CRESTVIEW — Folk duo Hungrytown is coming to a library near you.

Musicians Rebecca Hall and Ken Anderson will perform these three dates, with free admission for all ages, courtesy of the Okaloosa Public Library Cooperative:

Listen or watch a video>>

•3 p.m. Feb. 3, Destin Library, 150 Sibert Ave., Destin.

•6 p.m. Feb. 4, Mary Esther Public Library, 100 Hollywood Blvd. W., Mary Esther.

•6 p.m. Feb. 5, Crestview Public Library, 1445 Commerce Drive, Crestview.

Hall and Anderson, of Vermont, have performed their original works all over the world. In the process, the duo earned praise from the Feminist Review, Dirty Linen, Seven Days and the Roots Music Report.

According to hungrytown.net, Rebecca began writing her own music in 1997. Ken plays multiple instruments, and produces and arranges.

The couple are working on their third album, "Further West."

Here, we talk with the duo:

Q: How'd you come up with the name Hungrytown?

Rebecca: We had a song called "Hungrytown Road" long before we became Hungrytown. It's a real road in Covesville, Va. We needed a band name, and there it was.

Q: There are a lot of libraries on your performances list. That's a lot of books. Who's the reader in the family?

Ken: Definitely Rebecca. We do these concerts to pay down our overdue fees.

Q: Who are some of your favorite folk singers?

Rebecca: Sandy Denny, Nick Drake, Townes Van Zandt and Gene Clark, to name a few.

Ken: Nic Jones, Richard Thompson, Anne Briggs and Jackson C. Frank to name a few more.

Q: Where's the farthest you've ever gone from home to perform?

Rebecca: New Zealand, in 2013 and coming up again next month!

Q: What's your favorite thing about performing?

Rebecca: Getting to interact with the audience.

Ken: Getting to intimidate the audience. lol

WANT TO GO?

WHAT: Concert featuring Hungrytown

WHEN: 6 p.m. Feb. 5

WHERE: 1445 Commerce Drive, Crestview

Email Editorial Assistant Renee Bell, follow her on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Folk duo plans Northwest Florida library performances

CRESTVIEW — Residents strolling the downtown historic district streets next year shouldn’t be surprised if they bump into Sen. William Mapoles or other figures from the city’s history.

Crestview resident, historian and historical impersonator Jim Moore is developing a performance as Mapoles, the Laurel Hill state senator and newspaperman known as “the father of Okaloosa County.”

Among others, Moore also impersonates Hamner “Doc” Powell, a railroad agent and the city’s first resident, who sold lighterwood to the railroad more than 30 years before Crestview was incorporated.

Moore also has created a performance piece around Purl Adams Sr., a colorful founding father and former mayor who was responsible for bringing public water and electricity service to Crestview.

After an informal meeting in November 2014, the Main Street Crestview Association Centennial Committee is getting down to the business of celebrating Crestview’s 100th birthday with a schedule of events throughout the year, particularly around the April 11 anniversary of the town’s incorporation.

In addition to centennial-specific events, such as a downtown “ghost tour,” during which local actors will portray notable — and often colorful — Crestview historic figures, the committee would like to see existing events “branded” as Centennial occasions.

The group will partner with the Baker Block Museum and the Carver-Hill Museum as they plan events and materials for the observance, committee chairwoman Pat Hollarn said.

The Main Street Association will have a $30,000 budget, funded by the Community Redevelopment Agency, for Centennial events and materials.

Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Historical impersonator among ideas for Crestview's 2016 birthday celebration

CRESTVIEW — A memorial service for Kathryn Little Ballard, 89, is 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 7, 2015, with visitation one hour before at the First Presbyterian Church, 492 N. Ferdon Blvd., Crestview.

Formerly of Crestview and Tallahassee, Mrs. Ballard died Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2014 at Cordele Health & Rehab, Cordele, Ga.  She was born Feb. 15, 1925 in Butler County, Alabama.

Her husband of 61 years, Raymond L. Ballard, preceded her in death.

Mrs. Ballard is survived by her son, Ronald D. Ballard of Niceville, and daughter, Barbara B. Cromer (Ray “Eddie”) of Cordele;  two brothers, three sisters, four grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Thornwell Home for Children, PO Box 60, Clinton, SC 29325; Reflections Hospice of Crisp Regional, 202 East 4th Avenue, Cordele, GA 31015 or to Alzheimer’s Association, PO Box 96011, Washington, DC 20090-6011.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Memorial service planned for Kathryn Ballard

Author and poet Maya Angelou said, “Our young must be taught that racial peculiarities do exist, but that beneath the skin, beyond the differing features, and into the true heart of being, fundamentally, we are more alike, my friend, than we are unalike."

You can discover vast amounts of literature and historical information by and about influential African-Americans.

It's all right here at the Crestview Public Library. 

Not only are there print resources available, but you also can search our electronic database for historical records such as Heritage Quest’s Freedman’s Bank Records. Here, you can get a small, yet fascinating feel of former slaves' economic lives. 

Freedman’s Bank, which was founded to serve African-Americans, lasted from the end of the Civil War to 1874. Its branches and its customers' age, physical description, former master and plantation location are some descriptors included in these historical archives. 

Search for HeritageQuest on our website, www.cityofcrestview.org/library.php, and type in the barcode on the back of your library card when prompted.

Marie Garcia is the Crestview Public Library's assistant director.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: CHECK IT OUT: African-American history resources available

BAKER — Three North Okaloosa County passions — hunting, guns and good food — will combine in a duo of fundraisers for the Rotary Club of Crestview.

