Mountain Xpress 03.30.22 by Mountain Xpress

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OPINION

FEATURES 6

QUO VADIS, ASHEVILLE? City at crossroads must find its way

12 VOICES AND THE CROWD Council outlines priorities in annual retreat

PAGE 8 PRESERVATION SOCIETY Thirteen years after the Mars Hill Anderson Rosenwald School’s fate was in jeopardy, individuals committed to its preservation have completed an extensive round of repairs and are poised to reinvent the space as an interpretive museum and cultural community arts center.

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16 Q&A Leeann Shearouse shares her love of birds and tulips

20 ALL STAFF How neurodiverse employees are changing the workforce

25 THE VANDERBILT VEIL Kristy Woodson Harvey’s new novel explores a vanished Biltmore heirloom

LETTERS

CARTOON: MOLTON

CARTOON: BRENT BROWN

COMMENTARY

NEWS

18 COMMUNITY CALENDAR 20 WELLNESS

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OPINION

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

Speaking out after city COVID policy firing

Impressed with Mayfield’s leadership

My name is Danny Walton, and I’m one of the five former city of Asheville employees fired due to refusing to comply with Debra Campbell’s short-lived COVID policy [“Asheville Board Upholds Employee Firings Over Vaccine Mandate,” March 9, Xpress]. I liked my job, really. I got to hang out with awesome people as they taught me valuable trade skills. I’d planned on being a part of this organization for much longer. But unfortunately, our leaders valued their fashionable, misinformed COVID policy over their own employees. It quickly became clear that the new policy was massively unpopular. We essential workers never missed a day of working in person. Over a year into the pandemic, our dear leaders finally decided it was safe for them to join us and demanded we all submit to a new protocol explicitly based on the Biden administration’s failed policy. I pondered this as I sat across the desk from my supervisor while he wrote me up for “insubordination” and again on the day of my final termination meeting at City Hall. The city claims that forcing someone to undergo unnecessary medical procedures is the same as a uniform policy, which is so laughably stupid that it’s almost like something written into a satire portraying a bleak, dystopian clown world in which low IQ is valued as a social merit. After the new COVID policy was announced to our roughly 1,400 municipal employees, hundreds of people, many of whom had been with the organization for years, became fearful of losing their jobs and chose to take the injection under a state of duress. Debra Campbell, whose annual salary is over $230,000, clearly exhibited the mindset of an abuser by repeatedly claiming that it was for our health, while simultaneously threatening to remove our source of income and health insurance. As an employee, I discovered that the processes put in place that are supposed to serve as a countervailing force to organizational incompetence have merely become an extension of it. When appealing to the clearly biased and oppositional Civil Service Board, which delayed our hearing for nearly three months, they simply canceled it before our side was even allowed to present. Could this be because continuing the proceedings would have allowed too many inconvenient truths contrary to their narrative to come out?

I strongly support Julie Mayfield for reelection to the N.C. state Senate in District 49, which covers most of Buncombe County. I got to know Julie well while we served together on several city of Asheville committees. Prior to being elected to City Council, she chaired the Transit Committee and served on the Multimodal Transportation Commission. As a Council member, she served on the joint city/N.C. Department of Transportation committee overseeing the planning and design of the Interstate 26 Connector project. I have been impressed with her hard work, attention to detail, and organizational and leadership ability. She is able to work well with representatives of various interests. Her leadership on the I-26 committee was instrumental in making significant improvements over DOT’s original design of the project. The changes will mean less impact on neighborhoods and the environment, safer conditions on the Bowen Bridge and improved facilities for bicyclists and pedestrians. Please join me in supporting Julie Mayfield for reelection, so that she can continue using her leadership ability in the state Senate. — Bruce Emory Asheville

C A R T O O N B Y R AN DY M O L T O N Then, after the policy had only been in place for four months, it was dropped exactly one week after this sham hearing. Could this have something to do with the recent lawsuit filed against them in Superior Court or perhaps the countless similar court cases currently raining down upon municipalities all around the country? I fully stand behind my decision. While the city has shown its ignorance and cowardice, I’ve had an opportunity to be tested and grow as an individual. This ordeal has cost me my job but has also given me a new awareness of the strength of my character. I would never, for any job, sacrifice my autonomy. By making the choice that I did, I remain a free person, unbound by fear, peer pressure and fleeting social trends. — Danny Walton Swannanoa

Open-space proposal costs too much to bear [Regarding “Welcome, Neighbors: Amendment Promotes Healthy Communities and the Environment,” March 16, Xpress:] Ms. Susan Bean wrote a full-throated defense of the Open Space Amendment. Her main idea is that we must cut the trees we love in our neighborhoods in order to protect the environment. Setting the obvious contradictions in that argument aside, let’s examine the specifics of the proposal in detail. Open Space Amendment proponents argue that if we don’t densely develop the city of Asheville, then developers will simply build outside the city, leading to urban sprawl. The

first problem with this argument is that the proposal would only regulate development within the city limits, and so by definition, its passage would make no changes to sprawl outside of the city. Second, because Asheville is one of the hottest real estate markets in the country, developers are swarming to build both inside and outside the city. So development will continue unabated in the county regardless of what the city does, but we have a say in how development will be regulated within the city limits. If this proposal is passed, developers will simply run amok both inside and outside the city. Ms. Bean also suggests that the Open Space Amendment is focused on bringing small housing developments to our neighborhoods, like triplexes or developments of eight-10 units. But the amendment doesn’t apply to developments of fewer than eight units, and it includes developments of 50 or more housing units. Bean implies that we must accept an unlimited amount of development to make space for anyone who wants to move here, no matter the cost to our community and quality of life. This is like the assumption that Asheville residents must continue to sacrifice tens of millions in tax revenue to the Tourism Development Authority each year to vacuum up as many wealthy tourists as possible, so they can “discover” Asheville and buy a fifth home here. The escalating costs of the TDA and the Open Space Amendment are simply too great for our community to bear. — Perrin de Jong Staff attorney Center for Biological Diversity Asheville office MOUNTAINX.COM

Branyon will stand up for our county During these times when elected officials seem distant from us in philosophy and the courage to make difficult decisions, I enthusiastically urge neighbors in the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners District 1 to vote for Bill Branyon. Mr. Branyon isn’t cut from the same cloth as most politicians, especially those who sit on our local commission. He will stand up for our county against powerful influences like those who think they know better than their constituents. This means representing locals who love this region because of its history of peaceful coexistence with the gifts that nature has allotted to us — the majestic and threatened French Broad River, our national forests and inspiring mountains — along with its hardworking residents. Many of us longtime residents believe that our current Buncombe

CONTINUES ON PAGE 5 MARCH 30- APRIL 5, 2022

MARCH 30- APRIL 5, 2022

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OPINION

CARTOON BY BRENT BROWN County commissioners sold out our community by welcoming Pratt & Whitney as our new neighbor. War profiteer Raytheon Technologies owns P&W. Its CEO, Gregory Hayes, made $23.3 million in total compensation in 2021, the year after our local commission promised $27 million in tax abatements over the next decade to his company. Meanwhile, like canaries in a mine, we have people clinging to life on our streets and eating tourists’ leftovers from garbage cans. Mr. Branyon will work to see that giveaways such as this never happen again. I believe Mr. Branyon will help our county return to its compassionate and eclectic spirit that drew most of us here not so long ago or our ancestors decades ago. — Rachael Bliss Asheville

Local leaders must pay attention Just want to commend and thank Robert McGee on his well-crafted letter, “Tourists, the Lifeblood of Our Community?” [Feb. 23, Xpress]. He did an excellent job in calling our attention to the wrongheadedness and shortsightedness that have turned our beloved town into a tour-

ist mecca rather than a community that works for its residents. City/county leaders: Pay attention. Enough is enough. Start working for the betterment of our entire community. Enough hotels, enough huge apartment developments, enough trees felled, enough zoning variances that wreck the character of our neighborhoods. Primary season is approaching. Mr. McGee is so right: “Tourists don’t vote.” Be sure you do. — Anne Craig Asheville

Thanks to doctors for keeping WNC healthy In observance of National Doctors’ Day on March 30, the Western Carolina Medical Society would like to take this opportunity to recognize and thank the physicians across Western North Carolina for their strong commitment to the health and well-being of our neighbors. We acknowledge their commitment to exceptional medical care, their focus on patient advocacy and their dedication to patients and communities, particularly during the challenges of the past two years during the COVID-19 pandemic. Doctors’ Day is our small way of saying thank you for keeping our

community healthy. We are privileged to have some of the most skilled and dedicated physicians in the country here in WNC. Physicians play many roles in our community, including as neighbors, civic leaders, volunteers and champions for health. Our region is healthier and better because of their daily doses of impact. We are particularly grateful for physician support of Project Access. More than 700 area physicians donate their time and talent to care for low-income, uninsured patients, working to address inequities in health care. This March 30, let us all celebrate the hard work, passion and dedication of all our physicians. For more information about WCMS or Doctors’ Day, visit www.mywcms. org or contact Niki Duff at niki@mywcms.org or 828-274-2267, ext. 1313. — Elisa Quarles, CEO William McLean, Chair, Board of Directors Western Carolina Medical Society Asheville

Print and radio can let your voice be heard As a freelance writer for some of the largest newspapers in South Carolina MOUNTAINX.COM

and Western North Carolina, I have published dozens of letters to the editor and talked about my views as a caller to local radio stations that are heard all over the Upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina airways, such as Word 106.3 FM and 94.5 FM The Answer. And I have also had the opportunity to put on the air around 20 birthday shoutouts about my family members, the Hawkins family from Greenville, S.C. The printed page and radio are both wonderful avenues to get your voice to be heard. Letters to the editor are a great outlet to influence public discourse and dialogue, and being a caller to radio stations adds your voice to that dialogue in a public way. Both of these media outlets influence public opinion, and these two media outlets both are avenues to add something positive to the conversation. — Steven Hawkins Greenville, S.C.

Editor’s note Due to changing health recommendations related to COVID-19, readers are encouraged to check with individual businesses for the latest updates concerning upcoming events. MARCH 30- APRIL 5, 2022

OPINION

Quo vadis, Asheville? City at crossroads must find its way

BY MILTON READY Not to go all Revelations on everyone, but perhaps Asheville should ask itself the apocryphal question Peter did on the Appian Way as he fled a burning Rome, namely, “Quo vadis?” Where are you going, Asheville? Back to a version of a resurrected past or toward a future of pandemic capitalism? EVOLVING ASHEVILLE Asheville’s had many incarnations in its history: a bustling frontier town on the Buncombe Turnpike of the early 1800s, a bastion of secession in the mountains during the Civil War, Tom Wolfe’s city of boardinghouses, brothels and grand

hotels from 1890 into the 1920s, and the long, dark depression that lasted from the 1930s until the 1980s. And now the predictable effects of one of the most rapidly gentrifying cities in the nation: more, ever-larger hotels, greater congestion, soaring housing costs, more homeless people, increasing income inequality and rising crime. Perhaps the next incarnation might be as a larger Blowing Rock or smaller Charlotte. In one of Asheville’s many instances of being “discovered,” in 2000, Rolling Stone magazine branded the city as “America’s new freak capital,” a mark that still survives in the slogan, “Keep Asheville Weird,” albeit largely as nostalgia. Indeed, the monikers of Beer City, San Francisco of the East and the

“Perhaps slash-and-burn capitalism has succeeded in changing Asheville where Raleigh hasn’t.”

Paris of the South now largely have replaced the idea of Asheville as a hippie haven, as a granola ghetto in the mountains. ALTERNATIVE BASTION Asheville’s uniqueness also incorporates the idea that it’s one of North Carolina’s most progressive cities, a bastion of alternative everythings governed by women in one of the South’s most reactionary states, one rife with misogyny. In the last 20 years, for example, Asheville steadily has elected and selected women to power positions like that of mayor, City Council and police chief. As mayor, Leni Sitnick led the way (1997-2001), followed by Terry Bellamy (2005-13) and, since 2013, Esther Manheimer. Only Charles Worley broke the cycle in 2001. Tellingly, the two North Carolina cities that regularly elect women as mayors and to power boards, Charlotte and Asheville, all too frequently are the subject of state legislation designed to lessen their influence, typically by redrawing districts, altering voting requirements, delaying elections, pushing referendums and even going to the bathroom. When redrawing congressional and local voting districts, North Carolina takes great pains to carve up too-progressive Asheville and Charlotte. BEYOND PROSPERITY?

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Yet perhaps slash-and-burn capitalism has succeeded in changing Asheville where Raleigh hasn’t. Popularity, rapid growth and an influx of retirees mean that the growing suburbs around South Asheville now are among the most conservative in the state. Moreover, in the downtown area, expensive and increasingly restricted housing has similarly attracted a wealthier demographic. West Asheville, for decades the city’s new Lexington Avenue streetscape, now seems to be gentrifying rapidly as well. North of Asheville, Weaverville has similarly been “discovered,” and Mars Hill and Marshall are becoming exurbs, commuting towns ringing Asheville. So where is Asheville headed? Has Asheville’s prosperity

MILTON READY already evolved into greed? Has its “Goldilocks” mixture, in which everything is “just right,” become toxic? Or is it simply reincarnating itself once again? When Asheville’s elected officials charged with making critical decisions about its future listen to the almost irresistible siren calls from developers of more jobs, jobs and jobs, along with increased tax revenues and needed housing regardless of affordability — all “market imperatives” — in the end, they perhaps they should consider only one precautionary principle. BACK TO BASICS When a new development proposed for a neighborhood like Charlotte Street or Richmond Hill carries with it the threat of seriously affecting the local distinctiveness and lifestyles of a district or community, and if it is uncertain how likely and when that will occur, then all reasonable steps should be taken to regulate or even ban the change in question. Only a single standard should determine the initial fate of new developments. Do they enhance the special qualities of a place and of those who already live there or don’t they? It’s a simple standard easily applied. Afterward, other questions and problems more easily can be resolved. Yet any elected official who applies that standard should beware. Why? Like Peter, they perhaps will be crucified for returning to basic principles and beliefs in an upside-down world and not listening to the madding crowd. Esse quam videri, Asheville. Retired UNC Asheville history professor Milton Ready lives in the mountains of Western North Carolina. X

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BY JESSICA WAKEMAN jwakeman@mountainx.com Last year, the city of Asheville began using the Ramada Inn River Ridge Plaza in East Asheville as a noncongregate shelter for some of its homeless population. Since last April, 116 people in total have found a place under the motel’s roof. That respite is nearing its end. Local housing agencies and nonprofits have been referring those living at the Ramada to other housing before Thursday, March 31, when the city’s contract with the shelter operator ends. As of March 28, 31 rooms at the Ramada were still occupied and 13 planned to vacate over the next three days, says Emily Ball, Asheville’s homeless services systems performance lead. Of the remaining 18 rooms, 9 had confirmed housing but weren’t ready to move yet and 9 were still figuring out where to go by March 31, she explains.

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Ramada residents leave city’s temporary shelter

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TRANSITIONS: Eric Hall, who leads the Ramada Inn shelter’s resident council, is keeping tabs on where his friends are being placed. Photo by Jen Castillo “I’ve been really deep in the weeds on exit planning for folks there the last few months,” says Ball. “I’ve been on-site most days and meeting with people, trying to workshop what their options will be.” Once the shelter closes, Californiabased for-profit developer ShangriLa Industries will convert the Ramada into permanent supportive housing, as outlined in a Dec. 8 arrangement with the city. Step Up on Second Street, a California nonprofit, will provide supportive services for the new residents. Meanwhile, Ramada resident Eric Hall, who leads the shelter’s resident council, tells Xpress he’s been trying to keep tabs on where his friends are being placed. In early March, he said everyone shares the concern of “people being added back out to the population that don’t have housing.” As March 31 approaches, Hall feels bittersweet about his neighbors at the Ramada moving on — some of whom had lived together for nearly a year and created camaraderie. “The hardest part of this whole move, or transition, is losing each other,” he says. “It has become a family atmosphere.”

