The Southeast can expect fire in the sky this week, as a cloud of dust on a 5,000-mile journey from the Sahara hits the Gulf Coast. “Due to more sunlight being scattered by the dust particles, there will likely be more vibrant sunsets and sunrises of the orange and red side of the visible light spectrum,” David Wally, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, told the New York Times. The dust cloud, measuring 2,000 miles wide, is expected to drift over states including Texas, Louisiana, Florida, and Alabama in the coming days. It does come with the risk of aggravating allergies, and this type of weather pattern is also associated with causing toxic algae blooms called red tide due to iron in the dust falling into Gulf waters. However, in addition to the extra color splash in the skies, the Saharan dust works as an antidote to tropical storms, as the dry air suppresses cloud and thunderstorm formation—a boon during hurricane season. “It’s not a long-term effect,” Wally said, “but for the short term, it’s a plus.” —Lindsey Liles

Are you a Southern artisan, craftsman, or small business owner, or do you know one? G&G’s annual Made in the South Awards highlights makers across six categories—Food, Drink, Home, Style, Crafts, and Outdoors. The winners and runners-up will be featured in our December/January issue, and one overall winner will receive a $10,000 grand prize. But time is running out to enter. The 2020 application period ends this coming Wednesday, July 1. Enter now by visiting the awards’ website here. This week, as part of our ongoing Meet the Maker series on Instagram, we checked in with bladesmith Quintin Middleton, of Middleton Made Knives, a runner-up in our 2018 awards for his gorgeous chef’s knives. Middleton hand forges his blades in his backyard studio in St. Stephens, South Carolina, and has crafted knives for some of the country’s top chefs. “It’s almost like each knife has its own personality, its own style or swag,” he says. Hop over to our Instagram feed to see him in action.

King Drive-In in Russellville, Alabama. (Photo: Courtesy of King Drive-In)

Novelist and film buff Ace Atkins remembers well his first trip to a drive-in movie. It was the summer of 1986 in Alexander City, Alabama. “The movie, Back to School with Rodney Dangerfield, was pretty terrible,” Atkins writes. “But that didn’t matter. I sat in the humid night, lightning bugs flickering in the shadows, with two of my cousins at the same theater my mom frequented as a teenager in the 1950s. I had private seating, fresh air, and concessions were only a short walk away. Dangerfield never got more respect performing the Triple Lindy off the high dive.” As many theaters remain closed or are trying to adapt to the realities of social distancing, a number of drive-ins, both old-school and pop-up, are lighting up the South. And for Atkins, watching movies on a big screen in the company of others—even if in their cars—is the way movies were meant to be seen. “All people, all walks of life, sharing an experience in the dark.” Read his piece for G&G on why drive-ins might just save his summer.

One of the things I had most been looking forward to in 2020 was the premiere of Rhiannon Giddens’ opera Omar at the Spoleto Festival in Charleston. Since the festival has been canceled this year, I was happy to see new work from Giddens last week, a collaboration with master cellist Yo-Yo Ma, to mark the 155th anniversary of Juneteenth. Her song “Build a House” recalls history but is very much a song for the present moment. As Giddens says: “What can I say about what’s been happening, what has happened, and what is continuing to happen, in this country, in the world? There’s too many words and none, all at once. So I let the music speak, as usual.” —Julia Knetzer, Art Director

I’ve appreciated the first three episodes of Emmanuel Acho’s Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man on YouTube. Acho, who grew up in Dallas and played linebacker for the Texas Longhorns and Philadelphia Eagles, began the series with a monologue that included his objective: “This is made for you, my white brothers and sisters, to increase your level of understanding so that you can increase your level of compassion and lead ultimately to change.” Matthew McConaughey joined Acho for the second episode, followed by Joanna and Chip Gaines and family in the third. Uncomfortable? Perhaps. Constructive? Without a doubt. —Chris Kraft, Chief Digital Officer

We recently asked, “What books are you reading now?” Some of your responses:

The Nickel Boys, Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize winner, based on the true story of a “reform” school in Jim Crow-era Florida. Heartbreaking. —Amy O. 

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett. —Jan B.

I always seem to lag behind popular book releases, but I am working on The Litigators by John Grisham, the poetry of Pablo Neruda, and The Poetic Underground by Erin Hanson. —Sandy M.

Cane River by Lalita Tademy. —Christa S.

Where The Crawdads Sing, Anne of Green Gables, Pride and Prejudice, and Tom Brown’s Guide to Healing the Earth. —Em C.

The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See. It’s breathtaking. Literally. I hold my breath when the women of Jeju (colonized by the Japanese) dive in the 1930s–1940s. It’s both horrifyingly frightening and beautiful. —Narci D.

The Caves of Périgord by Martin Walker. Easily one of the five best books I’ve ever read. —Jim C.

My Vanishing Country by Bakari Sellers, Heavy by Kiese Laymon, and Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid. —Liz R.

Blood, Bones & Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef by Gabrielle Hamilton. It’s a good read! I’m a foodie, so most of the books I choose have something to do with food. —Kathy H.

Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver. It’s a true Southern novel. —Carol P.

The Lonely Silver Rain by John D. MacDonald. The last of the series of Travis McGee novels. I picked up the idea to read them from G&G almost two years ago. Reading about one book a month, it has gotten me through rainy days, nights I couldn’t sleep, and of course through quarantine times. —Joe S.

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson. Find a few hours and get ready to feel every emotion you can fathom. —Melinee F.

Queen Bee, the last book Dorothea Benton Frank wrote. —Carol P.