People

Erika Bauchrowitz has been promoted to general manager of the Hilton Executive Park, where she began working in 2001 as the front office manager.

Janet Godfrey, advertising sales manager at the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority, has graduated from the Arts & Science Council’s 2010 Cultural Leadership Training Program. The program is designed to identify emerging leaders and help them become productive volunteers and board members for local cultural organizations.

Visit Charlotte Sports Sales Manager Tim Morgan has earned Certified Sports Event Executive designation from the National Association of Sports Commissions.

The Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority has added Mike Riviello to its staff as a marketing manager.

Events and Attractions

The Mint Museum has announced the inaugural exhibitions for the Mint Museum Uptown’s grand opening October 1. They are New Visions: Contemporary Masterworks from the Bank of America Collection and Contemporary British Studio Ceramics: The Grainer Collection.

This past April, during their Sensoria Festival, CPCC raised over $2,400 to support Share Out Strength with a Great American Bake Sale. Participating bakeries, included Delectables By Holly, Cakes By Victoria, the CPCC Bakery & Pastry Arts Club, CPCC’s Catering & Cuisine Class and CPCC faculty & staff.

The Metropolitan is hosting Music on the Greenway every Thursday night through the month of June. The stage, located next to Dressler’s, will feature a range of original music, from blues and pop to rock and jazz, all by area bands. The event runs from 5:30-8:30 pm and offers fantastic views of the Uptown skyline and the Little Sugar Creek Greenway.

American Parks, LLC plans to build a $20 million national invitation youth baseball complex between Mooresville and Troutman. The facility, set to open in 2012, will feature a 4,000-5,000-seat stadium, 1,400 parking spaces, and 25 playing fields on a 170-acre site.

The Mint Museum has received two grants from the National Endowment for the Arts: a $100,000 American Masterpieces: Visual Arts Touring Grant and a $30,000 Access to Artistic Excellence Grant. The American Masterpieces grant—one of only five awarded across the country—will support the September 2011 exhibition, Romare Bearden: Southern Recollections, which will include approximately 75 works of art that span the career of this internationally renowned Charlotte-born artist. The Access to Artistic Excellence grant will support key interactive components of the Uptown museum’s Family Gallery.

Hotels

The Ballantyne Hotel & Lodge is hosting a summer-long food and wine celebration that will last until September 6. Events include ice cream socials, wine and cheese socials, daily flights of wine and scotch, a farmers’ market, pool parties, wine tastings, cocktail classes, and a cooking school.

According to the Cabarrus Convention and Visitors Bureau, demand for hotel rooms in Cabarrus County was up 5.4 percent in 2009 and has increased by 22.3 percent so far in 2010.

Restaurants

Chef Brett McKee and Steve Palmer of The Indigo Road will open their second roadside kitchen, 15 North, at 1513 Montford Drive in August. It will offer farm-fresh ingredients combined for an eclectic menu “inspired by Moms all over the world.”

There’s still a lot of comings and goings in the area’s volatile restaurant scene. Sunset Grille has opened in the space left vacant by the closing of Las Ramblas at 2400 Park Road, while in Uptown, Dandelion Market is serving diners in the former LaTorre’s location.

Tia Bazzelle, chef and manager at Mert’s Heart and Soul restaurant, was awarded first place in the Hogmasters and Best Setup categories at the Ada Jenkins Center’s Fire 2010 BBQ Competition.

Other

Visit www.charlottesgotalot.com/default.asp?charlotte=273 to view “A Day in the Life of Charlotte,” the new welcome video produced by the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority. It showcases the area’s top attractions, nightlife, dining, and shopping and includes appearances by such local celebs as the NASCAR Hall of Fame's Winston Kelley, Mayor Anthony Foxx, and basketball great Michael Jordan.

The Visitor Info Center in Uptown Charlotte has added North Carolina wines to its merchandise offerings, including the Childress Vineyards and Swan Creek Association labels.

Charlotte-based Healthy Home Market, a health and specialty food store chain, has made a commitment to donate $15,000 to the Parker Autism Foundation, a local non-profit organization dedicated to serving children with autism and their families.

After 12 years in uptown Charlotte, Reid's Fine Foods is closing at the end of the month. But, says owner Chuck Richards, customers can expect to see the Charlotte icon -- which opened in 1928 -- "return to its roots" in Myers Park by the end of the year. In the meantime, Reid's will continue to operate virtually at www.reids.com, focusing on its meat, wine and gift offerings.

Got items to share? Send them to Bea Quirk at BeaWrites@aol.com.