Hall expresses gratitude to Mayank Patel, the motel’s owner. “We’re grateful that we’ve had all this time to be here,” he says. EARLY DAYS In April 2021, the city contacted the Asheville-based nonprofit Sunrise Community for Recovery and Wellness about managing temporary homeless shelters. Sunrise is primarily a peer support organization for people with mental health challenges or who are in recovery from substance use, explains Sue Polston, its executive director. She notes that “it did go a little bit out of our scope to do this project.” However, she says the nonprofit wanted to meet the needs of the community. Sunrise employees went to campsites at River Ridge, near the Bleachery Boulevard Walmart and underneath the Interstate 240 overpass of Lexington Avenue to transition unhoused people into the available shelters. Over the course of four days, the team moved people to the Ramada and a Quality Inn, says Polston. The original plan was for people to stay at both hotels from April 19

through the end of June, explains Ball. Instead, the city extended Sunrise’s contract three times. “A lot of that extension was primarily related to the concurrent effort that the city had to purchase that [Ramada] property for developing a [low-barrier shelter],” she says. (That effort, which began with the city signing a contract to buy the Ramada in May, fell apart in the face of neighborhood opposition and a lack of support from partners including Buncombe County and the Dogwood Health Trust. The city decided to transfer its purchase rights to Shangri-La and pursue a permanent supportive housing model instead.) In May, the Quality Inn asked Sunrise’s residents to leave due to some destructive behavior; they were moved to an Econo Lodge. “I think it was not a fit for Quality Inn,” Ball says. Eventually the group consolidated at the Ramada in September as more residents were placed into housing. Few unhoused people came to the Ramada after those initial move-ins. Sunrise made some referrals from Adult Protective Services, Buncombe County jail and the county Emergency Medical Services Post-Overdose Response Team. “It’s been a hell of a ride since day one,” says Polston. “We’ve done some amazing work.” FINDING HOUSING The Ramada will eventually provide permanent supportive housing, a long-term housing solution for the chronically homeless, explains Jerry Kivett-Kimbro, rapid rehousing director of Homeward Bound WNC. Individuals may be eligible for permanent supportive housing if they have serious mental health or substance use issues that have been a deterrent to stable housing. But the Ramada residents now leaving the motel likely won’t come

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back. They are primarily eligible for rapid rehousing, which provides short-term rental assistance for at least three months and comes with three to six months of supportive wraparound services, Kivett-Kimbro explains. Funding for that support comes from city and state grants. Individuals are eligible for rapid rehousing if they have the ability to earn an income and continue maintaining their rent after financial assistance ends. The program “is intended to get people back up on their feet, get them stable,” he says. But being slated for rapid rehousing does not guarantee a place to live; recipients must still find landlords who will accept the rental assistance. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development requires that the multiple agencies within a municipality cooperate to determine which individuals will be slated to receive housing funds, says Ball. Organizations participate in bi-monthly “coordinated assessment meetings” (CAM) to discuss people to place in housing in Buncombe County. Sunrise; Homeward Bound; the faithbased Salvation Army, Haywood Street Congregation and Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry; Eliada, which works with young adults up to age 25; and Helpmate, which works with survivors of domestic violence, can all refer individuals to Asheville’s CAM, says Ball. Homeward Bound, Eliada and Helpmate can then enroll individuals in housing programs that provide rental assistance. Prior to CAM meetings, Ball checks in with the three agencies and “asks how many referrals they’ll be able to take that week, so we’ll know so we know in advance how many opportunities we have to get people slated for a housing program,” she explains. Sunrise designated several employees to act as housing navigators for

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No one to call Ashlee has been homeless for 3 1/2 years. The Asheville native says that splitting up with her husband left her with no possessions and no one to call for help. “The worst feeling in the world is when you need something or someone and you sit there with a phone and you don’t have one number you can call. That’s the feeling of literally being alone and helpless,” she says. “It doesn’t take but one choice to put you in this same position. And what [nonhomeless people] don’t realize is that it doesn’t even have to be your choice. It could be someone else’s choice. I didn’t choose to be here.” Before coming to the Ramada a year ago, Ashlee says that she had been staying in tents throughout Asheville. “I grew up in the country; I grew up raising animals. So camping was nothing new to ASHLEE me,” she says. “But when it’s 24/7, and you’re outside in the elements all year round, it’s harsh. It is hard on your body and your mind. It wears on you.” Ashlee says that so far, she has nowhere to go after the Ramada closes and expects to return to tent camping. Despite the physical discomfort, she says the hardest part of being homeless is the way people treat her. She is frequently called names or laughed at when walking with a backpack through the city and finds it difficult to find a job. “I wish they would treat us like they expect us to treat them. And that may sound like cliche, but it’s true,” she explains. “There’s a reason why that’s one of the first things that they instill in us as a child. Treat others how you want to be treated. We need to remember that.”

— Brooke Randle X

Love and hope Four years ago, a chance meeting at a library changed ATL’s life for the better. “I was at a point in my life where I was about to take my life,” the 32-year-old remembers. “I had just got out of rehab and had already relapsed again and was just pretty much stuck on the same path of self-destruction. “She asked me for a cigarette,” he continues, gesturing toward his girlfriend, Little Bit. “Usually that’s my line. I knew it was special. I fell in love. We’ve never been apart since.” LITTLE BIT AND ATL The two had been living in tents until coming to the Ramada last year. ATL says that undiagnosed borderline personality disorder, as well as the death of his twin brother and father, led him to homelessness and self-medicating with street drugs as a young adult. “This place has definitely changed a lot of lives,” he says of the Ramada. “I notice a lot of people have hope in their eyes or are doing things. It still feels like a dream to me, and it’s been a year.“ The couple have a housing voucher to use once a space opens and plan to start working with a recovery coach at the end of the month. They hope to start a family one day. Despite their struggles, both say that they wouldn’t change their experience of being homeless over the last few years. “[Homelessness] helped me find love. It helped me appreciate love, give love,” says ATL. “It helped me find God, authentically and wholeheartedly.”

— Brooke Randle X

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NE W S Ramada residents, each assisting 20 people, explains Polston. That team worked with every resident at the Ramada to acquire identification required for housing, like birth certificates. Ball calls it “getting the ducks in a row for folks there, so that if a slot is available that is a fit for them,” their documents are ready. But day-to-day at the Ramada property, Sunrise also had “a lot of fires to put out,” says Polston. That included connecting individuals to mental health services, letting residents know when local faith communities had donated meals and coordinating laundry services. WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

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While Sunrise will no longer operate at the Ramada after March 31, the city extended its contract with one staff member through the end of April so it can continue to help individuals find housing, Polston says. Not every Ramada resident has yet been referred to housing “because we haven’t had that many slots available in housing programs,” explains Ball. The project will still “have some folks who are unsheltered when they leave there,” she continues. “But I

am working, honestly, as hard as I can to be sure that that number is as small as possible.” Polston concurs that some Ramada residents may not transition into housing. “I said this at the very beginning — and I tried to let my staff know — at the end of this, there’s going to be a handful of people that just want to go back to the street,” she explains. “There’s nothing that you could have done any differently. That’s just what they’re used to. That’s what’s comfortable to them.” As of March 10, Sunrise had 49 people living in the Ramada. Twenty-five have been connected to housing caseworkers with Homeward Bound. Of the remaining folks, 13 people had a tentative plan. That could include 10-12 beds at Salvation Army over a two-month period, explains Ball. “That leaves 11 people who need help navigating where they will go on March 31,” she says. They are “working to get them in a safe location, whether it’s a family member’s house, a halfway house or a local shelter.” Another function Sunrise serves is connecting unhoused people with loved ones. Through private donations, the nonprofit has been able to

provide Greyhound Bus tickets to 5 people to go home, Polston says. As of December, Sunrise also assisted seven people with getting into a detox program, says Polston. (Detox and rehab are classified as temporary destinations by HUD, and thus not considered housing, according to Ball.) NEXT STEPS The Ramada is projected to provide 50 units of housing for homeless veterans and 50 units for people who are chronically homeless; however, those figures could be different in either direction depending on the architect’s final plans, Ball says. Rooms will be renovated into “efficiency apartments” intended for one single adult or a couple, she says. Upon the completion of renovations, Step Up will send a program manager to the site but hire case management and peer support teams locally, explains Ball. Renovations are expected to be completed in the fall, after which residents can move in, Ball says. “It’s certainly been a big learning experience for a lot of us,” Ball tells Xpress. “I am hopeful that it is giving us a good foundation to build on in the future.” X

Getting out “I feel like people kind of judge us — as if homelessness is something you can catch, like it’s a disease,” says Ramada Inn resident Lynze. Lynze says her life started bright. After growing up in Haywood County, the 29-yearold had attended early college at Haywood Community College and eventually got her GED in 2015 from A-B Tech. She then got a job in the cafeteria of Asheville’s Claxton Elementary School. But an abusive relationship that included drug use quickly derailed her hard work. “We ended up getting a hold of drugs, and we just started arguing and having family problems,” she remembers. “And I ended up having a lot of days where I’d be late for work. Eventually, I just had to resign.” Lynze says she was later evicted from her apartment after her husband was arrested on LYNZE drug charges. Since leaving the relationship in 2018, she has continued to struggle with substance abuse disorder. She lived in tents or stayed with friends before coming to the Ramada last year. As the deadline approaches for the Ramada to close, Lynze says she hopes to find another temporary shelter instead of returning to the streets. “They always say, ‘Everything happens for a reason.’ Even though being on drugs and getting evicted and all that stuff may have seemed bad at the time, it got me out of an abusive relationship,” she says. “It sounds weird, but that’s how I try to look at things.”

— Brooke Randle X

MARCH 30- APRIL 5, 2022

MOUNTAINX.COM

MARCH 30- APRIL 5, 2022

NEWS

Voices and the crowd

Council outlines priorities in annual retreat

BY BROOKE RANDLE brandle@mountainx.com “Before you start, we would just like you to know some unfinished business!” A protester’s shout rang from the audience at the Harrah’s Cherokee Center – Asheville banquet room as Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer opened the first day of City Council’s March 17-18 retreat. Roughly 20 people, including members of Sunrise Movement Asheville, Reject Raytheon AVL and Asheville Survival Program, had gathered to make their voices heard at a meeting where no public comment would be accepted. “We are asking that you take care of your city, that you take care of your people,” the protester continued. “Stop criminalizing homelessness! Stop pandering to developers who are going to pollute our air and our water! And instead, take care of this city. Stop the sweeps [of homeless camps]!” “All right, we’ll just take a quick break and we’ll be back,” Manheimer said, before leaving the room with a majority of Council members and city staff. Council member Sandra Kilgore was the only elected leader to approach the crowd, while fellow member Kim Roney observed the exchange. “Tell us what you really want, then give us some suggestions, OK? And where do we get the finances to do certain things?” Kilgore challenged the demonstrators. “If you defund [the Asheville Police Department], that’s going to hurt the Black community. We’re the first ones that they will not show up [for]. We’re the first ones that are going to be affected.” After nearly 10 minutes of debate, the exchange appeared to cool as Kilgore agreed to meet with the group later to discuss issues. She and

BACK AND FORTH: Asheville City Council member Sandra Kilgore exchanges words with protesters who briefly disrupted the start of Council’s annual retreat March 17. Photo by Brooke Randle Roney then joined their colleagues for the retreat itself. While no more disturbances interrupted the following two days of discussions, there was still plenty of excitement as Council plotted its approach to the coming year. Xpress rounded up five main takeaways from the event. 2022 PRIORITIES With assistance from event moderator Rebekah Lowe, Council members narrowed their list of priorities for the upcoming year to four broad categories: equitable, affordable housing and stability; homelessness strategies; improving/expanding core services; and neighborhood resilience. Council also agreed to keep two of last year’s priorities, reimaging public safety and reparations, on deck for this year. While few specific goals or metrics for those priorities were shared, City Manager Debra Campbell told Council that her staff would work to identify projects within each area for review at the start of the fiscal year in July. Those projects would therefore not be included in the upcoming city budget.

MARCH 30- APRIL 5, 2022

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FEE INCREASES, FACILITIES STUDY City staff outlined several recommendations and highlighted upcoming studies that the city is planning to conduct over the next few years. Taylor Floyd, Asheville’s budget manager, said the city is likely to see sanitation and stormwater fee increases to maintain current levels of service. Floyd also recommended a fee increase for city water services. Together, those increases could raise the average Asheville household’s annual bill by $62.70. David Melton, Asheville’s water resources director, said his department was preparing to switch all of the city’s roughly 63,000 water meters to a new automatic reading system. The new technology, he said, would allow the city to switch to monthly billing, more quickly identify leaks and other issues and reduce staff effort. The project is estimated to cost $20 million; pending authorization from Council, work would begin in late summer or early fall. And Walter Ear, the city’s capital projects building construction manager, said his department is preparing

to conduct a study that will examine the condition of the city’s more than 60 buildings. Ear explained that over 70% of the city’s buildings are past their “expected useful life,” with the majority of them built before World War II. The study’s results, expected to be ready by December 2023, will determine a long-range plan for capital maintenance and the replacement of city facilities. CITY STAFF “OVERWHELMED” Lowe presented a job satisfaction survey of the city’s 17 department heads. The staff members were asked to name five words that described how they felt about their work, with “overwhelming” ranking at the top. “Exhausting,” “challenging,” “exciting,” “rewarding,” “fulfilling” and “unvalued” or “undermined” also made the list. “‘Overwhelming’ was about staffing shortages,” Lowe explained. “It also was about unrealistic expectations — thinking that we’re driving on all of these things to try to make things happen while we’re shorthanded, and then

something new comes in that we have to take on. That is just overwhelming.” “It’s a perfect storm of not feeling supported and not feeling a part of a team, which means that if we get those types of challenges, then you’re looking at a … mass exodus of people,” said Kilgore. “I think those are very concerning, and it’s something that we as a city need to work on.” Lowe also asked the department heads how City Council could support the city’s departments. “Trust us and show it more often,” topped the list. “The theme here was about giving us the benefit of the doubt, and saying it publicly,” Lowe added. “Your public support for us really matters internally.” The department heads also asked that Council set clear, concise, realistic strategic goals, make core city services a priority and provide financial backing for capital investments. Lowe noted that those staff leaders wanted Council to “remember the silent majority,” rather than allow small, vocal groups to shape the city’s agenda. TENSION WITHIN COUNCIL Council members were asked to rate how well they had worked together during the last year. At last year’s retreat, members had been charged with creating a list of agreements that would “ensure an environment of respect, trust and productive dialogue.” This year, members anonymously evaluated how well they stuck to those agreements. Among the lowest scoring was the commitment to “avoid surprises, provide feedback or a heads-up individually before making comments publicly.” Council’s “no triangulation agreement,” which asked members to talk to one another rather than about each other, also scored poorly, as did an agreement to “use a pros-andcons list as a tool to make logical policy decisions.” “Staff always provides a pros-andcons list, so this is a signal of ignoring that,” Manheimer said. Roney, however, suggested that those lists were often incomplete and should include equity and sustainability impacts. COUNCIL DEBATES ‘CHECK-INS’ Manheimer questioned the practice of Council “check-ins,” in which members meet in private groups of three or fewer to discuss policy and ask questions of city staff. “There’s definitely some concern in the community around transparency,” Manheimer acknowledged. “But in terms of internal [communication] and the triangulation concept and the perspective seeking, I’m wondering if it’s

TALKING POINTS: Moderator Rebekah Lowe helps Asheville City Council members work through an exercise to narrow their priorities for the coming year. Photo by Brooke Randle time for us to do something that we’ve been talking about for a while, which is to transition to a work session format instead where the full Council meets.” “We’re spending upwards of six to eight hours every other week of staff time,” added Roney. “We don’t have minutes [from the check-ins]. … So I wonder, if we were to switch to a process like the county does, if we could maybe address some of the issues that staff has already brought up.” But not everyone agreed with changing the practice. Vice Mayor Sheneika Smith suggested full Council work sessions might not reduce demands on city staff, while Council member Gwen Wisler said that check-ins provide a safe place for members to voice concerns and questions they may feel uncomfortable expressing otherwise. “A lot of times, [the check-ins are] the first time I’ve heard about a particular issue. And although I’m an extrovert, and I do tend to process fairly quickly, I want to be able to ask questions to make the right decision,” Wisler explained. Smith agreed, saying that she felt that the check-ins allowed her to be “a little raw and more candid.” “We can kind of show we don’t know a lot about an issue. But when we are in public — lights, camera, action — sometimes you want to appear refined and knowledgeable, and that holds people back from asking questions,” she said. “So the check-in process and hearing information and taking time to gather information so that you can have follow up questions is sacred to a lot of us who don’t have time, and a lot of us who have been heavily criticized.” X

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MARCH 30- APRIL 5, 2022

NEWS

BUNCOMBE BEAT

Six-lane track unanimously approved for Memorial Stadium A long-standing request by residents of the East End/Valley Street neighborhood for a six-lane competitive track at Memorial Stadium was finally approved by a unanimous vote of Asheville City Council March 22. As presented by Asheville Parks and Recreation Director D. Tyrell McGirt, the 400-meter, six-lane track comes as part of a $4.4 million second phase of improvements to the stadium and adjoining Mountainside Park. Work will also include the installation of new playground equipment, as well as the replacement of old bathroom facilities, storage buildings and bleachers. (Documents for the project were not posted to Council’s online agenda until Monday afternoon, well after the Friday release of other items.) Neighborhood residents had been asking for a new track as part of renovations to Memorial Stadium since 2017, after Asheville voters approved a $74 million bond issue — $17 million of which was allocated to improve parks and recreation facilities — in

READY, SET, GO: The newly approved second phase of updates to Memorial Stadium will include the construction of a 400-meter, six-lane competitive track, new playground equipment and replacements of bathroom facilities, storage buildings and bleachers. Rendering courtesy of the city of Asheville 2016. But the first phase of renovations to the nearly 100-year-old stadium, which began in 2017 and was completed in January, did not include that element. Upgrades instead featured new artificial turf and improved drainage for the field, as well as the construction of an accessible ramp for the bleachers and pedestrian access along the ends of the field. The stadium was built in 1925 and served the historically Black East End/ Valley Street and Oakhurst communities for decades. The facility originally featured a 12-foot-wide cinder track, but by the late 1970s, the track had been paved with asphalt and was no longer in use for competitive running. Five people spoke in favor of updates that included the track, including Renée White, president of the East/Valley Street Neighborhood Association. She claimed that the city had overlooked the neighborhood’s desires in favor of stakeholders outside the community — including the Asheville City Soccer Club, which began using the field in 2016 — and that the track represented a longstanding want from residents who had dealt with visitor litter and parking issues. 14

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“I’m a native Ashvillean. I’m a native East Ender. I love my community. And I’ve watched all of this happen over the years, Black people just being pushed out,” White said. “We’re not saying that we don’t want you in the neighborhood. Come and play, sure. But respect our community, respect our neighborhood and do the right thing.” Building the track would reduce the newly resurfaced field’s width by 5 yards, which local soccer advocates have said would limit its ability to host professional matches. During public comment on the proposal, Asheville resident Frank Balentine argued that the new field’s dimensions should be maintained. “The people playing soccer, the ones participating in playing, and the spectators — there’s sometimes 1,000 to 2,000 people from the local community [at a game]. And they have a wide range of race, age and gender. Soccer at Memorial is an inclusive activity and should be strongly supported by the city,” Balentine said. “Memorial Stadium is a 100-year-old stadium, a 100-year-old city event center, and should be maintained as such and not diminished in its capacity.”

