Mountain Xpress 04.12.23

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The Get Right Band channels Pink Floyd while exploring the pitfalls of technology on the group’s new concept album, iTopia

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Include zoning and development in climate policy

Mountain Xpress recently reported that the city of Asheville has released its Municipal Climate Action Plan, just in time for Earth Month [“Green in Brief: Asheville Unveils Draft Municipal Climate Action Plan,” March 22, Xpress website]. It’s loaded with lots of good ideas, but one idea that’s missing is: “Audit our zoning and development regulations for their ability to support climate-friendly development patterns.”

Simply put, zoning/development policy is climate policy. And to the city’s credit, independent of the MCAP, the city’s Planning and Urban Design Department is taking a step in that direction with a missing-middle housing study. The study’s purpose is to review the city’s Unified Development Ordinance (i.e., our zoning and development rules) in relation to how its rules may help or hinder the creation of housing types like duplexes, town houses and small apartment buildings.

Older neighborhoods contain this spectrum of housing types, the “middle” between single-family detached houses and large apartment complexes, but they’re often “missing” among new housing construction

because of local and state regulatory barriers, ranging from zoning to building codes.

The MCAP contains 22 recommended ideas, some of which continue or expand existing city policies, and the ideas were screened for their potential impact, feasibility and opportunity to advance equity. Ideas like electrifying city fleet vehicles, ranging from parking enforcement to ART buses, and looking for waste diversion opportunities via more recycling or composting are part of the climate change equation. But so is our approach to land use and its resulting transportation outcomes.

What’s the best form of land use and transportation planning? Give people options to live, work and play in closer proximity to one another, which enhances transit, walking and biking. As the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recently stated,

cities need to move toward more “compact urban form[s]” in order to reduce vehicle miles traveled. Yet, according to U.S. census data, the number of daily commuters into the city of Asheville increased from 46,000 in 2002 to 71,000 in 2019. This trend is driven by a lack of housing availability and affordability. Zoning and development audits — ones like the missing-middle housing study offers — could positively impact long-term housing availability and affordability, both for existing and future residents, by updating policies that make it easier to live in the city rather than commuting from afar. Updating our zoning and development policies is certainly feasible — it’s political and social science, but it’s not rocket science. And the study presents an opportunity to advance equity to a wide range of renters and owners who look at housing not as “housing units” or a savings piggy bank, but as homes and shelter.

— Scott Adams Asheville

Editor’s note: Adams holds certification from the American Institute of Certified Planners and is a member of the city of Asheville’s Affordable Housing Advisory Committee and an appointee to the city’s Missing Middle Housing Study Working Group. He also volunteers as a lead organizer with the housing advocacy organization Asheville for All.

Keep those residential water rates frozen

[Regarding “Council Seeks Freeze on Residential Water Fees,” April 5, Xpress:] I definitely don’t go for raising our fees for water usage. For a two-month period, which is how the city of Asheville and the Metropolitan Sewerage District

CARTOON BY RANDY MOLTON

charges, I am already paying about $145 for the two-month period. When I lived in Ohio, my bimonthly bills were about $35 for both water and sewer. So do the comparison.

If they need more money, why not raise the prices on industrial usage?

— Bern Sroka Asheville

Hooray for reasonable landlords

My friend has a good Asheville landlord, who wants to remain nameless. They thought about raising the rents in my friend’s apartment complex to market price but decided they didn’t need the money. And they also realized that if they did, some of their renters would have to find another place to live, if that were possible.

So, they kept the rent as is, despite knowing they could get about $500 a month more for each apartment, a considerable amount considering the multiple units in the building. My friend’s landlord is also very good at keeping up maintenance of the apartments.

I imagine that many landlords don’t need to raise rents or turn housing into short-term rentals. And at present, rents are not affordable for most working people. Are the

CARTOON BY BRENT BROWN

rents so high because under current circumstances, market prices are the norm? Is this the effect of capitalism?

We hear that “this is only business; don’t take it personally.” Yet it seems to be greed, disguised by a greedy business creed. And it is personal to lose your housing and to be unable to find affordable housing in Asheville; maybe to end up living on the street.

Of course, some landlords have to raise their rents because of inflationary pressures on repair and maintenance costs, often caused by the same market-priced greed in other areas. And some landlords are like my friend’s landlord and take a reasonable profit rather than follow market-price greed. Hooray for them!

— Lorrie Streifel Asheville

Vote for election integrity

Nationally and in North Carolina and, in some cases, even in Buncombe County and in our neighboring counties, claims have been made that there is massive voter fraud. These claims are not only untrue for Buncombe County but for North Carolina as a whole.

One of the protections in place for election integrity is a shared database called ERIC — the Electronic Registration Information Center. At one point, about 30 states were part of ERIC. Now, however, there are some states that are leaving based on unfounded and misleading claims of partisanship.

In fact, since 2012, ERIC has been controlled by bipartisan representatives from member states. When voters move or pass away, ERIC flags duplicate registrations without compromising private information. This method of data sharing enables participating states to expand ballot access by giving officials information that helps them reach eligible voters who have recently moved into a district but have not yet registered to vote.

Recently this year, House Bill 396 was introduced in the N.C. House. It aims to repeal North Carolina’s participation in ERIC. This is a bad idea! The League of Women Voters of Asheville Buncombe urges all elected officials, especially those representing Buncombe County, to reject this bill.

— Cheryl Williams and Ron Katz Mars Hill and Asheville, respectively League of Women Voters Asheville Buncombe

A Jew in Asheville

The Gospel According to Jerry

BY JERRY STERNBERG

In 1840, Moses Weinstock arrived at the port of Charleston after a harrowing journey across Europe from Poland to escape the danger he and his family faced in their home country. He got a job as a “back peddler,” carrying merchandise on his back or on a mule as he trudged through the countryside selling such things as imported jewelry, laces and fragrances to the farmers’ wives.

In 1900, Siegfried Sternberg, whose family had been cattle traders in Germany, arrived at the port of Houston. He made his way to Asheville, where he eventually bought a cowhide business and became a very successful merchant.

In 1930, as a result of this and a number of other genetic and geographical events, a baby boy named Jerry was born in Biltmore Hospital.

No, he wasn’t wearing a cowboy hat or even a skullcap. He was, however, circumcised in accordance with Jewish ritual, though, of course, he didn’t enjoy the party.

My family attended a Reform temple on a regular basis, as well as observing many Jewish traditions in our home. At that time, Asheville had about 250 Jewish families and two synagogues.

I don’t know when I began to feel that I was somehow different from my Christian friends. I remember my mother telling a story about me coming home crying when I was about 4 or 5 after playing with a little girl down the street. My mother asked me what had happened, and I told her that little Mary had called me a “doo.” She asked me what I did, and I said I called her a “kitten.”

SCHOOL DAYS

When I started grammar school at Claxton, almost all of the students and staff were Christian. We had excellent, dedicated teachers, but their religious upbringing did not leave much room for tolerance of the handful of students who didn’t share their spiritual background. Like our classmates, we were expected to participate in the daily Christian prayers and sing the Christian songs, and while we observed the Christian holidays, there was little recognition of or respect for ours. Some of us worked very hard to achieve “perfect attendance,” but we were not excused for Jewish holidays

and quite often were given additional makeup work as punishment for our absences.

Ironically, however, one little Jewish boy got to play Santa Claus in the Christmas play because his father’s store lent the school a Santa suit.

When I was in fifth or sixth grade, we had a teacher who thought it would be a great idea to put a poster board on the wall displaying every classmate’s name. The purpose was to encourage the children to take part in religious activities. Every Monday morning, she would ask all the children who’d attended church the day before to hold up their hands. She would then affix a gold star to each name. Attending Sunday school, Wednesday night prayer meeting, vespers, etc., would earn additional stars.

It took five or six weeks for her to recognize that the two or three Jewish children’s names stood out because they had no stars. Oops.

LIVING IN FEAR

In the late ’30s, antisemitism was on the rise in Europe and was spilling over to the U.S. The Jewish community had always strived to be accepted by their Christian neighbors, doing everything possible to earn their goodwill. Many were respected merchants who owned downtown stores and were always in the forefront of civic activities benefiting hospitals, the arts, local schools and youths.

Yet the Jewish community lived in great fear. The Ku Klux Klan was active, and right there on Charlotte Street sat the headquarters of the virulently antisemitic Silver Shirts, which was similar to the pro-Nazi German American Bund and other such hatemongering organizations.

Even as a young boy, I was aware that the intensity of local prejudice against Jews was increasing exponentially as the Nazi threat to the European Jews escalated. The arrival of Jewish refugees in our community reinforced this paranoia. In order for them to get asylum, they had to be sponsored by a financially responsible citizen and show evidence of having a job and the ability to avoid becoming an economic burden.

My father and other Jewish business owners sponsored many of these refugees, most of whom came from Germany. Several of them were

relatives who visited our home on a regular basis. My father, who spoke German, taught us a few words and phrases so we could make the visitors welcome.

I will never forget hearing one of these refugees, who spoke English, telling our family about the horrors of Kristallnacht: how the Nazis had broken into their home, beaten them and smashed their furniture. Some of those thugs were neighbors with whom they had at least a passing relationship.

During the late ’30s and early ’40s, Asheville’s growing Jewish community was very careful to keep a low political profile for fear of triggering an antisemitic backlash. We avoided discussing Jewish matters in public: If my mother wanted to do so while we were riding a bus, for example, she would use the code word

“wedge,” which is basically “Jew” spelled backward.

FIGHTING BACK

B’nai B’rith, the oldest and most prestigious Jewish organization in the nation, established the powerful Anti-Defamation League, which was dedicated to fighting antisemitism and racism in our country. Almost every place in the U.S. that had a measurable Jewish population had a B’nai B’rith chapter dedicated to the health and welfare of the local Jewish community.

The Asheville chapter held its meetings on the second floor of the S&W Cafeteria on Patton Avenue. With the rise in antisemitism, members found it necessary to post a guard outside the door, fearing the possibility of violence.

This led to one of the members declaring that “We Jews should not have to live in fear like this. We need our own place.” That night in 1939 this group of true visionaries, my father among them, dedicated themselves to building what became the first independent Jewish community center in North Carolina — and remained the only one for decades.

According to my research, I am the oldest Jewish Asheville native who still lives here. Watch for “The War Years,” the next installment in this new series, in an upcoming issue of Xpress Asheville native Jerry Sternberg, a longtime observer of the local scene, can be reached at gospeljerry@aol. com. An anthology of his columns is available from Pisgah Legal Services for a donation of $25 or more. To order your copy, visit pisgahlegal.org/jerry, or send a check labeled “Jerry’s book” to: PLS, P.O. Box 2276, Asheville, NC 28802. All proceeds support the nonprofit’s work.

“The arrival of Jewish refugees in our community reinforced this paranoia.”

JERRY STERNBERG

Planting defense

BY TREVOR LEACH

mallowrosecottage@gmail.com

“I feel like I’ll never be done learning the native plants of this area,” says Sarah Coury, garden manager of the Botanical Gardens at Asheville. The nonprofit gardens hired Coury in January to oversee its living collection of plants. She also co-owns the nursery Saturnia Farm in Weaverville, specializing in native plants as well as exotic ornamentals.

To understand more about the importance of gardening with plants native to Appalachia, Xpress talked with Coury as well as Carson Ellis, the first national native azalea curator at The North Carolina Arboretum.

“My role as a curator is really multifaceted,” says Ellis, who began her role just last year. “Right now, a lot of it is restoring the landscape. In the future, it’s going to be developing the landscape for its educational qualities, aesthetic qualities and conservation qualities — focusing on all the different ways that a garden space can be beneficial and meaningful.”

With the environment of Western North Carolina experiencing change, both speak about the potential for ecological landscaping to increase biodiversity at home and counteract some of the local challenges while adding to the beauty of urban and rural settings.

As reported by Mountain Xpress over the last several years, development, logging and pollution threaten to destroy one of the most ecologically diverse places in the world.

“Wild landscapes are getting replaced with sterile landscapes, filled with plants that the wildlife really can’t use,” says Coury. “It’s a pretty big impact that we can make with our landscaping choices.”

Many of the plants brought to the area for ornamental and other purposes have grown out of control across the landscape. Invasive species like kudzu, ivy, wisteria and Bradford pear outcompete native plants and even kill them by depriving them of sunlight and vital nutrients. Exotic insects like the emerald ash borer and hemlock woolly adelgid also have killed countless groves of trees iconic to this region.

“Pretty much all of our landscapes are impacted by human activity, no matter how remote it feels,” says Ellis. “We have Bent Creek that flows in here from outside of our property, and it brings in with it a lot of seeds from upstream that root into the banks, and we do have a lot of invasives.”

Wild lawnscapes enrich urban ecosystems

Coury advises residents to take stock of what’s growing around them. “If you inherit a garden that has a lot of nonnative species, it really just depends on what’s there. I would definitely say to get rid of any species that are invasive,” says Coury. She also cites pollution, water fluctuations and erosion as significant challenges to gardening in an urban landscape like Asheville.

REWILDING THE LAWNSCAPE

“I think traditional landscaping can often be a lot of struggle,” says Ellis. “It’s just so much more exciting to try to manage something for the richness of ecology and all of the interactions between wildlife that you can start to see and be a part of through your role in creating and managing that landscape.

“Even just shifting your management and bringing native plants into a landscape can start to support ecology to some degree, and you don’t have to totally change your aesthetic and become wild in order to contribute to that,” says Ellis.

For inspiration on how to integrate native plants into the domestic terrain, Coury recommends “going and looking at the plant communities — going on a hike and paying attention to how nature designs itself.”

In addition to feeding pollinators and other wildlife, native plants can help filter stormwater runoff and reduce the risk of flooding. “It’s really important, especially around waterways, to

be thoughtful about how you manage those landscapes to allow them to have their full ecological function, which trickles down to wherever that water is going to flow out to later on,” says Ellis.

Planting trees and shrubs also adds forest cover that cleans the air and provides shade to cool temperatures, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Native plants require little to no irrigation, pesticides or fertilizer compared with a traditional lawn, and they contribute to a sense of place by using the plants from that region. “The less you have to rely on artificial means of perpetuating your collection, the safer it is,” says Ellis.

“One thing that’s really important is thinking of things in terms of the food web and just the whole ecosystem, especially here in the mountains because more and more people are moving here, and there’s more and more developments coming up,” says Coury.

“It’s a two-way street because the animals then distribute the seeds of those plants and regenerate the whole ecosystem,” says Coury.

“I definitely think that people rewilding their yards or wanting to garden for wildlife need to consider not just what plants to plant but how to manage them, because management styles are [just] as important for maintaining diversity in rich ecological systems,” says Ellis.

Both Coury and Ellis believe that people can make a real difference at home — whether living in a house in the woods or an apartment in the city.

Window boxes and balconies provide opportunities to surround the home with native plants in a limited space.

Other possibilities for planting native plants without private property include contributing to a local community garden or applying to Adopt-aSpot through Asheville GreenWorks. Ellis suggests that the fragrant and edible American wintergreen ( Gaultheria procumbens ) might have the potential to adapt well to indoor conditions.

No matter where you’re growing, it’s important to try. “I think that there’s a lot of room to be proven wrong in horticulture by somebody who’s just willing to not listen to Google and try something.”

FIND LOCAL PLANTS

To get started, check out these local plant sales:

• WNC Farmers Market Spring Festival & Growing in the Mountain Plant Sale, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Saturday, April 22, and Sunday, April 23.

• French Broad River Garden Club’s 71st annual Plant Sale, 9 a.m.3 p.m., Saturday, April 22, 1000 Hendersonville Road, Asheville.

• Bullington Gardens, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Thursday, April 27, to Saturday, April 29, Hendersonville.

• Botanical Gardens at Asheville, noon-6 p.m., Friday, May 12, and 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Saturday, May 13. X

GOING WILD: Moss pink phlox makes a great lawn substitute. Photo by Trevor Leach

Azaleas: Appalachia’s harbingers

Azaleas are a key component to our local flora. They feed bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. “They are kind of a keystone species for pollinators in the early spring, which can be really important when you’re in an environment where there’s been some kind of disruption,” says Carson Ellis, native azalea curator at The North Carolina Arboretum. “Azaleas have big trumpet flowers that are visited by many different species, so they can bridge gaps and maintain stability in that network.”

Despite the grayanotoxins that make azaleas poisonous, deer enjoy eating their flower buds, and their dense branches also allow for birds to build nests.

Out of the 17 species of azalea native to North America, nearly all of them grow on the grounds of the N.C. Arboretum, with 11 of those species growing wild in the surrounding mountains. Azaleas are popular in gardens across the Southeast, providing brilliant displays of color and an invaluable source of sustenance for local wildlife.

“None of them are listed as threatened species at this time — which could be seen as a good thing, but sometimes species get scheduled only when it’s more dramatic and it’s a little too late,” says Ellis. “So, there’s an opportunity in this collection in particular to get ahead of that and safeguard their genetics before development and anthropogenic changes threaten the natural diversity in the wild.”

On Saturday, April 29, the arboretum celebrates its inaugural Native Azalea Day with botanists such as Ellis, along with local artists and other plant enthusiasts. Throughout the day, people can learn more about native azaleas from several information tables and watch painters capture the blooming landscape en plein air. Visitors also can register for walking tours on the arboretum website.

The arboretum’s National Native Azalea Collection originates from seeds gathered from Gregory Bald near the Tennessee border in the early 1990s by Rich Owings, then

horticulture director, and nursery worker Ron Lance. Ellis describes Gregory Bald as “a site that’s infamous for its hybrid swarm of azaleas that are so complex in how they’ve bred with each other, and then those offspring have bred with each other and just created this really rich population of crosses and re-crosses and back-crosses with a lot of interesting color forms. The existence of that bald is critical habitat for those azaleas.”

Building on the legacy of the azalea collection’s founding members, Ellis hopes to gather more seeds from native species to grow the collection. In the wild, azaleas have a slow growth and a low recruitment of seedlings, making them especially vulnerable to habitat loss.

Local nurseries that propagate and sell native azalea species include Carolina Natives in Burnsville and Flower Moon Nursery in Morganton.

AZAELA EXPERT: Carson Ellis is the first national native azalea curator at The North Carolina Arboretum. Photo by Trevor Leach

Drug use and body counts rising

BY JOHN BOYLE, ANDREW R. JONES AND SALLY KESTIN AN ASHEVILLE WATCHDOG REPORT

This is a condensed version of Asheville Watchdog’s “Down Town, Part 5: ‘Every time I hit it, I hope it kills me.’” For the full version, visit avlwatchdog.org.

Michael Barber Sr. sat by himself in the east side of downtown’s Pritchard Park on a recent Tuesday afternoon, wondering where he would spend the night.

That’s if his next hit of fentanyl doesn’t kill him.

And sometimes, he said, he hopes it will.

Barber, 37, acknowledged being a daily user of methamphetamine and fentanyl, the two drugs that have taken over the drug scene in Asheville, largely replacing marijuana, prescription pain relievers, cocaine and heroin. They’re more lethal — an average of three people a week are dying of overdoses in Buncombe County — and harder to kick. Hallucinations, mood disturbances and trouble concentrating can last years after a user quits meth.

The drugs are widely available on the streets of Asheville, and people experiencing homelessness, especially those with histories of trauma and mental illness, are particularly susceptible to addiction.

“Methamphetamine is a way to feel good,” said Dr. Shuchin Shukla of Asheville, a specialist in addiction medicine and an opioid educator at the Mountain Area Health Education Center. “If you’re unhoused, there’s not a lot of opportunities to feel good about life.”

Barber said his drug use goes back years.

“I’ve been doing it for so long,” he said of the meth he smokes or injects. “Everybody around here does it, you know what I mean? And if I have it,

I mean, people want to talk to me, and then I have people to talk to. If not, I’m not going to talk to them. I’m just not going to talk to them. I don’t know — that sounds stupid. It sounds really stupid.”

Barber ticks off a litany of his mental health diagnoses, including “paranoid schizophrenic with post-traumatic stress disorder, manic depressive,” with some of his trauma related to being shot in the leg with a 12-gauge shotgun in his youth. He’s also got

social anxiety, he said, and the meth helps him feel more outgoing.

But he said he hates himself for recently starting to use fentanyl.

“It killed my son’s mother,” he said. “I’ve been clean from heroin for 13 years and I just started back on this. My girlfriend and me, we argue when we do meth, so I was like, ‘Screw it. I’m gonna do fentanyl.’ It was so stupid, man. I do the stupidest sh*t.”

Milligram per milligram, fentanyl is roughly 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine.

“It’s gonna end up killing me,” Barber said of the fentanyl. “I’ll get clean, and then I’ll just be alone again. I’ve been alone my whole life, man, and my family, they say they’re gonna be there and then I get there and then I’m alone. And that’s what triggers it.”

DRUGS, MENTAL ILLNESS INTERTWINED

Asheville Watchdog interviewed front-line workers who deal with substance abuse. Drug users in Asheville, they said, including the unhoused and those who congregate downtown, often are survivors of abusive childhoods and horrific traumas, in a society that largely views them as a menace.

Barber, preparing for a cold night and uncertainty about where he would stay, said at least he had alcohol, one of his “go-to’s.” The drugs and alcohol, he said, are a way to try to cope with the difficult past, the mental illness, the loneliness.

“That’s exactly it,” he said. “I mean, ’cause if I didn’t have it, I’d already have killed myself.”

Originally from Raleigh, Barber said he was given up for adoption early in life, lived with a foster family that didn’t want him and left school after sixth grade. He’s been on his own since age 15, he said.

He’d spent the previous two nights at the Veterans Restoration Quarters in East Asheville because it was a “Code Purple” (32 degrees Fahrenheit or colder), and the shelter allowed nonveterans to spend the night.

His mother and sister live in the Raleigh area, but they don’t want anything to do with him, he said. Raleigh is also a rougher town for the homeless, he said.

“I’m just scared,” Barber said. “But I do need to get out of here because … I just need to get out of here.”

Normally, Barber said, he prefers “uppers,” the stimulants like meth, but meth keeps him awake for days, and he doesn’t eat. Lately, using fentanyl, he’s been eating more and getting more sleep, he said.

Still, he said, he knows fentanyl is a dead-end street.

“Every time I hit it, I hope it kills me,” he said.

’IT’S EVERYWHERE IN ASHEVILLE’

As Asheville Watchdog previously reported in “Down Town,” a series examining the impact of homelessness, a reduced police force and untreated addiction and mental illness in Asheville, downtown merchants and workers are reporting more erratic behavior and feeling

DOWNTOWN: Michael Barber Sr. sits on a bench in Pritchard Park in downtown Asheville on a recent Tuesday afternoon. Watchdog photo by John Boyle

‘Every time I hit it, I hope it kills me.’

avlwatchdog.org

less safe in the city’s core. Much of that behavior is likely fueled by the highly addictive stimulant methamphetamine, often in combination with such other hard drugs as fentanyl.

Homelessness, drugs, untreated mental illness and related crimes are not new to Asheville or its downtown, the largest commercial center in Western North Carolina. And by no means is Asheville unique among American cities in witnessing increases in all of those categories, especially since the pandemic that began in 2020.

But there’s no question that illegal drugs are especially widespread in Asheville.

Asked what percentage of inmates at the Buncombe County Detention Center have drug addiction or mental health issues, Executive Lt. Alex Allman answered without hesitation.

“I would say 75% or higher,” Allman said. “Everybody that walks in the door.”

Wayne Blackwell, a community care minister at Haywood Street Congregation, a ministry for people without housing near downtown Asheville, said he’s seen a major shift in drug use since he first arrived in 2014 seeking help at Haywood.

Blackwell said he had been homeless and a heroin addict.

“The meth,” Blackwell said. “It just took a grip on people, especially after the pandemic. It’s here. It’s everywhere in Asheville.”

Haywood holds memorial services for “friends” who have died, including many from overdoses.

“There was a time just last year when we were having a memorial service, I mean, it felt like almost every week,” said Seth Black, a 28-year-old pastor at the congregation.

One of those memorialized was Deric Causby, a tile installer who died at Mission Hospital on April 26, 2022, of “complications of methamphetamine toxicity,” according to his death certificate. He was 34.

Melanee Rizk , who manages Haywood’s public messaging, newsletters and social media presence, came to Haywood in May 2022 from Homeward Bound.

“I could not believe how many people on staff here have had to administer Narcan,” she said, referring to the brand name of the medication naloxone, which reverses opioid overdose effects. “That is something

CONTINUES ON PAGE 12

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that was shocking for me, coming from Homeward Bound, working with folks who are homeless.”

“I’ve got Narcan in my pocket right now,” Black said during an interview with Asheville Watchdog on a recent afternoon. Rizk and Blackwell said they, too, were carrying Narcan.

METH AND COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT

Capt. Joe Silberman, head of the Asheville Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Division, said it’s almost impossible to say whether fentanyl (an opioid) or methamphetamine (a psychostimulant) is the more serious problem in the area.

“Fentanyl is more of a problem for the user — at the user level, it’s more likely to kill you unpredictably,” Silberman said. “The meth is more of a problem for the public — it creates a series of [unpredictable] behaviors.”

While both opioids like fentanyl and stimulants like methamphetamine are highly addictive, there is an important distinction between opioid and meth addiction, said Shukla, who is on the board of Homeward Bound. Opioids don’t create a cognitive impairment, he said — that is, they don’t impair the ability to concentrate or make value-based decisions about what’s important to you and how someone can help you.

“With methamphetamine, it very much affects your cognitive abilities,” Shukla said. “It changes the way you’re able to process, your decision-making, your judgment, such that it affects [your] behavior in the community.”

Opioid users, if they’re unhoused and in the streets, generally are “pretty chill,” Shukla said. Meth users are another story.

“Someone on meth, or some of these other drugs, but meth in this community, they’re more likely to have bizarre behavior, erratic behavior, violent behavior,” Shukla said.

