Auto show opening with generous pledge

In a city so dependant on the automobile, here's a chance to look at a few hundred new cars and do some good.

The people behind next week's 17th annual Charlotte International Auto Show are holding its first ever Charity Preview Night on Wednesday, on the eve of the show's opening day at the Charlotte Convention Center.

Buy a $75 ticket ($30 is tax deductible) and you'll get to see all the show's 2010 models -- 400 of them -- and hear about a significant financial contribution Charlotte area auto dealers are making to the Charlotte Rescue Mission.

The first 500 people to buy tickets will get a tour of the nearby NASCAR Hall of Fame, not scheduled to open until May. The event also includes music from The Embers, a variety of heavy hors d'oeuvres and all the new cars you care to eyeball.

But the night's main event: A $100,000 commitment by the show's producer, the Greater Charlotte Automobile Dealers Association, to the rescue mission's Dove's Nest program that will go to building its planned shelter for homeless women struggling with substance abuse in west Charlotte.

On top of that pledge, proceeds from tickets sales -- above expenses for the preview party -- and a live and silent auction will go to the rescue mission.

The 35,000-square-foot women's shelter planned at West Boulevard and Old Steele Creek Road will allow Dove's Nest to expand from 12 beds at its current Dilworth location to 90 beds.

Construction could begin in 2010, with move-ins possible in 2011.

"The dealers association supports many charities, but this is a favorite of ours," said Dick Lewis, director of the auto show. "We know what great work the Charlotte Rescue Mission does and they don't take any government or United Way money."

Many auto shows across the country include a charitable event. This is the first for Charlotte, designed to cut the ribbon on the show -- and the 2010 model year. Winston Kelly, executive director of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, will deliver opening remarks.

"The auto industry needs support and some excitement again," Lewis said. "The auto show felt this was the best way to do it -- have an energetic preview night benefiting a charity."

The auto show will take up 240,000 square feet of the convention center, nearly five football fields. The 400 vehicles will come from 30 manufacturers, domestic and foreign.

There will also be an exhibit of classic Mustangs and Corvettes, and the Hornets Nest chapter of the Antique Auto Club of America is bringing in two dozen vintage cars including: A 1928 Auburn, 1928 LaSalle, a 1951 Hudson convertible and 1966 Shelby Mustang.

There will also be a "green room," with 25 new hybrids and low carbon-emission vehicles.

Lewis said the show hopes to sell 1,000 tickets to the preview event, though sales have been slow.

"We understand money is tight these days," Lewis said. "But this is going to be a fun evening to open what we believe will be our most exciting auto show. And it's for a very good cause."

Want to go? Wednesday's inaugural preview night starts at 6:30 p.m. at the Charlotte Convention Center, 501 S. College St., and ends at 9 p.m. Tickets are available at www.charlotteautoshow.com, or call 704-364-1078.

A scholarship to honor an only child

If all had gone as planned, Alex Ervin would be awaiting a decision on his application to Appalachian State University and preparing to graduate from Myer Park High School in June.

But late on June 10, 2007, Alex was a front-seat passenger in a car with three friends that police estimated was traveling 92 mph on Colony Road, a stretch near SouthPark where the speed limit is 35 mph. The driver hit a curb, and the car lost control and flew into a tree.

Alex was two months shy of his 16th birthday when he died.

He'd talked longingly of enrolling at Appalachian State University in Boone. He found peace there, said his mother, Tricia Hodge of Charlotte.

"There wasn't the hustle-bustle up there; it was calm," she said. "He and I used to go up there as often as we could."

So now Hodge is trying to raise $40,000 for the "Alex Ervin Memorial Scholarship" to send a student from his Myers Park class of 2010 to Boone for four years. It's a way to honor her son and keep his memory alive. It also dulls the pain of her loss.

The scholarship would pay tuition and lodging for four years. She'd like to turn the scholarship fund into an endowment, so more students could go in her son's name.

"It gives me great comfort to talk about Alex and to do things for him or in his honor," Hodge said. "It's about the only thing that keeps me going. And it's a win-win situation. It's good for my heart, but it also helps another child."

After their son was killed, she and Alex's father, Paul Ervin, started a campaign to get teenagers to slow down. They took remnants of the car to high schools to show students what speed can do. They talked to students and printed up bumper stickers with the urgent message: "Slow Down for Alex."