City staff members are now tasked with developing a design and construction schedule for the project and identifying possible funding sources. McGrit said that, although $1 million in bond proceeds was ready to spend on the project, a $3.4 million funding gap remained. Council member Sage Turner suggested that the city should look into applying for a Tourism Product Development Fund grant from the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority when applications open. Meanwhile, Council member Antanette Mosley, herself a Black native of the East End neighborhood, reflected on the stadium’s recent history. “We came this close to not even having that property there to be the subject matter of this conversation,” she said, referencing a 1997 discussion by Council over whether to sell Memorial Stadium. “My hope is that those here today advise your children and grandchildren of the history of this property … and be prepared for this issue to potentially come back up again.”

— Brooke Randle X

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“Want to meet Jack?” Leeann Shearouse asks, coaxing her Harris’s hawk out of its travel box. Shearouse, a master falconer, has just returned from a falconry session in the countryside north of Asheville. The raptor’s brown feathers shine in the sunlight as he surveys his home territory with a single eye. Jack is just one of 85 injured birds at Carolina Avian Research and Education in Fletcher. Before moving to Western North Carolina in 2009, Shearouse worked with birds in Palm Beach, Fla. In 2019, she launched her latest endeavor, where she cares for rare, endangered and special-needs birds. Garden beds, filled with tulips, surround each enclosure. Looking around the site, Shearouse says, “I’m the team. I’m the mom. I’m the caretaker. I’m the poop sweeper. I’m the everything.” Shearouse supports CARE by selling the canna lilies, daylilies and aquatic plants she grows on-site, in addition to teaching classes on falconry and gardening. Xpress sat down with Shearouse inside her class area, which overlooks the waterfowl and exotics enclosure, where brightly colored birds flit among the shrubs and waddle along the pond edge in this avian sanctuary. This interview has been condensed and edited. What called you to work with birds with special needs? Well, I’ve always worked with birds. I kind of morphed into just working with the birds of prey and some of the more rare birds that needed help. A lot of the birds are here because they have a physical disability. There’s a red-crested turaco whose leg was badly deformed at birth. Jack, the Harris’s hawk, he only has one eye. One of the ducks over there has a very bad leg. So either they have something physically wrong with them, or they’re so rare that we are trying to breed them. How do these birds come into your care? I’m well known in avicultural societies and groups, so people reach out to me. I turn away a lot of birds because I don’t think it’s a good fit. If it’s coming here, it’s got to be a bird that can be used in education. If it’s critically rare and endangered, I will try to breed them. Then we send them out to other avian facilities. I

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BIRD CALL: In 2019, Leeann Shearouse launched Carolina Avian Research and Education in Fletcher, where she continues to rescue rare and injured birds. Photo courtesy of Shearouse don’t want people to bring me their discarded bird pets. What birds most interest you? I’m very, very interested in frugivorous birds — birds that live on fruit. They’re tropical, and that’s why they have to have heated barns in the wintertime. And waterfowl. I love waterfowl. Why did you come to Western North Carolina? I moved to North Carolina because of my love of tulips. Who does that!?! I love them that much. And this is the farthest south that you can raise tulips successfully. I love them. And I breed them. I’m all about tulips and birds. I have a small nursery here where I sell aquatic plants, canna lilies that I’ve created myself and daylilies that I’ve bred. It’s a fun place to come out, get rare plants and see some extravagant birds. What’s the most popular class that you teach? Falconry. I think water gardening is also going to be popular this summer. I love teaching horticultural classes. And water gardening is my specialty.

I saw that you had a Fallen Heroes series of irises. What prompted that? I was in bed watching cartoons with my little 6-year-old girl [in 1993]. We were having a beautiful Saturday morning. And the news came on that a police officer had just been shot in the head and was dead. And he had children and a wife. And they would never get to see him again. And it was so hard for my little girl. I said, “You know, maybe we can do something more.” And so I said, “I’m going to create a series of hybrid irises. And each new iris that is superior, we’re going to name after a police officer that was killed in the line of duty.” And she was so excited. And I was excited. About a year and a half later, I came up with the first iris. It was Rocky Hunt [honoring Sgt. James “Rocky” Hunt of the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, killed in the line of duty in February 1993]. It’s a wonderful, big, blue iris. It’s still one of my favorites. Currently, there are five irises in this series. And the latest one was named after our dear Capt. Jeff Bowen. He was a firefighter [who died in July 2011 while battling an arson fire]. I got to meet Jeff’s mother and his widow, and I presented them both with Capt. Jeff Bowen irises just last year. These families have a memorial plant that’s going to live forever. How can somebody get involved with your organization? Well, if they want to book a class, they can call me and come have a wonderful, fun experience and learn about birds of prey and the art of falconry. When it warms up a bit, they can learn about wildflower gardening or water gardening. And then I have another class called “Birds from Around the World.” All people need to do is go to the website, which is carebird.org. Has the pandemic affected your organization? No, I started doing these classes just recently. So, during the pandemic, I felt a little bad because everybody was really suffering and depressed because they missed their friends. And I didn’t miss anybody. Because I’m so busy here and I have all these birds to enjoy and it’s so beautiful. I love these birds. They’re really my life.

— LA Bourgeois X

GARDENING WITH XPRESS

Common missteps new gardeners make in WNC Hi, Xpress readers, and welcome to my new monthly feature with the paper. My name is Chloe Lieberman, and I’m an avid grower, eater and lover of garden goodness. I’ve been sowing seeds for nearly 20 years, including the last nine in Western North Carolina. I’m an instructor for the Wild Abundance Online Gardening School (avl.mx/bbd) and I use practical, effective organic approaches. Through September, I’ll be answering your gardening questions. You can email all inquiries to gardening@ mountainx.com. I look forward to hearing from you! To start things off, I’ve selected a frequent question I’ve received over the years: “What are some common missteps people make when starting their first garden?” Below are several things to keep in mind as you plan out your project. START SMALL What small means for you will be based on your circumstances. The goal is to choose a pace and a scale that’s doable for your energy, resources and lifestyle. It’s easy to want to grow all the things right away, but that’s also a recipe for overwhelm and disappointment. For your first year of gardening, I recommend choosing one-five of your favorite vegetables (a maximum of eight, if you’re feeling ambitious). Remember, you can always add to your plot down the line. PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR SOIL Your garden will only be as healthy as your soil. This is the plant-kingdom version of “you are what you eat.” Soil matters, since that’s where plants get their nourishment. If you have a disappointing gardening experience, chances are it’s because your loving care didn’t extend downward into the earth. Here in the mountains, we tend to have lots of clay, medium to low organic matter and minerals, and our soils have a naturally low pH, meaning they’re slightly acidic. Most garden vegetables like a mix of sand, silt and clay (larger, medium and tiny particles), as well as high organic matter and minerals along with near neutral pH. Boosting the soil’s capacity to grow great vegetables takes time, no matter how you approach it. Generally speaking, the

GREEN THUMB: Xpress welcomes new contributing writer and garden expert Chloe Lieberman, who will offer monthly gardening tips through September. Photo by Mason McDonald more amendments like compost and mineral powders you can add, the quicker the process. A simple recipe for success is to add organic compost and/or manure, high-calcium lime (if your soil’s pH is low), a mineral amendment like Azomite, SEA-90 or kelp powder, and a concentrated source of plant macronutrients: nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. One very helpful step toward tending fertile soil, if you’re starting a new garden in the ground, is to get a soil test. This will give you specific baseline information to work from, like the actual pH and nutrient availability of your garden. Our local agricultural extension agencies offer soil testing for a small fee, but I prefer the more in-depth information that’s provided by mailing a soil sample to Logan Labs (loganlabs.com/). If you’re opting for a container garden, Asheville Mulch Yard has good base mixes to choose from. Even though many of them contain compost, in my experience they still require additional amendments (like those mentioned above for any garden), in order to give hungry vegetables what they need to thrive. WHAT’S IN YOUR BACKYARD? Another very important consideration is which vegetables like our

conditions in WNC, generally, as well as the conditions in your yard, specifically. Trying to grow something that’s not suited to the conditions you can offer is a recipe for struggle and setbacks. For example, since it freezes in the winter, we can’t grow lemons and other tender perennials without bringing them inside in the cold season. And, because we live in a temperate rainforest, our gardens have to contend with myriad diseases that drier places don’t worry about. That means growing something as seemingly simple as tomatoes can be tougher here, due to all the fungal pathogens that moisture welcomes. This isn’t to say don’t grow tomatoes! Just learn the tricks to warding off blights and rots, like maximizing airflow with good support and pruning, minimizing leaf-to-soil-contact and never watering the plants themselves, just the soil at their bases. Zooming in a little further, take note of the growing conditions in

your yard and don’t try to work against limitations like limited sun or toxic plants. We are fortunate to live amid beautiful trees here, but that can also mean shady gardening. If you try to grow melons in the shade, you’ll be disappointed. On the other hand, semi-shade conditions can be great for leaf crops like lettuce, kale, chard and cilantro, especially during the height of summer when the shade helps keep things cooler. Also, look out for some of the common wild plants in our area that can be toxic to certain vegetables, notably black walnut and rhododendron. Specifically, black walnut can inhibit the growth of nightshades (in the botanical family solanaceae, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, potatoes, tobacco, etc.); decomposing rhododendron leaves can inhibit seed germination. Along with their needs for balanced soil, light and moisture, garden plants have their favored seasons; not everything that grows well here will flourish year-round. For example, cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and cabbage can thrive in these mountains, but only in the cooler weather of spring and fall. Sweet potatoes, on the other hand, are a heat-loving crop that really doesn’t do much growing until the soil warms up in late May or early June. It’s easy to get really excited about gardening at the first signs of spring, but if you plant warm-season crops like sweet potatoes too early, you may lose them to late frosts. Our friends over at Southern Exposure Seed Exchange in Virginia have put together a simple planting guide that will help you dial in right timing for bigger bounty. Learn more at avl.mx/bbu. Those are the common missteps that I’ve seen gardeners make around here. Hopefully what I’ve shared will help you avoid them! I’d love to hear what other challenges have come up for you in your garden. Again, send me your questions at gardening@ mountainx.com.

— Chloe Lieberman X

The

Sustainability Every Week in April! MOUNTAINX.COM

Series

MARCH 30- APRIL 5, 2022

COMMUNITY CALENDAR MARCH 30-APRIL 7, 2022 For a full list of community calendar guidelines, please visit mountainx.com/calendar. For questions about free listings, call 828-251-1333, opt. 4. For questions about paid calendar listings, please call 828-251-1333, opt. 1.

Online Events = Shaded WELLNESS Yoga and the 12 Steps of Recovery (Y12SR) Addresses addiction as a mental, physical and spiritual disease. WE (3/30), (4/6), 8:30am, Asheville Yoga Center, 211 S Liberty St Pub Run Rain or shine, all ages and experience levels welcome. WE (3/30), (4/6), 6:15pm, Archetype Brewing, 265 Haywood Rd Montford Tai Chi Hosted by local acupuncturist Tyler White. All ages, every Thursday. TH (3/31), (4/7), 9am, Free, Montford Recreation Center, 34 Pearson Dr Introduction to Tai Chi Pre-registration required ashevillecommunityyoga.com. TH (3/31), (4/7), 10:30am, Asheville Community Yoga Center, 8 Brookdale Rd Eat Dessert First Fun Run Participants will pick up dessert and gift bags, then may select the on-site race or "run" a virtual marathon of their choosing. SA (4/2), 9:30am, $20, DayStay Adult Day Services, 135 Candler School Rd, Candler LGBTQ Sweat Your Prayers A safe space for the LGBTQ community to move their bodies with intention, love, in solidarity. All are welcome, sliding scale. SA (4/2), 9:30am, Haw Creek Commons, 315 Old Haw Creek Rd Yoga in the Park Asheville An all-level friendly yoga classes based on Hatha and Vinyasa traditions alongside the French Broad River. SA (4/2), SU (4/3), 1:30pm, $10, 220 Amboy Rd Community Blood Drive Each blood donor will receive a $20 Visa gift card, in partnership with The Blood Connection. TU (4/5), 3pm, Archetype Brewing, 265 Haywood Rd An Introduction to Gurdjieff’s Teaching and Movement Exercises How can body movements help with attention and self-understanding? Movement exercises, readings,

and discussion. Email to register; room is limited: Info@gurdieffasheville. org. TU (4/5), 6:30pm, Gurdjieff Foundation of WNC, 4 Richmond Ave WNC Prostate Support Group For information: Eric (828)419-4565 wncprostate@gmail.com. TU (4/5), 7pm Men’s Cancer Support Group The first and third Wednesday of every month. RSVP to Will at (412)913-0272 or acwein123@gmail.com. WE (4/6), 6pm, Free, Woodfin YMCA, 40 N Merrimon Ave, Ste 101 Queer & Trans Yoga Class For everyone who identifies outside the lines and hasn't felt comfortable in a traditional yoga space. TH (3/31), (4/7), 6pm, avl.mx/b1t

ART Faces of Change Youth Artists Empowered captured images and narratives from Asheville residents in neighborhoods that are in danger of being directly impacted by flooding, drought, and climate change to spark meaningful conversations and increase public dialogue. Daily 11am-6pm, until 9pm Thursdays. Closed Tuesdays. $15, Asheville Art Museum, 2 S Pack Square Gillian Laub’s Southern Rites Gillian Laub engages her skills as a photographer, filmmaker, and visual activist to examine the realities of racism and raise questions that are essential to understanding the American consciousness. Daily 11am-6pm, until 9pm Thursdays. Closed Tuesdays. $15, Asheville Art Museum, 2 S Pack Square A Hand in Studio Craft: Harvey K. Littleton as Peer and Pioneer This exhibition places the Littleton's collection from the early days of the Studio Glass Movement and the height of the American mid-century Studio Pottery Movement - as they connected with other artists, and developed their own work. Daily 11am-6pm, until 9pm Thursdays. Closed Tuesdays. $15, Asheville Art Museum, 2 S Pack Square

