Carolina Crossroads Expecting Record Concert Crowd
Friday concert to feature County Music Hall of Famers, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, & Ray Price
Aug. 22- Roanoke Rapids - Carolina Crossroads has announced that preparations are in the final stages for Friday’s outdoor concert featuring County Music Hall of Famers, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, and Ray Price. Additional food and more than 50,000 bottles of water have been ordered to accommodate concertgoers. Security and emergency protocols have also been modified.
Platinum level seating for the concert sold-out within three weeks. The few remaining tickets in the gold level seating section were sold on Tuesday morning. General admission tickets are still available.
EMBARQ is presenting “The Last of the Breed” tour at the Carolina Crossroads Outdoor Amphitheater. The concert is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. Merle and Willie will do full shows then are joined by Price, backed by Willie's band. Willie then closes the show. “When stars like this align, people take notice and that has been evident by the ticket sales,” said Elizabeth Branham, Carolina Crossroads Entertainment Director. “This will be a night to remember at Carolina Crossroads.”
The winner of the Carolina Crossroads Star 2007 talent competition will sing on the main stage at 7:30 p.m. More than 65 competitors entered the karaoke-style contest held weekly at Java Junction Restaurant in Roanoke Rapids. The 65 were narrowed down to 14 semi-finalists who competed for a development recording contract and the ultimate chance to sing at the Carolina Crossroads Outdoor Amphitheater.
The three finalists, Tammie Ferrell, Travis Wilson, and Jennifer Jean, will compete at 6 p.m. on the secondary stage with the winner advancing to the main stage. The Carolina Crossroads Star 2007 will also receive a development contract allowing them to record a three song CD at Master Tracks in Selma, NC. The development contract is presented by Carolina Crossroads and WJ Promotions/Icon Records of Dunn, NC.
About Carolina Crossroads: Carolina Crossroads is located off Interstate 95 in Roanoke Rapids, NC (Exit 171). The entertainment, tourism, and retail destination located between Richmond, VA, and Raleigh, NC, will offer live performance theatres, shops, hotels, convention and conference facilities, recreation and amusements, and numerous dining options. The Randy Parton Theatre, which opened in July, anchors the Carolina Crossroads Music Theatre and Entertainment District and features country, pop, beach, and gospel music acts. For more information, visit www.carolinacrossroads.com.
Contact: Les Atkins 252-532-0073
NorthEast Tourism Members Blitz Travel Offices
Group Partnering with AAA to Attract Visitors to North Carolina
Aug. 15, Edenton, NC – During August, members of the NorthEast Tourism (NET) group will call on offices of the American Automobile Association (AAA) to deliver maps, travel guides and information about sites in the 16 counties covered by the North Carolina’s Northeast Commission.
From Richmond, to Chesapeake travel planners in AAA offices have accepted appointments for Wednesday, August 15th with members of NET. Nancy Nicholls, NET chairwoman said, “Travelers from the Virginia area want to know the easiest routes to our historic sites, garden spots, beaches and many other destinations.
“The newer attractions such as Carolina Crossroads and the Randy Parton Theatre in Roanoke Rapids along with the Museum of the Albemarle in Elizabeth City will be brought to the attention of the planners so they can direct visitors to these sites,” according to Russ Haddad, vice-chairman of NET.
These personal, one-on-one visits, where questions will be answered about hotel inventory and restaurant locations will also assist planners as they direct visitors to our many tourism destinations giving each of them more of a package approach.
“North Carolina’s Northeast Region is unique and we want to welcome guests and increase the number of travelers who decide to spend their leisure time in our region,” said Vann Rogerson, President of North Carolina’s Northeast Commission.
AAA is a not-for-profit organization of motor clubs serving more than 50 million members in the United States and Canada. “Vacationers from all over the country add to the economic impact of North Carolina’s Northeast when they decide to bring their family for a week or just a weekend,” Rogerson added.
North Carolina’s Northeast Commission is dedicated to increasing the standard of living for citizens in its sixteen-county region through tourism, industrial, and business development. The 16 counties that comprise the regional Commission are: Beaufort, Bertie, Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Dare, Gates, Halifax, Hertford, Hyde, Martin, Northampton, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Tyrrell, and Washington. For more information about the Northeastern North Carolina Regional Economic Development Commission, contact us at www.ncnortheast.com and www.visitncne.com.
