CYSTIC FIBROSIS TELETHON...

Toni Taglieri, daughter of the late painter Willie Taglieri, and vendor at the New Bern Farmer's Market, will create an original painting during her seventh Cystic Fibrosis telethon.

“I do a painting every year from noon until midnight on a blank canvas, two by three feet, with supplies provided by Art and Material and Ballantyne Framing,” Taglieri said.

Taglieri is carrying on a tradition her father created, as he was dedicated to painting for the tele-thon for 22 years until his death in 2002.

“Even my father’s last year, in 2002 when he has lung cancer, he was determined to do the tele-thon, then two days later he went back to hospital,” Taglieri said.

Every year, Taglieri makes a sketch of what she wants to paint at the telethon and has been sell-ing raffle tickets for it since the beginning of July at the New Bern Farmers Market. The painting she will create during the telethon will be up for bid for its duration.

“I usually do something coastal, and this year I painted two trollers in downtown Oriental. I usu-ally do something within the viewing area of Channel 12,” Taglieri said.

Though Taglieri doesn’t like the spotlight on herself, she participates in the telethon because she understands how important finding new treatments or a cure for cystic fibrosis can be.

“There’s a lot of great music and great talent. Every hour to 45 minutes, the hosts stop by to see my progress. It’s different than working at home. … I always get nervous because I don’t like to be on TV, but I look forward to it because it’s a good cause,” Taglieri said.

Taglieri’s family also shows up every year to give its support and ease her nerves.

“The telethon always falls on or around my brother’s or mother’s birthday, so the whole family comes down to see me because they’re in town,” Taglieri said. “My brother-in-law also participates in the telethon… it’s like a family affair. Once you get involved, you stay involved.”

Taglieri said last year’s painting and sketch fetched $4,000 and that she and her father have raised more than $100,000 for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

“I have known several children throughout the years who have been affected by cystic fibrosis, and they have such short life expectancies. But with the foundation, now they can live longer.… This year, two young ladies received lung transplants. It’s good to know all the work we are doing is working,” Taglieri said.

The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is in the top 200 largest U.S. charities, according to Forbes.com. Also, 89 percent of the proceeds go to charitable services, 9 percent goes to fundraising and 2 per-cent goes to management and other costs, according to Forbes.com.

Taglieri will be selling raffle tickets for the sketch from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the Papous Olive Oil stand at the New Bern Farmers Market. For raffle tickets of the sketch, call (252) 638-8028 or visit the Papous Olive Oil stand.

New Bern, N.C., celebrates 300 YRS OF HISTORY

I figured that something extraordinary was afoot in the waterfront North Carolina town of New Bern when the highway sign on the way in flashed a smiley face with the text, "Yes, the bridge is open!"

North Carolina's second-oldest city may be celebrating its 300th anniversary this year, but the biggest cause for excitement among its 28,000 residents is arguably the new Alfred A. Cunningham Bridge, which just happened to open the day I arrived.

The replacement drawbridge, nearly three years in the making, feeds highway traffic over the confluence of the Neuse and Trent rivers and directly into red-bricked historic downtown New Bern, finally erasing the need for lengthy detours through not the most attractive section of town.

"There's been a big traffic jam all day of cars wanting to drive over it," said innkeeper Kim Wynn when I checked into the spacious turret room at the Howard House Bed & Breakfast, just two blocks from the bridge. "We've waited a long time for this. It's such a pretty way to enter town."

Whichever route you take, once you're downtown you can park the car and put on your walking shoes, as most of what you'll want to see sits within a 15-block spread. If you stick to a tight schedule, as I did, you can take in the highlights in one day and spend another at the beach. (The closest, Atlantic Beach, is a 45-minute drive to the southeast.)

By the time you've covered two blocks you'll be wondering, "What's with all those bears?" The animal's likeness is on the ubiquitous city seal, most often seen flying from lamppost banners, and, on the ground, in the form of 44 decorated fiberglass "Bear Town Bears." The symbol comes from New Bern's founder, a nobleman from Switzerland who named the city after his home town of Bern. The name derives from the German for "bear," and you'll find your fill of them here.

I decided to conquer downtown first, stop to refuel, then tackle New Bern's shining star: Tryon Palace, which was the home of royal governor William Tryon in 1770 and served as the capital of North Carolina until Raleigh supplanted it in 1794.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention New Bern's other royalty: romance writer Nicholas Sparks, best known for the tear-jerker "The Notebook." For his fans, the tourism folks have wisely designed a self-guided walking tour past sites mentioned in Sparks's novels. Be warned that the sugar may stick to your feet on this "Walk to Remember."

New Bern's shopping area is a friendly, inviting place, except for the "we have no public restrooms" signs in the front of many businesses. (Town leaders, maybe it's time to install some?)

Before I could even step inside Mitchell Hardware, I overheard manager Greg Smith telling customers how he had tooted a whistle and rung a cowbell during his inaugural walk over the half-mile bridge the day before.

His family's landmark store was founded as a livery stable in 1898 and morphed into a general hardware store, which it remains today. It's now housed in a 1912 building featuring original leaded glass windows and a pressed-tin ceiling.

