[bright music] - Next on "North Carolina Weekend," we'll celebrate small town stops from Burgaw, we'll visit Patterson Farm, a brewery in Shelby, and check out the theater scene in Weldon, coming up next.

- [Announcer] Funding for "North Carolina Weekend" is provided in part by Visit NC, dedicated to highlighting our state's natural scenic beauty, unique history, and diverse cultural attractions.

From the Blue Ridge and the Great Smoky Mountains across the piedmont to 300 miles of barrier island beaches, you're invited to experience all the adventure and charm our state has to offer.

[upbeat music] ♪ - Hi, everyone, welcome to "North Carolina Weekend."

I'm Deborah Holt Noel, and this week we are celebrating small town stops.

I'm in Burgaw in Pender County.

It's a town that's rich in history, and also home to the North Carolina Blueberry Festival.

This is the historic train depot, a hub for the Wilmington Weldon Railroad, which at one time was the longest railroad in the world, way back in 1840.

Well, times have changed, but Burgaw still feels like a true small town, and we'll learn more about it throughout the show.

But next, let's head to a farm in Rowan County where Teresa Litschke discovered although berry picking can be hard work, it feels like a lot of fun at Patterson Farm.

[upbeat music] - We are at Patterson Farms.

[music continues] - We're currently a fourth generation farm here.

- [Teresa] The roots of the farm go back to 1919 and a man by the name of James A. Patterson.

- He originally was growing cotton, I think in the early '30s.

His cotton crop was affected by the boll weevils, and he started growing his first tomato crop then.

- [Teresa] His descendants continued to grow fruits and vegetables on the same property, not far off Highway 150 between Salisbury and Mooresville.

- [Michelle] We have about 1,100 acres, and about 600 of that is in production.

- [Teresa] The Pattersons opened their farm to the public in the 1970s, giving people the chance to experience things only farmers once did.

- We found that people are several generations removed from the farm at this time.

- [Teresa] Their solution.

- We grow about 90 acres of strawberries, so we like to offer pick your own experiences and events and activities that bring people out to the farm.

- Yeah, not just going to the grocery store, getting 'em.

They are better fresh picked.

- This is where families can come out and pick strawberries.

We have two container sizes.

We have a half busket that's about two and a half pounds, or a busket that's about five pounds of strawberries.

- Our typical season is mid to late April to the first week or 2nd of June.

What prevents us from having them longer is heat.

They quit producing in our area whenever it gets really warm.

- [Teresa] And everybody knows the best type of strawberry to pick.

- Red and juicy.

- [Michelle] We also grow pumpkins and have a corn maze, so we do that in the fall.

With our crop rotation, we do hope to be able to bring back some pick your own tomatoes this year.

- We have had a wonderful time.

We've been to the strawberry farms to pick strawberries.

Then we came over and we're playing at this playground, which is so much more than a playground.

One, two, three, go.

- [Michelle] Where people can, you know, do our big slide.

- [Teresa] Plus so much more, and in 1994, they stepped up the learning experience by offering tours.

- We started doing agritourism, actually before agritourism was a word.

- My mom calls it the agmagination station.

- Like, now we have a little farmer's market for them to do pretend play on the playground.

We have a little vet center.

It's all centered around ag careers.

- My mom's mom, my grandmother, was a school teacher, and so my mom's always kind of had a passion for education from that.

- [Teresa] More hands-on fun continues in the farm's barnyard.

- I feel like my kids are going to want to see the animals for longer than we even have time today.

- [Victoria] Currently, we have a lot of baby animals since it's spring, which is one of the best times of year.

- [Teresa] The learning possibilities are endless.

- We start in March with a tour on the importance of dirt and soil.

We do a tour in April that is called Farmer for the Day.

So they get the concept of what a farmer may do during the day.

They'll sell their wares, and they'll use that to buy ice cream or a treat.

- [Teresa] And they've got all kinds of treats like chocolate covered strawberries.

- Mm.

- [Teresa] Strawberry cider donuts, and freshly made strawberry ice cream.

- We make strawberry ice cream all year round.

- [Teresa] They make other flavors as well.

