Huske Hardware has my Heart
atmosphere, phenomenal food, delicious fresh brews, and lots of
wonderful entertainment.
My ultimate favorite menu item is the Brewer’s Cobb Salad with homemade balsamic vinagerette and warm brown bread! Mmm my mouth is watering just thinking about it!
I think what I like most about Huske is it’s good for just about any occasion. I frequent Huske often, whether it’s doing business with a client over a Brewer’s Cobb Salad or going out on the weekend to drink a couple of their house brews and dance with friends - Huske is always a reliable option.
If you pass Huske during the weekend after 10pm, you can be sure to see a
line of people wrapped around the building to get in. There have been
plenty of times I’ve had to wait outside in the cold in the dead of
winter, but once I got inside, it was always worth the wait.
Positive Press on our Jobs & Housing Markets
In the last six months – the Fayetteville jobs and housing marketing has received lots of positive press. Greater Fayetteville’s economy has remained relatively stable through the country’s recession.
JOBS
In November of 2009, Fayetteville was ranked as the 31st best performing city in America in the Milken Institute’s report “Best Performing Cities: Where America’s Jobs are created and Sustained.” In 2008, Fayetteville was ranked 52nd place – and has made a leap of 131 places since 2003. Fayetteville ranked third in the state behind Durham and Raleigh, and was only one of two North Carolina cities that did not decline in the rankings. In 2008, Fayetteville ranked 6th 6th in the state.
According to a Manpower Survey, the job outlook is strong in Fayetteville. Fayetteville employers plan to hire steadily throughout the first quarter of 2010, making the employment outlook in the area the third best in the nation. The best job prospects for the first quarter of 2010 are: nondurable goods manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, financial activities, leisure and hospitality and government.
HOUSING
Home values in the nation increased for three straight quarters in 2009, ranking the community No. 1 ranking in the nation for appreciation, according to Zillow.com. The median home value the market increased 10.8 percent to $123,200 in the third quarter, compared with the same period last year.
According to US News & World Report, Fayetteville is one of the Top 10 communities in the country for real estate steals. Direct from USN&WR article -
“To get a better sense where home buyers are most likely to find houses that are undervalued when compared with their longer-term averages, U.S. News turned to Moody’s Economy.com. The economics firm provided average and quarterly price-to-income data for each of the nation’s 384 distinct metropolitan statistical areas. By comparing the most recent figures with longer-term averages, we were able to compile a list of 10 cities for real estate steals.”
Fayetteville ranked 7 out of 10 communities highlighted. Others on the list were Memphis, TN; Washington, DC; and Cincinnati, OH.
A Spring Full of Theater
If you enjoy the theater, this spring, you’ll be pleased with the offerings in Greater Fayetteville.
March 6/ Grown Folks Business / Crown Theater - Determined not to be like her moth, Sabrina tries to ditch the ghetto mentality she grew up with as a child. As she pursues her desire for independence, she’s introduced to a wo
rld that forces her to grow up much faster than most.
March 19/Jesus Christ Superstar /Crown Theater - The first collaboration between Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice to be performed on the professional stage, JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR is one of the most popular and enduring works ever created for the musical theatre. Featuring such notable songs as Superstar, Everything’s Alright and I Don’t Know How to Love Him, JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR earned five TONY nominations.
March 22- April 11/ The Member of the Wedding/ Cape Fear Regional Theater - What makes this story so unusual is the fact that most of it takes place through a series of conversations between three really weird people sitting in an even weirder kitchen. Nothing or almost nothing occurs here, and yet every scene is filled with a sense of something having happened, happening, and about to happen. This in itself is a considerable technical feat; and, beyond that, there is magic in it. 
March 23/ Wizard of Oz / Crown Theater - Twelve children from the Fayetteville area will be performing the roles of “munchkins.” Dorothy, Toto and their friends the Cowardly Lion, Tin Man and Scarecrow are transported “Over the Rainbow” to adventures in Munchkin Land, the Haunted Forest and the Emerald City. Features the classic songs, as composed by Harold Arlen, “Over the Rainbow,” “Ding Dong the Witch is Dead” and “If I Only Had A Brain.”
April 15-May2/ Lysteria/ The Gilbert theater - This classic Greek comedy tells the story of one woman’s mission to end the Peloponnesian War by convincing the women of Greece to withhold sexual privileges from their husbands as a means of forcing the men to negotiate a peace. Lysistrata’s strategy incites a battle between the sexes until reconciliation is achieved at the end.