Repeated use of meth can cause anxiety, paranoia, aggression, hallucinations and mood disturbances.

If they have homes, drug users act out or pass out “and no one sees them,” Shukla said. “If you’re in the streets, you’re going to attract a lot of attention. You’re going to make people scared.”

Typically, people use meth to “feel better, to have energy,” Shukla said. “A lot of people who are unhoused use it to stay awake, to prevent sexual assault or getting robbed because they’re living out, unsheltered or with no degree of safety.”

For the unhoused, opportunities to feel good about life are few. Methamphetamine, like a lot of drugs,

stimulates the brain’s reward center, Shukla said. Methamphetamine, he said, “is a way to feel good, and everyone wants to feel good.”

Also known as crank, ice, crystal meth, speed and glass, methamphetamine works on the adrenaline system. It causes an increased heart rate, perspiration and higher body temperature, and an increase in energy. Users are not hungry and sometimes don’t sleep for days.

“You feel euphoria the first time,” Shukla said. “Whatever problems you feel better … and then when you stop using or it wears off, you feel worse than you were before. And you’re trapped in this cycle, and very quickly it becomes something you’re compulsively going to use.”

Long-term meth use can damage the heart and brain. It can cause heart attacks and strokes, intense itching resulting in skin sores and extreme tooth decay, known as meth mouth.

“I do think it does injure the brain and nerves and cognitive function in ways that all the other drugs have not, including crack and cocaine,” Shukla said.

Meth users have trouble staying employed and maintaining relationships.

“And so that can make it easier to lose housing, if you have it, or not get housing, if you need it,” Shukla said.

“These are folks who are living in our community in ways that everyone can see their lives. I think if we can help the housing situation, it would help the substance use problems of our community.”

OVERDOSES SKYROCKET

Sarah Gayton, Buncombe County Detention Center’s MedicationAssisted Treatment program coordina-

Photos by James Parker.

LOCAL EXPERT: Dr. Shuchin Shukla is a specialist in addiction medicine and an opioid educator at MAHEC, the Mountain Area Health Education Center. Photo courtesy of Shukla

tor, said she recently analyzed jail data and death certificates in Buncombe County from 2015-21 and found:

• Cases of fentanyl-related overdose deaths in Buncombe County increased 823%, to 120 deaths a year in 2021 from 13 in 2015.

• Stimulant-involved deaths increased to 81 deaths a year from four, an increase of 1,925%. (Stimulants include methamphetamine, cocaine, crack cocaine and amphetamines such as medications prescribed for the treatment of ADHD, according to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.)

• Available records for 2022, while not complete, show 57% of all overdose deaths were stimulant-involved.

Buncombe County’s overdose statistics have trended upward for the past six years, according to statistics Gayton compiled and recently presented to the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners. Part of that presentation noted, “Overdose deaths are increasing and have reached an all-time high in Buncombe County in recent years.”

From 2015-22, Buncombe County had a total of 983 overdose deaths.

DOING WHAT THEY CAN:

Also of note from Gayton’s presentation is that overdose deaths involving combinations of two or more drugs — called “polysubstance drugs,” like a combination of fentanyl and meth, are rapidly increasing. “For example, in 2015, 10% of all overdose deaths were

stimulant involved; by 2021, 50% were,” Gayton’s report noted.

In 2022, Buncombe County had 181 overdose deaths — essentially an average of one death every other day — although officials noted this number likely will increase as death certificates are amended.

These are the fatal overdose numbers prior to 2022:

• 2021 — 164

• 2020 — 137

• 2019 — 130

• 2018 — 124

• 2017 — 155

• 2016 — 71

As reported in Part 4 of the “Down Town” series, Buncombe County has a community paramedic team that responds to overdoses. The community paramedics also distribute Narcan to public libraries, shelters and other places where drug users are likely to come for assistance. Without those efforts, county officials said, overdose deaths would be even higher.

DRUG ARRESTS DECLINE

While it appears that illegal drug use has risen sharply in recent years, Asheville Police Department arrest data shows arrest charges related to drugs have actually declined in the past four years.

In 2019, the department filed 727 drug charges related to metham-

CONTINUES ON PAGE 14

From left, Seth Black, Wayne Blackwell and Melanee Rizk at the Haywood Street Congregation say they all carry Narcan doses to help treat opioid overdoses. Watchdog photo by Andrew R. Jones

phetamine, marijuana, cocaine and heroin. In 2022, that number was 380.

The department has been operating at 60% of its funded positions for two years, and police officials acknowledge that they have prioritized responding to violent crimes and reduced the number of in-person responses to nonviolent crimes.

Countywide, drug charges more than doubled from 2010-18 and then have declined each year since, according to jail booking data from the Buncombe County Detention Center. (As we reported earlier, the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office is also operating with about 15% fewer officers than before 2020.)

Methamphetamine charges in Buncombe County skyrocketed since 2010 but dropped slightly in 2022.

Similarly, heroin charges, which include fentanyl, showed a dramatic increase over the last decade, from 33 in 2011 to 269 in 2021. Law enforcement and drug treatment sources said fentanyl by far became the dominant opioid in the area several years ago, and they see relatively little heroin anymore.

Dr. Shukla of MAHEC has seen the change in the six years he’s been in Asheville.

“When I first got here, prescription opioids and heroin were the issues most prevalent, besides alcohol and maybe marijuana products,” Shukla

said, adding that finding heroin or prescription opioids in a drug screen now is very rare. “It’s moved more to fentanyl, fentanyl analogs, methamphetamine.”

Fair Housing Marketing: Compliance and Beyond

Capt. Mike Lamb, a 25-year veteran of the Asheville Police Department, said the type of crime officers are seeing downtown has changed in the last few years, with the behavior becoming “more outrageous.”

“And based on my training and experience, a lot of the folks that are having issues are the ones that are high on meth,” Lamb said. “Meth has really changed the landscape of what we see downtown.”

Meth use, Lamb said, “has really caused a lot of mean and unpredictable behavior, and that’s why you have a lot of business owners that are afraid to confront people anymore.”

Some of the meth coming into the area is higher quality, suggesting it comes from cartels or other organized criminal operations, Lamb said, but police also still see lower-quality homemade methamphetamine, the kind that is “cooked” in local houses and trailers in Western North Carolina or surrounding areas.

The Office of National Drug Control Policy has designated Buncombe, Henderson and McDowell counties as “High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas.” More than two-thirds of Americans live in a county designated as HIDTA, according to the website.

When: April 21, 2023 @ noon

Where: 21 Restaurant Ct. (the speaker will be virtual on our large screens and we will be serving LUNCH) or Zoom

Who: Alexia Smokler, Director, Fair Housing Policy & Programs

The Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office does not have a way to track drug seizures back to their point of origin, spokesman Aaron Sarver said. But “I-40 and I-26 are major transportation corridors that drug traffickers use,” he said.

“Both [of] those interstate highways connect to major ports — Wilmington and Charleston,” Sarver

GRIM STATISTICS: The number of Buncombe’s overdose deaths by year. The 2022 count will likely increase as death certificates are amended. Chart courtesy of Asheville Watchdog

“Where’s the latest list of fair housing words and phrases?”

“Am I allowed to say ‘master bedroom’ anymore?”

Alexia Smokler helps demystify the marketing provisions of the Fair Housing Act. Learn what the law requires, what it doesn’t require, and why you might want to go beyond what’s required to create inclusive messages for consumers.

said. “Atlanta is also a regional hub for high-level traffickers who bring up fentanyl and meth.”

Silberman, the Asheville police captain in charge of the Criminal Investigations Division, said the majority of the fentanyl and methamphetamine coming into the area is likely coming from outside the United States.

Precursor drugs, especially for fentanyl, are mostly produced in other countries, including China and India, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, but they’re often shipped to Mexico and either combined into the drugs or moved into the United States to make the finished product, he said.

“Most fentanyl and meth that we actually seize is going to come from a larger lab,” Silberman said. “These little ‘one-pots’ and ‘one-offs,’ the amounts they produce are so small, and it’s an addict producing it [so] that it’s going to be used within an hour or two, tops.”

Meth “one-pots,” sometimes called “shake ‘n’ bakes,” typically are made by combining precursor chemicals, including pseudoephedrine, in a plastic bottle and shaking them. The bottles are prone to explosions, though, and they create hazardous waste.

ONE MAN’S JOURNEY TO RECOVERY

Much of the drug landscape in Asheville is simply bleak, as are the lives of those in the throes of addiction.

But David Polston’s story holds an ounce or two of hope instead of the white crystalline powder he used to rely on to get by every day. In fact, it was what he lived for — the meth.

But before delving into Polston’s life of using hard drugs — which led to prison time, the loss of custody of his three children and ugly cycles of relapse — it’s important to understand where he came from.

“My father was in prison when I was 8 months old, with like a 25-year sentence,” Polston said. “My mother was an addict as well. And then she left me at the neighbor’s when I was 3. Then I was raised by the state, off and on, in and out of foster care.”

It didn’t go well. Growing up first in the Atlanta area and then in Cartersville, about 45 miles northwest, Polston had little supervision and a whole lot of anger. For a while, he lived with family on his mother’s side.

“But they didn’t care what I did,” Polston said. “I started doing drugs when I was like 12 years old — marijuana, pain pills, opiates and cocaine.”

He had a brother and sister, and they were split up in the system.

He was in and out of foster care for a while, then went to live with his aunt’s daughter. She was also a drug user, so Polston did whatever he wanted to do, including “a lot of marijuana and pain pills.”

Polston said he got married to his first wife at age 19.

“We were heavy into opiates,” Polston said. “Then I had a son and a daughter.

“And we met some people that did methamphetamine,” he said. “Once I tried it, I got so hooked.”

It quickly led to criminal behavior. Polston said he’s been in prison four times, all in North Carolina. A criminal history shows numerous convictions, ranging from larceny and assault to carrying a concealed weapon and possession of drug paraphernalia.

“So, I started doing [stuff] like stealing people’s stuff and stealing from stores and stealing cars and crushing them out at the crusher,” he said. “Just to use that methamphetamines — staying up for weeks at a time. And then that led into charges, so I went to prison. And then I got out and did the same thing again, ripping and running, stealing stuff.”

Prison offered zero rehabilitation.

“You learn how to be even worse,” Polston said. “Basically, you learn all the tricks and all the stuff that people got in trouble for you. You learn all that in the system because that’s all you have time for, is to just tell stories.”

He started out in prison in minimum security but ended up in closed custody where he was in lockdown 23 hours a day.

After his second stint in prison, his wife got in legal trouble, and they lost their children to the Department of Social Services. The children are all together and live with a foster family.

“And then that just really set me off to just continue using,” he said. “And then it just numbed you, you know, because the meth puts you in a whole other mindset — you didn’t really care about nothing. You just cared about using.”

“It’s a hard drug to come off of,” he said. “I’ve really struggled coming off of it.”

While using, Polston said, your mind is “just out there,” so it’s hard to remember what all you did.

“And then I just said, ‘I can’t do this no more.’”

Kudos to the city

Jane Laping is a member of many local organizations, including Asheville Oakley TreeKeepers, MountainTrue and PlasticFree WNC.

What’s a local sustainability initiative that you think is going well or on a successful path?

Plastic-Free WNC has been working on a plastic bag and Styrofoam ban for the city and the county for several years and feels that we are finally making some progress. Not only are single-use plastics a disposal and litter problem, they break down into tiny pieces called microplastics in our waterways, where they create more environmental problems. The city just released a survey to measure residents’ input about the ban at avl.mx/cje.

JANE LAPING

What is one piece of environmental legislation or policy change that you would like to see Asheville/Buncombe County make?

Kudos to the city for taking steps to eliminate the use of plastic bags for disposing of leaves and brush. Now, the city needs to take the next step and implement a ban on plastic bags from retail stores and Styrofoam containers from restaurants. City Council moved forward to study the ordinance late last year, and now it is taking some time for staff to research and develop the necessary information to put it into action.

What is your organization’s preferred method for educating the community about its mission?

Plastic-Free WNC is a program of MountainTrue that uses a variety of methods for getting the word out. Media have the widest reach through print, TV and radio. MountainTrue has a large email list that targets individuals who are interested in environmental issues in Western North Carolina. Wordof-mouth can also be very effective when passionate individuals share an issue verbally, post on social media, write an op-ed, etc.

Where do you go to enjoy the outdoors?

The Mountain-to-Sea Trail is my favorite place to hike in Buncombe County, and I especially like to hike in the spring when the wildflowers are blooming. The MST is very convenient and easy to get to as it follows the Blue Ridge Parkway. I have hiked all the sections in the county and like some more than others. The best sections are those that get away from the parkway so that you don’t hear the traffic.

‘I CAN’T DO THIS NO MORE.’

In his case, what led Polston to seek real treatment was getting robbed in Burnsville by people he was using with.

“And then I walked from Burnsville to downtown Asheville,” he said. “And then I was standing in front of St. Joseph [hospital, now a part of Mission], where the brick wall was, and I just had this urge of like, ‘I can’t do this no more, you know?’ ’Cause I didn’t have any drugs, and I was detoxing and I hadn’t ate for days. I was just at my very bottom. And then I just said, ‘I can’t do this no more.’”

A kind employee told him “off the record” that he needed to say he was harmful to himself, as they couldn’t release him back to the streets then. He was taken to a medical center in Catawba County, where he stayed for about 35 days in rehab.

“I guess it all played out,” he said. “You know, my ‘higher power’ or whatever you want to call it.”

When he got out, he met up with a friend who knew Sue Polston, now his wife, and was a house manager at New Life, a recovery center. Polston had no clothes, no money, no identification, or any other possessions.

At 5 feet 9 inches tall, he weighed 123 pounds. He’s now a muscular 193 pounds.

Polston got into a men’s home where he did chores around the house in lieu of payment. He moved to a “three-quarter house” where he had more freedom. And he began a serious relationship with Sue. Homeward Bound conducted a “rapid rehousing” for him and paid the first month’s rent and utilities.

He and Sue Polston moved into a house in Enka, and David Polston got a job at Linamar, a truck parts manufacturer, steadily moving up through their ranks. He’s now a level 4 technician at the plant.

DRAMATIC CLIMB: Methamphetamine charges in Buncombe County skyrocketed since 2010 but dropped slightly in 2022. Chart courtesy of Asheville Watchdog

David Polston has a high school diploma but no college credits. He’s proud of his turnaround, but it’s a story he’s mostly kept to himself.

“I’ve never told anybody besides Sue,” Polston said of his story.

FROM EUPHORIA TO DESPAIR

Polston has a strong internal motivation to not use again: the fear of dying.

“I have the fear of not ever coming back if I did use,” he said. “It took me like 30 years to get there. I don’t see me ever [using], because I mean, the trauma and the suffering that I had to go through to detox.”

Polston has been clean now for nine years. While he still occasionally struggles with anger issues, Polston said he’s learned some coping techniques, and he’s become a bit of an exercise fanatic.

He said he feels the drug use in his youth stunted his emotional development.

“I just would be normal, or normal and then angry,” he said. “That was all I knew.”

He regularly goes to therapy, but he also finds healing in daily workouts at the gym, he said.

Polston said using meth the first time was euphoric, but it quickly sours, as the body can’t go to sleep and the dependence begins.

“You just get that [where] your body needs it, and then you’re gonna do whatever you have to do to continue to use it,” Polston said.

“And then it doesn’t matter if it tears your family apart because you’re going to choose that methamphetamines over anything. And that’s what basically happened with me and my kids.”

Polston is unsure of his children’s ages because he was in the throes

of drug addiction or in prison when they were born. He also had a brain aneurysm in 2015 that affected his memory, he said.

Besides his full-time job, Polston also co-owns Thrive Transitional Living, a six-bed house for recovering addicts near the Candler home he shares with Sue. David Polston leans on his own experiences with drugs, and life, to help those at Thrive.

He also said he wants people to know what’s really driving the drug epidemic in the country, and here in Asheville.

“I think it’s mental health,” Polston said. “I think the underlying issue of people using is a bigger proportion of [people] not getting the help that they need. It’s hard to get help when you don’t have health insurance. They’re not going to say, ‘Open the doors with open arms and come on in.’ I mean, you don’t have no money, you don’t have no service.”

Watchdog data reporter John Maines contributed to this article.

Asheville Watchdog is a nonprofit news team producing stories that matter to Asheville and surrounding communities. John Boyle has been covering Western North Carolina since the 20th century. You can reach him at 828-337-0941, or via email at jboyle@avlwatchdog.org. Andrew R. Jones is a Watchdog investigative reporter. Email arjones@avlwatchdog.org. Sally Kestin is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter. Email skestin@avlwatchdog.org.

MAN’S BEST FRIEND: David Polston on the porch of his home with his dog, Marcus, who he says was an important partner in his recovery.

Watchdog photo by Starr Sariego

New coworking space coming to Asheville

Hatch Innovation Hub has opened 20,000 square feet of office space, dubbed Hatch 2.0, at 45 S. French Broad Ave. The new coworking space includes 18 offices, 12 phone booths, 50 flex desks, a communal kitchen area and conference rooms. The new space joins other local businesses in the Hatch building, including Aimpoint, Big Sea, Bonesteel Films, Coffee Curious, Ecobot, Ideal Medical, NEMAC, Platinum Group, Prism Studio Space, Sauna House and Silicon Dojo.

Movement Bank opens in Arden

Virginia-based Movement Bank opened a location at 2397 Hendersonville Road in Arden on April 3. It is the bank’s fourth location. It has branches in Randleman, N.C.; Fort Mill, S.C.; and Danville, Va. A recent operating system upgrade offers new digital capabilities and enhanced services. The bank will host a communitywide grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony on-site at 5 p.m. Wednesday, April 26.

Arts classes coming to Hendersonville

Arise and Shine ARTS will offer rotating classes at Continuum Gallery at 147C First Ave. in downtown Hendersonville. Classes will include digital music production, screenwriting and kids crafts, among other activities. Arise and Shine ARTS plans a launch party at Continuum Gallery noon-3 p.m. Saturday, April

15, featuring live music and pop-up classes. Classes begin Monday, April 24. More information or to register for classes at avl.mx/ckc.

BWAR seeks donations for rescued dogs

Brother Wolf Animal Rescue is caring for dogs that were rescued from a South Korean dog meat farm by Humane Society International, and the local rescue needs donations to help pay for medical treatment and daily care of the dogs. The organization is holding a spring match challenge in which a community member

is matching all donations up to $50,000 made through the end of April. When the dogs from South Korea are ready for adoption, Brother Wolf will post them as available on its website. More information at avl.mx/ckd.

$1.5M grant to fund WCU professorship

Western Carolina University’s College of Education received a $1.5

READY, SET, WORK: Hatch Innovation Hub has opened 20,000 square feet of office space near downtown Asheville. Photo courtesy of Hatch Innovation Hub

million grant from the Goodnight Educational Foundation to create an endowed literacy professorship. Pending a requested match of $1 million from the University of North Carolina Distinguished Professors Endowment Trust Fund, the grant will be used to establish the Goodnight Distinguished Professorship in Early Literacy at WCU. The position will be filled by the 2023 fall semester and join seven other distinguished professors to help advance the UNC system’s literacy initiatives.

MHO’s longtime leader retiring

Scott Dedman, president and executive director of Mountain Housing Opportunities, announced plans to retire in August after 30 years in the role. Dedman was one of seven volunteer founders of MHO in 1988. Under Dedman’s leadership, MHO has financed and developed more than 1,300 affordable apartments, helped more than 500 families and individuals achieve homeownership and provided safety-related home repairs to more than 4,000 homeowners. Charlie Owen, the organization’s board chair, will lead an executive search this summer and plans to post the CEO position in April.

New programming at Cultivate Climbing

Cultivate Climbing is launching Cultivate Climbing Guides, which will provide guidance and instruction on a range of outdoor climbing experiences, including top-roping to single-pitch and multipitch trips to Mount Pisgah, Chimney Rock, Linville Gorge and other climbs in the area. The program provides all climbing equipment and emphasizes safety.

In addition to the new program, Cultivate Climbing announced its summer camp lineup for kids ages 6-15. Campers will learn the basics of climbing from experienced instructors and will have opportunities to hone their climbing skills throughout the program. More information at avl.mx/ck9.

Banerjee to head MFA program

Following an extensive national search, Warren Wilson College appointed Rita Banerjee as the next director of the MFA program for writers and assistant professor of creative writing. The four-semester graduate program

is consistently ranked as one of the most selective low-residency creative writing MFA programs in the country. Banerjee is an award-winning writer and previously served as director of MFA programs at two other schools.

Senior strategists join Formation PR

Annie Carlson and Julia Hockenberry joined the Hendersonville-based Formation PR + Brand communications agency. Carlson brings more than 10 years of experience in marketing and communications operations, including management of marketing and fundraising campaigns and brand development, while Hockenberry spent a decade working in print and broadcast journalism before entering nonprofit leadership in 2009.

Arhaus opens studio in Asheville

Arhaus, an Ohio-based artisan-crafted furniture and home décor store, has announced the opening of its new, 7,215-square-foot studio at 4 S. Tunnel Road in Asheville. The studio and showroom will offer a design center that features 3D room-planning software and touchscreen monitors to display pieces within a space. In celebration of the Asheville opening, Arhaus will donate $10,000 to Duke Children’s Hospital

WWBC opens office in Asheville Mall

The Western Women’s Business Center, a program of the Carolina Small Business Development Fund, moved to a new office in the Asheville Mall at 3 S. Tunnel Road. The center was previously at the A-B Tech Enka campus. The move to Asheville Mall is intended to expand WWBC’s work and deepen partnerships with the local community and economic development entities.

Glass studio opens in River Arts District

Small Batch Glass, a working artist studio and gallery at 46 Craven St., has opened to the public. The studio, led by artist Asher Holman, will offer a retail experience with live glassblowing. More information at avl.mx/ckf.

— Brooke Randle X

Buncombe sets hearing to block crypto mines

Complaints from Cherokee County have inspired Buncombe officials to consider a one-year moratorium on cryptocurrency mine development while they consider further regulation — or prohibition — of the land use.

At its regular meeting April 4, the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners unanimously voted to set a public hearing on the moratorium for Tuesday, May 2. (Board chair Brownie Newman and Commissioner Amanda Edwards were not present.) If approved, the moratorium would last until next May so county staff can develop permanent regulation of cryptocurrency mining to be included in a future zoning ordinance.

Cherokee County is now home to at least three such mines, banks of computers that solve the complex math underlying cryptocurrency transactions in exchange for cryptocurrency itself. Those electronics create a lot of heat and must be cooled, often by noisy fan systems, which has led to community complaints.

According to reporting from the USA Today, residents of the Cherokee County town of Murphy say one mine has fans so loud that it has significantly lowered their quality of life. Buncombe County Commissioner Terri Wells said she became aware of Murphy’s issues and brought the crypto mine considerations to county staff. She has also expressed concerns over crypto mining’s electricity

use, water demands and generation of electronic waste.

Cryptocurrency mining is not specifically defined in the county’s current zoning, Nathan Pennington, Buncombe’s planning director, told commissioners at the April 4 meeting. He said the moratorium will allow the county to complete its comprehensive plan and develop new standards for intensive land uses that may pose harm to the natural environment, including crypto mining. It’s unclear to what extent mining companies are looking to locate in Buncombe, he added, since they typically seek out flat, inexpensive land, of which the county has little.

Meanwhile, the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners is considering adoption of a noise ordinance because of the roar of crypto mine fans, according to minutes from a January 23 meeting. Commissioners there have also presented state legislators with a resolution requesting a ban on cryptocurrency mines.

In other news

Buncombe County may be able to acquire 342 acres on Spivey Mountain in the Deaverview community for a county park, if officials agree to partner with the nonprofit Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy.

The property, located about 5 miles from downtown Asheville, was purchased in March for about $7.3 mil-

lion by Deaverview Mountain LLC, a Raleigh-based legal entity. According to an April 4 briefing presentation by Allison Dains, Buncombe’s parks and recreation director, the owner is “a conservation-minded individual” who has given SAHC a threeyear option to buy the property and donate it to the county as a park.

“This is a place that we have an opportunity to preserve for wildlife [and] scenic beauty, but perhaps more importantly, it’s a place people can get to. It’s a terrific opportunity.” said Carl Silverstein, SAHC’s executive director.

The total cost of the land acquisition is estimated at nearly $8.9 million. SAHC has applied for roughly $4.4 million in federal grant funding, which if approved would leave about $4.5 million for the county or other funders to contribute. If the county does acquire the land, there would be an opportunity to build a parking lot, restrooms, educational kiosks and multimodal trails, Dains said, with construction potentially starting in 2027.

Commissioner Al Whitesides expressed concern about the price tag on the property.

“As a taxpayer, what we’re getting into, this is something Buncombe County hasn’t done before. Would it be cheaper if we ask the state to pitch in?” Whitesides asked. “This is great, and it’ll be great for us, but I hope we realize what we’re picking up here. It’s not going to be cheap.”

Jay Leutze, senior adviser to the SAHC board, said North Carolina officials recommended SAHC pursue a county park, noting that the state is already working on establishing Pisgah View State Park in the western part of Buncombe County. Silverstein added that the SAHC will seek as much additional funding as possible from outside sources during the three-year timeline set by the new property owner.

Wells said she’s most excited about the property because of its proximity to Asheville.

“This mountain forest has tremendous potential to provide our community with educational and recreational opportunities, and I especially love that, with public access, anyone will be able to enjoy the best view in Asheville,” she said.

— Greg Parlier X

CRYPT-NO CURRENCY: The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners voted at its regular meeting April 4 to schedule a public hearing on a one-year moratorium on cryptocurrency mine development. Photo courtesy of Buncombe County

Q&A: Shared garden feeds the need to help

Lucille Nelson says her job is equal parts teacher and student.