MARCH 30- APRIL 5, 2022

Stained with Glass: Vitreograph Prints from the Studio of Harvey K. Littleton A wide circle of artists in a variety of media were invited to Littleton’s studio in Spruce Pine to create prints using the vitreograph process developed by Littleton. Daily 11am-6pm, until 9pm Thursdays. Closed Tuesdays. $15, Asheville Art Museum, 2 S Pack Square The Wyeths: Three Generations | Works from the Bank of America Collection Provides a comprehensive survey of works by N.C. Wyeth, one of America’s finest illustrators; his son, Andrew, a realist painter; his eldest daughter, Henriette, a realist painter; and Andrew’s son Jamie, a popular portraitist. Daily 11am-6pm, until 9pm Thursdays. Closed Tuesdays. $15, Asheville Art Museum, 2 S Pack Square Of Body & Mind This exhibit explores the connection between form and soul through the medium of glass. Daily except Tuesdays. North Carolina Glass Center, 140 Roberts St, Ste B Ray Baccari Described by the artist as an “empathy machine,” this interactive, sonic installation amplifies visitor heartbeats. Tuesday through Friday, 10am. WCU Bardo Arts Center, 199 Centennial Dr, Cullowhee

ᎢᏛᏍᎦ ᏫᏥᏤᎢ ᎠᎵᏰᎵᏒ Weaving Across Time Showcases the works of nine Eastern Band Cherokee basket makers - touching on the dynamic evolution of lineage, sustainability, and cultural expression. Monday through Friday, 11am. Center for Craft, 67 Broadway WNC Fibers/ Handweavers Guild Exhibition Processes represented include spinning, shibori, batik, silkscreen, weaving, natural dyeing, needle felting, knitting, and more. Daily, 10am. Folk Art Center, MP 382, Blue Ridge Parkway Corrugated: Paintings by Dana Jones and Jeremy Phillips Opening reception for show running April 1-May 1. FR (4/1), 6pm, Push Skate Shop & Gallery, 25 Patton Ave Avian Skies with Artist Kate Coleman Visitors to the gallery will have the month of April to view Coleman's unique, mixed-media, acrylic-on-wood paintings. Meet the artist on First Friday. FR (4/1), 5pm, Asheville Gallery of Art, 82 Patton Ave

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FARM TO CITY: Asheville City Market will return downtown on Saturday, April 2, 9 a.m.-noon, after two pandemic years operating as ASAP Farmers Market at A-B Tech. Attendees can enjoy outdoor shopping for local goods from almost 50 vendors every Saturday on North Market Street between Woodfin and East Walnut streets. Photo courtesy of Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project Place and Presence Artist’s reception for a two-person exhibition from Asheville artists Linda Gritta and Moni Hill. Exhibition through April 30. SA (4/2), 6pm, Bender Gallery, 29 Biltmore Ave

ART/CRAFT STROLLS & FAIRS Flea Pop Up Art Market & Yard Sale Black Mountain Center for the Arts' spring cleaning season, with instruments, art books, kitchen items, unclaimed works of art and more. All sales will support the scholarship fund. SA (4/2), 9am, Black Mountain Center for the Arts, 225 W State St, Black Mountain Spring Fibershed Market Join Local Cloth artists and farmers at the new community fiber studio in the River Arts District for a variety of finished wares as well as items such as yarn, roving and raw fleece. SA (4/2), 10am, Local Cloth, 408 Depot St, Ste 100 SPARC Creative Market An open-air gathering to raise funds for The SPARC Foundation, which provides education and support in order to keep people out of institutional care. Twenty local artists, health and wellness experts and community partners. SA (4/2), 10am, The SPARC Foundation, 225 E Chestnut St Art Market at Continuum The first Saturday of every month, with local

artists, makers and musicians. SA (4/2), 12pm, Continuum Art, 147 Ste C, 1st Ave E, Hendersonville Spring Market Twelve local vendors from organic skin care, candles, jewelry, pottery, woodwork, photography, organic dog treats and clothing. Yoga by Ful Flo Yoga with Maria. SU (4/3), 10am, Centerville Luncheonette, 204 Weaverville Rd

COMMUNITY MUSIC The Music of Elton John Elton John Live! The Elton John Experience performs a complete and authentic reproduction of Sir Elton John's live concert performances. TH (3/31), 7:30pm, Flat Rock Playhouse, 2661 Hwy 225, Flat Rock Banjo, Fiddle, and Appalachian-Irish Dance Featuring Jake Blount accompanied by Nic Gareiss. Blount will give a talk on old-time music and Black traditions, focusing on the banjo's origins in Black communities at 4pm. SA (4/2), 7pm, Mars Hill University, 265 Cascade St, Mars Hill Brevard Philharmonic Presenting Saturday Night Pops. SA (4/2), 7:30pm, Porter Center for Performing Arts, Brevard College, Brevard Northern Lights Blue Ridge Orchestra, with guest conductor John Gordon Ross. SU (4/3), 3pm, Free-$15, Lipinsky Auditorium at UNC-A, 300 Library Ln

The Opera Locos Taking some of the most well-known operatic hits and combining them with a bit of clownery and wellknown pop classics. SU (4/3), 7pm, Diana Wortham Theatre, 18 Biltmore Ave Trio AYA This program of melodic and romantic chamber music featuring the award-winning group shines a spotlight on the traditional piano trio ensemble comprised of piano, violin, and cello. TU (4/5), 7:30pm, Brevard Music Center, 349 Andante Ln, Brevard UNCA Senior Concert: Liam Coker Jazz, classical, blues, and a Grateful Dead set will begin the end of Liam's college career, opening future doors for his music career. TU (4/5), 7:30pm, Asheville Guitar Bar, 122 Riverside Dr

SPOKEN & WRITTEN WORD Hybrid Event: Jacqui Castle launches The Chasm in conversation with Rachael Sparks The authors discuss Castle's book. Registration required for in-person and virtual. WE (3/30), 6pm, Malaprop's Bookstore and Cafe, 55 Haywood St Dalia Kinsey presents Decolonizing Wellness The author discusses her book. Sponsored by Malaprop's. Registration required. TH (3/31), 6pm, avl.mx/bdl

Virtual Poetrio: Jennifer Sperry Steinorth, Glenis Redmond, Joshua Nguyen Monthly conversation among three poets. Sponsored by Malaprop's. Registration required. SU (4/3), 4pm, avl.mx/beb WILD (Women in Lively Discussion) Book Club Participants will discuss Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers. Sponsored by Malaprop's. Registration required. TU (4/5), 6pm, avl.mx/9or Mark Pinsky in conversation w/Richard Dillingham A discussion of Pinsky's books Met Her on the Mountain and Drifting into Darkness. Sponsored by Malaprop's. Registration required. WE (4/6), 6pm, avl.mx/bec Malaprop's Book Club Participants will discuss This is Happiness by Niall Williams. Registration required. WE (4/6), 7pm, avl.mx/9s5 Menachem Kaiser presents Plunder: A Memoir of Family Property and Nazi Treasure The writer discusses his new book. Sponsored by Malaprop's. Registration required. TH (4/7), 6pm, avl.mx/bed Malaprop's Crime and Politics Book Club Participants will discuss Plunder: a Memoir of Family Property and Nazi Treasure by Menachem Kaiser. Registration required. TH (4/7), 7pm, avl.mx/ahj

THEATER & FILM Anastasia the Musical Presented by North Buncombe High School, this musical is loosely based on the true story that inspired the 1997 Disney animated movie. TH (3/31), FR (4/1), SA (4/2), 7pm, SU (4/3) 2:30pm Free-$12, North Buncombe High School, 890 Clarks Chapel Rd, Weaverville The Arsenic and Old Lace Radio Show From NBC Radio’s Best Plays series, a farcical comedy involving a successful New York newspaper drama critic who discovers that his two spinster aunts have been lacing wine with arsenic and giving it to lonely old men. Presented in a reader's theater format, ticket includes a beverage and dessert. SA (4/2), 3pm, $15, Hendersonville Theatre, 229 S Washington St, Hendersonville Alice in Wonderland An outdoor prodcution with an Appalachian spin. SA (4/2), 7pm, Mountainside Theatre, 688 Drama Rd, Cherokee Newsies Broadway's musical hit, based on the Disney classic. SA (4/2), 7:30pm, Hart Theatre, 250 Pigeon St, Waynesville Transition A play written and directed by local author Maria C. Young, a resident of the Shiloh community and Asheville Community

Theatre's first Artistic Partner Fellow. SU (4/3), 2:30pm, Asheville Community Theatre, 35 E Walnut St No More Waiting An original performance addressing the plight of workers in capitalist society. Presented by The Magnetic Theatre. SU (4/3), 4pm, Rabbit Rabbit, 75 Coxe Ave WNCHA History Hour: The Spirits Still Move Them Documentary Screening A presentation of the Center for Cultural Preservation’s new documentary film on regional moonshine history. TU (4/5), 6:30pm, $10, avl.mx/bev

BENEFITS Women’s History Month: Asheville Women’s Short Film Festival Presented by Asheville Parks and Rec. Collection of donations to benefit Helpmate. WE (3/30), 6-8pm, Montford Community Center, 34 Pearson Dr AVL for Ukraine Ukrainian food and drink. Music w/Peggy Ratusz and Hank Bones. 100% of sales go to relief efforts. SA (4/2), 4pm, Cascade Lounge and HomeGround Coffee Bar & Deli, 219 Amboy Rd Family Movie Food Drive Community screening of The Sandlot and food drive for Manna Food Bank. SU (4/3), 2pm, Rabbit Rabbit, 75 Coxe Ave Oh, The Places You’ll Go ... Silent Auction In conjunction with the 100th Anniversary celebration. SU (4/3), 5pm, Free, Agudas Israel Congregation, 505 Glasgow Ln, Hendersonville Asheville Humane Society's Dine to Be Kind Participating restaurants will donate a portion of their proceeds to Asheville Humane Society. TU (4/5), Various locations

CLASSES & MEETINGS One Million Cups: Asheville Empowering entrepreneurs with the tools and resources to break down barriers that stand in the way of starting and growing their businesses, featuring PIE.ZAA and Pirani. WE (3/30), 9am, Hatch AVL, 45 S French Broad, Ste 170 A Ladyboss Lounge: Go Fund Yourself Featuring a panel of local female leaders: Susan Muntean Clark of UNC-A, Lauren McCann of Adoratherapy, the Mountain BizWorks, SBTDC and Western Women’s

Business Center teams. TH (3/31), 1pm, Asheville Masonic Temple, 80 Broadway Maggie Ullman, Sustainability in Asheville: Past, Present, and Future This talk will explore the founding leader of the City of Asheville's Offfice of Sustainability's thoughts on the past, assessment of the current situation, and vision for the future. TH (3/31), 7pm, Free, Lenoir-Rhyne University, 36 Montford Ave River Cane Renaissance Talk and Cherokee Basket Weaving Demonstration Adam Griffith, program director of the Revitalization of Traditional Cherokee Artisan Resources, will present on the the process of creating the exhibit and the importance of river cane. Cherokee basket maker Ramona Lossie will demonstrate traditional river cane basket making. FR (4/1), 11am, Free, Black Mountain Public Library, 105 N. Dougherty St, Black Mountain Date Night: Make a Disco Ball Planter Assemble 6-inch diameter hanging planters using glass mirror tiles, with disco tunes playing. FR (4/1), 6pm, $15, Center for Craft, 67 Broadway Hard 2 Recycle A program by Asheville GreenWorks. Visit hard2recycle.org for details. SA (4/2), 10am, Blue Ridge Community College by the Lake, 180 West Campus Dr, Flat Rock The Formation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park This talk will explore the complex interactions that created one of the great treasures that both protects an internationally important biosphere and generates billions of dollars in revenue for WNC and East Tennessee. MO (4/4), 6:30pm, $10-15, avl.mx/b99 Stitch n' B*tch Fiber Arts Group Ideal for beginners that need guidance or for the seasoned professional looking for a social group to craft with. TU (4/5), 6:30pm, Continuum Art, 147 Ste C, 1st Ave E, Hendersonville Asheville Garden Club April meeting at a locally owned beekeeping shop. WE (4/6), 10am, Honey + the Hive, 23 Merrimon Ave, Weaverville Rob Greenfield: Be The Change in A MessedUp World The activist and humanitarian will present a motivational program, sponsored by Lenoir-Rhyne Asheville. Registration required. WE (4/6), 6:30pm, Free, Lenoir-Rhyne University, 36 Montford Ave

Learn To Grow: Woody Ornamentals Class Topics will include choosing plants; planting, mulching, fertilizing and watering; and a sampling of trees for WNC. Email mgarticles@charter.net to register by Apri 2. TH (4/7), 1pm Introduction to Medicare: Understanding the Puzzle To register, visit the Council on Aging of Buncombe County’s website coabc.org or call the Council on Aging at (828)277-8288. TH (4/7), 2pm

FOOD & BEER RAD Farmers Market Local weekly market. WE (3/30), (4/6), 3pm, Pleb Urban Winery, 289 Lyman St Weaverville Tailgate Market Local foodstuffs, alongside a small lineup of craft and artisan vendors. WE (3/30), (4/6), 3pm, 60 Lake Shore Dr Weaverville East Asheville Tailgate Market Local goods, every Friday. FR (4/1), 3pm, 954 Tunnel Rd North Asheville Tailgate Market The oldest Saturday morning market in WNC. Over 60 rotating vendors. SA (4/2), 8am, 3300 University Heights Asheville City Market Over 50 vendors and local food products, including fresh produce, meat, cheese, bread, pastries, and more. SA (4/2), 9am, 52 N Market St Mars Hill Farmers Market Fresh local produce, herbs, cheeses, meats, eggs, baked goods, honey, soaps, tinctures and crafts. SA (4/2), 10am, College St, College St, Mars Hill Sundays on the Island Local market located on Marshall's island in the middle of the French Broad River. SA (4/2), 12pm, Blanahasset Island, Marshall Sunday Market Local food and craft vendors, with beer and hard kombucha, in a farm and brewery setting. SU (4/3), 12pm, Sideways Farm & Brewery, 62 Eade Rd, Etowah Jackson Arts Market Local makers and producers, with live music from Alma Russ on Saturday, and an open jam on Sunday. Rain or shine. SA (4/2), SU (4/3), 1pm, Downtown Sylva West Asheville Tailgate Market Over 40 local vendors, every Tuesday. TU (4/5), 3:30pm, 718 Haywood Rd, Asheville

Distiller Drams Join the head distiller for a series that explores single malt's place in the world of whiskey. WE (4/6), 6pm, Oak and Grist Distilling Company, 1556 Grovestone Rd, Black Mountain

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FESTIVALS & SPECIAL EVENTS Week of the Young Child Kickoff Family-friendly event for children of all ages, with activities including live animals with Appalachian Wildlife Rescue and a screening of Moana. SA (4/2), 10:30am, Rabbit Rabbit, 75 Coxe Ave, Asheville {Re}HAPPENING 10 with Philip Glass Ensemble The annual event brings together dozens of contemporary artists whose work responds to and extends the legacy of Black Mountain College visionaries. SA (4/2), 3pm, Free-$35, Camp Rockmont, 375 Lake Eden Rd, Black Mountain

SPIRITUALITY Jewish Power Hour Weekly Torah class via Zoom. All are welcome. TH (3/31), 6pm, avl.mx/b0h Baha'i Sunday Devotional A virtual gathering for readings, music, prayers, and conversation. All are welcome. SU (4/3), 10am, avl.mx/a9m

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VOLUNTEERING Community Garden Nights Seeking volunteers for the School Garden. Gloves and tools will be provided. Email volunteer coordinator, Polly, at pphillips@verneremail. org for more details. WE (3/30), Verner Center for Early Learning, 2586 Riceville Rd The Environmental Quality Institute's Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Sampling Volunteer Workshop This regional effort trains adults in biological water quality monitoring methods for use at sites in Haywood, Madison, Buncombe, Yancey and Mitchell Counties. No experience necessary. SA (4/2), 9am, Big Ivy Community Center, 540 Dillingham Rd, Barnardsville

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2022 Spring Litter Sweep Join the Black Mountain Beautification Committee volunteers to clear trash from streets, neighborhoods, and by waterways. SA (4/2), 9am-12pm Black Mountain Town Square, Black Mountain

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WELLNESS

All staff

How neurodiverse employees are changing the workforce

BY LINDA RAY lindarayaccess@gmail.com Though often-overlooked, neurodiverse employees with a wide variety of skills, talents and supportive networks are ready to work, says Ashley Deck, owner of Madam Clutterbucket’s Neurodiverse Universe. Deck, who launched the gift shop in downtown Asheville in October, currently employs nine neurodiverse employees. Along with vintage gifts and antiques, the shop also sells sensory integration products and occupational therapy tools like weighted blankets, widgets and tactile items that help people process and organize sensory information. According to Harvard Health Publishing, neurodiversity describes the many ways individuals experience and interact with the world. Furthermore, the concept emphasizes the notion that there is no one way of thinking, learning and behaving. Though the concept refers to all people, it is often used in the context of autism spectrum disorder, as well as other neurological or developmental conditions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. “I was adamant we employ people with neurodivergent abilities,” says Deck, a former special education teacher from Atlanta, who saw positive changes in her autistic son when he got a job with a family-owned business in Georgia. “We want to be an example for other businesses.” Staff member Hayley Michaels, who has cerebral palsy and uses a motorized wheelchair, says she loves her job working the register at Madam Clutterbucket’s. Despite a bachelor’s degree in political science and women’s studies, Michaels says

