This is a wonderful place!

I'm writing about a wonderful place.

OK, readers, just hold on. I'm not talking about Charlotte, but a great place to go in Charlotte with the kiddies.

I'm talking about ImaginOn. At Imaginon, which is free, kids can put on a puppet show, play in a dollhouse listen to stories or take workshops. The $41 million facility opened in 2005 and is home to the children's library and the Children's Theatre of Charlotte. (Note: The Children's Theatre productions are not free.)

For more about ImaginOn and a calendar of events, click here.

Today my husband took off work to hang with our daughter (17 months), because daycare was closed. At my suggestion, they attended toddler story time at ImaginOn. In March, my girl and I had fun at a kids concert there.

The reveiw from today's story time? Here's what Jeff emailed to say about it:

"She liked ImaginOn. Had a hard time sitting still for storytime (which was only 20 minutes) but wasn't too bad. They take little dance breaks, which she liked. We walked around for about 30 minutes afterward so she could push buttons and watch the exhibits do their thing."

I wish I could have gone. The next time daycare is closed, I get to stay home with the kiddo and ImaginOn is a sure bet.

Charlotte: Best City to Live

Charlotte is No. 1 when it comes to places to live, according to Relocate-America's Top 100 in 2008. Two other Carolina cities made the top 10. Greenville, S.C. ranked fourth and Asheville, last year's No. 1, came in seventh.

Relocate-America takes nominations for best city throughout the year. Would you nominate Charlotte? Why or why not? And if not, then what city would deserve your praise?

A reason to not miss the Big Apple?

Are you an ex New Yorker like me who still sometimes misses the city?

Well, check this out.

How do you say Clemson?

Check out this cool thing I just stumbled on: A pronunciaton guide for frequently mispronounced S.C. places. It comes from SCIway.net, which stands for South Carolina Information Highway and is pronounded skyway, by the way.

The guide directs you on pronunciation of 100 places -- from Abbeville (AB uh vul, AB bee VIL) to Yonges (YUNGS) Island -- and gives information on the origin of some names.

In some cases, when there's no clear answer, the site took a poll. Take Clemson. In a poll of 1,155 voters, 57 percent said it's CLEM sun. Meanwhile, 37 percent said CLEMP sun and 6 percent said CLEM zun.

Lancaster is "frequently mispronounced LAN CAS tur." It's really LANG kus tur.

Beaufort is BU fort. "Visitors often confuse this town with Beaufort, N.C., which is pronounced BOW fort."

Some other possible surprises:
Cheddar: SHED ur
Clinton: CLIN nin
Cooper (the river dividing Charleston and Mount Pleasant): COO pur, CUP puh
Monticello: MONT i SELL oh (Not like Thomas Jefferson's home in Virginia, MONT i CHEL oh.)
Trio: TRY oh
Tega Cay: TEE guh

North vs. South Explained

Yesterday I asked if there's a difference in how the North and South celebrate Memorial Day. Today I am addressing the responses.

Some readers think that I too often turn to the North-South debate to generate blog traffic. Not true. In fact, this query was the first North-South-themed entry since I started this blog on Feb. 21. Often, it's readers who take a neutral topic and turn it into a North-South debate. Check out the responses to a March 24 entry about a newcomer from Rochester, N.Y. who called people in Charlotte bad drivers.

I write about what makes living in Charlotte different than anywhere else. In the past, newcomers have noted that Memorial Day is different here than other places they've lived. I'm preparing a column about the history of the holiday and wondered what you readers thought.

One thing that hopefully nobody disagrees with: Memorial Day is a time to spend with family and remember loved ones, no matter where you live.

A question of North vs. South?

Do Northerners and Southerners celebrate Memorial Day differently?

Historians say the South perceived the federal Memorial Day holiday as an observance primarily for Union soldiers and chose to observe their own Confederate Memorial Days. Has that carried over to today -- with more low-key Memorial Day observances in the South and bigger-deal celebrations in the North?

You tell me. I'm searching for answers in time for -- well, Memorial Day. How do you celebrate Memorial Day here or how have you celebrated the occasion in other places you've lived?

I'll raffle off two Starbucks gift cards -- one to a Northerner and one to a Southerner, of course. Just post your comment here and e-mail a copy of it to me along with your name and daytime phone number. You must include your name and phone number to be in the drawing for free coffee. Thanks!

What's a fixture in your neighborhood?

Today I wrote about Talley's Green Grocery in Dilworth closing. Some regulars who live near there consider it a neighborhood fixture. Other shoppers there yesterday said they can't wait for bigger rival Whole Foods to come in 2009.

Anyhow, today I want to hear about fixtures in your neighborhood. What's something that defines where you live? Post it here.