Just in case you missed it, the Richmond County Daily Journal published a nice story this weekend highlighting Central Park NC's approach to regional development. In short, it's about marketing the area as a region. Dr. David Jones, chairman of the board for Central Park NC, put it best in telling the paper:

"No single county can go it alone," Jones said. "It needs to be a regional approach to economic stimulation. The resources are out there. A lot depends on the leadership, how willing they are to take risks and be more imaginative in economic development."

The 8-county area that comprises Central Park NC has a lot to offer enthusiasts of all sorts. Check out the sites featured throughout our website and visit this blog to hear more about upcoming events and things to do.

The dog is out of the bag. Wet Dog Glass, the glass furnace manufacturer from New Orleans, has relocated to the STARworks building in Star, NC.

The Montgomery Herald has an in-depth look at the company and its creative, and enterprising, workforce. This move has generated a lot of excitement by artisans throughout North Carolina who now have more immediate access to some of this country's foremost experts in glass and glass manufacture.

Learn more about Wet Dog Glass on their website and keep visiting this blog for more information. In the coming months we should be releasing some exciting new information about glass programs and opportunities to work in the studio.

One of the biggest festivals in the area is the Farmer's Day Festival in Robbins and it kicks off this Thursday and runs through Saturday evening.

Routinely attracting 30,000 visitors over a three-day period the festival has music on multiple stages, a parade, rides, a climbing wall, a mechanical bull, guitar makers, metal engraving demonstrations, gunsmithing, a performance by a parachute jump team, and quite a bit more.

Fireworks are on Friday only and start at 10:15pm.

This festival is well worth a visit, you'll be amazed at how a town with a little over 1,100 residents can really come alive for three summer days. My wife and I experienced the Farmers Festival in Robbins last year without knowing what it was. On our way into town we saw people riding horses eating ice cream and realized that maybe something was a little different about that day. Although mobbed with people the event as we experienced it was lots of fun and we're looking forward to it again.

Hope to see you there.

Anne Partna, the master gardener at STARworks, submitted some information to me about our community garden that we've started. Here is some description

Just before the end of the last school year, we hosted our first hands on composting workshop with Ms. Lamonds' Third Graders. The kids did a great job and learned how to recycle leaf litter, shredded paper, weeds and kitchen scraps to make food for plants.



Today, I spread the first bit of compost made in our own garden around the rosemary plants and a small fig tree. Thank you, young gardeners, for your help!



To date we've had some great produce from the garden. We hosted a meeting with our Fit Community partners last week and served a salad with ingredients harvested from the garden. Delicious! I'll leave you today with an image of some of this year's bounty.

We sent the following release out from Central Park NC offices today:

For Immediate Release: July 28, 2008

CENTRAL PARK NC Receives $54,000 Grant from N.C. Health and Wellness Trust Fund to Help Make Star a 'Fit Community'

(STAR, NC) – Recently, Central Park NC was awarded a Fit Community grant from the N.C. Health and Wellness Trust Fund (HWTF). The Fit Community initiative recognizes and rewards North Carolina municipality and county-led efforts to promote physical activity and healthy eating programs, policies, environments and lifestyles.

"By promoting healthy living, these communities are making a real difference," said Lt. Gov. Perdue, HWTF chair. "Star is improving the well-being of their residents and helping lead the way to a healthier North Carolina."

The $54,000 grant awarded to Central Park NC provides funding over a two-year period, beginning July 1st. It seeks to build a walking trail and implement programming that supports the use of the trail by seniors. The town of Star has made a commitment to altering town policies in ways that support and promote healthy lifestyles. A number of organizations in Montgomery County are partnering to make this grant a success including the Montgomery County Health Department, Montgomery County Council on Aging, Montgomery County Parks and Recreation, Troy-Montgomery Senior Center, Montgomery Planning Committee for Services to the Elderly, and the NC Family Caregiver Support Program at Cooperative Extension.

Multiple grant applications were received from across the state in response to a Request for Proposals; awards were also given to City of Burlington Recreation and Parks, the Caswell County Parks and Recreation Department, the Town of Edenton, the Town of Faison, FirstHealth of the Carolinas (Town of Pinehurst), Pitt County Government, Salisbury Land Management and Development for their dedication to improving the quality of life for local residents. All North Carolina municipalities were eligible to apply for $60,000 in grant funding for a period of two years. Over the past three years, HWTF has awarded nearly $1.5 million in grants as part of Fit Community.

Obesity has emerged as a major threat to children and adults across the United States, and especially here in North Carolina. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 61 percent of North Carolina adults are overweight or obese, with obesity-related expenses adding up to more than $2.1 billion annually. HWTF's Fit Community initiative supports local efforts to address this growing problem. For more information about Fit Community program, visit www.FitCommunityNC.org.


About the NC Health and Wellness Trust Fund

The NC Health and Wellness Trust Fund makes North Carolina stronger, both physically and economically, by funding programs that promote preventive health. Created by the General Assembly in 2000 to allocate a portion of North Carolina's share of the national tobacco settlement, HWTF has invested $143 million to support preventive health initiatives and $102 million to fund prescription drug assistance programs. For more information, please visit www.HealthWellNC.com.

-END-

Looking for information about what's happening in Stanly County? The Convention and Visitors Bureau in Stanly County runs a blog that covers events in Albemarle and countywide on a weekly basis.

Among the festivities on tap for this weekend, a performance of "Children of Eden" by the Uwharrie Players. The Salisbury Post writes that the play is:

"Freely based on the story of Genesis, "Children of Eden" is a frank, heartfelt and often humorous examination of the age-old conflict between parents and their children. The show ultimately delivers a bittersweet but inspiring message: that "the hardest part of love... is letting go.""

Sounds like a great time on a hot day this weekend. Visit the Salisbury Post or the Uwharrie Players website for more information.