The first Viva Raleigh Festival is set to take place tomorrow, July 19, from 2:30-7:30 p.m. at Moore Square in Downtown Raleigh.
The City of Raleigh and a committee of city residents have worked tirelessly to plan the Viva Raleigh Festival. With this event, they hope to inform, integrate, empower and involve all of the Latinos that live within the City of Raleigh. Viva Raleigh will consist of areas such as city departments, health, education and youth.
This day long celebration of Latino culture with music and food will feature continuous live performances by local and internationally known artist, sponsor booths offering free product samples and/or services, arts & craft and other organizations offering information.
Capital Area Transit (CAT) will be providing free transportation on July 19 from 12 noon to 12 midnight to all that would like to attend the festival.

I’ve just returned from New York City, where I haven’t been since I was a teenager. Each time I’ve gone it has been to visit with family, so this experience (visiting the city as a tourist) was quite different. I didn’t know I could pack so much of a big city in during the course of a weekend, but if you plan ahead and keep an open mind you can experience so much. I thoroughly enjoyed the hustle and bustle of the city, the people watching, the countless multicultural businesses and restaurants, rumblings of different languages around me. I stumbled about the city all weekend looking like a small town tourist in the big city. We stayed at the Marriot directly in front of a small black hole where the massive WorldTrade Center used to tower over the city. In 48 hours I admired the fashionable windows of Fifth Avenue, spotted the Empire State Building, Brooklyn Bridge and all 4 of the New York City Waterfalls, ran through Rockafeller Center in the rain, walked down Wall Street and through Grand Central Station, shot pictures of the Naked Coyboy in Times Square, took a carriage ride through Central Park, visited St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Bryant Park, took the subway to the Mets/Yankees game at Shea Stadium and even ran smack dab into New York’s annual Heritage of Pride Parade. Among all of the sightseeing there were several stops that I have to mention and recommend to anyone traveling to New York. After settling into our hotel room the first afternoon we walked from our hotel over to Battery Park. The public park faces theNew York Harbor with a distant view of the Statue of Liberty. The 25 acre space includes several war memorials as well as Hope Garden, a memorial to AIDS victims. We visited the park at sunset and even though the area was busy with activity and saturated with tourists, an inexplicable serenity still existed on the grounds. We were on a time constraint because it was late in the afternoon and we had dinner reservations, but I would love to return to this part of the city with more time to explore the grounds. Another place that would be a sin to miss while visiting New York is a somewhat new restaurant on the Lower East Side of the city called Allen & Delancey. It’s a small, dark, candlelit space that feels more like walking into a restaurant in old England. The food was simple but sophisticated and begins with soft, warm rolls that melt in your mouth and ends with a list of desserts that are hard to dismiss…so instead I indulged in a sweet cream french toast with oatmeal ice cream and carmelized banana. It was just enough to leave you craving more. Another place that would be a sin to miss while in New York is Pinkberry’s. Being the ice cream lover that I am, I was happy to have the opportunity to try Pinkberry’s famous frozen yogurt. Pinkberry can only be found in California and New York. The tart, almost sour, natural taste of its three flavors (Green Tea, Coffee, and Original) and the wide array of fresh fruit toppings could lead you to believe that you’re actually eating something truly healthy. Of course you have a choice of other toppings like candy, chocolate chips, coco puffs and fruity pebbles to indulge in too. Lastly, you can’t leave the city without dropping by New Amsterdam Market. Dozens of local vendors join restaurant chefs, wineries, pastry chefs, and bakers to sell and offer tastings of their goodies in the weekly outdoor event in the old Fulton Fish Market space at the South Street Seaport. So much to do, so little time. But i’m confident that we made the most of our weekend in the city. Can’t wait to return take another bite out of the Big Apple soon.

While the previously mentioned faretracker.com hasn’t proven helpful in booking cheap flights for my thrifty weekend travel adventures this summer…it hasn’t stopped me from traveling. Whether it’s been for a night or a few days, I have found ways to spend the past few weekends traveling and enjoying family and long lost friends…

