Enlarge Two girls check out the line-up at For Teens Only expo on Oct. 3 at the Convention Center.

Posted: October 7th, 2009 Crystal Dempsey

Text and video by Tonya Jameson

Hailing from schools and communities throughout the area, more than 1,800 youth and 200 parents spent Saturday at For Teens Only, a new expo for teens and families.

Girl Talk founder Janine Davis and New Birth Charlotte hosted the symposium as a response to the growing challenges facing teens.

Davis, a Power 98 radio host, is well known for her Girl Talk Foundation, which empowers teenage girls. For Teens Only grew out of some of the issues she encountered with Girl Talk and from parents who call her at the radio station.

Davis and New Birth’s pastor Terrell Murphy wanted to find a way to bring teens and parents together for a day of discussions about Internet safety, self-esteem, dating violence and more. They plan to make this an annual event.

On Saturday, nearly three dozen speakers, including celebrities, and more than 100 vendors participated in the workshop at the Charlotte Convention Center.

After a month in which two Charlotte teens were gunned down in separate acts of violence and a Chicago teen was beaten to death, Saturday’s event was especially timely.

KD Brown, a youth activist, said he would like to see something like For Teens Only occur every quarter. “Young people don’t understand their value,” Brown said. “An event like this allows them to see their value.”

He also hoped attending the event would encourage teens to talk to each other and get outside of their circle of friends.

Keep Reading

Posted: October 6th, 2009 James Willamor

Click here for more photos

A statue of Mohandas Gandhi and a small park at Alexander and Trade streets were dedicated Saturday in honor of the life of the late political and social leader.

Saturday was the day after Gandhi’s 140th birthday.

The opening of the park was celebrated not just by Charlotte’s growing
Indian community, but by city and county leaders and members of
several international groups, including the Charlotte Asian Heritage
Association and the Carolinas Asian American Chamber of Commerce.

While the statue was initially unveiled a year ago, incomplete paperwork prevented it from being permanently installed.

Over the past year, the statue has been set on a foundation on the grounds of the historic Mecklenburg County Courthouse at the corner of Trade and
Alexander streets. Brick pathways have been installed around the
statue, and the area has now been named Gandhi Park.

Keep Reading

Posted: October 5th, 2009 Ayofemi Kirby

The Crossroads Correspondents will be previewing restaurants for the Oct. 8 Taste of the World. For more info and to make a reservation, click here. A few tickets are still available.  

Brazas Brazillian Grill

Namaste India Bar and Restaurant

4508 E Independence Blvd.

Mital Naick, Owner

FOR MORE PHOTOS, please click HERE

Thousands of miles, a continent and an ocean separate Brazil and India, two countries found on opposite corners of the world.

But for Charlotte residents, an open door is all that separates a trip from one country into the other.

Visitors to Brazas Brazilian Grill and Namaste Indian Cuisine will find two restaurants with two menus. And they will discover dishes authentic to the tastes of both cultures.

Mital Naick, is the owner of both Brazas and Namaste. Born in Leicester, England, Naick and his family moved to Charlotte and purchased Brazas with the intent to close it and reopen a restaurant that would only serve Indian cuisine.

But after one year, Naick and his family enjoyed operating Brazas so much that instead of closing the restaurant, they just added Namaste to it.

Keep Reading

Posted: October 3rd, 2009 Crystal Dempsey

Report by Mike McCray

The Crossroads Correspondents will be previewing restaurants for the Oct. 8 Taste of the World. For more info and to make a reservation, click here

Fu Lin Asian Cuisine
5301 E Independence Blvd.

Francis Lin, owner

For more photos by Ayofemi Kirby, please click here

Francis Lin, owner of Fu Lin Asian Cuisine, helps his customers carry boxes of food to their cars.

Because of the lunch take-out traffic, the air around the Independence Boulevard restaurant is filled with spicy aromas from the Asian- and Indian-inspired cuisine.

With one couple getting enough food for the entire office, this place must be good.

Lin's parents, who moved to India from China, ran a restaurant in Calcutta. It is an exact copy of what customers get in Charlotte.

Americans would call this style of food "fusion cuisine," but for Lin, it's all he knows.

Video of chili paneer demonstration by Mike McCray

Keep Reading