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Raise a pint and make a toast. The First Annual Great North Carolina Beer Festival is Saturday at Tanglewood Park.

"The time is right for us to have a beer festival here," said Scott Smith, the sales director for Foothills Brewing, one of more than 40 breweries that are participating in the festival. There is a mix of local, regional and national companies. "We’re seeing in the local market beers are beginning to change."

Much of that change, he said, has come from changes in North Carolina laws that have been "extremely friendly to microbreweries."

"We are able to self-distribute as opposed to going through wholesalers," Smith said. "And there was a law change five years ago (Aug. 13, 2005). We went from a 6-percent alcohol cap to 15 percent,Beads necklace, which enabled an enormous amount of brands and styles to come into the state and be available to the consumer."

The N.C. Brewers Guild has 42 microbreweries currently with operating permits and several more under construction, he said.

"At least 20 of those will be participating,tiffany money clips clearance," said Jessica Reavis, the marketing director for the beer festival. "Our vision was to have a location in North Carolina to bring all the North Carolina brewers together and have one of the biggest beer festivals in the southeast…. We want people from all over to attend."

A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Second Harvest Food Bank, Forsyth Humane Society and the Special Olympics, said C.H. McMahan, the president of the festival.

The festival will provide music all day, including legendary rock-group Kansas as well as Big Daddy Love, the Part-Time Party-Time Band, The Plaids and Katelyn Marks Band. There will also be more than 30 arts-and-crafts vendors and concessions by various restaurants including Bib’s Downtown and WS Prime.

Patrons will get a wristband and a sampler glass, Reavis said. The booths will distribute small samples of various beers,tiffany key rings for sale, but "every single one of these guys is very conscious of who’s been overserved, and when to cut those people off,buy tiffany money clips," Reavis said. "Being in the beer industry, they’ve seen it every day of their lives, probably. Some of them do 60 festivals a year." Designated driver tickets are $5 off.

Foothills does about 40 festivals a year, in nine different states, Smith said.

"This is the first year we’re having a home-town beer festival,discount tiffany earrings," he said, "and we’re very excited to do anything we can to grow the craft beer culture in our area."

The beer festival is using the example of the North Carolina Wine Festival that is held each year at Tanglewood Park. It will be at the same location as that festival. "Wine’s big, but beer has much more broad appeal," Reavis said.

"The Tanglewood wine festival has left a great footprint for a successful event out there," Smith said. "There’s enough area for you to spread out and enjoy yourself. There’s not just beer, there’s games, music, arts-and-crafts vendors … it has the formula to be a really successful event."

This year marks Louis Gossett, Jr.’s 60th year in the entertainment business. His new book, "An Actor and A Gentleman," chronicles in painstaking detail his first days in Hollywood-from the persistent racism-including being handcuffed to a tree by Beverly Hills policeto the perks, convertible vehicles and fancy hotels. The book explores everything from his personal life struggles with drugs, alcohol aid women to his trials and tribulations with "playing the game" in an industry that rejects and loves as the same time.

Although Gossett started out as a star basketball athlete worthy of an NYU scholarship, and even briefly played for the New York Knicks, a sports injury fortuitously led him to an acting career at the, age of 16-and to awards that run the gamut from the prestigious Donaldson Award in 1953 as the year’s best newcomer to theatre (for which he bested his buddy James Dean), to Emmys, Golden Globes and the Oscar. His story includes revealing stories of his experiences with Sidney Poirier, Ruby Dee, Halle Berry and others.

In a recent interview, we focused on the early days-from the mostly halcyon days of his youth on Coney Island to the horror of his early days in Hollywood. These were the days long before all the awards for "An Officer and A Gentleman" and for Fiddler in "Roots" and long before the drugs-and the prostate cancer, from which Gossett had just gotten a clean bill of health when we sat down to chat at his Malibu home of 27 years.

Sentinel: First of all, congratulations on the success of the book. [It was rated in the top 20 when it debuted on The Los Angeles Times Bestseller List. J It was actually pretty gut-wrenching and hard to read. I can’t imagine what it must have been like to write this, especially the incident with being handcuffed for hours to a tree by Beverly Hills cops… I do understand the accolades because it was told in excruciating detail.

Louis Gossett, Jr. (LGJ): In total honesty…

Sentinel: Absolutely. . . So you were born in Sheepshead Bay/Coney Island.. So an amusement park with a Ferris wheel provided the backdrop of your life!

