$7 Rabies Vaccine Special at After Hours Veterinary Emergency Clinic & Guilford College Animal Hospital

A local animal group, Animal Rescue and Foster Program of Greensboro (www.arfpnc.com), has tipped me off and asked me to spread the word about a good deal on rabies vaccines here in Greensboro.

During the month of January, the After Hours Veterinary Emergency Clinic & Guilford College Animal Hospital, located at 5505 West Friendly Avenue, Greensboro, NC 27410, near Guilford College, will be offering rabies vaccines for only seven dollars. These shots will be available 24 hours a day through the entire month, so there's no reason not to get your pet protected against the deadly rabies virus.

According to the clinic, "no appointment is necessary during emergency hours (nights, holidays, and weekends), but calling ahead is strongly encouraged. Appointments are recommended Monday-Friday 8am - 6pm." The phone number for the clinic is  336-851-1990. Email service@ahvec.com for more information.

Pet owners, remember that rabies vaccinations are required by law.

You can also find What's Good in Greensbroro? on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Whats-Good-in-Greensboro-848569635208317/ . See you there!

Veterinarian image from Pixabay https://pixabay.com/en/kitten-veterinarian-feline-doctor-569873/

"Giving Tuesday" in Greensboro

 
Everyone is familiar with "Black Friday", the big Christmas shopping day right after Thanksgiving, and with "Cyber Monday", the day people go back to work after the Thanksgiving holiday and use their office computers to hit up online emporia like Amazon and eBay for deals, but there's a new "holiday" catching on quickly called "Giving Tuesday". This is the reminder to all of us that the reason for the season is giving, not buying. Not giving the latest iPhone or video game console, but giving your time, your heart, your help to someone in need.

So take a bag of food to Urban Ministry, a pile of hardbacks to the Greensboro Public Library, or a box of donated goods to Goodwill. Volunteer to help a group like Animal Rescue and Foster Program of Greensboro or Habitat for Humanity. Look for opportunities in your own neighborhood to help an elderly person with yardwork or small home repairs, or help a single mom by offering to have her kids over to play with your kids while she gets a chance to run errands or just have time for a bath and a nap.

There are so many ways we can give in Greensboro to make it even nicer. Please do your part today!

You can also find What's Good in Greensbroro? on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Whats-Good-in-Greensboro-848569635208317/ . See you there!

Image from Pixabay https://pixabay.com/en/hand-child-children-hands-838975/

Greensboro's Next "First Friday" is October 2

First Friday has been a tradition in downtown Greensboro for quite a few years, now, but for visitors and new residents who haven't gotten the memo yet, this is the memo: Join downtown businesses as they put on an "open house", featuring even more special specials, more active activities, and more chill chillin', as you walk around, enjoying the party atmosphere. Typical for First Fridays: sidewalk sales, street musicians, gallery shows, special readings and performances.

There will be many participants, as always, but check out the following special events:

• The International Civil Rights Center & Museum at 134 South Elm Street will feature College Night from 6p - 8p, with free admission and performances by students from local colleges

 

• Urban Grinders at 116 N Elm Street will feature "Sprayday", an art exhibit by Tony Waldron, a Durham-based artist and UNCG grad who creates his works with "street" materials such as spray paint and markers

• Greenhill at 200 N Davie Street, is featuring music by local band Raving Knaves, playing rock and roll with a 50s-style, Chuck Berry influence. Band will play from 630p - 730p; free admission (cash bar)

• co//ab at 229 N Greene Street will be giving tours and answering questions about the space from 530p - 8p. Find out what coworking is all about!

• Chakras Spa at 229 S Elm Street will have an art show and competition featuring original art created on skateboard decks. With music by Winston Salem's DJ SK and food and drink by Castle Catering, this sounds like quite the party! Free admission, 730p - 10p

• Just Be at 352 S Elm will host Russian textile artist Aida Brodt for a meet-and-greet from 6p-9p, showcasing Brodt's work for sale in the store

Also happening on First Friday this coming Friday, October 2, will be jazz at The Worx, art and exploration at Elsewhere, reggae at VybzNation, and much more. Come party downtown Greensboro and join in the fun! 