- We have butter pecan, cookies and cream, strawberry, which of course is made with our strawberries, vanilla, and chocolate, and we do things like souvenir shakes.

- [Teresa] And one of the favorites, of course, is with their strawberries.

- [Victoria] We've got scoops of homemade strawberry ice cream made with our strawberries.

So we're adding fresh milk here, next we blend.

So this milkshake is served in a souvenir plastic cup, so it's got our logo on it.

We add the fresh strawberry milkshake.

We also have the rim of the cup swirled in icing with sprinkles.

We'll top it with a straw that has our fresh strawberries on it, and of course, plenty of whipped cream, and then we'll drizzle strawberry syrup on top.

[bright music] - [Teresa] Patterson Farms ice cream shop is located in their market, where you'll also find fresh flowers, plants, and more foods.

- [Michelle] And we like to have a a variety of things, so if it's something that we don't grow, we try to get that from other local farmers.

- [Teresa] It's an experience you can't find just anywhere.

- It's definitely worth the trip just to come out here and spend an entire day.

- You know, we just hope that people have a great time here, they get to connect with each other, just enjoy the farm, the country, maybe learn a little bit more about agriculture than when they arrive here.

[upbeat music] - [Teresa] Patterson Farm and Market is at 10390 Caldwell Road in Mount Ulla.

That's between Mooresville and Salisbury.

The market and ice cream shop are open Tuesday through Sunday.

To find out more about farm tours and other activities, visit their website at visitpattersonfarm.com.

- This is Burgaw Brewing, a brand new brewery in downtown Burgaw that really brings in big crowds.

Another small town, Shelby, that has a craft brewery, has brought new life to that textile town.

Let's check it out.

[lively music] - [Mike] People love the food here.

People love the beer here.

- [Narrator] Which is why so many people love to come to Newgrass Brewing Company in the heart of Shelby, people like Mike Royster, who comes here regularly.

- It's just a really friendly place, and we know that we're going to meet old friends and make new ones every Friday night when we're down here.

It's a great place to meet people.

- [Narrator] It all started in 2014 when a group of local business leaders, seeing the state's craft beer boom, thought it was time for Shelby to get on board.

- I don't believe there was a brewery between Asheville and Charlotte, and we thought, well, if we could make this happen, it would be really good for our community.

It would bring people into town.

- [Narrator] The old Hudson department store building, which had been closed for about 10 years, went up for sale, and Holland and his partners bought it.

- We were sort of like the dog that chases the car and catches it.

You know, we had the building, so we had to make something happen.

It had been gutted, so fortunately for us, it was sort of a clean slate, and had to pretty much build it from the inside out.

But in the process, we wanted to make sure we kept the historic nature of the building as you see from the outside.

- [Narrator] It opened as Newgrass Brewing Company in August 2015.

- It's exciting to see what's happened.

Never dreamed that we'd be brewing beer, you know, in the same building where, you know, I used to buy my clothes.

Even in a small market like this, where craft beer was not quite as understood or prevalent, I think a lot of people have learned to appreciate good craft beer.

We see people traveling from a wide geographical area to come to this location for the beer because of the reputation it's gotten.

- Probably dial that in a little more.

- [Narrator] You can thank brewer Zach Newton for that reputation.

- We are sort of a Swiss army knife of breweries.

Lagers, IPAs, sours, stouts, I've put more of an emphasis on traditional brewing here recently, but we are well known for our wonka beers, [laughs] just the wacky, fruited pastry sours, and ginormous stouts full of fun stuff.

- [Narrator] Newton says those non-traditional brews help draw attention to Newgrass out in the broader world, but he's more grounded in traditional old European style beer, and he says most of his customers are too.

- I want seemingly boring styles to excite them.

I want them to be able to find nuance in something simple.

- [Narrator] Using locally sourced grain helps keep it simple.

[machines humming] Sourcing local is also important to Chef Wes Allen.

His menu is a wide variety of pub style food.

Favorites include the chili cheese curd burger with locally sourced beef and cheese, and tacos, fish, beef, pork, or vegan.

Allen's lifelong love of cooking has its rewards.

- It's the love of seeing their happy faces when they do get a good cheeseburger that's delicious.