LGJ: Yeah,tiffany cuff Links for sale, and Nathan’s Famous (hot dogs)!

Sentinel: And you were an athlete back then?

LGJ: Yes, I played basketball and I played baseball… But I abo was a professional actor at the age of 17. That distracted me from sports.

Sentinel: I believe it was a Mr. Blum who turned you on to acting?

LGJ: Gustav Blumberg. He changed his name because he ran from the Communist thing… All of the intellectuals-tile cream of the crop,buy tiffany money clips, from science, politics, education and theatre-ran from the top universities and came to New York. And the man who was in charge of the board of education back then sent them to the boondocks to hide-and they came to mostly Brooklyn. And those teachers were college teachers and their children went to school with me, and they ended up in the same neighborhood right after the Depression We kinda rubbed elbows so it was very ideal. There wasn’t a lot of money but there was a lot of love,Charm pendant, a lot of camaraderie.

I couldn’t identify with any blacks on television. So our imaginations took off on Saturday afternoons at the movies watching "The Lone Ranger" and "Hopalong Cassidy" and "Tarzan." My friends they were of all ages, mostly Jewish.

Sentinel: There must have been something in the water: Neil Diamond, Mel Brooks, Harvey Keitel-all from your neighborhood!

LGJ: All of us! It was those teachers who created a society where-I’ll give you a small example: small to them, very large to me. We played Captain Marvel, Superman, but instead of me having a comptex that I can’t play him because I don’t look Kfce him, they’d say, ‘No,thanksgiving gifts, you play Superman’!

I wish Hollywood was like that! But it planted a deep seed They didn’t realize what they were doing for me and some of my African American counterparts. . . not many of which decided to join their worid-they stayed in the black ghetto. And I didn’t I was in a meteing pot But they said it was so important for them to include me because we grew up singing together, playing ball together. And I’ve got photographs of all of us. I’m in the only black on the team. I didn’t realize I was the only black on the team.

Sentinel: So did you feel that you were a true equal of theirs?

LGJ: Yeah, they made me feel that way. And that feeling continued all the way through Broadway with all the actors in New York and all the parties we had… There was racism-cuttings and the zip guns-but that wasn’t so huge. If we wanted to join, we could swallow the marble and join, and we knew we were minority… And when I was 17, those people had crossed that line, like the great Paul Robeson… I had no idea who that was but he hugged me and broke my back almost, he was so happy to see me!

Sentinel: I also read about that someone else who took to you: Frank Silvera.

LGJ: Great actor. He made me realize how great I could be. He freed me.

Sentinel: Freed you from…?

LGJ: Yes. Freed me from any restrictions of being African American and being afraid of what’s gonna come out of my mouth. It alters your performance if you’re afraid of being your full character… so I could be free in front of that camera or on that stage, but I could not be free after work.

Sentinel: After the play "Take a Giant Step" in 1953, there was "A Raisin in the Sun." The movie version represented your first trip to Hollywood in 1961?

LGJ: And the only place we could stay then-unless you were Sidney Poitier-was on LaBrea and Stocker. It was good-looking outside but they had flying cockroaches inside!

Sentinel: But eventually you moved to the Montecito hotel on Hollywood Boulevard,tiffany rings clearance, where the rest of the "Raisin" cast was staying.

LGJ: Yeah, and the cockroaches there were just baby cockroaches!… That’s when I discovered Hollywood and met and hung out with my theatre contemporaries-Brando, Dean, Newman.

Sentinel: And you beat out James Dean for Best Newcomer to Theatre!

LGJ: Yes. Me and James Dean were the closest of those guys.

Sentinel: I have to ask: If you were deserted on an island, which movies would you have to have with you.. .that you were not in?

LGJ: "Shawkshank Redemption."

Sentinel: Were you up for that role?

LGJ: I think I was up for that role but for some reason they didn’t wanna pay the money. That’s when I started losing roles but that’s the way history goes. By the time I asked for my money after winning those awards… my contemporaries were getting theirs but not me… but we’ll get to that part…

In the near hour that we talked, Gossett revealed that he’s never made a million dollars for any movie; and more, astonishingly he added that despite his numerous awards, he’s had few acting opportunities of late (for reasons he doesn’t know with certainty), saying that he’s on the brink of deciding whether to chuck Hollywood for Savannah, GA, to establish a Sundance-type festival there. The one role he’d love to play "before he gets too old" is Jomo Kenyatta, the first president of Kenya.

