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3 The 2026 A/PERTURE SUMMER CAMP will feature sessions for elementary, middle, and high-school students, as well as specialty camps focusing on 1970s New Hollywood for high-schoolers, a weekly camp for adults, and the return of the Girls + Screen program.
4 “ SIGHT UNSEEN,” a low-budget, independent chiller, doesn’t break new ground or offer any startling new takes on the haunted-house genre, but serves as a calling card for writer/producer/ editor/director Stephen Parkhurst, who makes his feature debut, and the lead trio of Lauren Pisano, Daniel Burns, and Kellie Sill.
6 Last week, a 10-year-old boy was bullied...by an adult writing on official government stationery. The boy is Christian Mango, a fourth grader at Canterbury School in Greensboro. The bully is 82-year-old VIRGINIA FOXX, an 11-term Congresswoman serving North Carolina’s fifth district...
7 When I saw the name of this place, I thought I would have to try it. I mean, whoever gives a restaurant a name like this? Then, when I started researching it, I realized it was an absolute must visit. BOSSY BEULAH’S is a casual arm of Noble’s Restaurants.
8 The achievement and legacy of the GREENSBORO SIX is honored by the Dr. George C. Simkins Jr. Golf Classic, which raises funds for the International Civil Rights Center & Museum. On Friday, June 5, the 15th annual Simkins Classic will be held at the Greensboro National Golf Club at 330 Niblick Drive in Summerfield.
11 Grammy award-winner SHAWN CAMP kicks off the Blue Ridge Music Center’s Deep Roots, Many Voices summer outdoor concert series at 7 p.m., Saturday, May 23 in the venue’s scenic amphitheater on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Summer camp back in session at a/perture cinema
Last summer, Winston-Salem’s a/perture cinema inaugurated a summercamp film series for children in an e ort to expand its community appeal and impart the love of cinema to younger audiences. The program proved so successful that it’s back this year — and it’s more comprehensive than ever.
The 2026 a/perture summer camp will feature sessions for elementary, middle, and high-school students, as well as specialty camps focusing on 1970s New Hollywood for high-schoolers, a weekly camp for adults, and the return of the Girls + Screen program. In short, something for everyone of every age.
The summer camps will begin in June, and for a complete list of programs, including dates, times, film selections, and enrollment fees, visit https://aperturecinema. com/film-series/summerca-mps/. In addition, a/perture is o ering summer-camp scholarships for free or reduced tuition on a first-come, first-served basis.
The camps will be held at a/perture cinema, 311 W. Fourth St., Winston-Salem.
According to a/perture curator and “head counselor” Jake Laystrom, “the summer camps have been extremely successful thus far. We had just two sessions last summer for rising grades six through nine, but received a lot of requests for a wider range of grades as well as a camp for adults.”
“Last year was a big learning experience as this was our first time running camps,” Laystrom said. “As one of the instructors, I was pleasantly surprised by the range
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of films the campers watched and appreciated. Films like ‘Sullivan’s Travels’ and ‘The Third Man’ would have challenged me at their age, but they watched and understood the artistic importance of films from the 1940s to now.”
The initial idea for the a/perture summer camps came from Leigh Dyer, executive director of a/perture cinema, who explained last year that “I’ve had experience at
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three nonprofits that o ered successful summer camps, so I felt it was a great way to leverage our specific expertise — film appreciation and film theory — and o er our community another summer camp option. As the parent of a high-schooler, I remember those middle-school summers when kids are old enough to stay home on their own, but parents want them doing something more enriching or educational, so those ‘tween/early teen years are a great place for us to start.”
“Since we do not often program films for younger audiences outside of our a/mobile outdoor films, this is a great chance for us to expand to a wider age range and start sharing our passion for film and why it’s important to go to the theater and have these communal experiences,” Laystrom said. “There are a few other chain theaters in the area that will show the big releases, but we are the only art-house cinema in the Triad, and we are showing films that often aren’t available between here and Charlotte, and sometimes nowhere else in the state. These more hands-on experiences are really important to us coming out of the pandemic, as audiences nationwide have been slow to return to just watch films, which they became more comfortable with just doing at home.
“By instructing on what makes film so special, as well as partnering with local groups like restaurants for ‘Dinner + a/movie,’ or bringing a free camp session to the Intergenerational Center for their ‘Blooming Together’ event on May 30, we provide the resource to have new experiences and challenge audiences to try something new, or just to come and watch an old favorite with their neighbors.”
For more information, call 336-722-0148 or visit the official a/perture website: https://aperturecinema.com/ !
Programmer/Analyst IV. Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. Winston Salem, NC.
May telco in US excpt CA, CO, CT, DC, HI, MD, MA, MN, NJ, NY, OR, RI, VT, WA. Lead proj meetngs, collab w/ fac, team leads & stkhldrs to antic, define & satisfy data needs. Reqs @ lst Bach in CS, DS, Health Inform, Inform & Anlytcs / rel / equiv. Reqs 4 yrs usng data visual tools (PowerBI) to create interac dshbrds & visual incl 4 yrs: PowerBI svc to pub rpts, create apps, mng audiences & config refresh scheds; rsrch mthds & stats tchnqs like descr stats, inferential stats & regression anlys; wrk w/ lrg datasets (1M+ rcrds); Python for data transf; SQL in Oracle / MS SQL Srvr; 2 yrs: apply Agile PM methodol (MS Planner / Github Projs); perf data transf & gen automated rpts use dbt Core & Snowflake; wrk w/ academic, fin, rsrch & med data; use git & mng GitHub repositories. Hires mst sbmt to 7-yr crim compr bg chck & / 12-pnl drg scrn. Reqs approx 1% US trav. Apply: pamela.melton@advocatehealth.org & ref #116555.
