Sophie may:june 2016

May / June 2016

FASH MOB

sophisticated. stylish. sassy.

VII MEDIA MAGNET

PLUS: In My Mother’s Dress

- Betty Sharpless

INNER beauty SophieMagazine.com

2 | Sophie MAY/JUNE 2016

Sophie MAY/JUNE 2016 | 3

May / June 2016

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

stylish. sophisticated. sassy

Trish Hickling Beckman Certified Nurse Midwife talks to Meg Hale Brunton about her roal as a midwife.

GENERAL MANAGER/PUBLISHER Patricia Martin Betts IT/PRODUCTION MANAGER Jeff Ruminski

6

8 Women of WNC

Captured by photographer Jennifer Mesk.

10 Kira Bursky: All Around Artsy

Carrie Harder writes about

this young local film director.

CREATIVE EDITOR Debi Manfre

20 Spectacular Style

Time to take a closer look at how fashion meets functionality.

Debi Manfre shares her favorite picnic recipes.

One Suitcase: 8 Ways

32 FashMob VII

Photos from the latest Asheville

You can pack light by learning the ability to mixand-match.

Fashion & Photography event.

23

34 Concerning

Our Community

36 Betty’s Book Review

Loving My Mother Through The Decades

Susan Reinhardt tells us why her mother is such a classy lady.

30 Let’s Get Cooking

Betty Sharpless says, “Picnic Time: Vintage-Inspired Recipes & Handy Hints” is a fun to read cookbook.

Bloomers

B etty Sharpless explains how y ou can get fresh cut flowers without the cellophane.

Betty Sharpless makes her mother’s dream dress.

Inner Beauty Beautiful and inspiring Summer fashions.

24

37 Meg’s Movie Review

“Hail Caesar” receives 8 out of 10 stars from Meg.

38 Things to Do

An expanded calendar of activities around WNC.

42 Sophie Celebrates Springtime Sippers

When it warms up outside Andy Hale puts away his big, burly, chewy reds and enjoys a nice rosé.

28

You!

44 Real Men Read Sophie Meet Bradford Hal, a winery retail associate at Biltmore Estate Winery.

Cover credits: Photographer: Jennifer Mesk • Models: (left to right) Nara Hari Dasi, and Ashley Black • Hair stylist: Gwendolyn Graves Makeup artist: Sydney Blair • Location: Downtown Asheville at FashMob VII - Media Magnet • Cover design: Rachel Hoeft 4 | Sophie MAY/JUNE 2016

FASHION COORDINATOR Angela Ramsey PHOTOGRAPHERS Katy Cook Max Ganly Shonie Kuykendall Jennifer Mesk PROOFING DIVA Karen Shepard ADVERTISING CONSULTANTS Pam Hensley Rick Jenkins Rose Lunsford Crystal Pressley

CIRCULATION MANAGER Sam Howell

Photos from the Upcycle

18 In My Mother’s Dress

CONTRIBUTORS Meg Hale Brunton Susan Reinhardt Betty Sharpless

SALES ASSISTANT Jayme Pressley

16 Color Me Goodwill Fashion Night event.

CALENDAR EDITOR Carrie Harder

CLASSIFIED SUPERVISOR Angela Frizzell

12

14 Garden

CREATIVE SERVICES Carrie Harder Rachel Hoeft Randy Whittington

SOPHIE MAGAZINE 22 Garfield Street, Suite 100 Asheville, NC 28803 (828) 274-8888 Share your ideas and inspirations.

Email writer@sophiemagazine.com with recipes, books, and article ideas. To list your events on our monthly calendar, email calendar@sophiemagazine.com. Follow Sophie on Facebook and Pinterest.

Scan this code to access

sophiemagazine.com Sophie-Magazine sophiemagavl Distributed throughout WNC, Sophie is a complimentary monthly magazine for today’s woman. Contributions are welcome and may be sent via e-mail. Include your name, address, and phone number, so we can contact you if we decide to print your submission. Sophie reserves the right to edit any editorial submissions. Sophie also reserves the right to refuse any advertisement or article that is deemed inappropriate for the publication. No portion of Sophie may be reproduced without permission of the publisher. None of the information herein is intended as medical or professional advice.

from the publisher I love fashion, and I love fashion in part because of my Mum. My Mum had a great sense of style and was often described as fashionable.

I have fond memories of shopping together, she taught me about the classic pieces every woman needed in her wardrobe. She would point out timeless silhouettes and admired the style of Jackie O and Princess Diana. Quality clothing was in her mind worth paying more for, because of her attention to detail, she could see if the garment was well made and would last forever. However, she was known to shop at the local Goodwill store, even suggesting that I go there to update my work wear for my first professional job.

I learned that being fashionable and stylish meant incorporating the current trends with the classics. Also finding the look that works best for you. Because of my love of fashion, I have a closet full of almost every decade of looks, which as most fashionistas know, trends come back around with time. Designers tend to recreate the past in a new way for a new generation, this is good news for my closet.

In this May/June issue we celebrate true style, with tributes to the fashion impact our Moms have had on us with articles from Susan Reinhardt and Betty Sharpless. We showcase the local fashion scene in Asheville, which could be described as art in motion with FashMob VII, Color Me Goodwill Fashion show and the Wonderland Fashion Fantasy show in May. The talent is rising to the top and it’s happening right now. I encourage you to experience the fashion shows that are a real delight to our community. Our calendar for May and June will give you ideas on how to best spend your time enjoying all that Asheville and the Western North Carolina area can offer.

We live in a great, unique, artistic town and community with real awesome women, and we hope you enjoy reading about them in Sophie, and are inspired to live beautifully.

Patricia Martin Betts Sophie MAY/JUNE 2016 | 5

PEOPLE

Trish Hickling Beckman

Knows Something About Birthing Babies

By Meg Hale Brunton

“Only 10% of all babies born in this country are delivered by midwives...”

T

rish Hickling Beckman has been a Certified Nurse Midwife since 1995, and estimates that she has delivered over 2,000 babies.

She was raised in Arlington, VA, the daughter of a White House press reporter and a labor/delivery nurse. Beckman’s mother had always aspired to become a midwife, but when her husband died, leaving her with five children to raise, she was unable to take the additional schooling required.

So, she championed the career as an option to her daughter. “Somehow out of the five, she picked me and strongly encouraged me to consider the path: ‘You should be a midwife when you grow up,’” says Beckman. “So, I was sort of raised to be a midwife.”

Beckman got her nursing degree in 1987 from Georgetown University, after being a candystriper/ unit secretary in the labor and delivery unit of the hospital where her mom worked. Beckman worked days and her mom worked evenings, so they would usually have the same patients and relieve one another. “She really raised me and kind of shepherded me into the whole thing,” Beckman says, of her mother.

Much to her mother’s dismay, Beckman wanted to learn more of the medical field than just the labor and delivery part. So, she became an ER nurse at D.C. General Hospital. Beckman describes it as a high-trauma area, prone to gang-violence. “I

6 | Sophie MAY/JUNE 2016

think that experience started me on a lifelong journey of fighting racism and empowering economically-challenged communities, and wanting better opportunities for everybody,” she says. “That was kind of my root of all that.”

At 23, she joined the Nurses’ Union and traveled to El Salvador, where her unit intended to open clinics for underprivileged people. Three weeks after her arrival, the Salvadoran government (which was anti-union) bombed the health care worker’s union hall in San Salvador, where Beckman was to be working, killing many of her colleagues. In response to the bombing, the Salvadoran rebel groups entered the city, staging attacks on the government. The city quickly became a full-blown war-zone, and the U.S. Nurses cut off support to Beckman’s group, advising everyone to evacuate. “I couldn’t go back,” Beckman explains, “I just kept

thinking, ‘How can I leave these people?- This is their life.’” Suddenly, Beckman was all alone in a war-torn country with no support. Unable to practice nursing, she stayed on as a translator for the unionists. She helped deliver and translate American protest mail against the bombing to the Salvadoran government at the Estado Mayor.

Then, the rebels bombed the Estado Mayor, and it became dangerous for unionists to associate with Americans because they were seen as supportive of the rebels.

So, Beckman returned to the U.S., but continued fund-raising for El Salvador. She spent a year working with delegations, and the U.S. Trade Commission to link U.S. Aid to respect for the Salvadoran Trade Unionists. She gave interviews to NPR, and even appeared before Congress to raise awareness of government abuses of trade union rights.

After that experience, she returned to her job in the ER at D.C. General. She had seen an ad posting a position for a Spanish-speaking nurse to teach Child Birth Education at the hospital and, wanting to keep her second-language fresh in her mind, she answered it. She found teaching child birth to classes of primarily Hispanic women extremely rewarding. “I was falling in love with birth, through teaching these classes,” Beckman gushes. With that love in her heart, she went on to work in an OB Clinic for refugees, and a labor and delivery unit. Within a year, she couldn’t resist returning to school and getting her midwifery degree from Boston University in 1995. At 25, she entered into a midwifery program for under-served communities. Receiving federal funding, she began working in an all Hispanic community health center in the inner city of Chicago, doing home and hospital births. She remained in that position for 10 years.

After that, Beckman decided to make some big life-changes. She bought a Volkswagen van, and traveled the country in search of her next hometown, which she hoped would have warmer weather than Chicago. Stopping to visit all the national parks, Beckman checked out “all the little towns that had organic food, that were gayfriendly and midwife-friendly,” she describes.

“Where I could eat well and be myself and work with my women.” When she found Asheville, she

fell madly in love, both literally and figuratively.

She became a midwife with New Dawn Midwifery, where she remained for three years. Eventually, she also met and married her wife, Steph.

In 2005, she began working at the Catawba Valley Medical Center, an independent, non-profit community hospital in Hickory, NC that had been looking for a bilingual midwife. “They are very fiscally sound and community-focused,” Beckman says of CVMC, “and give away tons of care to low-income and uninsured people, and offer a really holistic model. They are just a gem!”