“It feels more like a community management position,” says the manager of the Dr. John Wilson Community Garden in Black Mountain. “I’m learning so much about gardening as I’m doing this job. A lot of what I do is teaching people who have never gardened before how to hold a shovel, how to touch the soil and how to discern one plant from the other plant. And also creating events and connections with people and community partners.”

The Dr. John Wilson Community Garden began in 2004 when the town of Black Mountain allocated space in recognition of Wilson’s community gardening efforts. Starting with 12 gardeners working on 30 plots, the garden itself has expanded to an acre with over 100 plot renters, a sizable garden specifically to grow produce to give away and 85 volunteers. Overall, the grounds sprawl over 6 acres. Last year, more than 5,000 pounds of produce was donated to Bounty and Soul, a local nonprofit that provides fresh produce and wellness education.

Maggie Schlubach, a volunteer for the past 15 years, visits each Monday to tend to the dedicated donation plots. She says, “It’s my happy place.”

Nelson took over the manager position this year after Diana McCall stepped down after 18 years. She interned with McCall in 2018. “Working with Diana seeded my love for the plants, working in the soil, getting outside and gardening,” she says. Nelson took a couple of agriculture classes and worked at Gaining Ground Farm in Leicester in 2019 and ’20.

Xpress joined Nelson in the spring sunshine to discuss biodiversity, the food donation system and what makes this garden a community.

This interview has been lightly edited and condensed.

Xpress: How does this community garden promote biodiversity?

The simplest piece is that we’re an organic garden, so we’re not using any harmful pesticides that kill off life. We have pollinator gardens. We try to promote native plants. We have multiple projects where we’re removing invasive species so they don’t take over and

become a monospecies area. We have bluebird boxes and native beehives. There’s also a cultural layer that I feel is very important in this garden, where we’re teaching people how to recognize biodiversity and how to connect with it. We’re teaching volunteers who have never gardened before how to discern one plant from the other plant. So many people have never had somebody sit down with them and say, “Look how this leaf grows differently than that leaf.” When you get people in here to see beyond the wall of green, they see

this plant is an individual. And next to it is another individual. And they grow and react differently. Helping spread that consciousness into the community is a really big piece of promoting biodiversity. When more people connect with that, they care more. There’s an energetic communion. The more people understand and see the plants, biodiversity and the world around them that we’ve been so disconnected from, that will encourage biodiversity to grow.

Tell me about the food donation system.

GARDEN GURU: Lucille Nelson and her sidekick, Peaches, oversee Black Mountain’s community garden. Photo courtesy of Nelson

These donation beds [29 beds, most of which measure 4 feet by 50 feet] are grown exclusively for Bounty and Soul using volunteer labor. This is where I spend most of my time. The rest of the garden is rented by individual community members. Everybody starts with half a plot. And then if they want to upgrade [the next year] to a full plot, they can. Each of those full plots has 10%, or the last 5 feet of the bed, grown for donation. We provide the seeds and the starts, and then we harvest. In between, the gardeners care for the plants. For the last two years, we have grown over 5,000 pounds of food for Bounty and Soul. And a lot of that, it’s not heavy stuff. It’s lettuce, kale, stinging nettles, sochan, arugula and herbs. We try to focus on fresh greens, fresh herbs and things that might not otherwise get donated.

How does this garden enhance a sense of community?

I think the simplest thing is when you’re growing food in your backyard, you’re not interacting with anybody besides yourself. Maybe you have a friendly neighbor who’s into gardening and might want to help you out. But other than that, you’re basically by yourself. And here, you have at least two people who are 2 feet away growing next to you. And then we have about 100 gardeners growing here, so there are 100 other people who are interested in gardening who are experimenting in this specific area, who you can learn from, who can water your plants when you’re away, who might want to buy a flat of starts with you. I think that proximity really helps folks.

The other piece is our community partnerships. We have strong partnerships with other community organizations. I don’t know that we would get half as much done here at the garden if we didn’t have our partnership with Warren Wilson College [which brings student groups to volunteer in the garden]. Bounty and Soul brings many volunteers. And we have partnerships with local businesses like arborists

who bring wood chips, and we use them for our pathways. Now we’re reducing waste and using the assets that are already in our community. Same thing with our big pile of leaf mold. Folks bag up their leaves, and we mulch our beds with them. We’re keeping the nutrients in our region, working them back into the soil.

What have the people who tend the garden taught you?

A lot. There are so many volunteers and gardeners who have so many more years of experience than me. I come to this space with humility and try to ask, “What’s your experience? Do you know this plant? Do you have another perspective on how to do this?” I see my role as sometimes I’m teaching people who don’t know anything. And sometimes I’m more of a facilitator and just guiding the space. Like, this volunteer who has been working with fruit trees for a long time knows way more than me, so he’s actually telling us how to prune the tree.

Any tips for gardeners for their own home gardens?

Start to pay attention to what weeds are growing in your garden. We use a number of different weeding techniques. To most people, weeding means yanking the plant out of the ground, roots and all. But every time you’re pulling roots out, you’re disrupting soil, and you are disrupting the ecosystem within the soil. With some weeds, you can chop them at the surface and lay them down and they’re not going to grow back or they’re not going to grow back fast, or they don’t grow very tall so they’re not going to shade anything out. You just need to keep them from overrunning your plants until they get big enough. So, pay attention to the weeds and what kind of habitat they’re growing in and ask, “Can I just chop and drop this plant and keep the nutrients? Or do I actually have to pull this whole plant out?”

— LA Bourgeois X

Be a friendly bulldog

Monroe Gilmour is a community activist based in Black Mountain.

What issue or event drew you into community organizing?

Having worked mostly with service-oriented nonprofits (CARE and Peace Corps in Lesotho and India), I became motivated, in 1984, to shift my emphasis to structural change. Thus, I was the first staff person for Knoxville-based Solutions, working on low-wealth and racial discrimination issues.

After moving here, the city of Asheville began, in 1987, clear-cutting its 22,000-acre water source near our home. I got involved and applied the same methodology we used in Knoxville. We stopped it, twice, in 1989 and again in 2002. I came to realize that social justice and environmental organizing are one in the same. In fact, one is often challenging the same organizations, even the same people. “Well, duh!” Yes, but I’m glad I gained that understanding.

How has environmental activism changed since you first became involved?

Back in the 1980s, one could feel a bit alone. I remember the chair of the water authority erupting into anger when the mayor introduced me to him, flinging his arm out and yelling, “Nobody’s going to listen to you, you’ll just be dismissed as a troublemaker.”

Today, that would not happen so overtly — plus, society is much more attuned to and engaged with environmental issues that affect both the environment and the people impacted. That reality makes our struggles easier in some respects but harder in others.

One other crucial change is the presence of social media and the many ways those platforms can be used to further a cause.

Looking back, what advice would you give yourself regarding environmental activism?

I would, first, get myself more quickly oriented to the social justice/environmental justice unified challenge we all face. I would also advise myself that I was on the right track employing basic community organizing principles and methodology as laid out in the Midwest Academy’s Organizing for Social Change. Key is to listen, work closely with the people most impacted and be persistent yet respectful. Model the change you want to see. Be a friendly bulldog. X

MONROE GILMOUR

photo by F.M. Martin

Q&A: Anthony Coppage of ‘Naked and Afraid’

Western North Carolina has a long history of self-sufficiency, from growing our own food to hunting to locating medicinal plants in our ecosystem. When Anthony Coppage moved to Waynesville 3 and a half years ago, he fit right in with this self-sufficient spirit, thanks to his pastime of developing primitive survival skills.

Coppage is a two-time contestant on “Naked and Afraid,” a reality show on the Discovery Channel that sends survivalists into remote environments around the world. Viewers watch the survivalists test their bushcraft skills and brave the elements for 21 days or withdraw due to hunger, sickness or mental turmoil.

During Coppage’s first appearance on “Naked and Afraid” in Brazil in 2018, he tapped out of the challenge after four days when he pushed himself into dehydration. But he got a chance at redemption when he was asked to film “Naked and Afraid” once again — this time in the South African desert with a team of three other contestants who also left previous challenges early. The episode for his second appearance on the show aired in March, and upcoming segments are posted on the Discovery website.

During Coppage’s most recent episode, he built several shelters, a smoker and a stove. “But the skills aren’t what keeps you out there,” he tells Xpress. “It’s the mental fortitude to not — as I call it — ‘go dark.’ And people ‘go dark’ out there a lot. They start thinking, ‘My God, this sucks! This is so terrible. I can’t do this. It’s so cold.’”

Some contestants can focus only on the difficulties and get trapped in a negative mindset. “And that’s what takes people out,” he explains. “If you’re not medically tapped, you likely [withdraw] because you went dark and you spun yourself out of the challenge.”

Coppage spoke with Xpress about eating insects (it’s unavoidable), his reaction to seeing hippos in the wild and his relationship with fear.

This interview has been condensed for length and edited for clarity.

Xpress : Did production for “Naked and Afraid” tell you that you’d be going to the desert so you could study up on how to survive there?

Coppage: About a week out, I knew I was going to South Africa. You land in Johannesburg, and I knew I was flying to Hoedspruit, which I found on the map. But no, you’re very much left in the dark.

You spent a long time living in Las Vegas prior to moving to WNC. Did any of your knowledge about the desert there help you in South Africa?

A lot of people feel like they can study up for something like this [show], and you really can’t. [There are] different deserts. Africa is very comparable to Red Rock Canyon and Vegas. But all the trees are different. The sand is different. The rocks are different. … In Vegas, there were several types of cactuses around and trees that allowed you to make bow drills [a tool for making fire] quite easily and cactuses that you can eat readily. [In South Africa], none of those plants were there. But the one similarity that I keep finding in different spots of the world is prickly pear cactus, which is great because it’s in every desert and it’s edible.

If you couldn’t really prepare, how did you know what was safe to eat or not?

[Contestants] get a little briefing sheet the day before you go out on the plane, so you’ve got a little idea of what’s edible and what’s not. ... But [production] won’t let you eat something that they know is violently poisonous.

They will let you eat things that are out of season. There’s certain seeds or fruits that if you eat them too early on, there are tannins in them, and they will make you sick. And they will let you [eat them], as people have seen in past episodes. If it’s edible, it’s edible. You may not like it, your stomach may not digest it well, you might be throwing up. But it’s edible. What were the most memorable things you ate during this challenge — either good or bad?

Bug-wise, we ate scorpion, grubs, crickets and beetles. And all of that sounds disgusting — it wasn’t terrible, it wasn’t great, either. It’s not something I’m gonna run out and ask for on the menu anywhere. That’s just what you do while you’re out there. If you think you’re going out there and you’re not going to eat a bug, you’re probably delusional. We found a nice little harvest of bugs and continued to cook those up. [We

ate] prickly pear cactus as well. And we were able to catch fish. … We ate better than a lot of people do as a team.

What memories do you think will stick with you forever about this “Naked and Afraid” experience?

The location itself. You are sleeping on the ground, making your own fire, having to hunt for your food, collecting your own water, everything is as it was before technology. It kinda hits you in the feels that you’re in the Motherland of all things — Africa is the cradle of life. And I think all of us had that sort of epiphany, those moments out there, watching the sunrise or sunset, like, “Wow, I’m really living as close as I could today, to how people lived 1,000 years ago.” That sticks with you.

I’m really curious about how you modulate fear, both as a survivalist and as someone who has held some dangerous jobs. I read in another interview that you used to protect boats from pirates.

[laughs] I was doing anti-piracy. Up until about 10 years ago, all maritime laws [said] that you couldn’t send Coast Guard or Navy into international waters. International waters are not that far off the coast. So, pirates were actively working. Not the “Shiver me timber pirates,” but

more like hijacking boats, boarding boats and stealing things from the people and then running off on a small boat. So, we were just stopping that from happening for some of the larger yachts and whatnot as private contractors.

What do your loved ones think of you taking so many risks? Aren’t they scared for you? Aren’t you ever scared?

There’s a switch in everybody. If you saw a house on fire, at best, most people might call 911. There’s a switch that I don’t have that much control over that goes, “Wow, there’s a fire! I should run up to the house and see if people are still inside. And if people are still inside, I should try and find a way to get inside!” Like, my brain just works differently, and it’s not always a good thing.

We saw some hippos out there [in South Africa]. The editing is kinda like [frightened voice], “Oh my god!” It was actually more like [awed voice], “Wow! There’s hippos! These are the No. 1 killers in Africa, but man, they sure are cool-looking!” I’m not sure how you stop something like that.

If you said to me there’s a bridge that people are jumping off of, you’re supposed to think, “Your mother said if everyone was jumping off

a bridge, would you?” Probably! [laughs] That’s just always been my attraction. I’ve soloed Mount Whitney, which is the highest peak in the continental United States, along with soloing a lot of other fourteeners [mountains with a peak elevation of at least 14,000 feet]. I’ve jumped off cliffs paragliding and jumped out of planes. Just whatever seems like a new challenge has always drawn my interest.

I’ll drop this in a second, but I’m really curious. Do you feel any fear at all? Like when you saw the

hippos out in South Africa, do you just not feel scared?

Excitement is probably the better [word]. I have the commonsense to understand I’m supposed to be afraid. Certainly, fear helps because fear keeps you on your toes. But I think there’s a type of fear that people are sort of horrified and frozen by, and there’s a type of fear that causes an adrenaline push, and there’s a certain level of excitement or thrill to — and I lean toward that side.

— Jessica Wakeman X

OUT IN THE WILD: Anthony Coppage tries to catch his prey on “Naked and Afraid.” Photo courtesy of the Discovery Channel

by Thomas Calder |

‘Vigorous protest’

Outrage over police shooting, 1923

In the early morning hours of Feb. 1, 1923, a party of six drove through downtown Asheville following a reception in Kenilworth. The driver, James A. Barnard, turned onto Valley Street when two men appeared in the road and began firing at the car. No one inside was injured.

Passenger John Will Hunnicutt, in subsequent testimony, identified the assailants as Asheville patrolmen W.M. Ponder and C.E. Neal

The incident caused brief but intense outrage.

INITIAL TESTIMONIES

The headline of a Feb. 8, 1923, editorial raised the question: “A New Traffic Regulation?”

“On the whole, Asheville people are proud of the Police force, but there is arising a vigorous protest over the new policy which allows policemen to fire on automobiles when they fail to halt at command,” The Asheville Citizen wrote. “What authority is there … for firing upon men, women and children for who are formally charged with no offense? It seems to be a regular custom, although but recently adopted.”

The brief editorial went on to declare its doubt that either the city’s commissioner of public safety or its chief of police had permitted “this reckless and indefensible use of guns in the control of traffic.” But if such were the case, the paper continued, “automobile travel has developed another hazard in Asheville.”

The following day’s news offered a more detailed account of the Feb. 1 incident. City commissioners, The Asheville Citizen reported, had held an inquiry into the shooting, with testimony from several of the individuals in the car, as well as residents on Valley Street.

According to the article, Hunnicutt testified “the firing kept on and we then drove as fast as we could.” He went on to claim a bullet hit the rear of the car, penetrating its metal, 2-inch oak post and glazing a piece of metal lodged in the upholstering.

Barnard offered similar statements, asserting that he only began speeding after shots were fired.

Both men denied anyone in their party had been drinking. (Subsequent reporting made it a point to note the two unnamed women in the car were “of well known families and whose reputations [were] above reproach.”)

When asked why they didn’t stop when

they saw the police flashing lights, Hunnicutt alluded to racial fears, noting that the Valley Street neighborhood was “inhabited by negroes.”

Meanwhile, Theodore Burroughs, a young Black man, was on foot with a friend during the incident. He testified to seeing bullets fly past them. He also stated that the officers had approached them and said, “Shooting nice wasn’t it boys.”

Arthur Lytle, a resident of Valley Street, also testified. When asked about the number of shots fired, he stated, “The pistols were shooting pretty fast.”

The officers’ attorney, J. Scroop Styles, claimed all six occupants of the car could be found guilty for resisting an officer’s command. He also maintained that they had committed assault, asserting they had attempted to injure the officers with their vehicle.

Attorney William A. Sullivan, representing Barnard, called for the officers to be removed from the police force.

Neither patrolman testified. The board, the article concluded, “would take the matter under advisement.”

‘PITIABLE SPECTACLE’

In the next day’s paper, The Asheville Citizen ran a cartoon by Billy Borne, depicting R.L. Fitzpatrick, commissioner of public safety, enthusiastically promoting the use of guns to stop traffic violators. The illustration did not land well with the commissioner.

“Never have I given orders to policemen to fire upon speeding automobiles,” he told the paper in a Feb. 11, 1923, article.

Within that same story, The Asheville Citizen informed readers that patrolman Neal was involved with the Ku Klux Klan. When Fitzpatrick was asked about this revelation, the commissioner claimed to not remember who had “recommended that Neal be made an officer.”

The commissioner’s objection to the cartoon continued in the form of a letter, published in the Feb. 12, 1923, edition of The Asheville Citizen. In it, Fitzpatrick called the illustration “a deliberate attempt on the part of the paper to force into the minds of the Asheville public … that I … have instructed the police force to fire on speeders and joy riders.”

The commissioner continued, “It is a pitiable spectacle when a big newspaper, a semi-public institution, so debases itself as to make up and distribute so base a lie as the cartoon implies.”

He concluded his missive with a promise that once all facts were known, the matter would be handled appropriately and the public would be informed.

The Asheville Citizen ran an editorial in the same day’s print to clarify its stance on the ongoing investigation. The piece’s opening began with the following statement:

“In its discussion of the right of policemen to fire into passing automobiles, The Citizen has sought to lay emphasis on the principle involved and to avoid as far as possible per-

SHOTS FIRED: On Feb. 10, 1923, The Asheville Citizen ran a cartoon by Billy Borne, depicting R.L. Fitzpatrick, commissioner of public safety, enthusiastically promoting the use of guns to stop traffic violators. The illustration did not land well with the commissioner. Illustration from the Feb. 10, 1923, edition of The Asheville Citizen

KLAN GATHERING: The Ku Klux Klan was first reported in Western North Carolina in 1868. This photo, taken in 1922, shows members of the organization with members of the Asheville police and fire departments. Photo courtesy of Buncombe County Special Collections

sonalities; the principle involved overshadows any personality in the case. If this complainants’ contentions are true and the patrolmen are upheld by the Commissioners, then all former precedents for the security of life disappear: officers may be expected to fire upon anyone who refuses to obey orders, or to shoot without giving orders, regardless of the offense charged or suspected.”

The editorial went on to report that a similar shooting had occurred in January. In this instance, a man was wounded by a bullet.

“There was subsequently a hearing on the petition of the wounded man for damages from the city,” the editorial noted. “The request was denied, but no statement was made to show whether the Commissioners held the officer justifiable or not; conflicting rumors surrounding the affair were not cleared up.”

Furthermore, the editorial continued, the motorists involved in the Feb. 1 incident asserted “that they made complaint to the Chief of Police and were asked not to press the matter.”

The editorial concluded its piece condemning the Police Department for not speaking out against the shootings. “Silence,” the paper wrote, “may sometimes reasonably be construed as consent.”

’A LAWLESS SPIRIT’

Along with both the Feb. 12 editorial and the commissioner’s letter to the editor, the paper also ran a letter from Hunnicutt, one of the passengers involved in the Feb. 1 shooting.

In his piece, Hunnicutt opined that the “level-headed, foresighted men” who once donned police uniforms had been replaced by “a lawless spirit, similar to that of our ancient outlaws.”

He raised several concerns about the way the city’s department operated. He claimed that in other cities a policeman’s worth was determined by how he conducted himself and managed stressful situations. “But in Asheville a policeman will not be permitted to remain on the force long unless he makes arrests.”

Hunnicutt also asserted that Prohibition had made officers over zealous in their quest to capture bootleggers.

Citing North Carolina law, Hunnicutt pointed to State v. Sigman, 106, N.C., 128, where the court wrote:

“Where a person charged only with a misdemeanor flies from the officer to avoid arrest, the latter is not authorized to take life or shed blood in order to make the arrest. Under such circumstances, if he

kills, he will at least be guilty of manslaughter and he will be guilty of assault if no actual injury is inflicted, if he uses such force as would have amounted to manslaughter had death ensued.”

Hunnicutt’s letter concludes with his ambivalent thoughts on the Ku Klux Klan. He argued that until recently the organization was a force for good, filling in when the law proved inefficient or careless. But in current times, he argued, the group’s respectability had waned, citing his own experience with patrolman Neal.

“Today we see the whole K.K.K. with all of its city governmental pull, turning every stone in order that one of its members might escape without the answering to the law for the atrocities committed by one of its members in the recent shooting at a party on Valley Street, of which party I was a member,” Hunnicut wrote.

“The K.K.K. is evidently not satisfied with running its organization, but must run the city government of Asheville, and that in accordance with the best interests of the K.K.K.”

Hunnicutt concluded his letter with a question: “Are we going to sit back and see the conditions grow continually worse, or are we going to call a showdown, and readjust our tactics and city government?”

DECISION TIME

In the Feb. 13, 1923, edition of The Asheville Citizen, the paper reported on the case’s second hearing. This time around, both officers did testify. While on the stand, Neal stated that he and Ponder “were looking for a liquor car” when they “saw the machine coming toward us at a rate of about 40 or 60 miles.”

He went on to assert both officers flashed their lights, but the driver made no effort to stop. “I fired six shots at the tires of the car,” Neal stated. “If Mr. Ponder had stood his ground, he would have been run over and killed. Mr. Ponder did not have time to pull his gun.”

Three days later, on Feb. 15, 1923, The Asheville Citizen reported that the board of city commissioners had indefinitely suspended officer Neal (spelled in this article as “Neill”) for his role in the shooting.

“Chief Messer was then instructed to relieve Neill of his badge,” the paper wrote. Patrolman Ponder, the paper continued “was exonerated of any blame in connection with the affair.”

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

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COMMUNITY CALENDAR

APRIL 12 - APRIL 20, 2023

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

 Online-only events

 Feature, page 40-41

 More info, page 46-47

 More info, page 48-49

WELLNESS

Narcotics Anonymous

Meetings

Visit wncna.org/ basic-meeting for dates, times and locations.

Sparkle Time Holistic

Exercise

Aerobic, strengthening, balance and flexibility.

WE (4/12, 19), MO (4/17) 10:30am, Avery's Creek Community Center, 899 Glennbridge Rd SE Arden

Tai Chi for Balance

A gentle exercise class to help improve balance, mobility, and

quality of life. All ages are welcome.

WE (4/12, 19), 11:30am, Dragon Phoenix, 51 North Merrimon Ave, Ste 109

Old School Line Dancing

Old school dance moves and some new.

TH (4/13, 20), 6:15pm, Stephens Lee Recreation Center, 30 George Washington Carver Ave

Swing Dance Lesson and Dance

Swing dancing lesson and dance, every

Thursday. TH (4/13, 20), 7pm, Alley Cat Social Club, 797 Haywood Rd

Asheville Aphasia Support Group

Every Friday in Rm 345. No RSVP needed.

FR (4/14), 10am, WCU at Biltmore Park, 28 Schenck Pkwy, Ste 300

Deep Rest: Yoga Nidra & Sound Bath

Experience a deep state of rest and relaxation during an evening of Yoga Nidra, breath work and the healing vibrations of crystal singing bowls.All are welcome, but must register at avl.mx/cl1

FR (4/14), 5:30pm, Black Mountain Yoga, 116 Montreat Rd, Black Mountain

Women's Health Awareness 2023

This conference will be providing free health screenings, health education sessions, healthy living sessions, and health resources. Register at avl.mx/cia

SA (4/15), 8am, Long's Chapel United Methodist, 133 Old Clyde Rd, Waynesville

Yoga For Everyone

For all ages and abilities. Instructors are trained to facilitate classes for people standing, or in a chair. Classes are in English, instructor can speak Spanish if needed. Bring your own mat, water bottle and mask.

Registration required.

SA (4/15), 9:30am, Black Mountain Presbyterian, 117 Montreat Rd, Black Mountain

Therapeutic Slow Flow

Yoga

A blend of meditation, breathing, and movement. All bodies, genders, and identities welcome. Bring your own mat.

SA (4/15), 10am, Mount Inspiration Apparel, 444 Haywood Rd, Ste 103

Funky Flow Yoga

Cider and yoga class that is suitable for both beginners and experienced practitioners.

SA (4/15), 11am, Urban Orchard, 210 Haywood Rd

Goat Yoga

Bring your own mat.

Registration required at yogamtgileadfarm@ gmail.com.

SA (4/15), 11:30am, Mount Gilead Farm, 588 Green Valley Rd, Leicester

Magnetic Minds: Depression & Bipolar Support Group

Free weekly peer-led meeting for those living with depression, bipolar, and related mental health challenges. Email depressionbipolarasheville@gmail.com or call or text (828) 367-7660 for more info.

SA (4/15), 2pm, 1316 Ste C Parkwood Rd

OH-FISH-IAL OPENING: Fish, a surreal drama written by Cyndi Williams and directed by Ashleigh Goff, opens at The Magnetic Theatre on Friday, April 14, at 7:30 p.m. and runs through April 29. The cast, which includes Jason Phillips and Paula O’Brien, is described as a “fever dream twisting through memory, fantasy and the present.”

Yoga for Back Care

In this workshop you will strengthen muscles that are often weak but vital to back health, release areas holding long patterns of stress and tightness, and understand full-body anatomy and alignment for optimal back health, and more.

SA (4/15), 3pm, Black Mountain Yoga, 116 Montreat Rd, Black Mountain

Spring Bend & Brew Yoga Class

An all-levels yoga experience with instructor, Mandy Mantzel. No experience necessary. Bring a mat SU (4/16), 10:30am, Hillman Beer Old Fort, 78 Catawba Ave, Old Fort

Eckankar: Experience the Sound of Soul

Discover your inner guidance, healing for body, mind, and spirit. A higher form of creativity

SU (4/16), 11am, Country Inn & Suites, Asheville Westgate, 22 Westgate Pkwy

Rooftop Yoga w/Down Dog

A class where yoga and cardio meet to create an intense full-body workout.

