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(11/03/08 5:00am)
Due to a reporting error" this story incorrectly stated the number of partnerships Kidzu Children's Museum has with UNC entities. It has 16. The Daily Tar Heel apologizes for the error.Kidzu Children's Museum has crossed a line but in this case" that's a good thing.The Chapel Hill-based Foundation for a Sustainable Community annually awards the title of Nonprofit Business of the Year to a local organization. This year it is Kidzu that best represents the foundation's ""triple bottom line"" principle:""We measure an organization's commitment to sustainability based on the economic prosperity" social equity and responsibility and environmental protection" said Anne McKune, the foundation's associate director. Organizations can choose to nominate themselves for the award, as Kidzu did, or can be nominated by a community member. Once nominated, Kidzu had to submit an application detailing how they meet the triple bottom line criteria.They are a great example of this triple bottom line overlap because of their work in the social area" and their programs are leaning in the direction of environmental sustainability" McKune said. Kidzu, located on East Franklin Street, offers interactive programs and displays for children and families. During its first two years of operation, Kidzu showcased traveling exhibits from other children's museums. The organization opened its first original hands-on program entitled KidZoom: The Power of Creativity!"" in July.""Our new exhibit that opened in July is a great example of how people in the local community worked to fit the triple bottom line"" said Jonathan Mills, board president of chairman of Kidzu's board of directors.The exhibit features local artists' attempts to promote environmentally sound and healthy values. The new program is intended to educate children on the process produce takes from the garden to the market, promote healthy food choices, teach building and community design and encourage children to be artistically creative. With more than 100 community volunteers, the children's museum works with 68 UNC entities, including student interns, the UNC Department of Athletics, and many fraternities and sororities.Volunteering is important because of what you give but also because of what you get" and this is all part of being part of the community" Mills said.And to make the museum more accessible, highlighting the museum's emphasis on social responsibility, Kidzu will offer free admission every Sunday beginning in early 2009. A Durham Regional Hospital grant will fund these admission-free Sundays.On these days, Kidzu will feature its Good to Grow"" program" in which different providers will teach caregivers about how children grow. The program includes events such as free dental screenings seat belt-check instructions and early reading courses. Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(10/27/08 4:00am)
Kidzu Children's Museum is making efforts to reach out to the Latino community.As part of a new program funded by community organizations the museum has hired a bilingual outreach coordinator to make Kidzu more accessible to Latinos and low-income families said Executive Director Cathy Maris.The museum has hired Carol Osorio-Flores Hodgman for the new position. Hodgman is a native of Tegucigalpa Honduras. She said that Kidzu is a perfect match for her.Hodgman will serve as a liaison between Kidzu and partner organizations. She will host free events on Sundays for low-income families. She will also inform the Orange County community of the new services.The current exhibit at Kidzu" ""Kidzoom: The Power of Creativity"" is already presented in English and Spanish.The exhibit was created by professional and local designers, Maris said. The objective of the exhibit is to celebrate the community.Having free admission on Sundays is absolutely wonderful"" Terri Colburn said.Colburn traveled from Wake Forest on Sunday to bring her 4-year-old daughter to Kidzu.She said she chose to come to the museum on the free day as an alternative to the N.C. State Fair, because of the poor economy.Hodgman will also help to bring extra programs to the museum as a part of the free Sundays.Maris said this will be a good addition to the learning objectives of the museum.This is a good opportunity to combine play and learning" which is the essence of what we do at Kidzu" Maris said.This month, Kidzu offered free dental screenings and advice on raising healthy children, an event sponsored by the Orange County Partnership for Young Children.Hodgman has been living in the United States for six years, during which she has worked with various children's organizations.Free admission on Sundays is part of the grant proposal of the Early Learning Partners, funded by Durham Regional Hospital.We're really thrilled to have funding from the state"" Maris said.In November, the museum is going to host a program, again supported by Orange County Partnership for Young Children, that will offer information about looking for and affording childcare.What Kidzu learns from this new program will help it grow its services, Maris said.To be the best children's museum possible"" we need to make sure that we effectively are reaching all members of the community.""Contact La Colina desk atlacolinadesk@gmail.com.