She worked as a midwife there for four years, then became their Administrator for Women’s Services. In this position, she ran all of the Labor and Delivery Unit, the NICU, the Baby Nursery, the Pediatric Unit, the Outpatient Prenatal Clinic, and the High-risk OB Clinic. While she liked getting to work with all the different departments, she missed working directly with the moms and babies. “Ultimately,” Beckman explains, “it wasn’t possible to be clinical and administrative.” So, Beckman worked solely as an administrator for a few years, during which she and Steph adopted their son, Zay. She returned to the clinical practice at her hospital when they offered her a job as the Director of Midwives, a position that she described as 50% Clinical and 50% Administrative. As part

of her new role there, Beckman applied for and received three grants from the March of Dimes, totaling over $100,000. She used this funding to start the Centering Pregnancy program, which began at CVMC in 2013. Beckman describes this program as, “an amazing model of prenatal care where women don’t just come in for an appointment with their provider by themselves, but come in with 8 or 10 other women that all have the same due date and the same provider in the room.

Then, the provider takes each of them separately to measure and listens to their baby. Collectively, they meet together for 2 hours to talk about where they’re at in their pregnancy, what’s happening with the baby, lots of good, good teaching. They become like best friends and support each other.

Sometimes they come to each others’ labors.

There’s just this community-thing that develops between the women, a really strong bond with the midwife and a great way to get prenatal care. It’s a national model where there’s much lower rates of preterm delivery and low birth-weight, because women are more educated and more invested.

They attend more prenatal visits because they are more meaningful to them.”

In July 2015, Beckman opted to turn her job into what she calls a “mom-job.” She left her administrative role, and became a weekend-only midwife for CVMC. “It’s like my happy-place,” she smiles.

“I have my weekend time to be a midwife and I can immerse in that and not be torn. Then, I come home and be a mom and have spare time for my family and my own business selling Arbonne. It’s awesome!” She added, later, “I think I’m a better midwife now because I’m a mom. I certainly know the deep, aching love of a mother.”

Only 10% of all babies born in this country are delivered by midwives, but Beckman sees a definite growth in the midwife movement in the Asheville area. Mahec has begun offering the Centering Pregnancy Program at their facility, and The WNC Birth Center is scheduled to open in Asheville later this year.

Though she loves being at home with her family, Beckman admits that she may never be able to retire from her job as a midwife because she gets so much out of it. “My job is the most awesome job in the world!” she laughs. “It is emotionally draining, it is physically draining, it is intellectually draining, but challenging in so many good ways! Spiritually, it feeds me in such a way that you just can’t imagine. It really connects me with the mystery, the depth of the human experience and the spirituality of the human experience. I really feel like being in a dark and quiet room with a woman who is bringing her baby forth is like praying, but it’s more than praying, it’s like sitting quietly with God.”

Sophie MAY/JUNE 2016 | 7

PEOPLE

Have you ever been lied to?

“More like a broken promise. There was a woman who was good friends with my family when I was little. She’d always say that we would ride bikes together, go to the park. She never showed up. I always held out hope that she would one day.”

wnc WOMEN of Photographed by Jennifer Mesk, HumansOfAsheville.net

What do you feel is your greatest passion in life?

“I study history and teach. Those are the kinds of things that drive me. I’ve always been interested in stories and an avid reader, so stories whether they be fictional or real have always kind of motivated me to connect to the world and other people’s lives.”

8 | Sophie MAY/JUNE 2016

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

“Exploring. Exploring all of America. I’ve seen a lot but I’d like to take another adventure.”

What is something that you’ve carried with you from past experiences traveling?

“That I believe that most everyone is a wonderful person.”

Tell me about a time when you went out of your comfort zone?

“I went to Warren Wilson College. I grew up in a really conservative town in South Carolina. It was a completely different culture than what I was used to. I loved it there. I met people there that I would have never had the chance to meet back home.”

“I’m in my senior year of high school. The past 3 years have been filled with negativity and and a lot of issues.

Fortunately, I’ve met some people who have brought the positivity out of me. They don’t judge me, the people around them, they’re open minded, and full of love no matter what the circumstances.”

“My mom is a police officer. I was with her at the justice academy and we were in the hallway. I was bored and started dancing around, doing the Charleston. She said to me, ‘I’ll give you $100 to go into that classroom and do that.’ So I did it. My mom was surprised that I actually did it.

Sophie MAY/JUNE 2016 | 9

PEOPLE

by CARRIE HARDER

Lights, Camera, Action!

This young local film director is already earning rave reviews. t an age when most young people are just beginning to find their path, nineteen-year-old filmmaker Kira Bursky is ahead of the game. The award-winning director and Asheville local did the unexpected when she put college on hold in order to keep up with her passion for film.

Though Bursky has been making videos of some sort since she was around nine years old, it was her win in the 2014 All American High School Film Festival (AAHSFF) that really set the ball in motion for the then high school senior. Her short film We’re Okay, which goes inside the mind of an 18-year-old girl struggling with depression, beat hundreds of submissions and sent Bursky home with the award for Best Overall Film. She credits this win with giving her the boost needed to keep pursuing her dream. And pursue it, she has! It’s difficult to keep up with all the projects that the ambitious director has taken on since graduation, but to list a few: Bursky completed a fantasy film called Tree Hugger, which screened at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, directed a short film produced by Massada Eyewear’s Massada Art Project, competed in more than ten 48-Hour Film Festivals, served as one of five directors for the recent Asheville National 10 Minute Play Festival, taught a 3-day Teen Green Screening class through Asheville School of Film, and has started a website, among other pursuits. According to her blog, she has no plans to slow down anytime soon with an upcoming trip to Seattle for the National Film Festival for Talented Youth (NFFTY) and a new commitment to herself to start working on her first feature film.

In an article in Seventeen Magazine earlier this year, Bursky noted that even with all her commitments, she still wants to share the spotlight. “I want to help other people make films as art and support their visions.”

This desire lead her to found Big Little Filmmaker, an online community and resource center for young filmmakers from around the world. The site features interviews Kira has conducted with professionals in the film industry and also offers a directory of film festivals that are open to young filmmakers.

There are plans in the works to incorporate a social media aspect into the website and content will continue to grow, just as Bursky’s career will surely continue to flourish!• For filmmaking resources and festival info, visit biglittlefilmmaker.com To learn what Kira is working on next, go to allaroundartsyadventures.blogspot.com 10 | Sophie MAY/JUNE 2016

Sophie MAY/JUNE 2016 | 11

ENTERTAINMENT

Loving My Mother Through The Decades

By Susan Reinhardt

Peggy Gambrell, my mother, and Lindsey Reinhardt, my daughter.

O

ne look at my mother and people assume she’s elegant, sophisticated and most likely one of those privileged women who gather at country clubs and charity events, wearing couture clothing and $400 shoes.

“She’s so beautiful for her age,” I often hear. “Such a classy lady.”

This part is true. She is classy and elegant but grew up poor and motherless, often shuffled from relative to relative.

My mother, tall and blonde, lithe and fashionable, was raised in a workingclass village in a small town called Ware Shoals, S.C., where everyone toiled at Riegel Mills, a textile corporation and the source of most families’ income.

My mother’s dad, my late grandfather Papa Roy, found himself a widower of three small daughters after my grandmother died at age 31 from carbon monoxide poisoning. She’d been living in a boarding house with other women when a faulty furnace leaked the toxic fumes, killing everyone residing in the old home.

They found her in bed, a letter to her brother scattered on the quilts, a note telling him she wanted to go to beauty school. She died in the middle of writing, as if she had simply paused the pen and fallen asleep.

Mama was 8 years old, her sisters 7 and 10.

Life changed for these sisters, and Papa Roy struggled to do the best he could. But while looking for work, the girls lived with a beloved grandmother, strict as a nun though kind enough. Or they’d pack their suitcases and move in with the next revolving relative, an aunt’s home or another set of grands, for several months at a time.

One often hears of kids living this nomadic lifestyle and suffering horrific abuses from extended family members. By the grace of God, the oft-orphaned sisters discovered love isn’t always reserved for a biological mother.

12 | Sophie MAY/JUNE 2016

It can be found in a great-grandmother’s garden, an aunt’s cabin on a lake or in the living room of someone without a trace of shared blood.

Mama speaks of these times with joy instead of the feeling she missed out on a mother. She tells stories of Papa Roy, a man with a giant heart and hollow leg for liquor, tales of him buying his daughters ducks, mules, and goats.

Sure, he drank on weekends like most of the exhausted and under-paid mill workers. And yet the spirits cracked his hard veneer and infused him with humor and high jinks, always full of surprises for his girls.

While Mama became a well-adjusted woman, the lack of having her own mother, opened her heart to become the best possible mom to her own two daughters.

At times, she over did it with the lectures, particularly those warning against pre-marital sex or hussified behavior. They seemed endless and annoying, though funny to recall today.

She made sure to church us up thoroughly, which included Sunday School, preaching, Wednesday night Bible Study and Youth Group.

While Dad worked hard and saved money to build us a nice home, Mama did her part, and was always there for us: With home cooked meals served at 7 p.m., after Dad consumed two bourbon and waters. With her lap and shoulder, on which we’d sit and cry when a boy broke our hearts. With a cold washcloth and bags under her eyes from staying up all night when we suffered from mono, appendicitis, chicken pox, mumps and all the childhood maladies eradicated with today’s vaccines.

I can’t remember a single time when Mom wasn’t available like a doc on call. Even today, at 78, she remains a vision of strength, compassion and beauty. She listens with love, advising us when our marriages break up, when our kids falter or hit rough spots, her wisdom wrapping us in hope and comfort.

My dad adores her and still chases after her as if she were 19 his new bride.

“She’s the best there’s ever been,” he said about Mom. “I don’t know how you get any better than she’s been to y’all.”