Picture this. A full-service resort with 2 pools, a water slide, full-service spa, gigantic gym overlooking the ocean, themed bars and restaurants, live entertainment, duty free shopping, 24 hour room service, and midnight pizza! You’re picturing an exotic land and an endless budget. Nope. It’s a “Cruise to Nowhere.” A few weeks ago, my friend Lori and I joined my family’s yearly company “retreat,” on a “Cruise to Nowhere.”   A cruise to nowhere is a great way to take a mini-vacation and enjoy all of the amenities of a regular cruise at just a fraction of the cost. This cruise only lasts a few days, and doesn’t stop at any ports. Without the time necessary to sail to a port, the ship will instead idle or anchor close to the shoreline (but far out enough to open the casino and duty-free shops!).My family and I go every year and love the endless amount of good food and entertainment that you can enjoy. Food, non-alcoholic beverages and entertainment are all inclusive. Lori had never taken the cruise before and didn’t realize that you can’t use cash on the ship. It’s a safety/theft precaution. If you take a cruise remember your credit/debit card, because you will have to show it upon check-in and it will be used as both your money and room key during your stay.
The cruise departed from

Norfolk, Virginia on a Saturday and returned on Monday. It was just enough time to eat myself silly, catch some rays and read the book that I am determined to finish soon (Eat, Love Pray by Elizabeth Gilbert), watch one of their broadway quality shows and have enough fun to need another vacation upon my return…

Prices begin at around $300 to $800 per person. Getting out of

Raleigh for a long weekend on a budget. Priceless.

Anyone who knows me well, knows that I love — maybe i’m even addicted to – chicken salad. If I don’t have a fix at least once a week, I get cranky. My top 2 favorite chicken salads in town are at Village Deli and Tookie’s Grill. My friend Allison teased me with the idea of the delectable treat by inviting me to meet her at Village Deli for lunch, shortly before a meeting that I had to attend. Thanks, Al! As I result, I abandoned my laptop and ran outside to find something to fight the craving before heading into my meeting…Luckily, I remembered that there is a Tookie’s within the Shell Gas Station on Six Forks Rd. in Raleigh!

Tookie’s Grill originated from a restaurant at a gas station in North Raleigh. Don’t let the gas station fool you! They have items that you would typically find at a grill like hot dogs, hamburgers, grilled cheese, etc… but they they are famous for their chicken salad.

I rushed over, stomach growing, to learn that the deli is closed for renovations. I was in so much shock that I didn’t even think to ask how long…I just stood there in shock. Pouting (out loud) and sulked out the door. I won’t bore you with the details of what I found to fend my hunger off with, but it burned the roof of my mouth because I ate it so quickly.

Luckily last year, Tookie’s opened a full restaurant at Seaboard Station off of Peace Street in Raleigh. They have live music, beer and wine and homemade desserts. When Village Deli in Cameron Village was being renovated, last summer, I got my fix at Tookie’s II once a week. I can tell you that I will be visiting Tookie’s II or Village Deli tonight.

For those Tookie’s fans reading this you may not want to waste your precious gas money driving to Tookie’s I without calling to see if they are reopened first. If you have yet to try Tookie’s or Village Deli’s chicken salad, shame on you! You have an assignment…

North Carolina non-profit advocacy and public policy organization, El Pueblo Inc., has been dedicated strengthening the Latino Community since its inception in 1994.

From humble beginnings in Chapel Hill, NC to the nationally recognized advocacy organization that sits in North Carolina’s capitol city today, El Pueblo Inc. has accomplished their mission by bringing people together, each year, at their annual cultural festival, La Fiesta del Pueblo, and through leadership development, proactive and direct advocacy, education, and promotion of cross-cultural understanding in partnerships at the local, state, and national levels.

I have been involved with El Pueblo Inc. in one way or another since 1999 and respect the work that they do to advocate on behalf of North Carolina’s growing Hispanic population.

As the immigration debate festers at local and state levels and the Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill remains introduced but not yet approved at the U.S. Congress level, El Pueblo’s Advocacy Director, Irene Godinez joined other NC Latino advocates and residents, Mary Mountcastle, Trustee of Z.Smith Reynolds, Dan Hudgins, UNC-CH School of Social Work, Daniel Kight, Duke Master of Public Policy Graduate join to speak up in support of the Latino and Immigrant communities of this state.

Here are some of the points they had to share:

•Significant Economic Contribution: Between 1995 and 2000 North Carolina had one of the fastest-growing Latino populations in the nation owing to the fact that it had a booming economy and a wealth of opportunities. An economic study by the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprises at UNC-Chapel Hill from 2006 indicated that the Latino population contributed to the state’s economic prosperity with more than $9 billion through its purchases, taxes and labor. The Latino community has proven to be vital for the state’s continued growth. “It is time that fellow North Carolinians acknowledge and accept the new community found within our state and seek policies that will integrate the Latino community—immigrant and non-immigrant alike—instead of driving them into the shadows with short-sighted policies” said Godínez.

