Augusta Symphony will present Dance to the Movies on Thursday, March 2 with performers from “Dancing With The Stars” and “So You Think You Can Dance.”
The dancers will recreate memorable moments from movies like Grease, Singin’ In The Rain and Moulin Rouge as the symphony performs the music.
The show begins at 7:30 p.m. at Miller Theater, and tickets are $39 – $91. For more information, visit augustasymphony.com.
Show off your shamrock trivia skills with these 7 lesser-known St. Paddy’s Day fun facts:
2. The first St. Patrick’s Day parade was held in America — not Ireland — in 1601 on the site of present-day St. Augustine, Florida.
3. The world’s shortest St. Patrick’s Day parade is in Hot Springs, Arkansas, with a route of a mere 98 feet. Participants have included Irish Elvises and the San Diego Chicken.
4. Up until the 1970s, pubs in Ireland were closed on St. Patrick’s Day except for one place – a national dog show that was held on March 17 every year.
5. Green beer is synonymous with St. Patrick’s Day, but the invention is purely American.
6. Patrick wasn’t Irish — he was born to Roman parents in Britain. He died on March 17 in 461, but no one is sure where he is buried.
7. The odds of finding a four-leaf clover are about 1 in 10,000. But if you find one on St. Patrick’s Day, it doubles your luck.
In 1989 the world of hip-hop was introduced to three innovative poets: Posdnuos, P.A. Mase and the late Trugoy the Dove. Collectively known as De La Soul, this trio of rhyme cultivators and loop crafters invented a style that changed the hip-hop landscape and brought a fresh perspective to rap music with new depth, range and creative way of speak.
Nearly 34 years have passed since the release of De La’s debut masterpiece, 3 Feet High and Rising, a 24-tracked sing-along storybook hailed as a hip-hop milestone that bridged the genre gap and welcomed an increasing mass of crossover fans.
After the rise of digital and streaming music outlets, De La was plagued with record label woes and a long-running fight to release their music due to sampling rights.
Yet, after nearly a generation of trudging and budging, the day has come where 3 Feet High and Rising is hitting the stream and re-introducing the De La genius to new audiences and those who have been wishing upon a star to regain access to the wonderful world of the Soul.
The album is packed with gems like “Pot Holes In My Lawn” and “Me, Myself, and I” that put the good mood in the groove.
As we head into this season of daisies and love, may De La Soul be a “spring” board into a new age of warmer days.
– Chris Rucker
Augusta University is partnering with the U.S. Army Cyber Center of Excellence to create a Master of Science in Information Security Management program and a Master of Arts in Intelligence and Security Studies to allow soldiers to further their educations at their own pace, wherever they may be located.
The launch marks the university’s first fully online graduate degree program offered through Augusta University Online.
Twenty-one-year-old Tanner Quimby needs a place to live. Preferably one where she can continue sitting around in sweatpants and playing video games 19 hours a day. When an opportunity to work as a live-in caregiver for an elderly woman falls into her lap, she takes it.
One slip on the rug. That’s all it took for Louise Wilt’s daughter to demand that Louise have a full-time nanny living with her.
Never mind that she can still walk fine, finish her daily crossword puzzle and pour the two fingers of vodka she drinks every afternoon. Bottom line: Louise wants a caretaker even less than Tanner wants to be one.
The two start off their living arrangement happily ignoring each other until Tanner starts to notice weird things. Like, why does Louise keep her garden shed locked up tighter than a prison? Why is the local news fixated on the suspect of one of the biggest jewelry heists in American history who looks eerily like Louise? And why does Louise suddenly appear in her room, with a packed bag at 1 a.m. insisting they leave town immediately?
“Colleen Oakley draws on Thelma and Louise for this delightful story of an elderly woman and her caregiver who go on the run… The antics of this unlikely duo makes for an entertaining buddy drama,” says Publishers Weekly.
