Albemarle Tradewinds June 2016 Final Web Optimized

Where everyone meets sooner or later
By: T. Wade Nichols, Executive Director
Sponsored By:
The lovely patch of land called Mariners’ Wharf Park is a truly wonderful place, Recently we had a Senior Citizens
day walk celebration there and one week later it was Potato Festival. Parks & Recreatio n keeps a contant eye on
things and it may be the finest stretch of lawn in northeastern North Carolina.
But we are just getting started! The Mariners’ Wharf Film Festival is just around the corner, followed by music on
the green and Kidz Flicks films for the youngest citizens.
Here’s hoping you have a chance to make good use of the location, beauty and festivals that make Mariner’s Wharf
one of the busiest and best used outdoor spaces in northeastern NC. Plus, where else do you find that beautiful
harbor view, see great sailing boats stopping by to visit, or to feel a nice breeze on an otherwise hot day?
The next major event on Mariners’ Wharf is the annual Film Festival that offers a chance to see great American
Classics for free, from the comfort of you own favorite picnic blanket or light weight lawn chair. We hope everyone
gets out to enjoy the fine company and some of the most visually exciting films of all time.
We start this year with Showboat, a great film version of the novel by the same name written by Edna Ferber. Word
has it that she was in our area and enjoyed a ride or two on the old show boats that called in Elizabeth City and
Edenton. Something sparked an interest in the lives and loves of the boat people of that day and she developed a
novel. Two or three movie versions followed, all set on the Mississippi, but at least the final version included North
Carolina’s own Eva Gardner , along with Howard Keel and Kathryn Graham. The location might be wrong, but
you can still see a glimmer of the life of our waterways.
No one does it better than Afred Hitchcock, and one of his classis suspense thrillers is North By Northwest. James
Stewart is a hapless business man who is mistaken as a foreign agent by some, and make his escape to Mount
Rushmore of all places. Dangerous climbs, damsels in destress,, and even a harrowing change in a cornfield that
involves lowflying airplanes. It’s a classic in every way.
Next in the schedule is a true gem, Cabin in the Sky, the breakthrough movie for Lena Horne. We usally just see
clips from this in documentaries on PBS, but we have the full film with music and costumes that were done under
the eye of Vincent Minelli, one of Hollywood’s top producers and directors. Of course, it didn’t make money in the
southeast where Jim Crow laws frightened away paying customers, but Mariners’ Wharf Film Festival is proud to
make sure Cabin in the Sky gets its due in Elizabeth City.
Easy Living, a classic light-hearted comedy that was on the schedule for last year but was rained out, will out the
month of June. It’s a comedy that focuses on money (and lack of it) to take a look at social and romantic relations.
So give Easy Living another chance for this year.
West Side Story hardly needs an introduction, having broken all kinds of boundaries and restrictions to create one
of the most vibrant movie musicals ever. The music is by famed composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein, and
the cast included many great or soon to be, including Rita Morena, who has been celebrated for her 60+ year career
of signing and dancing as an open Latin woman. Make sure any children who like to dance come to see this
great masterpiece.
The Quiet Man, one of the most different of John Wayne’s works, places Mr. Wayne in the unfamiliar territory of
being an American suitor in an lovely Irish Village. Maureen O’Hara is his intended, but she’s making it clear that
she’s not doing anything that is temporary. There’s comedy, dancing, Irish story telling, and tender romance in what
many consider the best of both Wayne and Ohara’s work.
Citizen Kane is one of those classic black and white films you might have seen in college but it’s always worth a
second view. Charles Foster Kane builds up a national media empire before that was the standard, and seems to
thrive on running events and people’s lives from behind the scenes. There’s a big dramatic ending that leaves
everyone asking questions.
We end with Wizard of Oz, a perennial favorite. We’ working on getting a digitally remastered version that is wildly
bright and beautiful, and gives new strength to the good and bad times suffered by our Heroine Dorothy.
Come join us at Mariner’s Whaf every Tuesday evening in June and July. Screenings will begin about 8;30 when the
conditions are dark. Popcorn and drinks are always available.
AESOP’S FABLES
The Ass and the Charger
AN ASS congratulated a Horse on being
so ungrudgingly and carefully provided
for, while he himself had scarcely enough
to eat and not even that without hard
work. But when war broke out, a heavily
armed soldier mounted the Horse, and
riding him to the charge, rushed into the
very midst of the enemy. The Horse was
wounded and fell dead on the battlefield.
Then the Ass, seeing all these things,
changed his mind, and commiserated
the Horse.
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