Mountain Xpress 03.17.21

OUR 27TH YEAR OF WEEKLY INDEPENDENT NEWS, ARTS & EVENTS FOR WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA VOL. 27 NO. 33 MARCH 17-23, 2021

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FEATURES 8 SEPARATE BUT BETTER? Asheville City Schools seeks changes to desegregation order

12 BUNCOMBE BEAT Asheville encourages participation as budget process heats up

38 SAFETY MEETS FUN Child care and summer camps strike delicate balance

PAGE 14 ANNUAL KIDS ISSUE PART 2 PAGE 15 SUMMER CAMP GUIDE Welcome to Part 2 of this year’s Kids Issue. We challenged local K-12 students with the theme of “My Great Idea,” and this week brings more of their colorful and inventive submissions.

Also check out our extensive guide to local summer camps.

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42 THE WASTE LAND VS. THE SUBURBS Thomas Calder’s debut novel explores fraught relationships in contemporary Asheville

43 WINTER IS GOING Asheville’s culinary community rolls optimistically into spring

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40 FINDING YOUR VOICE Arts programs help students make sense of a challenging year

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STAFF PUBLISHER: Jeff Fobes ASSISTANT TO THE PUBLISHER: Susan Hutchinson MANAGING EDITOR: Virginia Daffron ASSISTANT EDITOR: Daniel Walton ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR: Thomas Calder OPINION EDITOR: Tracy Rose STAFF REPORTERS: Able Allen, Edwin Arnaudin, Thomas Calder, Molly Horak, Brooke Randle, Daniel Walton COMMUNITY CALENDAR & CLUBLAND: Madeline Forwerck CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: Peter Gregutt, Rob Mikulak REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS: Mark Barrett, Leslie Boyd, Bill Kopp, Cindy Kunst, Gina Smith, Kay West ADVERTISING, ART & DESIGN MANAGER: Susan Hutchinson LEAD DESIGNER: Scott Southwick GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Olivia Urban MARKETING ASSOCIATES: Sara Brecht, David Furr, Tiffany Wagner OPERATIONS MANAGER: Able Allen INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES & WEB: Bowman Kelley BOOKKEEPER: Amie Fowler-Tanner ADMINISTRATION, BILLING, HR: Able Allen DISTRIBUTION: Susan Hutchinson, Cindy Kunst DISTRIBUTION DRIVERS: Gary Alston, Tracy Houston, Henry Mitchell, Tiffany Narron, Kelley Quigley, Angelo Santa Maria, Carl & Debbie Schweiger

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OPINION

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

CARTO O N BY R A N D Y MOLT O N

Stop attacking homeless people AVL must put an end to abuse of Asheville’s growing and always changing homeless population by the Asheville Police Department, Department of Transportation and City Hall. Their collaborative bulldozer demolition of people’s only property and means of immediate survival (tents, sleeping bags, blankets, coats, hats, gloves) at the Lexington Avenue underpass (on a snowing Feb. 1, forecast to hit a 7-degree wind chill), could easily amount to manslaughter, loss of digits or limbs, and life-threatening illness. This was a deliberate act of municipal sadism carried out by identified individuals. If physical harm was by the grace averted, it remains an unconscionable assault on human dignity during a national emergency and housing crisis.

I have personally been unhoused in AVL for many months, twice, without a vehicle to shelter in. I did not have a substance abuse problem; I was not unemployed; I was not mentally ill (though my mental and physical health were strained by the way being houseless is treated as if it were a crime, and by the challenges of surviving outdoors in the city). I was simply unable to access housing in the town I work and live in, thanks to gentrification, enablement of slumlording, soaring rents and expectations of deposit plus first and commonly last month’s rent before moving in. I was lucky enough to find basement housing before the end of November, though it was far out of town and a long, dangerous bike commute. I did not have to live outside in December, January, February,

March and April, when temperatures sicken and kill exposed people. Like I said, I got lucky.

Homelessness can happen to anyone; you may think you are above it, but a run of bad luck, a divorce, a wrongful firing/accusation/arrest, a layoff or pay cut, any number of mishaps, can change your situation and open your eyes. The people experiencing this housing crisis now are not stereotypes. They are not a kind of person for us to write off. Many are families with children. Many have jobs or multiple jobs, and don’t have substance abuse problems. As expensive as housing is, surviving houselessness is also expensive, enough to be prohibitive of saving enough to climb out of the situation.

The people who ordered this sadistic assault must be fired and those who carried out this action must be disciplined and taught to appeal against orders that are unconscionable, never to carry them out. As importantly, the overprivileged business owners and gentrifiers who demanded it with their callous complaints need to be held publicly accountable for their selfish disregard for human life.

— Corr de Joch Asheville Editor’s note: Xpress contacted NCDOT and the city of Asheville with the letter writer’s points. We received the following response from David Uchiyama, NCDOT communications officer: “We are forming a working group with the city of Asheville to establish consistency in how we address homeless encampments.

We will work with the city and other community partners to collaboratively develop a plan that follows CDC guidelines and protects everyone involved.”

Uchiyama also sent along a letter from NCDOT Chief Engineer Ronald L. Keeter Jr., which says in part: “I have directed all my division engineers not to take action related to people experiencing homelessness located in the right of way or under roadways unless and until it has been determined that there is an immediate safety risk to the public.” The full letter will be posted at mountainx.com.

Xpress also received the following response from Polly McDaniel, communication specialist with the city of Asheville: “Regarding this encampment and all encampments in the city of Asheville: The city of Asheville is aligned with CDC guidance that advises that unsheltered populations be allowed to remain in place during the pandemic to help cut down on the transmission of COVID. “The city also recognizes that addressing homelessness is a complex issue, and that many other municipalities are also experiencing an increase in encampments. For that reason, we are working on community-based solutions to mitigate homelessness.

“The city is working on a temporary use permitting procedure that could allow community- and faith-based organizations to provide low-barrier shelters in nonresidential areas, and that could include camping.”

Defunding the police It’s a very simple equation. Less $$$s for police and fighting crime = more crime! What is it going to take for the media to start listening to the vast

majority of folks who feel this way?

Stop glorifying the fringe, please. This is why you all are losing your funding, i.e., readership.

— Barry Shoor Asheville P.S. That’s not to say that other social problems, i.e., homeless and other social issues, should not be receiving funding as well.

No new jail in Haywood County Haywood County leaders have proposed a $16.5 million expansion of the Haywood County detention center.

The Party for Socialism and Liberation strongly opposes the expansion of the jail in Haywood County. That such a proposal is being made in the middle of a pandemic, when people are suffering from unemployment, illness and isolation, is testimony to the heartlessness of the prison system.

In Haywood County, only 37% of the inmates face felony charges, implying that 63% of the inmates have misdemeanors as their top charge. A Western Carolina University study shows that 85% of the people in Haywood County jail showed signs consistent with substance abuse disorder, more than 50% of inmates have symptoms of PTSD, and a third suffered from symptoms of depression. In a region that has been impacted extensively by the opioid crisis, is it justice to imprison people suffering from substance abuse disorders?

If we are a community that cares, what would our justice system look

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OPINION

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

like? We would be investing in our people, in health care, mental health services, public transportation, schools, infrastructure and social services. But the police system as it exists now continues to incarcerate the most vulnerable, while defending the interests of the ruling class. When victims of the opioid crisis suffer in jails, the ruling class — such as the Sackler family, who owns Purdue Pharma, which profited from unleashing this public health crisis — has escaped true accountability. Jail was never about the public or safety.

If the Haywood County leaders truly cared about people, they would request funds for mental health resources to help those suffering from substance abuse issues rather than criminalizing them. Every dollar spent on the expansion of the jail is a dollar not available for services that do serve the community — public hospitals, public schools, mental health resources, social services, roads and so much more.

In the summer of 2020, the United States saw a much-needed multiracial uprising that had one demand: abolish police. A demand that recognized the vastly anti-poor and racist nature of the police system. When more than 85% of inmates in the Haywood County detention center suffer from substance

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abuse issues, we need to reflect on what constitutes a “crime.” The demand for abolitionism is the voice of all working-class people (Black, Latinx, Indigenous, Asian and white) in united protest against the persecution they experience from a racist, anti-poor, anti-immigrant policing system.

While the end goal is abolitionism, there is an immediate task at hand. The incarceration rate in Haywood County has increased 133% percent between 2000 and 2018. How many more people should suffer before we stand up against this injustice? The Party for Socialism and Liberation stands in solidarity with the people’s demand: No new jail in Haywood County.

— Members of the Party for Socialism and Liberation: Nathan Mann and Tracy Mann of Sylva; Faye Gant and Sarah DeArmon of Cullowhee; Justin Lee of Cherokee; and Max Reed of Woodfin

My experience with Asheville police I’ve had a complicated situation with having taken in two teenagers a couple of years ago, without having had actual custody. I therefore did not have full authority to make decisions on behalf of the young people. A relative of one of the teens called the police repeatedly. I called on this relative a few times myself. Officers from the Asheville Police Department have been out to my house around 15 times in the last two years. I have found them to be concerned about people’s welfare, respectful of our constitutional rights, exercising sound judgment and functioning as real allies in my efforts to be helpful to the young people.

People may assume that my positive assessment of the police I have interacted with is because I am an uncritical supporter of the status quo.

Such an assumption would be far from the truth: I have been an anti-war

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activist, especially against our invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq. I have been arrested for civil disobedience.

I’ve had my own homestead in West Asheville, where a continually changing group of us grew fruits and vegetables, raised poultry and even had goats for a while; some residents slept in the main house, while others slept in outbuildings in the yard. When the “building and safety” department of Asheville city government became aware of people sleeping in the outbuildings, they put a stop to that aspect of our homesteading endeavor. One of my neighbors once remarked, “I couldn’t hope to have better neighbors than you folks.” Still the building codes at that time did not allow for people sleeping in outbuildings. In many ways, I have lived on the fringe of society.

The police are in a difficult position: They are employees of a government, and all governments that I have investigated are corrupt. Still, without a government to make laws and enforce them, do many really believe that everyone would treat their fellow citizens better than the laws require — and are usually able to compel — them to now? In a course titled Big History, the lecturer David Christian stated: As organisms become more complex, a nervous system develops, and as societies become more complex, they form governments.

Unfortunately, corruption is ubiquitous (everywhere or seemingly everywhere); character is often sacrificed in the pursuit of power. None of us are completely immune from misusing whatever power we do have: Look at what we often do with our consumer choices. Even governing ourselves properly is challenging at times, often requiring courageous, honest selfreflection upon our own faults and shortcomings, especially when looking into the mirror of relationship.

The police are being disproportionately (to an extent which is out of proportion, beyond what is fitting) blamed

for our societal woes, while most of us refuse to reflect adequately upon our own poor choices. The Asheville police who have come out to my house have been doing their humanly, albeit imperfect, best to be helpful and respectful, and I have appreciated their efforts.

— Steve Arpin Asheville

Xpress cover sends terrible message Your recent cover regarding a reluctance by many to get a COVID vaccine sends such a terrible message [“No Thanks: Why Some Local Health Workers Don’t Want the COVID-19 Vaccine,” March 3, Xpress].

Even though there is a legitimate story here that needs to be told, this visual is irresponsible, exploitative and shameful. I hope your editorial board is meeting over this one and that a community statement/apology is forthcoming.

— David Voyles Swannanoa

Shocked by Xpress vaccine cover I was in town for work (former East Asheville resident for four years) and noticed the cover of your latest edition [“No Thanks: Why Some Local Health Workers Don’t Want the COVID-19 Vaccine,” March 3, Xpress].

As someone who spends my entire life creating music events and desperately needs people to be vaccinated so we can put millions of music/ service-industry people back to work, I was shocked to see the image on the cover.

Giving an anti-science, conspiracy-based fringe movement that much legitimacy is the exact opposite of what we should be doing right now. Great job. I’m sure you got all the “clicks” you were desperately looking for.

— Brian Swenk Glen Allen, Va. Editor’s note: We appreciate the feedback on our March 3 cover and story but hope the two writers above and regular Xpress readers will recall the many stories we have reported over the past year detailing local and state governmental response to the COVID-19 pandemic and evolving public health guidance.

Mountain Xpress’ mission is to promote community dialogue, which includes listening with respect and empathy to a variety of perspectives, especially in these polarized times.

Our March 3 cover image was not intended to convince viewers to adopt

CARTOON BY BRENT BROWN a specific position. Rather, its goal was to depict the views of a sizable number of local health care workers who were the subject of the week’s Wellness article. Like the first letter-writer, David Voyles, we believe the story is a legitimate news topic.

Name Buncombe’s COVID-19 fatalities By one account, there have been 293 deaths in Buncombe County due to COVID-19. That’s nearly 300 people.

Neighbors, family members, friends — 300 people is a neighborhood. To me, that’s a large number, but not so enormous that no one can fathom it.

How about printing all the names of the deceased? Is that a violation of their privacy? I think it’s public knowledge, or it should be. Let all the anti-maskers see the results of the virus on a local level.

— Mark H. Bloom Asheville

Why I’m getting the vaccine COVID has affected everyone in many ways. How do we negotiate our own best self-care through this?

Certainly, with distancing, mask wearing and hand-washing at a minimum.

Now that vaccines are available, I’m all

in, and this is why I’m looking forward to getting the vaccine.

As a vegetarian for over 50 years and an organic farmer for 20 years, I value my health and am thoughtful about what I put in and on my body. I also have a very active lifestyle. Now that I live in Asheville, I hike these mountains every day! I also like taking epic journeys every year or, at minimum, every other year. This means walking or bicycling across countries. (In 2019, I bicycled the Continental Divide for 2,310 miles. This fall, I plan on bicycling the Green Velo through Poland and then the Danube from Budapest to its source in Germany).

Why do I mention this? It feeds my soul, and I’m attached to this lifestyle.

While I feel I’m invincible, and I pay attention to what I can control, like my diet, I also recognize there are things out of my control. At the beginning of COVID, I was very cavalier and thought, “No big deal if I get this: I have a very healthy immune system, and I will be one of the 80% who doesn’t need hospitalization.” As time went on, I read about long-term effects of COVID. What? It doesn’t just go away? They estimate 30% are affected with long-term damage to lungs, heart or mental health. I’m OK with getting sick and getting over it; I’m not OK with long-term health issues.

This is where I had to stop and take a self-inventory of my beliefs. One of

the best articles I read many years ago was about a man who hiked all the national parks and monuments in the U.S. and nothing bad ever happened to him like getting lost. He explained it with the most profound statement: “Never be so goal-oriented that you lose sight of your rationality.” What a powerful statement! What does this mean? Being an outdoor adventurist who travels solo, I like reading outdoor adventure stories and survival stories.

Reading through the lens of that powerful statement, one realizes that lifeand-death mistakes are made when one becomes so attached to their goal that they will push on, in spite of big red flags and subtle nagging intuition, to their death.

I’m one of those people who would never consider a flu shot, and the only thing I stock is low-dose aspirin, just in case. I don’t take any medications and believe local and organic food is my best medicine. Confronting my invincible “I’m healthy” hubris, I have to admit there are things I can’t control, and it would be hard to forgive myself if I was so attached to my anti-establishment stance that I lose sight of my best self-care. The ingredients in the vaccine are published. The concept of the vaccine is similar to homeopathic remedies: the hair-of-the-dog treatment. Am I willing to ingest a foreign substance today that will give some protection against a possible long-

term debilitating health issue? My risk assessment for myself is yes. COVID is fast spreading. It is mutating. There is the risk I could get COVID and the risk I could have lingering effects.

By now, we all know someone who was affected by COVID, and some of those are tragic. While I can’t control what looks like a risky, big, worldwide pandemic that keeps coming back in waves, I can make a decision accessing risk with self-protection. I’m getting the vaccine.

— Gabriele Marewski Asheville

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NEWS

Separate but better?

Asheville City Schools seeks changes to desegregation order

BY DANIEL WALTON

dwalton@mountainx.com Parents, community members and Asheville City Board of Education member Joyce Brown had questions about why Asheville City Schools would sign a contract authorizing nearly $90,000 in services from Forthright Advising, a Raleigh-based public relations firm. At a board meeting on Feb. 15, they got little explanation; two weeks later, Superintendent Gene Freeman offered a terse summary.

“Forthright is a company that we’re engaging to help us as we look at our deseg order,” Freeman told the school board during a March 1 work session.

“We’re using them to help build the community and get response back from the community.”

First established in 1972 by the U.S. District Court of Western North Carolina, the Asheville school system’s desegregation order was put in place to ensure local leaders were following the Supreme Court’s intent in Brown v. Board of Education. The order was then updated in 1991 to maintain racial balance between schools after resident Bob Brown objected to the divide between mostly Black Randolph Elementary and mostly white Ira B. Jones Elementary.

Now, Freeman suggests, the desegregation mandate may be doing more harm than good. In an emailed response to an Xpress request for comment, he said the system’s changing demographics — only 18% of ACS’ roughly 4,200 students are Black, down from 48% of roughly 3,800 students in 2004 — demand a different approach to racial equity.

NEW SCHOOL: Of the Asheville City Schools students served at PODS remote learning sites, roughly 75% are Black — and nearly all have chosen to remain remote, even as 68% of district families return to in-person instruction.

Photo courtesy of ACS “Families of color have unfairly limited elementary school options for their children because the district is mandated to maintain antiquated racial quotas that were put into place 30 years ago,” the superintendent wrote. The order requires that any given school have a minority enrollment “no more than 15% above or below the system minority enrollment and that, whenever possible, minority enrollment be no more than 10% above or below the system minority enrollment.”

Freeman, who is white, did not specify how the system was seeking to alter the order or if leaders were seeking

its total elimination. He said only that ACS was “looking into many different approaches to how we support students of color.”

The potential changes come as the system, which has shown North Carolina’s worst gaps in achievement between Black and white students since at least 2015, faces other shifts in how decisions are made. Asheville City Council plans to appoint three school board members on Tuesday, March 23, and on March 9, Council asked the N.C. General Assembly to shift the board to an at least partially elected body.

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Whoever takes charge of the district will be tasked with resolving those achievement gaps in a city where equity, community reparations and racial representation have become key goals of governance. What impacts might changing the ACS desegregation order have?

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OUT OF THE MIX

Academic research on the matter is clear in one respect: Loosening desegregation orders leads to greater racial segregation. In 2011, a team at Stanford University found that this effect was particularly pronounced for elementary schools in Southern school districts with previously low segregation — the type of schools now governed by Asheville’s desegregation order.

Charles Clotfelter, a professor at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy who leads a joint DukeUNC Chapel Hill team researching educational diversity, says that’s precisely what happened with CharlotteMecklenburg Schools in 2002. After a court decision allowed CMS to replace its Asheville-like plan of magnet schools and racial quotas with a neighborhood-centric approach, a statistical measure of segregation in the district jumped by roughly 80%. “[CMS administrators] said, ‘If you choose the school in the segment where you live, you’re virtually going to be guaranteed that assignment.’ It turned out that most of the parents of middle-class white kids chose their neighborhood school, and so suddenly things looked a lot more segregated,” Clotfelter explains. “They not only stuck to neighborhood schools, they moved to them.”

Less clear is whether ending desegregation leads to better academic performance for students of any race. Tiece Ruffin, a professor of Africana studies and education at UNC Asheville, points to a study by the nonprofit Economic Policy Institute indicating that Black children perform better on standardized tests when attending low-poverty, mostly white schools.

“Removal of desegregation plans enforces resegregation, and resegregation stymies equitable access to quality education for Black children,” Ruffin says. Freeman did not respond when asked for evidence that greater school choice would directly reduce Asheville’s racial achievement gap.

Ruffin also notes that the initial wave of school integration in the 1960s and ’70s was generally associated with increased high school graduation rates, better academic outcomes and reduced poverty among people of color. And a 2018 report by the

Journey for Justice Alliance, she says, found that schools with high Black and Latino enrollment generally offer fewer opportunities for high-level math, science and arts education.

“When you want to eliminate something, and you haven’t even accomplished the goal of why it was put in place, then why do you want to dismantle it?” Ruffin, who is Black, asks about the push to change the desegregation order while massive racial opportunity gaps remain. “It makes me think that you did not fix the system, you did not remove systemic barriers, you did not do anything to transform around the intent of Brown v. Board of Education, of why we thought we should desegregate.”

POD PEOPLE

Over the past year, the COVID-19 pandemic has given ACS a chance to experiment with one model for post-desegregation schooling: PODS, or Positive Opportunities Develop Success. These 13 sites, largely located in public housing neighborhoods and community centers, allow students to complete remote learning assignments with access to high-speed internet and support from ACS staff. Because

PODS are technically operated by the Asheville Housing Authority and local nonprofits, the program isn’t subject to the desegregation order.

About 75% of the 198 ACS families in PODS as of Feb. 1 were Black, more than three times the proportion of Black families in the overall school system. And according to Micheal Woods, whose nonprofit CHOSEN has been closely involved with the program, all but five families have chosen to remain remote as the district resumes in-person learning. By comparison, 68% of ACS families overall will return to in-person instruction.

“Their kids, who were already falling behind in the traditional classroom setting — they’re seeing a different energy out of their kids, a different desire to learn there,” Woods says about the popularity of PODS among families of color. He also notes that disciplinary issues have plummeted in the remote setting, with a group of students that had received over 400 total infractions last school year receiving only three since the program’s start in August.

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Ruffin says some research has shown advantages for students who are matched with teachers of their own race — an arrangement that’s currently difficult to achieve for Black students in the Asheville system, where only 6% of teachers are Black.

And she notes that some Black people have preferred to pursue academic excellence through separate schools with Afrocentric education, a strain of thought dating back to 1850s Boston

As a Black man, Woods says the program has succeeded in part because it brings families, teachers and volunteers of color together in pursuit of a common goal. Students thus feel less pressure to conform to an educational system, he continues, that wasn’t created with their social and emotional needs in mind.

“Schools are spitting out clones of the same thing,” Woods says. “We’re allowing kids to be who they are and not judging them based on what they

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“When you want to eliminate something, and you haven’t even accomplished the goal of why it was put in place, then why do you want to dismantle it?”

— Tiece Ruffin, UNCA professor of Africana studies and education and continuing through Asheville’s own Stephens-Lee High School, which closed in 1965 as a result of integration.

But the PODS are primarily staffed by volunteers and ACS teacher assistants, not certified teachers. Away from school buildings, students lack facilities for art, science labs and music. Although learning comparisons are difficult due to the pandemic, more PODS students demonstrated yearover-year declines in English and math proficiency than showed improvement.

And some families may be choosing to remain in the separated settings because they fear the loss of critical extracurricular support for their children. ACS administrators have told parents that they will lose their slots for after-school care if they leave the PODS, a condition not attached to that programming before the pandemic.

The most successful approach to education, Ruffin suggests, would balance the self-determination of different communities with the resources of affluent schools and the proven goods of diversity. “Knowing that the United States is culturally plural, there are benefits of having kids from all different walks of life, race, ability, class, gender, sitting in the same classroom,” she says. “I think that is one peg of the research, that there are benefits of diversity that transcend the K-12 setting as we function as a society.”

MATTER OF OPINION

Thoughts on the desegregation order differ widely among those seeking to set the course of Asheville’s

schools. School board Chair Shaunda Sandford supports making changes: “Giving more choice to all families can only be a benefit to future outcomes for our students,” she wrote in an email to Xpress. None of her colleagues, including the three board members up for reappointment — Joyce Brown, James Carter and Patricia Griffin — responded to requests for comment.

Pepi Acebo, who along with Libby Kyles and Jacquelyn Carr McHargue, was endorsed for the school board by the Asheville City Association of Educators, strongly disagrees with Sandford. Instead of pursuing “voluntary resegregation,” he says, ACS should spend more on recruiting teachers of color and expand access to quality preschool programs for students of all races.

Kyles could not be reached for comment, while McHargue says she’d like to see more data on how many families of color have been turned away from their first-choice school before making any changes. That information isn’t publicly available, and when Xpress requested evidence regarding Freeman’s school choice claims, he responded only with “the history of limited choice within ACS for Black and Brown families.”

“From the outside looking in right now, it seems like [changing the desegregation order] is just treating a symptom of what we’re trying to fix, which is our access and gaps in opportunities,” McHargue adds. “For the short period of time that Dr. Freeman has been in leadership, I want to make sure we’re all looking at this from a

historical perspective and the current dynamics of our school system.”

