Mountain Xpress 05.11.22

OU R 28TH Y E A R OF W E E K LY I N DE PE N DE N T N E W S, A RTS & E V E N TS FOR W E STE R N NORTH CA ROL I NA VOL . 28 NO. 41 M AY 11-17, 2022

C O NT E NT S

OF ANTIQUES, UNIQUES & REPURPOSED RARITIES!

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NEWS

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NEWS

FEATURES GROWTH GAME Local nonprofits discuss hiring for leaders

14 ‘A CHARITABLE GUMBY’ Community Foundation of WNC promotes flexible giving

PAGE 36 ALL THE WORLD’S A STAGE Asheville’s Montford Park Players have come a long way since their humble beginnings putting on Shakespeare comedies in a neighborhood park. Now entering its 50th season, MPP is one of the most popular and longest-running outdoor theater troupes in the state of North Carolina.

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WELLNESS

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30 ‘MURDEROUS MANIAC’ Hyperbole in defense of Mission Hospital, 1923

34 MONEY ON MY MIND Mental health nonprofit sees funding lag

COVER DESIGN Scott Southwick

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LETTERS

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CARTOON: MOLTON

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CARTOON: BRENT BROWN

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NEWS

22 BUNCOMBE BEAT 32 COMMUNITY CALENDAR 42 RESILIENT ROCKERS Asheville Music School emerges from pandemic stronger than ever

A&C

Best of WNC since 2014!

46 WHAT’S NEW IN FOOD Bowling for Loving Food Resources and other culinary happenings

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OPINION

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

Sharps disposal should be easier I am writing in response to “Sharp Objects: Syringe Disposal Units Are a ‘Balancing Act’” in the April 13 edition [Xpress]. Here’s how I see things. The Needle Exchange Program of Asheville was created in 1994 in response to the needles found all over the streets and sidewalks of Asheville at that time, so it is not a new phenomenon in 2022. It was nearly 25 years later that the state legalized harm-reduction programs.

People use needles for injecting drugs, steroids, vitamins, insulin, hormones and even vaccinations.

However, I have never seen a nurse in a medical facility lack the appropriate sharps container in which to dispose of a used needle or syringe.

Why aren’t there more locations in which to dispose of them outside of medical facilities? I advocate that all 85 county health department locations in North Carolina not only be a location for free needle and syringe disposal, but also that each be a location for syringe service programs (i.e., needle exchanges).

I also advocate that all pharmacies — please hear me, N.C. Board of Pharmacy and N.C. Association of Pharmacists — be involved in the easy disposal of sharps, at least for needles and syringes, and be more friendly about accessibility to needles for no matter what purpose they may be utilized.

Last, I would like that grocery stores, particularly ones with pharmacies, be locations for easy disposal of needles and syringes. After all, we are now accustomed to bringing our plastic bags in for recycling. Let’s make it customary to drop our needles in the appropriate containers on the way in to shop and really make a change, with no fear of legal ramifications for the possession of needles.

Changing public health behaviors is a slow process, from my point of view. But we must persist and make the effort, and share Asheville love.

Peace and health, — Michael Harney Asheville

Tovish cares about transparency I write to express my support for Nina Tovish for Asheville City Council.

I have known Nina for 13 years.

Though we have plenty of differences in our politics, I see in her qualities that would make for an excellent member of the City Council: • Her personal integrity is impeccable. This matters, after recent

C A R T O O N B Y R AN DY M O L T O N massive corruption and cover-up of corruption at the county level have reminded us that our area is not immune to such evils.

• She cares deeply about transparency and accountability in public servants.

• She is among the smartest people I have ever known — a quick study, analytical.

• She is unafraid to ask probing questions and unlikely to stop asking them until she gets to the heart of whatever matter is before her.

• She does not mistake what is for what must be and does not accept “because that’s how we’ve always done it” for an explanation. Rather, her instinct is to always be looking for better processes and solutions.

• She is civil and cooperative working on a team but not afraid to be a dissenter when a group consensus is heading in the wrong direction.

• Increasing citizen input and participation is her most important goal.

I believe she will fulfill her promise to make herself available to groups and individuals who have a perspective to share on any matter before the Council.

• Relatedly, I am confident that she will give a fair hearing to people with very different political viewpoints — people like me.

Please visit tovish4avl.com for more detailed issue statements and for Nina’s pledge to voters on openness and accountability.

Look for her name at the end of the alphabetically ordered primary ballot.

— Robert J. Woolley Asheville

Editor’s note: The writer reports volunteering for the candidate’s campaign.

Please don’t vote Please don’t vote. At least, please don’t vote unless you know the policies of the candidate you’re voting for.

As the primary season ends and candidates are selected, I hear from the usual suspects that everyone should get out and vote. Calls that will only grow louder when November comes

and the normal Red vs. Blue battle happens once again.

However, voting isn’t helpful if you don’t know what you’re voting for; in fact, it can be quite harmful. Both of our major parties are big-tent groups with a wide variety of policy opinions, with the Democratic Party containing folks ranging from market liberals in the mold of Clinton to ardent socialists like Bernie and AOC. Please, if you do vote in this primary and midterm, research the candidates and pick the ones whose policies match your own values, not the ones who are marketed as the most fervent members of team Blue or Red. Whatever your values are, vote for the people who represent you. If you don’t know who best represents you, don’t vote.

Asheville needs better representation that represents the values of the people living here, and as long as people vote party over policy, there won’t be a government here that actually feels responsible to the demands of the people rather than the party.

— Jeremiah Blake Asheville

Branyon favors humane, ecological positions Bill Branyon, candidate for the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners from District 1, has three positions that could make

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Editor’s note In the spirit of our spring Nonprofit Issue, we reached out to volunteers from several local nonprofit organizations, asking them to reflect on what inspired them to begin their work and the impact it has had on both the community and themselves. You’ll find these reflections throughout this week’s issue in boxes headlined, “Why I volunteer.”

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OPINION

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

CARTOON BY BRENT BROWN our county much more humane and ecological.

The first is the decriminalization, not the legalization, of most drugs.

This will remove much of the violence in our city that comes from police interventions into drug use, much of the homelessness, as the expense of black-market drugs and fleeing from police drive many addicts into the street, and much of the violence that results when drug abuse is made into a punitive issue rather than a health one. He will use a harm-reduction approach whenever possible, not a mass incarceration approach that’s being violently enforced now.

His plan to hold a countywide referendum on how much more development we want may prevent the continued destruction of our tree canopy in the city and destruction of our remaining forests, including Big Ivy, in the rural areas left in the county. As well as the destruction of the grace of many of our beautiful neighborhoods by excessive traffic and crowding.

If we vote no more development, or a small amount, he will zone the county accordingly, just as Biltmore Forest zones its town. Though, of course, Buncombe County would have many more different gradations of zoning than Biltmore Forest.

Should we vote to have significantly more development, his plan is to appoint someone like Jack Cecil (cousin of the Biltmore Estate owner) as zoning czar. Mr. Cecil’s ecological developments of Biltmore Park, Biltmore Lake and The Ramble are models of how to preserve forests, tree canopy and grace.

And then there’s Mr. Branyon’s plan to fight homelessness and poverty by instituting at least a $15 minimum wage and hopefully even a $17.30 living wage as determined by Just Economics. This would replace the brutal $7.25 minimum wage now imposed by the N.C. General Assembly. Why should we be bound by a state legislature controlled by mostly Republicans who support Donald Trump, who wants to overthrow the

Correction In our April 28 issue, we misidentified Kristie Sluder’s profession. She is a licensed clinical addictions specialist, per her LinkedIn. According to the North Carolina Social Work Certification and Licensure Board, her clinical social worker license was revoked Sept. 23, 2020.

democracy? And one in which profit maximization is their only goal, when they aren’t trying to end democracy?

He will also try to freeze property taxes in lower- and middle-income neighborhoods, and thus end the policy of the commission of effectively taxing people out of their own homes or putting pressure on landlords to raise rents to pay for ever-increasing property taxes. Subsidize security, not precarity.

As noted, some of these policies will require bypassing the state’s Republican-controlled General Assembly, but Mr. Branyon has a plan for doing that. He will harness nonprofits as well as use the county commission as a social pressure center on nonconforming entities, and even bypass Raleigh, should that be needed as a last resort. He notes that Asheville already bypasses Raleigh by being a sanctuary city and by lax enforcement of marijuana laws. So, avoiding inhumane Raleigh laws can and has been done.

ASHEVILLE-AREA

These positions may sound somewhat transformational, but we live in transformational times. Without a more humane, ecological economy, we may lose our democracy.

Vote Branyon in order to govern Buncombe County as a beloved community, not a bulldozing corporation.

— Ed Schell Former chairman of the Coalition of Asheville Neighborhoods and Precinct 3 for over 20 years Asheville Editor’s note: Schell did not respond to a question about whether the writer is volunteering for the candidate.

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

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NEWS

Growth game

Local nonprofits discuss hiring for leaders

BY CARMELA CARUSO carmelamariecaruso@gmail.com “Nonprofits are a labor of love,” says Molly Nicholie, executive director of the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project. She has been with ASAP for 17 years, starting just after college as an assistant with the Growing Minds Farm to School program and working her way through the ranks. After a year as co-director with Charlie Jackson, the nonprofit’s founder, Nicholie became fulltime executive director at the start of 2022. “[Jackson] was very strategic in thinking about his path to retirement and wanting to set up the organization for success,” says Nicholie. “Leadership transition is a huge challenge for any organization and nonprofit. You want to be able to work closely and deliberately on the transition over a period of time.”

Over the past several years, due in part to community changes resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, many local nonprofits have been thrust into hiring leadership positions. Most have not had the liberty of hiring qualified candidates from within and have had to conduct broader searches.

Cindy McMahon, interim executive director for Homeward Bound of Western North Carolina, says the most important lesson she learned from a recent hiring decision was not to rush the process.

“It’s always, in my experience, more important to take the time to get the right person rather than leaping and then regretting it,” McMahon says. For Homeward Bound, that right person was

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UP FROM WITHIN: Molly Nicholie, right, took the executive director reins from Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project founder Charlie Jackson at the start of 2022 after spending 17 years with the nonprofit. Photo courtesy of ASAP Marcus Laws, recently hired as the organization’s director of homeless services after a three-month search and interview process.

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BEYOND LOCAL Laws, who previously lived in Asheville, came to the position from West Palm Beach, Fla. He is one of several local nonprofit leaders to transition recently to the area from out of state. McMahon explains that although Homeward Bound likes to hire locally when possible, the position was advertised on the national online platforms WizeHire and LinkedIn to attract outside candidates.

“There’s a limited pool of folks in the area who are looking for these jobs, so casting a wide net gets more applicants,” says McMahon.

A national search for a leadership position for a well-known nonprofit might get 150-200 applications, while a local search will turn up only about 10-30, estimates Gary Landwirth.

He’s the founder and principal of Giving Ideas, a consultancy that helps WNC nonprofits build sustainable leadership.

The number of qualified candidates, Landwirth continues, usually makes up only a small percentage of the total applicants. An initial pool of 150 might yield only 10-15 qualified candidates, he says.

Although Laws was discovered through a national search, his previous ties to Asheville made him a strong candidate, says McMahon.

“He came with an understanding of the community, our other partner organizations and the resources available here,” she explains.

While knowledge of the community can be an important consideration in hiring certain leadership positions, it’s not always essential. In January, after a national search, MANNA FoodBank hired Claire Neal as CEO. She came to the area from Seattle, having previously lived in the Triangle area of North Carolina.

Jim Mathews, president of the MANNA board, says that Neal’s knowledge of the state was a bonus, but it didn’t influence the hiring decision. “What made her ideal were really the intangibles, including personal ability to relate to our employees and partners, which was so evident during the interview process,” he says.

Leaders with no previous ties to the area may lack knowledge of the local community, but that deficit can be filled with proper onboarding, says Landwirth. In fact, he believes a new leader’s lack of knowledge about the area can work in a nonprofit’s favor.

“Not being tied to a certain bias locally, the new person coming in really is a blank slate and can see the organization through a fresh set of eyes and with a fresh set of experiences that they couldn’t have if they were local,” says Landwirth.

DRIVING DIVERSITY Conducting national searches can also bring in more diverse candidates, both in terms of experience and in demographics such as race, age, gender and socioeconomic status.

