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Usually the hype machine points toward February and the Super Bowl when two runaway division leaders meet.

Yet when the Packers visit the Broncos, both 6-0, on Sunday night, there’s not much Super Bowl preview talk.

For one, such other powerful teams as New England, Carolina, Cincinnati – all unbeaten – could get in the way. For another, neither Green Bay nor Denver has displayed its full force in 2015.

Both sides are rested and ready, coming off bye weeks.

“I mean, I got away from it at first,” Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall says of the game’s buildup, “but then as soon as Sunday came they started talking about all the headlines. Packers-Broncos, Aaron Rodgers-Peyton Manning, and then they went back to when we played them in the Super Bowl in the 1990s, and so I started thinking about all of that, and then it got me hyped and got my blood boiling.”

Green Bay’s visit to Denver marks only the fourth meeting between teams 6-0 or better. The numbers look good for the Pack, which is 23-7 in Sunday night games, the top percentage in the league; 8-1 after a bye week under Coach Mike McCarthy; and Rodgers has thrown for 3,734 yards and 31 TDs in 13 Sunday nighters.

Of course, the Broncos’ Manning seems to set records nearly every time he takes the field. With a win, Manning ties Brett Favre for the most regular-season victories (186) by a quarterback. How appropriate that the opponent is the Packers.

“Every game is an incentive for us,” Packers receiver Randall Cobb says. “We only get 16 guaranteed opportunities. Definitely when we go up against a great team, both of us being undefeated, Sunday night football, definitely, the stakes – I wouldn’t say are higher, but it’s a little bit more added to the game, and makes the game a little bit more fun.” The only time the Broncos started 7-0 was 1998, when they won the Super Bowl after finishing 14-2.

This week’s action began Thursday night with as the Patriots moved to 7-0 as Tom Brady threw for four touchdowns and 356 yards in a 36-7 rout of Miami. Stephen Gostkowski broke Adam Vinatieri’s franchise record for consecutive field goals by connecting from 52 and 36 yards to make it 26 in a row. Rob Gronkowski had 113 yards receiving and a touchdown, and Dion Lewis had 93 yards receiving and one score.

The loss was the first for Miami (3-4) under Interim Coach Dan Campbell.

Off this week are Buffalo (3-4), Philadelphia (3-4), Washington (3-4) and Jacksonville (2-5).

Cincinnati (6-0) at Pittsburgh (4-3)

What a great time for Ben Roethlisberger to return. A Cincinnati victory would boost the Bengals to their first 7-0 start, and give them a hefty 3½-game lead in the AFC North. So back from his knee problems comes Big Ben, who is 16-6 against the Bengals. Indeed, the Steelers have won the last three and eight of 10 in the series.

“He’s a special quarterback,” All-Pro receiver Antonio Brown said. “Anytime you have a guy of that caliber, it rejuvenates, revitalizes and gets everyone excited.”

Bengals QB Andy Dalton leads the NFL with a 116.1 passer rating, and DE Carlos Dunlap is tied for the NFL lead with 6½ sacks.

Indianapolis (3-4) at Carolina (6-0), Monday night

This has been Carolina’s best start, but the Colts hardly are ready for prime time. They’ve flopped in most every area, and they can’t seem to win outside the awful AFC South. Indy played better with backup QB Matt Hasselbeck than with Andrew Luck, but the Colts must sink or swim with Luck.

The Panthers have shown versatility, from Cam Newton throwing and running to Greg Olsen getting open short and deep to establishing a strong pass rush to Josh Norman tying for the league lead with four interceptions.

Tampa Bay (2-4) at Atlanta (6-1)

After the Buccaneers blew a 24-0 lead and lost at Washington, Coach Lovie Smith mentioned the progress his team is making. For real progress in the NFC South, look at Dan Quinn’s Falcons.

Atlanta ranks fifth on offense after finding a running game behind Devonta Freeman, is second in rushing defense, and shows tons of energy and aggressiveness. Freeman leads the league with 621 yards rushing and has scored 10 touchdowns.

Arizona (5-2) at Cleveland (2-5)

In yet another quirk to this year’s schedule, the Cardinals play a third straight game against the AFC North. And they have not won in Cleveland since 1985.

