Summer
In The City
By Kirsten Martin
There's
nothing like the heat of the summer in the heart
of the city! The Queen City invites you for a
myriad of activities for anyone looking for
seasonal summertime fun you can't get anywhere
else—choose from a day in the park full of bike
rides, kayaking, and fishing, or enjoy the cool
indoors with a trip to a world-renowned exhibit.
But who said you had to choose? There are enough
exciting trips to last you all summer long.
The Mecklenburg
County Park & Recreation Department (www.parkandrec.com,
704-336-3854) is home to 210 parks and
facilities located on more than 16,500 acres of
parkland throughout Mecklenburg County. Parks
come in all shapes and sizes, ranging from small
neighborhood parks to large district parks.
Mecklenburg parks feature an endless amount of
sporting facilities including baseball, disc
golf, and cross-country running, to name a few,
along with activities for individuals of all
ages. Whether you're canoeing or kayaking at
McDowell Nature Preserve, horseback riding at
Latta Plantation Equestrian Center, camping
under the stars after a hike, or enjoying a
relaxing day of fishing at Jetton Park, you'll
fall in love with Mecklenburg County's outdoor
possibilities!
One
of the nation's premier hands-on science museums
since 1981, Discovery Place (301 N. Tryon St.,
704-372-6261) has a summer schedule of events
that will immensely educate and entertain. From
world-renowned exhibitions to visual
blockbusters, the entire family will enjoy the
amazing quality of Discovery Place's events.
Discovery Place is now hosting the Southeastern
debut of Gunther von Hagens' BODY WORLDS: The
Anatomical Exhibition of Real Human Bodies.
Visitors will be
able to experience the complexity of the human
body by viewing real human bodies that have been
preserved through a remarkable process called
plastination. Created by anatomist and licensed
physician Dr. Gunther von Hagens, the BODY
WORLDS exhibition is the world's first public
anatomical presentation using plastination. The
display of more than 200 authentic organs, organ
configurations, and whole-body plastinates
offers a unique view of the human body that is
wholly true to life. Visitors will be able to
observe the body's functions including
locomotive, digestive, nervous, reproductive,
and vascular systems and compare healthy and
diseased organs such as a healthy lung with a
smoker's lung.
In the BODY WORLDS
exhibition, approximately 25 whole-body
plastinates are fixed in dramatic poses—playing
basketball, soccer, pondering a chess move, or
jogging—revealing realistic spatial
relationships among organs. The poses inspire
wonder in visitors of all ages, allowing them to
better understand the relationship of the
muscle, organ, and vascular systems. The
exhibition will run through October 28. Tickets
are $22 for adults, $16 for children ages 6-13,
and $8 for children ages 2-5, and younger than 2
are free. Students and seniors may receive
admission for $18 with the proper
identification. For more information, call
Discovery Place at 704-372-6261, or visit
www.discoveryplace.org or
www.bodyworlds.com.
If a full glance
of the city is what you're searching for, the
Gold Rush Circulator that traverses Center City
Charlotte makes it easy to get to and from all
the sights in the dynamic arts and entertainment
district. Operated by the Charlotte Area Transit
System, the Gold Rush features minibuses that
resemble historic streetcars. With three
different lines—orange, red, and blue—the Gold
Rush takes visitors on a tour of the entire
city, making it possible to walk from stops to
some of the most popular attractions in Center
City Charlotte. The name of the service as well
as its historic look pay tribute to the role
gold has played in the history of the Queen
City. Visitors can hop on any of the Gold Rush's
three lines for a free spin around the uptown
area. Call 704-336-RIDE for more information.
Discover
your green thumb at Daniel Stowe Botanical
Garden (6500 S. New Hope Rd., 704-825-4490),
located south of Belmont on the banks of Lake
Wylie. The 450 acres of rolling meadows and
woodlands are destined to become one of the
premier gardens in the world. In fact, Daniel
Stowe was named one of HGTV's “20 Great
Gardens.”
The
13,500-square-foot Robert Lee Stowe Visitor
Pavilion has a gift shop, meeting rooms,
classrooms, and a grand special events area.
Just outside the pavilion are meticulously
groomed formal gardens; natural woodland,
meadow, and wetland areas; greenhouses with
tropical plants; and myriad annual and perennial
flowers, shrubs, vines, and trees. The garden
also offers a variety of educational
opportunities through workshops and classes.
Located
in the heart of Charlotte's cultural district,
the Levine Museum of the New South (200 E. 7th
St., 704-333-1887) offers a multisensory,
multimedia, interactive experience that provides
visitors with a comprehensive interpretation of
post-Civil War southern society. The museum
features 40,000 square feet of exhibition and
public space that houses permanent and changing
exhibits covering the region's diverse history
with a focus on Charlotte and the Carolina
Piedmont.
The award-winning
centerpiece exhibit titled Cotton Fields to
Skyscrapers: Charlotte and the Carolina Piedmont
in the New South traces the growth of the
Piedmont from 1865 to the present and features
more than 1,000 artifacts, images, video clips,
and oral histories.
So enjoy the
beautiful sunshine of the summer in the
beautiful and historic city of Charlotte!
The Library That Faith Built
Billy Graham leaves a legacy worth preserving
By Emily Moore
As with all
construction projects, the Billy Graham Library
was built with worldly materials, but its true
foundation rests on three simple yet powerful
words, a phrase that Graham has often repeated
during his life: “Trust in God.”
“This building
behind me is just a building,” Graham told the
large audience during the library's May 31
dedication ceremony, which was attended by
dignitaries from around the globe. “It's an
instrument, a tool for the Gospel. The primary
thing is the Gospel of Christ.”
Serving as the
repository for and in honor of Graham's work and
life, the 40,000-square-foot, $27 million
complex offers visitors a look at “Graham's
historic evangelistic events, his use of radio,
television, and films to reach out to millions
of people around the world, meetings with
presidents and other world leaders, and a
fascinating glimpse into his personal life.” And
what a full life he has led.
The Reverend
William Franklin Graham, Jr. entered the world
88 years ago as the son of a humble dairy
farmer, yet his life has been anything but
ordinary. Ranked seventh on Gallup's “List of
Widely Admired People of the 20th Century,” he
is often credited as the world's most respected
ambassador of Christianity. His namesake library
celebrates Graham's commitment to his faith, a
spiritual affirmation that has touched over 210
million people spanning six continents.
The library is
located on 63 acres in Charlotte that includes
the Graham family homestead and the Billy Graham
Evangelistic Association (BGEA) international
headquarters and features an array of multimedia
displays including rare film footage and
photographs. Housing six exhibits, four
galleries, and two theaters, it offers visitors
more than a glimpse into Graham's dedication to
Christianity.
“There is an
educational value in the library in that it
helps visitors understand evangelism and a key
period in the history of evangelism,” says
Jeremy Blume, BGEA spokesman. “However, the
ultimate value of the library is that it serves
as a way to continue the ministry and message
that Billy Graham delivered around the world.” A
future addition will be an archive of Graham's
correspondence, ministry records, and sermon
manuscripts.
Located at 1
Billy Graham Parkway, the library is open to the
public Monday through Saturday, 9:30am to
5:00pm. Visitors may also enjoy the bookstore,
Ruth's Attic, and The Graham Bros. Dairy Bar, a
café featuring light fare, beverages, and dairy
desserts. Admission and parking are free, and
groups of 15 or more require a reservation. For
more information, call 704-401-3200, or visit
http://www.billygraham.org.