Heather Bauer, executive director at the Council on Aging of Buncombe County, says “diversity has been a driver” and an integral part of her nonprofit’s hiring process. She estimates that the organization’s staff has grown by 30% over the past two years, including hiring two leadership positions.

“When we are recruiting, we are not only sharing our passion and

our mission and our ‘why’ — we’re being very clear that we encourage bilingual and multilingual, biracial or multiracial, diverse candidates to apply,” says Bauer. The nonprofit has also signed the AARP’s Employer Pledge, a commitment to equal opportunity for workers regardless of age, to attract applicants who are 50 or older. These practices, she says, have helped bring more diversity to the staff.

Although Bauer posts positions internally for at least 24 hours before going public on Indeed, social media and other platforms, she says a course in equity and diversity at Lenoir-Rhyne University helped her realize the importance of pooling candidates from outside Asheville.

Broader searches can be costly — Bauer estimates paying $3,000 over the past month to advertise open positions on LinkedIn — and time consuming, but she says the investment provides a much stronger and more diverse pool of candidates.

Jeanette Butterworth, senior consultant at Asheville-based WNC Nonprofit Pathways, says it’s important for organizations to not only hire diverse candidates, but also to create a welcoming and engaging environment.

“Having people around the table that bring diversity is one step, but then having those folks really belong and feel engaged in the organization is another step in that process,” says Butterworth. “It’s authentic relationship building that will bring further diversity.”

A WIDER NET: Council on Aging of Buncombe County Executive Director Heather Bauer, back row at far left, says broadly advertising positions has helped her nonprofit attract a more diverse staff. Photo courtesy of the Council on Aging of Buncombe County FROM THE GROUND UP Lived experience can be essential to that relationship building, strengthening connections between staff and with the communities they serve. Sue Polston, executive director at the Asheville-based peer support nonprofit Sunrise Community for Recovery and Wellness, says taking on a leadership position wasn’t something she ever thought she would do — not in 2017, when she was first hired as a program coordinator at Sunrise, and certainly not in

Nonprofits Why I volunteer I began volunteering with RiverLink in 2016, before I even lived in Asheville.

At the time, my wife and I were living on Long Island and had spent a few summer vacations camping at North Mills River. I must have discovered RiverLink

by Googling online, maybe searching for “volunteer opportunities outdoors.”

What’s certain is that we made the move to Asheville the following year.

My first work crew set out to remove non-native invasive vines — porcelain berry, as I remember it. I didn’t think of myself as particularly invasive, but I was definitely a nonnative. So I was looking to do more than just meet people.

I wanted to feel a part of a community with a common cause.

Working on a long-term project like Karen Cragnolin Park has been especially fulfilling. That ground has become more than just a link between two neighboring parks. It’s a place where we as volunteers can feel directly connected with those who started out 15 years ago and with everyone who will come there for all the springtimes to come. It makes us aware of how many crews it takes to push a project forward and how much we owe to the AmeriCorps staff — dedicated, resourceful, unfailingly patient — who head up those crews.

When I step into the water for a cleanup day, I’m thinking that things are getting better for that stream. I’m wondering if we may all be judged by how we treat the waters that we share. I’m hoping that the judgment will be kind.

But that will take some doing. That will take another day of work, undertaken gladly.

For more on RiverLink, visit riverlink.org.

— Philip Blocklyn

2013, when she was in jail awaiting a court date for felony charges.

“My life changed when I was given the opportunity to work at Sunrise,” says Polston. “For me to offer that opportunity to somebody else in recovery and change their lives, I just love that.”

Polston was one of only two fulltime employees when she started with Sunrise in 2017. She was promoted to operations director in 2018 and then offered the position of executive director in 2019. Overcoming her own hesitation and self-doubt

was one of the hardest parts of her new position, she says, but the nonprofit’s board and other staff members have supported her and made the transition possible.

“I’ve been able to grow and learn each step of the way and really been able to form the culture that we wanted as an organization,” says Polston. She’s helped hire the 33 fulltime employees currently working for Sunrise, all of whom, like Polston, are in recovery from unhealthy substance use.

For ASAP’s Nicholie, too, working with a nonprofit from an entry-level position into a leadership role has led to tremendous professional growth.

And witnessing the impact of ASAP’s programming and its benefit to the local community is what’s kept her working there through the years.

Since taking over as executive director, Nicholie has been involved in hiring several leadership positions. Although she has experienced firsthand the benefits of moving up within a nonprofit, she is open to hiring outside candidates as well.

Knowledge and experience are important, she says, but the passion involved in working for and running a nonprofit is essential.

“We [in Asheville] definitely have a very rich and thriving nonprofit community,” says Nicholie. “A lot of folks that come to this work are mission driven and really wanting to be able to not just have a job, but something that aligns with their values and the type of work they want to see happening in their community.” X

Nonprofits Why I volunteer I have been with the National Alliance for Mental Illness of Western North Carolina for a little over three years. I started out as a volunteer working to connect NAMI more closely to the greater Asheville community and now serve on the board as vice president.

When I retired and my husband and I moved here, I knew I wanted to give back to the community in a way that was meaningful to me and would be significant to the community. We have a family member with a serious mental illness. She was able to get the help she needed and is now doing very well. Working with an organization to end the stigma of and provide support to families and individuals experiencing mental illness is very rewarding to me, as I have walked a mile (at least!) in their shoes.

NAMI WNC’s grassroots, peer-led support groups are the day-to-day support that can help individuals and families affected by mental illness build better lives.

State and national levels of NAMI create training to be used by local facilitators and provide advocacy with state and federal lawmakers. This combination of local, state and national services provides a comprehensive approach to creating a caring community supporting people affected by mental illness to live healthy, fulfilling lives.

I am very honored to be part of an organization that has such a positive impact on individuals, families and the local community. And our family member is very pleased to know how I am spending my time during retirement — and maybe just a little proud.

— Joanna Kalp

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NEWS

Risky business

Local nonprofits talk climate impacts

WASHED AWAY: Big Ears Farmstead, a small farm in the Haywood County community of Cruso, was devastated by flooding from Tropical Storm Fred in August.

Photo courtesy of Molly Nicholie

BY JESSICA WAKEMAN jwakeman@mountainx.com Uncertainty is a fact of life at nonprofits, especially with regard to funding. But local organizations are increasingly attuned to another uncertainty: how to prepare for the consequences that climate change will have on their work.

Some impacts of the changing climate on Western North Carolina are becoming clear. The N.C. Climate Risk Assessment and Resilience Plan, a 2020 report from the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality, states that greater inland flooding, stronger hurricanes, higher summer heat, greater total precipitation and more intensely severe droughts are all likely consequences of carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels.

Less scientifically clear are the social effects that will follow. However, experts predict substantial migration to WNC from people fleeing sea level rise and extreme weather, as well as disruptions to food supplies and greater risks for infectious disease.

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Local governments have started to plan for these challenges. The city of Asheville, for example, released a climate resilience resource guide in 2019 and is currently developing a municipal climate action plan.

Xpress reached out to several local nonprofits to ask if similar planning efforts were afoot. While none have embarked on a formal effort like that of the city, all said climate was on their minds.

WEATHERING THE STORM Molly Nicholie, executive director of the Asheville-based local food nonprofit Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project, is already working with farmers to assess and mitigate their climate risks.

Farmers are accustomed to adapting to changing weather year to year. But the temperature increases, severe droughts, heavy rains and natural disasters that have been linked to climate change can all have an outsized impact on their job.

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ASAP’s mission is to “keep farmers farming in the region,” explains Nicholie, and she says the nonprofit has been having conversations with farmers on how to “literally weather the storm of [what is] coming with climate change” for several years.

Much of this discussion concerns financial planning. Farms operate on tight budgets; ASAP encourages them to anticipate future inclement events in their business plans, Nicholie says. Difficulties could come from both the loss of income due to extreme weather and costs of rebuilding lost infrastructure.

Tropical Storm Fred, which tore through the Southeast in August, demonstrated what the consequences of that extreme weather might look like. Flooding from the storm killed five people and displaced roughly 500 families throughout Haywood County. (Although Fred’s heavy precipitation has not been formally attributed to climate change, the N.C. State Climate Office at N.C. State University noted after the

storm that its severity was in line with expected climate impacts.)

“Fred significantly impacted a good number of farmers with some horrible flooding that wiped out crops and literally washed away homes or barns,” Nicholie tells Xpress. “When you’re looking at that from a business model, you’re not only losing all of what you’ve invested in that particular crop that gets washed away, but you’ve got all that infrastructure costs, cleanup and damage — those built-in, layered costs — moving forward.”

ASAP is also aiding farmers with production strategies, like how to grow crops in flood plains. Nicholie says the nonprofit is “making sure they have a diversified array of different things they’re growing, so that if one crop gets washed away, it’s not a total loss.”

Preparing for changes in the invertebrate world is another concern. Insects such as the sugarcane aphid, a pest of sorghum, are increasingly attacking

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VOTE BILL BRANYON For

County Commission HE WILL: • Order a county-wide referendum on how much more development we want.

• Freeze Property taxes on lower-and-middle-income housing.

• Secure at least a $15 minimum wage.

• Use harm Reduction rather than mass incarceration for illegal drug use • Stop The Militarization of the Buncombe County Economy.

or more than two decades, Green Built Alliance has been dedicated to advancing sustainable living, green building and climate justice through inspired action, community education, and collaborative partnerships. Together, we can make the places where we live and work healthier for us and the environment.

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N EWS crops across the Southeast, Nicholie explains. That forces farmers to adopt new pest management strategies.

“As the temperatures are changing and the ranges of some of these insects are changing, they’re seeing insect pressures that they never saw before,” she says.

URGENT MATTERS For organizations that work with unhoused, uninsured or low-income people, climate discussions may be a bit more abstract. The Center for Native Health, which seeks to address health disparities among the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, hopes to address climate change as part of its work, says Executive Director Trey Adcock. But the nonprofit also has more immediate needs, he says, such as addressing chronic illness, substance use disorder and even COVID19 in Indigenous populations.

“On one hand, we need to be talking about [climate change] because it’s coming, whether we like it or not, ” Adcock says. “On the other hand, we’re also still still dealing with, at some level, pure survival with some things.”

Similar thoughts were echoed

by Jim Barrett, executive director of Asheville-based Pisgah Legal Services. The nonprofit frequently works with individuals who are facing evictions or other housing-related disruptions. For this population, he says, climate change doesn’t feel as urgent as day-to-day struggles.

“Our clients don’t have the financial means to do much preparation [for climate change],” Barrett says.

“But I don’t know how we can help our clients avoid that other than helping them get out of poverty — which we do every day — so they have more choices.”

Employees at the nonprofit realize their clients living in low-lying places will be particularly vulnerable to flooding, Barrett continues.

And North Carolina’s Climate Risk Assessment and Resilience Plan has identified Buncombe and Henderson counties, among others, as places where vulnerable populations may be harmed by increased risks of wildfires and associated poor air quality.

“Different levels of social vulnerability reflect — and may magnify — historic, social, and economic inequalities,” the state climate plan notes.

“The impacts of natural disasters are often disproportionately felt in low-income communities and communities of color, who may face additional burdens like poor political representation, housing instability or discrimination.”

CATASTROPHE: Flooding at Big Ears Farmstead in Haywood County from Tropical Storm Fred offers a hint of extreme weather events to come. Photo courtesy of Molly Nicholie ONE DAY AT A TIME Pisgah Legal’s work generally confronts more immediate challenges than climate. “I wouldn’t say that we have spent much time thinking about [climate change] because it’s coming on gradually,” Barrett says.

In that way, he draws a parallel between the organization itself and its clients. “We don’t know where our funding is going to come from a year from now,” Barrett says. “So longterm planning is hard to spend a lot of time on.”

Yet he’s concerned at how the predicted population growth in the mountains of WNC due to people seeking climate-safe housing will push marginalized people even further into the margins. Climate migration by those

with more financial resources will drive up housing costs, Barrett says, “arguably making us need more resources to prevent evictions and foreclosures and advocate for affordable housing.”

Adcock also says it’s hard for his organization to plan for climate change more directly. “There is a part of me that feels, man, there’s a privilege to be able to have that conversation,” he says. “Man, I wish we

could just sit around and talk about alternative ways of living.”