“One of 2023’s Most Anticipated Releases,” says Southern Living.
Photos courtesy of UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences photo
The University of Georgia creates a buzz by developing the world’s first vaccine for honeybees.
Most people regard insects as a nuisance to be swatted away. Not honeybees, however.
These pollinators are instrumental in the global production of foods that rely on insects for pollination, and, with the development of the first vaccine for the world’s honeybees, beekeepers now can protect their colonies.
The vaccine resulted from a collaboration between the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) and Dalan Animal Health, a biotech company based at UGA’s Innovation Hub in Athens. According to Environment News Service, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved the vaccine for two years on a conditional basis.
The vaccine is intended to help honeybees resist American foulbrood, a destructive disease that can wipe out entire bee colonies.
“You don’t have to look far to know honeybees are having a lot of problems right now. Hives will die unless you intercede with herculean efforts,” says Keith Delaplane, professor in the CAES Department of Entomology and director of the UGA Bee Program.
“Queen Candy”
While traditional vaccines are injected with a syringe, the honeybee vaccine is mixed into the queen feed that is consumed by worker bees and then fed to the queen.
After she ingests it, the inoculated queen, for the remainder of her lifetime, will produce worker bees that are primed to be immune to foulbrood as they hatch.
“This work is so new,” says Annette Kleiser, co-founder and CEO of Dalan. “There are no guidelines, no handbook. We are developing, together with Keith, what will be the gold standard for these trials. It’s really exciting; it is the first of its kind.”
Pollinators such as bees are responsible for one of every three bites of food humans eat, according to the USDA, and U.S. crops that depend on honeybee pollination are valued at more than $15 billion.
However, pollinator numbers have been declining for years. According to a survey by the Bee Informed Partnership, U.S. beekeepers lost 39 percent of their honeybees from April 2021 through April 2022.
“People don’t understand how hard it is to keep bees alive,” says Delaplane. “I can’t imagine a more frightening branch of agriculture to be in. It takes ceaseless attention.”
The animal vaccine can be used in organic agriculture, and it will be available on a limited basis to commercial beekeepers this year.
Who You Gonna Call?
If a swarm of honeybees takes up residence in your house, it’s now safer to tell them to buzz off. A new Honeybee Control and Removal state certification program requires pest control companies and operators who provide the service in Georgia to be certified and licensed.
The new law prohibits the use of pesticides in honeybee removal, so it’s better for your home and the bees.
Bring your taste buds, chairs or blankets and appetite for fun — Food Truck Friday is back.
The popular event kicks off again on March 10 and will be held one to two times a month through September 22.
This year the event will alternate between three locations: Gateway Park in Grovetown, Evans Towne Center Park and Eubanks Blanchard Park in Appling.
Gateway Park will be the site for March 10, and Evans Towne Center Park will be the location for March 24. Admission is free, and the event runs from 6-9 p.m.
Photography by Sally Kolar and Herb Fechter
From kayaks to fly fishing rods, an Evans father and son create functional wood works of art.
About 10 years ago, Evans resident Bradley Bertram, aka one of the Eye Guys, was looking for something to do to fill the cold-weather months. Or, perhaps more specifically, his wife, Paige, was looking for something for him to do, so for Christmas she gave him the plans and materials to build a wooden kayak.
“Shortly after that, she described herself as a ‘kayak widow,’” Bradley says.
Especially since the 14-month project ended up spanning two winters. However, it wasn’t a solitary endeavor. Bradley’s then-adolescent son, Collin, who is now a 22-year-old college senior, got involved as well. He had built a couple of small model boats, but he was ready for a bigger, better challenge.
“I got interested in it right away. I like building things, boats, boating and fishing,” says Collin. “We jumped from building small model boats a foot long to building actual boats. I’m always in the garage helping with something, so it morphed into that.”
