Morganton, NC

Coming up this week in Morganton, NC:

North Carolina School for the Deaf students have made 1,000 ceramic bowls since the start of this school year and are sponsoring "NCSD Souper Bowls" on Thursday, February 9. 2012 from 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM in the Hoffmeyer Cafeteria on the NSCD campus. Tickets are $10.00 and the purchase price includes a ceramic bowl of your choice (to keep), soup, bread, dessert, and tea. The meal may be eaten in the cafeteria or taken out. Proceeds will go to support the North Carolina Senior Deaf Community in Morganton, NC.

Tickets may be purchased at the door, or in advance by calling Dr. Linda Lindsey at (828)448-2923.

This is a wonderful way to support NCSD, have a great supper, and add to or start a collection of handmade ceramic bowls! Join us!

Just before last Halloween, I posted C'mon, Burke County NC, We Can Fill These Shelves! Well, we’re still working on it! Filling the shelves at the local food pantries has been a priority for all of us here in Burke County NC!

Today’s no exception: youth groups from area churches went house-to-house this afternoon, before the Super Bowl kick-off, collecting canned food. First Baptist Church of Morganton’s youth group, led by Tyler Roach, won the Souper Bowl of Caring challenge.

In all, 2,267 pounds of food were collected for the Souper Bowl of Caring! The real winners though, were “the hungry and the poor,” as was so aptly stated by Adam Bowling of First Presbyterian Church of Morganton.

Enjoy the game!

Ekornes, now in Morganton NC!

You know those super comfortable chairs and ottomans you’ve seen that come from Norway? Well, as of January, 2012, Ekornes opened its first manufacturing plant outside of Norway in Morganton, NC! With the work of the whole community (city, county, Burke Development, Inc., and countless others), Ekornes chose to locate its high caliber furniture manufacturing plant here!

Scott Darnell, BDI President, hopes that “having a diverse mix of furniture manufacturers in Burke County will benefit the entire Burke County furniture sector as we share best practices and work together to make Burke County the furniture industry capital of NC!”

With projected job creation in mind, BDI was able to help secure a Building Reuse Grant from the NC Rural Center to renovate the facility Ekornes now occupies. Currently employing 11 people, Ekornes hopes to grow its workforce to 40 by the end of 2012.

Welcome news! Welcome, Ekornes!

MESH Gallery in Morganton NC is holding its first exhibition of 2012, a collection of paintings by Jan Oliver Alms completed in 2011.This mixed mediacollection is being shown for the first time, and represents new creative directions for the artist.

There are a number of large diptychs, triptychs, and 2”, 6” and 8” square canvases, arranged by Alms. According to the artist, these represent only one possible presentation of the works. As Alms says in MESH’s newsletter, “I invite the art lover to purchase any or all of the canvases from a composition and rearrange them on the wall of their home or office, creating their own interpretation of how my work should be displayed. I consider this interactive exchange between Artist and Buyer an important aspect of the show.

The exhibition is open at MESH Gallery, 114 West Union Street, Morganton NC, from January 2 - February 24, 2012. A reception for Jan Oliver Alms will be held on Friday, January 6, 2012, from 6 - 8 pm. It is free and open to the public, and is a wonderful opportunity to meet the artist ,see the Gallery, and tour downtown Morganton.

Hope to see you there!

Will the Mystery of the Brown Mountain Lights (NC) be Solved in 2012? Come and hear two of the world's foremost speakers on this long-unsolved mystery! What causes these lights to be seen? When and where can they be seen?

Paranormal Investigator Joshua P. Warren and Appalachian State University physicist and astronomer Dan Caton will share their theories on the origins of the mysterious lights. Joshua's video of the lights will be shown. Locals who have observed the lights will tell their stories!

Included is a Guided Field Trip to the Brown Mountain Overlook and a catered dinner!

When? Saturday, February 11, 2012, from 1 pm to 10 pm. Cost: $20, including catered dinner.

Where: Morganton (NC) City Hall/Council Chambers, 305 East Union Street, Morganton NC 28655.

Contact: Ed Phillips, director@discoverburkecounty.com, 828-433-6793.

See 'ya there!