Mountain Xpress 04.10.19

OUR 25TH YEAR OF WEE KLY INDEPE NDE NT NEWS, ARTS & EVE NTS FOR WE STE RN NORTH CAROLINA VOL. 25 NO. 38 APRIL 10 -16, 2019

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OUR 25TH YEAR OF WEE KLY INDEPE NDE NT NEWS, ARTS & EVE NTS FOR WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA VOL. 25 NO. 38 APRIL 10 -16, 2019

C O NT E NT S

PAGE 38 ARE WE THERE YET? Craft beer is big business in Western North Carolina, but how many breweries can the region support? A survey of some of Asheville’s longtime brewery owners shows differing opinions about whether the industry is reaching the point of oversaturation.

COVER ILLUSTRATION Brent Brown COVER DESIGN Scott Southwick

NEWS FOOD FARM & GARDEN WELLNESS

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44 NEW MOONSHINE? The growing controversy over raw milk

52 IMAGINATION STATION Marginalized makers find sanctuary and sales at Mending Art! showcases

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34 POLLIN-NATION WNC farmers and beekeepers collaborate to fight declining honeybee populations

50 MUTUAL APPRECIATION SOCIETY Spaceman Jones and The Motherships share Vol. 3 at The Mothlight

4 SOUTH TUNNEL ROAD • ASHEVILLE 828/

28 ANCIENT ENERGY Wordfest spotlights Appalachian identity and healing

A&E

COMING THIS SPRING!

8 TEARING OUT A TOWN’S HEART Swannanoa Valley Museum honors Beacon blankets

A&E

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6 CLEAN AND GREEN 12 SWING YOUR PARTNERS 13 SUNRISE MOVEMENT

DAWNS HERE 28 ANCIENT ENERGY 31 HEWITT FUNDS

SUSTAINABLE FOOD 34 POLLIN-NATION 35 KIDS SEED CO. SPROUTS 38 ARE WE THERE YET? 43 EMBRACING BIOCHAR 44 THE NEW MOONSHINE? 52 IMAGINATION STATION 3 LETTERS 3 CARTOON: MOLTON 4 CARTOON: IRENE OLDS 5 CARTOON: BRENT BROWN 6 COMMENTARY 8 NEWS 15 BIZ BRIEFS 16 BUNCOMBE BEAT 21 ASHEVILLE ARCHIVES 22 COMMUNITY CALENDAR 28 WELLNESS 34 FARM & GARDEN 38 FOOD 46 SMALL BITES 48 TOP SHELF VIEWS 50 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT 55 THEATER REVIEW 56 SMART BETS 61 CLUBLAND 67 MOVIES 69 SCREEN SCENE 70 FREEWILL ASTROLOGY 70 CLASSIFIEDS 71 NY TIMES CROSSWORD

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OPINION

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

STA F F PUBLISHER: Jeff Fobes ASSISTANT TO THE PUBLISHER: Susan Hutchinson MANAGING EDITOR: Virginia Daffron A&E EDITOR: Alli Marshall FOOD EDITOR: Gina Smith GREEN SCENE EDITOR: Daniel Walton OPINION EDITOR: Tracy Rose STAFF REPORTERS: Able Allen, Edwin Arnaudin, Thomas Calder, David Floyd, Brooke Randle, Daniel Walton COMMUNITY CALENDAR EDITOR: Deborah Robertson

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Asheville forums address health care reform While “wellness” is rightly celebrated in Asheville in [the March 27] Mountain Xpress, wellness in Western North Carolina and beyond is again threatened by a renewed push by the Trump administration to eliminate the Affordable Care Act. If Obamacare is struck down, an estimated 20 million more Americans would go without health insurance, popular provisions like protections for people with preexisting conditions would be gone, and a huge portion of the U.S. health care system would be faced with a chaotic scramble to adapt.

In addition, given the recent sale of Mission Health to HCA Healthcare, many regional residents are rightly concerned about how a huge private corporation will affect health care in WNC. One local health advocacy organization, HealthCare for All WNC, has responded to citizen anxieties by arranging for a national critic of for-profit medical corporations to speak in Asheville.

On Wednesday, April 10, Wendell Potter, former vice president of communications for health insurance giant Cigna, will speak on Transforming Healthcare in America at two public forums in Asheville. These free events will occur at 2-3:30 p.m. at the Unitarian

Universalist Congregation, 1 Edwin Place, Asheville, and 7-8:30 p.m. at Lenoir-Rhyne University Conference Room, 36 Montford Ave. (Chamber of Commerce building), Asheville.

Potter is currently the president of Business Initiative for Health Policy.

His best-selling book, Deadly Spin: An Insurance Company Insider Speaks Out on How Corporate PR Is Killing Health Care and Deceiving Americans, discloses how insurance companies maximize profits by restricting care and use deceptive tactics to undermine health care reform.

We who want universal affordable health care must learn more about the possibilities for “health care for all” as an option to the failing forprofit system in our country. New legislation is being brought forward in the North Carolina legislature and U.S. Congress to expand Medicaid and to fund “Improved Medicare for All,” respectively.

— Frank L. Fox Asheville

WNC can be part of climate change solution Do you want to be a part of the climate change solution but just don’t know what to do?

Asheville High School is competing again this year in the Drawdown EcoChallenge, and we want you to

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OPINION

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

join us! [See “Drawn to Action: Sarah Duffer Shifts Student Consciousness on Climate Change,” April 3, Xpress.]

The book Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming, which was published in 2017, identifies and quantifies the 100 top solutions to reversing climate change, and the Drawdown Organization has created a competition that runs through April 24.

Individuals in our school community are selecting any number of the 80 challenges that span seven sectors, and they are taking steps that reverse climate change every day. Our initial goal was “to have every environmental science student on campus identify, communicate and practice concrete actions that reverse climate change.” However, we want to broaden our scope.

Asheville High School’s Drawdown EcoChallenge team is asking you, Western North Carolina, to either join our team or to create your own teams. You can access the Asheville High team’s page through the “Students” tab on the Asheville High School webpage [avl.mx/2p5] or create your own through the organization’s website [avl.mx/5vk].

Then select what actions you want to take this month to address climate change. It’s that simple.

Let’s work together to show the world that Asheville truly is the Climate City!

Thank you for your time and support.

— Sarah Duffer and the Asheville High School Drawdown EcoChallenge Team Asheville

Beware of canine diet trend Due to the large, devoted dogowning population in Asheville, it is important that owners are aware of an alarming health trend.

Canine BEG diets (boutique, exotic ingredient and grain-free) have recently skyrocketed in popularity.

These BEG diets are made in small batches with ingredients such as alligator and salmon. Instead of grains, legumes are substituted.

The majority of these diets do not undergo testing, and the companies do not employ a nutritionist or veterinarian. In July 2018, the Food and Drug Administration released a warning that it was investigating a link between BEG diets and a recent increase in dilated cardiomyopathy cases.

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Even more wellness in West Asheville As a West Asheville resident, I enjoyed your article about wellness in my neighborhood [“Healthy Change: West Asheville’s Developing Wellness Corridor,” March 27, Xpress].

I’d like to add another wonderful business, which has been around a bit longer. Our local West Village Market & Deli, also on Haywood, offers a myriad of organic, local and non-GMO products, and has a cafe that reflects those values. It’s also home to Farmacy Juice & Tonic Bar, where owners Judy and Carl serve up amazing juices and are always willing to share their extensive knowledge and discuss health issues in general.

— Constance Lombardo Asheville

Missing the Movies summaries

C A R T O O N B Y I R E NE O L DS Dilated cardiomyopathy occurs when the heart muscle becomes thin and flabby. The result is congestive heart failure. It is a serious and potentially fatal disease. Typically, large breeds like Great Danes and Dobermans are affected due to genetics, but in recent months, dogs of all breeds are being diagnosed.

The underlying cause is not yet understood, but taurine is the key component.

Taurine is an amino acid essential for cardiac health. These BEG diets may interfere with either its metabolism or uptake. Lentils and peas seem to be the legume ingredients most implicated. Whatever the cause, it is becoming apparent that these diets are not safe or appropriate for dogs.

True grain allergies are fairly rare in dogs. Most allergies are to proteins, particularly beef and chicken. Dogs in the wild do eat grains, although popular advertising says otherwise. Further, there is currently no veterinary literature supporting the routine use of grain-free foods. It is a very successful marketing ploy based on the current trend of lowcarb/ketogenic-type diets in people. The current recommendation is that unless a dog has a documented grain allergy

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through dermatologic testing, it should not be fed a BEG diet.

Beware of flashy packaging in regard to dog food. Look for diets that carry the AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials) standard for testing, as well as follow the World Small Animal Veterinary Association guidelines for formulation.

If you are in doubt about what to feed, speak to your veterinarian. Do not rely on a pet store owner or employee to counsel you on nutrition. Pet store employees are not trained in this area. Further, they have an actual financial incentive to sell you the most expensive diet, as they are a retailer.

Veterinarians know your personal pet.

They are trained in nutrition and evaluating dietary components and can counsel as to what is best. If your dog has been on a BEG diet, it is important to speak with your veterinarian about switching foods and possible cardiac testing.

Remember, you wouldn’t ask the drivethrough person at McDonald’s what to feed yourself. So don’t ask the pet store employee what diet your dog should be eating!

— Catherine Ashe, DVM Candler

Getting used to the new [Xpress] movie review format, even though I enjoyed the previous print format of longer reviews by aficionados of film and film history. Really miss that.

However, I do understand the interest in having more movies reviewed each week.

Might it be possible to restore The Story and The Lowdown that started reviews in the past? Having three shots at the movie, the star rating, those short takes and the review itself made for a very useful format.

Thanks.

— John Maimone Hendersonville Editor’s response: Thank you for your feedback on the changes to Xpress’ Movies section. Although we agree that the summary information we previously offered at the beginning of movie reviews was useful, we are trying to make the best use of the limited space available with our new format, which tips the balance toward allocating space for more voices from the community.

In praise of downtown Asheville Downtown Asheville is a quaint little place. I got to ride through it and see all of the attractions there when I went to a restaurant near downtown a few months ago. And I look for-

C A R T O O N B Y B R E NT B R O W N ward to going back and exploring the downtown area more so.

The downtown business district of Asheville is riveting with exciting things to see and do. The Basilica of Saint Lawrence is in downtown Asheville, and it was designed by Rafael Guastavino. Downtown Asheville has a great art deco city hall, which is located at 70 Court Plaza. Also the Buncombe County Courthouse, a beautiful government building, is located at 60 Court Plaza.

Downtown Asheville has a vibrant banking center, which includes the Bank of America Financial Center at 162 College St., and also the First Bank building at 11 Church St. The Asheville Art Museum is a beautiful building as well. In downtown Asheville, it is highly unlikely to see any ducks or geese walking near your car in the city center, because they are mostly to be found in the waterways and rivers of rural Buncombe County.

Riding through downtown Asheville is a beautiful experience.

They have beautiful things to see and do. And they also have wonderful nightlife, shopping district and many restaurants.

— Steven Hawkins

Freelance writer

Greenville, S.C.

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OPINION

Clean and green

BY BETTINA FREESE As Asheville attracts more outdoor enthusiasts, city officials are scrambling to keep up with the growing demand for greenways and safer corridors to lure and encourage pedestrians and cyclists in a town that has for so long been auto-centric.

“The city is committed to making a more bike- and pedestrian-friendly community,” says Greenways Coordinator Lucy Crown. “I’m very excited that within the next two to three years, we are going to see a lot of amazing changes, including a connected greenway.”

The way Asheville on Bikes and Blue Ridge Bicycle Club see it, the more people on the road, the more people need safety education. That’s where the CycleSmart class comes in (avl.mx/5vi). One Saturday each month (starting April 13), a class teaches cycling basics and rules of the road. Instructors are certified through the League of American Bicyclists.

Participants work on bike-handling skills before going on a group ride through city streets and greenways.

The NCDOT increases greenway funding to areas with high interest, so the more people who take these classes, the more cash is allocated to Asheville.

The class costs $15 per person (plus $7 for each additional family member). It’s the perfect precursor to driver’s education. Once kids learn how to navigate traffic by bike, handling a vehicle is not nearly as intimidating.

“That class really changed the way I ride my bike,” says Crown. “When I was younger, I rode my bike everywhere. I became afraid when I became a parent, and [City Council member] Gwen Wisler talked me into taking

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BETTINA FREESE that class. It made me a much more confident rider. I would recommend it to anyone who rides their bike in traffic.”

Instructor Julie White has commuted and done cross-country bike trips her whole life. “Our goal is to get people who would like to ride, but need to learn how to navigate traffic and their position in the road,” says White. “It’s a very scary thought to ride in traffic, but it’s really not that bad.”

MISSING LINKS There are just over 10 miles of greenways in Asheville. Connected by city bike lanes, they follow creeks, skirt The Botanical Gardens at Asheville and include mountaintop views and trails through the woods, linking several parks and breweries. The city counts only paved asphalt trails on its website inventory of just under 5 miles of greenways.

The Beaucatcher Greenway is open and in use, despite its description on the city’s website as “shovel ready and pending funding.” Previous design plans called for it to be paved, but after community input, the modified design uses less funding and incorporates the use of natural surfaces. More construction will take place in 2022, according to minutes from the city’s February Greenway Committee meeting. This spring, construction of the French Broad River Greenway West is scheduled to begin along the river between New Belgium Brewing and the French Broad River Park, home of the popular West Asheville dog park, according to the city of Asheville’s blog.

Preliminary studies are underway for the Swannanoa Greenway — the first for East Asheville — and planning

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Turning on to bikes and greenways is taking place for another greenway in Black Mountain to travel under Highway 70, the railroad and Highway 9. This will link schools and parks.

“This is a game-changing project,” says Kristy Carter of the Swannanoa Greenway. Carter is principal of Friction Shift Projects, which is an urban and active transportation planning practice. She works closely with Asheville on Bikes.

Buncombe County is taking the lead on connecting the greenway from Hominy Creek to Bent Creek, which would allow mountain bike enthusiasts a safe ride to a system of beloved trails in the Bent Creek Experimental Forest. Bent Creek and Brevard have long been vacation destinations for avid mountain bikers, road bikers and racers looking for the perfect place to train.

“There are a lot more cyclists on the road now,” Carter says. “There used to be a couple weirdos on their bikes all the time, but now there are people everywhere who are commuters, rather than recreational riders. It’s been wild to watch that evolution.”

SHARING THE ROAD Despite the increasing numbers of cyclists braving the road, the reviews of city riding are mixed. The clearest message is that the city’s infrastructure does not encourage feelings of safety even among the most seasoned of riders.

“Riding your bike or walking on the sidewalk along Tunnel Road makes you feel like a destitute person who can’t afford a car,” says Joe Minicozzi, principal of Urban3, an urban design consulting company, who also spent years working with the Asheville Downtown Association. “A car-dominant infrastructure makes you feel unprotected, anxious and more apt to do something illegal to keep yourself safe. The environment is sending you those signals.”

That’s why Asheville on Bikes Executive Director Mike Sule is working to create multimodal infrastructures as neighborhoods evolve. Simple bike lanes aren’t enough. Cars drift, turn across bike lanes without looking and open their car doors into riders.

Local commuter Michelle Pugliese got “doored” a few years ago by a driver sitting in a parked car on Coxe Avenue.

“The force of my body slamming into the car bent the door,” she says.

Sule, AARP and the Blue Ridge Bicycle Club have joined to teach tacti-

cal urbanism, a guerrilla gardening way of taking over the streets using cheap products like paint. Rather than waiting for paving trucks and new curbs, cities are having murals painted into intersections, along bike lanes and crosswalks to make a clear delineation for motorists.

Tree-lined medians, string lights, plants and tape can help motorists slow down and make way, while pedestrians and cyclists feel lured into a visibly appealing area that makes them feel wanted.

One such project, the temporary mural design on Coxe Avenue downtown, was put to the test last fall shortly after it was installed when the paint began flaking off. Asheville on Bikes plans to clean and repaint the path this spring, “using paint and consulting advice from a new vendor,” according to a project update on its website.

In the meantime, downtown is peppered with bike lanes, but not everybody is behaving. Distracted drivers and cyclists who disobey traffic rules make for a bad combination.

“Our roads make us dependent on the car at this point,” says Sule. “It’s not an equal share of the right of way.”

Evan Coward is not only an avid cyclist but also worked for many years downtown as a bike cop. He is aware of the disparities. “I’ve been on the harsh end of comments from drivers and had things thrown at me,” he says. “But not when I’m on duty.

Luckily for us, people give you a wider berth when in uniform.”

Common infractions he’s given to cyclists are for disregarding stop signs and lights and just blatantly unsafe movements while taking advantage of situations. “Rolling the dice so many times will eventually get you caught up in a car,” Coward says.

Cyclists disobeying traffic laws can get citations that go as points against their license. This is a Catch-22 for folks who are riding bikes due to losing their license. For that reason, District Attorney Todd Williams uses the CycleSmart class as a court diversion.

“I want to encourage people to continue cycling ― especially if they have had a brush with the law,” says Williams.

“This CycleSmart class is a constructive intervention that provides for responsibility and constructive change.” X Bettina Freese has been living and riding bikes in Asheville since 2000, teaching kids to safely ride streets and working with Asheville on Bikes; she also has two boys and is a freelance writer and massage instructor.

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NEWS

TEARING OUT A TOWN’S HEART Swannanoa Valley Museum honors Beacon blankets opens Saturday, April 13, and runs through Friday, Nov. 1.

“Like all companies, Beacon had its ups and downs,” says Anne Chesky Smith, the museum’s director. At its peak, it brought thousands of manufacturing and management jobs to the area. At the same time, she continues, Beacon also embodied many of the social evils prevalent in the Jim Crow South. “But it was a community, and I think that’s one of the important things. Beacon was Swannanoa. Everything that was in Swannanoa was entangled in Beacon.”

BY THOMAS CALDER tcalder@mountainx.com Rebecca Williams was asleep inside her Grovemont home, unaware of the conflagration that illuminated the early morning sky.

Her husband, Jerry Pope, woke her up to share the news: The former Beacon Manufacturing Co. plant was on fire.

It was 4 a.m. on Sept. 3, 2003, and Williams was suddenly wide awake.

“We could see the flames above the tree line,” she remembers.

The couple soon made their way to the corner of Whitson Avenue and Old Highway 70 in Swannanoa.

A pre-dawn crowd had gathered to watch fire crews battle the blaze.

Ultimately, however, the flames won out, transforming the former mill into a heap of smoking rubble.

Williams, who was still relatively new to the area back then, says she didn’t fully grasp the significance of the structure’s demise. The plant had been closed for over a year. But like many other community members, she found herself repeatedly returning to the ruins in the months that followed.

“People would come to the site, and you could see them crying and collecting bricks,” she recalls. “I didn’t know what was going on, but I knew that something really important was happening.”

As former Beacon employees and other residents continued to mourn the loss, Williams began collecting

CHARLES, CHARLES AND CHARLES

SHADY BUSINESS: Filmmaker Rebecca Williams, left, and Anne Chesky Smith, director of the Swannanoa Valley Museum & History Center, stand before an original 1930s Beacon blanket employing the ombré technique, which gradually shades one color into another. Photo

by Thomas Calder stories. Although she didn’t know it at the time, the material would ultimately become the basis for a documentary, Blanket Town, which Williams hopes to wrap up later this year. The film spans the Swannanoa mill’s entire history, from its beginnings in 1924 to its closing in 2002 and subsequent destruction.

Excerpts from the documentary in progress will be featured as part of the Swannanoa Valley Museum & History Center’s latest exhibit, Beacon Blankets: The Mill. Informational panels, photographs and memorabilia will also be on display. The free exhibit

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In 1885, there were 60 textile mills operating in North Carolina, the Beacon exhibit notes. By 1915, that number had soared to 318, as Northern companies headed south seeking milder climates, cheaper labor and better access to such resources as water, timber and cotton.

It wasn’t long before Beacon followed suit. In 1904, Charles Dexter Owen I, his son Charles Dexter Owen II and their cousin Charles Owen Dexter had acquired the defunct New Bedford, Mass.-based company. At the time, Beacon was known for spinning yarn from textile waste.

Within a year, however, the company had begun producing cotton flannel fabric used for robes and blankets. Twenty employees made up the payroll in 1905. By 1912, the company had an army of 800 workers. And in 1923, the same year that North Carolina became the nation’s No. 1 textile producer, Beacon boasted 1,600 employees.

Needing to expand to accommodate its explosive growth, the family-owned business turned its attention southward in 1924. The new Swannanoa facility transformed raw cotton and wool into blankets that were then sold directly to retailers.

Within a decade, Beacon had relocated its entire operation to the North Carolina site, in the midst of the Great Depression. A key factor, notes Chesky Smith, was the

“Beacon was Swannanoa. Everything that was in Swannanoa was entangled in Beacon.”

— Anne Chesky Smith, Swannanoa Valley Museum & History Center ever-growing presence of union activity in New Bedford. At the Southern factory, similar activity was noticeably absent.

When the new 1 million-square-foot plant was completed in 1936, Beacon became the world’s largest mill, the exhibit notes. At its peak, the giant factory employed 2,200 people.

VILLAGE LIFE Both Williams’ forthcoming documentary and the upcoming museum exhibit spotlight life in Beacon’s mill villages. Common throughout much of the country, these worker communities were owned by the companies that built them and rented out the residential units to their employees. In 1900, over 90 percent of textile workers lived in such places, according to the American Historical Association.

Part of the intent, says Chesky Smith, was to discourage workers from unionizing. “Everything was connected,” she points out. “If you lose your job, you lose your housing.”

Nonetheless, many former residents speak fondly of their time in the villages, Williams and Chesky Smith stress. Workers maintained both community and individual gardens. Doors were often left unlocked. And the Owens let employees keep hogs and cows in designated areas.

Swannanoa, too, thrived during Beacon’s heyday. “We had a department store, we had a furniture store. … We had a theater and … two drugstores,” Joan Barnwell recalled in a 2012 interview (see “Asheville Archives: Boom town,” page 21, Xpress).

CONTINUES ON PAGE 10

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2019

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N EWS “Oh, the town was fun!” gushed former resident Utha Aiken in an interview conducted that same year. In addition, she noted, the Owen family organized both a barbecue and a ball for their employees each year.

Williams, who interviewed more than 90 people associated with the mill for her film, shares the former villagers’ enthusiasm. “It was a bustling, lively place,” she exclaims, “and a way of life that doesn’t exist anymore.”

SEGREGATION AND CULTURAL APPROPRIATION It wasn’t all good clean fun, however. As in much of the pre-civil rights movement South, African American employees were restricted to the lowest-paying menial jobs and were not allowed to live in Beacon’s mill villages.

But while the company’s mistreatment of its black workers wouldn’t begin to shift until the 1960s, its deceptive advertising had already sparked controversy decades before.

On Nov. 3, 1930, the Federal Trade Commission and the Navajo Indian Nation accused Beacon of misleading consumers with its latest campaign.

The ads depicted Native Americans hand-weaving some of the company’s blankets, which were described as “Indian woven.”

On June 28, 1932, the commission ordered Beacon to reword the ads to read “Indian design blankets.”

FINAL NAIL IN THE COFFIN These difficult issues are only two of the many topics that both the exhibit and Williams’ documentary examine, including a more positive exploration of Beacon’s role during World War II. Of the company’s 2,200 employees, 930 served in the conflict.

All told, Beacon produced over 7 million blankets for the troops.

Blanket Town, says the filmmaker, is very much a story for and about the Swannanoa Valley. Yet the nar-

WELCOME TO SWANNANOA: In 1925, Beacon Manufacturing Co. opened in Swannanoa with roughly 200 workers. Over the next decade, the plant would continue to expand, eventually employing more than 2,000 people. Photo courtesy of the North Carolina Collection, Pack Memorial Library, Asheville rative also presents Swannanoa as an exemplar of small, rural towns across America and particularly Appalachia. “It’s the story of industrialization and its impact, and the pain and loss of that industry,” says Williams.

Prior to the fire, she points out, many community members still hoped that Beacon might one day return, or perhaps that another industry would take over the space, bringing with it the next wave of manufacturing jobs. But when a teenage vandal set the structure ablaze, all hope was lost.

HISTORY CAFÉ Along with the Beacon exhibit, the Swannanoa Valley Museum & History Center will be introducing the History Café. On the fourth Monday of each month from 10:30-11:30 a.m., local historians will present talks on significant regional figures and events. The free monthly series, which will run April-October, will feature complimentary coffee from Dynamite Roasting Co. The inaugural talk, on April 22, will be led by local filmmaker Rebecca Williams, who’ll discuss her forthcoming documentary, Blanket Town.

To learn more, visit avl.mx/5up X

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“The fire was the nail in the coffin,” says Williams. “It was the end of an era.”

The Beacon exhibit, however, describes a much more gradual decline that was set in motion as far back as 1969, when the Owen family sold the last of their company stock. Over the next three decades, several different corporations tried their hand at profitably operating the plant. Finally, in 2001, a group of private investors bought the company and, on April 15, 2002, shut it down, leaving 300 community members unemployed.

Williams doesn’t dispute this perspective, saying that her film is also a cautionary tale about absentee ownership and the adverse effects corporations can have on local communities. But if the Beacon model included its fair share of paternalism, “At least

there was a relationship between its owners and the community,” notes the filmmaker.

“As corporations get more and more global and less and less connected, their relationship is with the stockholders,” she continues. “It is not with the people who are doing the work and not with the community that they’re in.”

For many people, says Williams, Beacon was the pulse of Swannanoa.

When it was doing well, the rest of the community was too. Ultimately, the question her film seeks to answer is “What happens when you take the heart out of a town?”

The Swannanoa Valley Museum & History Center’s latest exhibit, Beacon Blankets: The Mill opens Saturday, April 13, and will run through Friday, Nov. 1. X

KIDS CORNER As with previous exhibits, the Swannanoa Valley Museum & History Center’s current offering will feature an interactive kids corner. Individual children as well as school groups will be invited to participate in a Beacon Blanket memory game. Kids will also be encouraged to try their hand at weaving their own miniature blanket. X

MOUNTAINX.COM

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N EWS

dwalton@mountainx.com

by Daniel Walton

SWING YOUR PARTNERS Housing and Community Development Committee struggles with nonprofit grant requests of a pit,” while committee Chair Julie Mayfield, who joined the meeting by phone due to illness, said the high demand for grants called for tweaks to the process.

“I think what everybody’s hearing is that this doesn’t feel good for us, and it sure as heck doesn’t feel good for you,” Mayfield said. “We need to do something that fixes it.”

CAP IT OFF

FINANCIAL PROJECTION: Nonprofit leaders and Asheville city officials study the spreadsheet of Strategic Partnership Funds awards at the March 29 meeting of the Housing and Community Development Committee. Photo by Daniel Walton Although the committee did arrive at recommendations for the money, which must be approved by the full City Council at a later meeting, its members agreed that how the city doles out partnership funds needs revision. Sheneika Smith compared the situation to “pulling ourselves out

The most substantive change Mayfield proposed was a cap on the amount of money individual programs could request. This year’s asks spanned a $55,000 range, from $4,500 for a community summer day camp by Getting Back to the Basics to $60,000 for two programs

by Youth Transformed for Life.

Allowing that variety of requests, Mayfield argued, forced committee members to decide between spreading limited resources broadly or concentrating on fewer programs to make a greater impact for each. She

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Representatives from 30 area nonprofits walked into the same meeting with over $740,000 in funding requests. The only solution to that mismatch, suggested committee member Keith Young, would be a bit of divine intervention.

“I don’t know how to stretch $230,000 into three-quarters of a million. I just don’t know how to do it. Maybe if I had Jesus here with the fish, and he was feeding everybody, maybe we could do that,” Young said to laughter from the audience. “That’s kind of a tonguein-cheek response, but it is tough.”

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RISE AND SHINE: Young activists with the Sunrise Movement’s Asheville chapter speak at the group’s first meeting in February. Photo courtesy of Ashley McDermott A well-publicized sit-in at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office in November had a galvanizing impact for the Sunrise Movement.

“There was all this enthusiasm around Sunrise, and it just kind of exploded,” says Ashley McDermott, one of the founding members of the organization’s Asheville chapter. People began hearing about the group and its mission to stop climate change while also creating jobs — a mission that dovetails with the Green New Deal resolution proposed by congressional Democrats, including freshman House Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

The local chapter of Sunrise is one of many that have started across the U.S. The Asheville group kicked off with a

February meeting at the YWCA, which McDermott says brought in roughly 80 attendees. Although it’s still early in the organization’s work, she estimates that there are about 30 active members, primarily high school and college students.

“The youngest generation … they are particularly focused on climate change,” she says. “They’re the ones who have this emotional connection to it the most. They’re seeing and experiencing it now.”

Over the coming year, McDermott says the national organization is hoping to jump-start conversations at a local level through chapters such as the Asheville group and will be putting a specific focus on the 2020 elections.

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worried that the current approach, in which most nonprofits receive significantly less than their initial ask, is an inefficient use of city funds.

“We just have no idea whether some of these amounts are even meaningful for the organizations when they’re so small,” Mayfield said. “I don’t really want to give our money out if it’s really not going to be useful and it’s not going to enable them to accomplish what they said they’re going to do.”

Mayfield also suggested that the city’s funding be contingent on nonprofits raising additional outside money to fully support their programs. Young said that condition might work in future years, but he added that it would not be “in good faith” to impose the requirement for the current grant cycle.

While Smith didn’t directly weigh in on either of those changes, she expressed a desire to distribute funds more evenly between established and newly forming initiatives. “I don’t think we should leave people on empty just because we’re not familiar with their programs,” she said.

The committee reached no agreement about alterations to the grant program, but Young said he and his colleagues would revisit the topic at subsequent meetings. “We can do a better job of making sure that our processes are more efficient, streamlined and equitable, and I think that’s what we’ll have to do the next go-round,” he said.

BY THE NUMBERS Four of the 30 applicants walked away from the meeting with no funding: the North Carolina Glass Center, Asheville Area Arts Council, Asheville Symphony Orchestra and boys mentoring program Journeymen.

Committee members did not publicly

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discuss why those particular requests didn’t get the nod.

In response to a question about those decisions by Jordan Foltz, director of Journeymen, Mayfield said the committee should be more transparent about its funding criteria. “If we’re not going to fund vehicles or capital improvements or things like that, we should say that,” she remarked.

