Events for the Week: June 30-July 6

Note: If I learn of more events for the week, I'll update this post.

Monday, June 30

Welcome reception for new Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Rodney Monroe
Sponsored by the Black Political Caucus of Charlotte-Mecklenburg, the Black Women’s Caucus of Charlotte-Mecklenburg, the Urban League of the Central Carolinas, and the John Leary Bar Association. Free. 6 p.m. The Urban League of Central Carolina, 740 West Fifth St.
GPT says: Chief Monroe is expected to talk about the recent arrests of corrupt cops, use of excessive force, and gang violence. You have a lot on your plate, buddy.

Tuesday, July 1

Tone X and Friends
Enjoy a night of stand-up comedy, live skits, improv, and music, along with a performance by the Hunnie Dipz Dancers. $15. 8 p.m. Skandalos, 5317 E. Independence Blvd.
GPT says: It's a weekly hood affair. If you enjoy the comedy of Power 98's Tone X on the No Limit Larry and the Morning Maddhouse show then you'll likely enjoy this event.

Wednesday, July 2

Pop Life
This is the city’s most popular Wednesday networking event. Sponsored by Creative Loafing and the Sol Kitchen. Free. 6 p.m. Loft 1523, 1523 Elizabeth Ave.
GPT says: The crowd, filled with attractive movers and shakers, usually peaks around 9 p.m., but people often hang well past 11 p.m.

Wine Down Wednesdays
This is the kickoff for the new weekly series. Enjoy wine at $5 a glass, along with complimentary cheese and fruit. Sponsored by Millennium Beverage. Music by DJ Silvio. Free. 6 p.m. Prevue, 2909 N. Davidson St. (NoDa).
GPT says: Looks like Prevue is trying to fill the void left by Pop Life, which was held there last year. Now it’s competition.

Thursday, July 3

Alive After Five
This Charlotte staple is in its eighth year. From spring to fall you’ll find young (and not so young) professionals coming to this outdoor after-work party each Thursday. Free. 5-9 p.m. Wachovia Plaza, corners of Tryon St. and Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

Epicentre at Five
Epicentre is the new hotspot, with its new bars and clubs (Whisky River, Suite, Howl At The Moon, and more to come). And now there’s an outdoor after-work party to compete with Alive After Five. Free. 5 p.m. Pavilion at Epicentre, 210 E. Trade St.
GPT says: So far Epicentre at Five hasn’t proved to be much different than Alive After Five. But it’ll continue to draw a good crowd because it’s new.

Thirsty Thursday
Watch the Charlotte Knights as they take on Norfolk. Enjoy $2 beers. Tickets $7-$12. 7:15 p.m. Knights Stadium, 2280 Deerfield Dr., Fort Mill, S.C.
GPT says: Two bucks for beer—enough said.

An Evening with Gil Scott-Heron
He’ll be performing his timeless music and poetry with a full band. $20 in advance, $25 at the door. Neighborhood Theatre, 511 E. 36th St. (NoDa). http://www.neighborhoodtheatre.com/.

The American Dream Pre-Independence Day Edition
Six Figure Entertainment is taking its party to the north side. Price varies; get there early. 10:30 p.m. P.F. Chang’s, 10325 Perimeter Parkway (in front of Northlake Mall).
GPT says: Six Figure’s parties are usually well-attended with attractive young professionals. Expect the same with this one.

Summer Love In This Club
Pre-Fourth of July party sponsored by Inner Circle Events. Crowd will be filling the Pravda lounge, roof top terrace, mezzanine level, and VIP areas. Music by Washington D.C.’s DJ Harry Hotter and Charlotte’s DJ Daddy D. Price varies; get there early. 10 p.m. Forum, 300 N. College St.
GPT says: Inner Circle has one of the best followings among Charlotte’s party promoters. Expect to see the city’s who’s who along with out-of-towners, and you might just run into an old college classmate or two.

Too bad we can't light our own fireworks in Charlotte.