Mark Burger
Contributor
[WEEKLY ARTS ROUNDUP] ‘TONIGHT’S SPECIAL COMEDY SPECIAL’ SHOW THIS WEEKEND
SUBMITTED BY THE ARTS COUNCIL OF WINSTON-SALEM & FORSYTH COUNTY
Winston-Salem’s comedy variety show “Tonight’s Special Comedy Special” has been going strong for six months! Featuring stand-up, improv, sketch, musical comedy, storytelling, and more, this show is the brainchild of North Carolina-born and Chicagotrained theater artist Kate CarsonGroner in collaboration with the Arts Council of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County, friend and musical director Trevor Gabriel, and a team of hilarious friends and comedic colleagues.
Carson-Groner, a native of Elkin, N.C., grew up taking classes at the Little Theatre of Winston-Salem, including her first ever improv class. After studying theater and co-founding the first improv team at SCAD, Kate moved north to Chicago to pursue a career as an actor, voiceover artist, and improviser. She completed the Second City Conservatory and Music Improv Conservatory, and the iO Training Center, before performing professionally at iO, Second City, and music improv powerhouse “Baby Wants Candy.” She toured to regional theaters, voiced national commercials, and began directing and producing theater, improv, and storytelling events. Since returning to Winston-Salem, she has directed with
Spirit Gum Theatre and Peppercorn Theatre, and is currently directing “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” at the Little Theatre of Winston-Salem, in addition to teaching improv and theater classes and workshops.
“In our first six shows, we’ve had puppet comedy, sketch comedy, stand-up comedians, comedy musicians, and always have musical improv as our anchor,” says Carson-Groner, “and I’d love to expand that to include even more types of comedy and performance.”
She’s also thrilled at the folks who have come out to see the shows. “We’ve had audience members from their teens to their seventies, and everything in between. I think in divided times it’s very important that we can come together and laugh at our own humanity.”
“Tonight’s Special Comedy Special” runs monthly, featuring di erent guest artists each show. On May 23, featured performers include stand-up EJ Masicampo, sketch from “Parodeez Nuts,” and Music Improv team Instant Musical, performing both short games and an improvised musical play. Special guests have also been booked for June 13 and July 11, including Greensboro-based improv duo Homemade Dynamite, sketch comedy from Crab Dads and Hot Dog Tony, and stand-up Milly Mason.
Tickets are just $19, available at IntotheArts.org. !
‘Sight Unseen’: A haunting we will go
BY MARK BURGER
“Sight Unseen,” a low-budget, independent chiller, doesn’t break new ground or o er any startling new takes on the haunted-house genre, but serves as a calling card for writer/producer/editor/ director Stephen Parkhurst, who makes his feature debut, and the lead trio of Lauren Pisano, Daniel Burns, and Kellie Sill, all relative newcomers to the big screen.
The set-up is familiar, but uncomplicated, as estranged siblings Emma (Pisano), Dustin (Burns), and Beth (Sill) are reunited at their father’s house, located in rural Maine (coincidentally the stomping grounds of best-selling novelist Stephen King). Perhaps surprisingly, the house is modern, attractive, and even cozy -- not the usual ramshackle, rustic cabin that tends to figure so prominently in a film such as this. It’s even situated on the shores of a gorgeous lake.
Emma and Beth want to sell the house, but Dustin sees dollar signs in turning it into some sort of weekend getaway, replete with additional cabins. Soon, however, they’ll have other, more pressing matters to attend to.
Doors open and close by themselves, lights turn o and on by themselves, shadowy apparitions are glimpsed, and things go bump in the night — and during the day, for that matter. All roads, so to speak, lead to the attic, where their father met his untimely end.
Late in the game, dear old dead Dad (Bart Shattuck) shows up to dutifully provide some much-needed exposition, patiently explaining the origins of who (or what) haunts the premises.
The film bides its time before emphasizing the horror elements, which really don’t kick into high gear until the 50-minute mark. Up to that point, it’s more concerned with exploring the dynamics of a dysfunctional family. “Sight Unseen” has a few spine-tingling scenes, but it’s not particularly scary, which may frustrate some viewers expecting something more visceral or extreme, while
those more interested in the dramatic elements likely won’t care about the horror angle. As a result, the film falls into a rather awkward middle ground. It’s laudable that the filmmakers reach for a fresh perspective on a well-worn theme, even if it doesn’t quite hit the intended target.
Nonetheless, Parkhurst — who wrote the screenplay with producer Oriana Schwindt — keeps things moving along at a steady pace, and there’s good cinematography by Matt Braunsdorf. Parkhurst also coaxes good work from his small ensemble cast, including producer Debra Lord Cooke as a neighbor and realtor whose furtive glances and jumpy demeanor indicate she knows a lot more than she’s letting on, while Pisano, Burns, and Sill exhibit unforced familial chemistry as the spooked siblings. “Sight Unseen” is a polished, professional production, and we should be hearing more from its makers as they are likely destined for better — and bigger — things.
— “Sight Unseen” is available on Digital and On Demand. !
“THE ANGRY RIVER” (88 Films/MVD Entertainment Group): The Blu-ray bow ($29.95 retail) of writer/producer/director Feng Huang’s 1971 martial-arts extravaganza (originally titled “Gui nu chuan”) starring genre icon Angela Mao as a fearless young woman seeking aid for her gravely injured father only to contend with evildoers bent on their destruction. This marked the first production of the esteemed (and prolific) Golden Harvest studios, boasting fight choreography by co-star Sammo Hung. Bonus features include original Mandarin (with English subtitles) and English-dubbed audio options, audio commentary, image gallery, and original trailer.