But he notes that Indigenous communities have experience with perseverance and adaptability. “When it comes to thinking about land, food [and] living in sustainable ways, Indigenous people should not just have a seat at that table,” Adcock says. “I think oftentimes that maybe we should be leading this conversation.” X

PRIORITIES: Jim Barrett, executive director of Pisgah Legal Services, says many of the nonprofit’s clients don’t have the financial means to prepare for how climate change may impact their housing. Photo courtesy of Pisgah Legal Services MOUNTAINX.COM

MAY 11-17, 2022

11

NEWS

Digital giving

BY JUSTIN McGUIRE jmcguire@mountainx.com In the world of philanthropy, digital currencies are all the rage.

“Don’t leave your donors hanging without an option to donate cryptocurrency,” the National Council of Nonprofits urges on its website. The Chronicle of Philanthropy sells a digital collection titled Accepting Gifts in Cryptocurrency: What You Need to Know. Other respected groups and experts also regularly extol the virtues of digital giving.

In all, more than 1,300 nonprofits nationally accept cryptocurrency donations, according to Yahoo Life, and the number continues to grow.

In 2021, The Giving Block, a platform that facilitates such contributions, reported more than $69 million in total donations, a massive 1,558% jump from 2020.

With those trends in mind, some of Western North Carolina’s most prominent nonprofits have taken the plunge.

Pisgah Legal Services began accepting bitcoin, ethereum and other such currencies in September through the donation platform Engiven, says Development Director Ally Wilson.

The Asheville-based group offers free legal assistance in 18 counties.

“We really felt like being able to accept crypto donations gave us an opportunity to tap into a new source of funding,” she says. “Crypto holders tend to skew younger, and it was an additional way for people to support us. We want to make it easy and make it beneficial.”

HOW IT WORKS Cryptocurrencies are digital assets that function like conventional currencies but are not backed by governments or central banks.

Instead, they rely on a decentralized online system to record, manage and exchange denominations known as tokens. Transactions can be handled peer to peer and are recorded on blockchains, a kind of digital public ledger.

Although cryptocurrencies have reached a total valuation of over $2

Local nonprofits poised to start accepting cryptocurrencies

trillion more than once, the market is notoriously volatile because, in most cases, these currencies are not backed by any physical assets.

That was one of Pisgah Legal officials’ main concerns when debating whether to accept such gifts, Wilson explains, saying, “It wasn’t a decision we made lightly.”

Her group is working with Engiven, a platform specially designed to help 501(c)(3) nonprofits manage cryptocurrency donations. For a 4% fee, Engiven will accept such contributions, immediately liquidate them and give the cash proceeds to the organization in question.

That frees Pisgah Legal staff from having to create a crypto wallet or worry about when to sell an asset.

“It’s similar, from our perspective, to receiving stock donations,” which are also handled through a third party, notes Wilson.

To date, the nonprofit hasn’t actually received any cryptocurrency donations, which Wilson finds a bit surprising in light of the national conversation over digital giving and the experiences of groups in other places. Last October, for example, Engiven said it had accepted a bitcoin donation of $10 million to an undisclosed faith-based organization.

“I don’t know if cryptocurrency has really come to Asheville yet,” says Wilson, adding, “I want to give it more time and see.”

In the meantime, Pisgah Legal now has a designated donation button on its website and has mentioned that it accepts cryptocurrencies in some newsletters, though the organization has yet to make a major marketing push. “Maybe it’s not something that is needed for our donor base here in Western North Carolina,” she says, adding, “It’s something we can always reconsider.”

70 different cryptocurrencies. The Giving Block partners with Gemini, an exchange that enables clients to either immediately convert donations into cash or store them in their current form.

“We became more educated and comfortable with the technology and process,” says Mary Nesbitt, chief development officer for the organization, which serves 16 WNC counties.

“Internally, our highest priority is the protection of our donor information, and therefore very strong cyber-

MANNA FoodBank decided to start accepting cryptocurrencies after several staff members participated in a Feeding America webinar featuring The Giving Block, which works with more than 1,000 nonprofits and facilitates donations in over

— Ally Wilson, Pisgah Legal Services MAY 11-17, 2022

DIGITAL DOLLARS: Ally Wilson, director of development at Pisgah Legal Services, says the group decided to accept cryptocurrency donations after hearing favorable things from philanthropy experts. Photo courtesy of Pisgah Legal Services

TOO SOON TO TELL

“I don’t know if cryptocurrency has really come to Asheville yet.”

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security for MANNA and our donors was our greatest consideration.”

MANNA only recently modified its website to accept such donations. “So we do not yet know what the interest level will be and are interested to see how it will be embraced,” continues Nesbitt. Like Pisgah Legal, MANNA sees accepting cryptocurrency as a potential way to attract new donors.

Experts cite several benefits for donors, but as with conventional currencies, the most prominent one is tax breaks. “The tax advantages are the same for a donor as ‘real property,’” says Nesbitt. “Therefore, a crypto donation is tax deductible.”

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NEW ERA: Mary Nesbitt, chief development officer of MANNA FoodBank, says the nonprofit doesn’t see any disadvantages from accepting cryptocurrency. Photo courtesy of MANNA FoodBank

DIGITAL DOWNSIDES At least one local nonprofit has no immediate plans to jump on the bandwagon, however.

“Bitcoin and other proof-of-work cryptocurrencies are highly energy intensive, and their wider adoption could have disastrous effects on our climate and planet,” says Karim Olaechea, communications director for the environmental advocacy group MountainTrue.

“Mining,” the process of verifying cryptocurrency transactions, uses computers to solve increasingly complex math problems. Because of the massive computing power required, this generates huge amounts of carbon emissions. According to an analysis by Cambridge University, bitcoin alone uses more electricity in a year than all of Argentina, a country with over 45 million people.

Olaechea says MountainTrue is keeping an eye on efforts by cryptocurrencies to adopt verification models that consume less energy.

Nonetheless, he notes, “We have broader concerns that would have to be addressed before we begin accepting donations in cryptocurrencies.”

As an example, Olaechea points to a growing number of controversial crypto mining operations in rural areas. Cherokee County residents have launched an online petitioncomplaining about “the 24/7 deafening noise and vibration” at two crypto mines in the area.

“Some of these mines have proven to be public nuisances that provide little or no employment, local tax revenues or other public benefits,” Olaechea reports. And meanwhile, “All of them have the potential to generate significant amounts of electronic waste.” X

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Full Moon in June Benefit Friday, June 10th | 6-9pm

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For tickets, go to historycomesalive.org/performances/buncombe or Google "Buncombe Chautauqua" MOUNTAINX.COM

MAY 11-17, 2022

13

NEWS

‘A charitable Gumby’

Community Foundation of WNC promotes flexible giving

BY ARNOLD WENGROW

the former’s assets approximately $3.6 billion, and are larger on a per-capita basis as well. But as CFWNC spokesperson Lindsay Hearn points out, those comparisons may not capture the foundation’s relative importance to the area.

“Each community foundation is individual, meaning that we don’t all serve the same size or composition of region,” she says. “CFWNC’s service area of 18 counties is about the size of Vermont. Our service area is largely rural. We don’t have the big corporations of places like Charlotte or Atlanta.”

a.wengrow@yahoo.com When Dave and Lin Brown retired to Asheville in 2004, they knew they wanted to become involved in philanthropy. But they weren’t quite sure how to go about it.

Although the couple had accumulated some investments over their respective careers — Dave as a former chancellor of UNC Asheville and provost of Wake Forest University, Lin as a community leader and founder of the College for Seniors at what is now UNCA’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute — they knew they wanted to add to those funds over time. And they hadn’t yet settled on a specific focus for their giving.

Their solution was establishing a donor-advised fund at the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina. The foundation manages over 430 such funds, which give donors the flexibility to choose the causes they support in any given year. In 2021 alone, those donors gave nearly $10.9 million to more than 1,100 nonprofits across 18 WNC counties and the Qualla Boundary.

“By having a donor-advised fund, we could in a sense kick the can down the road,” explains Dave Brown. “A donor-advised fund gave us the flexibility to wait and see how we wanted those funds used.”

The Browns eventually settled on using their money to start a free lecture series that invites the entire Asheville community to hear visionary speakers at UNCA. “When we were at Wake Forest, we realized the impact that a nationally prominent speaker could ASHEVILLE-AREA

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BEST-LAID PLANS

FIRM FOUNDATION: Community Foundation of Western North Carolina President and CEO Elizabeth Brazas, far right, meets with members of the Reichman Scholarship Committee in Andrews. The Reichman Scholarship Fund is one of 50 such funds managed by the foundation. Photo courtesy of CFWNC have,” Dave says. “We also realized that if UNCA allocated its full guest speaker budget, it could barely afford one of these speakers in a given year.”

Their example speaks to the CFWNC’s singular role in the region’s philanthropic life. Unlike most nonprofits, which focus on specific issues such as health care or protecting the environment, the foundation is dedicated to helping area donors and other nonprofits support their own distinctive causes.

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MAY 11-17, 2022

COMMUNITY COFFER The CFWNC was founded in 1978 as the Community Foundation of Greater Asheville. Community leaders modeled the organization after The Cleveland Foundation, a group started in Ohio in 1914, which aimed to build a centralized pool of financial resources for local charities to make a greater collective impact.

The community foundation idea has since spread to 750 places in the United States, according to philanthropy education group Learning to Give, with at

MOUNTAINX.COM

least one in every state. Foundations range in size from comparatively small organizations with less than $1 million under management to giants like California’s Silicon Valley Community Foundation with $13.5 billion.

When Asheville’s own community foundation started, it had about $300,000 in assets. By 1990, that endowment had grown to over $5 million, and before the Great Recession of 2007, it held $150 million.

Elizabeth Brazas, the CFWNC’s president and CEO, joined the foundation in 2009, just as the recession had taken a $25 million bite out of its assets. Under her leadership, the endowment subsequently climbed to $425 million at the end of March, making CFWNC the third-largest community foundation in North Carolina.

(The organization ranked 77th among the nation’s community foundations in a recent survey by nonprofit industry website Candid.org.)

Both the Charlotte-based Foundation for the Carolinas and The Winston-Salem Foundation have bigger endowments than CFWNC, with

Today, Brazas oversees a staff of 18 and works with a board of 19 community leaders. The CFWNC focuses on four areas, as established through a strategic planning process in 2011: food and farming, natural and cultural resources, early childhood development and human services.

That plan had been revisited once in 2016, Brazas says, and the nonprofit had been preparing for another refresh in early 2020. Work quickly shifted gears, however, with the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic.

While most nonprofits must stay focused on their specific cause, suggests Morganton-based board member Caroline Avery, the CFWNC’s adaptable structure helps it pivot quickly to meet new challenges, such as the pandemic or the flooding caused by Tropical Storm Fred in 2021. “The community foundation is a charitable Gumby,” she says.

“I think Caroline means that we’re flexible and nimble,” Brazas explains.

“And we have proven that recently with the way we operated during COVID before federal and state grants were flowing.”

As the pandemic was hitting and schools were shutting down, Brazas and her team were on the phone with other local foundations, corporations and individuals, asking them to contribute to an Emergency and Disaster Relief Fund that CFWNC had created in 2019. They tapped other existing CFWNC endowments, including regional affiliates in Haywood, McDowell, Mitchell, Rutherford, Transylvania and Yancey counties. And they asked the holders of donor-advised funds to direct some of their giving to the pandemic initiative.

Nonprofits Why I volunteer CFWNC then reached out to nonprofits that were helping people affected by COVID-19 and invited them to apply for grants. “The Community Foundation not only had the ability to create that fund, but we had the ability to create a very streamlined grant process that wasn’t burdensome for people to apply to,” Brazas says.

Within a speedy nine weeks, from the end of March through May 2020, the Emergency and Disaster Relief Fund distributed $1.3 million to 156 groups helping homeless people, children, the elderly, families in crisis, people with health problems and those needing food assistance. By March 2021, nearly $2.5 million had gone out to support pandemic-related projects throughout the region.

BOUNTIFUL GIVING Among the nonprofits that has benefited from CFWNC’s pandemic support is Bounty & Soul, a Black Mountain organization that provides nutritious food, mostly fruits and vegetables, to people with food insecurity in the Swannanoa Valley. The group received $10,000 through the Emergency and Disaster Relief Fund, plus an additional $5,000 in 2021, to meet soaring demand for its services.

