, Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson (2008); Stephen M. Lynch, Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson (2011); Matthew Marcellino, Marcellino & Tyson (2020);

Daniel Stephen Trimmer, Skufca Law (2022); Heather Culp, Essex Richards (2024); Milton Heath Gilbert Jr., Baucom, Claytor, Benton, Morgan & Wood (2025)

CRIMINAL

Daniel D. Adams, McLendon Humphrey & Leonard

Elizabeth Freeman Greene, Bradley Arant Boult Cummings

Christopher C. Fialko, Fialko Law

W. Rob Heroy, Goodman Carr

George V. Laughrun III, Goodman Carr Laughrun Levine & Greene

James Bradley Smith, James B. Smith

Christopher A. Connelly, Law Office of Christopher A. Connelly

Aaron R. Lee, Lee & Lee Law Firm, Huntersville

Tim Cannady, Leitner Bragg & Griffin, Monroe

Tee Leitner, Leitner Bragg & Griffin, Monroe

Jason C. St. Aubin, Marcilliat & Mills

Adam AJ Hauser II, Mecklenburg County Public Defender’s Office

Tanisha Palvia, Moore & Van Allen

Diane DePietropaolo Price, Olsinski Injury Family and Criminal Lawyers

Brian S. Cromwell, Parker Poe

Bill Powers, Powers Law Firm

Tony Scheer, Rawls Scheer

Clary & Mingo

Eli Timberg, Rawls Scheer

Clary & Mingo

Bradford F. Icard, The Icard Law Firm

Christine Elizabeth ClarkePeckham, The Law Office of Chrissy Clarke-Peckham

C. Melissa “Missy” Owen, Tin Fulton Walker & Owen

Noell P. Tin, Tin Fulton Walker & Owen

Robert A. Blake Jr., Wyatt & Blake

HALL OF FAME: James F. Wyatt III, Wyatt & Blake (2005); James P. Cooney III, Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice (2008); T. Patrick Matus II, Essex Richards (2010); David S. Rudolf, Rudolf, Widenhouse & Fialko (2011); Michael J. Greene, Goodman, Carr, Laughrun, Levine & Greene (2014); Robert K. Corbett III, Law Offices of Harold Cogdell Jr. (2015); Ryan T. Smith, RTS Law Group (2016); George V. Laughrun II, Goodman, Carr, Laughrun, Levine & Greene (2017); Rob Heroy, Goodman, Carr, Laughrun, Levine & Greene (2023)

