Mountain Xpress 01.27.16 by Mountain Xpress

OUR 22ND YEAR OF WEEKLY INDEPENDENT NEWS, ARTS & EVENTS FOR WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA VOL. 22 NO. 27 JANUARY 27 - FEBRUARY 2, 2016

WELLNESS

healingour BODIES healingour

ENVIRONMENT

The Legacy of the SHELTON LAUREL MASSACRE

Instagram showcases Asheville’s FOODIE SCENE

RELIVE THE ‘80S with a hair-metal musical

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& the eNViRoNMeNt In the first of two special Wellness issues, Xpress explores the growing awareness in the health and wellness communities that environmental factors are important determinants of health. COVER DESIGN Terrilyn Chance

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14 AFTER THE DELUGE ArtSpace Charter School rises above the ﬂood

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20 OAKS’ LAST STAND South Slope urband forest won’t get city funds

LETTERS

CARTOON: MOLTON

CARTOON: BRENT BROWN

OPINION

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16 COMMUNITY CALENDAR 18 CONSCIOUS PARTY 44 SEE IT BEFORE YOU EAT IT Instagram showcases Asheville’s food photography

20 GREEN SCENE 22 WELLNESS 44 FOOD 48 BEER SCOUT 50 SMALL BITES

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10 BLOOD IN THE VALLEY The Shelton Laurel Massacre’s haunting legacy

51 MOVING ON UP Go-to opener Dylan LeBlanc headlines The Mothlight

51 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT 56 SMART BETS 58 CLUBLAND 64 MOVIES

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69 CLASSIFIEDS 52 NOTHING’ BUT A GOOD TIME Hair-metal musical Rock of Ages comes to Asheville

70 FREEWILL ASTROLOGY 71 NY TIMES CROSSWORD

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opinion

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Appalachian culture lives on in Asheville

Our ancestors’ cultural footprints created here in the mountains over a century ago remain with us. ... Many of us are unaware of these invisible, forgotten forces. I was one of these unaware individuals until I dove into some North Carolina history that later manifested into a book. Martyr of Loray Mill: Ella May and the 1929 Textile Workers’ Strike in Gastonia, NC was published by McFarland Publishing on July 1. This book is a biography about my great-grandmother Ella May Wiggins [See "Working Class Hero: a Q&A with Author Kristina Horton on ‘The Martyr of Loray Mill,’ Jan. 15, Xpress (http://avl.mx/264)]. ... I see evidence of the Appalachian culture that influenced my greatgrandmother alive and well in the mountains I reside in today. … Mountain folk tend to embrace being humble. … [O]verall, accepting different types of people is the norm, and accepting their various viewpoints is more than tolerated here. It is expected, encouraged, and the high number of protests held here in such places as the Vance Monument in Asheville is a badge of pride for those of us living here.

A live-and-let-live philosophy permeates the area. Christians and atheists, socialists and anarchists, businessmen and roaming homeless mingle within the streets and shops within the community without a disapproving stare or even a raise of an eyebrow. This acceptance is rooted in necessity from long ago. Cooperation was a matter of survival back then. … This sense of community outreach is present today in wellorganized, long-lasting community aid organizations such as Eliada. It is also present in spontaneous ways by local individuals reaching out to support fellow community members, such as those found on community Facebook pages such as WAX. ... There is an independent, entrepreneurial spirit that thrives. Decades ago, it existed on independent farms; today, it exists in independent breweries, restaurants and shops. ... Naysayers will say that mountain culture of long ago no longer exists, especially inside the tourist city of Asheville. … However, many of the values that make mountain culture unique are still with us, even here in Asheville. Appalachian values have indeed withstood the test of time. Like the ballads of old, they have been passed down, transformed by the circumstances that surround them, yet the essence of them remains.

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: Chris Changery, Peter Gregutt, Rob Mikulak, Margaret Williams REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS: Able Allen, Jonathan Ammons, Edwin Arnaudin, Pat Barcas, Jacqui Castle, Scott Douglas, George Etheredge, Jesse Farthing, Dorothy Foltz-Gray, Jordan Foltz, Doug Gibson, Steph Guinan, Rachel Ingram, Cindy Kunst, Lea McLellan, Kat McReynolds, Clarke Morrison, Emily Nichols, Josh O’Conner, Thom O’Hearn, Alyx Perry, Kyle Petersen, Rich Rennicks, Tim Robison, Aiyanna Sezak-Blatt, Kyle Sherard, Toni Sherwood, Justin Souther, Krista White ADVERTISING, ART & DESIGN MANAGER: Susan Hutchinson DESIGNERS:

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opin ion

Send your letters to the editor to letters@mountainx.com.

Mountain culture is what I believe makes Asheville feel like home to me. The region carries the same cultural spirit my great-grandmother Ella May experienced in these mountains over a hundred years ago. This cultural heritage is the root of who we are, the vein of our very existence, and here in the mountains, it runs deep. — Kristina Horton Asheville

‘Common’ trash practices need to change When I called Buncombe County Solid Waste and Environmental Control to complain about my neighbor’s yard, which for the past year has been getting buried by cans, plastic, boxes, bottles and other recyclables, and most recently globs of table scraps, that was the answer I got! [“That’s a common practice around here.”] None of the recyclables have been rinsed, and even though they are in bags, the bags have been sitting in the yard for a year, torn and spilling trash everywhere. What really gets me though, is the table scraps — for the squirrels, they said. Since when do squirrels eat chili? Or Hamburger Helper? How about some spicy Mexican cornbread? I thought squirrels ate acorns and pine seeds, vegetables and a little fruit. And if you’re not going to sit and watch the little critters and enjoy their antics, why feed them at all? I see plenty of acorns and pine seeds to feed all the squirrels I want in my yard. What I don’t want is rats, raccoons, opossums and other creatures of the night that may have rabies. And … my dogs eat [their] scraps. (Dogs will be dogs, but I do not like them to eat something that has been sitting in [a] house/yard for days). [They] have a dog, why don’t [they] give the scraps to him/her? Why don’t [they] just throw them in the garbage? So now you’re going to say I’m a city person, and I’m not used to this culture. That’s true. But I spent every summer on a 150-acre farm in the middle of nowhere in Maine. The only thing my grandparents threw out for the wildlife was watermelon rind, pea pods, cornhusks and such. If this is common practice that has been passed down from generation to generation, it’s time to clean up your act. It isn’t the 1800s anymore. We have service that comes right to your house; imagine that. We also have places to take

hazardous waste, junk vehicles, etc. This isn’t just a neighborhood squabble; this is about saving our Earth. — Aila Sundelin Leicester

Smith focuses on important county issues I support Gordon Smith for Buncombe County commissioner because we need a champion to fight for local residents. While our tourism industry has experienced tremendous growth over the past decade, local residents find it increasingly difficult to live and work here. Gordon is focused on important issues such as affordable housing, living wages and increased accountability from the Tourism Development Authority. Our hotel-occupancy tax serves a single purpose — increase the number of hotel stays. This is different from most cities in the country and leaves residents holding the bill for increased public safety and infrastructure costs. We need local leaders who are willing to stand up to hoteliers and demand a fair deal for residents. When the TDA proposed an increase in the hotel-occupancy tax, Gordon advocated that a portion of the tax be allocated to local infrastructure needs. Gordon has continued to apply pressure to the TDA, refusing to appoint board members who won’t push to revise the occupancy-tax structure and demanding that tourism-related businesses pay living wages to their employees. Gordon also supports increased government transparency. Last year, I proposed an open data policy to make it easier for citizens to access the information that drives our public decisions; Gordon was instrumental in seeing that resolution adopted by the city. The continued growth of Asheville and Buncombe County will present challenges; I encourage you to join me in supporting Gordon’s efforts to preserve a community where residents have the opportunity to thrive. — Patrick Conant Asheville Editor’s note: Conant reports that his business (PRC Applications) was contracted to create Smith’s campaign website (www.gordonforbuncombe.org).

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January 27 - february 2, 2016

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o pinion

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Let’s get real

Homeless need a hand up, not handouts

BY JOHN KLOECKNER I am currently homeless in Asheville. Although I don’t seek services from any organization apart from an occasional meal, clean clothes, a cup of coffee or a shower, I’m familiar with the services available and the various churches and other organizations that assist local people in need. I come from a middle-class lifestyle and a solid family background. This idea of a 10-year plan to end chronic homelessness is hyperbole, not an achievable goal. Many local homeless people feel the plan is a political tool used to help the general voting public sleep better at night, thinking that something’s being done. The truth is, someone will become homeless tomorrow, and there are several people currently living on the street here who were skipping middle school when the original plan was adopted. Homelessness will never “end.” The problems that cause homelessness and that homeless people face are not just a question of housing. Homeward Bound has helped a lot of people, but subsidized housing is not the appropriate first step for everybody, and meanwhile, it creates a twoway street of dependency. For starters, the 10-year plan needs a more realistic name in order to create a realistic vision. Many homeless people are victims of some form of loss, abuse, neglect, poverty, addiction or mental illness, or are ex-cons or bankrupt or simply out of work, but that’s not everybody. Asheville’s homeless population has just as much character as the rest of this community, and for me, it’s been a privilege to earn the respect and friendship of these peers. The sad part is that so many others are missing out on some incredible people simply because of a preconceived prejudice. The five-year extension plan should start with the simplest and easiest-to-achieve objective: Stop treating people differently just because they are different or live differently than you do. It’s a simple question of EQUALITY. We’re not all the same, yet all people should be equally respected. We are black, white, male, female, LGBT, and we

JOHN KLOECKNER come from every religion, nationality, background and social class that exists. We’re looked down upon by society and even by some of those who offer us their services, as if we were incompetent, weak, ignorant or whichever other stereotype people impose upon us. Homeless people need A HAND UP rather than a handout. You can give away all the housing you want, but that’s not going to bring about real change in anyone’s life. Real change comes from incorporation, opportunity and empowerment. Street people (those who live on the streets by choice), homeless people and the underprivileged are all valuable assets to a community. There’s a lot that could be done to assist both homeless and street people — and believe it or not, we could do it ourselves. I’ve developed a detailed plan for creating nontraditional employment opportunities with flexible schedules, and I’ve discussed it with several church leaders and with street people who are willing to lead work crews. Downtown is a mess: Debris is everywhere. Neither the current Rivertop Contracting team nor the crew of six that walks around downtown with little brooms is as acquainted with the area as we are. In addition, we’re available on nights and weekends, when cleanup is most needed. The $300,000 the city set aside for grafitti removal would be more than enough to establish a business/work

program that would train and pay the underprivileged to perform various beneficial tasks, including a graffiti removal team that could be serving the community indefinitely. These opportunities could be expanded to include a county cleanup crew and further job training programs. There just needs to be some community leadership to help establish these options. This is true not just for the homeless but for all underprivileged people who want to be a part of this community, and it would benefit Asheville in a variety of ways. We have a plan: There’s just nowhere to bring it to. Meanwhile, providing lockers and/or a day center with longer hours and more extensive facilities (things like washers and dryers, more showers and toilets, and computer access beyond the one hour a day the library allows) would clean up a lot of the congestion on city streets and in the parks. The AHOPE Day Center closes at noon, forcing people to carry their gear with them the rest of the day, regardless of whether it’s rain or shine. The freedom to move about without lugging suitcases, trash bags and shopping carts would enable people to make it to services or look for a job. We have a plan for this also, but again, there is nowhere to bring it to. What government officials and agencies also fail to realize is that for many people, this is a lifestyle. Street life is a subculture and an emerging fringe element of society, and due to our current economic climate, our numbers are growing. We’re not all criminals, addicts or bums: Many of us are artists, musicians, writers, adventurers and travelers, and this is how we choose to live. Not everyone wants debt, a daily grind or even family picnics; we’re not all interested in local politics; we’re not stupid or lazy; and while we may be considered crazy because we don’t live like everybody else, that’s our choice. We’re all brothers and sisters, living as one, and our struggles are just as real as anyone else’s. Asheville is not two cities, the housed and the homeless. Asheville is my home, and it’s one city, one community and one people. We all live here together, sharing the same streets and parks and attending the same events. There are rich people, there are middle-class people, and there are the poor. That’s life — but we are all Ashevilleans. X

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January 27 - february 2, 2016

NEws

bLOOd in the VaLLey

The Shelton Laurel Massacre’s haunting legacy

NamEs Of tHE faLLEN: Two granite markers in the vicinity of their gravesites bear the names of the 13 victims of the Shelton Laurel Massacre: James Shelton, David Shelton, James Shelton Jr., Azariah Shelton, William Shelton, Rod Shelton, Jasper Chandler, Ellison King, Hellen Moore, (young) David Shelton, James Metcalfe, Wade Moore and Joe Woods. Photo by Max Hunt

by max Hunt

tHE gatHERiNg stORm

mhunt@mountainx.com

In some ways, Shelton Laurel hasn’t changed much. Small farms still dot the starkly beautiful valley. Locals are friendly and courteous, provided you respect their privacy and don’t put on airs. The Shelton clan and related families have lived in the area since the late 1700s, and many current residents can trace their family lines back to one of the 13 who were executed. To these descendants, the massacre remains a central aspect of their family history. “Growing up, my granny talked quite a bit about the massacre,” says Freddy Patterson, who’s delved into the family history extensively. “I used to think the Confederate flag stood for the South until I came to learn that my ancestors were fighting for the other side.” Asked to point out the actual execution site, he and several other Shelton Laurel residents stop at the edge of a field near the Petzold Distilleries. There’s no visible sign or marker, however, and they debate exactly where the shooting happened. “People up here didn’t have slaves,” Patterson explains. “They were poor farmers, not like the plantation owners to the east and south. The Sheltons fought for this country in the Revolutionary War; they weren’t jumping to go join a rebellion they didn’t have much stake in.” Some residents fled north to join the Union Army. Others tried to remain neutral, hoping their isolation would keep

“Will the America of the future -- will this vast, rich Union ever realize what itself cost back there, after all?” - Walt Whitman In January 1863, at the height of the Civil War, Confederate soldiers of the 64th North Carolina Regiment, composed mostly of men from the western counties, marched into Shelton Laurel. Their orders were simple: root out the deserters and Unionists using the isolated Madison County valley as a base for raids against Confederate holdings. Over several days, the 64th fought skirmishes with residents, taking a handful of men and boys prisoner. These captives, however, would never stand trial: Instead, 13 of them, ranging in age from 13 to 60, were summarily executed in what became known as the Shelton Laurel Massacre. The killings sparked local outrage, captured national headlines, tarnished the names of the 64th’s commanders and earned the county the dubious epithet “Bloody Madison.” Yet more than 150 years later, debate persists as to what actually happened. And that long-ago strife is still leaving its imprint on the people and communities of Western North Carolina.

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them safe. But when the Confederacy passed conscription laws in April 1862, the people of Shelton Laurel balked. Many who were forced to enlist quickly deserted. Others actively harbored Union agents and and raided local Confederate households and stockpiles. The conflict between Madison County’s “Rebels” and “Lincolnites,” as they were known, came to a head on Jan. 8, 1863, when a group of Unionist bushwhackers, allegedly including some Sheltons as well as neighbors and extended family, raided the town of Marshall, then under Confederate control, to capture a supply of salt. “Salt was essential for preserving meat back then,” says Patterson. “The Confederates were determined the people here wouldn’t have it, as a way of punishing them. They were trying to starve them out.” The raiders didn’t restrict themselves to salt, though: They also stole shoes, clothing and anything else they could carry. This included breaking into the home of Confederate Col. Lawrence Allen, whose children lay deathly ill with scarlet fever. Allen’s children would die shortly after the Marshall raid. When news of the raid reached Allen and Lt. Col. James Keith — cousins who’d grown up in Mars Hill — the two led their regiment on a mission to finally bring the Shelton Laurel guerillas to justice.

HOmE tO mOtHER As the men of the 64th North Carolina converged on the valley, they encountered local resistance, Phillip Shaw Paludan writes in his book Victims. After a brief skirmish, the Confederates tried to get the Shelton Laurel women to reveal their menfolk’s whereabouts. According to Paludan, a leading Civil War and Lincoln scholar who died in 2007, several elderly women were hanged by the neck; another was tied to a tree while her infant lay in the snow at her feet; a mentally disabled girl was whipped. Still the women wouldn’t speak. Meanwhile, the author says, the soldiers rounded up whatever males they could find. And while primary sources differ as to precisely who was captured, a letter from Augustus Merrimon, then the solicitor of the state’s Western District, to Gov. Zebulon Vance identifies 13 names, including: Ellison King and Joe Woods (mysteriously listed as “desperate men”); Stob Rod Shelton, so-called because of an amputated arm; and Azariah and David Shelton, ages 14 and 13. Two others — 12-year-old Johnnie Norton and Shelton relative Pete McCoy — were also captured but later escaped. According to Maynard Shelton’s book A Family’s Civil War Struggles, McCoy — allegedly a Freemason — struck an agreement with a sympathetic guard and slipped away in the night. Young Norton, meanwhile, is said to have fallen asleep

beneath a bed and been forgotten by his captors. “Johnnie Norton later became a preacher,” Patterson notes. “You can bet he gave thanks to the glory of God for saving him from what was about to happen.” On Jan. 19, the remaining 13 were marched several miles toward Knoxville Tenn., until the order was suddenly given to halt. “The men were split up into groups of five, five and three,” says Patterson, “and the first five were told to kneel before the soldiers.” According to both Patterson and Paludan, an order was given to fire, and when several soldiers hesitated, Keith — supposedly in charge of the 64th at the time — told them to fire or take the prisoners’ places. A volley rang out, and five bodies lay lifeless on the frozen clay. The next five lined up, including young David Shelton. When the next volley struck, Paludan writes, David, wounded but alive, pleaded with the soldiers to spare his life: “You have killed my old father and my three brothers; you have shot me in both arms. I forgive you all this — I can get well. Let me go home to my mother and sisters.” Instead, they stood him up and shot him eight more times. The remaining prisoners met a similar fate. After the executions, Paludan reports, soldiers piled the corpses in a mass grave, leaving several halfburied. Most of the Confederates moved on, a few staying to keep watch. When the women went the next day to collect and rebury their kin, they found that wild hogs had eaten some of the remains. Today, most outsiders don’t even know where the old Shelton family cemetery is; Patterson leads the way up a muddy hillside. There are no elaborate headstones. A granite plaque placed by the Shelton family in 1963 bears the names of those killed in the massacre, but for the most part, it’s left to scattered stones stuck in the ground beneath the trees to indicate that the unnamed dead rest below. Climbing family trees Dan Slagle is a man on a mission. For nearly two decades, the Madison County native has been chasing down the ghosts of the past, poring over primary documents and collecting oral traditions passed down through generations.

of stuff. He was part of it; he may or may not have given the order to kill those folks. We’ll never know.” A history of violence

RETELLING THE TALE: A scene from the Southern Appalachian Repertory Theatre’s 2005 production on the Massacre. The play premiered to sold-out crowds and received both praise and criticism from descendants on both sides. Photo courtesy of Bill Gregg/ Southern Appalachian Repertory Theatre, Mars Hill University “I became interested in the story while researching my ancestors,” he explains. “At least three of them were in the 64th; I had to know whether they were involved. On the victims’ side, two of my more distant cousins, the Moore boys, were among the 13 killed.” Slagle’s research has turned up some intriguing tidbits — and many more questions. “The common thread with accounts of the massacre is they only tell one side of the story,” he points out. “Many times, when you try to question history, people won’t accept it.” As an example, Slagle cites the figure of Keith, who’s been widely blamed for orchestrating the massacre. Sources ranging from Merrimon’s letters to an 1863 New York Times article have implicated Keith, stating that Allen was suspended from duty at the time. “Allen was suspended two times, for six months each,” Slagle maintains, “but neither of those times was during the Shelton Laurel incident. I’ve got documentation that he was there.” Furthermore, Tennessee and Georgia cavalry were also operating in the valley then. “There’s a report by a Capt. Nelson from the Georgia unit, a day after the killing,” Slagle explains. “He reports that his troops killed 13 and captured 20. Are those the same 13? There’s nothing about that in the rest of the story.” An even murkier aspect involves the relationships among Keith, Allen,

Vance and Merrimon before the war. “Allen was clerk of Superior Court in Madison from 1859 through 1863,” says Slagle — about the same time that both Vance and Merrimon were practicing law in the area. “In 1860-61, Keith was signing documents as deputy clerk of court, helping his cousin Allen. These men must’ve known of each other.” It’s also possible, Slagle maintains, that Merrimon had ulterior motives for implicating Keith in the massacre. “James Keith was the executor of the estate of his father, William Keith,” Slagle reveals. Merrimon, meanwhile, had served as a trustee for attorneys representing Keith’s brother Alfred. When Alfred died in 1859, Merrimon sought to collect the money Alfred owed them from the father’s estate. “We’ll never know what might have transpired between the two before Shelton Laurel happened,” says Slagle, “but it leads one to wonder: If they fought over money, was that Merrimon’s revenge on Keith?” In 1868, as Keith sat in jail awaiting trial, he wrote a letter to an associate in Mars Hill claiming that Allen had been in charge at Shelton Laurel and that a “Capt. Brown” gave the execution orders, citing records left with officers of the 64th that Slagle has yet to uncover. “He’s pretty confident he’ll be vindicated in that letter,” notes Slagle. “I think Keith got the blame for a lot

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But the violence didn’t end with the massacre or even the conclusion of the war. Both Maynard Shelton and Freddy Patterson tell of Pete McCoy’s specially made “man-killing” gun, used to hunt down members of the 64th. All told, McCoy is said to have killed between 20 and 30 Confederates by the war’s end. Another frequently repeated tale recounts the murder of a bricklayer named Inman during the reconstruction of Mars Hill College after the war. Inman had boasted of nearly shooting Nancy Shelton Norton in an 1864 skirmish in the Laurel in which her three sons died violently. “Within earshot were two students from the Laurel area,” Maynard Shelton writes. They reported Inman’s tale to Nancy’s brother James Shelton, who went to Mars Hill and shot the bricklayer in the bowels. According to several Shelton sources interviewed, James Shelton was arrested for murder, and his trial was moved to neighboring Yancey County for fear that a local jury would never convict. After hearing Nancy Norton’s testimony, however, the jury found James not guilty, calling it “justifiable homicide.” But though the tale is accepted by most secondary sources, Slagle says he hasn’t found any evidence in either county that the trial or the murder ever happened. “I’ve searched court records up to 1867. If the story’s true, there’s no records of it,” he reports. “What do we believe? Unless somebody traces every little story in Madison history, there’s no way of knowing.” For his part, Maynard Shelton encourages those disputing his version of events to do their own research. “If information is always accepted as truth, then knowledge will never grow,” he writes. And Patterson simply says: “This is our family’s history the way we know it, the way our ancestors told it. It’s our story, and we’re sticking to it.” Modern-day echoes Whatever actually happened back then, the Shelton Laurel killings continue to generate considerable

CONTINUes on PAGE 12

January 27 - february 2, 2016

interest. Many essays and books have been written on the subject, each providing slight variations in the “facts.” Two novels by local authors — Charles Frazier’s 1997 Cold Mountain and Ron Rash’s 2007 The World Made Straight, both of which were made into feature films — draw heavily on the massacre and its legacy. “I’m not a reader: I’m a researcher; the first thing I do with a book is

January 27 - february 2, 2016

look for the footnotes,” says Slagle. “A journalist’s or author’s job is different. You guys are in the business of selling books and telling stories.” Patterson shares Slagle’s ambivalence concerning some modern interpretations of the massacre. “A lot of those folks didn’t put in the time to research what they’re talking about,” he says. “It might be a good story, but it’s not what happened.”

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Slagle is working on his own manuscript. “I keep holding out for that one little tidbit of information that’s not there yet,” he says. “It’s somewhere, but I’ve not found it. Maybe I never will.” Patterson, meanwhile, wrote a play on the massacre titled “The Last Christmas.” It premiered last year at the Middle Laurel Church to a crowd of nearly 200. “It was free to attend, but we accepted donations, which went

toward helping people in the community,” he explains. Featuring a cast of locals (including Patterson himself), he says the play grew out of a year’s worth of research. “We took a few liberties with the dialogue and inserting a love story into it, but the spirit of the play is just as it was passed down to me.” To build verisimilitude, Patterson recalls, “We had my little niece come

out here, screaming, when the soldiers came. We had the prisoners march out of the church under guard and fired a real volley into the air outside to simulate the shooting. At the end, we have one character playing the piano very softly, while another recites the story plainly and reads the names of those killed. You could hear a pin drop in the audience by the end of it.” A second performance had been scheduled for Jan. 23 at the larger Freedom Christian Church on Highway 25/70 near Marshall, but it was postponed due to severe weather. The proceeds from that performance will assist another neighbor in need. “All credit goes to God for giving me the inspiration. I’m more than happy to help do his work,” Patterson proclaims. fiNdiNg middLE gROuNd In 2005, the Southern Appalachian Repertory Theatre in Mars Hill staged “Shelton Laurel,” its own take on the massacre. It was subsequently performed in Asheville and at several schools, including Laurel Elementary. John Inscoe, co-author of Race, War, and Remembrance in the Appalachian South, served as a consultant, as did Slagle; Inscoe wrote an essay about the experience that appears in his book. “The opportunity to see [the event] dramatized — and curiosity as to what perspective the play would take, given that descendants of both the Unionist victims and the Confederate executioners still lived in the area, added another layer of vested interest locally,” Inscoe noted in an email. “For many years, memories of the massacre remained very private. There was a strong oral tradition in how the story was told and who told it, and descendants were often uncomfortable as to what outside ‘authorities’ would do with ‘their’ history.” “SART got praise and criticism from both sides, which Bill Gregg, who was in charge of the theater, wanted,” Slagle recalls. When the play premiered in the Laurel, “They didn’t really know what the reaction was gonna be, but it had a good crowd.” Inscoe, moreover, believes that “in a strange way, the play proved cathartic to local people, particularly those living in Shelton

Laurel. I don’t think a book or a lecture could ever evoke the sort of collective response this public event could and did.”

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iNvisibLE bORdERs In a broader sense, the Shelton Laurel Massacre and its contentious legacy reflect both persistent divisions within WNC communities and the fierce passions tied to people’s sense of place. Slagle grew up on Big Laurel Creek, downstream from Shelton Laurel, “before I moved to Mars Hill in the third grade,” he explains. “I remember being told you don’t go to Shelton Laurel unless you have business there or someone invites you. Things have changed since then, but it’s like there was an imaginary borderline once we went down the creek so far. Each community in Madison, they don’t necessarily associate with each other.” In Victims, Paludan writes about the differing perspectives of rural mountaineers and urban populations in the antebellum South. “The ordinary pattern of life in Shelton Laurel was set by nature, by the seasons and by the ages of human life,” he notes. Folks in urban areas, on the other hand, focused on “making their towns prosperous and important in their neighborhood or region. Their hopes for themselves and their place emphasized progress, growth and change.” Last October, Xpress published a commentary by retired UNC Asheville professor Milton Ready titled “Anywhere But Asheville: Pride and Prejudice in the Mountains.” The piece, which contrasted Asheville’s progressive, liberal culture with surrounding communities’ more conservative attitudes as well as those of dissatisfied big-city transplants, sparked a fierce online debate and several letters to the editor. Meanwhile, a similar blurring of the boundaries between emotional loyalties and historical facts continues to play out in Shelton Laurel, Madison county and beyond. “It’s sad, in a way,” says Slagle. “Things get perpetuated and carried on, and you have to wonder where it stops. Does it ever stop? I’m sure there’s people in Madison right now that’d get fired up if you mention the last names Allen, Keith or Shelton. The sad part is, what’s making them upset might not even be the truth.” X

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fROm RaiN tO sNOw: Just after midnight on Dec. 29, Swannanoa’s ArtSpace Charter School flooded. Facing a $25,000 insurance deductible, the school asked the community for help. Just a week after creating the crowdfunding campaign, the school had met its goal — and the funds that continued flowing in will go toward ensuring a flood of this scale never happens again. Photo courtesy of ArtSpace After an abnormally wet fall and weeks of unrelenting rain, an embankment abutting the ArtSpace Charter School gave way on Dec. 29. “We were out of school, and there was a lot of rain that night,” development manager Josh Batenhorst explains. “They shut down sections of Sweeten Creek; it was just a mess. A lot of people throughout the area were experiencing flooding.” The Swannanoa campus, he continues, sits “between Reger Avenue and Sherwood Road, and Reger is about 15-20 feet higher than our school.

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We’ve had some issues with flooding in our north wing for many years, but never to this extent.” Just after midnight, part of the bank collapsed, and stormwater runoff poured down from Reger Avenue. “The water didn’t have anywhere to go,” notes Batenhorst. “We had flooding in every room of the school except one; the school is about 40,000 square feet, and that one office is probably about 100.” When the staff arrived the next morning, “There was just standing water everywhere.” By 10:30 a.m.,

emergency maintenance crews were assessing the damage and pumping out water. “It’s never a good feeling when you’re walking through the building with professionals and they’re going, ‘Oh, no. Oh, no,’” says Batenhorst. “We walked around, and there was just an inch or two of water everywhere — and mud, lots and lots of mud. “A crew of a couple of teachers and myself started putting the drywall back, putting up sandbags,” he recalls. “The first day, we actually dug out a much bigger trench: 10 to

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15 people just dug and dug and dug for three to four hours. So the [holiday] break was cut short for teachers, but the students got an extra two-day break. “We had to take out all the carpet in the building; we’re going to have to end up tearing out the tile in the summer. And we had to go along probably 80 percent of the walls and cut the drywall at 3 1/2 to 4 inches … because it had taken on water.” According to an ArtSpace press release, “Significant repair costs … could reach into the hundreds of thousands of dollars in order to remedy the situation.” And though the school had $500,000 worth of insurance, there was a $25,000 deductible. Crowdfunding to the rescue At that point, ArtSpace launched a crowdfunding page on YouCaring. com to help meet the deductible. Since then, both donations and volunteer assistance have poured in. “The amount raised doesn’t even begin to value the volunteer time that we got,” Batenhorst reports. “Some stacked sandbags, and one of our teachers’ partners was here all day every day cutting drywall. Other parents came and painted, pulled out carpet. Children of faculty and staff came and helped. We tried to track all the volunteer hours, which at this point is over 1,000 hours, but that doesn’t track it all either, because some of them didn’t sign the form.” Although the bulk of the money came from individuals and families, one of the biggest single donations was compliments of the Native Kitchen & Social Pub. The Swannanoa eatery and bar offered to kick in an entire day’s profits, and with patrons’ help, they raised $5,900. In the past, notes marketing manager Marissa Howard, Native Kitchen has done fundraisers for ArtSpace and other local organizations, typically giving 20 percent of the day’s profits. The flooding, though, “was such a horrific thing for them. … A $25,000 deductible is pretty extreme for a school, especially a charter school. So we wanted to be able to contribute. … But now, I think, they’ve completely surpassed that goal.” The campaign, notes Batenhorst, “is still open, so people can still give if they want. I was looking through the list of names, and families and extended families probably make up

85 percent. But then there’s another group of people that have no personal connection to the school: People heard about it on the radio or on social media, and they just wanted to help.” Within a week, ArtSpace had met its crowdfunding goal; the school has since collected more than twice what it needed to cover the deductible. The rest of the money will help pay for implementing the school’s recently completed master plan, which includes steps to address the drainage issues.

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A permanent fix “When they built the building, they carved away the side of the hill and put in some drainage,” Batenhorst explains. “It just isn’t as much as you would need if the rain is as heavy as it was that night.” A culvert running alongside the road, he continues, “just dumps all the water from Reger Avenue.” Even before the recent deluge, the school knew it had to deal with the problem once and for all. “We’d been working with the Asheville Design Center, and they came and helped us do the master campus plan,” says Batenhorst; the final design had been presented to the school’s board of directors earlier in December. “The main piece was to start working on the bank issue. The flood really solidified the plan and sped up the process: We just can’t have another flood like this.” The plan involves “digging the bank back and trying as best we can to make that slope more gentle, and also putting in some sort of retaining structure,” says Batenhorst, adding that the school will need to add some rock and other surface elements to slow the erosion on the hill. “We’re also going to have to figure out how to partner with the [North Carolina Department of Transportation] and the Buncombe County stormwater management program to get permission to take that culvert that spills onto the property and have it go down under the sidewalk.” Thanks to a lot of hard work by teachers, other staff and volunteers, ArtSpace was able to resume classes mere days after the flood. “We’ve been through stuff before, and we’ll keep going,” says Batenhorst. “I think we’ve established a reputation as a real leader of arts education in our area. If anyone is interested in coming out and seeing the school and seeing how we’ve recovered — especially if you’ve got a student in K through eight — we’re open for business!” X

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co m m u n i t y c a len d a r january 27 - FEBRUARY 4, 2016

Calendar guidelines In order to qualify for a free listing, an event must benefit or be sponsored by a nonprofit or noncommercial community group. In the spirit of Xpress’ commitment to support the work of grassroots community organizations, we will also list events our staff consider to be of value or interest to the public, including local theater performances and art exhibits even if hosted by a forprofit group or business. All events must cost no more than $40 to attend in order to qualify for free listings, with the one exception of events that benefit nonprofits. Commercial endeavors and promotional events do not qualify for free listings. Free listings will be edited by Xpress staff to conform to our style guidelines and length. Free listings appear in the publication covering the date range in which the event occurs. Events may be submitted via email to calendar@ mountainx.com or through our online submission form at mountainx.com/calendar. The deadline for free listings is the Wednesday one week prior to publication at 5 p.m. For a full list of community calendar guidelines, please visit mountainx.com/calendar. For questions about free listings, call 251-1333, ext. 137. For questions about paid calendar listings, please call 251-1333, ext. 320.