I popped into several sizable antiques shops, the stylish home-design shop Confluence, and my favorite, Carolina Creations, featuring national and North Carolina artisan

On Saturdays, New Bern's year-round farmers market hums with mostly locals, giving it a warm community feel. The downtown market is heavy on baked goods, country crafts and New Bern-logo items, making it a good spot for souvenir seekers.

Downtown's most-visited store has to be the Birthplace of Pepsi, run by regional distributor Minges Bottling Group. It was in his pharmacy here that Caleb Bradham invented "Brad's Drink" in 1898, later patenting it as Pepsi-Cola. The small shop contains memorabilia, trinkets for sale, an old-fashioned soda fountain and a guest book filled with addresses from around the world.

"What are you serving?" I asked the woman behind the soda counter.

"Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Mountain Dew and Diet Mountain Dew," she answered.

That keeps it simple.

My choice for lunch was made easy by the warm early-spring day: the rooftop deck at Captain Ratty's Seafood & Steakhouse. Although the location doesn't offer a full water view (visit the Hilton hotel's waterfront deck for that), you can see slivers of the rivers and the lively streetscape below.

History has sat at the head of the table in New Bern for decades and will continue to lord it from there this year with a tricentennial calendar brimming with exhibits, war reenactments and celebrations. Several events pay homage to the city's past and still-strong African American population. (The city also publishes a self-guided African American heritage tour.)

Not coincidentally, 2010 is also the year the 60,000-square-foot North Carolina History Education Center is scheduled to open, in mid-August. The museum will give visitors a futuristic look at eastern North Carolina's past by using a host of high-tech multimedia devices. Its attractive, contemporary brick and glass building is beautifully situated on six waterfront acres across the street from Tryon Palace, which funds and operates the new museum.

As for the former governor's mansion, only a small part of the original 1770 building remains. But that didn't stop New Bern from re-creating an 18th-century world around it by reconstructing the handsome Georgian-style estate in the 1950s. Because Tryon was fond of London designers, the interior is decorated in mostly authentic 1700s British furnishings.

You can tour several buildings and the splendid garden-filled grounds on your own, but the palace itself can be visited only on a guided tour. I've been inside twice and feel compelled to report that both tours were unremarkable, with rote historical recitations, little eye contact and zero liveliness. Let's hope that the new education center's creative energy rubs off on Tryon.

The palace is a great starting point for a tour of New Bern's dozens of historic homes. Although most of the earlier buildings represent Georgian and Federal architecture, you'll find a little bit of everything, and many are in tiptop shape. You can pick up a map for a self-guided historic-homes walking tour at New Bern's visitor center, or you can take a New Bern Tours trolley ride, which emphasizes architecture.

Thanks to New Bern's vast waterfront, sunsets can be a thing to behold. The best spots to watch them are from Captain Ratty's rooftop, on a park bench behind the New Bern Riverfront Convention Center and from the top of the bridge. You know the one.

Sunday, May 2, 2010: Diane Daniel is a freelance writer based in Durham, N.C. She can be reached at diane@bydianedaniel.com.

Authors Connect with Readers

FARMER'S MARKET BOOK FAIR...
Local authors set up shop on Saturday at the New Bern Farmers Market to sell their books to lovers of the written word.

The sixth annual Book Lovers Fair held at 421 S. Front St. this weekend was started after the wife of one of the market’s former managers, who was a “real booklover,” came up with the idea to sell books during the winter months, said fair organizer Julie McKeon.

There were local authors present as well as vendors selling used and new books, crafts, bread, soaps and other products. There is no shortage of local authors to draw from in the area, McKeon said, estimating that there are around 65 within driving distance of New Bern.

Fairfield Harbour resident and author Karen Dodd, who typically writes murder mysteries that involve the local history and landscape, said she has come to the fair each year to sell her books.

She enjoys meeting her readers, and talking to them about her books, such as her latest, “Spirit of Union Point.” The book is about a woman who uncovers a murder in the process of doing historical research.

“This way, people get to meet us, and that’s the fun part,” Dodd said.

She wore what she calls her “killer hat” at the event that was designed to match the murder-mystery plotlines that pervade many of her books.

The hat was covered with plastic toy weapons that a reader might find in the pages of her works such as a hat pin, a dagger, a poisonous snake or a spider.

“This is a great event,” she said of the fair. “It promotes local writers, and this way people can come by and talk to us.”

Eddie Ellis, a local author who has released several new works including “New Bern History 101,” set up a booth at the fair so he could get exposure for his latest works.

Ellis said many of the people who came by his booth said they had purchased his book already and had finished it or were in the process of reading it.

“That’s always a good thing – good, positive feedback,” he said.

Fairfield Harbour resident Ben Watford also had a booth set up in which he was giving away pieces of his homemade pottery to customers who purchased one of his three books.

Watford most recently has co-authored a book called “You Can’t Fall Off the Floor” that is about the life and characters in the small town of Winton where he grew up.

“It’s so small, if you go 5 mph, you pass through it in one minute,” he said.

The book features characters such as his former second grade teacher who is now 105 years old, and the sheriff that “treated everybody with respect and dignity.”

Watford said he also has attended the fair each year that it has been held.

“They have this book fair every year, and I really do very well,” he said.


SUN JOURNAL
Laura Oleniacz can be reached at 252-635-5675 or at loleniacz@freedomenc.com.