History inspires her art
CIAA vendor Nellie Ashford set up shop not far from the media entrance at Time Warner Cable Arena, so naturally her beautiful artwork was one of the first things I saw.

Her sign, “The Works of Nellie Ashford, Folk Artist, Charlotte, NC,” hung above her vibrant pieces. Ashford had an “Official CIAA 98th Anniversary” piece on a stand. She said she attended N.C. Central, one of the original CIAA schools, and later Shaw University, which is still in the conference. She didn’t study art at either.

“It is my passion,” she said.

Ashford said she gets her inspiration from growing up in Charlotte during the ’40s and ’50s. She considers herself “a storyteller with a visual venue.” One piece depicted a black mother and daughter leaving Kress, the old 5-and-dime store.

“You could go in there, but you couldn’t eat at the counter,” she recalled of African Americans. “You couldn’t drink at the fountain.”
--Brandy Hamilton

***

What is day party attire?
Maybe it's just me, but I was a bit confused on Friday.

I went to the JetSet Day Party Tournament Edition at Mez, which, by the way, was packed with people and the music was hot. While there I saw what I'd call a hodgepodge of fashion.

Does day party wear mean you wake up during the day and put on anything?

I love the idea of having a full-fledged party during the day, but does that mean one's fashion sense should be thrown out the window?

Don't get me wrong; some of the people there brought their A&B games as far as the gear goes, but others were representing with D's and F’s.

Is it ever really appropriate to wear sneakers to a party in a nice venue?

What about a cocktail dress that is so short you can't sit down?

There are fashion rules that apply to every type of event, and day party wear should not be excluded.

During the fashion flurry I spotted Lionel Davis from Miami. His shirt said, "Tiger 4 President."

What's up with the custom shirt, I asked?

"I knew it would get attention," Davis said. "Everyone was against Tiger, judging him when only God can judge him. I said to myself, ‘Let me be the one to support Tiger.’ He's a man, he's human, and he has faults, just like you and I do."

Well said.
--Lashawnda Becoats

***
We like it here, too
Kimberly (right in photo) is a Qcity native visiting from Atlanta. She said she comes to the tournament each year because it's positive, and professional African-Americans are here. She said she also likes the fact that the social events don’t attract crime.

"I'll party day and night, if I can," she said.
--Lashawnda Becoats

***
There’s always room for one more
P.J. Parker from Hampton, Va. is so impressed with Charlotte that he says he's thinking about moving here.

"I'm having a ball,” he said. “The people here are so hospitable. We love it."
--Lashawnda Becoats
 

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