Features

The term “Venus and Mars” has inspired book titles, art and music. Why is the term so popular, and what does it mean?

Find out at Ingram Planetarium at 6 p.m. Feb. 7.

One week before Valentine’s Day is when planetarium manager Edward Ovsenik will present a spirited discussion on how our nearest planetary neighbors — Venus and Mars — got their names.

Ingram Planetarium is at 7625 High Market St. in Sunset Beach.

Listen up, Brunwick County.

Listen Up Brunswick County is about to bring a whole new musical series to the area.

The fledgling nonprofit is described by chairwoman Jeannie Dufour as an all-volunteer, music-loving group that wants nothing more than to bring quality entertainment to a new venue.

That’s about to happen as Listen Up Brunswick County presents its first concert on Feb. 15, when renowned folk musician Tracy Grammer performs in the fellowship hall of Holden Beach Chapel, 107 Rothschild St. on the Holden Beach island.

By John Nelson
Plant Columnist

It’s the branch of a tree, but this tree is no good for a tree house.
Take a look at the thorns, which can be found up and down the trunk, and also potently arming the branches. You won’t be inclined to fool around with these stickers, as they really mean business, sometimes up to five-inches long, needle-sharp, and often divided at the base: the species’ scientific name means “three-spined.”

It’s that time of year again—SOUPer Bowl Saturday is just around the bend.

For the fifth year, the GFWC-South Brunswick Islands Woman’s Club is having its delicious SOUPer Bowl Saturday fundraiser from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Feb. 1 in the fellowship hall at Shallotte Presbyterian Church.

For each $15 per-ticket donation, attendees will receive a freshly glazed keepsake bowl handcrafted by a local potter, along with a piping hot serving of soup prepared by one of several participating eateries.

Willis Richardson Players & Co. will hold auditions for the theater drama production, “Ceremonies in Dark Old Men,” from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday, Jan. 27, at the Hannah Block USO/ Community Art Center, 120 S. Second St. in Wilmington.

The center is at the corner of Second and Orange streets.

The play will be presented April 25 and 26 at Thalian Hall, 310 Chestnut St. in Wilmington.

For more information, call producer/director Daren Beatty at (910) 352-6247 or Rodger Aiken at (910) 762-5167.

Get ready for another round of fun and games in Vegas, N.C.

The Shallotte Rotary Club’s ninth annual Las Vegas Night is pulling out all stops Saturday night, Jan. 25, with an array of food and Vegas-style games.

The annual fundraiser is from 6 to 10:30 p.m. at the Brunswick County Realtors Building at 101 Stone Chimney Road in Supply.

The catered event will feature a cash bar, dinner, assorted hot and cold hors d’oeuvres and cake.

Forty years ago, Joan Leotta experienced one of the greatest losses of her life: the death of her beloved grandmother, Angelina Cuda.

“Grandma was the center of my childhood world,” begins one of the Brunswick County writer’s latest stories.

This one, titled “She Stopped to Say Goodbye,” is included in the newly released “Chicken Soup for the Soul: Miraculous Messages from Heaven.”

HICKMANS CROSSROADS — The county branch library in this rural community is looking more like Bargain Book City.

At the front of Hickmans Crossroad Library on Calabash Road, library-goers are greeted by a sale table near the front door inviting them to grab a bag and fill it with as many books as they wish for just $1. Bags are provided, too.

Any books marked with an “x,” on or under the table, are eligible.

All proceeds go toward funding projects and buying books for the library by the Friends of the Hickmans Crossroads Library.

It kicks off with a Memorial March and ends with a roundtable breakfast with participants from all walks.

Southport’s annual two-day Martin Luther King Celebration is set for this coming Sunday, Jan. 19, and Monday, Jan. 20.

It launches at 3 p.m. Sunday with a Memorial March that forms in the parking lot of ILA Union Hall at the corner of 10th and Lord streets in downtown Southport. The public is invited to come and participate.