The only nonprofit whose request was fully funded was the Christine W. Avery Learning Center, which received $20,000 for its early learning program. The two largest allocations, both of $21,667, went to My Daddy Taught Me That and Youth Transformed for Life; those groups had requested $40,000 and $60,000, respectively. The first organization provides mentoring to primarily minority and low-income adolescent males, while the second hosts afterschool and summer programs for disadvantaged youths.

The smallest award went to the Asheville Art Museum Association, which received only $1,667 of its $9,500 request. Other organizations that received substantially less than requested included Hola Community Arts ($3,333 of $50,000), Mount Zion Community Development ($5,000 of $50,000) and Community Action Opportunities ($4,000 of $30,000).

Young emphasized that nonprofits shouldn’t take the size of the committee’s allocations personally. “It doesn’t mean that we don’t like your program, that your program isn’t doing the work,” he said. “It means that we simply have limited resources.

“You are a big part of our community and you are greatly appreciated,” Young continued. “Do not let the awards here today tell you otherwise.”X

BIZ BRIEFS

by News staff | news@mountainx.com BUSINESS ROUNDUP • The local office of civil engineering design firm Vaughn & Melton will “go orange” at a photo op at its Patton Avenue offices on Wednesday, April 10, as part of National Work Zone Awareness Week. The firm encourages others to also wear bright orange clothing that day as a reminder of the importance of attentive driving in work zones. Not only can roadside workers benefit from increased caution, the firm points out in a press release, but, “According to the Federal Highway Administration, 85% of fatalities in work zone accidents happen to drivers, not workers. That’s more than 1,000 vehicular deaths per year and more than 40,000 injuries.”

• Just Ducky, a local children’s clothing manufacturer and retailer established in 1982, moved its retail store from Biltmore Village to new space at 4 South Tunnel Road next door to Whole Foods Market.

• Asheville native Atia Triplett, a professional hairstylist and owner of Salon Intuition, opened Blown Away Blow Dry and Beauty Bar Asheville at 157 S. Lexington Ave. • Women’s clothing retailer Ad Lib, located at 23 Haywood St., is celebrating its 30th year in business.

GO ORANGE: Vaughn & Melton, a civil engineering firm, encourages locals to join its staff in wearing orange on Wednesday, April 10, to raise awareness of the importance of attentive driving in road work zones.

• The Department of Management and Accountancy at UNC Asheville announced it again earned accreditation from The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. According to a press release from UNCA, the accreditation “has been earned by less than five percent of the world’s business schools.”

• Horizon Heating and Air of Hendersonville donated $20,000 in unrestricted funds to the Henderson County Education Foundation, marking the second year that Dan Poeta, the company’s owner, has made a significant gift to support public education. In a press release, Poeta said his gift will help “prepare the future workforce of Henderson County through the Leader in Me initiative and [the foundation’s] invest-

ment in the needs of educators and students in our school system.”

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PEOPLE ON THE MOVE • Marty Caywood was named executive vice president and chief information officer of HomeTrust Bancshares, the holding company of HomeTrust Bank, as well as the bank itself.

• Brad Brevard joined Mountain Credit Union as branch manager of the 3270 Hendersonville Road location in Fletcher.

• Brian Elston Law welcomed Chad Ray Donnahoo as attorney/shareholder and Reed Williams as of-counsel attorney.

• Jeff Rice joined United Federal Credit Union as mortgage adviser at the company’s 3674 Hendersonville Road branch in Fletcher. X

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APRIL 10 - 16, 2019

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BUNCOMBE BEAT

County allows manufactured homes in more districts Chris Rominger’s mom, a lifelong inhabitant of Buncombe County, could soon be in the market for a new place to call home. But her options may be limited, Rominger told the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners on April 2, because she’d be splitting the proceeds from selling her family home with another relative. “The amount of money that my mom’s left with doesn’t leave her with a lot of options in the area,” he said.

As commissioners considered a measure to allow manufactured homes in more zoning districts in the county, Rominger said he hoped the change would make it easier to find a housing option in his mom’s price range. “I don’t want my mom to have to go live in Old Fort when she’s lived here her whole life and put her away from her granddaughter,” the Asheville resident said. “I would love to see something like this passed to help us out.”

All members of the board ultimately voted in favor of allowing manufactured homes in more residential districts.

Manufactured homes were previously limited to residential low density, R-3 residential, employment and open-use districts. With the change, the list of permitted districts now also encompasses R-1, R-2 and the Beaverdam Low-

NEW RULES: The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners approved changes to the county zoning ordinance on April 2 to expand the zoning districts in which homeowners can place multisection manufactured homes, like this one in Wellington Community Estates. Photo by David Floyd

Density Residential District. Only unincorporated parts of the county are affected by the new rules.

“This is about equity and about opportunity for families,” said Commissioner Joe Belcher, who retired after a career at manufactured home seller Clayton Homes.

“As an advocate for affordable housing for 40 years, I’m excited about the possibility of this passing this evening and I’ll gladly support it.”

Because manufactured homes tend to be cheaper than site-built homes, commissioners framed the changes as a way to improve access to affordable housing in Buncombe County.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the average sales price of a manufactured home was $71,900 in 2017, which represents a 10% increase over the average sales price for manufactured homes in 2014.

In contrast, the average sales price of a site-built home in 2017, including land, was $384,900, an 11% increase over the average 2014 value of $347,700.

“There’s price ranges mentioned in Buncombe County often of [$200,000] and [$400,000],” Belcher said, “but this is about families who can’t even comprehend these numbers.” Belcher says demand for

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Commissioner Amanda Edwards asked staff how manufactured homes might impact the value of adjacent homes in the newly permitted districts.

“I don’t think there is an answer, unfortunately,” responded Keith Miller, the county’s tax assessor. “There’s not enough data. In ‘appraisal world,’ you have to have data, and you’ve got to do direct analysis to figure out what happens when these homes [are] placed in a neighborhood in which that would be affected.” The value of manufactured housing in Buncombe County, however, has been steadily increasing, Miller said.

The amendments include aesthetic standards requiring manufactured homes in the newly permitted districts to include “skirting” of stone, brick or architectural or rusticated block around the building’s base.

The structures must be installed on a permanent foundation and must have multiple sections (ruling out single-wide homes).

Those requirements only apply to homes in the newly permitted districts; manufactured home parks located

anywhere in the county don’t have to follow the new aesthetic standards.

In an April 3 Facebook post, Edwards said she had gone into the April 2 meeting conflicted about the issue. “Some asked me to support manufactured housing, and others asked me to vote no,” she wrote.

“The common theme in all communication was the need for affordable housing in Buncombe County.”

Edwards ultimately voted with her colleagues in favor of the changes, pointing to the recent appreciation in the value of manufactured homes in the county, as well as the aesthetic requirements, which she said make it possible for the homes to blend in with the site-built houses around them.

“Manufactured housing will not completely solve the affordable housing crisis; however, it is a viable option for homeownership for many in our county and often the only option available,” she wrote. “It is also only one aspect that we will consider as the county seeks multiple solutions to our affordable housing challenge.”

— David Floyd X

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County revises incentive deal with Linamar

RETOOLING: In 2011, then-Gov. Bev Perdue announced Linamar’s Asheville expansion at the Grove Park Inn. Buncombe County commissioners entered into a revised agreement with the company on April 2 after Linamar fell short of investment and job creation goals associated with economic development agreements from 2011 and 2014. Photo

by Jonathan Welch As a result of the Great Recession — which began in December 2007 and ended in June 2009 — Buncombe County lost 10,000 jobs in the metro area, according to Tim Love, the county’s director of intergovernmental projects.

About 230 of those jobs went away when Volvo Construction Equipment relocated its Ashevillebased positions to other Volvo facilities in North America in March 2010. In addition to the lost employment, the county also saw almost

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$300,000 in annual property tax revenue dry up.

Automobile parts manufacturer Linamar soon moved into Volvo’s old home at 2169 Hendersonville Road facility. To incentivize $315 million of investment and the creation of 800 jobs at the facility, Buncombe County entered into economic development agreements with Linamar in 2011 and 2014.

However, the county says Linamar has fallen short of the goals outlined in those deals.

“Due to some economic constraints and challenges, mainly the closing of the Caterpillar business in our region, Linamar has faced some challenges with meeting growth targets in the economic agreements they entered into with us,” Love told the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners during a meeting on April 2. “They’ve been forthright in that.”

Commissioners unanimously agreed to enter into a modified economic development agreement with Linamar, which the county believes will enable the business to meet its targets by 2024.

Under the terms of its 2011 agreement, the company was required to invest $125 million and create 400 jobs at the Hendersonville Road facility by the end of 2020 to qualify for a $10 million economic development incentive.

In exchange for an extra $9 million incentive, a 2014 agreement committed the company to an additional $190 million investment and 400 additional new jobs by the end of 2021.

Ken McDougall, the company’s president of machining and assembly in America, tells Xpress Linamar’s first agreement with Buncombe County was based on a contract to produce diesel engine components for construction equipment manufacturer Caterpillar. When Caterpillar pulled out of the deal, Linamar had trouble meeting the county’s benchmarks, McDougall says, but the company has since found new business to fill the gap. He says he’s still looking for new contracts to keep the site — one of five the company operates in the state — humming with activity.

“We’ve got a lot of people excited about the location,” he says.

The county began holding off on making incentive payments in 2017 after Linamar failed to prove it had met the agreed-upon benchmarks of 152 new jobs created and $143 million invested in capital projects by that point in the agreement, Love said.

As of last month, the company had created 300 jobs and invested $141 million in its facility. Love noted that

the average wage of those jobs, $51,000, is considerably higher than the expectation set by the county of $39,000.

The revised agreement merges the investment and job creation goals into a single document and keeps the total value of incentives that Linamar will receive unchanged. Out of $19 million promised, the county has disbursed $13 million so far.

Changes in the new agreement include an increase to the average wage goal from $39,000 to $43,600 and an

extended timeline that runs to 2024. The remaining $6 million of incentives will be paid in annual, $1 million increments over that six-year period.

Since 2011, the business has generated $1.8 million in property tax revenue and $600,000 in other local taxes. In the future, the county anticipates the company will generate between $400,000 and $500,000 in property taxes per year, according to Love.

Clark Duncan, the executive director of the Economic Development

Coalition of Asheville-Buncombe County, pointed out that Linamar has created more jobs than were lost when Volvo Construction Equipment left its Skyland facility in 2010.

“I’m really pleased to hear tonight that they’re affirming their plans to scale that high-potential facility to more than 800 jobs here in our community,” he said, “and that’s something we’re here to celebrate.”

MOUNTAINX.COM

— David Floyd X

APRIL 10 - 16, 2019

19

NEWS BRIEFS

by News staff | news@mountainx.com ASHEVILLE STUDIES URBAN NOISE By now, Asheville residents know the drill: Before proposing policy changes, the city’s government often surveys locals on their experiences and opinions. This time around, the topic is noise. Through Sunday, June 2, city dwellers can visit Open City Hall Asheville at avl.mx/5vl to make their voices heard on how noise affects their lives.

At press time, 274 responses had been received, with about half saying that noise occasionally decreased their quality of life. The most annoying noises seemed to be those generated by people, from loud parties and blaring TVs to crying babies and playgrounds, among other sources.

According to a city press release, Asheville has partnered with Boston University’s Community Noise Lab and noise researcher Erica Walker to deploy the Noise Score app, which allows community members to document noise. The Noise Score app creates a “heat map” graphic showing where noise is most prevalent.

The city says its goal is to create a revised noise ordinance “that contains clear, enforceable and effective measures to control noise,” which could go before Asheville City Council later this year. $400,000 GRANT WILL RECRUIT AND TRAIN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATORS Buncombe Partnership for Children received a $400,000, two-year grant to recruit and train up to 60 new teachers in Buncombe, Henderson, Transylvania and Madi-

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FLOWER POWER: Division 13 of the N.C. Department of Transportation wowed judges with its supremely cheerful wildflower plantings, winning best overall division honors in the state agency’s annual Wildflower Awards. Photo courtesy of NCDOT son counties. The WNC Early Childhood Teacher Workforce Development Program provides potential teachers from underserved communities with education, coaching and substitute teaching assignments while they complete their training.

“Our region currently does not have enough qualified early childhood teachers to meet current or future classroom staffing needs,” said Amy Barry, executive director of the Buncombe Partnership for Children, in a press release.

“In Buncombe County, we only have enough classroom spots for 8% of the babies born each year. Because of a lack of teachers and funding, we have 621 fewer child care slots than we did 10 years ago. Our neighbors in Henderson, Madison and Transylvania counties have experienced these trends as well.

The goal with our program is to address this great need so more children have access to quality early education and working parents have access to affordable, reliable child care.”

The funding comes from the NCWorks Local Innovation Fund, an initiative of the NCWorks Commission.

LOCAL DIVISIONS OF NCDOT WIN 2018 WILDFLOWER AWARDS Division 13 of the N.C. Department of Transportation has done it again, winning top honors in the statewide Wildflower Awards on April 3.

“For many years, the wildflower program has been one of the department’s most popular initiatives,” said David Harris, NCDOT roadside environmental engineer, in a press release.

“It not only makes North Carolina even more beautiful, but the flowers also help sustain the pollinator population, which is essential to the success of the state’s agriculture community.”

While Division 13 — which includes Buncombe, Rutherford, McDowell, Burke, Mitchell, Yancey and Madison counties — took first place overall, its neighbor, Division 14, won second place. Division 14 includes Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, Polk, Swain and Transylvania counties. X

FEA T U RE S

ASHEVILLE ARCHIVES

by Thomas Calder | tcalder@mountainx.com

Boom town

The rapid growth of Swannanoa

LET THERE BE BLANKETS: Beacon Manufacturing Co. opened its Swannanoa branch in 1925. By 1933, the company’s entire operations relocated to Swannanoa. This photo, circa 1948, shows the factory and neighboring mill villages. Photo courtesy of the North Carolina Collection, Pack Memorial Library, Asheville This week’s column is an accompaniment to the preview article on Swannanoa Valley Museum & History Center’s upcoming exhibit, Beacon Blankets: The Mill (see “Tearing out a town’s heart,” page 8, Xpress).

On April 20, 1924, The Sunday Citizen announced that construction of the new Beacon Manufacturing Co. plant in Swannanoa would begin within 60 days.

The cost of the site was estimated at $1 million. Described by the paper as “the largest manufacturers of cotton blankets in the United States,” the company’s flagship plant was based in New Bedford, Mass. where it employed 1,500 workers.

The Swannanoa factory, the article continued, “will be of a saw-tooth type construction, giving employes the benefit of natural light, and machinery of the highest type.” Along with the new plant, the company was also building 40-50 homes to house its future local workforce.

By January 1925, machinery was being shipped down from the north. Meanwhile, speculation over future expansion was already underway. That month, The Asheville Citizen reported on a conversation between the paper and Beacon’s owner, Charles Owen. “When asked as to whether the plant would be enlarged, Mr. Owen replied that in his opinion the Northern plant would never be extended, indicating that all future increases in manufacturing capacity would be at Swannanoa,” the article read.

No matter its future plans, the mere arrival of the company led to immediate development within the area. On Feb. 15, 1925, The Asheville Citizen declared that

“the first stages of a boom” had begun in Swannanoa. It continued: “Much building is in progress and much more is in prospect — stores that will be needed with the increase population are being planned and among the first to begin actual building is the Drug store that is to be opened within the next six weeks.”

The following month, on March 10, 1925, the town celebrated the opening of the Swannanoa Bank and Trust Co. According to The Asheville Citizen, hundreds of people flocked to the new building, which the paper described as “strictly up to date and modern in every respect.”

The bank thanked its new patrons by offering cigars and carnations that day.

On April 5, 1925, The Sunday Citizen observed that Swannanoa had gone from

“a tiny village ... [to] a young town.” As evidence, it pointed to the near completion of the Beacon factory, along with the recent $9,000 “hard-surface road from the Black Mountain Highway to the bleachery … known as Whitson Avenue.”

In addition, the paper continued, “Numerous new stores have been erected, filling stations have sprung up and on all sides are signs of business and industrial activity.”

Two months later, Beacon was fully operational. At the time of its opening, it employed 200 workers and had 65 cottages inside its mill village. As with the town’s bank, The Asheville Citizen described the factory as “strictly modern in every detail.”

Meanwhile, the paper continued, “All roads in the village have been graded, paths laid out and trees planted and a lighting system is being installed.” The company was also in the midst of completing a baseball field for its employees.

“The new plant is a great asset to Swannanoa and will furnish employment for many residents of that section,” the article concluded. “It is believed that the area around Swannanoa will eventually be the principal manufacturing area of Western North Carolina and officials of the Beacon Manufacturing Company have expressed great faith in the future.”

In 1933, Beacon shut down its New Bedford plant, relocating all operations to Swannanoa. At its peak, says Anne Chesky Smith, director of the Swannanoa Valley Museum & History Center, the company employed over 2,000 workers.

On April 15, 2002, the Swannanoa factory closed. By that time, its total number of employees had dwindled to roughly 300.

Editor’s note: Peculiarities of spelling and punctuation are preserved from the original documents. X

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Sat., April 20th • 1-4pm Come on out and hunt for treats, treasures and savings!

We’re hiding eggs in all corners of the store with delicious sweets, coupons, and a few select gift certificates!

All ages are welcome for this super fun event!

26 Glendale Ave •828.505.1108 behind Target, across from Brother Wolf

10am-7pm •7 days a week!

TheRegenerationStation

$25 OFF YOUR REMOVAL Excludes our minimum charge

we remove anything. . . from anywhere TRASH • TV’S PAINT • PIANOS

NO TIME FOR LOSERS: According to the N.C. Room at Pack Memorial Library, in 1940, the Beacon baseball team was crowned the champion of the industrial league. Photo courtesy of the North Carolina Collection, Pack Memorial Library, Asheville

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828.707.2407

www.junkrecyclers.net APRIL 10 - 16, 2019

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COMMUNITY CALENDAR APRIL 4 - 18, 2019

Science. Free. Held at Pack Memorial Library, 67 Haywood St. • SA (4/13), 1-3:30pm - Citizen Science Day with activities to analyze real research related to Alzheimers studies in a fun, game format. Registration required. Free. Held at Pack Memorial Library, 67 Haywood St. • TU (4/16), 6pm - Spinning Yarns knitting and crochet group for all levels. Free.

Held at Skyland/South Buncombe Library, 260 Overlook Road

CALENDAR GUIDELINES For a full list of community calendar guidelines, please visit mountainx.com/calendar. For questions about free listings, call 828-251-1333, ext.

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

ANIMALS LEICESTER COMMUNITY CENTER 2979 New Leicester Highway, Leicester, 828-774-3000, facebook.com/Leicester.

Community.Center • SA (4/13) - Low cost spay and neuter clinic.

Appointments: 828-4901578. $55-$65.

• SA (4/13), 10am1pm - Low Cost Rabies clinic. No appointment needed. Info: 828-7743000.

BENEFITS 70S FUNDRAISER DANCE • SU (4/14), 5:30-9pm Proceeds from this 70s fundraising dance party with live music by Peggy Ratusz and Paula Hanke benefit Journey to be FREE cancer support and wellness program.

Tickets: cancersupportwnc.org/fundraiser. $35/$70 couple. Held at The BLOCK off biltmore, 39 South Market St. AMBROSE WEST 312 Haywood Road, 828-332-3090, ambrosewest.com • SA (4/13), 4-8pm - Proceeds from The Spring Bloom, gala with live music, silent auction, food and beverage benefit the Asheville Waldorf School. Tickets: bloom.azaleamountain. org. $45/$25 advance.

• SU (4/14), 8pm - Proceeds from the Concert for Human Harmony featuring performances

by Fumihito Sugawara, Vince Hakim, Kevin Spears, Paul Gaeta, Ronnie Deferme, Rah Amen, Austin Haynes and the Cosmic International Ensemble benefit Zamani Refuge. $15/$12 advance.

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DINE TO BE KIND FOR ASHEVILLE HUMANE SOCIETY • TU (4/9) - A portion of proceeds from beers purchased at participating breweries on this day benefit the Asheville Humane Society.

See website for more information.

DRAG BINGO NIGHT • SA (4/13), 6:30pm - Proceeds from Drag Bingo Night benefit Asheville Poverty Initiative and their Twelve Baskets Cafe. First card $10, sliding scale for additional cards. Held at First Congregational UCC of Asheville, 20 Oak St. FRIENDS OF POLK COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARIES SPRING BOOK SALE • TH (4/11) through SA (4/13) - Proceeds from the Friends of Polk County Public Libraries Spring Book Sale benefits summer reading programs, professional development for staff, appreciation events for volunteers and free programs for adults and children. $5 bag sale Saturday, April 13, 9amnoon. Held at Columbus Library, 1289 W. Mills St., Columbus HARMONIA ON HAYWOOD: 4TH ANNUAL FUNDRAISER • SU (4/14), noonmidnight - Proceeds from this music event with two stages, activities, craft vendors, art and community benefit Harmonia. Information: harmoniasanctuary.org. $10-$20. Held at One World Brewing West, 520 Haywood Road PALM SUNDAY LUNCHEON • SU (4/14), 11am-2pm - Proceeds from the Palm Sunday luncheon and bake sale of Greek

APRIL 10 - 16, 2019

I HOPE YOU LOVE BIRDS, TOO: UNC Asheville professor Dr. Andrew Laughlin and his team are in the process of resurveying portions of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

GSMNP was first surveyed 20 years ago by N.C. State researchers. The current research focuses on how bird communities have changed in response to Eastern hemlock decline and whether any bird species are moving up or down the mountains as a result of climatic changes. Understanding how birds have reacted to these changes in terms of distribution and diversity is an important step in predicting how future changes may alter bird communities. Laughlin gives a talk called “Recent Changes in Bird Distribution and Diversity in the Smokies” on Tuesday, April 16, 7-8:30 p.m. at the Reuter Center Osher Lifelong Learning Institute on the UNCA campus. All Elisha Mitchell Audubon Society programs are free and open to the public. Photo of hermit thrush, Catharus guttatus (p. 25) traditional foods and pastries benefit the Ladies Philoptochos Society.

Family friendly with music and dance. Information: 828-253-3754 or 828-2547424. Prices vary. Held at Morris Hellenic Cultural Center, 227 Cumberland Ave. POETRY FOR THE PANTRY GALA • FR (4/12), 6-8pm Proceeds from the third annual Poetry for the Pantry gala benefit The Storehouse of Henderson County and includes heavy hors d'oeuvres, beret pull, photo booth, poetry, music and dancing. $40/$60 per couple. Held at The Artisan of Flat Rock, 5 Highland Park Road, East Flat Rock QUEENS WITH A CAUSE: APRIL DRAG BRUNCH • SU (4/14), 12:30pm - Proceeds from Queens with a Cause drag show brunch benefit the Beer City Sisters work with local charities. Tickets: ashevilledragbrunch.com. $20. Held at Claddagh Restaurant & Pub, 4 College St. SONG O' SKY CONCERT • FR (4/12), 7pm - Proceeds from the Variety, the Song O' Sky Way womens

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barbershop chorus, quartets and skit benefit the North Buncombe Music Scholarship. Admission by donation. Held at First Baptist Church of Weaverville, 63 N. Main St., Weaverville

BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY A-B TECH SMALL BUSINESS CENTER 828-398-7950, abtech. edu/sbc • WE (4/10), 5:30-8:30pm - "SCORE: Business Model Canvas and Model Production," seminar. Registration required. Free. Held at A-B Tech Madison Site, 4646 US Highway 25/70, Marshall • SA (4/13), 9am-noon - "How to Find Your Customers," seminar.

Registration required. Free.

Held at A-B Tech Small Business Center, 1465 Sand Hill Road, Candler • TU (4/16), 9am-noon - "Outdoor Industry Entrepreneurship - Level 2," seminar. Registration required. Free. Held at A-B Tech Small Business Center, 1465 Sand Hill Road, Candler

• WE (4/17), 5:30-8:30pm - "SCORE: Marketing Your Business with Google," seminar. Registration required. Free. Held at A-B Tech Madison Site, 4646 US Highway 25/70, Marshall • TH (4/18), 11am-1pm "Instagram Basics for Your Small Business," seminar.

Registration required. Free.

Held at A-B Tech Small Business Center, 1465 Sand Hill Road, Candler ECONOMIC CRYSTAL BALL SEMINAR • TH (4/18), 6:15pm - 35th Annual Economic Crystal Ball Seminar with lectures and forecasts by economists David W. Berson and James F. Smith. Reception at 6:15pm. Lecture at 7pm. Questions at 8pm.

Registration required: 828-251-6550 or kmoore@ unca.edu. Free. Held at Lipinsky Auditorium at UNC Asheville, 300 Library Lane

CLASSES, MEETINGS & EVENTS EMPYREAN ARTS DROPIN CLASSES (PD.) AERIAL KIDS (ages 5-12) on Wednesdays 4:30pm.

INTRO TO PARTNER ACROBATICS on Sundays 6:30pm. HANDSTANDS on Tuesdays 6:00pm and Thursdays 6:30pm. AERIAL FLEXIBILITY on Mondays 6:00pm and Fridays 1:00pm. INTRO TO POLE FITNESS on Tuesdays 7:15pm, Saturdays 11:30am, and Sundays 2:15pm. EMPYREANARTS. ORG. 828.782.3321. 32 Banks Avenue, #107&108.

ASHEVILLE CHESS CLUB • WEDNESDAYS, 6:30pm Sets provided. All ages and skill levels welcome. Beginners lessons available. Free.

Held at North Asheville Recreation Center, 37 E. Larchmont Road ASHEVILLE TAROT CIRCLE • 2nd SUNDAYS, noon General meeting. Free to attend. Held at Firestorm Books & Coffee, 610 Haywood Road BUNCOMBE COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARIES buncombecounty.org/ governing/depts/library • FR (4/12), 3-5pm Activities related to stars and the moon with the Asheville Astronomy Club.

Planetarium set up by the Asheville Museum of

HOMINY VALLEY RECREATION PARK • 3rd THURSDAYS, 7pm - Hominy Valley board meeting. Free.

Held at Hominy Valley Recreation Park, 25 Twin Lakes Drive, Candler KOREAN WAR VETERANS CHAPTER 314 • 2nd WEDNESDAYS, noon - Korean War Veterans Association, General Frank Blazey Chapter 314, general meeting. Lunch at noon, meeting at 1pm.

Free to attend. Held at American Legion Post NC 77, 216 4th Ave. W., Hendersonville LEICESTER HISTORY GATHERING • 3rd THURSDAYS, 7pm - The Leicester History Gathering, general meeting.

Free. Held at Leicester Community Center, 2979 New Leicester Highway, Leicester LITERACY CHANGING LIVES TOURS • FR (4/12), 11:30am12:30pm - Coffee and a one-hour tour of the Literacy Council. RSVP: avl.mx/5vf or 828-2543442 x 206. Free. Held at The Literacy Council of Buncombe County, 31 College Place, Suite B221 OLD BUNCOMBE COUNTY GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY • SA (4/13), 2pm - “Abandoned or Neglected Cemeteries: NC State Laws and Current Practices in Buncombe County,”

presentation by Betsy Couzins. Information: 828 253-1894 or obcgs. com. Free. Held at Old Buncombe County Genealogical Society, 128 Bingham Road, Suite 950 ONTRACK WNC 50 S. French Broad Ave., 828-255-5166, ontrackwnc.org • TH (4/11), noon1:30pm - "Budgeting and Debt," class.

Registration required.

Free.

• MO (4/15), noon1:30pm - "Understanding Credit. Get it. Keep it. Improve it." Seminar.

Registration required.

Free.

• MO (4/15), 5:307pm - "Budgeting and Debt," class. Registration required. Free.

• TH (4/18), noon1:30pm - "Introduction to Homebuying," workshop. Registration required. Free.

RACIAL EQUITY DISCUSSION • TH (4/11), 6pm Racial equity discussion related to ongoing experiences with the 21 Day Racial Equity Challenge happening through Sunday, April 21. Free to attend.

Held at Firestorm Books & Coffee, 610 Haywood Road THE STEADY COLLECTIVE • WE (4/17), 7pm -"Sometimes We Win: A Celebration of Harm Reduction and Survival," celebration event with The Steady Collection.

Free to attend. Held at Odditorium, 1045 Haywood Road WNC CAREER EXPO • TH (4/11), 8:30am4pm - WNC Career Expo, with hundreds of local employers.

Open to high school students from 8:30-10:30am. Open to general job seekers from 11am-4pm.

Free to attend. Held at WNC Agricultural Center, 1301 Fanning Bridge Road

WNC HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION • TH (4/18), 6pm Annual meeting of WNC Historical Association, includes a business meeting followed by refreshments and self guided tours. Information: 828-253-9231 or tim@ wnchistory.org. Held at Smith-McDowell House Museum, 283 Victoria Road WNC REPAIR CAFÉ • TU (4/16), 5-8pm - WNC Repair Café, hands-on help repairing broken household items. Reservation recommended. Free to attend. Held at Living Web Farms-Grandview, 149 Grandview Lane, Hendersonville

FOOD & BEER ADULT COOKING CLASS - SPRING PRODUCE! • TU (4/16), 4:30-6pm - “Spring Produce,” adult cooking class.

Registration required: 828-575-2939. $25/$15

members. Held at Corpening Memorial YMCA, 348 Grace Corpening Drive, Marion

frenchbroadvignerons. org. $10. Held at Pleb Urban Winery, 289 Lyman St.

ASHEVILLE BREAD FESTIVAL 2019 • FRIDAY through SUNDAY (4/12) until (4/14) - Fifteenth annual Asheville Bread Festival with vendors, workshops and presentations.

Bread fair on SA (4/13), 10am-2pm. Information: ashevillebreadfestival. com. Free to attend/$15 for workshops. Held at New Belgium Brewery, 21 Craven St.

LEICESTER COMMUNITY CENTER 2979 New Leicester Highway, Leicester, 828-774-3000, facebook.com/Leicester.

Community.Center • 3rd TUESDAYS, 2:30pm - Manna food distribution.

Free.

• WEDNESDAYS, 11:30am-1pm - Welcome Table, community meal.

Free.

