CIAA Journal

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CIAA Journal

By Qcity Staff – February 28, 2009

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If it’s Saturday, that means it’s “Daddy-Daughter Day” for Brad Baldwin and 5-year-old Sarah.

On a typical Saturday, the two might enjoy lunch together or stop by the assisted living facility where Brad volunteers. It’s also a day, Brad said, to give his wife some “me-time.”

But today is no ordinary Saturday in the Qcity. With the CIAA in town, Daddy and Daughter were at the Ford Fan Experience inside the Charlotte Convention Center. They watched a cooking demonstration, saw a cheerleading exhibition and perused the many vendor booths that line the giant exhibition hall.

Sarah spotted a booth selling teddy bears decked out with Greek lettering. “Daddy,” she said, “when I finish college I can get one of those, right?”

Dad, who works as an IT consultant, said his daughter no doubt confused the bears with joining a sorority.

“It’s important to get out and spend time with your child,” he said. “These are times you don’t get back.”

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Long before most vendors arrived Saturday morning to open their booths at the Ford Fan Experience, Carl and Lynda Spivey were already there, polishing their prized 1992 Ford Thunderbird.

The car is one of several on display at the Charlotte Convention Center.

The Spiveys paid $10,500 for the car when it was 2 years old. They’ve spent about $5,000 a year every year since then fixing it up. They named it “Neptune Fantasy.”

It has a three-gallon aquarium in the trunk and a monitor showing a seascape where the back seat used to be. The door hinges have been reversed so that they open front to back. Its paint job is like polished glass.

The Wilmington couple said they were invited to display the car at the CIAA tournament by FunkMaster Flex, a New York City DJ they met at a Las Vegas trade show. Flex has several of his own cars on display at the Fan Experience.

Carl recently quit his job as an electrician to open his own business, Carolina Custom Autoworks. Lynda is a nurse.

We asked Lynda how she felt about he husband’s expensive hobby.

“Sure it bothered me,” she said. “But you don’t mind so much when you are into it yourself. There are a lot of ways to waste money.”

Added Carl: “She works hard for everything I’ve got.”

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FRIDAY

Fashion DON'T #2 for the CIAA

Brothers, take off your sunglasses while in the club. We all remember the popular song from the ‘80s by Corey Hart called “Sunglasses at Night.” There’s a reason that song was so popular. Dark glasses inside nightclubs is a tired and dated trend, one better left at home.

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Some things require being there.

And so it was this morning with the live broadcast of the Steve Harvey Morning Show from the Charlotte Convention Center. They had steppers, they had singers -- R&B star Heather Headley and gospel recording artist Smokey Norville sang a duo -- and they had comedy... boy, did they have comedy.

Morning show host Steve Harvey was a no-show, in Chicago preparing to be a guest of Oprah Winfrey, so comedian Bill Bellamy stood in for comic relief.

Sabrina Giles of Shelby (seen below with Nephew Tommy) thrilled the crowd with her bodacious dance moves.

(See more photos from the Steve Harvey Morning Show on the Qcitymetro.com NEWS page)

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Eva Young of Spartanburg always did consider herself lucky.

A few weeks backs she entered a radio contest and won a VIP package that included two tickets to today’s live broadcast of the Steve Harvey Morning Show from the Charlotte Convention Center.

“I was caller No. 10,” she beamed.

Young drove up last night and stayed with daughter Ngozi Graham, a Charlotte daycare teacher.

Qcitymetro found them just before the 6 a.m. start of the show on the front row of the VIP section. Along with the tickets, Young won passes to an uptown day party and a copy of Harvey’s best-seller, “Act like a Lady, Think Like a Man.”

The mother and daughter (pictured below) said they plan to make a day of it.

Others weren’t as lucky. A line to see the Steve Harvey broadcast stretched along the front of the convention center and nearly a block down Stonewall Street. People at the front of the line said they arrived as early as 3 a.m. One woman said she had been waiting since noon Thursday.

So how long did Young and Graham have to wait?

“We had a separate entrance,” Young informed us. “Remember, we’re VIPs."

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THURSDAY

Everybody knows that the CIAA is about far more than basketball.

For John Muhammad, 46, it’s also about commerce.

As a practicing Muslim, he says, he believes strongly in black empowerment through entrepreneurship. So leading up to the big event, he ordered a shiny new hotdog cart, which arrived Monday, and he set up shop as John’s Beefy Dogs.

We found him Wednesday night outside Time Warner Cable Arena, working the corner of a dark parking lot.

“It’s going great and I’m enjoying the atmosphere,” he said. “I’m going to be out here ‘till the wheels fall off this cart.”

Dogs weren’t his only offering. Nearby stood life-size cutouts of President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden. CIAA fans could get their pictures taken with Biden for $2.

As for Obama?

Well, that would cost them $5.

“He’s the top dog,” Muhammad joked.

Muhammad said he moved to Charlotte from Camden County, N.J., about eight years ago.

Asked if he worried about the economic doom and gloom, he scoffed: “I don’t believe in recession. It’s just a state of mind. My president even said don’t believe in that.”

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Here's a Fashion Don't for CIAA activities.

CIAA Parties were packed at places like Allure, Apostrophe and Stir last night. Carrying a gigantic hand bag is fashionable -- just not inside a night club. Ladies leave your big handbags at home! Lines are long and clubs are packed to capacity. Besides no one wants to bump into your purse all night.

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If you go inside Time Warner Cable Arena, enjoy the games, but also stop by the booth of Nate Osborne, aka, “Mr. Goodstuff.”

He’s hard to miss.

He’s the guy selling old-school CDs from the ‘50s and ‘60s. He came down from Brooklyn, N.Y., for the tournament and really knows how to draw a crowd.

With Motown’s greatest hits blasting from his speakers, more than a few CIAA fans couldn’t help but stop and dance.

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It’s been four years since the CIAA moved to Charlotte from Raleigh, and some folks haven’t forgotten.

We came across Harold and Andreadese Mallette and their friends Switzon and Patricia Wigfall, all from the Raleigh-Durham area. They said they were having a good time in Charlotte, but gave us this advice: “Do something about these high hotel prices.”

We'll certainly get right on it.

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Were you at Kiss Lounge Tuesday night for the "Peace of Jazz Concert Series?" If not, you missed a great show. Saxophonist and national recording artist Kim Waters had partygoers swaying in their seats -- at least those who could keep their seats.

The event was sponsored by Food Lion, so the company brought some of its executives and officials to greet attendees. This was no party for the hip-hop crowd. We're talking grown folks.

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On the court, the women's tournament kicked off last night at Time Warner Cable Arena with No. 9 Virginia Union squeeking past No. 8 Livingston 61-60. In the second game, No. 7 St. Augustine beat Elizabeth City State 86-58.

TUESDAY
Ok, we know that CIAA festivities officially kick off today, but that didn’t stop journalists from some of the Qcity’s major news organizations from getting an early jump last night.

For the second year, the Charlotte Area Association of Black Journalists last night held its Media Mixer and CIAA reception. About two dozen reporters, producers, editors and photographers came representing online, radio, television and newspapers. Many others came who were not in media.

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Students at Johnson C. Smith got a pleasant surprise Monday. Coca-Cola Bottling Co. and JCSU kicked off CIAA week by introducing recording artist Musiq Soulchild to the campus community.

The school scheduled a late-afternoon press conference inside historic Biddle Hall. Local media and select university groups were invited. An autograph session was set to follow in the Mary Joyce Taylor Crisp Student Union.

If you copped a photo, share it with other Qcitymetro.com readers. Email editor@qcitymetro.com.