The Eyes Have It
The first kayak they built was an 80-pound tandem. However, during covid in 2020 and 2021, when many of us were binge-watching TV shows, they decided to build a 40-pound, one-person kayak. The newest vessel sports a pair of eyes on its deck, so naturally, Bradley dubbed it their “KeyeYAK.”
“I’m the king of dad humor,” he says. “My specialty is corneal surgery, so I’m the king of ‘corn’-ea.”
The Bertrams built the single KeyeYAK in six months. “It was easier to make than the first one, but adding the eyes made it harder,” says Bradley. “We turned a hatch into an eye, and every part of the eye is a different wood with a different color.”
The pupil is walnut; the iris is western red cedar; the sclera is Alaskan yellow cedar.
“Each kayak has a set of plans, but you can do what you want with them,” Bradley says.
In fact, their next kayak will be a racing-style model with an inlaid blue heron on the deck.
To construct the kayaks, the Bertrams use the stitch-and-glue method to stitch pre-cut plywood panels together with wire and then glue the seams with a mix of epoxy resin and wood flour. Once the kayak is assembled, they trim the exposed wire. Then, to waterproof and strengthen the wood, they cover it in protective layers of fiberglass.
“Most of the weight is in the epoxy,” says Bradley. “We put five pounds of epoxy in each end of the kayak. If we run into something, it’s protected.”
The hull is made of 8-inch mahogany plywood, and the deck consists of cedar and walnut strips.
“We’ll do 30 to 60 minutes of work, and then we have to wait while it dries,” Bradley says. “There’s a lot of ‘hurry up and wait.’”
Father and son also have developed an effective division of labor for their projects.
“Collin gets the jobs where a limber person is needed,” says Bradley. “He crawls in the hull to put in the filler and epoxy.”
He also is in charge of sanding the wood, a practice that dates back to his youth when he enjoyed dressing the part in surgical gown, goggles and ear protectors.
“At that age, using a power tool for hours is the best thing in the world,” Collin says. “Not so much now, though. It’s the most tedious part of the project.”
The younger Bertram doesn’t seem to mind, though. “We work well as a team,” he says. “We coordinate with each other all the time. My dad will work on the kayaks when I’m at school, and I work on them when he’s at work.”
Bradley says a lot of planning – and psychology – are involved in the construction process.
“Psychology comes into play in boat building. You get very obsessive-compulsive about it,” he says. “You question if it’s good enough, or if you should start over. We learned not to set a deadline because then it becomes work, and that takes the fun out of it.”
‘Good for the Soul’
Woodworking is as soothing as paddling on open water for the Bertrams, and Collin loves the creativity as well.
“You start with a tree, and you can manipulate it yourself into almost anything,” he says.
Bradley appreciates the yin and yang of their avocation.
“Part of it is very mindful. You really have to plan and think about what you’re doing so you don’t mess it up,” he says. “Then there’s part of it, like sanding, that’s mindless. Mindless work is good for the soul.”
While they love to take their kayaks out on the water, they’re always concerned that they might damage them by inadvertently paddling over a rock.
“In fact, both hulls have been repaired from doing just that,” says Bradley.
The risk to their handiwork doesn’t deter them from paddling, however.
“If you go through everything it takes to build it, you’re going to use it,” Collin says. “Open water is better for a wood kayak. You don’t want to take it around rocks or on rapids. If you scratch the hull or the top, it takes three days of work to bring it back to what it was.”
Besides beauty and durability, the Bertrams say wood kayaks have other benefits as well.
For instance, Bradley says, “The small one is lighter than a fiberglass counterpart.”
“You can cut through the water fast in a wood kayak. A lot of plastic kayaks have a fin or a rudder,” Collin says. “You don’t have to worry about a wood kayak going one direction or the other. It’s going to go straight.”
‘Then You Go Fishing’
The Bertrams have made other items, including custom fly fishing rods that they crafted three summers ago at a class they took together at Oyster Bamboo in Blue Ridge, Georgia.