FAIRVIEW WELCOME TABLE • 2nd THURSDAYS, 11:30am-1pm - Community lunch. Admission by donation. Held at Fairview Christian Fellowship, 596 Old US Highway 74, Fairview FRENCH BROAD VIGNERONS • SU (4/14), 2pm - French Broad Vignerons blind wine tasting and educational event. Registration:

LISA JOY MITCHELL AUTHOR EVENT • TH (4/11), 6pm - Lisa Joy Mitchell presents her book, Sacred & Delicious: A Modern Ayurvedic Cookbook.

Free to attend. Held at Malaprop's Bookstore and Cafe, 55 Haywood St. PALM SUNDAY LUNCHEON AND BAKE SALE • SU (4/14), 11am-2pm - Palm Sunday luncheon

and bake sale of Greek traditional foods and pastries. Family friendly with music and dance. Held at Morris Hellenic Cultural Center, 227 Cumberland Ave.

FESTIVALS ILLUMINATE: PSYCHIC & HEALING ARTS EXPO (PD.) April 13 &14, 10-6 both days. Entry $9.00.

Over 70 vendors. All readers, healers, $20 per session. Free workshops, raffle & parking. Crystals, pyramids, healing technologies, essences, art, jewelry, much more.

Blue Ridge Community College Conference Hall, 49 East campus Drive, Flat Rock, NC. Complete schedule: theIlluminateExpo.com or 831-601-9005.

EASTER DINNER & EGG HUNT • SA (4/13), 1-4pm Easter egg hunt and community dinner. Egg hunt from 3-4pm. Dinner from

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APRIL 10 - 16, 2019

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CONSCIOUS PARTY

C OMMU N IT Y CA L EN D AR 1-3pm. $8 for dinner/ Free Easter egg hunt.

Held at Fines Creek Community Center, 190 Fines Creek Road, Clyde

GOVERNMENT & POLITICS BLUE RIDGE REPUBLICAN WOMEN'S CLUB • 2nd THURSDAYS, 6pm - General meeting. Free to attend.

Held at Gondolier Restaurant, 1360 Tunnel Road BUNCOMBE COUNTY REPUBLICAN MEN'S CLUB • SA (4/13), 8:30am - Henri Erti speaks on "Communism/ Socialism." Free to attend. Held at Ryan's Steakhouse, 1000 Brevard Road HENDERSON COUNTY LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS • TH (4/18), 4-5:30pm - Walk and update on the Oklawaha Greenways master plan. Free.

Held at Patton Park, Asheville Hignway, Hendersonville

KIDS ASHEVILLE COMMUNITY THEATRE 35 E. Walnut St., 828-254-1320, ashevilletheatre.org • SA (4/13), 10am - Shadow puppet play by Red Herring Puppets supports classroom learning

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about life cycles and animal groups. $7.

BALLET HISPÁNICO • WE (4/10), 10am Matinee Series: Ballet Hispánico, dance performance open to school groups, homeschoolers, community groups and families. $10. Held at Diana Wortham Theatre, 18 Biltmore Ave. BUNCOMBE COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARIES buncombecounty. org/governing/depts/ library • Through FR (4/26) Submissions accepted from students and homeschoolers in Fairview Area Schools grade K -12 for a book design challenge that represents their favorite element of a book. Held at Fairview Library, 1 Taylor Road, Fairview • WE (4/10), 9:30am & 10:45am - "Preschoolers We Love You," show for preschoolers with puppets, dancing and storytelling.

Registration required: 828-250-4729.

Free. Held at Black Mountain Library, 105 N. Dougherty St., Black Mountain • WE (4/10), 10am "Tiny Tots Yoga," for babies and toddlers with a caregiver. Free.

Held at Swannanoa Library, 101 West Charleston St., Swannanoa • WE (4/10), 4pm - Movers and Shakers: Make your own beeswax candle for ages 5 and up.

APRIL 10 - 16, 2019

FULL BLOOM: Waldorf Education founder Rudolf Steiner formed the first Waldorf school in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1919. Today, there are more than 1,100 Waldorf schools and almost 2,000 Waldorf kindergartens in 80 countries around the globe. In celebration of Waldorf education’s centennial, Asheville Waldorf School joins other schools worldwide engaging in social and environmental impact projects. The campaigns aim to stimulate dialogue around human values in education and support initiatives that revitalize society and our relationship with one another and the earth. The Asheville Waldorf School’s annual gala, The Spring Bloom, takes place Saturday, April 13, 4-8 p.m. at Ambrose West and includes live music, food, beverages and a silent auction. Tickets are $25 in advance and $45 at the door. Photo courtesy of Lenka Hattaway (p. 22)

Registration required. Free.

Held at Pack Memorial Library, 67 Haywood St. • TH (4/11), 9:30am & 10:45am - "Preschoolers We Love You," show for preschoolers with puppets, dancing and storytelling.

Registration required: 828-250-4729. Free. Held at Weaverville United Methodist Church, 85 N. Main St., Weaverville • FR (4/12), 3:30-4:30pm - Sign up to read for 15-minutes with J.R. the therapy dog. Registration required: 828-250-4738.

Free. Held at East Asheville Library, 902 Tunnel Road • 2nd SATURDAYS, 1-4pm & LAST WEDNESDAYS, 4-6pm - Teen Dungeons and Dragons for ages 12 and up. Registration required: 828-250-4720.

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Free. Held at Pack Memorial Library, 67 Haywood St. • TUESDAYS until (4/30) - High school exam study hour in the NC Room. Free. Held at Pack Memorial Library, 67 Haywood St. FLETCHER LIBRARY • WEDNESDAYS, 10:30am - Family story time. Free.

Held at Fletcher Library, 120 Library Road, Fletcher KERRY MADDENLUNSFORD AUTHOR EVENT • TH (4/18), 8am-noon Kerry Madden-Lunsford presents her children's book, Ernestine's Milky Way, set in 1940’s Maggie Valley. Free to attend. Held at Joey's Pancake House, 4309 Soco Road, Maggie Valley

KIDS DAY • SA (4/13), 1-4pm - Kids Day event featuring interactive booths and displays, live music, games, strolling magic, crafts, balloon art, face painting, summer camp expo and activities.

Information: shopashevilleoutlets.com.

Free to attend. Held at Asheville Outlets, 800 Brevard Road MALAPROP'S BOOKSTORE AND CAFE 55 Haywood St., 828-2546734, malaprops.com • WEDNESDAYS, 10am - Miss Malaprop's Story Time for ages 3-9. Free to attend.

• WE (4/17), 10am - Kerry Madden-Lunsford will share her recent book, Ernestine's Milky Way, set

in 1940’s Maggie Valley.

Free to attend.

PISGAH CENTER FOR WILDLIFE EDUCATION 1401 Fish Hatchery Road, Pisgah Forest, 828-8774423 • MO (4/15), 9-11am "Nature Nuts: Raising Trout," class for kids ages 4-7. Registration required.

Free.

• MO (4/15), 1-3pm - "Eco Explorers: Mountain Habitats," class for ages 8-13. Registration required.

Free.

UNITED WAY OF ASHEVILLE & BUNCOMBE COUNTY 828-255-0696, unitedwayabc.org Homework Diner Program a strategy to support students and their families

by Deborah Robertson

with tutoring, building parent-teacher relationships, a nutritious meal, community resources and workforce readiness.

Free.

• THURSDAYS, 5:30-7pm - Homework Diner. Free. Held at Owen Middle School, 730 Old US Highway 70, Swannanoa • TUESDAYS, 5-7pm - Homework Diner.

Free. Held at Asheville Middle School, 211 S French Broad Ave. • TUESDAYS, 5:307pm - Homework Diner. Free. Held at Enka Middle School, 390 Asbury Road, Candler

OUTDOORS CHIMNEY ROCK AT CHIMNEY ROCK STATE PARK (PD.) Join professional photographer Chuck Hill for the Dusk to Dawn Photo Workshop on Saturday, April 27 and Sunday, April 28. Info at chimneyrockpark. com SCUBA LESSONS (PD.) Padi Certified instructor offering lessons for Scuba diving. Season special. Get certified Now! For summer fun!! Trips available to Florida Keys!! Let’s do this! Call (828) 333-3070. Mrdc247@ yahoo.com JACKSON PARK BIRD WALK • SA (4/13), 8am - Bird walk. Free. Held at Jackson Park, 801

Glover St., Hendersonville MOON VIEWING PARTY • FR (4/12), 7:30pm - Moon viewing party hosted by the Department of Geosciences and Natural Resources held at the Jackson County Airport.

Registration: 828-2273820 or alfagan@wcu. edu. Free.

PISGAH CENTER FOR WILDLIFE EDUCATION 1401 Fish Hatchery Road, Pisgah Forest, 828-877-4423 • WE (4/17), 10am-3pm - "On the Water: Tuckasegee," fly-fishing for ages 12 and older. Registration required. Free.

• TH (4/18), 10am3pm - "Casting for Beginners: Level I," fly fishing for ages 12 and older. Registration required. Free.

PISGAH CHAPTER OF TROUT UNLIMITED • 2nd THURSDAYS, 7pm - General meeting and presentations.

Free to attend. Held at Ecusta Brewing, 49 Pisgah Highway, Suite 3, Pisgah Forest STATEWIDE STAR PARTY • FR (4/12), 8:30pm - North Carolina Statewide Star Party, night sky viewing event.

Parking available in the Reuter Center lot (P10). Shuttles will run at regular intervals.

Registration required: lookoutobservatory. unca.edu. Free. Held

at Lookout Observatory, 1 University Heights

PARENTING BREASTFEEDING A-Z • TH (4/11), 7-9pm - Breastfeeding A-Z. Registration required.

Free to attend. Held at Haywood Regional Medical Center, 262 Leroy George Drive, Clyde BUNCOMBE COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARIES buncombecounty. org/governing/depts/ library • WE (4/10), 10:30am - "Strolling Through History," downtown Asheville history tour for parents with strollers. Registration required: 828-2504720. Free. Held at Pack Memorial Library, 67 Haywood St. • TU (4/16), 11am Play time with baby and toddler sized toys, tunnels and climbing structures.

Free. Held at Pack Memorial Library, 67 Haywood St.

PUBLIC LECTURES ASHEVILLE'S GOVERNMENT • SU (4/14), 2:30pm - "Asheville's Government," presentation

by Asheville Blade Editor, David Forbes.

Free to attend. Held at Firestorm Books & Coffee, 610 Haywood Road BIRD DISTRIBUTION AND DIVERSITY IN THE SMOKIES • TU (4/16), 7pm “Recent Changes in Bird Distribution and Diversity in the Smokies,” presentation by Dr. Andrew Laughlin.

Free. Held at UNCA, 1 University Heights HEALTH CARE REFORM • WE (4/10) 2pm Health care reform lecture by Wendell Potter, ex-Cigna vice president. Sponsored

by Healthcare for all

WNC. Free. Held at Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Asheville, 1 Edwin Place • WE (4/10), 7pm Health care reform lecture by Wendell Potter, ex-Cigna vice president. Sponsored

by Healthcare for all WNC. Free. Held at Lenoir-Rhyne University, 36 Montford Ave. NOT SO BIG LIFE • MO (4/15), 6pm - “Not So Big Life,” presentation by Sarah Susanka sponsored

by The American Institute of Architects South Atlantic Region. $25. Held at Diana Wortham Theatre, 18 Biltmore Ave.

Radical Right and of the Crisis of Our Democracy," presentation by Nancy MacLean, a Duke University historian and author. Free. Held in the conference room of Blue Ridge Hall THE INTERSECTION OF AUTISM & GENDER IDENTITY • WE (4/10), 7-8:30pm - Jennifer Harr, LCSW, presents on the intersec-

tionality of neurodiversity and queer identities.

Free. Held at First United Congregational Church of Christ, 20 Oak St., Room E-107 UNITED WAY COMMUNITY CHAT • WE (4/10), 8am Community chat with the chief executive officer of United Way of Transylvania County to address community

needs. Free to attend.

Held at Harmony Korner, 25 Good Neighbor Drive, Brevard • TH (4/18), 8:30am Community chat with the chief executive officer of United Way of Transylvania County to address community needs. Free to attend.

Held at Country Skillet, Old Rosman Highway, Rosman

ASHEVILLE ELDER CLUB GROUP RESPITE PROGRAM

SENIORS ASHEVILLE NEW FRIENDS (PD.) Offers active senior residents of the Asheville area opportunities to make new friends and explore new interests through a program of varied social, cultural, and outdoor activities. Visit ashevillenewfriends.org

• TUESDAYS & THURSDAYS, 11am-2pm - Respite program for individuals with memory challenges and people of all faiths. Registration required: 828-253-2900. $30. Held at Jewish Family Services of WNC, 2 Doctors Park, Suite E

CHAIR YOGA • TH (4/11) - Chair yoga classes for seniors. Free.

Held at North Asheville Library, 1030 Merrimon Ave. HENDERSONVILLE ELDER CLUB • WEDNESDAYS, 11am2pm - The Hendersonville Elder Club for individuals with memory challenges and people of all faiths.

Registration required:

PUBLIC LECTURES AT MARS HILL mhu.edu • WE (4/10), 3pm - "Policing in Crisis: The Growing Gap of Confidence and Trust in the Police," lecture

by Dr. Jim Ruiz.

Free. Held in Belk Auditorium (Wren Student Union) • MO (4/15), 3:304:30pm - "Around Here: Shiloh, A Historic African American Community in Asheville," presentation by Anita White-Carter. Free.

Held at The Ramsey Center in Renfro Library, 100 Athletic St., Mars Hill PUBLIC LECTURES AT WCU bardoartscenter.edu • WE (4/10), 4-5:30pm - Global Spotlight Series: “Illicit Trafficking in Humans and Drugs” presentation about aspects of smuggling and law enforcement. Free.

Held at Western Carolina University, Forsyth Building, Room 101, 104 Centennial Drive, Cullowhee • TH (4/11), 7:30pm Duke University Historian, Nancy MacLean, speaks on her book, Democracy in Chains.

Free. Held in the Blue Ridge Conference room.

• TH (4/11), 7:3pm - "The Campus Origins of Today’s

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APRIL 10 - 16, 2019

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COM M U N I TY CA LEN DA R

828-253-2900. $30. Held at Agudas Israel Congregation, 505 Glasgow Lane, Hendersonville

SPIRITUALITY ANATTASATI MAGGA (PD.) Sujata Yasa (Nancy Spence). Zen Buddhism.

Weekly meditations and services; Daily recitations w/ mala. Urban Retreats.

32 Mineral Dust Drive, Asheville, NC 28806.

828-367-7718. info@ anattasatimagga.org • www.anattasatimagga. org ASTRO-COUNSELING (PD.) Licensed counselor and accredited professional astrologer uses your chart when counseling for additional insight into yourself, your relationships and life directions. Stellar Counseling Services.

Christy Gunther, MA, LPC. (828) 258-3229.

Every great town...

Deserves a great

newspaper SERVING THE ASHEVILLE AREA FOR 25 YEARS 26

APRIL 10 - 16, 2019

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DE-STRESS, GET HAPPY & CONNECT! (PD.) Mindfulness Meditation at the Asheville Insight Meditation Center. Group Meditation: Weekly on Thursdays at 7pm & Sundays at 10am. ashevillemeditation.com, info@ ashevillemeditation.com.

EXPERIENCE THE SOUND OF SOUL (PD.) Sing HU, the most beautiful prayer, and open your heart to balance, inner peace, Divine love, and spiritual self-discovery.

Love is Love, and you are that. HU is the Sound of Soul. Spiritual discussion follows. Sponsored by ECKANKAR. • Date: Sunday, April 14, 2019, 11am. Eckankar Center of Asheville, 797 Haywood Rd. (“Cork and Craft” building, lower level), Asheville NC 28806, 828254-6775. (free event). www.eckankar-nc.org LEARN TO MEDITATE (PD.) Introduction to Mindfulness Meditation class at Asheville Insight Meditation Center, 1st Mondays of each month at 7pm – 8:30pm. ashevillemeditation.com, info@ ashevillemeditation.com.

BARBARA BROWN TAYLOR AUTHOR EVENT • MO (4/15), 6pm Barbara Brown Taylor presents her book, Holy Envy: Finding God in the Faith of Others, in conversation with The Very Reverend Todd Donatelli.

Free to attend. Held at All Souls Cathedral, 9 Swan St. FIRST CONGREGATIONAL UCC OF HENDERSONVILLE 1735 5th Ave. W., Hendersonville, 828-692-8630, fcchendersonville.org • SU (4/14), 10:30am Palm Sunday procession and church service. Free.

• TH (4/18), 6:30pm - Maundy Thursday Tennebrae shared worship and communion. Free.

JUBILEE COMMUNITY CHURCH 46 Wall St., 828-252-3391, christianscienceasheville. com • TH (4/11), 5:30-6:30pm - "Meaningful Change for Ourselves and the World," by Mark McCurties. Sponsored

by First Church of Christ, Scientist. Information: 828-252-3391. Free.

MEDITATION AND COMMUNITY • THURSDAYS, 7-8:30pm & SUNDAYS, 10amnoon - Meditation and community. Admission by donation. Held at Shambhala Meditation Center, 60 N. Merrimon Ave., #113 NONDENOMINATIONAL HEALING PRAYER GROUP • 2nd FRIDAYS, 1-2pm Non-denominational healing prayer group. Free.

Held at Grace Lutheran Church, 1245 6th Ave W., Hendersonville OPEN SANGHA NIGHT AT URBAN DHARMA • THURSDAYS, 7:30-9pm - Open Sangha night.

Free. Held at Urban Dharma, 77 W. Walnut St.

VOLUNTEERING TUTOR ADULTS IN NEED WITH THE LITERACY COUNCIL (PD.) Give someone another chance to learn. Provide reading, writing, and/

by Deborah Robertson

or English language tutoring and change a life forever. Volunteer orientation 4/11 (5:30pm) or 5/2 (10am) RSVP: volunteers@litcouncil. com. Learn more: www.litcouncil.com.

ARMS AROUND ASD • SA (4/13), 4-6pm Volunteers needed twice a month to help with teen group and movie night.

BIRDHOUSE BASH • Until (5/10) - Daydreamz project and Open Door Community Garden accepting handmade birdhouses for silent auction during The Whole Bloomin’ Thing festival, May 11. Please use weather resistant, nontoxic permanent materials. Information: 828-476-4231 or 828-734-1570. Held at Second Blessing Thrift Store, 32 Commerce St., Waynesville COMMUNITY GARDEN CLEANUP DAY • FR (4/12), 9am-3pm 10-20 volunteers needed to turn soil, amend with compost and fertilizer, rebuild planting boxes and other garden tasks.

Registration: volunteer@ thefreeclinics.org Held at The Free Clinics, 841 Case St., Hendersonville CONSERVING CAROLINA carolinamountain.org • FR (4/12), 10am-2pm - Volunteer workday to clear invasive plants. Registration: 828-697-5777 x 211. Held at Conserving Carolina, 847 Case St., Hendersonville • TU (4/16), 10am-2pm - Volunteer workday at Bat Fork Bog to remove invasive plants. Registration required: volunteer@ conservingcarolina.org or 828-697-5777 x 211.

DOWNTOWN CLEAN UP DAY • TH (4/18), 11am-1pm Downtown Clean Up Day as part of Earth Month.

Pizza lunch and prizes offered for participants.

Register online: bit.ly/2HVKtQo. Free.

Held at Pritchard Park, 4 College St. HAYWOOD COUNTY ARTS COUNCIL • TH (4/11), 10am - Volunteer coffee and chat.

Free. Held at Haywood County Arts Council, 86 N. Main St., Waynesville HOMEWARD BOUND OF WNC • THURSDAYS, 11am, 2nd TUESDAYS, 5:30pm & 3rd WEDNESDAYS, 8:30am - "Welcome Home Tour," tours to find out how Homeward Bound is working to end homelessness and how the public can help. Registration required: tours@ homewardboundwnc. org or 828-785-9840.

Free. Held at Homeward Bound of WNC, 218 Patton Ave. LAKE JUNALUSKA CLEANUP DAY • SA (4/13), 8:30amnoon - Volunteer to help cleanup around Lake Junaluska. Adults must accompany youth. Held at Lake Junaluska Kern Center, 89-1 Old Clyde Road, Clyde PARDEE JUNIOR VOLUNTEER PROGRAM • Through TH (4/11) Applications accepted for the 2019 Junior Volunteer Program. Information and applications: pardeehospital.org/ about-us/volunteer/.

Held at Pardee Hospital, 800 N. Justice St., Hendersonville THE FREE CLINICS • TH (4/11), 3-4pm Volunteer information session. Free. Held at The Free Clinics, 841 Case St, Hendersonville UNITED WAY OF HENDERSONVILLE DAY OF CARING • Through TH (5/9) Open registration for volunteers for the United Way Day of Caring, community wide volunteering event on Friday and Saturday, May 10 and 11. Register online: volunteerhendo.org.

WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA AIDS PROJECT • 2nd & 4th SATURDAYS, 10am-noon - Volunteer to deliver food boxes to homebound people living with HIV/AIDS. Registration: 828-252-7489 x 315 or wncapvolunteer@ wncap.org.

MOUNTAINX.COM

APRIL 10 - 16, 2019

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WELLNESS

ANCIENT ENERGY Wordfest spotlights Appalachian identity and healing

BY BROOKE RANDLE brandle@mountainx.com For Asheville author Laura Hope-Gill, there’s a whole lot more to wellness than physical or even mental health: Writing and creative expression, she says, can transcend the boundaries of medicine and conventional care.

“It surpasses privilege; it renders us all emotionally equal,” says Hope-Gill. “It humbles us, and if we are humbled we are more likely to reach out to our fellow human beings.”

Hope-Gill, an assistant professor at Lenoir-Rhyne University in Asheville and leader of the Narrative Healthcare Program, found a way to encourage wellness through writing when she and a few fellow scribes around town launched Wordfest in 2008.

The 2019 edition, which takes place Friday-Sunday, April 12-14, will feature three days of workshops and readings spanning both poetry and prose in assorted local venues. Tickets, available free or by donation, will provide access to presentations and discussion groups led by a diverse array of writers, storytellers and community organizers who’ll begin each session by reading their work and reflecting on this year’s theme: “Healing the Soul of Appalachia.”

“Every single person that I’ve worked with who picks up a pen and writes opens up a part of their story they weren’t aware of,” says Hope-Gill, who’s also the festival’s director. “It could be a highly successful heart surgeon, but when he turns the pen inward on himself, it actually is a scalpel into his own heart, removing something that is weighing it down.”

The festivities will commence at 5:30 p.m. on Friday with a screening of Hannah Gadsby’s stand-up comedy special, Nanette, hosted by Hope-Gill and fellow writer Mendy Knott. Saturday will feature a reading by Jaki Shelton Green.

“This is momentous,” says Hope-Gill.

“She’s North Carolina’s first AfricanAmerican poet laureate and the YMI is the first multicultural community center in the country, so we’re doing some deep grounding by hosting there.”

BACK IN THE DAY Long before Asheville had regained its status as a booming tourist destina28

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WRITE ON: Local Cherokee author Cara Forbes says that she plans to share her experience as a modern indigenous person to help writers develop diverse and compelling characters. Photo courtesy of Forbes tion, the city boasted a thriving network of poets, artists and activists, Hope-Gill explains.

“Asheville was all boarded up,” she recalls. “The Fine Arts Theatre was a shutdown porn theater. I ran the only espresso machine in town at Malaprop’s.

It was really a ghost town in 1992.”

Nonetheless, she continues, local poets, artists and singer-songwriters would gather on Friday and Saturday nights to share ideas and inspiration at the Green Door, a pioneering downtown performance venue. But as the city grew and rents began to rise, those artists began to move away from Asheville, and the weekly attendance dwindled.

“In 2008, I was sitting with some poets and saying, ‘What the hell happened to poetry in Asheville?’” remembers HopeGill. “We saw that the city was thriving economically but the art, at this point, was not as visible as we wanted it to be.”

That inspired her and a few fellow creatives to establish Asheville Wordfest in order to celebrate the area’s writers, artists and thinkers. Hope-Gill and her collaborators developed specific criteria for the event: They wanted it to be accessible and to connect the area’s past and present, including the Cherokee history.

Having attended other literary events across the country that she felt lacked racial and cultural diversity, Hope-Gill aimed for something different. Wordfest, she decided, would strive to offer a more varied lineup of presenters. This year’s roster of speakers includes First Nations woman Sharon Oxendine, Afro-futurist Darrell Stover and the Rev. DeBorah Shelton Ogiste.

“If a white person is speaking, we’re more likely to listen,” Hope-Gill maintains. “We needed to change that, and the way to do that would be to train audiences to listen to people from multiple contexts, not just from one person

g

“In 2008, I was sitting with some poets and saying, ‘What the hell happened to poetry in Asheville?’”

— Wordfest director Laura Hope-Gill that isn’t white, so no one can walk away and say, ‘I like the black guy.’ I wanted to break through the paradigm of ‘white listening, white noise perhaps.”

HEALING THE PAST, SKETCHING THE FUTURE Hope-Gill sees this year’s Wordfest as a perfect place to focus on Appalachia’s complex cultural history.

“If we had valued art more over the last 300 years, we wouldn’t be in the mess that we’re in,” she declares. “I think we’ve seen, in the tribalism and the hatred that we’re seeing in our country now, that this isn’t something that just happens, and I don’t think that this kind of wound gets fixed by laws or economic change. I think it gets addressed when each of us looks at our own story.”

Local writer, folklorist and teacher Byron Ballard, who proposed this year’s theme, says the idea grew out of her examination of oppressive institu-

tional systems and their impacts not just upon minority groups but on society as a whole.

“When we look at 6,000 years of patriarchy, for instance, it’s easy to see what that particular set of systems has done to women and people of color and the environment and children and minority communities,” says Ballard. “It is harder to see what those systems have done to the people who are ostensibly at the top of the pyramid — and that’s men, specifically white men. So when we begin to talk about healing throughout the culture, we have to look at the totality of the culture.”

Ballard, who’ll be leading a workshop titled “Mouth Like a Gravel Road” on Saturday, believes that writing can help heal readers and writers alike by enabling people to connect and

CONTINUES ON PAGE 30

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WELLN ESS

GO DEEP: Asheville poet Kevin Evans says his workshop aims to help writers connect with themselves and their ancestry. Photo courtesy of Lenoir-Rhyne University develop a sense of empathy through shared experiences.

“If you are reading work that touches you and that has vast commonality with you, then you realize that you’re not alone,” she points out. “And if we go back to nature — which is always, to me, the foundation of all of my thought and my focus — humans are not solitary hunters. We’re pack animals. When we are in a family group or a tribe or a village, that’s how we do best.”

FIND YOUR ROOTS Asheville poet Kevin Evans says this year’s theme will encourage participants to explore the complexities of Appalachian identity and history.

“I think there’s gonna be a lot of things related to roots, and so I’m going to explain a little bit about my roots,” he reveals.

500

In Evans’ case, that means elucidating his own sense of place, which encompasses both Mississippi and Asheville.

“There’s something about that, a parallel between the blues land and the Blue Ridge that I’ve always kind of felt at home with,” he reveals. “Country music and blues music: It’s kind of an interesting parallel, where one music came from the mountains and the other one was near the river, on the Delta.”

Evans, an African-American artist who hosts “The Human Side,” a recurring poetry series at THE BLOCK off Biltmore, says he hopes to help people connect not only with their own unique history and ancestry but with a deeper life purpose.

“This workshop and reading that I’ll be doing is basically attempting to bring out a more fluid nature in all of us and help us have some kind of breakthrough or connection to what really matters to

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us, what’s really important and what can actually give us new life, perhaps.”

CONNECTING THE DOTS Local Cherokee author Cara Forbes, who’ll be presenting her workshop on Sunday, says that writing helps her “articulate to myself what I’m feeling and helps me sort through my thoughts and my experiences.” In addition, says the UNC Asheville literature student, it’s a way “to communicate that to other people in order to create a better sense of community through understanding.”

Forbes says much of her writing aims to share her experience as a 21stcentury Native American woman. She hopes to illustrate the depth and intricacies of modern indigenous life to help other writers create thoughtful Native American characters in their work.

“I really would like to highlight the experiences of indigenous peoples and to be a spokesperson for the diversity that exists in Indian country,” she explains. “Not just for indigenous writ-

CONTINUES ON PAGE 32

TAKING ACTION

Carol Peppe Hewitt funds sustainable food

MUD AND MONEY: Carol Peppe Hewitt, right, helps arrange loans to local food entrepreneurs, such as Alvin Lytle of Cove Creek Nursery Farm in Old Fort. Photo courtesy of Hewitt Carol Peppe Hewitt calls herself a matchmaker. But rather than guide lovelorn singles toward committed relationships, she explains, “I connect people who want to support small, local growers and producers with small, local growers and producers who need help.”

The small-business owner, food activist and author accomplishes this goal through Slow Money NC, which she founded in 2010 after attending a talk by Slow Money movement founder Woody Tasch. “I was interested in the idea that we all need to support local farming — I thought the answer was to buy local, but when I heard Woody speak about the movement, I realized buying local will not meet the challenge of supporting small farmers and small business,” Hewitt recalls. “We have to dig into our portfolios and invest in direct ways.”

Since 2010, when Hewitt made the first loan to a friend who needed help expanding her small Greek restaurant, Slow Money NC has catalyzed over 300 loans totaling about $4 million to 125 small farmers and local food businesses. In Western North Carolina, those beneficiaries include Cove Creek Nursery Farm, Smoke Signals Bakery, Smiling Hara, Carolina Ground Flour, Walnut Hill Schoolhouse and All Souls Pizza.

“These investments are so much more meaningful than a stock portfolio,” Hewitt says. “The concept appeals to anyone who understands the critical importance of sustainability. We need small farmers and small businesses not to just survive but to thrive.”

— Kay West X

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WELLNESS ers but also for non-indigenous writers who have an interest in including Native people in their work. I’d like to help them do it in a way that’s culturally sensitive while also allowing them their space for creativity.”

By creating multidimensional characters, says Forbes, writers pave the way for successive generations to grasp how their personal history connects with those of others.

“When I read the theme for this year and I was trying to think about my workshop and what I wanted to accomplish, I thought about my daughter,” Forbes recalls. “My daughter’s father and I, we both feel very connected to these mountains, and we want to raise our daughter to know herself as a Cherokee and Appalachian woman. That’s ultimately what she is — a child of these mountains — and so we really try to emphasize that to her.”