“THE BASE/THE BASE 2: GUILTY AS CHARGED” (Kino Lorber Studio Classics): A Blu-ray double feature ($29.95 retail) of back-to-back military thrillers produced and directed by action specialist Mark L. Lester: 1999’s R-rated “The Base” stars Mark Dacascos as two-fisted Army Intelligence operative John Murphy as he uncovers — and cleans up — corruption and conspiracies, with Tim Abell, Paula Trickey, and Madison Mason in support; and the R-rated 2000 followup “The Base 2: Guilty as Charged,” with Antonio Sabato Jr. playing Murphy and supported by James Remar, Duane Davis, and Yuji Okumoto. Bonus features include audio commentary and retrospective interview with Sabato.
“FALLOUT”: SEASON ONE (Amazon MGM Studios/Alliance Home Entertainment): Executive producers Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Graham Wagner created this award-winning, dystopian science-fiction series, aired on Amazon Prime, based on the best-selling roleplaying video game created by Tim Cain and Leonard Boyarsky set 250 years in the future, after a global war between the United States and China has decimated much of the planet, leaving the survivors to discover a frightening outside world awaits them, featuring an ensemble cast including Ella Purnell, Aaron Moten, Walton Goggins, Moises Arias, Frances Turner, and Kyle MacLachlan. All eight episodes from the 2025 season are available on DVD ($31.99 retail), Blu-ray ($37.99 retail), and limited-edition 4K Ultra HD combo ($43.99 retail), each replete with audio commentary, behindthe-scenes featurettes, and more.
BY MARK BURGER
DVD PICK OF THE WEEK: “HOLD THAT GHOST” (Kino Lorber Studio Classics)
Following the smash success of “Buck Privates” — which became Universal’s biggest hit of 1941 — Bud Abbott and Lou Costello became full-fledged movie stars, and the studio was quick to capitalize. This was to be their second vehicle, reuniting them with “Buck Privates” helmer Arthur Lubin, but since service comedies were the rage, Lubin and the duo made “In the Navy,” which was released first.
Chuck Murray (Abbott) and Ferdinand Jones (Costello) are bumbling gas-station attendants accidentally taken for a ride by gangster “Moose” Mattson (William B. Davidson) during a police chase. Mattson is killed, and because
his will specified that “whoever he was with when he died” inherits his rundown tavern the Forrester’s Club, guess who the lucky beneficiaries are?
On the quintessentially dark and stormy night, several interested parties converge on the spooky Forrester’s Club, including “professional screamer” Joan Davis (who gets plenty of opportunities here), fantasy genre icons Richard Carlson and Evelyn Ankers, and perennial screen gangster Marc Lawrence. Once inside, candles move by themselves (a classic visual gag), secret passages are discovered, supposed ghosts are glimpsed, dead bodies turn up (more than once), and there’s also the urban legend that Mattson stashed his loot on the premises, although he always claimed it “was in his head.”
Screenwriters Robert Lees, Fred Rinaldo, and John Grant would later pen the definitive Abbott and Costello comedy, 1948’s “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein,” sharpening some gags introduced here, while Lubin (who directed five of the duo’s films) maintains a breakneck, knockabout pace that showcases Bud and Lou’s undeniable talents. Lubin graciously gave them credit for the success of those films, but it’s safe to say his contribution was essential.
Before “Hold That Ghost” was released, Universal decided to add contract players The Andrews Sisters and Ted Healy and His Orchestra to the cast, giving Chuck and Ferdinand second jobs as waiters in a nightclub (hardly a dive with that line-up!). The music elements are mere padding, which critics pointed out, but the film still ranks as among Bud and Lou’s best — and most beloved. And by the end of 1941, Abbott and Costello were the top box-o ce attractions in the nation.
The 4K Ultra HD ($44.95 retail) includes audio commentaries and theatrical trailer.
“THE HIMALAYAN” (88 Films/ MVD Entertainment Group): The North American Blu-ray bow ($29.95 retail) of director Feng Huang’s 1976 martial-arts extravaganza (originally titled “Mi zong sheng shou”) set in Tibet and starring genre icon Angela Mao as a disgraced noblewoman bent on avenging her honor upon those who betrayed her, featuring choreography by Sammo Hung (who also appears in a small role). Bonus features include original Mandarin (with English subtitles) and English-dubbed audio options, audio commentary, image gallery, and more.
“POPPY” (IndiePix Films): Writer Linda Niccol’s auspicious 2021 feature directorial debut stars Libby Hunsdale (in her feature debut) as a New Zealand teenager with Down Syndrome who refuses to be held back by her condition or her overprotective, hard-drinking older brother (Ari Boyland). Niccol’s gentle approach and Hunsdale’s irresistible performance are its principal attributes, with fine support from Boyland and newcomer Seb Hunter (as Hunsdale’s boyfriend), available on DVD ($19.95 retail), which includes Niccol’s 2014 short film “The Handkerchief.”
“SWASHBUCKLER” (Kino Lorber Studio Classics): The Blu-ray bow ($29.95 retail) of director James Goldstone’s innocuous 1976 attempt to resurrect the pirate movie, with Robert Shaw (fresh from “Jaws”) joined by James Earl Jones as buccaneers battling evil despot Peter Boyle in 18th-century Jamaica, featuring Genevieve Bujold (fulfilling a contractual obligation) as a damsel in distress who’s anything but, with Beau Bridges, Geoffrey Holder, Avery Schreiber, Angelica Huston, Dorothy Tristan, Kip Niven, and Bernard Behrens (in his feature debut) floundering in support. Not unlike the subsequent “Cutthroat Island” a decade later, this has plenty of derring-do but no consistent tone and wildly uneven performances. Ironically, Shaw first found mainstream success in a ‘50s British series called “The Buccaneers.” Bonus features include audio commentary, behind-the-scenes featurette, and theatrical trailer. Rated PG.
“I LOVE LUCY”: THE COMPLETE SERIES (75TH ANNIVERSARY) (Paramount Home Entertainment): The title tells all in this 33-disc DVD collection ($72.99 retail) of all 180 episodes from the entire 1951-’57 run of the enormously popular, Emmy-winning situation comedy toplining the husband-and-wife duo of Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball, with Vivian Vance and William Frawley in support, as well as all 13 episodes from the entire 1957-’60 run of the spin-o series “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour,” which reunited the cast. Bonus features include retrospective featurettes, behind-the-scenes footage, bloopers and lost scenes, and more.