Animals Asheville Humane Society 14 Forever Friend Lane, 7612001, ashevillehumane.org • SA (1/30), 10am-noon Volunteer job fair. Free. • SU (1/31), 11am-2pm - Monthly low-cost vaccine clinic. See website for costs and guidelines. Blue Ridge Humane Society 692-2639, blueridgehumane. org • SATURDAYS, 10:30am - Yoga with cats. Proceeds benefit the Blue Ridge Humane Society. Free Held at Sanctuary Brewing Company, 147 1st Ave., Hendersonville • SA (1/30), 3pm - “Pup crawl,” puppy adoption event moving to Southern Appalachian Brewery at 4pm. Free to attend. Held at Sanctuary Brewing Company, 147 1st Ave., Hendersonville Brother Wolf Animal Rescue 505-3440, bwar.org • WE (1/27), 6pm - Pints for Pets: Animal adoption event. Free to attend. Held at

CONNECT WITH YOUR INNER CHILD: Are you a kid at heart? Explore your child-side with Asheville Community Yoga Center’s “Kids Yoga for Adults” workshop on Sunday, Jan. 31, from 12:30-2:30 p.m. According to the organizers, the class will give you a chance to “play yoga games, giggle, stretch, recall what is fundamentally important and surface your lightness.” Asheville Community Yoga Center offers donation based classes and low cost workshops year-round. Photo courtesy of Pat Barcas. (p. 43)

Sanctuary Brewing Company, 147 1st Ave., Hendersonville

Benefits WNC BEE SCHOOL (pd.) The Center for Honeybee Research. Folk Art Center, March 5th: 9-5pm, Mar 6th: 12:304:30pm. $45. Info & registration: chbr.org. Bees from hive to honey. Annual International Black Jar Honey Contest chbr.org/2016HoneyContest.aspx • SA (1/30), 11am-1pm - Tickets to this honey tasting and people’s choice judging benefit the Center for Honeybee Research. $10/free for those not tasting. Held at Renaissance Asheville Hotel, 31 Woodfin St. Beat the Winter Blues Ball purplepass.com/beatwinterblues • TH (1/28), 6-10pm - Proceeds to this ball featuring music from Rockell Scott and Motown Blue, reception and silent auction benefit Rotary Club charities. $30. Held at Asheville Masonic Temple, 80 Broadway

January 27 - february 2, 2016

Music & Yoga Benefit for MANNA Food Bank theorangepeel.net/events/ yoga-benefit-fanna-food-bank • SU (1/31), 1pm - Tickets to this social, reception and yin yoga led by Shala Worsley with the Alex Krug Combo benefit MANNA Food Bank. $50. Held at Orange Peel, 101 Biltmore Ave. Sunday Morning Waffle Breakfast Fundraiser facebook.com/ SonRise-CommunityOutReach-187360488019542 • SU (1/31), 8:30am-1:30pm Proceeds from this waffle breakfast benefit the free breakfast program of SonRise Community OutReach. $7. Held at SonRise Community OutReach, 1543-c Patton Ave. WNC Aids Project Benefit Concert wncap.org/events/pianoconcert-1-31-16 • SA (1/31), 3pm - Proceeds from this David Troy Francis piano concert and reception benefit the WNC Aids Project. $100. Held at the Asheville Country Club Pisgah Ballroom, 170 Windsor Road

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Business & Technology A-B Tech Small Business Center 398-7950, abtech.edu/sbc Registration required. Free unless otherwise noted. Held at A-B Tech Enka Campus, 1459 Sand Hill Road, Candler • WE (1/27), 3pm - “An Entrepreneur’s Guide to Bridging the Digital Divide,” seminar. • TU (2/2), 10am-noon - “How to Develop & Screen Your Business Idea,” seminar. • WE (2/3), 10am-noon “Business of Public Contracting,” seminar.

Classes, Meetings & Events COMMUNICATION SKILLS (pd.) Tuesdays, 2/9-3/1, 7-9pm: HeartSpeak classes with Cathy Holt. Want to learn practical communication skills that help everyone’s needs get met? Experiential empathy practices, small intimate group. 828-545-

9681, cathyfholt@gmail.com, www.heartspeakpeace.com. CRIBBAGE • LEARN AND PLAY! (pd.) Do you enjoy playing cribbage or would like to learn? Join us Monday nights, 6pm, at Atlanta Bread Company, 633 Merrimon Avenue, Asheville. • All levels and ages welcome. We are a casual group and it’s free! Come give it a try. More information, call, Terry (828) 254-1018 or Don (404) 580-2941. Asheville Peggers Cribbage Group. ESSENTIALS OF RESILIENT LIVING AND PERMACULTURE THROUGH THE SEASONS W/ WILD ABUNDANCE (pd.) A hands-on course in permaculture, organic gardening, building, primitive skills, wild food foraging, animal husbandry & more! Meets 1 weekend per month throughout the year (starts March 2016). 775-7052, wildabundance.net. HANDS ON CULINARY CLASSES AT THE FARM (pd.) You want to, but you’re not sure how to go about cooking local, organic produce and meats. Chef Ferrari will awaken

the Chef within you! The Farm, 215 Justice Ridge Road, Candler, NC 28715. 828-667-0666. info@ thefarmevents.com www.thefarmevents.com LINDA PANNULLO MOSAICS AND WORKSHOPS (pd.) The best instruction for all levels • Mosaic Mirror workshop for Beginners, February 13-14 w/Linda Pannullo • Sacred Geometry/Mosaic Mandala workshop, March 5-6, w/ Dianne Sonnenberg • Building a Landscape with Texture and Color, May 14-15, w/Laura Redlen • Pets, Creatures and Imaginary Beings, April 16-17, Yulia Hanansen. More classes see website. Call Linda at 828-3376749. Info and registration at Lindapannullomosaics.com NVC Parenting class (pd.) “Compassionate Communication within Our Families” Thursdays, Jan. 7, 14, 21, 28 4-6 p.m. Rainbow Community School, West Asheville $100, childcare ($12), tuition aid available. Info/ Registration: (828) 775-6333, polly.medlicott@gmail.com

Mantra Meditation Series Ganesha and Durga ORgaNiC gROwERs sCHOOL 23Rd aNNuaL spRiNg CONfERENCE (pd.) March 11-13, 2016, UNC Asheville. 70+ sessions per day: practical, affordable, regionallyfocused workshops on growing, permaculture, homesteading, and urban farming. Trade show, seed exchange, kid’s program. Organicgrowersschool.org. piLLOwtaLK: tHE aRt Of sExuaL COmmuNiCatiON (pd.) Saturday, February 6, 10am-10pm. Learn communication techniques to give and receive direction in a way that keeps sex hot! Singles or Couples. Register now! www. pleasureevolution.com/pillowtalk-sexual-communication asHEviLLE submaRiNE vEtERaNs ussashevillebase.com, ecipox@charter.net • 1st TUESDAYS, 6-7pm - Social meeting for U.S. Navy submarine veterans. Free to attend. Held at Ryan’s Steakhouse, 1000 Brevard Road asHEviLLE timEbaNK 348-0674, ashevilletimebank.org • TUESDAYS, 4-6pm Orientation session. Free to attend. Held at Firestorm Cafe and Books, 610 Haywood Road bLuE RidgE tOastmastERs CLub blueridgetoastmasters.com/ membersarea, fearless@blueridgetoastmasters.org • MONDAYS, 12:15-1:25pm - Public speaking and leadership group. Free. Held at Lenoir Rhyne Center for Graduate Studies, 36 Montford Ave. Catawba sCiENCE CENtER 243 3rd Ave. NE, Hickory, 3228169, catawbascience.org • (1/23) through (5/15) - Ocean Bound! exhibition featuring interactive exhibits. $8/$6 children. City Of HENdERsONviLLE cityofhendersonville.org • SA (1/30), 10am-1pm - Input and feedback meeting regarding transportation in the 9th Avenue area. 10am - city, NCDOT, hospitals and colleges. 11am - schools, police department and residents. Noon-1pm - open house. Reservations: 919-653-2968. Free. Held at Hendersonville Middle School, 825 N Whitted St., Hendersonville Just pEaCE fOR isRaEL/ paLEstiNE mepeacewnc.com • FR (1/29), 3:15pm - General meeting. Free. Held at BrooksHowell Home, 266 Merrimon Ave.

LauREL CHaptER Of tHE EmbROidERERs’ guiLd amERiCa • TH (2/4), 9:30am-noon - General meeting and demonstration of how to create a hardanger biscornu. Free. Held at Cummings United Methodist Church, 3 Banner Farm Road, Etowah miLLs RivER pREsbytERiaN CHuRCH 10 Presbyterian Church Road Mills River, 891-7101 • SU (1/24) through SU (1/31) “Puzzlefest,” weeklong puzzle event for all ages. Contact for full schedule. Free. ONtRaCK wNC 50 S. French Broad Ave., 2555166, ontrackwnc.org Registration required. Free unless otherwise noted. • WE (1/27), noon-1:30pm “Understanding Credit. Get it. Keep it. Improve it.” Seminar. • THURSDAYS (1/14) through (1/28), 5:30pm - “Manage Your Money Series,” seminar. pisgaH LEgaL sERviCEs 62 Charlotte St., 855-733-3711 • TH (2/4), noon-1:30pm Ambassador Training for board members, volunteers and supporters with overview of programs, plans and fundraising. Registration required: 210-3405. Free. pubLiC EvENts at maRs HiLL uNivERsity 689-1307, mhu.edu • WE (1/27), 3-5pm - Center for Regional Studies grand reopening celebration. Free. Held in the Ramsey Center for Regional Studies. REyNOLds/faiRviEw sCRibbLE CRibbagE CLub • WEDNESDAYS, 12:30pm - Scrabble and cribbage club. Free to attend. Held at Mountain Mojo Coffee house, 381 Old Charlotte Highway, Fairview Showing Up for Racial Justice showingupforracialjustice.org • TUESDAYS, noon-2pm Educating and organizing white people for racial justice. Free to attend. Held at Firestorm Cafe and Books, 610 Haywood Road wNC divERsity ENgagEmENt COaLitiON wncdec.com • FR (1/29), 6-7:30pm Networking social with appetizers and guest speakers Dr. Darin Waters and Sharon West. Registration required: https:// goo.gl/UsndRF. Free. Held at YMI Cultural Center, 39 South Market St.

with Cat Matlock daNCE studiO ZaHiya, dOwNtOwN daNCE CLassEs (pd.) Monday 5pm Ballet Wkt 6pm Hip Hop Wkt 7pm Bellydance/Hip Hop Fusion 7:30pm Bellydance 8pm Tap • Tuesday 9am Hip Hop Wkt 6pm Intro to Bellydance 7pm Bellydance 8pm Bellydance 8pm Hip Hop Choreo 2 •Wednesday 9am Latin Wkt 5:30pm Hip Hop Wkt 6:30 Bhangra 7:30 Bollywood 8pm Contemporary • Thursday 9am Hip Hop Wrkt 4pm Kid’s Dance 5pm Teens Hip Hop 7pm West African 8pm West African 2 • Saturday 9:30am Hip Hop Wkt 10:45am POUND Wkt • $13 for 60 minute classes, Wkt $5. 90 1/2 N. Lexington Avenue. www.studiozahiya.com :: 828.242.7595

Begins Sunday, Jan 31 2-3:15pm $50 for series or $15 drop-in to any Sunday

West Asheville Yoga.com 828.350.1167 602 Haywood Road, 28806

Magical Offerings Jan. 21 - Circle Round: The Gathering of the Fae, 7-9pm, By Donation Jan. 29 - Candle Blessing w/ Byron Ballard, 5:30pm

JOyfuL NOisE 649-2828, joyfulnoisecenter.org Held at First Presbyterian Church of Weaverville, 30 Alabama Ave., Weaverville • MONDAYS, 7:30-8:15pm - Intermediate/Advanced clogging class. Ages 7 through adult. $10 • MONDAYS, 6:45-7:30pm Beginner clogging class. Ages 7 through adult. $10.

Feb. 6 - Freya Love Class w/ Angela, 3-5pm

555 Merrimon Ave. (828)424-7868

Daily readers. Walk-ins including Scrying, Runes, Tarot, & More!

swiNg asHEviLLE swingasheville.com • THURSDAYS, 7:30pm Beginner & intermediate swing dance lessons. 8:30-11pm Open dance. Live music regularly. $7/$5 members. Held at Club Eleven on Grove, 11 Grove St.

ECO asHEviLLE gREEN dRiNKs ashevillegreendrinks.com • WE (1/27), 5pm - Sustainability and social justice meet-up on the topic of Asheville Beyond Coal. Free to attend. Held at The Spot, 76 Biltmore Ave. awaKENiNg tHE dREamER, CHaNgiNg tHE dREam sympOsium action.mountaintrue.org/ page/s/awakening-the-dreamersymposium • SA (1/30), 10am - Interactive mixed media event that explores environmental sustainability, social justice and change. Reservations required. Free. Held at Rainbow Community School, 574 Haywood Road

COMMIT to be CREATIVE this year! • Public Painting Classes • Private Parties • Bachelorette and Girl’s Night Out • Art Buzz Kids classes and parties

With Something for Everyone, you have no excuse not to get colorful in 2016! 640 Merrimon Ave • (828) 255-2442 • wineanddesign.com/asheville mountainx.com

January 27 - february 2, 2016

con s c i o u s p a r t y By Kat McReynolds | kmcreynolds@mountainx.com

Playing for life WHAT: David Troy Francis’ benefit concert for Western North Carolina AIDS Project, featuring Red Hot Duo WHERE: Asheville Country Club WHEN: Sunday, Jan. 31, at 3 p.m. WHY: As a gay man who lived in Los Angeles for 30 years, including the ’80s and ’90s, pianist David Troy Francis reports having lost more than 100 friends, business associates and partners to what became known as the AIDS Pandemic. “Of all the people I met in LA in the ’80s, three are alive today,” he says. A particularly devastating situation saw Francis offering moral, financial and medical support for a bedridden lover until his AIDS-related death. “A church provided us with a small refrigerator to store MANY HATS: Local pianist David Troy the medicines, and another Francis’ talents have been heard worldorganization that sprung wide, in film scores and concert halls alike. up bought him lunch every Some recent accomplishments by the muday. I couldn’t have gotten sician include composing BARK! the Musical and serving as artistic director of The through that time without that help,” he says. Modern American Music Project. His origi While the City of Angels nal pieces and classical performances provide the backdrop for movies like Pursuit is now brimming with organizations to meet various of Happyness and Elegy, and Francis’ next performance stands to earn $40,000 for HIV- or AIDS-related needs, the Western North Carolina AIDS Project. Francis says WNCAP is the only such organization he Photo courtesy of the artist knows of in WNC. In addition to medical expenses, the nonprofit offers assistance with housing, counseling, transportation and more. To support those efforts, Francis is pairing up with vocalist Carol Duermit plus a 7-foot Steinway, provided at a steep discount by Piano Emporium. And because an anonymous donor (known to Francis) has agreed to match proceeds from the upcoming concert, the event stands to raise $40,000 in one afternoon at capacity. “I love playing for great singers,” Francis says, calling his stage partner an earthy songstress. “[Carol] has this wonderful full-throated, raspy voice.” Red Hot Duo (Henry Westmoreland and Andrew Fletcher) opens the show before Francis and Duermit play a selection of Francis’ favorites, including numbers by Vangelis, Frédéric Chopin, Michel Legrand and more. “It’s going to be an eclectic, entertaining and hopefully spectacularly fun mix.” Visit wncap.org or call the WNCAP office at 252-7489 for tickets ($100), which include a welcome reception with hors d’oeuvres and wine. X

January 27 - february 2, 2016

mountainx.com

C o m m u ni ty c a len da r

.Creation Care Alliance of WNC creationcarealliance.org • TH (1/28), 5:30pm - General meeting. Free. Held at First Baptist Church of Asheville, 5 Oak St. MountainTrue 611 N. Church St., Hendersonville, 258-8737, mountaintrue.org • SA (1/30) - Paddle-n-Plant along local riverbanks to prevent erosion with French Broad Riverkeeper. Contact for details and registration. Free. WNC Sierra Club 251-8289, wenoca.org • WE (2/3), 7pm - Josh Martin, Director of the Environmental Paper Network will share how wood & paper buying choices impact the world’s forests. Free. Held at Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Asheville, 1 Edwin Place

Farm & Garden Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy 253-0095, appalachian.org • SU (1/31), 1-3pm - “Season Extension: The Basics Workshop.” Workshop on winter vegetable growing at farm. Registration required: chris@ appalachian.org. Free.

Food & Beer VALENTINE FIVE COURSE DINNER AT THE FARM (pd.) Stimulate your senses by enjoying an intimate dinner for two by the fireplace at The Farm. Saturday February 13, 2016, 6pm, $100/person, includes wine pairings. Continue the romance in one of our rustic, elegant cabins for the night. The Farm, 215 Justice Ridge Road, Candler, NC 28715. 828-6670666. info@thefarmevents.com www.thefarmevents.com Asheville Vegan Society meetup.com/The-AshevilleVegan-Society • SA (1/30), 7pm - “Health Risks of GMO’s in Food,” powerpoint presentation. Free. Held at North Asheville Recreation Center, 37 E. Larchmont Road Fletcher Chili Cook-Off FletcherParks.org • SA (1/30), 11:30am-2pm - Chili competition with public chili tastings. Free. Held at Veritas Christian Academy, 17 Cane Creek Road, Fletcher

The Lord’s Acre thelordsacre.org • THURSDAYS, 11:30am - The Fairview Welcome Table provides a community lunch. Free. Held at Fairview Christian Fellowship, 596 Old Us Highway 74, Fairview

Government & Politics Democracy North Carolina democracy-nc.org • SA (1/30), 11:30am - Nonpartisan “Get Out The Vote” training, voter registration, and canvassing. Registration required: 216-3430. Free. Held at Hill Street Baptist Church, 135 Hill St.

Kids SOCK HOP DANCE PARTY! • PARENTS NIGHT OUT (pd.) For kids ages 5-12. Parents, drop off the kids and enjoy a night out. 1950’s theme w/ Costume contest. • Dancing • Games • Food. • Studio dancers $20; studio siblings $15. Non-studio: $25. • This Saturday, January 30, 6pm-9pm. 3726 Sweeten Creek Road, Arden, NC 28704. • Information/registration: (828) 277-4010. ideafactorydance@gmail.com www.ideafactoryinc.org Attic Salt Theatre Company 505-2926 • SA (1/30), 10am - Newly Grown Tales. $5. Held at The Magnetic Theatre, 375 Depot St. Fletcher Library 120 Library Road, Fletcher, 6871218, library.hendersoncountync.org • WEDNESDAYS, 10:30am Family story time. Free. Joyful Noise 649-2828, joyfulnoisecenter.org • MONDAYS, 6-7:30pm Capriccio String Orchestra for intermediate players. $10. Held at West Asheville Presbyterian Church, 690 Haywood Road • MONDAYS, 6:15-6:45pm “Movement and Dance,” class for 5 and 6 year olds. $10. Held at First Presbyterian Church of Weaverville, 30 Alabama Ave., Weaverville Spellbound Children’s Bookshop 50 N. Merrimon Ave., 708-7570, spellboundchildrensbookshop.com • SATURDAYS, 11am - Storytime for ages 3-7. Free to attend.

Outdoors MountainTrue 258-8737, wnca.org • WE (2/3) - Paddle-n-Plant with the French Broad river keeper to prevent sediment erosion. Registration required: anna@ mountaintrue.org. Free. Pisgah Area SORBA pisgahareasorba.org • TH (1/28), 6pm - “An Introduction to Sustainable Trails,” presentation by Woody Keen. Registration required: rei. com/asheville. Free to attend. &nbsp; Held at REI Asheville, 31 Schenck Parkway Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy 253-0095, appalachian.org • SA (1/30), 10am - “Winter Tree I.D. Hike.” Moderate 4.5 mile hike in the Rough Creek Watershed. Registration required: haley@appalachian.org. Free.

Parenting Carolina Day School 1345 Hendersonville Road, 2740757, alawing@carolinaday.org • MO (2/1), 7pm - Community Forum: Dr. Michael Thompson presents “Best Friends/ Worst Enemies: Friendship Development, Popularity and Social Cruelty in Children.” Free to attend. Franklin School of Innovation 21 Innovation Drive, 318-8140, franklinschoolofinnovation.org • TH (1/28), 7pm - “Skills for Independence,” presentation by Anne Heck about empowering girls to be confident and stay safe. Free. Swannanoa Valley Montessori School 130 Center Ave., Black Mountain, 669-8571, swanmont. org • TH (1/28), 6pm - Information session for kindergarten and elementary grades. Free to attend.

Public Lectures Public Lectures at UNCA unca.edu • FR (1/29), 11:30am - OLLI Fab Friday Lunch & Learn Lecture: “Roller Derby - From Spectacle to Sport,” presented by members of the Blue Ridge Roller Girls. Free. Held in the

Reuter Center. • FR (1/29), 11:30am - OLLI Fab Friday Lunch & Learn Lecture: Jason Wingert lectures on balance and proprioception. Free. Held in the Reuter Center. • TU (2/2), 7:30pm “Middle Eastern Alliances,” World Affairs Council talk by Samer Traboulsi. $10/ free for students. Public Lectures at WCU wcu.edu • TH (1/28), 5:30pm - “Tree of Life: Christianity in a Time of Climate Change,” lecture by Fred Bahnson, assistant professor at Wake Forest University School of Divinity. Free. Held at the Bardo Center.

Spirituality Asheville Insight Meditation (pd.) Introduction to Mindfulness Meditation. Learn how to get a Mindfulness Meditation practice started. 1st & 3rd Mondays. 7pm – 8:30. Asheville Insight Meditation, 29 Ravenscroft Dr, Suite 200, (828) 8084444, www.ashevillemeditation. com. ASTRO-COUNSELING (pd.) Licensed counselor and accredited professional astrologer uses your chart when counseling for additional insight into yourself, your relationships and life directions. Readings also available. Christy Gunther, MA, LPC. (828) 258-3229. OPEN HEART MEDITATION (pd.) Experience and deepen the spiritual connection to your heart, the beauty and deep peace of the Divine within you. Increase your natural joy and gratitude while releasing negative emotions. Love Offering 7-8pm Tuesdays, 5 Covington St. 296-0017 OpenHeartMeditation.com. SERENITY INSIGHT MEDITATION (pd.) A Burmese monk leads authentic Buddhist insight meditation, grounded in 40 years of practice. Beginners and advanced practitioners welcome. • Sundays, 10am-11:30am; • Mondays and Wednesdays,

6pm-7pm. (828) 298-4700. wncmeditation.com Avalon Grove 645-2674, avalongrove.org, avalongrove@gmail.com • SU (1/31), 3-4pm Celtic Christian Holiday Observance: Imbolc (St. Brigid’s Day) service at private home in Weaverville. Optional vegetarian potluck follows. Free. Center for Art & Spirit at St. George 1 School Road, 258-0211 • WEDNESDAYS, 3:30pm Sitting meditation and daily mindfulness practice. Info: kenlenington@gmail.com. Admission by donation. • WEDNESDAYS, 6:30pm Sitting meditation and daily mindfulness practice. Info: kenlenington@gmail.com. Admission by donation. • SA (1/30), 10am - “Pray In My Shem: The Aramaic Prayer of Yeshua,” one day immersion in the Aramaic Lord’s Prayer. $40. Central United Methodist Church 27 Church St., 253-3316, centralumc.org • WEDNESDAYS through (4/27), 6-7pm - Christian yoga and meditation series. Free. Cloud Cottage 219 Old Toll Circle, Black Mountain, 669-6000, cloudcottage.org • WE (1/27), 6-7:30pm - “A Happy Life Starts with a Happy Mind,” talk by Ven. Drolje Karuna. Admission by donation. Creation Care Alliance of WNC creationcarealliance.org • TH (2/4), 5:30-6:30pm Earth Sabbath Celebration with Rev. Steve Halsted. Free. Held at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, 337 Charlotte St. First Congregational UCC of Hendersonville 1735 5th Ave. W., Hendersonville, 692-8630, fcchendersonville.org • FRIDAYS through (4/1), 10am - “Great World Religions,” lectures teaching about Islam, Judaism and Buddhism. Free. • SATURDAYS through (2/27), 11am-2pm - Basic meditation class. Admission by donation. Grace Lutheran

Church 1245 Sixth Ave. W., Hendersonville, 693-4890, gracelutherannc.com • Through WE (2/3), 7pm - “The Path to the Cross,” a DVD discussion-based Bible study. Free/$5 for dinner. Mountain Zen Practice Center mountainzen.org • TUESDAYS, 7:15-8:45pm “Zen Awareness Practice,” weekly meditation followed by group discussion focused on selected readings of Cheri Huber. Orientation required, contact for details: mountainzen@bellsouth.net. Free. Nourish & Flourish 347 Depot St., 255-2770, nourishflourishnow.com • TUESDAYS, 7:30pm Kirtan with Sangita Devi. $10-$15. Prama Yoga and Meditation 712-9326 • TUESDAYS, 6:30-8:30pm All levels yoga and meditation class. Proceeds benefit the Women’s Welfare and Development Foundation. Registration required. $5. Held at Asheville Therapeutic Yoga, 29 Ravenscroft Shambhala Meditation Center 60 N Merrimon Ave. #113, 200-5120, asheville.shambhala.org • THURSDAYS, 7-8:30pm & SUNDAYS, 10-noon Meditation and community. Admission by donation. The Cove 1 Porters Cove Road, 2982092, thecove.org • TUESDAYS through (2/23), 9:45-11:45am - “Love That Makes a Difference,” Bible study group. Free/$12 optional buffet. • TUESDAYS through (2/16), 6:30-8:30pm - “Portrait of a Disciple,” biblical study group. Free.

$15. Buncombe County Public Libraries buncombecounty.org/governing/depts/library Free unless otherwise noted. • TU (2/2), 7pm - Evening Book Club discusses The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd. Held at Weaverville Public Library, 41 N. Main St., Weaverville • TU (2/2), 3pm - Book Discussion of Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Held at Weaverville Public Library, 41 N. Main St., Weaverville Firestorm Cafe and Books 610 Haywood Road, 2558115 Free unless otherwise noted. • 4th WEDNESDAYS, 7pm Other Worlds Are Possible Book Group. • Last THURSDAYS, 7pm Liberty Book Club. • SU (1/31), 5pm - David Gilbert presents his book The Product of Our Souls. Great Smokies Writing Program 250-2353, agc.unca.edu/ gswp • Through SA (1/30) Submissions accepted for the Thomas Wolfe Fiction Prize. Contact for guidelines. $25/$15 NC Writer’s Network members. Malaprop’s Bookstore and Cafe 55 Haywood St., 254-6734, malaprops.com Free unless otherwise noted. • TH (1/28), 7pm - Linsday Starck presents her book, Noah’s Wife. • FR (1/29), 7pm - Ann McMan, Cynn Chadwick and Lori Horvitz discussion and book signing.

• SA (1/30), 7pm - Kevin Hearne presents his book, Staked. North Carolina Writers’ Network ncwriters.org • Through MO (2/15) Submissions accepted for the 2016 Doris Betts Fiction Prize. See website for full guidelines. • Through TU (3/1) Submissions accepted for the Randall Jarrell Poetry Competition. See website for full guidelines. $15 per entry. • WE (2/3), 6-8pm - Monthly meet-up social and open-mic. Bring flash-fiction, poetry, or short excerpts of prose. Contact: allimarshall@bellsouth.net. Free to attend. Held at Cork & Keg, 86 Patton Ave. Sidney Lanier Poetry Competition lanierlib.org • Through TU (3/1) - Open submissions for annual poetry competition for adults and high school students. Contact for full guidelines: lanierlib.org. $10 per entry/$5 per entry for students. The Writers’ Workshop 254-8111, twwoa.org • Through (2/28) - Submissions accepted to the 26th Annual Poetry Contest. See website for full guidelines. $25 per entry.

www.BlueRidgeAPA.com ONGOING – weekly league play KARAKIDO MARTIAL ARTS (pd.) Cultivate Power & Grace: Back to School Special Classes: Youth, Adult & “Women Only” * Parents ask about our After School Program Discount rates for students * Call for class time and rate: 828-712-1288. Asheville Ultimate Club ashevilleultimate.org, ashevilleultimateclub@gmail.com • MO (2/1) through SU (2/28) - Registration open for adult spring ultimate frisbee league. $40.

Volunteering

Four Seasons Compassion for Life 571 S. Allen Road, Flat Rock, 692-6178, fourseasonscfl.org • WE (1/27), 1-4:30pm Patient care volunteer training session. Free. Homeward Bound of WNC 218 Patton Ave., 258-1695, homewardboundwnc.org • 1st THURSDAYS, 11am - “Welcome Home Tour,” tours of Asheville orga-

Sports

nizations that serve the homeless population.

AMATEUR POOL LEAGUE (pd.) Beginners welcome & wanted! Choose Asheville, Arden, Hendersonville or Black Mountain. HAVE FUN. MEET PEOPLE. PLAY POOL. 828-329-8197

Registration required. Free to attend. For more volunteering opportunities visit mountainx.com/volunteering

Spoken & Written Word 35below 35 E. Walnut St., 254-1320, ashevilletheatre.org • TH(1/28), 7:30pm - Listen to This Storytelling Series: “Now That’s Cold: Chilling Tales of Total Lack of Compassion,” stories and original songs from locals.

mountainx.com

January 27 - february 2, 2016

GREEN SCENE

Oaks’ last stand

South Slope urban forest won’t get city funds

URBAN FOREST: Unaware of the controversy over their fate, 23 mature oaks stand on a knoll overlooking Coxe Avenue. Photo by Virginia Daffron

by Virginia Daffron vdaffron@mountainx.com “Many people do not know exactly where this property is,” said Imke Durre of the half-acre wooded plot at 11 Collier Ave. on Asheville’s fastdeveloping South Slope. With her mother, Inge Durre, Imke is a leader of a group of citizens who mobilized to save the parcel’s 23 mature oak trees — which are estimated to be 80-100 years old — when plans to build a 48-unit apartment building on the site materialized last fall. “However, the birds, they know very well where it is,” continued Imke, speaking at City Council on Jan. 12. In addition to the forest’s value to the birds who shelter there, the trees provide irreplaceable aesthetic and environmental benefits to Asheville’s downtown, say supporters of the effort to preserve the site. And as some of the last remnants of the former Ravenscroft School campus, the trees have historical significance as well, according to the group.

January 27 - february 2, 2016

When the Durres and other preservation advocates first appeared before City Council on Sept. 8 last year, Council members agreed to explore alternatives for protecting the trees, with Councilman Cecil Bothwell commenting, “Over and over again, we lose these trees. ... And I would hope that we could find some way to facilitate this, whether it is a land swap, whether it is helping to facilitate raising private funds.” Former Councilman Jan Davis, however, sounded a note of caution: “This could turn into a ton of work to get from here to there.” Former Vice Mayor Marc Hunt agreed with Davis, saying that the private sector would need to undertake significant legwork and fundraising before bringing a plan to Council for consideration. Hunt discussed previous city partnerships used to conserve land, including the Hominy Creek Greenway, the Rory and Hazel Masters Park in Haw Creek and Beaucatcher Overlook Park. Hunt noted that, in each of these cases, significant private fundraising was already in place before the city committed to the projects.

mountainx.com

And so the stage was set in September for a race against time, as supporters of the preservation effort worked with the owners of 11 Collier Ave. and with various city officials to identify city-owned property that might be offered to the owners, in exchange for turning over the wooded section to the city. Swap meet The first candidate, a city-owned 1-acre parcel on the western side of Asheland Avenue north of Phifer Street, initially looked like a promising contender for a swap. But further examination of the deed revealed a restriction: Ironically, the property can only be used “for public outdoor recreation.” Any other use would require the approval of the U.S. secretary of the interior, a legal process whose outcome and duration would be impossible to predict. “It couldn’t happen in time to help us,” explains Imke Durre. As the process continued, Durre notes, the Collier Avenue property owners, the Wilmington-based fatherand-son development team of Matt and Mark Maynard, were “extremely

willing and accommodating” in seeking alternatives to building on the wooded parcel. The Maynards are developing 49 residential units at 150 Coxe Ave., right around the corner from the Collier site, and they expect to begin construction soon on 138 units at 185 Coxe Ave. Eventually, the property search led the preservation advocates to 33-35 Page Ave., the site of two city-owned brick structures across the street from the Grove Arcade and next door to the Captain’s Bookshelf. To the north of the property, a city-owned surface parking lot currently serves residents of the Battery Park Apartments as well as other permit holders. On Jan. 12, Inge Durre presented the Maynards’ proposal to City Council: In exchange for swapping 11 Collier Ave. for 33-35 Page Ave., the Maynards would commit to reserving 20 percent of the residential housing units on Collier Avenue as affordable units. Additionally, their company would donate $100,000 toward the creation of a public park on the existing parking lot adjacent to the property. The developers would pledge to not build a hotel on the Page Avenue site, and they would accept public comment on the proposed design for a structure, in conjunction with a larger planning effort for the area facing the Basilica of St. Lawrence and the U.S. Cellular Center. The Maynards’ proposal stipulated that all property appraisals and transfers be completed by April 1, 2016. There’s the rub “I wish like all get out that we could find a path to make this work,” commented Councilwoman Julie Mayfield to kick off Council’s discussion of the proposal. Last November, MountainTrue, the environmental advocacy nonprofit that Mayfield codirects, entered into an agreement with the Collier Avenue preservation proponents to allow the group to solicit tax-deductible donations. To date, the group has received close to $50,000 in pledges. “I think the forest — to conserve it — is a great idea,” said Vice Mayor Gwen Wisler. But “prefund-

ing” the project by way of committing cash or swapping land, Wisler continued, would mean that other projects approved through the city’s regular planning and budgeting processes would be “bumped.” Furthermore, the bulk of funds needed to make the project work has not been raised, she said. “At this point, I am uncomfortable continuing, devoting more staff time to look at it, with some of these pretty big hurdles that apparently are the only way to move forward.” The purpose of the fundraising requested by the city was to maintain the property over time and compensate the city for lost propertytax revenues, as well as to make up any difference in value between the Collier Avenue parcel and the swapped one. Mayor Esther Manheimer reflected on similar requests made by residents of West Asheville and Kenilworth during her time on Council. “So I have a difficult time understanding, as a steward of the taxpayers, and the taxpayer money and assets, how we could seize upon this one opportunity...,” Manheimer explained, adding, “Because the next one is going to be just as valid. And the last one made sense and was valid.” “I just think this situation poses too great a challenge to us as a city and would take us too far off course,” the mayor concluded. Mayfield contributed a final point to the discussion: “I’ve had conversations with people who do land conservation for a living. The general understanding and consensus is, if this land were to come into public ownership, fundraising for it would be extraordinarily difficult, if not impossible.” Reached by email after the meeting, Mayfield clarified, “As a general rule, it is easier to raise money to save something that is facing a threat. These trees are under the threat of development, so now would be the best time to raise money to save them.” “Once something comes into public ownership,” she continued, “the general sense on the part of the public is that it’s protected... [P]eople equate public ownership of natural areas with protection, and they are generally right.” Out of options? Assuming that the city has removed itself from the process, says Imke Durre, her group sees two possible ways the trees might yet be saved: An individual or group could purchase

the property from the Maynards for the purpose of conserving it in its natural state, or a land-conservation entity could take up the effort. Unfortunately, most land trusts in this area seem to focus on larger tracts or more rural areas, she says. “At this point, I think it is likely that the building will be built and the trees will be felled,” concedes Durre. “We always knew it might not work.” “We’ve done everything we possibly can,” says Sharon Sumrall, a landscape planner who lives on Beaucatcher Mountain. Speaking of the preservation group’s fundraising efforts, she notes, “We have raised some money and other people want to donate, but it’s been hard to raise funds before we knew exactly where this was going.” Time has not been on the side of the advocates, Sumrall says, and whether hope remains for saving the trees will come down to the developer’s timeline. The Maynards say they expect to bring their plans for 11 Collier Ave. to the Planning & Zoning Commission’s Feb. 3 meeting. Imke Durre, however, emphasizes that the Maynards have been more than generous in trying to find an alternative to developing 11 Collier Ave. “Even though they are the ones that will build on the property,” Durre says, “they are not directly the reason that this has to happen.” In an email, Matt Maynard commented: “Everyone we’ve worked with in the city has been hardworking, knowledgeable and extremely helpful every step of the way. I think Asheville does a better job than some cities laying out their plan for growth and the framework that developers have to abide by to execute that plan. Even though that may lead to more ’hoops’ to jump through, it is a clearly defined process and helps insure that Asheville will remain a very special place for the future.” Though City Council couldn’t, in the end, see their way clear to underwriting the effort, some Council members seem wistful about the outcome. “While I understand the group who want to preserve the Collier Avenue property are disappointed, the city must constantly make decisions on how best to use our incredibly limited resources,” wrote Wisler in an email. “Several members of Council worked hard to try to make this project successful... I, and I expect most of Council, wish the group success and hope they can meet their objectives.” X

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mountainx.com

January 27 - february 2, 2016

wELLNEss

heaLing Our bOdies, heaLing the enVirOnnMent There is a growing awareness in the health and wellness community that environmental factors are important determinants of health, along with diet, exercise and medical treatment. Taking care of the environment to make sure it’s healthy has a direct impact on the health of individuals and communities. With that understanding, many agencies, businesses and wellness organizations are engaging in environmental initiatives that protect and improve the health of the environment, which in turn promotes the healing of our bodies. Health thus becomes a symbiotic relationship between the environment and those who dwell in it. According to the World Health Organization, environmental health addresses “all the physical, chemical, and biological factors external to a person and all the related factors impacting behaviors. It is targeted towards preventing disease and creating healthsupportive environments.” In this issue, the ﬁrst of two back-to-back wellness issues, we explore several of the physical, chemical and biological factors of the environment that impact health of human communities.

tabLE Of CONtENts

p. 22

Pat Barcas’ story, “ Environmental initiatives enhance WNC residents’ well-being,” looks at several initiatives aimed at improving our physical environment that have been launched in the Asheville area.