(09/08/08 4:00am)
No new details from police on Friday armed robberies Chapel Hill police have not released any additional information about the two armed robberies that took place early Friday.The University's Emergency Warning Committee alerted the UNC community Friday afternoon about the two robberies which took place between 1:30 a.m. and 2:30 a.m.The e-mail was sent at about 5:30 p.m.One incident involved a student on Vance Street who was struck in the face and had a wallet cell phone and cash taken from him by two assailants. The other occurred on West Cameron Avenue where two students were robbed at gunpoint by one assailant.None of the students were seriously injured according to the e-mail.Town Council to discuss land applications Wallace DeckThe Chapel Hill Town Council will hold its regular business meeting at 7 p.m. at the at Chapel Hill Town Hall.Items on the council's agenda include:
A proposal to build a new structure to house Kidzu Children's Museum atop Wallace Parking Deck on Rosemary Street.
Applications for a master land-use permit and special-use permit for Woodmont Development.
A public hearing on a long-range transportation plan for Durham Chapel Hill and Carrboro.
(08/22/08 4:00am)
Chapel Hill will hold the last event in the Locally Grown entertainment series tonight.
The Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership and the Parks and Recreation Department presented the event twice already this summer. The event features local entertainment and family friendly activities.
"Locally Grown helps us promote downtown and gives people the chance to enjoy our businesses and everything the town has to offer," said Meg McGurk, assistant director of the Downtown Partnership.
(08/22/08 4:00am)
Fire at Carrboro apartments causes property damage
A fire late Wednesday at a Carrboro independent living facility caused about $45,000 worth of damage.
A single sprinkler extinguished the bedroom fire at Carolina Springs Apartments on West Poplar Avenue, according to a press release from the Carrboro Fire-Rescue Department.
Crews evacuated the retirement home but later allowed everyone back into the building at about 1:30 a.m. Thursday, except the occupants of the involved apartment and the apartment below it.
(08/19/08 4:00am)
A downtown Chapel Hill parking deck could someday house Kidzu Children's Museum.
A study, recommended by the Chapel Hill Town Council and presented to a committee formed by Mayor Kevin Foy, indicated that building an addition atop East Rosemary Street's Wallace Deck could provide a permanent facility for the Franklin Street museum.
"The mayor's committee saw the first draft of our report on the structural soundness and feasibility of the Wallace Deck as a site for Kidzu and gave a very positive response," Kidzu Executive Director Cathy Maris said.
She said a one- to two-story structure built atop the deck could house the museum in the future, providing space for more exhibits.
The Franklin Street spot was intended as a temporary location when Kidzu opened in March 2006, and Maris said the nonprofit is on the lookout for a larger home.
"Moving has always been a part of our plan," she said. "We were going to start in a small space, establish ourselves in the community and help people understand how important a children's museum is."
She said an anonymous donor has offered Kidzu free space in Carrboro, but she wants to keep the museum close to UNC due to partnerships with campus organizations and local businesses.
Maris said children's museums often locate in donated space.
Carlo Robustelli, Foy's aide, said the museum would be responsible for the cost of building an addition to Wallace Deck. He said both the mayor and the committee that received Kidzu's study hope to keep the museum downtown.
Dwight Bassett, interim director of the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership, said Kidzu is a vital part of the downtown economy.
"I think it's a very important component of continuing to revitalize downtown Chapel Hill," he said, adding that the partnership will work with Kidzu to find a home in town.
"In my viewpoint, Kidzu is one of those economic engines in that it draws parents and children and visitors to that destination."
Assistant City Editor Emily Stephenson contributed reporting.
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(07/17/08 4:00am)
The growing pains are finished for Franklin Street's Kidzu Children's Museum.
After two years of renting other children's museums' exhibits while raising the money to create its own, Kidzu unveiled its first original exhibit July 11.
"This is a really momentous time for us as a children's museum," Kidzu Executive Director Cathy Maris said. "The rented children's exhibits really didn't reflect and show our community or our creativity."
(02/13/08 5:00am)
Elegant decor in cyan and chocolate, walls accented with oval mirrors and a baby-grand piano adorn the lobby, bar and entrance to the Franklin Hotel.
