Jewish Film Festival
More movies, please! Two more weeks of the Wilmington Jewish Film Festival bring us award-winning movies we can’t get anywhere else in town, plus catered receptions to follow from A Thyme Savor (Sundays) or desserts and coffee (weeknights) so we can share our insights instead of rushing out to the parking lot. All screenings at Thalian Hall, 300 Chestnut Street. Tickets: $7–17 per show, (910) 632-2285 or www.thalianhall.org. More info and trailers online at www.wilmingtonjff.org
Tuesday, May 2, 7 p.m. Fever At Dawn (2015). This dramatic Hungarian feature film based on a true story follows a young man, Miklos, in 1945 who is told he has six months to live. He starts writing letters to find a girl to fall in love with when destiny intervenes. English subtitles.
Wednesday, May 3, 7 p.m. Remember (2015). This whodunit will get your blood pressure up. Two elderly Holocaust survivors (Christopher Plummer, Martin Landau) meet. One sends the other on a mission to kill the Auschwitz guard who murdered their families and, trekking around the world, finds more than he bargained for.
Thursday, May 4, 7 p.m. The Women’s Balcony (2016). This Hebrew comedy tells the story of a lively community in Jerusalem divided by an orthodox rabbi wherein the women are called to demonstrate their fortitude. English subtitles.
Sunday, May 7, 3 p.m. Phoenix (2014). This German drama follows Nelly’s quest for truth when the Holocaust survivor and former cabaret singer returns to Berlin after the war (and facial reconstructive surgery). Now disguised, she misleads her own husband (who doesn’t recognize her) to discover if he was the one who betrayed her to the Nazis. English subtitles.
Monday, May 8, 7 p.m. Fanny’s Journey (2016). This unforgettable French film tells the true story of Fanny and her 10 siblings who, fleeing from the Nazis, are stranded on their own and accomplish the impossible: reaching the Swiss border and their freedom. English subtitles.
Tuesday, May 9, 7 p.m. Joe’s Violin (2016) and In Search of Israeli Cuisine (2016). Enjoy the finale: a double feature with an Academy Award–nominated short about the new life of a Holocaust survivor’s violin and a documentary of a Jewish-American chef seeking the essence of Israeli food in this culinary portrait.
By Any Other Name. . .
The poets are onto something. Is there anything as romantic as a garden rose? Ask any rose gardener and they’ll tell you of the labors of love required to coax a rose into its full glory. And what is romance without some sweet-talking? Take your nose on this sweet-smelling tour for the Wilmington Cape Fear Rose Society’s 14th Annual Rose Garden Tour. Nine spectacular gardens will be open to the public with owners present to offer wisdom on the fickle mistress, the rose bush. Saturday, May 13, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Free. Tour route: www.wcfrs.blogspot.com
Greased Lightning
Classic car aficionados abound in the Cape Fear Region, but only once a year do they flood downtown all at once for a droolworthy afternoon of classic rides, hot rods and pinups. The car show on Saturday, May 20, lasts 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. and if you’re downtown, you can’t miss it. Free.
www.rimsontheriver.com
Double Feature
What’s better than one Gilbert and Sullivan opera? Two Gilbert & Sullivan operas. Namely, H.M.S. Pinafore and Pirates of Penzance. In a happy twist of fate, on Saturday the real deal New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players present H.M.S Pinafore, the tale of a love triangle where everyone, even dear little Buttercup, finds love. Then on Sunday, the North Carolina Symphony plays the score from Pirates of Penzance with UNC School of the Arts actors performing a semi-staged version of the comic tale about the daughter of modern Major-General and the lovable pirates. The shows will be different, of course, and each telling unique: One fully produced show by the quintessential company, NYGASP (in its 43rd year), and the other focused on the music, showcasing the indomitable power of our state’s symphony. But what a wonderful experiment to see them back-to-back. Saturday, May 6, 7:30 p.m. New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players present H.M.S Pinafore, Tickets: $36–64. Sunday, May 7, 7:30 p.m. North Carolina Symphony presents Pirates of Penzance, Tickets: $18–67. CFCC Wilson Center, 703 North Third Street, Wilmington. www.capefearstage.com
Splendor in the Grass
If there is such a thing as a golf lottery, Wilmington has won it. Perhaps the largest, certainly the most prestigious tournament in North Carolina is coming to our small piece of paradise. Locals and vacationers know about the luxurious private course at Eagle Point Golf Club and now so will the 20 million people watching the PGA tournament at home. But if you’re reading this, chances are you’re already in Wilmington and can pony up $30 to watch the Wells Fargo Championship in person, on the grounds. Top professional golfers will compete for the 2017 title. (Read more about Eagle Point and how the tournament chose Wilmington on page 62).