The 22nd Annual Wild Game Feast — featuring Olympian Roy Jones — and quail hunt at Gum Creek Lodge join a chance to win some shootin’ irons as fundraisers for the Rotary’s community projects.

“It’s 30 guns in 30 days,” Rotary member Allyson Oury said of the raffle. She said with 1,000 $30 raffle tickets available, odds are good for participants to win at least one, if not more, of the 30 weapons.

“There’s a variety of guns,” Oury said. “There are handguns, rifles and a couple shotguns as well. The grand prizes are two custom AR rifles that Precision Tactical has built in house.”

Ticket sales have been brisk, with fewer than 250 of 1,000 total remaining, Oury said. Nightly winning numbers during the 30-day raffle will be the same as those drawn for the Florida Lottery’s nightly CA$H-3 drawing.

“Whatever number comes up is going to be our winning number,” Oury said. “You actually have 30 chances regardless if you’ve already won. Every day you have the same chance.”

HUNTING AND FEASTING

Gum Creek Lodge owner and Rotary member Bill Barnhill said the Wild Game Feast is the Rotary’s biggest annual fundraiser. While individual tickets are available for $65, “most people attend through sponsorships,” he said.

“We raise anywhere from $8,000 to $20,000” at the feast, Barnhill said. “Over the years, our biggest benefactor has been Northwest Florida State College. We’ve given them about $120,000.”

The feast’s guest speaker is Olympic medalist Roy Jones, who boxed with Park Si-Hun in the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

Participants will feast on a menu including venison and gravy, rice, biscuits, green beans, quail, wild pork and fish, with many selections being bagged on Gum Creek’s preserve, Barnhill said.

GUEST SPEAKER

The Rotary Club of Crestview's Wild Game Feast guest speaker is Olympian boxer Roy Jones, a Pensacola rap singer, actor and silver medalist at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

Controversy surrounding the judges’ receipt of food and drink from South Korean boxing officials led many to call for Jones to receive the Olympic gold medal awarded to Park Si-Hun. The International Olympic Committee suspended the judges, but Jones still didn’t receive the top medal.

Jones continues to box, winning both 2014 bouts in which he fought to retain his World Boxing Union Cruiserweight title.

WANT TO GO?

WHAT:Rotary Club of Crestview Wild Game Feast

WHEN:6 p.m. Feb. 6

WHERE:Gum Creek Lodge, 5800 Buck Ward Road, Baker

COST:$65 individual tickets; Gold sponsorship $800 (includes 8 feast tickets and 2-4 person quail hunt); Silver sponsorship $450 (includes six feast tickets) and Bronze sponsorship $275 (includes four feast tickets)

NOTES:Entire proceeds benefit Northwest Florida State College and Rotary Club health, hunger and literacy programs. Tickets available at Day’s Tire and Auto, S&L Auto Body, Saltmarsh, or from any Rotarian.

30 GUNS IN 30 DAYS

WHAT:Rotary Club of Crestview firearm raffle

WHEN:Feb. 6 to March 8

COST:$30 donation per ticket

NOTES:Entire proceeds benefit Rotary Club of Crestview social welfare and community support projects. Winning numbers are those chosen nightly in the Florida Lottery CA$H-3 game. Tickets available from any Rotarian.

Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Game feast, hunting and guns combine in Rotary fundraisers

CRESTVIEW —  Natalie Santiago didn't meet Chaca, her future husband, at her best friend's wedding around 2012.

But little did she know, her soulmate was in the same room. "He saw me; I didn't see him," she said.

Things were different at the same friend's birthday party the following year. Natalie and Chaca were formally introduced, and their relationship took off from there.

"He contacted me by phone and then we just started talking," Natalie, a customer service agent, said. "We decided to meet up about a month later and went out."

Their first date was at a Fayetteville, N.C., park. Chaca, a U.S. Army chief warrant officer, prepared a picnic with wine and cheese for the outing.

The chemistry was instant.

"We had great conversations," Natalie said. "When we talked, we felt the same way about certain things."

Chaca proposed marriage to her at a pond in Fort Bragg, Natalie said.

"My husband said, 'Do you trust me?' and I said, 'Yes!'" Natalie said. "He proceeded to blindfold me and led me to the water, where we got on a paddle boat.

"He paddled out a little ways and took my blindfold off. He had candles floating in the water all around us and from there he asked me to be his wife. I said yes with tears in my eyes!"

The couple have remained inseparable.

Natalie shared these words of love: "Chaca, I want you to know that you are my life! I had never thought someone could love me or treat me the way you do — thank you! I am forever grateful to God for you!

"Happy first anniversary! I can’t wait to spend many more years with you and enjoy the wonderful journey beside you. God bless you!"

Email Editorial Assistant Renee Bell, follow her on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview couple celebrates first year of wedded bliss

Let bagpipes stir your soul at the next Evening Library Time.  Robert MacDermott will begin piping at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb.24 at the Crestview Public Library.

MacDermott, who is Scots-Irish, grew interested in his musical heritage and the bagpipes in his mid-20s, and he began playing the instrument in 2011, according to his website.

This free program, funded by an anonymous donation, will last about 45 minutes and is geared for ages 4 and up. Registration is not required.

Please call 682-4432 with questions.

Heather Nitzel is the Crestview Public Library's youth services librarian.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: CHECK IT OUT: Enjoy bagpipes next month in Crestview