And last month this 18-month-old addition to Franklin Street won the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce's 2007 Business Newcomer of the Year Award.
The award is given to a chamber-member business that is less than three years old and shows innovation, creativity and contribution to the community.
(02/12/08 5:00am)
The Chapel Hill Town Council gave Kidzu Children's Museum encouragement Monday night when it rejected the staff recommendation to prevent its expansion to the Franklin Street post office.
The council instead voted to form a committee that will work with Kidzu officials to assess relocation possibilities.
Many of the council members expressed support for bringing Kidzu to the post office, rejecting the idea that the space could be better utilized by town offices and facilities.
"(The recommendation) seems incompatible with a lot of what has been stated by this council as a priority for downtown," said council member Mark Kleinschmidt, citing the town's interest in developing a more cultural atmosphere.
Council member Ed Harrison said that the situation at hand highlighted the town's crunch for affordable space downtown but that he still thought Kidzu was a good use of the post office location.
"I have never envisioned the post office building as a place to put town offices," he said.
Kidzu's current location at 105 E. Franklin St. was always intended as temporary, said Cathy Maris, the museum's executive director. It opened in 2006 with donations that covered rent for 20 months.
"It was a great way for us to start," she said. "But it does have limitations that could prevent us from fulfilling our mission."
Those limitations include space constraints that restrict how many visitors and exhibits the museum can host and therefore how much revenue it can generate, she said.
The donation covering rent has run out, she said, and the museum now has to cover $85,000 in rent and occupancy costs.
"Now that we have these significant occupancy costs, the limits on revenues that we can generate on our small space are particularly problematic."
Kidzu is also considering two sites in Carrboro. One site is a 2.5 acre lot that was donated last week. The other is shared with the ArtsCenter of Carrboro.
The benefit of either Carrboro site is the flexibility Kidzu will have in choosing how to use the space, Maris said. The donated lot is empty and donations will cover the construction costs.
"We can create anything we want there," Maris said, although she expressed hesitance to leave Chapel Hill because of benefits they reap from their from proximity to UNC.
The museum relies on volunteer and work-study students as staff and on the University to attract visitors, Maris said. Kidzu also has partnerships with 14 University organizations.
"Being next to the University is a big deal for us," she said, citing Kidzu's goal of promoting educational innovation. "We believe that we can do that because of the intellectual capital of this town."
Maris said expansion is urgent, regardless of where the museum goes. "It's essential that Kidzu secure an expansion site if it's going to survive."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(01/10/08 5:00am)
Two-year-old Ivan Krivacka from Hillsborough had his first Kidzu Children's Museum experience Wednesday morning.
After an arts and crafts session and pressing different buttons to make Herald - the inflatable dragon - come to life, Ivan played with fire.
"I cooking apples!" he exclaimed to his grandmother, Joan Witt.
He threw a red plastic fruit into a bucket sitting atop the flickering pseudo-flame of an open stove.
"Yes, you are such a good cook," Witt replied with a smile as she helped him turn the handle of the nearby play rotisserie.
After hearing about the museum's popularity, Joan Witt and her husband, Peter, of Chapel Hill, decided to join the museum for the annual family dues of $75 for when their grandchild comes to town.
"We think it's wonderful," Peter Witt said two hours into the family's visit. "I thought we'd be out of here long ago, but he's engrossed."
"It has been so successful, so we decided to join," Joan Witt said.
In fact, Kidzu celebrated its 50,000th visitor Dec. 21, which Executive Director Cathy Maris said was no small feat for a local museum that opened less than two years ago in March 2006.
"Most new children's museums in their second year of opening see a 30 percent drop in attendance," Maris said.
From the time the museum opened until the end of 2006, the museum saw about 27,000 visitors, Maris said.
"There's been an enthusiastic embrace of the museum from the community," she said.
Peppy Linden, executive director of the Virginia Discovery Museum in Charlottesville, also said that it is "not hard to start a children's museum, but difficult to sustain it."
She attributed diminished interest in museums after the opening year to the initial novelty that eventually loses its luster.