- [Narrator] The name Newgrass is an homage to this community's bluegrass roots, and the brewery is bringing it new life.

- Over the last five to 10 years, we've had really an influx of younger people coming in to the area, and it's been good not just for the brewery, but for the entire economy of Shelby and Cleveland County.

[indistinct chatter] - [Narrator] It's been good for the people who live and visit here too, who are just looking for a fun place to be.

- [Mike] We've always wanted us to be very family friendly and to make people feel comfortable and warm here.

[lively music] - Newgrass Brewing Company is at 213 South Lafayette Street in Shelby, and they're open Tuesday through Sunday.

To find out more, give them a call at [704] 406-9959 or go online to newgrassbrewing.com.

[bright music] I'm here with Olivia Dawson, the mayor of Burgaw.

Olivia, how would you describe Burgaw to someone who's never visited before?

- [Mayor Dawson] Well, Burgaw is a great small town.

People move here and haven't left here, because they wanna be part of a connected small town community, so people old and new are loving their time here in Burgaw.

- And it is a really good mix of old and new.

- It is, so we're really rich in history.

We've got lots of historical things to see here.

We've got our old depot, one of the oldest depots in the state.

We've got our old jail, which is our tourism and blueberry festival office.

Upstairs of that is still intact.

It's still looks like the old jail, so that hasn't been restored yet.

We have a little bit of what's left of the railroad.

We've got our old box cars behind this location here, our old historic downtown, which we're trying to revitalize with some new improvements, but keeping what people love about older historic downtowns.

- [Deborah] And I understand this has become quite the filming destination.

- Absolutely, so many films have been filmed here over, oh what, 20, 30 years.

We have older movies such as "Silver Bullet," "Under the Dome," "Revolution," "Date with an Angel, which is where we got our gazebo from, up into a most recent series of "Welcome to Flatch," which has been a big hit across the US.

It still remains one of the many locations that they come back to, but it's always been a wonderful location, and not a lot has changed, and so that's what the film industry comes back for, to film our iconic downtown and old historic buildings that again, haven't changed.

- [Deborah] You're from Burgaw.

What made you decide to run for mayor?

- Because I'm from Burgaw, and I really love this community and this town, it was something I had a desire to do, maybe a little later in life, but it's all about timing, and now's that time.

It was where I felt like I needed to be.

- [Deborah] And I think you told me that you told your husband that, "One day, I'm gonna run for mayor," and he held it to it, didn't he?

- Yeah, he did.

I mean, it was kind of a, I say a joke, but not really.

It was like, you know, "One day I wanna run for mayor," and he's like, "One day when you're mayor."

And it was just kind of one of those things we said around the house, but it was something I really wanted to do.

I am one of the youngest.

I'm not the youngest, but I am the first female, so really proud to to say I'm the first female to accomplish being a mayor here.

- [Deborah] So what's next for Burgaw?

- [Mayor Dawson] So we don't want to change Burgaw, but we wanna continue to be, and we are growing to be a destination.

We want you to come here and not only day trip with us, we've now got some wonderful places located downtown that you can actually come and spend the night with us, and then walk and get your coffee, or walk to our new brewery that's in town, just take a stroll around our courthouse square, or stay for one of our big events that is happening in town.

- [Deborah] And the Blueberry Festival, I think is probably one of those big attractions, right?

- It is.

The Blueberry Festival just celebrated its 20th anniversary.

The North Carolina Blueberry Festival is a popular event in North Carolina, well attended.

It ranges from 40 to about 60,000 people.

This year's festival was more of a two day event, so it's growing in length, and definitely growing in footprint.

- Mayor Dawson, thank you so much for hosting us.

I can't wait to see more of the town.

- Well, thank you for being here today.

We're excited that you're here in Burgaw.

Let me show you around.

- To find out more about Burgaw, go to visit pender.com/burgaw.

There are all kinds of activities that can bring a community together.

In the Anson County town of Wadesboro, that often means some kind of a live performance.

Producer Rob Holliday visited the Ansonia Theater, where they have been entertaining audiences for nearly a century.

- I don't even know whether I can watch this.