“UFORIA” (Kino Lorber Studio Classics): Screenwriter John Binder’s only feature directorial e ort to date stars Cindy Williams as a wistful supermarket clerk who claims to have seen a UFO, prompting her con-man boyfriend Fred Ward and his evangelist brother Harry Dean Stanton to form a like-minded religious cult. This uneven but likably played farce was filmed in 1980 but shelved for years, playing on cable before a belated and limited theatrical release five years later. Perhaps as a result it developed its own small following. Both the specialedition Blu-ray ($29.95 retail) and 4K Ultra HD combo ($44.95 retail) include audio commentary and theatrical trailer. Rated PG. !
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Last week, a 10-yearold boy was bullied, not by another student online, but by an adult writing on o cial government stationery. The boy is Christian Mango, a fourth grader at Canterbury School in Greensboro. The bully is 82-year-old Virginia Foxx, an 11-term Congresswoman serving North Carolina’s fifth district, who represents some 750,000 people, including young master Mango. Here’s how it all went down. Christian was given a school assignment in persuasive writing, so he elected to write his Congresswoman to persuade her to
support a $5,000 tax rebate for anyone who purchases a new electric vehicle. Instead of saying how impressed she was with his concern for the environment, Foxx criticized Christian’s teacher for spreading propaganda. Her malicious missive didn’t stop there. Wrote Foxx, “My guess is that your teachers will not give you a good educational experience and help you learn to think, as they are too interested in indoctrinating you.”
What the f**k, Virginia?! We’re talking about a 10-year-old child, not someone at the EPA who just leaked government secrets to the Russians. This boy did nothing to disparage or attack you. He just wanted to engage you in a dialogue about a policy issue.
I don’t know Christian Mango, but it turns out that I do know about being 10 years old and writing something I thought was important. It was 1964, and my Cub Scout leader encouraged me to enter the Freedom Foundation’s annual essay
Foxx to retire
competition. The theme of my paper was “Why I Love America.” Imagine my surprise when I received word that I had won. The award consisted of a bronze medallion with my name inscribed right under a profile of George Washington. I was on cloud nine because my parents, teachers, and scout leader all bragged on me. That’s how adults are supposed to act when a 10-year-old boy takes the initiative to write about his beliefs. Without that kind of positive reinforcement, a kid could become discouraged. Virginia Foxx should know that because she used to be a teacher.
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Ms. Foxx appeared on my television show a number of times back when she was still new to the Washington scene. In those days, we got along quite well, so much so that in 2005, she presented a resolution to Congress that recognized “Triad Today” for our commitment to voter education. Interestingly enough, she also used that occasion to praise the news media for the crucial role it plays in society. It was a grand gesture from a woman who began her political career as a hardworking advocate for her constituents. Her tireless e orts in that regard harkened back to her youth when she worked parttime as a school janitor in order to help support her family. Somewhere along the way, though, Virginia morphed into a very angry person who is increasingly given to rude outbursts when anyone asks or says something that she doesn’t like.
Three years ago, I wrote a column titled “Time for Foxx to retire.” In that article, I recounted how she had frightened senior citizens away from supporting the A ordable Care Act by telling them that Obama intended to establish “death camps” for older people. She once called the brutal murder of Matthew Shepard a hoax. She defended the actions of insurrectionists on Jan. 6 and, right afterward, threw a temper tantrum when asked to walk through metal detectors leading to the House Chamber. Two years ago, when fellow Republican colleague Byron Donalds was speaking with reporters, Foxx yelled at him, saying, “Get away from the damned elevator. Move!” And her bullying ways were also on display at an impromptu press conference for newly elected House Speaker Mike Johnson. On that day, a reporter from ABC News asked Johnson about his role in trying to
overturn the 2020 election. But before the a able Johnson could even respond, Foxx pushed her way in front of the gaggle and shouted to the reporter, “Shut up! Shut Up!” This from a woman who once praised the fourth estate as a “guardian of democracy.”
Obviously, my column back in 2023 did not persuade Ms. Foxx to retire, but perhaps widespread negative reaction to her exchange with Christian Mango will succeed where I had failed. In fact, last week, Michael Garrett, who represents Guilford County in the state legislature, called on Foxx to resign. Writing on Facebook, Garrett said, “You do not slam the door on a child reaching for democracy…a child wrote you a letter…and you called his teachers liars. That is not policy disagreement. That is a loss of soul. It is time to go.”
For what it’s worth, I second that sentiment. First, because I know what it feels like to be a 10-year-old boy seeking validation from adults, and second, because as Capt. Woodrow Call said in “Lonesome Dove,” “I can’t stand rude behavior.” Virginia, I don’t know why you have become so angry and so intolerant, but at this point, I really don’t care. To paraphrase Motley Crue, “Don’t go away mad, just go away.” !
JIM LONGWORTH is the host of Triad Today, airing on Saturdays at 7:30 a.m.
Jim Longworth
Longworth at Large
Virginia Foxx
Chow Down with John Batchelor at Bossy Beulah’s
BY JOHN BATCHELOR
When I saw the name of this place, I thought I would have to try it. I mean, whoever gives a restaurant a name like this? Then, when I started researching it, I realized it was an absolute must visit.
Bossy Beulah’s is a casual arm of Noble’s Restaurants. I have held ChefProprietor Jim Noble in the highest esteem for decades, since he owned the Triad’s best restaurant, then located in downtown High Point. In WinstonSalem, the premier Noble’s property is Rooster’s Wood-Fired Kitchen (roosterskitchen.com/winstonsalem). The group’s other fine dining restaurants are located in Charlotte. There are other Bossy Beulah’s establishments in Charlotte, Concord, and Fort Mill, SC. See the website for additional concepts and implementations.