SHOP TALK: Hayley Michaels, left, Ashley Deck, center, and Claire Scanga of Madam Clutterbucket’s Neurodiverse Universe hope to set an example for other businesses. Photo by Linda Ray she had a tough time finding work after graduation. “Here, they don’t see me as a liability,” she says. “And I’m being my best self.” PREVIOUSLY IGNORED Madam Clutterbucket’s is not alone in its mission. According to Michael

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LePage, regional service director for the Autism Society of North Carolina, employers’ embrace of neurodivergent workers has improved in recent decades. As one example, he points to the 15-year working relationship between the Autism Society and the Candler-based Oowee Products. The company, which makes handcrafted goods, employs people on the autism spectrum to sew. LePage notes that other companies in Western North Carolina successfully employing neurodiverse staff include Renaissance Asheville Downtown Hotel, Pack’s Tavern, Centering on Children, Earth Fare, Cherry Tree Beads, Canteen and Industry Nine. Meanwhile, current staffing shortages, continues LePage, have led to even more companies reaching out to him for references. “We’ve had multiple employers call us recently,” he says. “The big staffing shortages are requiring employers to get creative and be more willing to make accommodations.” Because of the wide range of differences among the neurodiverse,

LePage urges employers to “give people a chance to play on the field and prove themselves.” According to LePage, some accommodations companies offer neurodivergent employees include quieter working environments and reduced lighting. “Additionally, they provide flexible working schedules to accommodate needs,” he says. Through a push for self-advocacy, parents of autistic people willing to start neurodiverse-friendly businesses and a dire need for dependable staff, employers are seeing that hiring previously ignored populations is good for business, LePage adds. NOTHING ABOUT US WITHOUT US Self-advocacy is important for those facing discrimination in the workplace, echoes Danny Landry, founder of Autistics-United. But so too is establishing a community. When Landry moved to Asheville in 2010, he says it was difficult to connect with other autistic residents. “I wanted to meet people who I could

relate to on the spectrum,” he says. “I wanted a group that was all autistic-run. I wanted to create a supportive community.” In March 2012, he launched AU, which aims to create an atmosphere of mentorship and peer support, as well as foster leadership abilities to all members, no matter where they are on the spectrum. “At AU, we welcome people both formally diagnosed as autistic or who self-identify as autistic,” Landry says. Eva Reynolds, associate director and employment coordinator for Disability Partners in Asheville, says that she’s seeing individuals such as Landry driving the disability pride movement by “owning their stuff.” “For each person, it’s different,” she says. “But that kind of empowerment is what will help employers be more open-minded and accommodating when people ask for what they need.” And Reynolds says the disability self-advocacy movement will have a greater impact on business and political policymakers when they hear the motto: “Nothing about us without us.” PATH TOWARD INDEPENDENCE Parents of autistic children are also at the forefront of employing neurodivergent workers. Betsy Brewer, with her husband, Pete, are opening a Howdy Homemade Ice Cream franchise in Arden in May. The business will provide their daughter Annie Brewer with an opportunity to have meaningful work and potential independence. The Texas-based company was started by a father with an autistic child and allows franchisees to run their stores as they see fit. Betsy Brewer says they’ve already hired 10 employees on the autism spectrum; some are closer to neurotypical, and others have more extensive needs.

The store will be accessible to accommodate all staff and clientele. “We also hired a teacher to manage the store and be our employment accessibility specialist,” Betsy says. Like Deck at Madam Clutterbucket’s, Betsy hopes to be an example to other business owners to be more accepting of people with different ways of interacting. Another path toward independence is self-employment, though it can come with difficulties for neurodivergent people. Some banks are reluctant about lending to people without a credit track record and who may have legal caregivers handle their finances, says Ian Rudick, who launched Supporting Enterprise Resources for Varied Entrepreneurs in 2021. His organization, in collaboration with Come From the Heart, Eagle Market Streets Development Corp. and the Self-Help Credit Union, provides microloans to neurodiverse entrepreneurs. Loans have yet to be made, but SERVE is actively seeking applicants. SERVE board member Sybriea Lundy has a 4-year-old daughter with Down syndrome and she wants to be a part of changing how employers and society in general view the neurodiverse. “Lilly is social and capable and ferociously independent at 4,” Lundy says. “I can imagine what she’s going to be like as she grows up. And, sure, she’s going to have to deal with discrimination, but she shouldn’t be the one who has to change; it’s up to us to change.” At Madam Clutterbucket’s, Deck doesn't believe it takes all that much to make accommodations practical for her staff. She’s currently working on creating a break room that’s sensory sensitive for them that anyone might find soothing. “We’re a business that wants to be a platform to show the whole community what real diversity looks like.” X

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ARTS & CULTURE

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Friends of the Mars Hill Anderson Rosenwald School complete repairs to historic building BY EDWIN ARNAUDIN earnaudin@mountainx.com What was once a beacon of hope and progress for Madison County’s Black community, only to fall into disrepair, is again a point of pride — and should continue to be for decades to come. Thirteen years after the Mars Hill Anderson Rosenwald School’s fate was in jeopardy, individuals committed to its preservation have completed an extensive round of repairs and are poised to reinvent the space as an interpretive museum and cultural community arts center. But first: a yearlong celebration with newfound, like-minded partners dedicated to sustaining the history of preintegration Black education — and encouraging future generations to learn from the past and help support a more equitable future for everyone.

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A NEW HISTORY: Friends of the Mars Hill Anderson Rosenwald School member Sarah Roland Weston Hart, right, and chair Willa Wyatt stand outside the historic building. Photo by Edwin Arnaudin PATH TO PRESERVATION Originally called the Mars Hill School, the structure was built in 1928 at 225 Mount Olive Drive in the Long Ridge community and served as the educational home for local Black youths and those bused in from Marshall, about 11 miles away. Half of the money for its construction came from the Rosenwald Fund, the brainchild of Sears, Roebuck & Co. executive Julius Rosenwald and slave-turned-educator Booker T. Washington. The latter’s commitment to education for Black Americans as a means of overcoming inequality inspired his philanthropist friend to fund nearly 6,000 Rosenwald schools across the South, including more than 800 in North Carolina. But it took decades for his contributions to receive widespread attention. MOUNTAINX.COM

“It was one of the top five tenets of the Jewish faith that if a benefactor wanted to give something, they could not claim credit for it,” says local historian Richard Dillingham. “So the Rosenwald name does not ever appear.” In 1959, the school was renamed in honor of Joseph Anderson, a slave and talented brickmaker who was held as collateral in 1859 when Mars Hill College was unable to pay a debt. Once emancipated, Anderson became a noted proponent of education for the local Black community — whose members raised the other half of the funds to build the school, not knowing for sure if the Rosenwald support would be approved. After integration, the building was used as a recreation center in the 1970s and a tobacco air-curing barn in the ’80s. It then sat abandoned,

deteriorating with each year and collecting litter from trespassers, until a neighbor contacted the Madison County Board of Education in 2003, requesting the school’s demolition in order to expand a road from his property that passed by it. The board turned down this request and the building survived, but it wasn’t until fall 2009 that individuals who would go on to officially form the Friends of the Mars Hill Anderson Rosenwald School convened. FRIENDS INDEED “The first big meeting was in March 2010 when a group of folks came together to try to decide, ‘Is this building salvageable and what can be done?’” says Willa Wyatt, chair of the Friends. “We first started

meeting once a quarter, and then the group decided if we didn’t start meeting more regularly, we would lose continuity of what was being said, done and planned for.” The Friends had substantial work ahead, namely extensive repairs to the dilapidated structure, such as mending a roof that had caved in and was missing at several points. But architect Scott Donald saw a path to save the school and provided drawings for its rehabilitation that were in line with historic preservation standards so that the building could qualify for the National Register of Historic Places. “Scott said it could be done, but it’s going to be a lengthy and time-consuming and expensive proposition,” Wyatt says. “He developed a fivephase rehabilitation plan. We don’t do anything really in order here, but we’ve gone back and checked [everything] off. We might have done something from phase 1, then phase 5 and then phase 3, but it’s finished. We did it as we had money or as we had volunteer labor to come in and do it.” Through grant writing and calls for donations, Willa’s husband, David Wyatt, raised over $240,000 for the

SURPRISE GUESTS: When repairs on the school began, this piano sat in the corner. In the wall above it was a colony of honeybees. Photo by Edwin Arnaudin work, and Dan Slagle was brought on to spearhead the rehabilitation efforts. A small section of wood on the ceiling wound up being the only pieces of the building that were salvageable, and that lumber now lives on a wall to the left of the entrance.

The remains of an old piano were also rescued — and just in time. In the wall just behind it, honeybees had made a home as late as 2009. Otherwise, everything is new, yet built to those historical specifications — down to the types of screws.

Those regulations proved difficult for modern-day carpenters, who had to restart several aspects of the project. Yet additional pieces of the puzzle proved even more arduous. “The window wall was completely gone and one end was 3 inches lower than the other, so we had to get the building on level ground for a lot of this to work out,” Slagle says. “That was probably the most challenging part.” The school attained National Register status in 2018, and with the repair work done, the Friends are waiting on a building inspector to determine the occupancy number and then issue the certificate of occupancy for the school. Once the space is officially approved, the public can experience a place that brings so much joy to the Friends, particularly school alumni Sarah Roland Weston Hart and Oralene Anderson Graves Simmons. “I love this spot because I have so many memories from here,” Hart says. “To know where it was and to see how far it’s come, I’m just elated every time I come in.”

CONTINUES ON PAGE 24

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SUSTAINING MOMENTUM As History Committee chair, Dillingham has worked with Hart and Simmons to research the school’s storied past and compile the information in one place. After existing as a workin-progress on the Friends’ website since 2019, the official edition of the school’s history, Our Story, This Place, will be published in August, featuring 10-12 more documents. “In addition to completing the history book, the Friends are working on curriculum development with the Madison County Schools’ Curriculum Leadership Team, the Mars Hill University’s Education Department and the [N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources] African American Heritage Commission,” Willa Wyatt says. “We’re also in the initial discussion phase for developing docent training, and our greatest challenge at this time is to find historically correct classroom furnishings.” Other Friends’ efforts include designing wayfinding signage, planning for an on-site kiosk, writing and submitting an application for a civil rights marker, securing additional property for parking and filling the school’s display case at the Interstate 26 West Welcome Center. And as soon as weather permits, work will begin on the grounds surrounding the school. Further helping to spread the word is Fatimah’ Rashida Shabazz, chair of the Alumni Outreach Committee. Though not an alumna, Shabazz spent many hours at the school while her mother, Mary Wilson, taught. “One of my goals is to locate the descendants of the people that attended the school,” Shabazz says. “We have created a newsletter specifically for the alumni so that they can be aware of what’s going on with their school building. Even though it belongs to the Madison County Board of Ed, it’s not the Board of Ed whose history it is. It’s the alumni, and to me, that’s the most valuable part of the whole thing — the people.” Current key allies in that mission include Superintendent Ronald Gates, senior pastor at Asheville’s Greater Works Church of God in Christ and a driving force in numerous area nonprofit and social justice groups, including Eagles Wings Community Development Corp. A native of Grand

Rapids, Mich., Gates wasn’t aware of the Rosenwald/Washington collaboration until recently, but he was so moved by what he calls “a phenomenal story” that he quickly signed up to help Shabazz. “Love and the unity for humanity was the driving force for [Rosenwald, Washington and Black communities] to say, ‘Look, we’re going to put it all on the line and make sure all of this happens,’” Gates says. “And it really speaks to the education of our children, even today, that they have it so easy, but these are the challenges that [previous generations] went through to have education, so it would behoove them to embrace education as much as possible.” Another important collaborator is Sally Gooze, a member of Congregation Beth Israel’s Social Action Committee, who learned about Rosenwald as part of her Asheville synagogue’s book discussion group. She was then inspired to connect with Shabazz and help in her efforts. Gooze notes that while Congregation Beth Israel has previously partnered with other interfaith groups and churches, something about working with the Friends of the Mars Hill Anderson Rosenwald School feels different. “I’ve lived here 12 years, and I have not known about the Black community and the African American history here. I’m learning it now just like many, many other people are learning since George Floyd[’s murder in May 2020],” Gooze says. “But this isn’t out of violence. It’s out of a wonderful history, so I feel really excited about it.” Together, they’ve helped organize a series of events, including a screening of Aviva Kempner’s feature-length documentary, Rosenwald (Sunday, May 15, at Greater Works Church of God in Christ); presentations by Andrew Feiler about his journey photographing Rosenwald Schools (Sunday, May 22, at Congregation Beth Israel); and the Long Ridge Community’s Annual Homecoming (Sunday, Sept. 4, at the school and Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church) where descendants of Washington, Rosenwald and Frederick Douglass are currently slated to speak. For more information, visit avl.mx/bdx. X

field guide

Asheville to

New Edition coming soon

LITERATURE

The Vanderbilt veil

As a North Carolina native, Beaufort-based author Kristy Woodson Harvey has long been fascinated by the Biltmore House and the Vanderbilt family. But it wasn’t until she and her family evacuated to Asheville as Hurricane Florence made landfall in 2018 that her curiosity turned into the potential focus of a novel. “I just became really interested in Edith Vanderbilt and how she had kind of taken on that burden or gift — depending on how you look at it — of maintaining not only George Vanderbilt’s legacy but also Biltmore,” Harvey says. “I started reading about her, and I was shocked that no one had written a novel about her. I kept saying, ‘Someone should write a novel about her,’ but I never thought it would be me because I write contemporary fiction.” The following year, Harvey attended a family wedding where the bride wore the same wedding veil that Harvey had worn at her own nuptials. The beautiful heirloom from her husband’s family had become something that Harvey’s sister-inlaw loaned out to important people in their lives, and while reflecting on how the item connected them with numerous women, some of whom they might never know, she envisioned her next book. Harvey’s agent loved the idea but suggested that she write about a historical wedding veil. The author dismissed the thought, unconvinced that she could identify a woman intriguing enough to warrant a year’s research and writing about her and her bridal accessory. “But one night, on a whim, I Googled ‘Edith Vanderbilt wedding veil,’ and the story popped up about the heirloom veil that had been worn by Edith’s mother and her three sisters and herself and her daughter, Cornelia [Vanderbilt] — and then it disappeared,” Harvey says. “And I thought, ‘What better entree into a contemporary historical novel?’” HOMEBOUND DETECTIVE However, starting the research for The Wedding Veil, which was released March 29, didn’t exactly go as planned. After a multiweek book tour for her novel The Southern Side of Paradise, Harvey returned to Beaufort on March 9, 2020 — mere days before the COVID-19 pandemic brought the world to a halt. But

Kristy Woodson Harvey’s new novel explores a vanished Biltmore heirloom

THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED: Kristy Woodson Harvey’s research for her Biltmore-set novel, “The Wedding Veil,” didn’t go according to plan, but her eventual path wound up enhancing the final version. Author photo by Jay Ackerman like many people, she thought lockdown would only last a few weeks and began looking into buying an annual pass to Biltmore and planning how often she’d be in Asheville for research. When travel became impractical, Harvey ordered every book she could find pertaining to Biltmore and the Vanderbilts, and consulted with librarians in Chapel Hill who’d provided her with background material prior to the pandemic. She also “wore out” her newspapers.com account, noting that if something has been written about Edith and Cornelia Vanderbilt in the online archive, she’s probably read it. “Doing the research in that way and reading so much about them and feeling like I kind of had an idea of who they were before I got started helped to give me the framework for what their story would be,” Harvey says. “Obviously, this is not a biography. This is a fictionalized account of these two women brides, but I tried to stick to the facts as much as I could, when the facts were relevant.” Setting The Wedding Veil from1914-34 also helped hone Harvey’s focus, and by the time statewide restrictions were easing last spring, she’d completed a first draft. Armed with that working copy, the Biltmore visits, in-person library visits and interviews she’d intended to do the previous year transformed into fact-checking mis-

sions rather than initial steps. These follow-ups — especially conversations with Biltmore guides regarding the Vanderbilt women’s life in the bachelor’s quarters once George passed away — also allowed Harvey to bring the novel to life by adding bits of color that she couldn’t find in books or newspaper articles. GENERATIONAL CONNECTIONS

think that Edith and George had a really great marriage and really did love each other — especially seeing the way that she fought to maintain his legacy for so many years after his death.” Complementing the Vanderbilts’ arc in The Wedding Veil is a modern-day narrative that begins with an Asheville wedding. Exploring the city — whose independent arts and culinary scenes remind her of Beaufort’s — helped further flesh out the novel’s realism and add to its relatability. That attention to detail is particularly important for Harvey as she interacts with Asheville-area readers on her latest book tour, which includes a stop at the Henderson County Public Library on Monday, April 11. “One of the great things about being a writer is that you have this story, and it lives in your head for a certain amount of time. And then you start bringing it into the world, and it becomes something different because every person that reads it contributes their own experience and their own story to your story,” she says. “To be able to share it with people who do actually live in the area and who have a lot of knowledge of the family and the house and all of the things that I got to know so much better these last couple of years — I’m really excited to hear what they think. I hope they love it, and I hope I do them proud.”