Friday, July 4

Fourth of July Rooftop Party
Music and drink specials while enjoying a great view of the uptown fireworks. Complimentary appetizers. $5. 7-11 p.m. Holiday Inn Charlotte Center City, 230 N. College St.

Slick Rick
He’s The Ruler and he’s performing live. Hosted by Q92.7’s DJ Stacey Blackman and VH1’s DJ Base $25. 9 p.m. Amos’ Southend, 1423 S. Tryon St.

Fantasy Nights and Flashing Lights
This is a new fashion entertainment and networking event. Top models are promised to be in attendance. $20. 10 p.m. Grand Central, 1000 Central Ave. (not the one on Tryon Street in uptown).
GPT says: Don’t know much about this, but if models from King and Maxim are going to actually be there, it could be worth checking out.

Saturday, July 5

Fantasia's Birthday Affair
Singer and Broadway star Fantasia turned 24 this week and she's celebrating with a party Saturday. The promoters claim she will be there. $20. 9 p.m. NV Nightclub, 20924 Torrence Chapel Road, Cornelius.
GPT says: Look for Fantasia's large entourage to be in tow, including boyfriend rapper Young Dro.

Bun B
The surviving half of the legendary UGK will be performing live. Power 98's Mr. Incognito will be Djing. Cost varies; ladies free before 11 p.m. Doors open 10 p.m. Club Eclipse, 3746 N. Davidson St.

Sunday, July 6

The Sunday Night Jazz Suite
Local, regional, and national jazz artists perform in an intimate setting. Enjoy complimentary appetizers and a wine tasting reception. $15. 6:30 p.m. Madison’s, 115 E. 5th St.
GPT says: Sounds like a classy affair worth spending an evening.

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New Fashion Magazine Set to Debut in the Spring

Last month I blogged about there being a bubbling fashion scene in Charlotte (click here to read that post). I've discovered more evidence to possibly support that. There's a new Charlotte-based fashion magazine, titled Le Frock, that's scheduled to release its first issue in the spring.

The magazine's website says Le Frock will be "the definitive statement for high-end fashion and beauty in the Carolinas" and that it will "highlight luxury items, set fashion trends, provide insight for the fashion forward and will amplify individual excellence in an effort to establish the Carolinas as a region known for style and glamour."

We'll see just what kind of magazine this is once it debuts. I've seen start-up publications over-promise and under-deliver before. But as I stated in my initial blog post, this could be an indication of the fashion scene that's developing in Charlotte. Click here for more on Le Frock.

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Something New for GPT: Upcoming Events

I often blog about upcoming events, which I've found is one of the things people are most interested in. But I've only been doing it at random. Now each week, starting tomorrow, I'm going to be listing events for the week in the Charlotte area along with my two cents.

I'll add a little commentary if I've been to the particular venue before or been to an event put on by that promoter or event planner. Hopefully it'll help you decide whether an event is worth going to. Because every flier makes every event sound like it's the must-attend shindig of the year. And you may find yourself too often at places where you regret going. I hope to help you prevent that.



Tomorrow's post will largely feature Fourth of July related activities going on this week. Since the fourth is on a Friday and most people have the holiday off, many people will start partying Thursday.

Also, if I wax poetic about an event and you end up going to it and your experience is different than what I predicted, please let me know by posting comments. Or if you just wish to share your experience for any reason, feel free to do so. That's the power of the blog, baby!

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Summer Jam Cancelled and Not Many People Care

The Queen City Summer Jam, scheduled for tonight at Cricket Arena, has been cancelled. The previously announced lineup included Mike Jones, Hurricane Chris, Rocko, Pleasure P, and Lil Will. And you call that a Summer Jam? I'm sorry, but a lineup of B-list and C-list rappers hardly warrants that title.

When Mike Jones is the headliner of a concert, it's not that big of a show.

I usually refrain from comparing Charlotte to other cities because I think it's unfair, doesn't do much good, plus I love it here. But a true Summer Jam is the one held every year in New York, sponsored by radio station Hot 97. Again, this is New York, which is the capitol of everything, so they can pull off big shows like that. This year's concert included Kanye West, Lil Wayne, Alicia Keys, T-Pain, Public Enemy, members of Wu-Tang, Jadakiss, Fat Joe, Fabolous, and just about every other relevant hip-hop artist around.