The name is a tribute to Jim’s Great Aunt Beulah, born in Iredell County in 1906. She “was no-nonsense but all-loving, especially to us kids. We playfully called her ‘Bossy,’ because the way she saw it, ‘It’s okay to be bossy, as long as you’re right.’ And she was always right — especially when it came to fried chicken.” [Quotations from the website]. Jim learned her recipes a long time ago.
The logo includes the characterization “Chicken Shack.” As you might gather from that terminology, the concept is casual. Wood tables, chairs, and stools rise from a concrete floor. Beverages are dispensed from a self-service station (no alcohol is served). It’s a sleek, clean look.
Of most importance, the food prep and cooking facilities are situated behind the counter, in full view. You see how everything is prepared, and it’s all done from scratch. The chicken is fresh, “all-natural …, raised right here in the Southeast. No hormones, no antibiotics, no pesticides, and no preservatives. Just healthy, humanely raised birds that get plenty of space to roam around and grow at their own pace.”
You can immediately taste the di erence. Unlike somewhat similar places that serve chicken that has been pounded and flattened into thin strips,
so you get a little bit of chicken and a lot of fried flour, here you get fully formed, naturally shaped pieces of chicken that you actually saw dipped in buttermilk, then in seasoned flour, then fried. Or roasted, depending on what you order. The Chicken Salad Wrap encloses all-natural white meat in a locally made flour tortilla, surrounded with baby kale augmented with pickled red onions. The first taste impression is chicken, pure and simple, as it should be, freshness and quality clearly evident. Mayonnaise holds it together, the kale and onions lending subtle influences of their own. I think it’s the best chicken salad I’ve ever had in a restaurant, at any price.
Quinoa Salad provides strips of roasted chicken breast in a little side container. Add it as you go. The host greens are baby spinach, undergirded with a dose of quinoa (a very healthy grain). Interspersed are sliced strawberries, feta cheese, pickled red onions, and sunflower seeds, all dressed in a lemon white balsamic vinaigrette. Both the colors and flavors are bright and sprightly, perfect for this time of year (or any other).
As enjoyable as these are, I suspect that most people order one variation or another of fried chicken. I would predict that anybody who tastes Bossy Beulah’s fried chicken will become a repeat patron. I certainly put myself in that category.
Bossy Bites, as the name indicates, are bite-sized pieces, bathed in seasoned buttermilk, then floured and fried. Crispy Wings are likewise dipped in buttermilk and hand-breaded, seasoned and fried. Tenders are amply sized and naturally shaped strips (not processed and
formed), equally enjoyable and easy to eat. In each case, the chicken itself is moist and tender, clearly a quality fowl. These are served with a cup of really tasty remoulade sauce (although the menu doesn’t call it that).
Several sandwiches are based on one of these chicken preparations. The Beaut combines all-natural chicken breast, Duke’s mayonnaise, and pickles, made in-house. The Cheesy Beaut adds Swiss cheese. The Hot Thigh Sandwich treats chicken thighs with Beaut’s Hot Sauce, plus housemade pickles. Combinations add sides and a drink.
I would not expect a restaurant in this price range to serve fresh-cut potatoes, skin on, not a frozen product. But Bossy Beulah’s does just that, and from first bite, you know this is the real thing. In comparison to full-service establishments at much higher prices, Beulah’s fries are better than all but a handful, which may match these in quality, but do not exceed them.
Iredell Slaw is named in tribute to Beulah’s home county. It is freshly made from shredded green and red cabbage, interspersed with slivered carrots, in a light mayonnaise-based dressing.
Potato Salad is constructed from fresh-cut Yukon Gold potatoes, tossed with Duke’s mayonnaise dressing, accented with mustard and chives. Again, in comparison to the high-end genre, Beulah’s is better, a function of the inherent quality in the fresh potatoes as well as the flavor of the dressing.
Desserts are from Copain’s Bakery, another Noble enterprise. The level of quality in the ingredients and the depth of flavors that emerge from the preparations are simply un-
heard of in this price range and this type of setting. There are a few lower-priced places that, to use a sports seasonal metaphor, are the equivalent of a talented farm team. But Bossy Beulah’s is The Show.
In addition to these comments about the restaurant(s), I would also encourage readers to look into Jim Noble’s other pursuits. He is an ordained minister who supports a mission to feed, house, train, and employ homeless persons. Go to https://www.cltdc.org/programs to learn more.
Jim Noble is a truly special guy. And so are his restaurants. !
JOHN BATCHELOR has been writing about eating and drinking since 1981. Over a thousand of his articles have been published. He is also author of two travel/ cookbooks: “Chefs of the Coast: Restaurants and Recipes from the North Carolina Coast,” and “Chefs of the Mountains: Restaurants and Recipes from Western North Carolina.” Contact him at john.e.batchelor@ gmail.com or see his blog, johnbatchelordiningandtravel.blogspot.com.
WANNA know?
Bossy Beulah’s Chicken Shack 1500 W. First St. Winston-Salem, NC 27104 336-606-6505 bossybeulahs.com
Simkins Golf Classic honors Greensboro legends who defied segregation
Five years before the Greensboro
Four sat down at Woolworth’s lunch counter, the Greensboro Six were arrested for golfing while Black. By defying racist rules, Dr. George C. Simkins Jr. and his friends Phillip Cooke, Elijah Herring, Samuel Murray, Joseph Studivent, and Leon Wolfe desegregated public recreational facilities across the nation. The achievement and legacy of these
MONDAY
six courageous men is honored by the Dr. George C. Simkins Jr. Golf Classic, which raises funds for the International Civil Rights Center & Museum. On Friday, June 5, the 15th annual Simkins Classic will be held at the Greensboro National Golf Club at 330 Niblick Drive in Summerfield. Check the link at the end of this article for tickets and sponsorship information.