Peyton O’Conner, who is on Asheville City Council’s shortlist of school board nominees, agrees with Freeman that the current rules appear antiquated but emphasizes that any shift must be rooted in transparent community dialogue, with a special focus on marginalized residents.

Fellow nominee Michele Delange opposes changes to desegregation, saying Asheville’s magnet school lottery is still needed to counter the legacy of discriminatory housing policies like urban renewal. And George Sieburg supports change: “The system in place now privileges white families,” the nominee says, and should be altered as part of a larger effort toward racial equity.

City officials are aware of the school system’s efforts, affirms Gwen Wisler, Council’s liaison to the school board. She and City Manager Debra Campbell attended what ACS spokesperson Dillon Huffman called an “informal brainstorming session” about the desegregation order and other matters earlier in the year.

Although city government collected over $10.15 million in supplemental taxes for the Asheville school system last year and appoints the school board, Wisler declines to weigh in on the desegregation issue. “I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to have an opinion about it,” she says.

NEW CHOICES

Eliminating racial quotas for existing schools could be just the start of the changes at ACS should the desegregation order loosen. The system could choose to develop a new program from scratch that caters specifically to students of color — an approach already being attempted by several charter schools in the city.

The Francine Delany New School for Children, for example, centers “social

justice and preserving the inherent worth and human dignity of every person” in its mission statement and has consistently shown smaller racial achievement gaps than ACS. And the Asheville PEAK Academy, set to open later this year, blasts the city school system’s failures to address racial gaps in its charter application to the N.C. Department of Public Instruction.

“Time and time again, Asheville City School board members, officials and staff have made public statements that blame everything but instruction and disparity in expectations for the low achievement levels of African American students: from poverty to parents to violence in neighborhoods,” the application reads. (Kyles serves as vice chair of the PEAK Academy board.)

According to The Urban News, PEAK will “intensively market the school to Asheville’s African American community.” That approach, argues Acebo, has ACS leaders worried: “If this school succeeds where they are failing, it will further undercut their credibility,” he says.

UNCA’s Ruffin says she is not aware of many Afrocentric public schools in traditional districts; most such institutions are private or organized as charters. While she believes that ACS could succeed in establishing one with sufficient planning and funding, she thinks the district’s resources might be better employed in fixing its existing schools for all children.

“Why don’t you vigorously, intentionally and fiercely revolutionize, reverse, transform the system that currently has kids in it, versus creating a school to be in competition?” she says. “How about you fix what you’re failing at?” X

NO JOB TOO LARGE OR SMALL

FATHER AND SON

Home Improvement

The

Sustainability CELEBRATING EARTH DAY 2021

Series

Every week in April Contact us today!

828-251-1333 x1 advertise@mountainx.com

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100 Edwin Place, AVL, NC 28801 | Billy: (828) 776-2391 | Neal: (828) 776-1674 MOUNTAINX.COM

MARCH 17-23, 2021

11

BUNCOMBE BEAT

Asheville encourages participation as budget process heats up There’s no rest for the weary, especially for those crafting Asheville’s annual operating budget. After wrapping up the 2020-21 budget process in late September — nearly three months after the official start of the fiscal year — Asheville City Council and city staffers are back at work to allocate funds for the 2021-22 cycle.

Council members met on March 9 for the first of three budget work sessions scheduled through midApril. This year, the city plans to approach the process a little differently, explained City Manager Debra Campbell.

Instead of just crunching the numbers for revenue and spending — which may be on the rise thanks to better-than-expected sales tax receipts and higher county property values, said interim Chief Financial Officer Tony McDowell — the city will focus on how equitably existing services are delivered.

ISO Warehouse Space You: 1,000-ish sq.ft. rough space with a roll-up door and possibly a loading dock US: Local independent newspaper with a thing for purple Call to connect: 251-1333 x112

12

MARCH 17-23, 2021

WEIGH IN: Asheville plans to approach its 2021-22 annual operating budget a bit differently this year, City Manager Debra Campbell told Council members.

Community participation and engagement will be encouraged throughout the process. Screen capture courtesy of the city of Asheville To do so, Asheville has contracted with Shemekka Ebony of #IAmBrilliant and Christine Edwards of Charlotte-based Amplify Consulting to host six “equity-focused budget engagement” sessions for community members. The pair previously facilitated the city’s “Reimagining Public Safety” engagement efforts in the fall, a process that drew comment from nearly 5,800 residents through virtual listening sessions and an online survey.

The first round of conversations will build on that previous work and give community members the chance to offer feedback, Ebony told

MOUNTAINX.COM

Council. “First, we’ll bring what we heard and take it back to the community, asking if we got it right or if pieces were still missing,” she said.

During the second phase, “we’ll go back and mend and adapt what’s on the drawing board.”

While staffers said it was still too early in the process to present firm numbers, other priorities for the upcoming budget include bolstering programs that were scaled back during the pandemic, public transit expansion, funding for reparations and pay raises for city employees in line with recommendations outlined in a recent compensation study.

That study, conducted by the South Carolina-based Archer Co., found the city’s pay structure was “below the market average on all key comparisons.” To reach the new minimum pay rates outlined in the study would cost $4.5 million; to give raises to employees currently above the pay grade minimum, thereby preserving differences between low- and high-wage workers, would add an additional $3.3 million. Council could make all salary adjustments at once or implement a phased approach over two years.

Community engagement around the budget usually peaks at the end of the process, Mayor Esther Manheimer told her colleagues at the end of the work session, but it’s important for Council to incorporate community feedback in the early steps of the process.

“It’s really important we don’t wake up two weeks before the deadline and say, ‘I want to turn this on its head,’” she said. “Turning on a dime is very difficult. It’s good to give as much direction as you can, as early as you can.”

The first community engagement session will be held virtually on Thursday, March 18, at 6 p.m.

Council will reconvene for its next budget work session, at which public comment will not be accepted, on Tuesday, March 23. The final budget is currently slated for approval on Tuesday, June 22.

— Molly Horak X

COMMUNITY CALENDAR MARCH 17-26, 2021 For a full list of community calendar guidelines, please visit mountainx.com/calendar. For questions about free listings, call 828-251-1333, ext. 137.

For questions about paid calendar listings, please call 828-251-1333, ext. 320.

Clubland is back!

See Pg. 44 In-Person Events = Shaded All other events are virtual

ART Asheville Art Museum: Artful Trivia Questions on French and American art from the 19th and 20th centuries.

TH (3/18), 7pm, Registration required, $10, avl.mx/940 UNCA: The Ecstasy Project Talk on ritual and storytelling in Euripides' Bacchae.

TH (3/18), 7pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/946 MAGMA: Gem, Mineral & Fossil Show Indoor and outdoor vendor fair.

FR (3/19), 9am, Camp Stephens, 263 Clayton Rd, Arden Slow Art Friday: Weaving Women Discussion on fiber art led by touring docent Barbara Heller at Asheville Art Museum.

FR (3/19), 12pm, Registration required, $10, avl.mx/941 Jackson Arts Market Live demonstrations by local artists.

SA (3/20), 2pm, 533 W Main St, Sylva Fairview Library: Wildflower Adventure Watercolor Class Led by Nate Barton.

SA (3/20), 3pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/95d Asheville Art Museum: Conversation with the Curator Featuring Scott Schweigert on the exhibit Across the Atlantic.

TH (3/25), 7pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/94m Slow Art Friday: Listening to the Animals Discussion led by touring docents Hank Bovee and Jim Crook at Asheville Art Museum.

FR (3/26), 12pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/94o

MUSIC Pack Library: Jazz by Request Hour Featuring Steinway pianist and composer Michael Jefry Stevens.

WE (3/17), 5:30pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/95a BMC Museum + Arts Center: Cage Shuffle A music, dance and spoken word duet featuring Paul Lazar and Bebe Miller.

SA (3/20), 1pm, Free, avl.mx/94L

LITERARY CRAFT: Authors in Conversation Featuring Leslie Lehr, author of A Boob’s Life: How America’s Obsession Shaped Me—and You. WE (3/17), 7pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/956 Open House Book Signing Featuring Jacob and Bob Plott, authors of Smoky Mountain Railways.

SA (3/20), 3pm, City Lights Bookstore, 3 E Jackson St, Sylva Malaprop’s Book Launch Kim Ruehl presents A Singing Army: Zilphia Horton and the Highlander Folk School, in conversation with Hilary Saunders.

MO (3/22), 6pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/959 Malaprop’s Dual Book Launch Featuring young adult authors Emily B. Martin and Intisar Khanani.

TU (3/23), 7pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/958 Malaprop’s Book Launch Thomas Calder presents The Wind Under the Door in conversation with Leah Hampton.

WE (3/24), 6pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8xw

THEATER & FILM Bardo Arts Center: Picture Character Documentary on the history and social politics of emoticons directed

by Martha Shane and Ian Cheney.

SU-WE (3/14-17), Free, avl.mx/93s The Magnetic Theatre: Playing With Our Food Series of short comedy plays, including Three Women and an Onion, The Last Beans in the Box and Cookies for Bethany.

TH (3/18), 7:30pm, $23, avl.mx/93z Wortham Center: Virtually Impossible Magic show performed by Joshua Lozoff.

SA (3/20), 7pm, $25, avl.mx/94d Beer City Sisters: Time of the Month!

Weekly variety show.

SU (3/21), 7pm, Free, beercitysisters.org

BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY SCORE: Advanced Internet Marketing Webinar on digital advertising, blogging, SEO and social media marketing.

WE (3/17), 6pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/prvn Deep Dive Lab: Understanding Financial Projections Hosted by Western Women's Business Center.

TH (3/18), 10am, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/94e SBCN: Using Analytics to Develop Your Business Platform Startup assistance webinar.

TH (3/18), 3pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/95f HCC Agribusiness Webinar: Farmland Transition Tips, tools and resources for family farmers.

FR (3/19), 9am, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/93m The Collider: Color of Science Featuring Dr. Gregory Triplett, engineering professor at Virginia Commonwealth University.

FR (3/19), 5pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/90f Rocket Business Planning & Marketing Hosted by Western Women’s Business Center.

TU (3/23), 12pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/94f

CLASSES, MEETINGS & EVENTS Leadership Asheville Winter Buzz Breakfast Features Maria R. Jackson on equity in creative placemaking.

TH (3/18), 8:30am, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/93y UNCA: Coded Bias Panel discussion on race and gender bias in tech.

TH (3/18), 7pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/94v Asheville Friends of Astrology Monthly meeting.

FR (3/19), 7pm, fb.com/ ashevilleastrology Jackson NAACP: March Membership Meeting Discussion on critical race theory. Contact to register: jcnaacp54ab@ gmail.com.

SA (3/20), 10am, Free UNCA Critical Perspectives Series: Native Southern Literature Lecture by Kristin Squint.

WE (3/24), 5:30pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/94w MemoryCare: Emotional Rescue for Caregivers Half-day workshop for caregivers of loved ones with dementia.

TH (3/25), 1pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/94n

MountainTrue: Western Region Winter Tree ID Workshop 1.2-mile educational hike led by Tony Ward.

Register: avl.mx/95c.

SA (3/20), 10am, $20, Lake Chatuge Trail, Hiawassee WNCHA LitCafe Experiences: DuPont Forest History Hike 7.5-mile hike led by Danny Bernstein, author of DuPont Forest: A History. Register: avl.mx/900.

SA (3/20), 9am, $20, DuPont State Recreational Forest, 1400 Staton Rd, Cedar Mountain N.C. Coop Extension: Gardening in the Mountains Workshop on landscaping with native plants to conserve wildlife.

TH (3/18), 6pm, Registration required, $10, avl.mx/93n North Asheville Library: Bird Friendly Gardening Workshop Led by Tom Tribble of the Blue Ridge Audubon Society.

WE (3/24), 6pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/95e

Asheville Human Relations Commission Regular meeting.

TH (3/18), 5:30pm, avl.mx/80z

Steady Collective Syringe Access Outreach Free naloxone, syringes and educational material on harm reduction.

TU (3/23), 2pm, Firestorm Books & Coffee, 610 Haywood Rd

League of Women Voters Featuring Eileen Reavey, grassroots director of the National Popular Vote.

MO (3/22), 6:30pm, Registration required, Free, lwvhcnc.org

Council on Aging: Introduction to Medicare How to avoid penalties and save money.

TH (3/25), 2pm, Registration required, Free, coabc.org

CIVICS & ACTIVISM

ANIMALS Friends of the WNC Nature Center: Critter Trivia Night “Feathered Friends” themed questions.

TH (3/18), 7pm, $5, avl.mx/91o

WELLNESS Early Bird Yoga Outdoor class for all ages and abilities.

Register: avl.mx/94k.

SA (3/20), 9:45am, $8, Asheville Art Museum, 2 S Pack Square

VOLUNTEER American Red Cross Blood Drive Register with code AshevilleOutlets: redcrossblood.org/give.

FR (3/19), 11am, Asheville Outlets, 800 Brevard Rd

Sand Hill Community Garden Work Day Pruning, mulching and weeding.

SA (3/20), 9am, Buncombe County Sports Park, 58 Apac Circle MountainTrue Live Staking Work Day Stake planting to combat riverbank erosion.

Register for details: avl.mx/95b.

SA (3/20), 10am, Valle Crucis Community Park, Banner Elk Edible Park Community Work Day Mulching, pruning and clearing invasive plants.

FR (3/26), 2:30pm, Dr. George Washington Carver Edible Park, 30 George Washington Carver Ave

BUYING OLD PAPER MONEY 10 yrs WNC/ETN notes, bonds, maps, currency etc.

Member SPMC, NCNA, SCNA, TNS

msg/ txt 865-207-8994 or email papermoneybuy@gmail.com

WNC Historical Association: Intro to WNC Lecture Series II Featuring Dr. Ben Steere, author of The Fire Yet Burns in These Great Mounds: Archaeology and Resilience in the Cherokee Heartland.

TH (3/25), 6:30pm, Registration required, $5, avl.mx/8zy UNCA: Biennial Queer Studies Conference Workshops and presentations on the theme Fitting In and Sticking Out: Queer [In]Visibilities and the Perils of Inclusion.

FR (3/26), 9am, Registration required, $20, avl.mx/94x

ECO & OUTDOOR HRI: Green River Green Love Hike Four-mile hemlock conservation hike.

Register: avl.mx/942.

WE (3/17), 10am, Free, Little Bradley Trail, Saluda HRI: Hemlock Management Workshop How to protect hemlocks from woolly adelgid.

FR (3/19), 9am, Registration required, $10, Sycamore Flats Recreational Area, 489 Pisgah Hwy, Pisgah Forest

MOUNTAINX.COM

MARCH 17-23, 2021

13

KIDS ISSUE

2021

Kids Issue

Welcome to Part 2 of this year’s Kids Issue, our annual extravaganza of local students’ art and writing. This year, we challenged K-12 students with the theme of “My Great Idea.”

We were impressed by the enthusiasm, ingenuity and creative talents showcased in the 288 entries we received from 31 public, charter, private, parochial and home schools across Western North Carolina.

Although we could not include all the worthy entries we received, we hope you’ll enjoy the colorful and inventive art, essays, poetry and short stories on these pages. So get ready to enjoy some great ideas — and be sure to check out our regional summer camp listings that begin on Page 15, too.

— Xpress Staff X

Our own constitution Recently, I went on a mission trip for the church over Zoom. The first order of business was to establish a constitution for the trip. Many classes in school also have their kids discuss and write a class constitution at the beginning of the year. Every year this happens, there are subtle changes, but the theory remains the same.

Before the discussion even begins, every student knows what will be on the constitution. Respect, kindness, not talking over the teachers. These were some of the exact rules set in place for the trip. By the end, the leader said, “And what I love about this is the fact that you guys wrote this by yourselves.”

This is just the teachers trying to make it seem as if the students have a level of power, when in reality, they are just setting up the rules and restrictions that we know they already expect of us. It seems like if the rules are

in some form of constitution, we are expected to follow it more, or respect it in some greater form.

My idea is as simple or complicated as the students want it to be. The students of these classes should be able to write their own constitution, consisting of what they want. Of course, the teacher can veto certain aspects of it, but at least the kids should be able to write their own small rules.

This would teach the kids about the different forms of government.

If the class was lazy and forced one kid to do all the work, that kid could write whatever they want. This gives the others a reason to work for good things. These new constitutions would give kids the power they want and need, as well as practice for some reallife experiences. They would be a huge step up from the one constitution that we are given each year, and it would be pretty fun, too.

— Harding Kinnaird, eighth grade, Evergreen Community Charter School

SEA VS. SKY 1: Franklin School of Innovation 11th grader Haven Lee explores the differences and parallels between aquatic and terrestrial life. Writes Lee, “I investigated the idea of migratory animals and how seafaring and ‘skyfaring’ animals would interact along this common concept.”

More recycling people The thing that would make the world a better place is if there were more recycling people around. That way, people could recycle more and make the Earth a better place. But the challenging part is that there’s only so many moms to make babies, and only a few of those babies will grow up to work in recycling.

But the idea I am thinking of is that when I grow up, I will be a recycling person. That way, there will be one

RiverLink's annual Voices of the River Art & Poetry Contest is back!

The theme this year is "How has the river helped you during this time of isolation? " Entries can include 2D and 3D works of art, poems, creative writings, and video compositions. Submissions will be judged by local artists and community members, and winners will receive fun prizes donated by local businesses.

Submission deadline is April 22, 2021.

For more info visit: https://riverlink.org/work/voices-of-the-river/ Email: anna@riverlink.org 14

MARCH 17-23, 2021

MOUNTAINX.COM

more recycling person in the world, and that will make the Earth a better place. More recycling, less garbage.

I will encourage other people to be recycling people by telling them that we need more recycling people because we don’t have enough.

The real answer, though, is to create less trash.

We need less trash so that the world is a better place and so no more trash gets into the sea — sea animals could swallow it and die! Trash isn’t good for them, and you need animals on the reef to help with the reef’s life cycle.

KIDS SUMMER CAMP GUIDE

SUMMER CAMP GUIDE After months of social distancing and mostly remote learning, summer fun sounds better than ever. While COVID-19 precautions closed many kids camps last year, the summer of 2021 is a go, with traditional camp activities available alongside a host of specialized offerings.

Campers will climb rocks and heft backpacks, ride horses and observe wildlife, build campfires and swim. And even more exciting, kids will play together and make new friends again in the time-honored camp fashion.

But summer isn’t only about the great outdoors. It’s also a time to sharpen skills in the arts and sciences beyond the classroom. Campers will take the stage for theater EXPLORING THE TREETOPS: Phoproductions and concerts, work to courtesy of The Adventure Center in STEAM labs and try their of Asheville hands at the potter’s wheel.

With 125 camp listings representing more than 50 organizations, your family is sure to find the perfect fit for warm-weather fun this summer.

— Xpress Staff X ADVENTURE CENTER OF ASHEVILLE — ADVENTURE CAMP

ADVENTURE CENTER OF ASHEVILLE — KOLO BIKE PARK BIKE CAMP

ADVENTURE CENTER OF ASHEVILLE — KOLO BIKE PARK KIDDIE CAMP

Ages 8-15 All gender Each day, campers will get to experience a different adventure at the Adventure Center of Asheville and Wildwater, Ltd., including: zip lines, Treetops Adventure Park, Kolo Bike Park, whitewater rafting and Tree Quest. Swimming, team building, field games, outdoor education (forest walks and shelter building) and creative learning led by our talented and trained staff.

8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Cost: $389/ week. Discounts available for multiweek bookings.

Asheville • 828-225-2921 • avl.mx/93i • info@ adventurecenterofasheville.com 1-week sessions June 7-Aug. 9

Ages 8-15 All gender Ride daily on purpose-built mountain bike trails and skill elements designed for all levels of rider. This camp is a great way for young riders to build confidence and skill in a controlled environment.

Experienced mountain bike counselors accompany and coach riders on our Pump Tracks, Jumps, XC Trails & Skills Area, plus climbing at the Treetops Adventure Park and games. 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m.

Cost: $319/week ($399 with bike rental). Discounts available for multiweek bookings.

Asheville • 828-225-2921 • avl.mx/93i • info@ adventurecenterofasheville.com 1-week sessions June 7-Aug. 9

Ages 5-7 All gender For the littlest shredders.

Focused on easing campers into all the park has to offer and preparing them to attend our Kolo Camp. We focus on bikes and skills with plenty of time off the bike to keep the littles engaged. Riders will be chaperoned around the park by our experienced camp counselors and participate in a wide range of activities that help build confidence on and off the bike. 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Cost: $350/week. Discounts available for multiweek bookings.

Asheville • 828-225-2921 • avl.mx/93i • info@ adventurecenterofasheville.com 1-week sessions June 7-Aug. 9

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Nurturing The Whole Person Through The Art of Living Woodson Branch Nature School is located in beautiful Madison County. We are a predominately outdoor P-8th grade school!

Artist: Charlie Bender

Artist: Arabelle Watters

mr

LEGEND

m

Athletic Camp

p

Nature Camp

r

Day Camp

u

Faith Camp

q

Academic / Science Camp

t

Overnight Camp

v

✈

Art Camp Travel Camp

These pictures are from our “Art of Storytelling” unit!

The middle school arts students conducted an oral history with a member of their community or family and then created these incredible mixed media portraits of their subject. After creating the portrait of their subject, they incorporated a variety of textures and materials to tell the story about what they learned from the interview!

14555 US Hwy. 25/70, Marshall, NC 28753

madisoncclc.org • MOUNTAINX.COM

MARCH 17-23, 2021

15

KIDS ISSUE

Stinging animals protect the reef by killing other animals that might try to eat up the reef. Octopus ink can stop them, too, because the ink helps predators not see the reef or smell the reef.

The answer is to make more recyclable things like more metal, more glass and more paper — and when you grow up, you should be a recycling person, too!

— ‘Bobo’ Elan Bairre ‘EB’ Woliansky, kindergarten, Homeschooled

Hercules’ great idea

Now offering

The Amazing Race in July camps

a great alternative to too much screen time

mini golf • virtual reality arts & crafts outdoor games & more!

Call (828) 676-1746 for more info or to register today!

M-F, 8am-5:30pm • July 19-August 13 Weekly: $180 Full time, $110 part time 2245 Hendersonville Rd, Arden, NC LakeviewPuttandPlay.com 16

MARCH 17-23, 2021

Hercules is a lion living in the outskirts of Africa on a long and wide plain. This is his great idea.

“Finally,” he thought. Today was a big day for Hercules because, calculating from his birth date, he was supposed to start growing his mane today. His childhood enemy Kimba had already started growing his mane, and Hercules hated when he bragged about it or teased Hercules that he didn’t have one. Well, ha, thought Hercules. I’m gonna have one soon.

Just you wait. He stood up and walked to the prey pile and started chewing.

His older sister Amber padded over.

“This is a big day for you, little brother,” she told him.

“I know!” Hercules said. “I’m sooooo excited!”

“Well, well, well.” Hercules turned around and saw Kimba smirking at him.

“What is it?” Hercules said.

“What is it?” laughed Kimba. “Are you so dumb that you don’t even know your own mane-growing day?”

Hercules was furious.

“Well, you …” he sputtered, not finishing his sentence.

“Well, I what?” Kimba taunted.

“Well, you …” He was then cut off by a ground-shaking roar in the distance.

They both jumped to their paws.

“What was that?” asked Kimba, quivering with fear.

“What, are you a scaredy cat?” sneered Hercules. More fierce roars came from down the hill. “We need to see what’s happening, Kimba!”

They raced to the ledge, and below their eyes was a huge battle raging.

Kimba screamed like a mouse’s squeaks. Even though all of the pride fighters were out there fighting, they were still outnumbered.

“What’s going on?”asked Kimba.

“Look, I know we have had our differences, and we aren’t the best fighters in the pride, but we need to work together to stop this,” said Hercules. Kimba nodded.

They fought and fought, but neither pride stopped.

“Why are you fighting us?” Hercules asked his opponent.

MOUNTAINX.COM

HIGH-FIVE HABITAT: First grader Tofina Raker of Lucy S. Herring Elementary School offers up this inventive plan: “We will build homes for people in need for shelter. Where will we get stuff? From Dumpsters. We will have trees for shade. Who will build them? Volunteers. It will cost one high-five for a night.”

