PinePitch January 2024
Release the Hounds!
Celebrate the rich tradition of the Moore County Hounds in the place where it all began during “Hounds on the Grounds” at historic Boyd House at Weymouth Center, 555 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines, on Saturday, Jan. 6. Festivities begin at 9 a.m. but feel free to come early and tailgate. There is a traditional hunt breakfast at 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. for $50-$60 per person. The Penn-Marydel hounds are known for their great scenting ability, booming voices, agility and intelligence. The hounds are showcased in various demonstrations of their training, discipline and instincts. In addition to the activities and exhibitions, the family-friendly event features local artisans and vendors offering crafts, foxhunting memorabilia and scrumptious local delicacies. Admission is free. For information go to
www.weymouthcenter.org.
Chamber Music from the Streets
The Boston Public Quartet has performed on a street corner in Mattapan Square, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and the Harvard Musical Association in Boston — to name just a few. Created to connect, inspire, and innovate as an ensemble-in-residence in Boston’s diverse neighborhoods, you can hear them at Emmanuel Episcopal Church, 350 E. Massachusetts Ave., Southern Pines on Sunday, Jan. 21 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Reception afterward at Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities, 555 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. Tickets start at $30; kids 12 and under are free; student tickets are available. For additional information go to www.weymouthcenter.org.
Sometimes You Gotta Play with Pain
Katherine Snow Smith returned to her native North Carolina after her last child left the nest and a 24-year marriage ended. She writes with vulnerability and humor about forging a new path, parenting, dating, reporting, aging, loss and launching the next chapter in life. You can join her as she discusses her new book Stepping on the Blender and Other Times Life Gets Messy, on Wednesday, Jan. 31 from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. at The Country Bookshop, 140 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines. For more information go to www.ticketmesandhills.com.
Writer in Residence
Join the gang in the Great Room on Wednesday, Jan. 17 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. when Dawn Reno Langley, a writer in residence at the Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities, reads from her new novel, Analyzing the Prescotts, the tale of a family in crisis and the therapist who counsels them. Admission is free but registration is required at the Weymouth Center, 555 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines. For more information visit www.weymouthcenter.org.
Hocus Pocus
Jeki Yoo has performed his unique close-up magic on America’s Got Talent and Penn & Teller’s Fool Us. Even the curmudgeonly Simon Cowell was impressed. Dubbed the “cutest magician of all time” Yoo will appear at the Bradshaw Performing Arts Center in a Family Fun Show on Saturday, Jan. 27 at 3 p.m. and again on the mainstage series in the Owens Auditorium at 7:00 pm. For information go to www.ticketmesandhills.com.
Furry Friend Fun Run
Bring your four-legged friends for exercise and camaraderie — the human and canine kind — in a run through the woods from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 27 at the Whitehall Tract, 490 Pee Dee Road, Southern Pines. Sponsored by the Southern Pines Parks and Recreation, registration is required. All entries receive a participation prize and medals go to the first and third place winners. Cost is $5 per pet, limit of two. To register go to the Town of Southern Pines website, click the Parks and Recreation tab or call (910) 692-7376 for more information.
DIY Van Gogh
Members of the Artists League of the Sandhills, 129 Exchange St., Aberdeen, will show you how to create your own art on Sunday, Jan.7 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. as the instructors demonstrate the various mediums they will be teaching in 2024. Prospective classes include drawing, pastels, colored pencil, oil, watercolor, acrylics, block printing, gouache and more. For more information go to www.artistleague.org.
Southern Gothic
When Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore dies, she’s not only North Carolina’s richest woman, she’s also its most notorious. The victim of a famous kidnapping as a child and a widow four times over, Ruby ruled the tiny town of Tavistock from Ashby House, her family’s estate high in the Blue Ridge mountains. In the aftermath of her death, that estate — along with a nine-figure fortune and the complicated legacy of being a McTavish — pass to her adopted son, Camden. And if you want to know the rest of the story you need to go to The Country Bookshop, 140 N.W. Broad St., Southern Pines on Saturday, Jan. 13 from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. to listen to Rachel Hawkins talk about her new novel, The Heiress. For further information to www.ticketmesandhills.com.