Excitement builds for the 4th annual Run for the River

Competitors in the 2008 8K Run for the River take off for the finish line at the start of the run. The first place male runner, Devin Swann of Raleigh, set a course record by running the 4.97 miles in 24 minutes 51 seconds.

Hometown athletes and runners from throughout North Carolina are signing up for Pride of Kinston’s 4th Annual Run for the River set for March 28, 2009. Sponsors of the race are also lining up to help make the 2009 race a great success, according to Run for the River managers.

The event, which encompasses a One Mile Fun Run in Neuseway Nature Center and an 8K race which threads along the Neuse River and historic Mitchelltown, also attracts an enthusiastic crowd of volunteers, according to Kevin Zoltek, head of Pride’s Outdoor Events Team. The Pride group produces the race in partnership with the Kinston-Lenoir County Parks and Recreation Department and Kinston’s Public Safety department.

Jackson Perry (No. 404) celebrates his victory in the 2008 One Mile Fun Run last March with good buddy Will Ferguson. The 2008 victory was the second first place for Perry. He also ran first in the 2006 One Mile Fun Run.

The race committee will host a welcome and briefing party on Friday March 27, 2009 beginning at 6:00 pm to honor runners, sponsors of the race and volunteers. The briefing and complimentary dinner will be held at the former Carraway’s Restaurant behind the Neuse Sport Shop at 225 E. New Bern Road (Hwy. 70 E) just outside Kinston. A complimentary dinner will be served to participants. (RSVP 252-522-4676 Ext. 2019)

The top male and female runners in the 8K race will each carry home the grand prize of $500.00 plus an engraved china bowl donated especially for the race by Lenox China in Kinston. All participants in the One Mile Fun Run receive a medal to acknowledge their participation.

Kinston has another new business

Thanks to a shared hobby and a commitment to Kinston, two local business men Stephen Hill and Trent Mooring announced Feb. 16, 2009 that they are establishing a microbrewery in downtown.

Mother Earth Brewing Company will soon join a number of other locally owned small businesses that are transforming the look and feel of downtown Kinston.

“Stephen and I enjoy hand crafted beers and making beer at home,” said Trent. “Our shared hobby planted the seed for Mother Earth Brewing Company, the desire to see our hometown grow and attract new folks and new businesses without losing that neighborhood feeling led us to locate the brewery in downtown Kinston.”

Mother Earth Brewing Company will be located on the corner of Herritage and North Streets in the former Super Saver Grocery Store. The brewery will not only bring an exciting new business to downtown Kinston it will also restore one of the few remaining vacant buildings on a street that is becoming known for its restaurants and retail shops.

The $1.5 million dollar renovation and construction project will include the brewery itself, a bottling facility and Mother Earth’s corporate offices. Future plans include opening a tap room and offering tours of the brewery. At full operation, the brewery will add between five and ten new jobs.

In late summer or early fall, Trent, Stephen and Head Brewer Josh Brewer, plan to pour their first glass of beer in the Mother Earth Brewing Company.

New Lot Getting Extra Attention

Looking over the space to be spruced up are (left to right) City Councilman Robbie Swinson, Earl Harper who is chairing the special task force, Shirley Herring, John Marston, Sandy Landis, Carolyn Fletcher, Lois Kenworthy and Lou Ellen Wilkie.

An energetic partnership involving Pride of Kinston’s Design and Property Development committees, the Community Council for the Art’s Public Art Committee and advocates for an attractive downtown is working on plans to make a new parking lot a place of beauty. The parking lot, recently constructed by Pride in the 300 block of North Queen connecting Queen and Herritage Streets, will feature public art, attractive landscaping, dramatic lighting, directional signage and an artfully designed bicycle rack. The move to make the lot more than a useful space has been led by Shirley Herring, chair of the Design Committee, along with John Marston, head of Pride’s Property Development Committee.

Twenty-fifth Anniversary Update

A party in Neuseway Park on April 2, 2009 will kick off a month-long observation of Pride of Kinston’s 25th anniversary. The downtown revitalization organization came into being in April 1984.

The birthday party is being held as a feature of the Kinston-Lenoir County Chamber of Commerce After Hours party, from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm in the park, at the intersection of Gordon and Mitchell Streets, site of the annual Sand in the Streets concerts.

Steve Hardy

Former Pride board members and directors are being invited as well as representatives of downtown’s business community.

The birthday party will be a free public event. Music entertainment guru Steve Hardy and his Original Beach Party will be featured.

For more information contact Adrian King: 252-522-8003 or aking-pride@embarqmail.com