North Carolina’s Northeast Commission
Vann Rogerson, President & CEO
119 West Water Street
Edenton, North Carolina 27932
Phone: 1-888-872-8562
les atkins PR, Inc.
Roanoke Rapids, NC
Excellence Beyond the Ordinary!
252-532-0073
NCCAR Sponsored Team to Compete in Defense Department’s Vehicle Competition
Local team makes the final 36 for the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge
Aug. 10, 2007 -Roanoke Rapids, NC – The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) announced that Insight Racing of Cary has made it through to the final 36 teams in the DARPA Urban Challenge. Lotus Engineering and the new North Carolina Center for Automotive Research (NCCAR), formerly known as the Advanced Vehicle Research Center, in Northampton County are major sponsors of the Insight Racing team and their quest for victory in this advanced vehicle technology competition.
Insight Racing is a small team of NC State University Alumni and local technical professionals with strong skills in advanced computing. Founded by Grayson Randall in 2003, it has very close links to NC State University and the local IT industry. “We appreciate the sponsorship of NCCAR and are proud to be developing this smartcar technology in North Carolina. The support of sponsors like NC CAR and Lotus Engineering are key to our success,” said Grayson Randall, founder and team leader of Insight Racing. “With the development of alternative fuel vehicles and smartcars, transportation will change dramatically in the not-to-distant future.”
The DARPA Urban Challenge is the next step in progress towards achieving the Congressional mandate that 30% of land based military vehicles must operate without a driver by 2015. The premise was for vehicles to self navigate through a course that included on-road and off-road surfaces using only GPS defined waypoints and on-board sensors. The Urban Challenge, scheduled for this fall, requires vehicle to navigate autonomously through a city environment with other vehicles and comply with all traffic regulations.
The vehicle that Insight Racing selected for this challenge is unusual – it is a Lotus Elise sports car. This exclusive sports car has very few of the powered systems necessary to operate under computer control. Hence, Lotus Engineering converted the car to either driver or full computer control prior to Insight Racing installing the advanced computer systems and sensors.
The technologies developed by this small local team are totally in line with the future of automotive engineering and hence with the mission of NCCAR. “We are absolutely delighted that Insight has achieved such a huge endorsement of their skills and advanced technology. I’m confident that the team will do very well in the next stages of the competition. We also look forward to this technology being applied by Insight and NCCAR to the passenger vehicles of the future with benefits of increased safety and fuel economy,” said Gary Brown, NCCAR Board President.
NC State University is also a major sponsor of Insight Racing and has provided significant resources and technology to assist in the challenge. “Combining N.C. State’s research team with Lotus Engineering has proven to be a win-win situation for everyone involved,” said Simon Cobb, Director of Lotus North Carolina Operations.
Contact: Simon Cobb, Lotus Engineering
734.834.6264
The North Carolina Center for Automotive Research (NCCAR) is a modern automotive testing facility for use in the design, development, testing and certification of advanced vehicle technologies, sub-systems and components. NCCAR is a State funded initiative that is designed to combine the great resources and skills of North Carolina’s industries, academic institutions and strategies to put North Carolina at the front of advanced vehicle technologies and hence jobs The Research Center is a public-private partnership that matches the talents of multi-national automotive companies with those of North Carolina’s leading universities. NCCAR is world class and focused on next generation research and development in the automotive industry (www.nccar.us).
Lotus Engineering is an internationally recognized automotive engineering consultant based in Hethel, Norfolk, UK. Its global facilities include those in Michigan and North Carolina, USA and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and offices in Germany and China. It provides comprehensive and versatile consultancy services to many of the world's car manufacturers and tier one automotive suppliers, from initial concept and project design through development to full production prototype build.
Insight Racing is a North Carolina based robotic vehicle racing team formed to compete in the DARPA Grand Challenge events. (www.insightracing.org)
North Carolina State University was founded as a land-grant institution in 1887. A nationally recognized leader in science and technology with historic strengths in agriculture and engineering, NC State provides a high-quality education in the humanities and social sciences, design, education, life sciences, management, natural resources, physical and mathematical sciences, textiles and veterinary medicine.