In addition to his role in Tyler Perry’s "Why Did I Get Married Too," Gossett co-executive produced the brilliant documentary "For Love of Liberty" (see related article on page A4) and, in 2007, he founded Eracism, an organization dedicated to eradicating racism, violence and ignorance.

To really get a sense of how this actor and gentleman endured, then overcame, extraordinary inequalities, his autobiography is a must-read this summer.

The city of Yakima issued the following news release:

Based primarily on incompatibility issues and probable negative impacts to nearby businesses,tiffany key rings for sale, a staff report issued today by the City of Yakima Planning Division recommends denial of an application by Jamie Muffett to open "Sinsations Gentleman’s Club" at 2308 South 1st Street.

Muffett’s application now moves on to City Hearing Examiner Gary Cullier. The Planning Division’s recommendation is just part of what Cullier will take into account in reaching a final decision on Muffett’s application.

Cullier will hold a public hearing on the application next Friday, May 28th. The public hearing will be take place in the Council Chambers at Yakima City Hall and will be conducted in 2 sessions. The first session will begin at 9:00 am and the second session will begin at 1:30 pm. Anyone who wants to provide comments during the hearing can attend either of the 2 sessions.

Following next Friday’s public hearing,cheap tiffany jewellery, Cullier will have 10 business days to reach a final decision. Whatever that decision may be, it can be appealed to the City Council.

The May 28th hearing conducted by Cullier will be carried live on Y-PAC, Charter Cable channel 22.

In mid-March, Muffett filed an application for what is technically referred to in the City’s Adult Business Ordinance as an "Adult Dance Studio." The Planning Division’s review of Muffett’s application included analysis of relevant land use laws, rules, and regulations, as well as consideration of input the City received from community members during a 20-day public comment period that began earlier this month.

The Planning Division’s review found that while Muffett’s application meets many of the required procedural criteria, such as parking requirements, proper zoning, and appropriate separation from churches, schools, day care centers, parks, and residential districts, "…there is no question that there will be significant secondary negative effects upon both property values and the businesses which surround this site."

Based on that finding, the Planning Division determined that,tiffany watche, "…a finding cannot be made supporting the appropriateness and the compatibility of an adult business at this location and therefore it cannot be logically accommodated."

Contact: Michael Morales,tiffany money clip, Director,buy tiffany key rings, 575-3533

It’s all in the bag for budding media and fashion group MenInvest and its high-end accessories label for guys, Estime.

We really saw a niche for elegant men’s accessories,buy tiffany key rings, but priced more affordably than most luxury brands,thanksgiving money clips, said Audrey Montacel, a Louis Vuitton alum, who co-founded Estime in 2009 with business partner and MenInvest founder Marc Menas.

Prices range from around 69 euros, or $87 at current exchange, for a laptop case to 579 euros, or $728, for a garment bag. MenInvest operates fashion, digital, e-commerce and media activities focused on men. The group in February received a capital increase from AXA Private Equity, which took a minority stake, and has an Estime boutique at 61 Rue Bonaparte in the heart of Saint-Germain. Meanwhile,discount tiffany bangles, its multibrand shop,tiffany bangle, Menlook, and its bespoke shirt and suit label, Saint-Sens, are located just next door at number 59.

A second Estime location is slated to bow in Lyon, France, in September, while plans for international expansion are also under way. Billing its style as gentleman tech, the collection,tiffany cuff Links clearance, which is entirely made in Spain from exclusive European textiles and leathers, ranges from exotic iPhone holders and leather envelope pouches to supple travel bags. A 48-hour duffel bag, for example, offers colored bands and vivid contrast or Liberty-print linings.

We studied every aspect of men’s accessories, from how many cards a wallet should ideally carry to the most ergonomic accessory forms, Montacel said.

Starting next month, Estime, which is already available online at estime.com, will be sold in London’s Fenwick department store.

FOR 50 years,tiffany bracelets clearance, Roger Stevens ran pubs and hotels across the NorthEast and the Yorkshire Dales.

A celebration of his life was held yesterday at The Wyvill Arms,buy tiffany earrings, in Constable Burton, near Leyburn, North Yorkshire.

Several hundred well-wishers, including family,tiffany keys, friends, customers, and present and former landlords came along to enjoy a drink and recount stories about Mr Stevens, who died of cancer last week aged 77.

The Reverend Ann Chapman said the service in the grounds of the pub was what Mr Stevens "would have wanted".

She said: "Roger was a true gentleman. He was a proud man who liked things done properly,tiffany necklace, a perfectionist.