Ali Casparian started the nonprofit in 2014 after moving to Black Mountain a few years earlier. The inspiration came, she says, from personal experience.

“I was living from paycheck to paycheck with food insecurity when I first moved into the area,” Casparian explains. “I saw people just like me who were struggling and I thought, with all the robust agriculture here, no one should go hungry.”

While Bounty & Soul had received help from CFWNC before — its very first grant came from the foundation’s Black Mountain-Swannanoa Valley Endowment Fund to buy equipment for cooking demos and classes at its free weekly produce markets — the pandemic brought a new level of need.

“When COVID landed, we exploded,” Casparian explains. “We were typically seeing around 200 families at the churches and the school. Now we were up to 400 families. We could not serve that many people in the spaces we had.”

For the pandemic, the organization moved to a drive-thru model in a parking lot owned by Bi-Lo. “We had people lined up in cars up to the interstate,” Casparian says. Money from CFWNC helped ensure Bounty & Soul had enough food to support that demand.

Since then, CFWNC has contributed to further milestones in the nonprofit’s development. Casparian notes that Bounty & Soul acquired its first refrigerated truck with foundation support, and it recently expanded the Green Apron Club, a program for children as young as 3 to learn about cooking, gardening, health and nutrition.

Avery, the CFWNC’s Morganton board member, admires the way the foundation matches the interests of its donors with the needs of nonprofits. “It’s a beautiful ballet,” she says.

“They know their donors very well, they know their nonprofits very well, and when they have a grant request come in, they know who might want to support it. They are savvy enough to connect those donors with a project that would be part of their heart.” X

As a retired wildlife ecologist researcher with both the U.S. Geological Survey and the University of Virginia, I found a treasure and instant connection in the mountains of Western North Carolina when I moved here in late 2012 and found the WNC Nature Center. For 10 years now, I have been using my knowledge of birds and other wildlife as a docent, usually spending a weekend day at the center. As an educator, I use the Center’s “biofacts” and tell visitors some interesting aspects of animals’ lives, often the birds of prey.

I enjoy the shift in retirement from educating university-aged students to a wider range of ages, from toddlers to senior citizens. Seeing how excited young children are when they see wildlife is especially rewarding. Today’s children spend far too much time with electronics and little time in nature. I believe bringing my own wildlife background and education into the visitor experience at the center adds a different dimension for many visitors.

— Mike Erwin

Nonprofits Why I volunteer I’ve been volunteering with MountainTrue for over seven years now, since 2014. I responded to an email from the group in December of that year for volunteers to help with a live staking along the headwaters of the French Broad River. I don’t know how MountainTrue got my email; I didn’t know what MountainTrue was or what a live staking was, either. The weather forecast for the week looked chilly but nice, so it seemed like a good way to get out on the water for a day and learn a little about the ecology of the river.

The ecology movement really got underway in the ’60s when I was in elementary school — recycling, turning off lights, picking up litter, etc. So getting out and taking care of the environment has been a part of my life.

MountainTrue has many focuses, but I’ve gravitated toward the rivers since that first day; being out paddling on the water in our area and lending a hand has been a lot of fun.

I’ve had the opportunity to pick up interesting trash on the Swannanoa, work on campsites along the French Broad paddle trail, treat hemlocks against the woolly adelgid in the Green River gorge and monitor water quality each summer. I’ve learned a lot, made some great friends and helped make the rivers a little nicer.

For more on MountainTrue, visit mountaintrue.org.

— Greer Gunby

DONORS’ CHOICE: Lin Brown, left, and her husband, Dave, established a donor-advised fund with the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina that now supports a free lecture series at UNC Asheville. Photo courtesy of UNCA MOUNTAINX.COM

MAY 11-17, 2022

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N EWS

Q&A: Kelly Shanafelt offers tips and insights on launching a nonprofit Little Shop of Horrors, the classic musical made famous by the 1986 film, remains one of Kelly Shanafelt’s favorites after playing Audrey in the 2009 Asheville Community Theatre production. While musical theater introduced her to the value of nonprofits, she’s expanded into another realm, working as a nonprofit consultant for Sims & Steele Consulting.

Shanafelt realized her passion for nonprofits in the 1990s, during her time in college in the Asheville area.

“I went to school for musical theater, thinking that I would be an actor,” she says. “Sometime in my freshman year, I realized that that life was going to be very difficult, and it wasn’t what I really wanted. I explored grant writing and fundraising while I was in school, and then knew that nonprofit was where I was going to be.”

During the ensuing years, Shanafelt worked with a series of nonprofits including Asheville Community Theatre and Mountain Area Health Education Center. Even now, along with her consulting work for Sims & Steele, she continues her direct involvement with nonprofits as the executive director of Under One Sky Village Foundation and program manager for WNC Superheroes.

“If anybody is considering going into the nonprofit world, it is genuinely one of the most rewarding things you can do,” she says. “It doesn’t matter what your focus is or what kind of organization you’re working for. Our society wouldn’t exist in the way it does without nonprofits and the incredible work they do. And if you already have a wonderful career, consider supporting a nonprofit that you really care about.”

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MAY 11-17, 2022

In a conversation with Xpress, Shanafelt explains the day-to-day work of a nonprofit consultant and offers advice for new and established nonprofits, alike.

This interview has been lightly edited and condensed.

How did you choose this work?

I like knowing that my days have some deeper impact to them. Our society has chosen to organize itself in a way where nonprofits are necessary.

We don’t take care of all of our needs as a community. And I’m speaking globally. As a community, we don’t organize our society in a way that takes care of our needs. As long as we’re going to need nonprofits, I want to be a part of that. And I want to be a part of serving the community as much as being a part of the community.

And I like the changeability of it.

The variation in the work that I get to do is fascinating. One day, I might be talking to the Salvation Army.

The next day, I might be talking to Asheville Community Theatre. That kind of variety — you don’t get that in many jobs.

The people that work at the nonprofits are also incredible. The clients that they serve are always fun to meet and interesting to talk with. And, every so often, if you can work for an organization that works with animals, you get to pet dogs! You get to see all of the community doing nonprofit work, especially as a consultant. I got to work at the WNC Nature Center for a while, and I learned things about zoos and wildlife habitats that I would never have known otherwise.

What does a nonprofit consultant do?

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BIT OF ADVICE: “The biggest thing I would say to anyone looking to start a nonprofit is look around and see who else is doing work in the same field and talk to them,” says Kelly Shanafelt, nonprofit consultant with Sims & Steele Consulting. Photo by Karri Brantley Watson It depends on the organization and their needs. It might be a strategic plan, it might be board training or it might be board strengthening. It might also just be that they need a development plan put in place for fundraising, or they may need some communications assistance.

Prior to doing a major campaign of any kind — especially a capital campaign where you’re building a building or preparing for renovations or something like that — you’ll want to do a feasibility study to understand the workability of the project plan, the community support for the project plan and community understanding of your project plan.

What tasks do you regularly perform that might surprise readers?

I spend a disproportionate amount of my day in QuickBooks. Nonprofits do have to do accounting. I also spend a lot of time in my car. Both of the two nonprofits I work with plus Sims & Steele — none of these organizations have offices. I work out of my phone, which means I am constantly shuffling between meetings at this coffee shop or that coffee shop. I can tell you the best coffee shops in Asheville. I have had meetings at all of them. I really like Izzy’s in West Asheville, and Green Sage is always a great place to

go for a meeting because they’re super polite about you being there.

What kind of guidance do newer nonprofits seek from you compared with more established nonprofits?

Figuring out how to build a donor base, figuring out how to get in front of the right foundations, figuring out how to get a business sponsorship program started. Often the folks who are starting nonprofits don’t come at it from a fundraising background; they come at it from a good idea and a desire to help. They think, “This is a great idea. People are going to want to support it.” But getting in front of the right people is always the toughest thing for startup nonprofits, and not knowing how to do that can be daunting.

Do you have any advice for those seeking to launch a nonprofit?

The biggest thing I would say to anyone looking to start a nonprofit is look around and see who else is doing work in the same field and talk to them. In Western North Carolina, we have a lot of nonprofits, and we have a lot of need. And those nonprofits aren’t necessarily replicating each other’s work but they are working in very similar fields and in very similar ways.

In the last five to 10 years, I have seen nonprofits starting to form these amazing close partnerships to support each other’s work. It’s genuinely about working together to solve a problem. So if you’re looking to start a nonprofit, go talk to people who are already working in the field and see where the holes really are. Where are those gaps in service? How can you work together to meet them?

What do you think about a nonprofit becoming an umbrella (a parent organization for other nonprofits)?

It can be an incredibly useful thing to have an umbrella, especially either as you’re starting up or for organizations who are in a time of deep transition, who may have lost a program or may have lost a particularly large grant that they’ve depended on for a long time. It gives smaller and startup nonprofits a foot in the door and a way to learn from their umbrella. If you’re just nested under an umbrella as a new organization and you’re not learning from that experience, I think you’re missing out. There are all kinds of things that you can learn from a larger parent organization.

— LA Bourgeois X

Nonprofits Why we volunteer Volunteering for Habitat for Humanity, locally and internationally, is our retirement passion. We became involved with Habitat 15 years ago when we worked overseas as international educators. Organizing and leading service-learning build trips for students and adults to various countries (15 in total) was enriching.

It provided a unique opportunity to work with a local family side by side to build their house, sharing daily routines and cultural insights. Regardless of the country, helping families achieve healthy, stable housing is the ultimate reward, knowing they will have a safe place to live, financial security and a sense of community.

Since moving here in 2010, we have been involved with various volunteer opportunities at Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity. It is gratifying to serve as part of such a giving community and alongside like-minded individuals.

For Charlie, being a core volunteer on the construction site, in the ReStore and helping with deconstruction have all provided opportunities to give back, become familiar with community needs and help people realize their dream of homeownership.

For Tricia, involvement in the Women Build program is a rewarding source of empowerment. This program invites women to advocate for affordable housing, raise funds and build in our community. Since 1994, Asheville’s Women Build program has raised over $853,000 and built 17 homes. Work on the 18th Women Build house will begin in July, and volunteers are needed. No experience is required, just an open heart and a willingness to lend a hand.

As educators, developing and implementing the Student Build program has been particularly fulfilling. And being on the board of directors has provided a unique perspective into the numerous programs curated and led by dedicated staff. Habitat is a complex organization with the ultimate goal of providing affordable housing, one family at a time. We are honored to be involved!

For more information about Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity, visit avl.mx/bji.

— Tricia and Charlie Franck

Nonprofits Why I volunteer For many years, I had known about Friends2Ferals. But it wasn’t until February 2021 when I contacted Nancy Schneiter, the nonprofit’s director, about a couple who lost their mobile home in a fire and had 15 feral cats.

The wife had been severely burned, and the husband’s priority was his wife.

But late at night, he came to his burned-out home to visit and feed the cats.

Despite most being feral, he knew each cat by name.

Nancy quickly met me and instructed me on how to set traps. She explained the concept of TNR — trap, neuter and return. Once captured, each cat has a medical review, is neutered/spayed, vaccinated and treated for parasites, then returned.

Fortunately, the friendlier cats got adopted through partnering rescues.

Most people don’t understand that truly feral cats are not adoptable. They have never been socialized to people and are fearful of humans. Returning is key to creating or maintaining no-kill animal shelters by freeing up space for adoptable cats. These cats didn’t ask to come into the world only to be euthanized. They can live a happy, healthy life returned home with a caregiver.

I have volunteered for Friends2Ferals ever since this first experience.

These often overlooked and forgotten cats are being cared for rather than living a harsh or deadly life. Females are healthier with no more unwanted kittens. Males are no longer injured or killed from fighting. It is rewarding to witness the happiness, relief and joy of the caregivers as well.

Ferals are often called community cats. It takes the local community to make this work possible — volunteers, donors, fosters and adopters. It does “take a village” to make our community better.

TNR works! Join us in making a better world together!

For more on Friends2Ferals, visit friends2ferals.org.

— Jan Oliver

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MAY 11-17, 2022

17

NEWS

Breaking news Nonprofit business model may offer stability to local newsrooms

BY BROOKE RANDLE brandle@mountainx.com

Green thumbs & aspiring gardeners alike!