Besides her infinite supply of unconditional love, it’s my mother’s humor, a gift from Papa Roy’s gene pool, I find so appealing.

“You’re going to the nursing home before I do,” she said the other day.

“You’ve always done these crazy things when you were young, like losing your car keys all the time or the belts on your coats. Your kids will think you’ve gotten dementia, not knowing you did this all the time. So you’ll go first. Or maybe we’ll go in there at the same time.”

After laughing a bit, she grew serious. “I’m so happy to be a mother I don’t know what to do,” she said. “At my age, you and your sister make me feel like the daughter and not the mother. Y’all take such good care of me.”

We’re just beyond blessed to still have this earthly angel in our lives.

Susan Reinhardt is the author of the hilarious and quirky novel “Chimes from a Cracked Southern Belle,” along with “Not Tonight Honey, Wait ‘Til I’m a Size 6,” “Don’t Sleep with a Bubba.” and “Dishing with the Kitchen Virgin.” susanreinhardt.com

Sophie MAY/JUNE 2016 | 13

HOME & GARDEN

OUT IN THE GARDEN

Fresh Cut Flowers …

Written by Betty Sharpless

N

othing brightens up a room like freshly cut flowers! When we have company coming or a big celebration, flowers are often the centerpiece of the big event. Why not treat yourself to fresh flowers every day? Surely we all deserve to see nature’s beauty in our homes or offices.

Fresh flowers brighten mood through color and fragrances. They remind us that there is more to life than just dirty dishes and commuting. I know freshly cut flowers are expensive, ladies, but there are many ways to have nature’s beauty for just pennies a bouquet.

If you have a vegetable bed, save a row or

two for such prolific bloomers as zinnias of all different shapes and styles. Zinnias couldn’t be easier to grow and make great cutting flowers. You can even save seeds from the spent blooms for the next year. Plant them right after Mother’s Day and you will have blooms in June. Because they are an annual plant, they are easy to squeeze in among the veggies.

My all time favorite family of cutting flowers is the coneflower family. I like them in standard pink, in yellow, in red, and in white.

There is even a green variety named “Envy” that is the palest of greens. These plants are perennials and self-seeding. One of the many reasons I love them is that they take care of themselves. Once they are established, all you have to do is pick them! Again, great stems for bouquets and long lasting blooms.

The one other can’t be beat cutting flower family is the dahlia family. If you have three different dahlias you have amazing showy bouquets to spare. Again these are perennials, just needing a little winter mulching and spring feeding.

Now to the free stuff!

Queen Anne’s lace is so lovely and graceful. While you could buy seeds for this beautiful cousin of the carrot, it’s just as easy to keep some clippers in your car and your eyes open as you drive the back roads of Buncombe County. Along with goldenrod, wild asters, iron plant and daisies, Queen Anne’s lace grows freely in un-mown road shoulders. If you keep a sharp eye out you will even find pussy willows to cut in early spring. Who doesn’t love pussy willows?

Now you just need some antique quart canning jars or sturdy vases and you are ready to design your very own “local” floral masterpieces! Change the water every few days for longer lasting bouquets. Take flowers to friends and coworkers and brighten up their dreary cubicles as well.

Spreading joy has never been so easy.

Betty Sharpless is a professional gardener, writer and quilter who knows that a lovely bouquet and the smell of warm cookies will totally distract guests from dust bunnies.

14 | Sophie MAY/JUNE 2016

Sophie MAY/JUNE 2016 | 15

FASHION

MAY/JUNE 16 | Sophie MAY / JUNE2016 2016

FASHION

UPCYCLE FASHION NIGHT

LOCAL CREATIVE DESIGNS FROM GOODWILL STORES On March 18th at the Diana Wortham Theatre in Downtown Asheville, six designers, Tricia Ellis, Rachel Friel, Dani Chaboudy, McKinney Gough, Leanna Echeverri, and Malou Cordery combed through Goodwill stores for items to upcycle into creative clothing for 30 models that walked the runway.

The competition was fierce with beautiful and creative designs but guests voted the winner of the night was Malou Cordery, with her “Forever Blue Collection” and the blue team; Rachel Graham, Ginger Wilde, Kay Marie, Genevieve Cordery, and Briana Alvarez.

To see more photos go to sophiemagazine.com or to the Color Me Goodwill Facebook page, colormegoodwill.org.

LEFT

Photographer: Max Ganly | Location: Diana Wortham Theatre Designer: Dani Chaboudy | Hairstylist: Zhenya Lazarchuk Makeup Artist: Iliana Guardado | Model: Emily Presnell Photographer: Max Ganly | Location: Diana Wortham Theatre Designer (top to bottom): Leanna Echeverri, McKinney Gough, Rachel Friel, Malou Cordery, Malou Cordery, Leanna Echeverri | Hairstylist (top to bottom): Vanessa Sogan, Holly Millar, Amanda Hughes, Britton AtLola, Britton AtLola, Vanessa Sogan | Makeup Artist (top to bottom): Vanessa Sogan, Blair Griffin, Natalie Mills, Carmen Carmen Salon, Anna Gracewaller, Vanessa Sogan Models (top to bottom): Masha Bachuk , Kevin Hammond, Na’ama Isido, Genevieve Cordery, Rachel Graham, Credella Credle.

SophieMAY MAY/JUNE 2016 || 17 17 Sophie / JUNE 2016

By Betty Sharpless

L

ast Halloween I wore my mother’s beautiful party dress. It’s not a dress she ever wore herself, but her dream dress in the form of a pattern from the early 1940’s. It’s a dress any woman would look swell in, even Mom and more surprisingly, even me!

I had decided to be young Julia Child for Halloween. Young Julia was ever so much more dashing and stylish than her mature PBS self. Searching through my mother’s old, old patterns that were just too cool to throw out, I found THE DRESS pattern. Slim waist, bias cut skirt, stylish patch pockets and a shawl collar. Perfect. Even the right size! I could easily see what had attracted my mother to this picture perfect dress.

Fortunately, my mother the home economics teacher did drill into me to measure the pattern pieces against your body’s reality before cutting the cloth! A nineteen forties size 16 has a 28 inch waist! YIKES! Opening the tissue paper out, I realized that this was a brand new pattern, a dream waiting to be made when “there was time” for my mother. Raising five kids, growing a vegetable garden, milking goats, sewing all our dresses and working part time does not leave a lot of “free” time for anything but dreaming of the perfect dress.

Three days and many, many darts later I held my breath attaching the top to the skirt…and it matched. It even fit on the first try! As I was sewing I could sense my mother standing right behind me, reminding me to not let the darts end in a pucker and to make the extra effort to finish the seams, hems and buttons for a truly dreamy dress in lavender with contrasting colored buttons out of the same material. For once in my sewing life, I listened to her and ended up with a great costume.

My friend Janet once told me she talks more to her mother now that she’s dead than she ever did when she was still alive. Well, I find more and more that I listen better to my mother now that she has passed. Sad but true. I am so fortunate that I got to know my mother as she relived her young womanhood with the help of severe dementia. I got to hear her girlish laugh and to listen to her flirt “with all the boys”. A girl like that would definitely need a dress made to dance away the night. With the help of years of sewing advice and the dreaded ballroom dance classes of my teens….that’s just what I did.

Thanks mom.

Betty Sharpless Is a professional free lance gardener who loves to sew after dark, in the winter and on rainy days in her “free” time. She lives with one dog, one cat and six fat hens in North Asheville. The fruit does not fall far from the tree.

18 | Sophie MAY/JUNE 2016

Sophie MAY/JUNE 2016 | 19

Spectacular FASHION

Style

By Jeff Ruminski

W

ith some great new specs appearing around the Sophie office, We thought it was time to take a closer look at how fashion meets functionality. After all, glasses may be your most used style accessory. The “go-to black pumps” certainly do not get worn all day, every day. So how do you turn the need to avoid running into inanimate objects, such as walls you didn’t see, into a style statement as fabulous as you are? I had no idea, so I asked Janice Gibbs, owner of L’Optique, an Asheville eye wear boutique on Wall Street, downtown.

Janice told me that when it comes to matching frames to face shapes and flesh tones that there were dozens of websites offering rules of thumb as to what works. She didn’t stop there though, because rules were meant to be broken, right? Despite rules like don’t wear round glasses if you have a round face, there are a wide variety of styles and designs of every shape frame, and some of the round ones compliment a round face very well.

As I was looking at a very light weight, seemingly indestructible, pair of slim line frames, the thought occurred to me, “What about the lenses? Would my half inch thick lenses look good with just a tiny piece of alloy wrapped around them?” L’Optique’s owner kindly let me know that there were a variety of materials that were used to craft lenses. Some of the newer materials could dramatically reduce the thickness and weight of lenses. Science!

Who knew?

Walking back to my car, I couldn’t help but feel very impressed.

Three things were clear to me; Doing background research on both frames and lenses was a excellent place to start, Working with someone who is passionate and knowledgable about eye wear would shorten the path to finding fantastic glasses, Great glasses express your individuality in a way that makes you feel and look spectacular.

20 | Sophie MAY MAY/JUNE / JUNE2016 2016

Styled by: L’optique (Hannah Gibbs, Francesca Santi, Janice Gibbs, Meghan Hall) Mens clothing by: Old North Womens clothing: Minx Boutique

Models: Logan Kelly and Leah Shapiro Makeup: Amanda of Doll Box ProductionsHair: Sam Antaramian Photographer: Shonie Kuykendall

FASHION

Sophie SophieMAY MAY/JUNE / JUNE 2016 | 21

22 | Sophie MAY/JUNE 2016

one

1

6

SUITCASE

8 ways

3

5

By Debi Manfre

The most important thing when it comes to packing light is the ability to mix -and-match what you pack. Here are examples of 8 outfits from 8 items that I’d throw in a suitcase.

The additional accessories should work with your base and should be versatile enough to create a variety of looks.

