Lecture Series
May 17, 10:00 am Lee Smith – Listening to Ivy
Ragan Writing Center, Barton College  -  Free

Lee Smith is the author of the acclaimed novel Fair and Tender Ladies, which Quinn Hawkesworth has adapted for the stage in a production presented by Theater of the American South.  Ivy Rowe is the heroine of the book, which won the Weatherford Award for Appalachian Literature in 1988.  Lee Smith has written numerous other novels and short story collections and is the recipient of an Academy Award in Literature presented by the American Academy of Arts and Letters, as well as the Robert Penn Warren Prize and the North Carolina Award for Fiction. 

May 24, 10:00 am Derek Alderman – Untangling Kudzu’s Place in Southern Culture
Ragan Writing Center, Barton College  -  Free

Derek Alderman is a cultural and historical geographer who teaches on the faculty of East Carolina University.   Professor Alderman has written widely on the role of change, continuity, and contest in shaping the landscape of the American South.  He is Co-Editor of Southeastern Geographer, published by UNC Press.  Professor Alderman holds a Ph.D. from the University of Georgia. 

May 31, 12:00 noon F. Todd Lasseigne – Magnolias:  Southern Garden Aristocrats
Hardy Alumni Hall, Barton College - $10 (includes lunch)
F. Todd Lasseigne is the Executive Director of Paul J. Ciener Botanical Garden, where he is in charge of developing a wholly new public garden in Kernersville, North Carolina. He is a widely recognized figure in Southern U.S. ornamental horticulture. Dr. Lasseigne has traveled and lectured in Japan, China, the United Kingdom, and throughout the U.S. He holds a Ph.D. from North Carolina State University.
Concerts
May 17 and 24, 4:00 p.m.
Theater of the American South will offer free Southern-themed musical performances in the Arts Council block of downtown Wilson beginning at 4:00 p.m.
Dinner Theater
May 17 and 24, 5:30 p.m.
The Playhouse, Wilson’s acclaimed community theater, will offer a fine dinner and the first act of their hit world premiere, The Dixie Swim Club by the red-hot playwright trio of Jones, Hope, and Wooten, at Imagination Station Science Museum, 224 East Nash Street in Wilson, beginning at 5:30 p.m.
Garden Party
May 31, 5:00 p.m.
Theater of the American South will celebrate the closing weekend of the 2008 festival with a traditional garden party at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Walston, 904 West Nash Street in Wilson, beginning at 5:00 p.m. Appropriate refreshments and hors d’oeuvres will be served. Tickets are $25.00 per person.
Gospel Services
May 18, and 25 and June 1, 9:45 a.m.
Block of Hope Southern Gospel Experience will be presented at Jackson Chapel First Baptist Church, 571 E. Nash Street in Wilson, under the direction of Pastor Dr. Darryl T. Canady and Minister of Music Brother Alton Mitchell . The Jackson Chapel Mass Choir was featured at the 2004 Annual
Conference for the Congressional Black Caucus held in Washington, DC.
All services are at 9:45 a.m. and are free and open to the public.
Cooking Demonstrations

Theater of the American South welcomes acclaimed Southern chefs displaying their culinary magic in two Saturday demonstrations. Mid-day demonstrations will be held from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. in the unique setting of the Merck Science Courtroom at Imagination Station Science Museum, 224 East Nash Street in Wilson. Late afternoon sessions will take place from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. and are more intimate, featuring gourmet kitchens in private homes.

The cost for mid-day demonstrations is $10.00 per person.  The cost for afternoon demonstrations is $20.00 per person.

May 17 Jason Smith, Chef-Proprietor of 18 Seaboard in Raleigh, NC.  Chef Smith honed his art at acclaimed restaurants in the South and New York, including Magnolia Grill in Durham, Peninsula Grill in Charleston, and Union Square Café in New York.  The late afternoon demonstration will be held in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Brent Boyette, 1001 Brookside Drive in Wilson.
May 24 Stephen Ribustello, Chef-Proprietor of On the Square in Tarboro, NC and former Sommelier at the renowned Windows on the World. Chef Ribustello infuses New York flair into traditional Southern dishes. The late afternoon demonstration will be held in the
home of Mr. and Mrs. Lee Stephenson, 301 Wilshire Blvd. in Wilson.
The cost for mid-day demonstrations is $10.00 per person.  The cost for afternoon demonstrations is $20.00 per person.

Fair and Tender Ladies Opening Night Reception (May 16)

Stuart Walston, Inc. Custom Interiors will host a reception to celebrate the opening of Fair and Tender Ladies from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. Lee Smith, the acclaimed author of the novel on which the play is based, will appear at the reception. Refreshments and hors d'oeuvres will be served. The reception is open to all who are attending the opening of Fair and Tender Ladies or any other opening weekend performance of the play, as well as to those how have purchased Patron Tickets for Theater of the American South. Stuart Walston, Inc. Custom Interiors is located at 417 W. Nash Street in Wilson. Ample parking is available. For more information regarding the reception, please contact Sarah Walston at (252) 243-4940.