But the Discovery Museum, which opened in 1986 with 1,000 square feet of gallery space and has since expanded to 4,000 square feet of gallery space, is proof that children's museums can still attract visitors long after opening.
"Last year we had 53,909," Linden said. "That was our record."
Kidzu still is looking to expand from its leased location at 105 E. Franklin St. of 2,700 square feet to a site measuring 15,000 to 20,000 square feet.
"This is really a pivotal year for Kidzu," Maris said. "We've demonstrated success at our current site and overshot our projections, but we can't sustain ourselves in this location indefinitely."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(08/27/07 4:00am)
Shimmies, hip bumps, snake arms and temple arms were among the belly-dancing techniques five young girls and their instructor taught to a group of parents and visitors at Kidzu Children's Museum on Saturday.
The girls, ages 3 to 11, performed for about 25 audience members alongside instructor Terri Allred, stage name Sadiya, as part of Happy Hips Youth Oriental Dance Troupe.
Sadiya means "Happy" or "Lucky," Allred said.
"Most Oriental teachers select a stage name, and I wanted one that people were able to pronounce, especially for my younger students," Allred said. "And I give my students a stage name, if they want one."
She said Happy Hips was inspired by her 7-year-old niece.
"She had a birthday party, and I performed for the children and saw that they enjoyed it. From there, I decided that I was going to impact the lives of young girls."
The belly dancers began the 30-minute program introducing the basics of belly dancing, including the sound effects used to accommodate certain moves, such as the hissing sound made when the dancer performs snake arms - a wave beginning with one wrist and moving through the shoulders to the other.
The Chapel Hill-Carrboro group consists of 10 members and debuted at the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Holiday Parade last year.
"It was freezing cold out, but the kids didn't seem to care," she said, adding that the dancers were having so much fun they didn't even notice the judges. The troupe was awarded for being the "most original."
Saturday's Kidzu performance began with Sadiya's solo, followed by the Happy Hips girls doing individual improvisations.
Yana Levy, 5, was the only one of the group whose choreography included the belly roll - a difficult move for some dancers.
Levy, who starts kindergarten today, has been belly dancing for about a year.
"I was able to do the belly roll before belly-dancing class," she said. "It isn't very hard for me when I learned it in class."
Sadiya and Happy Hips concluded by teaching the audience how to belly dance while wearing a hip scarf, a translucent, silklike fabric with bells and other trinkets attached.
Six-year-old Emily Rowan saw Allred perform at the ArtsCenter in Carrboro, where she taught classes. The experience sparked Rowan's own interest in belly dancing.
"I like belly dancing because Sadiya teaches belly dancing," Rowan said. "And I like the belly roll the most."
Tina Clossick, director of operations and programs at Kidzu, said the troupe matches Kidzu's mission.
"We asked Sadiya and Happy Hips to perform because they are a great organization that cares about working with kids and have great intentions like us," she said.
Clossick said Sadiya had performed a duet with a fellow belly dancer, Seher, at Kidzu before.
"Happy Hips has grown in popularity so much that we have been turning people away when they ask for us to perform," Allred said, "but we wanted to perform at Kidzu because we enjoy working with children."
Clossick said there was a bigger turnout to Saturday's performance than with other Kidzu events "because kids love to watch other kids perform."
Contact the Arts Editor at artsdesk@unc.edu.
(08/24/07 4:00am)
Two downtown establishments designed to allow children to get creative are considering sharing a location in the future.
Leaders of Kidzu Museum and the Carrboro ArtsCenter have tentatively discussed pairing up in a building, but executive directors from both organizations emphasize that nothing is anywhere near being set in stone.
"The No. 1 priority of the ArtsCenter is to build a new ArtsCenter," Executive Director Jon Wilner said, adding that if the two nonprofits ultimately ended up housed together, it would be "the icing on the cake."
In the meantime, the museum and the ArtsCenter are focusing on acquiring new facilities - regardless of whether or not the space will be shared - because both organizations are extraordinarily tight on space.
"Kidzu's biggest priority at this time is to find an expansion site that will allow us to fulfill our mission and be the best kids' museum as possible," Executive Director Cathy Maris said.
But both directors said the potential for synergy between the two facilities is realistic and opens up the possibility for combining programs.