Simkins was far more than a successful dentist and avid golfer. Unafraid of what John Lewis called “good trouble,” he used civil disobedience, the courts, and local referenda to desegregate not just municipal parks and athletic facilities, but public housing and city services.
Born in 1924 to Greensboro dentist and community leader George C. Simkins Sr. and educator Guyrene Tyson Simkins,
he graduated from Dudley High School, Herzl Junior College in Chicago, and then Talladega College in Alabama. In 1948, he earned his DDS from Meharry Medical College in Nashville and completed his rotating internship at Jersey City Medical Center before opening his Greensboro dental practice and becoming the first Black employee of the Guilford County Health Department.
But on Dec. 7, 1955, all Simkins, Cooke, Herring, Murray, Studivent, and Wolfe wanted to do was enjoy the unusually beautiful morning by playing some golf without smelling sewage. They were tired of being forced to use Nocho Park, the course near the wastewater treatment plant at South Bu alo Creek, and the uncovered landfill that would become Bingham Park.
the fee and playing the green. After an attendant wouldn’t let them sign the register, they dropped their quarters on the counter and proceeded to the first hole, ignoring threats from the head golf pro, who gesticulated wildly with his club and shouted racist slurs.
In a 2000 interview with the Greensboro Public Library he later worked to desegregate, Simkins recalled that the golf pro “called us everything under the sun.” He then described raising his own golf club to mean he and his friends were willing to defend themselves, and declaring, “We’re out here for a cause.”
“What damn cause is that?” snarled the pro.
“Democracy,” said Simkins.
Gillespie Park, the city’s oldest municipal golf course, was both nearer and nicer, but whites-only. Built in 1941 at 306 E. Florida St., it became “private” in early 1955, when the City of Greensboro leased it to a group of white men for $1 a year in anticipation of Holmes v. Atlanta, the Supreme Court decision that would declare segregated public recreation facilities illegal in November of that year. This was a standard tactic for resisting desegregation. Despite the claim that Gillespie was private, the “club” did not require memberships; any white golfer who paid a 75 cents fee could play.
Wednesday, Dec. 7, 1955, was the usual day o for Simkins, who decided to enjoy the lovely morning by taking a swing at segregation. He left his Dudley Street home and led his five friends to the Gillespie Street “club,” where they politely announced their intentions of paying
They played nine holes before leaving. That night, police arrived at their homes. The charges against what the Greensboro Record called “the Negro dissidents” were for “trespassing on a private facility.” Two months later, all six men were convicted, fined $15 and court costs, and sentenced to 15 days in jail. A second conviction and three appeals followed, all of which they lost.
Because the Greensboro Police Department altered warrants calling Gillespie a “club” rather than a “course,” a second trial was ordered. The all-white jury, which included two members of the “club,” found the six guilty again, and the judge imposed a 30-day jail sentence. During their appeals, middle-district judge Johnson Hayes issued a declaratory judgment that the “so-called lease” of the course as a private facility was invalid. This was left out of the record presented to the state supreme court, which ruled against them. So did the U.S. Supreme Court, which
voted 5-4, but Chief Justice Earl Warren’s dissenting opinion persuaded N.C. Governor Luther Hodges to commute their jail sentences.
In March 1957, Simkins filed suit against the City of Greensboro, resulting in an injunction preventing the golf course from operating on a discriminatory basis. That ruling was appealed to the Fourth Circuit.
Shortly before Hayes ruled the lease invalid and the course a public facility, the Gillespie clubhouse burned down, an act of arson widely believed to have been committed by one or more of the white men who leased it. The fire marshal condemned not just the clubhouse but the unburnt golf course, and city council dodged
ing holes at Gillespie were reopened in 1962, with Dr. Simkins, who three years earlier was voted president of the Greensboro NAACP, the first to tee o .
Simkins remained Greensboro NAACP president until 1985. In that position, he was a leader in desegregating Wesley Long and Moses Cone hospitals, as well as the Greensboro branches of Wachovia. He was honored by Coretta Scott King in 1981. In 2016, 15 years after his death at age 77, a statue celebrating his civil rights work was erected on the lawn of the Old Guilford County Courthouse.
desegregation by selling the property and declaring that Greensboro would not own any recreational facilities.
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled “the right of citizens to use public property without discrimination on the grounds of race may not be abridged by the mere leasing of the property.” Some legal scholars believe that this decision in Simkins v. City of Greensboro was what fully overturned Plessy v. Ferguson, the infamous 1896 Supreme Court ruling that legalized segregation, as 1954’s Brown v. Board of Education was limited to public schools.
After seven years of community pressure and the election of an entirely new city council, the nine remain-
In 2024, Wyndham Rewards commissioned artists Vincent Ballentine and Andre Trenie to honor the Greensboro golfers whose defiance helped end segregation. The resulting 90-foot-wide by 20-foot-high mural occupies an entire wall of the First Tee building on Gillespie Golf Course, where it faces Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. It depicts the Greensboro Six striding through gates representing not only Gillespie Park, but Greensboro’s nickname of the Gate City. Beside them, Charlie Si ord, the pioneering golfer who broke the PGA’s color barrier, tees o at the 1961 Greensboro Open, where he was the only Black player.
Tickets for the 2026 Dr. George C. Simkins Jr. Golf Classic can be purchased online at www.sitinmovement. org/2026-golf-tournament. !
IAN MCDOWELL is an award-winning author and journalist whose book “I Ain’t Resisting: the City of Greensboro and the Killing of Marcus Smith” was published in September of 2023 by Scuppernong Editions.
Phillip Cooke, Samuel Murray, Elijah Herring, Joseph Studivent, George Simkins Jr. and Leon Wolfe
Dr. George Simkins Jr.
