Thursday, November 22, 2012
The local young man just finished his first rap album.
After you've enjoyed your Thanksgiving meal and said good-bye to friends and family, don't nod out on the couch or hit the bed early. Curl up with a cup of coffee and watch Athens' own Darius Weems on ABC Nightline. Last May and June, Darius, star of the award winning documentary, "Darius Goes West," went on a 30-day "Believe" tour. He visited 16 schools in the Northeast and performed mini-concerts--he's a rap artist--for middle/high school students. While in South China, Maine, Cynthia McFadden and a crew from ABC Nightline followed the tour, then met the tour again at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore for Darius' final clinical trial visit. On Tuesday, they were in Athens, filming Darius' family get ready for Thanksgiving. The entire show on …
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
The Darius Goes West Day festival returns to Athens for three days of celebration, complete with a carnival, an exotic petting zoo and a hip-hop concert featuring Darius Weems.
Athens residents will get a chance to celebrate Darius Goes West Day for three days during the annual festival this weekend. Returning for its 8th year, Darius Goes West Day is hosting carnivals, poker tournaments, petting zoos and concerts to raise money for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy research. The festival was started after the release of the award-winning "Darius Goes West" documentary, which followed Athens native Darius Weems and friends as they went on a cross country road-trip in an attempt to refurbish Weems' wheelchair on MTV's "Pimp My Ride." Darius Goes West Headquarters Manager Barbara Smalley said in a press release the theme for this year's festival — "The 8th Wonder of the World" — came about because of the major struggles…
Monday, July 16, 2012
Athens-native Darius Weems is building his rap career with a recently finished tour and an album on the way.
Eight years after "Pimp My Ride," Darius Weems is rolling forward. The Athens-native, who suffers from Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, first found life in the spotlight almost a decade ago. His 2005 summer began with a 7,000 mile trip to California and a teenage dream to get his wheelchair refurbished by MTV's hit show. What followed was an award-winning documentary, $1.5 million for DMD research and a nationwide movement to help other kids diagnosed with the same disease. The trip has become a platform for Weems to connect with others, to reach out and explore opportunities he wasn't sure he'd have. "You know I’m not a rich man, but I’ve seen a lot and did a lot," he said. "All the time I’ll get hooked up with kids who are going through the …
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Foundation Director Logan Smalley talks about what's happening with DGW.
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
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Thursday, July 21, 2011
In July of 2005, eleven of us—an even mix of college juniors and 18-year-olds who had just graduated from high school--took then 15-year-old Darius Weems out West. We wanted to see if we could convince MTV to customize Darius’ wheelchair on their popular show, “Pimp My Ride.” On our three-week journey, Darius, who had never left Athens, dipped his toes in the ocean for the first time, saw mountains for the first time, went spelunking, saw the Grand Canyon, met many celebrities, and had the time of his life. We all did. We also filmed every minute of the trip and made it into a documentary designed to raise awareness of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), the disease Darius has. Maybe you were at the Athens Courthouse the day we left on …
Barbara Smalley
6:02 pm on Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Great stuff and thanks for the publicity. One tiny correction; It's the carnival that's free. The concert is $5. Thanks and hope to see all your readers at any/all of these events! Know about it! more ›