Wilner said one night he had a dream that the ArtsCenter, Kidzu and an arts magnet school associated with Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools were combined into one building.
"I thought, 'Boy, wouldn't that be incredible to create an instant destination for our families right here in our community, serving kids of every conceivable age?'"
Kidzu's programs are focused for children 8 years old or younger, while the ArtsCenter's programs are geared toward children 6 years old and older. The ArtsCenter also caters to artistic adults.
"We're exploring if there's an overlap there, and if there is, then that's terrific," Maris said.
"The ArtsCenter has always been very supportive of Kidzu's efforts as a new nonprofit."
Kidzu moved into its current location at 105 E. Franklin St. in March 2006, and within 12 months it served more than 29,000 visitors.
"The very limited space we have now is limiting our ability to serve the needs of our visitors as fully as we want to," Maris said.
Kidzu is able to house only one exhibit at a time, which Maris said "presents some challenges."
"The museum knew from day one that the space we are currently in was a starting space," she said.
The ArtsCenter owns the building at 300 E. Main St. and will either renovate or add on to its building if the organization does not move.
The ArtsCenter serves 60,000 people each year, at least half of them children. The center offers a drama conservatory, children's and family art programs, concerts, theater productions and two galleries.
When plans were made for the redevelopment of the entire 300 Main Street block by Main Street Properties of Chapel Hill LLC, Wilner saw an opportunity.
Wilner said, "We need a new building since we're bursting at the seams."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(04/26/07 4:00am)
Sustainability was the focus of discussion at Wednesday's Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership Board of Directors meeting.
Board members discussed the importance of a mixed-use sustainable downtown, the partnership's main concern, as well as the growth of environmentally sustainable technology, or "green" technology.
"We really want to make sure we're strategically placing the right business in the right location for downtown growth," partnership Executive Director Liz Parham said.
Board members discussed the need for developing clusters of businesses that could become destinations in their own rights.
Tom Tucker, chairman of the board, said green technology could aid these clusters.
He added that the economy is moving toward sustainable technology, which future projects like Carolina North inevitably will use.
The board discussed how to organize the various suggestions.
"To me the first thing we need is a well-respected, well-articulated master plan," Mayor Kevin Foy said.
The board voted to form a sub-committee that would focus on forming such a plan and more immediate problems, such as keeping Kidzu Children's Museum downtown.
Now into its second year, the museum has brought families back to downtown, but the current space is too small for the customers it serves. Its lease runs out in August, said Jonathan Mills, president of Kidzu's board of directors.
The museum has gotten offers to move outside of downtown and even outside of Chapel Hill, Mills said.
"If we don't address Kidzu, we're going to lose Kidzu," Parham said.
To stay in downtown, the museum needs either the town or University to donate a space, as rent on Franklin Street is too expensive for the museum, Mills said.
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(01/24/07 5:00am)
Parents and their children took a walk through the colorful and magical world of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood on Tuesday for the first time at Kidzu Children's Museum on Franklin Street.
The Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood exhibit, based on the set of the children's television show, will be open to the public until the end of April.
The exhibit includes life-size versions of King Friday's castle, the show's iconic trolley and a stoplight and a fish tank resembling those in Mr. Rogers' living room.
"We really thought that Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood was perfect for us because it's built on childhood education," said Tina Clossick, the museum's director of operations and programing.
Sarah Bergmann, of Chapel Hill, visited the exhibit with her son, Leo, who is almost 3 years old.
She said they didn't come to the museum specifically for the exhibit, but Leo was having fun.
Leo had never seen the television show before, but his mom said she watched it as a child.
"I loved it," she said. "I'm surprised they still show it."
The final new show aired in 2001, ending Fred Rogers' 34 years on the job.
Leo said he liked watching clips from the show on a television in the exhibit. "When you press the buttons the people say happy birthday to Mr. Rogers," he said.
Emma Lawrence, a volunteer at Kidzu, said the exhbit's piano that plays songs from the show is a hit.
"The kids always love anything with music," she said.
Clossick said the exhibit has been getting positive feedback.
"It's really great for different ages," she said.
The exhibit came from the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh and will run to the end of April.