But these Cardinals lead the NFL with 229 points and 28 TDs, with Carson Palmer tied with Tom Brady for tops in the league with 16 TD passes entering this week.

Cleveland hopes to have QB Josh McCown on the field after he missed practice time with a shoulder injury sustained in a loss at St. Louis last week. He’d work behind an offensive line that has allowed 21 sacks in the past five games and will face the blitz-happy Cardinals.

Seattle (3-4) at Dallas (2-4)

This looked like such a juicy early November matchup when the schedule came out. Now Dallas is limping and on a four-game slide, while the Seahawks are trying to remember how they surged from a 3-3 mark to the Super Bowl last season.

The Cowboys have no chance if they keep turning it over; Matt Cassel was picked off three times by the Giants in his first Dallas start, and Seattle’s secondary is much better, with two All-Pros in Richard Sherman and Earl Thomas. At least star WR Dez Bryant might be back after being sidelined since the opener with a broken foot.

Seattle has set a franchise record of 18 straight games of at least 100 yards rushing.

New York Giants (4-3) at New Orleans (3-4)

By far the most intriguing person on either team won’t be suiting up. Giants DE Jason Pierre-Paul, who blew off an index finger in a July 4 fireworks accident, is back with the team, but not close to playing.

New York could use a ramped-up pass rush against the NFL’s third-ranked passing attack.

If New Orleans can pound the ball with Mark Ingram the way Dallas did to New York with Darren McFadden, the Saints might grab a third consecutive victory.

New York Jets (4-2) at Oakland (3-3)

The winner here establishes its credentials in the wild-card race, with only remote chances for a division crown.

New York had the Patriots on the ropes last weekend, but made just enough errors to fail. No one can run on the Jets, so Oakland will try to turn loose sensational rookie wideout Amari Cooper. Of course, he’ll be matched up with All-Pro cornerback Darrelle Revis much of the time.

New York’s Ryan Fitzpatrick looks to become the first quarterback to beat the Raiders with four organizations, having done it already with Buffalo, Tennessee and Houston.

This once was among the nastiest of rivalries, but it has cooled.

Minnesota (4-2) at Chicago (2-4)

Soldier Field is not a favorite ground for the Vikings, who have dropped seven straight there and 13 of 14. But that one win was memorable: Adrian Peterson ran for 224 yards, the most by a Bears opponent, in 2007.

Chicago comes off a bye and its new coach, John Fox is 10-3 in games following a bye: 6-3 with Carolina, 4-0 with Denver. His main weapon is Matt Forte, who is second among NFL running backs to Atlanta’s Freeman with 698 scrimmage yards.

Detroit (1-6) vs. Kansas City (2-5) at London

Not exactly what the NFL envisioned for the last of its trio of London games. Of course, both teams were contenders a year ago, prompting this matchup.

Detroit fired offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi and line coaches Jeremiah Washburn and Terry Heffernan on Monday. QB coach Jim Bob Cooter is serving as offensive coordinator, TEs coach Ron Prince is handling the offensive line and assistant special teams coach Devin Fitzsimmons is working with tight ends. The Lions are last in rushing offense, but at least have gotten starting RB Joique Bell back from injury.

The Chiefs may have found a decent replacement for Jamaal Charles (torn ACL) in Charcandrick West, who ran for a career-best 110 yards and a TD against Pittsburgh.

San Francisco (2-5) at St. Louis (3-3)

Don’t look for much scoring in this one. These are the lowest-ranked offenses in the league, and to boot, the Rams have a sensational pass rush. San Francisco does have Anquan Boldin, whose 1,513 yards receiving against the Rams are the third most by an opponent, and he has a TD catch in four of the past five meetings.

For St. Louis, rookie RB Todd Gurley has rushed for 433 yards, averaging 144.3 per game, in his first three career starts. He leads the NFL with three rushes for 45 or more yards. And the Rams are tied for the NFC lead with 23 sacks; the Niners have allowed 25.

Tennessee (1-5) at Houston (2-5)

As usual, quarterbacks are in the spotlight here. Houston cut the undependable (on and off the field) Ryan Mallett, so the job is journeyman Brian Hoyer’s.

Tennessee doesn’t have QB job security issues; once Marcus Mariota is recovered from a left knee injury, he’s the man. Otherwise, they’ll have to go with second-year Zach Mettenberger, who struggled in a loss to Atlanta last week.