“We are running out of food and so we are trying to get your food,” responded his attacker.

“Then why don’t we work together?” said Hercules.

So from then on, everyone worked together.

— Lylah Posnock, fifth grade, Mountain Sun Community School

A very useful robot If I built a robot, it could clean and defend and talk. It will have clothes.

It will have two buckets: one with a W on it and one with a D. D is for defend and W is for wash. It would clean your house and defend it.

If you pressed a button, something would come out of a compartment and into its hand.

— Joshua Prendergast, first grade, Odyssey School

Wind turbine covers It has been estimated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that between 140,000 and 500,000 birds get killed by wind turbines each year. And that doesn’t include other flying creatures, like butterflies or bats. This danger is because they could be oblivious to the giant turbines, and as they fly through them, they get hit. This is horrible.

The windmills themselves, however, are not. They are a great source of energy because they are renewable, clean (meaning no greenhouse gases

are released when using them), they have very low maintenance costs after the initial installation, and they have an efficient use of land space because they can be placed on preexisting farms. So let’s try to make them even better.

My idea is to place metal covers on wind turbines, just like a much larger scale of the ones on your floor fans at home. The solid netting will still allow wind to pass through, spinning the turbines, but holes will be small enough to prevent birds from flying through. The covers should also make the turbines stand out more, so birds would see them and be able to glide in another direction.

Using wind energy would be a grand improvement — environmentally and financially — from resources like coal or natural gas. With that in mind, we should improve the ways our human world functions, but not while impairing the animal world.

— Zetta A., eighth grade, Polk County Middle School

Live in harmony My great idea is for our country to live in harmony like music The notes are black and the paper is white.

We all float away like music Like a babbling brook, life twists and turns.

Sometimes you need to slow down to see the real beauty in life to hear the birds singing

KIDS SUMMER CAMP GUIDE

ADVENTURE CENTER OF ASHEVILLE — SPRING BREAK ADVENTURE CAMP

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Ages 8-15 All gender Each day, campers will get to experience a different adventure at the Adventure Center of Asheville and Wildwater, Ltd., including: zip lines, Treetops Adventure Park, Kolo Bike Park, whitewater rafting and Tree Quest. Campers will hike at a nearby mountain and experience team building challenges, crafts, engaging games, competitions and outdoor education immersive learning designed to connect campers to nature. 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Cost: $359.

Asheville • 828-225-2921 • avl.mx/93i • info@ adventurecenterofasheville.com April 5-April 9

ARTEMIS ARCHERY — ADVENTURE DAY CAMP

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Ages 8-15 All gender Learn real world skills to thrive indoors and out in the wild! Pro archery instruction, wilderness skills and the award-winning “radKIDS” program. The national leader in empowerment training and self-defense. We teach realistic skills so youths can recognize, avoid, resist and escape violence or harm in their lives. Learn in a fun, action-packed, electronicfree outdoor immersion.

Beautiful mountain land 25 minutes east of downtown Asheville. Forest trails, creek and freshwater springs. 20 campers max per session. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Cost: $325.

Swannanoa • 828-2572707 • avl.mx/4qt • brightarrowflying@gmail.com 1-week sessions June 28-Aug. 13

ASHEVILLE ART MUSEUM — SUMMER ART CAMP

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Rising grades K-12 All gender Students experiment and explore a variety of visual art media and techniques.

Registration includes museum admission and all materials necessary for each class.

Morning session: 9 a.m.noon. Afternoon session: 1-4 p.m. All-day students have a supervised lunch break.

Cost: $120/week for half days, $225/week for full days.

Asheville • 828-253-3227 • avl.mx/4qj • smcrorie@ ashevilleart.org 1-week sessions June-July

ASHEVILLE CHRISTIAN ACADEMY — CAMP INVENTION: RECHARGE

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Rising grades K-6 All gender Collaborate with friends in hands-on, open-ended STEM challenges. Take apart a microphone to explore its inner workings, build and test a device to launch rubber ducks and design morphing vehicles for the Super Road Rally! Each activity is designed to inspire curiosity, spark imaginations and give your young innovator the best summer ever. 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Cost: $235.

Swannanoa • 800-9684332 • avl.mx/93j • campinvention@invent.org July 12-16

ASHEVILLE COMMUNITY MOVEMENT — MOVERS AND SHAKERS SUMMER CAMP

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Rising grades K-8 All gender Each week is devoted to an exciting theme, such as natural building, art in nature, Harry Potter and more.

Campers participate in group games, archery, arts and crafts, gardening, dance and supervised free play in a fully equipped gymnastics facility.

8 a.m.-6 p.m. or 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

Cost: $195-$295/week.

Asheville • 828-254-6060 • avl.mx/4s1 • office@ ashevillecommunitymovement. com May 31-Aug. 27

ASHEVILLE JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER — CAMP RUACH

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Rising grades 1-9 All gender A unique Jewish day camp open to all backgrounds and cultures. We develop great memories and build a better world. Ruach means "spirit," and our camp is jam-packed with it! Campers will spend each weekly session engaged in arts and crafts, group games, archery, swimming and more! 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Cost: $280/session.

Asheville • 828-253-0701 • avl.mx/4nh • daniel@ jcc-asheville.org 1-week sessions June 7-July 30

ASHEVILLE JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER — CAMP TIKVAH

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Ages 6-12 All gender Children on the autism spectrum enjoy fun and community in an individually monitored and inclusive environment.

Each one-week session is interwoven with Camp Ruach and enables campers to participate in as many peer activities as are individually appropriate. Specially trained camp counselors monitor each camper's sensory environment to facilitate communication, socialization, community and fun! 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m.

Cost: $375/session.

Asheville • 828-253-0701 • avl.mx/4nh • daniel@ jcc-asheville.org 1-week sessions June 7-July 30

blues and ragtime,establishing roots of musical joy that will last a lifetime. Students must have a minimum of one month of prior experience. 1-4 p.m. Cost: $190. Sibling and member discounts available.

Asheville • 828-252-6244 • avl.mx/6wn • programs@ ashevillemusicschool.org July 12-16

ASHEVILLE MUSEUM OF SCIENCE — SUMMER OF SCIENCE CAMPS

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Rising grades K-5 All gender Fun-filled, educational and experiential camps with handson activities, STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) infused programming, outdoor recreation and exploration and so much more!

Themes include: Into Space & Beyond, STEAM It Up!, Future Makers! and The Land Before Time. Inquire for further details.

Asheville • 828-254-7162 • avl.mx/6wj • abryant@ ashevillescience.org June 14-Aug. 6

ASHEVILLE MUSIC SCHOOL — BEGINNER SUZUKI STRINGS VIOLIN CAMP

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Ages 4-8 All gender Students will learn the basics of violin playing to set them up for a lifelong love of music, while being transported into the world of Harry Potter with a sorting hat, personally chosen wand, games, decorations and tons of fun! No experience necessary. 9 a.m.noon. Cost: $190. Sibling and member discounts available.

Asheville • 828-252-6244 • ashevillemusicschool. org • programs@ ashevillemusicschool.org July 19-23

ASHEVILLE MUSIC SCHOOL — FIDDLE CAMP

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Ages 7-12 All gender Learn to comp harmonies while your neighbor takes a turn on the melody. We will learn and jam with classic Appalachian and Celtic fiddle tunes and cross over to other American styles of the fiddling tradition, including

ASHEVILLE MUSIC SCHOOL — HARRY POTTER-THEMED SUZUKI STRINGS VIOLIN CAMP Ages 5-12 All gender Magic, music and merriment.

We will have wand practice, a Quidditch game, field trip(s), as well as plenty of music making. This camp is for string students with at least six months of experience on their instrument. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Cost: $350. Sibling and member discounts available.

Asheville • 828-252-6244 • avl.mx/6wn • programs@ ashevillemusicschool.org July 26-30

ASHEVILLE MUSIC SCHOOL — MUSIC EXPLORATIONS

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Ages 4-6 All gender Young beginners will explore music, sound, rhythm and various instruments in a fun and encouraging group setting, and take a journey around the world to discover the music of diverse cultures and regions. Children will get to dance, move, play, sing and experiment with their own music making. Led by instructors with vast experience in early childhood music education, including Kindermusik. Week 1: 9 a.m.-noon. Week 2: 1-4 p.m. Cost: $190. Sibling and member discounts available.

Asheville • 828-252-6244 • avl.mx/6wn • programs@ ashevillemusicschool.org July 12-16, July 19-23

ASHEVILLE MUSIC SCHOOL — PRETEEN POP ROCK CAMP

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Ages 9-13 All gender Play in a band this summer!

Campers will rehearse as a socially distanced group and

engage in music making and music-related activities. The camp will culminate in a virtual concert for families on Friday afternoon, highlighting what campers have learned. All instruments are welcome. 9 a.m.4 p.m. Cost: $350. Sibling and member discounts available.

Asheville • 828-252-6244 • avl.mx/6wn • programs@ ashevillemusicschool.org June 14-18

ASHEVILLE MUSIC SCHOOL — ROCK CAMP

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Ages 10-18 All gender Learn more than just how to play songs — learn how to play in a band! Students will gain confidence and leadership skills through making their own arrangements of classic and modern rock tunes by bands such as The White Stripes, Pink Floyd, The Clash, Green Day and more. Campers will rehearse and perform in one large band, with breakout sessions for instrumentalists and vocalists.

Students will perform a final concert for family and friends.

Some previous experience is recommended. 9 a.m.-4

Asheville PEAK Academy • A tuition-free public school open to all students, offering: • Extended school day • High-quality, engaging instruction that challenges and motivates each student to reach their full potential • Free breakfast and lunch • Free transportation

Currently Enrolling Grades Kindergarten-2nd

Apply Today:

ashevillepeakacademy.org For more information, call us at (828) 276-2095 MOUNTAINX.COM

MARCH 17-23, 2021

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KIDS ISSUE

TALKING CURE: Charles D. Owen High School 12th grade student Priscilla Alpizar Vargas explains, “I hope that everybody can get the help that they need with their yarn ball and learn to make a scarf or mittens or a hat to live happier.”

PANDEMIC YEARBOOK COVER: Hanger Hall eighth grader Anderson Jones shares her idea of how to remember this unusual school year. to taste good food to feel the sturdy earth below you even though you want to speed through the bad things in life you also need to take that slow It’s not impossible to listen.

— Nina Clark, fourth grade, Mountain Sun Community School

Peaceful warriors for the Earth Would you leave trash in your parents’ bedroom? Then why would you throw trash on Mother Earth?

It is not OK to litter. We have to respect our Earth! Earth has done so many favors for us, let us return the favor and stop littering. I declare us to be peaceful warriors for the Earth! We need to make a change: 1. If you go on walks, grab a bag so you can pick up trash along the way.

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2. Don’t litter yourself.

3. If you see someone littering, say, “It’s not cool to litter. We have so many critters who depend on us not to be quitters to protect our Earth and make it clean!”

4. If you go to any kind of water — beach, stream, river — pick up trash.

5. If you don’t see a trash can, don’t think it’s OK to throw your trash on the floor. Instead of doing that, we can build more trash cans for places that don’t have much.

How can you prevent littering?

Littering is not just putting trash on the ground but also other things like putting chemicals in the water or something burning. It can affect our environment and air. Send loving thoughts to Mother Earth, and she will feel your healing.

— Sophia Migyanka, fourth grade, ArtSpace Charter School

KIDS SUMMER CAMP GUIDE

p.m. Cost: $350. Sibling and member discounts available.

Asheville • 828-252-6244 • ashevillemusicschool. org • programs@ ashevillemusicschool.org June 21-25

ASHEVILLE MUSIC SCHOOL — TEEN POP ROCK CAMP

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Ages 12-18 All gender Ideal for students who enjoy a challenging environment. Learn songs by The Avett Brothers, Twenty-One Pilots, Bob Marley and many more. Campers will be placed in bands with four to six peers of similar skill level and musical taste. Campers can learn a new instrument during the electives period. The camp week will culminate in concert for family and friends. We suggest students have at least one to two years of previous music lessons and/or band experience. 9 a.m.noon. Cost: $190. Sibling and member discounts available.

Asheville • 828-252-6244 • avl.mx/6wn • programs@ ashevillemusicschool.org June 28-July 2

ASHEVILLE MUSIC SCHOOL — UKULELE CAMP

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Ages 7-10 All gender The ukulele is the perfect instrument for everyone! Here is your child’s chance to get hands-on experience singing and playing the ukulele with other kids. No previous musical experience is necessary, just a ukulele and a desire to sing and play! Led by AMS teacher Andy John. 9 a.m.-noon.

Cost: $190. Sibling and member discounts available.

Asheville • 828-252-6244 • avl.mx/6wn • programs@ ashevillemusicschool.org June 7-11, Aug. 2-6

ASHEVILLE PARKS AND RECREATION — TEEN THERAPEUTIC RECREATION SUMMER CAMP

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Ages 13-21 All gender A recreation program developed for teens with mild to moderate cognitive or developmental delays who meet eligibility requirements.

Daily activities include group games, arts and crafts, nature exploration and special events.

9 a.m.-5 p.m. Cost: Free.

Asheville • 828-775-3153 • ashevillenc.gov/parks • llong@ashevillenc.gov June 7-July 9, July 12-Aug. 13

ASHEVILLE PARKS AND RECREATION — YOUTH THERAPEUTIC RECREATION SUMMER CAMP

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Ages 6-12 All gender A recreation program developed for youths with mild to moderate cognitive or developmental delays who meet eligibility requirements.

Daily activities include group games, arts and crafts, nature exploration and special events.

9 a.m.-5 p.m. Cost: Free.

Asheville • 828-775-3153 • avl.mx/4og • llong@ ashevillenc.gov June 7-July 9, July 12-Aug. 13

ASHEVILLE PERFORMING ARTS ACADEMY — ANNIE

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Rising grades 1-9 All gender Annie is such a fun story full of liveliness, heart, bravery, great friends, bright optimism and the most excellent songs!

We’re going to explore what it feels like to stand up to the injustice of Miss Hannigan, find family among friends and celebrate what feels right — all while getting out of that hard knock life. Performance takes place on the last day of camp.

9 a.m.-3 p.m. Cost: $275.

Asheville • 828-253-4000 • avl.mx/93k • info@theapaa.com July 5-9

ASHEVILLE PERFORMING ARTS ACADEMY — PITCH PERFECT/GLEE CLUB

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Rising grades 6-12 All gender Does a capella singing make you hum like an electric guitar?

Come sing songs a la Glee and Pitch Perfect and make those inner visions come true!

Work in unison with your fellow actors to create scenes most just dream of. “Don’t Stop the Music’’ until you “Let it Whip” right. These are not just “Silly Love Songs” ... well, okay, maybe some of them are. Let’s find the magic in you and have fun with this. Performance takes place on the last day of camp.

9 a.m.-3 p.m. Cost: $300.

Asheville • 828-253-4000 • avl.mx/93k • info@theapaa.com Aug. 9-13

ASHEVILLE PERFORMING ARTS ACADEMY — FROM WIZARD TO WICKED

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Rising grades 1-10 All gender Let’s follow the yellow brick road to Oz and explore the different musicals set in this place.

Was Elphaba all bad or just misunderstood? Where did she really go when Dorothy dumped the bucket of water on her?

Whether you join our munchkin chorus or dive deeper into script analysis of these characters motives, you are sure to have a great week! Performance takes place on the last day of camp.

9 a.m.-3 p.m. Cost: $275.

Asheville • 828-253-4000 • avl.mx/93k • info@theapaa.com Aug. 2-6

ASHEVILLE PERFORMING ARTS ACADEMY — PRINCESSES AND THEIR VILLAINS

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Rising grades 1-6 All gender This camp is for those wanting to explore the inner workings of the princesses and/or their so-called villains. Princesses! Find out just what kind of princess you are and how you want to run your kingdom! Villains… are they really all that bad? There’s always another side to the story. Let’s explore the other side of the story and our imaginations, and see what things look like from the other side. Performance takes place on the last day of camp. 9 a.m.-noon (Princess theme), or 12:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m (Villain theme). Cost: $150-$275.

Asheville • 828-253-4000 • avl.mx/93k • info@theapaa.com July 12-16

ASHEVILLE PERFORMING ARTS ACADEMY — PUFFS THE PLAY

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Rising grades 7-12 All gender Puffs follows a group of friends through their seven years at a very particular magical school (where Harry, Ron and Hermione attend). These aren’t those friends, but the story does take place at the same time! Hilarious and heartwarming, this is the play for any fan of “the boy with the scar” who wants to explore that most unglamorous house. Performances take place June 18 and 19. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Cost: $450.

Asheville • 828-253-4000 • avl.mx/93k • info@theapaa.com June 7-18

ASHEVILLE PERFORMING ARTS ACADEMY — REVOLTING CHILDREN

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Rising grades 1-9 All gender Let’s explore musicals in which children rise up and inspire change! Matilda used her powers to get rid of Trunchbull with the help of the other children. Annie escaped from Ms. Hannigan after a “hard knock life” in the orphanage.

The Newsies went on strike to show that they were the kings of New York. Performance takes place on the last day of camp.

9 a.m.-3 p.m. Cost: $275.

Asheville • 828-253-4000 • avl.mx/93k • info@theapaa.com July 26-30

ASHEVILLE PERFORMING ARTS ACADEMY — SUPERHEROES

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Rising grades 1-6 All gender Do you have what it takes?

There are so many favorite heroes…. Wonder Woman, Spider Man, the Marvel Universe… can you save the day? We will explore the traits and qualities of all of these superheroes and then create our very own. What powers will you have? How will you make a difference? We will work together to create an epic script and then film our very own short superhero movie! Loads of fun exploring our powers and a great one to be able to share. Performance takes place on the last day of camp.

9 a.m.-3 p.m. Cost: $275.

Asheville • 828-253-4000 • avl.mx/93k • info@theapaa.com July 19-23

ASHEVILLE PERFORMING ARTS ACADEMY — THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH

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Rising grades 1-9 All gender This is a circus theme/movie musical of “The Greatest Showman.” Do you have any hidden talents? Can you bend yourself in half? Do you like learning skills such as balancing, juggling, singing, dancing, clowning or miming? Clowning around is serious business.

Come to this week of camp and you won’t be disappointed; there is something for everybody! Performance takes place on the last day of camp.

9 a.m.-3 p.m. Cost: $275.

Asheville • 828-253-4000 • avl.mx/93k • info@theapaa.com June 28-July 2

ASHEVILLE PERFORMING ARTS ACADEMY — THE MOANA WORKSHOP

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Rising grades 1-9 All gender Actors will help create their costumes and props and put on a show. In between learning songs and staging, they will take breaks, play games, enjoy the sunshine and make new friends.

Moana and the legendary demigod Maui embark on an epic journey of self-discovery and camaraderie as both learn to harness the power that lies

within. Performance takes place on the last day of camp.

9 a.m.-3 p.m. Cost: $275.

Asheville • 828-253-4000 • avl.mx/93k • info@theapaa.com June 21-25

ASHEVILLE SCHOOL OF FILM — TEEN FILM PROJECT COURSE

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Ages 15-18 All gender Teens will build their higher education resume while working on a group film project and exploring career interests along the way. 1-4 p.m. Cost: $425.

Asheville • 844-2853456 • avl.mx/4nk • ashevilleschooloffilm@ gmail.com July 19-30

ASHEVILLE SCHOOL OF FILM — YOUTH FILM FUN CAMP

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Ages 12-14 All gender This camp will focus on a single filmmaking activity each day, including lighting for mood, story development, shooting coverage, camera operation basics and editing exercises.

10-11:30 a.m. Cost: $150/week.

Asheville • 844-285-3456 • ashevilleschooloffilm.com • ashevilleschooloffilm@ gmail.com July 19-23, July 26-30

BLACK MOUNTAIN CENTER FOR THE ARTS — A BOOK AND A BRUSH: ART CAMP

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Ages 5-11 All gender Explore a variety of art mediums, learn about famous artists, play games and make art. We will focus on process, learning and fun. A gallery reception will be held to showcase our work on the last day. Ms. Melanie is a former classroom teacher who always sprinkles some reading, science and math into art. Bring lunch and water. A small snack will be provided. 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

Cost: $250. Early registration and sibling discounts available.

Black Mountain • 828-669-0930 • avl.mx/4rv • programs@ blackmountainarts.org July 19-23

BLACK MOUNTAIN CENTER FOR THE ARTS — DANCE, SING, & PLAY PERFORMANCE ARTS CAMPS

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Ages 3-9 All gender Enjoy music, dance and crafts centered around different MOUNTAINX.COM

themes. Campers will perform a showcase of what they’ve learned on the BMCA stage at the end of the week. 9 a.m.-noon. Cost: $165/ week. Early registration and sibling discounts available.

Black Mountain • 828-669-0930 • avl.mx/4rv • programs@ blackmountainarts.org 1 week sessions June 7-July 9

BLACK MOUNTAIN CENTER FOR THE ARTS — FAIRY TALE FRIENDS CAMP

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Ages 4-8 All gender Learn dances, sing songs and make crafts centered around different fairy tales. Bring your special doll or stuffed friend for magical dress-up tea parties where we’ll learn French phrases and proper etiquette. Get ready to laugh, dance and pony prance! 9 a.m.-noon. Cost: $100/week. Early registration and sibling discounts available.

Black Mountain • 828-669-0930 • avl.mx/4rv • programs@ blackmountainarts.org Aug. 2-4, Aug. 9-11

BLACK MOUNTAIN CENTER FOR THE ARTS — PUPPET PARADE: PUPPETRY CAMP

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Ages 7-12 All gender Learn to make a variety of puppets, work with other students to create skits and end the week with a puppet parade. We will look at history of different puppets from around the world and learn how to build them. Guaranteed to be a week filled with serious work but mostly silliness. Bring lunch and water. A small snack will be provided. 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Cost: $250. Early registration and sibling discounts available.

Black Mountain • 828-669-0930 • avl.mx/4rv • programs@ blackmountainarts.org July 26-30

BLACK MOUNTAIN CENTER FOR THE ARTS — SUMMER DANCE JAM: DANCE CAMP FOR TWEENS AND TEENS

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Ages 10-15 All gender Dancers will learn a variety of dance styles such as flamenco, ballet, jazz, contemporary and many more. Each day dancers will experience a new dance style, along with dance history, and create their own choreography. The week will end in a dance jam celebration where dancers will showcase all that they have learned on the stage! 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Cost: MARCH 17-23, 2021

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KIDS ISSUE

Hats with pockets

MORE INDOOR PLANTS: Asheville Middle School eighth grader Hazel Wiesner shares a gardening idea with a twist.

Hello, friendios! My name is Clyde S. Levinger, and I wrote this essay to express my idea of hats with pockets.

I mean, like, how has no one made this yet? It would just be your standard beanie, fedora or top hat, and then you would just have pockets around it.

Allow me to explain: First, you could pick your base hat. For the purpose of this essay, let us pick a fedora as the base. Then (obves!), you pick a color, like navy blue. Secondly, you can pick the number of pockets, one-five. Say, let’s pick four.

This way, you can easily store your things all around the hat. You can also pick the placement of the pockets, so they could be all around the front, and you can even pick a new fabric for the pockets, or just stay with the default if you want to stay classic.

For instance, if you wanted a fabric to keep your slime in, so one that it wouldn’t stick to, try fake leather. (We don’t use real leather!) Then … bam!

You’ve got yourself a snazzy-looking portable hat with pockets.

I think it would work because it would allow you to hold your things in a high-up place, therefore making it very hard for people to pickpocket you.

And it would be a convenient place to store some of those oddly small birthday cards your great-aunt keeps giving you.

It’s just another storage place when your hands are full, so why would you not want to get it? Like, for real! I’m sure you could store a lot of gum, too, with the max amount of pockets on your hat.

In conclusion, I believe that pocket hats would change today’s society for the better. Also, more storage = more storage and more storage = more fun!

— Clyde Levinger, sixth grade, The Franklin School of Innovation

Running buddies app

MY BEST DRAWING: Woodfin Elementary School third grader Jacob Lankford depicts a Ferrari 458, writing: “I think it is a great idea because it took a long time to draw it, and if you work hard, you can do great things.”

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My great idea is an app called Run. Like most things in life, a run is usually more fun with a companion or friend to go with you. But for most people, it’s not so easy to find someone to run with who is free at the same time as you. So on this app, you would have a menu, and each button in the menu would help you find someone.

