Greensboro Downtown Residents' Association Will Hold the 2015 Sip-n-Stroll on April 11th

The 2015 Sip-n-Stroll is a tour of Greensboro's finest downtown establishments serving wine and craft beers. Strollers will enjoy tastings of beer and wine, and many participating venues will be featuring drink and appetizer specials, as well. The Sip-n-Stroll will take place from 1-5pm on Saturday, April 11th, after which Strollers will enjoy a concert from 5-7pm at The Railyard featuring a performance by Empty Pocket. 

Tickets are $30 until March 28th, $35 from March 29th to April 10th and $40 on April 11th. Ticket price includes a souvenir event tasting glass, two tastings of wine/beer from each participating location and admission to the after concert at The Railyard. Tickets for the 2015 Sip-n-Stroll can be purchased at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2015-sip-n-stroll-a-downtown-greensboro-craft-beer-wine-experience-tickets-15867034728 .

Among the participants in the 2015 Sip-n-Stroll are Scuppernong Books (click here for more info), The Pour House, The Worx, Spice Cantina, Crafted! The Art of the Taco (click here for more info), Gibb's Hundred, Mellow Mushroom, Liberty Oak, Beer Co., Zeto Wines, Cafe Europa, Stumble Stilskins, and more.

So come to downtown Greensboro for a fun stroll, some fine food and drink, and some entertainment on a spring afternoon / evening. It's a great way to celebrate! 

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

Sip-n-Stroll logo used with permission. 

Fleetwood Mac Performs Tonight at the Greensboro Coliseum

Rock legends Fleetwood Mac, who have been making music for almost fifty years and who have provided the soundtrack for the lives of multiple generations of fans, are in Greensboro tonight for a concert at the Greensboro Coliseum, starting at 8pm.The tour is called "Fleetwood Mac: On with the Show"and will feature plenty of classics and favorites from their decades of incredible music.

Diehard Fleetwood Mac fans will appreciate that this tour features the "classic lineup" of Christine and John McVie, Mick Fleetwood, Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham, the team behind such brilliant and enduring albums as Rumours and Tusk. One of the reasons that I personally always admired the band was their ensemble approach to performing: Fleetwood Mac has three equally talented singer-songwriters: Christine McVie, Nicks, and Buckingham, and each one of them sang their own compositions, giving the band three lead singers, all of whom could write both critically and commercially successful music. And what wonderful, distinctive voices they have, as well!  

Tickets are still available for tonight's concert, presented by Live Nation. Click here for details and tickets, as well as more photos of the band!

 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 of Fleetwood Mac in 1977 from Wikimedia Commons http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fleetwood_Mac_%281977%29.jpg

Spring Blooms Will Show Up Soon

Ah, spring. Last night we set the clocks forward an hour, meaning a longer period of daylight in the evening (I know, I know; don't tell me the story about cutting a foot off the top of the blanket and sewing it onto the bottom--if it shakes out to the sun going down an hour later, the day is longer, mmkay?), and to me, personally, that makes even more of a difference than the warmer temperatures.

But the thing about Greensboro is that it gets really good in the spring. One of the things that always strikes me about this city is all the flowering trees, from the wonderful huge Bradford pear trees lining Holden Road between Hobbs Road and  Friendly Avenue to the wonderful landscaping of houses on Westridge Road. And all the spring flowers, as well, in the Greensboro Arboretum, the Bicentennial Garden, and even my front yard, where irises and azalea show off their finery every spring (pictured).

On a day like today, it's hard to imagine we had snow and ice just a few days ago and that I had to set the tap to drip overnight to ensure my water pipes wouldn't freeze. On a day like today, all I can think about is spring!

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

My own photo - all rights reserved.

The North Carolina Zoo Has Vampire Bats

A visit to the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro, North Carolina, is a great experience. The zoo houses over 1,000 animals, and inside a cool little house for nocturnal animals in the Sonoran Desert pavilion that is also home to the cacomistle and coati, there is a display of vampire bats, Since these critters are more active at night, their display is kept fairly dark, but you can see them flying back and forth within the enclosure once your eyes have adjusted. They are normally flying to their feeders and back, so once you locate the feeders within the enclosure, you can usually find some activity.

Of course, this activity swells to a crescendo at feeding time, which the zoo does during visiting hours so that visitors can see it. As you could guess from the name, vampire bats drink blood. They usually take their meal from a living animal, such as a cow or pig, using a special anticoagulant in their saliva to keep the blood from clotting once it starts to flow from a bite of their tiny fangs, but of course at the North Carolina Zoo, the bats aren't given live prey. The zoo staff feeds the bats by pouring cows' blood (with an added coagulant) into, of all things, hummingbird feeders for the bats to dine upon. The North Carolina Zoo goes through 18 pounds of cows' blood a week to feed the bats! It doesn't sound like the most fun job in the world to pour smelly cows' blood into several feeders in a dark box with bats flying around your head, but I guess they are used to it!

