CHARLOTTE IS SHOUTING Y'ALL . . . Art, Food, Music and a Whole Lot of Fun!

I think I've mentioned this before, but one of the things I like best about living in Charlotte--there's generally always a festival of some sort going on. September marks the kickoff of Charlotte's fall arts season. Nearly all month long, a host of arts, food, fairs, festivals and music programs take place at various venues around the city and under the banner of what folks around here call, "Charlotte Shout!"

Last weekend, my family and I ventured into Charlotte's Uptown and enjoyed some of the offerings of an event called "Blues, Brews & BBQ." At the top of this weekend's "to do" list is "Festival in the Park" which is billed as Charlotte's most popular and longest-running festival. The event, which started on Thursday (Sept. 20) and ends on Sunday (Sept. 23), takes place in Freedom Park.

Not only am I looking forward to the food and the clown fashion show (hey, I'm a kid at heart, what can I say?), I'm also looking forward to checking out the wares of the Old School Mix's resident artist, Michelle of Artventuring.

I met Michelle Davis Petelinz last year at another Charlotte art festival and I've been a fan of her work ever since. Even if you can't make the festival, it's still very much worth your while to visit Michelle's website and take a look at her work. Should you see something you like, why not place an order? Or, if nothing else, leave her a note and tell her what made you say, "Ahh, very nice."

To visit Michelle's website, go to http://www.jordanstreasures.net/

To visit Michelle's blog, go to http://artventuring.blogspot.com/

For more information on the festival highlighted in this post, go to http://www.festivalinthepark.org/

(Written while listening to John Coltrane's verison of "My Favorite Things" from the cd, John Coltrane Gold).