Three events in Durham this weekend:
On Friday night, head to Durham for the first installment of this year’s “Audio Under the Stars” series. Co-produced by WCHL alum Elizabeth Friend, “Audio Under the Stars” grew out of a project at Duke’s Center for Documentary Studies. It’s an evening of audio stories, all centered around a theme, drawn from hundreds of submissions from around the area, the country, and even the world.
Elizabeth Friend spoke with WCHL’s Aaron Keck and previewed a couple of the pieces.
Friday’s edition of Audio Under the Stars will revolve around the theme of “Metamorphosis.” It will run from 8-10 pm at the Center for Documentary Studies on West Pettigrew Street in Durham. Bring a chair or a blanket, sit under the stars, close your eyes and listen. (The event is free and open to everyone; food and drinks will be available for purchase.)
Get more info online at AudioUnderTheStars.org.
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On Saturday, May 27, you’re invited to the Scrap Exchange at 2050 Chapel Hill Road from noon to 3:00 for a brunch banquet celebrating Inside Out, an organization that serves LGBTQ+ students in area schools.
It’s the 11th Annual Awards Banquet & Gaiety, with food and drinks plus awards honoring adult and youth activists, including students who have organized Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs) in their schools.
Amy Glaser is the director of Inside Out. She spoke with Aaron Keck on WCHL – along with Quinn, who attends West Millbrook Middle School and serves as president of Upside Down, which works specifically with LGBTQ+ kids 12 and under.
Saturday’s event is free and open to everyone. (The event is partly a fundraiser, though, so donations will be accepted as well.) Visit InsideOut180.org or UpsideDown180.org for more information.
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On Sunday, banjo virtuosos Mark Olitsky and Cary Moskovitz will team up for a concert at the Big Porch in Durham, to promote their new album “Duets.” Moskovitz is an aerospace engineer who teaches in Duke’s Thompson Writing Program; Olitsky’s an Ohio-based performer who’s been described (true story) as “The Banjo Wizard of Cleveland.” They teamed up at a festival in West Virginia last year and decided to make a record together; banjo duets aren’t common, they say, but the two complement each other with very different playing styles.
Olitsky and Moskovitz joined Aaron Keck on WCHL to discuss the album and play two songs live.
Olitsky and Moskovitz are actually playing two concerts this weekend: one on Saturday at 8 pm, at the Green Barn east of Saxapahaw (3249 Henderson Field Road), and one on Sunday at 4 pm at the Big Porch in Durham (1112 Georgia Avenue). Seats for the Durham show are very limited: email reservations@bigporch.us to reserve tickets.
Get more info about Olitsky and Moskovitz at OlitskyMoskovitz.com…
…and hear more of their music on their Bandcamp page.
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And on Monday, Memorial Day, PBS will air a 60-minute documentary called “Farmer/Veteran” as part of its Independent Lens series.
Filmed and produced in North Carolina, it’s the story of a veteran, Alex Sutton, who returns home from three combat tours in Iraq and attempts to forge a new identity as a farmer. That’s where the story begins – but over the course of a single hour, “Farmer/Veteran” finds itself exploring some very challenging questions about how we treat veterans, the positions we put them in, the realities of war, and the thin line between truth and fiction.
Durham-based advocate Kim Lan Grout is the impact producer for the documentary; she spoke with Aaron Keck this week (and previewed a couple audio clips from the film).
“Farmer/Veteran” airs on PBS from 10-11 pm on Monday night. There will be a watch party at Ponysaurus in downtown Durham that evening; everyone’s invited to attend. (If you’re not able to watch the film on Monday night, it will also be available to stream on PBS.org from May 30 through June 12.)
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