•Considerable military participation: Immigrants contribute to every facet of American life, including its military. According to a report presented to Congress, “As of February 2003, there were 37,000 noncitizens serving in active duty in the U.S. armed forces, almost 12,000 foreign nationals serving in the selected reserves, and another 8,000 serving in the inactive National Guard and ready reserves .” As a state with some of the largest military bases, it is important that we highlight and recognize the sacrifices that immigrant families also contribute for these United States and continue to offer opportunities for them to give back to this state and nation.

•Children of immigrants bicultural: Often, it is the children of immigrants that become the cultural brokers for their families and communities as they are skilled, bilingual, bicultural individuals. With each generation that passes, Latinos become more integrated in mainstream America. According to the Pew Hispanic Center, “of adult first-generation Latinos, just 23% say they can carry on a conversation in English very well. That share rises sharply, to 88%, among the second generation of adults, and to 94% among the third and higher generations.”

I’m lucky to have a job that not only involves learning new things and meeting new people, every day, but is also a lot of fun and allows me to feel like I’m giving back to the community.   

This Thursday 6/19, my colleagues at NBC 17 and I will be working (if you can call it that…) at Mura of North Hills for their Hawaiian Luau to benefit Muscular Dystrophy Assocation (MSA).  That afternoon North Hills is hosting one of their popular outdoor concerts with ZSpotlight.com.  Mura will be dishing up some of their famous sushi and DJ Grant will be playing live on the outside patio beginning at 9 p.m.   

With food, drinks and hula skirts flaunted in the name of charity, this event is sure to put the fun in “fundraising.” Party starts at 9pm and lasts until 2am!  Come early, with tickets, if you want Sushi!If you don’t carve out some time for this tropical-themed soiree, you will be sorry in the morning. 

Our Web Anchor, Page Crawford will be emceeing the event and raffling off a long list of great prizes and our team will be onsite showing folks how to share community stories, pictures and videos within our new web site http://raleigh.mync.com/. Stop by the mync.com booth to say “hello” and tell your friends!  

Last year, I learned about a cool celebration often cited as the African American Independence Day in

Durham. I was working in public relations and a client of mine sponsored the big event. It’s a big deal. Each year, tons of people gather in NC to honor the day slaves were freed. 

Juneteenth originates from Galveston, Texas, where on June 19th, 1865, the word of the Emancipation Proclamation reached the enslaved. 

North Carolina will soon become the 26th state to recognize Juneteenth as a state holiday or a state holiday observance.

 The 4th Annual Durham Juneteenth Celebration & Unity March to be held on Saturday, June 14, 2008 on Fayetteville Street at Hayti

Heritage

Center from 12:00pm to 6:00 pm. This educational and uplifting day begins with a march at 11:00 am, led by Honorary Chair North Carolina Central University (NCCU) Chancellor Charlie Nelms, from NCCU to Hayti with men marching with children.  Shuttle buses will run from “Hayti to NCCU” to transport marchers from 9:00 am to 11:00 am. When the processional ends at Hayti

Heritage

Center, after the Opening Ceremony, the 4^th Annual Durham Juneteenth Celebration will start with an Opening Ceremony that includes an appearance by 2008 Miss Black NC USA Audrey Cox.

Entertainment throughout the day will feature the 1^st Lady of Neo-Soul Gospel, Cynthia Jones and Blues icon Bobby Hinton, both performing with their full bands. Other performers include rising 9^th grade spoken word artist Jakayla Hart, gospel singers Johnnie Foster and Minister James Spears and 12-year-old singing sensation Nichole Rogers. Project Safe Neighborhood will conduct seminars on gang awareness and gang resistance.  Vendors will sell African and African-American clothing, art and artifacts, specialty items, crafts and delicious foods. The Health Fair will include blood pressure, diabetes, body mass index and HIV screenings. The Children’s Village will have concession games, prizes and other fun, educational activities including UNC’s Destiny Bus, the Durham Police substation, Kid’s ID, McGruff and more.

I’m embarrassed to admit that I had never heard of the celebration before participating in it last year, but have since heard a lot of mention of it since Senator Obama has been leading the charge to make the yearly celebration a national holiday as part of his campaign this year. Since taking office in 2000, President George W. Bush has been urged by Congress to recognize Juneteenth Independence Day by issuing a special Presidential Proclamation.

As gas prices continue to rise and talks about the hurt economy continue to circulate, it’s difficult to think about vacationing during the summer months. But after 4 years of working my summers away, I am determined to find a way to enjoy other cities and visit with long-lost friends and family during the next few months without affecting my wallet.