You can also find What's Good in Greensbroro? on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Whats-Good-in-Greensboro-848569635208317/ . See you there!

Image is my own photo of Chakras Spa. Read my article about Chakras here  http://whatsgoodingreensboro.blogspot.com/2014/12/chakras-spa-is-delight-for-senses-and.html

Food Assistance, Inc. Delivers Food and Fellowship to the Elderly in Greensboro

I recently had a wonderful experience volunteering for Food Assistance, Inc., here in Greensboro. The charitable organization serves low-income and disabled senior citizens through their "Groceries on Wheels" program, which supplies bags of food to seniors  in Greensboro and throughout Guilford County. So, on a Saturday morning a few weeks ago, some members of the Greensboro Social meetup group that I belong to got together to work in the warehouse at Food Assistance, Inc., preparing bags of groceries for other volunteers to deliver.

The warehouse was impressive and well-organized, with pallets of such foods as bread, canned goods, and even fresh produce, all donated from grocery stores and other organizations or private individuals. There was also a bank of freezers that held donations of frozen vegetables, microwave entrees, and even some treats like ice cream. It all looked great, and I liked the thought of someone being able to enjoy some ice cream, even when they are living in otherwise challenging circumstances. I know that people who can really appreciate the small pleasures in life are truly the happiest.

As you might expect, the warehouse wasn't air-conditioned,  but Food Assistance had very kindly set up some large fans that gave some relief, and they supplied us with cool drinks that kept us going nicely. I was fortunate enough to be working in the freezer section, making bags of frozen foods to supplement the fresh food, but it was busy enough that I still worked up quite a sweat, running around from freezer to freezer!

We packed bags as quickly as could, to fill the orders of volunteer drivers who were going to deliver the food to the individuals and families on their routes. Every volunteer needed several bags, so we were hopping! At morning's end, we were done--a bit tired and sweaty, but feeling great that we were able to help out. Volunteering is a truly rewarding activity--you always get more out of it than you put in. The seniors not only get food to help them throughout the month but also the extremely important and much-appreciated care and support of the volunteer drivers, who visit with them and are able to check on them to ensure all is well. Some of the volunteers are kids, who really put a smile on the older folks' faces!

To learn more about Food Assistance, Inc., the Groceries on Wheels program, to volunteer or to donate, please visit their website http://www.foodassistancenc.com/ and check out their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/FoodAssistanceIncGroceriesOnWheels?fref=ts 

You can also find What's Good in Greensbroro? on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Whats-Good-in-Greensboro-848569635208317/ . See you there!

Food Assistance logo used with permission. 

27 Views of Greensboro Writes the Heart, Soul and History of the Gate City

Eno Publishers, located in Hillsborough, North Carolina, has been publishing a series of books called 27 Views of ...different cities in North Carolina, such as Raleigh, Charlotte, Asheville, and of course, Hillsborough. Their latest offering, 27 Views of Greensboro, has landed on my desk.

Although it sounds as though it might be a book of photographs, the views herein are viewpoints, specifically, as clarified by the subtitle: The Gate City in Prose and Poetry. This book features reminiscences, reviews, and even fiction, all about Greensboro, North Carolina, from Revolutionary war history through the Civil Rights Era to the cultural boom and factory bust. Even for a long-time resident like me (I feel like 25 years is a long time, anyway, for a transplant from Philadelphia), I unearthed a heretofore-unknown-to-me wealth of information and secrets of the city.

Writers like Marianne Gingher (who wrote the book's introduction) and Michael Parker divulge historical facts with a conspiratorial, insider spin, but just as enlightening are the viewpoints of people who come from a different place or situation, such as Allen Johnson, who writes of the experience of being black in the South and facing discrimination, and Dr. Diya Abdo, a Jordanian national who now calls Greensboro her second home.