Margaret Williams’ story, “Antibiotic-resistant superbugs may be closer to home than we think,” examines one of the chemical factors in the environment that can harm health, namely the overuse of antibiotics in medical treatment and the food supply.

p. 30

In “Organic salons reject toxic beauty products,” Elizabeth Harrison explores the use of chemicals in hair salons that can have an adverse effect on human health.

Virginia Daffron, in “City and County leverage resources to encourage active transportation” turns attention to environmental initiatives by city and county government that enhance the health of citizens by encouraging alternative means of transit.

p. 40

p. 26

p. 36

And finally, in “A look at holistic dentistry in Western North Carolina,” Cindy Kurst looks at how integrative or biologic dentistry affects our oral health and, in turn, our overall health.

A greater understanding of the impact of the environment on our health as well as the impact of our actions on the environment will hopefully bring about a more comprehensive approach to improving the health of planet Earth and its inhabitants. Susan Foster, wellness editor

GREEN MEDICINE by pat barcas pbarcas@gmail.com Today, slogans like “Save the Whales,” “No Nukes” and “Save the Planet” are commonplace. But while such global environmental rallying cries may help spread awareness and further a broad green agenda, they’re not typically seen as means to improved physical and mental well-being. In fact, however, the links between human health and environmental balance are profound, local advocates maintain. Where your house is located and what it’s made of can affect your health just as much as eating right and getting sufficient exercise, says Maggie Leslie, program director

January 27 - february 2, 2016

for the Western North Carolina Green Building Council. The Asheville-based nonprofit offers various services, including educating homebuyers and builders about green building practices and conducting audits of existing homes and potential building sites. This “green gauge,” she explains, ranks homes on a wide range of criteria, including things like indoor air quality as well as access to goods and services and green space. The rankings help current and potential homeowners see how a dwelling or neighborhood stacks up. “It’s important to a family’s health, and having a more healthy home that’s close to nature means, in most cases, a more healthy family,” says Leslie. Besides using green materials, being more energy-efficient and having a smaller environmental footprint, homes with high rankings can also help stave off

WeLLness suppLement

Environmental initiatives enhance WNC residents’ well-being

“nature-deficit disorder,” Leslie reports. Coined by author Richard Louv in 2005, the term links negative health impacts with spending less time outdoors. In his book Last Child in the Woods, Louv argues that the rise of the personal computer and endless forms of screen-based entertainment, coupled with the loss of natural surroundings, can lead to behavioral problems, higher stress, depression and obesity. Simply choosing a house with more light or more trees in the yard, says Leslie, can affect people’s lives in ways they didn’t even realize. These factors, she continues, are as important as how close the home is to school, work or the grocery store. Whether it’s through physical activity, cultivating a home garden, watching a sunset from your deck or listening to birds in the backyard, contact with

nature enhances overall well-being, Leslie maintains. “We’ve had quite a few people say buying a green home impacted how they live in a positive way. A healthier home impacts your subconscious and instills a sense of wanting to live healthier.” EROsiON aNd HEaLtH Riverbank erosion is typically presented as a problem affecting the creatures that live in streams, but there are significant impacts for humans, too. “Sediment erosion is the No. 1 pollutant in the French Broad watershed,” says Assistant French Broad Riverkeeper Anna Alsobrook of MountainTrue. And besides “smothering aquatic habitats, raising water temperatures and clogging fish gills,”

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HaRvEst HOmE: Janell Kapoor, Ashevillage founding director, and Emily MacGibeny, work-trade intern, harvest winter herbs at Ashevillage. Photo by Pat Barcas she continues, clearing land all the way up to the banks “gives toxins an avenue into the river.” One of those toxins is E. coli, a type of bacterium that lives in the intestines of vertebrates, including humans. But certain strains can cause fever, gastroenteritis, severe abdominal cramps and diarrhea when ingested. E. coli in cow manure adhere to sediment in rainwater and get washed into the river, posing a potential hazard that reduces the physical and mental benefits of spending a day on the water. One of the regional nonprofit’s latest initiatives aims to stop this chain of events. “Live-staking” involves planting shrubs and vegetation in bare places along the banks. It’s the most cost-effective way to combat erosion, but it must be done in winter, when plants are dormant, Alsobrook explains. The pilot program is being conducted on selected sections of the French Broad. Volunteers and staffers cruise the river in two-person canoes, stopping at bare spots to stake hardy plants into the bank, where their roots will take hold and contain erosion. “You

can learn a lot from being on the river. Cleaning it up, you see how things get into the river and how to mitigate those things,” she says. Environmental protection can also help folks connect with nature, combat stress and enjoy new adventures, says Bob Gale, staff ecologist and public lands director for the regional nonprofit. Gale leads hikes in Asheville and environs, giving people a chance to enjoy the natural resources that MountainTrue and other local groups help protect. “Nobody ever comes back from a hike in a bad mood,” says Gale. He’ll lead a lower-elevation interpretive hike in March, a wildflower hike in May and a monarch butterfly hike in the fall. Gale says he doesn’t rush and loves to explain the natural world to the folks he brings into the mountains. People get educated while exploring new areas, enjoying the natural beauty and getting a cardiovascular workout (and an endorphin rush) as their muscles work to propel them along the trail. Participants, says Gale, say things like “‘I didn’t even know about this

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AshevilleMassageSchool.org 828.252.7377 area’; ‘I got some exercise’; and ‘I’m coming back.’ There’s no doubt that getting outdoors, period, is good for your health,” he maintains. mOdELiNg sustaiNabLE LiviNg The idea of natural, sustainable living is nothing new in Asheville, but showing others how to do it is a whole step up. Ashevillage Institute, founded in 2007, works to create a viable model for resilient living and demonstrate ways to implement it. The nonprofit’s website describes its headquarters, the Ashevillage Sanctuary, as “a 1-acre eco-urban demonstration site, living-learning laboratory and guesthouse a few blocks from downtown Asheville.” The property includes three houses and hosts workshops on permaculture and resilient living, as well as educational demonstrations about things like food preservation, organic gardening and homesteading. “This is a backyard model of what anyone can do — localized systems that not only nurture the land but also ourselves,” says Janell Kapoor, Ashevillage’s founding director. “There’s a recognition of healing the planet, but how do citizens show up in

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our own backyards and do our part? Probably 40 percent of what’s needed globally can start in our own houses.” Technology, she notes, promises simpler, easier, happier lives, yet in fact, people often feel more depressed, more stressed and have less time. At Ashevillage, 60 teachers help clients learn to live simply, relying on what the natural environment provides. The nonprofit’s offerings draw locals and nonlocals alike, says Kapoor. “They come here to experience a lifestyle shift, integrating what they’ve learned here. I’ve seen people transformed from head to toe, healing their mind and their body through natural living. “We all ultimately want happiness. This can be achieved through changes in our physical environment, the food we eat, and intentional design and skill-building.” The key, she continues, is “understanding that we’re part of this web of life, and we can consciously build a connective relationship to it. It might simply be healthier food choices, or it could be creating a vision that will last hundreds of years and be part of the larger regenerative design of our landscapes.” X

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Could a “superbug” bacteria outbreak in China threaten Western North Carolina sooner than you can say “zombie apocalypse”? It’s possible, since a deadly pathogen can make it around the globe in 24 hours or less, and in just eight hours, one E. coli bacterium can generate more than 16 million clones that make their host very, very sick — particularly if the mother strain is one of a growing number of antibiotic-resistant superbugs that have health leaders on alert from Asheville to Beijing. “It’s a scary situation,” says Sid Thakur, a N.C. State University researcher and professor who works on the problem at “multiple levels,” from studying outbreaks across the world to helping farmers find safer ways to raise pigs in North Carolina. Bacteria have been evolving for millions of years — far longer than humans, says Thakur. “I’m not surprised when we see new antibioticresistant pathogens. That’s evolution.” The list of strains resistant to antibiotics is longer than ever before, and it’s growing, he notes. The situation has the World Health Organization on alert and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention pushing to educate medical professionals and the public, as well as significantly reduce the use

of antibiotics in food animals. The CDC’s “Get Smart” campaign, for example, connects the rise of superbugs with the overuse and misuse of antibiotics, cautioning doctors and patients alike that taking the drugs for, say, a cold virus “can cause more harm than good, [increasing the] risk of getting an antibiotic-resistant infection later.” “Viral [illnesses] are not treatable with antibiotics,” says Asheville physician Dr. Susan Bradt. But patients ask for them, and doctors — trained to help — have prescribed them, she says. In the nearly 100 years since the discovery of such lifesaving drugs as penicillin, American culture in particular “relies too heavily on that quick fix. We don’t allow ourselves to rest when we get sick, [and] antibiotics used to be handed out like candy.” Bacteria have responded by rapidly adapting. Even before penicillin went from discovery to common use in the 1940s, resistant bacteria had evolved, spreading rapidly around the world. “When you add an anti-microbial into the test tube, a lot of [bacteria] will die, but many will survive,” says Thakur, who injects humor into his talk about nucleotides and DNA transfer. “When you kill [the] competitors, the surviving bacteria say, ‘It’s

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and the bacteriaL our time to rise and shine.’ Pathogens are way smarter than us and way more adaptable.” And bacteria outnumber us. They’re found in every environment on Earth, from the soil to Arctic snow to the cleanest human skin, says Thakur. Resistant salmonella strains even have been found in pigs that haven’t been treated with antibiotics. The use of antibiotics in food animals was banned in Europe in 2006 but is still used in the United States for spurring growth and preventing infections. But by the end of this year, the practice will be sharply curtailed in the U.S., one of several changes that make Thakur optimistic. But he admits, “Sometimes I feel like, is this a battle we’re ever going to win?” gOOd tO bad Most bacteria are beneficial, and even ones we think of as “bad” have harmless (or at least more treatable) cousins. There are about 10 times as many bacterial as human cells in our bodies, and most of them live in our guts as an integral part of our microbiome, says Bradt. “All of them live in harmony, [and] they’re the interface between the outside world and our inner bodies.” She cites new research that explores bacteria’s role in our dayto-day health, from obesity to depression. Bradt also offers this anecdote

from her own practice: A patient was treated with strong antibiotics for an infected cat scratch; the treatment weakened her good bacteria and led, over time, to an autoimmune disorder. While acknowledging the necessity of the patient’s initial treatment, Bradt wonders about the consequences for humanity. “Are we dooming ourselves?” she asks. “Kids who are treated more frequently with antibiotics are more likely to develop obesity as adults,” says Bradt, citing a variety of studies. As adults, those children might continue to have compromised immune systems, while bacteria develop more and more resistance. Clostridium difficile, for instance, can exist harmlessly in the human gut until an antibiotic treatment kills off the bacteria that usually keep it in check, she continues. Potentially life-threatening, C. difficile causes severe diarrhea, and it can spread easily and rapidly in a community. In 2011, more than 200 deaths in North Carolina were linked to or caused by C-diff, according to a state report. That puts the pathogen on the CDC’s top-three list of serious threats in the United States. It’s joined by Carbapenemresistant Enterobacteriaceae, which includes E. coli, and Neisseria gonorrhoeae. So far, none of these have led to deaths in the WNC mountains, though the region’s largest hospital, Mission Health, reported nearly 127 C-diff cases in 2014, and CRE led to several fatalities in nearby Lincoln County in early 2015.

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wELLNEss Nationwide, by the CDC’s most conservative estimate, more than 20 million Americans get sick with antibiotic-resistant pathogens, and more than 23,000 die each year. But antibiotics save lives too, says Dr. Chris DeRienzo, Mission Health’s chief patient safety officer. “The benefits of using antibiotics outweigh the risks, but we’re coming to learn there’s always give and take as we treat illnesses,” he says. Patients treated for pneumonia may become susceptible to C. difficile. Augmentin, which is commonly used for sinus infections, also upsets patients’ gut bacteria, he continues. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (aka MRSA) can often be treated with such antibiotics as Bactrim, but it’s “resistant to a broad class of drugs,” making it hard to treat, he explains. In a notable local case in 2008, UNC Asheville basketball player Kenny George had to have one of his feet partially amputated due to a MRSA infection. “When I think of the bugs that are scariest, I think of those for which we have just one or two antibiotics that work,” says DeRienzo. MRSA is one of those, which the CDC lists as a “serious” threat, one tier down from the top three. That second-tier list includes nearly a dozen pathogens, such as two salmonella strains and a drug-resistant form of tuberculosis. There’s been a recent outbreak of the latter in a small county in central Alabama. By some estimates, deaths linked to antibiotic-resistant bacteria will outnumber cancer deaths by 2050, Thakur mentions. “This is one issue that’s staring us in the face.” What’s a doctor to do? DeRienzo describes one of the medical profession’s most powerful antibiotics, Carbapenem, as a “cannon” that can annihilate many infections. It may be used initially, followed by antibiotics that, “like a fleet of archers,” more specifically attack an infection as doctors zero in on a pathogen’s weaknesses; or it might be the last resort. “If Carbapenem isn’t effective, you’re down to very few choices, and that’s where it gets scary,” he says. COmE tOgEtHER Many of the infections on the CDC’s urgent-threats list don’t have to be reported to state, federal or local agencies. That makes infection patterns hard to track across communities, regions, countries and the world. Bacteria, as Thakur notes, don’t respect political boundaries.

January 27 - february 2, 2016

“Why do we need to worry about what happens in China [or elsewhere in the world]? Because bacteria can make it here in 24 hours,” he muses. In an E. coli outbreak in Europe, scientists were initially perplexed at how such a diverse group of patients had acquired it; they eventually figured out that the initial patients had all been to India recently, says Thakur. “We need to talk about this topic on a global scale,” he says. “We’re going to have to work together.” Consider this observation, made to medical leaders in 2014 by Dr. Zack Moore, an epidemiologist with the N.C. Division of Public Health: The “use of antibiotics by one person affects others in the community and makes it less likely that antibiotics will be effective in the future.” DeRienzo, who collaborates with Moore as a fellow member of North Carolina’s Healthcare� Associated Infections Advisory Group, agrees. “Our bodies are amazing at regulating themselves, but everything has a connection to everything else.” Flu vaccinations can help prevent illnesses that lead to lung infections, which require antibiotic use that sets up an outbreak of C-diff. Simple hand-washing and other preventive measures can stop MRSA and other infections, notes Dr. Jennifer Mullendore, medical director for the

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Buncombe County Department of Health. Educating both doctors and patients about the appropriate use of antibiotics, as well as being more judicious about prescribing them, can help reduce the rise of superbugs, she continues. “Antibiotic stewardship is a foundational part of trying to reduce healthcare-associated infections,” DeRienzo says. And it’s one of the keys to stemming the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in all communities. “We’re moving in the right direction, but we’re not where we need to be,” says Mullendore. She calls for better patient awareness, from understanding the difference between viruses and bacterial infections to finishing an antibiotic treatment and not sharing the drug. As for the CDC’s top-three threats, she’s not aware of N. gonorrhoeae being reported in the region, but the infection “has become resistant to so many antibiotics.” The Health Department periodically gets calls from schools and sports organizations that want to learn about measures to prevent MRSA, she notes. “It would be great if we worked more on prevention,” Mullendore says. But in addition to better education, she says, “We need new antibiotics.” In the past decade, however, very few new medicines have been added to the medical arsenal against bad bacteria. Drug development is expensive and problematic, says Thakur. A pharmaceutical company can spend billions to develop a new antibiotic. “Then when one nucleotide changes in the pathogen, the drug becomes less effective,” he says.

All of these medical professionals also suggest that attitudes about antibiotics need to change. Thakur mentions Ph.D.-educated friends who get frustrated when a doctor doesn’t prescribe antibiotics for their children’s viral infections. Bradt, meanwhile, says we need to include more fermented foods in our diets and nurture our microbiome. And DeRienzo suggests that better data could help medical providers do better at targeting infections by establishing a community “biogram” — an analysis that charts how susceptible pathogens are to various drugs. “Bacteria spread within communities,” he says. Hospitals often develop biograms for internal use, but a cityor countywide analysis could identify broader patterns and types of infections, thus helping medical professionals minimize antibiotic use and pick the best treatment, he explains. Thakur, meanwhile, calls for a “onehealth” approach. He cites the interactions and connections among humans, animals and the environment, recalling that, as a grad student, he worked with a farmer who raised his dozen pigs with as few antibiotics as possible. That farmer’s herd now numbers in the hundreds, demonstrating the demand for organically raised meat, says Thakur. And the underlying idea — a willingness to approach agriculture in a way that considers the interconnectedness of humans, animals and nature — “gives me some hope.” DeRienzo, meanwhile, says he has a 100-year-old medical textbook that notes such antiquated treatments as [mercury and the arsenic-related drug Salvarsan] to cure syphilis. “Life before antibiotics — that would be scary,” he says. But there’s no single fix for antibiotic-resistant bacteria, DeRienzo continues. “The more that folks read about [the problem], the more they understand, the clearer it will be, at the community level, how we can put together a number of initiatives that can make a difference.” X

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Tucked away off the main road linking Brevard with Rosman, its diminutive neighbor, Julie and Terry Craig have carved out a niche in organic hair care. Inside the intricate wrought-iron doors of Rapture Organic Salon & Gallery, clients seeking to avoid the chemicals that pervade many mainstream salons treat themselves to an “eco-chic” spa experience that’s hushed and floral. But for the Craigs, there’s more at stake than just providing a tranquil escape from the stresses of everyday life: They chose to go 100 percent organic for the sake of their own health and well-being. As it becomes more widely known that chemicals commonly found in beauty products have been linked to serious health problems and that federal regulations provide only limited protection for those most at risk, some Western North Carolina salon owners are taking matters into their own hands. “When I first got into the business, we were doing crazy stuff,” says Terry. “Nothing about it was natural.” The Craigs have spent more than two decades in the beauty industry, and both have impressive résumés, with apprenticeships under hair care moguls like Paul Mitchell and Irvine Rusk. The couple traveled the country working as runway and platform artists for Clairol, Toni & Guy, Sebastian and L’Oréal.

Organic salons reject toxic beauty products

“At the time, it was all about beauty,” says Julie. “There were some innovators, but you didn’t hear about them.” While renting a booth in a Florida salon, however, Julie began suffering from frequent migraines, infections and allergic reactions. She was soon hospitalized and diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder. The salon, says Julie, had a lot of hair-color clients; she remembers seeing the leftover dye poured down the sink and wondering, “Oh, my God, what’s that doing to our environment?” So she decided to make a change. “I thought, I can either live with the industry how it is or start another one.” Making the transition was scary. Julie wasn’t sure her clients would be open to new products, but what happened next floored her. The natural products worked far better: They covered the gray, were true to tone and were less threatening to clients’ health. Meanwhile, Julie says her own health turned around: She no longer needed antibiotics, and the migraines were gone. “It proved to me it was definitely the environment,” she says. a LaRgELy uNREguLatEd iNdustRy According to the Census Bureau, 94,819 U.S. businesses

are classified as beauty salons, nail salons or barbershops. In the Asheville area alone, the Yellow Pages lists hundreds of beauty salons. Nationwide, an estimated 1.2 million people work as hairdressers, hairstylists, cosmetologists, barbers, nail salon employees and other beauty and personal care workers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Except for barbers, who are mostly men, salon workers are predominantly female. In 1991, researchers at the UNC School of Public Health investigated over 1,000 live births and miscarriages among cosmetologists and other occupations. The results showed that women working full time as cosmetologists had 1.2 times as much risk of miscarriage as women in other jobs; women working in a cosmetology school had 2.3 times the risk. “Historically, women’s health problems don’t get the attention they need,” says Erin Switalski, executive director of Women’s Voices for the Earth, a national nonprofit working to eliminate toxic chemicals. Women, she maintains, are an invisible population, and their health problems tend to be overlooked and underresearched. Citing the organization’s 2014 report titled “Beauty and Its Beast,” Switalksi says the list of conditions linked to toxic beauty products is “pretty astounding: There’s skin conditions, asthma, breathing problems, increased risk

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of miscarriage, increased risk of different types of cancer and higher risk of depression.” Researchers have been scrutinizing the health hazards faced by beauty industry workers for more than a decade (the nonprofit’s report cites more than 100 such studies). But it took a recent two-part New York Times series examining the working conditions and health risks faced by nail salon workers to garner national attention. Officials in New York City and state are now attempting to regulate the nail salon industry more closely, and a pilot program will place air quality sensors in some city salons to assess the risks. But though hair salons involve similar dangers, they’ve largely drawn less scrutiny “For most big companies, there are lots of restrictions, but the beauty industry gets a free ride,” Julie Craig asserts. “The beauty industry is mainly interested in the outside look, not the inside.” Out-Of-datE Laws Cosmetics are regulated under the 1938 federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Since then, however, “There have been tiny updates but

nothing substantial,” says Switalski. “It doesn’t require any kind of pre-product testing to sell anything on the shelf.” Except for color additives, cosmetic products and ingredients don’t require premarket approval by the Food and Drug Administration. Manufacturers have sole legal responsibility for ensuring their products’ safety — and they’re not required to share their safety data with the FDA. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration does require salons to post warnings and take other steps if formaldehyde is detected above certain levels, but it isn’t clear how many actually do that. In North Carolina, the state Board of Cosmetic Art Examiners requires beauty salons to have material safety data sheets available for all products. But the only chemical prohibited by state law is methyl methacrylate, an organic compound found in resins and plastics that’s been known to cause irritation, respiratory and neurological symptoms in humans, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. It’s mainly used in nail salons. Against that backdrop, salon workers may be more or less on their own when it comes to safeguarding their health — and they may not

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wELLNEss even be aware of the limited protections the law does provide. “I don’t know of any regulations in effect to protect the salon workers, other than to wear gloves and be smart,” says stylist Erin Lind of Ananda Hair Studio in Asheville. “There should probably be more.” Rebecca Biggers, who owns Lola Salon & Gallery in Asheville, says having a choice in the products she uses was one of the main reasons she opened her own salon 14 years ago. She knew what she wanted to stock on the shelves. Still, Biggers wore a mask at work when she was pregnant. “It was not about my choice but about protecting my babies,” she says. “When I was two weeks pregnant, I was wearing a mask.” Biggers says the potential health risks are always in the back of her mind, and she seeks out products with fewer side effects. Lola sells two high-end product lines that are marketed as natural. The Kevin Murphy brand bills its products as sulfate-, paraben- and cruelty-free, while Davines touts sustainable beauty and zero carbon dioxide impact. Overall, the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Cosmetics Database considers most Davines products a “moderate hazard.” Yet the database cites Davines Love Lovely Smoothing Shampoo, for example, as having “high concerns” for endocrine disruption; multiple additive exposure sources; contamination concerns; irritation of the skin, eyes or lungs; and occupational hazards. The Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit uses scientific research to protect the public health. CaNCER-CausiNg CHEmiCaLs Although shampoos and dyes may contain chemicals that pose some risk for salon workers, the most dangerous chemicals are those produced when products used for straightening, hair extensions, bleaching and dyeing hair are heated by a blow dryer or flat iron. “Beauty and Its Beast” includes a list of products that it says have been linked to various health problems, such as asthma and cancer. Toluene, an ingredient in some hair dyes, can cause liver damage, kidney damage, birth defects and pregnancy loss, the list states. Ammonium persulfate, found in hair bleach, causes asthma and dermatitis, according to scientific studies referenced in the report. And styrene, used in hair extension glue, is “reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen” according to the National Toxicology Program, a collaboration involving the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the FDA.

By far the most scrutinized such chemical, however, is formaldehyde, or its byproduct methylene glycol, used in hair-straightening products like the Brazilian Blowout and Keratin Express. “It has been named as a human carcinogen as of 2011,” says Julia Storm, an agromedicine specialist in the toxicology program at N.C. State University, referring to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ 12th “Report on Carcinogens.” “Some studies,” notes Storm, “linked formaldehyde exposure to myeloid leukemia. Others have linked hematopoietic and lymphatic cancers and brain tumors.” Various government agencies are well aware of the dangers of formaldehyde. The National Toxicology Program lists formaldehyde as “known to be a human carcinogen.” The World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer has concluded that formaldehyde is “carcinogenic to humans.” But that doesn’t mean it’s hazardous to your health at all concentrations, particularly with short-term exposure, cautions Pete Newsome, president and founder of PharmAgra Labs in Brevard. The company does research and development for clients in organic and medicinal chemistry.

“i don't know of any regulations in effect to protect the salon workers, other than to wear gloves and be smart. there should probably be more.” — styList ERiN LiNd Of aNaNda HaiR studiO iN asHEviLLE.

“I believe that most of these conclusions on carcinogenicity were reached by an epidemiological study of any changes in rates of cancer in selected exposed groups — I presume chronic exposure — versus the general population,” he explains. bRaZiLiaN bLOwOut Hair is made of a protein called keratin, Newsome explains, and whether hair is curly or straight is determined by the number and orientation of disulfide bonds in this protein. The first set of chemicals in the straightening

process breaks these bonds, while the second set re-forms them in the new configuration. Formaldehyde, one of the chemicals commonly used to reform the bonds, is released into the air during the initial drying process. The EPA classifies formaldehyde as a probable human carcinogen under high or prolonged exposure; consequently, OSHA has defined the maximum concentration a worker can be exposed to during an eight-hour shift. For exposures exceeding certain specified levels, salon owners must take additional measures, such as ongoing air quality monitoring, providing protective gear to employees, installing ventilation systems and offering workers medical exams. “What I suspect is that having your hair treated with this stuff is not of significant concern, but working in a place that does these 40 hours a week needs some close scrutiny and monitoring for concentration in the air,” says Newsome. Lind, meanwhile, says Ananda doesn’t offer the Brazilian Blowout, adding that while she’s done only one such treatment in her career, she can see why clients might want to try it. “It’s a big confidence boost, and in the case of the Brazilian Blowouts and straightening treatments, they do make the hair more manageable and easily maintained.” In 2011, however, OSHA issued a hazard alert for salon employees warning against the use of hair straighteners containing formaldehyde. Canada, France, Ireland and Australia have recalled hair-smoothing products containing the chemical, and California, Oregon, Connecticut and New York have issued warnings to salons about formaldehyde, according to OSHA’s website. So far, North Carolina hasn’t jumped on the bandwagon. Meanwhile, the FDA has hesitated to regulate the Brazilian Blowout and similar products, Switalski maintains. “They’ve supposedly been investigating this issue for five years or so; it’s been taking an incredibly long time. People are getting sick, and salon workers are really getting sick and getting formaldehyde poisoning. It’s not something you can ever get rid of.” Women’s Voices for the Earth is urging the federal agency to issue a voluntary recall of all hair-straightening products containing formaldehyde. Switalski says the FDA needs more enforcement authority in order to take action on the issue and ban the product outright. “They don’t even feel empowered enough to do that,” she says.

Several Asheville salons use the Brazilian Blowout treatment, including Lola, Chestnut Hill Salon & Spa, Full Circle Salon, Marc Edward & Co. and Westside Shears. Biggers, however, says that she and other Lola stylists use precautions like a fan, masks and gloves when administering the treatment. Chestnut Hill owner Carla Stahl also stresses the importance of ventilation. If a client requests information about the treatment, she says, she refers them to the product’s website. Pressed for more details, however, Stahl said, “I’m really not comfortable with people continuing to pick apart this product.” bEauty wORKERs mOst at RisK Asthma is another significant concern for beauty industry workers. In a 2013 study of over 20,000 Northern Europeans published in The Annals of Occupational Hygiene, hairdressers had one of the highest risks of new-onset asthma, compared with those in other professions. Hannah Bailey, a stylist at Lola, says workers use an exhaust fan when doing a Brazilian Blowout treatment. But during her 10 years in the business, says Bailey, she’s known of only one stylist who quit due to an allergy. And Charlie O’shields, who owns Hair Mechanix in Brevard, says she’s tried products that were labeled organic but found that many of her clients were allergic to them. A lot of all-natural hair products, she explains, contain derivatives of trees or grasses, and if you’re allergic to those, “You’re going to break out.” O’shields’ salon has been open for six years, and she says she’s never suffered from an adverse reaction to the products she uses, though she knows of stylists who’ve developed allergies to hair dye after 20 or 30 years. Hair Mechanix uses Bed Head products (which the Environmental Working Group rates as either “moderate” or “high hazard”), and Goldwell Topchic for color (which the database labels “high hazard”). In 2010, the International Agency for Research on Cancer published an evaluation of studies on cancer risks associated with hair dyes. “Occupational exposures as a hairdresser or barber are probably carcinogenic to humans,” the agency concluded. Newsome doesn’t dispute these products’ potential negative health effects, but he’s not convinced that they pose an immediate danger to the general public. “Dyes consist of fairly large molecules which are not that volatile,” he says. “Some of the agents used during the dye-

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W E L L N E SS ing process, however, are volatile, so any concerns regarding toxicity via inhalation should focus on exposure while the hair is being treated. After the hair dries, then you need to be aware of dermal toxicity of the dye that remains, but I believe risk is low with these types of molecules.” For beauty workers, however, the risks appear greater. A 2011 questionnaire completed by hairdressers in Denmark found that over 60 percent suffered from skin conditions on their hands, according to a report published in Contact Dermatitis. A 2011 article in Occupational Medicine said that the hairdressers surveyed had frequently reported musculoskeletal, skin and respiratory symptoms. And a study of the prevalence of dermatitis, allergic rhinitis and asthma in hairdressing students and practicing hairdressers in Melbourne, Australia, published in the Journal of Dermatology in 2006, found that almost 60 percent of respondents had experienced changes on their hands. “I say all the time: Wear your gloves, don’t get contact dermatitis. It’s a problem; it is there,” notes Darlene Cope, director and lead instructor of the cosmetology program at Blue Ridge Community College. “But a mechanic has the same problems. You can’t pinpoint one industry.”