There would be a calendar for that week, day or month where you would put down what time you might be free to go run and if you had any appointments or meetings. Next to that, you would have a “time tracker.” In that place, you would put in how long of a run you would want to do that week or day. You would also add what day

would work best. On the next button, you would add your friends. If they had the app, too, it would pull up their names, and you would have them as a first option if they were free also.

Every day it would calculate who was free at the same time, who wanted a similar length of a run, who lived nearest to one another and if anyone who was ready to run was your friend.

Then it would make a list of all the people who you could run with, based on the calculations it made, and then you would get a notification.

If you had turned notifications off, you could go to the menu, hit the pairing button, and it would tell you who you could run with that day. Then you could tap the name of whoever you wanted to run with, and it would notify the other person and they could accept or reject. If you are rejected, you can pick one of the other free people. If you are accepted, you can go to the built-in messages app and chat with the person to agree on a place and specific time. It would track your run so that you could set goals in settings.

— Naomi Workman, fifth grade, Francine Delany New School for Children

Racial justice group for teens My great idea is to lead a racial and social justice group for middle school and early high school students where we talk about current events and our understanding of racism and other social issues. This is important to me because as a white American girl, I don’t have to deal with many of the injustices my friends of other races have to deal with.

The way that people of color are being treated in this country is not fair and, in my opinion, utterly disgusting.

As long as there is discrimination, we are not a united country, so something needs to change. I’ve noticed that a lot of teenagers are aware of the racial injustices, but they do not know what to do about them.

I want to help other teenagers understand these hard racial issues through informational but interesting films, along with conversation about this topic. I feel that sometimes teenagers will pay more attention and learn more if they are talking with another teenager instead of an adult.

My idea does not only consist of just talking about racial justice but also learning what we can do. I want to make opportunities for teenagers to take action and speak up about racial injustice. There is always something you can do, whether it be posting in social media about it, doing service

KIDS SUMMER CAMP GUIDE

$200. Early registration and sibling discounts available.

Black Mountain • 828-669-0930 • avl.mx/4rv • programs@ blackmountainarts.org July 12-16

CAMP CEDAR CLIFF — DAY CAMP

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Rising Grades K-5 Co-Ed Each week of camp will have a different fun theme packed with outrageous camp activities. Your child can develop skills on the archery and BB ranges, swim, play group games and try all kinds of real camp activities like ziplining and the climbing wall.

Campers will hear about Jesus and have great role models.

Counselors are highly trained and motivated leaders who love kids and will help your child grow spiritually, develop social skills and build self confidence.

8 a.m.-5 p.m. Cost: $300/week.

Asheville • 828-450-3331 • avl.mx/prtq • camp@ campcedarcliff.org 1-week sessions June 14-Aug. 6

CAMP CEDAR CLIFF — DAY PACK

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Rising grades 6-11 Co-Ed Think overnight camp but just during the day. Campers will zipline, climb our brand new climbing wall, swim and many more camp activities! 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Cost: $350/week.

Asheville • 828-450-3331 • avl.mx/prtq • camp@ campcedarcliff.org 1-week sessions June 14-Aug. 6

CAMP CEDAR CLIFF — OVERNIGHT CAMP

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Rising grades 2-11 Co-Ed An exhilarating week or two of whitewater rafting, pool olympics, high ropes courses, our brand new Big Bear climbing wall (the biggest in WNC) and much more! Best of all, everything we do is designed to point your child to our creator Jesus Christ.

Your camper will have great mentorship with our incredible counselors and will make new

friends and the best memories of their life! Cost: $780/week.

Asheville • 828-450-3331 • avl.mx/prtq • camp@ campcedarcliff.org 1-week and 2-week sessions June 12-Aug. 6

CAMP HENRY — MINI CAMP

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Rising grades K-3 w/ adult All gender Experience the Living God in an environment of unconditional love, imagination and engagement. Cost: $395, $330 with coupon “subsidy.”

Canton • 828-646-0095 • avl.mx/4nm • director@ camphenry.net June 6-9

CAMP HENRY — TRADITIONAL OVERNIGHT CAMP FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLERS

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Rising grades 3-5 All gender Experience the Living God in an environment of unconditional love, imagination

and engagement. Cost: $705/session, $595/session with coupon "subsidy.”

Scholarships available.

Canton • 828-646-0095 • avl.mx/4nm • director@ camphenry.net June 13-18, July 11-16

Canton • 828-646-0095 • avl.mx/4nm • director@ camphenry.net June 20-25

CAMP HENRY — TRADITIONAL OVERNIGHT CAMP FOR HIGH SCHOOLERS

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CAMP HENRY — TRADITIONAL OVERNIGHT CAMP FOR MIDDLE SCHOOLERS

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Rising grades 9-12 All gender Experience the Living God in an environment of unconditional love, imagination and engagement. Cost: $705, $595 with coupon "subsidy.”

Scholarships available.

Rising grades 6-8 All gender Experience the Living God in an environment of unconditional love, imagination and engagement. Cost: $705/session, $595/session with coupon "subsidy.”

Scholarships available.

Canton • 828-646-0095 • avl.mx/4nm • director@ camphenry.net June 20-25, July 4-9

CAMP HOBBIT HILL — ARTS AND POTTERY

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Ages 7-14 Girls Experience various forms of art from basic painting to pottery.

Inquire for further details.

Alexander • 828-8087929 • avl.mx/4oq • hobbithillnc@gmail.com June-Aug.

CAMP HOBBIT HILL — HORSEMANSHIP — OVERNIGHT AND DAY PROGRAMS

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Ages 7-14 Girls Riding, horsemanship and skill building. Inquire for further details.

Alexander • 828-8087929 • avl.mx/4oq • hobbithillnc@gmail.com July 5-30

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Art Camp

✈ Travel Camp

Summer Clay Camps at Odyssey ClayWorks

Sessions 9am-12pm and 2-5pm • Ages 6-14 • $235 each camp • $25 discount for siblings enrolled in the same camp

odysseyclayworks@gmail.com • 828-285-0210 • 236 Clingman Ave, Asheville NC MOUNTAINX.COM

MARCH 17-23, 2021

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KIDS ISSUE

IF YOU LOVE EQUALITY, YOU LIVE HAPPILY: Fifth grader Willow Austin of Mountain Sun Community School expresses this hopeful idea via painting. work or standing up for racial justice in your community.

You have a voice, and it’s your choice whether you use it to empower you and others to stand up for justice and equality. My great idea is to lead a

BEDS FOR BUSES: Charles D. Owen High School 11th grader Alexis Shafir imagines a comfy solution for this perennial problem.

racial justice group for teens because I want to make a difference in this world and stand up for what I believe in, and I hope you do, too.

Girls can skateboard, too

— Neva Smith, eighth grade, Evergreen Community Charter School

I believe that girls can skate, too! I am a girl, and skateboarding is one of my favorite things to do, and a lot of people tell me because I am a girl, I can’t do it.

I have never once in my life seen a girl my age at the skatepark skating.

The only girl I have ever seen at the skatepark was 16-18. And that was the only female I have ever seen at the skatepark before.

I had only been skating for one year before I realized that skateboarding was my happy place. :) I believe, with all the crazy things happening in the world right now, Black or white, we can find love and happiness in something that makes you happy.

For me, skating is the thing that helps me get through the times like this. So no matter what age you are,

girl, boy, Black, white, we are all people and have a voice!

— Isla Wilander, fifth grade, Mountain Sun Community School

Harry Potter and the pandemic

“All right, everybody on Zoom yet?” said the loud voice of Gildoroy Lockhart.

“Perfect! I thought we could start with a little quiz, since I saw every one of you has my full collection of books. Now, if you’d minimize your screen …”

“How do you do that?” said the class.

“Well …” Lockhart paused, uncertain. “Miss Granger, why don’t you share your screen with everyone so they know how to do it.”

“Yes, Professor,” said Hermione.

SUMMER CAMPS Nature Sister’s Day Camp Girls ages 8-11 Connection. Earth Skills. Community.

Growing Goddess & Moon Mystics: Rites of Passage Overnight Camp Young Women ages 11-18 Ritual. Transformation. Sisterhood.

Moon Daughters Retreat Young Women ages 8-11 A Mother/Daughter Retreat

Details & Registration at www.EarthPathEducation.com 22

MARCH 17-23, 2021

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KIDS SUMMER CAMP GUIDE

CAMP KANUGA — STARTER & CLASSIC CAMP SESSIONS

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Ages 3-11 All gender American Camp Associationaccredited coed summer camp affiliated with The Episcopal Church, located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina. We are committed to promoting growth and fun in a safe, nurturing environment. We build relationships within a safe and loving Christian community. Our programs are designed to encourage transformation and growth as we have the opportunity to be part of something special and bigger than ourselves.

5-day, 6-day, 7-day, 9-day and 13-day programs available.

Cost: $880-$2,260.

Hendersonville • 828-692-9136 • avl.mx/5ml • info@kanuga.org June 5-Aug. 8

CLIMBMAX CLIMBING — QUARTZITE CLIMBING CAMP

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Ages 12-16 All gender Experienced teen climbers will get the most out of this camp, designed to further their knowledge of the sport. Prior climbing experience is required for participation. The first two days begin at Climbmax at the River with advanced climbing skills taught and practiced in the morning. Afternoons will include a fun activity in West Asheville (e.g., tubing or biking). The last 3 days will be spent camping and climbing in Pisgah National Forest. Meals, snacks and transportation will be provided for the three days and two nights of camping. Cost: $800/session.

Asheville • 828-505-4446 • avl.mx/4nq • madisyn@ climbmaxnc.com June 28-July 2, July 19-23

CLIMBMAX CLIMBING — SHALE CLIMBING CAMP

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Ages 6-9 All gender This super fun climbing camp is designed for the youngest beginner climbers who are interested in exploring the sport (no climbing experience is needed). Each day begins at Climbmax Downtown with a fun-filled morning of climbing exercises and games. For the first four days, climbing skills will be taught and practiced in the morning, followed by a fun afternoon activity in downtown Asheville. The final day of this camp is spent outdoors rock climbing, with daily snacks and

transportation to the cliff site provided. Cost: $500/session.

Asheville • 828-505-4446 • avl.mx/4nq • madisyn@ climbmaxnc.com June 14-18, June 2125, July 26-30

CLIMBMAX CLIMBING — SANDSTONE CLIMBING CAMP

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Ages 8-12 All gender Designed for the youngest climbers, this camp is perfect for continuing the development of climbing knowledge and technique (prior climbing experience required). The first 2 days begin at Climbmax Downtown with fun-filled mornings of climbing exercises and games, followed by afternoon activities in downtown Asheville. The third day will focus on rope skills taught at Climbmax at the River. The final 2 days of the Sandstone Camp are spent climbing outdoors; daily snacks and transportation to the cliff sites provided. Cost: $575/session.

Asheville • 828-505-4446 • avl.mx/4nq • madisyn@ climbmaxnc.com July 12-16, Aug. 2-6

CLIMBMAX CLIMBING — SLATE ADVENTURE CAMP

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Ages 10-14 All gender This exciting camp was developed for beginner teen climbers who are interested in exploring the sport. No prior experience is needed for this introductory-level camp. Each day begins at Climbmax at the River with climbing exercises and objectives. For the first 3 days, climbers will develop and practice new skills before engaging in a fun afternoon activity (e.g., biking or tubing).

The final 2 days of this camp are spent climbing outdoors.

Daily snacks and transportation to the cliff sites are provided.

Cost: $500/session.

Asheville • 828-505-4446 • avl.mx/4nq • madisyn@ climbmaxnc.com June 21-25, July 26-30

EARTH PATH EDUCATION — GROWING GODDESS & MOON MYSTICS: RITES OF PASSAGE CAMP

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Ages 11-18 Girls We gather to witness, celebrate, uplift and orient girls on the threshold of their womanhood through a rites of passage ritual in the mountain wilderness.

The ceremonial beauty of this nature-based rites of passage feeds both the wild soul and

the Earth. Intergenerational mentorship, sisterhood, strong intuition, awakened creativity and a deep connection with the Earth provides the taproot of strength needed to weather the tests of life and womanhood in a healthy way. Cost: $645.

Sibling discounts available.

Barnardsville • 828-7757174 • avl.mx/4nr • lena@ earthpatheducation.com July 12-16

where children love to learn

Day Camp weeks: June 14, June 21, June 28, July 5

EARTH PATH EDUCATION — MOON DAUGHTERS MOTHERDAUGHTER CAMP

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Ages 8-11 Girls Savor and deepen in your mother-daughter relationship.

Share fun and connective experiences within a supportive circle of women. Blossom into our creative and natural selves rooted in our love for ourselves our daughters and the Earth. We will be exploring the art of council, self-care, our authentic yes and no, and tools for aligned decision making.

We will play nature awareness games, swim and enjoy the blossoming of our creativity through ritual, art, dance and connective sharing. Cost: $975/mother-daughter pair.

Barnardsville • 828-7757174 • avl.mx/4nr • lena@ earthpatheducation.com June 21-25

EARTH PATH EDUCATION — NATURE SISTERS DAY CAMP

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Ages 8-11 Girls We play and connect with new friends and Mother Earth through nature awareness games, ancestral crafts, teamwork, community service and primitive skills. We will learn edible and medicinal plants, plus herbal medicine making, and share our hearts through song, play, council circles and simple earth-based rituals.

We will serve the community, grow our ability to work as a team and hone awareness of each girl’s strengths and leadership qualities. 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Cost: $265. Sibling discounts available.

Barnardsville • 828-7757174 • avl.mx/4nr • lena@ earthpatheducation.com July 5-9

EVOLVE EARLY LEARNING — EXPLORERS SUMMER EXPERIENCE DAY CAMP

Creek exploration, outdoor games, outdoor skill building, nature studies, and crafts for rising K-5 and 6th-9th graders. $300 / week.

Summer Academy: July 12-23 An educational program for students ages 6-12 who struggle with dyslexia or other language-based learning differences or students who have fallen behind due to virtual learning. Morning word study/reading lessons and math lessons are hands-on and multisensory.

Afternoon choice: (1) art studio or (2) outdoor ed activities creekside and in the forest. $900 for the 2-week session.

SMART Camp: Science, Math, Art, and Reading Today! Week of June 28 Hands-on academic lessons with afternoon adventures in engineering and art for rising grades 3rd-9th. $300/week.

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Ages 3-7 All gender A special and intentional experience where cohorts of

thelearningcommunity.org MOUNTAINX.COM

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MARCH 17-23, 2021

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KIDS ISSUE

THE CHARACTER CUBE: Sixth grader Tristan O’Donnell of Francine Delany New School for Children explains the idea behind the artwork: “You customize each side of the cube to attributes that you strive to be. For me, that would be stress-free, self-confidence and self-love, productivity, contentment.

By meditating on each side of the cube, you soak up each of the attributes.

This cube helps you achieve who you want to be.”

“Now, in your virtual classroom,” said Lockhart while Hermione shared her screen, “you will find a link that will bring you to the quiz. You will answer the questions by clicking on the text icon on the left of your screen.

You can contact me silently in the chat.

You have 30 minutes. Begin.”

One minute after the test started, Ron muttered, “How do you use this stupid thing!? As soon as I clicked out of my text box, I tried to make another one, but it didn’t work!”

“Ron, every time you finish making a text box, you have to click the text icon again before creating a new one!” said Hermione, exasperated.

“I need help,” whimpered Neville, who was known for always forgetting everything.

“So do I,” said Dean.

“For ‘What is Gildoroy Lockhart’s favorite plant?’” said Hermione, “there aren’t any answers in your books.”

“Yes, but you’ll learn the answer when you truly know me,” said Lockhart in a feigned wise voice.

“But we barely know you!” said Dean.

“Well …” said Lockhart.

“I agree with Dean,” said Seamus.

“So do I,” agreed Harry and Ron. The rest of the class asked so many questions that Lockhart dismissed class 20 minutes early.

“Why didn’t we think of this earlier?!” said Ron during a lunch Zoom.

“All we have to do to get out of Zoom is overwhelm the teacher with questions!

I wouldn’t have thought you could do that!”

“Me?” said Harry.

“No,” said Ron, “Neville did it!”

4th Generation of Baked Goods Connoisseurs 828.252.9330 840 MERRIMON AVENUE 7:00AM–1:00PM EVERYDAY

LET US HELP YOU CELEBRATE! 24

MARCH 17-23, 2021

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SIDERODROMOPHOBIA (FEAR OF TRAINS): Rowan McMullan, a 10th grader at The Franklin School of Innovation, offers: “Our prompt was to choose a fear and turn it into Sharpie pointillism. Using a thin Sharpie, I drew thousands of dots to construct my great idea that I had dreamed up.”

“I did?” asked Neville, astonished.

Even Hermione had to admit that it was a fantastic idea.

— Marcel Christie, third grade, Oakley Elementary School

Decoders My idea is an earbud that connects to the brain, allowing people to understand others with special needs. I myself try to figure out what my brother is saying. He has special needs.

— Kei Girardin, fourth grade, ArtSpace Charter School

Ocean Space Photo Traveler Scientists are having a hard time with space travel. Satellites don’t have high enough tech to go beyond the outer rims of the solar system or to go into the atmosphere of other planets to collect samples. They are also having trouble with deep sea exploration. Underwater ships are so big, with lights so bright, that they scare away all of the new creatures. Deep sea ships are also too big to go into the homes of the creatures.

My great idea could put all of that behind us. It is called the OSPT. OSPT stands for Ocean Space Photo Traveler. The OSPT is capable of deep space travel. The reason it is capable of such travel is because of its boosters.

The OSPT’s boosters are so powerful, it can travel at the speed of light.

Traveling at that speed makes it easier and faster to discover new systems and planets possibly containing life.

The OSPT can release orbs down to the surface of planets to collect samples, photos and most importantly, traces of life. The orbs are equipped with heat sensors and X-ray vision.

These abilities help the orb detect life.

The orbs have regular boosters like the ones we use on rockets today, but more powerful. When the pingpongball-sized orb has collected all it can, it returns to the OSPT. The boosters of the OSPT and its orbs are modified to work in both ocean and space. The OSPT has electromagnetic connect units built into its boosters. That way, it can carry cargo to the International Space Station easily.

The OSPT has hover units installed on its bottom platforms so it can travel out over the ocean to find the right spot to dive under. Once it finds the right spot, it can dive down to the bottom of the sea and back without

KIDS SUMMER CAMP GUIDE

young explorers will discover the 11 Dimensions of Wellness while celebrating the natural world, innovation, creativity and personal growth. Just what we need after a year like this!

Lunch from Laughing Seed Cafe and two snacks daily.

Must commit to full month. 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Cost: $925/July session, $850/Aug. session.

10% sibling discount available.

Asheville • 828-3675077 • avl.mx/6wp • evolveearlylearning@gmail.com July 5-30, Aug. 2-20

EVOLVE EARLY LEARNING — PURPOSEFUL PLAY SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL RESILIENCE PROGRAM

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Ages 4-7 All gender Designed for children who are ready for safe and social learning. This Reggio Emiliainspired, child-led camp will have your kids jumping for joy each morning! Children will garden, make art, collaborate, build, play and participate in project-based learning facilitated by caring and passionate teachers. Hands-on STEAM and social learning in a safe, natural setting. Limited to 12 participants. Must commit

to full month. 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Cost: $175/week.

Asheville • 828-367-5077 • evolveearlylearning.com • evolveearlylearning@gmail.com July 5-30, Aug. 2-20

FIRED UP! CREATIVE LOUNGE — ART ADVENTURES CAMP

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Ages 6-12 All gender Campers will explore and learn new artistic techniques while creating their very own projects from clay, canvas, pottery, glass, mosaics and more! 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Cost: $145/week or $35/day.

Asheville • 828-253-8181 • avl.mx/4q3 • linda@ fireduplounge.com June 21-25, July 12-16

FOREST FLOOR WILDERNESS PROGRAMS — ARCHER'S ARENA

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Ages 9-12 All gender In this projectile-packed program, children will develop their archery abilities using bows, arrows and stuffed targets. Then, with our safe foam arrows and

Asheville 828-274-8822

10A YORKSHIRE ST., STE. C

specialized bows, campers become the targets and play an epic capture-the-flag style game in the forest. Learn to clear your mind, releasing all distracting thoughts. Hone your focus down to a single point… draw back your bowstring… and in one quick-clean motion, launch a thin rod through the air, landing it squarely on a small target many feet away. This is the ancient skill of the archer. 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Cost: $295/week.

Asheville • 828-3389787 • avl.mx/6x0 • forestfloorwp@gmail.com July 5-9, Aug. 2-6

and useful items using natural materials... honeysuckle baskets, felting, pottery, making natural dyes and paints, and crafting with gourds and bamboo to make useful objects. 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Cost: $295/week.

Asheville • 828-3389787 • avl.mx/4pz • forestfloorwp@gmail.com July 5-9, Aug. 2-6

FOREST FLOOR WILDERNESS PROGRAMS — CRAFTY CRITTERS

Ages 5-7 All gender Cultures all around the world have stories about the small magical woodland creatures who take the form of humans.

Together we’ll play in our own Faerie Fortress on the mountainside: making whimsical crafts, harvesting plants for Faerie-Flower teas and brewing our concoctions over a fire.

We’ll also have a keen eye out during our adventures and plant harvesting excursions, for in the forest lurk meddlesome trolls and tricksters. We'll overcome these challenges with goodwill and cheer, and the faeries

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Ages 6-8 All gender One of the most essential of human capabilities: to form in our mind a vision of something that doesn’t yet exist, and then use our own two hands to bring that vision into reality. This is the heart of crafting… and it’s so much fun. So come and craft with us! In this camp the focus is on making things with our hands. We’ll be out in the forest, creating a variety of fun

Reynolds Mountain 828-785-5825 94 N. MERRIMON AVE.

FOREST FLOOR WILDERNESS PROGRAMS — FLIGHT OF THE FAERIES

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will again take flight! 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Cost: $295/week.

Asheville • 828-3389787 • avl.mx/4pz • forestfloorwp@gmail.com June 14-18, July 5-9, July 26-30

FOREST FLOOR WILDERNESS PROGRAMS — JOURNEY OF THE GREEN MAN

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Ages 6-8 All gender Join us on a fantastic adventure as we discover the magical world of the Green Man. Campers will hear this ancient tale, then learn and practice the wilderness skills found in the story, like building shelter and making fire with natural materials, identifying and preparing wild edible and medicinal plants and going undetected in the forest. As the week progresses, the story comes to life with characters appearing in the forest, culminating in one final challenge... saving the Green Man and restoring

Waynesville 828-407-4034 50 BOWMAN DR.

balance to the realm. 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Cost: $295/week.

Asheville • 828-3389787 • avl.mx/4pz • forestfloorwp@gmail.com June 21-25, July 26-30

FOREST FLOOR WILDERNESS PROGRAMS — LEGEND OF THE GNOMES

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Ages 5-7 All gender Campers will create a gnome village in the forest, building “gnome home” shelter huts around a central hearth for cooking projects, making tea, eating and telling stories.

Gnomes will then leave the village on missions to rescue their wild animal neighbors from meddlesome trolls. They’ll learn from their friend Fox how to walk silently and use all their senses to successfully sneak past the trolls.

Gnome crafts will be another important focus of camp, including felted red pointy gnome hats, weaving natural

Sylva 828-586-9333

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KIDS ISSUE

TRAVELING IN COMFORT: First grader Lea A. of Rainbow Community School imagines a new form of transportation: “If you are too sleepy and you are going to be late, you can put on this coat that is like a big, fluffy bed. …

Then it will fly you where you need to go, and you can enjoy the view.” denting a wing. Because of its small size, it can squeeze into the homes of the undiscovered creatures and find traces of their being. With the OSPT,

Join Black Mountain Recreation & Parks this Spring & Summer!

scientists will be eased in their ongoing work to discover new life in both ocean and space.

The Feeder Meter is a food bowl for horses that is partnered with a halter with a small, waterproof computer chip. Each bowl and chip are different, so if the horse with the right chip walks up to the bowl, it opens, and they can eat happily. If a horse with a different chip or no chip at all goes to the bowl, it won’t open, and they have to go to their own bowl or walk away.

The Feeder Meter was made to help with a herd’s pecking order. It also comes with a remote control that can lock and unlock it.