FAMILY

Courtney Lynn Carter, Arnold & Smith

Anastasia Cowan, Arnold & Smith

Corey Alexander Noland, Arnold & Smith

Rachel D. Rogers Hamrick, Charlotte Collaborative Divorce

Candace S. Faircloth, Collins Family & Elder Law Group, Monroe

Mallory A. Willink, Conrad

Trosch & Kemmy

Meghan A. Van Vynckt, Cordes Law

Lindsey S. Dasher, Dasher Law, Matthews

David Kenneth Self, David Self Law, Cornelius

Allison Holstein, Dozier Miller Law Group

Dara Duncan Larson, Duncan Larson Law

Lindsey Easterling, Easterling Law, Matthews

Kathryn Yates, Easterling Law, Matthews

Lydia Bree Laughrun, Essex Richards

Lauren Vaughn Lewis, Essex Richards

Rebecca J. Lawrence, Freedom Law NC

Tonya Graser Smith, GraserSmith

Elizabeth Johnston James, Hamilton Stephens Steele + Martin

Kyle Frost, Hamilton Stephens Steele + Martin

Mark D. Riopel, Hamilton Stephens Steele + Martin

Gena Graham Morris, James McElroy & Diehl

Kavita Christina Desai, James McElroy & Diehl

Jonathan Daniel Feit, James McElroy & Diehl

Lauren Ellis Leader, James McElroy & Diehl

John Paul Tsahakis, James McElroy & Diehl

Nicole Applefield Engel, Johnston Allison & Hord

Irene Patrice King, King Collaborative Family Law

Matthew Krueger-Andes, Krueger-Andes Law

Carolyn Lovejoy KruegerAndes, Krueger-Andes Law

Jordan Griffin, Leitner Bragg & Griffin, Monroe

Angela M. Watkins, Leitner Bragg & Griffin, Monroe

Tara Austin Harrawood,

Marcellino & Tyson

Jennifer P. Moore, Marcellino & Tyson

Danielle Jessica Walle, Marcellino & Tyson

Joshua L. Finney, McIlveen Family Law

Alexander French, McIlveen Family Law, Gastonia

Angela White McIlveen, McIlveen Family Law, Gastonia

John Taggart, McIlveen Family Law, Gastonia

Theresa Eileen Viera, Modern Legal

Deborah L. Dilman, Modern Legal

David Matthew Krusch, Plumides Romano & Johnson

Chelsea E. Gajewski, Sodoma Law

Penelope Lazarou Hefner, Sodoma Law

Paul Doughton Horton, Sodoma Law

Robin M. Lalley, Sodoma Law

Lillie Ashworth, Soni Brendle

Andrew Steven Brendle, Soni Brendle

David Christopher Herring, The Law Firm of David Christopher Herring

Tamela T. Wallace, The Law Office of Tamela T. Wallace

Courtney Hamer Smith, Tin

Fulton Walker & Owen

Rebecca Wofford, Wofford Law

J. Huntington Wofford, Wofford Law

Tiasha L. Wray, Wray Law Firm

HALL OF FAME: Richard D. Stephens, Dozier, Miller, Pollard & Murphy (2009); Stan Brown, Hamilton Stephens Steele + Martin (2013); Rob Blair, Essex Richards (2016); Ketan P. Soni, Soni Brendle (2023); Theresa Viera, Modern Legal (2026)

REAL ESTATE

Brittnay Morgan Franklin, Alexander Ricks

Jonathan Peter Goldberg, Alexander Ricks

Mark Hanson, Alexander Ricks

Daniel Adam Merlin, Alexander Ricks

Mary Burgett Ashley, Ashley Law Firm

Brooks F. Jaffa, Cranford Buckley Schultze Tomchin Allen & Buie

Marshall Horsman III, Fox Rothschild

LaDeidre Dianne Matthews, Fox Rothschild

Susan K. Irvin, Irvin Law Group

Angelika B. Drossopoulos, James McElroy & Diehl

Catherine Barr, Johnston Allison & Hord

John R. Buben Jr., Johnston Allison & Hord

Robert George Lindauer Jr., Johnston Allison & Hord

Jeanne A. Pearson, Johnston Allison & Hord

Brian J. Schoeck, Johnston Allison & Hord

Cameron Todd Ware, Johnston Allison & Hord

William B. Kirk Jr., Kirk Palmer & Thigpen

Derek M. Wisniewski, Kirk Palmer & Thigpen

Peter F. Morgan, Knipp Law Office, Belmont

Sarah Lucente, Kunkleman & Lucente

Gary McDermott, McDermott Law, Waxhaw

Evan Michael Bass, Moore & Van Allen

M. Brien Bowlin Jr., Paladin Law, Huntersville

John F. Renger III, Renger

Reynolds

Christopher W. Loeb, Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson

James Scott Efird, St Amand & Efird

Lawrence “Larry” Joseph Shaheen Jr., The McIntosh Law Firm, Davidson

Janeen Miller Hogue, The Miller Hogue Law Firm

Walter D. Fisher Jr., Troutman Pepper Locke

Stephanie E. Greer, Troutman

Pepper Locke

Andrew McCullough, Venn Law Group

Hunter S. Edwards, Womble Bond Dickinson

Kent Jones, Womble Bond

Dickinson

HALL OF FAME: Brent A. Torstrick, Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson (2006); Timothy G. Sellers, Sellers, Hinshaw, Ayers, Dortch & Lyons (2010); George W. Sistrunk III, Hamilton Stephens Steele & Martin (2012); Diana R. Palecek, Fox Rothschild (2021)

