Christine Marrone\’s Blog

Please consult your CPA or tax preparer if you have any questions regarding your eligibility for this credit.   Remember, I’m here to help you get your home search started so that you can find the right home, the right location, and the right price.

Downtown Hillsborough
August 28, 6-9pm

Music, art, pie contests and more in downtown Hillsborough, from the Weaver Street Market on to the Burwell School Historic Site.   The Carol Ingbretsen Quartet will entertain with terrific jazz vocal arrangements, a Gravity Coast at the Burwell School, and apple pie for the pie contest.   Much, much more. Last Fridays is sponsored by the Hillsborough Arts Council.  

Shops at Daniel Boone
August 28 5pm

This event kicks off the Historic Occoneechee-Orange Speedway Group’s Celebration of the Automobile weekend. There will be a “Dancing With the Cars” Sock Hop as part of the Cruise-In activities. The Sock Hop is open to the public and all are invited to come jive to some classic music. There will also be a dance contest with prizes for the winners.

3rd Annual Celebration of the Automobile  
Saturday, August 29, 8am-5pm
3rd Annual Celebration of the Automobile Car Show & Racer’s Reunion honoring Gene Hobby on Saturday August 29th, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m sponsored by the Historic Speedway Group at the Historic Occonneechee Speedway. Click here for more information.

Medicine Show Style Launch Party
Saturday, August 29, 11am
Hillsborough’s newest author, John Claude Bemis celebrated the publication of his debut novel, The Nine Pound Hammer.   This young adult novel rooted in the tradition in Americana is the first in a series.   Bemis, former Cameron Park Elementary teacher will host a book reading and signing, have live music and giveaways at the Masonic Lodge at 142 W. King Street.

Come to the 27th Annual Hog Day at Hillsborough June 19-20th. More than 20,000 people will attend. Orange County™s largest festival features fun for the whole family, food, live music, crafters and a large classic auto show. 36 teams begin facing off to cook the best barbecue on Friday night. Gates open at 6 p.m. for a concert at 7. The eating starts Saturday when the festival continues with rides and games from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

For more info go to www.hogdays.com

There is also potential for a rail station site in Efland on Mt. Willing Rd and Forrest. Visit Rail Station Task Force for more info and to view other possible locations.

Last Fridays
The Last Friday of each month, April through September, the Hillsborough Arts Council hosts Last Fridays outside- a family-friendly get-together on the lawn of the Old Courthouse at the corner of Churton and King Streets. Live music, artists demonstrations, food and fun are available from 6 to 9 pm.

To view the preliminary report regarding the findings made by the Rail Station Task Force and their recommendation of the Collins parcel in central Hillsborough as the best location for a rail station, please visit   Preliminary Report

This just in from the Chamber of Commerce:

Rail Station Task Force Seeks Input on Suggested Hillsborough Sites

The Rail Station Task Force wants the public™s input on suggested rail station sites in Hillsborough and the task force™s criteria for rating the sites.The task force will host an open house from 4 to 9 p.m. Jan. 14 at the Big Barn Convention Center. The advisory committee will discuss a number of suggested rail station sites and the rating criteria it will use for formally recommending a site to the two boards, Hillsborough Town Board and Orange County Board of Commissioners. A presentation will be given at 5:30 p.m. and repeated at 7 p.m. The information also will be available on a drop-in basis. During the open house, the task force also will seek feedback about the relative desirability of the suggested sites and comments and suggestions about changes to the rating criteria. Participants will be able to give their feedback verbally or in writing.

The task force includes representatives of the Hillsborough Planning Board, the Orange County Unified Transportation Board, the Orange County Transportation Services Board, the Alliance for Historic Hillsborough, the Orange County Economic Development Commission and the Walkable Hillsborough Coalition and three citizens.

The task force is expected to report on the site selection Feb. 19 at the joint meeting of the Hillsborough Town Board and Orange County Commissioners.

The Big Barn is located at 388 Ja Max Drive. Minimal refreshments will be available.

Hillsborough may be getting a train station in the future. Amtrack officials seem to think that adding a stop would generate a $56,000 a year profit. It will cost between $6 and $7 million to build covered platform and station building. Does that mean it will take over 100 yrs to pay off?

Efland/Mebane may be getting a  mall. Orange Co. Commissioners gave the  Planning Board 3 more months to finish its recommendations on a proposed 1.1 million  square foot development in western Orange Co. It would be mixed use: retail, entertainment and hotel with 200 residential units. According to Crystal Morphis of the Sanford Holshouser Bus.  Dev. Group, it would generate millions each  year in tax revenue while not placing a large a burden on county services. City of Mebane is planning an annexing the area after development and handle fire and police services. Schools would also be impacted.

Note: Alamance County is going to be re-surveying its boundaries and possibly expanding them east. For those who live close to the border this could mean you will be in Alamance County.

About North Carolina

OK, I haven’t gotten disciplined to blog with regularity yet. I actually have it time blocked on my calendar but I have to stop getting side tracked.  

Anyway, what I love about North Carolina is you have everything in one state. Beaches at one end and mountains at the other and everything in between. The temperatures varies so If you like it warmer stay south and east, colder north and west. I live at the freeze line and something tells me this winter is going to be cold. I don’t remember it being this cold in November in a  long while and that was after having one of the warmest Octobers!    

The many historic towns are wonderful and each has its own charm and appeal. (I love going in the antiques shops.) NC has also done a terrific job of restoring old tobacco buildings and turning them into retail shops and restaurants.  

Do you like the great outdoors? You can indulge yourself  in water sports at the beach or go hiking, biking, trails, golfing, fishing, canoeing, kayaking, cross-country skiing, rock-climbing and horseback riding. Did I leave anything out? Go here http://www.visitnc.com/  

Discover one of our best kept secrets – the Land of Waterfalls in Transylvania County. See our 260 waterfalls that are even more spectacular when decorated with glittering icicles in the winter.    

Fun facts, NC has more paved miles of road than any other state in the USA. You’ll also find more that 120 species of trees in NC and that’s more than most of Europe and Putt-Putt Golf was invented in Fayetteville.

There is so much to do and see, I have to go plan my next vacation!

The North Carolina State Fair is family-oriented entertainment and educational event at its best. It is the largest event in the state of North Carolina and  the largest 10-day agriculture event in the nation!  

With  112 rides to choose from, animals from cows to goats to turkeys, concerts, contests, tractor pulls, food booths selling the classic carnival food,  and famed fried foods,  and educational exhibits, this fair has it all!!!  

Visitors can milk a cow at the NC Fair Ark with the help of a volunteer from the NC State University Animal Science Club, of course. At the Village of Yesteryear there are over 75 artists and crafters creating, displaying and selling  their  handmade crafts.  Visitors can watch as they weave yarn into cloth, spin wool into yarn, make rugs, turn pottery, carve wooden bowls and utensils, make split-oak baskets and more! There  are also Native American crafts such as hand-coiled pottery, bead-work and stone carving. No one should miss this exhibit. Its truly amazing and what better place to shop.  

But the fun doesn’t stop there. Visit the NC State Fair’s  main web site to see more about what you will see when you go to the NC State Fair.   http://www.ncstatefair.org/2007a/index.htm