Texans RB Arian Foster is gone for the season with a torn Achilles tendon.

San Diego (2-5) at Baltimore (1-6)

The Disappointment Bowl.

Both teams have flopped by losing tight games, and the Chargers were so flat against Oakland last week it led some to wonder if they’d already packed up for LA. Yet receiver Keenan Allen leads the NFL with 62 receptions, the most in history over the first seven games of any season.

November usually is a good month for Baltimore, which needs it: since Coach John Harbaugh took over in 2008, Baltimore is 12-2 in November home games.

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Bruce Davis

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John Cantey

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Don Metzger

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Laura Sampson

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Leon Maynor

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Rickey Gregory

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LUMBERTON — Lumberton’s first contested mayoral race since 2003 will come to down to which candidate does the best of getting his supporters to the polls.

All three candidates, John Cantey, Bruce Davis and Don Metzger, share experience on the City Council and are placing public safety and attracting businesses and tourists to Lumberton as their priorities. All three have camped out at the Board of Elections this week, greeting early voters.

“I think it’s going to be very, very close,” Metzger said. “A lot of the outcome is going to depend on folks who are hauling and that seems to be alive and well.”

Metzger said he is not hauling voters to the polls; he wants to be elected by an “expression of a whole community,” not the effectiveness of hauling.

Metzger has represented Precinct 1 since 2007, succeeding Davis after he decided not to seek re-election. Metzger says he and his wife, Linda, have endowed scholarships at Robeson Community College and The University of North Carolina Pembroke, and he has served on boards at both schools. He has served twice as the Lumberton Area Chamber of Commerce president.

“We have been actively involved in trying to make this community better for over 30 years,” Metzger said. “I don’t think there is any other candidate who can demonstrate that kind of long-term commitment and service.”

Metzger said he has spoken at churches and other community events throughout South and East Lumberton and has been “pretty encouraged by the outpouring of support.”

“… What I typically tell them when I finish is, ‘With God’s help and your vote, I hope to have the opportunity to continue to serve,’” he said.

A retired businessman, Metzger has said that as mayor his priorities would be embracing the Lumber River and other assets to boost tourism, and cracking down on crime.

“That’s what keeping us from getting a lot of new businesses in our community. It impacts our tourism rates, it impacts us in so many ways we don’t even think about. It permeates everything we try to do positively in this community,” he said.

Davis has been pleased with the early voting turnout. There were 1,979 voters during the early period, slightly more than in the last municipal elections in 2013.

“We are offering transportation to folks who need it,” he said. “We don’t have an operation as such, but we have that option if people need it.”

Davis said with all three candidates boasting council experience, the election “sort of depends on who gets out the vote and who can politic the hardest.”

“I would say look at the number of years of experience that the candidates have and what they’ve accomplished independently or individually, not just sitting on a board and saying ‘yay’ or ‘nay,’ but what have they done individually to set themselves apart,” he said.

Davis served on the City Council for 24 years. He is the only councilman to have represented two precincts, serving Precinct 8 from 1977 to 1981 and Precinct 1 from 1987 to 2007. Davis, who has run B.W. Davis Construction for 40 years, served as mayor pro tem twice and was awarded the Order of the Long Leaf Pine in 2008.

He is credited with helping to make the Southeastern North Carolina Agricultural Events Center a destination for meetings and helped craft an ordinance to regulate density in the city.

“I have a deep, abiding concern for the city and if I can do any one thing for this city, I would make it safer for people to live and I would want to grow this economy and expand the tax base,” he said.

Known for his get-out-the-vote efforts, Cantey said he is not hauling voters this t ime.

“Our campaign is a people’s campaign. It’s all about the people. I just wanted to supply them with a third option,” he said. “… Sure, we can go to the communities and haul 800 people and win, but what do we really win?”

With his term on the City Council not expiring until 2017, he wants to maintain a good relationship with his fellow members should he return to his Precinct 5 seat.

“If I win I want to win fair and square,” he said.

Cantey was elected to the council in 2005 and has served as mayor pro tem and vice chairman of the county’s Democratic Party.

“I don’t want to be known as the first African American mayor in the city of Lumberton, I just want to be known as a mayor who worked hard, did everything fair and moved the city forward,” he said.