SU (4/16), 11am, Highland Brewing Co., 12 Old Charlotte Hwy, Ste 200 Spring Flow w/Jamie

Designed to release heat stored in the body, release excess kapha, and prepare the body for summer. Expect strength building with long stretches. Class is held inside. Bring your

mat.

SU (4/16), 11am, One World Brewing West, 520 Haywood Rd

Gentle Yoga for Queer & GNC Folks

This class is centered towards creating an affirming and inclusive space for queer and gender non-conforming individuals.

SU (4/16), 1:30pm, West Asheville Yoga, 602 Haywood Rd

Rueda de Casino

Salsa dancing for all skill levels.

SU (4/16), 2pm, Stephens Lee Recreation Center, 30 George Washington Carver Ave

Inner Magic: Shadow Integration

This is a monthly workshop exploring the subconscious mind. Learn a method of shadow to get out of self-sabotage and into radical self-acceptance and personal liberation.

SU (4/16), 3pm, Mountain Magic Studio, 3 Louisiana Ave

NCMTR Bent Creek

Trail Run

Multiple pace and distance groups are available to cater to all experience and ability levels, three to six miles. Well-behaved leashed dogs are welcome.

MO (4/17), 6:30pm, Hard Times Trailhead, 375 Wesley Branch Rd

Treks Hiking Club

Hiking club for adults (50+) that takes low-impact, leisurely-paced hikes each month. Bring lunch, water, good walking shoes, and dress for the weather. Participants must register for each trip

individually.

TU (4/18), 9:30am, Asheville Recreation Department, 72 Gashes Creek Rd

Free Zumba Gold Fitness program that involves cardio and Latin-inspired dance. Free, but donations for the instructor are appreciated. For more information please call 828-350-2058.

WE (4/19), 12pm, Stephens Lee Recreation Center, 30 George Washington Carver Ave

Bicycle Day Group

Trip/Ride

Grab your helmet and some water for a day of biking. Not to be confused with the United Nations designated World Bicycle Day.

WE (4/19), 3pm, Sovereign Kava, 268 Biltmore Ave

West African Dance Class

Traditional dance from the ancient Mali Empire that helps to improve your health and tone your body through a dance workout.  All levels are welcome.

WE (4/19), 6:30pm, Stephens Lee Recreation Center, 30 George Washington Carver Ave

ART

Courtney M. Leonard - BREACH: Logbook23

Exploring cultural and historical connections to water, fishing practices, and sustainability.

Created by Shinnecock

Nation ceramic artist Courtney M. Leonard as part of her BREACH series, the installation

is a response to the artist’s research in Western North Carolina. Free and open to the public, Tuesday through Friday, 10 am. Exhibition through May 5.

WCU Bardo Arts Center, 199 Centennial Dr, Cullowhee

Reflections of Nature: The Art of Robert Gregory Gross

An exhibition of Plein air master Robert Gregory Gross’s lifetime of work in watercolors, oils, etchings, ink and pencil sketches. Gallery open Monday through Saturday, 11am, and Sunday, 1pm. Exhibition through June 3.

Flood Gallery Fine Art Center, 850 Blue Ridge Rd, Unit A-13, Black Mountain

Luzene Hill: Revelate Multidisciplinary artist Luzene Hill's exhibition designed especially for the Asheville Art Museum featuring work from her recent activation, Revelate. Hill's drawing seek to communicate themes of feminine and Indigenous power across her entire body of work. Gallery open daily, 11am, closed Tuesday. Exhibition through May 15.

Asheville Art Museum, 2 S Pack Square

Altruistic Genius: Member-Only Preview

Exclusive opening of our upcoming exhibition: Altruistic Genius: Buckminster Fuller’s Plans to Save the Planet. This exhibition introduces visitors to Fuller’s strategies for the sustainability of humans and the planet relating to

housing, transportation, mathematics, and engineering. TH (4/13), 5pm, Asheville Art Museum, 2 S Pack Square

Art Break: Too Much Is Just Right Join guest curators Marilyn Laufer and Tom Butler as they lead an informal Gallery discussion about the new exhibition, Too Much Is Just Right, which showcases more than 70 artworks in an array of media from both the original time frame of the Pattern and Decoration movement, as well as contemporary artworks created between 1985 and the present. FR (4/14), 12pm, Asheville Art Museum, 2 S Pack Square Angela Johal An Abstract Classicist: California Hard-Edge A solo exhibition featuring the vividly colorful and stunning hard-edge geometric works of San Francisco Bay artist, Angela Johal. Gallery open Monday through Saturday, 10am and Sunday, noon. Exhibition through April 22.

Bender Gallery, 29 Biltmore Ave

Pulp Potential: Works in Handmade Paper

The works in this exhibition reveal the breadth of possibilities and unique qualities that exist when artists choose to employ and even create handmade paper. Gallery open daily, 11am, closed on Tuesday. Exhibition through July 14. Asheville Art Museum, 2 S Pack Square

Photo by Jennifer Bennett

Altruistic Genius: Buckminster Fuller’s Plans to Save the Planet

This exhibition brings the inventions and designs of R. Buckminster Fuller to Western North Carolina and introduces visitors to Fuller’s strategies for the sustainability of humans and the planet relating to housing, transportation, mathematics, and engineering. Gallery open daily, 11am, closed Tuesday. Exhibition through August 21.

See p49

Asheville Art Museum, 2 S Pack Square

Daily Craft Demonstrations

Two artists of different media will explain and demonstrate their craft with informative materials displayed at their booths, daily. These free and educational opportunities are open to the public. Daily, 10am, Folk Art Center, MP 382, Blue Ridge

Pkwy

Too Much Is Just

Right: The Legacy of Pattern and Decoration

Featuring more than 70 artworks in an array of media from both the original time frame of the Pattern and Decoration movement, as well as contemporary artworks created between 1985 and the present. Gallery open daily, 11am, closed Tuesday. Exhibition through May 29. Asheville Art Museum, 2 S Pack Square

Public Tour: Altruistic Genius

Join docents for tours of the Museum's Collection and browse the Altruistic Genius: Buckminster Fuller’s Plans to Save the Planet exhibition as well as others. No reservations are required.

TH (4/20), 6pm, Asheville Art Museum, 2 S Pack Square

COMMUNITY MUSIC

Asheville Ukelele Society

With training available at 5pm. All ages and skill levels are welcome to jam.

WE (4/12), 6pm, East Asheville Library, 902 Tunnel Rd

Iris Dement

Acclaimed singer and songwriter, Iris Dement, will be perfoming in Asheville. Dement's new record, Workin' On A World, is filled with Americana and folk influences.

TH (4/13), 7:30pm, Diana Wortham Theatre, 18 Biltmore Ave

David Childers & The Serpents w/Zachary

Warren

Bloom WNC's outdoor concert series with Americana band, David Childers and

The Serpents. Ole’s Guacamole’s will also be there with a taco bar.

FR (4/14), 6pm, Bloom

WNC Flower Farm, 806 North Fork Rd, Black Mountain

Pianist Brian Turner

Playing solo piano favorites in the Great Hall.

FR (4/14), 7pm, The Omni Grove Park Inn, 290 Macon Ave

Lonesome Station

Presents: Pheribee, Josh Rennie-Hynes & Reddenhollow

An intimate live performance with sweet voices and strange folk guitar and piano by Pheribee (Trevor Wilson) and other talented artists from along the way.

SA (4/15), 7:30pm, Story Parlor, 227 Haywood Rd

Remembering Sondheim

This cabaret style show will feature some of Stephen Sondheim's most memorable and outstanding work.

Audiences can expect a diverse range of songs from shows like Company, Into the Woods, A Little Night Music, Sunday in the Park with George, and many more. See p48

SA (4/15), 7:30pm, White Horse Black Mountain, 105 Montreat Rd, Black Mountain

Strings Attached: Hendersonville Symphony Chamber Orchestra

Concertmaster, Mary Irwin, presents Bach’s famous Double Concerto alongside Clarice Assad’s, Suite for Lower Strings, an homage to Bach.

SA (4/15), 7:30pm, Bo Thomas Auditorium, Blue Ridge Community College, 180 W. Campus Dr, Flat Rock

Masterworks 6: New World Led by Maestor Darko Butorac, Asheville Symphony will present a concert of distinctly American orchestral music as part of its season’s Masterworks concert series. “Masterworks 6: New

Thorpe Music Education Fund.

SU (4/16), 12pm, Salvage Station, 468 Riverside Dr Mark's House Jam and Beggar's Banquet

Weekly Sunday pot luck and musician's jam with acoustic and plug in players. It's a family friendly community day so bring a dish to share.

SU (4/16), 3pm, Asheville Guitar Bar, 122 Riverside Dr Micheal Jefry Stevens

A performance with several jazz pieces during service.

SU (4/16), 10:30pm, Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Hendersonville, 2021 Kanuga Rd, Hendersonville

The Land of the Sky Men's Chorus Rehearsal Men of all ages and from all backgrounds welcome to attend this a capella ensemble rehearsal.

TU (4/18), 6:30pm, Care Partners Main Campus, 68 Sweeten Creek Rd

Benjamin Hughes

Principal Cello of the BBC Concert Orchestra, and one of the UK's most dynamic and versatile cellists.

TU (4/18), 7:30pm, Brevard Music Center, 349 Andante Ln, Brevard Homespun Tales & Music w/Michael Reno Harrell & Josh Goforth

Two great musicians and storytellers performing together for the first time. Each has roots going back several generations in the Southern Appalachian mountains.

TH (4/20), 7pm, Lake Louise Community Center, Weaverville, Weaverville

LITERARY

Reading w/Rover

Practice your reading with therapy dog, Toddy.  Open, by appointment, to elementary-aged children and adults developing

their reading skills. Registration required, call 828-356-2561.

WE (4/12), 1pm, Haywood County Public Library, 11 Pennsylvania Ave, Canton

Joke Writing Workshop

Hosted by Disclaimer Stand Up Lounge and moderated by Cody Hughes, weekly. Bring 90 seconds of material that isn't working.

WE (4/12, 19), 6:30pm, Asheville Music Hall, 31 Patton Ave

The Myth of Normal Book Club

A community discussion of Gabor and Daniel Mate’s latest opus. WE (4/12, 19), 5:45pm, East Asheville Library, 902 Tunnel Rd

Poetry Open Mic Hendo

A poetry-centered open mic that welcomes all kinds of performers every Thursday night. 18+

TH (4/13, 20), 7:30pm, Shakedown Lounge, 706 Seventh Ave, Hendersonville

Kami Ahrens: The Foxfire Book of Appalachian Women This new volume in the Foxfire series is the first focused specifically on the lives of Appalachian women.

SA (4/15), 3pm, City Lights Bookstore, 3 E Jackson St, Sylva

Glenis Redmond Book

Launch & Reading

Author, Glenis Redmond, will launch and read from her latest poetry book, The Listening Skin SU (4/16), 2pm, Black Mountain Center for the Arts, 225 W State St, Black Mountain

Shut Up and Write! Join fellow writers to write, together. There’s no reading or critiquing, and no real talking, except for the optional socializing afterwards.

MO (4/17), 2pm, Dripolator, 909 Smokey Park Hwy, Candler

Appalachia on the Table: Erica Abrams Locklear w/John Fleer Erica Abrams Locklear will discuss her new book, Appalachia on the Table, with chef John Fleer. The event is free but registration is required for both in-person and virtual attendance. Register at avl.mx/prx7 See p40-41 MO (4/17), 2pm, Dripolator, 909 Smokey Park Hwy, Candler

Book Club Discussion & Author Presentation: Appalachian Book of the Dead Attendees will discuss the book from 10:0010:30am, then author Dale Neal will host a discussion about the book.

TH (4/20), 10am, Black Mountain Public Library, 105 N Dougherty St, Black Mountain

THEATER & FILM

The Usually Funny Dance-Films of Mitchell Rose

An evening of comic dance-films from veteran choreographer, Mitchell Rose. Rose has synthesize his love of film and choreography into a quirky mix that is manically funny, often poignant and always surprising.

TH (4/13), 7:30pm, Story Parlor, 227 Haywood Rd

Vanya & Sonia & Masha & Spike Winner of the 2013 Tony Award for Best Play, this is a comedy about middle aged siblings who live together, and the complexity of relationships. Wednesday through Sunday, 7:30pm.

North Carolina Stage Company, 15 Stage Ln Speakeasy Clean: A Night of Fairytales w/The Brothers Grimmprov Interactive kid improve with all of the twisted fairy tales you could imagine performed by

local improvisers. FR (4/14), 6:30pm, Story Parlor, 227 Haywood Rd

Cyndi Williams: Fish

When two characters connect unexpectedly in a lonely bar, they wind up playing a dangerous game. Who will survive, and how can they forgive themselves in the process?

Shifting timelines and unearthing skeletons, Fish is a fever dream twisting through memory, fantasy, and the present. Thursday through Saturday, 7:30pm, Sundays, 4pm. Runs through April 29. The Magnetic Theatre, 375 Depot St Play: An Improv Workshop W/Joe Carroll Students will practice listening, being present in the moment, exploring impulse/ spontaneity, trusting their instincts, and the fundamental concept of “Yes, And” in improvisation. Open to beginners and all experience levels. Ages 18+ SU (4/16), 1:30pm, Catawba Brewing Co. South Slope, 32 Banks Ave

Act Up! Staged Stories

A freely creative and collaborative program designed for ages 8-14 to explore the stage in a new way. The program runs for six sessions April 18 to May 4, ending with a public showcase. For more information go to ashevillenc.gov or call (828) 259-5483.

TU (4/18), 5pm, Dr Wesley Grant Sr. Southside Center, 285 Livingston St Elektra

This production aims to spark a conversation around the cycles of violence that inherited hate produces. The show will also feature original songs written by students in UNC Asheville’s Music Department, making it a true collaboration from start to finish.

TH (4/20), 7:30pm, UNC Asheville Belk Theatre, 1 University Heights

MEETINGS & PROGRAMS

Walk Through History: Thomas Chapel

This tour will focus on Thomas Chapel A.M.E. Zion Church, which is believed to be the first church for freed Black people in Black Mountain. Participants will also learn about one of the earliest Black families to live in the area.

WE (4/12), 10:30am, Thomas Chapel AME, 124 W. College Dr Black Mountain

The Nature Fix: Florence Williams on Why

Time in Nature Makes

Us Happier, Healthier & More Creative

Join award-winning author Florence Williams in this golden hour talk about the restorative powers of time in nature set at the Arboretum’s Education Center. Registration is underway at the Arboretum's website.

WE (4/12), 6pm, NC Arboretum, 100 Frederick Law Olmsted Way

Environmental Sustainability Symposium

Experts in Historic Preservation, Solar Technology, Urban Forestry, Environmental Planning, and Sustainability will seek to identify cross-pollination opportunities and discuss emerging technology and policy in various practice areas, using Montford as a context.

WE (4/12), 7pm, Lenoir-Rhyne University, 36 Montford Ave

Me + WWBC, Better

Together: The 8th Annual Western Women's Business Center Conference

Join us for a morning of celebrating Western North Carolina's community of women business owners. There will be live music, breakfast, and a slate of engaging keynote speakers and panelists.

TH (4/13), 8am, A-B Tech Mission Health Conference Center, 16 Fernihurst Dr

Parent Teen Cooking Class

Each week students learn cooking skills, receive nutrition education, and take home all ingredients to recreate the recipe. Grades 9 to 12, across the country.

TH (4/13, 20), 3:30pm, Black Mountain Montessori School, 101 Carver Ave, Black Mountain

Family Outdoor Night: Fishing

This is a introductory program to teach some basic fishing skills. Fishing poles and

bait will be provided. All children must be accompanied by an adult. Registration is required since class size is limited due to equipment.

TH (4/13), 5pm, Azalea Park, Swannanoa River Rd

Southside Card Game

Night

Families and community members can play card games like bid whist/ spades, Apples to Apples, Uno, and more. Light refreshments served.

TH (4/13, 20), 6pm, Dr Wesley Grant Sr. Southside Center, 285 Livingston St

WNC, Past and Present: A Brief History of Air Participants will look at the past, how NC scientists provided the framework of understanding what air pollution is and isn’t, how it affects people and plants, how NC responded to that information, and why NC has some of the cleanest air not only in the Southeast, but the world. Keith Bamberger, Information Specialist from the NC Division of Air Quality will lead this panel.

TH (4/13), 6pm, Black Mountain Public Library, 105 N Dougherty St, Black Mountain

Tea & Tarot Fridays

Play with Tarot and Tea Leaf readings. Bring your cards, tea cup, and other favorite divination tools. All styles and experience levels welcome.

FR (4/14), 10am, Mountain Magic Studio, 3 Louisiana Ave

Artsy Fartsy Ice Cream Social

A pop-up community arts event for autistic kids and families to play, belong, create, share, and celebrate our differences. This event is for neurodivergent children ages 11 to 13 and their parents. Advanced registration is required.

FR (4/14), 3:30pm, Haw Creek Commons, 315 Old Haw Creek Rd

April Star Gazes

Astronomy Club of Asheville is hosting a public star gaze at Grassland Mountain Observatory in Madison County. This event is free and open to everyone. A temporary gate code is required for entry and will be posted on their website by 5:00 pm on the day of the star gaze. Sunset occurs at 8:02 pm.

FR (4/14), 5pm, Grassland Mountain Observatory, 2890 Grassland Pkwy, Marshall

Kids Night In

A fun filled night of themed games, crafts, and special activities. Light dinner included.

Advance registration

required. Please call (828) 350-2058 for more info.

FR (4/14), 6pm, Stephens Lee Recreation Center, 30 George Washington Carver Ave

Saturday Morning Art Class

Students will learn various stitches. Each class will build up to creating a pattern and sewing their own original felt creature. All ages are welcome. Register at avl.mx/prx6

SA (4/15), 9am, Riverview Station, 191 Lyman St

Community Garden Day

Help plant the East End Valley St Community Garden. Presentations,  gardening resources, and hands-on activities included.

SA (4/15), 10am, Stephens Lee Recreation Center, 30 George Washington Carver Ave

Greenway Walking Club: French Broad River Greenway

Explore the city’s natural beauty and connect with new people on Saturday mornings with the Greenway Walking Club.

SA (4/15), 10am, Carrier Park, 220 Amboy Rd Spring Thing!

It’s a day of celebrating all things Spring. There is a whole agenda of activities such as storytime for kids of all ages with songs, stories, and crafts. Master Gardeners will also be on hand to answer all your questions about plants, gardens, and landscaping. For more information go to fowlusedbookstore.org.

SA (4/15), 10:30am, Friends of the Weaverville Library Used Bookstore, 41 N Main St, Weaverville

Chakra Balancing Experience & Seminar

In this seminar we will discuss the different chakras and what it means for them to be overused, underused, closed, and open. Expect movement, breath work, chanting, taking notes, and bring a mat or a thick blanket to sit on and keep warm.

SA (4/15), 11:15am, Crystal Visions, 5426 Asheville Hwy, Hendersonville

Kids Magick

Parent and child class that teaches how to be your own authentic magical self. Learn how to feel powerful with your unique gifts and connect in a more genuine way with your family.

SA (4/15), 12:30pm, Mountain Magic Studio, 3 Louisiana Ave

Community Bingo

Free bingo night with community neighbors. There will be small prizes awarded to winners and refreshments for

everyone.

SA (4/15), 1pm, Stephens Lee Recreation Center, 30 George Washington Carver Ave

Teen Magick

This class will assist teens ages 12-18 to know more of themselves and enhance their day to day lives. They will learn new techniques and how to utilize instruments they have hidden inside.

SA (4/15), 3pm, Mountain Magic Studio, 3 Louisiana Ave

Weekly Sunday Scrabble Club

No dues for the first three months.

SU (4/16), 12:15pm, Stephens Lee Recreation Center, 30 George Washington Carver Ave

Game Day: Perspective Café

Traditional game day with board and card games as well as refreshments from the Perspective Cafe.

SU (4/16), 2pm, Asheville Art Museum, 2 S Pack Square

Family Folk Dance

Good old-fashioned fun with traditional dance and live music. These simple dances are a good introduction to traditional social dance such as contra, squares, circles, play-party games, and other formations. All ages are welcome, no experience necessary.

SU (4/16), 3pm, Harvest House, 205 Kenilworth Rd

Sew Co./Rite of Passage Factory Tour

On this 30 minute micro-tour, learn about sustainable and transparent business practices and hear about production processes and client collaborations.

MO (4/17), 11am, Rite of Passage Clothing & SewCo, 240 Clingman Ave Ext

Guardian ad Litem Volunteer Training

Learn how you can use your voice as a court advocate for abused and/or neglected children in Buncombe County.

MO (4/17), 1pm, First Baptist Church of Asheville, 5 Oak St

Lead By Example

Helping young men to build the skills to become confident leaders through guest speakers, games and activities, and homework assistance. Light refreshments served.

MO (4/17), 6pm, Stephens Lee Recreation Center, 30 George Washington Carver Ave Friends of Agriculture Spring 2023 Breakfast

A complimentary breakfast with local food from Buncombe County farms. There will also be an ag-related speaker to inform and

25th Annual

Saturday, April 22nd 10am to 4pm Downtown Sylva, NC FREE ADMISSION

update everyone on current events, and a discussion about topics such Open Space Bond and what it entails for the Agricultural Community. RSVP is required to attend.

TU (4/18), 8:30am, Weaverville Center for Healthy Living, 60 Lakeshore Dr, Weaverville

Astrology: Through The Cosmos

In this nine series workshop, you will learn to cultivate rich relationships with the planets using the language of astrology ease-fully, invoking the planetary guides with ritual and learning how to translate their guidance intuitively.

TU (4/18), 6pm, Mountain Magic Studio, 3 Louisiana Ave Exploring New Guinea’s Lost Worlds & Elusive Birds of Paradise

This presentation will feature the remarkable diversity of the birdlife inhabiting New Guinea, as well as a focused look at the birds of paradise and the amazing plumages and behaviors of this unique bird family.

TU (4/18), 7pm, OLLI/ Reuter Center, UNCA, 300 Campus View Rd

Magic the Gathering

Learn & Play

Sharpen your skills and battle it out with fellow gamers. We’ll provide the cards, but feel free to bring your own deck and show off your best moves.

TU (4/18), 7pm, Well Played, 162 Coxe Ave, Ste 101

The Side Hustle Juggle

Learn how to effectively juggle both your primary job and your side hustle while still growing your business and maintaining a personal life with this free seminar. Register at avl.mx/cko

WE (4/19), 11:30am, Online

Lunch & Learn: Immigration & Justice in WNC

shooting techniques. WE (4/19), 5:30pm, Montford Community Center, 34 Pearson Dr

Six Steps to Grow Your Business

Learn how to take your business to its full potential, despite the economy.

TH (4/20), 9:30am, Asheville Sports Club, 137 Coxe Ave Drive In Bingo

Play from the comfort of your car. Winners receive prizes and refreshments will be served.

TH (4/20), 2pm, Linwood Crump Shiloh Community Center, 121 Shiloh Rd

Makerspace: Third Thursday Experiment freely using different materials, tools, and techniques. Visit a chosen artwork in the galleries for inspiration, then head to the studio to create. All ages and abilities are welcome (children must be accompanied by an adult). No reservations required.

TH (4/20), 5pm, Asheville Art Museum, 2 S Pack Square

LOCAL MARKETS

RAD Farmers Market

With 25-30 vendors selling a variety of local wares. Located at Smoky Park Supper Club. Handicap parking available in the Smoky Park lot, free public parking available along Riverside Drive. Also accessible by foot, bike, or rollerblade via the Wilma Dykeman Greenway. WE (4/12, 19), 3pm, Smoky Park Supper Club, 350 Riverside Dr Weaverville Tailgate Market

foods, and unique craft items. Weekly through Dec. 16.

SA (4/15), 8am, 3300

University Heights

Asheville City Market

Local food products, including fresh produce, meat, cheese, bread, pastries, and other artisan products. Weekly through Dec. 17.

SA (4/15), 9am, 52 N Market St

18th Century Market

Faire

Experience how the settlers of the 18th Century shopped for goods. There will be vendors selling items referring to the 18th century such as clothing, soaps, candles, books, hand-crafted pottery, and more. Admission is free, but donations are appreciated.

SA (4/15), 10am, Market Faire, 173 Lackey Town Rd, Old Fort Transylvania Farmers Market

Dozens of vendors offering fresh, locally-grown produce, meat, poultry, eggs, honey, cheeses, mushrooms, juices, fermented vegetables, plants, herbs, cut flowers, baked goods, jams and jellies, prepared foods, and a variety of locally handcrafted and artisan items.

Open every Saturday year-round.

SA (4/15), 10am, 190 E Main St, Brevard

WNC Farmers Market

High quality fruits and vegetables, mountain crafts, jams, jellies, preserves, sourwood honey, and other farm fresh items. Open daily at 8am, year-round.

570 Brevard Rd

FESTIVALS & SPECIAL EVENTS

Fiddles & Folklife

Annual Appalachian festival and old-time music competition with cash prizes for old-time fiddle, banjo, folksong, flatfooting, and string band. There will also be old-time music jams, food, craft vendors, folklife demonstrators, and cake raffle. This event is free and open to the public.

SA (4/15), 12pm, Warren Wilson College, 701 Warren Wilson Rd, Swannanoa

Psychic & Holistic Expo

Explore a variety of healing modalities all under one roof and experience energy, healing and clearing work. This expo brings together many psychics, mediums, holistic practitioners, artisans, and even the popular Aura photos.