Spring is here, and Xpress has launched a monthly gardening feature based on reader questions.

Please send all gardening inquiries to gardening@mountainx.com

The year 2020, with the concurrence of the COVID-19 pandemic, a presidential election and racial justice protests, was arguably one of the most newsworthy years in recent history. Yet despite the apparent need for reliable information, newspapers were one of the hardest-hit industries in the U.S. A report by UNC’s Hussman School of Journalism and Media reveals that 30 newspapers closed or merged in April and May 2020 alone, while dozens more switched to online-only delivery of news and thousands of journalists at legacy and digital news operations were furloughed or laid off. (Xpress felt the pain of the moment, having to lay off seven staffers from its 25-person workforce in March 2020.)

The effects of the pandemic exacerbated an already full-blown trend of newsrooms closing and shrinking around the country. Since 2004, about 1,800 newspapers across the country have closed, leading to the proliferation of news deserts in hundreds of communities. And the implications are substantial: As newspapers downsize and disappear, communities are less informed and citizens less civically engaged, according to UNC’s report.

While that summation may be dim, 2020 also brought a glimmer of hope.

The tumultuous year generated the fastest growth in the nonprofit news media sector, according to a report by the Institute for Nonprofit News, a consortium of journalism organizations. Today, more than 300 such entities exist across the country, with five based in North Carolina, and recent data suggests that the model may be expanding.

Xpress sat down with the heads of two local nonprofit news organizations to learn how the business model compares to its for-profit cousin and whether the concept offers a sustainable solution to an industry struggling to hang on.

CONVERGING CHALLENGES Newspapers have traditionally relied on advertising to sustain their

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MAY 11-17, 2022

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HOT OFF THE PRESSES: Bob Gremillion, left, and Angie Newsome, head two of North Carolina’s five nonprofit news organizations. Both news outlets, Asheville Watchdog and Carolina Public Press, are based in Asheville and produce investigative journalism. Photos courtesy of Gremillion and Newsome operations, says Bob Gremillion, former executive vice president at Tribune Publishing Co. and publisher of nonprofit news outlet Asheville Watchdog. Typically, the amount of space available for news depends on the amount of advertising sold.

But the rise of the internet, specifically the free classified ads website Craigslist in 1995 followed by Google and Facebook, began swallowing up both readers and advertisers, he says.

“Classified ads have historically been the biggest revenue stream for print newspapers,” Gremillion explains. “And then Craigslist started giving [advertising] away. And not only that, but also making it searchable, so all of a sudden, you’re not sitting there with your paper and your coffee with a red pen.”

Fewer businesses and individuals advertising in newspapers generally means less content that the newspaper can produce, which then leads to fewer subscribers. As the number of subscriptions falls, advertising in newspapers becomes less appealing, continuing the cycle.

As a result, Gremillion continues, small daily newspapers began merging and being purchased by hedge

funds and corporations that sought to raise profits by cutting content and reducing staff. Locally, reporters and other staffers at the Asheville Citizen Times have endured several rounds of layoffs since the company was purchased by the Gannett Co. in 1995.

Further adding to print media’s woes was the 2008 Great Recession, in which thousands of journalists across the country were laid off as newsrooms, like many businesses, scrambled to stay open, says Angie Newsome, founder and executive director at Asheville-based nonprofit news organization Carolina Public Press.

“There was a big round of layoffs at that point, which, of course, might seem like ancient history considering what’s happened since then,” Newsome recalls. “But at that point there was a big group of journalists that were losing their jobs, and traditional for-profit newspapers began going on to form nonprofit outlets.”

DEFINING NONPROFIT NEWS The converging crisis led some within the news industry to start

looking for ways to address some of the industry’s shortcomings.

For her part, Newsome, who launched Carolina Public Press in her West Asheville kitchen in 2011, says that she wanted to address both the business side of media and its content. The online publication, which produces in-depth and investigative reporting across North Carolina, employs a multipronged approach to revenue that includes grant funding, sponsorships, and a 700-person strong membership program in which subscribers provide annual or monthly donations.

“There’s no single source that sustains us completely. We need all of that,” Newsome says. “We need members, we need donors, we need foundation support, we need sponsors, all of that is really critical to our operations.”

As a result, Newsome says that when many news outlets were struggling during the early days of the pandemic, her newsroom remained largely uscathed. In fact, she estimates that the publication’s membership grew roughly 60% during the last two years, which she attributes to members of the public seeking a reliable news source during one of the most tumultuous periods in decades.

Meanwhile, Gremillion explains that Asheville Watchdog is led by a coalition of retired journalists who settled in Asheville from around the country, all of whom volunteer their time to the project. He says that the approach, while unique, allows its reporters to work on longer timelines and produce in-depth investigative stories. Since the media out-

let’s launch in 2020, it has received national recognition for its reporting on fraudulent actions against Buncombe County homeowners, the fallout of the sale of Mission Health to HCA and false claims by Rep. Madison Cawthorn.

Those stories, says Gremillion, take months and even years to produce, and time is a commodity that many newsrooms charged with producing daily or weekly content find in short supply.

“We know that with regard to investigative and accountability stories, you need a lot of resources to do those. [Reporter] Sally [Kestin]’s ‘Equity Erased’ story took a year,” Gremillion says.

Newsome agrees, saying that the pressure to sell advertising or increase traffic to websites can lead some newsrooms to produce subpar content.

“If you’re selling clicks to advertisers, you’re going to have to make some hard [editorial] choices,” she explains. “The reason I became a journalist was to tell stories that mattered, and really spend time investigating the actions and inactions of public agencies and elected officials, and to provide fact-based reporting that people can use in their own communities. And the nonprofit model really prioritizes mission.”

Yet for all of their advantages, nonprofit news organizations still have their limitations, says Newsome.

Both news organizations are only available online, but they do encourage both print and online news out-

CONTINUES ON PAGE 21

Nonprofits Why I volunteer In the fall of 2012, I was helping out in a math class at my son’s middle school. One student — very bright but behind in math — needed some extra assistance. This was an OpenDoors student whom I started working with after school.

So began my “tutoring career” with OpenDoors. Since then, I have assisted many students in math and science, working to catch them up or keep them from falling behind. Some I only tutor for a session or two to help with a project or prepare for a test, while others I have worked with for years.

Along with tutoring, I have helped with transportation to soccer practice and assisted with career planning. Occasionally, I am called upon to answer medical questions (tapping into my usual work life as a general internist).

Last year, I even taught a lifestyle medicine course for some of the teens involved in OpenDoors.

Tutoring is personally satisfying. I relish that moment when a concept becomes clear and I can watch understanding dawn. Seeing these young people gain confidence, complete courses, pass tests and ultimately graduate from high school, or even college, gives me great joy and I am proud to be contributing to OpenDoors’ work to eliminate the race-based achievement gaps for our local students.

For more on OpenDoors, visit opendoorsasheville.org.

— Dr. Sarah Warren Asbill

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N EWS lets to publish their work at no cost.

Western North Carolina is home to dozens of nonprofits, and securing funding is never guaranteed.

“Things can change quickly for every news organization in the country, whether you’re for profit or nonprofit. We don’t bank on past success,” Newsome explains. “We really have to prove it every day that we’re a public service that people should support.”

HYBRID APPROACHES Scott McLeod, publisher and co-founder of the Haywood Countybased independent weekly Smoky Mountain News, says that while the business model of newsrooms has “changed completely in the last 20 years,” his publication is attempting to roll with the punches. A combination of digital and print advertising, along with publishing roughly 35 other publications per year, helps fund operations at the newspaper and keep the paper free both online and in print.

“We do a lot of custom publishing for businesses and nonprofits,” McLeod explains. “Overall revenue from our other publications now surpasses the revenue of Smoky Mountain News, but our philosophy is to put those profits back into the journalism that we do here. It’s kind of a little bit of a buffer against some of the ups and downs that maybe some other news entities have.”

Smoky Mountain News, with a weekly circulation of 16,000, also has a membership program that allows readers to donate to the paper. “People are contributing to our newspaper, even though it’s not a nonprofit, just because they realize the value of local journalism,” he adds.

Meanwhile, Xpress Publisher and Founder Jeff Fobes says that he has considered operating the independent weekly as a nonprofit at different points throughout its more than 25 years in business, but doing so would restrict the paper’s ability to carry advertising, which provides 95% of the publication’s revenue.

Philanthropist Julian Price and others initially financed the publication, but it has sustained itself almost entirely through advertising since 2008, which Fobes attributes to Asheville’s broad network of local businesses.

But after being at the helm of the paper since its infancy, he is now trying to imagine how the publication may someday operate when he has passed the baton as publisher.

“Xpress’ mission is to build community from the grassroots up, rath-

er than to make money. I want to have a plan for it to continue without me,” Fobes says of potentially transitioning to a nonprofit. “Selling it as normal commercial business would likely result in its mission being lost, so I’ve been considering ways to help it continue and thrive as an Asheville institution.”

Still, he’s yet not sold on the nonprofit model and plans to continue exploring ways to keep the lights on. In February 2020, Xpress also launched a membership program for its readers, which saw a boost of support from local readers during the pandemic.

“When the COVID-19 lockdowns began, readers answered our call, so we saw a big spike in support,” says Xpress Operations Manager Able Allen. “By July 2020, we had 388 monthly contributors, 255 of whom continue to support us today.”

Today, the newspaper has hired for almost half of the positions lost during the pandemic and maintains about 420 monthly supporters. “We are forever grateful to that extremely intelligent and charming group,” Allen adds.

While the future business model of the paper is yet to be determined, Fobes says, for now Xpress plans to continue its mission of providing a free platform for civic dialogue both in print and online.

THE NEWS ECOSYSTEM As both for-profit newsrooms continue to shrink and nonprofit news organizations continue to grow, more and more people are noting

the importance of local news and the impact it has on communities, says Gremillion.

“Even the hedge fund owners seem to be trying to walk the more careful line between stripping resources out of the newsroom, realizing that eventually people will give up if they don’t get some decent offering in print,” he says.

And despite the growth that nonprofit news organizations are experiencing, Newsome says that she doesn’t see the model replacing traditional newsrooms. Rather, she sees them as part of the larger news ecosystem.

“I definitely see [nonprofits] as a critical and growing piece of the pie, but I don’t ever think that a news organization like ours should be seen as something that replaces a strong statewide broadcast or newspaper entity,” Newsome says.

McLeod agrees, adding that both the in-depth reporting that nonprofits produce and day-to-day coverage of local events and politics play a crucial role in creating an informed citizenry.

“In-depth stories are very important, but entities that still cover the town boards, the county commission, local recreation events, outdoors, the arts and entertainment — that stuff is very important to people’s daily lives, ” says McLeod. “What they do is important, what we do is important.

“It’s a changing market,” he continues. “It’s going to require all of us to adapt and embrace change. But as long as you’re producing good journalism, there’s a way to make that work.” X

Want to keep your community in the know?

Nonprofits Why I volunteer Becoming a volunteer community mediator was a personal goal for me and a best natural step to take toward helping people. I wanted to go through mediation training many years before I actually found time to get involved and do it. I’m so happy I did, and I hope to continue volunteering a long time into the future. Presently, I’ve been volunteering with the Mediation Center going on three years.

Humans sometimes face impasses and/or become involved in life issues that require resolution. Sometimes resolution is required by the court system; other times resolution is needed in personal or family disputes. The Mediation Center is a nonprofit organization that is here for you, when you need help.

The Mediation Center’s programs and services may not be the end-all, cure-all to every impasse, issue or dispute. Yet, its members are compassionate and dedicated to our mission and work with the best intentions toward achieving positive outcomes for all the lives we touch.

If it were not for volunteers donating their time and working for free, so many community functions would literally go undone. As I grow older, I look forward to serving more and more people in our WNC communities.

It’s an honor and pleasure to be a volunteer with the Mediation Center of Buncombe County.

For more on The Mediation Center, visit mediatewnc.org.

— Tommy Oakman

WRITE FOR Xpress is seeking experienced freelance writers to contribute to our Buncombe County government coverage.

Send cover letter, resume and three or more clips to news@mountainx.com with the subject line: Freelance writer.