Art Crush — Color The District
Photos by Natalie Garcia
Photos by Mckenzie Stone
Freedom Junction with Drew Foust at The Ramkat
| Winston-Salem | Photos by Mckenzie Stone
Shawn Camp, Wayne Henderson & Friends open summer concert series on May 23 at Blue Ridge Music Center
Grammy award-winner Shawn Camp kicks o the Blue Ridge Music Center’s Deep Roots, Many Voices summer outdoor concert series at 7 p.m., Saturday, May 23 in the venue’s scenic amphitheater on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Wayne Henderson & Friends will open the show. Camp is a celebrated musician and songwriter who mastered guitar, mandolin, and fiddle before he could drive. After moving to Nashville from Arkansas at age 20, he played with several well-known artists, including the Osborne Brothers, Alan Jackson, and Trisha Yearwood. Camp is the lead singer of The Earls of Leicester, a bluegrass supergroup assembled by Jerry Douglas to present the music of Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs. He has penned hits for Willie Nelson, Garth Brooks, and Blake Shelton, and became a trusted collaborator of John Prine, Loretta Lynn, and Guy Clark. Camp earned a Grammy as a producer on Clark’s final album, and another with “The Earls of Leicester.”
“The Ghost of Sis Draper,” his most recent release, is a concept album co-written by Camp and Clark and based on Camp’s memories of the real-life Arkansas fiddle player by the same name. “I remember [Sis] walking in the house, the first time I saw her, with a big beehive hairdo and a fiddle in a co n case,” Camp says. “She was a legend before I’d ever laid eyes on her, my grandpa and Uncle Cleve had talked her up so much.” With songs tied together by sharply drawn characters and kernels of old-time fiddle tunes, the album immerses listeners in the world of its wayfaring, fiddle-wielding hero. “It’s partially fairytale and partially truth,” he says. Wayne Henderson is an accomplished guitar player and luthier from Rugby, Va. He developed a unique musical style using a thumbpick and fingerpicks that mimics the sound of flatpicking—producing fast, accurate, clean notes. Henderson has won more than 300 ribbons at fiddlers’ convention competitions. He took part in the Masters of the Steel String Guitar tours, and has performed at Carnegie Hall, Smithsonian Institution, on the radio program “A Prairie Home Companion,” and for the 1992 presidential inauguration. Henderson hosted the Wayne C. Henderson Music Festival and Gui-
tar Competition in Grayson Highlands State Park for 30 years. Henderson’s handcrafted guitars are coveted by musicians around the world. He was named a National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellow for his instrument building.
Concerts are held rain or shine. Food will be available for purchase during the concert from The Blu s Restaurant. Concert goers are welcome to bring their own picnic.
This concert is sponsored by Classic Country 98.1 WBRF-FM. Season sponsors include WLA Trucking, Yadkin Arts Council, the National Council for Traditional Arts, and 88.5 WFDD.
The Blue Ridge Music Center preserves, interprets, and presents the evolving musical traditions of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The Music Center is a national park facility, a major attraction along the Blue Ridge Parkway, and a venue partner of The Crooked Road, Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail, and Blue Ridge Music Trails of North Carolina. For more information, visit BlueRidgeMusicCenter.org.
The 469-mile Blue Ridge Parkway connects Shenandoah National Park to the north with Great Smoky Mountains National Park to the south. The route travels the crests, ridges, and valleys of five major mountain ranges, encompassing several geographic and vegeta-
tive zones ranging from 600 to more than 6,000 feet above sea level. It provides visitors with many varied vistas of scenic Appalachian landscapes ranging from forested ridgetops and mountain slopes to rural farm lands and urban areas. The Parkway o ers a “ride-a-while, stop-a-while” experience that includes scenic pullouts, recreation areas, historic sites, and visitor contact stations. It is known nationally and internationally for its designed landscape as a scenic motorway, nps.gov/blri/. Programming at the Music Center is supported by the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, the nonprofit fundraising partner of the Blue Ridge Parkway. The organization helps to ensure cultural and historical preservation, natural resource protection, educational outreach, and visitor enjoyment now and for future generations. To learn more, visit BRPFoundation.org. !
WANNA go?
Shawn Camp + Wayne Henderson & Friends will preform at Blue Ridge Music Center (Music Center Road, Galax / milepost 213 on the Blue Ridge Parkway) on Saturday, May 23 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $35 for adults ($40 day of show) and $20 for children 12 and younger. Advance tickets available at BlueRidgeMusicCenter.org. For additional information, call 866-308-2773, ext. 212. Parking opens at 5:15 p.m. and is free. The amphitheater gates open at 5:45 p.m. The concert begins at 7 p.m. The Blu s Restaurant will o er food and beverages for purchase. Visitors may bring their own food and beverages. Alcoholic beverages are not permitted.
PRESS RELEASE
PHOTO BY NEILSON HUBBARD
Wayne Henderson
Shawn Camp
ASHEBOR
FOUR SAINTS BREWING
218 South Fayetteville St. | 336.610.3722
www.foursaintsbrewing.com
Thursdays: Taproom Trivia
Fridays: Music Bingo
CARBORRO
CAT’S CRADLE
300 E Main St | 919.967.9053 www.catscradle.com
May 20: The New Pornographers, Will She
May 21: Hiding Places, Verity Den, Supermutt
May 22: Sluice, Peter Horses
HOME GROWN MUSIC SCENE | Compiled by Shane Hart
May 23: Carrboro Bluegrass Festival
May 24: Caleb Caudle, Laurelyn Dossett, The Vagabond Saints’ Society
May 26: Alcantara, Country Fetish, Snide
May 30: Lynn Blakey
CHARLOTTE BOJANGLES COLISEUM
2700 E Independence Blvd | 704.372.3600
www.boplex.com
May 23: Marisela
THE FILLMORE
1000 NC Music Factory Blvd | 704.916.8970 www.livenation.com
May 20: Gavin Adcock
May 21: Natalie Nunn
May 23: KPop Club Night
May 24: Pour Minds Podcast
May 27: Highly Suspect
May 28: Alex Isley
May 29: Fattmack
May 29: It’s Murph
PNC MUSIC PAVILION
707 Pavilion Blvd | 704.549.1292
www.livenation.com
May 20: Pitbull & Lil Jon
May 30: Hank Williams Jr.