While Bradley built a rod with a tortoiseshell finish and rattan grip, Collin crafted a solid wood rod with a cork grip.
“There’s constant anxiety that you’re going to do something wrong,” Bradley says. “You either love it or hate it.”
“If you’re off by one one-thousandth of an inch, it will take you another day to redo it,” adds Collin.
They worked on their rods all day from Monday through Saturday, and for the record, they didn’t mess up. “And then you go fishing on Sunday,” says Bradley.
Collin caught a 22-inch rainbow trout with his brand new rod. “You could still smell the varnish on the rod,” his father says.
They also have made cutting boards for gifts, but they don’t sell their work. They built a river table headboard for Collin’s bed out of maple wood, and currently, they’re working on a maple river table for the screened porch at their house.
“When I’m building something, it’s out of need. I want something functional,” says Collin.
Family Legacy
Bradley also likes the idea of creating family heirlooms to pass down to his children. In fact, when Collin’s twin sister, Carter, left home for college, she refinished her grandfather’s desk and took it to school with her.
“My dad built the desk in a woodshop class when he was in high school in 1930,” says Bradley.
The kayaks are destined to become part of the Bertram legacy as well.
“I’ve instructed that they are to never leave the family,” Bradley says.
By Betsy Gilliland
2023 has arrived, and there is no time like the present to seize the day and rock it like a hurricane. As we courageously trek toward future endeavors and refinement of self, music is a must in the essentials kit of life. One band that is a sure-must in the rotation is The Go! Team, a six-piece powerhouse from Brighton, England.
What started out as a guilty pleasure project for founder and chief bombassador Ian Parton has now gained genius status in the realm of power-packed anthem music.
To describe the flavor of The Go! Team is like pouring a massive bowl of sugar-charged cereal with retro Saturday morning cartoons on full blast and crescendos of ’70s brass and smash drums.
The Go! Team’s latest release, Get Up Sequences Part 2, a sequel to Part One released in 2021, is the tried-and-true formula of variety pak. “Gemini” is a super-charged track to jumpstart every resting heartbeat while “Whammy-O” punches the RPM into a frenzy with a wall of horns and breakbeats. “Divebomb” rallies a groove so infectious it is impossible not to bust into a full-blown dance party.
With a seven-album discography, The Go! Team’s brand of energetic soundscapes is the perfect mix of colors and darks for a sonic laundromat playlist that ignites the passion to live loud and embrace the future. Go! Team, go!
– Chris Rucker
Columbia County and Climavision have completed installation of a new weather radar system in the county to help fill a low-level radar coverage gap in the east central Georgia region.
Filling in this blind spot is critical for forecasters and weather sensitive businesses to have better visibility into volatile weather events and to ensure they understand what’s happening on the ground.
While all warnings and notices will continue to come through official government channels, the system will provide critical visibility to help better plan, prepare and respond to volatile weather situations such as flash flooding, sleet, ice and tornadoes.
From New York Times bestselling author Marie Benedict comes an explosive novel of history’s most notorious sisters, one of whom will have to choose: her country or her family?
Between the World Wars, the six Mitford sisters dominate the English political, literary and social scenes.
Though they’ve weathered scandals before, the family falls into disarray when Diana divorces her wealthy husband to marry a fascist leader and Unity follows her sister’s lead all the way to Munich, inciting rumors that she’s become Hitler’s mistress.
As the Nazis rise in power, Nancy Mitford grows suspicious of her sisters’ constant visits to Germany and the high-ranking fascist company they keep. When she overhears alarming conversations and uncovers disquieting documents, Nancy must make excruciating choices as Great Britain goes to war with Germany.
Probing the torrid political climate in the lead-up to World War II and the ways that seemingly sensible people can be sucked into radical action, The Mitford Affair follows Nancy’s efforts to stop the Nazis from taking over Great Britain, and the complicated choices she must make between the personal and the political.