LET IT FLOW Hope-Gill also wants to assure first-time Wordfest attendees that no literary skills are needed in order to enjoy the event.

“This is the place for everybody.

The topics aren’t how to use counterpoint in a plot-driven novel.

We’re not talking about writing techniques; we are talking about writing as humans,” she explains.

“For the person who is hearing about the power of creativity, this is a stage they can come to and experience it with the support of community. They don’t have to share their work; we’re not going to throw anybody up on a microphone or anything, but it can be the first taste of their own story.”

Ballard concurs. “More and more people are just picking up a pen and paper, or they’re taking out their laptop and they’re writing to themselves,” she says. “The formal structures of writing are still very important, but when we write from the place of our grief or our joy or our fury, then we are participating in making our culture authentic again.”

In prior years, notes Hope-Gill, Wordfest has been a powerful and moving experience for writers and listeners alike, and she’s anticipating a comparable alchemy this time around.

“What I love most is the creative spirit that opens to us over the course of the weekend. It’s entirely unquantifiable,” she says. “Every one of our ancestors gathered for poetry and story. It is what has held culture and community and civilization together. So if you want to talk about sustainability, let’s go with the one thing that has truly sustained us all along: We are activating an ancient energy here.” X

JUST THE FACTS ...

WHEN Friday-Sunday, April 12-14 WHERE Various Asheville venues; see website for details COST Free or by donation.

Tickets available at avl.mx/5vh.

For more information and to view the complete schedule, visit: avlwordfest.com

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Chopra Center Certified Patricia Parker introduces ancient Vedic mantrameditation practice; basic vibrational sound of nature at time and place of your birth.

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PILATES CLASSES AT HAPPY BODY (PD.) Individualized, comfortable Reformer, Tower and Mat classes. Call 277-5741.

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AshevilleHappyBody. com SHOJI SPA & LODGE • 7 DAYS A WEEK (PD.) Private Japanese-style outdoor hot tubs, cold

plunge, sauna and lodging. 8 minutes from town. Bring a friend to escape and renew! Best massages in Asheville! 828-2990999. shojiretreats. com SOUND HEALING • SATURDAY • SUNDAY (PD.) Every Saturday, 11am and Sundays, 12 noon. Experience

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WELL NESS CA L E N DA R • TH (4/25) - Beginner's tai chi classes. Registration required. Free.

Held at Pack Memorial Library, 67 Haywood St. • TH (4/11), 3pm "Anxiety: Calming the Anxious Mind," presentation. Free.

Held at Enka-Candler Library, 1404 Sandhill Road, Candler

HYPNOSIS EXPERIENCE • MO (4/15), 6-8pm "Hypnosis Experience," group for individuals interested in learning about hypnosis. Free to attend. Held at Earth Fare South, 1856 Hendersonville Road LISA JOY MITCHELL AUTHOR EVENT • TH (4/11), 6pm - Lisa Joy Mitchell presents

her book, Sacred & Delicious: A Modern Ayurvedic Cookbook.

Free to attend. Held at Malaprop's Bookstore and Cafe, 55 Haywood St. OPEN MINDFULNESS MEDITATION • WEDNESDAYS, 3:30-5pm & 6:30-8pm - Open mindfulness meditation. Admission by donation. Held at

The Center for Art and Spirit at St. George's Episcopal Church, 1 School Road PEACE EDUCATION PROGRAM • TUESDAYS (4/16) through (6/18), 6:30pm - "Find Peace in Your World," inner peace video-based drop-in educational program presented by Peace is Possible NC.

Information: pep.asheville@gmail. com or 828-777-0021.

Free. Held at North Asheville Recreation Center, 37 E. Larchmont Road SPECIAL OLYMPICS ADAPTIVE CROSSFIT • WEDNESDAYS, 3-4pm - Adaptive crossfit classes for individuals with intellectual and developmental dis-

abilities. Free. Held at South Slope CrossFit, 217 Coxe Ave., Suite B THE MEDITATION CENTER • 2nd WEDNESDAYS, 6-8pm - "Inner Guidance from an Open Heart," class with meditation and discussion. $10. Held at The Meditation Center, 894 E. Main St., Sylva

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FARM & GARDEN

POLLIN-NATION

WNC farmers and beekeepers collaborate to fight declining honeybee populations

BY JOSHUA BLANCO jblanco@ou.edu Two years ago, Creekside Farm owner Kara Turner decided to add a couple of beehives to her Arden property as a way to fight the dwindling of the world’s honeybee population. The loss of bee colonies has potentially devastating implications not just for farmers like Turner whose crops are dependent on the insects for pollination, but ultimately for the world’s food supply.

Making honey is only a small part of what honeybees do. Arguably the planet’s most significant pollinator, honeybees are an integral part of the ecosystem — the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that they help provide us with about one out of every three bites of food we eat.

According to the Bee Informed Partnership, a collaboration between agriculturally oriented research labs and universities across the country, beekeepers in the United States experienced an estimated 40 percent loss in their colonies between April 2017 and April 2018, a 3 percent increase since the 2011 data collection period. Last year, North Carolina’s honeybee population experienced a 50 percent loss, no doubt impacting the state’s $84 billion agriculture industry.

“The reason why I [keep bees] is mainly to help populate the bee colonies in this area; that’s my number one reason,” says Turner.

STATE OF BEE-ING: Local beekeeper Melanie Johnson inspects a hive frame. Western North Carolina beekeepers and farmers are working together through communitybuilding and online platforms to support local honeybee populations. Photo courtesy of Bob Turner, Creekside Farm THE FOUR PS And she’s not alone. Many farmers and beekeepers are focusing their efforts on mitigating further declines in the population. Unfortunately, they can only do so much. Honeybees

are up against a series of threats referred to as the Four Ps — pesticides, parasites, pathogens and poor nutrition. And the cause-and-effect relationships that exist among those threats add another layer of difficulty when attempting to tackle the loss of bee colonies.

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Proper maintenance of hives can sometimes be all it takes to avoid problems, but this is not always the case. Many experienced beekeepers lose a significant number of colonies without knowing why. “Even though you may feel like you’re an expert in bees, you still don’t understand the life cycle and why you would lose hives quickly like that,” Turner explains.

Finding a solution is of dire importance, especially in regions like Western North Carolina where honeybee losses are substantial. Sarah McKinney, co-owner of Honey & the Hive beekeeping supply and honey store on Merrimon Avenue, is a beekeeper who runs anywhere from 80 to 150 hives, depending on the season.

Typically, McKinney will sell around 750 colonies from her store annually, and she believes motivating more people to start bee colonies is critical. “Everything really shifted in a more serious direction [with honeybee populations],” she says. “So that work was never more important than it was last year.”

Local shops like McKinney’s help create a community that beekeepers can rely on. Honey & the Hive offers beekeeping advice in addition to a wide range of products necessary for those actively maintaining their hives. “Beekeepers come in there, and we save bees’ lives in that store everyday,” McKinney says. She also teaches classes where, in addition to providing her students with an overview of the basics of beekeeping, she stresses the importance of careful hive maintenance and highlights the overall significance of the honeybee.

Other beekeepers are following suit, emphasizing the importance of education and research in light of this ongoing crisis. Whether through subscribing to publications like the American Bee Journal and Bee Culture Magazine, attending conferences held by the N.C. State Beekeepers Association or through local beekeeping classes, beekeepers are making it a priority to effectively disseminate information relevant to maintaining their colonies.

“The single biggest thing we’ve done is begin to talk to each other about it,” says David Foti, owner of Sandy Bee Mine in Saluda, who manages just under 100 hives. One way he keeps himself up to date

with the latest practices is by working alongside other experienced beekeepers, exchanging his time and labor for knowledge. He says a week or two of working with a commercial beekeeper gives him what would otherwise take a year or two to figure out on his own.

WORKING TOGETHER But Foti isn’t concerned with beekeepers exclusively. A symbiotic relationship with clear communication between beekeepers and farmers is a must, he says. For example, application of pesticides and fungicides on crops has been cited as one of the greatest threats to the honeybee. Online collaborative tools like the FieldWatch.com website allow beekeepers to post the locations of their colonies so farmers can adjust their spraying schedules to avoid nearby hives.

“It’s self-serving to both people that keep bees and those people that are

in agriculture to go ahead and support the best interests of the honeybee,” explains Doug Galloway, president of Caldwell County Beekeepers Association, noting that without honeybees, farmers see diminished crop yields. “Farmers — whether they’re in agriculture or they’re just beekeepers — they’re all working together for the same goal.”

Local apple farmers, for example, will pay beekeepers to transport their hives to the field for pollination, while those who raise livestock can benefit from the pollination of their forage crops. Crops, however, do not have to be dependent on honeybee pollination for there to be a benefit, Foti says. Even though certain vegetables, such as corn, are primarily wind-pollinated, bees will still pollinate these plants as well, resulting in a greater yield.

CONTINUES ON PAGE 36

The Blue Horizons Project is all about making a clean energy future a reality in Buncombe County and preserving our skies and waters for generations to come, and everyone has a part to play. In our region, it’s winter that presents the greatest challenge. On the coldest winter mornings, the amount of electricity we need to heat our homes spikes sharply. To solve our peak demand problem, we can find ways to lower our energy demand or generate more energy. But is it a good idea to construct another fossil-fuel power plant just to meet energy demand on the coldest winter mornings? We don’t think so – not when there are better ways – and we have some. Take advantage of free energy efficiency programs and resources for your home and business.

TAKING ACTION

Young entrepreneurs sprout Kids Seed Co.

Visit www.bluehorizonsproject.com to get involved in our cleaner energy future today!

The Peak Demand Challenge

GROWING FAMILY: Thomas Stern, center, says his three children are key participants in a business that sells thousands of seed packets across 22 states. Photo courtesy of Stern Involving their children in the business has enabled Stern and Gazzano to teach them basic business principles and the environmental value of producing your own food and flowers.

“The environmental impact of many types of agricultural produce is very high,” Stern says. “We think ‘grow-your-own’ is one great way families can live more sustainably, and the benefits of gardening extend to health, finance and spirit.”

Total Energy Demand

A few summers ago, Laszlo told his parents, Thomas Stern and Laura Gazzano, that he wanted to set up a stand to sell cucumbers in their driveway.

“We didn’t end up with a cucumber stand,” Stern says, “but his entrepreneurial spirit and our love for gardening and seed saving led to the creation of Kids Seed Co.” Now 8 years old, Lazlo and his two younger sisters, Mina and Csilla, play a central role in the Asheville family business, an online seed store that launched on Thanksgiving 2017.

“As we went through the tests of designing a logo, sourcing packaging and building an online seed catalog, our kids were involved in most decisions,” Stern says.

In its first year of business, Stern says, Kids Seed Co. had just a handful of seed varieties in stock and sold about 1,500 seed packets. In its second year, however, the business has expanded to 50 seed varieties and sold several thousand packets to customers across 22 states.

Winter peak = 30% higher than in the summer.

— David Floyd X

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FAR M & GA R DEN Improved communication and recognition of the mutual benefits of supporting bees has resulted in increased awareness. Although one of the greatest threats to bee colonies, the varroa mite, was introduced to the United States as early as the 1980s, it wasn’t until the early 2000s that the term colony collapse disorder — an incidence defined by the disappearance of the majority of worker bees from a colony — was used regularly within the beekeeping

community, explains Galloway. But creating greater public awareness about the disorder resulted in more money being funneled into research that would in turn help farmers and beekeepers address the challenge of a falling population.

THE RESEARCH GAP Communication and education aren’t enough to solve the problems

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the agricultural community is up against — research is also critical.

The varroa mite, for example, is evolving to be resistant to pesticides. And although North Carolina beekeepers like Foti have successfully adapted to changes in weather patterns, with many transporting their bees to warmer climates over the winter, threats such as those posed by climate change and parasite infestations continue to loom on the horizon.

There are still many unknowns regarding the declining honeybee population, and many beekeepers remain uncertain of the true origins of their losses. “What is it that’s killing the bees? We don’t know,” admits Carl Chesick, executive director of the Center for Honeybee Research in Asheville. “We’re not really that much closer to a solution.”

Parasites “are definitely an issue, but they haven’t proven that it’s the mites that are actually killing the bees,” he says. “It’s possibly true, but nobody has actually done the work to prove that that’s what it is.

And making that assumption is not good science. We have to do some things to quantify and try to get to

ECO 6TH ANNUAL EARTH DAY MOVIE: “TOMORROW” - THE DOCUMENTARY • WE (4/17), 6:30pm - Earth Day Movie: Tomorrow, documentary film screening.

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Held at Paulsen Lodge at Asheville School, 360 Asheville School Road

BIRD DISTRIBUTION AND DIVERSITY IN THE SMOKIES • TU (4/16), 7pm “Recent Changes in Bird Distribution and Diversity in the Smokies,” presentation by Dr. Andrew Laughlin.

Free. Held at UNCA, 1 University Heights ENVIRONMENTAL & SOCIAL JUSTICE FILM • FR (4/12), 7pm - A Prayer for Compassion, documentary film screening. Free. Held at Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Asheville, 1 Edwin Place GREAT MADISON COUNTY LITTER SWEEP CONTEST • SA (4/13) through SA (4/27) - Great Madison County Litter Sweep Contest. Prizes for groups that collect the most trash and recycling. Information: facebook.com/ littersweepmcnc.

the exact cause, and for some reason, that just keeps getting put off.”

A number of farmers and beekeepers are pushing for the passage of N.C. House Bill 334, which would allocate financial resources for a new honeybee field laboratory at N.C. State University. And on the bright side, the problems WNC beekeepers face — aside from the threat of bears destroying hives — are not unique to this state or region, making it easier for farmers and beekeepers from all over the world to come together to solve the crisis.

For now, the best thing beekeepers and farmers can do is continue to educate, repopulate and work with one another in an attempt to help the honeybee flourish. “I want to help any way I can,” says Turner.

“I want to help grow the population of bees and give them a good start to a healthier road back. Maybe it’s wishful thinking, because there are just so many different environmental situations that I can’t control. It may not help at all, but at least I’m going to give it a try.” X

GREEN OPPORTUNITIES TRAINING PROGRAM INFORMATION SESSION • 3rd WEDNESDAYS, 3:30-4:30pm - Green Opportunities holds a Training Program Information Session to learn about training and employment pathways.

Free. Held at Arthur R. Edington Education and Career Center, 133 Livingston St. TRANSITION ASHEVILLE • MO (4/15), 6-9pm - “World Cafe,” event featuring opportunities for participants to consider and discuss local responses to concerns around climate change, clean energy, food resilience, transportation, economic alternatives, and community building.

Registration: ronm_a@ yahoo.com. Free to attend. Held at The BLOCK off biltmore, 39 South Market St. TUCK RIVER CLEANUP • SA (4/13), 8am-5pm - Tuckasegee River

cleanup. Sign-in at the Alumni Tower on WCU campus. Rafts, paddles, flotation devices, transportation to river and trash bags provided.

Volunteers must wear shoes with straps. Free.

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Registration required.

Free. Held at Buncombe County Cooperative Extension Center, 49 Mt. Carmel Road, Suite 102

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FOOD

ARE WE THERE YET? Opinions vary on whether Asheville has too many breweries or if it can sustain more

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ARE YOU EXPERIENCED?: Clockwise from left, Highland Brewing Co. founder Oscar Wong, Asheville Brewing Co. President Mike Rangel, Wedge Brewing Co. owner Tim Schaller and Green Man Brewery owner Dennis Thies have varying opinions concerning the local brewing industry’s potential saturation. Photos of Wong and Rangel courtesy of their respective breweries. Photo of Schaller by Cindy Kunst and photo of Thies by Scott Douglas

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Just how many breweries can Asheville support? The question has been asked almost since the start of the local craft brewing scene and is not easily answered.

With three dozen breweries in Buncombe County alone — most of them in Asheville — and more than twice that number scattered around the mountains of Western North Carolina, it’s also a topic that’s not going away anytime soon, especially as more breweries have opened in the increasingly competitive market. At least two new Asheville breweries are slated to open in 2019: DSSOLVR on Lexington Avenue and a brewing operation at the new 12 Bones Smokehouse barbecue restaurant in South Asheville.

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VETERAN OPINIONS A survey of a few of Asheville’s legacy brewery owners reveals differing thoughts about whether the region has reached a point where oversaturation is a business concern. Some industry stalwarts say the brewery limit may have already been reached or will soon hit that level, while others believe there remains room for more players.

In Asheville, no one has been on the craft beer scene longer than Oscar Wong, founder of Highland Brewing Co., the city’s first craft brewery. From its start 25 years ago in the basement of the Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria building on Biltmore Avenue, Highland has seen significant growth and expansion. Its beer is now made at a much larger brewery in East Asheville and sold across the Southeast — and Wong is well aware of the competition.

“I would say that we are close [to the limit that can be supported], if we are not there,” he says. As for more breweries joining the scene, he thinks the continued interest is rooted in people who have a passion for brewing and a dream to make beer for a living. “We live in a free country, and we are free to try,” he says.

Wong believes that Highland’s business has been impacted by the growing number of competitors. Though he notes Highland sales remain strong, the brewery has discontinued distribution to Kentucky, Ohio and Alabama, but stills sells in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida.

“About two years ago, [sales] flattened out for sure. But it started to pick back

CONTINUES ON PAGE 40

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39

FOOD up in 2018,” Wong says. “In some ways, [increased competition] has taken some of our business, but it has opened up the industry. More and more people are aware of the craft industry.”

When he opened Highland in 1994, Wong thought Asheville might grow to include two or three total breweries.

Instead, the local industry continued to expand. He identifies Asheville winning the 2009 Beer City USA online poll (tying with Portland, Ore.) as helping bring the city national attention and leading to more brewery growth, which has been sustained by a steady stream of craft beer tourists.

At Asheville Brewing Co., President Mike Rangel has changed his mind about how many breweries the city can support. “If you had asked me four years ago, I would have said, ’Absolutely we are at saturation,’” he says. “But in Asheville, for every five breweries that open, we also open another hotel. As long as the caravans of tourists keep coming up the mountain [breweries will keep opening].”

But as new establishments arise, Rangel thinks that Asheville is nearing the point where more breweries will begin to close. “It seems that the neighborhood pubs are disappear-

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TOURIST’S CHOICE: A more competitive brewery scene has attracted a steady flow of beer tourists ever since Asheville won the Beer City USA online poll. Photo of the 2018 Beer City Festival by Scott Sands ing, and they’re being replaced by the neighborhood breweries. A lot of the breweries that are opening now, you’re not going to see in Ingles. They are perfectly happy just making beer [for their neighborhoods],” he says. “But the bubble has burst if you are making a mediocre product. If you’re not creative or original, the writing is on the wall for you.”

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A strong understanding of business is likewise key for any new brewery owner, says Tim Schaller, owner of the two Wedge Brewing Co. locations along the French Broad River.

“It’s obviously getting harder [to succeed],” he says. “I do worry about how many can actually get cans on store shelves, but it’s an exciting, wonderful business to be in. I can’t blame people for trying. I think some of us did it naively,

and probably some still are. I don’t know how long you can hang out without a strong business plan and the funding.”

Dennis Thies, owner of Green Man Brewery, believes the market can still take on new breweries, even as he echoes Rangel’s sentiments that increased local

CONTINUES ON PAGE 42

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41

F OOD beer options are hurting on-premise bar business across town.

“The newer breweries that are opening, their model is to sell over the bar without distribution, for the most part,” Thies says. “When was the last time you saw a production brewery open [here]?

That’s a real brewery. Have we seen a max on production breweries? Yes. But not for [smaller breweries]. I don’t think it’s tapped out. You will see more of them opening and more bars closing.”

Thies adds that sales of packaged beers at grocery stores are mostly being made to locals, not tourists.

“That’s local support that we’re so grateful for. The tourists don’t go to Ingles for the most part,” he says, noting that sales to out-of-towners are being sliced up as more product is sold in tasting rooms. “But that’s OK. I just hope the newer guys have the excitement that I enjoyed in the first years of owning Green Man. When I got into it, there were just five of us.”

OPENED AND CLOSED The market for new breweries remains strong, says Joe Rowland, owner of Nantahala Brewing Co. of Bryson City and president of the nonprofit Asheville Brewers Alliance, which represents local breweries.

“I think the industry has evolved,” Rowland says. “It’s not just a niche industry anymore. You’ve got some breweries that are going to excel, and you’ve got some that are going to struggle. That’s the evolution of anything.

“If you were talking about the tech industry or the dot-com industry of 15 years ago,” he continues, “there are ones that have continued to thrive when there were so many out there.

And then there are ones that either the concept didn’t work out or the challenges were too great. I think there are a lot more [breweries] still coming.”

But their success could depend on the type of business they want to create, he adds. “There’s a limit on the number of large production breweries that we can sustain. And I just don’t mean Sierra Nevada [Brewing Co.] or New Belgium [Brewing Co.], but the breweries that are trying to sustain on distribution. There’s only so much room on [store] shelves.”

Buoying Rowland’s optimism is the small number of Asheville breweries that have shut down. After Craggie Brewing Co. closed in late 2012, it was six years before the next such casualty. Lexington Avenue Brewery revealed it would cease operations at the end of 2018, followed by nearby Habitat Brewing Co., which closed in February.

Owners of those businesses had varying reasons for calling it a day.

“After nine years at LAB and with a new baby at home, I’m looking for a change,” LAB owner Mike Healy said in a press release issued when the closing was announced. The location, which Healy still owns, is being transformed into the CANarchy Collaboratory, to be operated by the collective that runs Oskar Blues Brewery and Cigar City Brewing.

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Habitat on Broadway spread itself thin by trying to run both a brewery and an event space, according to Jen Addis, who owned Habitat with her husband, Matt Addis. “In spite of the great support from the local neighborhoods, it has been tough to encourage people down Broadway from Lexington,” she told Xpress in early 2019. “Broadway will grow over the next few years, but our timing was off.” West Asheville’s Archetype Brewing Co. has taken over that location as a taproom and expansion of its barrel aging operation and has plans to add a pilot batch-brewing system and a sour program.

From a national perspective, Julia Herz says brewery saturation is difficult to measure. The craft beer program director at the Brewers Association trade organization in

Boulder, Colo., reports that more than 7,300 craft breweries operate nationally and that in 2017, just under 1,000 breweries opened while 165 closed.

“You can ask if another restaurant should open down the street,” Herz says. As for breweries, “Absolutely [they can successfully open] if they differentiate themselves, provide a world-class experience and make world-class beer. That said, it’s a much more competitive market than several years ago. It’s a great time to be a beer lover, but it’s harder than ever to be a brewery owner.”

The two-part Brewery Saturation Series continues in next week’s issue, exploring some of Asheville’s newest breweries’ entries into an established market and the local industry’s sustainability from economic and tourism viewpoints. X

TAKING ACTION

Jon Nilsson embraces soil-building biochar Soil scientist and ecologist Jon Nilsson has been working on the reclamation of drastically disturbed land since 1985, gaining over three decades of agricultural experience in the process. But his favorite tool in the work of restoring depleted soils has an even longer track record: Biochar, a highly porous charcoal made by burning organic material at high temperatures with little oxygen, was first used by the indigenous people of the Amazon roughly 3,500 years ago.

“It’s a carbon-capture technology to grow plants — the opposite of throwing carbon into the air to make fertilizers to grow plants,” Nilsson explains, noting that biochar can lock carbon in the soil for up to 2,000 years. “You’re utilizing biomass waste and farming the waste to make a better crop.”

At Mills River-based CharGrow, Nilsson “charges” biochar’s tiny pores with nutrients and microbes that help build soil vitality. He compares the resulting BioGranules to a bank vault in the soil, pointing to studies conducted at Virginia Tech where the product boosted tomato yields at first pick by over 50 percent. Other field trials have found CharGrow’s products to increase germination, drought tolerance and disease resistance.

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Photo by Cathy Holt “With charged biochar, you’re building a better biome for the plant, permanently changing soil’s ability to hold nutrients, water and beneficial biology,” Nilsson says. “You can buy a carbonsequestering tomato that was organically grown and also contributed to building the biome — it’s a path out of climate change.”

— Cathy Holt X

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FOOD

by Brian Crews

crewsbri@gmail.com

THE NEW MOONSHINE? The growing debate over raw milk

Spring 2019

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The continuing quest for food that is natural, unprocessed and local seems to be getting easier every day. Farmers markets proliferate, supermarket shelves are filled with foods containing fewer additives and preservatives. Yet major hurdles still exist for one particular product that’s in increasingly high demand these days: raw milk.

Enthusiasts say milk that hasn’t been pasteurized or treated in any way contains more nutrients and other valuable components; opponents (including the federal government) say it may contain dangerous disease-causing germs.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website, “Raw milk and products made from it can pose severe health risks, including death.”

After years of study, the Food and Drug Administration banned interstate sales of raw milk for human consumption in 1987.

Yet today, raw milk is available in some form in more than half the states, though it’s currently illegal to purchase it for human consumption in North Carolina.

“I call it the new moonshine,” says state Rep. John Ager. “Demand is high; it’s almost a kind of contraband.”

Ager is a primary sponsor of a bill introduced in the House in late February that would establish statewide standards for the production of raw milk for human consumption. The Small Dairy Sustainability Act (H.B. 103) would give small-scale dairy farmers a potentially lucrative income stream while addressing the preferences of consumers who are driving the demand for raw milk.

“I’m thinking of it from the point of view of small farmers who want to find an income with just a small number of cows and sell to their neighbors,” says Ager.

He also believes in the product’s potential benefits. “I’m an old dairyman,” he says, adding, “I raised my family on raw milk.”

SHARE AND SHARE ALIKE Ager also helped add a provision to North Carolina’s Farm Act of 2018 that ended a 14-year ban on “herd shares” — contractual farm agreements that allow individuals to buy an interest in a dairy animal. The buyer pays a fee to the farm that feeds, houses and cares for the animal and, in return, gains access to a portion of the unprocessed milk produced.

The ban was instituted to prevent raw milk distribution.

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IN THE RAW: Dairy farmer Kevin Lane milks cows on his Marshall farm with a claw bucket milker machine. Lane and his wife, Kate, are among local farmers who support legalized herd shares — agreements that allow consumers to buy an interest in a dairy animal to receive access to its milk. Photo by Kate Lane Since the Farm Act’s passage last June, herd shares have been the preferred avenue for buying and selling unpasteurized milk. In North Carolina, farmers are allowed to market raw milk only as pet food, a legal gray area that enables consumers to get around the prohibition against human consumption. Because participants in herd share agreements are technically part owners of the animal, however, they’re able to obtain its untreated milk without having to navigate any murky legal terrain.

Some local dairy farmers say the herd share law provides a crucial income stream while fostering a more personal relationship with their customers. “I believe that people should buy raw milk directly from farmers and not from the grocery store,” says Madison County resident and farmer Kate Lane. “Herd

shares are important in that aspect,” stresses Lane, who co-owns Homemade in Marshall with her husband, Kevin.

WHO REALLY BENEFITS? Despite a growing demand for the product, however, both herd shares and the broader raw milk market face an uncertain future in North Carolina.

H.B. 103 seeks to protect the legality of raw milk and the small farms that produce it, but critics have doubts about the production standards the law would establish. “Even though this bill supports farms like us, it would be really difficult to adhere to those regulations.

It makes me wonder who this is really going to benefit and who is it not going to benefit,” Lane observes.

“I call it the new moonshine. Demand is high; it’s almost a kind of contraband.”

— state Rep. John Ager But even putting those concerns aside, Ager isn’t optimistic about the bill’s future. “We’re facing a lot of opposition from the North Carolina Department of Agriculture,” he notes, adding, “I’m really going to be surprised if this bill moves forward. Ultimately, we’re just trying to get it out there and start the conversation.”

Indeed, the Department of Agriculture officially opposes any legal channel for selling raw milk, maintaining that the potential health risks involved could harm the state’s dairy industry as a whole. “We believe the proclaimed ‘economic benefit’ of a few people does not outweigh the considerable public health risks backed by science,” Heather Overton, the department’s assistant director of public affairs, wrote in an email to Xpress.

“Before pasteurization became widespread, raw milk outbreaks accounted for 25 percent of all foodborne illnesses.

We are particularly concerned about the impact of raw milk that may be fed to children. The 2018 outbreak in Tennessee that sickened a dozen children and left one child with permanent brain damage is a clear example of the potential impact,” wrote Overton.

The department also seems intent on repealing the current herd share law.

“I won’t have the blood on my hands of the kids getting sickened by misinformation,” Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler declared at the N.C. Dairy Conference in February, according to an audio recording obtained by Xpress. “So we’re going to go after them,” he continued. “We’re going to try and repeal the cow share law. There’s no amount of testing in the world that I can stand behind and tell somebody that raw milk is not harmful if you drink it.”

To that end, H.B. 385, which would reinstate the ban on herd shares, was filed on March 19. The bill passed a first reading and was referred to the Committee on Rules, Calendar and Operations of the House.

FOOD SAFETY OR MARKET MANIPULATION? “They do have some legitimate concerns,” Ager concedes. “If we legalize raw milk and there’s a problem and someone gets sick, it could wipe out a whole farm. It would really hurt the dairy industry as well, which is already struggling as it is.” Nonetheless, he believes people should be able to make that choice for themselves.

Meanwhile, other advocates dispute the whole idea that raw milk is dangerous, claiming that it’s merely a ploy by large farms to eliminate competition.

“They’re trying to make it out that it’s dangerous, but the truth is that the co-ops and the big agricultural producers just want to keep raw milk out of the market,” says Ernest Ramsey, who co-owns Jewel Hill Farms in Marshall with his wife, Kimberly. “They just want everything to go to these big industrial farms, and it’s killing the small farmers,” he asserts. “Within the last 12 years, we’ve lost two-thirds of the dairy farms in North Carolina to these large, 35,000cow dairy operations in the Midwest.”

At this point, it appears that the debate over raw milk in North Carolina is only beginning. But with consumer demand continuing to grow, it remains to be seen whether lawmakers can agree on legislation that addresses the needs of both farmers and consumers while maintaining public safety. X

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45

SMALL BITES

FOOD

by Thomas Calder | tcalder@mountainx.com

Custom cakes come to New Leicester Highway Shana McDowell, owner of AVL Cake Lady, will be the first to tell you cake wasn’t always her cup of tea. Nor did she ever dream the dessert would serve as the basis for a future business.

When McDowell began baking 10 years ago, she notes, it was strictly a hobby.