I don't expect Charlotte's Summer Jam to match that, but ours could've been a heckuva lot better. If not, give the concert a different name. Call it the Queen City Summer B-list and C-list Rappers Concert. Call it what it is. I'm not sure why the concert was cancelled, but I venture to guess that it was due to low ticket sales, which was probably due to a weak lineup.

The next potentially big hip-hop summer concert in Charlotte is the annual Power 98 Summerfest, scheduled for August 2 at Cricket Arena. So far only Plies, Yung Berg, and Mario have been announced, with the promise of more acts. That's a decent start. At least each of these artists have hit songs currently on the radio (though I think Plies is the worst). But I hope Power 98 delivers. Or I'll be complaining about this one as well.

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American Idol Needs to Hold All of Its Auditions in the South

American Idol has released its audition cities for the upcoming season of competition. The show's organizers obviously have a strategy, choosing cities for each part of the country as well as the hometown or a city near the hometown of the previous season's winner. I say forget that. Hold all of the auditions in the South since most of the show's winners and finalists come from our part of the country anyway. Okay, and maybe hold one each in New York and L.A. But that's it.

The show is holding auditions in Kansas City, Missouri because that's recent winner David Cook's hometown, and in Salt Lake City, Utah because that's runner-up David Archuleta's home. That's dumb. You're not going to get much talent from either of those cities. The most-watched show on TV is even holding auditions this year in San Juan, Puerto Rico. That's dumb, too, just like it's dumb to hold presidential primaries there (but at least votes from Puerto Rico count on Idol).

These guys should be posted up in Time Warner Cable Arena. Or maybe Bank of America Stadium.

There are two Southern cities on the list: Louisville and Jacksonville. But no Atlanta or city from North Carolina. Past Atlanta auditions have garnered several show finalists, and we all know the impact North Carolina has had. Season three winner Fantasia Barrino is from High Point (and now lives in Charlotte). Clay Aiken is from Raleigh (and attended UNC-Charlotte). Chris Daughtry, probably the singer in addition to Carrie Underwood, who will have the most long-term musical success, is from a small North Carolina town. And there are several other past finalists from North Carolina (Bucky Covington, anyone?).

Second to North Carolina's influence has been Alabama, which is home to winners Ruben Studdard (he's getting married today, by the way) and Taylor Hicks.

So American Idol needs to stop trying to be fair or diplomatic and simply concentrate most of its auditions in the South. And it's time to hold one in Charlotte. Let contestants from Utah and Puerto Rico make the drive. It makes for a more compelling story anyway.

American Idol Season Eight Audition Cities
San Francisco, CA
Louisville, KY
Phoenix, AZ
Salt Lake City, UT
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Kansas City, MO
Jacksonville, FL
East Rutherford, NJ

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Bobcats Draft Party at Whisky River

I went to the Charlotte Bobcats Draft Party last year at the arena. I enjoyed it. There were a lot of festivities and sports personalities on hand as fans anticipated what players the Bobcats would be drafting. Michael Jordan and his brain trust were in a private room at the arena as they negotiated a trade to get Jason Richardson. This year the party, scheduled for tomorrow, 6-9 p.m., is at Whisky River, Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s bar that opened in March at the Epicentre. See flier below for details.

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Anthony Hamilton Performing at the 2008 BET Awards

I received this info about Charlotte native Anthony Hamilton in a press release:

Grammy-nominated soul R&B singer Anthony Hamilton will perform the classic 1971 Al Green hit “Tired of Being Alone” during the 2008 BET Awards. Hamilton’s performance will be a part of a tribute to Green, who is receiving the 2008 BET Lifetime Achievement Award.