“Historically, women’s health problems don’t get the attention they need,”

Lind shares Cope’s concern. “Our bodies absorb things through the skin as well as when we breathe in fumes,” she says. “I always wear gloves when applying color, and it’s important to do it even when shampooing the color out.” Changing the focus But simply asking workers to wear gloves or masks doesn’t get to the root of the problem, some natural hair care advocates maintain. If a mask is required when using a certain product, the stylist shouldn’t be using it at all, says Terry Craig. Switalski agrees, arguing that salon workers shouldn’t have to wear protective equipment in order to stay safe in the workplace. “All of those things are fine, but the real problem is they’re

January 27 - February 2, 2016

WELLNESS SUPPLEMENT

working with toxic products. Let’s change that,” she says. “Let’s be innovative and find solutions so the industry is a clean industry, and people don’t have to trade their livelihood for their health. That’s not a fair choice.” But until what the Craigs call “the beauty cartel” changes its attitude, they don’t see things changing. “These are smart companies,” says Julie. “They’re only focused on beauty, not wellness. You might have a little startup company with organic products, but it’s in the back of the convention center. That’s part of the problem — those companies don’t get as much exposure.” Biggers says that when she was in cosmetology school, the harmful effects of certain products weren’t discussed much. “We would glaze over it,” she says. “You would hear about it for allergies, but it wasn’t the main thing.” Cope, though, says the beauty industry is gradually starting to create healthier products, using more fruit acids and removing sulfates. “In reality, sulfates aren’t such a bad thing for you,” she says. “The industry dictates that based on the desire of the public and tries to accommodate that desire.” Like organic foods, however, natural products and services aren’t cheap. At The Water Lily, an all-organic salon in Asheville, women’s cuts run $50 to $55. At Chestnut Hill, on the other hand, a woman’s cut costs $30. Meanwhile, salon jobs don’t generally pay all that well. In 2011, the median hourly wage for hairdressers, hairstylists and cosmetologists was just $10.91 including tips and commissions, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. “I feel for stylists who work in traditional salons, who are exposed to it all the time. It’s hard for them to live a healthy life when they’re getting this exposure,” says Ann Buchman, a client of the Craigs. After trying out other, less expensive salons and experiencing a burning scalp days later, Buchman turned to Rapture for a chemical-free salon experience. Growing awareness Faced with the FDA’s glacial review process, big beauty companies’ extensive marketing campaigns and the higher cost of organic products, salon owners like the Craigs, Biggers and others say they’re doing their best to keep themselves and their clients healthy and safe. Cope, meanwhile, says Blue Ridge Community College’s curriculum

changes to keep up with the industry, so that graduating students are salon-ready. The school, she explains, is moving toward educating students in both traditional salon methods and natural, reparative techniques. Asheville native Lynne Smith has worked in the beauty industry off and on since age 18, when she graduated from Asheville High School’s cosmetology program. That was 1987, and she says there wasn’t much discussion about organic products back then. Smith, who has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business management, now works full time for a local bank. But she also makes her own chemical-free products from scratch using essential oils and butters, marketing them through her website. For many people, she says, toxic chemicals are “par for the course as part of being ‘beautiful.’ We just accept it.” It was only recently that Smith herself, after hearing a report on the radio about harmful chemicals in some cosmetics, took a look at the products she was using and, realizing that she couldn’t even pronounce the ingredients, threw everything in the trash. “There are a lot of chemicals [that people who use beauty products] come in contact with,” says Smith. “Now what we’re seeing in the hair field, especially among African-Americans, is they’re not putting chemicals in their hair. As we’re getting more awareness and seeing results, women are slowly becoming aware,” she reports. “But I think there still needs to be a lot more awareness across the board.” REdEfiNiNg bEauty Meanwhile, despite these challenges, many stylists say the industry has a positive impact overall. Cope, who’s been in cosmetology for 24 years, says it’s a privilege to serve others through her work. “We can make a difference in how someone sees themself as well as how others see them,” she points out. “We can take someone from feeling really down and depressed to confident and happy in just a short amount of time.” Lind, too, says there’s far more to her work than simply making clients look good. “When people come to the salon, they’re coming for whatever service they need, but they’re also coming for the time that they get to talk to their stylist and be pampered by the shampoo and blowouts,” she notes. “Sometimes stylists also act as counselors: People talk to us about all kinds of things, from joyous and

exciting things to hard and difficult things that they’re going through.” In addition, “Beauty and Its Beast” stresses that more research is needed, noting that in many cases, there’s insufficient data available to assess specific products and risks, and the existing studies are often contradictory. Still, Buchman believes a move to more organic materials would benefit everyone. And if more clients demanded safer products, the increased volume would bring prices down. For their part, the Craigs say they understand that change is scary for people, and while they don’t expect the shift to chemical-free to happen overnight, they’re glad to see some progress. “What we have seen change is that there’s more of us out there,” says Julie. “We’re getting more organized, and these smaller companies have gotten bigger.” Terry says clients, aided by the Internet, are educating themselves more now than ever before. And education, he believes, leads to better choices. “What we’ve got now is a whole new ballgame, and it’s going to make for healthier clients and healthier stylists,” he predicts. “We’ve come around to health: That’s what beauty really is.” X

MoRe iNfo american Cancer society: Formaldehyde cancer.org/cancer/cancercauses/othercarcinogens/intheworkplace/formaldehyde ananda Hair studio anandahair.com blue Ridge Community College blueridge.edu Chestnut Hill salon & spa chestnuthillsalon.com fda salon professionals: Fact Sheet: fda.gov/Cosmetics/ ResourcesForYou/Industry/ucm388738.htm federal food, drug and Cosmetic act fda.gov/regulatoryinformation/legislation/ federalfooddrugandcosmeticactfdcact/ Hair mechanix facebook.com/HAIRMECHANIX-118068691566387 Lola salon & gallery lolasalonandgallery.com Lynn smith, Che’ beautiful chebeautiful.com Occupational safety & Health administration Hazard alert osha.gov/SLTC/formaldehyde/hazard_ alert.html Rapture Organic salon raptureorganicsalon.com the water Lily Organic salon waterlilysalon.squarespace.com/ women’s voices for the Earth womensvoices.org

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In the early days of Buncombe County’s history, no one worried much about whether county residents were physically active. Most people engaged in some form of physical labor in the course of their daily lives, and most thought little of walking miles to accomplish everyday activities like shopping, running errands, going to school and attending church. Back then, Buncombe County focused its fledgling public health efforts on projects that included a vaccination program, inspection of water sources and establishing a clinic for the treatment of venereal disease. During the influenza epidemic of 1919, the Health Department set up temporary hospitals to accommodate the thousands of patients the area’s few private hospitals couldn’t handle. But these days, the Health Department’s role has grown far beyond the prevention and treatment of disease. Now charged with providing opportunities for residents to make healthy choices within a healthy environment, Public Health Director Jan Shepard says her department is looking for ways to help the community shift the balance toward positive health outcomes. Overcoming sedentary habits and encouraging physical activity as a normal part of everyday life are among the healthy choices Shepard wants to encourage. To accomplish that goal and many others, her department is embracing an innovative “collective impact” model. While the Department of Health continues to serve as Buncombe County’s public provider of a wide variety of health-related services, it is increasingly focused on collaborating with other governmental entities, funding sources and commu-

nity partners to achieve its mission, Shepard says. “Part of what we try to do is to infuse public health into planning committee meetings or into a Parks and Recreation meeting, so that we are bringing awareness of the health consequences of the policy decisions that are made,” Shepard explains. “Our role is to remain that anchor institution that doesn’t go away in recessions, that’s here under all circumstances, and to provide guidance, support and communication,” adds Lisa Eby, human resources director for the Buncombe County Health and Human Services department. “Buncombe has made huge strides in placing public health professionals where they can have a greater impact,” continues Shepard, outlining programs to embed staff previously employed by the Health Department into community resource agencies to provide better reach and coordination of services. The changes are not intended to save money: County funding for the positions has stayed the same or increased, Eby clarifies. Starting young School health program manager Alice Elio is one of the staffers who moved from the Health Department to the Mountain Area Health Education Center as part of the shift. She supervises some of the 24 school nurses working in the county and city schools under the auspices of MAHEC. Elio says helping students incorporate healthy choices like walking and biking into daily life is one of the most effective approaches for promoting health and well-being among our community’s children. “Research shows a correlation between increased physical activity levels where school and

by Virginia Daffron

vdaffron@mountainx.com

gEt a mOvE ON: Each spring, Asheville on Bikes executive director Mike Sule and other advocates help organize a Strive Not to Drive campaign to encourage multimodal and active transit. Photo by Jake Frankel

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W E L L N E SS community design and policy support walking, biking and transit use,” she says. Terri March, a health improvement specialist who worked at the Buncombe County Health Department for 14 years before transferring to MAHEC 18 months ago, agrees that a focus on active transportation is a key strategy for promoting community health. March serves on the city’s Multimodal Transportation Commission and its Bicycle and Pedestrian Task Force, and she also helps facilitate the Safe Routes to School initiative, which encourages kids to walk and bike to school. Shaping the environment But educating students and families about the benefits of walking and biking won’t convince residents to embrace active transportation if they are stymied by missing sidewalks, unsafe crossings or other obstacles. “We look at connectivity and opportunities for all segments of the population to move across the city,” says Mariate Echeverry, transpor-

January 27 - February 2, 2016

tation planning manager for the city. “Our job is to think of the system as a whole and try to enhance connection opportunities where there are gaps.” Yuri Koslen, transit project coordinator, agrees: “The goal is to accommodate everyone: kids, older people, those with physical disabilities. A person’s willingness to make a trip using active forms of transportation is determined by the weakest link. The rest may be very safe. It’s those links that make it difficult.” Eby mentions one example of how interagency cooperation bridged a gap and enabled a large group of residents to access opportunities for healthy outdoor recreation. “When Carrier Park was first built, we realized that the residents of the close-by Pisgah View apartments had no safe way to walk to the park,” Eby recalls. “[City transportation director] Ken Putnam sits on the county’s Health and Human Services Board, where he heard about the problem. He got a crosswalk installed to provide safe access to the park.” To address these kinds of challenges, the city’s Transportation Department is engaged in a number of initiatives to increase both the num-

WELLNESS SUPPLEMENT

ber of active transportation options and the connections between them. The city’s pedestrian plan, last updated in 2004, has guided city investments and development policies to create needed linkages for safe pedestrian travel. The city’s Neighborhood Sidewalk Plan was approved on Oct. 13 as a tool for evaluating new sidewalk construction needs. The plan provides a transparent method for ranking about 90 miles of potential sidewalk projects in order of priority. However, the city’s current annual budget for new sidewalk projects is $350,000, which will build about 1,000 feet of new sidewalk; as a result, residents shouldn’t look for a big increase in the number of sidewalks in the city anytime soon. Asheville adopted a comprehensive bicycle plan in 2008, and in the years since then, new bike lanes, bike racks on public transit buses, facilities for bicycle storage and many other efforts have increased options for bicycle commuters and recreational cyclists. “In general,” says transportation planner Barb Mee, “we are trying to build connected networks.” Planning efforts currently underway include the Asheville in Motion

plan, which will provide a framework for meeting the transportation needs of a growing Asheville through health-oriented and sustainable transportation. This plan will address the full range of transportation options in Asheville, bringing together automobile, bus, bicycle and pedestrian transit into one unified and updated planning resource. The city is also undertaking a plan to improve Livingston Street and a portion of Depot Street with an approach called Complete Streets. The goal of the project is to make the street safer and more comfortable for all users, including pedestrians, bicyclists and transit users. Construction on the project, which is funded by a Federal Highway Administration grant, is scheduled to begin in 2017. Creating new greenways — while ensuring that the city’s greenways connect to other transportation infrastructure as well as to the county greenway system — is a popular initiative that will bear fruit in the near future. “We will have 11.91 miles of completed gre-

enway when the River Arts District Transportation Improvement Project and other greenways are finished in 2019,” reports Echeverry. “Over 10 miles of that total will be the River to Ridge system that will connect the greenways at the river to the Beaucatcher Greenway.” According to Buncombe County recreation services manager Josh O’Conner, the county is pursuing funding for two greenway projects that have the potential to extend greenways developed through the RADTIP projects to the north and the south. The northern extension would run from Broadway to Woodfin, while the southern route would extend all the way to the county-owned Lake Julian Park. “Over the past decade, our thinking about greenways has shifted away from considering these corridors as purely recreational amenities,” O’Conner explains. By focusing on greenways as components in an active transportation system, O’Conner says, “We can accomplish multiple goals at one time, and we can meet a wider range of needs in our communities.”

Both Echeverry and O’Conner agree that coordination between city and county greenway efforts is a top priority to ensure that the completed system forms a seamless network. “Our citizens don’t need to know whether they are using a city greenway or a county greenway,” Echeverry explains. Adds O’Conner: “And by remaining in close communication, we avoid competing for the same funding sources or duplicating efforts.” While many of these efforts are still in the planning stages, changes in public attitudes and behavior surrounding active transportation are becoming evident. According to March, data collected by local volunteers in Asheville’s annual bicycle and pedestrian survey indicate steady growth since advocates began collecting the information in 2009. “If you pay attention,” March says, “you will notice a lot more people on foot and on bikes.” Referring to groups like Asheville on Bikes and the Bicycle and Pedestrian Taskforce, March says, “We have a lot of individuals, advocates and passionate folks who have been working to promote active transportation in this community for many years. We are at

the point now where we are beginning to see a lot of things happening as a result of those collaborations.” paRKs aNd RECREatiON City and county park facilities present still more opportunities for healthy activity. Asheville’s Parks and Recreation Department maintains 54 public parks and 11 community centers. The department offers activities and sports programs for young people, adults and seniors. Buncombe County maintains 16 parks (five of which include pool facilities) and a recreation program with offerings for all ages. O’Conner says that the county’s premier facility is the Buncombe County Sports Park located in the Enka/Candler area. The park boasts seven soccer fields (which are used by the Asheville Buncombe Youth Soccer Association, among other groups), a walking trail, a picnic area, a playground and community gardens. “We want to make sure that our programs and facilities appeal to people at all ability levels, O’Conner explains.

sustaiNabLE stRatEgiEs Amber Weaver, the city’s sustainability director, sees active transportation as a critical part of Asheville’s commitment to sustainability. ”The best way to have an appreciation for the resources we are trying to conserve is to experience them directly,“ she explains. ”What’s the best way to experience them? Be outside.“ Providing a range of active transportation options will reduce fossil fuel use, conserve land that might otherwise be needed for parking and roads, reduce chronic disease and improve overall well-being, Weaver says. She believes that encouraging active transportation through the collaborative efforts of government and the community can only increase our common commitment to a sustainable future. “I think we care most about the environment when we are connected to it by being outdoors,” Weaver concludes. X

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a HEaltHY sMIlE A look at holistic dentistry in Western North Carolina “Would you like a cup of nettle?” asks Janna Gower, office manager and the wife of Dr. Phil Davis, a local dentist. She hands me a chilled infusion of nettle root meant to naturally energize without producing the edgy nervous energy and acidity of coffee. A yellow smiley face at the mailbox marks the driveway for Healthy Smiles, Davis’ general dentistry practice, less than a mile from the Western North Carolina Farmers Market on Brevard Road. Inside the renovated farmhouse, surrounded by organic gardens and a variety of large oak, elm and maple trees that shade the house, the atmosphere is cozy and welcoming. The private patient rooms are spacious, with large windows that can be opened to let in fresh breezes during nice weather and the sound of birds in the trees. The kitchen, where staff members share lunch each day, is clean and bright. She pulls out a quart jar of dark tea from the refrigerator and pours me a cup. This is what one facet of local holistic dentistry is like upon first look. Holistic dentists (also called biological or integrative dentists) offer all the services you would expect from any dentist. They have attended dental school, graduated with a doctor of dental medicine or a doctor of dental surgery degree and are licensed by the state Dental Board. However, at some point in these dentists’ experiences, they recognized systemic problems as distinct from “business as usual” practices of traditional dentistry — whether that be through doctor-patient interaction, type of treatment or the avoidance of certain invasive procedures. Holistic dentistry holds that oral health is directly connected to overall health. There is a spectrum of different care strategies, ranging from a patientcentric ideal of care (from The Pankey Institute) to wearing a hazardous materials suit for silver-mercury

iNsidE Out: Dr. Phil Davis, a mercury-free and ﬂuoride-free dentist in Asheville, helps patients achieve dental health holistically, starting from the inside. amalgam filling removal. While traditional dentistry points to avoiding sugary snacks as well as brushing and flossing regularly, holistic dentists emphasize the importance of wholefoods nutrition and cavity prevention, while at the same time limiting the use of toxic chemicals and invasive dental procedures such as extractions and root canals. They embrace new technology in an effort to provide care for their patients that goes beyond the conventional wisdom of dentistry of the past 150 years. Because there is no single care philosophy for holistic dentistry, it is important to ask your dentist during your initial consultation about his or her particular postdoctoral specialties. CONsuLtatiON aNd a QuOtE Dr. Mark Knollman, also a local dentist, begins every new patient relationship with an private consultation and always points out a framed quote by Albert Schweitzer: “Patients carry

by Cindy Kunst

clkunst@clicksphotography.net system that does not require numbing the entire jaw. “We’re always trying to tailor the treatment for the specific needs of our patients,” he says. mERCuRy iN tHE middLE

their own doctor inside. They come to us not knowing that truth. We are at our best when we give the physician who resides within each patient a chance to go to work.” Knollman says this is his opportunity to put patients in charge, listening without interruption as they describe their dental needs “as they feel it” and medically making sense of their complaints. Sometimes the conversation spills over from toothaches into life circumstances, Knollman notes, and the choices, good or bad, that bring someone to the dentist office. “You would be astounded by the personal stories people have sat in that chair and shared with me,” he says. In 1995, Knollman was the first dentist in Asheville to have a digital X-ray machine, which exposes patients to 80 percent less direct radiation than traditional dental radiography. That’s good for the patient, he says, but even better for staff members, who have daily exposure not only to the radiation but also the chemical development process. Digital X-rays have higher resolution, which leads to better diagnosis and treatment for patients, he explains. Knollman says he’s “Hg [mercury] free,” which refers to dentists who don’t use silver-mercury amalgam fillings. In fact, he hasn’t used an amalgam filling in over 25 years, he notes. When given the choice, he says, his patients prefer tooth-colored resin fillings anyway. Knollman describes himself as a Pankey Institute dentist, providing patient-centered care, adding that the institute encourages continuing education for “bridging the gap between what is known and what is practiced.” To this end, he has invested in a variety of state-of-the-art systems to serve his clients, such as the Cerec machine, which uses a 3-D image of a particular tooth to create restorative dental pieces from ceramic on-site, as well as a single-tooth anesthesia

Perhaps the most unifying banner of holistic dentistry is the rejection of silver-mercury amalgam fillings as a healthy restorative dental substance. The American Dental Association has stated publicly and repeatedly that elemental liquid mercury acts as a binding agent for the powdered alloy of mixed metals in the amalgam (including silver, tin and copper) and is contained within the matrix of the alloy. A typical silver-mercury amalgam filling is 50 percent liquid mercury by weight. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has ruled that mercury is safe for use in dental amalgam fillings for adults and children over the age of 6. In spite of these assurances, however, there has been growing concern among some dental professionals that the mercury is not as “trapped” as these agencies say. Dr. Matthew Young is a mercurysafe dentist in Hendersonville. That means he not only refrains from dental products containing mercury, but is also a trained and accredited member of the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology. This group of dentists specializes in safe engineering protocols for removal, remediation and disposal of mercury amalgam fillings. Young cites the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s regulation about toxic exposure in the workplace. Then he points out a monitor attached to a machine behind a glass door, explaining that the air in every room in the office is constantly monitored for any mercury exposure. That’s not only to protect patients, but also staff members from daily exposure — a real concern, since mercury is bioaccumulative (it continues to build up in the system and cannot be “flushed out” by the organs). Young takes an aggressive stance against using mercury in fillings, noting that if there were any other industry where mercury was in regular use, a host of test results and airquality reports would have to be sent daily to OSHA. His work in creating a mercury-safe dental office has been so successful that it was included in a full-length documentary, Evidence of Harm, released in 2015, about the medical consequences of mercury exposure on three patients.

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January 27 - february 2, 2016

W E L L N E SS

Andrew & JulieAnn Nugent-Head Bring to Asheville 30+ Years Experience in China “I highly recommend the Alternative Clinic. The incredible knowledge, sincere dedication, and individualized treatments have been the most effective of any doctor I have worked with” Emily A.

January 27 - February 2, 2016

WELLNESS SUPPLEMENT

Mercury vaporizes at room temperature, Young explains, and with the additional friction from a drill, can produce up to 300 times the acceptable dosage of 10 micrograms per centimeter in the air from one patient’s filling. To protect himself and his staff from exposure, Young employs a range of air-quality technology systems and tests them to make sure they are working. The most effective equipment he uses for air cleaning, he says, is an IQAir vent, operating at maximum efficiency, that runs contaminated air through a carbon filter during procedures so nothing but clean air is released. Submerging fillings in water and removing amalgams in large segments also help minimize the generation of mercury particulates and vapor, he adds. All attending staff members wear face guards, respirators and hazmat suits to limit their exposure, he continues, while the patient is draped from head to foot, and a latex-free dental dam is used to isolate the tooth being worked on. Finally, he says, there is a mercury amalgam separator for the entire office, which filters all wastewater before it returns to the public water system. A study by the Environmental Protection Agency in 2003 estimated dental clinics discharge about 4.4 tons of mercury each year nationwide and are responsible for half of the mercury discharge into publicly owned wastewater systems. Buncombe County’s annual portion of that is about the size of a 3-inch Rubik’s cube. According to the Metropolitan Sewerage District of Buncombe County, dental mercury makes up “a significant portion” of the total mercury processed by the treatment facility annually. While Young sees mercury-free dentistry becoming more widely incorporated into acceptable practice, as more patients become aware and new dentists enter the field, he says: “Out of 190,000 dentists in the U.S., there are only 800 of us in the IAOMT. Many of us in the group discovered they were mercury toxic and joined in order to learn how to be mercury-safe. Remember that there is a distinction between being mercuryfree, not placing amalgams, versus being mercury-safe, as we are, with the precautions we take. “We have approached many dental schools and educators about this and other subjects. However, due to increased liability and costs, they have not been amenable to change. Dentistry had a long history of being

a noble profession, and the thought of exposing our patients and staff to toxins is a hard nut to crack. The concept that the mercury is trapped in the matrix of the amalgam is still perpetuated by the educators,” he says. HEALTHY SMILE, HEALTHY LIFE

Back at Davis’ office, the brief tour has concluded. Sipping the cool, unsweetened, earthy-tasting nettle tea, we talk about his practice’s care philosophy of helping the whole body be healthy from the inside out. Specifically, the husband-and-wife team tries to minimize the toxic burdens for patients as much as possible by using only biocompatible materials and advising patients on how to achieve “minimally invasive dentistry.” To provide holistic care, Davis advocates learning from and working with other physicians from a variety of medical specialties, such as neurology, endocrinology, naturopathy, herbalism and acupuncture. Education is the key to a healthy and trusting relationship with patients, he notes, so the waiting room is full of books about different disciplines that address oral health outside of dentistry. Davis encourages patients to contact other physicians for individualized testing to determine personal sensitivities. Like other holistic dental professionals, he operates a mercury-free and fluoride-free office. He has been published as a critic of fluoridated public water systems and advocates fluoride as a topical dental treatment for remineralizing the outside of the teeth only. Gower feels “there is too much emphasis on products and individual solutions produced by industry — looking for a magic wand for health — as opposed to real, natural foods and clean water.” All of the water in the office and dental chairs is reverseosmosis filtered, she notes. “Dentistry is not just from the outside, just brushing and flossing; you need to keep the teeth healthy through good nutrition,” says Davis, emphasizing preventive care that starts in infancy and lasts your whole life. “Nutrient-dense foods can minimize the need for dentistry and promote healing after treatment,” he adds. Several factors contribute to making his practice especially health-promoting, he points out, including accepting and respecting people, being open to new ideas and methods, encouraging patients to actively participate in their personal health and understanding that the mouth is the “front door” to the whole body as a system: Take care of it, and it will take care of you. X

w e ll nes s ca l e n dar Wellness SECRETS OF NATURAL WALKING (pd.) Workshop, Sunday, 1/31, 9-5pm. Proper alignment = healthy joints, energized body, calm minds. Let your walking be your healing. Join Us!! $150 - Call to Register: 828-215-6033. natural-walking.com Asheville Community Yoga Center 8 Brookdale Road, ashevillecommunityyoga.com • THURSDAYS, (1/7) through (1/28), 6-7:30pm - “Yoga for Healthy Weight Loss,” yoga workshop. $40/$12 per class. • SA (1/30), 3-5pm - “Introduction to Meditation,” workshop. $20. • SUNDAYS (1/3) through (1/31), 5:30pm “Introduction to Yoga,” yoga workshop. (No class on 1/24) $40/$12 drop-in. • SU (1/31), 12:30-2:30pm - “Kids Yoga for Adults: Connecting with Your Inner Child,” workshop. $20. Council on Aging of Buncombe County 277-8288, coabc.org • TH (1/28), 2-4pm - “Medicare Choices Made Easy,” information session. Registration: 277-8288. Free to attend. Held at Weaverville Public Library, 41 N. Main St., Weaverville Red Cross Blood Drives redcrosswnc.org Appointment and ID required. • FR (1/29), 10:30am-4pm - Appointments & info.: 1-800-REDCROSS. Held at Black Mountain Fire Department, 106 Montreat Road, Black Mountain • SA (1/30), 9am-1pm - Appointments & info.: 686-5123. Held at the First Baptist Church of Swannanoa, 503 Park St., Swannanoa • SA (1/30), 2-6:30pm - Appointments & info: 645-8777. Held at Weaverville United Methodist Church, 85 N. Main St., Weaverville • TU (2/2), 2:30-7pm - Appointments & info.: 299-9233. Held at Beverly Hills Baptist Church, 777 Tunnel Road • WE (2/3), 11am-4:30pm - Appointments & info.: 1-800-REDCROSS. Held at UNCA. • TH (2/4), 1:30-6pm - Appointments & info.: 669-2725 ext. 110. Held at Black Mountain Presbyterian, 117 Montreat Road, Black Mountain

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January 27 - february 2, 2016

FOOD

See it before you eat it By LEA MCLELLAN leamclellan@gmail.com With Instagram being dubbed the most influential social marketing tool in 2015, it’s no wonder that Asheville’s most social media-savvy businesses and individuals are photographing their most mouthwatering work and sharing it for the world to see. We spoke with professional photographers, bakers and social media masters to get the skinny on what goes into making a successful, food-focused online persona — and why being on Instagram matters. Getting the shot We’ve all seen those unappetizing pictures of food that were taken with a not-so-deft hand. So what is the secret to making that plate of pasta look as good on camera as it tastes? Sarah Snyder, photographer, baker at Old Europe Cafe and blogger at formationsofmentalobjects.com, says that

January 27 - february 2, 2016

photographing food isn’t all that much different from photographing a face, in that not all angles are going to work. “I think the key is daylight,” she adds. “I’ll put the food up to a window and let natural light show how the bread is caramelized and how the colors naturally look.” Composition is also a consideration. “I think also putting the food in context is important,” Snyder says. “You aren’t just photographing a muffin on a plate, but you’re photographing it with the knife placed there and with the coffee cup in the corner.” Professional photographer Johnny Autry focuses primarily on food photography and has had his photos published in Bon Appetit and Cooking Light magazines. His Instagram feed features photos ranging from professional shoots to what he’s eating for dinner. “My interest in food has changed a lot since I started,” he says. “I’m really focused on the stories surrounding our food culture. Why people do what they do, how they are influenced and how their experiences affect their craft. Food is really just calories, but it’s become a huge part of the way we communicate — especially in the social media age.”

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Instagram showcases Asheville’s food photography Building a business While most people use social media for fun, for businesses, it’s often their biggest marketing tool. Tara Jenson, owner of Smoke Signals Bakery in Marshall, can testify to the efficacy of Instagram in terms of bringing in customers and connections. “I teach workshops, and I generally only post them to Instagram,” she says. “People from all over the country have been coming out to Marshall, which is really exciting. So I think having a national and even international reach has really been great as a business, and personally too.” Similarly, Vortex Doughnuts in Asheville uses social media as its sole form of advertising. Sam Moody, Vortex’s social media coordinator and barista, says the strategy has worked well. “I think it’s incredible how many people we are able to reach via social media,” he says. “It’s a sort of magical thing when we have people walk through our door for the first time who live on the other side of the country, and they recognize our employees, our products and already have a good sense of our business. All from our Instagram.”

Jordan Hughes, creative director for Wicked Weed Brewing, points out yet another reason why businesses should be making the best of their Instagram feeds. “Today’s craft beer drinkers use social media as their newspaper,” he says. “The biggest news, the coolest posts, the craziest beer news bombshells are all dropped into social media accounts.” fiNdiNg COmmuNity aNd bEst pRaCtiCEs In addition to drawing in customers and admirers, foodies make friends on Instagram. Because of Jenson’s rural locale, she says, Instagram is the primary way that she ends up talking with people on a day-to-day basis. “There’s a pretty strong culture of bread bakers on Instagram, and we all keep in touch,” she says. “Often if there is a problem going on with my bread, I can post something and immediately get responses from people who are in the U.K. or in Australia.” Snyder points to Asheville Folk, a local Instagram powerhouse and social meetup group focused on the arts, as a big source of the community she has found onand offline. “It’s kind of like having a little cheerleading squad,” she says. Whether they are running a business or simply sharing their art, most of those interviewed had some guidelines. Jenson advises that Instagrammers keep their photos focused. “Stay authentic to the content of your life,” she says. “Post primarily about your goods, so it’s not all over the place.”

Moody confirms that consistency is key. “You want people to recognize your photos before they even read who is posting them,” she says. “I try and do this for Vortex by using the same photo filter and editing process for every post made. You can make people feel welcomed into your establishment from five states away, all from the tone of your Internet presence.” Hughes reminds people that it isn’t all about your number of followers. “The word I use most often is ‘engagement.’ It does not behoove anyone to have hundreds or even thousands of followers and not provide them with content that is worth their time,” he says. “You got them to follow you, now make it stick. As it relates to Instagram, content is king, if your photo or video is well-done, you’ve won half the battle.” The beauty of Instagram, says Hughes, is that it is accessible. “It doesn’t take a whole lot of money, a fancy camera, Photoshop programs or anything like that to create interesting and engaging content for your followers,” he says. “All that it takes is some wherewithal, and to actually care about the work you’re doing, because it’s very important.” And Autry rightly points that half the fun of Instagram is seeing what others are up to. “I use Instagram mainly for my own personal inspiration,” he says. “I don’t spend any time thinking about getting followers or what people might like. I’m still blown away at the access you have to people you admire. There are amazing artists using Instagram. It’s fascinating to see what interests them.” X

feeDS to foLLow There are countless food lovers and culinary businesses in Asheville actively Instagramming photos of their favorite dishes and latest creations. Here are a few feeds that will give you a taste of what’s out there.

fRENCH bROad CHOCOLatEs @frenchbroadchocolates

aLL sOuLs piZZa @allsoulspizza

ELLiOtt mOss @elliottmoss

JOHNNy autRy @thieving_photons

OvER Easy CafE @overeasyasheville

saRaH sNydER @formationsofmentalobjects

taRa JENsON @bakershands

tHE HOp @hopicecream

vORtEx dOugHNuts @vortexdoughnuts

wiCKEd wEEd @wickedweedbrewingx

mountainx.com

January 27 - february 2, 2016

fooD

by Jonathan Ammons

jonathanammons@gmail.com

the WeLL-teMPered tiPPLe Asheville cocktail bars curate quality liquor menus melaasheville.com 70 N. LexiNgtoN aveNue 828.225.8880

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330 Rockwood Road, Arden

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RUSSIAN BLACK RYE

tHat's tHE spiRit: Casey Campfield, owner of The Crow & Quill, has been collecting spirits of all kinds for more than a decade. His passion is evident in the bar's stock of more than 500 kinds of liquors and liqueurs. Photo by Cindy Kunst

A hearty loaf, rich with molasses, vinegar, chocolate, espresso, and a bite of fennel. Available on Thursdays!

January 27 - february 2, 2016

“The bar lights and the liquor, and the way all the bottles they shine.” -Whiskeytown Perched on a stool at The Crow & Quill’s beautiful antique wooden bar, one is never at a loss for something to look at. The chandelier’s dim light casts shadows on the ornate carvings of a massive wall cabinet, which houses literally hundreds of bottles mountainx.com

of booze — easily one of Asheville’s best-kept secrets. “I’ve been a huge spirits fan for a decade now and had amassed a pretty large home collection,” says owner Casey Campfield. “I just realized that Asheville needed a liquor library, and I definitely view it as a spirits library that is going to encompass a lot of good selections from all of the major varieties of spirits.”