Travel project #1: Some friends and I can get tickets for the Yankees/Red Sox game in Boston at the end of July. We have a place to stay. Challenge: getting there!

We’ve already researched tickets, but a friend recommends waiting based on searches she has conducted on http://farecast.live.com/?

I’ve never used the online airfare forcasting resource, but a few have said that the predictions tend to be dead on. Farecast.com generates its own predictions, in addition to those requested by consumers. It then checks its results against the actual price quotes generated by over 150 billion actual airfare price quotes from the past 18 months to and from over 200 major U.S. cities, Europe, Mexico, the Carribbean and Canada to come up with their prediction. As a result, they are able to figure out how accurate the fare really is and further finetune the data that tells you whether fares will go up, down or hold steady over the next week.

Our farecast.com search tells us to wait. Unfortunately, it doesn’t tell us exactly how long to wait or how much lower the fares will be once we do buy. I went ahead and signed up for the The Farecast Fare Alert which allows you to specify a price threshold for a trip. If the price is at or below the specified amount, they can automatically send an e-mail which will allow booking of the trip.

I have 2 other trips that I am determined to make before the fall — My family in Florida and a friend in San Diego. Keeping my eyes and ears open for ways to save dollars and still enjoy a weekend away.

While the majority of my friends are reliving  college spring break 1998, I have taken the weekend to catch up on some sleep, personal reading, good food and to visit with family and close friends. I will feel much better when the work week rolls around, but this morning as I began mentally preparing for the week ahead I realized that I had not taken a minute to given thanks for the ultimate reason that I am able to enjoy my freedom to enjoy all of these gifts over the long weekend — our armed forces.

While we heat up our grills, dewinterize our boats and sip on our cold beverages amongst friends and family in the sun we should also take a moment to remember our armed forces and their predecessors who along with their families serve by losing precious days together to protect our country and our freedoms.

After my recent involvement in the Blog Carolinas Social Media conference, I have been thinking about our use of social media tools a lot more. I blog. I IM. I use my telephone to get online, to text message and to email.I begun using these methods of communication more, sometimes to avoid being distracted by another person’s physical presence. But are these communication tools as effective or even as appropriate as face-to-face communication?We should use these tools with care. Be smart. We should be careful to be conscious of when and where personal and impersonal communication is appropriate.In a society where people fear rejection, text messaging and e-mailing may seem like an easy way to ease the damage. Cancelling a date or an appointment through a few words in a text is simpler than calling and hearing the disappointment in a person’s voice. Using SMS language in a professional email may be a faster way to get the message across, but is it appropriate? The fact that we increasingly find nothing wrong with this impersonal way of communicating important and personal messages is a sign of the changing times.

To help you avoid SMS and text-message mistakes, TheFeature.com composed a top 10 list of texting guidelines. Take note smart readers:

• Common courtesy still rules. Contrary to popular belief, composing an SMS while you’re in a face-to-face conversation with someone is just about as rude as taking a voice call.
• Remember that SMS is informal. SMS shouldn’t be used for formal invitations or to dump your girlfriend or boyfriend. The casualness of SMS diminishes the strength and meaning of the message.
• Don’t get upset if you don’t get a reply. Before you text someone and get frustrated at the lack of a response, be sure that they’re familiar with how to use the service, and that their carrier will accept messages from yours.
• Be aware of your tone. It is extremely difficult to discern tone in text messages, just as in e-mail. What seems to you to be a completely innocuous message may be grossly misinterpreted by the recipient, causing certain discomfort if not irreparable harm.
• Don’t SMS while you’re driving. Talking on the phone is bad enough. You won’t know what hit you - or what you hit - if you are pounding out a message on your keyboard.
• Leave the slang to the kids. Don’t expect your stodgy superiors at work to be hip to the lingo of the SMS streets. And don’t expect to win points with your kids by trying to be cool, either.
• Remember that SMS can be traced. Anonymous messages - if you must send them -are still best sent from Web sites.
• Be conscientious of others’ schedules. Don’t assume that because you are awake, working, not busy, or sober that the person you’re texting is as well. Many a pleasant slumber have been interrupted by recurring “beep-beep…beep-beeps” of messages.
• If it’s immediate, make a voice call. If you can’t get through and your text message is ignored, there’s probably a good reason. There are still some times when people don’t even have a thumb free to respond.
• Remember that your phone does have an off button. There are very, very few things in the world that absolutely cannot wait.