Good News Friday: The North Carolina Film Festival returns

It’s time to roll out the red carpet for the North Carolina Film Festival in New Bern and look to the skies for one accomplished UNC alumnus. Also this week, one NBA champion returns to the court that started it all to help inspire the next generation of basketball stars.

Was your week a little gloomy? Brighten up your Friday with your regularly scheduled dose of good news!

It’s time to roll out the red carpet for the North Carolina Film Festival in New Bern and look to the skies for one accomplished UNC alumnus. Also this week, one NBA champion returns to the court that started it all to help inspire the next generation of basketball stars. 

If this week’s edition isn’t enough, you can find all the good news you could want and then some here. 

Local film takes the spotlight

Lights, camera, action! The 7th annual North Carolina Film Festival will be held in New Bern this Saturday. 

This festival aims to celebrate and foster the independent film, television, and video industry in North Carolina. At the event, guests will witness an array of independently made passion projects such as documentaries, musicals, and animated films. 

The film festival will take place at the New Bern Civic Theatre from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased here.

UNC student takes on space

One UNC-Chapel Hill alum is reaching for the stars since graduating – literally.

Zena Cardman, a UNC alumna and NASA astronaut, was named the commander for the Crew-11 mission to the International Space Station. She was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2017 after earning both her undergraduate degree in biology and her master’s in marine sciences from UNC. 

The launch is expected to take place around noon today.

On the court with an NBA champion

Aaron Wiggins, guard for the Oklahoma City Thunder, is exchanging the NBA’s arenas for his high school basketball court this summer.

A Greensboro native, Wiggins played varsity basketball for three years at Grimsley High School, but finished out his senior year at Wesleyan Christian Academy in High Point. According to a story from CBS 17, he will be returning to Wesleyan to host a free camp for 100 children in grades 3-8.

The camp will take place this Saturday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., and registration is closed for this year.

Related: 10 celebrities who own, or have owned, houses in North Carolina