“This engaging tale of genteel spies shifts easily between the sisters’ perspectives and provides timely insight,” says Publishers Weekly.
“Appearances by historical figures like Winston Churchill and Evelyn Waugh round out the story,” says Library Journal.
Photos courtesy of Jason Chambers
Talent, destiny and perseverance led artist Jason Chambers to the best job in the world.
Local abstract artist Jason Chambers, who sells to collectors across the world, has artwork on six continents. This month, however, he will travel with some of his pieces for a 10-day exhibition at The Holy Art Gallery in London.
Not bad for a self-taught artist who used to get in trouble for drawing during school.
“My teachers would send home my artwork with a note that said, ‘This is what he did instead of classwork,’” Jason recalls. “As ‘punishment,’ my mom would make me draw for two hours. It was the best punishment I could have ever had.”
After all, Jason, whose father was an editorial cartoonist for the Augusta Herald and Augusta Chronicle, was raised around cartoons and art. His grandmother and great-grandfather were painters as well.
“As soon as I could pick up a pencil, I started drawing,” Jason says.
A Style is Born
He got interested in different kinds of art when he was in high school, and he started doing portraits and landscapes.
He loved cartoons as well, and his childhood dream was to become a comic strip artist or to work for Disney or Pixar. Instead, he pursued more conventional employment at DSM Chemicals for 10 years and the Starbucks roasting plant for four years to provide for his wife, Nicole, and their two children.
However, art always helped Jason make sense of the world, and after he had a severe panic attack in 2016, he started drawing again with pen and ink.
“My anxiety starts to abate when I transfer my focus from the cause of the anxiety to paper,” says Jason. “I’m not thinking about the artwork. I’m thinking about what happened in my day and my week.”
He always carried a 3-inch-by-5-inch pocket sketchbook, where he would draw a coffee cup or his co-workers, and in 2018 he accidentally stumbled upon his style – a mix of abstract expressionism, cubism and surrealism – with a drawing he did at work.
“One day I did this continuous random line, and it made an abstract image,” Jason says. “I didn’t think too much of it, but my co-workers liked it.”
When Jason starts drawing on paper, he has no plan or preliminary sketches. In fact, he still begins with a random continuous line. He paints the same way, starting on a small scale and then transferring it to canvas. At the beginning of the process, he typically sees an eye or nose in his creations that are “usually about faces.”
“With abstract art, you try to convey an emotion or a feeling. There’s no stress or expectations involved,” says Jason. “I just create it and see what unfolds. It keeps me guessing throughout the process. Sometimes I don’t even know what I was thinking until after it’s done. I’m just drawing.”
While all of his artwork is “fairly busy,” he can tell how he felt when he created a piece by looking at it.
“If a piece is busy, I was in a stressed frame of mind,” Jason says. “If it’s not as busy, I was feeling happy-go-lucky and stress-free.”
He started with pen and ink drawings in black and white, and monochromatic art allowed him to focus on shape and imagery.
“Pen and ink has always been my first love,” says Jason. “It’s simple. It’s portable. It’s affordable.”
Now, however, he paints almost exclusively with acrylics or oils, and he uses more color in his work. “I’m a planner with the color palette, but not the design itself,” he says.
Influences on his work range from Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali to American artists Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring, and Jason likes to acknowledge them in his paintings. For instance, in homage to Basquiat, many of his characters wear crowns.
Jason also says he’ll “work a piece to death.”
“It’s never finished,” he says. “It’s abandoned.”
The Business of Art
He certainly hasn’t deserted his talent, however, and 16 months ago, Jason took a leap of faith when he became a fulltime artist.
“I was always destined to be an artist,” he says. “All artists have self-doubt, but it’s still the best job in the world.”
Through the years he has changed as an artist, transitioning from portraits and landscapes to abstract art. The size and scale of his pieces have grown from medium-size to mural-size paintings as well.
