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Go out and support one of Urban Durham’s favorite nonprofits this Saturday at the Seed’s Annual Pie Social. If you have not experienced their pie social in the past this is something you won’t want to miss. Sweet and savories pies made by local professional and home cooks will be put out to sample. You will find everything from apple to chocolate sea salt to tomato with goat cheese. A $10 donation will give you four tickets which are good for one piece of pie each. If you bring your own plate a fork you will get a bonus ticket. There will even be a contest for the best pie where you could win $500! 

Festivities will be held at the Pavilion at Durham Central Park, where the Durham Farmers’ Market is held. While you are there visit Seeds’ Garden of Eatin’. The event is Sunday May 19^th from 1-5PM. 

All of the proceeds will go to DIGS, Durham Inner-City Gardeners. This is a program that teaches youth about organic gardening and healthy lifestyle skills. For more information about the event and the organization please visit www.seedsnc.org. 

by Mariana Byrd

The North Carolina School of Science and Math (NCSSM) puts on wonderful performances throughout the year at their campus.  Not only are they done well but the public is encouraged to attend and they are free!  I have been to several of their plays and concerts and have always been amazed with their student productions as well as their guest performances.  

The performances are usually on the weekends and it seems like they try to do at least one night performance and one Sunday day performance.  We generally try to make the day performance as it is such a treat for my kids to go (kids are always welcome!).

I highly encourage you to attend one of their various programs either this weekend or next (fun Mother’s Day event!).

The NCSSM Orchestra will present its Annual Concerto Concert on Saturday, May 11, at 2:00 in the ETC Auditorium.  This concert will feature seven outstanding soloists from NCSSM performing a single movement of a concert with the orchestra.  The concert will include works by Bach, Mozart, Weber, Sain-Saëns, Bruch, and Lalo. 

The NCSSM Chorale presents their annual Mother's Day Chorale/Vocal Concert this Sunday, May 12, at 3pm in the Bryan Lobby.  The intimate space is perfect for this event, as most of the music has been selected by the students, and will be presented as solos, duets, and trios.  Come, and enjoy a wide assortment of music (ranging from Hebrew love songs by Eric Whitacre to "oldies" by Simon & Garfunkel and the Beatles) on that happy day!

Friday and Saturday, May 10 and 11 at 7PM and Sunday May 12 at 4PM:  William Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors, (A Promethean Players Production) Performed outside in Reynolds Circle (Rain Site: ETC Auditorium) Admission is free. 
Hold on tight!  When two sets of identical twin babies are separated from each other in a shipwreck only to end up in the same town years later as adults, the result is a hi-octane, madcap farce full of mistaken identity, slapstick, and of course, misdirected love.  As Shakespeare's shortest play, The Comedy of Errors happens fast.  Don't blink, or you could miss it!

PLEASE NOTE:
--The Comedy of Errors is performed outside in Reynolds Circle on the campus of the NC School of Science and Mathematics, weather permitting.  Limited seating will be provided, and attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs to ensure they have a seat.   
--The rain site is the ETC Auditorium, and all seating will be provided there.
-The Comedy of Errors is performed without an intermission and runs approximately 75 minutes.

For more information visit: www.ncssm.edu

By Laura Upchurch

The Junior League of Durham and Orange Counties (JLDOC) invites you to join us for our 5th annual Home Roam Tour from 10:00am - 3:00 pm, Saturday, April 20th, in Forest Hills. The tour includes 13 historic homes, each featuring a local restaurant offering samples of popular dishes. Tickets are $25 and are available in advace at www.jldoc.org, or on the day of the event at Hill House, 900 South Duke Street, Durham. Get a sneak peek of some of the home on our Facebook page.

Proceeds from the ticket sales are invested back into the community thorugh JLDOC programs focusing on helping children develop to their fullest potential. Learn more at www.jldoc.org. 

By Nata Bozymski

As a Realtor with a passion for interior design, I’m often asked by prospective sellers, “What is the number one thing I can do to best prepare my house for sale?” My answer is consitently the same, “ PAINT!” 

It never ceases to amaze me how far a few cans of paint can go to freshen up and often, transform a space. Choosing the right paint color for your home can be difficult. If you are not comfortable with the process, it can be overwhelming. The most common mistakes people make in choosing paint colors are often rooted in their fear of commitment!  There are the folks who are so afraid of the idea of color or worry that a color will be too dark that they end up with something lifeless,boring and well... noncommital. Or conversely, they LOVE color so much that they don’t want to commit to one or two and instead, their home is filled with rooms each consisting of a different color. Bottom line, neither one of these options are smart if you are looking to entice a prospective buyer. The ideal color palette focuses on one or two colors which vary only in their value. Utilizing this technique creates a beautiful, clean, fresh and inviting backdrop for all your colorful art and accessories to shine. 