April 23-May 9/ Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks/ Cape Fear Regional Theater - Audiences around the world have fallen in love with this heartwarming comedy where dance helps two very different people - an elderly widow and a young dance instructor - escape their lonely lives to find friendship and meaning. In the age of Dancing with the Stars, you’ll learn a thing or two about life and about dance.
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What does Patriotism Mean To You
In the 2009 Fall Semester, the Tourism Development Manager at the Fayetteville Area Convention & Visitors Bureau worked with a group of Methodist U
niversity Students on a special project.
The students were tasked with interviewing a cross section of residents and visitors to understand how a varied group of people defined patriotism; and ask them other thematic questions. This project was outlined as part of the bureau’s 5 year Cultural Heritage Tourism plan.
We created four videos from the interviews. All the videos are enlightening, but I found this ONE especially moving, and wanted to share it with you. I’d love to read your thoughts or comments.
Discover History Downtown
Did you know that the #1 most visited attraction in the area is located downtown? The Airborne and Special Operations Museum is a 59,000 square-foot museum featuring three theatres including a motion simulator and a 5,000 square-foot, five-story high open lobby area. Exhibits explore airborne and special operations history with colorful and impressive displays. Admission to the museum is free although donations are accepted. The museum is open Tuesday – Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Along with the Airborne and Special Operations Museum, we have five other museums in the district including Fayetteville Independent Light Infantry Armory and Museum, Fascinate-U Children’s Museum, the Fayetteville Area Transportation Museum, the Firefighters’ Museum and the Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex, which includes the museum galleries, Arsenal Park and the 1897 Poe House. All have lower priced admissions, if not free, and offer a wealth of knowledge for you and your family. Take a day to spend in one of these grand halls of artifacts, photographs and displays and learn about where you live and the people who live around you.
Find Your Creative Outlet in Downtown Fayetteville
It’s cold outside! With temperatures dropping like they have been lately, it’s time to raise the heat in the house with a new hobby to set ablaze your passion for creativity and downtown is the place to get started. We have such an array of creative outlets that you would be hard pressed not to find something that did not peak your interest from jewelry making and quilting to cupcake decorating and painting, there is something for everyone.
For all of our jewelry makers, Strung out on Beads (101 Hay Street) offers classes on making necklaces, earrings and the like and carries a wide selection of beads and clasps. The store, Beads and Botanicals (112 Anderson Street), also has sells beads that can be worked into your handmade piece of jewelry. Their selection is handblown and created by the artists/owners in-house.
Right next store to Beads and Botanicals, is Quilt n Tiques (122 Anderson Street), which for all of the quilters out there know is one of the best stores to find that perfect piece of fabric or the instrument to finish your masterpiece.
At Greg’s (122 Maxwell Street), painting pottery is the name of the game and you can pick one of your favorite dishes to personalize with every color imaginable. Also, at Greg’s are four-week adult pottery classes where you can learn to throw pottery with a professional instructor. As for what to put on the dish or in your new pottery, try having your child’s birthday party at The Cupcake Gallery (107 Person Street). Not only will your child and all of their guests get to eat fun cupcakes, but they will get to decorate them beforehand!
What about getting into a new book? Try one of the two book clubs that meet at The City Center Gallery and Books (112 Hay Street). Men and women met every 2nd Tuesday at 10 a.m. and a group of young women meet every 4th Thursday at 7 p.m. And, of course, if you have a penchant for art, we have several artists and galleries downtown that can help you find your niche including Cape Fear Studios, Greg’s and the Arts Council of Fayetteville.
There are new experiences waiting to be had or old ones that need to be rediscovered while looking at the creative clusters in downtown so after you have cleaned your house top to bottom twice, bundle up, venture out and explore!
Keeping Fit in Downtown Fayetteville
One of the top New Year’s resolutions that everyone makes is to lose weight and get healthier. Now that we are into February, how many have made it? Have you shirked the gym and started ordering dessert again? Downtown has many places to help keep you fit and have fun while doing it.
Located at 436 West Russell Street, the Climbing Place is North Carolina’s largest indoor rock climbing center with 40,000 climbing holds, 60 top ropes, a 300 foot gym traverse and a retail store for climbing and backpacking needs. If you have never climbed before, they offer indoor and outdoor climbing instruction to help you work towards your goal of getting to the top. Your workout will have you breaking a sweat while learning to climb up and repel down the rock walls.
How about a little exercise that leads to competition? The All-American Fencing Academy at 207 B Donaldson Street provides the only Olympic fencing instruction in the Fayetteville and Fort Bragg area and its students compete regionally and nationally. It instructs and trains recreational and competitive fencers from ages 7 to adult and new beginner classes start on the first week of each month.