8

4

7

2

6

9 5

12

13 10

10

14

7

11 8

11

4

13

4

14 11

10

1. Roma women’s packable sun hat $62.50 whattowearonvacation.com 2. Scalloped 1 pc. swimsuit $125 jcrew.com 3. Prana Saida Kaftan $64,95 shoebug.com 4. Lula flip flops $14.99 target.com 5. Great Wave Lengths dress $59.99 modcloth.com 6. 1912 denim jacket $59 llbean.com 7. Vans ivory canvas sneakers $60 ssense.com 8. Samantha Brown Walkabout knit dot tank $19.99 travelsmith.com 9. Lightweight boyfriend cardigan $58 abercrombie.com 10. Croft & Barrow® women’s wedge gladiator sandals $29.99 kohls.com 11. Vineyard Vines Dayboat capri pants $34.90 saintbernard.com 12. Nicole Miller New York Astoria medium tote $74.95 ebags.com 13. Summer style colorful graphic t-shirt $11.98 aliexpress.com 14. Mountain Khakis Oxbow skirt $29.99 backcountry.com Sophie MAY/JUNE 2016 | 23

FASHION

Inner

Beauty ‌is foundational in discovering the quality treasure of hidden jewels found in a woman. To accessorize successfully, there must be a good foundation on which to build.

WRITTEN BY CYNTHIA MCABEE PHOTOGRAPHY BY KATY COOK

Pilcro Denim Jacket $138 Elysian Maxi Dress $148 Pinyon Rancher $58

24 | Sophie MAY/JUNE 2016

FASHION

G

od created women to be pleasant, lovely and delightful. Many ingredients make up the essence of who we are as a woman. Acceptance of the gift of God’s love provides us the confidence and assurance of our secure position and place, enabling a freedom unlike any other. Many challenges may come to us, but how we grow and mature through the uninvited windstorms will simply add to a good foundation of inner beauty.

There are unique qualities built into women for knowing how to reach out to others--giving with gracious hospitality, building up and encouraging those along the pathway of our lives. We provide a role model as well, teaching others how to serve--whether it be out in the world or in our own homes, blessing future generations to come.

At this season of the year (on the brink of summer), most everyone finds it refreshing to be outdoors– whether relaxing by the lake or on the mountain, going on a picnic or just finding a quiet spot in our own backyard to read a book while basking in the sunshine for a few moments. As women, we take the best care of others when we can take some time for ourselves--to rest and renew, enabling us to be at our best and keep on going!

Printed Peplum Blouse $78 Pilcro Stet Chino Capris $88 Marmura Pendant Necklace $58 Mela Bracelet Set $38 Sparkled Horseshoe Posts $32 Leather Tasseled Tote in Rose $198

Lauren’s husband has a most valuable treasure in his wife (pictured here), who is also the mother of their young daughter. As expressed in Proverbs 31:25, “Strength and honor are her clothing, and she will rejoice in time to come”. Inner beauty is a priceless jewel of rare excellence, available to those who will take the time to cultivate it. Contemplate how uniquely we are created and celebrate the accessories that accompany inner beauty as complementing the hidden jewels that make us even more bright and beautiful than ever with time.

Sophie MAY/JUNE 2016 | 25

FASHION

s

s

Split-back Buttondown $88 Pilcro Chino Wide-legs $98 Florencia Infinity Scarf $49.50 Tendresse Hoops $48

Villanelle Lace Dress $178 Drawing Room Infinity Scarf $68 Cava Cuff $48 Latigo Cali Clogs $120 Blanket: Hand-stitched Kantha Throw $128 Stillwater Glass $8 The Forest Feast $35 Linen Market Napkins $12

26 | Sophie MAY/JUNE 2016

FASHION

Crochet Tunic Dress $168 Striped Linen Coat $168 Beekeeper Wrap Belt $68 Dacia Rancher $58 Dollop Drop Earrings $32

AG Stevie Sateen Ankle Jeans $168 Rockford Tee $48 Marlene Tassle Necklace $78 Anahi Kimono $148

FA S H I O N C R E D I TS : PHOTOGRAPHY BY:

CLOTHING & ACCESSORIES BY:

HAIR STYLIST:

Kelly Andrew & Brittanny Craig MAKEUP BY:

Linda Morrison & Jessica Dodd 828.442.0337 katycookphotography.com FASHION COORDINATOR:

Angela Ramsey

ASSISTANT FASHION STYLIST:

Sarah Roberts

SPECIAL THANKS:

To our Bearded Collie, Higgins & his owner, Jan Kransberger for participating in the shoot.

37 N. Lexington Ave • Asheville 828-253-4518 Anthropologie.com MODEL:

Lauren Jamison

Asheville Mall • 828.296.9463 Sophie MAY/JUNE 2016 | 27

HOME & GARDEN

By Andy Hale

O

nce the weather gets above 60 degrees for a few days in a row, I try to eat outside as much as possible. Whether it’s having dinner on my picnic table under the shade of the wisteria, or plopping down on a blanket with a basket of food somewhere off of the Parkway, it feels incredible to eat outside after so many months hiding away from the cold weather.

When it starts to warm up outside I put away my big, burly, chewy reds and reach for lighter, delicate wines that beg to be drunk in the sun. In this month’s column, I’ll tell you about my favorite wines for warm weather.

Rosés For me, spring is synonymous with rosé wines. They come out in early spring and usually last until fall, since most wineries don’t make enough to supply thirsty rosé drinkers all year. If our supply lasts though, I’ll drink rosé well into winter time! Some say this is a faux pas, like wearing white after Labor Day, but that isn’t true.

If your last memory of rosé wine tasted like syrupy-sweet, pink, melted-popsicle juice, consider giving it another try. Most modern rosés are dry, versatile food pairing wines and are delicious on their own as well. Depending on where they are made and which grapes are used, they can vary from light and delicate to rich and bold, acidic and earthy to fruity and fun. There is a rosé for every taste-bud. Try

“MIP*” rosé from Provence around $21, Ostatu’s Rioja Rosé around $14, and Arcangelo rosé from Puglia at $15 for 3 incredibly different styles!

Light Whites When the temperatures start to rise, I move from my Chardonnay and opt for lighter whites. Try Vinho Verde from Northern Portugal when working in the yard. It’s light, fresh and usually a little fizzy, with an alcohol percentage below 11%, so you won’t mow over your Begonias! For light seafood or a picnic, try Picpoul de Pinet. Light and clean, it’s like a lighter, less Grapefruity Sauvignon Blanc. Colombard from Gascogne in France is always refreshing as well! Clean and simple, but enjoyable and affordable. Try Girofle’s still Vinho Verde, Huges Beaulieu’s Picpoul and Mont Gravet Cotes de Gascogne. None of these should cost more than $12.

Light Reds Don’t fret if you are more of a red wine drinker. Put down the Cabernet Sauvignon and try some lighter reds.

Take a bottle of Valle Del Acate’s Frappato on a picnic and serve it with cold cuts! It tastes like a bowl of raspberries covered in flowers, and should set you back about $18.

Pinot Noir is always a great springtime wine, although I usually step away from the burlier California Pinots and onto the lighter ones from Oregon, France and even Germany. For a good Pinot alternative, try Gamay (the grape from Beaujolais) or the Austrian grape Zweigelt. A few favorites of mine are Domaine Richard Rottiers Moulin à Vent from Beaujolais or Tinhof’s “Zwei” from Austria. They are light and peppery with flavors of tart cherry and raspberry and should be under $20.

In warmer weather, consider putting a little chill on your reds!

Remember that the ancient wine-gurus who decided reds should be drunk at room temperature were living in pre-Industrial Revolution France.

Their rooms were much cooler than ours are now! Try popping your favorite red into the fridge for about 30 minutes before serving it. It tones down the alcohol smell and makes it taste even more refreshing!

I don’t know about you, but I’m excited for sunny days, summer nights and cookouts! Grab one of these lighter beauties and enjoy it with good food and great company. And don’t forget the bug spray!

Andy Hale is a Certified Specialist of Wine and cofounder of the Asheville School of Wine at Metro Wines and the Blind Tasting League of Asheville.

He was a Sommelier at The Sanctuary Hotel at Kiawah Island, SC and now teaches classes at Metro Wines. Follow him on Twitter @avlwinegeek 28 | Sophie MAY/JUNE 2016

Sophie MAY/JUNE 2016 | 29

HOME & GARDEN

LET’S GET COOKING BY DEBI MANFRE

With warm temps returning to the forecast, there’s so much that makes me smile! It’s easy to embrace the green grass, blooming flowers, and sunshine.

In fact, it makes me want to do nothing more than pack up a basket full of good things, grab a blanket and something tasty to drink, and take it all outdoors. Who doesn’t love a good picnic?

• Place the top of the bread on the sandwich. Press down on the sandwiches with your hands, then very tightly wrap them in plastic wrap (seriously - do this as tight as you possible can).

• Place the sandwich in the fridge and top with lots of heavy books, a weighted down pot or pan, or whatever other heavy objects you can find.

• Let the sandwich sit in the fridge overnight, but even just 3-4 hours, with plenty of weight applied, will yield a beautifully pressed sandwich.

• When you are ready to eat, unwrap the sandwich and use a very sharp knife to cut the sandwich into 6-9 small sandwiches, depending on how big you want them to be.

• These will keep well in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

Summer Orzo Pasta Salad Pressed Picnic Sandwiches

The beauty of a pressed sandwich isn’t just that it can be done ahead of time, but that it actually should be done ahead of time. This is one of those rare sandwiches that improves with time.

6-8 servings INGREDIENTS: •1 large loaf of ciabatta bread, sliced lengthwise •3-4 tablespoons fresh pesto •1/4 lb. sliced Genoa salami •1/4 lb. sliced prosciutto or baked ham •3-4 slices provolone cheese •3-4 slices mozzarella cheese •1/3 cup chopped, roasted red peppers •6-8 basil leaves, washed and patted dry •Plastic wrap, for wrapping the sandwiches INSTRUCTIONS: • Slice the ciabatta bread lengthwise, so that there is a top and a bottom slice. Spread 3-4 tablespoons of fresh pesto over the bottom piece of bread. Don’t use so much that the bread becomes soggy.

