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Photo courtesy Cape Fear Coast Convention & Visitors Bureau
An oasis in a sunburned country

An oasis in a sunburned country

Photo courtesy of imcclass.wordpress.com

Mayfaire Town Center, Wilmington, NC

If you can't find it here, you don't need it

by Lois Carol Wheatley | January 26, 2012

Something has happened in recent years to the standard shopping mall. The roof is gone and there are streets and parking spaces right outside the shop you were shooting for. Developers claim this is the look and feel of Main Street, USA, while most shoppers will tell you the streets of their home towns were never quite this neat, clean, and spiffy.

Mayfaire Town Center is on the beaten path to Wrightsville Beach, near …


Herman Burney is either the beauty or the bass on opening night

Herman Burney is either the beauty or the bass on opening night

Photo courtesy of NC Jazz Society

NC Jazz Festival, Wilmington, NC

February will be a little cooler

by Lois Carol Wheatley | January 24, 2012

“Man, if you have to ask what it is, you’ll never know,” said the late great Louis Armstrong. But since you asked anyway, the answer is the North Carolina Jazz Festival, coming to the Hilton Wilmington Riverside on Feb. 2-4. (But you knew that, right?) The festival goes into its 32nd year with a now-standard format, a three-hour opening night session on Thursday followed by all sorts of things on Friday and Saturday, …


Kids, write some lucky red secret messages so the dragon doesn't get you

Kids, write some lucky red secret messages so the dragon doesn't get you

Photo by L2F1, via Flickr Creative Commons

Chinese New Year, Wilmington, NC

Celebrate the Year of the Dragon at the Children's Museum

by Lois Carol Wheatley | January 18, 2012

What do kids know about China? They know that their unwanted vegetables should be sent to starving children in China, and that if they dig long enough and deep enough in their back yards they’ll wind up on the other side of the world, where everything is upside down. The Children’s Museum of Wilmington seeks to enrich that scant store of knowledge with a Chinese New Year's celebration on January 23. From 10 a.m. to …


The location on Market Street is considered the flagship of the fleet

The location on Market Street is considered the flagship of the fleet

Photo by Lois Carol Wheatley

Port City Java, Wilmington, NC

If coffee could be homegrown

by Lois Carol Wheatley | January 17, 2012

Wilmington calls itself The Port City, so people in these parts assume that Port City Java is a strictly local, homegrown enterprise—setting aside for a moment the fact that coffee has to be grown within a reasonably close proximity to the equator. In fact, the company also has locations in Costa Rica, California, Florida, Michigan, New Jersey, and Washington, DC. The local angle is that the beans are locally roasted, and yes, the company did …


Choose from the sailor's quarters, a nun's convent, or Hollywood accommodations.

Choose from the sailor's quarters, a nun's convent, or Hollywood accommodations.

Photo courtesy of The Wilmingtonian

The Wilmingtonian, Wilmington, NC

Don't go away for a romantic getaway

by Lois Carol Wheatley | January 10, 2012

Deciding among three very attractive options will be the only rough patch in your stay at the historic Wilmingtonian in the downtown riverfront district.

The Dram Tree House is named for a cypress tree that was on the banks of the Cape Fear River during the days when most visitors to Wilmington arrived via sailboat. The tree was a signal to sailors to take that last dram of rum before arriving at the docks. …


Ivy doesn't grow on your consigned treasures—merchandise must move much faster than that.

Ivy doesn't grow on your consigned treasures—merchandise must move much faster than that.

Photo by Lois Carol Wheatley

Ivy Cottage, Wilmington, NC

A consignment shop of epic proportions

by Lois Carol Wheatley | January 09, 2012

This is not Goodwill and the shop does not accept everything that is dragged in. It’s like an episode of “Antiques Road Show” where an appraiser decides if your item has any value whatsoever—this individual reserves the right to turn you away without further discussion—and unilaterally sets the price. If your merchandise has not sold in 45 days, it is marked down 15 percent, and if it’s still on the premises at 90 days, it’s …


Lois Carol Wheatley's photo

Meet the Wilmington Insider

Lois Carol Wheatley

“I want to live at the beach.” It’s been a lifelong mantra, and my friends… more





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