Cantey said as mayor, he would like to continue the legacy of Raymond Pennington, who is not seeking another term after 24 years of wielding the gavel. He would focus on finishing ongoing recreation projects, like Northeast Park, boosting tourism and making Lumberton safer.

“In 10 years I’ve seen the city at its best and I’ve seen the city go through some trying times. That being said, I have insight on what goes on in the council and some new innovative ideas to make this city even greater,” he said.

If Cantey is elected mayor, a special election would be held to fill his seat.

Lumberton will also see two contested council races.

Precinct 7 incumbent Leon Maynor is seeking a sixth term, while Laura B. Sampson is making her third bid for a council seat.

A lifelong resident of West Lumberton, Sampson is on the board of directors of the Lumberton Boys Girls Club.

Sampson said she would focus on encouraging commercial growth in West Lumberton and creating more activities for young people.

“I would like for us to have an activity center. We have nothing for our youth to do but swim in a pond and that’s unacceptable,” she said.

Sampson said the neighborhood has changed little in the past 25 years, and that she has the vision to bring West Lumberton into the future.

“If you want to move our community forward. If you want to make it a better place to live and stay then we need to vote for a change,” she said.

Maynor has represented the city on the North Carolina Electric Cities Board, served as the chair of the Robeson County Partnership for Children and the vice chairman of the Robeson Juvenile Crime Prevention Council. He is also a member of the Lumber River Rural Transportation Committee and has served on the Airport Commission. He could not be reached for this story.

In Precinct 1, political newcomers Rickey Gregory and Leroy Rising are vying for the seat being vacated by Metzger.

“The reason I’m running for City Council is that Lumberton has been good to me and to my family for the past 30-some years and it’s time for me to give back to my community,” Gregory said. Gregory is on the Mayor’s Committee for the Challenged, the Robeson County History Museum committee and has also been involved with the Robeson Arts Council, Robeson Roadrunners, and the fair board.

Gregory said boosting tourism in the city and revitalizing the downtown will be his top concerns, along with promoting public safety.

“Everybody deserves a safe place to sleep at night,” he said.

As a real estate agent and former engineer with the Department of Transportation who has worked on the city’s Land Use Plan, Rising says he is familiar with Lumberton’s infrastructure and needs. Rising has a degree in business administration and says he would work to secure grants.

“I have a very strong work ethic and I’m very committed to doing the very best job that I can do,” Rising said. ” … I know that some of the citizens are extremely concerned about safety and tax values and opportunities for growth. Being involved in real estate really gives me an insight on what might be needed to help grow the city.”

Karen Altman Higley is unopposed in her bid to represent Precinct 4, where Harry Ivey will not be seeking another term after 46 years on the job. Chris Howard is unopposed in the race for Precinct 6, which has been represented by Robert Jones since 1991.

By Sarah Willets

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Sarah Willets can be reached at 910-816-1974 or on Twitter @Sarah_Willets.

Sarah Willets can be reached at 910-816-1974 or on Twitter @Sarah_Willets.

By Bill Conroy, managing editor, Scotsman Guide Media | bio

South Carolina is a small state with a global reach

The economy of the South Carolina has sprung back from the recession on the strength of its expanding manufacturing and tourism sectors.

The state boasts plants operated by automakers such as BMW and recent arrivals Volvo and Mercedes-Benz Vans. Other manufacturers with a major presence in the state include Michelin, Continental and Giti, which help to make South Carolina the top tire producer in the nation. South Carolina’s tourism sector represents an $18 billion market and is propelled by the historic, leisure and recreational attractions to be found in popular travel destinations such as Charleston, Hilton Head Island and Myrtle Beach.

South Carolina’s low-cost labor is among the big selling points for luring companies to the state. But that also means consumer buying power in South Carolina doesn’t pack the same punch as in other states. South Carolina’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 2.2 percent in 2014, on pace with the national GDP growth rate. But its per capita personal income ranked near the bottom in the nation, at 48th, this past year, and was only 80 percent of the national mark of $46,129. The state’s unemployment rate, although it declined from its recession high of nearly 12 percent, still hovers at about a percentage point above the national rate.