"He loved motorbikes, boats, speed and lifeboats. He always had a quip and a joke – he loved people and people loved him."

Mr Stevens was born in Paris in 1933 after his parents moved to France to work.

According to the landlord, Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, a direct descendent of the prophet Mohammed, was born in an adjacent bed on the same day.

The family left France in 1939, pushing the family car into the sea at Calais so it could not be used by the advancing German army.

After training to be an engineer, Mr Stevens became a pageboy at the Midland Hotel, Derby, where he met the likes of Arthur Askey and Petula Clark, who he later claimed was his girlfriend for a short period.

He then moved north to the Seaburn Hotel, Sunderland, where he was taken on as a trainee manager.

After serving for three years in the RAF in Cyprus, he took a job in a five-star Paris hotel for 18 months.

On his return to the UK, he became assistant manager and then catering manager at the Seaburn Hotel, now the Sunderland Marriott Hotel. He then left to run the newly-opened Continental restaurant in Sunderland, where he met his future wife, Terry.

With Mr Stevens, aged 27 and his new wife only 20, the couple then became the youngest pub managers in the country, criss crossing the region filling in for regular landlords when they went on holiday.

The George Hotel, Piercebridge, the Eden Arms, Rushyford, the White Swan, Alnwick,tiffany Pendants for sale, and the King’s Head, Richmond, were just a few of the pubs they temporarily took charge of.

Then in 1962 they became the permanent managers of the Black Swan, in Leyburn.

They then took over the Bolton Arms, in Leyburn, moving from there to the King’s Arms, in Redmire, with their children, Nigel, James and Victoria.

Fourteen years ago, Mr Stevens bought his first pub, the Queen’s Head, in Finghall, before moving to The Wyvill Arms to run front of-house for his son, Nigel.

It was here that Mr Stevens celebrated the birth of his granddaughters, Nicole and Simone.

WhatToExpect.com, the online home for Heidi Murkoff’s world-renowned What to Expect(R) parenting and pregnancy brand, and Hallmark Cards, announced today the launch of their joint online baby bump photo contest (www.whattoexpect.com/hallmark), celebrating the pride of pregnancy – and bellies. Starting August 9, WhatToExpect.com invites new and expectant moms (and those who love them) to submit photos of themselves during their pregnancy as well as photos from earlier pregnancies for a chance to win must-haves, like new Personalized Baby Announcements from Hallmark.com.

"Pregnancy is such an exciting and meaningful time for moms and moms-to-be,tiffany watche," notes Hallmark product manager Camille Lauer. "With this contest, we are excited to create an event where moms will be able to show off their expectant joy."

Each week until November 24, people can visit the site (www.whattoexpect.com/hallmark) and vote on weekly winners, whose photos will be posted on WhatToExpect.com. Visitors can then vote on their favorite weekly winner for the grand prize award winner to be announced on December 6.

According to Heidi Murkoff,shop for tiffany Pendants, "There is nothing more beautiful than a baby bump. This partnership with Hallmark will help our moms and dads celebrate those beautiful bellies, and capture (and share) the magical moments of their pregnancies." The grand prize winner will win a $1,000 gift certificate from Diapers.com, a $200 Hallmark.com gift card, and a signed copy of What to Expect When You’re Expecting from Heidi Murkoff. Each of the weekly winners will receive a $60 gift card for use on baby announcements and thank-you cards created on Hallmark.com.

The partnership also will help teach parents how to take professional quality photos of their babies (with expert tips from Hallmark photographers) for themselves,buy tiffany earrings, their families — and for their birth announcements.

Parents can use the photos at Hallmark.com, where the company recently launched a line of Personalized Baby Announcements. Each announcement in the new line is customizable with a baby’s photos and information, making it easy and convenient for moms and dads to announce their little one’s arrival. All they have to do is go online to pick out the card, add their personal touch and Hallmark.com’s free addressing and sending service will do the rest.

About WhatToExpect.com, What to Expect(R) Series of Pregnancy and Parenting Books

WhatToExpect.com, published by Everyday Health Inc. (http://corporate.everydayhealth.com), is the online home to Heidi Murkoff’s bestselling series of What to Expect(R) books, with 2 million unique users per month. For more information, please visit www.WhatToExpect.com.

Heidi Murkoff,tiffany cuff Links sale, author of the bestselling What to Expect(R) series of pregnancy and parenting books, has helped guide more than 40 million families worldwide from conception through the toddler years and beyond. According to USA Today, this parenting book, known as the "Bible" to moms across the world, is brought by 93 percent of all expecting mothers who buy a guide.