May 31: Machine Gun Kelly & Wiz Khalifa
SKYLA CREDIT UNION AMPHITHEATRE
820 Hamilton St | 704.549.5555 www.livenation.com
SPECTRUM CENTER
333 E Trade St | 704.688.9000 www.spectrumcentercharlotte.com
Tuesdays: Trivia may 22: raphael Graves may 30: Habitat
FooTHillS brEwinG
638 W 4th St | 336.777.3348
www.foothillsbrewing.com
Sundays: Sunday Jazz
Thursdays: Trivia may 20: red umber may 22: James vincent Carroll may 23: luke mears band may 27: Jim mayberry may 29: Josh mcbride duo may 30: big bump and the Stun Gunz may 31: landon Cline
muddY CrEEk CaFE & muSiC Hall
137 West St | 336.201.5182
www.facebook.com/MuddyCreekCafe
THE ramkaT
170 W 9th St | 336.754.9714
www.theramkat.com may 21: Sluice may 22: kevin beck, dan brooks, drake duffer may 28: bad Cameo radar brEwinG Co.
216 E 9th St | 336-999-8090 www.radarbrewingcompany.com roar
633 North Liberty Street | 336-917-3008 www.roarws.com | www.roarbrandstheater.com
Thursdays: music bingo may 22: The Travelers may 23: bryce Hensley & the killer lites
FRI, 5/22 @ 6:30 P.M. VS WAMPUS CATS
DOG NIGHT: Bring your best friend to the game with a donation to Carolina Boxer Rescue & stilt walker Lanky Lou
Special pre-game high school all-star festivities prior to Saturday’s game included with ticket SAT, 5/23 @ 6:30 P.M. VS DAVIE CROCKETTS
Both games at WFU’s Couch Ballpark. Tickets $10, free parking, kids in FREE with a youth jersey all weekend!
[WEEKLY SUDOKU]
ACROSS 1 Clipboard’s larger relative
Nintendo game system
Styled after
Funny Foxx
Law of motion topic
Behind bars
Fabric design
Execute the opening pool shot perfectly?
Iowa senator Joni
Mid-voyage
Inquire 28 Unable to find your pool stick?
30 Actor Caine
1950s-’60s Egyptian president
Puts spin on a pool ball with no further tricks?
Animal throat
Chicken —
River of Bern
“Cops” sound
O ce scribe
Road furrow
Basie’s music 53 Pool triangle packed in a suitcase? 56 Ultimatum end
Assist
Anticipates a treat, maybe
Stridex target
Some schlumpy physiques 66 Bits of land in the ocean, in French
Label anew 69 Toddler who’s a whiz at pool?
72 Really heavy herbivore 76 Lackluster
78 Street in Manhattan’s Alphabet City
Scandinavian thunder god
Having a trio of components
Alex and — (jewelry brand)
“Quickly” or “slowly,” e.g.
Perimeter of a pool table that people have plopped down on?
Habituate (to)
Org. for cavity fillers
In spite of the fact that, in brief
Itty-bitty
Scot’s refusal
Ocasek of the Cars
Put a tear in
Resume play after accidentally sinking the white pool ball?
“Othello” victim
Pool variety with 22 balls
Observe a hole in a pool table?
La mer filler
Last shot of a pool game?
Be at a slant
Mass in the throat
[SALOME’S STARS]
Week of May 25, 2026
[ARIES (March 21 to April 19 An unexpected development could change the Arian’s perspective on a potential investment. Keep an open mind. Ignore the double talk and act only on the facts.
[TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) A surge of support helps you keep your long-standing commitment to colleagues who rely on you for guidance. Ignore any attempts to get you to ease up on your e orts.
[GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) Family continues to be a dominant factor, but career matters also take on new importance. You might even be able to combine elements of the two in some surprising, productive way!
[CANCER (June 21 to July 22) A realistic view of a workplace or personal situation helps you deal with it more constructively once you know where the truth lies. Meanwhile, reserve the weekend for someone special.
[LEO (July 23 to August 22) As much as you LEOs or LEOnas might be intrigued by the “sunny” prospects being touted for a potential investment, be careful that you don’t allow the glare to blind you to its essential details.
[VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) A friend’s problem brings out the VIRGO’s nurturing nature in full force. However, don’t go it alone. Allow others to pitch in and help share the responsibilities you’ve assumed.
[LIBRA (September 23 to October 22) A business decision might need to be put o until a colleague’s personal matter is resolved. Use this time to work on another
business matter that you’ve been anxious to get to.
[SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21) Relationships (personal or professional) might appear to be stalled because of details that keep cropping up and need tending to. Be patient. A path begins to clear by midweek.
[SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21) A promotion could cause resentment among envious colleagues. But others recognize how hard you worked to earn it and will be there to support you if you need them.
[CAPRICORN (December 22 to January 19) A delicate personal matter needs both your wisdom and your warmth. Expect some setbacks, but stay with it. The outcome will more than justify your e orts.
[AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18) Resist the temptation to cut corners just because time is short. It’s best to move ahead step by step so you don’t overlook anything that might later create time-wasting complications.
[PISCES (February 19 to March 20) Use the good will that you recently earned with a well-received project to pitch your ideas for a new project. Expect some tough competition, though, from an unlikely source.
[BORN THIS WEEK: Your love of family extends beyond your personal life to include others, to whom you generously extend your care and a ection.
