Creative Loafing Charlotte

Or... How to Travel Without Turning Into a Lame Tourist

Call it the anti- Shakespeare in Love. Call it the more cultured cousin to Inglourious Basterds. Just don't call Anonymous a fact-based story. There have been many speculations advanced that William Shakespeare actually did not write the countless classic works attributed to him, but the conspiracy theorists can't quite agree on the true identity of the genius behind such works as

AMAZING GRACE Basically Amistad with only half the serving of self-importance, Amazing Grace examines the efforts of William Wilberforce, a member of British Parliament who fought to end his country's involvement in the slave trade during the late-18th and early-19th centuries. Ioan Gruffudd, no stranger to heroic roles (Horatio Hornblower, Mr. Fantastic, even the officer who rescues Rose in

I'm a die-hard, in-the-mud coffee drinker. I have strong opinions about my beans (locally roasted, fair trade when possible) and how it should be brewed (French press or stove-top espresso). As the T-shirt says, life is too short to drink bad coffee.

among new home entertainment titles This week's reviews of what's new on Blu-ray and DVD

Last Saturday, I finally made it to the Center City Green Market. I'd been telling myself to go for the longest time, a mandate uttered every time I bought some of those aesthetically-perfect-yet-absolutely-flavorless tomato/tennis balls they sell at your local supermarket.

Low Country Culture Fest Step into the vibrant tapestry of the Low Country Culture Festival, unfolding on Saturday, September 14th, hosted in Ballantyne's Backyard. This immersive all-inclusive celebration invites you to explore the essence of Southern hospitality intertwined with the soulful rhythms of the region's heritage. Indulge your palate with iconic she-crab soup, a cornerstone of Low Country cuisine, while artisans showcase their skill in live basket weaving, weaving tales of heritage into intricate patterns. Savor Southern cocktails infused with a dash of history, each sip a tribute to the rich timeline of the Low Country's past and present.

The Dinner Detective Comedy Mystery Dinner Show - Charlotte, NC America’s largest interactive comedy murder dinner theatre show is now playing! Solve a hilarious mystery while you feast on a fantastic dinner. Just beware! The culprit is hiding in plain sight somewhere in the room, and you may find yourself as a Prime Suspect before you know it!

You could almost call it an underground movement. Down in the catacombs of the Black Box studio at Children's Theatre, director Alan Poindexter has been polishing his approach to classical Greek theatre for the past five years. Poindexter has directed the company's Teen Ensemble in a series of tragedies by Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides -- with the occasional side-trip into Ovid's Metamorphoses.

Like most people with a backyard garden, I grow tomatoes. In my view there's no better summertime meal than fresh-picked, vine-ripened tomatoes mixed with sugar and mayo served alongside a medium-rare ribeye steak. Add an ice cold beer, throw in some buttered corn on the cob, and life is good.Enjoyable as they are, controversy does surround tomatoes: Are they fruit or are they vegetable? A botanist defines a fruit as having fleshy material covering a seed or seeds. He would therefore consider the tomato a fruit, much like watermelon, green pepper, or eggplant. To a horticulturalist, on the other hand, the tomato is a vegetable plant since it's an annual and non-woody. Most fruits like apples, cherries, and raspberries grow on a woody plant.