Bourbon, scotch, gin, rum, cognac, tequila, mescal, Amaro and just about every other variety of liqueur imaginable are all represented and in a wide array of brands and variations. Campfield estimates that there are well over 500 selections currently available at the bar, 260 of which are whiskeys. The typical cocktail bar in Asheville, mind you, may have 150 offerings, while

bars in larger cities may stock 200 or so. It’s an insane amount of booze for such a small space — bottles seem to be poking out of every nook and cranny. “Every time I get a new item in, I’m a little bit worried about it sitting on the shelf for years,” says Campfield. “And sometimes they do. But then sometimes you’ll sell threefourths of a bottle of something in one night just because everybody is excited to try it.” To a mixologist, a bar’s liquor selection is tantamount to the selection of fish at a high-end sushi shop. Not every gin or bourbon will do for every cocktail. As the ingredients for a drink’s recipe expand, so do the complexities of its flavors. Perhaps the botanicals in one gin might clash with the zesty notes of Dimmi Liquore de Milano or the pungency of Chartreuse. Or perhaps one bourbon’s rustic finish might add an extra dimension to the St. Germain, lending a sense of roughness to what could otherwise be an overly delicate and sweet experience. So curating a wellsculpted liquor selection is paramount in the development of any good bar. From 2005-08 Campfield managed the Joli Rouge — arguably Asheville’s first swing at a real craft cocktail bar — which was owned by Asheville cocktail royalty Sharon Wallis and Jacob Levinsohn. “The owners of that place put in a lot of work to get things in North Carolina that we take for granted now,” says Campfield. “They were the first people that I learned this trade from and how to pursue getting new spirits added to the special order list.” Curating lists has always been challenging in control states like North Carolina, where until three years ago, the state still required that all special orders be purchased by the case. That meant that in order to offer a liqueur like Chartreuse — a spirit rarely used in quantities larger than a bar spoon or half-ounce — a small bar would have to spend over $800 to buy a dozen bottles, virtually a lifetime supply. In May 2013, the N.C. Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission introduced a boutique collection category in an attempt to remedy the problem. This allows for purchases of three-bottle cases for select items found to be in demand. But, interestingly, one local ABC store has been even more effective

at improving Asheville bars’ access to prized liquors. “In some ways I think the boutique list is great, in some ways not so great,” says Charlie Hodge, owner of Sovereign Remedies on North Market Street. “To me the two things that are making the biggest impact [on bars’ access to specialorder spirits] is probably the leadership at [Asheville ABC] Store 4. They really try to make things happen and try to take care of us.” Several years ago, the staff at the Charlotte Street ABC store, or Store 4, began holding onto special-ordered cases and dividing them among multiple bars. “They do way more work than they have to, and I really appreciate that,” says Hodge. “The other thing is that even though all of us bars are seeing really great things come in, everyone is willing to share with each other. It’s a really beautiful community to be a part of.” “The local ABC has made it possible for us to do what we are doing now,” adds Campfield. “Not every branch does that. ... I can talk to other bars, split cases and go in on things that they’ve ordered with them that may have been cost-prohibitive otherwise.” Sovereign Remedies features 240 selections, 110 of which are whiskey. “The leading concern we have is to be able to build classic cocktails and to do that really well with spirits that aren’t superexpensive,” says Hodge. “We base our selection on two main things: The first is, can we build the cocktails that we want to build? ... But the other thing is, do we have a nice representation of the journey ahead and where spirits are going. We try — as much as we can in North Carolina — to get some stuff that shows the wide range of what the spirits are and what their capacities are.” But that curation doesn’t just follow the trends; sometimes the trends follow the curation. “Trend is such a hard word to swallow,” explains Hodge. “But the nice thing about the trend right now is that people are looking at the quality of spirits, and now we are able to sell things that people weren’t selling in the United States just a few years ago. But now with a much more educated population, people are seeking out those spirits and have an understanding of those flavors. It’s really exciting.” The Crow & Quill is at 106 N. Lexington Ave. Sovereign Remedies is at 29 N. Market St. X

MOJO KITCHEN & LOUNGE

Beer Dinner

featuring Pisgah Brewing Hors d’oeuvres Wild Rice Collard Green Dolma lemon, pine nuts, mint & Tzatziki Pale Ale Fried NC Oyster & Grilled Andouille Refried black eye pea, avocado, cherry tomato, lemon hollandaise & scallion Leaf Amber NC Black Bass & Blue Pumpkin Puree Swiss chard with blue cheese & pecan, red eye gravy & collard straw Porter Braised Whispersholler Farms Leg of Lamb & Heirloom Grits Creamed goat cheese, roasted carrot, Szechuan pepper-corn bordelaise & tobacco onion Valdez Churros & Dulce de leche, Cyprus black lava salt, berries & mint

$40/person + tax & gratuity Saturday, Feb. 13, 2016 • 6PM

55 College St.

Downtown Asheville

828-255-7767

CALL OR EMAIL TO RESERVE YOUR SPOT

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offer expires 02/08/16

January 27 - february 2, 2016

f ooD

bEER sCOut by Jesse Farthing | Send your beer news to beer@mountainx.com

Asheville offers fertile ground for the beginning brewer Brewing your own beer can be intimidating. There’s a wealth of knowledge available in the form of countless books, podcasts and Internet forums — and it can be overwhelming for a beginner to sort through. Not to mention, Western North Carolina has such a high concentration of craft breweries, it’s fairly simple to just go buy something you know you’ll like. So why even bother with homebrew? “There’s no reason not to get into it if you like craft beer,” says Tedd Clevenger, owner of Asheville Brewers Supply. “It’s far easier than you’d think. Brewing is very simple. It’s very creative and very scientific, so it doesn’t really matter what kind of personality you have — it enables you to combine both of those aspects, both sides of your brain, if you will. It’s really cool having something unique to be able to share with people.” At the basic level, all that’s needed is a kettle, a bucket to ferment your wort (unfermented beer) and another to bottle from. “Everyone can start differently,” says Hops & Vines owner Alex Buerckholtz. He recommends starting with a basic kit, which includes everything you need with the exception of a kettle and ingredients. “[Homebrewing is] nice because it’s scalable to the degree that you want it to be,” Clevenger says. “You can spend thousands of dollars and create your own nanobrewery in your garage if you want to, but you don’t have to. You can be wherever you want to be in your craft. You can build any kind of system that you want.” And no matter how far you want to go, the equipment from a starter kit will remain useful. “Oh, and you definitely need a sanitizer,” Buerckholtz adds. Buerckholtz and Clevenger both stress the importance of carefully disinfecting everything that touches the wort post-boil. “The biggest mistake [new brewers make] is sanitization,” Clevenger says. “When people get lax with that [it can lead to contamination].” And contamination by unde-

January 27 - february 2, 2016

tHE bREwiNg bug: “It’s rare to see brewers who only homebrew once a year,” says Hops & Vines owner Alex Buerkholtz. “Usually people that homebrew do it once every couple of weeks or once a month — they’re actively doing it because they enjoy the hobby.” Photo by Jesse Farthing

sirable organisms leads to the pain of throwing out 5 gallons of beer. Hops & Vines and Asheville Brewers Supply both offer dozens of ingredient kits ranging from simple pale ales to much more complex brews. Kits include all necessary ingredients and step-by-step directions from steeping grains at the start, to boiling time, malt and hops additions, cooling the wort and pitching yeast. Cooling the wort from boiling to pitching temperature can be as easy as putting smaller kettles in an ice bath or implementing a more brute-force option like a copper coil chiller, which circulates water through the wort for rapid cooling. After pitching the yeast and aerating the wort — simply shaking the fer-

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menting container — fermentation will begin quickly and sometimes violently. It’s important to ferment in a container with ample headroom. I personally made the mistake of filling a 5-gallon container with 5 gallons of wort, resulting in a messy explosion of yeast. Don’t make my mistake. “That one doesn’t happen all that often,” Clevenger laughs. The hardest part of homebrewing comes after fermentation — bottling your beer. A 5-gallon batch will fill around 50 12-ounce bottles (which can be purchased new or collected by drinking local beers). “Bottling is cute at first,” Clevenger says, “but that wears off.” Buerkholtz recommends upgrading to a kegging system as soon as pos-

sible. “One of the most tedious parts about homebrewing is the bottling,” he says, “slowly filling 50 12-ounce bottles one by one. … If you can afford it, go to kegs.” A kegging setup does come with a price, of course, and a person should brew a few times before investing in one to be sure homebrewing is a good fit as a hobby. “Some people do it and get the bug,” Buerckholtz says. “But some people try it and find out it’s not really their thing, and they’d rather just buy beers. “I don’t think homebrewing is a thing that’s going to really save you a lot of money,” he continues. “Some brewers do … but in general, it’s more of a passion and a hobby than a money-saver.” Patience is nearly as important as sanitation when it comes to brewing. Fermentation can take weeks — longer if the recipe calls for dry-hopping or other additions — and bottle conditioning takes around two weeks before the beer is properly carbonated. “A lot of people are too eager, and they’re going to bottle too early or break into that beer before it’s ready,” Clevenger says. “It’s cool to taste one here and there before it’s ready — to see it evolving, but I think patience is one of those things that new brewers have to learn. It usually takes a while.” Both shops offer monthly classes for those who want to learn before doing or improve their techniques. Class schedules can be found instore or on the respective websites. The Mountain Ale and Lager Tasters, a local, nonprofit homebrewing club, is another great resource for beginning brewers. The $30 annual membership fee includes discounts for homebrew stores and other local businesses, educational resources, tasting events and more. If you get the homebrew bug, it can become an addictive hobby, and Clevenger says he usually warns new brewers that he’ll be seeing them often. “At the end of the day, when someone drinks your beer, they are drinking something that’s wholly you in every way — and that’s really cool.” Clevenger says. Asheville Brewers Supply is at 712 Merrimon Ave. (ashevillebrewers. com). Hops & Vines is at 797 Haywood Road. (hopsandvines.net). For details on the Mountain Ale and Lager Tasters, visit maltsters.org. X

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January 27 - february 2, 2016

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s m a ll b i t e s by Kat McReynolds | kmcreynolds@mountainx.com while attendees vote for the people’s choice victor. “There will also be someone talking about the center,” Stefanile says, calling the organization a learning resource for beginner and amateur beekeepers. Another presentation will inform guests on how bees make honey and why the final products are so varied. “Basically, honey reflects the nectar from the plant that the bees harvested [it] from,” Stefanile explains. “Different nectars have different chemical components ... and there are all sorts of things that are unique to a plant that end up in the nectar. So you have a wide variety of different colors, tastes, densities and consistencies.” Honey from the tupelo trees in Missisippi, for instance, doesn’t crystallize due to lack of fructose, “so it’s always going to be that beautiful honey consistency that’s pourable. A mesquite honey from New Mexico does have the fructose, but there’s something in the composition that keeps it really creamy, so it ends up being like a spread.” All of the honeys at the contest are raw to preserve this expanse of terroirs in addition to maintaining natural enzymes and proteins, and select jars from this year and last year will be available for purchase. “This is a chance to taste honey in its natural form, the way bees would eat it and the way bees have made it,” says Stefanile. The fundraiser is at the Renaissance Hotel, 31 Woodfin St., 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 30. It’s free to enter as an observer, but tasting tickets are $10 at the door. Visit avl.mx/25x for details.

SWEET EVENT: The Center for Honeybee Research will offer Ashevillieans a chance to taste raw honeys from around the world at the upcoming International Black Jar Honey Contest. Photo by Pat Barcas

International Black Jar Honey Contest “Natural beekeeping is a very new field in the world of academia, and it’s definitely coming off of a long beekeeping tradition of using pesticides, miticides and fungicides,” says Leonora Stefanile, volunteer at the Center for Honeybee Research. But the organization, she says, is “trying to do research to prove that bees can resist diseases and pests like the varroa mite without the use of synthetic chemicals.” To that end, the research center manages 20 hives in West Asheville, where alternatives like probiotics and selective breeding are explored as methods of strengthening bees

January 27 - february 2, 2016

rather than eradicating the diseases and pests that weaken their colonies. Another aspect of its mission involves educational opportunities and events, including the upcoming sixth annual International Black Jar Honey Contest on Saturday, Jan. 30. Proceeds will help the nonprofit continue its work. The event takes its name from the blind tasting aspect. Over three rounds, 27 globally sourced honeys (pre-vetted by judges from a pool of 60 entries) are served, each on a black straw from within a covered jar to conceal all attributes except taste. Judges determine official winners, including the recipient of a $1,500 grand prize,

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Asheville Brewers Supply’s upcoming events Asheville Brewers Supply plans to ramp up its educational programming in 2016. To start, the store will host a free seminar for aspiring beer entrepreneurs, “Protecting the Pint: Insurance Basics for Brewers.” The class explores types of coverage, the documents insurance companies will request, pricing factors and how business models and coverage change with growth. Also forthcoming is the store’s Brewers Social, which typically occurs every fourth Tuesday of the month (but will next fall on a Wednesday). The event is BYOB (commercial or homebrewed) and includes pizza, beer trivia and prizes. Asheville Brewers Supply, 712 Merrimon Ave., hosts its insurance seminar at 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 30. The Brewers Social is 6-9 p.m. Wednesday,

Jan. 27. Visit ashevillebrewers.com for info on upcoming events. Oskar Blues Brewery collaborates with The Cheese Store of Asheville The Wonders of Beer and Cheese, a collaboration between Oskar Blues Brewery and The Cheese Store of Asheville, features curated sips and nibbles for participants to enjoy while learning about the brewing and cheesemaking processes. The sampling event, which also covers pairing ideas, includes a brewery tour, prizes and access to a specialty beer made specifically for the event. The tasting is 6-9 p.m. Friday, Jan. 29, at Oskar Blues, 342 Mountain Industrial Drive, Brevard. Information and tickets ($20) are available at cheeseandbeer.bpt.me. Fletcher’s 15th annual Chili Cook-Off Hosted by the town of Fletcher, the 2016 Fletcher Chili Cook-Off highlights the fare of professional and amateur chefs alike. Once samples are distributed, awards will be determined in several categories, including Best Overall Chili, Best Individual Chili, Best Business Chili, Best Table Décor and People’s Choice. It’s free to attend and enjoy samples, and Parks and Recreation representatives will be accepting cash donations for the Fletcher Park Development Fund. The event happens 11:30 a.m.2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 30, at Veritas Christian Academy, 17 Cane Creek Road, Fletcher. Visit fletcherparks.org for details. Valet Gourmet’s expansion Launched in Asheville in 2003 and expanded into Knoxville, Tenn., in 2014, Valet Gourmet recently announced a merger with Takeout Central of Chapel Hill. The partnership will put the joint venture in seven major markets across North Carolina and Tennessee, with 220 independent drivers facilitating an estimated 225,000 deliveries per year from 325 partner restaurants. The company will retain its Asheville employees, according to a press release from the company. Visit valetgourmet.com for details. X

a R t s & E N t E R ta i N m E N t

MOVING ON UP

Go-to opener Dylan LeBlanc headlines The Mothlight

by eDWin arnauDin edwinarnaudin@gmail.com If you’ve been to a major folk-rock concert in the past six years, chances are you’ve seen Dylan LeBlanc. The singer-songwriter has opened for Lucinda Williams, First Aid Kit, Patterson Hood, JJ Grey and Mofro, Lera Lynn and Lissie at all but a handful of Asheville’s top venues — though the one time he had top billing in town, the evening didn’t go quite as he’d anticipated. “We played The Emerald Lounge in 2012, and nobody showed up. I mean literally nobody showed up,” LeBlanc says. “We still played a show, and we played our asses off, but it was literally only to the bartender. It was fun, though. We ended up having a good time.” That experience and an overarching sense of responsibility have LeBlanc somewhat nervous about embarking on his first headlining tour, which brings him to The Mothlight on Thursday, Jan. 28. But based on the grand songwriting and sonic cohesiveness of his beautiful new record Cautionary Tale — an early candidate for Album of the Year — drawing a crowd shouldn’t be a problem. A gifted guitarist with a soulful, haunting voice, LeBlanc makes his home in Florence, Ala., where he’s lived on and off for 15 years. In 2013, he was across the Tennessee River in Tuscumbia and lacking the motivation to write. He hadn’t put pen to paper for a year, but as 2014 approached, he started to get back into the process. Some songs took five hours, others three or four days and some a few weeks — a stark contrast to his 2010 debut Paupers Field. That album was recorded at the end of his teenage years when songs were pouring out of him at a rate of up to two per day, and inspiration was rampant. A subsequent taste of the music business’ shadier side coupled with critics scrutinizing LeBlanc’s lyrics blunted his passion but couldn’t completely snuff it out.

His NamE iN LigHts: A frequent opener for top folk-rock acts that swing through Asheville, Dylan LeBlanc embarks on his first headlining tour on the strength of his superb third album Cautionary Tale. In choosing his own opening act, LeBlanc looks for somebody who’s passionate and pushes him to play a better show when he takes to the warmed-up stage. He loves to go out in the crowd and listen to at least half of the opener’s set, if not the whole thing, which allows him to catch the mood and vibe of the room. Photo by Abraham Rowe “That sort of took the magic away from why I was just doing it ... and I lost a lot of inspiration because of that. So now I make it a point to get in touch with that period of time in my life where I really enjoyed the process, and I just do it for me. That helps me an awful lot,” LeBlanc says. “Not that it’s not work. It’s a craft or a practice. Like doctors practice medicine and lawyers practice law, you practice songwriting. There’s no right way or formula — you find your niche, stick to it, and maybe get a little bit better and hope you don’t digress.” With a new batch of compositions ready for the studio, LeBlanc signed to Single Lock Records, the Florencebased label founded by John Paul White (formerly of The Civil Wars) and Ben Tanner (Alabama Shakes). “It’s a very incestuous family — everybody sings and plays on each other’s records, and they keep it local.

They really don’t put anything out that’s not [from] around this area,” LeBlanc says. “The Secret Sisters sang on my record and Brittany [Howard] and Zac [Cockrell, both of Alabama Shakes]. Just people I’ve made friends with along the way [whose talents I really appreciate]. There are certain little quirks and little things that they do that are almost signature that I knew I wanted on the record.” LeBlanc has known White since the former’s preteen days when the latter wrote songs with LeBlanc’s father. In his midteens, LeBlanc met Tanner, who was working as a staff engineer at the legendary FAME Studios in neighboring Muscle Shoals. LeBlanc cut his first demos with Tanner, at which point he realized his friend played piano. He’s subsequently recruited Tanner to play on all of his albums. The mutual comfort and understand-

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ing among the three, and the opportunity to use White’s objective ear further convinced LeBlanc that the Single Lock crew was the best fit for Cautionary Tale, especially since he knew he didn’t want to produce the record himself. “I wanted somebody else to take my songs and do something with them that’s sort of different,” LeBlanc says. “We work well together. It was mostly them saying ‘no’ to me. I wanted to bury all these songs in instrumentation and a lot of parts, and they were like, ‘You know, you really don’t need that. Just play your acoustic guitar and sing your song.’ It really brought a new perspective and a new light into what I do, and I really appreciate it. It was a really great trusting and learning experience.” The idea to layer the songs with strings, however, was LeBlanc’s idea. A chance onstage collaboration with cellist Caleb Elliot at a Lafayette, La., show coincided with the writing of Cautionary Tale. It appealed to LeBlanc’s lifetime love of darker classical music and a fondness for epic soul records that combine orchestral parts with a Motown rhythm vibe, such as Marvin Gaye’s “Inner City Blues” and Bill Withers’ “Ain’t No Sunshine.” Adapting this legacy to LeBlanc’s songs with Elliot, with violinist Kimi Samson, percussionist Jeremy Gibson and Cockrell on bass, White and Tanner channeled that rich sonic history in their own distinctive way. With a touring band featuring those four instruments next to LeBlanc’s acoustic and electric guitars, the fullness of the studio sound translates nicely to a live setting. X WHO Dylan LeBlanc with Wayne Robbins WHERE The Mothlight, themothlight.com WHEN Thursday, Jan. 28, 9 p.m. $7

January 27 - february 2, 2016

A&E

by Timothy Burkhardt

burkhardttd@gmail.com

Nothin’ but a good time

Hair-metal musical Rock of Ages comes to Asheville

DON’T STOP BELIEVIN’: Together, a cast of 19 actors and dancers, plus a five-piece band, create the local production of Rock of Ages. The musical, in fact, keeps its focus on one age in particular — the 1980s and its hair-band hitmakers. Photo by Chris Cooley Break out the hairspray and the leopard-print spandex, and get ready to have your face melted. Asheville Ballet, Asheville Performing Arts Academy and LW Fantastique Productions are teaming up to stage the Broadway hit Rock of Ages. The raucous 1980s juke-

January 27 - february 2, 2016

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box musical is a love story full of elaborate, high-energy dance numbers. It’s set to some of the biggest hair-band hits of the MTV generation, including songs by Poison, Styx, Twisted Sister and others. The show opens Thursday, Feb. 4, at the Masonic Temple.

According to show co-director and choreographer Lyle Laney, it will be hard to tell where the stage ends and the audience begins. “Right from the start, we want the audience to know that they are part of the performance,” says Laney. “The audience is going to know these songs. We expect the audience will sing along with these songs.” The cast will be out in the aisles, working the crowd: “[We want] full-on audience participation; there’s no fourth wall. … The actors are right on top of the audience,” says Laney. Laney and co-director Jacob Wallace cast 19 actors and dancers for the show. The lead roles of Drew Boley, Sherrie Christian and Stacee Jaxx will be played by Maximilion Koger, Taylor Aldrich and Luke Haynes, respectively. A live fivepiece rock band includes Tim Doyle and Wayne Kirby on guitar, Megan Weil on bass, Matthew Richmond on drums and Lenora Thom playing keyboards for this over-the-top hairmetal extravaganza. While community theater often relies on the cast and crew to volunteer their free time for the show, Laney has made it a point to pay actors and dancers for their time and expertise. “We started production Jan. 2 for a show that opens Feb. 4. That’s fast,” he says. “That’s a lot of expectation to put on the performers. ... Producing theater is a lot like herding cats sometimes. It’s basically running a small business. You’ve got 50 people you’ve got to keep on the same page at the same time. ... It’s a lot of work, and there’s a lot of thought that goes into it.” Laney studied theater at UNC Asheville and has been a member of the local theater community for more than 20 years. As well as directing the show, he’ll play the role of Los Angeles nightclub owner Dennis Dupree. And although he has made his career as a ballet choreographer and instructor, Laney is excited to step away from traditional ballet and play a role that is full of nostalgia for him. “My formative years were in the mid-to-late ’80s, so I remember this music,” he says. “It takes me back.” Rock of Ages is the story of a small-town girl who moves to Los Angeles with dreams of acting, only to become entangled in a love triangle with an aspiring musician and a sleazy rock star. Written as sheer guilty-pleasure entertainment, numerous Hollywood and rock ’n’ roll tropes are employed to move the plot from one musical

number to the next, with the songs themselves as the centerpiece of the show. Rock of Ages met with huge success on Broadway and inspired a movie — starring Tom Cruise — of the same name. While thematically similar to the stage production, the screenplay made many changes, such as opting for a larger-budget soundtrack, fewer dance numbers and giving Cruise a monkey. According to Laney, the song changes altered the movie the most. While the play uses themes from its songs as narrative devices to push the story along, the movie opts for even bigger arena rock anthems, which have little to do with the story. In the stage production, “it’s very clever the way that it’s done,” says Laney. “The characters have a reason to sing those songs. All of the music is integrated into the show.” He continues, “You can make an argument that there are a few extraneous songs here and there, a couple of power ballads, but really most of the songs are cleverly woven through the tapestry of the play.” And, even if members of the audience are not big fans of bighair bands, Laney is certain that they will get swept up in the chaotic excitement of the musical. “It’s going to be a fun, fun show. I always keep that at the front of my mind when choreographing or directing: How do we maximize the audience’s fun for the show? You may not be a Journey fan, but when ‘Don’t Stop Believin’ comes on, everyone is going to sing,” says Laney. “The songs are 20 years old, they’ve had enough radio airplay. … Even if you don’t know it, you at least will know the chorus to it.” Laney looks forward to opening day. “The spectacle is what I’m drawn to,” he says. “I want the crowd up and singing and dancing. It’s cold in Asheville in February — why sit still when you can be up and dancing to Journey?” X

EcoVegan Solidarity Bar Local Brews * Libations * Bites

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Groove to Jesse Junior Quarter’s “Lush Life ReDux” Poetry by Spoken Word Artist Kevin Evans

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WHAT Rock of Ages WHERE Masonic Temple rockofagesasheville.com WHEN Thursday, Feb. 4 to Saturday, Feb. 13. Thursdays-Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. $30 lower level/$20 upper level

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January 27 - february 2, 2016

a &e

NC Beer Brewed by NC Natives

by Alli Marshall

amarshall@mountainx.com

Water world

CHOCOLATE & BEER PAIRING FEBRUARY 14 6:00PM

TICKETS: $20 eventbrite.com

32 Banks Ave Asheville, NC 28801 catawbabrewing.com pRECipitatiON iNspiRatiON: While writing Noah’s Wife, “I thought a lot about the novel while swimming laps,” says author Lindsay Starck. “Above my desk, I tacked newspaper clippings about the zoo ﬂoodings in Calgary (2013) and Minot, N.D. (2011).” Author photo by Victoria McHugh Photography

Q+A with Lindsay Starck, author of noah’s Wife Chapel Hill-based author Lindsay Starck took on epic subject matter for her debut novel: The biblical story of Noah. But rather than the ark, it’s his spouse who captured Starck’s imagination. In Noah’s Wife, the author reframes the characters of the Hebrew narrative in the modern day, as a couple relocated to a new town. Starck’s Noah is a minister sent to lead a congregation in a place where weird weather patterns have brought nonstop rain for years. Noah’s wife, initially just a supporter of her husband’s work, finds her own purpose in creating community where faith and hope have been abandoned. Starck presents her book at Malaprop’s Thursday, Jan. 28.

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January 27 - february 2, 2016

Xpress: Noah’s wife doesn’t have a name in the novel — she’s just referred to by her relationship to others. Was it hard to develop a character without knowing her name?

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Lindsay Starck: Oddly enough, thinking of her as “Noah’s wife” helped me to write about her because it gave me a clear idea of how she understood her position in the world and her relationship to other people. The premise of the novel is the idea that a person’s status as a “major” or “minor” character is merely a matter of perspective; everyone has his or her own storyline, even if there isn’t any record of it. My job, as I saw it, was to provide a record for Noah’s wife. As I wrote, I wondered: What does it mean to play a supporting role to someone else? How much of our identities are defined by other people? How do we understand ourselves outside of those relationships? What were some of the challenges with adapting (at least in part) a biblical tale to a modern setting? Because the original story is so minimalist, I felt I had a great deal

of creative freedom. There are no descriptions of anyone, not a lot of backstory, very little setting, and so I could imagine my characters and their town in any way I pleased. ... It’s a story about human relationships, not divine ones; it’s about faith, yes, but it’s about faith in other people, faith in community. What was the original idea or event that sparked this book? When I began writing this novel, I was in my mid-20s, and my friends and colleagues were beginning to pair off. As I watched people navigate the tumultuous waters of romance and friendship, I wondered over the nature of “pairings” more generally. What makes a marriage work? Why do some friendships fall apart, while others last for decades? What qualities make a good mother, a good daughter, a good neighbor? The idea of “pairs,” along with my conviction that the flood story was darker and more complex than it often appears to be in popular culture, led me to Noah — and from there, to his wife. What sort of woman, I wondered, would be willing to abandon her community and follow her husband into a giant floating zoo? What if she were afraid of reptiles or allergic to feathers? How could she continue to believe in Noah, if she could not see the signs that he saw? If she were given a voice, what would she say? The rain that continues through the story feels oppressive. What was it like, as a writer, to immerse yourself in the idea of that gray and soggy place for so long? As Noah’s wife would say (in her optimistic way), there’s “a certain beauty” to the rain — and of course water imagery comes with a long tradition of symbolism, which I enjoyed thinking over and reworking. ... I’ll probably avoid writing about rain in my next novel. I’ve exhausted every possible way I can think of to describe it! X

WHO Lindsay Starck presents Noah’s Wife WHERE Malaprop’s, malaprops.com WHEN Thursday, Jan. 28 7 p.m. Free

A &E

by Lea McLellan

leamclellan@gmail.com

Class act

EARLY START: The recently opened Academy at Terpsicorps offers a well-rounded roster of classes for dance students and a scholarship program for future dancers who may not otherwise be able to study the art form. Photo by Zaire Kacz

Terpsicorps Theatre of Dance adds a new academy to its repertoire

Just this past summer, Terpsicorps Theatre of Dance was turning heads by holding public, outdoor rehearsals for its 2015 show, The Elements. Those high-profile practices may have helped drum up ticket sales, but the choice was also born out of necessity, as the local dance institution had lost its rehearsal space. Behind the scenes, artistic director Heather Maloy was looking for a place where her company could not only rehearse, but where she could also start a full-fledged dance academy. After long months of obtaining the proper permits and some serious renovations, Maloy realized her dream. The Academy at Terpsicorps opened in mid-September at 1501 Patton Ave. — the former location of nightclubs Spurs and Club 1501 and the El Pobre Mexican Restaurant. “High ceilings and lots of big open space were definitely requirements,” Maloy says. The school, which features three dance studios, vaulted ceilings, an informal performance space and a gallery-style lobby, serves 100150 students across a range of ages and abilities. “Our main focus is ballet,” says Maloy, who teaches that style along with modern dance classes. She also directs the choreography program. The class schedule includes pointe, partnering, men’s class, jazz technique, modern technique, contemporary, hip-hop, tap, creative movement, yoga and Pilates. Students in the preprofessional division take classes five or six days a week, but not every student enrolled at the academy is on the preprofessional track. Maloy is also excited to be able to offer yoga classes for parents at the same time as the creative movement classes for preschool kids. Prenatal and “mommy and me” yoga classes are in the works. The schedule’s diversity speaks to the need for professional dancers to be well-rounded. “There are no ballet companies really left, unless you go to Russia, where you aren’t going to do anything but classical ballet,” says Maloy. “So if the kids have the desire to be a professional dancer — or even if they don’t have the desire to be a professional dancer — I like to give them a taste of what it would be like to be in a professional company.” Maloy’s background includes study-

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ing at the North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem and dancing professionally for 13 years with the North Carolina Dance Theatre. There, she choreographed her first professional work at age 19. The rest of the teachers at Terpiscorps have similar professional experience. While Terpiscorps has been a registered nonprofit since its inception 13 years ago, the academy will also afford the opportunity to expand into the community. “We want to be able to have a big chunk of our classes that we’re offering to be going to kids who can’t afford it otherwise,” says Maloy. She plans to pursue more grant writing in the coming year, as well as connect with new students through afterschool programs at the YWCA and Salvation Army. “I think what makes our program unique is that typically, when companies and schools do outreach, they go to the community center, but you don’t really get the full dance experience,” Maloy says. “You aren’t in a big beautiful studio, seeing other dancers.” Students participating in the scholarship program will be provided with the dance clothes they need. Through donations and grants, students from lower-income families will be able to receive scholarships ranging from tuition for monthly classes to having a spot in the preprofessional division. In the spirit of fostering dancers’ growth, recitals take place at the academy. “We’re able to have the kids perform a lot without having to go to the Diana Wortham Theatre or rent a space,” she says. “We’ve already had a showing in here, and there were tons of parents.” Maloy adds that she does have plans to rent the 500-seat theater in May so the preprofessional division students will have the chance to be on the big stage. While there is still room for growth, Maloy has been pleasantly surprised with the response to the school so far. “This week has been amazing in terms of how many students have been walking through the door,” she says. Learn more at terpsicorps.org. X

January 27 - february 2, 2016

A &E

smart bets by Kat McReynolds | Send your arts news to ae@mountainx.com

Yonder Mountain String Band

Adam Lee

Approaching its 17th anniversary, Yonder Mountain String Band is also celebrating a first: self-producing an album. Black Sheep “sounds more like Yonder than any record we’ve ever done. I’m hoping that when people are finished listening to it, they’ll just hit play and listen to it again,” says bassist and vocalist Ben Kaufmann, adding: “It’s gonna take some time for fans to get acquainted with the new Yonder. ... But the band is a force, and the album is such a perfect example of our new direction.” The sonic shift is due in part to a recent lineup change, which swapped founding member and mandolinist Jeff Austin for new talents Allie Kral (violin, vocals) and Jake Jolliff (mandolin, vocals). Trout Steak Revival opens for the reconfigured quintet at The Orange Peel on Friday, Jan. 29, at 8:30 p.m. $25/$30. theorangepeel.net. Photo courtesy of the band

After two years portraying Johnny Cash in the award-winning musical Million Dollar Quartet, multitalented performer Adam Lee is redirecting his energies toward music. The Cashin’ Out tour sees him revisiting songs he wrote for his alt-country band The Dead Horse Sound Company as well as material from a forthcoming album. The tour, like the new music, is a solo effort. “It’ll be nice to exercise my own voice, literally and figuratively. ... I spent the last couple of years writing and recording this new album, and to be honest, I couldn’t be more excited to show it off,” the singer-songwriter says, calling “Good Days” a highlight. It celebrates the ever-present potential for improvement, even in tough circumstances like highway living. Lee plays a free show at Ben’s Tune-Up on Wednesday, Feb. 3, at 7 p.m. benstuneup.com. Photo by Paul Andrews

Jeeves Intervenes

Diggypop Malone After a two-year break from making music, Diggypop Malone (also known as Joseph Lepanto) is set to release the EP I Am Not a Rapper, which he created alongside “the best producer,” Professor T. The title’s statement is, indeed, autobiographical, according to Lepanto, who “can throw down in the booth with the best of them.” His song “Ten Gold Chains” warns against deriving satisfaction from pleasing others and recalls a transition from admiring predecessors’ art to respecting his own work. That confidence manifests in lyrics like, “I stay on point like a No. 2 pencil.” Jon Farmer, J Youngin, Dirty Frost, Copper Kid Solo, Tripsta Trip, D Balla, Michael G and DJ Ra Mak open Diggypop Malone’s release show at New Mountain on Saturday, Jan. 30, at 10 p.m. $7 at the door. newmountainavl.com. Image courtesy of the artist 56

January 27 - february 2, 2016

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Based on the stories of P.G. Wodehouse and adapted by playwright Margaret Raether, English comedy Jeeves Intervenes follows “supremely competent” lead character Jeeves as he springs to the aid of a couple of “high-society fools,” according to a media release. The two misguided childhood pals (played by locals Scott Treadway and Charlie Flynn-McIver) intend to solve each other’s struggles — a failing marriage and undesirable job — through disguise and deceit until loyal assistant Jeeves (Michael MacCauley) intercepts their half-hatched ideas. North Carolina Stage Company, hosts the production from Wednesday, Jan. 27, to Sunday, Feb. 21, Wednesday-Saturday at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m. Special event nights include pay-what-you-wish tickets, pre-curtain hors d’oeuvres, $1 beers, an actor Q&A and a post-play dessert and Champagne toast with the cast and crew. $16-$36 ($10 student). ncstage.org. Image courtesy of NC Stage

A & E ca l e n d ar

by Abigail Griffin

Send your event listings to calendar@mountainx.com

G a ll e ry D IRECTORY Ananda West 37 Paynes Way Suite 5, 2362444, anandahair.com • Through TU (3/15) Recent Work, paintings by Larry Turner. Art at Mars Hill mhu.edu • Through FR (2/5) - Paintings and drawings by Deanna Chilian and Genie Maples. Held in the Weizenblatt Gallery. • WE (1/27) through SU (7/31) - Appalachia a Century Ago, Craft through the Lens of William A. Barnhill, historical exhibition. Held in the Ramsey Center.

‘MOTHERTONGUE’: This is the last weekend to catch local performance poet Julian Vorus’ newest theater creation, Mothertongue. Produced by both the Asheville Fringe Festival and The Magnetic Theatre, Mothertongue is described as a “dark, dank comedy” about a family attempting to deal with the death of a family member, and is for mature audiences only. You can catch this show Thursday-Saturday, Jan. 28-30 and Feb. 4-6, at 7:30pm at The Magnetic Theatre. (p. 57)

Auditions & Call to Artists Anam Cara Theatre 545-3861, anamcaratheatre.com • Through SU (1/31) - Open call for play proposals from directors or playwrights for the 2016/17 season. Contact for full guidelines. Free.