“It’s definitely important as an artist to try to evolve,” Jason says.
In 2021 he developed another skill set by creating digital art on an iPad. “It’s a mobile studio at my fingertips with no mess and no cleanup,” he says.
He also got into NFTs (non-fungible tokens) in early 2021, and he dropped a 300-piece collection of NFTs the first week in December.
Jason sells his work by more traditional means as well. His artwork is available at jasonchambersart.com and through social media, and he sets up a tent at the Augusta Market every Saturday from March through November.
“I don’t care if people like my artwork,” he says. “If they stop to look at it and try to figure out what it is, then I feel like my job is done.”
He also has published an adult coloring book, Calming the Noise, and a coffee table book, The Art of Jason Chambers Volume I, which are sold on Amazon and his website.
“The book is a way for people to collect art,” Jason says. “Not everyone has wall space for artwork.”
He is working on another coloring book, and he’s writing a book about selling artwork – a book for artists by an artist. “It’s information that I wish I had available to me when I was starting,” he says.
He learned the business of art by reading and by contacting other artists. “There are so many artists out there,” Jason says. “All you have to do is send them a message. We’re not competing with each other. It’s a community.”
To further diversify, he has started painting designs on 8-inch wood or clay sculptures that he creates. He also wants to get into lithographs, and Jason, who has multiple pricing tiers, does commissions twice a year.
“Unless you’re selling your work and have an audience, you’re a hobbyist,” he says. “Collectors give me artistic viability.”
He even ships his artwork to Saint Tropez, France to a dealer who exhibits it for him. He plans to conduct a workshop in Saint Tropez later this year as well.
“I work 16 hours a day seven days a week,” Jason says. “I still don’t have enough hours in the day. I don’t get inspired and then start working. I start working and then get inspired. I go to my studio at the same time every day, whether I feel like it or not. I clock in, and I clock out.”
Jason says creating art brings him “pure joy,” and he wants other people to feel that same joy.
“I want them to add something to their home, and I want it to be a conversation piece,” he says.
A self-described “slow, meticulous artist,” Jason likes “clean, precise artwork.” He has many repeat customers, and his attention to detail extends to the presentation when he ships his artwork to collectors.
He double wraps his pieces in glassine and brown kraft paper before putting them in a protective bag for shipment. He always attaches a certificate of authenticity to his artwork and includes a handwritten thank you note in the package.
“Your name is everything,” he says.
By Betsy Gilliland
Photos courtesy of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources
Newly available all-terrain wheelchairs in state parks are a game changer for physically challenged outdoor enthusiasts.
Enjoying the great outdoors recently became easier for many people, thanks to All Terrain Georgia, a partnership between the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and the Aimee Copeland Foundation.
Through this program, high-mobility all-terrain wheelchairs now are available for use free of charge at 11 state parks, historic sites and a wildlife center.
Users safely can travel rough terrain to explore trails, go fishing, participate in adaptive hunting and enjoy other outdoor education and recreational activities.
“All Terrain Georgia is the pride and joy of Aimee Copeland Foundation,” says Copeland, a Georgia native who created the organization. “It’s been a long time coming, and we’re honored to offer this life-changing program to the community.”
After being diagnosed with a rare flesh-eating bacterial infection from a 2012 zip-lining accident at age 24, the outdoor adventurist lost both hands, her right foot and her entire left leg to amputation.
However, reconnecting with nature was a central part of recovery for Copeland, and she started the foundation to provide greater access to those with physical challenges.
Currently the all-terrain wheelchairs are available at the following state parks and historical sites:
• Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center, Mansfield
• Cloudland Canyon State Park, Trenton
• Don Carter State Park, Lake Lanier
• Red Top Mountain State Park, Lake Allatoona
• Etowah Indian Mounds Historic Site, Cartersville
• Fort Yargo State Park, Winder
• Hard Labor Creek State Park, Rutledge
• Panola Mountain State Park, Stockbridge
• Picketts Mill Battlefield Historic Site, Dallas
• Smithgall Woods State Park, Helen
• Sweetwater Creek State Park, Lithia Springs
Advance reservations are required and can be made at allterraingeorgia.org. Users also must be certified and accompanied by a “buddy” who is at least 18 years old, in good physical condition and carrying a charged mobile device in case of emergency.