“It started with me making shortbread cookies for my kids’ bus drivers, as a way to say thank you,” she explains.

A few years later, McDowell signed up for a cake decorating class at A.C. Moore Arts & Crafts. The baker figured she’d take what she learned from the course and transfer it to cookies. But as the classes progressed, and as she continued to bring home intricately designed cakes, her friends and neighbors encouraged her to reconsider.

On March 30, AVL Cake Lady celebrated the grand opening of its first brick-and-mortar shop, located on New Leicester Highway. The shop specializes in custom-made cakes for all special occasions. Popular flavors include carrot, vanilla, double-chocolate, red velvet and lemon velvet. Cupcakes, shortbread cookies and individual cake slices will also be available for same-day purchase.

Though her desserts are made for all in the community to enjoy, McDowell says she finds the most satisfaction when creating designs for young children. The themes of the majority of these cakes, she notes, revolve around popular superheroes and cartoon characters.

“I love to see kids eyes light up when they see their cake … and realize it’s edible,” she says. “When they say, ‘I can actually eat that?’ That’s what I really enjoy.”

The pairing continues throughout April. Baxley’s Chocolates is at 546 W. Main St., and Innovation Brewing Co. is at 414 W. Main St., both in Sylva.

Ayurvedic cookbook author speaks at Malaprop’s Author Lisa Joy Mitchell will speak at Malalprop’s Bookstore/Cafe on Thursday, April 11, about her award-winning 2018 vegetarian cookbook, Sacred & Delicious: A Modern Ayurvedic Cookbook. Ayurveda is a system of medicine with its roots in India. Along with its 108 recipes, the book explores the healing power of food, as well as the spiritual practice of food preparation.

The talk runs 6-7 p.m. Thursday, April 11, at Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe, 55 Haywood St. For more, visit avl.mx/5uz.

Seven-course beer dinner ALL YOU NEED IS CAKE: On March 30, baker Shana McDowell celebrated the grand opening of her shop, AVL Cake Lady, on New Leicester Highway. The business specializes in custom-made cakes and offers a rotating selection of cupcakes, shortbread cookies and individual cake slices for same-day purchase. Photo by Thomas Calder AVL Cake Lady is at 34 New Leicester Highway, Suite C. Hours are TuesdayFriday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m., and Saturday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. For more, visit avl.mx/5v3.

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Chocolate and beer in Sylva According to poet T.S. Eliot, April is the cruelest month. But across North Carolina, April is also the state’s official Beer Month. To honor and celebrate local brews, two Sylva businesses — Baxley’s Chocolates and Innovation Brewing Co. — are teaming up for a monthlong chocolate and beer pairing. The chocolate portion of the tasting is available at either location, but the beer is exclusively sold at Innovation. Some of the recommended pairings include Afternoon Delight Blonde Ale with milk chocolate coconut haystack, Phat Chance Amber with milk chocolate Catamount Paw and Black Balsam Porter with milk chocolate Peanut Butter Beltway.

Chefs from North Carolina’s Foothills and Piedmont regions will converge at Catawba Brewing Co.’s Morganton location on Sunday, April 14, to prepare a seven-course beer dinner benefiting Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina, a nonprofit that works to preserve the natural and cultural heritage of the region through conservation efforts. Asheville chef Steve Goff of AUX Bar will participate in the event, alongside Charlotte chefs Daniel Wheeler of Dot Dot Dot, Robert Reinken of Charlotte Country Club and Laney Jahkel-Parrish of 300 East, and Hickory chefs Ben Sullivan and Jeremy Salig of Highland Avenue and Rick Doherr of Cafe Rule. The complete menu was not available at press time, but featured beers will include Pilsner, TED Light Lime, Apricot Sour, Brown Bear, Bier de Mars, Hopness Monster, Friki Tiki Lychee and Peanut Butter Jelly Time.

The dinner starts at 5:30 p.m. Sunday, April 14, at Catawba Brewing Co., 301 S. Sterling St., Morganton. Tickets are $70 per person and are available at avl.mx/5ux.

Early Girl Eatery’s West Asheville location recently launched a Sunday pop-up market, which will run through July. Asheville Tea Co., Mama Bee Chocolates, Fermenti, Shanti Elixirs and Karen’s Spice Kitchen are among the participants, and new vendors will be added each week. In addition to the market, both Early Girl Eatery locations have added a new drink menu. Highlights include The Pink Lady (raspberry vodka, Tuaca, Peach Schnapps, cranberry juice and fresh lemon juice), The Asheville Flyer (cava, rum, fresh lime juice and raw sugar syrup) and Sour Girl (Evan Williams Bourbon, all-natural lemonade and red wine float). On the food end, Early Girl is now exclusively serving gluten-free fried chicken. Both locations are now also peanut-free.

Early Girl Eatery is at 8 Wall St. Early Girl Eatery West is at 444 Haywood Road. The Sunday pop-up market runs 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Sundays, through July.

For more, visit avl.mx/5v1.

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Though Asheville’s newest culinary festival, Chow Chow, is still several months out, tickets for the September event are now on sale. According to a press release, the four-day gathering will celebrate “the unique community of chefs and makers throughout Asheville and Appalachia” with tasting events, chef demos and workshops.

Chow Chow: An Asheville Culinary Event is Thursday-Sunday, Sept. 12-15.

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TOP SHELF VIEWS

FOOD

by Audrey and Bill Kopp | audreybill@liquornerds.com

Taking time with tequila Too often, tequila gets a bad rap.

Mention the Mexican spirit to someone, and you’re reasonably likely to get a response along the lines of, “I don’t drink tequila anymore, because there was that one time in college ...”

But the liquor distilled from blue agave has a rich history, and aficionados would argue that the best tequilas rival the quality of high-end European brandies.

A bit of nomenclature: Agave is a plant that grows throughout Mexico.

When the sap of the agave is fermented, the result is pulque. Distilled pulque is mezcal. When the Tequiliana Weber Blue variety of agave is used, the distilled product is tequila, so while all tequila is mezcal, all mezcal is not tequila.

As explained on tequilaconnection. com, tequila is by far the most popular and widely known variety of mezcal, and it has has been around a long time.

Indigenous peoples in what is now central Mexico were drinking pulque in the 1500s. Commercial production of tequila began around 1600, and exports to the United States commenced by the mid-1880s.

Since 1978, the Mexican government’s Tequila Regulatory Council has regulated production, but as Dan Meyer, editor at The Daily Meal emphasizes, “Cheap tequila is always a bad idea.” Good tequilas are made using 100 percent agave; many drinkers will be surprised to learn that tequilas that don’t carry that designation (they’re known — but not labeled — as mixto) are “half-tequila, half-other stuff,” he says.

And that other hangover-inducing stuff is often cane sugar, extracts, caramel coloring and other things

TRAGO MARGARITA Contributed by Terrah Borsh • 2 ounces silver tequila • Juice of two limes Wet the rim of an Old Fashioned glass with lime juice; dip in rock salt. Combine tequila and lime juice; shake, pour into an ice-filled glass and serve.

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BEST SHOT: Terrah Borsh, bartender at Papa’s and Beer on Tunnel Road, says the eatery offers about 30 varieties of tequila. The selection includes a wide range, from silver and reposado tequilas for mixing to finer añejos for sipping. Photo by Luke Van Hine that — let’s be honest — don’t belong in your glass. You’ve probably heard of the most popular mixto tequila: Jose Cuervo Especial.

Paige Scully, co-owner of Mountain Madre Mexican Kitchen and Agave Bar, says that mixto types have given tequila an undeserved sketchy reputation. “People are basing their opinions on [memories of that time] they took 10 shots of Cuervo gold, which has food coloring,” she says. “It’s not even real!”

In a 2018 article for The Spruce Eats titled “Everything You Need to Know About Tequila,” Colleen Graham explains that there are five varieties of tequila: blanco or silver, which is a clear, generally unaged spirit; gold (the mixto type “responsible for many bad tequila experiences,” Graham writes); reposado (“rested”), aged anywhere from two months to a year, and taking on a light gold hue; and añejo (“aged”) tequila, stored in French oak or used bourbon barrels for one to three years. The fifth category, “extra añejo,” was established in 2006; it defines tequila aged more than three years.

But not all lovers of tequila enjoy the aged varieties. Time spent in a barrel imparts flavors that change the charac-

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ter of the spirit. “I don’t like whiskey; therefore, I don’t really enjoy an añejo,” says Scully. The bar at her downtown restaurant boasts an impressive tequila list featuring 40 blancos, 30 reposados and more than 25 añejos. Mountain Madre’s proudly mixto-free list also features dozens of rare tequilas and mezcals for the well-heeled and/or intrepid drinker.

Papa’s and Beer keeps an impressive variety of tequilas on hand as well. “We have about 30,” says Terrah Borsh, bartender at the Tunnel Road location of the popular eatery.

That selection includes all types, and each has its own place, Borsh says. Silver and reposado tequilas are good in mixed drinks like the classic margarita. Borsh says that Patron is among the most popular quality brands.

If you’re up for spending a bit more, she recommends Don Julio añejo as a good sipper, because — despite what you or your fellow students might have done on spring break that one year — tequila is primarily designed for sipping, not slamming.

But tequila does mix well; how else to explain the near-universal popularity of the margarita? Borsh offers some good-natured advice about making

Demystifying the Mexican spirit margaritas at home. “If you’re going to wash it down with sugar, use an inexpensive silver tequila,” she says.

The subtle character of aged tequilas is easily overpowered by other strong-flavored ingredients.

Both Borsh and Scully have good things to say about the widely available Espolón blanco. “I wouldn’t call it cheap,” Scully says. “You can sip on it at a decent price; it’s yummy.” She also recommends the slightly harder-to-find Siete Leguas añejo tequila. No matter how attractive the bottle or label, a good guiding principle is that 100 percent agave means quality; other tequilas are best avoided.

Our own exploration — focused on balancing quality with affordability — has found good choices in Lunazul reposado and Olmeca Altos blanco and reposado. When we feel like something a bit fancier, we opt for Tres Generaciones añejo; all are found at Asheville ABC stores.

Emphasizing that doing shots of tequila is a poor idea — and a waste of a quality spirit — Scully observes that “people go with what they are exposed to.” She suggests branching out. “Experience the range, sip on it and find out what you like.” X

AÑEJO OLD FASHIONED Contributed by Paige Scully • 2 ounces añejo tequila • ½ ounce agave simple syrup (equal parts agave syrup and simple syrup) • 1 dash mole bitters • 1 dash Angostura bitters • 1 large strip of fresh orange peel Shake all liquid ingredients with ice. Muddle orange peel in the bottom of a rocks glass. Remove (but don’t discard) peel, add ice to glass and pour in shaken ingredients.

Squeeze the orange peel to express remaining oils into the drink. Run the orange peel around the rim of the glass and drop peel back into the drink.

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

MUTUAL APPRECIATION SOCIETY Spaceman Jones and The Motherships share Vol. 3 at The Mothlight

BY EDWIN ARNAUDIN earnaudin@mountainx.com Seven years ago, when rapper Davaion “Spaceman Jones” Bristol and producer Cliff B. Worsham (aka MOTHER HOOD of electro-soul trio RBTS WIN) first started working together, neither had any idea how fruitful their professional relationship would prove to be.

As both were well aware, the complex nature of collaborations often results in merely one combined effort and dreams of future crossovers. But thanks to a mutual appreciation of each other’s musical talents and a shared operation on the same creative wavelength, the two Asheville artists have remained in steady professional contact as well as becoming, in Worsham’s words, “family.”

The duo’s latest creative endeavor, Spaceman Jones and The Motherships Vol. 3, receives a record release show on Friday, April 12, at The Mothlight.

Bristol calls the new album their most political thus far, spurred by his feeling that both the Democratic and Republican parties are “disconnected” and led by “people who want to run the world,” resulting in a current sociopolitical climate that he compares to the oppressive one in the dystopian film Demolition Man. Along those lines, Worsham compares modern-day Washington, D.C., to reality television, and views his and Bristol’s music as a way to “throw a wrench in the gears.”

EARTHLING GREETINGS: Producer Cliff B. Worsham, left, and rapper Davaion Bristol have concluded their Spaceman Jones and The Motherships trilogy but are just getting started in their musical partnership. Photo by Erick “SHOTXLOTT” Lottary Over Worsham’s layered, often dark sonic landscape, Bristol’s highly visual storytelling unspools to an impactful degree. Spitting in a tone still optimistic, the MC’s timbre comes across more tempered and weathered, as if he’s seen that much more of life since Vol. 2, has become significantly wiser and has a

wealth of new intellectual nuggets to deliver to open ears attached to the average low- to middle-class person struggling to survive in modern times.

In turn come such bars as “How you gonna live if the wage don’t raise?/The cost of living turned the world into a cage” from “Front Lines” and “I do

this for my zeroes in last year’s clothes/ Working 40-hour weeks, but still ready to roll” from “Sermon on the Mountain.”

For Worsham, who identifies Bristol as his favorite rapper — and not just on the local scene — it’s consecutive lines from the last verse of the album’s closer, “Banks and Collection Plates,”

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that stand out as his partner’s best rhymes: “Whether you take a knee or tote a tiki torch/We all getting ate by the same damn fork/Of course they got you focused on skin tone/Fight amongst yourself while we do the whole world wrong.” Without hesitation, the beatmaker can recite the lines from memory with the same awestruck appreciation as the first time he heard it.

Not one to let a compliment go unnoticed, Bristol puts Worsham on his “Mount Rushmore of producers” and praises his friend’s increased skills in utilizing live instrumentation. Typically sampling obscure vinyl to spark ideas, Worsham then replaces them with instudio instruments, resulting in such authentic sounds as the sliding bass guitar line on “Sermon on the Mountain,” the mournful lead blues ax on “Walter White and Dolamite” and the sensitive, finger-picked strings of “Real Dope.”

Vol. 3 will be the last in the Spaceman Jones and The Motherships trilogy, but the duo has already mixed and mastered a follow-up and will continue to strengthen their professional partnership with an eye toward creating more together in the same room. With both artists locked into what Worsham calls “a constant state of creation,” each will also release a solo album this summer. Worsham’s vocal-centric collection features a variety of producers from across the Southeast, while Bristol refers to his own disc as “some igno-

rant shit” that the lyricist felt he had to express before returning to his socially conscious focus.

As they do their parts to push Asheville hip-hop forward, both agree that the state of the local scene has, in Bristol’s words, “never been better.” In addition to a more generally organized industry, he feels that the beats and lyrics have improved across the board from a passionate set of artists of which he’s glad to be a member.

Worsham echoes those sentiments, noting that it’s evident more musicians are “doing what they love,” and that with “more eyes” on the scene at large, the individual players are rising to the occasion. X

WHO Spaceman Jones and The Motherships with RBTS WIN, Jah-Monte Ogbon and FLLS WHERE The Mothlight 701 Haywood Road themothlight.com WHEN Friday, April 12, 9 p.m. $8 advance/$10 day of show

DAVE ON DAVE On Sunday, April 14, at 7 p.m., two nights after Davaion “Spaceman Jones” Bristol takes to The Mothlight stage, another Dave — this one with the last name Sedaris, first name David — will step out before an audience at Thomas Wolfe Auditorium in support of his new essay collection, Calypso.

“He’s mellowed out as he’s gotten older,” says Bristol, who’s been a fan of Sedaris since the writer began contributing to NPR’s “This American Life” program. “His observations aren’t as acidic as some of his earlier books, and he now has this Andy Rooney tone, which is comforting.”

With Calypso, Bristol finds Sedaris’ observations “a little more personal than universal,” in that the listener is metaphorically “watching inside someone’s window” or reading Sedaris’ journal, rather than the writer “perverting interactions into something relatable on a national level” — an honesty that Bristol greatly respects.

“He also has a certain distance from his own family that was kind of clinical and kind of sad,” Bristol says. “He spent a lot of time talking about his sister, who committed suicide. That was rough to listen to, but he found humor in ironic observations through it. The subject matter was heavy, but you’re going to have that when talking about your life.”

Overall, Bristol responds positively to the more mature Sedaris on display in Calypso and finds inspiration in the author’s ability to build the happy, successful life he generally presents within the career-advancing new work.

“The book was suitable for the way I remember his writing,” Bristol says. “He’s grown and experienced things, and it’s cool to see that in people’s art. Often, artists want to stay frozen in a certain style or way, so I’m glad he’s able to be authentic instead of trying to write a certain way.”

Find show info and tickets at avl.mx/5v2. — E.A. X

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A&E

by Laura Hackett

laurafaye15@gmail.com

IMAGINATION STATION “Holy chaos” is how those at Haywood Street Congregation describe the ministry that, twice a week, serves around 500 of Asheville’s at-risk residents and those experiencing homelessness.

But climb the stairs past the lively ruckus of the dining room, needle exchange and clothing closet, and you’ll find something a little different on the door to Room No. 4: a painted red sign that reads “Art Only,” marking the entrance to a compact and colorful I Am Home Art Project.

“There’s a sense of peace and safety here,” says Janet Taylor, the founder and director of the nonprofit initiative, which provides free art supplies, mentorship and business opportunities for marginalized artists in this city. Taylor developed this unique concept as an AmeriCorps volunteer in Florida and brought the project to Asheville in 2017.

Every Wednesday and Sunday, 10:30 a.m.-2 p.m., the art room is open for anyone who, as Taylor puts it, has slipped through the cracks. She usually sees about 12 artists a day and has served more than 100.

Artists who show up on a regular basis have the opportunity to sell their creations at the Mending Art! showcases and keep 100% of the profits. So far, there have been five art shows, and artists have earned a combined total of $4,000 in sales, more than $1,000 coming from the most recent iteration, held March 16 at Ginger’s Revenge. While the sales generally aren’t enough to pay anyone’s rent, Taylor says the funds help artists finance living expenses such as oil changes for a vehicle, new art supplies to share with peers or a date with a significant other.

ON THE MEND: Chris, an artist involved with the I Am Home Art Project, shows off one of his mystical portraits at Mending Art! Participants at the showcase, many of whom are experiencing homelessness, keep 100% of funds from their sales. The next Mending Art! is scheduled for July 20. Photo by Maureen Simon The March showing had 100 pieces on display — a record. And the momentum continues to build. The next Mending Art! will be held Saturday, July 20, 4-7 p.m. at Ginger’s Revenge.

“I’ve been in all the art shows,” says an artist who goes by the moniker Blue. He has overcome several brain aneurysms and is now battling lung cancer. He likes to sketch freehand as well as work in coloring books. “It feels good, and I’m gonna keep doing it.”

“Our artists are able to access originality and rawness ... so many of us have been taught to mask,” says Maggie Doyle, an art therapy student who has partnered

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with Taylor on the project since its beginning. “I love getting to witness all of us being able to unshield and be the walking, talking art pieces that we are.”

Thanks to the support of various donors, supplies have evolved over the last few years from simple sketch pads and colored pencils to include an array of canvases, watercolors and acrylic paints, among other mediums.

Artists have taken advantage of these resources and it shows.

“I’ve been drawing ever since I can remember,” says Chris, who — like the other artists in this story— prefers to be identified by one name. “I’ve been creating way more art since I started going to the Haywood Street [Congregation].

I want to now, way more.” Chris makes mystical paintings of strong women.

Hydro, who heard about the art room from Blue over a year ago, has a knack for painting detailed, verdant mountain scenery. Ask him where the landscapes, which appear so grounded in place, are located, and he’ll tell you they all come from his mind’s eye. Ellie, who says she struggles with anxiety, has similar gifts of imagination, losing herself in the process of painting colorful, intergalactic landscapes.

She’s also been working on a collection of drawings that honor endangered animal species such as bonobos and iguanas.

“I like how someone who is so financially successful and has a name for them-

selves can create art, and you put that next to an artist who is just getting by, hour to hour, and there’s no differentiation between them. It’s art,” Doyle says.

“We’re all just humans.”

The difference I Am Home makes is clear to anyone who has spent time with the artists. According to Doyle, when the doors first opened, some visitors treated it more as a social room than a creative space, it was difficult for artists to stay focused, and few showed up consistently.

Now, Doyle says, “We’ve created a structure and consistency. The artists know this is their space, and we can count on them to come. … Everyone wants to support one another in a respectful manner.”

Many artists consider each other family, and it’s not uncommon for them to refer to each other as brother or sister. On tough days, Taylor says, artists might share their problems with the room and receive comfort from their peers.

Thornne, a Marine Corps veteran and former tattoo artist afflicted with PTSD, says, “My art used to be very violent, and now it’s gotten a lot more peaceful.” At the art show, he noted that his painting of Yoda perched within a lotus on a red-and-white split canvas represents the balance of light and darkness in his life.

Taylor has also seen a difference in the people’s postures as they began to identify more with their artwork than their homeless situations. “Their whole being begins to open up to the possibility that they are valued, creative beings,” she explains. “People are given a voice and respect each other despite all sorts of differences. I think we all really appreciate each other and what each person brings to the table.”

Learn more about the I Am Home Art Project and volunteer at iamhomeartproject.com. X

WHAT Mending Art! Showcase WHERE Ginger’s Revenge 829 Riverside Drive Suite 100 WHEN Saturday, July 20, 4-7 p.m.

by Bill Kopp

bill@musoscribe.com

PERSEVERANCE PAYS OFF As recently as 2015, Ryan “RnB” Barber was homeless. But through a combination of determination and talent, today the Asheville-based musician is realizing his life and musical goals. The newest release from Barber — today a ubiquitous presence on the local music scene — is a solo album pointedly titled Rejuvenation. Backed by his band BoogiTherapi, Barber celebrates the album release with a Friday, April 19, show at Ben’s Tune Up. (Expect a preview of the new music at BoogiTherapi’s Saturday, April 13, performance at Highland Brewing.)

Predominantly a one-man record, Rejuvenation is a party disc, with tunes like “Fun Tonight” and “Lay Yo Body Down.” But the disc’s mix of R&B, funk, soul and hip-hop supports a positive, upbeat lyrical perspective that’s often autobiographical in nature.

Raised in the tiny mountain town of Wilkesboro, Barber grew up surrounded by the sounds of Appalachian music. “My grandmother loved bluegrass,” he says.

But in the region that has hosted Merlefest since the late 1980s, his growing interest in soul, rhythm and blues, and funk had to find fulfillment at home.

“As long as I can remember, my father and uncle had all these albums of ’70s and ’80s funk, disco and R&B,” Barber recalls. “I’m sure that when I was in the womb, that was all they played.”

The victim of a hate crime when he was 18, Barber knew he would eventually have to venture beyond the town of fewer than 3,000 people. “I will never regret my childhood and growing up there, but Wilkesboro is not the place for a young, black individual to move forward in life,” he says.

While still in Wilkes County, he was part of a group, Turbo Pro Project; he describes that outfit as “banjo hip-hop fusion.” The band traveled south to play wellreceived sets at Stella Blue and the French Broad River Festival.

Barber encouraged his bandmates to relocate to Asheville.

But in the end, only he made the move in 2009. “Everybody else got cold feet,” Barber says with a laugh.

“But I’m grateful. Because that was the thing that I needed to warm up my cold feet. I had always wondered,

Ryan RnB Barber releases ‘Rejuvenation’

CAN’T HOLD HIM DOWN: Ryan RnB Barber has made the journey from homelessness to musical success through hard work, dedication and talent. His new album, Rejuvenation, celebrates that journey with a heady mix of urban musical styles. Photo by Tom Farr ‘How am I gonna do that? I don’t have any money. I don’t know anybody down there.’ So music was the reason that brought me to Asheville.”

Once settled, Barber took part in some open mic events. But gaining traction in the music scene was a long, slow haul. By 2015, “Nothing was working,” he says. “I was doing music, waiting tables and working as a bouncer at a bar.” He felt he had reached a crossroads. “I told myself, ‘I’m gonna give this one more year of doing music, and if it doesn’t happen, then I’m just gonna stop and work a regular job.’”

A friend pushed Barber to attend Asheville Music Hall’s Tuesday Night Funk Jam. He reluctantly agreed. “I can’t remember what song it was, but the crowd just erupted,” he says. “And the band was just like, ‘Yeah, you were awesome! You should come back and do this again.’ It seemed like everything just took off from there.”

Local musicians became aware of Barber, and he started getting calls for gigs. “The rest is history,” he says with a smile. “I’ve been blessed to be able to play with so many different people and meet so many awesome musicians

who have welcomed me into their community. They really looked out for me.

So yeah, music basically saved my life.”

Today, Barber is fully consumed with music. He’s a vocal coach and works as a music instructor at French Broad River Academy. He sings and plays with several bands, including Rubberband and Orange Krush. He’s regularly found at the Funk Jam, the AMC Jazz Jam and Salvage Station’s

weekly RnB Jam Night. And, as part of kid-hop sensation Secret Agent 23 Skidoo’s band, Barber earned his first Grammy award (Best Children’s Album) in 2017 for Infinity Plus One. But, for a time, Barber’s original music took a back seat to his other musical pursuits. “I was focused on trying to keep the bills paid, trying to take care of my family and all that good stuff,” he says. “I was basically going around doing shows and singing covers just to get by.” Friends and bandmates Debrissa McKinney and Secret Agent 23 Skidoo (Barber calls the latter Cactus) encouraged him. “They told me, ‘People really need to hear your type of R&B and hip-hop funk right now,’” he says. So Barber redoubled his efforts toward his own music.

The nine-track Rejuvenation wraps up with its most pointed track, “Perseverance.” Against a forceful funk background, Barber spins the tale of his journey from a Wilkes County kid to a Grammywinning recording artist: “All the doubtin’ and hatin’ motivates me to work harder,” he raps.

“You can try but you’ll never be Ryan RnB Barber.” X

WHO Ryan RnB Barber WHERE Ben’s Tune Up 185 Hilliard Ave. benstuneup.com WHEN Friday, April 19, at 7 p.m. Free

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A&E

by Bill Kopp

bill@musoscribe.com

LAUGH TRACK

The Magnetic Theatre hosts a comedy showcase

Comedy is serious business.

Developing a stand-up routine that feels spontaneous takes a great deal of effort, and when a performer is onstage with little more than a microphone and a spotlight, there’s nowhere to hide.

Four accomplished comics — two from Western North Carolina and two based in Colorado — bravely bring their humorous stand-up to The Magnetic Theatre on Friday, April 12.

Alabama-born showcase headliner Derrick Stroup’s story of how he got into comedy reads like an old joke: “A comic walks into a bar ...” In fact, he wasn’t a full-time comic at the start; he was the pub’s manager. “I ran a bar in a small college town in Jacksonville, Ala., for about four years,” he recalls. “We had lots of live music come through, but we never had comedy.” He decided to change things up and began by taking the mic himself.

And he had a plan to attract interest.

“I made pitchers of beer $1,” he admits with a self-effacing laugh. “It’s not the way you’re supposed to start in comedy, but that’s the way I got into it.”

Stroup’s gambit worked, and he hit the comedy circuit. He relocated to Colorado, paying his dues onstage and getting on the bill for some high-profile showcases like last August’s High Plains Comedy Festival in Denver.

Being a Southerner in Colorado makes him exotic, he says.

“It’s the same as it would be if I was from North Carolina,” he explains.

“We [Southerners] are in the news all the time, for all the wrong reasons. So everybody has their opinions. When I step onstage in Boulder and the host says, ‘This gentleman’s from Alabama,’ everybody quits talking. They’re thinking, ‘Holy shit, it’s Forrest Gump!’”

STAND-UP AND BE COUNTED: Defying the stereotype of the slow-talking rural rube, onstage Derrick Stroup, bottom right, unleashes an ever-building monologue. The Coloradobased, Alabama-born comedian headlines a showcase at The Magnetic Theatre with fellow comics, clockwise from top left, Kyle Pogue, Hilliary Begley and Cody Hughes. Begley’s photo

by Evan Anderson Photography, all other photos courtesy of the artists

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Stroup takes advantage of what George W. Bush called — albeit in a very different context – “the soft bigotry of low expectations.” “I get this opportunity to be a little smarter than they expected, a little quicker, a little funnier than they expected,” he says.

The “quicker” part is certainly true.

Defying the stereotype of the slow-talking rural rube, onstage Stroup unleashes an ever-building monologue. He starts fast and gets faster and louder. He likens

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his approach to “Sam Kinison mixed with Ron White.”

Stroup pauses a beat, in the knowledge that it’s difficult to reconcile how Kinison’s over-the-top ranting meshes with the approach of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour star. “I know you’re like, ‘How does that even happen?’” he says. “Well, I’m a storyteller … who loses his mind.”

Three other comics are on the bill for The Magnetic Theatre’s comedy show-

case. Asheville-based Cody Hughes is a frequent host of the Slice of Life Comedy open mic at PULP; he has toured regionally and in the Midwest, opening for well-known artists, including Lewis Black.

Also from Asheville, Hilliary Begley launched her comedy career at open mic nights; in 2017, she scored a gig opening for Jon Reep at The Orange Peel. Begley made her motion picture acting debut in the 2019 Netflix film Dumplin’.

Stroup’s fellow Coloradan Kyle Pogue plays the comedy club and festival circuit out West as well, and in 2017 he was a finalist in Comedy Works’ New Faces & Funny Final Four competition in Denver. Pogue regularly opens for author-storyteller-songwriter Mishka Shubaly.

Stroup says that he’ll roll into Asheville well ahead of the showcase.

“I like to get to towns a day or two before I perform because I like to hang out, walk around and see the people,” he says. “Because that’s really what my type of comedy — Southern comedy — is. It’s more about the people.”

But Stroup has played Asheville before and already knows his way around. He notes that multipurpose venues around the country differ, and some don’t lend themselves well to stand-up comedy. “But The Magnetic dodges that problem,” Stroup says.

“It’s got a theater feel.”

And the north Alabama native, who lives in the Rockies, feels right at home visiting Asheville. “I tell everybody that Asheville is like a little slice of Colorado,” he says. “You’re driving through east Tennessee, and there’s all these truckers. And then — boom — you hit Asheville, and everybody’s eating wasabi almonds and going on a jog with their dog.” X

WHO Comedy showcase featuring Derrick Stroup, Cody Hughes, Kyle Pogue and Hilliary Begley WHERE The Magnetic Theatre 375 Depot St. themagnetictheatre.com WHEN Friday, April 12, 7:30 p.m. $14

THEATER REVIEW

by Arnold Wengrow | a.wengrow@yahoo.com

‘Alice in Wonderland’ at Asheville Community Theatre Just in time for spring, Asheville Community Theatre offers an Alice in Wonderland that is whimsy on steroids. The show is onstage through Sunday, April 21.