SA (4/15), SU (4/16) 10am, WNC Ag Center (Boone Building), 761 Boylston Hwy, Fletcher

CODA Music Festival

2023

This family-friendly festival is organized by students from Montreat College in Black Mountain. This year they have partnered with local businesses and artists to bring a day focused on Appalachian heritage. There will be Folk bands, storytellers, Celtic music, and other traditional Appalachian art forms.

SA (4/15), 11am, 191 Vance Ave, Black Mountain

Arise & Shine Arts

Launch Party

An invitation to attend the launch party for Arise and Shine with live music, pop-up classes and fun for all ages.

MUSIC AT BRIDGE PARK

10-10:45: Asheville Junction 1-1:45: Fuzzy Peppers

11-11:45: Seth and Sara 2-2:45: Lua Flora

12-12:45: Maggie Valley Band 3-3:45: Bird In Hand

Giveaways celebrating 25 years

• Food & Drink Vendors

• Fun for the Whole Family

• Arts and Crafts Vendors • 5K Run

• Demonstrations: Blacksmithing & Glass Blowing

greeningupthemountains.com

Join Pisgah Legal Services’ immigration team to learn more about their Justice For All program, which helps eligible immigrants in WNC work legally, secure legal status, addresses, and other basic needs. This event is free and open to the public. A light lunch will be provided.

WE (4/19), 12pm, St. Mary's Episcopal Church, 337 Charlotte St

Youth Archery for Beginners

This 4 week beginner class will teach the basics of archery to individuals 9-12 years old. Archers will learn the basics of archery, range safety and proper

A selection of fresh, locally grown produce, grass fed beef, pork, chicken, rabbit, eggs, cheese, sweet and savory baked goods, artisan bread, fire cider, coffee, pickles, body care, eclectic handmade goodies, and garden and landscaping plants. Open year round.

WE (4/12, 19), 3pm, 60 Lake Shore Dr Weaverville Plant Show

Sustainable nursery showcasing native wildflowers as well as complementary plants such groundcovers and herbs.

TH (4/13), FR (4/14) 1pm, SU (4/15), 11am.

M R Gardens, 441 Onteora Blvd

North Asheville Tailgate Market

The oldest Saturday morning market in WNC, since 1980. Over 60 rotating vendors offer fresh Appalachian grown produce, meats, cheeses and eggs - with a variety of baked goods, value added

Activating Indigenous Beats: Hip Hop Nativo Festival

Hip-hop Indigenous artists, graffiti artists and DJs will meet on the campus of UNC Asheville (Antokiasdiyi, Cherokee territory) to share and exchange their music and language with our community. The three main rappers and artists will visit from Chile, Mexico and the US. Free and open to everyone. See p48 FR (4/14), 6pm, UNC Asheville Quad, 1 University Heights

Farm Where You Live Festival

Family-friendly fair with face-painting fun, workshops, and classes. Additionally there will be a farmers market area with fresh, local, farm products as well as local artisans selling their crafts in our market.

SA (4/15), 8am, WNC Agricultural Center, 1301 Fanning Bridge Rd

SA (4/15), 12pm, Continuum Art, 147c, 1st Ave, Hendersonville

Grand Opening: The RailYard Black Mountain

The event will feature 20 taps open for pouring, craft beverages, SmashBalls (The RailYard’s own burger concept), and live music from American roots band LazyBirds, playing on the outdoor stage. Families, kids, and dogs are all welcome to attend. See p46-47 SA (4/15), 12pm, The Railyard Black Mountain, 141 Richardson Ave, Black Mountain

Appalachian Dance

Hootenanny Community jam with food, drinks, and dancing to music by Gap Civil. There will also be flat foot lessons with Tyler Hughes and the Green Grass Cloggers. All sorts of dance showcases including Square Dance and Group Dances, Reels, Free-Style, 2-Step, and Waltz.

SA (4/15), 6pm, Folkmoot Friendship Center, 112 Virginia Ave, Waynesville

BENEFITS & VOLUNTEERING

Emmet Cahill in Concert

Acclaimed Irish Tenor from the group Celtic Thunder, will delight the audience with songs from his Irish heritage, as well as Broadway hits, spiritual favorites, and popular classical selections. Proceeds will support the Brevard Philharmonic and its Donate Your Instrument program.

TH (4/13), 7:30pm, Brevard-Davidson River Presbyterian Church, 249 East Main St, Brevard

Be the Change Challenge

The Junior League of Asheville is excited to host the Be the Change Challenge, a 5K fund-

raiser. Participants can skip, hop, walk, run, or race the event. Funds raised for this event will directly support the Be the Change Grant and other programs of the Junior League of Asheville. Register at avl.mx/clk

SA (4/15), 9am, Plēb

Urban Winery, 289 Lyman St

Project Linus: Make-ABlanket Day

Attendees will have the opportunity to make no-sew fleece blankets, participate in quilt making or to join the knit and crochet circle to work on your own project. All fabrics and other supplies will be provided. Completed blankets and other donations, such as yarn, fabric, and gift cards. can be dropped off that day at the door. Refreshments will be provided.

SA (4/15), 10am, Lutheran Church of the Nativity, 2425 Hendersonville Rd, Arden

Foundation: Swap Meet Fundraiser

Set up and sell some of your stuff that you’re ready to part with and donate whatever you can to Foundy. There will also be a work day happening to help with forming and fill, so any extra hands are appreciated.

SA (4/15), 11am, Foundation Skatepark, 47 Foundy St

17th Annual: Asheville Piano Forum Benefit Concert

Funding student assistance awards.

SU (4/16), 3pm, Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church, 789 Merrimon Ave

Pup Portraits with Alex Grosse

A day full of pup photography with photographer, Alex Grosse. A portion of proceeds from the sessions will be donated to the Shelter Dog Transport Alilance.

THINKING GREEN

Get curious!

Allie Daum is a junior at UNC Asheville, studying ecology and environmental biology. Daum also serves as co-director of the Student Environmental Center.

What sustainability initiative at your school are you most proud of?

I wouldn’t say I’m most proud of any initiative in particular but rather the community I’ve witnessed being built around sustainability throughout my time at UNCA. I am inspired by all the people around me doing what they can in their own ways, such as my co-workers and some of the activists I work with.

Sign ups are required.

SU (4/16), 11am, Funkatorium, 147 Coxe Ave

Shelter Dog Transport Alliance Benefit Fundraiser and Silent Auction to benefit local nonprofit, Shelter Dog Transport Alliance. There will be over 75 silent auction items to bid on, live music from local bluegrass fusion group, The Saylor Brothers, food, drinks, and more.

SU (4/16), 12pm, Smoky Park Supper Club, 350 Riverside Dr Pan Harmonia: Adventure Armenia Benefit This concert is a fundraiser for a mission trip to Armenia to play concerts for UN refugee communities and others. Advanced reservations are encouraged.

SU (4/16), 3pm, St. Mary's Episcopal Church, 337 Charlotte St

ALLIE DAUM

How is your generation’s approach to sustainability different from that of other generations?

Our generation feels the pressure of climate change like none other. The plausibility of a bleak future has driven us to action by generating eco-anxiety. We also have a lot more data and history at our fingertips on things like microplastics and pollution than ever before, which has contributed to our sense of urgency to adapt solutions or preventive strategies for them. We have been made hyperaware, and we’re itching to do something about it.

What is one step people in WNC can take to promote sustainability?

Get curious! We’re in one of the most ecologically diverse regions of the Appalachians, and taking time to learn about that biodiversity and its relation to the human experience is important — and fun! Learning to respect our amazing species and the roles they play in our community is a crucial first step to sustainability. Then, do what you can to protect them — sign petitions online, join environmental organizations, educate yourself on being a responsible hiker!

Is the educational system doing enough to inform people about longterm environmental concerns like climate change?

Definitely not. I myself barely learned about climate change in school before college, and then only because of the classes I chose. I think curriculums should include a lot more of a focus on the history and causes of climate change and other environmental issues in science and history classes. There is also the matter of our schools being severely underfunded, with outdated textbooks and curriculums sometimes being the only option. X

BEST OF WNC BALLO T C ATEGORIES

Go down the rabbit hole of this year’s Best Of WNC: The biggest, wildest survey about the people and businesses in this crazy place we call home.

If you’re like Alice, wondering where you should go next, then you’ve come to the right place. Each year, thousands of residents and visitors alike partake in our annual Best of WNC survey to evaluate what stands out and shines in this wonderful place — Western North Carolina.

Arts & Entertainment

Music Events & Venues

• Local Music Festival

* Indoor Music Venue

• Outdoor Music Venue

• Intimate Music Venue/ Listening Room

• Open-Mic-Night Venue

Musicians & Bands

• All-Round Favorite Band

• Acoustic/Folk

• Americana/Country

• Blues

• Funk

• Jazz

• Old-Time/Bluegrass

• R&B/Soul

• Hip-Hop

• Rock

• Punk/Metal/Garage

• Busker/Street Group

• Lyricist (Songwriter)

• Vocalist (Singer)

• Guitarist or Bass guitarist

• Percussionist-Drummer

• Keyboardist/Pianist

• DJ (Nonradio)

Music Services

• Recording Studio

• Musical Instrument Repair Company

• Music-Related Nonprofit

Arts & Crafts

• Arts/Crafts Fair or Event

• Studio Stroll/Driving Tour

• Craft School or Place to Learn a Craft

• Local Art Gallery

• Craft-Oriented Gallery

• Nonprofit That Serves the Arts

Artists, Crafters

• Fiber Artist

• Jewelry Artist/Designer

• Glass Artist

• Woodworker

• Metal Artist or Metalworker

• Mural Artist

• Painter/Illustrator

* Wedding/Event

Photographer

* Portrait/Headshot Photographer

* Stll Life/Nature

Photographer

• Potter/Ceramic Artist

Film, Stage, Dance & Writing

• Movie Theater

• Local Filmmaker

• Theater Company

• Actor (any gender)

• Performance Dance Company

• Place to Take Dance Classes or Lessons

• Comedy Troupe or Series

* Drag Performer/Group

• Local Comedy Show/ Night/Event

• Comedian

• Trivia Night Emcee

• Local Author

• Local Poet Drinks Bars

• Bar That Best Represents the Spirit of Asheville

• Neighborhood BarDowntown (including South Slope)

• Neighborhood BarRiver Arts District

• Neighborhood Bar - West

• Neighborhood Bar - South

• Neighborhood Bar - East

This year’s ballot asks for your opinion on hundreds of topics and issues — to register your passions, your knowledge and your favorite things. It’s long — it’s comprehensive — and not all of it will be in your area of experience, so please feel free to skip categories that don’t interest you or that you’re unfamiliar with.

• Neighborhood Bar - North

• Bartender

• Bar for Live Music

• Bar With a View

• Bar With Games

• LGBTQ+ Friendly Bar

• Hotel Bar

• Dive Bar

• Sports Bar

• Bar: Local Beer Selection (excluding breweries)

• Bar: Unusual Beer Selection (excluding breweries)

• Upscale Bar

• Bar or Brewery That Gives Back to the Community

• Family-Friendly Bar or Brewery Cocktails, Spirits & Wine

• Wine Bar

• Local Winery

• Wine Store

• Distillery

• Cocktails

• Bloody Mary

• Margarita

• Mocktails or Nonalcoholic Options

Beer, Cider & Breweries

• Cidery

• Local Cider

• Local All-Round Brewery (for its beers)

• Brewery (for its taproom & atmosphere)

• Creative, Experimental Brewery

• Local Beer (Any Style)

• Local Dark Beer

• Local Lager

• Local Sour Beer

• Local IPA

• Seasonal Beer

• Brewmaster

• Favorite Local Beer Event

• Beer Store Coffee, Tea & Healthy Drinks

• Coffeehouse for Its Vibe

• Establishment With the Best Coffee

• Barista

• Coffee Roaster

• Place to Drink Tea

• Smoothies/Juices

• CBD Drinks/Health Elixirs

* Local Nonalcoholic Drink Product

• Kava Bar

Eats

• Restaurant That Best Represents the Spirit of Asheville

• Favorite Restaurant

• Restaurant to Take Out-of-Towners to

• New Restaurant (Opened in the Last 12 Months)

• Restaurant Still Needed in Asheville

• Green/SustainabilityFriendly Restaurant

Restaurant Type

• Restaurant With a View

• People-Watching Restaurant

• Outdoor Dining

• Romantic Dining

• Fine Dining/Upscale

• Kid-Friendly Restaurant

• Diner/Homestyle

• Late-Night Eats

• Food Truck

• Catering Company

Neighborhoods

• Restaurant in Downtown (including South Slope)

• Restaurant in the River Arts District

• Restaurant in West Asheville

• Restaurant in South Asheville

Take your time. Don’t go bonkers trying to get it done all at once. Of course, if you do go bonkers, rest assured — we’re all mad here. And here’s a little secret: All the best people are.

• Restaurant in East Asheville

• Restaurant in North Asheville

Restaurant Offerings

• Breakfast

• Brunch

• Lunch

• Quick Meal

• Restaurant Wine Selection

• Restaurant Cocktail Selection

• Pub Grub

• Takeout

• Local Meal Delivery Service

• Best Value

• Best Service

• Barbecue

• Ribs

• Burger

• Veggie Burger

• Biscuits

• Bagels

• Wings

• French Fries

• Fried Chicken

• Hot Bar/Buffet

• Hot Dogs

• Pasta

• Pizza

• Sub Shop

• Sandwich Shop

• Taco

• Burrito

• Sushi

• Ramen

• Salad

• Seafood

• Special Diet Options (Gluten-Free, LactoseFree, etc.)

* Vegan

* Vegetarian

• Local-Food Emphasis

• Healthiest Food

• Locally Made CBD Treats

Cuisine

• French

• Italian

• Greek

• Middle Eastern

• Mexican

• Latin American

• Japanese

• Thai

• Indian

• Chinese

• Southern

* Restaurant Comfort Food Desserts & Sweets

• Desserts

• Ice Cream

• Frozen Treats Other Than Ice Cream

• Chocolate

• Doughnuts Bakeries

• Bakery (Sweets/ Desserts/Cookies)

• Bakery (Bread)

Miscellaneous

* Fresh Meat Seller

* Fresh Fish Seller

• Cheesemaker/Cheese Dairy

* Local Food Product

• Chef

• Pastry Chef

• Local Food Festival or Event

• Nonprofit Helping With Hunger Issues

Farm, Yard & Garden

• Tailgate/Farmers Market

• Roadside Farm Stand

• Farm to Visit

• Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Farm

• Orchard

• Community Garden

• Garden Supply Store

• Mulch Supplier

• Tree Service

• Nursery (Trees, Shrubs)

• Landscaping Service (Other Than Lawn Care)

• Lawn/Yard Care

• Excavator or Heavy Equipment Services

• Nonprofit Supporting

Farms/Farmland

Preservation

Health & Wellness

• Physician (General Practice)

• Physician (Specialist)

• Pediatrician

• Family Medical Practice

• Women’s Health Center

• Maternity Care/Service

• Therapist or Counseling Center

• Psychologist or Psychiatrist

• Health & WellnessFocused Nonprofit

• Hospital

• Urgent Care/Walk-In Clinic

• Place to Get Medical Care

When Under- or Uninsured

• Place to Center Yourself

• Dental Practice

• Dentist

• Orthodontist

• Eye Care Specialist/Service

• Assisted-Living Community

• Hospice

• Mortuary/Funeral Services

Alternative

• Holistic Medical Practice

• Chiropractor

• Acupuncturist

• Acupuncture Clinic Physical Therapy

• Physical Therapist

• Massage Therapist

• Physical Therapy Clinic

Fitness

• Gym or Place to Work Out

• Fitness Studio With Classes

• Physical Trainer

• Yoga Teacher

• Yoga Studio

• Martial Arts Studio Stores

• Pharmacy/Drugstore

• Place to Buy Supplements, Vitamins & Herbs

• Place to Buy CBD Products

Kids

Schools & Classes

• School (Precollege)

• After-school Program

• Preschool

• Child Care or Day Care Service

• Art Education Program

• Music Teacher Places

• Daytrip for Kids

• Kid-Friendly Hike

• Overnight Camp

• Day Camp

• Place for Indoor Fun

• Place for Outdoor Fun

• Playground

• Museum

• Place for Birthday Parties

• Bakery for Birthday Cakes

FAQ's

When does voting start and end?

Voting officially begins April 1 and continues through April 30.

• Place to Make Art

• Parents Night Out Program

Skill-Building

• Dance Studio

• Gymnastics Program

• Martial Arts Program

• Team-Sports Program Shopping

• Kids Clothes

• Toy Store Medical

• Pediatric PracticeGeneral Medicine

• Pediatric Practice - Dentistry Media

• Local Radio Station (commercial)

• Local Radio Station (noncommercial)

• Local Radio Personality/ Announcer

• Local TV Personality/ Announcer

• Local Print Publication Other Than Xpress

• Local Print Reporter

• Local News Source

• Local Events Information Source

• Local Social Media Page to Follow for News, Events and Local Happenings

• Favorite Feature in Xpress

• Local News Website

• Local Podcast

• Most Important Local News Story (in the Last 12 Months)

• Most Overreported Story (in the Last 12 Months)

• Most Underreported Story (in the Last 12 Months)

Outdoors

Hiking

• Backpacking Trail/ Overnight Hike

• Day Hike Trail

• Easy Hike Trail (for kids, elders, limited mobility)

• Hiking Club or Group

• Picnic Spot

• Waterfall

• Walk - In or Near Asheville

Biking

• Mountain Bike Trail Running

• Running Event/Race - Road or Trail

Camping

• Camping Spot Water & Rivers

• Place to Relax on the Water

• Rafting Company

• Swimming Hole

Other

* Recreational Sports League/ Club/Group for Adults

• Canopy Tour/Zip Line

• Place to Roller Skate or Skateboard

April 1st Voting starts

mountainx.com/bestofwnc

• Ski Resort

• Outdoor Gear and Apparel Shop

• Environmental or Conservation Nonprofit

Personal Services

Cosmetic

• Hair Salon

• Barbershop

• Hairstylist or Barber

• Esthetician

• Nail Salon

• Nail Technician

Tattoo & Piercing

• Piercing Studio

• Tattoo Parlor

• Tattoo Artist Other

• Spa

• Local Body-Products Maker

Pets

Medical

• Veterinary Services

• Veterinarian

• Alternative Pet Health Care Provider

Services

• Animal Shelter/Rescue

Organization

• Grooming Service

• Trainer/Training Center

• Pet Kennel

• Pet Day Care Facility

* Pet Sitting/Dog

Walking Service

Places & Shops

• Outdoor Place to Take Your Pet

• Pet Supply Store

• Pet-Friendly Bar or Brewery

• Pet-Friendly Restaurant

Professional & Home Services

Financial

• Accountant/CPA Firm

• Place to Have Your Taxes Prepared

• Financial Adviser

• Bookkeeping Services

Law

• Law Firm

• Family Law Attorney

• Real Estate Attorney

• Criminal Law Attorney

Home

• Real Estate Agent

In how many categories must I vote in order for my ballot to be counted?

Each ballot must have votes for at least 30 categories to be counted.

How do I get a category added or changed?

The categories are set for this year, but to suggest a change for next year, email: bestofwnc@mountainx.com

• Real Estate Company

• Insurance Agent

General

• Architect or Architectural Firm

• Web Development Firm

• Computer Repair

• Car Repair

* Place to Get Your Oil Changed

• Bike Repair

• Construction Firm (Design/Build)

• Green Builder

• Alternative Energy Sales and Installation

• Plumbing Company

• Electrical/Electrician Company

• Heating/Cooling Company

• Home Inspection Service

• Pest Control Service

• Moving Company

• House Painters

• Roofing Company

* Flooring, Carpet or Tile Company

* Junk Removal Service

• Handyperson

• Equipment Rental Services

• Cellphone Service Provider for the WNC Mountains

• Print Shop

• Home Cleaning Service

• Dry Cleaner

Shopping

Fashion

• Clothing: Dress-Up/Stylin’

• Clothing: Used or Vintage (for-profit store)

• Clothing: Used or Vintage (nonprofit store)

• Asheville-Style Clothes

• Shoe Store

• Jewelry Store

Food

• All-Round Grocery Store

• Budget-Friendly Grocery Store

• Health Food Store

• International/Specialty Food Store

• Convenience/Corner Store

• Local Grocery Delivery or Curbside Pickup

Home

• New Furniture Store

• Used Furniture Store (for-profit store)

• Used Furniture Store (nonprofit store)

• Bed and Mattress Store

How are the votes counted? Mountain Xpress tallies the votes by hand, taking great care to understand each voter’s intent. We reserve the right to reject any ballot with inappropriate responses.

Why do voters have to vote for 30 categories?

We want meaningful results from people who are invested in and knowledgeable about the Asheville/WNC area.

• Picture Framer

• Antique Store

• Refurbished or upcycled goods

General & Miscellaneous

• Store That Best Represents the Spirit of Asheville

• Mall-style market

• Pawn Shop

• Florist/Plant Shop

• Bookstore - New

• Bookstore - Used

* Comics & Collectibles Store

* Game Store

• Record/CD Store

• Musical Instrument Store

• Gift Shop

• Head Shop

• Adult Toys, Lingerie & Naughty Things Store

• Bike Shop

• Automobile Tire Store

• Auto Dealer - New and/or Used

Uniquely Asheville

General

• Neighborhood

• Street for a Stroll

• Local Asheville Attraction

• Local Fundraising Event

• Place to Take Your Eccentric Friends

• Place to Pretend You’re a Tourist

• Place to Connect With Nature Within Asheville City Limits

• Historic/Interesting Building

• Holiday Event - Summer/Fall

• Holiday EventWinter/Spring

• Local Hero

• Local Villain

• Local Politician

• Bumper Sticker or Slogan About Asheville

• Thing Downtown Asheville Needs

• Thing the River Arts District Needs

• Thing West Asheville Needs

• Thing South Asheville Needs

• Thing East Asheville Needs

• Thing North Asheville Needs

• Project You’d Like to See Local Government Do

• Worst Thing to Happen to Asheville in the Last 12 Months

• Best Thing to Happen to Asheville in the Last 12 Months

• Biggest Threat to Asheville’s Uniqueness

• Biggest Opportunity for Asheville’s Uniqueness

Nonprofits

• Nonprofit That Improves Asheville

• Nonprofit That Serves the Underprivileged

• Activist Group for Civic/ Political Action

Hospitality

• Local City Tour

* Guided Tour of Area Breweries/Distilleries

• Venue to Book for a Party or Event

* Event/Wedding Planner

• Place to Get Married

• Hotel

• B&B or Small Boutique Hotel

Work & Business

• Business That Best Represents the Spirit of Asheville

• Employment Sector to Work in

• Business That Gives Back to the Community

• Co-Op/Employeeowned Business

• Bank

• Credit Union

• Bank Services for Small Business

• Support Organization for Entrepreneurs and New Businesses

• Business With EarthFriendly Practices

Regional

Questions for the following regions:

Brevard

Burnsville

Hendersonville/ Flat Rock/Mills River

Hot Springs

Marshall/Mars Hill

Swannanoa/ Black Mountain

Cullowhee/Sylva

Waynesville/Maggie

Valley/Canton

Weaverville/Woodfin

• Business That Best Represents the Spirit of Your Town

• Breakfast Restaurant

• Lunch Restaurant

• Dinner Restaurant

• Coffee & Sweets

• Local Bar/Brewery/ Watering Hole

• Music/Entertainment Venue

• Retail Store

• Art Gallery

• Cultural or Historical Landmark

• Cultural or Arts Event

• Local Place to Enjoy the Outdoors

• Local Cause to Support

• Best Thing to Happen to Your Town in the Last 12 Months

How do you prevent voter fraud?

Ballots are examined for telltale signs of voter fraud or ballot stuffing. We disqualify all ballots that appear to be fraudulent.

I hope my business wins. How do I get voting promotional materials?

Call us at 828-251-1333. We can provide you with printable and digital materials, or contact your sales representative for information.

Sweating green

BY JESSICA WAKEMAN

jwakeman@mountainx.com

Compared with other businesses, the fitness industry may seem to have a naturally low environmental impact. There are lots of ways to get sweating that don’t use electricity. And a workout doesn’t necessarily require heavy resource use or the purchase of throwaway items.

That being said, fitness is not a zero-waste industry. Several Asheville fitness spaces have come up with creative strategies to be environmentally responsible both inside and outside their gyms.

REDUCE THE SINGLE USE

No matter the workout, the person doing the sweating is probably chugging a beverage. It is unknown how many plastic bottles originating in Buncombe County are sorted by Curbie Management through its residential services contract and then sent along to a plastic processing plant. However, figures on recycling and waste worldwide show that the reuse of plastic bottles — the majority of which are made with a recyclable plastic called polyethylene terephthalate, or PET — could improve.

In 2018, the recycling rate of PET bottles and jars was 29.1%, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. That same year, landfills received 27 million tons of plastics. Plastics don’t stay inert. “Left alone, plastics don’t really break down; they just break up,” a guide from the Natural Resources Defense Council explains. “Over time, sun and heat slowly turn plastics into smaller and smaller pieces until they eventually become what are known as microplastics.”

Gyms eye sustainability along with workouts

rubber that’s used,” Deholl explains. The rubber soles wear down with use, however, and some people “just throw them away.” This can be costly and time-consuming as well as wasteful: Climbing shoes cost $100-$200, and breaking in a new pair takes time (and can be uncomfortable).

Cultivate Climbing previously had a worker who resoled climbing shoes, and another worker is currently training in how to do so, Deholl says. He calls resoling the shoes instead of purchasing a new pair a “win-win” for the customer and the environment. It is “the Patagonia approach of ‘repair, don’t replace,’” Deholl explains, referring to the outdoor clothing brand’s Worn Wear program. (Worn Wear allows customers to trade in used Patagonia clothing and gear, which will either be resold if it can be reused or recycled if it cannot be reused. The program also sells used packs, gear and clothing for kids and adults at a discount.)