To qualify for user certification through the program, eligible disabilities include cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, spinal cord injuries and lower limb amputations.
Anyone with another type of disability can contact the Aimee Copeland Foundation at aimeecopelandfoundation.org for consideration.
By Todd Beck
The annual Ice Bowl and Chili Cook-Off at the International Disc Golf Center help battle hunger.
Whether temperatures are unseasonably warm or dip below freezing, fun will be in the forecast on Saturday, January 28 for the 15th annual Ice Bowl at the International Disc Golf Center in Appling.
The mission of the event is to showcase disc golf in an effort to combat hunger, and the tournament will benefit Columbia County Cares and Golden Harvest Food Bank. The goal this year is to raise $4,000 in monetary contributions and to collect 1,200 pounds of food.
People who bring food donations to the IDGC at Wildwood Park any time from January 23 – 28 will receive one ticket for raffle prizes for every three food items donated. The drawing will be held during the awards ceremony.
Anyone who wants to participate in the raffle without donating food can purchase tickets in the IDGC pro shop during the event. A silent auction also will be held in the IDGC lobby the day of the Ice Bowl.
“I want people to get a sense of giving back to the community,” says Samuel Northrop, the IDGC assistant tournament director. “We have the resources to do some good while we play.”
The event will include amateur and professional divisions, and there is a $35 entry fee. An additional $10 fee will be charged to players without current PDGA memberships.
“The vast majority of people who play one round of disc golf will play another time and get the bug,” says Northrop. “It’s probably more challenging, but also more fun, than it looks.”
All competitors will receive a pro shop voucher, lunch and the satisfaction of supporting a worthy cause. Each division winner will earn a trophy.
Round 1 begins with a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m., and Round 2 gets underway with a shotgun start about 1:45 p.m.
A lunch break will feature the annual Chili Cook-Off, held in partnership with the Augusta Disc Golf Association. All contestants should coordinate with the ADGA board of directors in advance. The IDGC staff will judge the ranked-choice voting competition, and the winner of the Chili Cook-Off will receive a trophy as well.
This event is one of 72 Ice Bowls scheduled nationwide to fight food insecurity. “It’s one tournament in a big network that does a lot of good,” Northrop says.
As always, three cardinal rules apply to the Ice Bowls – no event will be canceled or postponed due to weather under any circumstances; no wimps or whiners allowed; and no excuses for not attending. Brrrrr-ing it on!
For more information, visit discgolfscene.com or icebowlhq.com.
Just like that, the page has turned. With another trip around the sun, it’s time for new trails to blaze and a soundtrack to transition us into the next adventure.
As time and luck would have it, the very appropriately named Things Are Great by the Band of Horses saddles up a 10-pack of tunes for the ride.
The Horses have been galloping down the road of organic success with strong momentum for the better part of 17 years. After a five-year recording hiatus and a few switches in the lineup, they are focused on living in the moment with amp-ticipation for what the future holds.
Things Are Great captures their signature echoing, free-flowing vibe, but the intensity and passion of frontman Ben Bridewell’s songwriting reflects the unexpected twists and turns of life that turn into optimism coupled with tongue-and-cheekiness to fill the ironic gaps.
Sonically, from the power-punching drive of “Warning Signs” and “Crutch” to the gentle breezy flow of “Aftermath” and “You Are Nice to Me,” Things Are Great gives seasoned fans a familiar vibe and extends the reins to a new posse of listeners for years to come.
Giddy-up 2023 — let’s roll.
– Chris Rucker