About Hallmark Cards, Inc.

Hallmark makes the world a more caring place by helping people express what’s in their hearts and spend time together — a privilege few other companies in the world enjoy. Hallmark greeting cards and other products are found in more than 41,000 retail outlets in the United States,discount tiffany jewelry, including the network of flagship Hallmark Gold Crown(R) stores. The brand also reaches people online at Hallmark.com, via cell phone at Hallmark Mobile Greetings and on television through Hallmark Hall of Fame original movies and cable’s top-rated Hallmark Channel. Worldwide, Hallmark offers products in more than 30 languages available in 100 countries. This privately held company is based in Kansas City, Mo. Visit http://corporate.hallmark.com for more details.

During its decade-long run, Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Project has become the kind of ambitious, multicultural ensemble and free-ranging idea that speaks to the master cellist’s searching intellect, relentless curiosity and impatience with musical categories.

Inspired by the East-West exchange of culture,tiffany necklaces sale, art and music that took place along ancient trading routes between Europe and Asia, Ma’s ensemble showcases newly composed and traditional music from Silk Road cultures and destinations, from China to Iran, Azerbaijan and Korea. Music from the Americas has also seeped into the concept,shop for tiffany bangles, including new works by the Argentine-born Osvaldo Golijov. The ensemble employs a revolving cast of musicians and 15 players are scheduled to appear in Detroit on instruments that range from traditional violin and viola to the Chinese pipa,bangles, Galician bagpipe and all manner of percussion.

At the center of it all is Ma, the self-effacing ringleader, sharing the spotlight generously with his colleagues and teaching by example that music is about the communication of inspired emotions, the quest for new modes of expression and authoritative mastery over the fundamentals of the idiom. And with the Silk Road Project, he has found a vehicle that manages to celebrate equally our differences and our commonalities.

7 p.m. Sunday, Orchestra Hall, Max M. Fisher Music Center, 3711 Woodward Ave., Detroit. 313-576-5111. detroitsympony.com. $25-$75.

JAZZ

Pianist and composer Herbie Hancock, who turned 70 earlier this year, is one of the great jazz musicians on the planet. When he is in good company and in the mood to honor his straight-ahead roots, the inspired brilliance of his improvisations can stop the world.

Of course, Hancock has always had a populist side to his personality too, and the Big-To-Do in his landmark 70th year is the recent release of "The Imagine Project,thanksgiving key rings," an earnest crossover CD with a global-peace theme and starry guest list including, among others, Dave Matthews, Anoushka Shankar, Jeff Beck, John Legend, Chaka Khan, Seal, Wayne Shorter and Juanes. As a jazz critic, I’m not the target audience for the album, and found it mostly mundane, lacking the sublime melodic expression, surprise and texture of "River: The Joni Letters," Hancock’s Grammy-winning marriage of jazz and adult-pop interpretations of Joni Mitchell’s music.

Hancock’s road band that arrives in Detroit next week is built to champion "The Imagine Project,buy tiffany," with Hancock joined by guitarist Lionel Loueke, keyboardist Greg Phillinganes, bassist Pino Palladino, drummer Vinnie Colaiuta and vocalist Kristina Train. Hancock will surely mix in a few of his classic compositions; even in crossover mode, jazz and the spark of improvisation percolate through his conception. But don’t expect state-of-the-art post-bop from this group. (Some material calls the concert a tribute to Donald Byrd, the Detroit-bred trumpeter who gave Hancock his first big break in 1960, but at press time it remained unclear whether any specific tribute programming was planned.)

8 p.m. Wednesday, Chene Park Amphitheatre, 2600 E. Atwater, Detroit. 313-393-7128. cheneparkdetroit.com. $22-$55.

Contact MARK STRYKER: 313-222-6459 or stryker@freepress.com

MORE CLASSICAL PERFORMANCES

Jack Wright and Bob Marsh: With the Saturnian Chamber Ensemble, 8 p.m. Fri. Kerrytown Concert House, 415 N. Fourth, Ann Arbor. 734-769-2999. $5-$25.

Iconic supermodel, entrepreneur and philanthropist Christie Brinkley, will receive the 2nd Annual HBA "Positively Beautiful" Award from HBA Global Expo for her active support of Smile Train and its mission. Smile Train (www.smiletrain.org) provides free cleft surgery for millions of poor children in developing countries and free cleft-related training for doctors and medical professionals.