Several Asheville gyms also provide gear for rental to minimize consumption. “Anything you’ll need in our yoga classes we provide for you,” says Asheville Yoga Center spokesperson Shayla DiTolla, explaining that yoga mats and props including blocks, bolsters and blankets are available for use by any customer. “That’s another great example of not producing waste by encouraging people to buy things they may not need if they’re taking a one-time class.”

Some local gyms don’t sell single-use plastic bottles at all. “We don’t sell bottled water because of not wanting to increase plastic waste,” says Scorch Fitness owner Ellen Olson. “We have a water station where clients can fill up their own reusable water bottles.”

Kathleen Hahn from DANCECLUB Asheville, a pole dance studio, says she purposely stocks small paper cups at her studio’s water cooler.

“People joke about the cups that I provide — they’re really teeny, little kindergarten cups that are paper,” she explains. Does it have her intended effect? “Most people are really good at bringing their own water bottle,” she says.

SOLE SURVIVORS

The sustainability movement encourages the repair of items when possible rather than disposal and consumption of additional resources to replace them. With this in mind, Devin Deholl, co-owner of Cultivate Climbing, a climbing studio in West Asheville, saw an opportunity to reduce waste created by climbing gear.

“Climbing shoes are relatively resource intensive because of all the

Deholl from Cultivate Climbing adds that his gym rents climbing shoes, crash pads, harnesses and other gear.

Allowing people to trade in gear they no longer need is another way fitness spaces encourage reuse. Textiles cannot be sorted from other recycling and must be bagged separately. The Buncombe County Landfill and the Buncombe County Transfer Station Convenience Center both provide bins to receive bagged textiles, which will then be properly recycled.

While nationwide companies like Patagonia have trade-in programs, Asheville’s fitness spaces have a more DIY approach: clothing swaps.

Cultivate Climbing hosted a clothing swap in its gym in March. DANCEclub hosts clothing and gear swaps, too.

“Every once in a while, we do a pole clothing swap,” Hahn explains. She notes that club members frequently gift or resell dance outfits, shoes or dancing poles for homes on its members-only Facebook group.

“There’s a lot of community sharing going on,” she says.

FEET FIRST: Devin Deholl, co-owner of Cultivate Climbing, says resoling climbing shoes instead of purchasing a new pair is a “win-win” for the customer and the environment. Photo courtesy of Cultivate Climbing

SUSTAINABLE SOURCING

In addition to encouraging repairs or swapping gear, several gyms sell sustainably made products.

For example, Cultivate Climbing uses Mount Inspiration Apparel, a local, sustainably made outdoor apparel company, for its T-shirts and printing, says Deholl. According to Mount Inspiration’s website, its sustainable fibers include recycled bottle polyester, upcycled cotton, organic cotton and hemp; its screen printing uses soybean ink instead of petroleum-based ink. (Additionally, the company donates 1% of its annual sales to 1% for the Planet, a nonprofit that disperses philanthropic giving to environmental causes.)

DiTolla at Asheville Yoga Center says the newest mats and props that will be used in the studio and sold in the shop alongside workout clothing are from the sustainably minded brand Manduka. Traditionally, yoga mats are made with a spongy material called polyvinyl chloride, or PVC. According to Livestrong.org, PVC includes potentially carcinogenic chemicals like phthalates. Manduka’s products, in contrast, include tree rubber yoga mats, yoga blocks made from cork or

recycled foam and towels made of fiber from recycled plastic bottles.

THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND

Community-mindedness is a concept taught at Asheville Yoga Center with “random acts of seva,” DiTolla says. “Seva” is a Sanskrit word meaning “together with,” according to Yogapedia, a yoga encyclopedia.

2023 SPRING HERB FESTIVAL

DiTolla explains that practicing seva means giving back to the community “without an expectation of being applauded for it or receiving praise.” Some practitioners do seva by picking up trash on the grounds of the center.

Cultivate Climbing, which has an indoor climbing space on Amboy Road, also recently began offering outdoor guided rock-climbing trips. Deholl, who was a longtime raft guide, says

he wanted to put the gym’s customers directly in touch with the area’s natural resources to provide education about environmental stewardship.

Rumbling Bald Climbing Access in Chimney Rock State Park and Looking Glass Rock in Brevard are two local climbing areas inhabited by rare plant and animal species, Deholl says. (Rock faces on Rumbling Bald are a habitat for Hickory Nut Gorge green salamanders, which the Center for Biological Diversity has petitioned to receive protection under the Endangered Species Act.) His gym’s guided trips aim to help climbers “understand what this ecosystem is, why it’s so sensitive, how we can protect it and why it’s important,” he explains.

Deholl says he’s seen other outdoor climbing locations, specifically in Colorado, “get really overrun … used and abused,” and it’s important to him not to contribute to that happening in WNC.

“Growing up in Western North Carolina, I’ve always had the outlook that people aren’t going to protect what they don’t love,” he explains. “I think the biggest responsibility we have as stewards is educating people about the resource, what stewardship means and [what] ‘leave no trace’ [means].”

TREE POSE: Asheville Yoga Center allows customers to minimize consumption by using its communal yoga mats and props, including blocks, bolsters and blankets, rather than purchasing their own. Photo courtesy of Shayla DiTolla

Public service announcement

The Get Right Band gets conceptual on new album

BY EDWIN ARNAUDIN

When asked to chart The Get Right Band’s key events that have led to the group’s expansive new concept album, iTopia, Jesse Gentry doesn’t hesitate to identify the trio’s official launch over a decade ago.

“Dec. 9,” he says, intentionally pronouncing the month abbreviation as “deck,” one of the bassist’s many humorous interjections throughout our interview. “I don’t even remember the year — I just remember the date.”

Silas Durocher, the band’s singer and guitarist, quickly fills in the missing piece: 2011. “That’s the night that I felt we became an actual band,” he says. “It was like, ‘Oh, we have a style and some cool originals.’”

For several months before that fateful December night, the Ashevillebased psychedelic indie rockers considered The Get Right Band a side project. The initial lineup featured Chris Pyle on drums; all three members were part of a larger collective, Soulgrass Rebellion. But when that group fizzled out in the winter of 2011, the three members refocused their attention, turning their side gig into their main creative outlet.

“It was when the snowball formed into an avalanche, as it were,” Gentry says.

SNOWBALL EFFECT

Two years later, in 2013, JC Mears contributed to that proverbial arctic blast when he took over on drums. Pyle’s departure marks the group’s

only lineup change in its 12-year history. Such consistency has led to an undeniable onstage chemistry as well as a library of original recorded mate-

rial that’s grown more ambitious and sonically rich with each new release.

But it wasn’t until 2020’s Itchy Soul, say the musicians, that they took a sizable step forward in their creative aspirations. Without this initial achievement, they stress, iTopia would not have been possible.

“That feels like the first time we made a great record,” Durocher says.

Gentry concurs, adding that on the previous albums — two studio LPs and one EP — the group ascribed to “this old narrative of what you need to do to make a great record.”

Central to that ethos was turning the recording process over to producers and studio technicians, not doing most of the work themselves.

“Once Itchy Soul came around, we did some of the work in the studio, but we did the majority of it at home on our own,” Gentry says. “By the

end of that process, we could really clearly see that that was the right choice and that it was markedly different from the previous albums in that way — just the production and even the style of the band a little bit.”

As pandemic restrictions were lifted in spring 2021 and shows with audiences became possible again, the addition of Asheville stalwart (and occasional collaborator) Chuck Lichtenberger on keys brought a new sonic layer to the group’s live sound. But by then, The Get Right Band was already hard at work on what would become its greatest accomplishment to date.

‘DON’T FEED THE TROLLS’

Over the course of 17 tracks, iTopia chronicles the adventures of a protagonist who tumbles into a bot-

WELCOME TO THE MATRIX: The Get Right Band channels Pink Floyd while exploring the pitfalls of technology on the group’s new album, iTopia. Photo by Eleanor Underhill

tomless online rabbit hole, experiencing the good and bad elements of technology and social media. After a moment of clarity, the album’s hero starts to climb out of the darkness and achieves a tenuous sense of optimism.

“Jesse, JC and I had been, as many people were, discussing these ideas of technology and social media and how it’s affecting us,” Durocher says. “We’d all seen different bits of media about it, like listening to ‘Rabbit Hole,’ The New York Times podcast, and watching [the Netflix documentary] The Social Dilemma. That’s kind of when I started thinking about it as something bigger than just a song.”

He’d also unwittingly given himself a head start on the project. Before the pandemic, Durocher wrote album highlight “Am I Just a Battery?” and what would eventually become “Black Holes of Negativity Part 3 (Saying No),” both of which fit with the concepts he and his bandmates were chewing on.

A voracious reader and podcast listener, Durocher began jotting down enlightening phrases that might inspire or be repurposed in a song. While reading Antisocial: Online Extremists, Techno-Utopians, and the Hijacking of the American Conversation by Andrew Marantz, he reached a chapter called “Don’t Feed the Trolls.”

“I thought, ‘That’s too good not to use. I’m going to lift that,’” Durocher says. “I messaged him and told him I was stealing it, and he said it was OK.”

Off the road for an extended period — a first for the hard-touring trio — they had time to flesh out the concepts for the album-in-progress. Durocher began by bringing his bandmates what he calls “a lot of half ideas and song fragments” that the three of them would then work through via jamming. The more time they spent on the tunes, the more topics they were able to address, ranging from not just addiction to technology but also to the dangers of an unregulated media source (e.g., the internet).

“And then also the way those things play out on a very small, human level in terms of the way they affect our personalities and our habits and our ability to be happy,” Durocher says. “And the mental health epidemic that we’re having that seems to be so clearly tied to technology and social media.”

He adds that iTopia isn’t about how technology is bad for humanity, but rather that it’s extremely complicated and we’re just now starting to understand it. The album doesn’t try to provide answers but instead asks a plethora of questions to help listeners grapple with issues that are likely already on their minds.

“Maybe it’ll inspire some people to have some thoughts about their own life and their own relationship with technology and social media,” Durocher says. “Or maybe it’ll just make people feel that kind of classic thing music does of, like, ‘Hey, that’s how I feel. I’m worried about that, too. I’m not alone in thinking this s**t’s weird.’ And that’s a powerful, useful tool.”

FINISHING TOUCHES

If iTopia sounds like the kind of grand conceptual work that Pink Floyd would make if that band were still around, that’s intentional. The Get Right Band are huge fans of the iconic British band’s catalog, and its influence is felt across the album’s lyrics and instrumentation — including from a somewhat direct source.

The group initially wanted to recruit Pink Floyd saxophonist Dick Parry for a guest spot but discovered that the 80-year-old player wasn’t accepting gigs. Their second choice was Bo Koster, keyboardist for Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters’ band as well as My Morning Jacket, whom they envisioned playing a lead synth solo on the album’s title track. They messaged Koster via social media and, to the band’s surprise, he not only said “yes” but offered to play on a second song.

“He just crushed it. He’s a great player. He found the right tones and really brought a lot of life to both those songs,” Durocher says. “And then he invited us to see My Morning Jacket [at Rabbit Rabbit last September], and we got to meet him and hang with him in person. He’s a super nice guy but also really professional. He really put in the time.”

No slouches themselves, The Get Right Band needed all six months between the announcement of the April 7 record release show at Salvage Station and the concert itself to play iTopia live in its entirety. While they won’t perform the new album all the way through every night on their subsequent East Coast tour, working the songs up with help from Lichtenberger’s keys and the triggering samples from Mears’ drum pad has proved a rewarding challenge.

“We’re not trying to replicate the studio when we’re playing live, and we’re not trying to replicate live when we’re playing in the studio. We like them to be different,” Durocher says.

“And there are some songs where it has to be different because it’s, you know, 10 layers of synths or something. So, some of it has been reworking and rearranging songs for how they work live, and some of it has been the addition of Chuck and the drum pad.”

To learn more, visit avl.mx/prx8. X

Turning tables

Erica Abrams Locklear examines the evolution of mountain food

BY KAY WEST

The title of Erica Abrams Locklear’s new book — Appalachia on the Table: Representing Mountain Food & People — might suggest a cookbook chock-full of recipes for apple stack cake, ramps, liver mush and leather britches. But in fact, there are just two — one for blackberry pudding and the other for banana upside down cake.

Both are courtesy of the author’s late maternal grandmother, Bernice Ramsey Robinson. Images of her handwritten recipes appear in Appalachia on the Table and reveal the worn and fragile pages from the cookbook Robinson started in 1936 and continued to add to through 1952.

In Appalachia on the Table’s introduction, Locklear — a professor of English and the Thomas Howerton Distinguished Professor of Humanities at UNC Asheville — warns that readers seeking an authoritative list of “mountain” food will be disappointed.

Instead, Locklear, a seventh-generation Western North Carolinian, pursues a chronological path rife with literary references and rich in personal documentation that examines how mountain food went from what she describes as “the dominant narrative of culinary depravity” in the late 19th century to today’s cream of the crop.

On Tuesday, April 18, at 6 p.m., Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe will host Locklear’s launch party, where the

author will be in conversation with John Fleer, chef and owner of Rhubarb.

SEEDS OF INSPIRATION

“The evolution is kind of head spinning,” Locklear continues. “How foods associated with Appalachia and mountains — that were once considered coarse, unsavory, unsophisticated and unacceptable — are now trendy, foodie foods celebrated in restaurants and cookbooks.”

The book’s concept was inspired by a piece Locklear contributed to the 2014 collection, Writing in the Kitchen: Essays on Southern Literature and Foodways, edited by food scholars David Davis and Tara Powell. “I loved writing that essay and realized I had so much more to say and so many questions.”

Fate and timing fell in step in 2016, when Locklear’s grandmother’s cookbook was rediscovered by the author’s family. Robinson, Locklear notes, pasted her recipes onto black paper and filed them away in a leather photo album.

“It is a combination of handwritten recipes and others she tore out of newspapers and magazines and cut from product boxes,” the author says.

“It was so well organized and blew my mind that despite working, raising three children and running a farm, she took the time to put this together.”

Before reviewing these recipes, Locklear admits, she had her own assumptions about the type of cooking her grandmother would have done

— namely, apple dumplings, biscuits and chowchow. Instead, the author discovered a wide range of dishes, including royal fruit dressing, date nut fondant, streusel and fig pickles.

Locklear notes she was deeply touched by her grandmother’s instructions for blossom-time cake, which suggested bringing spring indoors by plucking blossoms from trees abloom in the orchard and dipping them in sugar to top the cake.

TRACING THE TRAJECTORY

In 2017, Locklear took a professional development leave from UNCA and began figuring out chapter distinctions to move the project forward.

The opening chapter examines the origins of stereotypes associated with mountain food. “Local color” literature about Appalachia began appearing in the post-Civil War years

and continued through to the early 1900s, writes Locklear. These publications, she continues, factored largely into the assumptions made about the region’s culinary practices and diet.

“Local color literature was almost always written by people not from the region they wrote about,” the author explains. “It was typically written in very heavy dialect, often juxtaposing beautiful landscapes with degenerate people. They were published in major, national outlets.”

In a later chapter, Locklear examines a statewide agricultural initiative called Live at Home, introduced by Gov. Oliver Max Gardner shortly after he took office in 1929. Conceived as programming to help sharecroppers and tenant farmers grow enough food to sustain themselves, the initiative assumed the obstacle for the farmers was a lack of knowledge rather than the true issue: lack of capital.

TABLE TALK: Erica Abrams Locklear will discuss her new book, Appalachia on the Table, with chef John Fleer at Malaprop’s on Tuesday, April 18. Photo by Tim Barnwell

In this chapter, Locklear references writers Grace Lumpkin and Olive Tilford Dargan (pen name Fielding Burke) whose 1932 novels To Make My Bread and Call Home the Heart, respectively, depict the Live at Home concepts and their characters’ strong and affronted reactions to them. “Clearly [these characters are] thinking, ‘I can’t believe this man shows up in a fancy car, drives into my field and has the gall to talk to me like I don’t know how to grow squash,’” says Locklear.

In the Cooperative Extension archives at N.C. State University, Locklear learned that Live at Home dinners were held at the governor’s mansion, with state leaders and dignitaries seated at the table. Course by course and dish by dish, growers’ and makers’ names and locations were cited, including the milk, butter and scuppernongs for cold-pressed juice.

“The menu was essentially a 1930s version of farm-to-table, which is just fascinating,” Locklear notes.

STIGMA TO STATUS

A thread Locklear says kept coming out through all her research was the idea of food shaming and social stigmas attached to certain foods. “I knew about cultural capital but didn’t really know about culinary capital, and the idea that what you eat can elevate or decrease your social standing. But that changes depending on time, place and context,” she explains. “That is the story of Appalachian food I’m writing, how food that was seen as a marker of low social class is now one of cultural cache.”

She points to sorghum as a prime example. “In the early 20th century, sorghum was a sweetener for poor people, and now it’s on the menus of high-profile restaurants by high-profile chefs like Travis Milton and Sean Brock.”

In the final chapter of the book, she discusses the current celebra-

tion of Appalachian food, reminding readers that Appalachian writers have been enjoying these meals long before they became trendy. She cites author and Tennessee native Robert Gipe and his graphic novel Pop.

“The protagonist Nicolette is from a deeply rooted mountain family devastated by mountaintop removal and drug addiction,” Locklear says.

“She is taking cooking classes and experimenting with fancy dishes, making her family try them. They’re not well-received, particularly by her mother, Dawn, who refers to her as a ‘hillbilly Julia Child.’”

In Pop, the circle comes back around to apple stack cake; it is Gipe, Locklear says, who goes to great lengths to have his characters describe the intense and laborious process of making the dessert that some may consider a simple and basic dish.

Ultimately, Locklear notes that the recognition of and respect for Appalachian food is long overdue. But she urges proceeding with caution, echoing scholar Elizabeth Engelhardt’s advice in the essay “Appalachian Chicken and Waffles: Countering Southern Food Fetishism.”

“Building on her ideas, I think we need to be careful that we don’t become exclusionary,” says Locklear.

“I think there’s a danger to even inadvertently perpetuating the stereotype of Scottish-Irish mountaineers and their foodways and ignoring indigenous people ... [and] the contributions from African American and immigrant populations. Just because the food that was once considered coarse is now trendy, that doesn’t mean the problem is solved. National perceptions of mountain people are as problematic now as they have ever been, even as the food is venerated.”

Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe is at 55 Haywood St. To learn more about the upcoming event, visit avl.mx/prx7 All in-person attendees are required to wear masks. X

Educate students on solutions for environmental issues

Adam Edge is a senior at Martin L. Nesbitt Discovery Academy. He is the president of the school’s Youth for Environmental Stewardship Club and volunteers at the N.C. Arboretum, where he teaches kids about nature in Western North Carolina. He aspires to be an environmental scientist.

What sustainability initiatives at your school are you most proud of?

Many of the students at Nesbitt Discovery Academy are passionate about conserving the environment and promoting sustainability in WNC, including the members of the Youth for Environmental Stewardship Club, of which I am the president. The purpose of YES Club is to get out in the Asheville area and better the environment. The club’s collaboration with Asheville GreenWorks to remove trash from our community is my favorite sustainability initiative I have been a part of.

How is your generation’s approach to sustainability different from that of other generations’?

My generation is a lot more invested in the future of the planet, its climate and the organisms we share our home with. The internet and social media platforms have allowed my generation to stay connected and informed with the things we are passionate about, and these platforms serve as a wonderful method of spreading awareness about sustainability and environmental issues.

What is one step people in WNC can take to promote sustainability?

I think the concept of “leave no trace” is the most important set of guidelines one can follow to promote sustainability in WNC. The mountains in our area are filled to the brim with beautiful scenery, an abundance of nature and lots of hiking trails for people to enjoy. Conserving their beauty by leaving these magnificent mountains just as we found them is of the utmost importance.

Is the educational system doing enough to inform people about longterm environmental concerns like climate change?

The educational system is doing a decent job at informing students about the dangers of climate change and other long-term environmental problems, but a lot more could be done. Most students are aware of these issues after they take the required science classes, but they are rarely taught about solutions, especially on a smaller scale. The educational system needs to do a better job of teaching students how to do their part in saving the planet by making sustainable choices on a daily basis. X

ADAM EDGE

Dreaming of poetry

BY THOMAS CALDER

tcalder@mountainx.com

Regular readers of Xpress’ monthly poetry feature may recognize Mildred Kiconco Barya’s name. In April 2021, she served as judge for the paper’s semiannual poetry contest. The following year, she shared her work, “Falling in Love” as part of April’s Poetry Month print series. This time around, the local poet and assistant professor of English at UNC Asheville is celebrating the April 10 release of her latest collection, The Animals of My Earth School. Barya will be in conversation with fellow poet Tina Barr on Sunday, April 16, at 5 p.m. at Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe. The celebration continues Saturday, April 22, at 5:30 p.m. with a book release event at Story Parlor.

Barya’s poem “Guilted Tenderness,” which is featured in her new collection, appears below. Along with sharing her latest work, the poet also took time to share her thoughts on the state of poetry, its role in addressing environmental concerns and the poets who inspire her.

Guilted Tenderness

by Mildred Kiconco Barya

Mildred Kiconco Barya celebrates the release of her latest collection

Xpress : Thanks for sharing this piece. Can you speak to its inspiration?

Barya: I “received” a chunk of this poem in a vivid dream that profoundly moved me. When I woke up close to tears, I decided to write the scene in couplets. I was not satisfied with the ending I had then. Sometimes, I go through several drafts, so I knew I’d revisit the poem months down the road.

I wasn’t thinking of the poem or revision when the last line came to me. I was reading an online article about probiotics and other supplements when I came across colostrum. Odd, I thought, that we humans use the milk that should be drunk by newly born calves to boost and sustain our immune systems. It felt like taking milk out of the mouths of babes.

That is fascinating that the poem came to you in a dream. Do dreams factor into other poems you’ve written, or was this a first?

This is not the first time that dreams have appeared in my poems or hybrids. I have a manuscript of dream poems and journals; I keep wondering what to do with them. I

Mother cow gives birth to a small baby. A few hours later the calf struggles to stand. Mother licks it clean and moves her teats closer, but it’s ignorant of suckling.

A man in black work boots and faded blue overalls brings a lump of moldy cheese, perhaps to trigger its sense of smell, but the calf declines to eat. Then the man pushes into its mouth what looks like breadcrumbs. Still, the calf won’t feed.

A rush of compassion washes over me. We were all once like that, newly born and helpless. Some babies instinctively know how to suckle. Others have to be nudged. I walk away feeling tender, wishing for the calf to grow strong as we drink the milk and replenish with colostrum.

BACK AT IT: Local poet Mildred Kiconco Barya has a series of events planned for the release of her new collection, The Animals of My Earth School. The Uganda native serves as assistant professor of English at UNC Asheville. Photo by Todd Crawford

like the surreal quality. And when I think of the times we’ve gone through with the pandemic, followed by the Russian invasion of Ukraine — I can’t wrap my head around developed nations choosing war just when you think we all ought to be appreciating life more — I review my dreams and realize that they aren’t so strange, after all. Our current local and global realities are more incongruous, terrifying and incomprehensible.

Circling back to your previous point, I’d love to hear more about your approach to revision. It sounds like you are a patient poet, in that you recognize and know you’ll be revisiting a piece several months after the fact. Is this a standard approach to each of your poems, or is it more case by case?

Years of practice and a dose of maturity have modified my understanding of creation — it’s never finished. But there’s a “feeling” point at which the poet decides to let go. The writing life has a lot in common with love, and the passage of time is a good rule of thumb. I prefer to revisit what I write a month or so later, sometimes several months in between. If it occurs to me that it’s still got all the elements that make a poem or piece of prose intelligible and meaningful, chances are it’s really great. It’s lived up to its promise.

However, if I read and feel like the piece could use some improvement in tone, diction, figures of speech or structure, then it’s best to tinker with it. Even in cases when a first draft seems juiced up with nectar from the gods, I do not hit the submit button. I put it aside to see what my senses might make of it after the initial euphoria has passed. All this, to avoid the embarrassment of publishing a piece that may not be ready. Nature features prominently in many of your works, including “Guilted Tenderness.” Since this poem is appearing amid our Sustainability series, could you speak to your own views on issues concerning the topic and what, if at all, the poet’s role can be in engaging in the issue through their work?

I love this question. Sustainability has become a way of life for me. It used to be a value, but now I’ve taken it a notch higher. I ask myself each time I’m presented with a choice or task: Is this sustainable? Is what I’m doing or asked to give at any moment sustainable? If my answer is not a resounding “yes,” I let that pass.

As you can imagine, with this new way of being I may be left with only animals for friends, but it’s the right approach to simplifying my life. I sincerely think that if we all asked ourselves, not just the poets, if whatever we’re engaged in is sustain-

able — whichever way we interpret sustainability — there would be less waste, less time-consuming activities that don’t truly nourish anyone, and we could bring back a quality of life that’s in balance with all that is.

Is the issue of sustainability itself something you intentionally explore in some poems? Or do you prefer to enter your work without a concrete message in mind?

Mostly the latter. I’m aware of the tendency to get heavy-handed when I approach writing with a concrete message in mind. If doing so doesn’t block the flow (which is how I define a writer’s block), then, fine — as long as the writing isn’t contrived. To avoid self-created blockages, I prefer to come up with a general idea or overarching theme such as appreciation of life or the natural world. This holds the promise of branching out into several interesting angles that free my imagination and, perhaps, facilitate each reader to bring out of a poem a different message.