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N EWS

BUNCOMBE BEAT

Commissioners approve $4.9M for pre-K expansion, affordable housing Efforts to bring more affordable housing and early childhood education to Buncombe County got a big boost May 3. At its meeting that evening, the county Board of Commissioners unanimously approved nearly $4.9 million in allocations from Buncombe’s federal American Rescue Plan Act funds to three projects in those areas proposed by community partners.

The three applications were the first to be funded out of 105 projects that had been submitted in response to the county’s latest request for proposals, which closed April 12. According to a presentation by Rachael Nygaard, the county’s strategic partnerships director, funding for the housing projects was accelerated because of looming tax credit application deadlines, while the prekindergarten project was funded early to align with the start of the 2022-23 academic year.

The largest grant awarded May 3 was $3.2 million to the nonprofit Buncombe Partnership for Children to expand pre-K availability and accessibility. The pilot project will employ six strategies for increasing access to pre-K, such as boosting pay to attract more teachers, supporting additional education and licensing for pre-K staff, and working directly with families and providers to address barriers such as transportation. The partnership’s application for the two-year project estimates that the funds will help roughly 1,180 children starting this school year.

“What this means in the lives of people in Buncombe County is that we have the chance to take a bold step towards better serving more

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ON THE HORIZON: The Reimagining Deaverview project, which aims to construct roughly 80 affordable units in Asheville’s second-oldest public housing community, got one step closer to becoming a reality after Buncombe commissioners approved $935,000 in ARPA funds. Rendering courtesy of the Asheville Housing Authority children and ensuring that more kids in our community have access to the quality education, care and learning that happens in pre-K. And particularly, we’re doing that with an approach that’s informed by equity around both racial justice issues and economic justice issues,” said Commissioner Jasmine BeachFerrara. “We know that pre-K can be a game-changer in the lives of children. And we know that to make it a game-changer, we have to seriously invest in it.”

Commissioners also voted to award roughly $720,000 to Mountain Housing Opportunities for its Lakeshore Villas project, which will create 120 affordable rental units. According to MHO’s application, the units will be affordable for those earning between 30% of the area median income ($1,580 for a single person; $26,500 for a family of four) and 80% AMI ($42,100 for a single person; $60,100 for a family of four). The proposal also estimates that as many as 20% of the units will house residents who are currently homeless.

And more than $935,000 was approved for Phase 1 of the Asheville Housing Authority’s Reimagining Deaverview project, which aims to construct roughly 80 affordable units as part of a larger plan to demolish and rebuild Asheville’s second-oldest public housing community. The project includes apartments that would be affordable to those earning 30% to 60% AMI. The AHA’s original ask

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was $1.2 million; the organization is also seeking support from the city of Asheville.

“Looking at these two issues this evening, they really go hand in hand in terms of providing a supportive environment for families and children in Buncombe County,” said Commissioner Amanda Edwards.

Buncombe County was awarded a little over $50.7 million in ARPA funds from the federal government. After the latest round of grants, the county has allocated more than $27.9 million of that money, or a little over 55%.

COMMISSIONERS CRITICIZE OCCUPANCY TAX The commissioners unanimously approved a budget amendment that boosted the county’s budget for occupancy tax revenue income and expenditures by $11 million. The move was made to meet accounting requirements: Because occupancy tax revenues are expected to exceed $36 million this fiscal year — about 34% more than the roughly $27.2 million the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority budgeted for in June — the county needed sufficient budget headroom to collect that money and pass it through to the BCTDA. But some members used the opportunity to blast the current occupancy tax situation. State law requires that 75% of revenue generated by the tax

be spent on advertising for tourism, with the remaining 25% must be spent on tourism-related capital projects.

Board Chair Brownie Newman called that distribution “outrageous” and a “disservice to this community.”

He and Beach-Ferrara both called for more of the tax to go toward community needs, citing Asheville’s affordable housing crisis. Meanwhile, Commissioner Parker Sloan maintained that the county should stop levying the tax altogether.

“That negotiated position that’s been debated in the legislature for years now, it’s really too late for that, in my mind,” Sloan said, referencing previous discussions between government officials and tourism leaders to reduce the portion of the tax dedicated to marketing. “We’ve gone beyond that point to where we can expect that they’re still negotiating in good faith with us.”

“I think it’s time for us, as a board, to do what we need to do — what I think we have to do — which is to end the collection of the hotel occupancy tax as soon as possible,” he continued. No other board members weighed in on Sloan’s comments.

The N.C. General Assembly is expected to consider a bill that would shift some occupancy tax proceeds away from tourism marketing and expand their allowable uses during its short session, which is scheduled to begin Wednesday, May 18.

— Brooke Randle X

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N EWS

Q&A with Debbie Welch, North Carolina Big Sister of the Year A huge smile spreads across Debbie Welch’s face as she talks about Devine, her Little Sister. Welch — an Asheville resident and the 2022 North Carolina Big Sister of the Year — first paired with Devine in 2013, when the youth was 7 years old.

Since that time, Welch says she has established trust with her Little Sister through fun activities and conversations on complex issues. Her outreach also includes constant communication with Devine’s mother, Desire, as well as food and medicine delivery to the family, when needed.

When the pandemic disrupted their face-to-face visits, Welch worked with Big Brothers Big Sisters of WNC to devise safe ways to provide the emotional support that Devine and her family needed.

“I just assume everyone would do what I’ve been doing,” she says.

A former teacher, Welch moved to WNC in 1976. She later left the profession to raise a family, before reentering the workforce in 1987 as Crystal Clean, a community outreach character for Quality Forward (now Asheville GreenWorks). With her blue cape on, she visited elementary and middle schools to promote the importance of litter control and recycling.

After her final career change, Welch retired as Buncombe County’s public information officer in 2003.

Searching for a post-retirement activity, she notes her love for children led her to become a Big Sister.

“I was looking for something meaningful,” she says.

Xpress recently sat down with Welch to discuss her 2022 award and the joys of being a Big Sister.

This interview has been lightly edited and condensed.

What was it like to meet your Little Sister and her family the first time?

I was excited. [Bernadette Joy Cruz], the staff member who was in charge of matching Bigs with Littles, came along. She helped lead the meeting by explaining what Devine’s mom was hoping for with the match,and what Joy believed that Devine and I had in common. That was very helpful in breaking the ice.

The staff has been very available with suggestions and support. I don’t feel alone in this.

What are some activities you enjoy doing with your Little Sister?

We always go for ice cream. That’s our signature move. When she gets

SISTERS: Debbie Welch, left, named the 2022 North Carolina Big Sister of the Year, stands next to her Little Sister, Devine. The two have been involved in each other’s lives since 2013, when Devine was 7 years old. Photo courtesy of Big Brother Big Sisters of Western North Carolina excited, I get excited. We just went to the Tourists game, and they got killed!

We used to meet every other week. It has been less frequent since the pandemic. As a little girl, she loved playgrounds, rock hopping in Montreat and other activities meant for little kids.

Now that she is a teenager, the choices are more limited, but our conversations are more meaningful. We still try to do things as the pandemic allows, but I truly enjoy our talks, which can be over ice cream or during hikes. I also attend her orchestra and chorus concerts and sports activities.

What are you most proud of in your journey as a Big Sister?

As a child of the ’50s in segregated settings, I had very few opportunities to befriend African Americans in any real way. While I taught integrated classes, I had no close friends who were Black. I cherish the relationship I’ve been able to establish with [Devine and her] family in an era when white people and men are realizing the privileges they’ve had and taken for granted.

It’s almost invisible to me — the difference between what I can do [as a white person] and what Devine

can do. It’s almost like a lamentation to watch some of the kinds of things that would happen [due to racial differences] when I took her to places where almost everyone there was white. ... That was learning firsthand for me, personally, about [white] privilege. And I cherish that because I think it’s made me a richer, smarter and more in-touch person.

What else is involved in being a Big Sister?

I can’t speak for anyone else, but with Devine there have been many health, school and family challenges.

I have supported her mom, grandmother and Devine with phone calls, visits and other assistance while appreciating the line between supporter and savior. They do not need a savior, and that is not the role I want to play.

What’s your advice for someone who wants to be a Big Sister or Big Brother?

I have adored being a Big Sister.

It has given me a sense of purpose.

And I guess if I had some advice, it would be to enter the relationship wide open. I have heard of people trying to imprint their value system on their Little [Sister/Brother], because they thought, “Oh, this person’s going to need a different set of values.”

You might make assumptions that are wrong. Be open. Listen. Don’t assume. You don’t have to have the answers because you’ll learn a lot in the process.

Nurturing little humans tends to be a female pursuit. For a variety of reasons, males aren’t drawn to Big Brother Big Sister at the same level. And there are lots of Little Brothers out there, and they don’t have a Big Brother. So if I had anything I’d like to get across to potential Big Brothers, it’d be this: When you go to an activity with somebody who’s never done it before and start seeing it through their eyes, it’s like that initial joy you had when you were a child going to your first baseball game. You get to have it all over again!

And at the same time, you get to feel good about yourself for having helped that child have that first experience.

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— LA Bourgeois X

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GREEN ROUNDUP

Chestnut Mountain Nature Park opens to public

GATEWAY TO ADVENTURE: A wooden arch marks the entrance to the recently opened Chestnut Mountain Nature Park in Canton, which features the Berm Park mountain bike skills course. Photo courtesy of the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy Western North Carolina has a new playground with the April 23 dedication of the Chestnut Mountain Nature Park in Canton. About 35 acres of the nearly 450-acre tract — purchased by the nonprofit Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy in 2020 and recently transferred to the town of Canton — are now open, including the Berm Park mountain bike skills course and a mixed-use hiking/biking trail.

As outlined in a master plan for the overall property available at avl.mx/bk7, future developments will include a picnic area, outdoor classroom, backcountry hiking trails and advanced singletrack mountain bike routes. Work is expected to continue over at least the next two years.

“The collaboration between recreation and conservation here at Chestnut Mountain will remain an example for other communities in how working together can make big projects come to life,” said Seth Alvo, a local mountain biking influencer who led the fundraising effort for Berm Park. “Chestnut Mountain and 26

MAY 11-17, 2022

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Berm Park now serve as assets to the area, strengthening the community’s health through recreation and enriching the lives of many.”

The park will also serve as a destination for several active transportation projects. A greenway is planned to run from Chestnut Mountain to downtown Canton along U.S. Route 19/23, and the park will be a stop on the Hellbender Regional Trail system, a 150-mile greenway network championed by the French Broad River Metropolitan Planning Organization.

Chestnut Mountain Nature Park is at 2415 Asheville Highway in Canton and is open daily from dawn to dusk.

More information is available at ChestnutMountainNaturePark.com.

Appalachian High Route takes hikers up and away Jennifer Pharr Davis, an Asheville-based hiker who holds the women’s record for the fast-

est supported completion of the Appalachian Trail, is blazing a different path. Together with Jake Blood, co-founder of the N.C. High Peaks Trail Association, she is promoting the Appalachian High Route as a long-distance option for outdoor adventure in WNC. The roughly 350-mile loop combines portions of the Appalachian Trail, Lost Cove Trail, Mountains-toSea Trail and Black Mountain Crest Trail with the Burnsville Connector, a 19-mile road walk between the established routes. Along the way, hikers can access 50 of the 54 Appalachian peaks above 6,000 feet, as well as the towns of Burnsville and Hot Springs.

Pharr Davis finished the first known completion of the loop May 8 in downtown Burnsville. A community information session about the route is scheduled for 6 p.m.

Thursday, Aug. 4, at the Burnsville Library; trail maps, patches and an audio interpretive guide for the Burnsville Connector will be made

available at the Burnsville Visitor Center in the coming months.

Community kudos • Blue Ridge Community College in Flat Rock received a $1 million grant from the Rocky Mount-based Golden LEAF Foundation to construct a new greenhouse for the college’s horticulture program.

The state-of-the-art facility will train students to use automated growing systems, which are becoming increasingly prevalent among Henderson County producers.

• Two local initiatives received honors from the N.C. Source Water Collaborative, a statewide drinking water protection group. The Haywood Waterways Association and Haywood County Environmental Health Department received the group’s Surface Water Implementation Award for a septic-system repair project, while the town of Black Mountain earned the Groundwater Implementation and Education Award for its wellhead protection work.

• Outlaw Acres Farm in Clyde received a $3,000 grant from the Chicago-based Food Animal Concerns Trust to expand its sustainable chicken production.