South Carolina also is a magnet for foreign investors, with overseas companies employing nearly 116,000 people in the state, representing 7.6 percent of all private-sector employment — the second-highest share in the nation. The major sources of that foreign investment, according to a recent report by Wells Fargo, are Germany, France, Japan and the United Kingdom.

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Charleston office market

The economy of the historic port city of Charleston, founded in 1670, is fueled by tourism, manufacturing and shipping. Charleston is on pace to become South Carolina’s largest city and its office market is booming. The overall office vacancy rate is at an eight-year low, and average Central Business District asking rents for Class A properties are pushing $32 per square foot, exceeding rents in other office markets in the Southeast such as Atlanta; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Tampa, Florida. Net space absorption tallied 216,005 square feet in this past second quarter — and 452,591 square feet year to date through this past June — while the overall vacancy rate dropped to 7 percent.

As further evidence of the robust activity in Charleston’s office sector, Cushman Wakefield reports that 150,000 square feet of speculative space was delivered in this past second quarter. A number of new office projects are in motion in the city as well, according to Colliers International.

Focus: Industrial space

The auto-manufacturing sector in South Carolina is red hot and expanding, which is helping to ratchet up demand for space in the state’s industrial real estate market. Vacancies are declining and rental rates are rising even as new space comes on the market, according to a report by Colliers International. The state is home to a BMW plant that employs 8,000 people. In addition, Mercedes-Benz Vans and Volvo Cars each have announced plans to open new plants in South Carolina.

South Carolina also is home to a sizeable aviation industry, including a Boeing Co. plant that assembles fuselage parts for the company’s 787 Dreamliner passenger jet.

All this manufacturing heft is translating into a tightening market for industrial space. The statewide vacancy rate in the sector stood at 8.5 percent as of mid-year 2015, down from 9.3 percent a year earlier. Some 1.7 million square feet was absorbed by the market on a net basis in this past second quarter alone, Colliers International reports.

Unemployment

South Carolina’s labor market was hit hard by the recession. Over the course of the economic downturn, some 130,000 people lost their jobs. The unemployment rate had soared to 11.7 percent within a few months of the recession’s end, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

But South Carolina’s unemployment rate has exceeded the national rate since 2001, with a few brief exceptions over the period. As of this past July, the state’s unemployment rate was 6.4 percent, compared with the national rate of 5.3 percent. On a positive note, between the end of the recession and July of this year, the state added about 201,000 jobs.

Sources: Boeing, Brookings Institution, Charleston County, City of Columbia, City of Greenville, Colliers International, Cushman Wakefield, Economic Futures Group, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Greenville Online, JPMorgan Chase Co., South Carolina Department of Commerce, Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce, The Post and Courier, The State, U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Census Bureau, University of South Carolina, Wells Fargo

As the popularity of Kentucky bourbon has grown, distillery production has increased and more tourists are interested in visiting the state’s distilleries. In response, state government is making millions of dollars available to distilleries to help build and expand to increase production and provide visitors’ centers at the distilleries.

A year ago, a report titled The Economic and Fiscal Impacts of the Distilling Industry in Kentucky estimated that gross revenues to Kentucky distillers from U.S. sales of bourbon were around $1.25 billion in 2013. Kentucky’s whiskey exports topped $300 million in 2012 and 2013, and have grown in dollar terms by 55 percent since 2010. Production has risen 150 percent in the last 15 years, and the number of distilleries has increased more than 200 percent since 2012.

Bulleit Bourbon

With the growth in the production and sale of bourbon, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) has approved millions of dollars in incentives to help distilleries build and expand their facilities with corporate tax credits and wage assessments, which allow the businesses to keep money they would otherwise send to Frankfort.

Likewise, Kentucky’s Tourism Development Finance Authority (KTDFA) is giving significant financial support to distilleries for the development of bourbon-related tourist centers.

Starting in 2008 with a $3.73 million tourism tax incentive for the Jim Beam Distillery Visitors’ Experience in Clermont, and including $1 million for Beam’s Urban Stillhouse in downtown Louisville, state government has approved about $9 million in tax incentives to distilleries to open or expand visitors’ centers.

Jim Beam’s Stillhouse

Since 2012, in addition to the tourism incentives, KEDFA has approved Beam for more than $8.5 million in incentives to expand distilleries in Frankfort and in Nelson County, and open a business service center in Louisville. Beam is owned by Suntory Holdings Ltd., a Japanese brewing and distilling company group.