The Positively Beautiful Award was established by HBA Global to annually recognize a celebrity who uses their name and talents to further a cause that champions inner beauty and self-esteem building. The Award Presentation will be part of the events Keynote and Kick-off Presentation on Tuesday, September 28th starting at 9:00 a.m. in the Special Events Hall. HBA Global Expo & Conference (www.hbaexpo.com) is the largest product development event for the cosmetic, fragrance, skin care, personal care, and well-being industries.

"Christie Brinkley has one of the most recognizable smiles in the world, and she knows the importance a new smile will make in these children lives who are born with clefts lip and palate. Her awareness building for Smile Train is helping millions of deserving children find their ‘inner beauty’ and giving them a second chance at life," said Jill Birkett, brand director, Beauty & Wellness, of HBA Global Expo. "We are extremely proud to present Ms. Brinkley with this year’s ‘Positively Beautiful’ award and recognize the beauty of her commitment to the empowerment of disadvantaged children."

Combining her modeling experience with her artistic talents and diverse interests including jewelry design, photography, writing, acting,shop for tiffany money clips, and environmental activism, Christie’s legendary career over the years has been fascinating and dynamic. One of the world’s most successful and recognizable models, Christie has appeared on over 500 magazine covers worldwide and was the first model to appear on the Sports Illustrated iconic swimsuit issue for three consecutive years. She has held contracts or appeared in ads for many HBA attendees including Chanel No 19,buy tiffany bangles, Max Factor, Noxzema, Revlon,tiffany Pendants for sale, Borghese Cosmetics and Nu Skin. Her major contract with CoverGirl is the longest running cosmetics contract of any model in history. Most recently, Christie introduced a line of organic fabrics and appeared on QVC introducing The Christie Brinkley Jewelry Collection for Ross Simons and continues to be a spokesperson for Total Gym.

Ms. Brinkley is involved in many other worldwide and local New York charitable endeavors and is on the board of directors for STAR (Standing for Truth about Radiation) and helped make nuclear security a top national priority program. The most important role in her career, as a mother of three, has also been inspiring and garnered her numerous "Mother of the Year" honors.

Prior to the Positively Beautiful Award presentation to Ms. Brinkley, Pamela Baxter, President and CEO,discount tiffany money clips, of LVMH Perfumes & Cosmetics North America will deliver a keynote address to kick-off HBA Global Expo & Conference and is open to all attendees of the event. To register for HBA Global Expo or for more information go to www.hbaexpo.com.

About HBA Global Expo & Conference

HBA Global Expo & Conference (www.hbaexpo.com) is the leading product development for the entire beauty community including skin care, cosmetics, fragrance, personal care and well-being industries. For three days the top brand manufacturers from mass to prestige, as well as independent and niche beauty companies will gather to learn about industry trends and discover new products from the world’s leading suppliers. The HBA educational conference is renowned for providing an unparalleled look at both the marketing and technical drivers in the health and beauty space and provides proven strategies for business growth. Co-located with HBA will be The Spa & Resort/Medical Aesthetics Expo showcasing the convergence of the traditional and medical segments of the spa and resort industry.

More information on HBA Global Expo & Conference,necklaces, taking place September 28-30, 2010 at the Jacob Javits Convention Center and to connect on Facebook, Linked In and Twitter go to www.hbaexpo.com.

About Smile Train

SMILE TRAIN’S mission is focused on solving a single problem: cleft lip and palate. Clefts are a major problem in developing countries where there are millions of children who are suffering with unrepaired clefts. Most cannot eat or speak properly. Aren’t allowed to attend school or hold a job. And face very difficult lives filled with shame and isolation, pain and heartache. The good news is every single child with a cleft can be helped with surgery that costs as little as $250 and takes as little as 45 minutes. Smile Train has performed over 620,000 of these surgeries in 78 countries around the world.

One of my favorite rides at the country fair was "The Scrambler." You would climb aboard, sit in the middle of the seat for a brief moment and then the carnival operator would push that green button and you would smash into the sides of the seat and twist and spin, all the while getting a lesson about the forces of gravity.

That’s what you feel like after a visit to Monroe’s Webb Mountain Park, a 136-acre preserve high on the banks of the Housatonic River. You scramble up to the top of an overlook known as "Goat Rock,tiffany necklaces clearance," with a gorgeous view downstream of the river whose name, translated from the Native American, means "beyond the mountain place."