May 1–7, shuttles run 6 a.m.–9 p.m. Admission: $30–165. Eagle Point Golf Club, 8131 Bald Eagle Lane, Wilmington. Info: (800) 945-0777 or Wilmington.wellsfargochampionship.com.
Is Your Grass Blue?
Perhaps the frontrunners of the new generation of finger pickin’ good bluegrass artists, Greensky Bluegrass is a five-piece band, offering a full sound, ripe with impeccable playing. On the edge of rock, Greensky offers hypnotizing string melodies to satisfy the mountain romantic in all of us. The band is quickly gaining national recognition, but you can hear them in our beautiful swamp forest venue and pack your own picnic. Sunday, May 14, Doors: 4 p.m., Show: 5 p.m. Tickets: $23–28. www.Greenfieldlakeamphitheater.com
Maggie the Cat
Theater buffs need only those three words to leap for tickets. Thalian Association presents Tennessee William’s classic Pulitzer-prize winning play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Southern family drama is his specialty and Maggie the Cat, his fiery muse. Trouble compounds on Maggie, her husband, aging football star Brick and the rest of family when Big Daddy’s estate is in question. Deceit always comes to light and when it does, it ain’t pretty. May 18-28, Thursday-Saturday 7:30 p.m., Sundays 3:30 p.m.Tickets: $15–30. Thalian Hall, 310 Chestnut Street, Wilmington. Info: (910) 632-2285 or www.thalianhall.org.
Natural Wonders
It’s no wonder the work of artist Janette K. Hopper is owned by the National Parks Service, among private and public museums and collections. Her skilled landscapes celebrate everything that is joyful, reverent, and mysterious about the natural world and our relationship to it. Expect paintings layered with linocut turtles coming into view, masks fashioned with shells, sticks and honeycombs, projections and sound installations to transport a gallery hopper into a heightened state of natural awareness. Show runs May 15–June 23. Opening reception May 26, 6–9 p.m. Free. CFCC Wilma Daniels Gallery, 200 Hanover Street. www.janettekhopper.com.
Come Hungry!
Lowdown and Derby
Get the step stool because you’re going to need to reach far and high in your closet to get your biggest hat for the derby. Gents, buy a bow tie or better yet, a seersucker suit and a porkpie hat — the better to sashay down for some Southern eats and kickin’ mint juleps at the Bellamy Mansion for our favorite event of the Wilmington Wine & Food Festival, the Bourbon & Derby Cocktail party. Mixologists will vie for your vote for best cocktail at the end of the evening (if you can remember by then). Friday, May 12, 6–9:30 p.m. Tickets: $60
Ain’t It Grand(e)?
OK, so maybe our favorite is the grande dame, ‘Forks & Corks tasting. We are suckers for small bites. When paired with over 150 wines, it becomes just like the beginning of Alice in Wonderland at the bottom of the rabbit-hole with all those boxes marked “Eat Me” and vials “Drink Me”; some of us would’ve never made it past that room to Wonderland. Saturday, May 13, 2–5 p.m. Tickets: $70–90
Keep on Truckin’
Fancy food trucks all in a row, champagne spritzers with nowhere to go? Down the hatch! By this point in the food festival, a kind friend may need to wheelbarrow you back to the Bellamy for comfort food and the hair of the dog, but wheel they must. What is a show without a proper denouement? Sunday, May 14, 1–4 p.m. Tickets: $35 (Adult) $5 (Children). Three-day pass $135. Proceeds benefit First Fruit Ministries. www.wilmingtonwineandfood.com