• Top the pesto with the salami, then the prosciutto, then the provolone and mozzarella cheese. Top the cheese with your basil leaves. Top the basil leaves with the chopped roasted red peppers.

30 | Sophie MAY/JUNE 2016

A light, refreshing salad that is perfect for a summer BBQ or picnic.

6-8 servings INGREDIENTS SALAD •1/2 cucumber, chopped •1/2 cup feta cheese •4 cups chicken broth •1 1/2 cups orzo •1 (15 oz.) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed •2 cups red grape tomatoes, halved •3/4 cup red onion, finely chopped •1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped •1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped VINAIGRETTE DRESSING: •1/2 cup red wine vinegar •1 teaspoons salt •1/4 cup fresh lemon juice •1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper •2 teaspoons honey •1 cup extra-virgin olive oil

INSTRUCTIONS: FOR THE SALAD • Put broth in a large pot and cover. Bring the broth to a boil over high heat. Stir in orzo.

• Cook the orzo until it is tender (6-8 minutes) stirring frequently.

• Drain orzo and place in a large mixing bowl. Let the orzo cool completely.

• While the orzo is cooling make the dressing.

TO MAKE THE DRESSING • In a food processor or blender mix the vinegar, lemon juice, honey, salt, and pepper until mixed well.

• While the machine is running gradually add in the olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste.

• Once the orzo is cooled mix it with the chickpeas, cucumber, tomatoes, onion, basil and mint.

• Add a 1/4 cup of the red wine vinaigrette dressing to the salad and mix well. Refrigerate until ready to eat.

• When ready to serve, take the salad out of the refrigerator and taste to see if it needs additional dressing. The salad will have absorbed the dressing and will probably need more.

• Add about a 1/4 cup of the dressing and stir. Taste the salad to see if needs any additional dressing.

Courtesy of acedarspoon.com

Snicker Bar Blondies

This picnic favorite gets an upgrade with bits of Snickers.

You can swap out with any other chocolate candy bars you like, such as Milky Way or Reese’s Pieces.

INGREDIENTS •2 cups all-purpose flour •1 teaspoon baking powder •1/2 teaspoon baking soda •1 teaspoon salt •2/3 cup butter •2 cups packed brown sugar •2 large eggs •1 tablespoon vanilla extract •1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips •(4) 6 ounces Snickers bars, coarsely chopped INSTRUCTIONS: • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

• Melt the butter in a large microwave safe bowl. Add brown sugar and mix well. (Use a whisk for mixing.) Cool slightly.

• Add eggs and vanilla. Blend well with a whisk or wooden spoon. Add flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt and mix well again using a whisk or wooden spoon – no mixer neccessary!

• Spread in 9” x 13” x 2” pan. Scatter chopped Snickers and chocolate chips on top. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

• Remove from oven and cool before cutting into bars.

Courtesy of thecafesucrefarine.com Sophie MAY/JUNE 2016 | 31

Photographer: Rodney Smith. Models: (from left to right) April Shamel, Skylar Hansen, Lindsey Curtin, Chelsea Curtin, Julie Phillips, Laura Peterson, Nausica Rotolo, Masha Bachuk, Becca Biebinger, Lydia Osbrink, Aubrey Huntley, Brianna Faith Dhermy Freeman, Megan Hawthorne, Roxi Rose Lemoan, Katarina Reuter. Designer: Grateful Threads Asheville.

Photographer: Tracy Rabjohns.

Model: Drez Ryan.

Photographer: Myriah Wood.

Model: Masha Bachuk.

Flower crown: Masha Bachuk Dress: Rachel Weisberg.

The latest in the Asheville’s FASHMOB series, FASHMOB VII – Media Magnet was a great success.

The event took place on Thursday, April 14th at 6:30 p.m. near Reuter Terrace between Vance Monument and the big stage at City Hall in downtown Asheville.

The Asheville Fashion & Photography event organized by Duncan Chaboudy and is a means for Regional Fashion Designers, Photographers, Models, Makeup Artist, Hair Stylist, and Media together to connect.

To see more FASHMOB VII - Media Magnet photos go to sophiemagazine.com!

Model: Kristen Marie Greene. Kimono, neckpiece and earrings: Hannah Wood at Black Black Moon. MUA: Kay Marie Hill at Colour Me Kay! Hair: Amber Slamber Boyd at Willow’s Dream.

Photo & Retouching: Jeff Haffner Photography

Photographer: Craig Hillyer.

Model: Na’ama Ella Asido.

Designer: Hip Remix Rachel Morris Friel. MUA: Anna Grace Waller. Jewelry: ACM Wraps.

32 | Sophie MAY/JUNE 2016

Photographer: Anthony Harden of Alt Media Pros. Model: Ariel Hayes. Hair: Carolyn Jones.

Clothing: Michelle White of New York Fashions. Makeup: Kiki Ke.

Photographer: Wendy Olsen.

Model: Siobhan Shene.

Styling: Avedian Coast.

Photographer: Max Ganly. Model: Aislin Freya Pax.

Photographer: Sarah Hooker Photography.

Model: Credella Credle.

Makeup and styling: Credella Credle. Hair: Teresa Pearson Photographer: Duncan Chaboudy.

Model: Whitney Diane.

Clothing: Ida Bostian of Iconic Embroidery

Photographer: Sir Stewart O’shields. Models: Credella Credle, Ray Phillips, Karen Orr Molli, Brandon Beeson, Kathryn Clare.

Sleep masks by SleepSwag.com.

Sophie MAY/JUNE 2016 | 33

CONCERNING OUR COMMUNITY Attic Salt Extends Its “Saturdays On Stage” For The Remainder Of 2016!

Attic Salt Theatre Company, the team behind the highly-successful run of family shows that began in December of 2015, is proudly announcing the extension of that run, now through the end of this year. All shows will continue to be presented at Magnetic 375, located at 375 Depot Street in Asheville’s River Arts District. All performances will be at 10:00am on Saturdays, beginning on June 4th and continuing on Saturdays until December 31st. All of the shows presented are suitable for children ages 4 and up and tickets are only $5 per person.

Marci Bernstein and Jeff Catanese, the authors of three theater education books published by Scholastic, Inc, write all of Attic Salt’s family shows. Both Bernstein and Catanese have a love for classic folktales and Attic Salt’s family shows reflect that. The Tale of the Pig, excerpts of Greek Myths! and Tricky, Tricky Trickster Tales are adapted from their Scholastic book Folktale Plays from Around the World That Kids Will Love. All of their shows are designed with a DIY aesthetic, so that kids can gain an appreciation for how theater is created and the fact that they can do it themselves.

Each show features two actors portraying a dizzying array of characters.

Performing in the shows are local favorites Josephine Thomas, Hallee Hirsh, Christy Montesdeoca, Marci Bernstein and Jeff Catanese, among others. While all shows are appropriate for ages 4 and up, older elementary-aged kids and their grown-ups will find themselves definitively entertained.

Tickets are available at atticsalt.org and at the box office one hour prior to each performance. Please call (828) 708-7469 for more information.

OnTrack WNC Receives State Farm® Good Neighbor Citizenship Grant State Farm announced a $30,000 grant for OnTrack WNC Financial Education & Counseling which will support the agency’s weekly radio program, Money Matters, the Women’s Financial Empowerment Center and the annual Financial Literacy Awards Luncheon. The State Farm Good Neighbor Citizenship grants fund programs that build safer, stronger, and better educated communities.

“State Farm is proud to fund OnTrack WNC for these two unique programs,” said State Farm Agent and OnTrack WNC Board Member, Bill Russell, “Both help educate our community. The Money Matters radio show focuses practical tips and resources to enhance listeners’ financial knowledge and skills. The Women’s Financial Empowerment Center connects women with 34 | Sophie MAY/JUNE 2016

education, counseling and support to increase their financial stability and success.”

OnTrack WNC’s first State Farm Good Neighbor Citizenship Grant was in 2010 to support the weekly Money Matters radio program. In 2013, State Farm expanded its support to include the Women’s Financial Empowerment Center.

“State Farm has been incredible with annual grant support that has truly sustained these important programs,” said Celeste Collins, Executive Director of OnTrack WNC. “We’ve enjoyed broad-based support from State Farm.

In addition to financial support, State Farm agents have invested time and energy on our board of directors, on Money Matters, and as guest presenters for community education and our Women & Money Conference.”

In the last six years, the weekly listenership for the Money Matters radio show has grown from 2,200 to 4,900. The Women’s Financial Empowerment Center has served over 2,600 women throughout western N.C. OnTrack WNC helps people achieve their money and housing goals through financial education, counseling and support so that they can overcome crises, afford basic needs, improve money-management skills, and make sound financial choices rooted in their values. For additional information, call 2555166 or visit ontrackwnc.org.

United Way Rising Leaders Ready To Serve Local Nonprofits After eight months of education and community service, 16 members of United Way of Henderson County’s fifth annual Rising Leaders Program have graduated and are better prepared to start making a difference as volunteers with Henderson County nonprofit organizations.

The 2015-2016 Rising Leaders Program graduates are: Grace Barron, Meritor; Allison Cheadle, Flat Rock Playhouse; Marcia Cunningham, PNC Bank; Mindy Denney, Safelight; Shane Dunn, formerly of Sycamore Cycles; Beth Edwards, community volunteer; Ian Edwards, Appalachian Coffee Company; Lee Homan, Blue Ridge Community Health Services; Andrea Little Gray, Pardee Hospital Foundation; Lynn Pearson-Brown, Atlantic Bay Mortgage; Vincent Pizzo, Pardee Hospital; Heather Sherman, Carolina Smiles Family Dentistry; Jonathan Temple, Hubbell Commercial and Industrial; Rebekah Torres, NC National Guard Family Programs – HRCI; Whitney Whitson, First Bank; and Cynthia Wilcox, AmeriLife & Health Services of Asheville, LLC. Launched in 2011, the Rising Leaders Program is sponsored by Friday Staffing. United Way of Henderson County (UWHC) created the free program as a direct response to a need that many Henderson County non-profit agencies had expressed - a need for access to the next generation of board members and key volunteers.