Comedy J.E. Broyhill Civic Center 1913 Hickory Blvd. SE, Lenior, broyhillcenter.com • SA (1/30), 7:30pm - Jon Reep, comedy. $26/$11 students & children.

Music Cathey’s Creek Community Center Island Ford Road, Brevard • SA (1/30), 7pm - Blue Wheel Drive. $5/$3 children under 12.

First Presbyterian Church of Asheville 40 Church St., 253-1431, fpcasheville.org • FR (1/29), 7:30pm - The Dead Eduards, classical violin, piano, and cello. $20/free for students. Music at UNCA 251-6432, unca.edu • SU (1/31), 3pm - Sundays with Brevard Music Center presents David Jackson (trombone), Amy I-Lin Cheng (piano) & Daniel Washington (baritone). Free. Held in the Reuter Center.

Theater Hendersonville Community Theatre 229 S. Washington St., Hendersonville, 692-1082, hendersonvillelittletheater.org • FRIDAYS through SUNDAYS until (1/31) - Ordinary Days, musical comedy. Fri. & Sat.: 7:30pm. Sat. & Sun.: 2pm. $26/$20 students/$15 children. NC Stage Company 15 Stage Lane, 239-0263

• SUNDAYS (1/31) through (2/21), 2pm - Jeeves Intervenes. $16-$40. Public events at ASU 262-2000, appstate.edu • FR (1/29), 7pm - American Shakespeare Center presents Julius Caesar. $20/$10 children and students. Held at the Schaefer Center. • SA (1/30), 7pm - American Shakespeare Center presents Henry V. $20/$10 children and students. Held at the Schaefer Center. Public Events at UNCA unca.edu • FR (1/29), 1:30pm - “Behind the Scenes with Jeeves Intervenes,” insider’s view of the production from the artistic director of NC Stage. Free. Held in the Reuter Center. The Magnetic Theatre 375 Depot St., 279-4155 • THURSDAYS through SATURDAYS (1/28) until (2/6), 7:30pm - Mothertongue, dark comedy by Julian Vorus. $24/$21 advance.

Art at UNCA art.unca.edu • FR (1/15) through FR (2/12) - Drawing Discourse: 7th Annual International Exhibition of Contemporary Drawing. Held in Owen Hall. • Through FR (2/26) Protecting the Environment through Cultural Traditions: Sacred Groves of Sierra Leone and India, photography exhibition by Alison Ornsby. Opening lecture & reception: Tuesday, Jan. 19, 5:30pm. Held in the Ramsey Library Blowers Gallery. • Through FR (2/12) - Art and photography exhibition by UNC Asheville and Virginia Commonwealth University students. Held in the Owen Hall Second Floor Gallery. Art at WCU 227-3591, fineartmuseum.wcu.edu • MO (2/1) through FR (5/20) - From Apartheid to Democracy, exhibit from the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg, South Africa. Held in the Hunter Library 2nd floor gallery. Asheville Area Arts Council 1 Page Ave., 258-0710, ashevillearts.com • Through SA (2/20) - Point of View Exhibition: The Asheville Stockyards, From Brownfield to Brewery curated by Ken Abbot. • Through SA (2/20) - ARC Gallery: Paintings by Lisa De Girolamo. Asheville Art Museum 2 N. Pack Square, 253-3227, ashevilleart.org

• Through SA (4/30) - Vault Visible: Behind the Scenes at the Asheville Art Museum, behind the scenes views into curatorial work. Asheville Eye Associates 8 Medical Park Drive, 2581586, ashevilleeye.com • Through (7/1) With These Hands: An Appalachian Barn Photography Exhibit by Bonnie Cooper & Don McGowan. Artists’ reception: Thursday, Mar. 24, 5:30-7pm. Black Mountain College Museum & Arts Center 56 Broadway, 350-8484, blackmountaincollege.org • Through SA (5/21) - Ray Spillenger: Rediscovery of a Black Mountain Painter, painting exhibition. Opening reception: Friday, Jan. 22 5:308pm. Blue Spiral 1 38 Biltmore Ave., 2510202, bluespiral1.com • Through SA (2/27) - Andy Farkas, wood engravings and handset type exhibition. Artist talk: Friday Jan. 29, 3pm. Buncombe County Public Libraries buncombecounty.org/ governing/depts/library • Through SU (1/31) Winter Blooms, a bit of summer in January, retrospective photo exhibit of the West Asheville Garden Stroll. Held at West Asheville Library, 942 Haywood Road Folk Art Center MP 382, Blue Ridge Parkway, 298-7928, craftguild.org • Through SU (5/8) - Through the Needles Eye, embroidery exhibit from The Embroiderers’ Guild of America. N.C. Arboretum 100 Frederick Law Olmsted Way, 665-2492, ncarboretum.org • Through WE (4/17) Botanica, botanical monoprint exhibit by Sandee Johnson.

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Odyssey Cooperative Art Gallery 238 Clingman Ave., 2859700, facebook.com/ odysseycoopgallery • MO (2/1) through MO (2/29) - Exhibition of the ceramic art of Anna Koloseike and Kate Gardner. The Center for Craft, Creativity & Design 67 Broadway, 785-1357, craftcreativitydesign.org • Through SA (5/21) - Recorded Matter: Ceramics in Motion, exhibit of eleven artists who integrate video into their studio practice. Trackside Studios 375 Depot St., 545-6235 • MO (2/1) through MO (2/29) - Bonjour and Bienvenue, exhibition of Virginia Pendergrass urban sketches. Trackside Studios & Gallery 375 Depot St., 5452904, facebook.com/ TracksideStudios375 • Through (2/19) - Colors of Winter, group painting exhibition. Opening Reception: Friday, Jan. 29, 4-7pm. Transylvania Community Arts Council 349 S. Caldwell St., Brevard, 884-2787, tcarts.org • Through FR (2/5) - Faces of Freedom, mixed media exhibition. International mixer potluck: Friday, Jan. 29, 5:30-7:30pm. ZaPow! 21 Battery Park Suite 101, 575-2024, zapow.net • Through SU (3/13) Fringe, official exhibition of visual art for the Fringe Festival with public David Bowie art submissions. Open submissions for David Bowie art (not for sale) during the exhibition dates. Contact the galleries for admission hours and fees

January 27 - february 2, 2016

cl u b l a n d Tango lessons & practilonga w/ Tango Gypsies, 7pm Moonshine Rhythm Club (gypsy jazz), 7:30pm

Wednesday, January 27 5 Walnut Wine Bar Redleg Husky (Americana), 5pm Les Amis (African folk), 8pm

Creekside Taphouse Singer-songwriter night w/ Riyen Roots, 8pm

550 Tavern & Grille Karaoke, 6pm

Crow & Quill Carolina Catskins (ragtime jazz), 10pm

Altamont Theatre Noble Kava presents: The Poetry Open Mic (poetry & music open mic), 8pm

Double Crown Sonic Satan Stew w/ DJ Alien Brain, 10pm

Ben’s Tune-Up Honky Tonk Wednesdays, 7pm

Elaine’s Dueling Piano Bar Dueling Pianos, 9pm

Black Mountain Ale House Play to Win game night, 7:30pm

French Broad Brewery Cameron Stack Band (soul/blues), 6pm

Blue Mountain Pizza & Brew Pub Open mic, 7pm

Grey Eagle Music Hall & Tavern Legendary Open Mic (comedy, poetry, all genres welcome), 7pm

Bywater Billy Cardine & North of Too Far Downs w/ Jeff Sipe & Steve McMurry (acoustic), 9pm

Highland Brewing Company The Contenders (Americana), 6pm Isis Restaurant and Music Hall An evening w/ Los Abrojitos (Argentine tango), 7pm The Circle of the Song w/ Ed Jurdi, Seth Walker & Edward David Anderson (Americana, blues, folk), 9pm

Crow & Quill Occult Night w/ tarot readings & arcane discussions, 9pm Double Crown Classic Country w/ DJs Greg Cartwright, David Gay, Brody Hunt, 10pm

Jack of the Wood Pub Bluegrass jam, 7pm

Funkatorium John Hartford Jam (folk, bluegrass), 6:30pm

Lazy Diamond Heavy Night w/ DJ Butch, 10pm

Good Stuff Karaoke!, 6pm Grey Eagle Music Hall & Tavern Reverend Horton Heat w/ Nashville Pussy, Unknown Hinson & Igor and The Red Elvises (psychobilly, country, rock), 8pm Grind Cafe Trivia night, 7pm Highland Brewing Company Woody Wood Wednesdays (rock, soul), 5:30pm Isis Restaurant and Music Hall An evening w/ TJ George (pop, R&B, folk), 7pm An evening of funk, hip hop, soul & jazz w/ Sidewalk Chalk, 8:30pm Jack of the Wood Pub Old-time session, 5pm Honky-tonk dance party w/ Hearts Gone South, 9pm

SMALL-TOWN AMERICANA: Take a break from the big(ger) city this weekend and head out to a folky show in Brevard. Singer-songwriters Leah Shaw, Cashavelly Morrison and Aaron Burdett will be the soundtrack to your post-Pisgah adventure on Saturday, Jan. 30, 8 p.m., at 185 King Street. Wood, 7:30pm 3 Cool Cats (vintage rock), 8pm

The Phoenix Jazz night, 8pm

One Stop Deli & Bar Geeks Who Drink Trivia, 6pm The Apes of Wrath (jam, rock), 10pm

The Social Lounge Phantom Pantone (DJ), 10pm

One World Brewing Joseph Houck (folk rock, Americana), 8pm Orange Peel Ski Movie night: Fade To Winter & Pretty Faces, 6:30pm

Lazy Diamond Killer Karaoke w/ KJ Tim O, 10pm

Oskar Blues Brewery Trivia at the Brewery, 6pm

Lex 18 Bob Strain & Bill Fouty (romantic jazz), 7pm

Room IX Fuego: Latin night, 9pm

Lobster Trap Ben Hovey (dub-jazz, trumpet), 6:30pm

Scully’s Sons of Ralph (bluegrass), 6pm

Lookout Brewery James Hammel (jazz, pop, blues), 5:30pm

Sly Grog Lounge Cards Against Humanity Game Night, 10pm

Mountain Mojo Coffeehouse Open mic, 6:30pm

Sol Bar New Mountain World Wednesdays, 8pm Asheville Drum & Bass Collective presents Axiom Launch Party w/ ADBC residents, 9pm

Native Kitchen & Social Pub Rocky Vines, 6:30pm Noble Kava Open mic w/ Caleb Beissert, 9pm O.Henry’s/The Underground “Take the Cake” Karaoke, 10pm Odditorium The Girly Girl Revue Audition Show (burlesque), 9pm Off the Wagon Piano show, 9pm Olive or Twist Intermediate swing dance lessons w/ Bobby Wood, 7pm Beginning swing dance lesson w/ Bobby

Lex 18 Alex Taub (classic jazz piano), 7pm

January 27 - february 2, 2016

Southern Appalachian Brewery Spin Sessions with Robin Tolleson (DJ, classic funk, jazz), 6pm TallGary’s at Four College Open mic & jam, 7pm Wu-Wednesdays (’90s hip-hop experience), 9pm The Block Off Biltmore Colin Walker (piano), 7:30pm The Joint Next Door Bluegrass jam, 8pm The Mothlight The Moon & You w/ J.W. Teller (folk, Americana), 9pm

mountainx.com

The Southern Disclaimer Comedy open mic, 9pm Timo’s House “Spectrum AVL” w/ DamGood & rotating DJs, 9pm Town Pump Open mic w/ Billy Presnell, 9pm Trailhead Restaurant and Bar Acoustic jam w/ Kevin Scanlon (bluegrass, oldtime, folk), 6pm Tressa’s Downtown Jazz and Blues Blues & soul jam w/ Al Coffee & Da Grind, 8:30pm Urban Orchard Reverend Finster (R.E.M. covers), 6:30pm

Thursday, January 28 5 Walnut Wine Bar Pleasure Chest (blues, rock, soul), 8pm Altamont Theatre Appetites: An evening of Sexy Storytelling, 8pm Barley’s Taproom AMC Jazz Jam, 9pm Ben’s Tune-Up The All-Arounders (blues), 3pm Blue Mountain Pizza & Brew Pub Ben Phan (indie, folk, singer-songwriter), 7pm Club Eleven on Grove

Lobster Trap Hank Bones (“The man of 1,000 songs”), 6:30pm Market Place Ben Hovey (dub jazz, beats), 7pm Moe’s Original BBQ Woodfin Typical Mountain Boys (bluegrass), 6pm Native Kitchen & Social Pub Abby the Spoon Lady & Vaden Landers, 6:30pm O.Henry’s/The Underground Game Night, 9pm Drag Show, 12:30am Odditorium MaisCéu, Caromia and Jason Kenney, and Phantom Clutch (acoustic), 9pm Off the Wagon Dueling pianos, 9pm Olive or Twist Dance lesson w/ Ian & Karen, 8pm DJ Mike (eclectic mix, requests), 8:30pm One Stop Deli & Bar Streaming Thursdays (live concert showings), 6pm Fireside Collective (newgrass), 10pm One World Brewing Stevie Lee Combs presents Tom Waits Tribute Show, 7pm Orange Peel Keys N Krates w/ Stooki Sound & Jesse Slayter (trap, electronica, hip-hop), 9pm Oskar Blues Brewery Bad Popes Duo (country rock), 6pm Pack’s Tavern Scott Raines & Jeff Anders (acoustic rock), 9pm Purple Onion Cafe The Everydays (acoustic), 8pm Renaissance Asheville Hotel Nikki Calloway (singer-songwriter), 6:30pm Room IX Throwback Thursdays (all vinyl set), 9pm

Tressa’s Downtown Jazz and Blues The Westsound Revue (Motown, soul), 9pm Twisted Laurel Karaoke, 8pm Wxyz Lounge at Aloft Hotel Russ Wilson Trio (jazz, swing), 8pm

Friday, January 29 185 King Street James Brown Get Down (dance party), 8pm

Good Stuff Joy Ike & Hope Griffin (pop, soul, folk), 8pm Grey Eagle Music Hall & Tavern Mac Arnold & Plate Full O’ Blues (blues), 8pm Highland Brewing Company Saw-Whet Saison release party w/ The Horse You Rode In On (funk, fusion), 7pm Isis Restaurant and Music Hall An evening w/ Amy Speace (Americana, singer-songwriter), 7pm Free For All Friday w/ The Hermit Kings (indie, rock), 9pm

5 Walnut Wine Bar The Get Right Band (funk, rock, reggae), 9pm

Jack of the Wood Pub Laura Blackley & The Wildflowers (country, Americana), 9pm

550 Tavern & Grille Fine Line (popular rock), 6pm

Jerusalem Garden Middle Eastern music & bellydancing, 7pm

Asheville Music Hall A Live One (Phish tribute band), 10pm

Lazy Diamond Totes Dope Tite Sick Jams w/ (ya boy) DJ Hot Noodle, 10pm

Athena’s Club Dave Blair (folk, funk, acoustic), 7pm DJ Shy Guy, 10pm

Lex 18 The Resonant Rogues (old-time, gypsy,

210 Haywood Road, West Asheville, NC 28806

7PM DOORS

WED THU FRI

VIBRATION 2/5 ISRAEL + ROOTS RADICS

2/6

8PM DOORS 8PM DOORS 7PM DOORS 7PM DOORS

2/3 BOB SCHNEIDER MACDOUGALL 2/4 SARAH W/ AMYTHYST KIAH

8PM DOORS

French Broad Brewery The Wide Open (Americana, blues), 6pm

North Carolina’s First Cider Bar Family Owned & Operated Seasonal, craft-made hard ciders and tasting-room delights from local farmers & artisans. Sunday Dollar Off Dips Monday $2 Off Flagship Growlers Tuesday Dollar Off Pints of Cider AND Beer Wednesday 1/2 Off Bottles of Wine

AKAE BEKA

7TH ANNUAL DJANGO REINHARDT’S BIRTHDAY PARTY FEAT. HOWARD ALDEN & MORE

HUNTER SIX 2/9 JAMES W/

2/10 2/11

LEGENDARY SHACK SHAKERS THE BIG EZS

W/ THE HOWLIN’ BROTHERS

AND THE WILDTONES

WHITEY MORGAN W/

TONY MARTINEZ

6PM DOORS

Trailhead Restaurant and Bar Cajun & western swing jam w/ Steve Burnside, 7pm

Firestorm Cafe and Books Em Gee w/ Paranoid Pious & Julia Rooks (acoustic), 9pm

7PM DOORS

Town Pump Albi & the Lifters (jazz), 9pm

FOLK SOUL REVIVAL

8PM DOORS

Timo’s House Thursday Request Live w/ Franco Nino, 9pm

Elaine’s Dueling Piano Bar Dueling Pianos, 9pm

BENJAMIN, 2/2 (VAUGHN THE VOICE OF MIDNITE)

6pm sign up

8PM DOORS

The Social Lounge 80s night w/ DJ Kyuri on vinyl, 8pm

Double Crown DJ Greg Cartwright (garage & soul obscurities), 10pm

SAT

The Mothlight Dylan LeBlanc w/ Wayne Robbins (country, folk, Americana), 9pm

Crow & Quill Low Down Sires (swing jazz), 9pm

TUE

The Block Off Biltmore Open mic night, 7:30pm

Cork & Keg One Leg Up (Gypsy jazz, Latin, swing), 8:30pm

1/30 BILL AND THE BELLES

WED

TallGary’s at Four College Open jam night w/ Jonathan Santos, 7pm

Classic Wineseller James Hammel (pop, jazz), 7pm

MAC ARNOLD , AND 1/29 PLATE FULL O BLUES

THU

Spring Creek Tavern Open Mic, 6pm

Catawba Brewing South Slope Fireside Fridays w/Fireside Collective (bluegrass/Americana), 5pm

1/28 LEGENDARY OPEN MIC

FRI

Southern Appalachian Brewery Steve Davidowksi w/ Robin Tolleson (jazz, funk, world), 7pm

Boiler Room REBIRTH 31 (underground techno, house), 10pm

UNKNOWN HINSON

SAT

Sol Bar New Mountain Open Mic Nights w/ Arjay Sutton & Melissa Blazen (folk, singer-songwriter), 6pm

Blue Ridge Taproom Asheville Drum Circle (bring your drums!), 6pm

HORTON HEAT, 1/27 REVEREND NASHVILLE PUSSY &

TUE

Sly Grog Lounge Open mic (musicians, poets, comedians & more welcome), 8pm

Blue Mountain Pizza & Brew Pub Acoustic Swing, 7pm

WED

Scandals Nightclub DJ dance party & drag show, 10pm

Ben’s Tune-Up Woody Wood & the Asheville Family Band (acoustic, folk, rock), 5pm

THU

Sanctuary Brewing Company Emily Bodley (jazz, singer-songwriter), 7pm

(828)744-5151

www.urbanorchardcider.com

mountainx.com

January 27 - february 2, 2016

Wed • January 27

Dinner Menu till 10pm Late Night Menu till

Woody Wood @ 5:30pm

Thu • January 28

The Contenders @ 6pm

Tues-Sun

5pm–12am

12am

Full Bar

Saw-Whet Saison release party

The Horse You Rode In On

@ 7pm

COMING SOON

Sat • January 30

Dub Kartel @ 7pm

WED 1/27 7:00 PM – AN EVENING WITH TJ GEORGE

8:30 PM – SIDEWALK CHALK: AN EVENING OF FUNK, HIP HIP, SOUL, JAZZ

Sun • January 31

Reggae Sunday

THU 1/28

featuring Dennis “Chalwa” Berndt

5PM-9PM – ALL YOU CAN EAT SNOW CRAB LEG CLUSTERS

@ 1pm

Tue • February 2 Team Trivia with Dr. Brown

@ 6pm

7:00 PM – AN EVENING WITH LOS ABROJITOS 9:00 PM – THE CIRCLE OF THE SONG FEAT. ED JURDI (BAND OF HEATHENS), SETH WALKER & EDWARD DAVID ANDERSON (BACKYARD TIRE FIRE)

FRI 1/29 7:00 PM – AN EVENING WITH AMY SPEACE 9:00 PM – FREE FOR ALL FRIDAY!

JACK OF THE

WOOD PUB

#1 Pub Grub #2 Bar for Live Music

FRI 1.29 SAT 1.30 TUE 2.2 FRI 2.5 SAT 2.6

LAURA BLACKLEY AND THE WILDFLOWERS

9PM $5

RED HONEY W/ HEIDI HOLTON

DUBBED THE SECRET LOVE CHILD OF JOHNNY CASH & GRACE SLICK

9PM $5

KEVIN SCANLON AND JON EDWARDS OF THE BLUEBIRDS

9PM FREE (Donations Encouraged)

THE GYPSY SWINGERS

HOT SWING & GYPSY JAZZ

SAT 1/30 – 7:00 PM AN EVENING WITH MASON VIA 9:00 PM – SATURDAY NIGHT DANCE PARTY WITH JIM ARRENDELL SUN 1/31 – 5:30 PM AN EVENING WITH THE RUSSIAN DUO 7:30 PM – JAZZ SHOWCASE WITH DARA TUCKER WED 2/3 7:00 PM – THE CORE (WEDNESDAY WINTER RESIDENCY - JAZZ) 8:30 PM – THE KENNEDYS THU 2/4 7:00 PM – AN EVENING WITH MATT BEDNARSKY

8:30 PM – THE APPLEBUTTER EXPRESS WITH THE FIRESIDE COLLECTIVE

FRI 2/5

7:00 PM – AN EVENING OF THE BLUES WITH RIYEN ROOTS AND KENNY DORE

9:00 PM – A TRIBUTE TO BOB MARLEY

THE LOW COUNTS

PARTY BLUES W/ NATURAL FORCES

9PM $5

WITH JIM ARRENDELL Every Tuesday 7:30pm–midnite

BLUEGRASS SESSIONS Every Sunday

JAZZ SHOWCASE

9PM $5

OPEN AT NOON DAILY

SATURDAY Parker & Smith (old-fashioned blues), 2-4pm SUNDAY Celtic Irish session 3-9pm MONDAY Quizzo! 7:30-9pm • WEDNESDAY Old-Time 5pm SINGER SONGWRITERS 1st & 3rd Tuesdays THURSDAY Scottie Parker (old-fashioned blues) 2-4pm, Bluegrass Jam 7pm

95 PATTON at COXE • Downtown Asheville

252.5445 • jackofthewood.com

Send your listings to clubland@mountainx.com

swing), 6:30pm Lenny Pettinelli (pop jazz), 10pm maRKEt pLaCE The Sean Mason Trio (groove, jazz, funk), 7pm NativE KitCHEN & sOCiaL pub Ryestraw, 7:30pm

Fri • January 29 featuring

cL u b L a n D

January 27 - february 2, 2016

743 HAYWOOD RD 828-575-2737 ISISASHEVILLE.COM mountainx.com

satuRday, JaNuaRy 30 185 KiNg stREEt Leah Shaw & Cashavelly Morrison w/ Aaron Burdett (Americana, folk, singer-songwriter), 8pm

NEw mOuNtaiN tHEatER/ ampHitHEatER Asheville drum circle (at Blue Ridge Tap Room), 6pm The Congress w/ Travers Brothership (rock), 10pm

5 waLNut wiNE baR Andrew Fletcher (stride piano), 6pm Coconut Cake (world), 9pm

O.HENRy’s/tHE uNdERgROuNd Drag Show, 12:30am

atHENa’s CLub Michael Kelley Hunter (blues), 6:30pm DJ Shy Guy, 10pm

OdditORium Sin, Ringwald, The Chickenhawks & The Spiral (rock, punk), 9pm Off tHE wagON Dueling pianos, 9pm ONE stOp dELi & baR Free Dead Fridays w/ members of Phuncle Sam (jam), 5pm YMSB afterparty w/ John Frazier and Frazier Band & Canyon Creek Trio (bluegrass), 11:30pm ORaNgE pEEL Yonder Mountain String Band w/ Trout Steak Revival (progressive bluegrass, jam band), 8:30pm

asHEviLLE musiC HaLL The Steppin’ Stones (rock), 9pm

bEN’s tuNE-up Gypsy Guitars (acoustic, Gypsy-jazz), 2pm Savannah Smith (southern soul), 8pm bLaCK mOuNtaiN aLE HOusE Fritz Beer & The Crooked Beat (Americana), 9pm bLuE mOuNtaiN piZZa & bREw pub Matt Sellars (Americana, blues, roots), 7pm Catawba bREwiNg sOutH sLOpE Point and Shoot Duo (folk, rock), 6pm CLassiC wiNEsELLER Joe Cruz (Pianao, Beatles & Elton John covers), 7pm

OsKaR bLuEs bREwERy Roots & Dore (blues, soul), 6pm

CORK & KEg The Barsters (old time, bluegrass), 8:30pm

paCK’s tavERN DJ MoTo (pop, dance hits), 9pm

dOubLE CROwN Pitter Platter w/ DJ Big Smidge, 10pm

pisgaH bREwiNg COmpaNy The Alarm Clock Conspiracy (indie, rock), 8pm

ELaiNE’s duELiNg piaNO baR Dueling Pianos, 9pm

saNCtuaRy bREwiNg COmpaNy Sean Bendula (singer-songwriter), 7pm

fRENCH bROad bREwERy Salt of the Earth (folk), 6pm

sCaNdaLs NigHtCLub DJ dance party & drag show, 10pm

gOOd stuff Lilli Jean (“ultra American”), 7pm

sCuLLy’s DJ, 10pm

gREy EagLE musiC HaLL & tavERN Folk Soul Revival & Bill and The Belles (folk, Americana, rock), 9pm

sOL baR NEw mOuNtaiN Sol Vibes Presents VIBE W/ ARune & red.tree (electronic), 9pm sOutHERN appaLaCHiaN bREwERy Hustle Souls (r&b, soul), 8pm taLLgaRy’s at fOuR COLLEgE Jarvis Jenkins (southern rock), 9:30pm tHE dugOut For Realz Band (rock), 9pm tHE mOtHLigHt Hotline w/ Library of Babel, Mount Mitchell & Def Option (electronic, rock, indie), 9pm

HigHLaNd bREwiNg COmpaNy Dub Kartel (reggae, ska), 7pm On the Border (Eagles tribute band), 10pm isis REstauRaNt aNd musiC HaLL An evening w/ Mason Via (funky folk, blues, jazz), 7pm JaCK Of tHE wOOd pub Red Honey w/ Heidi Holton (surf, punk, country), 9pm JERusaLEm gaRdEN Middle Eastern music & bellydancing, 7pm

tHE sOCiaL Steve Moseley (acoustic), 6pm

LaZy diamONd Sonic Satan Stew w/ DJ Alien Brain, 10pm

tHE sOCiaL LOuNgE DJ Kyuri on vinyl (funk, soul, disco), 10pm

LEx 18 Alex Taub & Pamela Jones (classic jazz remixes), 6:30pm Sheila Gordon (romantic love songs), 9:45pm Red Hot Sardines Afterparty (jazz), 10:30pm

tigER mOuNtaiN Dark dance rituals w/ DJ Cliffypoo, 10pm timO’s HOusE Mike L!ve B-Day Party w/ FTO, Tuscon, Pragmaddix (hip-hop), 9pm twistEd LauREL Live DJ, 11pm

LObstER tRap Sean Mason Trio (jazz), 6:30pm maRKEt pLaCE DJs (funk, R&B), 7pm

wHitE HORsE bLaCK mOuNtaiN The MJS Electric Jazz Band, 8pm

NEw mOuNtaiN tHEatER/ ampHitHEatER Phuncle Sam (Grateful Dead tribute), 10pm

wiLd wiNg CafE sOutH A Social Function (acoustic), 9:30pm

NObLE CidER The Gypsy Swingers (jazz, swing), 6:30pm

wxyZ LOuNgE at aLOft HOtEL Ben Hovey (soul-jazz-tronica), 8pm

OdditORium Benefit for Local Anarchist Radio (punk), 9pm

ZambRa Zambra Jazz Trio, 8pm

Off tHE wagON Dueling pianos, 9pm

TAVERN Downtown on the Park Eclectic Menu • Over 30 Taps • Patio 13 TV’s • Sports Room • 110” Projector Event Space • Shuffleboard Open 7 Days 11am - Late Night

13 TV’S, Football, Burgers, Pizza, an d Beer! THU. 1/28 Scott Raines & Jeff Anders (acoustic rock)

FRI. 1/29 DJ MoTo

(pop, dance hits)

SAT. 1/30 A Social Function

(rock n’ roll, classic hits)

20 S. Spruce St. • 225.6944 PacksTavern.com

mountainx.com

January 27 - february 2, 2016

c L ubLanD OLivE OR twist 42nd Street Band (big band jazz), 8pm Dance party (hip-hop, rap), 11pm

taLLgaRy’s at fOuR COLLEgE Live Band (dance music), 9:30pm

ONE stOp dELi & baR Opposite Box w/ Gang of Thieves (funk, rock), 10pm ORaNgE pEEL Kid Hop Hooray! (indoor dance party), 10:30am Graveyard w/ Spiders (hard rock, psychedelic), 9pm OsKaR bLuEs bREwERy Jamison Adams Project (folk, jam), 6pm paCK’s tavERN A Social Function (rock ’n’ roll, classic hits), 9pm

tHE admiRaL Soul night w/ DJ Dr. Filth, 11pm tHE bLOCK Off biLtmORE Up Jumped Three (jazz), 8pm tHE dugOut Awake In The Dream (rock), 9pm tHE mOtHLigHt Mr. Fred’s 2nd Pinewood Derby!, 9pm tHE sOCiaL LOuNgE Phantom Pantone (DJ), 10pm twistEd LauREL Live DJ, 11pm

pisgaH bREwiNg COmpaNy The Lazybirds (jazz, swing, blues), 8pm

wHitE HORsE bLaCK mOuNtaiN Forte (cabaret, vocalists), 7:30pm

puRpLE ONiON CafE Red Dirt Revelators (Americana), 8pm

wiLd wiNg CafE Karaoke, 8pm

ROOm ix Open dance night, 9pm

wxyZ LOuNgE at aLOft HOtEL GrassHoppa (acoustic, folk, reggae), 8pm

saNCtuaRy bREwiNg COmpaNy Carver & Carmody (Americana, country), 7:30pm

ZambRa Zambra Jazz Trio, 8pm

sCaNdaLs NigHtCLub DJ dance party & drag show, 10pm

suNday, JaNuaRy 31

sCuLLy’s DJ, 10pm sOL baR NEw mOuNtaiN DiggyPop Malone EP release party (hip-hop), 10pm sOutHERN appaLaCHiaN bREwERy Bryan Marshall & His Payday Knights (outlaw honky-tonk), 8pm

1/27 wed 1/28 thu 1/29

fri

5 waLNut wiNE baR Lazybirds (Americana, roots), 7pm bEN’s tuNE-up The All-Arounders (blues), 3pm Reggae night w/ Dub Kartel, 8pm bLuE mOuNtaiN piZZa & bREw pub Billy Litz (Americana, singer-songwriter), 7pm

w/ j.w. teller

w/ wayne robbins

frank fest! hotline w/

library of babel, mount mitchell, def option

1/30 sat mr. fred's 2nd pinewood derby!

2/3

free!

bombadil w/ lowland hum

sat

new belgium brewing presents...

LaZy diamONd Tiki Night w/ DJ Lance (Hawaiian, surf, exotica), 10pm LEx 18 The Downton Abbey Vintage Banquet (ticketed event), 6:30pm LObstER tRap Cigar Brothers (“y’allternative”), 6:30pm

January 27 - february 2, 2016

5 waLNut wiNE baR Siamese Jazz Club (soul, R&B, jazz), 8pm aLtamONt bREwiNg COmpaNy Old-time jam w/ Mitch McConnell, 6:30pm bEN’s tuNE-up Eleanor Underhill (acoustic), 5pm bywatER Open mic w/ Rick Cooper, 8pm Catawba bREwiNg sOutH sLOpE Songwriters In The Round (country, bluegrass), 5:30pm COuRtyaRd gaLLERy Open mic (music, poetry, comedy, etc.), 8pm CREEKsidE tapHOusE Trivia, 7pm dOubLE CROwN Country Karaoke, 10pm gOOd stuff Open mic w/ Laura Thurston, 7pm

Off tHE wagON Piano show, 9pm

JaCK Of tHE wOOd pub Quizzo, 7pm

ONE stOp dELi & baR Bluegrass brunch w/ Woody Wood, 11am Sundays w/ Bill & Friends (Grateful Dead tribute, acoustic), 5pm

LExiNgtON avE bREwERy (Lab) Kipper’s “Totally Rad” Trivia night, 8pm LObstER tRap Dave Desmelik (Americana, folk, singer-songwriter), 6:30pm

pisgaH bREwiNg COmpaNy Sunday Travers Jam (open jam), 4pm

O.HENRy’s/tHE uNdERgROuNd Geeks Who Drink trivia, 7pm

saNCtuaRy bREwiNg COmpaNy Stipe Brothers (acoustic), 3pm Carolina Catskins (ragtime, Appalachian swing), 5:30pm

OdditORium Jitters, Kortriba, Derek Poteat & LSD Soundgarden (experimental), 9pm OLivE OR twist 2 Breeze Band (Motown), 6pm ONE wORLd bREwiNg Beats & Brews w/ DJ Whistleblower, 8pm OsKaR bLuEs bREwERy Mountain Music Mondays (open jam), 6pm

taLLgaRy’s at fOuR COLLEgE Jason Brazzel (acoustic), 6pm

sOvEREigN REmEdiEs Stevie Lee Combs (acoustic), 8pm

tHE bLOCK Off biLtmORE Grand opening w/ The Jesse Junior Quartet (jazz), 6pm

tHE mOtHLigHt Nest Egg w/ Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor & Medocino (experimental, psychedelic, krautrock), 9pm

tHE OmNi gROvE paRK iNN Lou Mowad (classical guitar), 10am Bob Zullo (pop, rock, blues), 7pm

tHE OmNi gROvE paRK iNN Bob Zullo (pop, rock, blues), 7pm

tOwN pump Jeff Ruby (singer/songwriter), 9pm wEdgE bREwiNg CO. Vollie McKenzie & Hank Bones (acoustic jazzswing), 6pm

mountainx.com

185 KiNg stREEt Open mic night, 7pm

gREy EagLE musiC HaLL & tavERN Contra dance (lessons, 7:30pm), 8pm

timO’s HOusE Bring Your Own Vinyl (open decks), 8pm Dance Party w/ DJ Franco Nino, 9pm

lost in the woods

mONday, fEbRuaRy 1

OdditORium Morbids, Isaacson (rock, punk), 9pm

tHE sOutHERN Yacht Rock Brunch w/ DJ Kipper, 12pm

free!