Clossick said many parents like the nostalgia the exhibit evokes.
"It's exciting to be able to experience things from your own childhood and to bring it to your own children," she said.
Clossick also said she plans to have local police officers and firefighters come and talk to the children.
"It's getting the kids oriented to the idea that we are all neighbors, and we should know who each other are and what's going on."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(01/11/07 5:00am)
CORRECTION: Due to a reporting error, this story incorrectly states the size of the Kidzu space. It is 2,700 square feet. The Daily Tar Heel apologizes for the error.
With a Starbucks, Goodfellas and Qdoba lining the block, Franklin Street will never be short of college co-eds.
Now Kidzu Children's Museum is working to make sure it never wants for three- and four-year-olds, either.
Kidzu, which opened March 7, since has become a downtown staple and an overnight success.
(11/15/06 5:00am)
Tom Tucker, chairman of the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership, said he hears concerns everyday from downtown business owners about panhandling.
He said panhandling is also an issue for first-time visitors to Chapel Hill.
"They get a cup of coffee, they go get some ice cream, they buy a T-shirt," Tucker said.
"The very next experience they have is a panhandling experience."
Panhandling was the main topic of a safety forum presented by the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership on Tuesday, which also discussed homelessness, signage and lighting.
Concerned citizens, town staff and downtown business owners sat around tables, perched on bar stools and even stood in Jack Sprat Cafe at 161 E. Franklin St. to express their concerns.
Tucker suggested two solutions to aggressive panhandling: legislative action to augment education about how to handle the situation and more police enforcement downtown.
Kidzu Children's Museum board member Sandra Rich said she agrees. As an elementary school teacher in Atlanta, she said she taught children and their parents not to give money to panhandlers and homeless people, but rather to agencies that could help them.
"When you're talking about education, you have to start early," she said.
Chapel Hill police Capt. Jackie Carden said that nine police officers were placed downtown on Nov. 7, and that the town plans to add two more in the spring of next year to decrease panhandling and other problems.
Although police presence has increased downtown, Orange and Chatham county District Attorney Jim Woodall said he's concerned with the Hillsborough jail not being able to house many people charged with panhandling and sleeping on public benches because of overcrowding.
"You're not going to have a place where you can take them to get them off the street for any significant period of time," he said.
Chapel Hill Town Council member Sally Greene said she encourages everyone to think from the point of view of a homeless person and to realize that homelessness is not exclusive to Chapel Hill.
"It's not just a Chapel Hill problem," she said. "It's not just a North Carolina problem. It's a national problem."
Greene provided forum attendees with updates on the local
10-Year Plan to End Homelessness.
She said the plan will have provisions for housing, basic necessities, employment and education for the homeless.
Jack Sprat owner Steve Dorozenski expressed other concerns such as signage and lighting.
He said he wanted signs to be placed downtown to show visitors the way to parking decks, restrooms and University facilities.
"I see a lot of people come up, especially from out of town, they just stand around," he said. "They have no idea where to go."
Dorozenski said he also is concerned about the lack of light in Amber Alley and other alleys.
Public Works Director Bill Letteri said he is working to improve lighting and thus safety.
He presented forum participants with an update on the Streetscape Master Plan, which is geared toward the west end of downtown Franklin Street and nearby side streets.
Letteri said the public works department is trying to incorporate lighting improvements into design plans by working with indoor and outdoor design firms.
These issues and others will be discussed at the partnership's annual meeting and forum Nov. 28 at the Varsity Theatre.
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(10/11/06 4:00am)
Four-year-old Bennett Barnes smiled as he marched in step with the parade.
As he held a traditional Vietnamese lantern in his hand, his feet marched to the beat of the music playing in the background.
Meanwhile Vietnamese-American Carol Nguyen read the lyrics to a festival folk song.
"Walk around with lanterns lit. Take them all across the town, singing to the autumn moon. Take my lantern to the sky, take my lantern to the moon," she sang.
The parade was part of a special program held at Kidzu Children's Museum in downtown Chapel Hill. It represented traditional Vietnamese parades that occur during Tet-Trung-Thu - the mid-autumn festival honoring children.