The 2015-16 Rising Leaders class graduated on April 7th, and new members are currently being recruited for the next Rising Leaders program that will begin in the fall. UWHC will be accepting applications for the 2016-2017 Rising Leaders Program beginning May 12. Application materials will be available at an informational event that evening at Dandelion (127 5th Ave W, off Main Street) from 5:30 p.m. – 7 p.m. Anyone is welcome to attend this free event; please email Kristen Freeman at RL@liveunitedhc.org to RSVP or for more information. After May 12, application materials will also be available on the UWHC website, liveunitedhc.org.

FASHION SUNDAY, MAY 15 u 5:30-9:30PM Highland Brewing Event Center 12 Old Charlotte Hwy u Asheville With pizza, beer, music, fashion, and charity, the 2nd Annual Pizza PanDemonium event is an intriguing blend with something for everyone.

The fun kicks off with live music by Kendra Warren, Andalyn Lewis (plus a rising country star surprise guest), and the Hank West Band. The main event an Alice in Wonderland inspired fashion show boasts over 30 models who will be walking the stage in stunning designs with professional hair and makeup styling. The designs will represent a twist on the famous characters from Lewis Carroll’s iconic novel. Fashion show is directed by Ginger Wilde and assisted by Sarah Merrell.

Photographer: Max Ganly Hairstylist: Vanessa Sogan Makeup Artist: Kay Marie Hill Models: Ginger Wilde, Masha Bachuk, Dayne Shuler, Ryan Moore

Local pizza companies nominated by social media will show off their best slices with both judge and audience voting for prizes in 3 categories: 1) Best Meat Combo, 2) Best Veggie Combo, 3) People’s Choice. The $30 VIP ticket price includes preferred seating, complimentary pizza, and three craft beers by Highland Brewing. There will also be general admission tickets ($17adv, $20 door) plus reduced teen and kid prices.

This is a fundraiser for Eblen Charities and Appalachian Angels of WNC. TICKETS: highlandbrewing.com/whats-up/event/pizza-pandemonium SophieMAY MAY/JUNE 2016 || 35 35 Sophie / JUNE 2016

ENTERTAINMENT

BETTY’S BOOK REVIEW

I

“Picnic Time: Vintage-Inspired Recipes & Handy Hints” by Barbara Swell

36 | Sophie MAY/JUNE 2016

Picnic Time:

Vintage-Inspired Recipes & Handy Hints

first met author Barbara Swell back in Italian 101 at A-B Tech! The first words I heard her say translated to: “I write cookbooks”! Wow! Barbara has written a whole series of well- researched fun to read cookbooks on everything from pies to the newest hot off the press book Picnic Time. While these books are delightful light reading and great gifts, they are also filled with excellent recipes, tips and ideas.

I was lucky enough to grow up with a mother who gardened, cooked from scratch and put up food for the winter. However, the last two generations of moms and kids did not…making cooking a brand new skill. Especially old time cooking! With all the focus on fresh, local and real ingredients, Ms. Swell’s books are like having a great grandmother on your bookshelf. She actively encourages swapping out ingredients according to what is in your pantry or garden and experimenting.

Two recipes that I have marked to try are a quick bread with savory cheeses and herbs baked right into it and her YUMMY Caramel Oat Flap Jack Cookies (gluten free, even). I have tried these and they are deli-

cious for such an easy healthy treat.

This particular book would be a great gift to a young adult starting their life. If the book is not enough guidance, Ms. Swell also teaches woodstove and outdoor cooking at her cute country log cabin right here in Asheville. It’s a great setting for a girl’s night out or an alternative to a bridal shower. I can’t recommend her pie crust class enough!

Barbara’s books are available locally and from logcabincooking.com.

Betty Sharpless is a professional gardener, writer and quilter who loves to use what is in her garden to determine what is for dinner.

MEG’S MOVIE REVIEW

T

here’s something magical that happens when the Coen Brothers come in contact with George Clooney (“Ocean’s Eleven”).

Aw, let’s face it, something magical happens almost any time the Coen Brothers come in contact with a camera. I may not be the best judge of Joel and Ethan Coen’s movies, since I seem to have a habit of disagreeing with most film critics on several of them. For instance, I thought their 2004 movie “Ladykillers” was a hoot, and it is their lowest-rated film to date. Moreover, I never really saw the appeal of the Coen’s 2007 movie “No Country for Old Men,” a film which won them 4 Academy Awards and kickstarted Javier Bardem’s career.

With their latest film “Hail Caesar!”, my opinion seems no exception. Most critics seem to feel the movie is below the Coen’s normal standard and that it lacks substance. While I would agree that

“Aw, let’s face it, something magic happens almost any time the Coen Brothers come in contact with a camera.”

ENTERTAINMENT

“Hail Caesar” the 106-minute film is more entertaining than it is thought-provoking, and that it borders on trite, I can’t say that I minded so much. Honestly, so many movies today are made with the sole purpose of challenging and shocking their audiences, disturbing and complicating their world-views. While there is certainly a place for those types of movies, it was pretty refreshing to simply enjoy a film. And since “Hail Caesar!” is about the film industry in the 1950’s, I felt it’s lack of depth to be an intentional homage to that era, rather than a mistake stylistically.

The plot of “Hail Caesar!” centers around the character of Baird Whitlock (Clooney) who is kidnapped from the movie set of the big-budget, “Ben-Hur”-ian film he is starring in, which is of course called “Hail Caesar!”. The film studio producing the movie sends out their best fixer Eddie Mannix, played by Josh Brolin (“W.”), to find Whitlock and bring him back so the movie can be completed. That’s really about as complicated as it gets. The rest of the star-studded cast are amusing cameos and pointless set-dressing.

Having said that, these arguably-useless characters were my favorite parts of the movie. These roles are glorious little winks at the silver screen stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood. Scarlett Johansson (“Lost in Translation”) plays DeeAnna Moran, the film’s answer to Esther Williams, complete with an awesome synchronized swimming number. Channing Tatum (“Magic Mike”), who I am chronically surprised and impressed by, plays Burt Gurney, an actor known for headlining top-grossing films. For this one, Tatum does a fabulous song and dance number, complete with tap! My favorite performance, however, was given

by Alden Ehrenreich (“Beautiful Creatures”).

Ehrenriech plays Hobie Doyle, a good-natured, but

slighly-dim cowboy genre actor. His earnestness as his character tries to mix with the high-brow actors, and his stunts with his lasso really stole the show for me. And this one was pretty tough to steal.

I hope this doesn’t prove me to be a shallow film-reviewer, but I just found the whole film to be too well-done and downright likeable to not appreciate. I felt that it really worked with the themes of the film, since most of the characters are a bit vapid and lacking in real depth. “Hail Caesar!” will doubtlessly never be considered one of the Coens’ top-films and I don’t necessarily feel that it should be ranked up there with “Oh Brother, Where Art Thou” and “Fargo”, but it is a super-fun movie and I cannot help but recommend. I give “Hail Caesar!” 8 out of my 10 stars.

Meg Hale Brunton reviews movies for Sophie every month. She has a Creative Writing degree from UNCA, loves fresh-made popcorn, and throws an annual Oscar party at her house.

Sophie MAY/JUNE 2016 | 37

MAY SPRING FLING PLANT SALE Held in conjunction with the Asheville Blue Ridge Rose Society. Let the experts help you select the right plant for the right place and help you learn to care for it in your garden. Expect to find a selection of roses, perennials, natives, pollinators & vegetable starts for sale as well as gardening accessories.

14

Submit your events online at: sophiemagazine.com/calendar or send them to us via email at: calendar@sophiemagazine.com

HAVE AN EVENT? MAY BREAKFAST OF SENIOR

CHAMPIONS The 60+ age group is the fastest growing population in Buncombe County. The Council on Aging of Buncombe County is planning the first ever countywide recognition of this active and vibrant population group with an event that is sure to become a legacy in our community.

Members of the public are invited for a morning of festivities and well-deserved acknowledgment of this demographic.

03

 Tuesday, May 3, 7-10am. Top of the

Plaza, Renaissance Hotel, Asheville.

For more info, visit coabc.org

MAY BUNCOMBE COUNTY SPECIAL OLYMPICS

SPRING GAMES DAY Athletes, from across Buncombe County, ages 6 years thru adult will compete and show their skills in various track and field events.

05

 Thursday, May 5, 9am. TC Roberson

High School football field. For more info, 828-250-4265 or email special. olympics@buncombecounty.org

MAY ELIXIR

Asheville Wine & Food

Festival’s ELIXIR bar competition is in its 4th year and promises yet another exciting evening of collaboration between distilleries and local bar talent.

This event provides tastings, food and a fun environment to watch bartenders and distilleries demo and provide sample drinks in a structured, competition-style forum. Its a great way to support your local favorites and well as discover new talent!

MAY POSH HAMMER EP

RELEASE PARTY Local Indie pop outfit Posh Hammer is proud to announce the release of their sixtrack EP titled, Revolt into Style.

The teenage siblings’ band has been generating buzz in the Southeast with their updated 70’s glam style and indie pop hooks since they started headlining shows two years ago.

