These days, moms drink their lattes, students work on their laptops and, until a few weeks ago, Bruce Thomas danced like a tie-dyed fan at a Grateful Dead concert.

People have treated the lawn outside the mill's Weaver Street Market like their backyard for decades.

But now they are being reminded that it is private property, part of Carr Mill Mall, managed by N.R. Milian & Associates.

Last month, Thomas said, a security guard told him to stop his dancing, which he describes as a mix of martial arts, yoga and creative movement.

"What happened to freedom of expression, freedom of speech?" Thomas asked in an interview. "It should be accepted to let someone dance freely. This is a special community."

Many locals agree. If you can't do this sort of thing in Carrboro, where can you do it? They have asked this on a local blog, OrangePolitics.org, and in letters to Nathan Milian, who runs N.R. Milian & Associates.

Even Carrboro Mayor Mark Chilton asked Milian to reconsider.

"I am very concerned about the negative effect that this whole situation is having on Carr Mill Mall and downtown Carrboro," he blogged. "Carr Mill Mall's actions could significantly undermine Carrboro's entire economic development strategy (promoting a creative class economy)."

Milian declined to comment for this article.

The lawn outside the natural food co-op is the beating pulse of Carrboro. Hundreds gather there Thursday nights and Sunday mornings for food, wine and music.

"I did not know this is a private space. I've always viewed it as a public space," said Jackie MacLeod, who sat on a bench Thursday morning, eating breakfast with her two sons.

Thomas was a familiar sight to MacLeod, the independent consultant for beauty-care chain The Body Shop. Still, if the lawn is private property, it's fair for management to regulate it, she said.

"I just want to say, 'Thanks for letting us bring our blankets and letting us listen to music here,' " she said.

Thomas said he has been circulating a petition to be allowed to dance again. Until then, he is still around, drinking coffee, playing his Native American flute and reading the historical Hindu text the Bhagavad Gita.

He teaches guided meditation at Balanced Movement Studio once a week. During the day, he works as a maintenance man and teaches dance at Chestnut Ridge, a Methodist camp and retreat center in Efland.

"Dancing is a sacred movement. We've been dancing since creation," he said. "When I dance, I am able to get into that same sacred space that I can get when I do my meditation."

Now that Thomas has been banned from dancing, some worry that other dancers could be next.

Vivian Spiral, a teacher at Balanced Movement Studio -- also known as Vivian Hancock -- has danced with hoops on the lawn for five years. She said she doesn't know what she would do if asked to stop because she makes a living by performing, teaching and crafting her own hoops.

"It's a tricky thing. The Weaver Street Market lawn is definitely the heart of the community here," Spiral said. "What goes on there is what draws people into Weaver Street and into Carrboro in general.

"To ban people from dancing on there is definitely going to change the climate of the community."