Things to Do in Fayetteville

Balls hurtle toward pins on 24 well-oiled bowling boulevards at B&B Lanes, where groups, teams, and individuals hone gutter-hugging techniques seven days each week. Each lane hosts up to six bowlers at a time and features a lounge area with ample room for groups to stretch their bowling legs between frames. The alley also hosts an onsite kitchen with quick and hearty snacks that hungry players can slide across the butter-soaked lanes for extra flavor. The seven-day bowling schedule includes extended hours on weekends, along with glow-in-the-dark bowling hours that provide an experience similar to bowling in bioluminescent reefs.

Ava Gardner was studying to be a secretary at the Atlantic Christian College when 12-year-old Thomas Banks met her while playing at the school's campus in 1940. A year later, the young boy learned his friend had signed a movie contract with MGM to become a movie star. From then on, he collected newspaper clippings and memorabilia tracing her film career, from her breakout role in 1946's The Killers to her lauded work in 1953's _ Mogambo_ with Clark Gable. Tom and Ava remained friends over the years, and, at her request, he unveiled his collection—more than 50 years in the making—in 1979 in Smithfield, her birthplace and eventual resting place.

Tom amassed more than 20,000 artifacts from Ava's career and private life, which now, among other pieces, fill the 6,400-square-foot Ava Gardner Museum. Among movie posters and awards stand the silk satin cape that Ava wore in publicity shots for The Barefoot Contessa and the black dress she donned in The Great Sinner. Her personal items include china, jewelry, 40 portraits of her by Bert Pfeiffer, and the engraved watch she gave to her third husband, Frank Sinatra. In addition to its permanent collection, the museum celebrates the starlet with its annual Ava Gardner Festival, which includes screenings of her classic films and heritage tours.

Deborah Reavis, the resident artist at Wine, Paint & Canvas, has nearly two decades of teaching art under her belt, making her an excellent tutor for classrooms full of fledgling painters of all ages. Seated in front of rows of provided easels and surrounded by the works of past classes, students follow their instructors’ directions to produce the evening’s piece. Though everyone works from the same template, each student has the chance to stylistically personalize their work by mixing colors or painting only the coolest facial hair on self-portraits. Before brush touches canvas, guests can mingle over glasses of BYO wine and bottles of beer, with soda available for purchase.

When not training for a triathlon or embarking on an adventure race, certified yoga instructor and Get Twisted owner Dee Chrisman teaches daily yoga classes in her Hope Mills studio. Dee helps each student on their path to honing a stronger body and sounder mind through Vinyasa-style classes. As each session's sequences of flowing postures link together with mindful breathing techniques, students follow at their own pace, making the classes appropriate for practitioners of all levels. A stock of mats and props provides all the necessary materials for yogis, and soft lighting and sepia walls give the studio a cozy, earthy feel, generally preferred over the barren, overly bright lunar feel of many other studios.

Within Tag Ur It’s family-owned indoor play center, youngsters glide down slides, rock atop spring horses, and leap about in bounce houses. After emerging from the inflatable obstacle course, kids scamper off to the arcade to battle fictional opponents or challenge their less-pixilated playmates to rounds on the mini-golf course, bouts in the laser-tag arena, and bean-bag flinging at the corn-hole station. Along with open-play sessions, Tag Ur It accommodates guests with a trio of birthday-party packages where up 20 children can enjoy a two-hour party block.