Farmers Chris and Christina Braswell will use the funds to build chicken tractors and further their transition to a fully pastureand orchard-raised poultry system.

• Asheville GreenWorks, supported by a grant from Pratt & Whitney, distributed over 680 saplings to Buncombe County residents during an Earth Day giveaway.

The nonprofit hopes to plant 50,000 trees over the next two decades as part of efforts to restore Asheville’s urban canopy.

• Asheville Catholic School finished the installation of a 49-kilowatt solar array on Earth Day.

The school joins the adjacent St. Eugene Catholic Church, which in 2015 became the first Catholic parish in the diocese of Charlotte to install solar panels, in producing its own power.

• The Asheville-based Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project marked the 20th year of publishing its Local Food Guide, a comprehensive listing of area farms, farmers markets and other local food businesses. Print copies are available throughout WNC; a digital copy and an online database of the guide’s listings are available at avl.mx/81y.

Opportunity knocks • Starting Wednesday, May 18, WNC landowners and farmers can submit proposals for funding from Asheville-based Carbon Harvest, a new business working to support climate-conscious agricultural practices. The company hopes to sell carbon offsets tied to local carbon farming projects, with a focus on agroforestry. More information is available at avl.mx/bjt.

• As part of the 2022 DuPont Forest Festival Saturday, Sept. 24, Friends of DuPont Forest is seeking proposals for community activities at the event. Activities should be hands-on, suitable for all ages and follow “Leave No Trace” ethics. Submission are due Saturday, June 4. More information is available at avl.mx/bjp.

• The Asheville-Buncombe Air Quality Agency is seeking nominations for its annual Clean Air Excellence Awards. The program honors local individuals, businesses and organizations that have made outstanding voluntary efforts to improve Buncombe County’s

CONTINUES ON PAGE 28

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N EWS air. Applications are due Tuesday, June 7. More information is available at avl.mx/bjr.

• Carolina Farm Credit invites WNC nonprofits interested in promoting agriculture and the agricultural economy to apply for grants of up to $5,000 through its Corporate Mission Fund. Applications are accepted online through Thursday, June 30, at avl.mx/bjs.

Grab some greenery • The Black Mountain Beautification Committee hosts the Black Mountain Garden Sale at the Town Square parking lot in Black Mountain Friday-Saturday, May 20-21. Proceeds from the sale, which runs 4-8 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, support the committee’s Seed Money Award for local gardening efforts.

More information is available at avl.mx/bjo.

• The annual Spring Plant Sale and Vendor Market returns to the N.C. Arboretum 10 a.m.-3 p.m. FridaySaturday, May 27-28. Offerings include plants from the arboretum’s own production greenhouse,

ASHEVILLE-AREA

as well as products from over 20 local growers and businesses.

More information is available at avl.mx/bju.

• Garden Jubilee takes over downtown Hendersonville 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Saturday-Sunday, May 28-29. Over 200 plant and craft vendors will sell their wares along Main Street, and local gardening experts will give educational presentations.

More information is available at avl.mx/bjv.

Class in session • In addition to the Firefly Gathering’s annual flagship event Tuesday-Sunday, June 7-12, in Mills River, the nonprofit is now offering earth skills workshops throughout the year. Upcoming offerings include a bicycle repair clinic Sunday, May 15, and a course on vegetable preservation Sunday, July 31. More information and registration are available at avl.mx/bk1.

• Buncombe County’s N.C. Cooperative Extension center hosts several educational opportunities on gardening topics through-

EATS & CSOMING OON DRINKS Keeping Asheville Weird Since 2010 GUIDE

2022 Edition

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WWW.ASHEVILLEKAVA.COM 28

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TREKKING TOGETHER: Jennifer Pharr Davis, center, stands with her husband, Brew, and children, Charley and Gus, near Waterrock Knob on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, part of the newly established Appalachian High Route.

Photo courtesy of Jennifer Pharr Davis out May. Events include a Zoom presentation on edible landscaping Thursday, May 19, an in-person composting demonstration Saturday, May 21, and a drop-in session with Buncombe County Master Gardeners Wednesday, May 25. More information and registration are available at avl.mx/bk3.

• Landowners with forests on their property are invited to a free workshop by Asheville-based nonprofit EcoForesters and N.C. Cooperative Extension 10 a.m.1 p.m. Saturday, June 4, at the Sandy Mush Community Center.

Participants will learn about tax incentives for forest management, cost-share funding for invasive species control and access to carbon markets. Registration is available at avl.mx/bk0.

• The Organic Growers School, in partnership with the Appalachian Beginning Forest Farmer Coalition, is launching a series of teaching events on agroforestry throughout WNC. The first meeting will take place in Leicester Sunday, June 5, and will focus on integrating forest farming into existing farm enterprises. More information and registration are available at avl.mx/bk2.

Save the date • Members of Wildlands Network will present the latest research on the road ecology of Interstate 40 in the Southern Appalachians at Citizen Vinyl 7 p.m. Thursday, May 12. As previously reported

by Xpress (avl.mx/bjl), the stretch of I-40 that connects WNC with Eastern Tennessee poses a dan-

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gerous obstacle for wildlife.

More information is available at avl.mx/bjm.

Bears and Brews returns to the WNC Nature Center 5:30-8 p.m.

Friday, May 13. Guests can watch zookeepers give popsicles to the zoo’s two black bears, Uno and Ursa, while enjoying beer from Highland Brewing and cider from Urban Orchard. More information and tickets are available at avl.mx/9iq.

As part of Strive Beyond, a regional effort to encourage car-free transportation, Asheville on Bikes will host a Ride of Silence Wednesday, May 18, 7-8:30 p.m. Riders will wear black to mourn cyclists lost in vehicle collisions and raise awareness of the right to share the road.

The ride begins in Pack Square Park; more information is available at avl.mx/bjq.

The Wilma Dykeman Legacy presents a series of four environmental economics webinars ThursdayFriday, June 2-3. Topics include natural costs and benefits, valuing the environment, policy choices and climate change. More information and registration are available at avl.mx/bjn.

Nature lovers ages 4-10 can explore the world through a faith-based perspective at Wild Wonders, a day camp hosted 9 a.m.-12 p.m.

Monday-Friday, June 20-24, by The Episcopal Church of St. John in the Wilderness in Flat Rock.

The creation-care curriculum combines science activities with crafts and worship songs. Campers are encouraged to register by Monday, June 6; more information is available at avl.mx/bjk.

— Daniel Walton X

Hello Spring!

— We specialize in all makes and models! — 23 Sardis Rd, Asheville, NC 28806 (828) 670-9191 precisionInternational.com MOUNTAINX.COM

MAY 11-17, 2022

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ASHEVILLE ARCHIVES

FEA T U RES

by Thomas Calder | tcalder@mountainx.com

‘Murderous maniac’ Hyperbole in defense of Mission Hospital, 1923 The year 1923 started out on a positive note for Mission Hospital. That January, the organization accepted bids totaling $103,863 (roughly $1.75 million in today’s currency) for its new wing.

Once construction began, the project was set to take four-six months.

But by early summer, controversy over staffing overshadowed these plans.

“Buncombe County has temporarily withdrawn its support of Mission Hospital as a result of complaints made to the board of commissioners by members of the medical profession with reference to certain rules regarding the treatment of patients in the charity and semi-charity wards,” The Asheville Citizen reported on July 6, 1923.

At the time, the hospital appears to have had three designated areas: the two mentioned above, plus a private ward. Only private paying patients could request outside physicians; those in the latter groups were required to work with hospital staff. Medical professionals outside the hospital network argued the rule was discriminatory.

In the article, a Dr. G.D. Gardner explained to the commissioners how he had been unable to see his patient who was transferred to the hospital due to severe injury. “I was told if he went in the charity ward, I could not treat him,” the doctor said. “The institution receives public funds and some change should be made in the rules.”

The county’s withdrawn support provoked the ire of the paper’s editorial section. In a July 11, 1923, piece, The Asheville Citizen denounced the move. The paper’s primary objections, however, appear hyperbolic in some instances and racist in others.

Opening the charity ward “to ANY licensed physician,” the paper wrote, invited all sorts of trouble. “Perhaps a dope fiend liable to become a murderous maniac” would be placed in charge of the ward and its nurses, the editorial stated. The rule change would also bind the hospital “to admit a colored physician to its white ward[.]”

City officials soon followed the county’s lead, ultimately pulling their support from the hospital due to the policy; the county, however, appears to have ultimately realigned with the hospital, sending its “free patients” to Mission under the original arrangement.

The city’s decision created confusion within the broader community. In an Oct. 7, 1923, editorial, the paper sought to clarify the situation. “Because of the fact that the City of Asheville’s charity patients are no longer treated in the Mission Hospital, some persons may have received the impression that this hospital is closed to charity patients,” The Asheville Citizen wrote. This was not the case, the article stressed.

“Mission Hospital is still treating charity cases, as it has done for years past

Nonprofits Why I volunteer Very early in my medical career I encountered numerous patients whose lives were being negatively impacted by domestic violence. I was moved by these patients because individual agency and self-direction have been important to me from an early age and I saw these patients were in relationships robbing them of these important aspects of their humanity.

Thirty-five years ago, I moved to Asheville to continue my career and immediately looked for a local referral source for the patients I knew I would be seeing. I found Helpmate and began supporting the group anyway I could.

And I’ve just never stopped.

I was privileged to serve on the board of directors for over 15 years, including a term as board president. I was able to help with fundraising for the creation of the Men Who Care group, whose biennial luncheon has been successful in raising both awareness and hundreds of thousands of dollars for the organization.

Upon retirement 10 years ago, I began taking a weekly shift answering Helpmate’s 24-hour crisis line, and this has enabled me to continue to have direct client contact, which I value.

Both personally and professionally, supporting Helpmate over the years has been deeply rewarding. Until my community is free of intimate partner violence, I want there to be quality services available to those who need them.

It feels good to think I can do my small part to make that happen.

For more information on Helpmate, visit helpmateonline.org.

— Dr. John Stewart 30

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NEW DIGS: In 1923, Mission Hospital opened its new wing on the corner of Charlotte and Woodfin streets. Photo courtesy of Buncombe County Special Collections … [and] is legally responsible for its treatment of patients[.]”

That point resurfaced in November, as the annual Community Chest fundraiser for charitable organizations was underway. The Asheville Citizen’s editorial team called on donors to include Mission Hospital in their list of beneficiaries, noting the 187 patients cared for by the hospital out of pocket.

“The Hospital is a non-profit making institution; whatever it clears on its pay-cases goes for ameliorating the suffering of those in unfortunate circumstances,” the article continued.

“The Hospital needs money to complete the new wing, in order that its capacity to serve humanity may be enlarged; it needs funds to supplement the revenues received from those able to pay. Any subscriber who fails

to include the Mission in his or her donation to the Community Chest fails by that much to offer succor to men, women and children in bodily distress and dependent upon the generosity of those blessed with health and means.”

It appears residents got behind the call, helping Mission end the year the way it began — on a positive note.

“The dream of a little company of women, supported by a few men of like far vision, is being realized today in the opening of the new Mission Hospital in its dedication to a larger service of humanity,” The Asheville Citizen reported on Dec. 20, 1923.“It is a temple raised for the relief of human distress.”

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

Nonprofits Why I volunteer As a dog lover, I was told by many upon my arrival in Asheville that I had to check out Brother Wolf. That was seven years ago, and I haven’t looked back since. I found a warm and welcoming place with a devoted staff. As a retired teacher, it has been wonderful to work with such a young, enthusiastic crew.

Everyone is so dedicated to animal welfare as well as being of service to the community.

There have been many changes through the years, but each step has been to better serve our animals. We have a large foster parent program, which assists with very young animals (even bottle babies!), as well as animals who need some quiet home-loving for socialization. Many of these foster placements result in a condition known as “foster fail,” which means the foster parent couldn’t relinquish their foster and decided to adopt their fur baby.

The tremendous problem of overpopulation of dogs and cats has been dealt with for years by Brother Wolf’s low-cost spay/neuter mobile clinic. As well as taking in animals that need to be surrendered for a variety of reasons, Brother Wolf offers medical care, training and socialization to all of our animals as needed. We have also helped out other shelters with their overpopulation issues as well as stepping up to help in times of natural disasters.