“I am honored to be a part of a tribute to Al Green,” said Hamilton, who lists Green as one of the artists that influenced his musical career. “Earlier this year I had the opportunity co-write and perform with Al on ‘Lay it Down’ and ‘You Got the Love I Need,’ two songs on his current album. That was an amazing experience that will be complimented by the opportunity to be a part of this tribute, and honor his contributions to soul music…to my music.”

The BET Awards are slated for June 24 at 8 p.m.

For more on Hamilton, check out two stories I wrote on him for Charlotte magazine:
"Soul for Real" (December 2007)
"Based on a True Story" (June 2006)

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Bank of America's Ridin' Big

I don't have to say much about this. The pictures speak for themselves. But for anyone who's not familiar with the scene, summertime is car show season in the South, particularly along the East Coast. Car guys look forward to showing off their whips. A popular trend for the last few years has been to come up with a paint scheme for your car that people will marvel at. Candy bars, sports teams, and cartoon characters are popular, and apparently so are banks. This guy should park his car in uptown in front of the Bank of America tower. I would love to see what kind of reaction it gets from the stuffy suits coming in and out.

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N.C. Woman Gives Birth to One Year Old

Well, it's not actually a one year old, but a Winston-Salem woman gave birth to twins last week and their combined weight was 23 pounds and 1 ounce. Twenty-two pounds is about the average weight for a one year old child. Can you imagine carrying around that much baby during pregnancy? The boy weighed 10 pounds, 14 ounces and the girl weighed 12 pounds, 3 ounces.



I'm a twin and, if I remember correctly, my brother and I combined to weigh around 12 pounds when we were born. So those Winston-Salem twins pretty much are twice our size. If I was a woman, I would cringe at the thought of birthing that much poundage. Heck, I'm not a woman and I still cringe.

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Kick, Push at Skateboarding and Music Event

The 3rd Annual Charlotte Skateboarding & Music Festival (CSM Festival) is scheduled for tomorrow. You can go witness the culture that rappers like Lupe Fiasco and Pharrell aka Skateboard P have helped introduce to the hip-hop world. Skateboarding and hip-hop have long been intertwined, but it's only recently been reaching the masses. If you think about it, the two worlds have a lot in common: both are usually anti-establishment, hip, edgy, and their participants dress primarily in T-shirts, jeans, and sneakers.

Kick, push...coast!

The CSM Festival will feature a competition between local skateboarders and live performances by hip-hop and alternative artists.

Charlotte Skateboarding & Music Festival
Saturday, June 21, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
Grayson Skatepark
750 Beal St.
Free admission

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Nightclub Has Dropped the 'V' but Will It Be a Different Vibe?

There's a grand opening of a nightclub this weekend in uptown. When I first heard about it I got a little excited. But then I realized that it's a new club opening in an old club's location. Club Amnesia is opening this weekend in the former spot of V on the 4th, which used to be V Lounge, which used to be Varga Lounge.

V goes bye-bye.

All of these name changes have occurred within the last three years. Varga Lounge opened before I moved to Charlotte, but I hear it used to be a happening upscale nightclub. Well, something went awry at some point and the esteem of the clientele along with the club's appeal began to dwindle. And despite the name changes, it hasn't stopped.

Who knows? Maybe Club Amnesia will find success. And maybe the owner named it Amnesia in hopes that people will forget about the location's past.

Club Amnesia
Grand opening this Friday and Saturday
Doors open at 10 p.m.
Ladies free all night Friday
305 W. 4th St.

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Craigslist Is Good, Except When Bad People Use It

I became a Craigslist (Charlotte) user back in January. I was looking to sell some furniture and someone suggested I use the site. I had long heard of Craigslist but had never bothered to try it before then. If you've ever used it then you know how easy it is to navigate. So one Saturday in January I listed my furniture complete with photos, and within a few hours I started receiving emails from people who were interested. A week later a young couple was coming to pick up my couch, coffee and end tables, and bar stools. It would've been even sooner, but we had to arrange a convenient time and day for them to come by. So I was pleased with Craigslist and have been visiting it regularly ever since.