— Eddie Gerken, sixth grade, Asheville Middle School

— Nola Nichols, eighth grade, Evergreen Community Charter School

The Feeder Meter

Spring Youth Disc Golf League Ages: 9-17 • $25 • Deadline: March 24 Spring Ascension Series: All Ages • Hikes & Bike Rides: Free Outdoor Rock Climbing: $12 Deadline: March 22 River Cleanups All Ages • Free!

May 26: Veterans Park June 2: Flat Creek Greenway June 9: Riverwalk Park

May 22 Hooked on Lake Tomahawk Kids fishing day June-July Black Mountain Summer Camp!

Registration opening later this spring June 17- August 12 Park Rhythms Concert Series Thursday evenings in Black Mountain

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MARCH 17-23, 2021

Reusable delivery dishes It is a known fact that reusable dishes are better for the environment than single-use items.

DeliverZero is a company like your normal food-delivery service like Grubhub or Uber Eats. The only difference is they use reusable dishes.

Every time you order from DeliverZero, they give you your food in a reusable container. The next time you order, you give back your used containers, and they will clean and use them for the next customer. In today’s world, since COVID-19 is still happening, lots of people choose to order food online, and by using these dishes, you are saving that trash from being thrown away.

DeliverZero today is not in North Carolina, but I still think we can figure out a way to use reusable dishes. Reusable dishes are good for the environment and in the long run are cheaper than disposable ones.

If even just a couple of businesses started to use reusable dishes, then you could inspire more businesses to do the same, which will help save the environment. These dishes are easily bought from Amazon, and for not much compared to how much you will save. At this point, the environment is in so much danger, and we need to save it. Take the first step and help.

— Emaline Penny, fourth grade, Odyssey Community School

Sign up today for

Don’t forget to mark your calendars!

COVID CURE: ArtSpace Charter School fourth grader Moon Frahm envisions a great idea that everyone can get behind.

MOUNTAINX.COM

Cooking show for kids I want to produce a cooking show!

We will allow kids ages 6 through 16 to participate in cooking challenges.

The first week will be cookie week. It will be fun for all of us. They will be judged by presentation and taste. We will have four judges, including me.

Most of the cooking shows I watch with my parents have adults on them, and that’s why I think we need a cooking show for kids.

The second week will be fruit week.

The kids will make fruit into anything.

The kids will come back every two weeks to compete on the cooking show. Sometimes there will be new chefs. We will inform the cooks what week it is, and they will draw out their plan and bring it and show the show.

We will have a backup chef if one goes out sick or something.

— Ella McDonald, second grade, W.W. Estes Elementary School

Fixing COVID-19 and more I would create a machine that would suck up COVID-19 like a vacuum.

There would be a machine that would be launched into space, and I would have a remote and would have a big green button. I wouldn’t have a red button because a red button always means no good. I would press the green button and it would suck up the COVID. When it finished sucking up the COVID, the part of the machine with

KIDS SUMMER CAMP GUIDE

materials into baskets and more.

9 a.m.-3 p.m. Cost: $295/week.

Asheville • 828-3389787 • avl.mx/6x0 • forestfloorwp@gmail.com June 21-25, July 1216, Aug. 2-6

FOREST FLOOR WILDERNESS PROGRAMS — MYSTERIOUS ANIMALS OF THE FOREST

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Ages 5-7 All gender Who left this paw print in the mud? Who was nibbling on this rose bush? Who dug this hole? What were they up to?

What is the cutest animal in the forest? We’ll answer all these questions and more in this lively and curiosity driven camp adventure. Campers will discover our rich ecosystem as if they too were a wild animal thriving in the forest. By crafting their own animal persona, they’ll learn to gain the superpowers of our wild neighbors — and along the way, they’ll uncover the signs that reveal the habits

of our many woodland friends.

9 a.m.-3 p.m. Cost: $295/week.

Asheville • 828-3389787 • avl.mx/6x0 • forestfloorwp@gmail.com June 7-11, June 28-July 2, July 19-23, August 9-13

FOREST FLOOR WILDERNESS PROGRAMS — NATURE DETECTIVES

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Ages 9-12 All gender Grab your magnifying glass and field guide, because we’ve got a natural mystery to solve! Who made these animal tracks? Is this plant edible or poisonous?

How old is this message in a bottle? What’s the answer to the riddle, and how do we find the next clue? We’ll answer these questions by diving deep into the mysteries of the natural world, combining traditional naturalist study and scavenger hunt problem solving for a sort of escape room in the forest.

Children will learn about local flora and fauna while helping to solve the mystery. 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Cost: $295/week.

Asheville • 828-3389787 • avl.mx/6x0 • forestfloorwp@gmail.com June 7-11, July 19-23

FOREST FLOOR WILDERNESS PROGRAMS — SECRETS OF THE JEDI

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Ages 9-12 All gender Combining the physical skills of survival with the philosophy and wisdom of the mystics, students will learn to deepen their connection to the natural world and each other, ultimately gaining the ability to tap into “The Force” and sense the oneness of all things.

This class is intended to build self confidence, as well as a feeling of community, through age-appropriate challenges.

Activities may include making fire by friction, carving, tracking, guided sense meditations, awareness games and the fabled Jedi Training Center. 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Cost: $295/week.

Asheville • 828-3389787 • avl.mx/4pz • forestfloorwp@gmail.com June 28-July 2, Aug. 9-13

FOUR SEASONS — CAMP HEART SONGS

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Ages 6-12 All gender A two-day camp that allows children to express their grief

in a fun and safe environment.

Some of the activities offered at camp include: swimming, rock wall climbing, arts and crafts, therapeutic small groups, pet therapy and games. Cost: Free. Asheville • 828-692-6178 • avl.mx/6xb • info@fourseasonscfl.org Fall 2021 — Dates TBD

GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS INSTITUTE AT TREMONT — DISCOVERY CAMP

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Ages 9-12 All gender Search for salamanders, collect insects, experience the awesome power of a waterfall, hike through wilderness, cool off in the swimming hole and laugh with your new friends around the campfire. This is the place where you will discover just how exciting nature can be at a summer

camp like no other. Camp lasts Monday afternoon to Saturday morning. Cost: $650/session.

Townsend, TN • 865-448-6709 • avl.mx/4ox • mail@gsmit.org June 14-19, June 28-July 3

GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS INSTITUTE AT TREMONT — SMOKY MOUNTAIN FAMILY CAMP

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Ages 6+ w/ adult All gender Spend your family vacation in the middle of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Surround your family with the magic of the mountains as you hike ridges, study wildlife, explore secret places and take afternoon dips in the Middle Prong. This weeklong adventure is designed for families that are ready to leave their cares behind in exchange for a week of unending family fun. Each day brings new activities in which to

choose; hike in the high country, explore Cades Cove, search for salamanders and enjoy fantastic evening entertainment.

Cost: $1,523-2,923/family.

Townsend, TN • 865-448-6709 • avl.mx/4ox • mail@gsmit.org July 12-17

GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS INSTITUTE AT TREMONT — TEEN HIGH ADVENTURE

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Ages 13-17 All gender Venture into the heart of the Great Smoky backcountry with a community of teenage outdoor enthusiasts like you. Grow as a leader among your generation in understanding outdoor living ethics, as well as learning firsthand about the animals and plants that call these mountains home. At trail’s end there’s a hot shower waiting as well as a day of bicycling in Cades Cove and

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✈ Travel Camp

MARCH 17-23, 2021

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KIDS ISSUE

Floss-washing machine

machine would make a big difference is because we could also reuse floss. This would cut down on how much floss we use on a day-to-day basis. Imagine how much money you would spend if you could only wear your clothes once.

That’s how I feel about floss!

— Morgan Shelfer, sixth grade, Asheville Middle School

Foster an animal

OCEAN WEEK: Third grader Maya Brown of Oakley Elementary School suggests: “Ocean Week is a great idea because kids can learn about the ocean and learn why we need it.”

COVID would come down to Earth. I would put some magic disinfectant in it, and it would be clayish, watery stuff and not COVID. I would add red dye, make it into bricks and make houses with it. Then the homeless people would have homes, and we would all be happy again.

— Vivian Kominski, first grade, Odyssey School

Smart pencil/pen My idea is to invent a smart pencil/pen. It has many uses, so let me explain it to you. This isn’t just any ordinary writing device. It will be able to talk to you and give you information, much like a Google Home or Alexa.

There will be a microphone on it so that it will be able to write what you say to it. The pen/pencil will be able to write without you even touching it.

It will also be able to translate to different languages. An example of this is if a person who speaks French wanted to write something in English, all you would have to do is say it to the pen or pencil and it will write it down for you. It will also be able to say what you have written down back to you.

There are many different kinds of people who would benefit from this invention. The list could go on from people who just don’t want to write to people who have dyslexia. The pen/ pencil would help people with dyslexia by just having to say what they wanted to write instead of having to write it and getting the letters mixed up.

This invention could also help people who are disabled. You wouldn’t have to move to write down what you wanted to say. This pen/pencil will be made out of products that are good for the environment.

My big idea is an eco-safe floss-washing machine. I think this is because I love our Earth and our animals! Eight million pieces of plastic get into the ocean every day! Right now, all of the plastic in our ocean is estimated to weigh 269,000 tons. If we keep this up, by 2050, plastic will outweigh the fish in our ocean, and the plastic will weigh around 937 million tons.

Even though you might not think you help out when you recycle or get a metal straw, you are helping and improving our environment more than you think! Regular dental floss is encased in plastic film, which isn’t recyclable and will last several hundreds of years! If dentists and scientists come up with a eco-safe floss out of bamboo or another material, that could make a huge impact. Why I think a washing

My great idea is for you to foster animals, which is essential for our local shelters. If you have the privilege to foster and take care of an animal in need, then you can help so many dogs from being harmed and put to sleep.

Not only does fostering help animals and shelters, it provides a safer place for animals to feel loved and treated.

Too many innocent animals get put down every year. According to Carolina Public Press, in 2019, 12 dogs were put down at Brother Wolf shelter for behavioral issues. Some shelters also starve their animals, and many of them have health problems because of how dirty their cages and surroundings are.

People need to start fostering and helping animals in need with a safer environment and more freedom. I ask you to help me in this cause so animals don’t have to be harmed anymore.

Many animals are neglected and can’t learn to trust humans because of what we do to them. I feel strongly about the safety of animals, and I believe that you should as well.

— Stella Ross, eighth grade, Evergreen Community Charter School

— Kenzie Davis, seventh grade, Polk County Middle School

Summer Camps June 1 – Aug. 18

Weekly Themes such as: Brilliant Building • Harry Potter Art in Nature • And more...

Short Day and Full Day options available Regular gymnastics classes running throughout summer We are following CDC Guidelines Proper Mask Use & Distancing required

35,000 sq ft of fun + outdoor play space

828-254-6060 • ashevillecommunitymovement.com 28

MARCH 17-23, 2021

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HELP THE BEARS: Third grader Leo Fritog of Woodfin Elementary School explains: “Bears getting into garbage and backyards is a big problem. This is my idea to carefully catch a problem bear and release it into a protected forest.”

KIDS SUMMER CAMP GUIDE

tubing the Little River. Program lasts from Monday midafternoon through the second Thursday morning. Cost: $1,410.

Townsend, TN • 865-448-6709 • avl.mx/4ox • mail@gsmit.org July 19-29

GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS INSTITUTE AT TREMONT — WILDERNESS ADVENTURE TREK

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Ages 13-17 All gender Spend a week away from parents? Sure! But spend it among black bears, towering trees, rattlesnakes and barred owls while backpacking on steep mountain trails? Oh, yeah! Learn the skills necessary for planning and enjoying a safe, successful backpacking trip. Sleep in the woods, swim in a mountain stream, kick back around the campfire and make valuable new friends. A three-night backpack gives participants the chance to put these skills into practice, experience a true wilderness and make friends to last a lifetime. Camp lasts from Monday afternoon to Saturday morning. Cost: $725/session.

Townsend, TN • 865-448-6709 • avl.mx/4ox • mail@gsmit.org June 14-19, June 28-July 3

KIDS GARDEN — SUMMER CAMP

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Ages 2-12 All gender An array of weekly themes with coinciding activities, lessons, art projects, movement and more! Snack and lunch included.

Themes Include: Let's Boogie!; Peace, Love and Mountains; Aqua Adventures; Craft Masters; In a Galaxy Far, Far, Away; Full STEAM Ahead Mad Science; Green Thumb; Artful Antics; Land Before Time. Cost: $240/ week. 9 a.m.-1 p.m. or 1-5 p.m.

Asheville • 828-417-7310 • avl.mx/4r9 • asheville@ kidsgardennc.com 1-week sessions June 7-Aug. 9

LAKEVIEW PUTT AND PLAY — SUMMER CAMP

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Ages 7-12 All gender Campers enjoy mini golf, virtual reality, science, nature and arts and crafts. 8 a.m.-5:30 p.m. $180/week for full days, $110/week for half days.

Arden • 828-6761746 • avl.mx/5so • lakeviewputtandplay@ gmail.com 1-week sessions July 19-Aug. 13

LIMINAL EQUUS — HORSE CAMP

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Ages 9-14 All gender An enchanted herd of horses, a stunning swath of Appalachia and an experienced team of equine educators present this wonder-wallowing summer adventure. Relating with horses offers inner calm, balance, focus, emotional intelligence, connection and confidence. We have refined our curriculum over years of camps and programs to cultivate these gifts in children through games in and out of the saddle, simple meditations, skill tracts, archery, safe horse yoga, nature play, storytelling, art, a supportive group and good ol’ trail rides. 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Cost: $350/week.

Barnardsville • 828-2373528 • liminalequus.com • liminalequuskids@gmail.com June 14-18, July 5-9

MINDSTRETCH TRAVEL ADVENTURES — 10DAY WYOMING & MONTANA ADVENTURE

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Ages 10-16 Boys This year we'll be heading out to Wyoming and Montana.

We do camp kinds of activities during the days, but come back in the evenings to real beds in a hotel and real food in a restaurant. Boys get to choose from the menu. We will split our time between Jackson, Wyoming (Grand Teton National Park) and West Yellowstone, Montana (Yellowstone National Park). Cost: $3,550.

Columbus • 828-8634235 • avl.mx/4p1 • columbusmark@gmail.com July 18-27

MONTFORD PARK PLAYERS — MONTFORD MOPPETS SHAKESPEARE CAMP, RICHARD III

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Ages 9-17 All gender Spend the summer outdoors with Shakespeare! Produce, rehearse and perform “Richard III” in the lovely outdoor Hazel Robinson Ampitheatre.

Rehearsals: Mon., Wed. and Fri., 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Performances: Aug. 6, 7, 8, 13, 14 and 15, 5:30 p.m. Cost: $175. Sibling discount and scholarships available.

Asheville • 828-7021665 • avl.mx/6xp • themontfordmoppets@ gmail.com July 19- Aug. 15

MONTFORD PARK PLAYERS — MONTFORD MOPPETS SHAKESPEARE CAMP, THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR

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Ages 9-17 All gender Spend the summer outdoors with Shakespeare! Produce, rehearse and perform “The Merry Wives of Windsor” in the lovely outdoor Hazel Robinson Ampitheatre. Rehearsals: Mon., Wed. and Fri., 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Performances: July 9, 10, 11, 16, 17 and 18, 5:30 p.m.

Cost: $175. Sibling discount and scholarships available.

Asheville • 828-7021665 • avl.mx/6xp • themontfordmoppets@ gmail.com June 21-July 18

MOUNTAIN ROOTS — DAY CAMP

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Ages 4-10 All gender Discover and learn in the mountains of WNC this summer!

Mountain Roots offers fun and educational day camp adventures for preschool and elementary-aged campers. Both of our camps are focused on the outdoors and connecting campers to each other, their community, and the natural environment. Each day of the week has a topic like Movement, Art, Wilderness, Gardening and Community, and each week of the summer has a different theme to help structure our activities and keep content new for kiddos that want to join us for the entire summer! 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Cost: $195-$235/session.

Pisgah Forest • 828-3844629 • avl.mx/5oy • info@ mountainroots.org June 14-18, June 21-25, June 28-July 1, July 6-9, July 12-16, July 19-23, July 26-30

ODYSSEY CLAYWORKS — A BUG’S LIFE

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Ages 6-10 All gender What do you think of bugs? Are they eww gross? Or way cool?!

One thing is for certain, they are super important for a healthy planet. We can learn a lot from these little critters, and in this camp, we will do just that! We’ll dig in the dirt and watch our ideas take flight. Come on all you earthworms and ladybugs!

Let’s party! 2-5 p.m. Cost: $235.

Asheville • 828-2850210 • avl.mx/4rp • odysseyclayworks@gmail.com June 28-July 2

ODYSSEY CLAYWORKS — ADVANCED WHEEL

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Ages 10-14 All gender This is the camp for students who have taken at least one camp or class at Odyssey in the last year or two that was focused on the potter’s wheel. Students will be encouraged to develop their throwing skills to create bigger and better vessels on the wheel! We will move faster and have more freedom, so start sketching some ideas now

and we will make them come alive! 9 a.m.-noon. Cost: $235.

Asheville • 828-2850210 • avl.mx/4rp • odysseyclayworks@gmail.com June 28-July 2

ODYSSEY CLAYWORKS — COLORFUL CLAY!

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Ages 6-10 All gender During this fun-filled week, campers will dive into all things colorful! Students will learn basic handbuilding and wheel throwing as a way to create a blank canvas to decorate! We will spend time learning about color theory, techniques for applying glazes as well as learning how to make their own custom colors!

9 a.m.-noon. Cost: $235.

Asheville • 828-2850210 • avl.mx/4rp • odysseyclayworks@gmail.com June 21-25

ODYSSEY CLAYWORKS — FIND YOUR SPIRIT ANIMAL

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Ages 8-12 All gender We can learn a lot from nature when we observe animals in

the wild. It’s fun to observe their natural characteristics, habitats, and more. In this week of camp, we will dig into some clay and explore our spirit animals. No experience or prior knowledge of clay is necessary to enjoy creating hand-built sculptures and wheel thrown vessels that resemble your favorite animals. 2-5 p.m. Cost: $235.

Asheville • 828-2850210 • avl.mx/4rp • odysseyclayworks@gmail.com June 21-25

ODYSSEY CLAYWORKS — HERE WE THROW!

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Ages 8-12 All gender Come dressed to make a mess!

We are going to go learn how to use a pottery wheel to make cups, bowls, vases and plates!

Students will learn different ways to decorate these vessels, and once finished, they will be food safe treasures for the whole family! 9 a.m.-noon. Cost: $235.

Asheville • 828-2850210 • avl.mx/4rp • odysseyclayworks@gmail.com June 7-11

ODYSSEY CLAYWORKS — FUN, COLORFUL CLAY

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Ages 6-10 All gender In this camp, designed for the youngest age group, we’ll create beautiful and functional pottery forms on and off the potter’s wheel. We’ll decorate our masterpieces using colors we love and fire them so that you can use them at home for years to come. Join Kristen for a colorful and fun week in the studio! 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Cost: $235.

Asheville • 828-2850210 • avl.mx/4rp • odysseyclayworks@gmail.com June 7-11 MOUNTAINX.COM

MARCH 17-23, 2021

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KIDS ISSUE

THE WINGSUIT 84,000: Fourth grader Leah McDonough of Evergreen Community Charter School describes the concept: “The wingsuit could help many different people, like search and rescue and park rangers. For example, search and rescue could use it to get places faster and get to hard-to-reach areas.

Rangers could use it to watch over the parks from above. This is why I think this is a great idea.”

Multi-supertasker machine “Oh noes!” Margaretta shouted.

“Whatever is the matter, Margaretta?” Bob questioned.

“I only have five minutes to do dishes, but I’m late for my mac ‘n’ cheese eating contest!”

Margaretta was so very extra super duper extremely rushed, steam was basically coming out of her eyes, nose, mouth and ears!

WNC’S ONLY

KIDS’ ER NOW OPEN

AT MISSION HOSPITAL DESIGNED JUST FOR KIDS

WISHFUL GAMING: Sixth grader Gigi Newman of Francine Delany New School For Children offers: “This art was motivated by an idea to create software that could animate any fictional character. This can help everyone, because during COVID, it can feel really lonely sometimes. I was hoping that with this idea, you could have a close-by friend even when you’re physically separated from everyone.”

“Oh noooo!” Bob saw why she was rushed. “Whatever shall you do, Ma-” Crash!

“Nevah fear! It is me, the Multitasking Queen!”

Margaretta gasped dramatically. “Oh, Multitasking Queen, thank goodness!”

“I just finished my latest invention …. the Multi-super-tasker 6000!”

Multitasking Queen exclaimed.

“Woahhh! Wait, 6000? There’s more than one?” Bob tilted his head.

“Uh, no, I just think the name is cool.

Anyways. Margaretta! This machine will do the dishes for you while you are gone!”

They were both excited.

“No diddly tip top darn danging way! I can go to my contest! Thank you, Multitasking Queen!”

Margaretta rushed out the door, leaving the machine to work.

“It is my pleasure!”

Multitasking Queen snapped, and she was gone.

Bob stood there. “How — and where — never mind, I’m gonna watch ‘SpongeBob.’” — Vini Barnwell, fifth grade, Francine Delany New School for Children

Fast charger missionhealth.org/PediatricER 30

MARCH 17-23, 2021

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My great idea is a fast charger for your phone/tablet. The way that this would work is you would put the Fast Charger Version 1 in an outlet, then it would store that power. After

fully charged, you could unplug the Fast Charger Version 1 and bring it anywhere.

Then you would be able to set it down on a flat surface. Then you would put your phone/tablet on the charger, then press the button. This would send the power in the charger very quickly to the phone wirelessly.

This might be a bit slower than the Fast Charger Version 2, which is faster but less convenient.

As for the Fast Charger Version 2, it would be similar to Version 1, but the way it sends the power to the phone is a bit more simple. So you would charge the Fast Charger Version 2. After full charge is reached, you could take it off the charger and bring it anywhere.

When you need to charge your phone, you would set it down and plug it in to your phone, then click the button. This would send the power more efficiently and directly to the battery in your phone.

— Rowan Franck, sixth grade, The Franklin School of Innovation

Time for stress relief My great idea is to require all businesses and schools to have a specified time for all their workers or students to do things relaxing and stress relieving.

This break would require people participating in it to do activities that would relieve stress and anxiety. Activities would include meditation, exercise, sleeping or just doing calming activities.

KIDS SUMMER CAMP GUIDE

ODYSSEY CLAYWORKS — PEDAL TO THE METAL

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Ages 8-12 All gender We are going to go learn how to use a pottery wheel to make cups, bowls, vases and plates!

Students will learn different ways to decorate these vessels, and once finished, they will be food safe treasures for the whole family! 2-5 p.m. Cost: $235.

Asheville • 828-2850210 • avl.mx/4rp • odysseyclayworks@gmail.com June 14-18

ODYSSEY CLAYWORKS — YOUNG POTTER’S WHEEL CAMP

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Ages 8-12 All gender Ready? Set? Throw! Let’s explore what clay can do! We’ll use the potter’s wheel to make cereal bowls, candlesticks, storage jars and more. Join Amy as she shows you how to spin some amazing creations in the studio!

9 a.m.-noon. Cost: $235.

Asheville • 828-2850210 • avl.mx/4rp • odysseyclayworks@gmail.com July 5-9

ODYSSEY COMMUNITY SCHOOL — SUMMER CAMP

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Ages 5-12 All gender Odyssey Summer Camp is modeled on what we believe summer should be: playing with your friends, outside among the trees, swimming in the sun and plenty of time for creativity, movement and spacious play! Campers play and swim daily, with time for a little quiet relaxation. Choose from optional add-on classes to learn a new skill, including music, ceramics, engineering and art. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Cost: $300/week.

Asheville • 828-259-3653 • avl.mx/5pz • ericker@ odysseycommunity.org 1-week sessions June 21-Aug. 5

PISGAH CLIMBING — ADVANCED OUTDOOR ROCK CLIMBING CAMP

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Ages 13-17 All gender Campers will build on an existing foundation and jump to a level that leaves them a well-rounded practitioner of rock climbing. Campers can

expect to learn how to place traditional gear, build and clean anchors, lead traditional and sport rock climbs, rappel and multipitch systems — all while making new friends, learning self confidence and building a sense of empowerment to be their own leader. Cost: $1,200.