On the other hand — and this might seem like a contradiction — my creative nonfiction essays are invested in social justice issues and have specific themes of identity, belonging and the meaning of home. Maybe the best way to answer your question is through form and a consideration of other circumstances. I wrote most of the poems in this collection while I was writing the essays. To keep myself open to wonder and joy, these poems enabled me to tap into the natural beauty of my environment and to celebrate wildlife. In this regard, the poems provided

much-needed light and sustenance. I hope they’ll do the same for readers. Is there a local poetry collection that excites you? If so, what is it about the poet’s work that speaks to you?

Eric Nelson’s Horse Not Zebra Affinity is what comes to mind when I think of what draws me to this sterling book. Every poem sings golden, packed with a kind of knowingness that unfolds gently, wisely and innocently all at once. Eric’s attentive eye and ear are heartfelt, we hear the music in all its intensity and hushed tones, we see the physical environment in its devastating beauty and harshness.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received from a fellow poet about the writing practice?

To always be in a state of writing. Another way of saying this is being attentive and aware of the sounds, sights, smells and textures around us. To taste it all and allow the perception of our senses to digest what comes to and emerges out of us.

Lastly, who are the four poets on your personal Mount Rushmore?

• Robert Hayden — economy of language — packs a punch in so few words.

• Mary Oliver — for being Mary Oliver.

• Okot p’Bitek — Ugandan poet and master of the Song School literary tradition.

• Samuel Taylor Coleridge — for his poetic landscape and imagination, as well as his ability to blend lyrical, epic narrative, and dramatic elements into a memorable convergence.

Are we there yet?

BY BILL KOPP

There are certain aspects of touring that never change, says Alex McWalters, drummer of local band River Whyless.

“In a practical sense, so much of a tour is spent in your ‘bubble,’” he explains. “You’re crammed into a van together, and you’re vying for space and air and privacy.”

These issues, while par for the course, presented unique challenges in the immediate aftermath of COVID-19 lockdowns. And though the majority of these obstacles have subsided, many local musicians note the pandemic has had a lasting impact on the way tours unfold. Some point to concertgoers’ less predictable purchasing habits, while others in Asheville’s music scene say time away from travel has changed their perspectives about life on the road.

WHAT HAPPENED?

Turnout, says McWalters, remains one of the most notable differences for touring acts since the onset of COVID-19. “It’s all become a lot more unstable and unpredictable,” he says, “in a business that was already unstable and unpredictable.”

Before the pandemic, McWalters continues, River Whyless could generally predict ticket sales in a given city based on the previous night’s crowd. That’s no longer the case. “One night’s really good,” he says, “and the next night, it’s like, ‘What happened?’”

McWalters has his own theories about the erratic nature of today’s audiences. “I think the pandemic has had an effect on live music in two ways,” he says. “One, there’s still fear of the virus: ‘I’m not comfortable with the risk; I don’t want to be in a room with a bunch of people.’”

Secondly, McWalters continues, there’s been a shift in how folks experience art and entertainment. “I think the pandemic created habits, for better or for worse,” he says. “People got used to staying home, staying within [their] little bubble.”

Nevertheless, McWalters says advance ticket sales for River Whyless shows are as robust today as they were before the lockdown; however, day-of sales are more modest, suggesting anecdotally that audiences on the

whole are less spontaneous than they once were.

QUALITY OVER QUANTITY

When it comes to ticket purchasing patterns, Ray Worth, guitarist with local band Bask and an independent show booker, echoes some of McWalters’ observations. Before COVID-19, Worth says, it would be typical to assume, “OK, we did 75 tickets in presales, so we might get 200 in here tonight.”

Now, he continues, the script has flipped. “If you don’t have [sales] upfront, it’s going to be bleak.”

Of course, these days, the band isn’t traveling nearly as much as it once did. And forced time off changed the group’s outlook.

“Four or five years ago,” Worth says, “we were hitting it really, really hard with 100-150 dates a year.” He doesn’t see the group returning to that

kind of heavy-duty touring. “We’ve all stepped back and said, ‘Let’s focus a little more on quality over quantity.’”

One of the band’s most recent runs was a short, four-city minitour. Worth believes that this new, measured approach “has created healthier dynamics within the band. “We don’t want to do shows just to do them.” And for now, that means “hunker[ing] down and focusing on [making] the next record,” he says.

And while Worth and his bandmates — bassist Jesse Van Note, drummer Scott Middleton and guitarist/vocalist Zeb Camp — may not be in a hurry to get back on the road, they aren’t shutting down future tours.

“Things have been hitting my inbox,” Worth says. Among the requests, Bask has received inquiries about booking shows in Europe in late 2023 or early 2024.

Despite the optimistic future, Worth says the uncertainty that

marked much of the last three years still affects everyone in the band.

“There’s always a sense of ‘When’s it all going to crumble again?’”

OFF THE ROAD

Other artists have all but given up on the idea of live concert touring.

Zach Cooper and Vic Dimotsis are the duo behind King Garbage. They both write, produce and play multiple instruments. Their sound is difficult to pin down, spanning many genres from soul to rock to funk, all wrapped up in a hypnotic and psychedelic melange.

In addition to releasing two highly regarded albums — 2017’s Make it Sweat and 2022’s Heavy Metal Greasy Love — Dimotsis and Cooper earned a Grammy for their contributions to Jon Batiste’s Album of the Year, WE ARE. And the duo continues to work with a growing list of artists, including Leon Bridges, Ellie Goulding, SZA and the Weeknd.

With their current focus on songwriting and recording, the pair is not prioritizing live shows. “King Garbage hasn’t done much touring,” Dimotsis says. “And I don’t plan on doing much in the near future.”

Travel, he continues, has become a war of budgets. “Only those backed by support are able to take the risk of going on the road,” Dimotsis believes. While conceding that live performances are “one of the few ways to make money as a musician,” he says that he doesn’t plan on doing much of it in the future. Instead, he and Cooper are working on their next album.

GEARING UP TO GO

Whereas King Garbage remains hunkered down and focused on recording, River Whyless is eyeing the open road. With summer just around the corner, McWalters says he and his bandmates — Halli Anderson (vocal, violin), Ryan O’Keefe (vocals, guitar) and Daniel Shearin (vocals, bass) — are gearing up their latest round of shows.

If nothing else, McWalters says, his group is prepared for the inherent unpredictability of touring. As an example, he points to the band’s most recent run of dates in the fall.

“It was three days before the end of the tour. We had been as careful as we could be,” he says. “Nobody had gotten sick for two whole tours.”

Then, while in a restaurant in New Mexico, Shearin — after noting that he didn’t believe in jinxes — remarked on their good luck.

“Literally the next day, he had [COVID-19] symptoms!” McWalters says. “It was hilarious and ironic.” X

ON THE ROAD AGAIN: Local bands, including River Whyless, pictured, discuss the changes COVID-19 has introduced to life on the road. Photo courtesy of River Whyless

Local bands reflect on the state of touring in a post-pandemic world

What’s new in food

Jamaican food truck hits the streets

Ken Bahford’s slogan is painted on the side of his food truck: “Mama raised no punk.”

The former Biltmore sous chef, who officially launched Shaa’bingo Jamaican Street Food last month, says he is strongly influenced by his mother, as well as his island country of Jamaica.

“I give respect to the first ‘classroom’ I learned from, which was my mother’s kitchen,” says Bahford. “Jamaica is filled with street food vendors with a variety of food that is available from the busy streets to roadside food stalls selling beef patties to coco bread. I knew that my dreams to have a food truck gave me the direction to bring the streets of Jamaica to the streets of America with savory and unforgettable street food dishes.”

Bahford says he decided to start a food truck instead of a brick-andmortar restaurant due to the many downsides that a restaurant owner faces, such as finding an ideal location and securing a large business loan.

Logistics and economics aside, Bahford says he also likes the mobility aspect of operating a food truck. “I enjoy traveling, meeting new people and giving tourists a memorable time, too.”

But above all, Bahford wanted to bring something new to the area. “With my experience to create healthy dishes, I knew that I would bring fine dining Jamaican style to a mobile food truck.”

The food truck’s menu includes traditional Jamaican and Caribbean dishes such as oxtail, fried plantains and rice. For those who have never tried Jamaican food, Bahford suggests starting with the jerk chicken. The chef has also created several Jamaican sodas and beverages.

Despite some challenges in launching his business, Bahford is encouraged by all the local support he has already experienced.

“I reflect on the struggles that Bob Marley had with his own people, and I have experienced the same type of treatment at times,” he says. “I am in competition with myself and wish to see more Jamaicans support the fact that we can all win and be successful. I believe in myself and I want everyone to go after their dreams, too.”

For more information, visit avl.mx/cky.

On the rails

A new taproom and restaurant that boasts one of the longest bars in Buncombe County will hold its grand opening party on Saturday, April 15, noon-10 p.m.

The RailYard, which features a 70-foot bar, will celebrate its launch with live music on its outdoor stage from local American roots band Lazybirds. Fire pits will also be blazing as participants indulge in craft beverages and bites, including SmashBalls — the restaurant’s own burger concept.

The main building, which is close to 7,000 square feet, features a full kitchen; meanwhile, the 1,200-squarefoot outdoor community space was planned with pop-up events such as farmers markets and yoga classes in mind. The space can also be rented out for private and corporate events.

The RailYard’s founder, John Richardson, is also the creator of PubCorps, a local nonprofit. The organization’s mission is to strengthen the community through volunteer meet-

ups, such as monthly large-scale food packing events. The nonprofit will be headquartered inside The RailYard.

“We see this space as an incubator — for community, for the nonprofit PubCorps, for local musicians and bands, and for local vendors, artisans and food trucks,” says Richardson in a press release. “We want to build in service opportunities, community activities, diversity and live music from the very beginning.”

The RailYard is at 141 Richardson Blvd., Black Mountain. For more information, visit avl.mx/ckz.

New brewery tour service opens

There’s a new craft brewery tour in town.

City Brew Tours, which offers educational craft brewery experiences in cities around the United States, started holding tours in Asheville last month. The tours blend local history, beer knowledge and beer and food pairings in participating breweries such as One World Brewing, Archetype Brewing and Eurisko Beer Co.

“There are so many reasons why Asheville made sense for the next City Brew Tours destination,” says City Brew Tours founder Chad Brodsky in a press release. “Asheville is home to nationally recognized breweries. ... Combine that with the world-class food Asheville offers and the proximity to amazing hiking, biking, paddling and other outdoor activities, and it checks all the boxes. Not sure why we didn’t come here sooner!”

The all-inclusive itineraries start at $75 for a Sip of Asheville, featuring private tastings, round-trip transportation and a local beer guide.

For more information, visit avl.mx/cl0.

Forager Fridays

Beginning April 14, the Museum of Cherokee Indian will hold virtual Forager Fridays as part of its Spring Lecture Series.

The overall theme is “Gathering,” and classes will feature plant harvesting traditions.

“This season’s lecture series has a focus on foraging and the preparation of foraged foods, as well as the environmental impact and sustainability of foraging correctly,” says Jennifer Wilson, Aniyvwiyahi community program coordinator, in a press release. “The gathering of food and gathering together to share and take in this knowledge is important for our Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians community, but also for the surrounding communities to maintain the longevity of some of these endangered plants.”

The first Forager Friday will focus on ramps, a type of wild garlic that grows in certain areas of the Appalachian mountains. Subsequent classes will feature sochan, wild strawberries and branch lettuce.

In addition to the Friday programs, a virtual cooking demonstration on how to make blackberry and grape dumplings, a centuries-old dish for several Southeastern tribes, will take place Monday, May 8.

The series, made possible with the support of the N.C. Arts Council, will also highlight traditional crafts, including beadwork, corn bead harvesting and use, and ribbon skirt making. All videos will be available for viewing on the museum’s YouTube channel.

For more information, visit avl.mx/afa.

— Andy Hall X

MÉLANGE À TROIS: The Jamaican Threesome, a combination of oxtail, jerk chicken and lemon butter lobster, is chef and owner Ken Bahford’s favorite dish to make. Photo courtesy of Shaa’bingo

Around Town

UNC Asheville hosts free Indigenous hip-hop concert

Since joining UNC Asheville’s faculty in 2016, Juan Sánchez Martínez has strived to expose his students to diverse works by contemporary Indigenous artists, musicians and writers.

“In this context, I have witnessed how powerful Indigenous hip-hop is in challenging misconceptions and stereotypes about Indigenous peoples while empowering women, elders, children and keepers of the land,” says Martínez, an associate professor of Spanish and American Indian and Indigenous Studies.

In 2017, Martínez and others started thinking about organizing a UNCA festival celebrating Indigenous hiphop. After a few years of planning, they were set to host an event in the spring of 2020 but had to cancel when COVID restrictions hit.

Three years later, Activating Indigenous Beats: Hip Hop Nativo is finally a reality. The four-day festival will include workshops and community events and will culminate with a free concert on UNCA’s quad Friday, April 14, 6-9:30 p.m.

The show will feature performances by:

• Luanko Minuto Soler, a singer and rapper who is a member of the Mapuche of south-central Chile.

• Mare Advertencia Lirika, a Mexican rapper and songwriter of Zapotecan descent.

MOVIE REVIEWS

Local reviewers’ critiques of new films include:

PAINT: Channeling Bob Ross — down to the perm and gentle commentary while at the canvas — Owen Wilson gives a delightfully quirky performance in this tale of love, loss and public television. Grade: B-plus

— Edwin Arnaudin

• Tall Paul, an Anishinaabe and Oneida hip-hop artist enrolled on the Leech Lake reservation in Minnesota.

• Asheville hip-hop artist Davaion “Spaceman Jones” Bristol

“They represent a generation of musicians who face their communities’ reality with dignity and strength,” Martínez says. “Their rhymes activate Native languages, disrupt heteropatriarchy and challenge racism.”

Organizers made sure the concert included representation from South, Central and North Abiayala (“the land in full maturity” in the Dule language), as well as from different genders and genres, Martínez says.

Shennelle Feather and Jarrett Wildcatt, artists and educators of the Museum of the Cherokee Indian, will be masters of ceremony during the concert, which also will include visual artists, a food truck and a performance by Aztec dancers. UNCA is partnering with the museum and the Asheville hip-hop community to put on the festival.

“While listening to these beats and lyrics, please keep in your mind, heart and spirit that [the festival] is special in the sense that distant Indigenous languages and peoples are converging in Tokiyasdi, Cherokee territory,” Martínez says. “We are remembering together.”

UNCA is at 1 University Heights. The concert is free. Attendees are encouraged to bring chairs or blankets. For more information, visit avl.mx/cks.

Toy story

Two educators from Odyssey Community School have teamed up to write a children’s book aimed at teaching youths about compassion and empathy.

Pick Up Your Toys, Kirk! tells the story of a little boy who loves his toys but doesn’t love putting them away.

“I wanted to support children in developing the qualities of sharing and taking care of treasured objects,” says Shirley Rotolo, who teaches kindergarten at the Asheville charter school.

was to show how Kirk processes his emotions in this situation.”

Rotolo wrote the book and enlisted fellow kindergarten teacher Samantha Sole to do the pictures.

“I wanted to illustrate pages that a young reader could enjoy both when reading independently and when listening to the story with their parents,” Sole says. “With this in mind, I aimed for the pages to be imaginative and detailed so that the reader could explore both the written and illustrative story.”

Rotolo and Sole started reading portions of the book to their students to gain feedback as they were putting it together.

“It ended up being special for both the children and as well as us when it became published,” Rotolo says. “They were so excited that they were a part of the process.”

For more information or to buy the book, go to avl.mx/ckt.

A little night music

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

“Kirk has to make some challenging age-appropriate choices and realize he has possessions and treasures that not everyone has the opportunity to own. One of my goals for this book

White Horse Black Mountain will host “Remembering Sondheim” at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 15.

The concert will feature Western North Carolina singers and pianists performing the works of legendary

musical theater composer Stephen Sondheim, including songs from Into the Woods, A Little Night Music and Sunday in the Park with George. A version of the show was performed earlier this year in Waynesville. Featured singers include Lara Hollaway, Adrianne Blanks, Matt Blanks, Matt Edwardsen, Dominic Michael Aquilino and Mandy Vollrath, who also is the show’s director. The show’s pianists are Luke Shaver and Leonidas Lagrimas. Tickets are $20 in advance and $22 at the door.

White Horse Black Mountain is at 105 Montreat Road. For more information or to buy tickets, go to avl.mx/cku.

American songs

The Asheville Symphony will present “Masterworks 6: New World,” a concert of American orchestral music at 8 p.m. Saturday, April 15, at Thomas Wolfe Auditorium.

The performance will feature Antonín Dvořák’s “New World Symphony”

Cellist

and Alexandra du Bois’ “Fanfare on We Shall Overcome.”

Amit Peled will play Victor Herbert’s Cello Concerto No. 2. The du Bois piece was inspired by the election of President Barack Obama in 2008.

ON THE MIC: Clockwise from top left, Davaion “Spaceman Jones” Bristol, Luanko Minuto Soler, Tall Paul and Mare Advertencia Lirika will perform the closing concert of UNC Asheville’s Indigenous hip hop festival. Photos courtesy of the artists

“This introduces a concept of the American orchestral sound in the 21st century, while the other two works in the program were seminal in establishing an American school in the late 19th century,” says Darko Butorac, the symphony’s music director, says in a press release.

Ticket prices range from $25-$75.

Thomas Wolfe Auditorium at Harrah’s Cherokee Center is at 87 Haywood St. For more information or to buy tickets, visit avl.mx/ckv.

A Fuller understanding

The Asheville Art Museum will host Altruistic Genius: Buckminster Fuller’s Plans to Save the Planet from Friday, April 14-Monday, Aug. 21. A members-only preview will be 5-7 p.m. Thursday, April 13.

The exhibition features two major suites of prints and other works by inventor and futurist R. Buckminster Fuller , known for popularizing the geodesic dome after conducting field experiments at Black Mountain College. It is meant to introduce visitors to Fuller’s strategies for the sustainability of humans and the planet relating to housing, transportation, mathematics and engineering, the museum says in a press release.

Altruistic Genius will be presented in three sections: “Inventions,” “Synergetics” and “Black Mountain College and Lasting Influence.”

The Asheville Art Museum, 2 S. Pack Square, is open 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday, Wednesdays, Fridays-Sundays, and 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Thursdays. For more information, go to avl.mx/ckw.

Perfect circle

FBO at Hominy Creek will host an album release party for Life Is Perfect by Pat Zim and Friends at 6 p.m. Saturday, April 15.

The event will feature performances by Zim, anti-folk/folk-punk band Lurky Skunk, singer-songwriter Lo Wolf and others.

Each song on the album, which will be released Thursday, April 13, is co-written by Zim and a different local musician.

“I have been in Asheville for three years and have met some really inspiring people in the art and music scene here,” Zim says. “[Perfect Circle] is a showcase of their talents and personalities.”

For more information, go to avl.mx/ckx.

— Justin McGuire X

For questions about free listings, call 828-251-1333, opt. 4.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 12

12 BONES BREWERY

Robert's Totally Rad Trivia, 7pm

BIER GARDEN

Geeks Who Drink: Trivia, 7pm

BLACK MOUNTAIN BREWING

Jay Brown (roots, blues, jazz), 6pm

FLEETWOOD'S Open Mic Wednesday Night, 7pm

FRENCH BROAD

RIVER BREWERY

Bluegrass Jam Wednesday, 6pm

HIGHLAND BREWING CO.

Songwriter Series w/ Matt Smith, 6pm

JACK OF THE WOOD

PUB

Old Time Jam, 5pm

ONE WORLD BREWING WEST

Latin Night w/DJ Mtn Vibez, 8:30pm

SALVAGE STATION

Tropidelic w/Rockstead & Sun Dried Vibes (reggae), 7pm

SOUTHERN

APPALACHIAN

BREWERY

Jazz Night w/Jason DeCristofaro, 6pm

SOVEREIGN KAVA

Poetry Open Mic, 8pm

STATIC AGE RECORDS

#2

Stice w/Makeover

Mage, Treacheal Shave & Bad Makeup (noise, electronica, cyber sounds), 8pm

THE GREY EAGLE

Vancouver Sleep Clinic w/Ghostly Kisses (indie-rock, R&B, folk), 8pm

THE ODD

Bad Ties, Angry Lovers, Feeling Bad & Juniper

Willow (indie, synthpop, punk), 7pm

THE ORANGE PEEL

Molchat Doma w/ Nuovo Testamento (cold-wave, post-punk, synth-pop), 8pm

THE SOCIAL

Wednesday Night Karaoke w/LYRIC, 9pm

TWIN LEAF BREWERY

Wednesday Open Mic, 5:30pm

THURSDAY, APRIL 13

ASHEVILLE BEAUTY

ACADEMY

Kiki Thursday: Drag Party w/DJ RexxStep, 7pm

ASHEVILLE GUITAR

BAR

Robert Thomas Band (jazz, rock), 7:30pm

BLACK MOUNTAIN BREWING

The Blushin' Roulettes (folk), 6pm

CITIZEN VINYL

Marley Carroll: Voices Listening Party, 6pm

EURISKO BEER CO.

Hops Around Comedy: Carlette Jennings, 7pm

FLEETWOOD'S Bad Vibes, Tiny TVs & The Pink Cigarettes (punk), 9pm

FRENCH BROAD RIVER BREWERY

Jerry's Dead (Grateful Dead & JGB Tribute), 6pm

GREEN MAN BREWERY

Robert's Totally Rad Trivia, 7pm

HIGHLAND BREWING

DOWNTOWN

TAPROOM

Not Rocket Science Trivia, 6pm

IMPERIÁL

Homage To Timbaland, 9pm

JACK OF THE WOOD PUB

Bluegrass Jam w/Drew Matulich, 7:30pm

THAT OLD-TIME MUSIC: Folk and old-time-style band Golden Shoals will perform an intimate concert with Nicholas Edwards Williams at Leveller Brewing Co. Wednesday, April 19, at 7 p.m. Golden Shoals blends traditional and contemporary American folk music, while Williams dips into ragtime, Piedmont blues and more.

ONE WORLD BREWING

Thomas Kozak (Americana, rock), 7pm

ONE WORLD BREWING WEST Magenta Sunshine (funk, soul, jazz), 8pm

SOVEREIGN KAVA

Django Jazz Jam, 7pm

THE GETAWAY RIVER BAR

Karaoke w/Terraoke, 9pm

THE GREY EAGLE

• Patio: Griefcat & Brittany Ann Tranbaugh (Americana, rock, indie), 5pm

• Dexter & The Moonrocks (western space grunge), 8pm

THE ODD ROD, Trash Police & Father Figures (indie, post-punk, rock), 7pm

THE ROOT BAR Kendra & Friends (multiple genres), 6pm

TWIN LEAF

BREWERY

Thursday Night Karaoke, 8:45pm

URBAN ORCHARD Trivia Thursday, 7pm

FRIDAY, APRIL 14

27 CLUB Sacrilege Goth Dance Party, 10pm

ASHEVILLE BEAUTY

ACADEMY

Venus (dark house dance party), 10pm

ASHEVILLE GUITAR BAR

Mr Jimmy's Friday Night Blues, 7:30pm

ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL

Erothyme, Entangled Mind, Waterchild & Cuddlefish (edm, bass), 9pm

BEN'S TUNE UP

EK Balam (reggaeton, hip-hop), 8pm

BLACK MOUNTAIN

BREWING

Live Music w/ Dark City Kings, 6pm

BOTANIST & BARREL

TASTING BAR + BOTTLE SHOP

Jesse Harman Live (bluegrass), 6pm

CATAWBA BREWING

CO. SOUTH SLOPE

ASHEVILLE

• AVL Underground

Comedy: Carter Deems, 7pm

• Chaotic Comedy: Spring Fling Edition, 9:30pm

CORK & KEG

The Barsters (bluegrass, rock'n'roll), 8pm

GINGER'S REVENGE

CRAFT BREWERY & TASTING ROOM

Ben Phantom (pop, jazz, bluegrass), 6pm

HIGHLAND BREWING

CO.

BoogiTherapi (funk), 7pm

HIGHLAND BREWING

DOWNTOWN

TAPROOM

Imij of Soul (Jimi Hendrix Tribute), 7pm

IMPERIÁL

DJ James Nasty, 9pm

JACK OF THE WOOD PUB

• Honky-Tonk Fridays w/Jackson Grimm, 4pm

• Jackomo Cajun Country Band (Cajun, honky-tonk), 9pm

LA TAPA LOUNGE

Open Mic Night w/ Hamza, 8pm

ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL

Jive Talk (alt-indie, dance, electronic), 10pm

ONE WORLD BREWING

5J Barrow Friday Nights (folk), 8pm

ONE WORLD BREWING WEST

Lemon City Trio (soul, jazz), 8pm

SALVAGE STATION

Nirvani & Badmotorfinger (alt-rock), 7pm

SHILOH & GAINES

Rainy Eyes w/River Guerguerian, Jake Wolf & Melissa Mckinney (Americana, blues, Afro-Cuban), 9pm

SOVEREIGN KAVA

Mike Rhoades Fellowship (multiple genres), 9pm

Photo by Mike Dunn

STATIC AGE RECORDS

Frank Hurricane w/Yes

Selma & Blake Hornsby (indie, folk-rock, folk), 8pm

THE BUSH FARMHOUSE

Tonti & The Hot Pulses (blues, soul, rock), 6:30pm

THE GREY EAGLE

• Patio: Liz Hopkins & Azul Zapata (alt-indie, country-rock, disco, 5pm

• Loretta Lynn Birthday Tribute, 8pm

THE ODD

All Hell, Night Beers, Corpse Dust (blackthrash, metal-punk), 8pm

THE ORANGE PEEL

The Dolly Party, 9pm

THE OUTPOST

Gateway Party w/Kri, Nat Black, Maloka, Bunsen Burner, Rickiirain, 7pm

WXYZ BAR AT ALOFT

Andrew Thelston (rock'n'roll), 7pm

SATURDAY, APRIL 15

27 CLUB

The Whistlebirds, Valediam & Clemp Laison (punk), 9pm

ASHEVILLE BEAUTY

ACADEMY

80s MAXimum

Overdrive w/DJ Nato, 10pm

ASHEVILLE CLUB

Mr Jimmy (blues), 7pm

ASHEVILLE GUITAR

BAR

Catz in Pajamas (rock'n'roll), 7:30pm

ASHEVILLE MUSIC

HALL

Manic Focus (dance, eletronic, heavy-bass), 9pm

BATTERY PARK BOOK

EXCHANGE

Dinah's Daydream (gypsy jazz), 5:30pm

BEN'S TUNE UP

Jaze Uries (house, electronic), 8pm

BLACK MOUNTAIN BREWING

Tina Collins (indie-folk, Americana), 6pm

BURNTSHIRT

VINYARDS CHIMNEY ROCK

The Paper Crowns (roots, Americana), 2pm

CORK & KEG

The Heavenly Vipers (honky-tonk, jazz, rock'n'roll), 8pm

FLEETWOOD'S

The Deathbots, Cardboard Box Colony, Split 7 & Small Doses (punk-rock), 8pm

GINGER'S REVENGE

SOUTH SLOPE

LOUNGE

Color Machine (folk, rock), 4pm

HIGHLAND BREWING

CO.