And if you travel slightly out of the park’s boundary, you scramble up an imposing rock formation along the Connecticut Forest and Park Association’s blue-blazed Paugussett Trail before passing more scenic overlooks and scrambling down the other side. This hike is not only a good journey through the natural world, it’ll give you a good workout, too,Charm bracelet, with four or five miles worth of trails.

My journey started along the fire road that brings visitors into the park. For those who want to experience the entire Webb Mountain, there is a parking area at the entrance. Those looking for one of the easiest climbs to a lookout can park where the red trail crosses the road and follow the path to one of the largest free-standing boulders I’ve seen in the state. Visitors can then hike along the purple path to the lookout.

The red path travels through the heart of Webb Mountain, along a picturesque stream filled with boulders covered with large mats of moss. Although only a trickle this time of year, the stream has multiple waterfalls during the wet season.

After the overlook, I followed the red trail to the fire road where a family was camping at one of the dozen sites offered by the town. At the last campsite, a trail takes visitors down to an old railroad line that runs along the banks of the Housatonic. The tracks will take you past the Stevenson Dam on Lake Zoar,rings, the fifth-largest lake in the state.

The hydroelectric dam is an impressive structure with myriad power lines and transformers buzzing with electricity. A trail cuts down to the road, where hikers can cross the dam and see the huge,cheap tiffany key rings, greenish lake on one side and a rocky chasm where the Housatonic starts its flow again on the other.

Visitors can hook up with the Paugussett Trail along the tracks and return to Webb Mountain. The path offers some beautiful views of Lake Zoar as well as some imposing 100-foot rock outcroppings. Be sure to keep an eye on the blue blazes because it can be a bit confusing; there are a number of unnmarked trails.

So scramble off to Webb Mountain and enjoy a ride through the natural world. The beauty of this ride is you don’t need a ticket.

Route 15 (Wilbur Cross/Merritt Parkway) to exit 58. Continue on Route 34 west, turning left on Bridge Street. Take a right on Route 110 and take a right at the light onto Maple Avenue, which turns into East Village Road. Follow the signs to Webb Mountain Park/Webb Mountain Discovery Zone. Visit http://www.monroect.org/webmountain.aspx for a map of the park.

Questions or column suggestions are welcome. Peter Marteka may be reached by phone at 860-647-5365,buy tiffany money clips, by mail at The Courant, 200 Adams St., Manchester, CT 06040, by e-mail at or by fax at 860-643-8548. Visit courant.com/cthiking for more adventures in Connecticut’s natural world

Let me tell you about the North Luangwa valley, Zambia’s best-kept secret. Mention Zambia in safari-going circles and the cognoscenti wax merrily on about the charms of the South Luangwa valley, how its legendary guides Norman Carr (now dead), Phil Berry and Robin Pope, both still very much with us, have made it the world-famous home of the walking safari.

But speak to those who live there, who know every corner of the vast and varied country, and they’ll tell you that northern Zambia is the place to go. And because they told me it was the place to go, I went. I found there the Africa that one dreams of in the cold winter nights back home, an Africa that today is disappearing fast, that is vast and wild, where designer camps and their fancy cushions have yet to arrive. It’s a raw and empty wilderness and these days that is something to be savoured. In 4,600 sq km of the North Luangwa National Park there are just three small and simple,Thanksgiving surprise gift, rustic bush camps with no more than 28 beds between them. They’re spread far apart so that as you sit at sunset, your feet dangling in the clear and shallow waters of the Mwaleshi river, a glass of Pommery in hand, you have the illusion that you and your little group have all Africa to yourselves. Up in the North Luangwa valley there are no cars, other than the four-by-fours owned by the guides and antipoaching guards, and it’s home to quite another sort of walking safari, one where you will see nobody else at all and you can walk wherever your guide and the fancy takes you. The game is skittish and you don’t see a lot but what you see is wild and glorious. The lions do what proper lions should always do, which is to growl and threaten and let you know that if you don’t disappear sharpish, there’ll be trouble. North Luangwa lions don’t do posing for tourists.