Asheville • 828-380-4006 • pisgahclimbing.com • info@ pisgahclimbing.com July 5-11

PISGAH CLIMBING — BEGINNERS OUTDOOR ROCK CLIMBING CAMP

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Ages 12-15 All gender Campers will learn to belay and tie in like a pro, climb a variety of route styles, remove and place traditional gear and build and clean anchors — all while making new friends and learning self confidence to come away feeling enriched and empowered. This camp is built for the newer climber that has a genuine interest in rock climbing and developing a solid skill foundation.

Cost: $1,000/session.

Asheville • 828-380-4006 • pisgahclimbing.com • info@ pisgahclimbing.com June 7-11, Aug. 2-6

PLAYGROUND STAGE — FULL-LENGTH MUSICAL THEATER CAMP

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Rising grades 1-7 All gender Campers will act in a fulllength musical, design sets, create costumes and props, take a fantasy stage makeup workshop, a pirate stage combat workshop, participate in a talent show, sew their own rehearsal bag and learn how to audition for a Broadway musical.

9 a.m.-4 p.m. Cost: $480.

Arden • 828-537-5050 • avl.mx/6ya • education@ playgroundstage.org July 5-16

PLAYGROUND STAGE — MUSICAL THEATER CAMP

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Rising Grades 1-7 All gender The young performer's chance to experience all aspects of putting on a show! Every camper has a chance to set design, costume design and perform in a musical the end of the week!

Each day includes theaterrelated crafts, acting lessons and

behind the scenes activities.

9 a.m.-4 p.m. Cost: $280.

Arden • 828-537-5050 • playgroundstage. org • education@ playgroundstage.org June 21-25, June 28-July 2

RAINBOW COMMUNITY SCHOOL — AMAZING ANIMALS OF WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA

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Rising grades 1-3 All gender Come learn about the animals of the North Carolina mountains during a week of outdoor, play-based summer camp!

We will explore the lives of native mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians through games, imaginative play, crafts, experiments, and stories. 9 a.m.- 4 p.m. Cost: $300.

Asheville • 828-931-808-3722 • rainbowcommunityschool. org • west.willmore@ rainbowlearning.org June 14-18

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RAINBOW COMMUNITY SCHOOL — ASHEVILLE ADVENTURES CAMP

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Rising grades 4-8 All gender We live in one of the best cities in the world and this week is dedicated to growing our understanding of what makes Asheville unique. We will spend our mornings learning about the arts, geography, haunted tales and pop culture that has been cultivated in our region.

Our afternoon field trips will yield hands-on experiences related to our morning lessons.

9 a.m.-4 p.m. Cost: $300.

Asheville • 931-808-3722 • avl.mx/6wh • west.willmore@ rainbowlearning.org June 14-18

RAINBOW COMMUNITY SCHOOL — MAGIC OF NUMBERS MATH CAMP

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Rising grades 1-3 All gender We will strengthen our mathematical understanding using the Cognitively Guided Instructional (CGI) approach.

This practice builds on what each individual child already knows, utilizes the tools they

MARCH 17-23, 2021

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KIDS ISSUE

Businesses and schools would not be able to force people to work at this time, but people wouldn’t be allowed to decide whether they want to do their work at this time. I would do this because of the level of people who have so much stress and anxiety or issues due to them.

The first obstacle that we would have to overcome is that a lot of people may want to work ahead or use this as time to do work. To overcome this, we would have to teach people to be accustomed to being able to relax and take breaks. To do this, we would have to be easier on people, not putting as much pressure on them to do work as hard and quickly.

The other major obstacle is getting the government to require businesses and jobs to take this break every day.

To overcome this obstacle, I would need to find a large amount of people to agree with me that we should follow through with an idea like this.

The other obstacle that we would have to overcome is that some jobs may require someone to constantly attend to them. This would mean that everyone would have different schedules depending on your job requirements. We already see this in some form today, with different people having different break times and different shifts at their job.

My idea definitely has some challenges that come with it, and we already see parts of it today, but I want to add more emphasis and focus on stress and anxiety because of the abundance we see of it in the present day.

— Ian Stafford, eighth grade, Polk County Middle School

Self-adapting clothing Do you ever go to work or school and think to yourself, “Wow, I really should have layered up today?” Well, do I have an idea for you: clothes that can change based on your growth and the temperature around you.

Clothing can be something a lot of people struggle with because they either do not have the time to shop or they can’t afford the apparel they need.

I believe that producing self-adapting clothing will help millions of people around the world as the epidemic of poverty is spreading. Not only will it help those in need, but it will also give those who don’t prefer shopping for apparel an opportunity to save money and time.

Over the past few years, millions of pounds of clothing waste have been added to the world’s pollution.

If we invest our money into producing something more minimalist that can last someone a lifetime, we could reduce the waste. I do understand 32

MARCH 17-23, 2021

looking through that camera. If you crash your drone or break it somehow, it will instantly teleport back to Earth.

So then we could repair it.

The LSD is solar-powered and space-powered. Space power means if the drone is in cold space with no sun, the space would power it through a small air vent. On the air vents’ sides, there are panels that sense the cold space and travels the space into the power wire.

The drone has the NASA symbol on it, and it has four propellers on the top. It’s made in a factory out of scrap metal from other pieces of technology we have made in the past. LSD is completely connected to NASA and is monitored by them. If one goes down, they’ll get it back up and running again.

Also, the drone has a tough shell, so if the drone hits a meteor, it won’t break.

To launch the LSD, the gamer who is controlling it must very carefully lift it out of the atmosphere. The drone also gets samples for us to study. In the future, scientists could go further into life and further into technology with the LSD. We could find other life forms in space with the LSD. That is my great idea.

— Callan Fitzsimmons, fourth grade, Odyssey School

Message to America

EVIL ALICE: Fifth grader Olive Skinner of Francine Delany New School for Children imagines modernizing Disney characters, including Alice in Wonderland: “Not only do I change their clothes, but I also change their hair color, skin tone and even personality.” that there are an abundance of people who rely on thrift stores to get secondhand clothing, but even so, there’s still a huge amount of trash being produced. Also, if self-adapting clothes do become a reality, it will most likely find its way to thrift stores, where some can buy it at a cheaper price.

Lastly, I want to talk about the effects this clothing will have on small businesses if it were to be produced.

I know many business owners would be threatened by this idea, but I do not think there is a reason to fear it.

There are still many people around the world who use fashion as an escape, and I can guarantee those people will still be shopping at their local stores.

Those stores can even use self-adapting clothes as a source of money. Since this idea would be cheap and easy to access, stores could begin to sell it to the interested customers in their area.

In conclusion, not only will self-adapting clothing reduce waste,

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but it will also help millions in poverty who can’t afford to go shopping for a decent wardrobe.

— Madeline Couch, eighth grade, Evergreen Community Charter School

Scrap metal space drone Some people don’t make it back from space. That is why we need the LSD. LSD is a multiprogrammed drone that can go through the fabrics of space and time. Plus, the entire drone is put into a game.

For you to drive it, you must put on the headset and grab the game controllers. Then you press the “on” button, and the whole thing automatically turns on. Once it turns on, there is a camera on the front of the drone. The headset is connected to that camera.

If you have the headset on, you will be

The dawn of a new day But not always a new age As we struggle to carry on, The loss heavy on our shoulders, We try to find our way back To our home To our country To our nation To our people The home where everyone is not the same But treated like it Where people aren’t dying From white supremacy From people treating others Like dirt they can just trample over The home where people can stand up And be brave And fight Because when we are together We are one Not one color, culture, size or shape But one people One nation, under god.

Indivisible with liberty and justice For all In never-ending darkness, It takes bravery to find the light Because being American should be a pride Not a burden A peace Not a war After a force Demolishing America

KIDS SUMMER CAMP GUIDE

have in their problem-solving toolbox and engages their thinking using intentional math talks, counting collections, story problems and games. Your child will build confidence, act as both student and teacher and strengthen the foundation of their mathematical minds. 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Cost: $150.

Asheville • 931-808-3722 • avl.mx/6wh • west.willmore@ rainbowlearning.org July 12-16

RAINBOW COMMUNITY SCHOOL — PRINTING WITHOUT A PRESS: ART EXPLORATION CAMP

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Rising grades 2-5 All gender This summer art camp will offer multiple ways of creating and exploring prints and printmaking.

We will work with gel plates, collagraph printing and some rubber stamp carving. Expect to get messy, push your creativity and have lots of fun!

9 a.m.-1 p.m. Cost: $150.

Asheville • 931-808-3722 • avl.mx/6wh • west.willmore@ rainbowlearning.org June 21-25

RAINBOW COMMUNITY SCHOOL — SIGN IN! INTRO TO AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE

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Rising grades 3-8 All gender Learn how to communicate in American Sign Language and all about Deaf culture! You will learn the ASL alphabet, how to introduce yourself, colors, numbers, foods and more, as well as the history of Deaf culture. You will also attend an event in person or through Zoom where you can meet others involved in the Deaf community and make some new friends!

Take a stroll through the park and see how we can connect ASL to nature, and so much more! 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Cost: $150.

Asheville • 931-808-3722 • avl.mx/6wh • west.willmore@ rainbowlearning.org June 28-July 2

RAINBOW COMMUNITY SCHOOL — SURF AND TURF CAMP

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Rising grades 4-8 All gender We may not live beachside, but we do have plenty of water in our beautiful mountain home.

This camp is all about exploring the unique bodies of water that attract so many people to the area, such as waterfalls, rivers and lakes. This will be an active camp; some hikes will be challenging, some will be long and easy, but everyday will most certainly offer fun. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Cost: $300.

Asheville • 931-808-3722 • rainbowcommunityschool. org • west.willmore@ rainbowlearning.org June 14-18

ROCK ACADEMY — GIRLS' JAM CAMP

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Ages 11-17 Girls A fun half-day camp for girls from beginner to experienced in vocals and instrument playing.

We will spend the week together choosing and learning songs for a live performance at the end of the week! Ladies, let’s rock!

8:30 a.m.-noon. Cost: $225.

Asheville • 828-252-1888 • rockacademync.com • dena@ rockacademync.com July 26-30

ROCK ACADEMY — OPENING ACT CAMP FOR BUDDING ROCK STARS

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Rising grades 1-3 All gender Ever wanted to rock out with a band? Then this camp is for you! Learn about music and explore the four core rock/pop instruments: guitar, piano, drums and voice, with an introduction to Rock Academy's fundamentals for playing in a band. 8:30 a.m.-noon. Cost: $225.

Asheville • 828-252-1888 • rockacademync.com • dena@ rockacademync.com Aug. 2-6

ROCK ACADEMY — OPENING ACT CAMP FOR UP AND COMING ROCK STARS

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Rising grades 4-6 All gender Ever wanted to rock out with a band? Then this camp is for you! Learn about music and explore the four core rock/pop instruments: guitar, piano, drums and voice, with an introduction to Rock Academy's fundamentals for playing in a band. 8:30 a.m.-noon. Cost: $225.

Asheville • 828-252-1888 • rockacademync.com • dena@ rockacademync.com Aug. 9-13

ROCK ACADEMY — ROOTS MUSIC CAMP

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Ages 11-17 All gender Learn to rock with acoustic instruments in this half-day camp. Jam together and collaborate on selecting songs as we prepare a live show. This camp will give you acoustic band experience with bluegrass, folk, country music and more.

8:30 a.m.-noon. Cost: $225.

Asheville • 828-252-1888 • rockacademync.com • dena@ rockacademync.com July 12-16

ROCK ACADEMY — STRING EVOLUTION CAMP

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Ages 9-18 All gender Melt faces and blow minds as our classically trained instructors teach you how to play in string ensembles, develop techniques and talk about what it takes to be a professional string player in the modern world.

8:30 a.m.-noon. Cost: $225.

Asheville • 828-252-1888 • rockacademync.com • dena@ rockacademync.com June 28-July 1

ROCK ACADEMY — SUMMER EXPERIENCE

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Ages 13-18 All gender Work with our experienced faculty as we explore rock and pop music in a band setting.

You'll learn music theory, recording and composition plus lots of jamming and

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KIDS ISSUE

Lessons on overcoming pain

FEED YOUR ANIMALS: Third grader Catalina Kretsu of Leicester Elementary School urges pet owners to pay attention to this idea.

Driving it apart, Causing fights for reasons so absurd it seems silly We don’t have a defeated country We have an incomplete one To complete it we must put our contrasts aside Lay down our weapons

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And open our arms Now, with a promise of a new day We may be able to begin a new age.

One of peace and kindness Where no voices are silenced — Adelaide Mori, fifth grade, Francine Delany New School for Children

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When I was younger, everything was perfect in life. It was like a puzzle with all the pieces, and they fit perfectly. Now as I grow up, I see that is not the truth, because now the puzzle pieces are scattered. But, I, you, we, the future leaders of the USA, can change that, and we can put them back in place.

My idea is that our elders — adults, grandmothers, grandfathers — need to teach us how to overcome pain. How to become more resilient. For pain is a place you must go to eventually, and more than once. Because even though we need to deal with our pain, we also need to overcome it, to face it. Or our expectations we had will disappear, like how we need to make climate change and injustice disappear.

The reason I believe my idea is important is because our elders went through the pain and they overcame it, but when they had to overcome it, they had to do it alone. Sure, people were helping them, but their elders did not know how to teach them resilience.

But, us future leaders, we won’t. We will have each other and our elders

watching down on us, just as history does, which has its eyes on you, on us waiting, wanting, needing a change.

Like the sun coming out in a dull and damage-causing thunderstorm that went on for years. Sure, there were rainbows and happy moments with no lightning, but it hung on our heads. It could happen at any moment.

Like an earthquake of the soul, like a deep burning in our chests. We knew we needed to stop it, but something was blocking us. Our lingering pain, mental and physical.

But when we put the puzzle pieces together, that deep pain will be gone, like a weight lifted off all of us. And that, my friend, is called overcoming pain and why we need to learn how to. Or, as Amanda Gorman said, that is finishing the “unfinished” project of the USA, or Earth, for that matter.

— Stella Hutchens, fifth grade, Isaac Dickson Elementary School

Hearing and writing I wish that we could write words like how they sound. How to achieve it?

Write as you hear it.

— Alexandra Hall, second grade, Odyssey School

KIDS SUMMER CAMP GUIDE

public performances! 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Cost: $425.

Asheville • 828-252-1888 • rockacademync.com • dena@rockacademync.com June 14-19

camp. Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Cost: Free.

Asheville • 828-335-1136 • avl.mx/5lg • jhardwig@ ifbsolutions.org 4-day sessions June 21-July 1

ROCKBROOK CAMP FOR GIRLS — TRADITIONAL ALLAROUND CAMP

SMOKY MOUNTAIN SK8WAY — SUMMER CAMP

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Rising grades K-9 Girls Since 1921, Rockbrook’s mission has been to provide a haven for girls where they can explore the beauty of nature, grow by trying new things, enjoy carefree summer living and make some of their very best friends. A diverse supportive community fueled by kindness, respect and care. Campers will try horseback riding, whitewater rafting, crafts and more. Cost: $4,000-$6,800/session.

Brevard • 828-884-6151 • avl.mx/4qc • office@ rockbrookcamp.com 2-, 3- and 4-week sessions June 6-Aug. 12

ROOTS + WINGS SCHOOL OF ART AND DESIGN — SUMMER CREATIVITY CAMPS

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Age 3-Rising grade 8 All gender Held at our amazing Roots + Wings creative campus, our unique camps offer one-of-a-kind programming with talented, passionate instructors that engage students in creativity, critical thinking and innovation using methods and techniques of art and design. We work with kids building confidence, celebrating collaboration and encouraging the creative voice of every student. 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Cost: $200/week.

Asheville • 828-378-4140 • avl.mx/4o6 • info@ rootsandwingsarts.com 1-week sessions June 14-Aug. 6

S.E.E. — DAY CAMP

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Rising grades K-12 All gender A combination of education, enrichment and recreation for kids who are blind or visually impaired. Week one will have a foods and cooking theme, and week two will be our young explorers outdoor adventure

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Ages 6-12 Co-Ed Camp activities are held on site with off-site field trips two days a week. On Mondays, the Sk8way features instructors for cooking, creative dance, taekwondo and other classes.

On Tuesdays, campers go on mini excursions: putt-putt, trampoline park, grass tubing and more! On Thursdays, campers swim and go to the park. 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

Cost: $160/week, $110/ partial week. $60 enrollment fee includes a camp t-shirt, water bottle and swag bag.

Waynesville • 828-2469124 • avl.mx/5pn • info@ smokymountainsk8way.com June 7-Aug. 13

SUNNY TRUTH FARM — SUMMER CAMP

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Ages 5-10 All gender Our summer camp program is based on the idea that children need the opportunity to learn and play in an outdoor setting. Through more than 15 years of experience leading outdoor based summer camps, we have seen how the chance for a child to not only spend time outside, but have the chance to thrive in the outdoors can make a huge impact on a child's life. We interact with nature through games, art, science and of course the farm animals. Each week has a unique theme; see website for details. 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Cost: $100/week.

Mars Hill • 828-3843003 • avl.mx/4oa • sunnytruthfarm@gmail.com June 7-Aug. 6

TALISMAN SUMMER CAMP

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Ages 6-22 All gender Exceptional summer camp opportunities for young people with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders (Aspergers), ADD, ADHD and other learning differences.

Since 1980, our ACAaccredited programs have offered unique alternatives to ordinary summer camps. We

provide a structured, nurturing environment within an exciting adventure program in which our campers can have a successful summer while increasing social skills, a sense of personal responsibility and a more positive self-image.

Cost: $1,750-$3,250/session.

Zirconia • 828-697-6313 • avl.mx/6wi • info@ talismancamps.com June 12-24, June 27-July 15, July 18-30, August 2-8

THE EDUCATIONAL GARDEN PROJECT — GARDEN CAMP

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Ages 4+ All gender An all-outdoor program in Haw Creek. Our mission is to grow and share food. Every day, kids have the opportunity to cook and garden, explore STEM and art activities and make DIY apothecary products. Play is a priority, and friendships blossom with us! Kids are encouraged to explore our six-acre campus with four outdoor classrooms, forest trails and established vegetable, pollinator and cut flower gardens. 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m.

Cost: $325/week or $75/day.

Asheville • 828-989-9647 • theeducationalgardenproject. org • joanpinegar@gmail.com 1-week sessions June 7-Aug. 20

in science and art. 8:45 a.m.3:15 p.m. Cost: $250/week.

Swannanoa • 828-686-3080 • thelearningcommunity. org • katherine@ thelearningcommunity.org June 28-July 2

THE LEARNING COMMUNITY — SUMMER ACADEMY

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Ages 6-12 All gender An educational program for students who struggle with dyslexia or other languagebased learning differences.

All classes are hands-on and multisensory in nature, with a 4:1 student-teacher ratio.

Afternoons will offer a choice of projects in our art studio, plus time at the creek and on our nature trails. 8:45 a.m.-3:15 p.m. Cost: $900.

Swannanoa • 828-686-3080 • thelearningcommunity. org • katherine@ thelearningcommunity.org July 12-23

THE LITTLE GYM — SUPER QUEST CAMPS

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Ages 3-8 All gender Each day is a new adventure, and each week offers a new theme! Each day includes games and activities in the gym, crafts and more.

Campers bring their own lunch, water and snack.

Schedule by the day or by the week. $200/week of half days or $45/half day. 9 a.m.-1 p.m. or 1 p.m.-5 p.m.

Asheville • 828-747-2239 • avl.mx/4qp • tlgashevillenc@ thelittlegym.com May 31-Aug. 20

ULTIMATE FRISBEE SUMMER CAMP FOR ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOLERS

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Rising grades 3-8 All gender Athletes will grow their understanding of Ultimate Frisbee through individual and small group hands on experiences. Athletes will use the “Spirit of the Game” concept to develop socialemotional learning skills as they explore the amazing

game of Ultimate Frisbee.

9 a.m.-1 p.m. Cost: $150.

Customized camps available with Pie in the Sky POD packages; inquire for details.

Asheville • 828-225-6986 • avl.mx/93L • mark. strazzer@gmail.com June 14-18

ULTIMATE FRISBEE SUMMER CAMP FOR HIGH SCHOOLERS

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Rising grades 9-12 All gender Athletes will grow their understanding of Ultimate Frisbee through individual and small group hands on experiences. Athletes will use the “Spirit of the Game” concept to develop socialemotional learning skills as they explore the amazing game of Ultimate Frisbee.

9 a.m.-1 p.m. Cost: $150.

Customized camps available with Pie in the Sky POD packages; inquire for details.

Asheville • 828-225-6986 • avl.mx/93L • mark. strazzer@gmail.com June 21-25

THE LEARNING COMMUNITY — DAY CAMP

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Rising grades K-9 All gender Kids can expect to be outside all day in nature—exploring creeks and ponds, playing hide-and-seek in the woods, team games, hiking, building forts and learning outdoor skills—all on the picturesque property of The Learning Community School in Swannanoa. Activities will include disc golf, creek and woods play, building lean-tos and more. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Cost: $300/week.

Sibling discounts available.

Swannanoa • 828-686-3080 • thelearningcommunity. org • katherine@ thelearningcommunity.org 1-week sessions June 14-July 9

THE LEARNING COMMUNITY — MATH CAMP

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Rising grades 3-9 All gender Math with a side of reading plus afternoon adventures MOUNTAINX.COM

MARCH 17-23, 2021

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KIDS SUMMER CAMP GUIDE

WARREN WILSON — RUNNING AND ADVENTURE CAMP

WARREN WILSON — ELITE SOCCER CAMP

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Rising grades 9-12 Girls This camp is for girls interested in sharpening technical skills and deepening tactical game awareness in a competitive environment.

9 a.m.-1 p.m. Cost: $150.

Swannanoa • 828-771-2027 • avl.mx/6xf • jwilliamson@ warren-wilson.edu July 26-29

Ages 11-18 All gender Perfect for runners looking to improve their running, boost their fitness and have fun! Campers will enjoy morning runs on our 20+ miles of scenic trails and a variety of workshops to increase their knowledge of nutrition, running form, cross training and other topics.

They’ll also get to rock climb, swim, tube and team up for our fun-focused “Adventure Race.” We will be taking COVID precautions and will cancel the camp with at least two weeks notice if we do not feel we can manage the risk well. 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Cost: $100-$120, includes camp t-shirt and snack.

Swannanoa • 828-771-2027 • avl.mx/6xf • jwilliamson@ warren-wilson.edu July 12-16

WARREN WILSON — UPPER 90 SOCCER & ADVENTURE CAMP

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Ages 10-15 Girls A week full of soccer, adventure and leadership.

The camp provides expert coaching to deepen soccer specific skills alongside opportunities for exciting outdoor adventure challenges. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Cost: $325.

Swannanoa • 828-771-2027 • avl.mx/6xf • jwilliamson@ warren-wilson.edu July 19-23

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WARREN WILSON — WOMEN’S LACROSSE DAY: LEAD & LAX

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Rising grades 9-12 Girls Join the Warren Wilson Women’s Lacrosse coaching staff for a day of instruction for the high school athlete.

Players will work to refine their lacrosse and leadership skills through drills, team building exercises and competitive games. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Cost: $65, includes lunch and shirt.

Swannanoa • 828-771-2027 • avl.mx/6xf • jwilliamson@ warren-wilson.edu July 10

WARREN WILSON — YOUTH BASKETBALL CAMP

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Ages 6-14 All gender Come learn the fundamentals of basketball in a fun, competitive environment.

The camp will offer daily competitive and teambuilding activities. 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Cost: $150/ session for full days, $100/ session for half days.

Swannanoa • 828-771-2027 • avl.mx/6xf • jwilliamson@ warren-wilson.edu June 21-25, July 12-16

WE ROCK THE SPECTRUM SUMMER CAMP

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Ages 3-8 All gender A gym for all kids of all abilities. Each week is a different theme so you can decide which weeks to attend! Themes include: Outer Space, Amazing Art, Dinosaurs, Slime and Grime, Pirates and Princesses! Campers will be grouped by age. 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Cost: $35/day.