Along the way, Harvey discovered that Cornelia was an aspiring writer and a talented artist, many of whose paintings are in storage at Biltmore. Harvey’s appreciation for Edith likewise grew as she learned about her subject’s extreme generosity and selflessness, as well as some pleasant surprises from Edith’s personal life. “I think I expected to find that George and Edith had a real marriage of convenience. It was that time when wealthy men from newer families married women who were not as wealthy but had those big family names,” Harvey says. “But I

— Edwin Arnaudin X

WHO Kristy Woodson Harvey WHERE Henderson County Public Library, 301 N. Washington St., Hendersonville, avl.mx/bds WHEN Monday, April 11, 6-8 p.m. Free, but registration is required

The

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ARTS & C U L T U R E

FOOD ROUNDUP

What’s new in food Honey cake for Ukraine

Old World Levain Bakery recently raised over $12,000 to directly support the relief effort in Ukraine. Spearheaded by OWL Bakery’s Lola Borovyk, who moved from Ukraine to the U.S. when she was 11 years old, the Honey Cake for Ukraine fundraiser donated 100% of its proceeds to a number of organizations. World Central Kitchen (a nonprofit devoted to providing meals in the wake of disasters), Spilka (a New York Citybased collective supporting Ukraine’s resistance in the war with Russia) and members of Borovyk’s family in her home region of Dnipro were among the recipients. According to Borovyk, the funds delivered to Dnipro have been distributed among volunteers working on the ground cooking meals, repairing bomb shelters, making defensive nets and anti-tank “hedgehogs” and distributing medical equipment. “It means so much to me that our small mountain town, which feels so

far from Ukraine and the war, really showed up,” says Borovyk. “I think a lot of Ukrainians like me were raised with the principle of communicating their love through actions and not words. So, in my eyes, the past few weeks have been a huge display of love by the Asheville community.” A classic dessert in Ukraine and throughout the other Slavic countries, Borovyk’s interpretation of honey cake (also known as medovik) features multiple thin cake layers with a distinct honey flavor and a velvety sour cream (or smetana) frosting. The cake layers are more cookielike when they are first baked, but when combined with the frosting become soft and tender as the layers absorb moisture overnight. “The most important thing in a medovik is the contrast between the sweet, honey grahamlike layers and the tart frosting,” says Borovyk. Introducing a beloved childhood dessert to Asheville during this time “has

HONEY CAKE FOR UKRAINE: Old World Leavain Bakery has raised over $12,000 for Ukraine as part of a fundraiser of medovik, a traditional Ukrainian honey cake. Photo courtesy of OWL Bakery. been a huge effort by so many people,” says Borovyk. “Susannah Gebhart [OWL’s owner] has been an immense source of support. When I approached her about organizing a fundraiser, she immediately jumped into ordering supplies and coordinating volunteers to help out with the baking process.” In addition to Borovyk’s many co-workers, friends and partner, Jared Boger, donations from local businesses such as Farm & Sparrow (flour), Mountain Food Products (honey) and Lady Luck Gardens (dried flowers) have also helped support OWL’s recent efforts. “The fundraisers have been a way for me to not feel so helpless when I live so far away from my family and loved ones,” says Borovyk. “I will continue raising money as long as needed — as long as Ukrainians feel unsafe in their own home.” For updates on fundraising efforts, follow Lola Borovyk on Instagram at @drift.currant.

Dine to Be Kind Asheville Humane Society’s 17th annual Dine to Be Kind fundraiser, presented by Patton Avenue Pet Co., is back on Tuesday, April 5, following a two-year hiatus as a result of the pandemic. Dozens of restaurants, breweries and bars will participate by donating a portion of the day’s proceeds directly to Asheville Humane Society. 26

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“This year’s Dine to Be Kind is an important way to connect with members of our community and to raise money for a lifesaving cause,” says Garrison Stephens, communications manager for the Asheville Humane Society. Over 50 local businesses plan to participate in the community event, with hopes of raising over $100,000, all of which will go to directly assist over 10,000 animals in the coming year. “Bringing back this event after a two-year hiatus has brought back a renewed importance of community and support for local businesses and a great cause,” says Stephens. For a complete list of participating restaurants, breweries and bars, visit avl.mx/be3.

Free seeds The Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project has partnered with Sow True Seed as part of the Growing Minds Farm to School Program. This educational program makes seeds available, free of charge, to both public and private pre-K12 grade schools located in ASAP’s Appalachian Grown region. The Appalachian Grown Program is a unique certification for food and agricultural products grown or raised on farms in Western North Carolina and the Southern Appalachian Mountains. Over 50 varieties of seeds, including early producing spring

crops, such as snow peas, radishes and lettuce, are available. Educators are encouraged to contact Growing Minds at growingminds@ asapconnections.org or 828-236-1282 to schedule a pickup time from the ASAP office, 306 Haywood St. Teachers outside the Appalachian Grown region can use code SEEDSINSCHOOLS for a 20% discount on seed packets and cover crops at Sow True Seed.

Italian cooking class The Asheville Mountain Kitchen culinary school hosts an Italian cooking class featuring food from Italy’s EmiliaRomagna region on Saturday, April 2, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Event participants can expect an educational showcase of delicious and simple classic Italian dishes, such as homemade gnocchi with lamb ragu, traditional vegetable side dishes and profiteroles with chocolate sauce for dessert. A full meal of the featured items will be shared by all following the end of class. Located at 332 E. Sondley Drive, Asheville Mountain Kitchen provides hands-on classes for both novices and experts alike within a relaxed home setting from chef and owner Ofri Hirsch. Tickets cost $85 per single ticket or $160 for two. Visit avl.mx/bea for more information and event registration.

Historic Fernihurst mansion The Western North Carolina Historical Association will hold its annual fundraising dinner at the historic Fernihurst mansion on Thursday, March 31, 5-7 p.m. Guests will be served an all-inclusive, fivecourse gourmet dinner prepared by students of A-B Tech’s nationally recognized culinary department. “This event has been held since 2009 but has been on hiatus for the

X Awards 2022

Voting starts st April 1

last two years due to COVID,” says WNCHA’s Executive Director Anne Chesky Smith. “We hope to raise $3,000 to help fund our youth programs for the 2022-23 school year.” The evening’s menu includes wild mushroom crepes, consommé, cassoulet, frisee salad with julienne of bacon and poached egg and glazed strawberry tarts. Fernihurst Mansion is at 70 Fernihurst Drive. Tickets cost $100 for WNCHA members and $135 for nonmembers. For more information, visit avl.mx/be4.

You’re killing me, Smalls! Broker Asheville is hosting a food drive to support MANNA FoodBank at Rabbit Rabbit on Sunday, April 3, 2-5 p.m. A special screening of The Sandlot will accompany the event on Rabbit Rabbit’s large, outdoor projector. Admission is free; food and/or monetary donations are encouraged but not required. Those who donate will be entered into a raffle drawing for a YETI Hopper BackFlip 24 backpack cooler. Rabbit Rabbit is at 75 Coxe Ave. Visit avl.mx/be5 to RSVP and review a list of suggested food item donations.

Ready for sunny days at the Supper Club

The Freeze returns The Freeze, one of Asheville’s oldest ice cream shops, reopened on Thursday, March 24 following its yearly, seasonal closing. Originally planned to return on March 17 for a St. Patrick’s Day celebration, the locally owned business was forced to delay its plans after a tree fell through its roof. The Freeze is at 1091 Patton Ave. Open daily from 11 a.m-10 p.m. Visit avl.mx/be9 for a menu and online ordering.

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ARTS & CU L T U R E

ROUNDUP

Around Town

Local musician plans 3,000-mile hike to help those is recovery Ben Phan was in a rough place when he first discovered long-distance backpacking in 2008. “It turned my mental health around,” says Phan, an Asheville musician and videographer who goes by the stage name Ben Phantom. “Spending extended time in the wilderness puts things in perspective for me, and I find it deeply healing.” Now Phan wants to help others in need. To that end, he will embark on a 3,000-mile wilderness hike on the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail starting Friday, April 15. Phan detailed his plans during a March 27 performance at The Grey Eagle. The hike will raise donations to support PIVOTPoint WNC, a nonprofit therapeutic adventure group that helps people in recovery or at risk of substance abuse through programs in hiking, rafting, mountain biking, rock climbing and paddleboarding. “I hope to convey a message of hope and resilience,” says Phan, who is in recovery. “There is a strength

MOVIE REVIEWS Local reviewers’ critiques of new films include: APOLLO 10 1/2: Writer/director Richard Linklater returns to form with this charming semiautobiographical animated comedy about a preteen boy growing up in Houston during the 1960s Space Race. After After Yang, it’s the year’s best film thus far. Grade: A-minus — Edwin Arnaudin THE BUBBLE: The latest Judd Apatow comedy mines big laughs from a troubled film production attempting to adhere to pandemic restrictions. Karen Gillan and Pedro Pascal shine especially brightly. Grade: B-plus — Edwin Arnaudin

Find full reviews and local film info at ashevillemovies.com patreon.com/ashevillemovies 28

MARCH 30- APRIL 5, 2022

within that we can only find when we are pushed to our limits. I’m really looking forward to time away from modern society, time to reflect and learn more about myself and the wilderness.” Phan will update people on his journey, which he expects to take to five or six months, with videos filmed on the trail. He also will be carrying a mini guitar and hopes to write songs during this time. The Continental Divide Trail runs between the U.S. border with Chihuahua, Mexico, and the border with Alberta, Canada. Phan will start from the southern end, making his way through New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming and Idaho, before ending in Glacier National Park in Montana. If Phan completes the trek, he’ll have earned the Triple Crown of Hiking. He hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2008 and completed the Pacific Crest Trail in 2014. “The Continental Divide Trail is a huge challenge, possibly the hardest hike in the country, and has been a dream of mine since I first started backpacking,” he says. To follow Phan’s journey or make a donation, visit avl.mx/bdz. All donations will benefit PIVOTPoint participants.

Artistic endeavor Robert “Bob” Arleigh White will serve as the new artistic director of the Asheville Community Theatre. In the role, he will work with ACT’s managing director to co-lead the organization. White has more than 30 years’ experience overseeing and advising nonprofit arts organizations in northern Florida, where he has also been active in promoting a variety of arts-related, community and civil rights initiatives. He served in leadership positions with Theatre Jacksonville for 16 years. “This is my dream job in my dream city,” White says in a press release. “A move to Asheville has been in my mind for more than 20 years. The opportunity to work with ACT was an irresistible lure.” ACT has restructured the organization to create a collaborative leadership model between the artistic director and managing director. Tamara Sparacino, currently serving as interim executive director, had MOUNTAINX.COM

TRAIL BOSS: Asheville musician Ben Phan will hike 3,000 miles in support of PIVOTPoint WNC. Photo courtesy of Ben Phantom served as managing director for many years and will return to that position. White began working with ACT remotely on March 15, and his official first day in the role will be Monday, May 2. For more information about Asheville Community Theatre, visit avl.mx/b38.

Working life The Magnetic Theatre will present No More Waiting, an original performance looking at the role of workers in a capitalist society, on Sunday, April 3, at 4 p.m., in the sanctuary at The Cathedral of All Souls. The performance will be part of the cathedral’s third annual Lenten Arts Series. “In recent months, the U.S. has seen tens of millions of workers voluntarily leave their jobs in search of independent or remote work, better pay, greater work/life balance and a host of other goals,” the theater says in a press release. “No More Waiting is inspired by the struggles currently affecting our country’s workers.” Directed by Dakota Mann, the show will feature original vignettes written and performed by Bill Chameides, Will Commerford, Christine Hellman, Mann, Daniel Sandoval, Kai Strange, Laura Walton and Hannah Williams. Admission is free, but donations are encouraged, with all proceeds given to the artists. The Cathedral of All Souls is at 9 Swan St. The performance will also be livestreamed through the cathedral’s social media pages and website. For more information, go to avl.mx/be6.

Bright lights The Blue Ridge Orchestra will present Northern Lights, a Norwegianinspired program designed and conducted by John Gordon Ross, on Sunday, April 3, 3-4:30 p.m., at

Lipinsky Auditorium on the UNC Asheville campus. The concert will feature music of composers predominantly from Nordic countries, including Finland (Jean Sibelius), Denmark (Carl Nielsen) and Norway (Edvard Grieg). Flutist Bradford Malbon will be showcased in Nielsen’s “Concerto for Flute and Orchestra.” Guest conductor Ross led the orchestra as interim director in 202021 but was unable to conduct any live concerts during that time due to COVID-19 restrictions. He is a faculty member at Lenoir-Rhyne University and performs regularly with the university’s wind symphony. Lipinsky Hall is at 300 Library Lane on the UNCA campus. Admission is $5 for students, $10 for members and $15 for the general public. For more information or to buy tickets, go to avl.mx/be2.

For the birds Avian Skies, an exhibit of acrylic-on-wood paintings by local artist Kate Coleman, will be on display at Asheville Gallery of Art Friday, April 1, through Saturday, April 30. The gallery will host a meet-the-artist event with Coleman April 1, 5-8 p.m. “The colors of paint that I choose are warm and bright, echoing the spring colors that are emerging in nature,” Coleman says. “In creating this body of work, I focused on birds and the amazing skies of spring.” Among the works on display will be “The Peacock,” “The Tanagers” and “Sunset in the Blue Ridge Mountains.” “This is a common scene from my home — the red-tailed hawk with mobbing crows,” says Coleman, who lives in Swannanoa. “Sunsets here are striking, and each one is unique.” Asheville Gallery of Art is at 82 Patton Ave. and open daily, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. For more information, go to avl.mx/be8.