2/5 fri 2/6

JaCK Of tHE wOOd pub Irish session, 5pm

tHE sOCiaL LOuNgE DJ Kyusi on vinyl (old school trip-hop, deep house, acid jazz), 8pm

the mothlight & orbit dvd present...

the labyrinth

isis REstauRaNt aNd musiC HaLL Sunday Classical Brunch, 11am An Evening w/ the Russian Duo (world), 5:30pm Sunday Jazz showcase, 7:30pm

tHE sOCiaL Get Vocal Karaoke, 9:30pm

2/1 mon harvey leisure's interstellar wed

dOubLE CROwN Killer Karaoke w/ KJ Tim O, 9pm

sOutHERN appaLaCHiaN bREwERy BlueSunday with Garry Segal (blues), 5pm

dylan leblanc

w/ sisters of your sunshinevapor, mendocino

CORK & KEg Sparrow & Her Wingmen (vintage jazz), 6:30pm

sCaNdaLs NigHtCLub DJ dance party & drag show, 10pm

the moon & you

installation! nest egg

bywatER Cornmeal Waltz w/ Robert Greer (classic country, bluegrass), 6pm

tHE vaLLEy musiC & COOKHOusE Monday Pickin’ Parlour (open jam, open mic), 8pm tigER mOuNtaiN Service industry night (rock ’n’ roll), 9pm timO’s HOusE Movie night, 7pm uRbaN ORCHaRd Old-time music, 7pm

tuEsday, fEbRuaRy 2 5 waLNut wiNE baR The John Henrys (hot jazz), 8pm aLtamONt bREwiNg COmpaNy Open mic w/ Chris O’Neill, 8:30pm asHEviLLE musiC HaLL Tuesday Night Funk Jam, 11pm

baCK yaRd baR Open mic & jam w/ Robert Swain, 8pm bLaCK bEaR COffEE CO. Round Robin acoustic open mic, 7pm bLaCK mOuNtaiN aLE HOusE Trivia, 7pm buffaLO NiCKEL Trivia, 7pm Catawba bREwiNg sOutH sLOpE Reverend Finster (R.E.M. covers), 6:30pm CORK & KEg Old Time Jam, 5pm CREEKsidE tapHOusE Old School Low Down Blues Tues. w/ Matt Walsh, 6pm dOubLE CROwN Honky-Tonk, Cajun, and Western w/ DJ Brody Hunt, 10pm gOOd stuff Old time-y night, 6:30pm gREy EagLE musiC HaLL & tavERN Akae Beka w/ Chalwa (reggae, roots), 9pm iRON HORsE statiON Open mic, 6pm isis REstauRaNt aNd musiC HaLL Tuesday bluegrass sessions, 7:30pm JaCK Of tHE wOOd pub Kevin Scanlon & Jon Edwards (Americana, folk), 9pm LaZy diamONd 50s & 60s Country and Blues w/ DJ Big Smidge, 10pm LEx 18 The Downton Abbey Vintage Banquet (ticketed event), 6:30pm LObstER tRap Jay Brown (acoustic-folk, singer-songwriter), 6:30pm maRKEt pLaCE The Rat Alley Cats (jazz, Latin, swing), 7pm OdditORium Odd comedy night, 9pm

Jan-Feb 2016 FRIDAY

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Off tHE wagON Rock ’n’ roll bingo, 8pm

saNCtuaRy bREwiNg COmpaNy Team trivia & tacos, 7pm taLLgaRy’s at fOuR COLLEgE Jam night, 9pm tHE bLOCK Off biLtmORE Jazz-n-Justice w/ Harvey Diamond & friends, 7:30pm tHE JOiNt NExt dOOR Open mic w/ Laura Thurston, 7pm tHE sOCiaL LOuNgE Phantom Pantone (DJ), 10pm tREssa’s dOwNtOwN JaZZ aNd bLuEs Funk & jazz jam w/ Pauly Juhl, 8:30pm twistEd LauREL Tuesday night blues dance w/ The Remedy (lesson @ 8), 8pm uRbaN ORCHaRd Billy Litz (Americana, singer-songwriter), 7pm wHitE HORsE bLaCK mOuNtaiN Irish sessions & open mic, 6:30pm wiLd wiNg CafE sOutH Tuesday bluegrass, 6pm Trivia w/ Kelilyn, 8:30pm

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January 27 - february 2, 2016

movies

C RAN k Y H ANKE RE V IE W S & LIS T INGS by K en H anke , J ustin S outher & S cott douglas

HHHHH =

C ontact at pressmovies @ aol . com

m a x r at i n g

pick of the week

A scene from Gabriel Osorio’s beautiful and moving Bear Story, one of the 2016 Oscar Nominated Animated Short Films.

The 2016 Oscar Nominated Live Action Short Films HHHH Director: Various Players: Various live action short film compilation Rated NR The Story: Compilation of the five Oscar nominated live action short films for this year. The Lowdown: There’s not an outright clinker in this set — though one comes close — and two (maybe three) of this year’s nominees are exceptional.

January 27 - february 2, 2016

Ave Maria. Director: Basil Khalil. Country: Palestine/France/Germany. As always seems to be the case with the live action short film nominations, the choices are on much firmer ground than the animated shorts. This 15-minute culture/religion clash quietly droll comedy is actually one of the most charming films I’ve seen recently. What happens when an Israeli family (complete with irritable and irritating mother) wreck their car by crashing into the Virgin Mary statue at a convent of five nuns in Palestine? To make it more fun, the convent is a

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silent order. And to complicate matters further, the sun has gone down, it’s the Sabbath and none of the family’s Orthodox friends will take his calls. A special little movie, and I’d be perfectly cool with it winning. Day One. Director Henry Hughes. Country: US. Beware of any film “inspired by a true story” and Day One is no exception. Oh, it’s competently made and I’m sure well-intended, but this story about a translator’s first day accompanying a U.S. Army unit in Afghanistan feels contrived and just a little too conveniently plotted. It’s

certainly not bad and it’s well-acted, but it all felt like it was clicking into place with just too much precision — and I was a step ahead of it at every turn. It’s not that I’m that sharp. It’s that the film is that transparent. Everything Will Be Okay (Alles Wird Gut). Director: Patrick Vollrath. Country: Germany/Austria. At 30 minutes, Everything Will Be Okay is a classic case of a movie that overstays its welcome. The film opens strongly with a divorced father (Simon Schwartz) picking up his daughter (Julia Pointner) for their bi-weekly visit. The set-up is good and accomplished with great economy, establishing the enmity between the divorced parents with barely a word. Then the plot kicks in and every aspect of it takes too long — especially because it’s nowhere near as mysterious as it thinks it is — and this gets worse as complications set in. I was ready for it to end long before it did. Shok (Friend). Director: Jamie Donoughue. Country: UK. Jamie Donoughue’s Shok (Friend) is a pretty powerful little film that has the slight misfortune of feeling a little out of its time, but that may not be a bad thing. Though the events in Kosovo aren’t big news any more, that doesn’t make them irrelevant. In fact, it’s probably good to remember them through this tragic little story about the friendship of two young boys in the war-torn region divided by religion and race. Unlike Everything Will Be Okay and Day One, this is a film that is fully as weighty as its subject. Stutterer. Director: Benjamin Cleary. Country: UK/Ireland. Benjamin Cleary’s tight (12 minutes) little romantic drama — about a young man, Greenwood (Matthew Needham), whose severe stuttering has caused him to largely withdraw from the world — gets my vote for the best of the lot. There are only two exceptions to his solitary existence — his father (Eric Richard) and an online relationship with a girl named Ellie (Chloe Pirrie). All that’s about

to change, however, since it turns out that Ellie is going to be in London and wants to meet Greenwood and perhaps take the relationship to the next level. But Ellie only knows him as the well-spoken young man at a keyboard. She has no idea that even though he can conjure eloquent, even beautiful, thoughts in his head, there’s not the slightest chance he can ever articulate them. It’s a very real quandary, since he wants nothing more than to meet her. Yes, there’s about an even chance you’ll guess the ending, but that doesn’t keep the film from being sweet and charming. Starts Friday at Carolina Cinemas. reviewed by Ken Hanke khanke@mountainx.com

Dirty Grandpa HHS

Director: Sean Anders (Horrible Bosses 2) Players: Robert De Niro, Zac Efron, Zoey Deutch, Aubrey Plaza, Julianne Hough Raunchy comedy Rated R the story: After the death of his wife, an aging Green Beret tries to help his estranged grandson escape a doomed engagement and to bed a girl a third of his age. Not necessarily in that order. The lowdown: If you are easily offended, this film is likely to enrage you. If not, you might still find it pretty distasteful. But when it works, it works. It’s easy enough to understand why Dirty Grandpa has drawn so much critical ire. In our modern age of sensitivity and cultural awareness, there would seem to be little room for the story of a vulgar septuagenarian who seemingly goes out of his way to violate every sacred cow of political correctness. But it leaves one to wonder if this film would have been so universally panned had Robert De Niro not been involved. Granted, the film is

nonsensical, its direction somewhat amateurish, the story almost nonexistent, and the less said about its narrative structure and character development the better. However, I did laugh on a number of occasions, which counts for something when addressing a film that has generated as much animosity as Dirty Grandpa. De Niro’s performance is essentially his depiction of the unrestrained id, a hyper-masculine representation of age-inappropriate virility and competency in the achievement of his one-track goal, sowing wild oats in his seventies. In this capacity, Zac Efron plays straight-man, a 21st century Zeppo Marx to De Niro’s aged Groucho/Harpo hybrid. And just as in a good Marx Brothers picture, Dirty Grandpa works best when the story gets out of the way and allows its leads an open playing field. The film falters significantly when it allows Efron too much solo screen time, and even more so when it tries to connect back to its lame excuse for a plot or attempts to convey any sort of moral or message. Those decrying De Niro’s performance as a career nadir are clearly looking at the highly objectionable subject matter and not at the work he put on the screen, which is as strong as any of his late-period comedies. Lest this review come across as a defense of what is, in essence, a pretty bad film, there are plenty of valid objections to Dirty Grandpa beyond its crass humor, anachronistic racism and casual sexism. Aubrey Plaza is all but wasted as a one-note joke, which she plays to the hilt and to great effect, but I would’ve rather seen her take over at least 60 percent of Efron’s screen time. Also, De Niro’s character is written as being preternaturally well-informed on contemporary popular culture, which makes no sense whatsoever. Most damningly, the film attempts to hedge its bets with the inclusion of a fight scene in which De Niro roughs up a gang of young hoodlums in defense of a gay acquaintance, after which he forces the gang’s lead to mouth what I can only imagine must be an exculpatory monologue the filmmakers prepared for themselves on their inevitable march to the pillory of Hollywood press junkets. This is by no means a good film, but it’s not nearly as bad as it’s been made out to be. But unlike the controlled chaos of the Marx Brothers, Dirty Grandpa is often unrestrained and self-indulgent in the worst possible ways. Gags that don’t work are allowed to play out interminably, bizarre set pieces that contribute nothing to the picture as a whole are given far too

much screen time, and its treatment of women and minorities is indeed cringe-inducing. But those who appreciate humor that challenges rather than reaffirms their worldview might find themselves chuckling a little harder than would be deemed socially acceptable. The film could be read on some level as a piece of performance art or social commentary, an epic trolling of the PC police and De Niro’s detractors, all of whom could stand to take themselves (quite) a bit less seriously. That reading might be giving the filmmakers too much credit, but those villagers who have broken out the torches and pitchforks should bear in mind that this is not even the worst Spring Break movie I’ve ever seen (that would be 2012’s Spring Breakers), much less the worst De Niro picture (Little Fockers). So for those intrepid souls willing to sit through what largely amounts to an overlong dick joke, give Dirty Grandpa a shot, you might be pleasantly surprised at least as often as you’re horribly disappointed, which is not bad for January at the movies. Rated R for crude sexual content throughout, graphic nudity and for language and drug use. Playing at Carmike 10, Carolina Cinemas, Epic of Hendersonville, Regal Biltmore Grande. reviewed by Scott Douglas jsdouglas22@gmail.com

The 2016 Oscar Nominated Live Action Short Films HHHS

Director: Various Players: Various

T HEATER L ISTIN GS Friday, january 29 Thursday, February 4 Due to possible scheduling changes, moviegoers may want to confirm showtimes with theaters.

Asheville Pizza & Brewing Co. (254-1281) Bridge of Spies (PG-13) 7:00 Hotel Transylvania 2 (PG) 1:00, 4:00 Trainwreck (R) 10:00

Carmike Cinema 10 (298-4452) Carolina Cinemas (274-9500) The 2016 Oscar Nominated Animated Short Films (NR) Fri, Sat, Sun, Wed 11:05. 7:35, Mon-Tue 11:05, 3:15, 7:35 The 2016 Oscar Nominated Documentary Short Films (NR) Fri, Sat, Sun, Wed only 1:55 The 2016 Oscar Nominated Live Action Short Films (NR) Fri, Sat, Sun, Wed 5:20, 9:30, Mon-Tue 1:00, 5:20, 9:30 The 5th Wave (PG-13) 11:30, 2:05, 4:35, 7:15, 9:45 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi (R) 10:25, 1:25, 4:25, 7:25, 10:25 The Big Short (R) 10:45, 4:20, 7:05 The Boy (PG-13) 12:45, 3:05, 5:25, 7:45, 10:05 Carol (R) 1:35, 9:50 Daddy’s Home (PG-13) 12:35, 2:50, 5:10, 7:25, 9:40 Dirty Grandpa (R) 12:15, 2:40, 5:05, 7:45, 10:00 Fifty Shades of Black (R) 11:00, 1:10, 3:20, 5:30, 7:55, 10:20 The Finest Hours 3D (PG-13) 2:00, 9:55 The Finest Hours 2D (PG-13) 11:25, 4:40, 7:20 Kung Fu Panda 3 3D (PG) 12:10, 9:15 Kung Fu Panda 3 2D (PG) 11:15, 1:30, 2:30, 3:45, 4:45, 6:00, 7:00, 8:15, 10:30 The Revenant (R) 12:40, 3:55, 7:10, 10:25 Ride Along 2 (PG-13) 12:20, 2:45, 5:15, 7:40, 10:10 Star Wars: The Force Awakens (PG-13) 10:20, 1:20, 4:30, 7:30, 10:35

Co-ed Cinema (883-2200)

Brevard

The Finest Hours (PG-13) 1:00, 4:00, 7:00

Epic of Hendersonville (693-1146) Fine Arts Theatre (232-1536) Anomalisa (R) 1:00, 4:00, 7:00, Late Show Fri-Sat 9:00 Carol (R) 1:20, 7:20 Trumbo (R) 4:20, Late Show Fri-Sat 9:50

Flatrock Cinema (697-2463)

short animation compilation Rated NR The Story: A collection of this year’s Oscar-nominated animated shorts.

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Spotlight (R) 3:30, 7:00 (Closed Monday)

Regal Biltmore Grande Stadium 15 (684-1298) United Artists Beaucatcher (298-1234) January 27 - february 2, 2016

mo v ies The Lowdown: Wildly uneven, and with only a couple of true standouts, but those two make up for much. Just like last year, the OscarNominated Animated Short Films are an uneven lot, leaning toward the undistinguished. So far as I’m concerned, only two of them really belong in contention. Even there, I have no trouble picking my choice for the winner. (How Academy voters feel is another matter.) Also like last year, their combined running time has come up short, and the program has been filled out with other (presumably) worthwhile animated shorts that were not nominated. Bear Story (Historia de un Oso). Director: Gabriel Osorio. Country: Chile. This little 11-minute film strikes me as the clear winner. The animation is exceptional. The images are gorgeous. The colors are striking. The completely visual story is simple, yet eloquent and moving. The entire film is built around the life story of an anthropomorphic bear, which he tells as a street performer through a clockwork diorama of his own making. It’s clever and creative — and almost makes sitting through the lesser entries worthwhile. Prologue. Director: Richard Williams. Country: UK. There is absolutely nothing wrong with Prologue. As animation — painstakingly hand-drawn — it would be hard to fault, and it undeniably has its own distinctive look. But the title is pretty apt. Indeed, this is like a prologue to a movie that doesn’t exist. Essentially, it’s a six-minute battle between a Spartan and an Athenian warrior. That’s it. Excellent for what it is. But what it is, isn’t much. Sanjay’s Super Team. Director: Sanjay Patel. Country: U.S. Here’s the one entry that you stand a fair chance of having seen, since it was shown before Pixar’s dismal The Good Dinosaur — and it was, at least, better than the feature. It is also pretty clearly Oscar’s annual nod to something from Pixar or Disney. What we have here is a pleasant, innocuous seven-minute film about a young Indian-American boy, Sanjay, in conflict with his more religious Indian-born father. The bridge between them is, it seems, the boy coming to view Hindu gods as super-heroes. Pleasant enough, but nothing more.

January 27 - february 2, 2016

We Can’t Live Without Cosmos. Director: Konstantin Bronzit. Country: Russia. At 16 minutes, this Russian film is one of the longer contenders. It’s also one of the better ones, and I’d put it second only to Bear Story. It’s basically a story of friendship that just happens to be between two over-achiever cosmonauts. The drawing is simple (just this side of Hanna-Barbera), and the animation (which leans heavily on cycled footage) is pretty basic. But the film has a pleasantly dry sense of humor, a quiet touch of the absurd and a real heart beneath it all. World of Tomorrow. Director: Don Hertzfeldt. Country: U.S. The longest film in the set (by one minute). And, frankly, it feels it. However, it should be noted that I do not get the appeal of Don Hertzfeldt and his stick-figure animation — at all. I have a friend who likes to send e-cards where a vaguely female cat says rude or disconcerting things in a monotone English accent. That is exactly what World of Tomorrow of reminded me of in both voice acting and level of humor. The whole idea is that a little girl’s clone from the distant future takes the kid on a look at her disconcerting life (or lives) to come. Some seem to find it profound. You may be among them. Starts Friday at Carolina Cinemas reviewed by Ken Hanke khanke@mountainx.com

The 5th Wave H Director: J. Blakeson Players: Luke Bracey, Edgar Ramirez, Ray Winstone, Teresa Palmer, Matias Varela sci fi thriller Rated PG-13 The Story: When aliens invade, it’s up to a group of plucky teens (naturally) to save the world. Or screw everything up drastically, apparently the writers decided to leave that plot thread dangling until the sequel. The Lowdown: I’m hoping there’s no sequel. If the titular “wave” of this film is meant to refer one of the waves of nausea I felt watching an endless stream of young-adult fiction cliches bounce off the screen, then I could at least give The 5th Wave credit for truth in

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advertising. Unfortunately, it refers to a series of indirect attacks made on hapless earthlings by their invading alien overlords. Have you ever asked yourself, “Hey, what if we took the Biblical plagues from Exodus, made them about 70 percent less menacing, and replaced Moses with a 16-year-old girl?” If so, then you might be Oscarwinning screenwriter Akiva Goldsman. whose work is spotty at best. Bear in mind that on the spectrum of his output, The 5th Wave is less along the lines of A Beautiful Mind and closer to his dubious accomplishments on the regrettable Joel Schumacher entries in the Batman series (yes, the man who wrote Batman and Robin has an Oscar). Consider that the director responsible for this tripe can’t even be bothered to spell out his Christian name and you’ll have some indication of the importance this film places on writing. It might be tempting to heap all of the responsibility for this abortive sci-fi series builder at the feet of Goldsman and his little golden statuette — but to be fair, the script did pass through the hands of three writers, and was itself based on a preexisting series of novels. So while the ridiculous plot and don’t-trust-anyone-over-30 pubescent paranoia can probably be blamed on novelist Rick Yancey, the culpability for the leaden pacing, dialogue-heavy exposition and shallow characterization must all be attributed to Goldsman and his team of check-chasing script doctors. No script in which a central character asks “Where can I take a bullet to the torso and not die?” only to be told in all seriousness “There’s too many organs!” should get another pass or three before the writers let it see the light of day. But a film doesn’t get this bad by virtue of a lazy script alone. Director J. Blakeson seems to be laboring under the misperception that paramilitary action sequences should read visually like low-budget video games. What’s more, the movie’s hokey plot device in which the invading “Others” are actually brain sucking parasites that can only be seen with special glasses — screams out for the blatant hucksterism of William Castle. Failing to capitalize on a solid gimmick such as handing out alien-detecting glasses in the spirit of Castle’s 13 Ghosts promotion, The 5th Wave presents its schtick with stone-faced seriousness, leading to a thoroughly ridiculous third act that would’ve been a comedic masterwork if only the film had been in on its own joke. The cast really can’t be blamed for the script they’ve been given to work with, but not one of them success-

fully elevates the material beyond the dreck on the page. Chloë Grace Moretz doesn’t seem quite capable of carrying a film this convoluted on her own, Liev Schrieber seems like he can’t be bothered to do much of anything other than glower, and Maria Bello is almost unrecognizable as a truly bizarre white trash Josef Mengle wearing way too much foundation. Maika Monroe stands out as possibly the one character in the film capable of making rational decisions, but as the sole exception to this YA fiction rule, her character is all but entirely marginalized. An underutilized cast, a profoundly weak script, and ham-fisted direction leave The 5th Wave with little chance of appealing to a broad market, even if cliche-addled teens and tweens might line up for the first week or so. If you thought Independence Day was too much of a high-brow intellectual think-piece, then The 5th Wave might be the ticket for you. Even the film’s target demographic can’t possibly condone this level of nonsense. Of course, I could be mistaken. After all, I’m an adult, and therefore my faculties for evaluating the appeal of apocalyptic teen melodramas may well have been compromised by the alien parasite known as “good taste.” Rated PG-13 for violence and destruction, some sci-fi thematic elements, language and brief teen partying. Playing at Carolina Cinemas, Epic of Hendersonville, Regal Biltmore Grande, UA Beaucatcher. reviewed by Scott Douglas jsdouglas22@gmail.com

The Boy HHH

Director: William Brent Bell (Stay Alive) Players: Lauren Cohan, Rupert Evans, Jim Norton, Diana Hardcastle, Ben Robson psychological horror suspense thriller Rated PG-13 The Story: An American woman on the run from an abusive ex takes a lucrative nanny position at a creepy estate in the English countryside, only to find that her charge is an inanimate doll. Or is he? He probably is.

tHe LoWDoWn: A solid psychological horror effort that works more than it doesn’t, even if it never quite lives up to its promise (or its premise). Of the three new films that opened in town this weekend, The Boy is easily the best. Or to be more accurate, it is the least worthy of derision. As genre fare, it is a competently produced and acted thriller, although gore-hounds will be thoroughly disappointed. This is not the unofficial Child’s Play sequel I was afraid it might be. Rather, The Boy is an “old, dark house” story leaning heavily on the Gothic tropes of that genre. While it is not as stylized as last year’s Crimson Peak, it does place a greater importance on story logic and concision. Unfortunately, much of the atmospheric tension built (sloooowly) in the film’s first hour is squandered by a heavily telegraphed third-act reveal that undercuts its attempts to tell a smaller, more challenging story of trauma-induced madness. The film’s reliance on atmospheric creepiness over jump scares and violence is commendable, but the pacing of the first two acts is far too deliberate to maintain the tension the script was trying to build. With a heavy dose of Wes Craven and a dash of Bob Clark’s Black Christmas thrown in for good measure, The Boy doesn’t limit itself to the obvious influences its setting and subject matter would suggest. However, none of these influences really come together when things finally do start to happen in that third act, leaving the viewer wracked by a creeping sense, not of dread, but of pointlessness and tonal confusion. While the cast performs admirably — with Lauren Cohan proving she is more than capable of carrying a feature essentially on her own — the script is not doing her any favors. I spent most of the first act mystified by some of the decisions made by these characters, only to have my questions dismissed by oddly out of place bits of dialogue. In an opening scene, Cohan is greeted by the world’s worst grocery clerk (Rupert Evans) who proceeds to throw himself at her in a very British sort of way. The fact that he neglects to mention to her the nature of the “child” she’ll be caring for is brushed off with a one-line explanation: He didn’t want to spoil the surprise. And yet, she still entertains his advanc-

es throughout the film. Maybe I’m a romantic at heart, but I would assume that any interest I might express to a woman heading off to her new job in this scenario would necessarily be preceded by a simple heads-up to the fact she had agreed to work for crazy people. I guess chivalry really is dead. That the characters still manage to feel underdeveloped when there are essentially only two to focus on in a 90-minute film is perplexing to me, but much of the problem has to do with the film’s fixation on plot twists that are nowhere near as clever as its writer seems to believe. When an unseen abusive ex-boyfriend is mentioned repeatedly throughout the first two-thirds of the movie, it’s a safe bet that he’ll show up in the final third. Add in the fact that every line of dialogue the young boy’s deranged parents spout might as well be spelling out the “surprise” conclusion, and you’re left with a film staunchly convinced that its plot would overshadow its lack of characterization and dramatic interest. Unfortunately this assumption — much like the ones The Boy expects its audience to draw before its climactic big reveal — turns out to be blatantly incorrect. All that said, I enjoyed The Boy, in spite of its flaws. At its heart, is this film about abusive relationships? Is it about the emotional ramifications of losing a child? Is it about dolls who love brunettes who love peanut butter and jelly? I doubt even the filmmakers could answer definitively. But for a low-budget horror film released in January without being screened for critics, it was not as bad as I had feared, and that was a twist I didn’t see coming. Rated PG-13 for violence and terror, and for some thematic material. Playing at Carolina Cinemas, Epic of Hendersonville, Regal Biltmore Grande, UA Beaucatcher.

fiLm pubLiC EvENts at wwC 298-3325, warren-wilson.edu • FR (1/29), 7pm - Film screening of Brother Outsider. Free. Held in Canon Lounge. tHE ORaNgE pEEL 101 Biltmore Ave., theorangepeel.net • WE (1/27), 6pm - Film screening of documentary ski movies Fade to Winter and Pretty Faces. $15/$12 advance.

REviEwEd by sCOtt dOugLas JsdOugLas22@gmaiL.COm

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January 27 - february 2, 2016

MO V IES

by Edwin Arnaudin

edwinarnaudin@gmail.com

STARTIN G FRI D AY

SPECIA L SCREENIN GS

The 2016 Oscar-Nominated Animated Short Films

Attack of the Crab Monsters HHHH

See review in “Cranky Hanke”

The 2016 OscarNominated Live Action Short Films

Director: Roger Corman Players: Richard Garland, Pamela Duncan, Russell Johnson, Leslie Bradley, Mel Welles SCI-FI HORROR Rated NR Roger Corman’s Attack of the Crab Monsters (1957) is a perfect — and perfectly enjoyable — example of the type of movie that was being churned out in the late 1950s. Surprisingly, it’s also frequently stylish and has a remarkably well-written screenplay. Bear in mind, however, that we’re talking well-written within the context of movies about giant mutant telepathic crabs bent on world domination. (In the case of the latter, I’ve never been quite clear on what they planned on doing with the world once they got ahold of it.) Attack of the Crab Monsters is fun. Plus, unlike many films of the ’50s (including some of Corman’s), it actually delivers what its title promises: crab monsters. Are they the most believable monsters imaginable? Probably not, but at least they’re there. Anyway, giant mutant telepathic crabs ... what more do you want? The Thursday Horror Picture Show will screen Attack of the Crab Monsters Thursday, Jan. 28, at 8 p.m. in Theater Six at The Carolina Asheville, hosted by Xpress movie critics Ken Hanke and Scott Douglas.

See review in “Cranky Hanke”

I Vitelloni HHHHS

Fifty Shades of Black

If the name Marlon Wayans isn’t enough to keep you out of the theater, consider that this offering reteams him with the director of A Haunted House and A Haunted House 2. Still not enough? OK, try this — it’s a parody of Fifty Shades of Grey. Did that convince you of how ill-advised seeing this would be? (R)

The Finest Hours

Frankly, the TV trailer for this looks less like a movie than a high-end TV show. It stars Chris Pine, Casey Affleck and Eric Bana, was directed by the hit-and-miss Craig Gillespie, and it’s apparently available in both 2D and 3D. It’s described as follows: “Casey Sherman and Michael J. Tougias’ book detailing a daring 1952 Coast Guard rescue off the New England seaboard comes to the screen in this Disney film produced by Jim Whitaker. James Tamasy and Eric Johnson team to pen the screenplay.” (PG-13)

Director: Federico Fellini Players: Franco Interlenghi, Alberto Sordi, Franco Fabrizi, Leopoldo Trieste, Riccardo Fellini, Leonora Ruffo DRAMA Rated NR Long before Judd Apatow turned the 30-something-man-boy into a cottage industry (in fact, long before Apatow was even born), Federico Fellini made I Vitelloni (1953), which remains probably the best such look at emotionally stunted males. It’s a film that has been all but overlooked because of the fame of Fellini’s La Strada the next year. Personally, I’ll take I Vitelloni with its somewhat meandering story about five young Italian men (the Vitelloni, or “overgrown veals,” of the title). They’re in their 30s and drifting aimlessly in their provincial town. It can’t even be said that they have big dreams that exceed their abilities. Mostly, they’re content to stay where they are and talk about their “plans.” Their lives are like a rough sketch for the aimless hedonists of La Dolce Vita (1960) — except these guys aren’t even very good at hedonism and lack any trace of style. The only exception is Moraldo (Franco Interlenghi), who might almost age into the Marcello Mastroianni of La Dolce Vita. There’s not much of a story, but the film is rich in detail and character. Plus, the carnival ball is a magnificent set-piece. Classic World Cinema by Courtyard Gallery will present I Vitelloni Friday, Jan. 29, at 8 p.m. at Phil Mechanic Studios, 109 Roberts St., River Arts District (upstairs in the Railroad Library). Info: 828-273-3332, www.ashevillecourtyard.com

The Holiday HHH Director: Nancy Meyers Players: Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Jack Black, Rufus Sewell HIGH GLOSS ROM-COM Rated PG-13 Just why this is being run is a concern quite beyond my comprehension. Saying this is the best (read: least obnoxious) film in Nancy Meyers’ oeuvre is one of those judgment calls on a par with picking the best Martin and Lewis picture. Any way you look at it you lose. One thing I am not losing, though, is 138 minutes watching it again. If anything, I suspect my patience for it would be less than it was in 2006. I certainly remember it well enough that I’m willing to go with my original assessment: “As with her 2003 hit, Something’s Gotta Give, Meyers has set her story in an upscale world where people can disappear from their jobs for weeks at a time and jet all over the world at the drop of a hat. Meyers’ idea of downscale is a picture-book cottage in Surrey, while her idea of great sacrifice is someone having to fly (gasp!) tourist class. Even granting that romantic comedies are a fantasy business, Meyers seems more completely divorced from anything resembling reality than legendary gloss-merchant producer Ross Hunter.” The Hendersonville Film Society will show The Holiday Sunday, Jan. 31, at 2 p.m. in the Smoky Mountain Theater at Lake Pointe Landing Retirement Community (behind Epic Cinemas), 333 Thompson St., Hendersonville.

Kung Fu Panda 3

Let’s face it, the first two movies in this series were pretty darn good and the early word on this third entry is that it’s up to the standards set by the earlier films. Fox says, “When Po’s long-lost panda father suddenly reappears, the reunited duo travels to a secret panda paradise to meet scores of hilarious new panda characters. But when the supernatural villain Kai begins to sweep across China defeating all the kung fu masters, Po must do the impossible — learn to train a village full of his fun-loving, clumsy brethren to become the ultimate band of Kung Fu Pandas!” Considering the past couple of weeks, this sounds swell. (PG) 68

January 27 - february 2, 2016

The Man Who Fell to Earth HHHHH Director: Nicolas Roeg Players: David Bowie, Candy Clark, Rip Torn, Buck Henry, Bernie Casey SCIENCE FICTION Rated NR To mark the passing of David Bowie, the Asheville Film Society is showing Nicolas Roeg’s The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976). Despite the fact that this is every inch a Nicolas Roeg film, it is also a film that is unthinkable with anyone other than Bowie. The film is based on a 1963 novel by Walter Tevis, but it almost plays like a film about Bowie — or, at least, one about our perception of him. Bowie plays Thomas Jerome Newton, an alien from a never-identified planet who pretty much literally falls to Earth (at least, from what we see). He arrives with nine basic patents, which quickly transform him into a very wealthy individual. (Note the word “individual,” because that’s key to understanding the film’s perspective on big business.) The story then simply follows Newton’s fate on Earth, suggesting much and telling little. I intend to tell very little of the plot either, because viewers should discover on their own what drives — and distracts — Newton. So much of the effect Roeg achieves with Newton’s other-worldliness is deeply grounded in this quality being part of Bowie’s own persona. (Roeg used Mick Jagger’s persona in Performance in much the same way.) Everything about Bowie, especially at the time the film was made, was so foreign that he might have been from another planet. A deeply astonishing film from the waning days of the “director as superstar.” The Asheville Film Society will screen The Man Who Fell to Earth Tuesday, Feb. 2, at 8 p.m. in Theater Six at The Carolina Asheville, hosted by Xpress movie critic Ken Hanke.

