December 2022

It was the Sunset’s Fault. I walk in, and they open up these sliding glass doors and it was like the heavens opened up. It took my breath away,” says Kelli Miner. The sunset was so beautiful that evening that Kelli made an offer on the Wrightsville Beach house overlooking Banks Channel before telling her…

North Carolina farmers provide the star attractions for Christmas dining tables, not just in our state but across the country. We rank first, second and third nationally in the production of sweet potatoes, turkey and ham, all staples of many holiday meals. Growing nearly 2 billion pounds of sweet potatoes annually gives our state 63…

A total of six hundred and fifty lucky ticket holders got to sample such delicacies as cocoa and red wine braised beef, pimento cheese sliders, chimichurri over sliced short rib, and homemade gelato at the 2022 Taste of Wrightsville Beach held Nov. 5 under a massive tent in the parking lot of Bluewater Grill. For…

Below left: Bailey Bendjy, 3, and Chase Bendjy, 2, stand beneath the live oak tree their family decorated as Rudolph at 107 Live Oak Drive in December 2013. The Bendjy family was awarded most holiday spirit in the single-family home category of the Wrightsville Beach holiday decorating contest. Below right: Since then, Bailey, now 12,…

A perfect site with live oak trees, a lush green lawn, views of the Intracoastal Waterway and a 300-foot pier has been shared with family, friends and even a stranger for their ceremonies. Their nephew Ronnie and Sheri Miller were the first to enjoy the Salling’s property for their wedding venue about 20 years ago.…

During World War II, more than 100 U.S. servicemen served as combat artists. In addition to their combat duties, they depicted war scenes through sketches, watercolors and oil paintings. Their stories are seldom told and their artwork, consisting of more than 12,000 pieces, has been largely forgotten. One of those artists was Henry Jay MacMillan,…

On Monday Nov. 14, 2022, the 10,000th New Hanover County fifth-grade student boarded Island Explorer to Masonboro Island. The class this day hailed from Snipes Academy of Arts & Design. The all-volunteer Masonboro.org’s field trip program began in 2013. The nonprofit founded by Richard Johnson created this hands-on, wet-feet experience specifically for curious fifth-graders. In…

The North Carolina Azalea Festival chose local artist and Wilmington native Ana Brown as its official artist. During an unveiling at Bluewater Grill in Wrightsville Beach in October, Brown’s work was honored for its unique reimagining of discarded oyster shells as azalea petals. This was the first time a mixed-media creation had been selected as…

Following a two-year hiatus, the 2022 Fiction to Fashion project runway show held Oct. 28 at the Cameron Art Museum did not disappoint. Fiction to Fashion is New Hanover County Public Library’s fashion contest for teens. Participants design an original ensemble fit for the runway to be modeled before a crowd of spectators and fashion…

A musician, dog sitter and photographer, Jo Dheilly began her Past to Present Images matching up historical Wilmington images with present day scenery as a hobby. She is part detective in searching architecture from old photos, trying to find the exact spot a bygone photographer snapped a picture. “When the images line up together, it…