TAX & ESTATE PLANNING

Beth Wood, Alexander Ricks

Thomas A. Cooper, Austin Cooper Legal

J. Michael Wilson, Bradley Arant Boult Cummings

Jeneva Alicia Vazquez, Bray & Long

John T. Burns, Burns & Gray, Monroe

Christian P. Cherry, Crisp Cherry McCraw

Stanton P. Geller, Culp Elliot & Carpenter

Julie Marion Bradlow, Darrow Everett

Janice L. Davies, Davies Law

Mary Kay Baynard, James McElroy & Diehl

Kelly Rains Jesson, Jesson & Rains

S. Kyle Agee, Johnston Allison & Hord

Lauren S. Martin, Johnston Allison & Hord

Holly Berry Harris Norvell, Johnston Allison & Hord, Charlotte

Stacy M. Reid Monroe, Johnston Allison & Hord

Joseph D. Shealy, Johnston Allison & Hord

Lucy Siler, Johnston Allison & Hord

Stephanie Daniel, Kirk Palmer & Thigpen

Margaret Troy Kocaj, Kocaj Consulting

Adrienne R. Cherry, Leitner

Bragg & Griffin, Monroe

Robert D. Lyerly Jr., Maynard Nexsen

Bradley T. Van Hoy, Moore &

Van Allen

C. Wells Hall III, Nelson

Mullins Riley & Scarborough

Andrew Lamberson Nesbitt, Nesbitt Law

Tanya Nicole Oesterreich, Oesterreich Law, Concord

Andrew F. Dana, Parker Poe

Jeffery J. Morris, Parker Poe

Christian L. Perrin, Perrin Legal

Deni C. Pifer, Pifer Estate Law

John W. Forneris, Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson

Sabrina Winters, Sabrina

Winters Attorney at Law

Maria Magdalena Sattersfield, Sattersfield Legal

Warren P. Kean, Shumaker

Loop & Kendrick

Holly Simpson, Simpson Law

Jeremy Todd Canipe, The Canipe Law Firm

Louise M. Paglen, The McIntosh Law Firm, Davidson

Sarah Warren, Trinity Partners

HALL OF FAME: W. Curtis Elliott Jr., Culp Elliott & Carpenter (2004); Ray S. Farris, Johnston Allison & Hord (2005); Christy Eve Reid (died May 8, 2014), Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson (2009); Graham D. Holding Jr., Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson (2012); Debra L. Foster, Foster Royal (2017); Jessica Mering Hardin, Robinson Bradshaw &

Hinson (2021); Brooks Jaffa, Cranford, Buckley Schultze, Tomchin, Allen & Buie (2022); Heidi Elizabeth Royal, Heidi Royal Law (2025)

YOUNG GUNS

Lauren Trask Millovitsch, Creamer Millovitsch, Davidson

Lindsey Umin, David Self Family Law and Mediation, Cornelius

Julia Kirby Stage, Essex Richards

Alexa Marie Voss, Godley Glazer & Funk, Cornelius

Austin Dutch Entwistle III, Hartsell & Williams

Tonya Graser Smith is a North Carolina Board Certified Specialist in Family Law and has helped families move through divorce her entire legal career. Tonya stands by your side throughout preparations, negotiations, and through final resolution. Tonya’s professional knowledge and expertise minimizes the stress and strain on your family by helping you resolve delicate and complex legal matters.

GraserSmith, PLLC is your Charlotte divorce and family law specialist

grasersmith.com | 704-626-6795 223 EAST BOULEVARD, CHARLOTTE, NC 28203

Attorneys, Concord

Trent S. Allard, Johnston

Allison & Hord

Thomas G. Gardner, Johnston Allison & Hord

Alexander Nibert, Johnston Allison & Hord

J. Nate Pierce, Johnston Allison & Hord

Jaylyn N. Powell, Johnston Allison & Hord

Jackson Connelly Pridgen, Johnston Allison & Hord

Diane B. Burks, Katten Muchin Rosenman

Joseph Robert Shealy, Katten

Muchin Rosenman

Tyler Peacock, Lord & Lindley

Alexis Gadzinski, Marcellino & Tyson

Vanden G. Nibert, McGuire Woods

Ashley B. Oldfield, Rayburn Cooper & Durham

Joseph Walton Milam III, Rosenwood Rose & Litwak

Rhett N. Butler, Shumaker Loop & Kendrick

Cameron S. Williams, Skufca Law

HALL OF FAME: J. Christian Stevenson, Kirk Palmer & Thigpen (2012); Aaron Lay, Hamilton Stephens Steele + Martin (2016); Matthew T. Marcellino, Marcellino & Tyson (2018); Nancy S. Litwak, Rosenwood, Rose & Litwak (2019); Carl Burchette, Rosenwood, Rose & Litwak (2022)