— Justin McGuire X

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MARCH 30- APRIL 5, 2022

CLUBLAND

The featured icon indicates which venues or artists require proof of vaccination for upcoming shows. Due to the evolving nature of the matter, the list may not be comprehensive. Before heading out, please check with all venues for complete information on any vaccine or negative COVID-19 requirements. For questions about free listings, call 828-251-1333, opt. 4.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30 12 BONES BREWERY Robert's Totally Rad Trivia, 7pm 185 KING STREET Trivia and Karaoke, 7pm ASHEVILLE BEAUTY ACADEMY •Beauty Parlor Comedy: Nathan Owens, 7pm •Aquanet Goth Party, 9pm ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Disclaimer Stand-Up Lounge Comedy Open Mic, 8pm CASCADE LOUNGE Wednesday Bluegrass Jam, 5pm CATAWBA BREWING SOUTH SLOPE Trivia Night, 7pm FLEETWOOD'S Terraoke! Karaoke w/KJ Terra Ware, 6pm HI-WIRE BREWING RAD BEER GARDEN Game Night, 6pm HIGHLAND BREWING CO. Well Crafted Wednesdays w/Matt Smith (singer-songwriter), 6pm ICONIC KITCHEN & DRINKS Marc Keller (acoustic), 6pm ISIS MUSIC HALL & KITCHEN 743 Nashville Stories Tour w/Autumn Nicholas & Madeline Finn (Americana, folk, alt-country), 6pm ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Free Anesthesia (psychedelic power trio), 10pm ONE WORLD BREWING Pingo Wednesdays, 7pm ONE WORLD BREWING WEST Latin Night Wednesdays w/DJ Mtn Vibez, 7pm RIVERSIDE RHAPSODY BEER CO. Acoustic Jam, 5pm SOVEREIGN KAVA Poetry Open Mic w/ Host Caleb Beissert, 8pm SWEETEN CREEK BREWING Witty Wednesday Trivia, 6:30pm THE BARRELHOUSE Open Mic Hosted by Kid Billy, 8pm

MARCH 30- APRIL 5, 2022

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THE GREY EAGLE Naked Giants (poppunk-grunge-surf-rock) k 8pm THE ODDITORIUM Sinker, Lil Connie, H3LIX, Castelhikari & Wicked Tongue (alt hiphop, emo pop), 7pm THE ORANGE PEEL The Midnight (dance, electronic)k 8pm TWIN LEAF BREWERY Wednesday Open Mic, 6pm

THURSDAY, MARCH 31 131 MAIN Aaron LaFalce (soul, rock, pop), 6pm 185 KING STREET Supper Break (bluegrass), 7pm 305 LOUNGE & EATERY Bob Sherill (singer-songwriter), 1pm AMERICAN VINYL CO. Vaden Landers w/ West King String Band (rockabilly, ragtime, western swing), 7pm ARCHETYPE TAP LOUNGE + VENUE The AVL Jazz Workshop, 7pm ASHEVILLE BEAUTY ACADEMY Kiki Thursdays Drag and Dancing, 8pm ASHEVILLE GUITAR BAR KB and the LMD (jazz standards, classic pop) k 7:30pm ASHEVILLE PIZZA & BREWING CO. Slice of Life Comedy Open Mic & Feature Comedy, 7:30pm BOLD ROCK HARD CIDER Robert's Totally Rad Trivia, 7pm CONTINUUM ART Singer Songwriter Open Mic Night, 6pm CREEKSIDE TAPHOUSE Thursday Night Trivia w/Kelsey, 6:30pm DOUBLE CROWN Gospel Night w/Third Generation, 9pm FLEETWOOD'S The Shrünken Heads, Ratchet Dolls & Silver Tongue Devils (heavy metal), 8pm GINGER'S REVENGE CRAFT BREWERY & TASTING ROOM Gluten Free Open Mic Comedy, 6pm

READY FOR THE COUNTRY: Singer-songwriter Vaden Landers, who bills himself as The Yodeling Country Bluesman, will play a show at Big Pillow Brewing in Hot Springs on Saturday, April 2, at 5:30 p.m. His latest single, “We’re Not Made to Love,” was released in January. Photo courtesy of Vaden Landers HIGHLAND DOWNTOWN TAPROOM Angela Easterling (roots, acoustic), 4pm JACK OF THE WOOD PUB An Evening of Bluegrass, 7:30pm OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. Billy Litz (roots, blues, ragtime), 7pm ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Gunslinging Parrots (Phish tribute), 9pm ONE WORLD BREWING WEST Smooth Goose (funk, jazz), 7pm OSKAR BLUES BREWERY Trivia Night w/Nick Pearl, 6pm POLANCO RESTAURANT Sense Every Thursday w/DJ Audio, 10pm ROOM IX College Night Dance Party, 10pm

SILVERADOS Get Vocal Karaoke, 7pm SOVEREIGN KAVA Free Weekly Table Tennis Tournament, 7pm THE 2ND ACT Russ Wilson & The 2nd Act Orchestra (swing), 7pm THE GETAWAY RIVER BAR Karaoke w/Karaoke Jackazz, 8pm THE ODDITORIUM Bumpin' Uglies Presents Femme Fatale (dance party), 8pm TWIN LEAF BREWERY Craft Karaoke, 8pm UPCOUNTRY BREWING COMPANY Open Mic, 6pm UPCOUNTRY BREWING COMPANY BREVARD Bruce Threlkeld (bluegrass to punk), 6pm

FRIDAY, APRIL 1

RYE KNOT KITCHEN BREWERY DISTILLERY John O'Connor (Americana, singer-songwriter), 6pm

185 KING STREET Higher Education (rock, reggae, psychedelic), 8pm

SALVAGE STATION The JLloyd Mashup w/ Joint Killer Brass Band (funk), 8pm

305 LOUNGE & EATERY Geriatric Jukebox (oldies), 5pm

AMERICAN VINYL CO. Clint Roberts w/ Zachary Warren (folk, singer-songwriter, country), 7pm

GINGER'S REVENGE CRAFT BREWERY & TASTING ROOM The Jenkins Twins (cosmic Americana), 7pm

ASHEVILLE BEAUTY ACADEMY VENUS (dark house dance party), 10pm

ISIS MUSIC HALL & KITCHEN 743 •Brad Heller and the Fustics (roots rock, Americana), 7pm •An Evening w/Alasdair Fraser & Natalie Haas (Celtic, world)k 8:30pm

ASHEVILLE GUITAR BAR Mr Jimmy's Friday Night Blues w/David Cohen, 7:30pm ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL The Widder + Pushloop, Chief Kaya, & McDubbin (dance, electronic), 8pm BLUE RIDGE HEMP CO. Chaotic Comedy, 8pm BREWSKIES Karaoke, 10pm BURNTSHIRT VINEYARDS Marc Keller (acoustic), 3pm CORK & KEG Brody Hunt & The Handfuls (western), 8pm CROW & QUILL DJ Dr. Filth (old school vinyl)k 8:30pm FLEETWOOD'S The Smoky Mountain Sirens, Plaid Overdrive & The Mongos (punk, rock), 8pm

LAZY HIKER BREWING SYLVA The Waymores (country, Americana), 8pm MAD CO. BREW HOUSE Burnt Reputation (acoustic rock), 6pm MILLS RIVER BREWING Chris Jamison's Ghost (folk, country), 7pm OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. Blake Ellege Band (classic rock, oldies, pop), 8pm ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL •GE Early Free Dead Friday (jam band, rock), 6:30pm •Free Dead Friday w/ Gus & Friends (Grateful Dead tribute), 9pm ONE WORLD BREWING 5j Barrow (folk rock), 8pm

field guide

ONE WORLD BREWING WEST Eric Travers & Friends (blues, rock, psychedelic jam), 8pm RIVERSIDE RHAPSODY Fresh Phish Friday, 5:30pm ROOM IX Ladies Night Dance Party w/DJ Moto, 10pm SILVERADOS Bubba Sparxxx (hip hop), 7pm THE GETAWAY RIVER BAR •Getaway Comedy: Matt Ruby, 8pm •April Fooling Drag Show, 10pm THE GREY EAGLE •Kevin Daniel (rock, soul, country, blues) k 6pm •Soft Kill w/Alien Boy & Topographies (alt/indie) k 9pm THE ODDITORIUM We Kill Kids 10 Year Anniversary Show (metal), 8pm UPCOUNTRY BREWING COMPANY Live Music w/Iggy Radio, 6pm WHITE HORSE BLACK MOUNTAIN BJ Leiderman Band (pop rock), 8pm

SATURDAY, APRIL 2 185 KING STREET Amanda Anne Platt & The Honeycutters (Americana), 8pm 305 LOUNGE & EATERY Old Men of the Woods (folk, pop), 1pm ASHEVILLE BEAUTY ACADEMY •Beauty Parlor Comedy: Dan Drees, 7pm •Vinyl Timetravelers: Hip Hop Dance Party, 10pm ASHEVILLE GUITAR BAR 40, 20,10s (Americana) k 7:30pm ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL GAME Grateful Asheville Music Experience, 9pm BATTERY PARK BOOK EXCHANGE Dinah's Daydream (gypsy jazz), 5:30pm BIG PILLOW BREWING Vaden Landers (country), 5:30pm BOOJUM BREWING COMPANY An Evening of Bluegrass: Jam at Gem, 9pm BREWSKIES Pool Tournament Saturdays, 7pm BURNTSHIRT VINEYARDS Denis Coleman (acoustic), 2pm BURNTSHIRT VINEYARDS CHIMNEY ROCK Carver and Carmody (acoustic duo), 2pm BREWSKIES Pool Tournament Saturdays, 7pm

Asheville to

CORK & KEG NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four Watch Party, 6pm CROW & QUILL The Roaring Lions (parlour jazz)k 7pm

New Edition coming soon

FLEETWOOD'S Hey Revolver, Bonny Dagger & Iron Sights (punk, rock), 8pm GUIDON BREWING Support Ukrainian Refugees, 3pm Billingsley (rock), 6:30pm

ISIS MUSIC HALL & KITCHEN 743 •Highbeams (Americana, folk rock), 7pm •Strung Like a Horse w/Khaliko (Americana, roots rock, bluegrass), 8:30pm MILLS RIVER BREWING 5J Barrow (folk), 2pm OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. LadyPop (pop), 8pm ONE WORLD BREWING WEST Rocky Horror Music Show presents The Scalpel of Damocles Benefit Show, 5:30pm PARKER-BINNS VINEYARD Phil Ruff (acoustic), 3pm ROOM IX Asheville's Biggest Dance Party, 10pm SILVERADOS Ginger Billy (comedy), 7pm SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN BREWERY Muddy Waters Birthday Celebration w/Mr Jimmy & Wild Bill Loftus, 6pm THE GREY EAGLE •High Flying Criminals (funk, soul, groove) k 5pm •The Cactus Blossoms w/Alexa Rose (folk) k 8pm WHITE HORSE BLACK MOUNTAIN Jimmy Landry Tribute, 7pm

SUNDAY, APRIL 3 AMERICAN VINYL CO. Allegra Krieger, Night Walks & Lavender Blue (neo-folk, singer-songwriter), 7pm ASHEVILLE BEAUTY ACADEMY •Life's A Drag Brunch w/Ida Carolina, 12pm SOL Dance Party w/•Zati, 9pm BURNTSHIRT VINEYARDS CHIMNEY ROCK The JackTown Ramblers (bluegrass, swing, jazz), 2pm CITIZEN VINYL Sunday LIVE ft Laura Boswell (singer-songwriter), 11am HIGHLAND BREWING COMPANY Soul Jazz Sundays w/ Taylor Pierson Trio, 3pm

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MARCH 30- APRIL 5, 2022

CLU B LA N D ISIS MUSIC HALL & KITCHEN 743 Scotland’s Tannahill Weavers (acoustic, Celtic, world)k 7:30pm JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Sunday Bluegrass Brunch w/Supper Break, 12pm MILLS RIVER BREWING Gin Miller Pickers (Americana), 2pm OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. The Lads AVL (classic rock, roots, blues), 3pm ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Shakedown Sundays (rock, jam band), 8pm ONE WORLD BREWING WEST Sunday Jazz Jam, 1pm PARKER-BINNS VINEYARD Don Hogan (acoustic), 3pm THE GREY EAGLE Suzanne Santo (Americana, Southern gothic soul)k 8pm THE ORANGE PEEL Daniel Rossen (indie rock)k 8pm UPCOUNTRY BREWING COMPANY Nick Colavito & Chad Brown Bluegrass Duo, 2pm ZILLICOAH BEER CO Sunday Bluegrass Jam Series, 4:30pm

MONDAY, APRIL 4 BREWSKIES Open Jam w/Tall Paul, 7:30pm DOUBLE CROWN Country Karaoke, 10pm HAYWOOD COUNTRY CLUB Open Mic w/Taylor Martin & Special Guest, 7:15pm HIGHLAND BREWING COMPANY Totally Rad Trivia w/ Mitch Fortune, 6pm JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Quizzo! Pub Trivia w/ Jason Mencer, 7:30pm LITTLE JUMBO The Core (jazz)k 7pm OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. It Takes All Kinds Open Mic Night, 7pm THE GETAWAY RIVER BAR Trivia by the River w/ James Harrod, 8pm

THE GREY EAGLE Steve Poltz (folk)k 8pm THE JOINT NEXT DOOR Mr Jimmy (blues), 7pm THE SOCIAL Open Mic w/Riyen Roots, 7pm

TUESDAY, APRIL 5 185 KING STREET Tuesday Casual Collaborations w/David Grier (bluegrass, flatpick guitar), 6pm 305 LOUNGE & EATERY Bob Sherill (singer-songwriter), 1pm ASHEVILLE BEAUTY ACADEMY •Drag Bingo w/ Calcutta, 8pm •Downtown Karaoke w/ Ganymede, 9pm FRENCH BROAD RIVER BREWERY Robert's Totally Rad Trivia, 7pm MILLS RIVER BREWING Friends Trivia, 6pm ONE WORLD BREWING WEST Grateful Family Band Tuesdays (Dead tribute, jam, rock), 6pm SOVEREIGN KAVA Open Jam ft Lactones (improv), 7pm THE SOCIAL Open Mic w/Riyen Roots, 7pm TURGUA BREWING CO Tuesday Jam Sessions: Bluegrass, 5:30pm TWIN LEAF BREWERY Eister's Twin Leaf Trivia, 7pm

CATAWBA BREWING SOUTH SLOPE Trivia Night, 7pm CONTINUUM ART Westie Wednesdays, 6:30pm FLEETWOOD'S Terraoke! Karaoke w/KJ Terra Ware, 6pm HI-WIRE BREWING RAD BEER GARDEN Game Night, 6pm ICONIC KITCHEN & DRINKS Marc Keller (acoustic), 6pm ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Free Anesthesia (psychedelic power trio), 10pm ONE WORLD BREWING Pingo Wednesdays, 7pm ONE WORLD BREWING WEST Latin Night Wednesdays w/DJ Mtn Vibez, 7pm RIVERSIDE RHAPSODY BEER CO. Acoustic Jam, 5pm SALVAGE STATION Sirius XM Hip Hop Nation Presents: Key Glock, 8pm SOVEREIGN KAVA Poetry Open Mic w/Host Caleb Beissert, 8pm SWEETEN CREEK BREWING Witty Wednesday Trivia, 6:30pm THE BARRELHOUSE Open Mic Hosted by Kid Billy, 8pm

CROW & QUILL Black Sea Beat Society (Baltic, Klezmer, Turkish), 8pm DOUBLE CROWN Rock & Roll w/DJ Fast Eddy (punk, soul, garage), 10pm FLEETWOOD'S Pocket Strange w/The Wormholes (punk), 8pm GINGER'S REVENGE CRAFT BREWERY & TASTING ROOM Gluten-Free Comedy Open Mic, 6pm ISIS MUSIC HALL & KITCHEN 743 Paul McDonald & Andrew Leahey (Americana, soul, alt-rock), 8:30pm JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Bluegrass Jam w/Drew Matulich & Friends, 7pm OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. Wesley Ganey (blues, soul), 7pm ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Gunslinging Parrots (Phish tribute), 9pm

THE ODDITORIUM Actors w/VIA & Vanilla Sugar (post-punk, new wave), 8pm

ROOM IX College Night Dance Party, 10pm

185 KING STREET Trivia Night w/Pat Gayjack, 7pm

TWIN LEAF BREWERY Open Mic, 6pm

ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL •Disclaimer Stand-Up Lounge Comedy Open Mic, 8pm •Moon Hooch w/ Jason Leech (dance/ electronic), 9pm

CREEKSIDE TAPHOUSE Thursday Night Trivia w/ Kelsey, 6:30pm

PULP Slice of Life Comedy Open Mic ft Jess Cooley, 8pm

THE ORANGE PEEL Todd Snider (folk, rock, blues)k 8pm

ASHEVILLE GUITAR BAR Liam Coker's Senior Recital (guitar), 7:30pm

ASHEVILLE GUITAR BAR MGB at the AGB, 7:30pm

THE GREY EAGLE Jack Symes w/Renny Conti (folk), 8pm

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6

ASHEVILLE BEAUTY ACADEMY •Queer Comedy Party: Powell Mansfield, 7pm •AQUANET Goth Party, 9pm

ASHEVILLE BEAUTY ACADEMY Classic Beauties Drag Show Downtown, 8pm

THURSDAY, APRIL 7 12 BONES BREWERY Musical Bingo with DJ Bar-One, 7pm 131 MAIN Aaron LaFalce (soul, rock, pop), 6pm 185 KING STREET The Ghost of Paul Revere w/Daniel Rodriguez (folk, bluegrass), 7pm 305 LOUNGE & EATERY Bob Sherill (singer-songwriter), 1pm

RYE KNOT KITCHEN BREWERY DISTILLERY John O'Connor (Americana, singer-songwriter), 6pm SALVAGE STATION Mike Rhodes Fellowship (jam/rock), 8pm SOVEREIGN KAVA Table Tennis Tournament, 7pm THE GETAWAY RIVER BAR Karaoke w/Karaoke Jackazz, 8pm THE ORANGE PEEL Slice of Life Comedy Open Mic w/Jess Cooleyk 8pm TWIN LEAF BREWERY Craft Karaoke, 8pm UPCOUNTRY BREWING COMPANY Open Mic, 6pm

The

Sustainability Every Week in April!