A friend of mine bought a new car a couple of months ago and is looking to sell her old one. She said she listed it on Craigslist this morning and by this afternoon someone had contacted her about it and wants to come see it. (Since she's a single female I advised that she have someone home with her when the person comes over.)

Nowadays I visit Craigslist mostly searching the jobs and gigs sections. I've found a few freelance opportunities there. When I was on it today, I decided to allow my eyes to scroll over to another section of the page that I'd never ventured to. I noticed a link called rants and raves. When I clicked on it I was taken to a disclaimer page. That's pretty much an indication that I'm going to be encountering vulgar language. Yep, that's the case.

There are hundreds of posts on the rants and raves page, but so many of them are meaningless and pure hatred, and a lot of them aren't even local (a whole lot of McCain and Obama bashing going on). I don't intend to draw attention to such ignorance, but why do people even bother wasting their time? Even if I had nothing better to do, I wouldn't do that.

I often rant and rave myself about the good and bad of the Internet. The Internet makes my job a heckuva lot easier. And the fact that I'm able to pay all of my bills online is a Godsend. But even when I'm just reading my favorite news or blog sites, I never feel inclined to post negative comments that add absolutely nothing constructive. People hide behind the fact that they're able to post comments anonymously, which makes them brave enough to say whatever they want.

A few days ago, I saw a discussion on one of the cable news shows about how random, irresponsible, and often untrue information posted on a website somehow gets more merit than it deserves. Apparently, Barack Obama had stated to reporters that he finds it disheartening that anyone can post anything about him online without a shred of evidence, but that eventually some reporter will question him about it. That's crazy. Maybe I'll start posting random, untrue facts about myself on various sites. Heck, I'll start now:

Jarvis Holliday was recently selected as Charlotte's most eligible bachelor. Thousands of women call, email, or ride past his house.

Let's see if that catches on.

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What the Heck is Pipl?

I'm sure we all google ourselves from time to time. The fact that Google has become a verb shows the influence the search engine has on our lifestyles (I bet you don't say I yahooed myself). Well, last night I was on a website and I saw a link to Pipl. I clicked on it and discovered that it's a search engine that touts itself as "the most comprehensive people search on the web." So I pipled myself (wait, that sounds weird) and it is indeed comprehensive. Pipl offers this explanation as to how its search engine works:

How come the best search engines fail so miserably when it comes to people search? The answer lies in a little known but very important part of the web called "the deep web".

Also known as "invisible web", the term "deep web" refers to a vast repository of underlying content, such as documents in online databases that general-purpose web crawlers cannot reach.

The deep web content is estimated at 500 times that of the surface web, yet has remained mostly untapped due to the limitations of traditional search engines.

Since most personal profiles, public records and other people-related documents are stored in databases and not on static web pages, most of the higher-quality information about people is simply "invisible" to a regular search engine.

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Sharpton's Coming Again

The Reverend Al Sharpton is scheduled to speak in Charlotte tomorrow (Friday, June 13). He's holding a press conference at 11:30 a.m. outside the government center and his National Action Network is presenting a town hall meeting at New Life Fellowship Center (1337 Samuel St.) at 6:30 p.m. Sharpton is making these appearances at the request of the family of Aaron Winchester, the 21-year-old who was shot and killed last month by a Charlotte Mecklenburg Police officer. Conflicting accounts from the police and witnesses as to what happened during the shooting has sparked the calls for investigations and is why Sharpton is coming.

Whether you like Sharpton or not, one thing's for sure is that when he takes on an issue it is certain to garner a huge increase in attention. This is no Sean Bell case but to Winchester's family it is just as important. And I think, at least I hope, what people want most from this incident is the truth. And hopefully they're able to go about it as unbiasedly as possible.

This is Sharpton's third public trip to Charlotte this year. He came in January to speak on behalf of the Nick Mackey sheriff election debacle (he should've stayed home for that one). And he was here last month as a panelist during a town hall forum during the Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference.

