An evening with Retro Charlotte

Maria David, the Charlotte Observer's archivist and research librarian, has always had access to the thousands of images that make up our photo archives. When they were digitized recently, she started the Retro Charlotte blog and Twitter account to share some of the most fun and interesting photos. It's such a hit, it has become one of the Observer's most-read blogs and her @ObserverArchives Twitter account quickly picked up more than 2,000 followers and the number increases daily.

Here's the link to the blog:
http://retroclt.blogspot.com/2014/09/hurricane-hugo-aftermath.html

Three times a week, she comes up with a different theme for the photo-driven blog. Recent examples are a look back at the first Festival in the Park and the hoopla around the Monkees 1967 Charlotte concert.

Historian Tom Hanchett of the Levine Museum of the New South asked her to be part of the museum's "New South for the New Southerner" on Sept. 23 starting at 5:30 p.m.

Guests will gather for wine and a chicken dinner catered by Merts Heart & Soul restaurant. Then Maria will show photos from Charlotte in the 1970s and talk about that time in our city's history followed by a Q&A session.

Wilson from WCCB did a fantastic piece on the event that aired this morning. Here's the link:

http://www.wccbcharlotte.com/rising/wilsons-world/Going-Back-to-the-70s-with-Wilson-at-the-Levine-Museum-of-the-New-South-275982571.html

If you're interested in attending, here's how to register:
http://www.museumofthenewsouth.org/calendar/detail/?ProgramId=551&OccurrenceId=686

Expect to see a lot of Observer staff there because if the newsroom was high school, Maria would be voted Most Popular.

Follow Olivia on Twitter @oliviafortson