Here's another post about the North Carolina Zoo, for your enjoyment: http://whatsgoodingreensboro.blogspot.com/2015/02/a-funny-thing-happened-at-zoo-and-i.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!

Vampire bat picture from Wikimedia Commons en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Desmodus.jpg

A Funny Thing Happened at the Zoo, and I Ain't Lyin'

The North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro is a popular, nearby destination for Greensboro residents and others in the area. I have a membership to the Zoo and have made frequent trips, myself. I thought I would share a story from a trip I made a few years back...

I was at the zoo once when a squirrel got into the lion enclosure. Unless it's feeding time, the lions are usually just lyin' (get it?) around and aren't the most exciting exhibit, but the presence of that squirrel made the lioness snap to attention! She jumped to her feet and started stalking the squirrel just like a housecat, and everyone in the crowd was transfixed with excitement and anticipation. You could see the tension in her hindquarters as she prepared to spring, and I thought we were all gonna see a "National Geographic moment", if you know what I mean.

Fortunately for the squirrel, there was a protective covering around the tree in the enclosure (probably to keep the big cats from scratching off all the bark), and the little guy got down inside that. As for the lioness, her prey, being out of sight, was soon out of mind, and she went back and flopped down beside her mate. Show's over folks! Move along...nothing to see 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/lions-animal-male-female-lions-175934/

The Glenn McNairy Branch, Greensboro Public Library's Newest Addition

A brand new branch of the Greensboro Public Library opened up on Friday, August 1, 2014, on Lake Jeanette Road in Greensboro, North Carolina. I was particularly excited about this, because it is only about a mile from where I live, so I can walk there when the weather is nice. It took a really, really long time for them to start building--I'm pretty sure the bond for it was passed back in 2006--but they broke ground last year, and I have been watching as the library building takes shape.

I was very excited to finally visit the branch once it opened, and I took plenty of pictures to share. This branch has so many unique features,it's hard to know where to start, so I'll just take you on a visual tour. When one enters, it's clear that this is not your standard dark and hushed "book crypt" (I'm looking at you, UNCG library)--the soaring, light-filled room is appointed with brilliantly-hued artwork and comfy couches. Stacks jut out into the room like those in a bookstore, rather than marching in uniform rows.

The children's section is wonderfully designed. It is dominated by a large pirate ship for exploration and play, and the stacks are actually bins, at a kid-friendly height. There is a computer hub with small chairs, and even a snack bar.

 One thing in I was disappointed to find was a very small number of desktop computers available for adults. There are only seven stations around a table for library patrons to use, and if those are full, the alternative is apparently not to use the kids' computers, no matter how empty that area may be. If you are not with a child, you will be asked to move.

Why so few PC stations? The answer is in the kiosk. This library branch is unique in that there is a large kiosk from which library patrons can check out laptops and tablet computers for use, and as you have seen, there are plenty of places to sit. Clearly the plan was for those to be in wide use, making the demand for desktop PCs rather low. However, the mouse rules over the touchpad, and the keyboard trumps the touchscreen; the kiosk gathers dust while the desktop stations are full. Hopefully the disparity will be rectified by adding more computers of the old-school style.

Except for the issue with the computers, this is a lovely and welcoming branch. It took eight years to come to fruition, but it is here in a big, bold way. And if the pirate ship, rental iPads and snack bar aren't enough of a draw, the Glenn McNairy Branch has a real live 3-D printer! Whether browsing the stacks, checking out the snack bar or just sitting on a comfy couch playing Fruit Ninja, you will enjoy your visit to the Glenn McNairy Branch on Lake Jeanette Road.

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

Shark Tank at the Greensboro Science Center Aquarium - SciQuarium

Last stop on my visit to the Greensboro Science Center's new "SciQuarium" aquarium was the shark tank. This very large tank houses several sharks as well as schools of fish in varying sizes. Since sharks are always active and swimming around, this is a very interesting exhibit to watch, although it was admittedly rather hard to get a decent picture of the swiftly-moving sharks with my phone. 

This section of the SciQuarium is rather dimly lit, so that the tank, which is lit from within, stands out even more. It's kind of like watching an ever-changing movie or live show. There are benches provided so that you can sit and rest while watching the fish swim at length. It is very relaxing, just like having a nice aquarium at home, but with far less trouble about cleaning and feeding and water changes. If you want to sit, though, prepare to be patient, because a lot of people want to stand right up next to the glass to get a good, close-up view!


This could be a different shark, or the same one swimming in a different direction.

They seemed to all be the same kind. This photo is the best one of the other fish in the tank.In this picture, you can see another one of the sharks in the background (upper left corner--click photo for a larger view), which will give you an idea of the great size of the tank.

All photos taken, rather poorly, by me. Clicking will get you a larger view, which might help!

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