Vik Muniz, a Brazilian contemporary artist who is known for transforming garbage into re-creations of world-famous works of art, is the subject of a new exhibition opening August 25 at Mint Museum Uptown at Levine Center for the Arts. Muniz’s re-creations of famous paintings are notable for their uncanny attention to detail and the non-traditional nature of the media he chooses. Muniz painstakingly gathers such discarded objects as tires, bolts, coils of wire, broken appliances, and soda cans, arranging them on a warehouse floor in piles and layers to create representations of iconic paintings by historical artists. After this labor-intensive

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This is where your adventure begins. Great Urban Race will be coming to Charlotte on Saturday, September 29. This year, Great Urban Race will take participants off the beaten path to new, exciting locations within their cities. Teamwork will prove essential in order to complete the race’s various mental and physical challenges that will push participants to their limits and beyond their expectations. Teams will work together to solve 12 unique clues at local businesses and landmarks, which could include scavenging for random items, deciphering puzzles or completing a physical challenge or game. First, Second, and Third place winners will

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Charlotte-based Belk, Inc., the nation’s largest privately owned mainline department store company, has partnered with United Way of Central Carolinas for its “GET COOL 4 SCHOOL” campaign. Belk will donate more than 3,300 new school uniforms to students in need in three counties – Cabarrus, Mecklenburg and Union. Events will be held in all three counties. “This was a natural fit for Belk,” said Bill Roberts, northern division chair of Belk. “As one of United Way’s top 10 corporate supporters, we’re committed to United Way and the people they help in our hometown. We also have a strong interest in

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Charlotte Rescue Mission is collecting food and other items to help recovering addicted men celebrate Labor Day on September 6th. The community can help by dropping off donations at the Charlotte Rescue Mission, August 15th through August 31st. “We’re so proud that these men have spending 3 to 4 months at the Charlotte Rescue Mission, addressing what drove them to the streets,” says Rev. Tony Marciano, Executive Director of the Charlotte Rescue Mission. “Before we return them as contributing members of society, we want one of their memories to be a day of fellowship and enjoyment.” Some of the items

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The Mecklenburg County Women’s Advisory Board invites the public to attend its Women’s Equality Day Celebration from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 20, at the Levine Museum of the New South. The theme for this year’s free event is Advocate, Empower and Celebrate: Uniting and Strengthening Women. The event includes tours of the museum, a panel discussion by local, noted women, and heavy hors d’oeuvres. This year’s celebration is the second for the WAB, which is a 15-member advisory board appointed by the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners to advise it on current and emerging issues for women

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HF Financial, a General Agency of Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual), has teamed up with the Charlotte Zoological Park’s Think Recycle program, becoming the first company to partner with the organization on this fund-raising endeavor. “Giving back to the community is important to our mission so we are excited about supporting the Charlotte Zoological Park, which will provide an amazing wildlife educational resource in our area,” said Timothy C. Flanagan, Jr., CLU, ChFC, CFP® and General Agent of HF Financial. “We urge other businesses to join us in the Think Recycle program that is not only helping raise funds

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“Secrets To Landing The Job You Desire” is the title of a workshop to be presented by Charlotte business/career coach Deborah Jackson at the Charlotte City Club, 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. Wednesday August 29. “This will be a radical, three-hour, highly engaging and interactive workshop for anyone in search of a job, preparing to interview for a job, or seeking to move internally to a different job,” explained Jackson, president of Harobed Inc. “This workshop is designed to change your mindset, help you become more prepared, to be more in control of the process, and to increase your odds dramatically

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The founders of OverstockAds.com, a leading portal of discounted advertising inventory, today announced the formation of Savveo, Inc. – a new venture designed to transform the way local advertising is bought and sold, headquartered in Charlotte. An evolution of the OverstockAds.com experience, the Savveo website, when open to the public later this year, will serve as an online marketplace to bring long-overdue efficiencies to the $445 billion local advertising market. “Local advertising is one of the most effective ways for businesses to reach their prospective customers, but the way it’s done today is wildly inefficient and frustrating,” said Shafi Mustafa,

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More than 500 fifth graders from five River District schools will get their hands and minds around STEM concepts on Sept. 28 at the 2nd Annual STEM Outdoor Learning Fair. The event, presented by the Catawba River District in partnership with UNC Charlotte’s STEM Education Center, will take place 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at Duke Energy’s Energy Explorium on Lake Norman. Local experts will lead interactive lessons on alternative energy, recycling, groundwater protection and other science- and math-based topics. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. Business leaders say our students must have a strong STEM foundation to ensure that

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The Leon Levine Foundation announced today it will support Communities In Schools of Charlotte-Mecklenburg (CIS) by offering a $100,000 matching gift challenge grant. Donations made to CIS by new donors – or donations that represent an increased gift by a current donor – will be matched dollar for dollar up to $100,000 if made between now and December 31, 2012. “We are thrilled and excited about this generous opportunity,” said Molly Shaw, CIS Executive Director. “This grant will have a huge impact on our ability to broaden our donor base by attracting new donors as well as larger donations. Further,

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