Here are all of our iconic favorites: the White Rabbit (“Oh, my ears and whiskers”); the Cheshire Cat, whose grin lingers after his body disappears; the Queen of Hearts (“Off with her head!”); Tweedledum and Tweedledee; Humpty Dumpty, the inventor of the unbirthday present; the Mad Hatter, the March Hare and the narcoleptic Dormouse, with their demented tea party; and on and on.

Even if you haven’t read the Lewis Carroll originals, they live in our cultural DNA. They’re brought to eccentric life by a cast of 25 that mixes veterans and youthful newcomers.

Sadie Medlock is a winsome, plucky Alice who pushes through the mirror over the family mantel to discover the topsy-turvy world behind it. This poised seventh-grader moves the meandering story along and never leaves the stage as Alice journeys through an enchanted forest where animals talk and chess pieces and card games come to life.

Director Candice Burchill, drama teacher at Brevard High School, sets her actors and herself some challenges. First, she uses the venerable (some would say stodgy) adaptation by the great Britishborn actress Eva Le Gallienne, assisted by Florida Friebus. That’s a lot of story and a lot of words, and sometimes both cast and audience succumb to word-weariness.

Also, Burchill has her actors speak in the accents of Victorian England.

Some meet the challenge with gusto. Since so much of Carroll’s wit is verbal, a vocal coach could sharpen both accents and mushmouths. Nevertheless, Burchill coaxes some vivid portrayals from her enthusiastic cast.

John Hall endows the Caterpillar with an elegant hauteur — and crisp diction — as he lounges on a mushroom, blowing bubbles out of a hookah. (He gives Alice the famous advice about which side of the mushroom can make her grow taller

This year’s themes: lighthouses & our ongoing study of shark development & behavior.

ing Alice on time’s vagaries and why they host a perpetual tea party.

Heather Rudzenski is a commanding Queen of Hearts. With an expressive face and confident physical comedy, she gives a nice contrast to all the verbal shenanigans. Her King of Hearts, Jack Heinen, is an engaging consort.

Kaiden Miller and Jacob Dickson as Tweedledum and Tweedledee turn “The Walrus and the Carpenter” into a high-spirited vaudeville song-anddance routine. And is Robert Prevatt Jr.’s White Knight rapping when he sings Alice a song? More like these three, please.

The real stars of this Alice are the costume designer, Carina Lopez, and the scenic designer, Ben Harrison.

Taking her cues from the original Tenniel illustrations, the 1951 Disney animation, the 2010 Tim Burton film and photographs of Alice Liddell — Carroll’s real-life inspiration — Lopez dresses the Wonderland inhabitants in a harmonious cacophony of saturated colors, outrageous shapes and eye-popping patterns. (Look for all the variations of the chessboard motif.)

Harrison, a mural painter by profession, gives Lopez’s dazzling costumes the perfect background: a muted pastel world of giant toadstools and flowers.

ACT’s Alice in Wonderland doesn’t seek the deeper coming-of-age layers that literary detectives find in Carroll’s books, but Burchill, the director, clearly embraces the author’s view: “I’m very much afraid I didn’t mean anything but nonsense.” Like all great children’s classics, it’s wise nonsense for audiences of all ages. X

CURIOUSER AND CURIOUSER: Bradshaw Call is the Mad Hatter, with Sophie Medlock as Alice in Alice in Wonderland at Asheville Community Theatre, onstage through April 21. Photo by Studio Misha or smaller.) He later appears as the pedantic egghead Humpty Dumpty, who chops logic about words meaning what he chooses them to mean, nothing more, nothing less.

Bradshaw Call and Mark Jones, the Mad Hatter and the March Hare, are a delightfully dotty double act instruct-

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APRIL 10 - 16, 2019

55

SMART BETS

A&E

by Edwin Arnaudin | Send your arts news to ae@mountainx.com

Leon Bridges Leon Bridges’ 2018 sophomore album, Good Thing, solidified the Fort Worth, Texas-based soul singer as far more than a retro act — thanks in part to a Western North Carolina connection. The local duo of King Garbage (Black Mountainbased Zach Cooper and Vic Dimotsis of Asheville) produced the tracks “Lions” and “Mrs.” with the prolific Ricky Reed of Los Angeles, vaulting their own soul sound to the national stage. In the wake of playing Gil ScottHeron and performing the spoken-word poet’s “Whitey on the Moon” in the Neil Armstrong biopic First Man, Bridges heads to Thomas Wolfe Auditorium on Monday, April 15. Keeping the soul theme going, British singer-songwriter Jess Glynne starts off the evening at 7. $39.50-$79.50. uscellularcenterasheville.com.

Photo by Jack McKain

56

The Broadcast Recently tracked at Echo Mountain Recording and produced by members of Tedeschi Trucks Band, the new album Lost My Sight by local rockers The Broadcast, is slated for a late 2019 release. Fans need not wait to hear some of the new songs, however, as the group will debut a revamped live show in a headlining gig on Friday, April 12, at Salvage Station. The evening starts at 8 with a set by fellow Ashevilleans Andrew Scotchie & the River Rats, who are fresh off an invigorating tour of the Western states. Following The Broadcast’s performance, the two ensembles will unite for a special, one-time-only collaborative tribute to Fleetwood Mac, during which Broadcast lead vocalist Caitlin Krisko will get to realize a longtime dream and channel Stevie Nicks for a night. $10 advance/$12 day of show. salvagestation.com.

Photo by Red Hare Photography

Hidden

Rempis/Lopez/Packard Trio

Last summer, Asheville-based body love coach Christine Garvin’s life changed when emergency surgeries left her requiring the use of an ileostomy bag. Along the way, she discovered the surprisingly high number of women throughout the U.S. who contend with a prohibitively expensive health care system that often doesn’t believe their struggles and leaves them, in her words, “hiding their illnesses behind a cloak of shame.”

Together with photographer Sarah Hooker, Garven has created the photo essay exhibit Hidden. The collection features individual and group shots of a diverse set of women who each appear to be in good health but are actually battling various types of chronic pain. The exhibit opens Saturday, April 13, 6-8 p.m., at The BLOCK off Biltmore. Tickets include heavy hors d’oeuvres, a beverage, readings and updates from the women who were photographed. $10. avl.mx/5uw. Photo by Sarah Hooker

Since the summer of 2017, veteran Chicago-based saxophonist Dave Rempis has surrounded himself with a pair of talented improvisational musicians from a generation once removed from his own. Alongside Windy City percussionist Ryan Packard — who lends his gifts to contemporary classical ensembles, indie-rock bands and jazz groups — and popular New York City jazz and improv bassist Brandon Lopez, Rempis freely explores rhythm and tempo within the jazz tradition, producing new sounds each night. The Rempis/Lopez/Packard Trio’s first studio recording, The Early Bird Gets, was released earlier this year, and now the group is taking its show on the road with a tour of the East Coast and Midwest. The circuit includes a Wednesday, April 17, stop at The Mothlight, with tunes commencing at 9 p.m. $8 advance/$10 day of show. themothlight.com. Photo by Erika Raberg

APRIL 10 - 16, 2019

MOUNTAINX.COM

A & E CALENDAR

Mountain Xpress presents from 7-7:30pm at YMI Cultural Center. $20 and up. Held at Diana Wortham Theatre, 18 Biltmore Ave. INTERMEDIATE/ ADVANCED CONTEMPORARY LINE DANCING • WEDNESDAYS, noon1pm - Intermediate/ advanced contemporary line dancing. $5.

Held at Harvest House, 205 Kenilworth Road LINE DANCING PARTY

DOING NOTHING OFTEN LEADS TO THE VERY BEST OF SOMETHING: A troupe of UNC Asheville students is bound for Scotland this summer to perform a play at Edinburgh’s Festival Fringe, the largest arts festival in the world. This original work of theater is being created almost from scratch by students working with Leon Ingulsrud, co-artistic director of New York City’s SITI Company. Ingulsrud, who is on campus as UNCA’s spring 2019 Black Mountain College Legacy Fellow, chose the famed 1949 Lecture on Nothing by John Cage as a backbone for the new work, Nothing’s Happening: A Black Mountain College Project. Curtain for Nothing’s Happening – A Black Mountain College Project will be at 7:30 p.m., Thursday-Saturday, April 18-20 with a matinee on Saturday, April 20 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $12 general admission, $7 for students. Photo of UNC Asheville students from left, Connor Harmsworth, Lea Gilbert, Sarah Sheek and Dakota Mann, by Adam Taylor, courtesy of UNC Asheville (p. 59)

ART ARTS & WELLNESS FOR VETERANS • MO (4/15), 3-6pm - Felting class for veterans. Registration required. Free. Held at Local Cloth, 207 Coxe Ave. FOLKMOOT SECOND SATURDAY MARKET • 2nd SATURDAYS, 6-9pm - Second Saturday Market featuring vendors, live music, dance lessons, food and beverages.

Free to attend/$10-$15 for dinner/$5 per dance lesson. Held at Folkmoot Friendship Center, 112 Virginia Ave., Waynesville ODYSSEY COOP SECOND SATURDAY OPEN STUDIO • 2nd SATURDAYS, 11am-5pm - "Second Saturday Celebration," event with food, music and artist demonstrations. Free to attend.

Held at Odyssey Cooperative Art Gallery, 238 Clingman Ave.

VISITING ARTIST LECTURE • TU (4/16), 4pm - Devon le Fae slide presentation and talk on the collaborative nature of the artist-model relationship.

Free. Held at Haywood Community College, Creative Arts Building, Room 7105, 185 Freedlander Drive, Clyde

ART/CRAFT STROLLS & FAIRS POTTERS OF MADISON COUNTY • SA (4/13), 9am-4pm - Pottery show and sale featuring ceramic artists from Madison county.

Free to attend. Held at Marshall High Studios, 115 Blanahassett Island, Marshall SECOND SATURDAYS • 2nd SATURDAYS, 11am-4:30pm - River Arts District gallery walks and open studios featuring more than 200 artists. Information: riverartsdistrict.com. Free to attend/Free trolley. Held at River Arts District.

AUDITIONS & CALL TO ARTISTS AIRING OF THE QUILTS • Through FR (4/12) Open registration for quilters and quilt collectors to enter the Airing of the Quilts exhibition taking place Saturday, May 4. Registration: appwomen.org/quilts.

Held at Appalachian Women's Museum, 100 W. Hometown Place, Sylva ARTISTS IN THE WINDOW • A call to artists working in all media to display their work in the windows of the Center. Send requests to participate and schedule to info@ thecenterai.com. Include images of work or weblink. Held at The Center for Art & Inspiration, 927 Greenville Highway, Hendersonville ASHEVILLE GALLERY OF ART INVITES ARTIST SUBMISSIONS • MO (4/15), noon5:30pm - Applications for new artists accepted.

Information: 828-2515796. Held at Asheville

Gallery of Art, 82 Patton Ave.

DANCE LEARN TO DANCE (PD.) Ballroom, Swing, Waltz, Salsa, Wedding, TwoStep, Special Events.

Lessons, Workshops, Classes and Dance Events in Asheville. Certified instructor. Contact Richard for information: 828-333-0715, naturalrichard@mac.com, www.DanceForLife.net WAVE STUDIOS GROUP CLASSES (PD.) Offers Private of Beginner Group Lessons in Ballroom, Latin and Swing. Beginner Group Classes are held Monday and Thursday, 6pm. $10/person. No partner necessary. Try a Free Sample Private Lesson!

Call to schedule: 828575-0905. Full Schedule www.waveasheville.com.

BALLET HISPÁNICO • WE (4/10), 8pm - Ballet Hispánico, dance performance. Preperformance discussions

• SA (4/13), 2:305:30pm - Line Dancing Party open to all dancers and non-dancers. $10. Held at Montford Community Center, 34 Pearson Drive OLD FARMER'S BALL oldfarmersball.com • 2nd SUNDAYS, 3-5pm - Family contra/ square dances for families with children ages 6-12. All ages welcome. Free. Held at Harvest House, 205 Kenilworth Road • THURSDAYS, 7:3011pm - Old Farmers Ball, contra dance. $8/$7 members/$1 Warren Wilson Community. Held in Bryson Gym Held at Warren Wilson College, 701 Warren Wilson Road, Swannanoa STEPHENS LEE RECREATION CENTER 30 George Washington Carver Ave. • THURSDAYS, noon-1pm - Improver contemporary line dancing. $5.

• THURSDAYS, 1:30-2:30pm - Beginner contemporary line dancing. $5.

MUSIC AFRICAN DRUM LESSONS AT SKINNY BEATS SOUND SHOP (PD.) Wednesdays 6pm. Billy Zanski teaches a fun approach to connecting with your inner rhythm.

Drop-ins welcome. • Drums provided. $15/ class. (828) 768-2826. skinnybeatsdrums.com

A NIGHT OF SPRING MUSIC • TU (4/16), 7pm - "A Night of Spring Music," concert with NC School of the Arts Faculty. $25.

Held at Hart Theatre, 250 Pigeon St., Waynesville ASHEVILLE CELLO CHOIR • SU (4/14), 3pm Asheville Cello Choir, concert with works by Gruetzmacher, Critelli, Golterman Shorakovich and Rabinowitz. Admission by donation. Held at St. Matthias Church, 1 Dundee St.

BEST OF

WNC E VOTW NO

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VOTE FOR BEST OF

ASHEVILLE DRUM CIRCLE • FRIDAYS, 6-9:50pm - Asheville outdoor drum circle. Free. Held at Pritchard Park, 4 College St. AVITAL MEETS AVITAL • SA (4/13), 8pm - Mainstage Series: Avital Meets Avital, concert. $20 and up.

Held at Diana Wortham Theatre, 18 Biltmore Ave.

Voted “Best of” Multiple Categories For

17 Years!

Mans Ruin Tattoo & Piercing

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BUNCOMBE COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARIES buncombecounty.org/ governing/depts/library • TH (4/11), 4pm - Heartbeat Native American drumming class with Sonia Brooks.

Registration required.

Free. Held at East Asheville Library, 902 Tunnel Road • MO (4/15), 6pm - Jazz hour with Michael Jefry Stevens. Free. Held at Pack Memorial Library, 67 Haywood St. CHOIRS OF GRACE • WE (4/10), 6pm Choirs of Grace present Requiem by Gabriel Faure. Free. Held at Grace Lutheran Church, 1245 6th Ave W., Hendersonville JAZZ FESTIVAL • SA (4/13), 7:30pm - Jazz Festival concert featuring Bob Sheppard, Ed Soph, faculty and student musicians.

Free. Held at Western Carolina University, Coulter Building, Cullowhee

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APRIL 10 - 16, 2019

57

Spring 2019

Nonprofit issue THE MIC IS OPEN! 7pm-9pm

Sign-ups on the truck » 6:30pm All Welcome!

PAN HARMONIA • WE (4/10), 7:30pm - "Melodic Dreaming," interactive concert for all ages featuring flutes and piano. $25/$10-$20 advance/$5 students.

Held at Black Mountain College Museum & Arts Center, 120 College St.

Music, poetry, comedy, etc...

Trivia Wednesdays * Drag Thursdays Open Mic Night Fridays * Live Music Saturdays

LEON BRIDGES • MO (4/15), 7pm - Leon Bridges, concert.

Information: uscellularcenterasheville.com. $40 and up. Held at Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, 87 Haywood St. OLE TYME PICKERS • FR (4/12), 7-9pm - Ole Tyme Pickers, bluegrass/ country. Free. Held at Big Willow Community Building, Willow Road, Hendersonville

OPEN MIC NIGHT EVERY FRIDAY

Events EVERY WEEK!

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Coming May 15!

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SONIC WORLD FUSION • TH (4/11), 7:30pm - Sonic World Fusion concert includes performances by Free Plant Radio, WCU Concert Choir, WCU Inspirational Gospel Choir and Balinese Gamelan Angklung. Free. Held at Western Carolina University, Coulter Building, Cullowhee STAGE DOOR SERIES • TU (4/16), 7pm - Stage Door Series: Zendetta, jazz trio. $5. Held at

58

APRIL 10 - 16, 2019

MOUNTAINX.COM

by Deborah Robertson

Tryon Fine Arts Center, 34 Melrose Ave., Tryon TOM FISCH • TH (4/11), 6-7pm Singer/songwriter Tom Fisch, concert. Free.

Held at Henderson County Public Library, 301 N. Washington St., Hendersonville

SPOKEN & WRITTEN WORD AN EVENING WITH DAVID SEDARIS • SU (4/14), 7pm - David Sedaris storytelling event. Tickets: uscellularcenterasheville. com. $40 and up. Held at Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, 87 Haywood St. ASHEVILLE POETRY SLAM • TH (4/18), 8pm Asheville Poetry Slam, poetry event. $5/$10 to compete. Held at LaZoom Room, 76 Biltmore Ave. ASHEVILLE WORDFEST avlwordfest.com • FR (4/12) through SU (4/14) - Literary event featuring readings and workshops with poets, authors, artists, storytellers and community facilitators. See website for information, schedule and prices. Held at

Lenoir-Rhyne University, 36 Montford Ave. • FR (4/12), 7pm WORD, spoken word event with DeWayne Barton, Lee Lindsey and David Joe Miller. $12. Held at Attic Salt Theatre, The Mills at Riverside, 2002 Riverside Drive, Suite 42-O • SA (4/13), 5pm Poetry reading featuring students writers from Mars Hill University and UNC Asheville. $8.

Held at Black Mountain College Museum, 120 College St. BARBARA BROWN TAYLOR AUTHOR EVENT • MO (4/15), 6pm Barbara Brown Taylor presents her book, Holy Envy: Finding God in the Faith of Others, in conversation with The Very Reverend Todd Donatelli. Free to attend. Held at All Souls Cathedral, 9 Swan St. BUNCOMBE COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARIES buncombecounty.org/ governing/depts/library • WE (4/10), 4-5:30pm - Creative writing group for adults and teens.

Free. Held at Skyland/ South Buncombe Library, 260 Overlook Road • SA (4/13), 11am - Skyland Nonfiction Book Club Series:

Magnificent Desolation,

by Buzz Aldrin. Free.

Held at Skyland/South Buncombe Library, 260 Overlook Road • TU (4/16), 7pm - Black Mountain Mystery Book Club: Before We Were Yours, by Lisa Wingate.

Free. Held at Black Mountain Library, 105 N. Dougherty St., Black Mountain • TU (4/16), 7pm Fairview Evening Book Club: Hour of the Land,

by Terry Tempest. Free.

Held at Fairview Library, 1 Taylor Road, Fairview • WE (4/17), 3pm - Black Mountain Afternoon Book Club. Free. Held at Black Mountain Public Library, 105 N. Dougherty St., Black Mountain • WE (4/17), 3pm - Enka Candler History Book Club: Katharine of Aragon: The True Queen,

by Allison Weir. Free.

Held at Enka-Candler Library, 1404 Sandhill Road, Candler • TH (4/18), 2:30-4pm Skyland Book Club: Lila,

by Marilynn Robinson.

Free. Held at Skyland/ South Buncombe Library, 260 Overlook Road FIRESTORM BOOKS & COFFEE 610 Haywood Road, 828-255-8115, firestorm.coop

The

• 2nd & 4th FRIDAYS, 2:30pm - Wild Words writing group. Free to attend.

• TU (4/16), 6:30pm - Chiapas Book Club: When a Woman Rises,

by Christine Eber. Free to attend.

• TH (4/18), 6:30pm Brandon Amico presents his poetry collection, Disappearing, Inc. Free to attend.

FLETCHER LIBRARY 120 Library Road, Fletcher, 828-687-1218, library.hendersoncountync.org • 2nd THURSDAYS, 10:30am - Book Club.

Free.

• 2nd THURSDAYS, 1:30pm - Writers' Guild.

Free.

GRATEFUL STEPS ASHEVILLE BOOKFEST • SA (4/13), 11am-6pm - WNC publishers' and self-published authors vending and signing event with presentations by authors. Free to attend. Held at Asheville Outlets, 800 Brevard Road MALAPROP'S BOOKSTORE AND CAFE 55 Haywood St., 828-254-6734, malaprops.com • WE (4/10), 6pm - Evan Williams presents his

book, Ripples. Free to attend.

• SU (4/14), 3pm - Tina Barr, author of Green Target, winner of the Barrow Street Press Book Prize hosts this reading by students in her spring poetry workshop at the Great Smokies Writing Program. Free to attend.

• SU (4/14), 3pm Tommy Hays hosts the monthly reading series featuring work from UNCA’s Great Smokies Writing Program and The Great Smokies Review. Free to attend.

• WE (4/17), 6pm - Frank Harmon presents his book, Native Places: Drawing as a Way to See. Free to attend.

• TH (4/18), 6pm - Andrew Reynolds presents his book, The Children of Harvey Milk: How LGBTQ Politicians Changed the World, in conversation with Jasmine Beach-Ferrara.

Free to attend.

• TH (4/18), 7pm - The pick for April is Joan of Arc: A Life Transfigured

by Kathryn Harrison.

Free to attend.

RACHEL HOWARD AUTHOR EVENT • SU (4/14), 3-4:30pm Rachel Howard presents her book, The Risk of Us. Free to attend.

Held at Flatiron Writers

Room Literary Center, 5 Covington St.

THEATER 'AN ILIAD' • THURSDAYS through SUNDAYS (4/21) - An Iliad, produced by Rarely Theatre. Thurs.-Sat.: 7:30pm. Sun.: 2:30pm. $18. Held at 35below, 35 E. Walnut St. 'BEAUTY AND THE BEAST' • THURSDAY through SUNDAY (4/11) until (4/14) - Beauty and the Beast, performed by students and faculty from the School of Stage and Screen. Thurs.-Sat.: 7:30pm. Sun.: 3pm. $20/$10 students and children. Held at The WCU Bardo Arts Center, 199 Centennial Drive, Cullowhee 'NOTHING'S HAPPENING: A BLACK MOUNTAIN COLLEGE PROJECT' • THURSDAY through SATURDAY (4/18) until (4/20) - Nothing's Happening: A Black Mountain College Project, performance by students in collaboration with guest director Leon Ingulsrud. Thurs.-Sat.: 7:30pm. Sat.: 2pm. $12/$7 students. Held at Belk Theatre, UNC

Asheville Campus, 1 University Heights 'PLAY ON!' • FRIDAYS through SUNDAYS (4/12) until (4/28) - Play On!, comedy. Fri. & Sat.: 7:30pm.

Sun.: 3pm. $18/$12 student/$6 children.

Held at Brevard Little Theatre, 55 E. Jordan St., Brevard 'SYLVIA' • WEDNESDAYS through SUNDAY until (4/20) - Sylvia, comedy.

Wed., Thurs., Sat. & Sun.: 2pm. Wed. & Thurs.: 7:30pm. Fri. & Sat.: 8pm. $20 and up.

Held at Flat Rock Playhouse, 2661 Highway 225, Flat Rock ASHEVILLE COMMUNITY THEATRE 35 E. Walnut St., 828254-1320, ashevilletheatre.org • FRIDAYS through SUNDAYS (4/5) until (4/21) - Alice in Wonderland. Fri. & Sat.: 7:30pm.

Sun.: 2:30pm. $26/$12 children.

• SA (4/13), 10am Shadow puppet play by Red Herring Puppets supports classroom learning about life cycles and animal groups. $7.

Bridal Bargain Yard Sale

HOSTED BY HAIKU AND CAROLINA DREAM WEDDINGS

Sustainability

Series CELEBRATING EARTH DAY 2019

Each week in April

THIS SATURDAY 9th Annual Madison County Potters Market 9am-4pm • April 13th, 2019 21 nationally recognized potters from Madison County and beyond!

Held at Historic Marshall High Studios, Marshall, NC 28753

Free admission!

Delicious coffee and pastries available Lunch by Bun Intended

www.pottersofmadisoncounty.com

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APRIL 10 - 16, 2019

59

GALLERY DIRECTORY

BEER WEEK 2019 GUIDE

AMERICAN FOLK ART AND FRAMING • 7th Annual Face Jug Show, exhibition of southern face jugs.

April 4-April 18 64 Biltmore Ave.

PENLAND SCHOOL OF CRAFTS 67 Doras Trail, Bakersville • Compose | Decompose, a mixed-media sculpture and sound installation.

March 30-April 30 • Simple Things, Joseph Pintz’s functional and sculptural ceramic works.

March 30-May 5

ANANDA • Motel-room art reconstituted by local artists.

March 13-April 24 22 Broadway

THE ASHEVILLE SCHOOL

ART AT MARS HILL UNIVERSITY • Student art exhibition including painting, drawing, graphic arts, ceramics, sculpture, photography and mixedmedia.

March 27-April 19 265 Cascade St., Mars Hill ART AT WCU • MFA thesis exhibitions.

April 9-May 3 199 Centennial Drive, Cullowhee ART IN THE AIRPORT • Student Artwork Showcase representing five WNC counties.

Feb. 27-April 22 61 Terminal Drive Fletcher ASHEVILLE GALLERY OF ART • A Visual Contemplation: Land, Sea and Sky, exhibition of works by Karen Keil Brown and Gayle Havens.

April 1-April 29 82 Patton Ave.

COMING THIS SPRING Advertise@MountainX.com 60

APRIL 10 - 16, 2019

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BLACK MOUNTAIN CENTER FOR THE ARTS • Becoming Whole: A Study of Art and Healing, exhibition of works focused on mental health curated by The Black Mountain Counseling Center. Reception: Friday, April 12, 6-8pm.

April 12-May 10 225 W. State St., Black Mountain DISTRICT WINE BAR • James Daniel drawings and paintings.

April 4-May 4 37 Paynes Way, Suite 9, Asheville DOWNTOWN BOOKS & NEWS • Noble Beasts, exhibition of oil paintings by Elizabeth Albright.

April 5-April 30 67 N. Lexington Ave. GALLERY 1 • Exhibition of photographs by Jennifer Robin.

• Visions of America: A Portfolio of Photographs Celebrating WPA Era Art and Artists of the 1930s and 1940s.

March 21-April 18 360 Asheville School Road

A LEAF OF GRASS IS NO LESS THAN THE JOURNEY-WORK OF THE STARS: The Spotlight Gallery, on the second floor of the Wedge Studios, hosts a monthlong exhibit of pastels by Elise Okrend called Grasses and Marsh.

Okrend invites the viewer to connect to a sense of healing and inner peace, escaping into a spiritual dimension. An opening reception will be held Thursday, April 11, 5:30-7:30 p.m. The exhibit is free and open to the public. Photo of “Heron Hideaway” courtesy of the artist, Elise Okrend April 5-April 30 604 W. Main St., Sylva GRAND BOHEMIAN GALLERY • Exhibition of paintings

by Stefan Horik. Reception: Friday, April 12, 5:30-8pm.

April 12-May 10 11 Boston Way GROVEWOOD GALLERY • All Together Now: A Pediatric Patients’ Art Show.

April 6-April 30 111 Grovewood Road HAYWOOD COMMUNITY COLLEGE • Professional crafts faculty exhibition.

March 27-April 17 185 Freedlander Drive, Clyde HAYWOOD COUNTY ARTS COUNCIL • Inspired Art Ministry, exhibition of work

by Char Avrunin and students.

April 5-April 27 86 N. Main St., Waynesville

MADISON COUNTY ARTS COUNCIL • Traveling postcard exhibit.

March 15-April 15 90 S. Main St., Marshall MARK BETTIS STUDIO & GALLERY • 828, exhibition of works by five local artists with over 50 8x8 works.

Reception: Saturday, April 13, 5:30-7:30pm.

April 13-May 11 123 Roberts St. MICA FINE CONTEMPORARY CRAFT • Work by Sondra Dorn, Terry Gess and Bryant Holsenbeck.

April 5-June 17 37 N. Mitchell Ave., Bakersville MUSEUM OF THE CHEROKEE INDIAN • People of the Clay: Contemporary Cherokee Potters, exhibition featuring works by over 60 potters from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and Cherokee Nation.

April 6-May 11 589 Tsali Blvd, Cherokee

THE TRYON DEPOT ROOM • Exhibition of the paintings of Gary Cooley.

April 3-April 30 22 Depot St., Tryon THE WEDGE STUDIOS • Grasses and Marsh, pastels by Elise Okrend.

Reception, Thursday, April 11, 5:30-7:30pm.

March 1-30 129 Roberts St. THE WEDGE AT FOUNDATION • MultiModal Unity, exhibition of photography

by Eric Howard.

March 18-April 15 5 Foundy St. TOE RIVER ARTS COUNCIL • Toe River Arts’ 13th Annual Blacksmith Exhibition. March 30-April 27 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine TRACEY MORGAN GALLERY • Upstate, exhibition of photographs by Tema Stauffer. Reception: Friday, April 12, 6-8pm.

April 12-May 10 188 Coxe Ave. UPSTAIRS ARTSPACE 49 S. Trade St., Tryon • Light, Color & Action, exhibition featuring work

by Linda Gritta, Patricia Kilburg and Karen Weihs.

March 23-April 20 • Seem, exhibition featuring work by Susan Alta Martin and Stacey Davidson.

