This section will feature the state of North Carolina — with emphasis on vacations, golf packages, resorts, home buying and recreation in the Sandhills.

The magazines cover Greenwich, Westport, New Canaan and Darien, an affluent area of Connecticut that has about 145,000 residents, with an average income of $947,000 and average financial assets of $2,870,000. The estimated 24 pages of editorial and of advertisements will target the benefits of vacationing or purchasing a second home in North Carolina.

Demographics of the readers of these magazines show that 49 percent play golf, 38 percent play tennis, and 40 percent own sail or powerboats. The average value of their homes is $2,317,000.

This affluent market promises to be a gold mine to resorts, hotels, gated communities, retirement facilities, equestrian estates and builders of quality homes, the Dunns said in a news release.

Last year, the publications ran similar sections featuring Palm Beach and Vero Beach in Florida. Participating Realtors reported a number of property sales attributed directly to the sections.

The three magazines offer far greater penetration of these upscale markets than any other magazine, national or regional, the news release said. In terms of income and education, they exceed by a wide margin the demographics of other regional magazines, as well as such upscale national publications as Town & Country, Architectural Digest and Forbes. This is, of course, a prime market for advertisers of leisure living.

B.J. Dunn, co-author of “Great Donald Ross Golf Courses You Can Play,” will be writing the editorial section. She and Paul Dunn can be reached at bjandpa-ul@nc.rr.com.

Curves Food Drive Set

Curves, 30-minute fitness and weight loss centers in Southern Pines, Carthage, Seven Lakes and Robbins, will be joining the Curves International “Curves Food Drive” to benefit the Sandhills Coalition for Human Care.

Last year, the Curves food drive collected more than 4,000 tons of food for local communities across the country.

Anyone joining Curves the week of March 7 can bring a bag of groceries and have the normal service fee waived. All 4 Curves facilities encourage residents to drop off nonperishable food items at Curves Monday through Friday during business hours the entire month of March.

“The Curves Food Drive promotion allows us, the franchisees, to help more women reach their fitness goals, while giving back to the community simultaneously,” said Julia Brokmeyer, the owner of the Southern Pines club.

With more than 8,000 locations worldwide, Curves is the world’s largest fitness franchise and the fastest growing franchise in history.