[audience laughing] - [Rob] It's a Saturday night in Wadesboro.

Actors are performing, audiences are applauding, and spirits are soaring inside the Ansonia Theater, the same way they did nearly 100 years ago.

- The Ansonia Theater has a long, long, rich history.

It's such a beautiful theater, it's historic.

It's got the old school kind of theater vibe and charm about it.

The audiences are incredible.

[audience laughing] - The Ansonia originally was built in 1925.

It was a combination Vaudeville movie theater.

[lively music] Started out with silent movies, and then they moved into the talkies.

You could come for a quarter, you could get into the movies, stay all day, and have popcorn and a drink too.

- [Elaine] I remember coming here for the first movie I ever saw, which was "Sentimental Journey."

- Then we're not exactly strangers to you.

- For my brother and I when we were very young, it was the greatest place in the world.

We would come in here, and Mother would bring us.

We would stay for a double feature and a serial.

It was the only theater around here.

- [Rob] And it remained that way for the next several decades, but as times and entertainment options changed, the Ansonia stopped showing movies and sat empty, until it was donated to the Anson County Arts Council in 1995.

- When the Anson County Arts Council got the theater, plans were made then, but it was probably a over a 15 year period at least, back and forth, you know, trying to raise money to put us over the hump.

- [Rob] Just as that milestone was being achieved, a local director happened to be passing through Wadesboro for the first time.

- And I rode by the Ansonia Theater, and I called them, and I was like, "Hey, my name's Tommy Wooten.

I'm a director, I'm looking for a space to direct."

They called me back that day and they went, "We are a theater without a director.

We've been waiting for you."

And so we started with "Trip to Bountiful" in 2013.

Here we are with "Smoke on the Mountain" in 2023.

♪ What a friend we have in Jesus ♪ - We put on five main stage productions every year, and then on top of that, we have a murder mystery show.

We have kids show every year that we do, and we bring in one night acts and things like that, bands and comedians.

We keep a pretty full schedule around here.

- We are the Sanders family singers.

- It is like taking in a Broadway caliber show.

We take it very seriously.

We have fun, but we know what the goal is, and we try to hit it.

Just cause we're a community theater doesn't mean that we're giving homemade community performances.

We're getting new audience members every single show.

- It's great family fun.

We bring the kids every Christmas.

I bring all of my grandchildren to see the Christmas plays.

They're awesome, every character is awesome.

- Please enjoy the show.

- Many people have been involved in bringing the Ansonia back to its former glory.

The restoration of the floors, the seats, and even the marquee out front have been the result of a community effort.

- These seats are the original seats.

When we took them out, a local business, Hornwood, provided the material for the seats, and CMH Flooring donated the wood floors and the tile.

People in the community felt a part of it.

When we started the restoration, people would talk about the theater.

They would always talk about where they sat, movies they'd seen, who they came to the movies with.

It had been so long in coming, and I think people were beginning to say, "Are you ever gonna be able to do it?"

So it was so rewarding to feel like, yes, we've done it.

- When they first started doing this, I thought this was the greatest thing I'd ever heard tell of.

[laughs] It was great.

It's very sentimental to me, because it's just something that I remember from my very young childhood, and I'm glad it's here in my old age.

[laughs] - [Rob] Nostalgia is everywhere at the Ansonia, and it extends beyond the physical into the feelings the theater creates.

Here in the 2020s, the goal is to make the Ansonia the same community center it was in the 1920s.

- This is where I think people can come that aren't normally together, that can come together and have a nice time.

- It just kind of takes you back in time a little bit, just to that old school charm when everybody got together before social media really took over our lives.

It just really brings people back to a more simple time, and I think that's wonderful.

[audience applauding] - The Antonia Theater is at 112 South Rutherford Street in Wadesboro.

For more information about upcoming performances, give them a call at [704] 694-4950 or visit their website at ansoniatheater.com.

Every small town has a great little diner or hamburger joint, part of the fabric, right?

Well, Teresa Litschke found such a place in Mount Airy, where the hamburgers were created in New Jersey, but they wound up right back home.

[lively music] - We're at Leon's on Main Street in Mount Airy.