06

 Friday, May 6, 8pm. Asheville Music

Hall. For more info, visit: poshhammer. com or ashevillemusichall.com

MAY TOUR DE FALLS

07 08

A 12-mile tour by shuttle bus to four of DuPont State Forest’s spectacular sites: Triple Falls, High Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, and Lake Julia. Great for people with limited walking ability. Shuttle runs every 30 minutes from 9am – 2:30pm allowing you to stay longer at some sites if you choose.  Saturday & Sunday, May 7 & 8, 9am-

2:30pm. Dupont State Forest, Brevard.

For more info, visit dupontforest.com

06

F riday, May 6, 8-10pm. Historic

S&W Building. For more info, visit ashevillewineandfood.com/elixir

38 | Sophie MAY/JUNE 2016

MAY MOTHER’S DAY GREEK LUNCHEON & BAKE SALE

This annual AHEPA luncheon will be cafeteria style with a variety of Greek gourmet dishes like Lamb Shank, Pastichio, Spanakopita, Chicken Origanato, Dolmathes with and without meat, etc & pastries like Baklava, Kourabiethes, Melomakarona, Napoleons, etc.

08

 Sunday, May 8, 11am-2pm. Morris

Hellenic Cultural Center of the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church at 227 Cumberland Ave. For more info, call 828-253-3754

MAY SPRING KIDS FISHING TOURNAMENT

The semi-annual event is open to all children ages 15 & under and is sponsored by Buncombe County Recreation Services. The tournament is $10/ child, which covers bait, snacks and a hot dog lunch. No fishing license required for children under 16. This is a Catch & Release event. After the fish has been weighed & measured, it will be released back into the lake.

Participants bring their own pole.

Prizes galore!

14

 Saturday, May 14, 8:30-11:30a, Lake Julian Park. For more info, call or email David Blynt 828.684.0376 or david.blynt@buncombecounty.org

 Saturday, May 14, 10am-2pm. Parking

lot of American Red Cross. For more info, visit buncombemastergardener.org

MAY R A W - ( M A T E R I A L ) Performance, workshop, video & installation by Weaverville Yoga’s Claire Elizabeth Barratt - who also happens to be the director of Cilla Vee Life Arts, is currently pursuing an MFA in Creative Practice with the Transart Institute. She has been developing a method for creating and teaching performance art. Her method is based on investigating the Self as a “raw material” with which to create living art. Saturday evening there will be a live performance.

Sunday afternoon, Claire will teach a Living Art workshop, followed by a screening of video pieces about the body interacting with nature and the environment. There will also be an art installation of text, video, image and sound pieces depicting a journal of Claire’s process. The Living Art workshop is open to all – no performing arts experience necessary. Attendance to all events is on a donation basis – please pay-what-you-can.

14 15

 Saturday & Sunday, May 14 & 15,

Saturday 14th – dance & music performance at 7pm; Sunday 15th – Living Art movement workshop at 2pm – 5pm; Sunday 15th – video screening at 6pm. For more info, visit cebhomepage.blogspot.com

42ND LEAF FESTIVAL: “WORLD FUSION WITH CUBAN SPICE”

MAY

12 15

A family-friendly weekend experience infused with music and arts. Healing Arts, Earth Skills, Local Brews, High Quality Cuisine, Lakeside Activities, Poetry Slam, Fiddle Contest, Contra Dancing, Kids Village & Camping create the unforgettable LEAF Experience for families and friends from all over the world. “For the 42nd LEAF Festival, prepare to ignite your imagination and immerse your soul into the sites, sounds, sensations, and spice of Cuba! From salsa, to timba, to Afro-Cuban jazz, percussion, and brass – we welcome one and all to be inspired by a world of passionate rhythm and infectious groove.

Thursday, May 12th to Sunday, May 15th. Lake Eden, Black Mountain.

MAY SECRETS OF A DUCHESS

SALON 10TH

ANNIVERSARY PARTY You are invited to celebrate Judi Maisel and the 10th anniversary of her salon - Secrets of a Duchess.

18

 Wednesday, May 18, 4pm-7:30pm. 1439 Merrimon Ave, Asheville, NC. RSVP 828350-7900 by May 11.

MAY MONTFORD MUSIC &

MAY 3RD ANNUAL BREVARD BLUES FESTIVAL

28 29

Presented by 185 King Street. With Bettye LaVette, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Nikki Hill, John Nemeth, Rick Rushing & the Blues Strangers, Andrew Scotchie & the River Rats, Dangerous Gentlemens, Virginia and the Slims, Lee Griffin Band, and more. There will be vendors, food trucks, a BBQ competition and more! Pictured right: Nikki Hill  Saturday & Sunday, June 3 & 4. Downtown Brevard. For tickets and further info, visit artsofbrevard.org

21

ARTS FESTIVAL Celebrate 13 years of the festival that provides Asheville with some of the best music, finest arts and crafts and largest food selection assembled in a one day event.  Saturday, May 21, 10am-7pm.

Montford Avenue. For info, visit montfordfestival.org

MAY WHITE SQUIRREL

FESTIVAL Go nuts at the White Squirrel Festival in downtown Brevard. This festival features a parade, plenty of live music, food, arts, races, and much more.

27 29

 Friday through Sunday, May 27-29.

Downtown Brevard. For info, visit whitesquirrelfestival.com

MAY GARDEN JUBILEE FESTIVAL This is an annual Downtown Hendersonville festival for passionate gardeners who are searching for the perfect plants and unique lawn and garden accessories as well as handmade arts and crafts.

28 29

 Saturday & Sunday, May 28 & 29, 9am5pm. Downtown Hendersonville. For info, visit historichendersonville.org

JUN OLD TOWN

SWANNANOA TOUR

This tour will explore the historic buildings that were once part of the mill town that surround Beacon Manufacturing in downtown Swannanoa. A few new hikers may have difficulty with even our easiest hikes. We ask new hikes to call the hike leader beforehand to ensure their level of comfort during the hike. We want to make sure that every new hiker has a good experience from the beginning.

04

 Saturday, June 4, Meet at Black

Mountain Savings Bank, 200 E. State Street. For info, call 828-669-9566 or visit swannanoavalleymuseum.org

JUN ART IN BLOOM

09 11

The Black Mountain Center for the Arts is happy to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Art in Bloom, a flower-filled fundraising event. Twenty regional floral designers are assigned a particular work of art from which they draw inspiration to create a magnificent floral arrangement.

The freshly installed floral arrangements are the cornerstone of the Gala Preview Dinner Party (June 9, 6pm $40). June 10 & 11 offer options to view the floral designs ($5) and a ten-garden tour ($20), with plein air painters.  Thursday-Saturday, June 9-11, Black

Mountain. For info, call 828-6690930 or visit BlackMountainArts.org

JUN NC RHODENDRON

FESTIVAL Hit up the 70th Annual NC Rhodendron Festival and enjoy and experience arts and crafts, a street dance, a car show, the Rhodendron Queen & Junior Queen pagaents, a Ducky Derby, a 10K Run & more!

18 19

 Sat & Sun, June

18 & 19. Downtown Bakersville. For info, ncrhododendronfestival.org

JUN FRONT STREET ARTS &

18

CRAFTS SHOW With Dillsboro’s 20 or more small shops, and over 50 booths of the Front Street Arts & Crafts Show, the day will be filled with great opportunities to see and purchase many works of the hand and listen to some great entertainment. Sounds of the guitar, the bass fiddle, the banjo will echo through the town, along with the dancing tap shoes of cloggers and tantalizing smells of festival foods.  Saturday, June 18, 10am-4pm.

Dillsboro. For more info, email Connie Hogan at chogan4196@ gmail.com or call her at 828-5863511.

JUN AMY GRANT: BMC 80TH

25

ANNIVERSARY SPECTACULAR Brevard Music Center is proud to announce the appearance of platinum-selling recording artist and six-time Grammy® winner Amy Grant at its BMC Presents: 80th Anniversary Spectacular. Grant will make her BMC debut alongside Artistic Director Keith Lockhart and the Brevard Music Center Orchestra in the most elaborate, fully staged concert production ever seen on the WPA stage.  Saturday, June 25, 7:30pm.

Whittington-Pfohl Auditorium (WPA) at Brevard Music Center. For more info, visit brevardmusic.org

JUN SICK OF STUPID

25

COMEDY TOUR Standup Comics Tom Simmons, Steward Huff, and Clifton Cash have joined forces and are touring six Southern cities as the Sick of Stupid Comedy Tour. Sick of Stupid promises to give

audiences an intelligent, comedic look at all things Southern.  Saturday, June 25, 8pm. The

Millroom. For more info, visit brevardmusic.org

JUN ALL GO WEST MUSIC

25

FESTIVAL

A FREE multi-stage event bringing together community, arts & music in a one day celebration. There will be activities for kids, beer & a little something for everyone’s music palette across four sound stages.

Lineup includes: Ouroboros Boys, Goldie & the Screamers, Arouna Diarra (Burkina Faso), Laura Blackley & The Wildflowers, Pierce Edens, Andrew Scotchie & The River Rats, Nest Egg, Floating Action, Posh Hammer, East Coast Dirt, Kool Keith and more.  Saturday, June 25, 12pm-2am. West Asheville. For lineup, schedule and more info, visit allgowest.com Sophie MAY/JUNE 2016 | 39

ONGOING EVENTS

CLASSES & WORKSHOPS

AVL CITY MARKET ASK-AGARDENER INFO TABLE Saturdays, 8am – 12pm

SCREENPLAY WORKSHOP WITH MARYEDITH BURRELL

Bring your gardening questions to us! Do you have a plant problem?

Bring samples large enough for plant ID. Learn about upcoming programs and pick-up a free soil test box. We have for sale “A Gardening Guide for Our Mountains” which is packed full of information. Ask us about our Rain Barrels for sale!  A sheville City Market. For more info

visit buncombemastergardener.org

COMPOST DEMONSTRATION Saturdays, May 14 & 28, June 11 & 25

Learn how to compost at your home!

Master Gardeners will explain how to get started. Several compost systems are displayed including a worm composting bin (vermicomposting).