If a more soothing workout is what you are looking for in order to get in shape, try Om Yoga Studio at 232 Hay Street or the new Embrace Yoga Studio at 145 Franklin Street. Whether you need to improve flexibility, tone your muscles or lessen stress in your life, both yoga studios practice hatha yoga techiques and offer classes from the beginner to the advanced levels.
If you require a more traditional workout; however, need a personal trainer, The Fitness Studio at 501 West Russell Street might be for you. The fitness coaches at The Fitness Center design your individual workout plan to include nutrition counseling and fitness monitoring as well as training and conditioning. Sessions are one-on-one and last an hour.
If you’d like a little kick, then try the Elite Training Center at 129 Hay Street, which uses martial arts as a method towards physical fitness. A premier training facility, classes include Ninjutsu, A.C.T. (Women’s Self-Defense), cardio kickboxing and more. The Elite Training Center also offers the popular CrossFit Method, which is a strength and conditional movement focusing on functional moments and core strength.
And, of course, we also have many walking trails in the district such as through Linear Park. Watch for the occasional 5K race or walk for a cause that occurs through the district from time to time. You can help support your favorite charity while also maintaining your New Year’s resolution to get fit and stay that way. If have found you have run out of steam, don’t give up, you can try something new downtown!
Fayetteville Dogwood Festival
Congratulations to the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival!
The festival was named event at the Carolina ShowFest Excellence Awards. The competition pitted the Dogwood Festival against other festivals in North and South Carolina. The award recognized last year’s festival, which featured free performances by Collective Soul, Ray J and .38 Special over three days in April.
The festival was named a Top 20 event in the Southeast from the Southeast Tourism Society. The Southeast Tourism Society represents toursim entities in 11 states in the Southeast.
The 2010 festival is slated for April 23 through 25. Entertainment and events will be announced on February 16th.
Celebrate the New Year downtown!
Atlanta has their peach, Raleigh has an acorn and now we can watch as our beloved Fayetteville Dogwood helps us bring in the New Year. A new tradition that will hopefully continue for years to come, this is yet another reason that Fayetteville has it all!
Make your plans now to celebrate the New Year in Downtown Fayetteville with the new “Party in the Park,” brought to you by the folks behind our award winning Dogwood Festival. This festive event will begin at 6:30 p.m. at Festival Park and will feature bands such as Hot Sauce and Nantucket, which are definite crowd pleasers. Other activities include a wing and chili cook-off, a live feed from Times Square on large screens and even an early countdown event for children. A fireworks display will accompany our long awaited Dogwood Drop! Admission to this event is free.
For more information, please visit www.faydogwoodfestival.com.
Lifestyle/Philanthropy
Recently, the Fayetteville Young Professionals (FYP) gathered to celebrate a holiday social. This is a recently formed group, of which I am a member, of 21-40 year old professionals in Fayetteville, NC with the following mission.
“To create a network of young professionals in the greater Fayetteville area that fosters personal and professional development through relationship building, skill enhancement, community enrichment, and career advancement opportunities; to engage them to take ownership in the future success of our community.”
The goals of this group include:
- Increased interaction with peer group
- Keep young professionals in Fayetteville
- Enhance career development
- Increase career opportunities
- Contribute to the community
I want to discuss the first and last goals. On December 10, approximately 60 FYP members gathered for a holiday social. Guests were asked to contribute a minimum $10 to the FYP toy drive for the Salvation Army. More than $650 was raised that evening as young professionals mingled, exchanged business cards, discussed business within their respective sectors, dined on hors d’oeurves, and danced.
During the following days, a couple of the members volunteered to collect angels from the local shopping mall’s Angel Tree, which indicated the child’s name and desired gift. Afterwards, they shopped until every wish was granted, and some.
Today, a few of those members gathered to donate the toys for needy children at one of Santa’s workshops, better known as the Salvation Army warehouse. Volunteers were busy packing the gifts to distribute in time for Christmas.
A local restaurant, New Deli, donated the food for the evening. A local night club, the Speakeasy, provided the venue, and FYP volunteers worked to create a festive party. The increased interaction of this peer group is leading to greater community contributions, beyond financial donations. The collaboration of vendors, businesses, and volunteers is leading to a more cohesive community where we are increasingly more socially alert and progressively active in caring for our neighbors.
http://fayettevillencchamber.org/fayettevilleyoungprofessionals.php