MARCH 30- APRIL 5, 2022

MOUNTAINX.COM

Series

MOUNTAINX.COM

MARCH 30- APRIL 5, 2022

FREEWILL ASTROLOGY ARIES (March 21-April 19): In 1904, it wasn’t illegal to use performance-enhancing drugs during Olympic competitions. Runner Thomas Hicks took advantage of this in the marathon race. The poison strychnine, which in small doses serves as a stimulant, was one of his boosters. Another was brandy. By the time he approached the finish line, he was hallucinating and stumbling. His trainers carried him the rest of the way, and he was declared the winner. I recommend you make him your inspirational role model in the coming weeks. How might you cheat to gain a great victory? APRIL FOOL! I lied. While it’s true that a meaningful triumph is within your reach, you’re most likely to achieve it by acting with total integrity, following the rules and imbibing no stimulating poisons. TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Science fiction aficionado Wil Wheaton suggests that all of us should have the following: 1. a nemesis; 2. an evil twin; 3. a secret headquarters; 4. an escape hatch; 5. a partner in crime; 6. a secret identity. Dear Taurus, I have doubts that you possess any of these necessities. Please embark on intensive efforts to acquire all of them. Your deadline is April 21. APRIL FOOL! I half-lied. There’s no way you could add all those things to your repertoire in such a short time. See if you can at least get a secret identity and a partner in crime. It’s time to have wicked fun as you add to your potency and effectiveness. GEMINI (May 21-June 20): “I hate being on my best behavior,” wrote Gemini author Colleen McCullough. “It brings out the absolute worst in me.” In the coming weeks, I hope you avoid the danger she describes. Don’t be on your best behavior! Emulate Gemini filmmaker Clint Eastwood, who said, “I tried being reasonable, but I didn’t like it.” APRIL FOOL! I lied. Here’s the real truth: Being kind, generous and reasonable will be your secret weapon in the next 3 weeks. Doing so will empower you to make interesting and unforeseen progress. CANCER (June 21-July 22): A Tumblr blogger named Alyssa complains, “I’m still peeved that I can’t fly or set things on fire with my mind.” You might share that feeling, Cancerian. But here’s the good news: I predict that you could soon acquire, at least temporarily, the power to fly and set things on fire with your mind. Use these talents wisely, please! APRIL FOOL! I lied. In fact, you probably won’t be able to fly or set things on fire with your mind anytime soon. However, you may acquire other superpowers that are only slightly less fantastic. For example, you could change the mind of an ally who has been ridiculously stubborn. You could uncover a big secret that has been hidden. You could mend a wound you thought would never heal. Any other superpowers you need right now? LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): I suspect that only a Leo would say what Leo filmmaker Stanley Kubrick once asserted: “You know, it’s not absolutely true in every case that nobody likes a smart ass.” In accordance with astrological omens, I authorize you to prove his assertion. Be the kind of smart ass that people like. APRIL FOOL! I’m half-joking. The truth is, I hope you will be the kind of smart ass that people absolutely adore and get inspired by. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): In honor of your arrival in the most lyrical and soulful phase of your cycle, I offer you advice from poet Richard Jackson: “The secret is to paint your own numbers on the clock, to brush away those webs that cover the wild country of the soul, to let your star hover between the flowers of the moon and the flowers of the sun, like words you have never spoken yet always hear.” APRIL FOOL! I partially lied. I don’t think you should paint your own numbers on the clock. But the rest of what Jackson said is totally applicable and useful for you. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): “I want excitement,” declared Libra novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald, “and I

MARCH 30- APRIL 5, 2022

MARKETPLACE

BY ROB BREZSNY

don’t care what form it takes or what I pay for it, so long as it makes my heart beat.” In the coming weeks, I hope you will make that statement your motto. APRIL FOOL! I half-lied. While I do foresee you being able to gather a wealth of excitement, I hope you won’t be as extreme as Fitzgerald in your pursuit of it. There will be plenty of opportunities for excitement that won’t require you to risk loss or pay an unwelcome price. SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): “If you can’t make fun of yourself, you don’t have a right to make fun of others,” said comedian Joan Rivers. I agree! So if you are feeling an irresistible urge to mock people and fling sarcasm in all directions, please prepare by first mocking yourself and being sarcastic toward yourself. APRIL FOOL! I lied. I will never authorize you to make fun of others. Never! In the coming weeks, I hope you’ll do the opposite: Dole out massive doses of praise and appreciation toward everyone. To prepare, dole out massive doses of praise and appreciation toward yourself. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): In the traditional opera performed in China’s Sichuan province, magical effects were popular. One trick involved characters making rapid changes of their masks. The art was to remove an existing mask and don a new one with such speed that the audience could not detect it. An old master, Peng Denghuai, once wore 14 different masks in 24 seconds. This is an antic I think you should imitate in the coming days. The more frequently you alter your persona and appearance, the more successful and popular you’ll be. APRIL FOOL! I half-lied. I recommend that you gleefully experiment with your image and exuberantly vary your self-presentation. But don’t overdo it. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): A nutritionist named Mark Haub decided to try losing weight by eating only sugary treats. For 10 weeks, he snacked on junk food cakes, cookies and sweet cereals. By the end, he had lost 27 pounds. In accordance with astrological omens, I suggest you try the metaphorical equivalents of this project. For instance, work on deepening your relationships by engaging your allies in shallow conversations about trivial subjects. Or see if you can enhance your physical fitness by confining your exercise to crossing and uncrossing your legs as you sit on the couch watching TV. APRIL FOOL! I lied. Here’s your real horoscope: For the next 4 weeks, take better care of your body and your relationships than you ever have before in your life. Make it a point to educate yourself about what that would entail, and be devoted in providing the most profound nurturing you can imagine. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Aquarius-born Giordano Bruno (1548–1600) was bravely heretical in his work as a philosopher, poet, mathematician and friar. He angered the Catholic Church with his unorthodox views about Jesus and Mary, as well as his belief in reincarnation, his practice of occult magic and his views that there are other stars besides our sun. Eventually, the authorities burned him at the stake for his transgressive ideas. Beware of a similar outcome for expressing your unusual qualities! APRIL FOOL! Luckily, no punishment will result if you express the rich fullness of your idiosyncrasies in the coming weeks. I’m happy about that, since I’m encouraging you to be as eccentrically yourself as you want to be. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Life is too complicated to accurately comprehend. There’s too much to know! It’s impossible to make truly savvy and rational decisions. Maybe the best strategy is to flip a coin or throw the dice or draw a Tarot card before doing anything. APRIL FOOL! While it’s a fact that life is too complex for our conscious minds to fully master, we have massive resources available on subconscious and superconscious levels: our deep soul and our higher self. Now is an excellent time to enhance your access to these mother lodes of intelligence.

MOUNTAINX.COM

SALES/ MARKETING

DRIVERS/ DELIVERY

SALES PROFESSIONAL WORK FOR A LOCAL COMPANY THAT HAS COVERED THE LOCAL SCENE FOR OVER 20 YEARS! This is a full-time position with benefits in a supportive, team-oriented environment in a community-service, locally-owned business. Ideal candidates are personable, organized, motivated, and can present our company with confidence. Necessary skills include clear and professional communications (via phone, email, and in-person meetings), detailed record-keeping, and self motivation. While no outside sales experience is required, experience dealing with varied and challenging situations is helpful. The position largely entails account development and lead generation (including cold-calling), account management, assisting clients with marketing and branding strategies. If you are a high energy, positive, cooperative person looking to join an independent media organization, please send a resume and cover letter (no walk-ins, please) explaining why you are a good fit for Mountain Xpress to: xpressjob@ mountainx.com.

MOUNTAIN XPRESS DELIVERY Mountain Xpress is seeking an energetic, reliable, independent contractor for part-time weekly newspaper delivery. The contractor must have a safe driving record, a reliable vehicle with proper insurance and registration, and be able to lift 50 lbs. without strain. Distribution of papers is on Tuesday mornings and afternoons and typically lasts about 7-8 hours per week. Occasional Wednesday morning delivery is is sometimes needed or can be an option. E-mail distro@mountainx.com. Far Western route; preference for individual or couple who lives in Western Buncombe or Haywood County.

GENERAL NOW HIRING - EXPERIENCED/ INEXPERIENCED CREW LEADER TRAINEES & SPRINKLER TECHS $15-$17/HR STARTING Come work for the BEST. K2 Irrigation is a 5-star landscape/sprinkler/lighting specialist (if you've been to Sierra Nevada in Mills River, you've seen our work) and we're looking for honest, dependable people who desire respect and want a balanced life. Nights/ Weekends/Holidays OFF. Benefits like Paid Time Off, education reimbursement +More! Valid NC DL with NO driving infractions (3 years) and a background check required. Email HR@ K2Irrigation.com or go online to https://www. k2irrigation.com/. PAID PETITIONERS NEEDED ASAP! Get paid to help run candidates for the people! Paid with Paypal or Venmo. MUST PETITION EVERY WEEK. Opportunities: BY SIGNATURE $1.50 per signature after 100 LEGIBLE VALID signatures. $2 per signature after submitting 200 signatures and more for high performers! PETITION LEAD: $20/hr must be at specific location at least 5 hrs per weekend- petition and assist volunteers. CAMPUS PETITIONERS: $18+/hr at university or community college RUSH HOURS. Signatures will be checked for accuracy. EMAIL: petition@ ncgreenparty.org TEXT: 833-664-0565

SKILLED LABOR/ TRADES NEED A FLEXIBLE SCHEDULE WHERE YOU ARE EARNING A SOLID LIVING WAGE? We are looking for the best, most detailed, and punctual cleaners. Join The Nice and Fresh Cleaners Dream Team! Job Title: Cleaning Crew Member. Compensation: $17.50-$25.00 / hour. Job Types: Full-time, Part-time. Application: nicefreshclean.com/ job-application/ .

MEDICAL/ HEALTH CARE DIRECT SUPPORT PROFESSIONAL Direct Support Professional: Full time benefited position. Candidate provides support for adults with disabilities, assists with daily living skills, goal instruction, medication administration. Overnights required, High School diploma and auto insurance required. Training provided. Waynesville area! 828-778-0260

HUMAN SERVICES SALES ASSISTANT Entry level administrative assistant position to our vibrant sales team. Position includes researching leads, verifying contacts, organizing outreach schedules, collections, and other tasks in support of the sales staff. Strong organization and communications skills as well as computer competencies required. Opportunity for advancement depending on skill level and abilities. Salaried position with benefits in a positive team environment with an emphasis on community engagement. Please send a resume and cover letter explaining why you are a good fit for Mountain Xpress to: xpressjob@mountainx.com.

MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN ASHEVILLE! Make a Difference in the Life of a Child in Asheville! Youth Counselors are needed to provide support to at-risk youth being served in our short-term residential facility. Duties include implementing direct care services, motivating youth, and modeling appropriate behaviors. Candidates must be at least 21 years old and have a valid driver's license. Experience working with youth is highly preferred. We offer paid training, excellent benefits, and advancement opportunities. Apply online

at https://www.mhfc.org/ opportunities/. Call 919-7543633 or email vpenn@mhfc. org.

PROFESSIONAL/ MANAGEMENT CHILDREN FIRST COMMUNITIES IN SCHOOLS IS HIRING FOR A RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR The Resource Development Director is a member of the senior leadership team and is responsible for successful planning, execution, and evaluation of fundraising and marketing goals for the organization including donor development, grants, special events, and communications. This position works closely with the Executive Director, program staff, board members and supervises the Communications and Events Coordinator. Send cover letter & resume to employment@ childrenfirstbc.org. JOB ANNOUNCEMENT FOR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR PATHWAYS FOR THE FUTURE, INC. DBA DISABILITY PARTNERS MARCH 21, 2022 Pathways for the future, Inc. dba Disability Partners is seeking a dynamic, forward thinking person for the position of Executive Director. Disability Partners is a local Center for Independent Living serving 14 counties in Western North Carolina, with offices in Sylva and Asheville, North Carolina. People with disabilities are served through the center for independent living, Homecare Partners and Person First Services, a provider of the Innovations waiver through Vaya. The Executive Director job description and application can be found at https:// www.disabilitypartners.org/ employment-opportunities. All applicants must submit by email: cover letter, current resume and a complete application to: ssacco@disabilitypartners.org. The deadline to apply for the position is April 29, 2022 at 5:00pm. Documents submitted after the deadline will not be accepted. Persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply for the position. MOUNTAIN HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES IS SEEKING A DIRECTOR OF PHILANTHROPY The Director of Philanthropy will support the sustainability of Mountain

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THE N EW Y OR K TI M ES C ROSSWORD P UZ Z LE Housing Opportunities' mission. The ideal candidate will have experience in a successful resource development program. To apply, visit https:// www.armstrongmcguire. com/jobs.

TEACHING/ EDUCATION A-B TECH IS HIRING A-B Tech is currently taking applications for a Full-Time position Adult Basic Education and High School Equivalency Preparation Coordinator. For more details and to apply: https:// www.abtcc.peopleadmin. com/hr/postings/6062 RAINBOW COMMUNITY SCHOOL SEEKS DIVISION HEAD To oversee operations for the 4-8 Division and contribute to a safe, inclusive, and dynamic culture. For details, requirements, and application visit www.rainbowcommunityschool.org.

ARTS/MEDIA

WOMANSONG OF ASHEVILLE SEEKS NEXT PARTTIME ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Womansong of Asheville (NC) is seeking our next Artistic Director to lead our dynamic community of singing women. For description and further details on this exciting part-time job opportunity visit www.womansong.org/adposition. Application review begins April 15, 2022. Send application and questions to womansongjob@gmail.com.

XCHANGE ANTIQUES & COLLECTIBLES STILL BUYING ANTIQUES Seeking old stuff! Cast iron, advertising signs, military, primitives, collections, art, pottery, estates, crocks, bottles, silver, license plates, unusual stuff, taxidermy, rifles, bbguns, more. Call/ Text 828-582-6097,steadyaim1@yahoo.com.

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AUDIO/VIDEO

COMPUTER & IT TRAINING PROGRAM Train ONLINE to get the skills to become a Computer & Help Desk Professional now! Grants and Scholarships available for certain programs for qualified applicants. Call CTI for details! 1-855-5544616. The Mission Program Information and Tuition is located at CareerTechnical. edu/consumer-information. (AAN CAN)

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edited by Will Shortz | No. 0223

ACROSS 1 Common hotel room item 6 Judi Dench, since 1988 10 Bruins’ sch. 14 Pinhead 15 Puff piece? 16 Letters after pis 17 Sneaking suspicion 19 “Get ___!” 20 Purl counterpart 21 Pirate whose hidden treasure inspired “The Gold-Bug” 22 Largest city in North Dakota 23 Cozy lodging 24 Farm female 25 Turn down a request 27 Doctrine 29 An ironic punch line 33 100% 35 Word in favor 36 Dynamic start? 37 Accept a package formally … or a hint to 17-, 29-, 45and 62-Across? 42 Burden 43 Reine’s husband 44 Parrot 45 Rough flight 48 Get on a soapbox 52 Architect Frank ___ Wright 53 1960s fashion style 55 Dallas player, informally 56 Like almost two-thirds of the earth’s population 58 Costa ___ 60 Social mediainduced anxiety, for short 61 Pint-size 62 Reason to pause a workout 64 First world? 65 Shrek, e.g. 66 Buffalo hockey player 67 Noted enforcer of Prohibition

30 35

47 53 58

DOWN

26 Mowgli’s friend in “The Jungle Book” 28 Speaks patronizingly, in a way 30 Supermodel Gigi or Bella 31 Go astray 32 Family name on HBO’s “Succession” 34 Truck, in Tottenham 37 Cry hard 38 Shiba ___ (dog breed) 39 Teeth disappear under them 40 Angry outburst from a bodybuilder, maybe 41 Apple product

MOUNTAINX.COM

1 One no longer using a sippy cup, say 2 “Beats the heck out of me” 3 Acerbic 4 Certain overhead apartment 5 When to take a cruise on la Seine 6 Get fuzz out of 7 “Salt Fat ___ Heat” (popular cookbook) 8 Imagination 9 To use this you’ll need to get cracking 10 One who recreationally explores sewers and underground tunnels 11 Like Sequoyah, for whom the tree is named 12 The “L” of LP 13 Apropos of 18 Scrape (out) 22 Letters accompanying a tip 24 <-- What 12 is to this

68 Solutions 69 Strait-laced

PUZZLE BY ROSE CONLON

46 Over there, quaintly 47 They run the show 49 Simple creature 50 Gluten-free Japanese soy sauce 51 Drew out, as a smile 54 Implement with a flat head 56 “You can say that again!” 57 Faction 59 “Just doing my job” 60 Bunch of brothers, for short 62 Concave cookware 63 Some STEM degs.

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MARCH 30- APRIL 5, 2022

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