contents wbm AUGUST 2020
76 24 38
CHANGING OUR WORLD TOGETHER ONE FASCINATING STORY AT A TIME.
BACK TO THE FUTURE
Renovating a historic cottage
SHOPPING LOCAL, SAFELY
Farmers markets open for business
BE LIKE SANIYA
Wilmington’s next basketball superstar
FOREVER FAMILY
From fostering to adoption
56
Ross and Bryce Tomaselli took
on a major interior renovation
after purchasing the landmark
Shore Acres model home
at Live Oak Drive on Harbor
Island, Wrightsville Beach. The
inspiring results can be found
in our Home of Distinction
story written by Marimar
McNaughton. The Tomasellis’
Australian shepherds, Romeo
and Juliet, have settled in
nicely.
— PHOTO BY MEAGAN FORBES
11
ON THE COVER
15 Bath House Makeover, Beach Edition
The bath house at Johnnie Mercers Pier gets a stun-ning
makeover by Bowman Murray Hemingway
Architects, enchanting visitors with a charm found
only on Wrightsville Beach. By Peter Viele
16 Surf’s Up — and Down
A scaled-back Wahine Classic will take place as scheduled,
but two other annual surfing events that are fixtures
on the Wrightsville Beach calendar were added to the
growing list of COVID-19 cancellations.
By Fritts Causby
18 Ride the Rip
Rip currents are watery treadmills that lifeguards
often call drowning machines. A free webinar from the
National Weather Service details how to identify, help
others and escape from potentially deadly rips.
By Fritts Causby
20 Be Like Saniya
Touted as Wilmington’s female Michael Jordan, Ashley
High School star guard Saniya Rivers commits to play
basketball at the University of South Carolina — one of
the nation’s top programs — in 2021. By Amanda Lisk
24 Shopping Local, Safely
With a few adjustments to keep shoppers and vendors
safe, area farmers markets are still open, providing fresh
food and goods — and a much-needed sense of com-munity
— amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.
DEPARTMENTS ADVERTISING SECTIONS
41 Gift Guide 53 Gallery Walk
www.wrightsvillebeachmagazine.com WBM
FEATURES
13 Up Front
14 Letters
15 Shorts
24 Trending
44 InView
82 Tide Chart
By Melissa Sutton-Seng
28 Finding a Forever Family
Stymied in their attempts at international adoption,
a Wrightsville Beach couple learns about the vital
need for foster families to provide a safe, loving
home for vulnerable children. By Tammy Pope
34 Plastic-Free Cape Fear
We don’t have to wait for the experts to find the
perfect solution to the problem of plastic in the
ocean. There are lifestyle changes everyone can
make to be good stewards of our waters, while
supporting local businesses at the same time.
By Melissa Sutton-Seng
38 Hines Seafood
Remembering a colorful chapter in Wrightsville
Beach history when Luke Hines established a
seafood market that stood for three decades.
By Keith T. Barber
50 A Splash of Color
John Golden combines modern technology with an
analog artist’s sensibilities to create a vibrant col-lection
of coastal-themed work that swims from the
computer to collectors’ homes. By Giovan J. Michael
76 Watermelon Reimagined
Annual watermelon festivals, long-standing tradi-tions
across eastern North Carolina, were canceled
this year. But it’s still possible to celebrate the sum-mer
sweet in your own kitchen with some creative
takes on the classic melon. By Peter Viele
15
28 16 50 20