Charlotte Real Estate Agent Brian Belcher

I just heard some great news. The annual golf tournament that is held at Quail Hollow Golf Country Club in Charlotte NC, will go on as planned.

The tournament was up in the air because Wachovia was one of the banks that failed in 2008. It was bought by Wells Fargo quickly after a haggle with Citibank. There was some question whether it would be called the Wachovia championship as it has been for the past bunch of years. That has been cleared up now because it is going to be called the Quail Hollow Golf Championship.

Wells Fargo said it would honor the financial commitments Wachovia had made to the event but they wouldn't provide and corporate entertainment.

If they had pulled out it would have been a real problem to find someone else to pony up $6 million in this economy for a golf tournament.

But this is a big event. Every year, the roads are blocked off around the Country Club, which is near the South Park neighborhood in Charlotte. It isn't the biggest event on the PGA Tour, but it still is an event. The whole south of Charlotte lights up with tour buses ferrying people to and from designated parking areas.

The CIAA is an athletic conference that consists of historically black colleges from Pennsylvania to North Carolina. Their annual tournament was held in Charlotte this weekend, and is always a lot of fun.

The teams play in Division II, so that means that none of them are playing to get into the NCAA tournament starting in March. Several North Carolina Universities participate, including Johnson C. Smith, a University in Charlotte NC. It took place at the Time Warner Cable Arena downtown, home of the Charlotte Bobcats professional basketball team.

In fact, this year, Johnson C. Smith won the whole tournament. They beat Virginia in the finals by about ten points.

Basketball was why everyone was at the tournament, but that is just half the story. But that was only half the story. The tournament has become more than about basketball. The weekend has become a cause for celebration and includes parties complete with pop stars. Mary J. Blige came to the Airport Sheraton to sing for a vip crowd of 2,500.

There were several other parties that were mentioned in the Charlotte Observer. The point is that there is some fun basketball, but there are also a bunch of other cultural events that happen all over the city that make this event special and unique.

Here is the best kept secret in the south. For anyone who has been to or lived in the city in the northeast, delis are way of life. You can pop in and get a sandwich, or some prepared food or something.

In the south, most of the cities are suburban or have a more suburban feel to them. Grocery stores are the norm. I'm not sure what caused it, but there aren't a lot of deli sections in supermarkets that carry Bore's Head. In my experience, that brand is the only brand of bologne that doesn't taste like what it really is.

I mean, bologne is really all the unused parts mashed up into a log. But whatever Bore's head does to it makes it taste more like a nice sausage or ham.

Anyway, Lowes foods in Charlotte carrys this brand and elevates the quality of cold cuts in the charlotte area considerably. It's a grocery store that looks a lot like a Safeway. It has some upscale stuff, but you can still find some good deals.

There are several Lowe's Foods near Charlotte Area Real Estate. One is south of Charlotte near the South Carolina line just past Ballantyne. The other is on Providence road near Matthews.

So let's say you're doing a 5k next week and really want to eat as much carbohydrates as you possbily can, but you don't want to just eat any old pasta.

Pasta and Provisions, in the Elizabeth neighborhood is the place to do it. It's one of the stores that makes that neighborhood in Charlotte NC sing.

Pasta and Provisions is a family owned grocery that stocks high end pasta products and makes their own pasta.

If you've never had fresh pasta, you have to try it sometime. Not only does it cook in a few minutes, but it really different in terms of flavor and texture compared with dried pasta. They make fresh pasta everyday - stuff that it would be difficult to make at home. They also carry a bunch of fine olive oils and wine and sell all kinds of bread.

Pretty much everything you need to make a great italian meal. They also have meals that are almost prepared for those times you are on the go.

The building was built in the 1920s, although it has only been a pasta shop since 1992, but it is a fixture in one of Charlotte's oldest neighborhoods.

If you go, don't try to pick up the nickel they glued to the floor in front of the cash register.

One of Andy Worhol's last works is being shown at the Mint Museum of Modern Art in Charlotte NC until May.

He created the exhibition, called Cowboys and Indians, in 1986.

Worhol was a sometime controversial artist who featured everyday items in his art. He got involved with a bunch of rock bands and put his stamp on American popular culture.

Perhaps after modeling a lot of his art after everyday objects in American life, Worhol may have turned his attention to history for inspiration. One of his works from this collection is a modified portrait of Geronimo. He also depicts General Custer, Teddy Roosevelt. There are portraits of Annie Oakley and John Wayne, which are more like his style. He is famous for his portraits of some celebrities.

But the portraits are not just static, he has changed them in some way to bring out something in each of them. In fact, he wasn't around to take any of the photographs. He put his touch on the photographs by adding or subtracting stuff from them.

The collection includes 10 photographs and will stop showing on May 10. The museum is open from 10 - 9 on Tuesday, which makes it very accessable. It is also open on Wednesday - Saturday from 10 - 5 and Sunday from 12 - 5.