Learn ‘Backyard Gardening’ in Asheboro library class

ASHEBORO – Learn about “Backyard Gardening” in a free class at the Asheboro Public Library, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 14.

 The class will be led by Cody Craddock, Horticulture Agent with North Carolina Cooperative Extension’s Randolph County Center.

The comprehensive class will cover the basics of gardening, including weed, disease and pest management; soil management; starting seeds; and gardening design and construction.

Afterwards there will be a question and answer period for any and all gardening questions.

Craddock is a life-long resident of Randolph County, and graduated from Mount Olive College in 2021. He has enjoyed gardening since he was a child, when he maintained a large garden and pulled a produce wagon to sell to neighbors.

The library is located at 201 Worth Street. For further information, call 336-318-6803.

Crack cold cases with SBI agent in Asheboro library talk

 ASHEBORO – Join Assistant Special Agent in Charge Nathaniel Thompson to learn how the State Bureau of Investigation tackles cold cases, at 6:30 p.m. Monday, March 6, at the Asheboro Public Library.

The talk is free and the public is invited.

Thompson is supervisor of the SBI’s Cold Case Investigation Team (CCIT). The CCIT collaborates with local law enforcement agencies to pursue new leads and leverage new forensic techniques focusing on unsolved criminal cases — particularly homicides.

Thompson is a 24-year veteran of the SBI. During his law enforcement career, he has investigated numerous homicides, high-level drug trafficking organizations, fraud and corruption cases throughout the state.

 The library is located at 201 Worth Street. Call 336-318-6803 for further information.

Country recording artist Stephanie Quayle brings ‘On the Edge’ to Asheboro’s Sunset Series

Country music artist and CMT Next Women of Country inductee Stephanie Quayle

ASHEBORO – Over 13 years ago, Stephanie Quayle experienced a profound tragedy when the love of her life died in a fiery plane crash.

But what she thought was the worst day of her life soon turned surreal: as she was stumbling through the layers of grief, pain and confusion, a shocking story came to light: she was not the only woman in his life.

Over time, she dug deep, transcended th
e pain, found her voice again and with collaborator Tori Tullier, created On the Edge, an eight-song album charting her path from a life shattered to the place of grace where she finds herself today.

Quayle and Tullier will perform the entire album followed by a Q & A in a Friends of the Library Sunset Signature Series event at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 10, in downtown Asheboro’s historic Sunset Theatre.

The performance is free and the public is invited. The Sunset Signature Series is sponsored by the Heart of North Carolina Visitors Bureau, City of Asheboro and the Friends of the Randolph County Public Libraries.

Quayle is a country music recording artist and a repeat performer at the Grand Ole Opry. In 2019, she was named as a member of that year’s class of the CMT Next Women of Country. 

Her songs have hit the Billboard Country Airplay chart twice, and her last three singles have reached 100 million listeners on Country Music radio. On tour, she has shared the stage with Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt, Aaron Watson, Gabby Barrett and others.

She has appeared on The Kelly Clarkson Show and Ellen, and was named an “Artist to Watch” by Rolling Stone Country.

Quayle grew up on a farm in Montana, where her family raised bison and cattle, kept drafting and riding horses, and grew alfalfa. She came to music early, starting with piano lessons.

Her creativity flourished in the form of stories, poems and songs and making music on piano and guitar. On graduating high school, she moved to California to pursue a music career, working day jobs and performing wherever she could.

After the trauma she experienced, she moved to Nashville and saw her songs hit the charts as she gained industry accolades.

Quayle is married to businessman David Couch, an Asheboro native.

The Sunset Theatre is located at 234 Sunset Avenue. For further information, contact the Heart of North Carolina Visitors Bureau at 800-626-2672.

Experience Bright Star Touring Theatre’s ‘Black History Hall of Fame’ at libraries countywide

A scene from 'Black History Hall of Fame'

ASHEBORO – Young audiences can meet some of the most significant Black Americans in Black History Hall of Fame, an interactive show by Bright Star Touring Theatre coming to each Randolph County Public Libraries location in February.

Some of the people introduced in the fast-moving production will include Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Madame CJ Walker, Louis Armstrong, Rosa Parks, Thurgood Marshall, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Mae Jamison, among many others.

The shows, which are sponsored by the Friends of the Library, will take place as follows:

• Archdale, 10433 S. Main St., 3:30 p.m. Friday, February 17;
• Asheboro, 201 Worth Street, 10:30 a.m., Thursday, February 16;
• Franklinville, 111 Sumner Place, 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, February 15;
• Liberty, 239 S. Fayetteville St.,  6:30 p.m. Thursday, February 16;
• Ramseur, 1512 S. Main St., 10 a.m. Friday, February 17;
• Randleman, 142 W. Academy St., 3:30 p.m. Thursday, February 16;
• Seagrove, 530 Old Plank Road, 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, February 15.

 This project is supported by the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

 For more information, call 336-318-6804.

Vocalist, Duke prof Mary D. Williams to present ‘Sounds of Freedom’ at Asheboro library

Mary D. Williams

ASHEBORO --  Hear “The Sounds of Freedom: From Slavery to Civil Rights” as vocalist and academic Mary D. Williams performs at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, February 16, at the Asheboro Public Library.

Williams, an adjunct professor at Duke University’s Center for Documentary Studies, will sing spirituals and protest songs as a means of exploring the role music played from enslavement through the Civil Rights movement. Her performance is free and the public is invited.

“There is something about music that seems to bring us closer to each other, often connecting us as a community,” she says. “This is true today, and it is true historically, even through some of the most difficult periods of our past.”

Williams’ knowledge of the music and the culture from which it emerged is rooted in her scholarly work. Her goal is to share what she has learned, performing the best traditions of North Carolina while dissecting their subtleties in a manner accessible for a wide audience.

She has provided her voice to various media projects, including the movie Blood Done Sign My Name. She sang at the North Carolina State Capitol for the 150th anniversary celebration of the 13th Amendment, and has appeared on National Public Radio.

She holds a bachelors degree in American Studies and a masters in Folklore from The University of North Carolina  at Chapel Hill.

The library is located at 201 Worth Street. For further information, call 336-318-6803.