Wallcolor shown above: Glidden - Wood  Smoke 

Trim Color: Sherwin Williams- Pure White

Doors are painted in Valspar- Andiron
 

By Courtney James

To me, leadership and business seminars can be thought of like books. There are some that are so bad you can’t finish them; your time would literally be better spent counting the squares in a role of toilet paper. The vast majority though are entertaining enough to keep you occupied. While they’re sufficiently enjoyable, I find that I quickly forget most of the details soon after I’m done with the story.  More seldom and special are those books that linger with you long after you’ve finished them. I had the fortunate opportunity to attend a Grinnell Leadership JumpStart seminar last week.  This program is like one of those rare and remarkable books. 

Dr. John Grinnell, the founder, and his co-facilitator, Dr. Suzanne Hidore, have created a wonderful curriculum that leads participants through a journey of leadership self discovery.  The course focuses on things like improved relationships and communications, and incorporates several personality assessments in an effort to analyze how best to know and use your strengths.  [As a side note: can we all agree to plaster our Meyers Briggs personality types across our shirts? I promise, this would make it much easier to interact with each other.] 

The setting of the class is significant in that it is away from work, both literally and figuratively.  Specifically, the program is conducted in Wrightsville Beach.  Obviously, it’s a beautiful location, but other than witnessing some gorgeous sunrises on my morning runs, you don’t spend much time enjoying the location (though we did eat some good meals together). Each participant is strongly encouraged, required really, to disconnect completely; so yes, that means you have to turn off your email and cell phone!

As in a good novel, the characters are typically what captivates.  Each of us went into this experience with our own story, but the beauty is how these narratives were woven together. I spent almost every waking moment with these eight other people, and am incredibly appreciative of the insights and support they were able to offer me.  This is a group of people that I hope to keep in touch with long after the memory of this book fades, though I think this one will stick with me for a long time.

Like an exceptional book, I don’t want to ruin the experience by telling you the details. I recommend that you read it for yourself.  Find out more about the JumpStart program here: http://www.grinnellleadership.com/content/leadership-jumpstart

By:  Mary Hartzell

As the weather warms up and spring springs, kitten and puppy litters seem to appear out of thin air.  Pet overpopulation is a problem that we can all help to resolve by sterilizing the animals in our lives.  There are not enough homes for all the kittens and puppies out there and sterilization is the key to preventing these litters.  If you are looking for a spay/neuter service for your cat or dog but your vet is too expensive, the Spay/Neuter Assistance Program of North Carolina (SNAP-NC), http://www.snap-nc.org/ may be an option.  SNAP-NC is a low-cost, mobile spay and neuter service serving central North Carolina.  

We had one of our cats spayed using their service and they were organized, professional and busy!  I made an appointment on a day when their mobile clinic would be in our area and I arrived at the specified time to drop off Gisele.  There were about other 10 other people dropping their animals off at the same time.  The SNAP-NC team had all the paperwork ready, performed a quick intake, and then called me a few hours later when Gisele was ready to be picked up.  They charge a small fee for their services and I was able to make a donation to their cause along with my payment.  Donations are used to subsidize spay/neuter services for pet owners and concerned citizens who otherwise cannot afford them.      

The SNAP-NC website is full of good info on the services they provide, how it works and how you can help.  When you book an appointment for your own pet, why not pick up a stray from your neighborhood and take it with you, too?  Responsible pet ownership and stewardship is a collective effort.  Together we can “Prevent Another Litter”.    

by Lou Perron

Saturday was a nice day for the Farmer’s Market and food trucks as spring weather brought out lots of people. Meanwhile, down the street, Urban Durham Realty hosted an open house for the Church + Main project. Folks came by to share the coffee and donuts from Monuts and to chat with Scott Harmon, Jed Gammon and Courtney James about the project.

Church + Main is a mixed use development containing a street level commercial business and 4 stories of residential condos. It will be nestled on Main Street, just west of the (very) old courthouse (the 1916 one, not the 1978 one) and at the south end of Church Street.

There were beautiful renderings laid out to give a sense of the building and spaces, and well as a host of materials that will be used to finish the units. The design is a nod to the modernist aesthetic of the Mad Men era.  Yet this project promises to be green and hip.

This open house will be repeated.  The next time will be Saturday, 3/23 at the Urban Durham Realty office at 401C Foster St, near Central Park in Durham, anyone interested is welcome.

More info on the project at http://www.churchandmaindurham.com/ 

We all know the spring market is, well, an active one.  Accordingly, we at Urban Durham decided it would only be fitting if we ourselves kept up with our business trend and get active ourselves – physically, that is!  What better a place to get in shape than with Durham’s beloved Sync Studio?!  We happened to visit their studio on 913 Lamond Avenue, but we hear their studio at 6815 Fayetteville Rd is equally stellar. 

So what did we do?  We got our groove on and cycled to some killer tunes, which made for an intense, effective workout that was, in a word: “shablammin.’” Our ears were pleased, our legs have since strengthened, and our cores are now tighter.  We all unanimously agreed that it was a fantastic way to spend a morning in downtown Durham!  We highly recommend everyone get up and “Follow the Movement!”

You can check out Sync’s website at: http://www.syncstudio.net/cycling/