There is so much to learn and enjoy in this book, from the whimsical cover illustration by Daniel Wallace through the book's last entry, a "prose poem" by Veronica Grossi that, although taking a dim view of many aspects of the city (you have never heard such a beautiful lyrical complaint about Duke Power's penchant for wanton deforestation), eventually ends up heartened by the healing, abundant plant life that puts the green in Greensboro. It's something my Ethiopian friend has always loved about this city, but there's so much more to this town than just greenery. Read and discover for yourself!

27 Views of Greensboro: The Gate City in Prose and Poetry is available from Eno Publishers:
 http://www.enopublishers.org/Site/Buy_now.html


You can also find What's Good in Greensbroro? on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Whats-Good-in-Greensboro-848569635208317/ . See you there!

For other book reviews, recommended reading lists, movie reviews, general info and handy tips, check out my other blog, A Big Ol' Bucket of Useful, at https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/

Image is book cover, used with permission

Great Blue Heron at Country Park

I visited Country Park (Battleground Park's less-famous adjunct park, with entrances off Pisgah Church Road, Lawndale Drive, and Battleground Park, behind the Greensboro Science Center) a couple of weeks ago on a rather cool and cloudy day to have a picnic lunch with a friend and to visit the resident waterfowl of Country Park's large, gorgeous lake.

Armed with sub sandwiches, chips, and a bag of slightly-stale Cheerios, we ventured forth and had our lunch at one of the shelters, and then started our ramble. We didn't ramble very far before I spotted this magnificent fellow, hanging out on a huge deadfall.

I have seen a great blue heron at the Bog Garden many times, but this was my first sighting of one (the same one?) at Country Park, so I excitedly snapped a few pictures. I was even more excited when he took off from the deadfall and flew over to the bank where I was standing, ready for his closeup! I obliged, of course.

I also took a photo of one of the stately trees at the edge of the lake that was covered with a giant wisteria vine, in full bloom. I am not sure the blossoms can be seen very well in my photo (I really am just a point-and-shoot photog, not a professional by any means), but you can click on any of the pictures to get a larger version.

It began to sprinkle a bit after that, so we decamped and moved on to the Bicentennial Garden and Bog Garden, which were enjoying nicer weather (I have posted some pictures from this trip on the What's Good in Greensboro? Facebook page).

Here's some information from Wikipedia about the great blue heron: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_blue_heron

You can also find What's Good in Greensbroro? on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Whats-Good-in-Greensboro-848569635208317/ . See you there!

All images are mine and protected by copyright.

It's Graduation Time! Upcoming Commencements at The Greensboro Coliseum

Spring is here, and along with the much-anticipated longer days, warmer temperatures and all things blossoming and blooming (sorry, allergy sufferers!), it's again the season for that time-honored tradition known as Gettin'-the-Heck-Out, or, more simply, graduation.

The Greensboro Coliseum Complex will be hopping this week, with no fewer than three different college commencements scheduled:

Thursday, May 7th at 7:00 pm
commencement exercises for Guilford Technical Community College (GTCC) will be held. The GTCC website is not very sparing with details, but if you need additional information, their phone number is 336.334.4822.

Friday, May 8th at 10:00 am (doors open at 8:30am)
the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) will hold its annual commencement exercises. For a detailed schedule of events, view here.

Saturday, May 9th at 8:30 am - NCA&T
North Carolina A&T University's featured commencement speaker will be Representative John Lewis, one of the original Freedom Riders, a contemporary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and a significant figure in the Civil Rights Movement. For more details, visit A&T's website here.

You can also find What's Good in Greensbroro? on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Whats-Good-in-Greensboro-848569635208317/ . See you there!

Image from Pixabay http://pixabay.com/en/graduates-graduation-cap-and-gown-351603/