Asheville • 828-505-7556 • avl.mx/95g • info@ werockthespectrumasheville. com June 1-Aug. 20

WE ROCK THE SPECTRUM — JUNIOR COACH IN TRAINING PROGRAM

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Rising grades 7-9 All gender Designed to offer qualified young people an opportunity to prepare for positions as camp counselors or recreation leaders. We will focus on developing leadership abilities, sensitivity to children and program skills. 8:45 a.m.-1:15 p.m. Cost: $65/week.

Asheville • 828-505-7556 • avl.mx/95g • info@ werockthespectrumasheville. com May 31-Aug. 20

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WELLNESS

Safety meets fun

Child care and summer camps strike delicate balance

BY KAY WEST kwest@mountainx.com On a mild, sunny, late February day in North Asheville, small groups of children hurl basketballs toward a net, kick soccer balls down a field and pump legs vigorously on swings. They’re scattered about the outdoor campus of the YMCA of Western North Carolina’s Youth Services Center on Beaverdam Road.

Inside the multistory building, a converted former residence, kids ranging in age from kindergarten through sixth grade sit two to a 6-foot table or at small individual desks. All wear headphones and are focused on personal screens, through which they attend class and participate in lessons from their various schools. Everyone is masked, whether indoors or out.

Is this unusual setup a school or a camp? Both, says Amy Decker, associate executive director, Beaverdam and North District. “This is school in a camp setting,” she explains. “It’s school camp.”

Pre-COVID, 15 full-time youth service staff worked from offices in the building, which also served as a site for one of the after-school programs the Y operates in Buncombe and McDowell counties and at the UNC Asheville Kellogg Center in Henderson County.

These venues also hosted the Y’s summer day camps.

When schools closed in mid-March last year, the Y began offering emergency child care for essential workers 7 a.m.-6 p.m. at the Beaverdam location and in one school per district served.

“I’ve been with the Y for 10 years and never experienced anything like this,” says Decker. “We’ve had to go back

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HAPPY CAMPER: Sand Hill-Venable Elementary student Myana Crain is all smiles enjoying screen-free time outdoors. Photo courtesy of the YMCA of Western North Carolina to the drawing board again and again to help our families and kids get what they need.”

SAFETY FIRST

Overseeing that drawing board is Will Deter, the organization’s senior operations director for youth safety and regulatory compliance. To establish protocols for the local programs, he must navigate an endless stream of information and data from both the state and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Those efforts appear to be bearing fruit. A Duke University study of 54 YMCA camps in six central North Carolina counties from March through August 2020 found just 19 cases of symptomatic disease among 6,830 children and staff. And only two of those cases could be traced to campers possibly passing infections to others at camp.

This came as no surprise to Stephen Abel, digital marketing and communications coordinator for the YMCA of WNC. Locally, he points out, “There have been zero COVID exposures at the Y’s child care sites. There have been cases where an individual tested positive due to exposure elsewhere, but the Y’s health and safety protocols have prevented transmission of COVID in our programs.” Across all sites, the YMCA of WNC served over 1,600 kids between March and September of last

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year, says Abel, including both emergency care and summer camp.

The latter program started on May 18. “It was a little early, but we felt ready, and we wanted to be here for those families who had been at home for two months,” notes Decker.

Normally, Y facilities in the region offer four types of weeklong day camps: Discovery, Explorer, Adventure and CILT (Counselors in Leadership Training); last year, the number of sites was reduced, and programs were adapted to meet pandemic guidelines.

The Beaverdam site hosts Explorer, Adventure and CILT camps. The same safety protocols were followed as for child care — temperature and health checks, distancing and mask wearing — and except for bathroom breaks and severe weather, all activities were held outside. Field trips were canceled, but Decker says they substituted walkable adventures.

And though enrollment was down a bit, Decker considers Camp 2020 a success. “The kids got outside and away from screens, it gave parents a break, and we had no positive cases.” The Y will again be offering summer day camps this year, though apart from Beaverdam and the Kellogg Center, the locations have not yet been finalized.

INSIDE THE BOX

The YMCA isn’t the only summer camp provider that was forced to

reinvent the wheel last year. Asheville Parks and Recreation, for example, canceled its programs altogether. (The department is bringing back a modified, downsized program this year.)

And Eli Strull, curator of education and guest experience at the WNC Nature Center, says his organization replaced its 2020 in-person camps with a Camp in a Box program. “People could pick up a box and work on camp-related activities connected to the Nature Center on their own time,” he explains. “We got a lot of boxes out there, and it went very well.”

This year, the Nature Center plans to offer in-person camps with reduced group sizes, following all health regulations and doing as much as possible outdoors.

The N.C. Arboretum also suspended its popular Discovery Camp for rising second through seventh graders in 2020, says Jonathan Marchal, director of education. Instead, the facility offered family camps and allowed participants to determine who was in their household. “They signed up for a week and came out for four hours an afternoon to do programming,” he explains. “For some families, it was their vacation.”

In October, the arboretum introduced the Outdoor Adventure Kids program for children ages 6-9. Participants were dropped off one to three times a week to enjoy four hours of outdoor programming. “It almost made me cry to see kids jumping in leaf piles in the woods,” he recalls.

OAK will resume in April and will transition to the return of Discovery Camp beginning in June. “It will be a lot like our OAK program,” notes Marchal. “We will not be using our Eco Lab classrooms but will be entirely outdoors. Rather than 20 kids, we will reduce groups to eight kids and two staff, and of course, masks will be required.”

Tuxedo Smedley started his job as camp director for the Asheville Jewish Community Center in November 2019.

He was so excited to be planning summer camp year-round that he opened registration for the 2020 sessions of Camp Ruach and Camp Tikvah (for children with autism) a month early.

“Then COVID hit, and I didn’t know if my job had a point anymore,” he confesses.

In late April, the JCC decided to forge ahead with some form of in-person camp, starting practically from scratch.

“As guidelines continued to change, we just kept rolling with the punches,” Smedley recalls. “We lowered group sizes, hired more staff, eliminated our volunteers and Leaders in Training program, changed the autism inclusion program and dropped field trips.”

Many of those adaptations will remain in place for 2021, and as he

“As guidelines continued to change, we just kept rolling with the punches.”

— Tuxedo Smedley, Asheville JCC camp director did last year, Smedley says he’ll make adjustments as needed.

DIFFICULT DECISIONS

Ultimately, it’s up to parents to decide whether they feel comfortable sending their kids to either day care or camp.

Amanda Newsome says she and her husband, Shawn, could not be more grateful for the way the Y’s Beaverdam programs have accommodated their two boys. Evan, who is 10, has been in the after-school and camp programs since kindergarten, and 6-year-old Logan started camp last summer. Both boys have been attending virtual school since August.

“I was diagnosed with MS and am on immunosuppressants, so we are very vigilant,” says Newsome, a customer success manager for MedBill. “People ask me if I’m afraid of the risk, and I am not: The Y is so careful I have no fears.

My energy level is low, but my boys get

the chance to run around, play in the woods, be creative. We would not be OK without this.”

Theresa Turchin, a relocation specialist with Beverly-Hanks, Realtors, says that while her 12-year-old son has always done after-school and day camps — including through the YMCA — COVID risks have flipped their usual script. “Normally his summer would have been planned out by March,” she says. “But my husband is 66 and I’m 56, and until we are vaccinated, we’re going to wait and see.”

Last fall, Leslee Fontaine spent six weeks attending virtual real estate school from the relative quiet and privacy of a walk-in closet in the residence the stay-at-home mom shares with her husband and four children. To make time for her new job with BeverlyHanks, she plans to enroll her kids — ages 3-10 — in day camps attuned to their individual interests and her own preferences. “I am not asking what the safety protocols are,” she notes.

“If a place is open, I’m OK with whatever they’re doing, though if masks are required, especially outdoors, I will seek out other options where they are not. I am totally fine with the risks.”

Camp directors recognize that every family deals with those risks and concerns differently. “Some parents would rather not send their kids to programs where they have to wear masks 100% of the time, and I get that,” says Marchal.

“The arboretum made a decision, as an entity of the university system, that the safety-first approach is the right course for us.”

KEEPING IT REAL

Still, none of these providers wants to lose sight of how the children in their care are actually experiencing those programs. “I knew we could do camp safely but I didn’t know if kids would feel like it was camp,” says Smedley.

“The end of the first week, I asked a girl who’d been coming for several years how it compared to previous summers.

She said, ‘It’s camp,’ as if the answer was obvious. It was the biggest compliment I could have asked for: Things are different, but camp is still camp.” X

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ARTS & CULTURE

Finding your voice

Arts programs help students make sense of a challenging year

BY THOMAS CALDER

poured out their deepest fears, while others were of course very funny and lighthearted.”

Along with Angelou’s piece, students studied works by Pablo Neruda, Nikki Giovanni, Mary Oliver and Billy Collins. Each poem explored unique topics and introduced the class to new ways of thinking about poetry, writing and self-expression.

“The idea was to mimic the different poets’ styles so that you could start to see the multitude of ways that you can express yourself,” Fox explains.

tcalder@mountainx.com Having lived through 2020, we now know what life is like when music venues, movie theaters and museums simultaneously shut down for extended periods — things get rather dull. Still, we managed to fill the void through home streaming services, record collections, craft projects and literature.

But now imagine the last year without these options as well.

“I think there’s been a recognition that art is essential,” says Copland Rudolph, executive director of the Asheville City Schools Foundation. “It is essential for our well-being.”

Even more significant, she adds, “it’s important for kids’ well-being.”

Throughout the pandemic, local arts programs such as Teaching Artists Presenting in Asheville Schools, which the city schools foundation launched in 2010, have rallied and adapted to the demands brought about by COVID19, providing much-needed relief for

EYE-OPENING

CREATION: Squad members at Asheville Writers in the Schools & Community work on their latest project. The group did not meet for several months at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo courtesy of AWITSC educators confronted by the challenges of virtual learning.

But of even greater importance, stresses Rudolph, is how such programs continue to offer students a way “to talk about how difficult a time this is that we’re living through.”

LIFE DOESN’T FRIGHTEN ME This past fall, Dusty Fox, a fourth grade teacher at Ira B. Jones Elementary, welcomed Sondra Hall, a local poet and TAPAS instructor, into her virtual classroom for a six-week poetry residency.

“When I was learning poetry as a kid, it was not exciting at all,” Fox says with a laugh. “But Ms. Sondra brought these poems and poets to life, which was really incredible.”

Among the featured poems discussed was Maya Angelou’s “Life Doesn’t Frighten Me,” which, as its title suggests, concerns confronting one’s anxieties.

Borrowing from Angelou’s work, students used the poem’s structure and theme to create original pieces. The exercise, notes Fox, was particularly helpful for children who typically struggle with the creative writing process.

The prompt also invited the class to open up about their worries. “What we found was that students who really engaged with it were able to express their emotions,” says Fox. “Some

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Like TAPAS, Asheville Writers in the Schools & Community also nourishes creativity and community engagement with its students, who call themselves “squad members.” Not surprisingly, losing access to such a network at the start of COVID-19 pandemic was difficult for the group’s participants.

“We didn’t see each other until like July,” says Samiya Currie, a 16-yearold junior at Asheville High School, who has been a squad member for over three years. “I wasn’t used to not seeing my friends.”

During the shutdown, AWITSC’s leadership did what they could to prepare for the program’s eventual return to the Arthur R. Edington Education & Career Center. Part of the work involved AWITSC renting its own room; prior to the pandemic, the nonprofit shared a space with another organization.

“That changed everything for us,” says Laura Padilla, the group’s program coordinator. “We made the space our home.”

With safety measures in place, AWITSC reopened in the summer. By then the organization’s squad members — who are predominantly Black and Latinx students, ages 13-18 — were coping not only with the pandemic but also with the police killing of George Floyd. Healing circles became part of the weekly sessions, allowing students to “discuss stuff around diversity, race and growing up living in white America,” says Padilla.

For Currie, these conversations have been essential for getting through a difficult year. “We can open up without having to hold back whatever we need to say,” says the high school junior.

Furthermore, the healing circle helped inform one of the group’s creative projects — a podcast written and produced by the squad on the issue of cultural appropriation.

FUNNY BUSINESS: Members of the Brevard Academy Comedy Club strike a pose. Pictured, from left, are Saya Geer Hardwick, Timothy Keadle, Samuel White and comedy club instructor Tim Arem. Photo courtesy of Brevard Academy “It’s an eye-opening program,” says Currie, reflecting on her time as a squad member. “I think that it really helps you understand the world in a different light … and from different points of view.”

LAUGHTER IS THE BEST MEDICINE Perspective is also highly sought after by members of the Brevard Academy Comedy Club, an after-school program recently launched by Tim Arem, an instructional assistant at the charter school.

Using the workshop model, each of the group’s 10 members brainstorm and write a new joke each week during the club’s one-hour in-person session.

Once composed, punchlines are shared, and the group evaluates.

“I told them, ‘For us to make our jokes better, we need input from others in the room,’” Arem explains. Students responded to the call enthusiastically, he adds, offering thoughtful and constructive feedback.

The process, says Samuel White, a seventh grade member, is rewarding and beneficial. “I don’t think our jokes

would be good if we didn’t have that criticism,” he says.

Furthermore, White feels his participation in the club has helped expand his overall creativity and thought process. “I’ve learned to think about how other people might react to a joke before I tell it,” he explains. “It’s made me a better writer.”

Having spent much of the last year in virtual classes, White also notes a deeper appreciation for the time he spends with the comedy club. “I’ve learned to make the most of the days I’m with people.”

Arem says his decision to hold in-person sessions was intentional.

“This is my attempt to help bring more socialization to the students through comedy and humor,” he says. “Humor has gotten me through life.”

LITTLE SPEEDBOATS AND REVOLUTIONS

With a third of its funding coming through donations, Rudolph praises local companies such as Mosaic Realty and East Fork for their generous support during the current economic hardship. She sees these contributions

GATHER AROUND: Following the police killing of George Floyd, healing circles became part of the weekly sessions at Asheville Writers in the Schools and Community. The new addition allows students to “discuss stuff around diversity, race and growing up living in white America,” says Laura Padilla, the organization’s program coordinator. Photo courtesy of Asheville Writers in the Schools and Community

as a reflection of the community’s recognition of the important work creative programs offer the area’s youths.

Rudolph also notes that, unlike larger institutions, smaller nonprofits face less red tape, allowing them to respond more quickly and effectively to the community’s needs. Such responsiveness, she believes, is a huge benefit to the students they work with.

“Public education is like a giant freight and we’re a little speedboat,” she explains. “We’re able to pivot really quickly and make things happen.”

Meanwhile, back at the Edington Center, Padilla offers similar praise.

During AWITSC’s annual November fundraiser, The Art of Abundance, “We raised absolutely every dollar that we hoped for,” she says. “We have an extremely supportive community.”

These contributions, Padilla notes, are critical for continuing the work AWITSC does with the city’s youths.

And the work, she adds, is essential.

“To me, they are all little revolutions,” she says of her squad members. “And they deserve all that we can give.” X

These Things No Longer Scare Me

Why I support Xpress: “I depend on Mountain Xpress every Wednesday for keeping me in the know. Can’t imagine life without it!”

– Susan Roderick

Join Susan and become a member at SupportMountainX.com

by Terra Mars, fourth grade student at Ira B. Jones Elementary School

Fire breathing invisible dragon Hidden in a room that´s blackened These things no longer scare me Turning things in late Becoming live shark bait These things no longer scare me Swept away by ocean tide Worried that my parents died These things no longer scare me Getting contagious covid From a sickly classroom kid No, these things no longer scare me Just seeing a grinning clown

wants to make me shiver and frown But these things no longer scare me My dog getting injured Watching her be hindered But these things no longer scare me I still hope that doesn’t happen though Zombies coming back from dead Seeing a bloody head But these things no longer scare me I used to be very scared But now I’m not scared I declared No longer, no longer Do these things scare me. X

dinner bar & patio NOW OPEN 7 NIGHTS A WEEK! 4:30 - 9 patio dining / take-out / deliver y

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ARTS & CU L T U R E

LITERATURE

The waste land vs. the suburbs

Thomas Calder’s debut novel explores fraught relationships in contemporary Asheville

BY EDWIN ARNAUDIN earnaudin@mountainx.com After finishing high school, Ashevillebased author (and Xpress Arts & Culture editor) Thomas Calder had a plan.

“My goal when I was 18 was to have two bestsellers by the time I graduated college,” he says. “Obviously that did not happen.”

Though Calder didn’t etch his name alongside famous literary wunderkinds like Zadie Smith, Carson McCullers and Michael Chabon in his early 20s, he’ll join their ranks as a published novelist when The Wind Under the Door debuts on Tuesday, March 23. Set in contemporary Asheville, the story centers on 40-year-old collage artist Ford Carson, whose budding romance with the beautiful, tempestuous Grace Burnett becomes complicated by the return of her estranged husband, JR,

MOVIE LISTINGS Bruce Steele’s and Edwin Arnaudin’s latest critiques of new films available to view via local theaters and popular streaming services include: THE COURIER: Benedict Cumberbatch shines as businessman Greville Wynne in this fact-based Cold War drama.

Think of it as a British Bridge of Spies. Grade: B-plus. Rated PG-13 STRAY: The dogs that wander the streets of Istanbul and the humans who befriend them are the subject of this OK documentary. Grade: B-minus. Not rated CHERRY: This romance, war story, addiction drama, heist thriller and prison saga combo is about three genres too many for directors Anthony and Joe Russo (Avengers: Endgame) and star Tom Holland to handle. Grade: C-plus. Rated R

Find full reviews and local film info at ashevillemovies.com patreon.com/ashevillemovies 42

MARCH 17-23, 2021

and a surprise visit from Ford’s teenage professional surfer son, Bailey. While the setting and many core character traits have remained the same since its inception, much of the story has changed over the years.

READY TO START

Calder’s first attempt at writing a book began in his freshman year of college. The story was what he calls “a really bad knockoff of Catch-22.” At the end of his senior year, he started work on another piece he describes as “Catch-22 meets The Sopranos.”

His current novel originated as a short story, written in graduate school at the University of Houston. After reading it, his professor, the acclaimed author Robert Boswell, told him, “These two characters [Ford and Grace] aren’t done with each other.”

“I love Boswell’s work ... so that always kind of stuck in the back of my mind,” Calder says.

“I was really interested in exploring two people who are trying to reinvent themselves without ever actually reflecting on who they were or what caused them to want to reinvent themselves in the first place,” he continues.

“And so part of the story examines what occurs when individuals ignore their own flaws and past missteps. …

Which is to say, you just keep creating the same issues over and over but in a different context.”

Beyond Ford and Grace, Calder feels that all of the main characters are dodging their pasts and engaging in minimal self-reflection — a common trait among humans that often leads to pain. With Ford, that character flaw is perhaps most evident in his art, which involves visually interpreting a song or album via collage.

After an alcohol-aided meet-cute at the Grove Park Inn bar, Grace commissions Ford to craft a piece that channels a track by the fictional band White Elephant, whose EP is an homage to T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land. While plenty of creative thoughts flow from that assignment, he’s far less inspired when it comes to Bailey’s birthday present, a collage rooted in Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs.

“Through [Ford’s] work, he’s exhibited where his priorities are: with her as opposed to the son,” Calder says.

The blending of real-life and imagined musical groups is likewise

MOUNTAINX.COM

DARK HUMOR: Thomas Calder’s debut novel, The Wind Under the Door, is ultimately an uplifting book, but goes to some dark — and darkly comic — places along the way. “I find dark things funnier than slapstick,” he says.

“There’s something rewarding about finding a good deep laugh in the middle of a family unraveling.” Author photo by Cindy Kunst reflected in the book’s various settings.

While numerous details on the Grove Park grounds are faithfully rendered — down to the room where F. Scott Fitzgerald allegedly attempted suicide — and savvy readers can narrow down the inspirations for Ford’s River Arts District studio to a few likely finalists, other locations in The Wind Under the Door’s Asheville are fictional.

MOUNTAINS BEYOND MOUNTAINS The inclusion of other places from Calder’s past — among them Houston and the Florida cities of Cocoa Beach and Dania Beach — inspire further speculation regarding the story’s autobiographical nature, but Calder insists such efforts are a dead end. The considerable difference in ages between the characters and the author, his wife, Tatiana Rivest, and their 2-year-old daughter, Eula, discourages much comparison, though the novel’s examination of parenthood has taken on new meaning for him as its publication day approaches.

“I started writing this before being a parent, but I ended it being a parent. So some of this stuff hits a lot harder now,” he says. “The parent-child dynamic — it’s just an interesting dynamic, whether you have a functioning one or a dysfunctional relationship.”

Though he takes off weekends to be a family man, Calder writes MondayThursday evenings for around 90 minutes each day, and is already about 30,000 words into a first draft of a new novel, which takes place in the 1930s. All of that work is, of course, in addition to his full-time job at Xpress, where his articles have helped inform his fiction — to an extent.

“Reporting and getting around the city has introduced me to elements that I probably never would’ve seen, that don’t necessarily come up in the novel but certainly gives me a better sense of grounding and confidence in my location for the book,” he says.

“But otherwise, I think of them as two totally different beasts. It’s like running track versus cross-country.” thomas-calder.com X

WHO Thomas Calder, in conversation with Leah Hampton (via livestream) WHERE Malaprop’s, avl.mx/8xw WHEN Wednesday, March 24, 6 p.m.

Free, but registration required

FOOD

Winter is going

Asheville’s culinary community rolls optimistically into spring

BY KAY WEST kwest@mountainx.com One year since Asheville’s restaurants and bars were ordered closed on March 17, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, winter is going, and restaurateurs, makers and bakers are seeing light at the end of a long, dark tunnel. Hope springs eternal.

GOOD MORNING

Lots of places advertise farm-fresh breakfast, but there’s nothing much fresher than what chefs Eric Morris (Nightbell and Cultura) and Daniel Rider are cooking up Saturday mornings at the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project Farmers Market at A-B Tech. Morris says Little Red Fox started a couple of months ago with a random conversation between him and Rider — who worked for him at both Nightbell and Cultura — shortly after Rider had lost all his possessions in a house fire and was temporarily staying with him.

“We started talking about what we wanted to do and how — mainly as a way to take our minds off things and focus on what we love to do — and he said, ‘Do you want to make some breakfast sandwiches and sell them?’”

Morris recalls.

Morris’ wife, Sarah Hart, ASAP’s communications coordinator, helped them navigate the process of applying to be a vendor at the market, and on Feb. 6, Little Red Fox launched with a tent, table and outdoor cooking space.

“It was really cold the first two weeks and rained the third week, but we sold out for the first time, so it was working,” Morris says.

What works particularly well, he points out, in building the four breakfast sandwiches they offer is the immediate access to products from other market vendors. “We get greens from Olivette Farm, pork from Dry Ridge Farm, apples from Creasman Farms and beets from Ten Mile Farm,” Morris says. Additionally, he turns the oyster mushrooms he gets from Black Trumpet Farm into mushroom “bacon,” a multistep process that eventually ends up on sourdough bread with greens and tomato jam.

Rider makes all the breads, including a rye croissant for the lox, dill, thinly sliced caperberry and crème fraiche

Rideout, who has a degree in marine science from the University of South Carolina-Columbia, started baking cakes and cupcakes for friends and family as a hobby a couple of years ago. As demand for her products grew, she found a commercial kitchen, designed a logo, created a website and recently added macarons. She plans to sell standard-sized macarons at the Hendersonville Farmers Market when it starts in April and is now testing couriers and packing methods to begin shipping in May. For now, orders can be made at avl.mx/prvp.

10th Muse Comfort Food, 1475 Patton Ave.

GOOD MORNING, ASHEVILLE: Little Red Fox owners Daniel Rider and Eric Morris are prepped and ready to cook your breakfast sandwiches at ASAP’s Saturday morning market on the A-B Tech campus. Photo courtesy of ASAP sandwich and fat biscuits that are loaded up with pork belly and cheesy egg.

Morris, who also cooks twice weekly for the Church of the Advocate feeding program and is in the business-planning stage for his own future brickand-mortar restaurant, hopes to bring the Fox to other markets as they open.

For now, find it Saturdays 10 a.m.-1 p.m. at 340 Victoria Road on the A-B Tech campus. Follow on Instagram @littleredfoxavl.

MUM’S THE WORD

Tiaras are optional, but a taste for tea and scones will be well served at the first Queen Mum High Tea presented by chef Terri Terrell and baker/food stylist Michele Gentille on Saturday, March 20, in The Parlour. The spacious room with fireplace and a large window overlooking Broadway is on the second floor of Charlie Hodge’s Asheville Beauty Academy; the space will be staged for royalty with linens, china, crystal, silver and an ambient soundtrack. “We’re all about the atmo,” says Terrell with a laugh.