I first saw Sharpton speak in person during an event in Augusta, Ga. for James Brown a few years ago (Sharpton got a lot of his style from Brown including the permed hair). We all know he's a dynamic speaker—no one puts together analogies and metaphors like he does—and hopefully what he has to say will help lead to a resolution for such a tragic event.

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A Real, Live DJ

Nas caused a huge hip hop debate in late 2006 when he released his album titled Hip Hop Is Dead. A year and a half later people are still arguing over whether "real" hip hop still exists. Then last week, the subject became the mortality of DJs when Jermaine Dupri declared that the DJ is dead. He talked about how DJs nowadays are more concerned with being celebrities and artists themselves rather than playing hit records and breaking new artists the way they used to. I agree with Dupri, even though that has angered some, including popular Atlanta DJ Greg Street who told Dupri to stop making wack music.

A moment of silence for the DJ, please.

Well, there's an alive and well and legendary DJ in Charlotte this weekend. DJ Kid Capri will be spinning the wheels this Saturday, June 14 at Club Tempo (4809 Wilkinson Blvd.). It's part of the Block Party series being presented by Q92.7. Doors open at 9:30 p.m.

I remember being 16 years old, working as a bag boy at Bi-Lo and having one of my coworkers sell me mixtapes for $5. This is when they were actually tapes and they would usually be by Kid Capri, DJ Clue, or Tony Touch. I loved these tapes because they always had music on them that we wouldn't hear played in South Carolina for another couple of months at least. That's when New York ruled hip hop and so that's where most mixtapes originated from.

Those DJs did break a lot of new artists and hit songs back then. I won't drift too far down memory lane but I'll just wrap it up by saying that hip hop music isn't the same anymore. Because of the Internet and sites like Myspace, everybody is a rapper or DJ now (not to mention what the iPod has done). And buried beneath all of the oversaturation is really good music. Good luck finding it. And props to the DJs who play it.

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Bizarre News: Man Wears Doo-Doo to Court

This gives new meaning to the phrase sh#t hitting the fan. Below is an excerpt of a story that was posted today on Charlotte.com.

Murder suspect wears his feces to court
Freeman appears in suit, tie with feces smeared on his face
By Gary L. Wright

Artives Freeman stunned the courtroom on the first day of his murder trial. He walked in dressed in a suit and tie – and covered in his own feces.

As lawyers, court staff and deputies watched in disbelief, Superior Court Judge James Morgan questioned the 24-year-old unemployed Charlotte man.

But Freeman – who was representing himself – never said a word.

The judge ordered Freeman committed to Dorothea Dix Hospital in Raleigh for an evaluation to determine if he's competent to stand trial.

Click here to read the full article.

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See What High Gas Prices Will Do

This is being reported on Charlotte.com:

800 gallons of gasoline stolen

Thieves took 800 gallons of gas from a Charlotte station sometime late Wednesday night or early Thursday -- and surveillance video captured the crime on tape.

The family-owned gas station on West Sugar Creek Road lost $4,000 in gas, as a result.

Surveillance video shows car after car pulling up to the pumps, filling up and then driving away.

Police say it appears as if two men organized the whole thing. It took two hours to drain the premium pumps dry.

Customers said the store had only been open about seven months.

"It bothers me, because (the owner) is part of our community," said customer Fanci Thomas. "He's trying to service our community. And that's why businesses leave, because you have this kind of stuff going on around your neighborhood."

And here's video courtesy of WCNC.

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I Want My Krispy Kreme!

There are no Krispy Kreme Doughnuts shops in Charlotte and I want to know why. There's one in Matthews and one in Gastonia, according to the store locator on its website, but neither of those are close to where I live.

I need this.

The reason I'm particularly outraged at this moment is because today is National Doughnut Day. And to honor it, Krispy Kreme is giving away free doughnuts all day. Can I enjoy it? No!

What's even more disheartening is that Krispy Kreme is headquartered in Winston-Salem and while there are several locations in North Carolina (and about 450 worldwide), there are none in the home state's largest and most thriving city. I find that completely unacceptable. And those little Krispy Kreme doughnut stands that you find in gas stations and grocery stores don't count. I need a full-fledged doughnut shop, the one that turns on the "Hot" light. K.K. fans know what I'm talking about.