March 23-April 20

CLUBLAND

TAKE IT OUTSIDE: On Saturday, April 20, Pisgah Brewing celebrates its 14th anniversary with an array of acts on its outdoor stage. The lineup includes headliner Keller Williams Grateful Grass (pictured), featuring Love Cannon; John Medeski’s Mad Skillet and the full-band version of Knower. The show begins at 5:30 p.m. $14 advance/$35 VIP. pisgahbrewing.com. Photo by Jay Blakeburg

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10

JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Old Time Jam, 5:00PM

5 WALNUT WINE BAR Les Amis, African folk music), 8:00PM

LAZY DIAMOND Killer Karaoke w/ KJ Tim-O, 10:00PM

ALLEY CAT WINE BAR Karoake w/ Kitty Savage, 8:00PM

LIPINSKY AUDITORIUM AT UNC ASHEVILLE Blue Ridge Orchestra Open Rehearsal, 7:00PM

AMBROSE WEST Worthwhile Sounds Presents: Steve Forbert, 8:00PM

LOBSTER TRAP Cigar Brothers, 6:30PM

ASHEVILLE GUITAR BAR Bity City Blues Jam with host Chicago Don, 8:00PM

NANTAHALA BREWING'S ASHEVILLE OUTPOST Robert's Totally Rad Trivia, 7:00PM

BLUE MOUNTAIN PIZZA & BREW PUB Open Mic hosted by Billy Owens, 7:00PM

NOBLE KAVA Poetry Open Mic w/ Caleb Beissert (7:30pm sign up), 8:00PM

BYWATER Open Can of Jam, 9:00PM CORK & KEG 3 Cool Cats, 7:30PM

ODDITORIUM Synergy Story Slam, 7:00PM Terri Lynn Davis, Thomas Hinds, Jon Dwyer (country), 9:00PM

CROW & QUILL Black Sea Beat Society (Balkan, Klezmer, & Turkish party band), 9:00PM

ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Disclaimer Comedy Open Mic, 9:00PM

DIANA WORTHAM THEATRE Ballet Hispánico, 8:00PM

ONE WORLD BREWING WEST OWB West: Latin Dance Night w/ DJ Oscar (Salsa, Bachata, Merengue), 9:00PM

DOUBLE CROWN Western Wednesday w/ Hearts Gone South+ DJ, 9:00PM FUNKATORIUM The Saylor Brothers, 6:30PM ISIS MUSIC HALL AND KITCHEN 743 Oliver Penn, 7:00PM

ORANGE PEEL The Rival Sons w/ Sheepdogs, 8:00PM SANCTUARY BREWING COMPANY French Broad Valley Music Association Mountain Music Jam, 6:00PM

SLY GROG LOUNGE Get Weird Wednesdays at Sly Grog! Electronic collaboration, 9:00PM SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN BREWERY Jazz Night hosted by Jason DeCristofaro, 6:30PM THE BLOCK OFF BILTMORE W.I.L.D. - Wednesday Interactive Love Dance, 7:30PM THE GOLDEN FLEECE Scots-Baroque ChamberFolk w/ The Tune Shepherds, 7:00PM THE GREY EAGLE LEAF Live! AVL w/ Cimafunk, 6:00PM Chris Jones & The Night Drivers Album Release Show w/ Mason Via & Hot Trail Mix, 8:30PM THE MOTHLIGHT Thelma and the Sleaze w/ Kitty Tsunami & The Styrofoam Turtles, 9:30PM THE TOWN PUMP Wednesday Open Mic w/ David, 9:00PM TRESSA'S DOWNTOWN JAZZ AND BLUES Blues & Soul Jam, 9:00PM

THURSDAY, APRIL 11 5 WALNUT WINE BAR Pleasure Chest, (blues, rock, soul), 8:00PM ARCHETYPE BREWING Canned Heat Vinyl Night, 5:00PM ASHEVILLE CLUB Live Cello, 4:30PM ASHEVILLE GUITAR BAR Will Ray & the Space Cooties, 7:00PM ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Consider the Source: Metatour 2019 w/ Litz, 7:00PM BEN'S TUNE UP SakeOke (Karaoke), 8:00PM BLUE MOUNTAIN PIZZA & BREW PUB Ben Phan, 7:00PM BYWATER Open Electric Country Jam hosted by John Duncan, 7:00PM CROW & QUILL Carolina Catskins (gritty ragtime jazz), 10:00PM DOUBLE CROWN OLD GOLD w/ DJ Jasper (killer rock n' soul vinyl), 10:00PM

UPCOUNTRY BREWING COMPANY Music Bingo, 8:00PM

FLEETWOOD'S Space Tyger, Tin Foil Hat & Half|State, 5:00PM

WHITE HORSE BLACK MOUNTAIN Bob Shephard Trio, 7:30PM

FLOOD GALLERY FINE ART CENTER True Home Open Mic, 6:30PM

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APRIL 10 - 16, 2019

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C LUBLAND FRENCH BROAD RIVER BREWERY Kevin Williams from Moves, 7:00PM HIGHLAND BREWING COMPANY Thursday Night Blues w/ The Patrick Dodd Trio, 7:00PM

COMING SOON WED 4/10 5:00PM–SUSHI NIGHT 7:00PM–OLIVER PENN

THU 4/11 7:00PM–MAMA’S BROKE WITH ANNA TIVEL 8:30PM- AMY STEINBERG

FRI 4/12 7:00PM–DAN FRECHETTE AND LAUREL THOMSEN

ISIS MUSIC HALL AND KITCHEN 743 Mama’s Broke w/ Anna Tivel, 7:00PM Amy Steinberg, 8:30PM JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Bluegrass Jam, 7:00PM LAZY DIAMOND 80's INVASION (80's dance party), 10:00PM LOBSTER TRAP Hank Bones, 6:30PM LOCAL 604 BOTTLE SHOP Vinyl Record Night, 7:00PM ODDITORIUM Anywhere from Here, Convalescent, Feelings Club (screamo), 9:00PM

DANIELLE NICOLE

9:00PM- DANIELLE NICOLE BAND SAT 4/13 7:00PM–PLYWOOD COWBOY 8:30PM–THE BRUCE KATZ BAND

SUN 4/14 6:00PM–LULA WILES 7:30PM- AL PETTEWAY & AMY WHITE: 25 YEAR CELEBRATION

TUE 4/16 7:30PM–TUESDAY BLUEGRASS W/ ROB PARKS & FRIENDS

WED 4/17 5:00PM–SUSHI NIGHT 7:00PM–WYATT EDMONSON & LAURA RABELL

THU 4/18 7:00PM–JON SHAIN AND FJ VENTRE

FRI 4/19 7:00PM–BETTMAN & HALPIN, AMERICANA SONGS & STORIES 8:30PM–CARSIE BLANTON WITH LANEY JONES

SAT 4/20 9:00PM–BRIE CAPONE FAREWELL SHOW FEAT. KISMET

SUN 4/21 6:00PM–JON SHAIN AND FJ VENTRE 7:30PM–ALIEN MUSIC CLUB

TUE 4/23 7:30PM–TUES.BLUEGRASS W/ MASON VIA & HOT TRAIL MIX

ISISASHEVILLE.COM DINNER MENU TIL 9:30PM LATE NIGHT MENU TIL 12AM

TUES-SUN 5PM-until 743 HAYWOOD RD 828-575-2737

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ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Mitch's Totally Rad Trivia, 7:00PM An Evening w/ Tweed, 10:00PM

SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN BREWERY Mr Jimmy's tribute to Muddy Waters, 7:15PM STRAIGHTAWAY CAFE Acoustic Jam, 6:30PM THE BLOCK OFF BILTMORE Phantom Pantone's 80's Dance Party, 9:00PM THE GREY EAGLE The Subdudes w/ Kerri Powers, 8:00PM THE IMPERIAL LIFE The Burger Kings (rock n' roll), 9:00PM THE TOWN PUMP Western Carolina Writers 9:00PM THE ROOT BAR Dennis Carbone (folk), 7:00PM TRESSA'S DOWNTOWN JAZZ AND BLUES Jesse Barry & The Jam, 9:00PM WEAVER HOUSE The Appalucians (spirited roots, folk, & bluegrass), 7:00PM

FRIDAY, APRIL 12

ONE WORLD BREWING OWB Downtown: Cortez Garza, 7:30PM

5 WALNUT WINE BAR Eleanor & Friends, (Americana fusion), 9:00PM

ONE WORLD BREWING WEST OWB West: West Side Funk Jam, 9:00PM

ALLEY CAT WINE BAR Day and Dream Indie Rock Band, 8:30PM

ORANGE PEEL Dark Star Orchestra, 8:00PM

ASHEVILLE CLUB Live Classical Guitar, 4:30PM

OSKAR BLUES BREWERY The Dear, 6:00PM

ASHEVILLE GUITAR BAR John Bogdanovich Birthday Jam, 7:00PM

PACK'S TAVERN Steve Moseley (acoustic rock), 8:00PM PILLAR ROOFTOP BAR Drayton and the Dreamboats, 7:00PM PISGAH BREWING COMPANY El Dub, 8:00PM PURPLE ONION CAFE Chuck Brodsky, 7:30PM RAINER'S CAFE AND BAR Greenville Jazz Collective: Vocal Jazz Night feat. Too Human, 7:30PM SANCTUARY BREWING COMPANY Human Ladder, 7:00PM

ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Zach Deputy, 9:00PM BATTERY PARK BOOK EXCHANGE Dinah's Daydream (Gypsy jazz trio), 7:00PM BEN'S TUNE UP DJ Kilby Spinning Vinyl, 10:00PM BLUE MOUNTAIN PIZZA & BREW PUB Acoustic Swing, 7:00PM CAPELLA ON 9 @ THE AC HOTEL DJ Dance Party w/ Phantom Pantone DJ Collective, 9:00PM CATAWBA BREWING SOUTH SLOPE Corn in the Mornin', 7:00PM

WED

LEAF LIVE! AVL

WED

CHRIS JONES &

10 CORK & KEG The Old Chevrolette Set, 8:30PM CROW & QUILL Emma G (soul & pop), 9:00PM DOUBLE CROWN Rock n' Soul Obscurities w/ Wild Vinyl DJ, 10:00PM FLEETWOOD'S Spring Fever Dance Pary, 9:00PM FOGGY MOUNTAIN BREWPUB Paper Crowns (Americana, rock), 10:00PM FRENCH BROAD RIVER BREWERY One Leg Up, 7:00PM FUNKATORIUM Drayton and the Dreamboats, 8:00PM GINGER'S REVENGE Daniel and Bets Couper, 8:00PM HIGHLAND BREWING COMPANY Goldie & The Screamers, 7:00PM HOPEY & CO Open Mic Night hosted

by Heather Taylor, 7:00PM ISIS MUSIC HALL AND KITCHEN 743 Dan Frechette & Laurel Thomsen, 7:00PM Danielle Nicole Band, 9:00PM JACK OF THE WOOD PUB David Rosales & His Band of Scoundrels, 9:00PM LAZY DIAMOND Hot n' Nasty (rock n' soul vinyl) w/ DJ Hissy Cruise, 10:00PM LENOIR RHYNE UNIVERSITY Asheville Wordfest Healing the Soul of Appalachia, 12:00AM

THIS WEEK AT AVL MUSIC HALL & THE ONE STOP!!!

LOBSTER TRAP Hot Club of Asheville, 6:30PM

LOCAL 604 BOTTLE SHOP Singer-Songwriter Night, 8:00PM MAD CO BREW HOUSE Chris Jamison & Jackson Dulaney, 6:00PM MOE'S ORIGINAL BBQ WOODFIN Banjo Mitch Duo, 7:00PM NEW BELGIUM BREWERY Gold Light & Snakemush, 5:30PM NOBLE KAVA Kaizen feat. Jeff Sipe, 9:00PM ODDITORIUM Party Foul Weekly Drag (18+), 9:00PM ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Free Dead Fridays feat. members of Phuncle Sam acoustic, 5:30PM Jarvis Jenkins, 7:00PM

RUSTIC GRAPE WINE BAR Alexa Rose, 7:00PM SALVAGE STATION The Broadcast w/ Andrew Scotchie & The River Rats, 8:00PM SANCTUARY BREWING COMPANY The Jamison Adams Project, 8:00PM SLY GROG LOUNGE JaketheHawk:Tour Start a Fire w/Electric Phantom,Pleasure to Burn,Mega-X, 9:00PM

ASHEVILLE CLUB Mr Jimmy, 4:00PM Live Blues, 4:30PM

STRAIGHTAWAY CAFE James Hammel & Matt Kinney, 6:00PM

ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Funk You, 10:00PM

THE BLOCK OFF BILTMORE Flashback Friday at the Block: Peggy Ratusz, 7:30PM

BANKS AVE SES: Satisfaction Every Saturday, 9:00PM

ONE WORLD BREWING WEST OWB West: Freeway Jubilee w/ Arbor Creek, 8:00PM

THE GREY EAGLE Night One w/ Dimmer Twins [SOLD OUT], 9:00PM THE IMPERIAL LIFE DJ Dance Party w/ Phantom Pantone DJ Collective, 9:00PM

OSKAR BLUES BREWERY West End String Band, 6:00PM

THE MOTHLIGHT Spaceman Jones and the Motherships Vol. 3 Release w/ RBTS WIN, 9:00PM

ROOT BAR NO. 1 Mr Jimmy, 9:00PM

THU, 4/11 - SHOW: 9 pm (DOORS: 8 pm ) - adv. $10

THU, 4/11 - SHOW: 10 pm CA$ H DONATION $

TWEED

w/ LITZ

SAT

13

DOUBLE CROWN Soul Motion Dance Party w/ DJ Dr. Filth, 10:00PM FLEETWOOD'S The DiMarcos, Haraikiris & The Callers, 9:00PM

14

THE SUBDUDES

15

W/ MASON VIA & HOT TRAIL MIX

W/ KERRI POWERS

DIMMER TWINS LD (PATTERSON HOOD SO DIMMER TWINS LD (PATTERSON HOOD SO

OPEN MIC NIGHT

TUE

THE ACCIDENTALS

THU

17

OUT!

& MIKE COOLEY OF DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS)

W/ AUBREY HADDARD

MON

16

OUT!

& MIKE COOLEY OF DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS)

THE DIP

W/ DEVILS IN DUST

CAVE TWINS W/ MAGGIE VALLEY BAND

Earth Day Jamboree

April 26th | 4p.m. - 9p.m.

Live local music!

SUSTAINABLE  LOCAL  ORGANIC GLOBAL  FAIR TRADE

FOGGY MOUNTAIN BREWPUB Doug Mcelvy & friends (soul, jam), 10:00PM FRENCH BROAD RIVER BREWERY Sinners & Saints, 7:00PM

SUN

THE NIGHT DRIVERS

YOGA TACO MOSA

Asheville’s longest running live music venue • 185 Clingman Ave TICKETS AVAILABLE AT HARVEST RECORDS & THEGREYEAGLE.COM

BEN'S TUNE UP DJ Lyric & DJ Nex Millen, 10:00PM

CROW & QUILL Sparrow & Her Wingmen (swing jazz), 9:00PM

WHITE HORSE BLACK MOUNTAIN RB Morris, 8:00PM

An Evening w/

12

CORK & KEG Zydeco Ya Ya, 8:30PM

TRESSA'S DOWNTOWN JAZZ AND BLUES The Ben Falcon Trio, 7:30PM The Shean Anderson Blues Band, 10:00PM

Consider the Source

FRI

CATAWBA BREWING SOUTH SLOPE Drayton and the Dreamboats, 7:00PM

THE TOWN PUMP Life Like Water, 9:00PM

PISGAH BREWING COMPANY Daryle Hance Powerhouse, 8:00PM

11

BLUE MOUNTAIN PIZZA & BREW PUB Katie Sachs, 7:00PM

THE GREENHOUSE MOTO CAFE Power Toolz, 8:00PM

ORANGE PEEL The Wood Brothers w/ Steve Poltz, 8:00PM

PILLAR ROOFTOP BAR Roots & Dore Band, 7:00PM

5 WALNUT WINE BAR Virginia & The Slims, (jump blues, swing), 9:00PM

STATIC AGE RECORDS Static Age 14 1/2 Year Anniversary Festival (punk, rock, experimental, surf, electronic), 12:00PM

THE BARRELHOUSE Bug Hunter, 7:00PM

10 THU

SATURDAY, APRIL 13

ASHEVILLE GUITAR BAR Swing Step Band (swing standards), 5:00PM Jody Carroll (deep roots & blues), 8:00PM

ONE WORLD BREWING OWB Downtown: Official Movement PreParty: Detroit To The Underground, 8:00PM

PACK'S TAVERN DJ Moto (dance hits, pop), 9:30PM

ZAMBRA Phil Alley Trio (Gypsy jazz)., 8:00PM

SUN

14

FEAT. CIMAFUNK

21 Battery Park Ave | Ste 101 | 828-505-4863

CHARLIE TRAVELER PRESENTS: Zach Deputy w/ Emma’s Lounge

Jarvis Jenkins Band

Funk You

49 Winchester

FRI, 4/12 - SHOW: 9 pm (DOORS: 8 pm ) - adv. $15

FRI, 4/12 - SHOW: 10 pm CA$ H DONATION $

SAT, 4/13 - SHOW: 10 pm (DOORS: 9 pm ) - adv. $10

SAT, 4/13 - SHOW: 10 pm CA$ H DONATION $

w/ Supatight

+ Jake Quillin (solo)

Mitch’s Totally Rad Trivia - 6:30pm

FRI

disclaimer comedy - 9:30pm

THU

Tuesday Night Funk Jam - 11pm Turntable Tuesday - 10pm

WED

TUE

WEEKLY EVENTS

UPCOMING SHOWS: 4/17 Ghost Light • 4/18 Little People w/ Marley Carroll, Koresma & Captain EZ • 4/19 Arouna x Biko Album Release • 4/20 Off with Your Radiohead • 4/25 BoomBox

F ree Dead F riday - 5pm

TICKETS & FULL CALENDAR AVAILABLE AT ASHEVILLEMUSICHALL.COM

@AVLMusicHall MOUNTAINX.COM

@OneStopAVL APRIL 10 - 16, 2019

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Local

HOUSE DIVIDED: One World Brewing West hosts the second iteration of its electronic music and craft beer-focused festival, Phazed. More than 10 breweries will be represented while local DJs (among them Brandon Audette, Juan Bounce, BomBassic, Shades of Jade and DJ lil Meow Meow, pictured) perform on both indoor and outdoor stages. Styles include house, ambient, techno, lo-fi, disco and more. Saturday, April 13, starting at noon. $10. oneworldbrewing.com. Photo courtesy of the artist

UPCOMING SHOWS: DOORS 7PM

APR 10

WORTHWHILE SOUNDS PRESENTS:

STEVE FORBERT

DOORS 7PM

CONCERTS FOR HUMAN HARMONY:

SHOW 8PM

APR 10

SHOW 8PM

APR 14

THE BEAUTY OF UNITY

APR 14

DOORS 7PM

WORTHWHILE SOUNDS PRESENTS:

SHOW 8PM

APR 16

WILL HOGE

WITH BRANDY ZDAN

APR 16

DOORS 7PM PRESENTED BY CAROLINA HEMP COMPANY: SHOW 8PM

APR 18

420 BOOGIE PRE-PARTY WITH GROOVE FETISH + NOCAB RD

APR 18

DOORS 7PM

WORTHWHILE SOUNDS PRESENTS:

SHOW 8PM

APR 19

CHARLIE HUNTER + LUCY WOODWARD

APR 19

TICKETS SOLD HERE: W W W. A M B R O S E W E S T. C O M BOX OFFICES: T H E H O N E Y P O T & T H E C I RC L E

BOOK YOUR WEDDING OR EVENT NOW: 828.332.3090 312 HAYWOOD ROAD

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FUNKATORIUM Bobby Miller and the Virginia Daredevils, 8:00PM

NEW BELGIUM BREWERY Asheville Bread Festival 2019, 10:00AM

GINGER'S REVENGE Brian Hill (rock, reggae), 2:30PM

NOBLE KAVA Conor Law Trio, 9:00PM

HIGHLAND BREWING COMPANY Live Music with Boogi Therapi, 7:00PM

ODDITORIUM The Savannah Sweet Tease Burlesque Revue (18+), 9:00PM

ISIS MUSIC HALL AND KITCHEN 743 Plywood Cowboy, 7:00PM The Bruce Katz Band, 8:30PM

ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL 49 Winchester, 10:00PM

JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Another Country, 9:00PM

ONE WORLD BREWING WEST OWB West: Phazed -Craft Beer & Electronic Music Festival, 12:00PM

LAZOOM ROOM LaZoom Comedy Night: Holly Lynnea, 9:00PM

ORANGE PEEL The Wood Brothers w/ Steve Poltz, 8:00PM

LAZY DIAMOND Saturday Swing-a-ling w/ DJs Arieh & Chrissy, 10:00PM

OSKAR BLUES BREWERY Jeff Michaels Folkadelic Jam, 6:00PM

LOBSTER TRAP Sean Mason Trio, 6:30PM LOCAL 604 BOTTLE SHOP Live Synth Saturdays, 7:00PM MG ROAD Late Night Dance Parties w/ DJ Lil Meow Meow, 10:00PM

SALVAGE STATION Paws & Effect Pop Up Putt Putt Benefit, 12:00PM Taylor Martin w/ the Melody Trucks Band, 8:00PM

TRESSA'S DOWNTOWN JAZZ AND BLUES Chuck Lichtenberger, 7:30PM The Vines w/Ruby Mayfield, 10:00PM

SANCTUARY BREWING COMPANY The Long View, 8:00PM

TWISTED LAUREL DJ Dance Party w/ Phantom Pantone DJ Collective, 11:00PM

SLY GROG LOUNGE MOVE #46 w/ Joe Pompeo, 9:00PM STATIC AGE RECORDS Static Age 14 1/2 Year Anniversary Festival (punk, rock, experimental, surf, electronic), 12:00PM STRAIGHTAWAY CAFE Red Leg Husky, 6:00PM THE BLOCK OFF BILTMORE CommUNITY Salsa & Latin Saturday Dance Night w/DJ Edi Fuentes (lesson at 9:00pm), 9:30PM

UPCOUNTRY BREWING COMPANY Loretta Lynn Birthday Bash!, 8:00PM W XYZ BAR AT ALOFT GypsyGrass (gypsy jazz, bluegrass), 8:00PM WHITE HORSE BLACK MOUNTAIN The Asheville Jazz Orchestra, 8:00PM YACHT CLUB Iggy Radio, 3:00PM ZAMBRA Killawatts (jazz), 8:00PM

PACK'S TAVERN Flashback (classic hits, rock), 9:30PM

THE GREENHOUSE MOTO CAFE Carolina Lowdown Band, 8:00PM

PILLAR ROOFTOP BAR The Paper Crowns, 7:00PM

THE GREY EAGLE Night Two w/ Dimmer Twins [SOLD OUT], 9:00PM

5 WALNUT WINE BAR Roots & Dore, (blues, roots), 7:00PM

PURPLE ONION CAFE Peggy Ratusz Trio, 8:30PM

THE MOTHLIGHT Hand Habits w/ Tasha, 9:00PM

ARCHETYPE BREWING Post-Brunch Blues, 4:00PM

SUNDAY, APRIL 14

ASHEVILLE CLUB Live Bluegrass, 4:30PM

LOBSTER TRAP MandoCyn duo, 6:30PM

ASHEVILLE GUITAR BAR Classical Guitar Society Meeting & Player's Circle, 1:00PM Pot Luck & Musician's Jam, 3:30PM

NEW BELGIUM BREWERY Second Line Sunday Brunch, 11:30AM

BEN'S TUNE UP Good Vibe Sundays w/ DJ Oso Rey (reggae), 3:00PM BLUE MOUNTAIN PIZZA & BREW PUB Tim McWilliams, 7:00PM

ODDITORIUM Dyke Nyght, 9:00PM ONE WORLD BREWING WEST OWB West: Harmonia On Haywood: 4th Annual Fundraiser, 12:00PM OSKAR BLUES BREWERY Evan Button, 2:00PM

TAVERN Downtown on the Park Eclectic Menu • Over 30 Taps • Patio 15 TV’s • Sports Room • 110” Projector Event Space • Shuffleboard Open 7 Days 11am - Late Night THE SUNDAY SOCIAL LUB C IC ON THE P MUS ATIO @ 4:30PM

THU. 4/11 Steve Moseley Duo (acoustic rock)

BYWATER Sunday Bluegrass Jam, 4:00PM

PACK'S TAVERN Sunday Social Club, 4:30PM

CATAWBA BREWING SOUTH SLOPE Bentley Andrews, 6:00PM

PISGAH BREWING COMPANY Pisgah Sunday Jam hosted by Travers Brothership, 6:30PM

(dance hits, pop)

CLADDAGH RESTAURANT & PUB Queens With A Cause: April Drag Brunch Supports Local Charity, 12:30PM

SANCTUARY BREWING COMPANY Derek McCoy & Tim Winter Duo, 1:00PM

(classic hits, rock)

CORK & KEG Sunday Matinee w/ The Big Dixie Swingers & George Jackson Band, 4:00PM CROW & QUILL Sundays are a Drag (Easter themed drag night), 9:00PM DOUBLE CROWN Killer Karaoke w/ KJ TIM O, 10:00PM FLEETWOOD'S Fever Beam, Kitty Tsunami & The Minnie's, 9:00PM FLOOD GALLERY FINE ART CENTER Learn the ukulele w/ Ash Devine, 2:00PM FUNKATORIUM Bluegrass Brunch w/ Gary Macfiddle, 11:00AM HIGHLAND BREWING COMPANY Reggae Sunday w/ Chalwa, 1:00PM HILTON ASHEVILLE BILTMORE PARK Live at Roux, 11:00AM ISIS MUSIC HALL AND KITCHEN 743 Lula Wiles, 6:00PM Al Petteway & Amy White, 7:30PM

FRI. 4/12 DJ MoTo

SAT. 4/13 Flashback

SLY GROG LOUNGE Sly Grog Open Open Mic, 6:30PM STATIC AGE RECORDS Static Age 14 1/2 Year Anniversary Festival (punk, rock, experimental, surf, electronic), 12:00PM

20 S. Spruce St. • 225.6944 packStavern.com

STRAIGHTAWAY CAFE Lucky James, 1:00PM THE BLOCK OFF BILTMORE Sweet Sounds of the 70's Fundraiser Dance for Journey w/ Peggy Ratusz & Paula Hanke, 5:30PM THE GREENHOUSE MOTO CAFE Tools on Stools, 3:00PM THE GREY EAGLE The Dip w/ Aubrey Haddard, 9:00PM THE IMPERIAL LIFE DJ Dance Party w/ Phantom Pantone DJ Collective, 9:00PM THE MOTHLIGHT Guerrilla Toss w/ King Garbage & Space Heater, 9:00PM

JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Traditional Irish/Celtic Jam, 3:00PM

THE SPINNING JENNY Scotty Hawkins Benefit feat. Mac Arnold & Plate Full O' Blues, Piedmont Boys, Marvin King String Band, Shane Pruitt, Ruddy Blue Shoes & more, 5:00PM

JARGON Sunday Blunch: Mark Guest & Mary Pearson (jazz), 11:00AM

THE VELO FELLOW "The Sounds of New Orleans" GJC Fundraiser, 6:30PM

LAZY DIAMOND Mountain Movers, Planting Moon, Dorji & Louise (psych), 10:00PM

THOMAS WOLFE AUDITORIUM An Evening w/ David Sedaris of NPR, 7:00PM

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TWIN LEAF BREWERY Robert's Game of Thrones Trivia, 6:00PM

17 Taps & Domestics • Nightly Drink Specials

WHITE HORSE BLACK MOUNTAIN Tellico, 7:30PM

5 WALNUT WINE BAR The John Henrys, (hot jazz), 8:00PM

YACHT CLUB Iggy Radio, 3:00PM

ALLEY CAT WINE BAR Open Mic Tuesday Nights, 8:00PM

FULL KITCHEN • TIKI BAR AWARD-WINNING WING SPECIALS Sun., Tue., Wed. & Thur. • 6-8Pm

Mon-Thur 4pm-2am • Fri-Sun 2pm-2am 87 Patton Ave – Downtown Asheville

MONDAY, APRIL 15 5 WALNUT WINE BAR Siamese Sound Club, (R&B, soul, jazz), 8:00PM ARCHETYPE BREWING Old Time Jam, 5:00PM CATAWBA BREWING SOUTH SLOPE Musicians in the Round, 5:30PM DOUBLE CROWN Country Karaoke w/ KJ Tim-O, 10:00PM LOBSTER TRAP Bobby Miller & Friends, 6:30PM NOBLE KAVA Stage Fright Open Mic (7:30pm Sign up), 8:00PM ODDITORIUM Risque Monday Burlesque Hosted By Deb Au Nare, 9:00PM ONE WORLD BREWING WEST OWB West: Jazz Monday (Open Jam), 8:30PM OWB West: Jazz Mondays hosted by Ray Ring & Jason DeCristofaro, 8:30PM ORANGE PEEL Robert Earl Keen w/ Pierce Edens, 8:00PM OSKAR BLUES BREWERY Mountain Music Mondays Open Jam, 6:00PM SALVAGE STATION Elysium Park, 8:00PM SANCTUARY BREWING COMPANY Open Mic w/ It Takes All Kinds, 7:00PM SLY GROG LOUNGE Troll 2, Witch Party, 8:00PM THE BLOCK OFF BILTMORE Elysium Park Band, 8:00PM THE GREY EAGLE Open Mic Night, 6:00PM THE IMPERIAL LIFE Leo Johnson (Gypsy jazz), 9:00PM THE MOTHLIGHT BEX w/ Tom Angst & Daddy's Beemer, 9:00PM THOMAS WOLFE AUDITORIUM Leon Bridges: Good Thing Tour, 7:00PM

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APRIL 10 - 16, 2019

MOUNTAINX.COM

TUESDAY, APRIL 16

AMBROSE WEST Worthwhile Sounds Presents: Will Hoge, 8:00PM ASHEVILLE GUITAR BAR Evening of Classical Guitar - 1st & 3rd Tuesdays, 8:00PM ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Tuesday Night Funk Jam, 11:00PM BOLD ROCK HARD CIDER Trivia Night, 6:30PM DOUBLE CROWN Sonic Satan Stew w/ DJ Alien Brain, 10:00PM ISIS MUSIC HALL AND KITCHEN 743 Tuesday Bluegrass Sessions hosted by Powder Keg, 7:30PM

THE JOINT NEXT DOOR Open Mic hosted by Clint Bussey, 8:00PM THE MARKET PLACE RESTAURANT AND LOUNGE Rat Alley Cats, 6:00PM THE MOTHLIGHT To All My Dear Friends w/ Forest Bailey & David Matters, 8:00PM THE POE HOUSE Poe House 6th Anniversary Party w/ The Gathering Dark (song and theater), 7:00PM TRESSA'S DOWNTOWN JAZZ AND BLUES Early Funk Jam, 9:00PM TWIN LEAF BREWERY Robert's Twin Leaf Trivia, 8:00PM WHITE HORSE BLACK MOUNTAIN Irish Jam, 6:30PM Open Mic, 8:30PM

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17

LAZY DIAMOND The Wound (punk), 10:00PM

5 WALNUT WINE BAR Les Amis (African folk music), 8:00PM

LIPINSKY AUDITORIUM AT UNC ASHEVILLE UNC Asheville String Camerata and String Quartet Concert, 7:00PM

ALLEY CAT WINE BAR Karoake Krashers, 8:00PM

LOBSTER TRAP Jay Brown, 6:30PM

ASHEVILLE GUITAR BAR Chili Slaw Sessions with Tom Kirschbaum & Friends, 6:00PM

NOBLE KAVA Open Jam, 8:00PM

ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Ghost Light, 9:30PM

ODDITORIUM Free Open Mic Comedy, 9:00PM

BYWATER Open Can of Jam, 9:00PM

ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Turntable Tuesday, 10:00PM

CORK & KEG 3 Cool Cats, 7:30PM

ONE WORLD BREWING OWB Downtown: Pizza Karaoke, 9:00PM SALVAGE STATION Swing Asheville Dance w/ Jason DeCristofaro Quartet, 7:00PM SANCTUARY BREWING COMPANY Team Trivia, 7:00PM SLY GROG LOUNGE Ridgeway, Conjure & Shutterings, 8:00PM THE BLOCK OFF BILTMORE Swing AVL Tuesday Dance w/ Jason DeCristofaro Quartet (lessons at 7pm, 8pm), 9:00PM THE GREY EAGLE The Accidentals w/ Devils in Dust, 8:00PM THE IMPERIAL LIFE Leo Johnson (Gypsy jazz), 9:00PM

CROW & QUILL Black Sea Beat Society, 9:00PM DOUBLE CROWN Western Wednesday w/ the Note Ropers + DJ, 9:00PM FUNKATORIUM The Saylor Brothers, 6:30PM ISIS MUSIC HALL AND KITCHEN 743 Wyatt Edmondson & Laura Rabell, 7:00PM JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Old Time Jam, 5:00PM LAZY DIAMOND Killer Karaoke w/ KJ Tim-O, 10:00PM LIPINSKY AUDITORIUM AT UNC ASHEVILLE Blue Ridge Orchestra Open Rehearsal, 7:00PM LOBSTER TRAP Cigar Brothers, 6:30PM

NANTAHALA BREWING'S ASHEVILLE OUTPOST Robert's Totally Rad Trivia, 7:00PM NOBLE KAVA Poetry Open Mic w/ Caleb Beissert (7:30PM Sign Up), 8:00PM ODDITORIUM Steady Collective Awareness Show, 8:00PM ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Disclaimer Lounge Comedy Open Mic, 9:00PM ORANGE PEEL Soja w/ Passafyre & Iya Terra, 8:00PM SANCTUARY BREWING COMPANY French Broad Valley Music Association Mountain Music Jam, 6:00PM SLY GROG LOUNGE Stella Blue Presents: Weedeater, Beitthmeans, Isabelle's Gift & Harriers of Discord, 8:00PM Get Weird Wednesdays at Sly Grog! Electronic collaboration, 9:00PM SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN BREWERY Jazz Night hosted by Jason DeCristofaro, 6:30PM STATIC AGE RECORDS Alison Shearer w/ Effigy Seed (hip-hop, funk), 9:00PM STRAIGHTAWAY CAFE Stray Mutt & Friends, 6:00PM THE BLOCK OFF BILTMORE Asheville's Most Wanted Funk Bandits, Kazz & Unk, 8:00PM THE GOLDEN FLEECE Scots-Baroque ChamberFolk w/ The Tune Shepherds, 7:00PM THE GREY EAGLE Cave Twins w/ Maggie Valley Band, 8:00PM THE MOTHLIGHT Rempis w/ Lopez & Packard, 9:00PM TRESSA'S DOWNTOWN JAZZ AND BLUES Blues & Soul Jam, 9:00PM

MOVIE REVIEWS THIS WEEK’S CONTRIBUTORS

Hosted by the Asheville Movie Guys HHHHH

= MAX RATING

EDWIN ARNAUDIN earnaudin@mountainx.com

H PICK OF THE WEEK H

Missing Link HHHH DIRECTOR: Chris Butler PLAYERS: The voices of Zoe Saldana, Zach Galifianakis, Hugh Jackman ANIMATED/COMEDY RATED PG Most children’s movies are loud, crude, obnoxious and a whole host of other unpleasant descriptors. This knowledge comes to me firsthand from the countless hours I spend watching them with my 4-year-old. Some, on the other hand, cleverly reference Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps and tip their hats to Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in the West.

