'Reading Between the Wines' offers literacy fun
By Becky Barclay
Published in News on September 6, 2018 11:10 AM
The annual Reading Between the Wines event will have food by local gourmets, music by local artists and two North Carolina artists talking about their craft.
It will take place from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Oct. 20 at the home of Conway and Lew Langston Rose in Walnut Creek.
The event is a fundraiser for Literacy Connections of Wayne County. It began in 2011.
"It's our signature fundraiser," said Lee Hulse, Literacy Connection's program manager. "It started because, as most nonprofits, we are always looking for ways to raise funds, in addition to grant money. The board decided it was time to come up with a fundraiser."
Hulse said Reading Between the Wines has turned out to be a "wonderful" event, with lots of support from the community. She said attendance has grown every year as word has gotten out about what the group is doing.
It's held in a different local home each year. This year's setting is the Rose home at 631 Lake Shore Drive in Walnut Creek.
It was built by Conway Rose in 1963. A native of Goldsboro and a licensed contractor, Rose created the village of Walnut Creek. He died last year.
The home was originally constructed from many reclaimed building materials to keep the design as close to a Williamsburg style as possible. Some of the interior flooring, wainscoting, molding and window glass came from local sources, including the Whitfield House in Seven Springs, which was known for having been used as a hospital during the Civil War. Materials also came from the Methodist church, built in 1853 on East Spruce Street.
The home is almost 8,000 square feet with two large unfinished bonus rooms that are each 500 square feet. The house sits on 6-1/2 acres by the lake and includes ownership of two private islands.
When guests arrive at the event, they are able to tour the Rose home.
Two local musicians -- Scott McConnaughy and Pat Preston -- will provide music and give ambiance to the evening. Guests will be able to enjoy foods made by local gourmets.
"When we first started doing the event, we couldn't afford catering," Hulse said. "We had almost zero budget to start. So we just contacted people we knew in the community who were really great gourmets or who had special hors d'oeuvres that they could do.
"We've been able to continue that so we're able to maximize the proceeds to put back into our program here."
HealtHabit will provide wine, and this year for the first time, there will also be craft beer, provided by Brew Masters.
"We have never done beer before," Hulse said. "But we discovered last year that many of our guests prefer beer to wine."
Two authors -- a husband and wife from Raleigh -- will then talk about their novels and how they go about writing them.
Therese Anne Fowler was born in Illinois. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology/cultural anthropology and a Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing.
Fowler is interested in exploring the stories of women who are misrepresented by popular culture and/or have been overlooked by history.
Her newest novel, "A Well-Behaved Woman," has just been published. It is a Gilded Age tale of Ava Smith, the young woman who married William K. Vanderbilt and launched the Vanderbilt dynasty.
Husband John Kessel was born in Buffalo, New York. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in physics and English and a Ph.D. in American literature. He helped found and served as the first director of the MFA program in creative writing at North Carolina State University, where he has taught since 1982.
Following the program, both authors will be available for questions. They will also have some of their books for sale, which they will autograph. Or those attending may take their own books to be autographed.
Co-sponsoring Reading Between the Wines this year is Wayne UNC Health Care. According to the National Institutes of Health, fewer than half of U.S. patients have the necessary skills to read and follow drug label instructions, respond to insurance forms, provide a patient history or communicate effectively with a physician.
"Literacy skills are vital to a patient's overall wellbeing," said Jenny Parnell, administrative director for medical/surgical nursing at Wayne UNC Health Care. "In the health care setting, patients encounter a large number of documents, including consent forms they may need to sign and discharge information they need to follow to maintain their healthy after leaving the hospital."
Parnell said that many times, hospital staff finds that patients are embarrassed about not being able to read, and won't share that with the nurse. And that can lead to a high-risk situation.
Hulse said that 100 percent of the proceeds from ticket sales goes back into Literacy Connections programs for services and materials for local adult learners and equipment for the programs.
"Literacy Connections began in 2010," she said. "It was founded out of a needs assessment survey done in the community. Adult literacy was a concern for many of our residents."
Literacy Connections provides one-on-one tutoring for adults who either cannot read or need to improve their reading, wring and comprehension skills so they're able to be more successful in life, the community and at home.
"We also offer some technology," Hulse said. "More and more, that's becoming a basic literacy skill. Now, it's not just necessary to be able to read, but also use technology to fill out a job application, communicate with teachers in the schools and more."
Literacy Connections also has a Bank on Wayne program to teach basic financial skills, like creating a budget, knowing how to manage credit, know how to do a checking and savings account and a lot more.
It also partners with Wayne Community College to offer English as a Second Language program.
"How do you do anything if you don't have a that basic literacy skill," Hulse said.
Tickets are limited and are on sale now for $60 each, available at Literacy Connections or the Goldsboro Library or online at literacyconnectionsofwaynecounty.org.