I need these.

Meanwhile, there are about a dozen Dunkin Donuts around here. Fan I am not. Dunkin has great coffee, but the doughnuts pale in comparison to my Krispy. A little over a year ago I wrote a story that profiled the owner of the Dunkin Donuts in uptown, the two-story one on Graham Street. He's from the North (Boston or New York, but I don't remember exactly) and he moved to Charlotte specifically to open a few Dunkins in uptown. He said when he was doing franchise research he was struck that there were no Dunkin Donuts in uptown, despite all of the growth of businesses, condos, and people the area was experiencing. So he opened the one on Graham, then one in the arena, and I think he has plans for at least one more.

See, for that Northerner, Dunkins is a big deal. He said so. And he said it's all about the coffee, while also acknowledging that he realized that Southerners are more about the doughnuts. He said he felt he could convert some of them but more importantly he would tap into the large number of Yankees who live here. Well, I'm a Southern boy and I want Krispy Kreme. Just give me the glazed and I'm happy.

I need a Krispy Kreme to open here before the end of the year. I'm serious. I love Charlotte but this is affecting my quality of life. To get a store going I might just find myself an investor, or start an online petition, or write my local congressman.

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Get Your 'Taste of Charlotte'

Taste of Charlotte kicks off tomorrow and runs through Saturday. It literally takes over the streets of uptown. This is your opportunity to sample dishes from some of the area's most popular restaurants, including Mert's Heart & Soul, Dilworth Neighborhood Grille, Monticello, City Tavern, and Matt's Chicago Dog. The three-day festival also features live entertainment by singers, bands, and belly dancers. Plus, there's a marketplace where you'll find handmade jewelry, glass pieces, wood crafts, art, and the like. If I was a vendor I'd be selling bottled waters. Because this week is hotter than Satan's toenails. (Katt Williams said that in First Sunday.)

You can pretty much expect some sort of festival to take place about every other week in Charlotte from now through October, actually beginning with last month. And as with Taste of Charlotte, most of them center around eating and drinking. It's the American way.

Taste of Charlotte
Uptown along Tryon Street between MLK Blvd. and Sixth Street
Friday, June 6, 11 a.m.-11 p.m.
Saturday, June 7, 11 a.m.-11 p.m.
Sunday, June 8, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.

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Jazz On the Roof Tomorrow

What better way to end your Hump Day than with drinks and hors d'oeuvres while listening to jazz and taking in a view of the city? The Black Professionals Network and the Charlotte Chamber present Jazz On the Roof tomorrow (Wednesday), 6-8 p.m. at the Mint Museum of Craft + Design (220 North Tryon St.). The event will feature music by Unique Blend. Admission is $7.

These events are great for socializing and networking (bring plenty of business cards), and are perfect for those of you who want to get out but don't like the club scene. Plus, it's early enough to where you can go here and still make it home in time to see your favorite TV shows. But if you're more of the barhopping type, after you leave the jazz event you should head over to Pop Life at Loft 1523 (1523 Elizabeth Ave.). There you'll find great DJ-spun music and plenty of well-dressed people. Admission is free.

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Single Men: It's A Challenge

As a single man in Charlotte, personally I don't find it challenging.

But the 2008 Single Man Challenge is currently taking place. Sponsored by Just Woo Me, the contest is soliciting single Charlotte men to write in explaining why they consider themselves to be "good men." Has it come to that? Are good men really that hard to find?

If you are a good man, you might want to throw your hat in the ring. The grand prize is pretty cool. Not to mention the number of eligible ladies you'll probably be exposed to.

Also pretty cool is speed dating, if you've never tried it. A couple of years ago I went to a speed dating event hosted by Just Woo Me. It was a lot of fun. Fellas, if you go speed dating expect to be outnumbered. In fact, Just Woo Me charges men half as much as women for registration, as a way to appeal to more men. How often do we get in for half price? We need more of that. Man Law.

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