Every month new and exciting events are happening at the EpiCentre making it the ultimate destination in uptown. Live music, art and kid friendly events are not in short supply this summer. Every Thursday night during the month of July Alive After Five rocks the Queen City from 5 p.m.- 9 p.m. at the EpiCentre. Live music is played in both The Plaza of the EpiCentre, as well as at the Pavilion. Bands from across the country come to be a part of this Charlotte tradition. As the city’s largest weekly happy hour and free entertainment celebration, Alive After Five

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JJ’s Red Hots, an original restaurant concept, will bring premier handcrafted, chargrilled hot dogs and sausages to 1514 East Blvd. starting Wednesday, July 4. Award-winning Nation Ford High School Drum Line will perform before the 2 p.m. official ribbon cutting. A soloist willplay The National Anthem to commemorate July 4, 2012 being the 200th anniversary of The Star Spangled Banner. Lucky customers will be able to win free hot dogs for a year throughout the day. “JJ’s is about classic American ideals like quality, value and hard work,” Co-founder and Concept Designer, Jonathan Luther said. “We are especially thrilled to

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Johnson C. Smith University is among 642 schools across the nation honored in 2012 by The Corporation for National and Community Service and the U.S. Department of Education. The university joins the nation’s leading colleges and universities, students, faculty members and staff for their commitment to bettering their communities through community service and service learning. Johnson C. Smith University was admitted to the Honor Roll for 1,109 of its students completing 15,270 hours of community service on programs such as Soul of the Northwest Corridor Initiative and others promoting learning for kids. The President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll

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The newest Red Lobster will open at 9801 Independence Pointe Parkway in Matthews, N.C. on Monday, June 25 at 11 a.m. The 5,900 square-foot restaurant will create 180 new jobs and accommodate seating for 212 guests. Restaurant Design The design of the Matthews Red Lobster is inspired by the New England coast and gives guests the feeling of dining by the seaside. Exterior features include a stone tower that is similar to the architecture used throughout New England; ship lanterns to welcome guests; Adirondack-style chairs to encourage mingling outside; unique window graphics that hint at some of the great tasting

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The City of Charlotte Solid Waste Services (SWS) has installed five BigBelly solar waste stations in Uptown as a pilot to further reduce litter, encourage recycling and enable the City to deliver essential services at a reduced cost. Two of the solar waste stations are for garbage only and are at the following locations: · Price’s Chicken Coop at 1614 Camden Road · Charlotte Area Transit bus stop at 715 Charlottetown Avenue Three stations in the following locations allow for the disposal of recyclables and garbage: · Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center on the 4th Street side · Time Warner Cable Arena

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Two exhibitions illustrating diverse and thought-provoking views of what it means to be an American will open June 30 at Mint Museum Uptown. The community is invited to engage with the museum during special events associated with each exhibition. The exhibitions mark the beginning of a spectacular lineup The Mint Museum will have on display when tens of thousands of visitors arrive in Charlotte for the Democratic National Convention in early September. More news of other exhibitions and special projects will be arriving in the coming weeks. “The eyes of the nation and world will be on Charlotte soon, and

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You’ll want to keep the mosquito repellent and medication for bug bites close by this summer. The Centers for Disease Control is predicting the summer of 2012 will be one of the worst mosquito summers on record. You can blame an unusually warm winter, a wetter than normal spring, and a summer that so far is warm and damp. Because the insects did not freeze to death last winter, the bugs got an early start on breeding and have kept multiplying. Considering the amount of water in a bottle cap can hold about 300 mosquito eggs, you can imagine what

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Planning a summer wedding? Hoping for a lifetime of wedded bliss? The likelihood that your partnership will grow into a long, happy marriage may depend on where you live. And according to the 2012 RealAge Report, folks who live in Charlotte have a great shot – ranking #5. Says RealAge: “One of HGTV’s Top ’20 Great Gardens’ in the U.S., the Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden is a hotspot for weddings in the City of Trees. We’re guessing that’s where the not-so-newlyweds in the Charlotte area spend a chunk of their free time, too. If so, it could be the secret

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Massage Envy Spa, a provider of professional, convenient and affordable therapeutic massage and skin facials, will open its 14th Charlotte-area clinic in Matthews on June 22nd. The spa, located in Sycamore Commons in Matthews (2233 Matthews Township Parkway, Matthews, NC 28105), will include 3300 square feet of space and 11 treatment rooms to provide many massage therapy options and skin facials. The spa hours are 8:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m. Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Saturday and 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Sunday. Appointments can be made by calling (704) 846-3689. “We are excited about our grand

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The annual Litter Index shows Mecklenburg County has less litter today than at any time since 2003, according to Keep Mecklenburg Beautiful. The Litter Index is an annual visual assessment of the types and amount of litter present in the community. The index is determined by sending volunteers to 50 locations over a two-day period. Each site is one mile in length. Volunteers observe the amount of litter present on a scale of one to four with one indicating no litter and four to represent a lot. This year’s record-setting number is 1.22. Jake Wilson, executive director of Keep Mecklenburg

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