The only way into the park is to fly into one of the three camps and while all have their followers, for us Rod and Guz Tether’s chic and simple little camp,tiffany bracelets on sale, Kutandala, seemed quite perfect. Guz is a phenomenal cook (she trained at Ballymaloe), which whilst not strictly speaking essential turned out to be an enormous plus. But the real magic lies in the place, in its simplicity, in the sense it gave of privacy and peace, in the rustic reed and thatch cottages sitting right on the banks of the Mwaleshi river and in the river itself, where in the dry season all the animals tend to come down to drink. With Rod, a phenomenal guide who knows the Zambian bush intimately, we spent three magical days doing as we pleased – a freedom long gone in the busier, more heavily regulated parks. We walked and we walked. We came upon buffalo and lion, elephant, eland and hartebeest, wildebeest and a million thrilling birds. At night we sat under a great big mahogany tree, lanterns in the branches, Guz’s extraordinary food on the table. Kutandala is,tiffany bangles for sale, above all, a bush experience. It’s for people who love the smell and the sound of the African bush and want to feel in and of it. If you want to tick off the big five in super-quick time, go somewhere else.

Then, if you’re there in November or December (when the fanatical seekers after rare sightings make a special pilgrimage) you should head for Kasanka, one of northern Zambia’s other extraordinary glories. You need to know that there is nowhere at all swanky to stay. Wasa lodge is Africa as it used to be, rundown and shabby but clean,tiffany jewellery, comfortable and the food is perfectly fine. The point of the visit is to see one of the most remarkable wildlife phenomena the world has to offer – the regular evening migration of some five million straw-coloured fruit bats. By day they roost in the small mushitu swamp forest of Kasanka National Park, often breaking the branches with their weight as so many are crowded into such a small, one-hectare forest. Every evening, absolutely predictably, some time between 6pm and 6.15pm, almost as one, they leave their daytime roosts, blackening out the dying sun, and head for the wild fruit trees where they eat all night long. You can watch it all from the Fibwe hide, deep in a giant mululu tree, overlooking the Kapabi swamps or else you can do as we did and venture out among the high papyrus grass. By day it’s a great place to look for the sitatunga, an extremely shy aquatic antelope with splayed hooves which spends its days deep in the papyrus swamps. Do whatever it takes to get Frank Willims, a Dutch-born ornithologist, as your guide – beg, cheat, bribe – he’s worth it. He brings the forest alive and knows every bird and call.

While you’re up there in northern Zambia you shouldn’t miss out on its great monument to colonial eccentricity – Shiwa Ng’andu. An extraordinary house built by a very unusual man, Sir Stewart Gore-Browne, who tried to build a vast utopian house beside an African lake, the very one where Livingstone’s dog Chitane was eaten by a crocodile. He was one of those breed of men who needed a larger canvas than Britain could ever offer. Africa beckoned – vast, untamed, full of possibility. In 1914 he set out with 30 porters on foot and by canoe to find a place to call home. Today, after many a long dramatic and often tragic story, brilliantly (if somewhat controversially) told by Christina Lamb in The Africa House , it is being lived in by Gore-Browne’s grandson, Charlie Harvey, his wife Jo and their two children. They have four to five rooms (a few with ensuite bathrooms) but the great charm of staying there is that you live with them, eat with them, listen to their stories and learn what it takes to survive deep in the remote African bush and how they are accommodating the new Africa that is fast emerging. This is not a wildlife experience (though there is the sitatunga to search out from a hide over the swampy grasslands) – more an emotional, historical, unforgettable journey into the very recent past and an insight into a very complex present.

But this is still just to touch a fraction of the really wild and remote places that are still to be found in Zambia. If you can, I would recommend a little detour, on your way back to Lusaka, to the Busanga Plains in Kafue National Park, which are strictly speaking in southern Zambia, but it’s worth it because it’s not a long hop by plane and you arrive in an unspoiled wilderness, much the size of Wales, of open plains, flood plains, swamps and woodland. Until Wilderness Safaris opened a few very small, beautifully inconspicuous camps there, there was almost nowhere to stay. Now it can be seen and experienced in comfort. Because it’s been so little visited and still is under water for much of the year (from December to May/June) it has an unpolluted, pristine air. Over its plains roam hartebeest, red lechwe, roan and sable, blue wildebeest, eland, oribi, kudu, puku and impala as well as the more dramatic stuff, the larger mammals such as elephant, hippo, zebra, buffalo, lion, leopard, cheetah, and – very thrilling, this – the endangered wild dog. It’s not a place to walk because the plains are so open that there isn’t enough cover and you would see little, but it is a chance to spend time in an extraordinarily remote and wild place. Today they offer balloon rides, a wonderful way to get some idea of the size and scale of the plains. It’s good to know there’s so much more to Zambia than the South Luangwa valley,discount tiffany earrings, much-lauded though it is.