They implore students to wear seatbelts. On that terrible night, all four teenagers were wearing belts. Alex was the only one killed. Belts, his parents say, saved the other three.

By his sophomore year at Myers Park, Alex had grown to 6 feet 2, an outgoing, fun-loving teenager. His father said he "lived life out loud." Yet his parents were particularly proud that he'd worked hard to get his grades up.

He loved the outdoors, especially the mountains -- thus the draw of Boone and App State.

Hodge has sent fliers about the scholarship to 1,500 corporations and individuals. Donations are slow in coming. The deadline to donate: Jan. 10.

She wants the scholarship to go to one of Alex's classmates who otherwise couldn't afford to go. She'll have no say in the matter. The scholarship will be administered by the ASU admissions office, with consultation from Myers Park guidance counselors, she said.

"My main mission and focus is to do it this year, Alex's graduating year," she said. "If I had the money, I'd just pay for the whole thing. I don't. But just doing this does me a world of good.

"It keeps me connected to Alex."

Want to help? Send donations to: Appalachian State University Foundation, Inc.
ASU BOX 32064, attn: Alex Ervin Memorial Scholarship, Boone, NC 28608. Any questions, call Laura Crandall at the ASU foundation at 828-262-2341, or e-mail her at crandlllb@appstate.edu.

On opera, bull riding and Coyote Joe's

James Meena calls it a collision of two different worlds -- opera and show tunes performed at Coyote Joe's, the cavernous country-western music, bull-riding nightclub on Wilkinson Boulevard.

The Cliff agrees.

Meena is general director and principal conductor of Opera Carolina. Thursday, the company's fundraising arm, Opera Guild of Charlotte, is throwing a fundraiser at Coyote Joe's. There'll be a little opera, some Broadway tunes, a few pop numbers, mixed in with line dancing to Coyote Joe's country-western band.

They are calling the event: "Opera Cabaret: From Bizet to Broadway, With a Little Bit of Country."

Chances are you'll see opera fans used to wearing tuxedos and gowns to events, in denim and cowboy hats, doing a little Slappin' Leather to Travis Tritt's "T-R-O-U-B-L-E."

"In my wildest imagination I could not have anticipated this eclectic mix of music, at a very special place like Coyote Joe's," Meena said. "It's going to be a hoot and holler."

The fundraiser's proceeds will go to Opera Carolina's education programs. The company goes into schools and community centers in the Carolinas and northern Georgia to perform and teach students about opera. It also provides yearly scholarships for five to six emerging singers for private lessons, continuing education and career development.

The company's operating funds, like those of most nonprofits, have taken a hit in the recession. So the fundraiser is important for Opera Carolina's financial health. The event will serve as the kick-off to National Opera Week that will celebrate opera companies across America starting Friday.

Never has Opera Carolina, founded in 1948 as Charlotte Music Club, had a fundraiser like Thursday's.

The three-segment event will open with a few selections of classic opera and light opera, Broadway and pop songs all performed by singers of Opera Carolina. The second segment will be line dancing and country-western music -- followed another segment of opera and Broadway tunes.

If enough money is raised, Meena has promised to ride the mechanical bull.

The event's chair, Gigi Lefler, admits it's an odd mix.

But maybe not: "We all have the same stories, just different kinds of music," Lefler said. "We wanted to use this concept to think outside the box and show people that opera is not as intimidating as a great many think.

"Everybody sings opera, even the garbage collectors in Italy."

She acknowledged that the opera crowd, too, may learn a little something at Coyote Joe's. Most opera events are pricey. Lefler and the guild committee wanted an affordable event to spread the mission of the guild and the appeal of opera.

"This is the kind of thing we wanted to do to see if we could appeal to a wider audience," Lefler said. "... No matter what you listen to -- 50s hits, opera or country-western -- it's all the same stories.

"Hopefully people will see opera in a different light. The more we listen, the more we understand each other and why we do the things we do, the better off human relationships become and the more tolerant we become."

Want to go? The "Opera Cabaret" begins at 8 p.m. at Coyote Joe's, 4621 Wilkinson Blvd. Tickets are $30 a person, or $240 for a table of eight ($300 for VIP tables). There will be a cash bar and wine sold by the bottle. To buy tickets go to www.operacabaretcharlotte.org, or call 704-332-7177, ext. 210.