Gentille is pulling out props and photo shoot accouterments that have been stored in boxes since the pair closed Queen Mum Studios last year.

They’ll make three-tiered service pieces for the baked sweets and dainty sandwiches on the menu, which also includes a pot of tea, soup and a creamy dessert. Queen Tea with a Nip adds a glass of sherry, port, wine or bubbles.

The two distanced seatings are at 1 and 2:30 pm. For reservations and tickets, visit avl.mx/943.

PLANTING THE SEED

Eva and Reza Setayesh, owners of BimBeriBon restaurant in West Asheville, have added another option to their expanding repertoire of takeaways. In addition to Big Bountiful Bags — weekly globally inspired meals for two or four ordered online from the restaurant’s website — they now offer heat-and-eat meals for two from plantlovinghumans.com. The couple launched the website last May to provide recipes and advice for people seeking to add more plant-based foods to their diets. Orders from the two weekly choices must be placed by Wednesday, with pickup on Saturdays.

Entree options have included roasted vegetable and tofu curry and oat and chickpea gnocchi; sides like sesame noodle salad and sweets also available to add on. Visit avl.mx/945 for details.

Smoky Park Supper Club — which had offered outdoor dining and to-go service only since reopening in August — was among the Asheville restaurants that opted to take a long winter’s nap during January and February.

On March 11, with daffodils abloom, temperatures warming and daylight saving time sunlight kicking in, chef and owner Michelle Bailey and staff welcomed diners back to tables on the riverside restaurant’s lawn and patio and in its boathouse, resuming the service model of ordering from the bar’s outdoor window.

Optimism, she says, is running high for the first time since March 2020. “We are planning to get our dining room reopened as soon as we can open up all those windows on the one side of the building — hopefully sometime in April — and bringing live music back to the patio. We feel that spring and summer are going to be really busy, and we are so ready.” To start, Smoky Park will be open Thursday and Friday 4-9 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m.

Smoky Park Supper Club 350 Riverside Drive. avl.mx/94a

BIG MACS

It is Christian Watts’ nature to go big, so when he reached out to Elizabeth Rideout of Sea of Sweets in Weaverville to add her macarons to what he calls his “wonderland of tasty treats” at 10th Muse Comfort Food on Patton Avenue in West Asheville, he naturally asked her to supersize them.

“He wanted me to base the flavors for him with the shakes and lattes he already has on his menu and make them really big,” she says with a laugh.

Expect to find jumbo Love Potion No. 9 (white chocolate and raspberry) macarons at 10th Muse on weekends.

ON THE WATERFRONT

ENERGY BAR

Downtown workers and day-trippers have a new spot to fuel up with the opening of Summit Coffee in the Grove Arcade. The Davidson company’s second Asheville location (the first is in the River Arts District) offers coffee drinks — including a spring special juniper orange-vanilla latte — tea, chai, hot chocolate, mocha and berry-lemonade slushies. Food options include pastries, granola, bagels and toast. The space offers limited-capacity indoor seating with more outside; open seven days a week, 7 a.m.-5 p.m.

Summit Coffee, 1 Page Ave., No. 148 in the Grove Arcade X

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CLUBLAND

Online Event= q WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17 CATAWBA BREWING SOUTH SLOPE • St. Patrick's Day Party w/ Mike Martin & the Beautiful Mess, 5pm • General Trivia Night w/ Bingeable, 7pm ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Free Anesthesia (psychedelic rock), 5pm OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. French Broad Valley Mountain Music Jam, 6pm ONE WORLD BREWING WEST St. Patty's Shindig w/ Matt Waters & the Recipe, 6pm THE 2ND ACT Open Mic w/ Letters to Abigail, 6pm

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SWEETEN CREEK BREWING Witty Wednesday Trivia Night, 6:30pm 12 BONES BREWING Robert’s Totally Rad Trivia, 7pm

THURSDAY, MARCH 18 SALVAGE STATION Red Clay Revival (soul grass), 6pm OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. Kid Billy (solo multi-instrumentalist), 6:30pm MUSIC MY MOTHER WOULD NOT LIKE q Stories and Songs w/ Annie Wenz & Dave Navarro, 8pm, avl.mx/955

FRIDAY, MARCH 19

THE GREENHOUSE MOTO CAFE ALR Trio (blues, rock), 6pm

MAD CO. BREW HOUSE Mary Kenyon (indie, folk), 6pm

THE PAPER MILL LOUNGE St. Patty's Day Social, 6pm

ONE WORLD BREWING WEST Freeway Jubilee (gospel rock), 6pm

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SWEETEN CREEK BREWING Rod Sphere (Americana), 6pm SALVAGE STATION The Get Right Band (psychedelic, indie), 6:30pm OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. The Wyatt Espalin Duo (folk), 7pm ISIS MUSIC HALL Seth Mulder & Midnight Run (bluegrass), 7pm

SATURDAY, MARCH 20 BURNTSHIRT VINEYARDS Sandy Herrault (pop, classical), 2pm SWEETEN CREEK BREWING Hope Griffin (solo acoustic), 3pm WEHRLOOM HONEY MEADERY Music & Mead w/ Phantom Pantone DJ Collective, 4pm BATTERY PARK BOOK EXCHANGE Dinah’s Daydream (jazz), 5pm

ISIS MUSIC HALL Chuck Brodsky (roots, blues), 7pm OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. The Last Full Measure (folk, blues), 8pm

SUNDAY, MARCH 21 SWEETEN CREEK BREWING Mr Jimmy (blues), 2pm OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. Ross Osteen Band (blues, rock), 4pm SALVAGE STATION Natti Love Joys (reggae), 5pm ISIS MUSIC HALL q Thompsonia (Cajun bluegrass), 7pm, avl.mx/94r

TUESDAY, MARCH 23

ISA'S FRENCH BISTRO James Hammel (solo acoustic), 5pm

ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Early Tuesday Jam w/ The Trilateral Omission, 5pm

SALVAGE STATION Pleasure Chest (blues, rock), 6pm

MAD CO. BREW HOUSE Trivia Night, 6pm

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 24 ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Free Anesthesia (psychedelic rock), 5pm OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. French Broad Valley Mountain Music Jam, 6pm THE 2ND ACT Open Mic w/ Letters to Abigail, 6pm SWEETEN CREEK BREWING Witty Wednesday Trivia Night, 6:30pm ISIS MUSIC HALL q Dan Navarro (folk), 7pm, avl.mx/94t

THURSDAY, MARCH 25 ONE WORLD BREWING WEST West King String Band, 4pm HIGHLAND BREWING CO. Crafted Singer Songwriter Series w/ Matt Smith, 6pm SALVAGE STATION Lyric (funk, R&B), 6pm

THE GREY EAGLE An Evening w/ The Travelin' Kine (Americana), 6pm RABBIT RABBIT Slice of Life Rooftop Comedy, 7pm

FRIDAY, MARCH 26 SWEETEN CREEK BREWING Sandy Herrault (pop, classical), 6pm SALVAGE STATION Phuncle Sam (Grateful Dead tribute), 6pm MAD CO. BREW HOUSE JC Tokes & the Empty Pockets (retro Americana), 6pm ONE WORLD BREWING WEST Roots & Dore (blues, soul), 6pm GUIDON BREWING CO. Jordan Suber (country, rock), 7pm ISIS MUSIC HALL The Jakob’s Ferry Stragglers (bluegrass, rockabilly), 7pm THE GREY EAGLE Michael Flynn Album Release Show w/ Jane Kramer, 7pm

FREEWILL ASTROLOGY ARIES (March 21-April 19): Poet Ocean Vuong speaks of the Hawaiian word kipuka. It refers to a patch of earth that doesn’t get covered with lava when an active volcano exudes its molten material. “Before the lava descended,” Vuong writes, “that piece of land was insignificant, just another scrap in an endless mass of green.” But now that piece of land is special, having endured.

I encourage you to identify your metaphorical equivalent of kipuka, Aries. It’s an excellent time to celebrate the power and luck and resilience that have enabled you to persevere.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): “Extraordinary things are always hiding in places people never think to look,” writes Taurus author Jodi Picoult.

Luckily for you, Taurus, in the near future you’ll be prone to look in exactly those places — where no one else has thought to look. That means you’ll be extra likely to find useful, interesting, even extraordinary things that have mostly been hidden and unused. You may also discover some boring and worthless things, but the trade-off will be worth your effort. Congratulations in advance on summoning such brave curiosity.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): “When we ask for advice, we are usually looking for an accomplice,” said Gemini author Saul Bellow. So if you have come here today to read my horoscopes, it’s possible that you’re seeking an accomplice to approve of you making a decision or a move that you have already decided to do. OK. I’ll be your accomplice. But as your accomplice, the first thing I’ll do is try to influence you to make sure your upcoming actions serve not only your own selfish interests (although there’s nothing wrong with that), but also serve the interests of people you care for. The weeks ahead will be a favorable time to blend self-interest and noble idealism.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): A character in Barbara Kingsolver’s novel The Lacuna is told to “go rub his soul against life.” Now I’ll advise you to do the same. Why? While it’s true that you have a beautiful soul, you sometimes get in the habit of hiding it away or keeping it secret. You feed it a wealth of dreams and emotions and longings, but may not go far enough in providing it with raw experience out in the messy, chaotic world.

In my judgment, now is one of those times when you would benefit from rubbing your soul against life. Please note: I DON’T mean you should go in search of rough, tough downers. Not at all.

In fact, there are plenty of pleasurable, safe, educational ways to rub your soul against life.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): If you love the work of self-help author Paulo Coelho, you might be inclined to adopt his motto as your own: “Being vulnerable is the best way to allow my heart to feel true pleasure.” But maybe you wouldn’t want to adopt his motto. After all, what he’s suggesting requires a great deal of courage and daring. Who among us finds it easy and natural to be soft and receptive and inviting? And yet according to my analysis of the astrological omens, this is exactly what your assignment should be for the next two weeks. To help motivate yourself, remember the payoff described by Coelho: the possibility that your heart will feel true pleasure.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Virgo author Michael Ondaatje celebrates “the hidden presence of others in us — even those we have known briefly.

We contain them for the rest of our lives, at every border we cross.” As you approach your own upcoming border-crossing, dear Virgo, I encourage you to tune into memories about seven specific people who over the course of your life have provided you with the most joy and the most interesting lessons. Close your eyes for 20 minutes and imagine they are all gathered together with you in your favorite sanctuary. Remember in detail the blessings they bestowed on you. Give thanks for their influences, for the gifts they gave that have helped you become your beautiful self.

MARKETPLACE

BY ROB BREZSNY

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): “A balance that does not tremble cannot weigh. A person who does not oscillate cannot live.” So wrote biochemist Erwin Chargaff, who did crucial research leading to the discovery of DNA’s double helix structure. Since you’re the zodiac’s expert on balance and oscillation, and because these themes will be especially meaningful for you in the coming days, I’ll ask you to meditate on them with extra focus. Here’s my advice: To be healthy and resilient, you need to be aware of other possibilities besides those that seem obvious and simple and absolutely true.

You need to consider the likelihood that the most correct answers are almost certainly those that are paradoxical and complicated and full of nuance.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): In her poem “Sandra,” Scorpio poet Ariana Reines testifies that she has too many feelings — and that’s not a problem. On the contrary. They are her wealth, she says, her “invisible splendor.” I invite you to regard your own “too many feelings” in the same way, especially in the coming weeks. You will have opportunities to harness your flood of feelings in behalf of transformative insights and holistic decision-making. Your motto: Feelings are healing.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Historian and author Thomas Berry described “wildness” as the source of our “authentic spontaneities.” He said it’s “the wellspring of creativity” at the root of our lust for life. That’s a different definition from the idea that wildness is about being unruly, rough and primitive. And Berry’s definition happens to be the one that should be central to your work and play in the coming weeks. Your assignment is to be wild: that is, to cultivate your authentic spontaneities; to home in on and nourish the creative wellspring of your lust for life.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Some of the great discoveries in the history of physics have been made while the trailblazing physicists are lolling in bed or in the bathtub. They have done the research and carried out the rigorous thinking and are rewarded with breakthroughs while relaxing.

I think that will be your best formula for success in the coming weeks. Important discoveries are looming. Interesting innovations are about to hatch.

You’re most likely to gather them in if you work intensely on preparing the way for them, then go off and do something fun and rejuvenating.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): My typical horoscope is an average of 108 words long. In that limited space, I can’t possibly tell you all the themes and threads that will be active for you during the upcoming phase of your cycle. I have to make choices about what to include and what not to include. This time I’ll focus on the fact that you now have an opportunity to deepen your relationship with your sense of smell — and to purposefully nourish your sense of smell. Your homework: Decide on at least five scents with which you will cultivate an intimate, playful, delightful connection in the coming days. (P.S. You may be surprised at how this practice will deepen your emotional connection with the world.)

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): No one had ever proven that there was such a thing as electromagnetic waves until Piscean physicist Heinrich Hertz (1857–1894) did so in 1886. He was the innovator who first transmitted and received controlled radio waves. Alas, he didn’t think his breakthrough was useful. In 1890, he confessed, “I do not think that the wireless waves I have discovered will have any practical application.” But other scientists were soon capitalizing on his work to communicate long distances. Radio broadcasts were born. I will encourage you not to make a Hertzian-type mistake in the coming months. Always follow through on your initial labors. Have faith that the novelties you dream up will eventually have practical value.

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EMPLOYMENT

KITCHEN MANAGER NEEDED Summer Camp is seeking a Kitchen Manager to oversee ordering, scheduling of staff and kitchen work flow.

Full-time, Seasonal. May 28 - August 13. References required. Drug/Smoke free environment. 828-883-2181.

LINE COOK The Line Cook is a member of the kitchen team, who will work closely with all other positions in the Back of the House operations to prep, cook, and expedite food to the guests ordering onsite, delivery, and to-go.

The Line Cook, who reports to the BOH Supervisor Team, operates grills, fryers, broilers, and other commercial cooking equipment to prepare and serve food. https://sierranevada.com/ careers/

GENERAL

HUMAN SERVICES

COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT ANALYST, AMERICAS UPM Raflatac seeks a Commercial Development Analyst, Americas in Asheville, NC to develop and deploy UPM’s digital sales tools together with regional sales leaders and functions. Requires MS in Info Tech or Clsly rel. degree and 1 year rel. exp. that includes Salesforce Administrative exp. as documented by certification or equiv. exp. administering Salesforce CRM platform. Requires domestic/ foreign travel up to 30% of time. For full details and to apply, email Gina Coan at gina.coan@upmraflatac.com.

INDEPENDENTLY CONTRACTED IN-HOME CAREGIVERS, BREVARD, RUTHERFORDTON, ASHEVILLE AREAS We are actively looking for qualified in-home caregivers to work with our clients. Please email: your resume, where you're located and a little about your experience to: caregiverrecruiter@ choicecareyourway.com.

ADMINISTRATIVE/ OFFICE FINANCE MANAGER, UNITED WAY OF ASHEVILLE AND BUNCOMBE COUNTY The Finance Manager Leads all day to day accounting operations, with functional responsibility for accounting, accounts payable, and grants administration. Learn more at https://www.unitedwayabc. org/employment-opportunities.

HR & RECRUITMENT COORDINATOR Home Instead is seeking an HR & Recruitment Coordinator to join us in our mission to enhance the lives of aging adults and their families. The HR & Recruitment Coordinator is expected to perform a variety of duties for the recruitment, hiring, and retention of CAREGivers. Call our office at 828-274-4406 or email your resume to nicole. farrell@homeinstead.com.

RESTAURANT/ FOOD DISHWASHERS PART TIME & FULL TIME The Dishwasher, who reports to the BOH Supervisor, is a member of the kitchen team who will receive and organize products; wash and sanitize equipment, plates, utensils, and spaces; stock equipment as needed in order to maintain proper BOH operations for the continuity of the guest experience. To apply please visit our website: https:// sierranevada.com/careers/

WANTED: EXPERIENCED LICENSED MH THERAPISTS WHO WANT TO GIVE BACK. ALL SOULS COUNSELING CENTER (ASCC) is looking for mental health therapists who have a master’s degree and 5 years of outpatient clinical experience. ASCC serves people who are uninsured or underinsured. Therapists are paid $35 per session and work part time, from 2 to 20 hours per week. Office space is provided, though currently we are working from home via phone or video. There is no additional overhead. If you are a successful therapist looking for a way to give back to your community, here is an opportunity to help people who have nowhere else to turn. We are, also, interested in finding a Spanish speaking therapist. Client fees are on a sliding scale. No one is denied services for inability to pay.

Go to allsoulscounseling. org for further information and application details.

PROFESSIONAL/ MANAGEMENT COMMUNITY SCHOOL COORDINATOR- NORTH BUNCOMBE MIDDLE SCHOOL Experienced in building and sustaining strong school-community partnerships?

Passionate about supporting student achievement and promoting family and community engagement? Committed to centering equity? Spanish-speaking required. Learn more: https://unitedwayabc. org/employment-opportunities .

COMMUNITY SCHOOL COORDINATOR: ASHEVILLE HIGH/SILSA Experienced in building and sustaining strong school-community partnerships?

Passionate about supporting student achievement and promoting family and community engagement? Committed

to centering equity? Learn more and apply: https:// unitedwayabc.org/employment-opportunities.

COMPUTER/ TECHNICAL BLUE RIDGE PUBLIC RADIO - OPERATIONS COORDINATOR Blue Ridge Public Radio is looking for a full-time Operations Coordinator to help oversee daily, technical operations related to radio traffic, automation, content management and studio production. Information at: www.bpr.org/careers.

XCHANGE WANTED BUYING OLD PAPER MONEY Asheville, WNC, ETN over 10 years. Fair, open, and responsive.

Buying currency, bonds, maps, documents, etc. Email papermoneybuy@gmail. com, or call/text 865-2078994. Member SPMC, NCNA, SCNA, TNA.

SERVICES AUDIO/VIDEO HUGHESNET SATELLITE INTERNET Finally, no hard data limits! Call Today for speeds up to 25mbps as low as $59.99/mo! $75 gift card, terms apply. 1-844-416-7147 (AAN CAN)

CAREGIVERS COMPANION • CAREGIVER • LIVE-IN Alzheimer's experienced • Heart failure and bed sore care • Hospice reference letter • Nonsmoker, with cat, seeks live-in position • References • Arnold, (828) 273-2922.

FINANCIAL AUTO INSURANCE STARTING AT $49/ MONTH! Call for your fee rate comparison to see how much you can save! Call: 855-569-1909.

(AAN CAN)

HOME 4G LTE HOME INTERNET NOW AVAILABLE! Get GotW3 with lightning fast speeds plus take your service with you when you travel! As low as $109.99/mo! 1-888519-0171 (AAN CAN) BATHROOM RENOVATIONS EASY, ONE DAY updates! We specialize in safe bathing. Beautiful new walk-in showers with no slip flooring. Also, grab bars and seated showers available.

Call for a free in-home consultation: 844-242-1100.

(AAN CAN)

HOME IMPROVEMENT HANDY MAN HIRE A HUSBAND • HANDYMAN SERVICES Since 1993. Multiple skill sets. Reliable, trustworthy, quality results. Insured.

References and estimates available. Stephen Houpis, (828) 280-2254.

MOUNTAINX.COM

ANNOUNCEMENTS ANNOUNCEMENTS BECOME A PUBLISHED AUTHOR! We edit, print and distribute your work internationally.

We do the work… You reap the Rewards! Call for a FREE Author’s Submission Kit: 844-511-1836. (AAN CAN) DO YOU OWE OVER $10K TO THE IRS OR STATE IN BACK TAXES? Our firm works to reduce the tax bill or zero it out completely FAST. Let us help! Call 855955-0702. (Hours: Mon-Fri 7am-5pm PST) DONATE YOUR CAR TO KIDS Your donation helps fund the search for missing children. Accepting Trucks, Motorcycles & RV’s , too!

Fast Free Pickup – Running or Not - 24 Hour Response Maximum Tax Donation – Call 877-266-0681 (AAN CAN) HEARING AIDS!! Buy one/ get one FREE! High-quality rechargeable Nano hearing aids priced 90% less than competitors. Nearly invisible! 45-day money back guarantee! 1-833-585-1117 (AAN CAN)

CLASSES & WORKSHOPS CLASSES & WORKSHOPS CLAY CLASSES & WORKSHOPS FOR ALL AGES Come experience the love of clay! We are offering an amazing line-up of classes and workshops this Spring!

Whatever your skill level is- we have a class! odysseyclayworks@gmail.com • www.odysseyclayworks. com • 828-285-0210.

MIND, BODY, SPIRIT COUNSELING SERVICES ASTRO-COUNSELING Licensed counselor and accredited professional astrologer uses your chart when counseling for additional insight into yourself, your relationships and life directions. Stellar Counseling Services. Christy Gunther, MA, LCMHC. (828) 2583229.

AUTOMOTIVE AUTOMOTIVE SERVICES CASH FOR CARS! We buy all cars! Junk, high-end, totaled – it doesn’t matter! Get free towing and same day cash!

NEWER MODELS too! Call 866-535-9689 (AAN CAN)

MARCH 17-23, 2021

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T H E NEW Y O R K T IM E S C R O S S W O R D P UZ Z L E 1

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24 Alley prowler 25

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49 53 58

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35 Loser at Waterloo

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1 Hatchling 6 Line crosser, of a sort 10 Component of a cellphone bill

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ACROSS

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14 World capital that’s home to the Temple of Literature, built in 1070

30 Input

34 Mo. with a holiday on its final day

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29 It’s used in soapmaking 33 One of four in the human heart

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21 Noisy shouting 22 Way to catch a conger?

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edited by Will Shortz

17 Crime investigated by an insurance company

37 The main characters of “Brokeback Mountain,” e.g.?

No. 0210

61 “___ World” (“Sesame Street” segment) 62 Princess who says “You’re my only hope” in a hologram 63 Number of M.V.P. awards won by Wayne Gretzky 64 Kind of beer … or a multi-word hint to 18-, 22-, 37-, 51- and 57-Across 65 Rich soil 66 Temperance proponents 67 Slyly spiteful

41 Resisting 42 Uno y uno 43 Apple centers 44 “Darn it!”

46 When the Kentucky Derby is held 49 Breaks things off 51 Drinking buddy?

53 Fixate

15 Show up

18 “Strike three!” or “Yer out!”?

16 Blue-violet shade

20 Sit (down) heavily 57 Gross messages?

56 Spot

DOWN 1 Place of worship 2 Road hog?

3 Foot support 4 Appropriate 5 Clan 6 Bulk up, as muscles 7 Out-of-it state 8 Toggle on a clock

puzzle by Kate Hawkins 9 Make drunk, quaintly 10 Run out of juice 11 “___ You My Mother?” (children’s book) 12 Personal quirk 13 “Green,” “black” or “white” tree 19 Cheese in an Italian sub 21 “I refuse to believe that!”

23 Economic downturn 25 Places to find food courts and kiosks 26 Miss ___, famed TV psychic 27 Profess 28 Till compartment 31 Furnish with money 32 Mil. branch of the U.K. 34 Fiona and Shrek, for two 36 Cycles 37 Speed 38 Door-to-door sales company

39 Homework lover, say

52 European country with a cross on its flag 54 Tend to the sauce, say 55 “___, meeny, miney, mo …”

57 “___ say!”

58 Bus. driver?

59 Sportage automaker 60 Crop item grown in Chinua Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart” 61 Key that exits fullscreen video

40 Helpful info for a curbside pickup, briefly 45 Society at large, with “the” 46 Big, bushy-tailed squirrel 47 Went to a restaurant 48 Like some breads and beers 50 Long-term U.S. security

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS NY TIMES PUZZLE P U B S I S A A N O N V G E R O O M C R U E A C T J B I W A A N E M D E V I F R E E A T M T I E S A T

C O I O L O R G B A L O C A O H N A T O N E L D O M G O O A L O G A R

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S G P E R O E A P F I F T I N T R I T C O I O A N O W I S A L S A K N A C F A Y E D E R S R O U B L S T O O O O P

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MARCH 17-23, 2021

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MARCH 17-23, 2021

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