The Fixins (rock), 6pm

HIGHLAND BREWING

DOWNTOWN

TAPROOM

Eli Kahn (jazz, neo-soul, experimental), 7pm

IMPERIÁL

DJ Nex Millen, 9pm

JACK OF THE WOOD

PUB

• Nobody's Darling

String Band, 4pm

• Mitch Mcconnell & The Senators (Appalachian, old-time, 9pm

LA TAPA LOUNGE

Karaoke Night, 9pm

NOBLE CIDER

DOWNTOWN

Don't Tell Comedy: Downtown Asheville, 7pm

ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC

HALL

Pushing Daisy's Band (hard-rock, funk), 9pm

ONE WORLD BREWING WEST

• Urban Soil (Americana, rock'n'roll, soul), 4pm

• The Stolen Faces (Grateful Dead Tribute), 9pm

SALVAGE STATION

Shadowgrass, Abby Bryant & The Echoes (bluegrass), 7pm

SHILOH & GAINES

The Late Shifters (Southern-rock, Americana, rock'n'roll), 9pm

SOVEREIGN KAVA

Corey Bowers Band w/Lex Live (blues, country), 8pm

STATIC AGE RECORDS

Dosobis Presents: Paraflu x Vol3 (tecno, electronic, dance), 8pm

THE BURGER BAR

Best Worst Karaoke with KJ Thunderkunt!, 9pm

THE ODD

Party Foul Drag: Saturday Night Tease, 8pm

THE OUTPOST

Garcia Peoples & Chris Forsyth (rock), 7pm

WXYZ BAR AT ALOFT Asheville AV Club, 7pm

SUNDAY, APRIL 16

ASHEVILLE BEAUTY ACADEMY

Life's A Drag Brunch, 12pm

BEN'S TUNE UP

Dub Kartel (reggae, ska), 8pm

BLACK MOUNTAIN BREWING

J.C. Tokes (Americana, folk, blues), 2pm

CATAWBA BREWING

CO. SOUTH SLOPE

ASHEVILLE Comedy at Catawba: Katie K, 6pm

FLEETWOOD'S

Search & Destroy Punk Karaoke, 8pm

FRENCH BROAD RIVER BREWERY

Season Kickoff Party on 4-20

HIGHLAND BREWING

DOWNTOWN TAPROOM

Mr Jimmy Duo (blues), 1pm

IMPERIÁL

DJ Mad Mike, 9pm

JACK OF THE WOOD PUB

• Bluegrass Brunch, 1pm

• Traditional Irish Jam, 3:30pm

ONE WORLD BREWING WEST

• Sunday Jazz Jam, 1:30pm

• Kid Billy (roots, blues, ragtime), 6pm

SOVEREIGN KAVA

Aaron Woody Wood (Appalachia, soul, Americana), 7pm

STATIC AGE RECORDS

Lisa/Liza, Joe Chang, Natalie Jane Hill & Sinai Vessel (Americana, indie-folk), 8pm

THE BUSH FARMHOUSE

Open Jam w/Billy Presnell, 2pm

THE GREY EAGLE Burlesque Brunch, 12pm

THE OUTPOST

Phuncle Sam (Dead Tribute Band), 4pm

PLĒB URBAN WINERY

Robert's Totally Rad Trivia, 4pm

MONDAY, APRIL 17

27 CLUB

Monday Karaoke, 9pm

5 WALNUT WINE BAR

CaroMia, Rahm, Daniel Iannuci & Jaze Uries (soul, R&B, dream-pop), 8pm

ALLEY CAT SOCIAL CLUB

The Hot Seat: Comedy Night, 8pm

DSSOLVR

Robert's Totally Rad Trivia, 7pm

GREEN MAN BREWERY

Traditonal Old Time Jam, 5:30pm

HIGHLAND BREWING

CO.

Totally Rad Trivia w/ Mitch Fortune, 6pm

IMPERIÁL DJ Short Stop (soul, latin, dance), 9pm

JACK OF THE WOOD PUB

Quizzo! Pub Trivia w/ Jason Mencer, 7:30pm

NOBLE CIDER

DOWNTOWN Freshen Up Comedy Open Mic, 6:30pm

ONE WORLD BREWING

Open Mic Downtown, 8pm

ONE WORLD BREWING WEST

Monday Mashup w/The

JLloyd MashUp Band, 8pm

STATIC AGE RECORDS

Blood Handsome & Cold Choir (darkwave, techno, industrial goth), 8pm

THE JOINT NEXT DOOR

Mr Jimmy & Friends (blues), 7pm

WHITE HORSE BLACK MOUNTAIN

Jay Brown w/Stephen Evans & Jesse Harman (folk, roots), 7pm

TUESDAY, APRIL 18

ASHEVILLE BEAUTY ACADEMY

Karaoke w/Ganymede, 10pm

D9 BREWING CO.

Malus Mons (electronic), 6pm

FRENCH BROAD BREWERY

Robert's Totally Rad Trivia, 7pm

HIGHLAND BREWING CO.

Tuesday Bluegrass w/ Ages Past, 6pm

IMPERIÁL

DJ Mad Mike, 9pm

ONE WORLD BREWING WEST

The Grateful Family Band Tuesdays (Dead tribute, jam band, rock), 6pm

SOVEREIGN KAVA

Weekly Open Jam

hosted by Chris Cooper & Friends, 6:30pm

STATIC AGE RECORDS

Fine Place, Astoria,

Ideal Self & Farewell Phoenix (indie-rock), 8pm

THE BURGER BAR

C U Next Tuesday Late Night Trivia, 9:30pm

THE GREY EAGLE

Wild Child w/Próxima Parada (indie-pop), 8pm

THE ODD

Open Mic Comedy, 8pm

THE ORANGE PEEL

Caroline Rose w/ Hammydown (folk, poprock, country), 8pm

THE SOCIAL Travers Freeway Open Jam Tuesdays, 7pm

TWIN LEAF BREWERY

Tuesday Night Trivia, 7pm

WHITE HORSE BLACK

MOUNTAIN White Horse Open Mic, 7pm

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 19

12 BONES BREWERY

Robert's Totally Rad Trivia, 7pm

BIER GARDEN

Geeks Who Drink Trivia, 7pm

BLACK MOUNTAIN

BREWING

Jay Brown (roots), 6pm

CROW & QUILL

Hot Damn Scandal (gritty jazz, old-time), 8pm

FLEETWOOD'S Crumbsnatchers, Floral Hygeinists, The Similar Kind (indie), 9pm

FRENCH BROAD

BREWERY

Bluegrass Jam Wednesday, 6pm

FRENCH BROAD

RIVER BREWERY

Jerry's Dead (Grateful Dead & JGB Tribute), 6pm

HIGHLAND BREWING

CO.

Songwriter Series w/ Matt Smith, 6pm

JACK OF THE WOOD PUB

Old Time Jam, 5pm

LEVELLER BREWING

CO.

Golden Shoals & Nicholas Edwards Williams (folk, old-time, blues), 7pm

ONE WORLD BREWING WEST

Latin Night w/DJ Mtn

Vibez, 8:30pm

SALVAGE STATION

The New Pornographers w/Wild Pink (alt-rock), 7pm

SOUTHERN

APPALACHIAN

BREWERY

Jazz Night w/Jason DeCristofaro, 6pm

SOVEREIGN KAVA

Poetry Open Mic, 8pm

THE BRANDY BAR

April Songwriter Sessions w/Mare Carmody, Carrie Morrison & Andrew Thelston (acoustic), 7pm

THE GETAWAY RIVER

BAR

Asheville FM Live Music Sessions w/SENDER (modern instrumental), 9pm

THE GREY EAGLE

• Patio: Taylor Knighton (Southern-roots, pop), 5pm

• The Heavy Heavy w/Shane Guerrette (rock'n'roll, blues, psychedelia), 8pm

THE SOCIAL

Wednesday Night Karaoke w/LYRIC, 9pm

TWIN LEAF BREWERY

Wednesday Open Mic, 5:30pm

THURSDAY, APRIL 20

ASHEVILLE BEAUTY

ACADEMY

Kiki Thursday: Drag Party w/DJ RexxStep, 7pm

ASHEVILLE GUITAR

BAR

The MGB's, 7:30pm

ASHEVILLE MUSIC

HALL

420 Fest w/The Secret B Sides. Orange Moon & Leisureville, 9pm

BLACK MOUNTAIN

BREWING

Ashley Heath (Americana, country, blues), 6pm

EURISKO BEER CO.

Hops Around Comedy: D.J. Lewis, 7pm

FLEETWOOD'S Augurs, Watches & Zephyranthes (punk, metal), 9pm

FRENCH BROAD

RIVER BREWERY

Jerry's Dead (Grateful Dead & JGB Tribute), 6pm

GREEN MAN BREWERY

Robert's Totally Rad Trivia, 7pm

HIGHLAND BREWING

DOWNTOWN TAPROOM

Not Rocket Science

Trivia, 6pm

JACK OF THE WOOD PUB

Bluegrass Jam w/Drew Matulich, 7:30pm

ONE WORLD BREWING

Scott Stetson (Americana), 8pm

ONE WORLD BREWING WEST

4/20 Celebration w/Dr. Blake's Medicine Bag, 9pm

SALVAGE STATION

SICKICK (edm), 6pm

SILVERADOS

Trinity Pharms Hemp

Co. Season Kickoff

Party w/Empire Strikes

Brass (funk-jam), 7pm

STATIC AGE RECORDS

Bl_ank, Alex Silva, Landon Bridge & Dot

Com Bubble (experimental, ambient noise, harsh noise), 8pm

THE GETAWAY RIVER

BAR

Karaoke w/Terraoke, 9pm

THE GREY EAGLE

• Patio: Okapi (avantrock), 5pm

• The Sadies w/Julianna

Riolino (rock’n’roll, garage-rock, pop), 8pm

THE ODD

The Loudes, Fifty Year

Flood & Shake A Leg (blues, punk, rock), 7pm

THE ORANGE PEEL

Judah & The Lion

w/Ashes & Arrows (alternative-rock, indie, folk), 8pm

THE OUTPOST

Bearly Dead (Grateful Dead Tribute), 7pm

THE ROOT BAR

Kendra and Friends (multiple genres), 6pm

TWIN LEAF BREWERY

Thursday Night Karaoke, 8:45pm

URBAN ORCHARD

Trivia Thursday, 7pm

WHITE HORSE BLACK MOUNTAIN

PALMYRA (Appalachian, Americana, folk), 7:30pm

MARKETPLACE FREEWILL ASTROLOGY BY ROB BREZSNY

ARIES (March 21-April 19): I hope that in the coming weeks, you will keep your mind bubbling with zesty mysteries. I hope you’ll exult in the thrill of riddles that are beyond your current power to solve. If you cultivate an appreciation of uncanny uncertainties, life will soon begin bringing you uncanny certainties. Do you understand the connection between open-hearted curiosity and fertile rewards? Don’t merely tolerate the enigmas you are immersed in — love them!

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): An old sadness is ripening into practical wisdom. A confusing loss is about to yield a clear revelation you can use to improve your life. In mysterious ways, a broken heart you suffered in the past may become a wild card that inspires you to deepen and expand your love. Wow and hallelujah, Taurus! I’m amazed at the turnarounds that are in the works for you. Sometime in the coming weeks, what wounded you once upon a time will lead to a vibrant healing. Wonderful surprise!

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): What is the true and proper symbol for your sign, Gemini? Twins standing shoulder to shoulder as they gaze out on the world with curiosity? Or two lovers embracing each other with mischievous adoration in their eyes? Both scenarios can accurately represent your energy, depending on your mood and the phase you’re in. In the coming weeks, I advise you to draw on the potency of both. You will be wise to coordinate the different sides of your personality in pursuit of a goal that interests them all. And you will also place yourself in harmonious alignment with cosmic rhythms as you harness your passionate urge to merge in a good cause.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Some scientists speculate that more people suffer from allergies than ever before because civilization has over-sanitized the world. The fetish for scouring away germs and dirt means that our immune systems don’t get enough practice in fending off interlopers. In a sense, they are “bored” because they have too little to do. That’s why they fight stuff that’s not a threat, like tree pollens and animal dander. Hence, we develop allergies to harmless substances. I hope you will apply this lesson as a metaphor in the coming weeks, fellow Cancerian. Be sure the psychological component of your immune system isn’t warding off the wrong people and things. It’s healthy for you to be protective, but not hyper-over-protective in ways that shut out useful influences.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): One night in 1989, Leo evolutionary biologist Margie Profet went to sleep and had a dream that revealed to her new information about the nature of menstruation. The dream scene was a cartoon of a woman’s reproductive system. It showed little triangles being carried away by the shed menstrual blood. Eureka! As Profet lay in bed in the dark, she intuited a theory that no scientist had ever guessed: that the sloughed-off uterine lining had the key function of eliminating pathogens, represented by the triangles. In subsequent years, she did research to test her idea, supported by studies with electron microscopes. Now her theory is regarded as fact. I predict that many of you Leos will soon receive comparable benefits. Practical guidance will be available in your dreams and twilight awareness and altered states. Pay close attention!

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): You don’t know what is invisible to you. The truths that are out of your reach may as well be hiding. The secret agendas you are not aware of are indeed secret. That’s the not-so-good news, Virgo. The excellent news is that you now have the power to uncover the rest of the story, at least some of it. You will be able to penetrate below the surface and find buried riches. You will dig up missing information whose absence has prevented you from understanding what has been transpiring. There may be a surprise or two ahead, but they will ultimately be agents of healing.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Visionary philosopher

Buckminster Fuller referred to pollution as a potential resource we have not yet figured out how to harvest. A company called Algae Systems does exactly that. It uses wastewater to grow algae that scrub carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and yield carbon-negative biofuels. Can we invoke this approach as a metaphor that’s useful to you? Let’s dream up examples. Suppose you’re a creative artist. You could be inspired by your difficult emotions to compose a great song, story, painting, or dance. Or if you’re a lover who is in pain, you could harness your suffering to free yourself of a bad old habit or ensure that an unpleasant history doesn’t repeat itself. Your homework, Libra, is to figure out how to take advantage of a “pollutant” or two in your world.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Soon you will graduate from your bumpy lessons and enter a smoother, silkier phase. You will find refuge from the naysayers as you create a liberated new power spot for yourself. In anticipation of this welcome transition, I offer this motivational exhortation from poet Gwendolyn Brooks: “Say to them, say to the down-keepers, the sun-slappers, the self-soilers, the harmony-hushers, ’Even if you are not ready for day, it cannot always be night.’” I believe you are finished with your worthwhile but ponderous struggles, Scorpio. Get ready for an excursion toward luminous grace.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): I periodically seek the counsel of a Sagittarian psychic. She’s half-feral and sometimes speaks in riddles. She tells me she occasionally converses by phone with a person she calls “the ex-Prime Minister of Narnia.” I confided in her that lately it has been a challenge for me to keep up with you Sagittarians because you have been expanding beyond the reach of my concepts. She gave me a pronouncement that felt vaguely helpful, though it was also a bit over my head: “The Archer may be quite luxuriously curious and furiously hilarious; studiously lascivious and victoriously delirious; salubriously industrious but never lugubriously laborious.” Here’s how I interpret that: Right now, pretty much anything is possible if you embrace unpredictability.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): “I’m not insane,” says Capricorn actor Jared Leto. “I’m voluntarily indifferent to conventional rationality.” That attitude might serve you well in the coming weeks. You could wield it to break open opportunities that were previously closed due to excess caution. I suspect you’re beginning a fun phase of self-discovery when you will learn a lot about yourself. As you do, I hope you will experiment with being at least somewhat indifferent to conventional rationality. Be willing to be surprised. Be receptive to changing your mind about yourself.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): People of all genders feel urges to embellish their native beauty with cosmetic enhancements. I myself haven’t done so, but I cheer on those who use their flesh for artistic experiments. At the same time, I am also a big fan of us loving ourselves exactly as we are. And I’m hoping that in the coming weeks, you will emphasize the latter over the former. I urge you to indulge in an intense period of maximum self-appreciation. Tell yourself daily how gorgeous and brilliant you are. Tell others, too! Cultivate a glowing pride in the gifts you offer the world. If anyone complains, tell them you’re doing the homework your astrologer gave you.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): I encourage you to amplify the message you have been trying to deliver. If there has been any shyness or timidity in your demeanor, purge it. If you have been less than forthright in speaking the whole truth and nothing but the truth, boost your clarity and frankness. Is there anything you could do to help your audience be more receptive? Any tenderness you could express to stimulate their willingness and ability to see you truly?

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EMPLOYMENT SKILLED LABOR/ TRADES

IMOCO INC. IN FLETCHER, NORTH CAROLINA IS HIRING! We are looking for experienced Millwrights workers, HVAC, plumbing and electrical technicians, along with CDL drivers to perform industrial projects in Western North Carolina and the upstate of South Carolina. Jobs may require overtime and occasional out of town travel. If you are interested in being a part of our team please go to our website, imocoinc.net/employment/ to fill out an application or drop by our office located at 111 Guaranteed Way, Fletcher, NC 28732

ADMINISTRATIVE/ OFFICE

OFFICE ASSISTANT Support for the day-to-day operations of a local retail showroom. Responsibilities include but not limited to: Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Data Entry, Billing, Sales Support, Order Receiving, and Order Follow-up. Part-time position (20-29 hrs/wk). Knowledge of QuickBooks required. Previous bookkeeping experience a plus. Email resume to: Admin@ bellahardwareandbath. com. NO PHONE CALLS OR DROP-INS.

HUMAN SERVICES

YOUTH OUTREACH SPECIALIST AT HELPMATE Helpmate, a domestic violence agency in Asheville, NC, seeks a 25-hour part-time Youth Outreach Specialist to provide community education about healthy relationships and domestic abuse prevention. Primary responsibilities will include delivering abuse prevention curricula to students in middle schools, high schools and colleges, as well as maintaining partnerships with schools and other youth-serving organizations. This position will develop curriculum, facilitate trainings, gather data, facilitate a psycho-educational group for adolescents, make posts to social media, and represent Helpmate on key community groups and task forces. Strong communication skills required. Qualified candidates must hold a Bachelor’s degree or a commensurate combination of work and experience. Qualified candidates must also have experience working with youth and diverse communities. Base rate is $18.85-$21.42/ hour, based on incentives for up to 10 years’ relevant experience. Additional pay

incentives are available for professional licensure, fluency in Spanish, Russian, Ukrainian, or Moldovan. Helpmate provides a benefits package, which includes a retirement plan matched up to 5%, optional supplementary insurances, generous paid PTO, 14 annual paid holidays, a positive work culture and opportunities for advancement. Helpmate is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Diverse candidates are encouraged to apply. Email resume and cover letter to hiring@ helpmateonline.org no later than 4/20/23. Interviews will be held on a rolling basis. Please specify the title of the position you are seeking in the subject line of your email. Submissions lacking a cover letter will not be considered. avl.mx/ckp

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PART TIME MATH TUTORS

NEEDED Biltmore Tutoring is seeking math tutors. Algebra I/II, Geometry/Precalc. SAT/ ACT, Stats, Physics, Chemistry, Calculus desirable also. Excellent compensation; MASTERS DEGREE REQUIRED. Send resume to brian@biltmoretutoring.com, or call 828505-2495

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AUDIO/VIDEO DISH TV SPECIAL $64.99 for 190 Channels + $14.95

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

ANNOUNCEMENTS

ATTENTION HOMEOWNERS

If you have water damage and need cleanup, call us! We'll work with your insurance to get your home repaired and your life back to normal ASAP! Call 833-664-1530 (AAN CAN) BATH

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MEN'S SPORTS WATCHES WANTED Advertiser is looking to buy men's sport watches. Rolex, Breitling, Omega, Patek Philippe, Here, Daytona, GMT, Submariner and Speedmaster. The advertiser pays cash for qualified watches. Call 888320-1052. (AAN CAN)

NATIONAL PEST CONTROL

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NOTICE OF MEETINGS OF THE BUNCOMBE COUNTY

BOARD OF EQUALIZATION & REVIEW Pursuant to North Carolina General Statute §105-322, the Buncombe County Board of Equalization and Review will meet as required by law. PURPOSE

hearing of appeals timely filed will be available through the office of the Assessor, serving as the Clerk to the Board of Equalization and Review. All requests for hearing should be made to: R. Keith Miller, Property Assessor Clerk to the Board of Equalization and Review Buncombe County 155 Hilliard Ave Asheville, NC  28801 (828) 250-4940

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CLASSES & WORKSHOPS

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BUILD YOUR OWN ACOUSTIC GUITAR Build your very own D18 style dreadnaught guitar. Class will cover complete construction, top tuning, scalloped bracing, neck shaping, installing and dressing frets, guitar set up and inlay. No woodworking experience is needed. Week long or weekly class dates. $2,150 all materials included. ashevilleguitarbuilding.com

DRAWING AND OIL PAINTING INSTRUCTION All levels welcome. Learn new drawing and painting skills or improve on your existing skills. Three lesson packages available to choose from. www.studiojamesdaniel.com

OF MEETINGS

To hear, upon request, appeals from property owners who own or control taxable property assessed for taxation in Buncombe County, regarding the valuation of such property or the property of others, and to fulfill other duties and responsibilities by law.

TIME OF MEETINGS

The Board of Equalization and Review will convene for its first meeting on Wednesday, April 12, 2023 at 1:00 PM. The Board will adjourn Wednesday, April 26, 2023 at 1:00 PM for the purpose of accepting requests for hearings regarding appeals of assessed value for tax year 2023. Meetings will be held at the Buncombe County Planning Department Board Room, 30 Valley St, Asheville, NC. Notice is further given that in the event of earlier or later adjournment, notice to that effect will be published in this newspaper. Take notice that all appeals or requests for hearings must be received in person no later than 1:00 PM April 26, 2023, the advertised date for adjournment or postmarked by April 26, 2023. Notice is hereby given that dates for the

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Licensed counselor and accredited professional astrologer uses your chart when counseling for additional insight into yourself, your relationships and life directions. Stellar Counseling Services. Christy Gunther, MA, LCMHC. (828) 258-3229

AUTOMOTIVE

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ACROSS

1 Prefix for the green-minded

4 Great cleverness

10 Junior hurdle, for short

14 Forever and a day

15 Revelers at reunions

16 Pilgrim at Mecca

17 Him, in French

18 Bawdy

19 Chester Arthur’s middle name

20 Wind

22 1/2 cup coarsely chopped, for bright (or soapy) flavor

24 Add value to

27 Smallville surname

28 Word with color or rhyme

30 Sidestep

34 In ___ parentis (legal term)

37 Noteworthy span

38 Singer Donny or Marie

39 Sound at the doctor’s office

40 About two cups cubed, after peeling and pitting

42 Pick up the tab

43 Former Wyoming representative Liz

45 “___ was saying …”

46 Cat calls

47 Money spent in Munich

48 Serpentine

50 Carry-out

52 “Stat!”

55 One seeded and minced, for heat

59 Shade a lot like lilac

61 Somewhat

62 Saskatchewan’s second-largest city, after Saskatoon

65 Soccer great Hamm

66 Phenomenon that may be dank or trending

67 Marine fish that’s also the name of a hairstyle

68 “___ your move”

69 Kane’s Rosebud, for one

70 Brand for a butterfly expert, perhaps

71 Bill-blocking vote

DOWN

1 Their blood is toxic to humans

2 Sporty model

3 One small red minced, for crunch and tang

4 Three cloves minced, for depth and aroma

5 Cotton gin inventor Whitney

6 Gist

7 Apple for a teacher, maybe

8 Reverse a thumbs-up for, on Facebook

9 Slink

10 Ghostly apparition

11 One teaspoon, pink or black, for emphasis

12 Slightly open

13 Baseball’s Martinez

21 “Ish”

23 “Thus …”

25 “American Pie” ride

26 Lunch that saves the day?

29 Talkative bird

31 Very cool, in slang

32 Chew (on)

33 “Grand” ice cream brand

34 Ruth Bader Ginsburg collar fabric

35 “From Here to Eternity” setting

36 “Moonstruck” star

38 Panegyric poet

40 Fabulous fabulist

41 ___ Minor

44 Written for an instrumentalist

46 Talkative bird

48 Build some muscle

49 One vine-ripe chopped, for texture and color

51 They can make you sick

53 1/2 teaspoon, for a little extra flavor … really, try it!

54 Role for Patti LuPone and Madonna

55 Rocks out

56 Mouse with his own island in a Newbery Honor book

57 One small juiced, for citrus notes, and to preserve color

58 Rudely stare at

60 Accommodating

63 ___ de la Cité

64 Nancy Drew’s beau