Arts

Don’t miss Wells Fargo Community Celebration Oct. 29

In North Carolina this coming weekend, Wachovia will make the final transition to Wells Fargo. It’s appropriate that the last Saturday in October, the 29, will also be its impressive Wells Fargo Community Celebration, presenting free arts and cultural experiences for all in Uptown Charlotte.

This event will be chock full of numerous arts and cultural events, including most of the Uptown cultural institutions offering free admission that day. The Charlotte Culture Guide, sponsored by the Arts & Science Council (a Knight Arts grantee), is your one stop for all the information and details you might want.

There are so many things happening on Saturday, Oct. 29 that even two posts won’t scratch the surface. Please note the celebration will also include the grand opening of the new Wells Fargo Museum at 401 S. Tryon St. In addition to an original Wells Fargo stage coach, one can see a model of the very first Wachovia branch opened in Winston-Salem in 1879.

As part of of this huge celebration, the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture at Levine Center for the Arts (a Knight Arts grantee) will take its annual fall arts festival, “GanttFest!,” to the streets of Uptown.

GanttFest! 2011: Our Lives, Our Stories” will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will include music and dance performances on the main stage at 551 S. Tryon St. Also check out the Children’s Learning Pavilion and an outdoor international marketplace on “The Green,” directly across from the Convention Center. Experience creative writing workshops for children and adults, a youth poetry slam, even dance classes. Admission to the Romare Bearden Centennial Celebration exhibitions is also complimentary during GanttFest!

On the other end of uptown, at 701 N. Tryon St., explore dance through the North Carolina Dance Theatre Studios Open House, featuring dance demonstrations, free dance classes and open rehearsals. The North Carolina Dance Theatre is also offering a free performance of Mark Diamond’s “Bolero” at 12 p.m. in the Knight Theater at Levine Center for the Arts on 430 S. Tryon St.

For the younger crowd, the Symphony Guild’s Musical Petting Zoo will put the musical experience right into kids’ hands with crafts, activities and instrument exploration. This event starts at 10 a.m. in the Belk Theater on 130 N. Tryon St.

At ImaginOn, located at 300 E. Seventh St., there will be lots for kids, including the very youngest among us. PlayPlay! Theatre will entertain 3 year olds and younger, and the characters from “Seussical” and “Junie B. in Jingle Bells” will be in the atrium from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m.

On Saturday, Oct. 29, there will be so many free art and cultural events happening during the day that literally everyone should be able to find something to entertain and amaze.

Wells Fargo Community Celebration Free arts and cultural experiences on Saturday, Oct. 29, throughout the day.