Chris Butler’s Missing Link — the latest stop-motion animated feature from Laika, the studio that brought us Coraline and Kubo and the Two Strings — is obviously one of the latter. Classic cinematic inspirations aside, the comedy about the quest of furry, forestdwelling giant Mr. Link for his long-lost family has something to say, and that it’s able to say it with such nuanced ease and lack of potty humor is a minor miracle for a film aimed at kids.

In addition to their fine-tuned storytelling, Butler and the Laika team have perfected the art of stop-motion animation. I’ll take their hands-on craftsman-

ship any day of the week over anything Disney or Pixar churns out. The level of care and quality is extraordinary, especially evidenced in the action sequences, which are refreshingly comprehensible compared with many peers’ jumbled messes of explosions and loud noises.

A barroom brawl turns into a hilarious joy, and a chase scene on a sinking ship is as dynamic as Inception.

Add to that the brilliant voice cast (including Hugh Jackman, Zoe Saldana, Timothy Olyphant, Emma Thompson and an especially fun Zach Galifianakis), then top it off with intelligent commentary on class, feminism, gender identity, masculinity and the anti-science movement, and quite suddenly Missing Link becomes a surprise favorite of the year so far. Not bad for a movie about a talking sasquatch who wears ill-fitting clothes.

Read the full review at thedailyorca.com REVIEWED BY JAMES ROSARIO JAMESROSARIO1977@GMAIL.COM

Chewdaism HHH DIRECTORS AND PLAYERS: Jamie Elman and Eli Batalion

BRUCE STEELE bcsteele@gmail.com

Melissa Williams

James Rosario

Ali McGhee

STARTING FRIDAY

DOCUMENTARY RATED NR An entirely appropriate feature for closing night of this year’s Asheville Jewish Film Festival, Chewdaism: A Taste of Jewish Montreal will serve as a true appetizer for the reception to follow next door at the Blue Spiral 1 gallery.

The hourlong documentary follows Canadian comedy duo Eli Batalion and Jamie Elman (of the web series YidLife Crisis) on a trip through the history and eateries of their hometown. The hosts are funny in their unpolished fashion, but the real star of the movie is Zev Moses, the executive director of the Museum of Jewish Montreal and our guide for most of the trip.

And, of course, there’s also the food, the documentary’s premise being that Eli and Jamie will eat their way through a day, from breakfast to lunch (twice), through snacks to a double helping of dinner, plus desserts.

Mostly they’re highlighting a community’s comfort foods — less aesthetically appealing than redolent of familiarity and tradition.

Read the full review at ashevillemovies.com Showing at 7 p.m. April 11 (with reception, $25) and 1 p.m. April 12 ($10) at the Fine Arts Theatre.

REVIEWED BY BRUCE STEELE BCSTEELE@GMAIL.COM

Chewdaism (NR) HHH Missing Link (PG) HHHH (Pick of the Week) The Public (PG-13) HHH JUST ANNOUNCED Hellboy (PG-13) A new take on the Dark Horse Comic Book character.

Little (PG-13) A high-strung woman is transformed into her younger self.

The Mustang (R) A violent convict trains wild horses in a rehab therapy program. At Grail Moviehouse.

CURRENTLY IN THEATERS The Aftermath (R) HHHS The Beach Bum (R) HHHH The Best of Enemies (PG-13)HS Captain Marvel (PG-13) HHHS A Dog’s Way Home (PG) HHS Dumbo (PG) HS The Favourite (R) HHHHS Five Feet Apart (PG-13) HHHS

Pet Sematary HHH DIRECTOR: Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer PLAYERS: Jason Clarke, Amy Seimetz, John Lithgow HORROR RATED R I have a confession before I get started with this review: I am a cat.

You may be wondering what a cat is doing writing a movie review. It’s a fair question. No cats, to my knowledge, have ever penned reviews or made films before (though I have always suspected the Coen brothers are part cat). But I’m the cat that’s going to change all of that.

I am Church, the fantastic feline who died and rose again — and who, I must say, completely stole the show in Kevin

Glass (PG-13) HHHH Gloria Bell (R) HHHH Hotel Mumbai (R) HHHS How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (PG) HHHHS A Madea Family Funeral (PG-13) HH Pet Sematary (R) HHH Shazam! (PG-13) HHH Transit (NR) HHHH Us (R) HHHH Wonder Park (PG) HHH

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APRIL 10 - 16, 2019

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MO VI E S

THEA T ER INFO ASHEVILLE PIZZA & BREWING CO. (254-1281) CARMIKE CINEMA 10 (298-4452) CAROLINA CINEMAS (274-9500) CO-ED CINEMA BREVARD (883-2200) EPIC OF HENDERSONVILLE (693-1146) FINE ARTS THEATRE (232-1536) FLAT ROCK CINEMA (697-2463) GRAIL MOVIEHOUSE (239-9392) REGAL BILTMORE GRANDE STADIUM 15 (684-1298)

Kölsch’s and Dennis Widmyer’s adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary.

Here’s the thing: I’m a consistently great cat in this film. I’m actually played by five cats, with names like Leo, Tonic, Jager and JD. These are fine cat names (though frankly, I don’t understand the name Tonic one bit, if I’m being honest — which I’m known to be after a dosing of catnip), but I like the name Church the best.

Airstream Season starting at 5PM

Sunday Brunch

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REVIEWED BY ALI MCGHEE AND CHURCH ALIMCGHEE@GMAIL.COM

The Aftermath HHHS

DIRECTOR: James Kent PLAYERS: Keira Knightley, Jason Clarke, Alexander Skarsgård HISTORICAL DRAMA RATED R A major improvement over his previous film, the mediocre World War I drama Testament of Youth, director James Kent hops ahead one global military conflict with The Aftermath and reaps the benefits of a more gripping story, a superior cast and an overall elevated confidence behind the camera.

As a British officer on assignment in Hamburg, Lewis (Jason Clarke) must deal with occupied Germans struggling

The evening includes a brief introduction by the Asheville Movie Guys, Bruce C. Steele and Edwin Arnaudin of AshevilleMovies.com, as well as a lively discussion with the audience after the credits.

from 10:30-3:30PM

THE PUBLIC

Closed Mondays

Mon., 4/15, 7pm • Fine Arts Theatre

828-350-0315 SMOKYPARK.COM APRIL 10 - 16, 2019

ally talking maturely to a child about death. Good thing Jud (John Lithgow), the friendly neighbor, is around to show Louis how to do it just right so that I can return – a little dirtier, stinkier and meaner — to my beloved Ellie.

Read the full review at mountainx. com/movies/reviews

heville Movie Guys s A e h t n i o J for the next Movie Night!

Nightly Supper

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According to my 9-year-old owner and best friend, Ellie (Jeté Laurence), I’m named after Winston Churchill.

But there’s another meaning in my name that’s more obvious and which no one ever talks about. You see, religion and spirituality are both noticeably absent in my family — yes, despite the fact that they named me Church.

Ellie’s dad Louis (Jason Clarke) is a doctor with a wiring for rationality and hard science. His wife, Rachel (Amy Seimetz), was so traumatized by the childhood death of her sister that she can’t think about mortality, much less what happens after we die. And 2-yearold Gage (Hugo and Lucas Lavoie) can’t talk or give me treats yet, so who cares what he’s thinking about?

But it’s always the case that the thing you try to bury (get it?) comes back to haunt you, isn’t it? When I get hit by a truck going too fast — and there are a whole lot of those in this film, so many that I wonder why my family didn’t build a fence or something — they can’t figure out how to tell Ellie I’m gone without having a big argument about it.

Clearly, burying me in an ancient, evil swamp watched over by the wendigo, a man-eating spirit of Algonquin folklore, is a way better plan than actu-

36 Biltmore Ave., Asheville

Do you want an email reminder prior to each Asheville Movie Guys night?

Send an email with ‘Asheville Movie Guys’ in the subject line to ashevillemovies@gmail.com Xpress readers who say “Catalog” at the box office receive a discounted ticket price of $6.50 per person.

SCREEN SCENE to cope with their new Allied leaders six months after VE Day, plus a generally loveless marriage to his long-suffering wife (Keira Knightley) that was spurred by a believable but somewhat cliché tragedy.

These tensions intersect at the lavish repossessed home of former architect Stephen Lubert (Alexander Skarsgård) and his anti-Brit teenage daughter Freda (German actress Flora Thiemann), whose lingering presence in their small upstairs quarters lends a pleasant, mild suspense to the sumptuous but potentially stuffy period imagery.

Read the full review at ashevillemovies.com Now playing at the Fine Arts Theatre REVIEWED BY EDWIN ARNAUDIN EARNAUDIN@MOUNTAINX.COM

The Best of Enemies HS DIRECTOR: Robin Bissell PLAYERS: Taraji P. Henson, Sam Rockwell, Babou Ceesay FACT-BASED DRAMA RATED PG-13 Spoiler alert: The only “best” that should be associated with The Best of Enemies is the title itself. Awful and infuriating, it squanders not only the talents of lead actors Taraji P. Henson and Sam Rockwell but also the true story of Ann Atwater, a community organizer who fought courageously for the civil rights of black Durham residents until her death in 2016 at age 80.

Set in 1971, the film centers on how, or whether, to desegregate the local white school after the school that black students are forced to attend catches fire. After a series of political machinations, a cowardly judge orders the community to develop its own plan for how to handle the schools issue.

Atwater (Henson) and local Ku Klux Klan leader C.P. Ellis (Rockwell) are assigned to co-chair a series of community meetings, leading to a final vote that will decide whether or not to integrate the schools.

Henson is clearly all in on the role of Atwater, and everything about her portrayal is the opposite of Cookie Lyon, the luxury-soaked, narcissistic matriarch she plays on the TV show “Empire.” From head to toe, from her accent to her stance and her stride, Henson puts in work. Sometimes it smacks of scenery chewing, though at

no point does it come across that she’s anything but dedicated to respectfully channeling Atwater.

Still, rather than giving Atwater a real story — she was a real woman, after all — we spend the majority of the movie seeing events from Ellis’ point of view.

The Best of Enemies may be “based on a true story,” but that doesn’t excuse director Robin Bissell’s choice to center Ellis as the object of our compassion and to make Atwater and the whole black community of Durham supporting characters in their own lives.

The movie is far too focused on what white people will do to “give” black people justice, rather than on black people being agents of our own stories and architects of our own freedom. What fails is not the story itself, but how it’s told. Atwater, and perhaps Ellis, too, deserve far better.

Read the full review at mountainx. com/movies/reviews REVIEWED BY MELISSA WILLIAMS

The Public HHH DIRECTOR: Emilio Estevez PLAYERS: Emilio Estevez, Michael K. Williams, Alec Baldwin DRAMA RATED PG-13 A well-meaning film about the relevance of libraries and their advocacy for marginalized people, Emilio Estevez’s The Public is a little too folksy and loose for its own good.

With the writer/director/star’s crusading librarian Stuart at its core, the script spins off a host of appealing characters within the downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, branch, accurately capturing such nuances of his profession as fielding patrons’ bizarre questions and dealing with the underprivileged.

Swept into action when the library’s homeless contingent turns the space into an emergency shelter on a frigid night, a move that plays to the outside world like a hostage situation, Stuart nobly rises to the occasion.

The results produce plenty of humor and heart, yet Estevez never quite knows what message he wants to send beyond a heightened wake-up call for the film’s real-life analogs.

Read the full review at ashevillemovies.com Starts April 12 at the Fine Arts Theatre REVIEWED BY EDWIN ARNAUDIN EARNAUDIN@MOUNTAINX.COM

by Edwin Arnaudin | earnaudin@mountainx.com

COMEDIC BREVITY: A still from the humorous Curfew, winner of the 2012 Academy Award for Live Action Short. Filmmakers are invited to submit their own original funny short works for the inaugural Asheville Comedy Short Film Competition, which will take place July 6 at The BLOCK Off Biltmore. Photo courtesy of Fuzzy Logic Pictures Asheville Improv Collective has teamed up with Disclaimer Stand-Up Lounge for the inaugural Asheville Comedy Short Film Competition. The $5 ticketed event will take place Saturday, July 6, at 7 p.m., at The BLOCK Off Biltmore, 39 S. Market St. “We’re excited to be able to offer a place for future and current filmmakers to showcase their videos and a chance to win a (modest) cash prize, the admiration of your peers and a trophy to hold aloft while you gloat,” the organizers say in a press release. “We’ll accept videos from anywhere in the world, but you have to be [at the Asheville event] to win.”

Each video must be two-five minutes in length; contain content that could reasonably be categorized as a comedy or a comedic subgenre; not be a recording of stand-up comedy, improv comedy or live

FILM 6TH ANNUAL EARTH DAY MOVIE: 'TOMORROW' DOCUMENTARY BY CYRIL DION AND MELANIE LAURENT • WE (4/17), 6:30pm - Tomorrow, deals with issues linked to climate change and optimistically identifies concrete solutions to environmental and social issues. Free.

Held at Lenoir-Rhyne University, 36 Montford Ave.

ENVIRONMENTAL & SOCIAL JUSTICE FILM • FR (4/12), 7pm Environmental & Social Justice Film: A Prayer for Compassion, documentary film screening. Free. Held at Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Asheville, 1 Edwin Place FINE ARTS THEATRE 36 Biltmore Ave., 828-232-1536 • TH (4/11), 6pm Chewdaism: A Taste of Jewish Montreal, a documentary in which foodies Eli Batalion and Jamie Elman take

sketch comedy; and not contain copyrighted material. Submissions also may not contain excessive profanity or vulgar content. The competition coordinators will have sole discretion in determining what is considered acceptable but suggest using programming on the FX network (e.g., “Atlanta,” “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”) as guidelines for filmmakers’ envelope-pushing limit.

Additional technical requirements for submitted visual files and other rules are available online. There is no submission fee, but all videos must be received by Monday, June 3, at 5 p.m., and accepted entrants will be announced on Monday, June 17. The shorts films will be judged by a panel of three people, and the audience will act as the fourth and deciding judge if necessary. avlcomedyshorts.com X

viewers on a daylong eating tour of the Quebec city. Includes catered closing night reception at Blue Spiral 1. $25 • FR (4/12), 1pm Chewdaism: A Taste of Jewish Montreal, a documentary in which foodies Eli Batalion and Jamie Elman take viewers on a daylong eating tour of the Quebec city. $10 FLOOD GALLERY FINE ART CENTER 850 Blue Ridge Road, Unit A-13, Black Mountain, 828-357-9009, floodgallery.org

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• FR (4/12), 8pm Classic World Cinema Series: the 2012 Saudi Arabian coming-of-age drama, Wadjda. Free to attend.

HENDERSONVILLE FILM SOCIETY: 'STRICTLY BALLROOM' • SU (4/14), 2pm - Hendersonville Film Society: Baz Luhrmann's 1992 dance-centric romantic comedy, Strictly Ballroom. Screened in the Smoky Mountain Theater. Free. Held at Lake Pointe Landing, 333 Thompson St., Hendersonville

APRIL 10 - 16, 2019

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FREEWILL ASTROLOGY ARIES (March 21-April 19): The Qing Dynasty controlled China from the mid-17th century to the early 20th century. It was the fifth-biggest empire in world history. But eventually it faded, as all mighty regimes do. Revolution came in 1911, forcing the last emperor to abdicate and giving birth to the Republic of China. I’m inclined to think of your life in 2019 as having some similarities to that transition. It’s the end of one era and the beginning of another; a changing of the guard and a passing of the torch. The coming weeks will be a favorable time to be very active in deciding and visualizing the empire you want next.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): I hope that sometime soon you’ll acquire a new source of support or inspiration.

Now is a phase of your astrological cycle when you’re likely to attract influences that are in alignment with your deep values. This addition might be a person or animal.

It could be a vibrant symbol or useful tool. It may even be a fantasy character or departed ancestor that will stimulate vitality you haven’t been able to summon on your own. Be on the lookout for this enhancement.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Poet David Hinton analyzed the Chinese word for “poetry.” Its etymological meaning is “words spoken at the fertility altar.”

Let’s make that your theme, even if you don’t write or read poetry. I suspect the coming weeks will be a favorable time to take a vow or utter a solemn intention in front of a homemade fertility altar. The oath you speak might express a desire to boost your use of your physical vitality: your lust for life, your adoration of the natural world or your power to produce new human life. Or your vow to foster your fertility could be more metaphorical and symbolic in nature: the imaginative intimacy you will explore or the creativity you’ll express in future works of art or the generous effects you want to have on the world.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Christopher Robin Milne was the son of author A. A. Milne, who wrote the Winnie-the-Pooh stories. He said there are two ways to navigate through life. Either you “take a bearing on something in the future and steer toward it or take a bearing on something in the past and steer away from it.” So in his view, “There are those who look ahead and pull and those who look behind and push.” I’m hoping that in the coming weeks and months, you will make a delighted commitment to the first option: taking a bearing on something in the future and steering toward it. I think that approach will inspire you toward the most interesting success.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): The national animal of Finland is the brown bear. The national insect is the ladybug, and the national instrument is a stringed instrument known as the kantele. As for the national author, it’s Aleksis Kivi, who produced just one novel that took him 10 years to write. He also published a short collection of odes and a few plays, adding up to a grand total of less than 800 pages of work. I think that the efforts you make in the coming weeks could have a disproportionately large impact, as well, Leo. What you lack in quantity will be irrelevant compared to the sheer quality you generate.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): I follow the blogger Evanescent Voyager because she makes me cry with sad joy and exultant poignance on a regular basis. One of her other fans wrote her a love note I could have written myself. It said, “Your emotional brilliance and thoughtful passion break me into pieces and then weave me back together with more coherence than I had before reading you. I revere your alchemical talent for undoing me so you can heal me; for lowering my defenses so I can be open to your riches; for demolishing my habitual trance so you can awaken my sleeping genius.” I believe that in the coming weeks, life itself will offer to perform these same services for you, Virgo. I urge you to accept!

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APRIL 10 - 16, 2019

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): “Love is no assignment for cowards.” That’s a quote attributed to the ancient Roman poet Ovid. What did he mean? Was he foreshadowing the wisdom of pop singer Pat Benatar, who in 1983 told us, “Love is a battlefield”? Was Ovid implying that to succeed in the amorous arts we must be heroic warriors prepared to overcome fears and risk psychological dangers? Probably. But I will also point out that it takes as much courage to create fun, interesting togetherness as it does to wrestle with the problems that togetherness brings. You need just as much bravura and panache to explore the sweet mysteries of intimacy as you do to explore the achy mysteries of intimacy. Keep these thoughts in mind as you marshal your audacity to deepen and expand your best relationships in the coming weeks.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): The literal meaning of the French term jolie-laide is “pretty and ugly.” Bloggers at wordsnquotes.com define it as follows: “It’s a fascinating quirkiness that’s irresistible, like a face you want to keep looking at even if you can’t decide whether it is beautiful or not.” Jolie-laide overlaps with the Japanese term wabi-sabi, which describes a person or thing that is lovely because of its imperfection and incompleteness.

I bring these facts to your attention because I think you have extraordinary potential to be a master embodier of both jolie-laide and wabi-sabi in the coming weeks.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): As Czech playwright Vaclav Havel (1936–2011) matured, he became a political dissident who opposed the Soviet Union’s authoritarian grip on his country. Eventually he was a key player in the Velvet Revolution that banished Communism.

When Czechoslovakia emerged as a new democracy, its people elected him president. Havel later thanked Lou Reed and the band the Velvet Underground for fully awakening his liberationist leadership. He said their unruly music stoked his longing to establish a culture where total creative freedom was possible. I mention this, Sagittarius, because now is a favorable time to identify the music or art or films or literature that might fuel your emancipation in the coming months.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Capricorn author J. R. R. Tolkien toiled on his masterpiece The Lord of the Rings for 12 years. Once he finished, it wasn’t published for more than five years. So 17 years passed between the time he launched his precious project and the time when it reached an audience. I don’t think you will need that much patience in shepherding your own venture to full expression, Capricorn. But I hope you’ll summon as much faith in yourself as Tolkien had to rouse in himself. To do so will bring out the best in you!

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Released in 1998, The Prince of Egypt is an animated film that tells the story of the Hebrew prophet Moses. In the climactic event, the hero uses magic to part the waters of the Red Sea, allowing his people to run across the sea floor and escape the army that’s chasing them. To make that seven-minute scene, 28 professional animators labored for 318,000 hours. In the coming months, you could create your own version of that marvel, Aquarius. But you’ll need a team to help you, and that team is not yet ready to go. The coming weeks will be a favorable time to get it ready, though.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Piscean businessman Steve Jobs testified that taking LSD was “one of the two or three most important things” he ever did in his life. It opened his mind in ways he felt were crucial to his development. What are the three most important things you’ve ever done, Pisces? I invite you to revisit at least one of them, and see if you can take it to the next step of its power to inspire you. What if it has even more to offer you in your efforts to become the person you want to be?

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ADMINISTRATIVE/ OFFICE DATA ENTRY ASSOCIATE Community Action Opportunities, Asheville, NC. Seeking Data Entry Associate to interact with and follow up with employees within the agency as well as with customers to collect information.

The Data Entry Associate will capture the data into relevant databases in a timely and accurate manner. • The ideal candidate will be focused, diligent, energetic, and have good people’s skills. • Compensation: $11.24 to $15.50 per hour, DOQ plus competitive benefits including 401(k). EOE and DFWP • Visit http:// www.communityactionopportunities.org/ openings.html for full job description and application requirements.

SALES/ MARKETING

SALES PROFESSIONAL Mountain Xpress has a salaried sales position open. Ideal candidates are personable, well-spoken, organized, motivated, and can present confidently, while working within a structure. Necessary skills include clear and professional communications (via phone, email, and in-person meetings), detailed record-keeping, computer skills, and working well in a team environment. While no outside sale experience is required, experience with dealing with varied and challenging situations is helpful. The position largely entails account development and lead generation (including cold-calling), account management, and working to meet or exceed sales goals.

If you are a high energy, positive, cooperative person looking to join an independent, community-minded 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

HOME IMPROVEMENT HANDY MAN

COMMERCIAL/ BUSINESS RENTALS

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BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES CONTROLLER System Logistics Corporation has opening in Arden, North Carolina for Controller. Direct the accounting and financial reporting functions of the U.S. company and a foreign affiliate. Master’s Degree in Business Administration, Finance and/or related field or equiv + 3 yrs exp in financial analysis including 1 yr exp using IFRS standards; 1 yr exp in multinational manufacturing industry financial reporting. Monthly travel to International Affiliate. Send resumes to System Logistics Corporation, Attn: Cathy Shockley, 115 Vista Blvd, Arden, NC 28704. Must ref job title & code: CON-RB.

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SPIRITUAL

RETAIL GALLERY SALES ASSISTANT The Kress Emporium is hiring a retail sales assistant.

The position will require helping customers, handling cash register, cleaning, displays, and other daily duties. Must have great customer service skills, and reliable transportation. This is a part time position 2-4 days per week. Please bring resume to 19 Patton Ave. Asheville 28801. 8282812252 PART TIME SALES POSITION CURRENTLY AVAILABLE Must have knowledge of music, musical instruments and musical equipment.

Sales experience preferred. Must be very customer oriented. Must be able to work Saturdays 10a-5p. Spanish as a second language is a plus. Compensation: Hourly + commission based upon experience. Email becky@musiciansworkshop.com for application becky@musiciansworkshop.com.

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THE N EW Y OR K TIME S C RO SSWO RD P UZ Z LE edited by Will Shortz

The

Sustainability Series

CELEBRATING EARTH DAY 2019

Exploring the landscape of sustainability in WNC in all four April issues of Mountain Xpress

Contact us today!

828-251-1333 x 320 advertise@mountainx.com

No. 0306

ACROSS

1 Caprice 5 Rung #1 of an apt word ladder 9 “Too frustrating for me!”

14 Michael who played the title role in 2014’s “Cesar Chavez” 15 Melville work following “Typee” 16 Exploding stars 17 History moving forward 20 Bring up … or something brought up 21 Same-___ marriage 22 “Phooey” 23 Canine command 25 “The Amazing Spider-Man” director, amazingly enough 28 Trade show 30 Alternative to Target 32 Rung #2 of the ladder 34 Ire 38 Actress Falco 39 Supermarket section 40 Readily open to change 41 Snowy expanse 44 In a nervous manner 45 Lowest number not found on a grandfather clock 46 Woman’s name that’s a city in Oklahoma 47 Takes five 48 Rung #3 of the ladder 49 “And yet …”

50 Quench 52 Italian province where Moscato is produced 54 Follower of crack or crock 55 Shadow 58 Where Hawks soar: Abbr.

60 South side?

62 Cry when warmer weather returns 67 Taqueria option 68 Jai ___ 69 Funny Samberg 70 Subscription option 71 Rung #4 of the ladder 72 Not nice

PUZZLE BY MARY LOU GUIZZO AND ERIK AGARD

DOWN

1 Typist’s stat: Abbr.

2 Experience auditory hallucinations 3 Latin phrase on memos 4 New World parrots 5 English head 6 Global financial org.

7 “Didn’t intend for that!”

8 Irish girl’s name related to the word “honor” 9 Dutch banking giant 10 Stuffed with ham and Swiss cheese 11 Allege 12 Big employer in Huntsville, Ala. 13 Try 18 Charlemagne’s domain: Abbr.

19 Losing line in tic-tac-toe 23 Spit in the food?

24 I-, in chemistry 26 Gusted 27 City just east of Gulfport 29 1950s-’60s TV emcee Jack 31 Not be bothered by something 33 Lower limits, in math

35 National Zoo animal on loan from China 36 Current event?

37 Hindu’s bindi, traditionally 39 Needing moisturizer 40 Gift for a ukulele player 42 To whom “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?” is sung 43 “It’s mine!”

48 Deadly 49 Style of yoga in a heated room

51 Identify 53 Best 55 Peter or Paul 56 Area abutting a transept 57 Country with a Supreme Leader 59 ___ land 61 Part of a Viking message 63 “Uh-uh” 64 Singer/songwriter Smith 65 One you might squabble with in the back seat 66 OB/___

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS NY TIMES PUZZLE

MOUNTAINX.COM

APRIL 10 - 16, 2019

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72

APRIL 10 - 16, 2019

MOUNTAINX.COM