Volunteers will be ready to provide advice, and printed material on composting strategies. Free samples of “black gold” will be available.  11am-2pm.

Jesse Israel & Sons Garden Center.

FREE buncombemastergardener.org

ASHEVILLE COCKTAIL WEEK May 4-8

Asheville Cocktail Week is a celebration of the art of mixology and craft spirits, combining the best talent and trends the industry has to offer. Presented by Asheville Fest and partnering with Spirit Savvy. There will be numerous events to take part in.

For a full schedule and ticket options, visit ashevillewineandfood.com

THE ASHEVILLE SHAKESPEARIENCE May 13 - 28; Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays

The return of an audience favorite!

Some of the best scenes of Shakespeare, opening the summer at the Hazel Robinson Amphitheatre.

The biggest change to announce is that Montford Park Players has decided that all seats for their entire season, both indoor and outdoor shows, will be available on a “Pay What You Like!” basis. Director TBA.  7:30-10pm.

Hazel Robinson Amphitheatre. Pay what you like. For more info, montfordparkplayers.org 40 | Sophie MAY/JUNE 2016

JEWELRY & METALWORK POP-UP EXHIBITION May 17 - 22 | Artists’ Reception May 18 (3 - 6pm)

Grovewood Gallery will host a 6 day exhibition and sale of artisan made jewelry and metalwork by Tom Reardon and Kathleen Doyle. Reardon and Doyle have been jewelers and master metalsmiths for over 45 years as well as studio artists at Grovewood since 1995. Their pop-up exhibit will feature a collection of jewelry inspired by the landscape, cityscape, and flora of our mountain region, handcrafted using precious and non-precious metals. Image: Night Sky Pendant by Tom Reardon and Kathleen Doyle.  Grovewood Gallery in Asheville. grovewood.com. 828.2537651

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING June 3 - July 2, Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays

This comedic conspiracy to get the bickering Beatrice and Benedick hitched is one of Shakespeare’s most popular plays to this day!  7:30-10pm. Hazel Robinson Amphitheatre. montfordparkplayers.org

GROVEWOOD ROCKS! June 4 – August 28 | Opening Reception June 4 (3 - 6pm)

Art meets function in Grovewood Rocks! - a showcase of artisan made rocking chairs by 11 American woodworkers, including 6 from North Carolina.  Grovewood Gallery. For more info call

828.253.7651 or visit grovewood.com

This workshop is for anyone interested in the basics of writing for TV & Film. It will cover three-act dramatic structure, cinematic vocabulary and the power of picture. Bring pen & paper and/or laptop plus a lunch.

Maryedith is an Emmy & Golden Globe-nominated screenwriter who has worked with everybody from Ron Howard and Francis Ford Coppola to Tim Burton, Disney, and Pixar. A successful actor and comedienne best known for her stints on Seinfeld, Parenthood, Fridays, and SNL, she began her performance career improvising with The Groundlings and Second City and worked with Steve Martin, Andy Kaufman, Larry David, Robin Williams, Tina Fey and Jon Stewart, among others.  NYS3: The Meisner Acting Conservatory for the Southeast. May 7, 10am-3pm, $100. For more info, visit nys3.com

THE VILLAGE POTTER A range of classes for adults designed to welcome the beginner, welcome back the prodigal potter, guide a new enthusiast to the next steps and offer mentorship for those wanting to explore their skills and learn from a generous community of artists.  The Village Potter, 191 Lyman Street,

#180. For current class offerings and to register call 828-253-2424 or visit thevillagepotters.com

WOMEN’S FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT CLASSES The Financial Empowerment Center at OnTrack WNC offers a full range of financial counseling & education services with a women-centered approach, responding to unique needs & perspectives, to help you reach your financial goals.  OnTrack WNC Offices, 50 French

Broad Ave. Most classes are free, pre-registration required. Call 828255-5166 to register. ontrackwnc.org

YOGALATES Mondays: 12-1pm

A blend of mind-body strength, balance, core & flexibility movements with clear, compassionate instruction

for all levels. Movements are done in sitting, lying and standing positions.

Mats provided. P ardee Rehab & Wellness Center,

212 Thompson St, Hendersonville. $8/class. rehab.pardeehospital.org

LADIES WORKOUT ASHEVILLE

Tons of women only classes including: Zumba, kickboxing, Spinning, CoreTraining, Yoga, Bootcamp & more!

Circuit equipment, free weights, saunas, Migun bed, free child care, personal training, nutrition & more!  Classes Mon-Sat: 6:30am-6:45pm 802 Fairview Rd #1000. ladiesworkoutasheville.com

WRITING WORKSHOPS

The Writers’ Workshop offers a variety of classes every month.  F or complete class listings and more information visit twwoa.org or call 828-254-8111

WILD ABUNDANCE CLASSES

A variety of classes offered March through November including: Essentials of Homesteading and Permaculture, Ancestral Foods Cooking Classes, Women’s Basic Carpentry Class & more!  F or complete class listings and more information visit wildabundance.net or call 828-775-7052

DRINK AND PAINT AT ASHEVILLE BREWING!

We will be drinking delicious beer, listening to some funky tunes, and painting the night away! Reserve your easel today! Hosted by The Paint Bug. A sheville Brewing, Every

Wednesday, 6:30pm. paint-bug.com

Grits & Gristmills Keeping with Tradition

Pick up the new issue today!

For a complete list of the 90+ tailgates in the region, including their season closing dates, visit ASAP’s online Local Food Guide at appalachiangrown.org

Asheville Coffee Scene with Stu Helm

spri ng 2016

Food LifeM ag.co m

Biscuits & Benedicts

breaukefast iss

with Chef John Stehling

the

plus

recipes restaurants SPRING 2016 | FOODL& more!

IFEMAG.COM 1

Sophie MAY/JUNE 2016 | 41

COMMUNITY

Sophie

Park Ridge Health Surgery Specialists welcomes DAVID ONOFREY, M.D., F.A.C.S. He is board-certified in General Surgery. Dr. Onofrey earned his medical degree at New York Medical College in Valhalla, NY and completed his General Surgery residency at St. Vincent’s Hospital & Medical Center.

Goodwill Industries of Northwest North Carolina has appointed TARA THOMPSON MCCRACKEN as Workforce Development District Director, managing Goodwill’s employment pro gra m s a nd c o m munit y partnerships in Buncombe, H ay wo o d a nd H e nd e r s o n counties.

World-traveled Ballerina and Hendersonville native CHRISTINA MOORE SCHREIVOGEL returns home bringing international experience and building, quite literally, a world class dance studio from the “ground up”. Her new studio, River Arts Ballet, is located in Fletcher.

Park Ridge Health Surgery S p e c i a l i s t s w e l c o m e s W. G R E G O RY WA R D , M . D . , F.A.C.S. He is board-certified in General Surgery. Dr. Ward earned his medical degree at Albany Medical College. He completed his residency at Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center.

ALFA, a Hickory-based United Way agency that serves nine counties and improves the health of people affected by HIV/AIDS, announced the selection of CHRISTINA KLIESCH as its new Executive Director.

ELIZABETH MOSELEY was nominated by multiple members of Aloft Asheville Downtown team in recognition of her work ethic and her cheerful willingness to take on any task and her desire to always learn something new.

Pick up the new issue today!

I Do!

Real Brides share their Special Wedding Moments!

I Do!

™

Spring / Summer 2016

Sophie Magazine’s Wedd

ing Guide

™

Sophie Magazine’s Wedding Guide

A Perfect

Mountain Wedding 10 REAL WEDDING STORIES

Send your accomplishments, achievements, recognitions, or business news to writer@sophiemagazine.com and we will publish you on this page!

Include your full color photograph, saved as high quality JPEG at 300 dpi. Please limit the number of words to 35. Sophie reserves the right to edit content.

42 | Sophie MAY/JUNE 2016

COMMUNITY

Mountain Credit Union (MCU) announced the recent hiring of ELISE N. LEWIS as the Branch Manager of its Candler location at 1453 Sand Hill Road. Elise is a Candler native, graduating from Enka High School in 2008 and studied at Montreat College.

McGuire, Wood & Bissette, P.A. is pleased to announce that K ATHLEEN R. RODBERG has joined the firm as an associate attorney. Kathleen has extensive experience in Veterans Administration Benefits, Medicare, Medicaid, guardianship and special needs trusts.

EMILY SHAULES, a local actress and business owner, was chosen to be one of the authors included in “Eat Pray Love Made Me Do It”, an anthology based on Elizabeth Gilbert’s massive best-selling novel, “Eat Pray Love”. Out of thousands of submissions, less than 50 essays were selected for the publication.

Local artist, FRANCES ROBINSON has a new book released titled Straight To The Heart. This is a collection of Frances Robinson’s poetry and songs.

Girl Scout Carolinas Peaks to Piedmont is pleased to announce that MARA DYGERT, Asheville, earned her Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest award in Girl Scouting. By earning the Girl Scout Gold Award, Mara has become a community leader.

Her accomplishments reflect leadership and citizenship skills that set her apart.

Sophie MAY/JUNE 2016 | 43

REAL MEN READ SOPHIE Bradford Hale

• Moved to Asheville in 2010 to be closer to his family and to complete his college degree in Game Design.

• Currently works at Biltmore Estate Winery as a Winery Retail Associate.

• A big fan of Asheville’s craft beer scene, and even got his certification in The Business of Beer from AB Tech.

• Enjoys video games, karaoke, and hanging with his dog Mr. Eko.

• Active with the Montford Park Players, so you’ll hopefully be seeing him perform at the amphitheater this summer.

We know that men read Sophie!

Send a photo of your man reading Sophie to writer@sophiemagazine.com, and you may see your photo published in the magazine!

44 | Sophie MAY/JUNE 2016

Sophie MAY/JUNE 2016 | 45

46 | Sophie MAY/JUNE 2016

Sophie MAY/JUNE 2016 | 47