The sun shines brightly on High Point University, all 210 acres of it, from the gleaming royal- purple bleachers and the emerald playing fields they gaze down to the long stretch of what used to be Montlieu Street but is now the Kester International Promenade, the main thoroughfare on campus described by sidewalks and lush patches of green, intervaled with flags of the world and iron benches upon each of which sits a statue of someone… extraordinary..

Hamilton Howard wants his birthday to be a special one this year. Thats why hes secured the grounds at the Calvin Graves Plantation from Sept. 11-13, laid plans and booked bands. I got eight bands playing full shows, he says, not your typical music festival set-up where you get 15 minutes and theyre gone.

The Sweathogs were a staple of 1970s television, and the backdrop was James Buchanan High School in Brooklyn. Welcome Back, Kotter, featured an excellent cast that included John Travolta and Gabe Kaplan. Vinny Barbarino was a model for Tony Manero, the character Travolta played in Saturday Night Fever.