- Food's always great.

Never had a bad meal.

- It's like coming for home cooking.

You're at home.

- [Teresa] Leon's is a comfortable diner, complete with your choice of booth or a seat at the counter.

- The ones in a hurry always go to the counter.

If they're not in a hurry, then they love the booth.

- [Teresa] That's Leon Newman, Mount Airy native who moved to New Jersey, started a family there, and worked as an electrician.

He also enjoyed cooking on the side, but coming from a small town, Leon became weary of big city life.

- Traffic got so heavy.

I went home one day and I told her, "We're moving to North Carolina."

She said, "No, we're not."

I said, "Yes we are."

[chuckling] - [Teresa] She is his wife, Eileen.

- I was from a big city, New York, and then when I came down here to visit, there was nothing to do.

- [Leon] But now she loves it.

She wouldn't leave.

[laughs] - [Teresa] The Newmans moved to Mount Airy in the mid 1980s and opened the first Leon's Burger Express on Highway 601.

- They were really killing themselves.

They were working like, 16 hour days, and I missed my mom terribly.

- [Teresa] Leon quickly asked his daughter and son-in-law, Vickie and Paul Riekehof, both New Jersey natives, to move to North Carolina and become partners.

- If you would've told me 10 years before that I would be down here, I'd tell you, "You're crazy."

- [Teresa] You see, Vickie had worked for her parents in a restaurant in Jersey, but for Paul, formerly in graphic arts, it was a whole new ballgame.

- It was a little more difficult, [laughs] 'cause he had never done this before.

I can tell you one time he made a hamburger shake, and my father said it was no good and threw it away, [laughs] and made him start over.

- [Teresa] Paul got the hang of it, and after three years at the 601 location, they moved to downtown Mount Airy.

- And we've been here ever since, 33 years.

- [Teresa] As their name implies, it's the burger, or rather, cheeseburger that's made them famous in these parts, and it's a recipe Leon borrowed from his days up north.

- In New Jersey, they had the California burger.

When I come here, I just called it the California cheeseburger.

It's basically not a California.

It's just lettuce, tomato, and fried onion.

[laughing] - [Teresa] But it's Leon's attention to detail that sets the California cheeseburger apart from the rest.

- [Paul] We patty it out ourselves.

- [Vickie] Fresh meat, the grilled onions we use, we slice fresh onions, and put 'em on top.

- [Teresa] You can also get breakfast at Leon's.

- Yes, all day.

- [Teresa] And everyone has their favorite dish.

- Usually, egg plate with home fries.

Home fries are real popular.

- And also their waffles, and also their pancakes and bacon.

- I come for the gravy.

- [Teresa] There's lunch specials too, like homemade meatloaf with your choice of side.

- Fresh vegetables, they bring in vegetables out of the garden, stuff like that.

- Potatoes, pintos, collard greens, okra, squash, slaw.

[lively music] - [Teresa] Leon is now retired, and Vickie and Paul are running the show.

They may have ventured south to avoid New Jersey traffic, but it's the southern hospitality they felt from folks in Mount Airy that persuaded them to stay.

- They're all real nice.

Everybody's nice and friendly in town, rarely any problems.

It's nice here.

[laughs] [lively music] - Leon's Burger Express is at 407 North Main Street in Mount Airy, and they're open from 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

To find out more, you can call them at [336] 789-0849 or find them on Facebook.

Well, that's it for tonight's show.

We've had so much fun here in Burgaw.

It really is a very charming small town, and if you're ever in the area, definitely well worth a visit.

If you've missed anything in today's show, just remember you can always watch us again online at pbsnc.org.

Have a great "North Carolina Weekend," everyone.

[bright music] ♪ [music continues] ♪ [music continues] ♪ [music continues] ♪ [music continues] ♪ [music continues] - [Announcer] Funding for "North Carolina Weekend" is provided in part by Visit NC, dedicated to highlighting our state's natural scenic beauty, unique history, and diverse cultural attractions.

From the Blue Ridge and the Great Smoky Mountains across the piedmont to 300 miles of barrier island beaches, you're invited to experience all the adventure and charm our state has to offer.

[bright music]