Maker’s Mark, another Kentucky distiller owned by Suntory, has received $5.5 million in economic development and tourism tax incentives in the last two years, and has preliminary approval for another $1 million toward a $4 million visitors’ center in Loretto.

Sazerac North America Inc., a Louisiana-based company, is the largest distilling company in the United States, and it appears to be the second largest distillery recipient of financial assistance from Kentucky taxpayers. In the last five years, the state has approved at least $12.2 million in economic development and tourism incentives for the company.

Four Roses

Sazerac’s facilities that have qualified for tax incentives are the Barton 1792 Distillery in Bardstown, Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, the former Glenmore Distillery (now a bottling plant in Owensboro), and an office in Louisville.

Louisville-based Brown-Forman Corp. has qualified for at least $4.9 million in tax incentives in the last two years. Most of that money is the result of the company’s production and visitors’ center expansion at the Labrot Graham Woodford Reserve Distillery near Versailles.

The largest bourbon-related tourism project is Rabbit Hole Distilling’s $16.8 million dollar distillery and coffee-tasting facility on East Jefferson Street in Louisville. In June, KTDFA gave preliminary approval to incentives that could be worth up to $4.2 million to Rabbit Hole. The company has also received approval for $650,000 in state economic development incentives.

Woodford Reserve barrel track

Diageo plc, based in London, England, owns Bulleit Bourbon Distillery, which is building a distillery in Shelby County, and Stitzel-Weller Distillery in Louisville. The company has been approved for $4 million in state tax benefits, including recouping Kentucky sales and use tax on construction costs, building fixtures, and equipment used in research and development.

Until its new distillery is producing, Diageo has said Bulleit Bourbon is distilled at the Four Roses Distillery in Lawrenceburg, which is owned by the Kirin Brewery Co. of Japan. In the last seven months, Four Roses has received KEDFA approval for $1.95 million in tax incentives for its distillery and its Bullitt County warehouse and bottling facility.

Wild Turkey

Also in Lawrenceburg, Wild Turkey Distillery, owned by Italy-based Gruppo Campari, is approved for $3.35 million in state money for a packaging facility project and a new visitors’ center.

A locally owned company, Peristyle LLC, is renovating the Old Taylor Distillery in Woodford County, and has qualified for $1.95 million in state money, mostly for its work on the 125 year-old distillery buildings and grounds.

In 2014, Terressentia, a Charleston, South Carolina company doing business under the name of TerrePure, purchased the Charles Medley Distillery in Owensboro, and has qualified for $1.3 million in KEDFA incentives to help renovate and equip the distillery. The company says it uses the “patented TerrePURE® technology to create award-winning spirits for retailers and brand owners.”

Jim Beam

Bardstown Bourbon Co. LLC, owned by Virginia-based Clarion Spirits, plans to open a distillery in the Nelson County Industrial park. KEDFA has approved the company for tax incentives of up to $1.3 million.

Kentucky has offered locally-owned Heaven Hill Distilleries $2.04 million in tax incentives for expansion of its Nelson County facilities, including a visitors’ center, and renovation of its Louisville office building to create a working distillery, tourism attraction, and retail shop.

In addition to the tax incentive help which Kentucky gives these companies, the businesses are also eligible to receive resources from the Kentucky Skills Network. Through the Kentucky Skills Network, companies are eligible to receive no-cost recruitment and job placement services, reduced-cost customized training, and job training incentives. Last year, the Kentucky Skills Network trained more than 84,000 employees from more than 4,100 Kentucky companies.

From Kentucky Legislative Ethics Commission

The free workshop is open to any organization that hosts a festival and plans events.

“It is a perfect networking and informational workshop for PTAs and directors of parks and recreation departments, and committee leaders,” said Tammy Proctor, director of Pender County Tourism.

Olivia Dawson, coordinator of the N.C. Blueberry Festival, will lead a session about conducting pageants for festivals that want to crown a festival court.

GigSalad, a company that books entertainment, will give tips about bringing affordable entertainment to a venue. Appy City, a company that develops mobile apps, will talk about free apps for festivals and events.

The last session will be a panel discussion about best practices for festivals and events.

RSVP for the workshops are required by Nov. 2; call 910-259-1536.