DISCLAIMERS:

DataJoe uses best practices and exercises great care in assembling content for this list. DataJoe does not warrant that the data contained within the list are complete or accurate. DataJoe does not assume, and hereby disclaims, any liability to any person for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions herein whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident or any other cause. All rights reserved. No commercial use of the information in this list may be made without written permission from DataJoe. For research/methodology questions, contact the research team at surveys@datajoe.com. SP

swirl

A monthly guide to Charlotte’s parties and galas

Savor Something New

Sponsored by Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority Platform by the James Beard Foundation

February 5

Ten of Charlotte’s acclaimed chefs and mixologists presented a special dinner in New York City at one of the most highly-regarded stages in American food culture. Guests included national culinary media, content creators and food entrepreneurs. photographs by Max Flatow

A monthly guide to Charlotte’s parties and galas

Induction Ceremony

Class of 2026 NASCAR Hall of Fame

Crown Ballroom

January 23

NASCAR drivers and fans applauded inductees Kurt Busch, Harry Gant and Ray Hendrick. Humpy Wheeler was honored posthumously with the Landmark Award, while Deb Williams was honored with the Squier-Hall Media Excellence award.

photographs by Daniel Coston

32nd Annual MLK Holiday Breakfast

benefiting YMCA Charlotte Charlotte Convention Center

January 19

Charlotte Hornets executive Shelly Cayette-Weston delivered the keynote, as attendees from across the Charlotte area shared breakfast and fellowship together.

photographs by Daniel Coston

The

November

Patrons

photographs by Daniel Coston

OLD GROWTH

Defying gravity: Hoss Haley’s 40-foot, Jenga-like sculpture by Michael J. Solender photograph by Justin Driscoll

Public artworks often face layers of permitting and oversight, though they typically don’t need FAA approval.

Yet before metal artist Hoss Haley could install his 40-foot-high steel and concrete sculpture, Old Growth, at Modern Aviation (formerly Wilson Air Center) adjacent to Charlotte Douglas International Airport, he needed the government agency’s OK.

With a distinctive rust- and earthen-colored patina, 27 elongated hollow steel boxes are stacked and spread out to form a 40-foot-wide canopy. The work is fashioned in a way that, for some, evokes a towering oak tree reaching for the sky. Others see a Jenga-like structure — blocks akimbo, shifting in the wind and failing to yield to both gravity and the laws of physics.

Fabricated from 25 tons of high-strength, weather-resistant steel alloy, the piece is supported by a 150,000-pound concrete base. The work was commissioned by the Charlotte Arts & Science Council and the Public Art Commission and was installed in 2015.

Haley, who lives near Penland in western North Carolina, says Old Growth is the largest piece he’s ever designed. He notes that despite the work’s enormous scale, the precision required in aligning the boxes — which are bolted together from the inside — offered little margin for error.

“There were places where the crane operator couldn’t see where the piece was going,” Haley

recalls. “I would direct the crane in close — within a foot or so — and then my assistant, inside the piece, had a radio and he would guide the crane in the rest of the way.”

Hayley said the payoff on installation day is when he sees the crane operators come around.

“On projects like this, the crew always comes in doubtful,” Haley says. “They know construction, not art, and assume something’s bound to go wrong. I remember the foreman, after we set the fourth piece, coming over wide-eyed saying, ‘I think we’re actually going to get this whole thing up today.’ He had no idea how many sleepless nights I had to make sure of it. The best part is when the language shifts from, ‘You can’t do that,’ to ‘We’ve got this.’”

Though the work projects a singular and solitary nature, its scale suggests it may be part of a stately forest.

After all, Charlotte is the City of Trees. SP

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