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maRketplace real e s tat e | r e n ta l s | r oom m ates | serv ices | Job s | a n n ou n cements | m i nd, bo dy, spi r i t cl as s e s & w or k s hop s | m u s ic ia n s’ serv ices | pets | a u tomotiv e | x c hang e | adult Want to advertise in Marketplace? 828-251-1333 x111 tnavaille@mountainx.com • mountainx.com/classifieds If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Remember the Russian proverb: “Doveryai, no proveryai,” trust but verify. When answering classified ads, always err on the side of caution. Especially beware of any party asking you to give them financial or identification information. The Mountain Xpress cannot be responsible for ensuring that each advertising client is legitimate. Please report scams to ads@mountainx.com REAL ESTATE Rentals COmmERCiAL/ BuSinESS REnTALS OFFICE • WAYNESVILLE DOWNTOWN 200 +/- sqft. $300/month. Utilities included. Public parking across street. (828) 216-6066. UNIQUE WAYNESVILLE DOWNTOWN SPACE Above Beverly-Hanks Realtors at 74 N Main. Impressive open 3rd floor of 4000+ sqft., high ceiling, wonderful natural light, separate HVAC, elevator from entrance on Wall St. Many uses: storage/office/showroom but ideal for loft apartment. Available soon, but view now to see if it fits your needs. Bill: 828-216-6066.

ShORT-TERm REnTALS 15 minuTES TO AShEVILLE Guest house, vacation/short term rental in beautiful country setting. • Complete with everything including cable and internet. • $150/day (2-day minimum), $650/week, $1500/month. Weaverville area. • No pets please. (828) 658-9145. mhcinc58@yahoo.com

Roommates ROOmmATES ALL AREAS ROOmmATES. COm Lonely? Bored? Broke? Find the perfect roommate to complement your personality and lifestyle at Roommates. com! (AAN CAN)

employment GEnERAL NOW HIRING ZIPLINE GUIDES AND ADVENTURE PARK RANGERS Adventure Center of Asheville is seeking customer service professionals who love working outside. Visit adventureavl. com for additional information and job applications. Part and full-time positions available beginning in March. adventureavl.com WAREHOUSE EMPLOYEE nEEDED Golden Needle Acupuncture, Herbal & Medical Supply is hiring a part time warehouse employee to join our team. Hours are Mon-Fri 1-5 pm with little flexibility. Duties include but are not limited to, pulling orders from the shelves, cleaning and cross training in all warehouse tasks. Must be comfortable in a warehouse environment performing a job that is very repetitive. We are looking for an individual that is hard working and able to work well with others as part of a team. Must be fast, efficient,

organized and pay close attention to details. Knowledge of alternative medicine is a plus but not required. Send resumes with cover letter to kevin@goldenneedleonline.com

SKILLED LAbOR/ TRADES mAinTEnAnCE COORDinATOR (FT) $12.00-$15.00/ hour. The Maintenance Coordinator is responsible for all upkeep, maintenance, and service functions for the facility, grounds, and vehicles owned by Verner and in accordance with lease terms for properties rented by the organization. • Responsibilities include receiving and responding to requests for repair and maintenance work in a timely manner, basic building repairs and upgrades, landscaping, acting as liaison for Verner with all contractors and vendors bidding and completing work on site, painting, and routine vehicle maintenance. Qualified candidates will have high school diploma or equivalency, an understanding of general maintenance, plumbing, wiring and basic construction, be able to lift and carry up to 70 lbs., with or without reasonable accommodation and possess valid NC Driver’s License; a CDL is preferred. The Maintenance Coordinator should have a friendly and cooperative demeanor and display patience with peers. Verner is an EEOE. Apply online at www.vernerearlylearning.org/ jobs

RESTAuRAnT/ FOOD mORninG ShORT ORDER COOK Rise 'n Shine Cafe hiring a full time breakfast cook; hours 7am-3pm. Must work weekends. At least 3 years experience in high volume kitchen. Apply in person @640 Merrimon Ave. risenshinecafe@att.net

JOBS Transylvania County, as well as 1-2 QPs for our Intensive In-Home team in Haywood County. Intensive In-Home service is a team approach designed to address the identified needs of children and adolescents, who due to serious and chronic symptoms of an emotional/behavioral disorder, are unable to remain stable in the community without intensive interventions. QPs must have a Bachelor's degree in Human services with 2 years of full-time post degree experience with this population. Interested candidates please submit a resume and cover letter to telliot@ jcpsmail.org GOLDEN LIVING - CERTIFiED nuRSinG ASSiSTAnT / CNA POSITION AVAILAbLE, $1,000 SIGN ON bONUS OFFERED! Golden Living is looking for compassionate and experienced CNA's to join our team! We would love to speak with you about opportunities we have in our Living Center in Asheville. For a limited time we are offering a $1,000 sign on bonus for qualified candidates. To apply please go to jobs.goldenliving.com/Asheville-jobs.aspx or contact Alyson at 828-3188388 for more information. GREAT OPPORTUNITY, GREAT PEOPLE, GREAT SUPPORT. Behavioral Health Group a leading provider of opioid addiction treatment services, is seeking Counselors & Nurses. For more information please call 214365-6146 or fax your resume to 214-365-6150 Attn: HRCNSLASH hinDS' FEET FARm DiRECT CARE/PROGRAM COOORDinATOR This part-time position at our day program will include direct care responsibilities working one on one with individuals and developing and implementing group programs and activities. Cover letter and resume: erawls@hindsfeetfarm.org, www.hindsfeetfarm.org

HUMAN SERVICES AFL PROVIDERS SOUGHT AFL –Asheville Area HomeCare Management Corporation is now seeking Alternative Family Living (AFL) to provide support to an individual(s) with Developmental Disabilities in their home, i.e. couple or single person with no children, in the Asheville area. For more information Call HomeCare Management Corporation 828-247-1700 ChiLD mEnTAL hEALTh POSITIONS IN TRANSYLVANIA & HAYWOOD COUNTiES Jackson County Psychological Services (in partnership with Meridian Behavioral Health) Is currently recruiting for a Therapist and 2 QPs for an Intensive In-Home team in

mOnTFORD hALL - EXTEnDED CARE RESiDEnTiAL RECOVERY SCHOOL FOR TEENAGE bOYS SEEKING DiRECT CARE STAFF Montford Hall is seeking enthusiastic and motivated inaugural team members for our Direct Care Staff. Mentors/Counselors/ Peer-Support Specialists. Clinical Director - Nathan Lee Tate - ntate@montfordhall.org www.montfordhall.org Cover Letter/CV/Resume

RESiDEnTiAL TEAm LEAD The Team Lead provides supervision to 2nd shift residential staff while working in ratio, plans the shift according to program schedule, provides leadership during crisis and provides feedback based on residential staff performance. Must be able to work in a high pressure, high stress environment. Position will experience verbal and physical aggression from adolescent male student population. A Bachelor’s Degree required with six months behavioral health experience preferred. Compensation is $26,000 to $29,000 per year. For more information or to apply visit www.eliada.org/employment/current-openings.

hEALTh

AVAILAbLE POSITIONS • MERIDIAN bEHAVIORAL hEALTh haywood County Psychiatric Nurse - Assertive Community Treatment Team – (ACTT) Meridian Behavioral Health Services is seeking an RN, or LPN to join our Haywood/Buncombe County Assertive Community Treatment Team (ACTT) in the beautiful mountains of Western North Carolina. The ACTT nurse is responsible for conducting psychiatric assessments; assessing physical needs; making appropriate referrals to community physicians; providing management and administration of medication in conjunction with the psychiatrist; providing a range of treatment, rehabilitation and support services; and sharing shift-management responsibility with the ACTT Coordinator. Employee must have a valid driver’s license without violations or restrictions, which could prevent completing all required job functions. Full or part time applicants welcome. haywood and Buncombe Counties Clinician, Team Leader Assertive Community Treatment Team – (ACTT) We are seeking a passionate, valuesdriven and dynamic professional to oversee our Assertive Community Treatment Team (ACTT), which primarily serves Haywood County. ACTT is an evidence-based, multi-disciplinary, communitybased service which supports individuals with severe psychiatric disorders in remaining in the community and experiencing mental health recovery. We have a deep commitment to our ACTT services

because, over the years, we have seen that is a service that truly makes a difference in the lives of the people that struggle the most with mental health challenges. Our ACTT staff have been known to describe the work as the “hardest job that you will ever love”. Come be part of our rural team and experience if for yourself! Master’s Degree in Human Services required. Two years’ experience with adults with Mental Health, Substance Abuse or Development Disability required. Clinician – Assertive Community Treatment Team (ACTT) Seeking an energetic and passionate individual to join the Assertive Community Treatment Team (ACTT) in the beautiful mountains of Western North Carolina. Come experience the satisfaction of providing recovery-oriented services within the context of a strong team wraparound model serving Haywood and Buncombe counties. If you are not familiar with ACTT, this position will provide you with an opportunity to experience an enhanced service that really works! Must have a Master’s degree and be licensed/license-eligible. Jackson County nurse – Assertive Community Treatment Team (ACTT) Seeking an RN, or LPN to join our Jackson County Assertive Community Treatment Team (ACTT) in the beautiful mountains of Western North Carolina. The ACTT nurse is responsible for conducting psychiatric assessments; assessing physical needs; making appropriate referrals to community physicians; providing management and administration of medication in conjunction with the psychiatrist; providing a range of treatment, rehabilitation and support services; and sharing shift-management responsibility with the ACTT Coordinator. Employee must have a valid driver’s license without violations or restrictions, which could prevent completing all required job functions. Full or part time applicants welcome. Support Services Coordinator The responsibilities of this position include technical support for all support staff, conducting monthly on-site support/training with all support staff and quarterly support staff meetings. This individual will be directly responsible for supervising and assuring coverage in Jackson County and assist in orchestrating coverage for support staff agency wide when they use PTO or need emergency leave. Applicants must demonstrate strong verbal and written communication skills, have strong computer literacy skills and a minimum of two years supervisory experience. This position requires travel throughout all counties that Meridian serves. Clinician – Recovery Education Center (REC) Seeking passionate, values-driven and dynamic professional to join our Jackson County Recovery Education Center (REC). This

program reflects a unique design which integrates educational, clinical and peer support components in a centerbased milieu. To be considered, an applicant should be familiar with the recovery paradigm of mental health and substance abuse services. Applicant must have a valid driver’s license, reliable transportation, flexibility, and moderate computer skills. A Master’s degree and license eligibility are also required. Peer Support Specialist – Recovery Education Center (REC) Meridian is seeking a Peer Support Specialist to work in our Recovery Education Centers in Haywood and/ or Jackson County. Being a Peer Support Specialist provides an opportunity for individuals to transform their own personal lived experience with mental health and/or addiction challenges into a tool for inspiring hope for recovery in others. Applicants must demonstrate maturity in their own recovery process, have a valid driver’s license, reliable transportation and have moderate computer skills. Part time work may be available. macon County Team Leader/Clinician – Recovery Education Center (REC) Seeking passionate, values-driven and dynamic professional to join our Macon County Recovery Education Center (REC). This program reflects a unique design which integrates educational, clinical and peer support components in a centerbased milieu. To be considered, an applicant should be familiar with the recovery paradigm of mental health and substance abuse services. Applicant must have a valid driver’s license, reliable transportation, flexibility, and moderate computer skills. A Master’s degree and license eligibility are also required. macon and haywood Counties Employment Support Professional (ESP) Supported Employment The ESP functions as part of a team that implements employment services based on the SE-IPS model. The team’s goal is to support individuals who have had challenges with obtaining and/or maintaining employment in the past and to obtain and maintain competitive employment moving forward. The ESP is responsible for engaging clients and establishing trusting, collaborative relationships that result in the creation of completion of individualized employment goals. The ESP will support the client through the whole employment process and provide a variety of services at each state to support the individual in achieving their employment goals. Transylvania County Certified medical Assistant (CmA) Graduate of an accredited Certified Medical Assistant program and CMA certification with AAMA or AMT required. Two years of related experience preferred, preferably in an outpatient medical office setting. Clinician/Team Leader and Two

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Qualified Professionals – intensive in-home Team Intensive In-Home service is a team approach, using strengths-based interventions, designed to address the identified needs of children and adolescents who, due to serious and chronic symptoms of an emotional/ behavioral disorder, are unable to remain stable in the community without intensive interventions. The primary goal of the IIH staff and service is to stabilize the client’s functioning and eliminate the risk of out of home placement or more restrictive interventions. QPs must have a Bachelor’s degree in Human services with 2 years of full-time, post degree experience with this population. Applicant must have a valid driver’s license, reliable transportation, flexibility, and moderate computer skills. AGENCYWIDE Peer Support Specialist. Peers Assisting in Community Engagement (PACE) Being a Peer Support Specialist provides an opportunity for individuals to transform their own personal lived experience with mental health and/or addiction challenges into a tool for inspiring hope for recovery in others. Applicants must demonstrate maturity in their own recovery process, have a valid driver’s license, reliable transportation and have moderate computer skills. Clinician Peers Assisting in Community Engagement (PACE) Clinician will be providing ongoing therapy with individuals and clinical support to the peer support team. The position will involve travel and community-based work in multiple counties. A Master’s degree, license eligibility and experience are required. PACE provides structured and scheduled activities for adults age 18 and older with a diagnosis of Mental Health and Substance Use disorders. This could be a part time or full time position. For further information and to complete an application, visit our website: www.meridianbhs.org

PROFESSIONAL/ mAnAGEmEnT DiRECTOR OF DiSTRiBuTiOn & LOGiSTiCS Director of Distribution & Logistics Opportunity Available at i play., Inc. For 33 years, i play., Inc. has been a family-owned and -operated company, and a leader in researching, developing, and manufacturing healthy, natural, and practical baby products, along with resources for parenting naturally. We continually improve our materials and processes in developing healthy and quality product choices that are convenient and affordable. We are committed to a positive, productive, and enjoyable work environment that supports family values and nurtures innovative thinking and a passion for learning. We take great pride in the purity, integrity, and value of

our products, and operate a design and development facility and warehouse and distribution center on the French Broad River in Asheville, North Carolina. For more information about i play., please visit http://www.iplaybaby.com Essential Duties and Responsibilities include the following (other duties may be assigned): Warehousing – Finished Goods: • Responsible for maintaining efficient space utilization and flow of materials to support optimal efficiency in receiving goods, movement of warehoused goods to fulfillment area, picking, packing and shipping. • Ensure all aspects of warehouse facility & operations are maintained in full GMP compliant manner including but not limited to proper segregation of inspected and approved goods, inbound goods held at receiving yet not released to warehousing, compliant GMP training for all staff, management leadership training, etc. • Ensure manager of this department has proper resources to fulfill strategic objectives of warehousing. • Track custom orders and see that they are received and shipped on time Fulfillment: • Ensure picking/fulfillment staff are properly trained and receive scheduled SOP and GMP training. • Manage and oversee the putaway and picking systems and collaborate with IT on system upgrade as capacity and throughput requirements demand. • Ensure all orders are shipped within 3 days. • Improve packing and shipping elements to reduce errors and breakage. • Ensure manager of this department has proper resources to fulfill strategic objectives of fulfillment. • Logistics: • Negotiate optimal freight pricing for both outgoing and incoming goods • Organize all activities accordingly for Warehouse Supervisors, Coordinators, and Associates. • Setup layout & space management; Develop work organization chart; Create, revise and enforce standard operating procedures. • Ensure that workplace’s health and safety requirements are met and take responsibility for the security of the building and stock. • Collaborate with Supply Chain to ensure materials and finished goods arrive without constraint. • Ensure freight costs track on budget without negative variances • Maintain an orderly inventory-warehousing environment that supports efficient throughput. Qualifications: • Minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field required • 5+ years’ experience in a similar field • Managerial experience essential • ISO experience preferred • Experience with EDI a plus • Problem solving techniques and/or skill sets such as 5-Why, Cause-andEffect analysis, Value Stream Mapping, or similar techniques preferred Careers@ iplaybaby.com

January27 20- -february January 2, 26,2016 2016 January

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fReewiLL AStRoLoGY aRiEs (march 21-april 19): Do you know Emily Brontë's novel Wuthering Heights? At one point, the heroine Catherine tells her friend about Edgar, a man she's interested in. "He wanted all to lie in an ecstasy of peace," Catherine says, "and I wanted all to sparkle and dance in a glorious jubilee. I said his heaven would be only half alive; and he said mine would be drunk: I said I should fall asleep in his; and he said he could not breathe in mine." If you're a typical Aries, you're more aligned with Catherine than with Edgar. But I'm hoping you might consider making a temporary compromise in the coming weeks. "At last, we agreed to try both," Catherine concluded, "and then we kissed each other and were friends." tauRus (april 20-may 20): People turn to you Tauruses for help in staying grounded. They love to soak up your down-to-earth pragmatism. They want your steadfastness to rub off on them, to provide them with the stability they see in you. You should be proud of this service you offer! It's a key part of your appeal. Now and then, though, you need to demonstrate that your stalwart dependability is not static and stagnant -- that it's strong exactly because it's flexible and adaptable. The coming weeks will be an excellent time to emphasize this aspect of your superpower. gEmiNi (may 21-June 20): When winter comes, pine trees that grow near mountaintops may not be able to draw water and minerals from the ground through their roots. The sustenance they require is frozen. Luckily, their needle-like leaves absorb moisture from clouds and fog, and drink in minerals that float on the wind. Metaphorically speaking, Gemini, this will be your preferred method for getting nourished in the coming weeks. For the time being, look UP to obtain what you need. Be fed primarily by noble ideals, big visions, divine inspiration, and high-minded people. CaNCER (June 21-July 22): We all go through phases when we are at odds with people we love. Maybe we're mad at them, or feel hurt by them, or can't comprehend what they're going through. The test of our commitment is how we act when we are in these moods. That's why I agree with author Steve Hall when he says, "The truest form of love is how you behave toward someone, not how you feel about them." The coming weeks will be an important time for you to practice this principle with extra devotion -not just for the sake of the people you care about, but also for your own physical, mental, and spiritual health. LEO (July 23-aug. 22): After fighting and killing each other for years on end, the Roman and Persian armies agreed to a truce in 532 A.D. The treaty was optimistically called "The Endless Peace." Sadly, "endless" turned out to be just eight years. By 540, hostilities resumed. I'm happy to announce, though, that your prospects for accord and rapprochement are much brighter. If you work diligently to negotiate an endless peace anytime between now and March 15, it really is likely to last a long time.

COMING IN MARCH! Contact us today! advertise@mountainx.com 828.251.1333 x 320

January 20 27 -- January february26, 2, 2016 2016 270 January

viRgO (aug. 23-sept. 22): "I shiver, thinking how easy it is to be totally wrong about people, to see one tiny part of them and confuse it for the whole." Author Lauren Oliver wrote that, and now I'm offering it to you, just in time for your Season of Correction and Adjustment. The coming weeks will be a favorable time for you to get smarter about evaluating your allies -- and maybe even one of your adversaries, as well. I expect you will find it relatively easy, even pleasurable, to overcome your misimpressions and deepen your incomplete understandings. LibRa (sept. 23-Oct. 22): In June 1942, the U.S. Navy crushed Japanese naval forces at the Battle of Midway. It was a turning point that was crucial to America's ultimate victory over Japan in World War II. One military historian called it "the most stunning and decisive blow in the history of naval warfare."

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- by ROb bREZNy

This milestone occurred just six months after Japan's devastating attack on U.S. forces at Pearl Harbor. To compare your life to these two events may be bombastic, but I'm in a bombastic mood as I contemplate your exciting possibilities. I predict that in the second half of 2016, you'll claim a victory that will make up for a loss or defeat you endured during the last few months of 2015. And right now is when you can lay the groundwork for that future triumph. sCORpiO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Playwright Edmond Rostand (1868-1918) had a lot of friends, and they often came to visit him uninvited. He found it hard to simply tell them to go away and leave him alone. And yet he hated to be interrupted while he was working. His solution was to get naked and write for long hours while in his bathroom, usually soaking in the bathtub. His intrusive friends rarely had the nerve to insist on socializing. In this way, Rostand found the peace he needed to create his masterpiece Cyrano de Bergerac, as well as numerous other plays. I suggest you consider a comparable gambit, Scorpio. You need to carve out some quality alone time. sagittaRius (Nov. 22-dec. 21): "I opened my mouth, almost said something. Almost. The rest of my life might have turned out differently if I had. But I didn't." The preceding reminiscence belongs to a character in Khaled Hosseini's novel The Kite Runner. I bring it up in hopes that you will do the opposite: Say the words that need to be said. Articulate what you're burning to reveal. Speak the truths that will send your life on a course that's in closer alignment with your pure intentions. CapRiCORN (dec. 22-Jan. 19): According to some traditional astrologers, you Capricorns are vigilant to avoid loss. Old horoscope books suggest that you may take elaborate measures to avoid endangering what you have accumulated. To ensure that you will never run out of what you need, you may even ration your output and limit your self-expression. This behavior is rooted in the belief that you should conserve your strength by withholding or even hiding your power. While there may be big grains of truth in this conventional view of you Capricorns, I think it's only part of the story. In the coming weeks, for instance, I bet you will wield your clout with unabashed authority. You won't save yourself for later; you'll engage in no strategic self-suppression. Instead, you will be expansive and unbridled as you do whatever's required to carry out the important foundation work that needs to be done. aQuaRius (Jan. 20-feb. 18): "It seems that the whole time you're living this life, you're thinking about a different one instead," wrote Latvian novelist Inga Abele in her novel High Tide. Have you ever been guilty of that, Aquarius? Probably. Most of us have at one time or another. That's the bad news. The good news is that the coming months will bring you excellent opportunities to graduate forever from this habit. Not all at once, but gradually and incrementally, you can shed the idea that you should be doing something other than what you're doing. You can get the hang of what it's like to thoroughly accept and embrace the life you are actually living. And now is an excellent time to get started in earnest on this project. pisCEs (feb. 19-march 20): "Even nightingales can't be fed on fairy tales," says a character in Ivan Turgenev's novel Fathers and Sons. In other words, these marvelous birds, which sing sublimely and have long been invoked by poets to symbolize lyrical beauty, need actual physical sustenance. They can't eat dreamy stories. Having acknowledged that practical fact, however, I will suggest that right now you require dreamy stories and rambling fantasies and imaginary explorations almost as much as you need your daily bread. Your soul's hunger has reached epic proportions. It's time to gorge.

PROPERTY MANAGER Position for the right person! Property Manager needed for multi-state regional property management company, located in Greensboro, N.C. Solid company with over 70 years of apartment management experience. Good pay and benefits package for career-minded individual. 2-5 years experience of managing multi-family properties would be a plus. This position requires managing multiple communities in western N.C. The right candidate will need to: • be willing to travel 3 to 4 days/week, plus overnight stays avg. 1-2 nights/ month • be highly organized with excellent communication skills • have the ability to handle multiple projects • have supervisory experience • demonstrate a solid work history • have exceptional math and learning skills • computer proficient in Word and Excel • have a positive attitude. Fax resumes only to: 336-544-7723 or email to: bstevens@partnershippm. com • No phone calls please! Equal Opportunity Employer.

TEAchiNG/ EducATiON

iNTERESTEd iN WORKiNG AT A-B TEch? Full-Time, PartTime and Adjunct Positions available. Come help people achieve their dreams! Apply for open positions at https:// abtcc.peopleadmin.com NAViTAT cANOPY AdVENTuRES-hiRiNG cANOPY GuidES FOR 2016 Seeking qualified candidates for the Canopy Guide position for the 2016 season. Learn more at www.navitat.com. Please send cover letter, resume and references to avlemployment@navitat.com. no phone calls please. TOddLER TEAchERS (FT) Verner Center for Early Learning, located in a beautiful, natural setting outside of Asheville, NC, is a state of the art learning environment providing the highest quality early care and education and so much more! Free nutritious lunches prepared on site, plenty of outside play on our natural learning environments, and continuing educational opportunities provided through staff development trainings and to qualifying teachers based on availability of funds are some of the many qualities that our teachers enjoy! Verner currently seeks teaching professionals who are nurturing, skilled in supporting the development of very young children, and can be an asset to our model, progressive program. Teachers work in classroom teams of two to three, therefore, all candidates applying should be energized by and work well in a team environment. Qualified candidates for Early Head Start classrooms must have a minimum of an Associate’s degree in Early Childhood Education, a CDA, or an Infant/Toddler Certificate, in addition to current SIDS certification and experience working with children

ages 0-5. Individuals with a related degree and at least 18 semester hours in infant/ toddler coursework will be considered. Candidates for non-Early Head Start classroom • Teaching positions must have completed EDU 119, the Early Childhood credential course, and have previous professional experience working with children ages 0-5 years old. Verner is an EEOE. Apply online at www.vernerearlylearning. org/jobs

BuSiNESS OPPORTuNiTiES PAid iN AdVANcE! Make $1000/week mailing brochures from home! No experience required. Helping home workers since 2001! Genuine opportunity. Start immediately! www. Theincomehub.com (AAN CAN).

ARTS/MEdiA GRAPhic ARTiST, dESiGNER & PhOTO EdiTOR Entry level creative artists with Photoshop experience. Full time fast paced, fun environment. Must be able to work independently and communicate with clients. 828-859-7415 karlw@ purecountry.com www. funeralhomegifts.com REPORTER, LiSTiNGS/ cALENdAR ASSiSTANT Writer, reporter, listings data-entry assistant, with social-media skills who writes quickly and enjoys a fast-paced news-gathering environment. Should know AP style and have extreme attention to detail; some editing experience a plus. Must have a keen interest in arts and food; interest in local business, news and culture a plus. Must have a knowledge of Asheville and WNC and be community-minded. Must enjoy repetitive listingsentry work. Duties include feature and blog writing, data entry, reporting and reviewing. Flexible availability to cover afterhours and weekend events is desired. 20-40 hours/ week. Send cover letter, resume and clips/links to employment@mountainx.com

cAREER TRAiNiNG iNTERNShiP Do you support the local food movement and want to be more involved? The Mills River Farmers' Market is seeking an enthusiastic, friendly intern for May July, 2016. Contact us at millsriverfarm@gmail.com for a list of duties and an application. Applications taken through February 29, 2016. Call Joe Brittain at 828-891-3332 for more information.

RETAiL BOuTiQuE cO-diREcTOR Please email resume to debra@porterandprince. com. www.porterandprince. com

SALON/ SPA EXPERiENcEd hAiR STYLiST AT FuLL ciRcLE SALON Seeking an education-focused stylist to join our team of highly trained professionals. Established 1996. Downtown AVL, 34 Wall Street. Please email or

stop by salon with résumé. 828-251-1722 fullcirclesalon@gmail.com fullcirclesalon.com

SERVICES

MIND, BODY, SPIRIT BODYWORK

COMPUTER AVALON'S CYBER TECH SERVICES Wifi and Internet Issues • First Time Computer Setup • Computer Cleanup and Virus Removal • Building/Designing Custom PC's • Phone Repair • Evening Hours • Reasonable Rates avalonstechservices@gmail.com

HOME IMPROVEMENT HANDY MAN DO YOUR NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS INCLUDE TO-DO ITEMS AROUND THE HOUSE? Check them off right away by calling Greg at Asheville EcoYard/Rental Reset. He offers a multitude of handyman services for your rental or primary residence. 828-301-5318 service@ashevilleecoyard.com www.ashevilleecoyard.com & www. ashevillerentalreset.com HIRE A HUSBAND • HANDYMAN SERVICES Since 1993. Multiple skill sets. Reliable, trustworthy, quality results. $1 million liability insurance. References and estimates available. Stephen Houpis, (828) 280-2254.

ANNOUNCEMENTS ANNOUNCEMENTS PREGNANT? THINKING OF ADOPTION? Talk with caring agency specializing in matching Birthmothers with Families Nationwide. Living Expenses Paid. Call 24/7 Abby’s One True Gift Adoptions. 866-413-6293. Void in Illinois/New Mexico/Indiana (AAN CAN)

CLASSES & WORKSHOPS CLASSES & WORKSHOPS

#1 AFFORDABLE COMMUNITY CONSCIOUS MASSAGE AND ESSENTIAL OIL CLINIC 4 locations: 1224 Hendersonville Rd., Asheville, 5057088, 959 Merrimon Ave, Suite 101, 785-1385 and 2021 Asheville Hwy., Hendersonville, 6970103. 24 Sardis Rd. Ste B, 828633-6789 • $33/hour. • Integrated Therapeutic Massage: Deep Tissue, Swedish, Trigger Point, Reflexology. Energy, Pure Therapeutic Essential Oils. 30 therapists. Call now! www.thecosmicgroove.com

LOCAL INDEPENDENT MASSAGE THERAPY CENTER OFFERING EXCELLENT BODYWORK 947 Haywood Road, West Asheville.(828) 552-3003 ebbandflowavl@ charter.net Highly skilled massage therapists. Customized sessions. Integrative, Deep Tissue, Hot Stone, Prenatal, Couples, Aromatherapy. Gift Certificates available.Complimentary tea lounge. Lovely relaxed atmosphere.$50/hour. Chair massage$1/minute. RELAXING AND INTUITIVE MASSAGE Beth Huntzinger, LMBT#10819 offers $50/hour massage in downtown on Saturday/weekdays. Swedish, focus-work, Hot Stones, Reiki Energy Healing. 7 years with Reiki. Find inner peace. 828279-7042. ashevillehealer.com

HEALTH & FITNESS ELIMINATE CELLULITE And Inches in weeks! All natural. Odor free. Works for men or women. Free month supply on select packages. Order now! 844-244-7149 (M-F 9am-8pm central) (AAN CAN)

RETREATS SHOJI SPA & LODGE • 7 DAYS A WEEK Day & Night passes, cold plunge, sauna, hot tubs, lodging, 8 minutes from town, bring a friend or two, stay the day or all evening, escape & renew! Best massages in Asheville 828-299-0999

SPIRITUAL

VEGETABLES 101: A CLASS IN VEGETABLE APPRECIATION A weekly Vegetable class in the making; free of charge, full of interesting facts, recipes, and ideas. If you are interested in joining, please contact me at traceyjdesigns@gmail.com.

T HE N E W Y ORK TIMES CROSSWORD PU ZZL E ACROSS 1 Singer Williams of the Temptations 5 “Toy Story” dog that shares its name with a missile 9 Outer: Prefix 13 Samuel Beckett’s “En attendant ___” 15 Actress Anderson 16 + 17 Spacious 18 1977 film described by Leonard Maltin as “For undiscriminating action fans whose idea of entertainment is watching Bo [Derek] getting her leg bitten off” 19 Owneth 20 ___ Queen 22 French upper crust 24 Set of sheets? 26 West Coast capital 27 “Goldfinger” temptress 30 “I ___ to differ” 31 Bon ___ 32 “The woman,” to Sherlock Holmes 36 Novella whose final words are found in the shaded squares 41 Indian state known for its tea tradition of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, 219 Old Toll Circle, Black Mountain. Freedom, Simplicity, Harmony. Weds. 6-7:30 PM; Sundays 8-9:00 AM, followed by tea/book study. For additional offerings, see www.cloudcottage. org or call 828-669-6000.

FOR MUSICIANS

AUTOS FOR SALE CASH FOR CARS We Buy Any Condition Vehicle, 2002 and Newer. Nationwide Free Pick Up! Call Now: 1-888-420-3808 www.cash4car.com (AAN CAN)

ADULT ADULT

ASHEVILLE'S WHITEWATER RECORDING Mastering • Mixing • Recording. • CD/DVDs. (828) 684-8284 • www.whitewaterrecording.com

CURIOUS ABOUT MEN? Talk discreetly with men like you! Try free! Call 1-888-779-2789. www. guyspyvoice.com (AAN CAN)

PRIVATE PIANO LESSONS Learn how to play Piano or Guitar with a very experienced Instructor. Your home or my studio. Children or Adults. 8576157690 yana_sorokina@yahoo.com

DREAMS Your destination for relaxation. Now available 7 days a week! • 9am11pm. Call (828) 242-2856.

PETS LOST PETS

PET SERVICES ASHEVILLE PET SITTERS Dependable, loving care while you're away. Reasonable rates. Call Sandy (828) 215-7232.

PHONE ACTRESSES From home. Must have dedicated land line and great voice. 21+. Up to $18 per hour. Flex hours/most Weekends. 1-800-403-7772. Lipservice.net (AAN CAN) VIAGRA! 52 Pills for Only $99.00. Your #1 trusted provider for 10 years. Insured and Guaranteed Delivery. Call today 1-877621-7013. AAN CAN VIAGRA! 52 Pills for Only $99.00. Your #1 trusted provider for 10 years. Insured and Guaranteed Delivery. Call today 1-877621-7013. AAN CAN

No. 1223

7 Like wearing socks with sandals, say 8 Dios’s enemy 9 Things meant to be used and then thrown away 10 Necklace feature 11 People of Rwanda 12 “Ulysses” actor Milo 14 They roll around in London 21 “Get Yer ___ Out!” (Rolling Stones album) 23 “I can’t get no satisfaction,” e.g. 25 Corp. leadership 27 They’re between delts and abs 28 Not music to a chef’s ears 29 Musical Mann 30 Ovine cry 33 Buffalo’s county 34 Writer/director Ephron 35 Yellowstone herd 37 Total mess 38 Call preceding “Medic!” 39 Org. promoting Social Security solvency 40 Eye sores 45 Change over time 46 Facade

AUTOMOTIVE

MUSICAL SERVICES

A LOST OR FOUND PET? Free service. If you have lost or found a pet in WNC, post your listing here: www.lostpetswnc.org

CLOUD COTTAGE COMMUNITY OF MINDFUL LIVING: Mindfulness practice in the Plum Village

Sup Tick off “Nonsense!” Big, big, big National hero of Brazil 53 Complexion 55 All hands on deck? 59 Title river in a Christie mystery 60 Toy behind several international theme parks 62 Nine-fingered hobbit 63 They’re measured in cups 64 Suzanne with the 1987 hit “Luka” 65 Speaker of the words in the shaded squares, expressed literally 66 Throw, as a shadow 67 Sexual love 68 Lessen, with “off” DOWN 1 Man-eater 2 Jack, hammer or jackhammer 3 Revered one 4 Suzanne of “Three’s Company” 5 ___-pitch softball 6 Ears you may bite on 42 43 44 49 52

edited by Will Shortz

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE

2016

specialty shops issue Coming February 10th

Paul Caron

Furniture Magician • Cabinet Refacing • Furniture Repair • Seat Caning • Antique Restoration • Custom Furniture & Cabinetry (828) 669-4625

• Black Mountain

mountainx.com 2720 - february 2016 MOUNTAINX.COM January JANUARY - JANUARY2,26, 2016

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