The festival also honors the harvest and the moon, which is brightest during this time of the year.
The program was held as a part of Kidzu's fall exhibit "Every Picture Tells a Story," and helped kick off the museum's Celebration of Many Cultures.
During the celebration, UNC international studies students and community members will visit the museum to give presentations about cultures from around the globe.
Nguyen spoke with parents and their children Tuesday and gave a presentation about Vietnamese culture.
The festival occurs on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month and generally is celebrated during the first weekend of October in the United States.
"Vietnamese families plan their activities around their children on this day," Nguyen said.
"Parents use the mid-autumn festival as an opportunity to show their love for their children."
The lanterns Barnes and the other children held are a common sight at the parades held in villages and towns across Vietnam.
Children perform "little dances" for their parents and enjoy moon cakes, cookies made once a year for the festival, Nguyen said.
Nguyen said her involvement with the program came out of a desire to teach children about diversity and about her culture.
"I think it's just important that children be exposed to lots of cultures and diversity when they're younger," Nguyen said.
"It makes them more accepting when they're older."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(08/31/06 4:00am)
More than 50 people gathered Wednesday to recognize the opening of Greenbridge Development's design center in Chapel Hill.
(04/28/06 4:00am)
The local business community saw its fair share of change this year.
The issue of turnover is a common one for the downtown business community, and this year was no different.
"The changes have been good," said Liz Parham, the executive director of the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership.
Besides the perennial shift in eateries, the downtown welcomed a new children's museum called Kidzu. The museum opened in early March at 105 E. Franklin St., the former home of the Laughing Turtle Home store.
"That's a great asset for the district," Parham said of the museum. "It will bring in a younger crowd."
The older Franklin Street patrons probably noticed that one of downtown's historic fast-food eateries shut down in February.
Hector's, which had been at 201 E. Franklin St. since 1969, closed briefly this year to make way for the East End Martini Bar's expansion.
The restaurant quickly reopened in March at 108 Henderson St., the former Off Franklin Bar and Grill location. "The new location is better; it's more clean," Juan Bautista, co-owner of the restaurant, said in March.
The move forced the restaurant to change its setup, as Hector's now has its kitchen closed off from customers, rather than in the dining area.
The old Hector's spot still is waiting to open up to the public.
East End plans to open up a night club called Uptown at the old restaurant venue. The club's opening was delayed because of confusion about a fire ordinance that requires new establishments to install a sprinkler system.
Co-owner Craig LaMontagne said in mid-April that he is working on what avenues to take to be exempted from this rule, which would delay the club's opening two more months.
Another eatery announced this year that it would be moving. El Rodeo is moving down a block, from 1404 E. Franklin St. to 1502 E. Franklin St.
Owner Rigo Ibarra said he is excited about the move. He does not know the exact move-in date, but he said it might happen in about two weeks.
The move will allow the restaurant to occupy a newer and larger space after 17 years in its bright-orange home. "We're going to have a much better place," Ibarra said.
Some older establishments closed their doors this year, after decades in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro area.
Pace Gift Shop in Glen Lennox shopping center closed at the end of January after more than 53 years in business. Store owner Wendy Maxwell said she has been unable to find a buyer for the store.
Riggsbee-Hinson Furniture Co., 311 E. Main St., announced this spring that is was closing after a 58-year run in Carrboro.
The store closed as a result of lackluster business and the failing health of store owner Charles Browning, who died March 25
Co-manager Chip Browning, son of Charles Browning, said he is in the process of cleaning things up and "yard-selling things out of here."
He said it was difficult to operate a small business in the midst of competition from larger stores.
"People are more apt to go shopping at these giant stores."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(03/23/06 5:00am)
A man was arrested Wednesday on charges of second degree trespassing in the Student Union, according to University police reports.
Leamon Gerald Tapp Jr., 36, was arrested March 10 on similar charges, and he told police he was released from jail Monday, reports state.
According to reports, Tapp's bail was set for $250 before he was transported to the Orange County Jail.
His court date is set for April 4, reports state.
Kidzu Children's Museum at 105 E. Franklin St. was the victim of a breaking and entering that was reported Tuesday, Chapel Hill police reports state.
