Saturday, January 30

Join Morganton’s Downtown Development Association (DDA) as they celebrate Downtown Businesses for Valentine’s Day! The DDA is asking the community to create a valentine for a downtown business or business owner to show your love for Morganton’s local shops. Drop off your valentine’s card to 112 B West Union Street by Wednesday, February 10th and brighten the day of a downtown business.

There was nothing quite like preparing for February 14th in grade school. Shoe boxes transformed into mailboxes decorated with ribbons, hearts and your classmate’s names. There was such excitement as we dropped our paper heart shaped valentine’s down into the jaggedly cut mail slots that were lined up on the counter under the window that looked out over the swing set and monkey bars. Valentines such as these symbolized our appreciation for new found friendships and childhood crushes. The years have gone by and those shoe boxes have mundanely transformed into mailboxes and PO boxes. The Downtown Development Association would like to request that this Valentine’s Day we go back to the days of grade school and celebrate the downtown businesses that we love with the gift of paper valentines!

Valentines can be a short note or a more traditional valentine’s card and can be delivered to the Valentine’s Shoe Box Mail Slot located in the Main Street Office at 112 B. West Union Street. A decorated shoe box, that rocks, will be located just inside. On your Valentine’s Card be sure to include which business or business owner your valentine is intended for and a message if you wish. You are welcome to sign your name or remain a “secret admirer”. Don’t have time to create a special Valentine’s card? The DDA would also adore to receive your Valentines via email to info@downtownmorganton.com. From there your Valentine’s Day messages with be safely delivered to your business valentine! Please join the DDA in showing Downtown Morganton Businesses how much they Rock by filling up their Valentine’s Box!

Through the partnership of local allies, a much-anticipated design competition will be returning this Spring despite COVID-19 closures. MADE (Morganton Art Design and Engineering) is now accepting entries for its 3rd design challenge- the fabrication of an original lamp.

Developed in 2018 by the Historic Morganton Festival, Inc. and in collaboration with Burke County Public Schools, MADE is a student competition that highlights the talented work and capabilities of middle and high schoolers and bridges the gap between this developing workforce and industry opportunities in the region. As part of the Historic Morganton Festival, Inc. this engineering and design extravaganza is hosted in downtown Morganton and is quickly becoming a highlight of the annual festival. In years past, students competed in teams for cash prizes in the “Wind Turbine Challenge”(2019) and the “ECO Chair Challenge” (2018). 

This year, with the Festival postponed and students learning remotely due to COVID, it was unclear how the competition would resume. However, Tea Yang, program coordinator for Work in Burke and a MADE competition sponsor, suggested there might be a way to proceed with the competition to accommodate for physical distancing. This year, students will compete as individuals, building the projects at home.

Tea Yang says, “We are all on uncharted territory with the pandemic, but I still wanted to offer our students the same opportunities as before because they are absolutely brilliant and we have seen it in past MADE competitions. My hope is that this take-home project will allow students to be even more innovative, resilient, and stoke their creative spirits.” 

Other partners in this initiative are the Burke County Public School System with Project Lead The Way teachers amplifying this opportunity among students, and TOSS studio. TOSS has been assisting to promote and develop this year’s offering among the community and build out the material kits for the competitors. 

Abby Nelson shared, “The excitement around this competition is truly amazing. Engineers from American Airlines, Leviton, and Continental are just a few of the partners that have been involved in previous MADE Competitions. From industrial design challenges to alternative energy strategies, MADE showcases the students of Burke County and their incredible potential.”

Burke County is a region rooted in textile and furniture manufacturing. This competition pays homage to our region’s past, present, and future reality by advancing the proficiencies of our emerging workforce in industrial design. 

Project Lead The Way teacher, Paul Gantt shared with us, “I am always excited when we can showcase the talents of our students in the areas of design, problem-solving, technology, and manufacturing. The MADE competitions and activities like this allow us to introduce a new generation to the world of technical and industrial design. They also serve as an excellent way to get students involved in these areas and can act as a bridge between our student population and relevant local business and industry. This year we were able to partner with TOSS giving us more expertise to better highlight the artistic side of the design process in the lamp challenge.” 

The Spring competition is generously sponsored by Work in Burke and Material Return and made possible by funding from a Duke Energy Foundation Powerful Communities grant. To learn more about MADE and enter the competition, visit morgantonfest.org/made-competition/. Now’s the time to join the challenge! Entries will be accepted through February 5th.

Coffee, teas, specialty drinks, chocolate, pastries, and Guatemalan gifts

A beginner’s workshop in stained glass! We will be foiling and soldering individual panels. Since this is a beginner's workshop, the glass will be pre-cut by the instructor and all edges ground. Your choice of colored glass border. Tulip is a combination of architectural clear glasses. 5x7 panel will be framed in wood and suitable for staining or painting later.. Students will be cleaning, foiling, fluxing and soldering their project. This class is open to adults and teens, all supplies are included, no experience necessary! 

Parking available behind bank or gallery.

The book club will be discussing the incredible novel in verse Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam. Purchase a copy of the book from Adventure Bound Books for a 15% book club discount. This book is appropriate for mature middle grade readers, young adults, and adults. Registration for book club is required in advance.

Join Annaliese Koltermann for this yummy, enveloping, heart healing movement series meant to help you gently find peace and enrich the harmony within. This virtual series (livestream only, via Zoom) will be offered each Sunday from 4:00pm to 5:00pm ET. The cost is $60 for current members and $70 for new students.

Not sure you can make all of the "live" Zoom sessions? No worries! We'll make a recording available for 48 hours after class!

Students will be sent the Zoom link for each class once enrolled in the series. Sign up at www.breatheyogawellness.com/events

Early Bird registration is open today through January 31st with an entry fee of $25 (entry price increases to $35 February 1st).

This year’s contest is sponsored by Redhawk Publications and in addition to cash prizes for 1st through 3rd place winners, winners will have their winning stories included in a published anthology (including the winning stories from 2019 and 2020). And if that’s not enticing enough, the 1st place winner will receive the opportunity to publish a determined number of short stories in the form of a chapbook, with our sponsor providing a limited number of copies for free and additional copies available for purchase, which will also be sold at Adventure Bound Books.

Get FULL DETAILS on our website!

Mondays don't have to be boring!! Come out every Monday for Catawba's pies and pint special! Large pepperoni or cheese pizza from our neighbors across the street with (2) select pints for $25. Mmmmhhmm.

Enjoy free Bar Bites with your purchase from Chef Lara Hicks of Queen's Catering. This week she will tantalize your taste buds with a White Chicken Chili featuring our brand new Baklouti EVOO. From the Barbary Coast of North Africa, Baklouti peppers are rare and unique. Both fruity and mildly spicy, this oil is made by combining one pound of organic EVOO with 1.6 pounds of fresh whole Baklouti chilies and crushing the two ingredients together. This oil is sure to add a spicy dimension to your dishes!

Join Catawba Brewing Co. for trivia every Tuesday at 6:30pm!!