I am proud to be part of this amazing organization. Plus, I get my quota of puppy breath and cuddles!

For more on Brother Wolf, visit bwar.org.

— Roberta Birkin

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COMMUNITY CALENDAR MAY 11 - 19, 2022 For a full list of community calendar guidelines, please visit mountainx.com/calendar. For questions about free listings, call 828-251-1333, opt. 4. For questions about paid calendar listings, please call 828-251-1333, opt. 1.

Online Events = Shaded HEALTH, WELLNESS & OUTDOORS Sparkle Time Holistic Senior Exercise Aerobic, strengthening, balance and flexibility.

Proof of vaccines required. Every Monday and Wednesday.

WE (5/11, 18), MO (5/16), 10:30am, Avery’s Creek Community Center, 899 Glennbridge Rd SE, Arden Montford Tai Chi Hosted by local acupuncturist Tyler White. All ages, every Thursday.

TH (5/12, 19), 9am, Montford Recreation Center, 34 Pearson Dr Introduction to Tai Chi Pre-registration required ashevillecommunityyoga.com.

TH (5/12, 19), 10:30am, Asheville Community Yoga Center, 8 Brookdale Rd Free Stroke Screenings Appointment is required, call (828)6961087 to schedule. By Pardee UNC Health Care.

TH (5/12), TU (5/17) Azul Concious Dance A class for anyone that wants to move towards embodying full self.

FR (5/13), 6:30pm, $20, Jubilee! Community, 46 Wall St Jump Off Rock Half Marathon & 10K A scenic race through historic streets.

Sponsored by Hunter Suburu and Pardee UNC Health Care.

SA (5/14), 7:30am, Historic Downtown Hendersonville

Waves On The Edge, LGBTQ Sweat Your Prayers Safe space for Queer people to move. No dance experience required. Sliding scale.

SA (5/14), 9:30am, Haw Creek Commons, 315 Old Haw Creek Rd Yoga in the Park Asheville Join together alongside the French Broad River for an all-level friendly yoga class based on Hatha and Vinyasa traditions.

SA (5/14), SU (5/15), 1:30pm, $10, 220 Amboy Rd Men’s Cancer Support Group Safely meet in a large conference room and stay socially distant while wearing masks.

RSVP to Will (412)9130272 or acwein123@ gmail.com.

WE (5/18), 6pm, Woodfin YMCA, 40 N Merrimon Ave, Ste 101

ART Faces of Change Youth Artists Empowered captured images and narratives from Asheville residents and neighborhoods that are being most negatively impacted into high-traffic areas to spark meaningful conversation. In collaboration with Tepeyac Consulting and the City of Asheville. Daily 11am, closed Tuesdays.

Asheville Art Museum, 2 S Pack Square

SHAKE(SPEARE) IT UP: All Shook Up, a musical loosely based on Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, featuring the music of Elvis Presley, opens at the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre (aka HART) in Waynesville on Friday, May 13, at 7:30 p.m. The musical, which kicks off the theater’s season, runs through June 5. Photo courtesy of HART

Gillian Laub's Southern Rites The artist engages her skills as a pho-

Floralia An exhibition to celebrate the birth of spring with glass vessels,

tographer, filmmaker, and visual activist to examine the realities of racism and raise questions that are essential to understanding the American consciousness. Daily 11am, closed Tuesdays.

Asheville Art Museum, 2 S Pack Square

botanical sculpture and mixed media, all with a nature theme. Daily 10am, closed Tuesdays.

North Carolina Glass Center, 140 Roberts St, Ste B Unconventional Perceptions Contemporary photographic essays that play with the everyday imagery that surrounds our daily lives, challenging the concept of what a

photograph is, and can be. Daily 11am, closed Sundays.

Contemporaneo Asheville Gallery-Shop, 4 Biltmore Ave No Man's Land/Tierra de Nadie A multimedia exhibit by Cuban born artist and photographer Ernesto Javier Fernández. Daily 11am, closed Sundays.

Contemporaneo Asheville Gallery-Shop, 4 Biltmore Ave

COMMUNITY MUSIC Spring Series: Chuck Brodsky In the Peterson Amphitheater.

TH (5/12), 6:30pm, Tryon Fine Arts Center, 34 Melrose Ave, Tryon J. Pavone String Ensemble Featuring a new lineup consisting of Pavone on viola, Aimée Niemann on violin and Abby Swidler playing both violin and viola.

TH (5/12), 7pm, $8, Black Mountain College Museum & Arts Center, 120 College St

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Midori in Recital Virtuoso violinist.

TH (5/12), 7:30pm, Brevard Music Center, 349 Andante Ln, Brevard Bassooniverse: 4 Bassoon Joy Featuring Rosalind Buda, Susan Cohen, Jennifer Anderson, and Will Peebles. Donation based.

SU (5/15), 4pm, First Presbyterian Church, Fletcher Community Chorus Presents Celebrate Music To include selections from a variety of genres. Donations appreciated.

TH (5/19), 7pm, Fletcher United Methodist Church, 50 Library Rd, Fletcher

SPOKEN & WRITTEN WORD Discussion Bound Book Club Participants will discuss The Flowering: The Autobiography of Judy Chicago.

WE (5/11), 12pm, Asheville Art Museum, 2 S Pack Square

UNC Press & Malaprop's present Glenda Elizabeth Gilmore, author of Romare Bearden in the Homeland of His Imagination The author will discuss her book. Registration required.

WE (5/11), 1pm, avl.mx/bin Hernan Diaz presents Trust The author discusses his novel. Sponsored

by Malalprop's. Registration required for in-person or online.

TH (5/12), 6pm, Malaprop's Bookstore and Cafe, 55 Haywood St Marshall Library Half Price Book Sale In the library lobby.

SA (5/14), 9am, Marshall Public Library, 1335 N Main St, Marshall Writers at Home Featuring work from UNCA’s Great Smokies Writing Program and The Great Smokies Review. Registration required.

SU (5/15), 3pm, avl.mx/bjx Kathe Koja launches Dark Factory in conversation w/Nathan Ballingrud The writers discuss

Koja's new book.

Registration required for online or in-person.

MO (5/16), 6pm, Malaprop's Bookstore and Cafe, 55 Haywood St Kristin Dwyer presents Some Mistakes Were Made, in conversation w/Adrienne Young The authors discuss Dwyer's new YA novel.

Registration required for online or in-person.

WE (5/18), 6pm, Malaprop's Bookstore and Cafe, 55 Haywood St Book Discussion and Author Reading: The Last Entry with Jim Hamilton A novel tied to the woodlands of WNC's rural mountains, nominee for the 2020 Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award.

TH (5/19), 10am, Black Mountain Library, Black Mountain Ashleigh Bell Pedersen presents The Crocodile Bride in conversation w/Leah Hampton The writers discuss Pederson's debut novel. Sponsored by Malaprop's. Registration required.

TH (5/19), 6pm, Malaprop's Bookstore and Cafe, 55 Haywood St

Foreplay! In the Mountains Monthly open mic adult storytelling event. 21+ TH (5/19), 7pm, Asheville Beauty Academy, 28 Broadway Malaprop's Notorious HBC (History Book Club) Participants will discuss God's Secret Agents: Queen Elizabeth's Forbidden Priests and the Hatching of the Gunpowder Plot by Alice Hogge. Registration required.

TH (5/19), 7pm, avl.mx/9s9

THEATER & FILM NC Stage Presents: The Lifespan of a Fact A new comedy of conflict about the high-stakes world of publishing. Adult themes. Wednesday through Saturday, 7:30pm, Sunday 2pm. $10-46, North Carolina Stage Company, 15 Stage Ln Starbright The story of Grace, an astrophysicist who lost her daughter Abby nearly a year ago, written by Asheville resident Sean David Robinson. Thursdays through Saturday 7:30pm, Sunday 4pm. $25, The Magnetic Theatre, 375 Depot St God is a Scottish Drag Queen In this comedy of biblical proportions, God, dressed in a floral powersuit, has descended to Earth to let off some steam and skewers everything from Justin Bieber to the Pope TH (5/12), 8pm, $35, Diana Wortham Theatre, 18 Biltmore Ave All Shook Up A musical featuring the music of Elvis Presley, loosely based on Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. Opening night May 13, 7:30pm.

Various dates and times through June 5. $14-38, HART Theatre, 250 Pigeon St, Waynesville Montford Park Players: As You Like It A local interpretation of the Shakespearean comedy. Donations welcome. Friday through Sunday, 7:30pm.

Hazel Robinson Amphitheatre, 92 Gay St Movies in the Park A free showing of Encanto, presented by Asheville Parks and Rec. FR (5/13), 7pm, Pack Square Park, 80 Court Plaza Birds of North America Mockingbird Theater Productions performs this two-person play, a heartfelt look at a father-daughter relationship, written by Anna Ouyang Moench.

Friday and Saturday at 7pm, Sunday at 2pm.

$20, Black Mountain Center for the Arts, 225 W.State St, Black Mountain Staged Reading Series A free public reading of a new play in development, following by a discussion with playwright and actors.

Donations welcome.

SA (5/14), 4pm, Free, Hendersonville Theatre, 229 S Washington St, Hendersonville Elsa's Legacy: The Born Free Story A special screening of the PBS documentary, hosted by Wendy Wheat, who will speak about her time living and working with Joy and George Adamson of Born Free fame in the Kenyan Bush during the late 1960s. Contact (415)419-4499 or wendy4g@yahoo.com to RSVP. Donations welcome.

SU (5/15), 12pm, Kenilworth Presbyterian Church, 123 Kenilworth Rd

BENEFITS & VOLUNTEERING Brews and Bears Fundraiser Resident black bears Uno and Ursa, bear education by BearWise, food, drink and music, to support WNC Nature .

FR (5/13), 5:30pm, WNC Nature Center, 75 Gashes Creek Rd The Asheville Beatles Band at Sound Effects Benefit Concert An all-star cast of Asheville musicians.

All proceeds from the event will benefit Asheville Music School’s operations, mission, and programs, and the school’s growing outreach and scholarship programs.

TH (5/19), 6pm, $20, Salvage Station, 468 Riverside Dr Community Garden Nights Seeking volunteers for the School Garden.

Gloves and tools will be provided. Email volunteer coordinator, Polly, at pphillips@ verneremail.org for more details.

Verner Center for Early Learning, 2586 Riceville Rd

Introduction to Medicare - Understanding the Puzzle The class will explain how Medicare works, the enrollment process, how to avoid penalties, and ways to save money. To register: Council on Aging of Buncombe County, coabc.org or (828)2778288.

WE (5/11), 2pm Cocktails with Revel HQ Hosts Jenny & Dale Drinks and conversation discussing an online community for women over 40.

TH (5/12), 5:30pm, AC Hotel Asheville Downtown, 10 Broadway WNCHA History Hour – WWII Axis Detainees in WNC A discussion of the detainment and experience of Axis individuals and families in WNC - specifically at Montreat - in WWII. TH (5/12), 6pm, wnchistory.org Natural Plant Dyes: Finding Wild Colors Students will walk and forage plants and learn which plants extract the best colors on different fabrics. Outdoor location in Barndardsville.

SA (5/14), 10am, TBA to registrants, Barnardsville

The 400 Years Project: A Conversation on Photography in Indigenous Communities Join the founders of the 400 Years Project for a community-based event to share and collect information about Native American photographers working from the mid1800s to the present.

SA (5/14), 3pm, Free, Museum of the Cherokee Indian, 589 Tsali Blvd, Cherokee Bike Clinic: Shifting Overhaul In this class for all skill levels, learn about different shifting assemblies and how to set them up and maintain them.

SU (5/15), 2pm, Asheville ReCyclery, 90 Biltmore Ave Gardening in the Mountains: Incredible Edible Landscaping Join Craig Mauney, NC Extension Area Specialized Agent, and learn how to add edible plants to a new or existing landscape.

Registration required.

TH (5/19), 10am, avl.mx/bka

LOCAL MARKETS Asheville City Market South Midweek market operated by the Appalachian

Weaverville Tailgate Market Local foodstuffs, alongside a small lineup of craft and artisan vendors.

WE (5/11,18), 3pm, 60 Lake Shore Dr, Weaverville Les-ter Farmers Market Over 20 vendors offering fresh local produce, cheese, baked goods, meat, body care products, arts and crafts in a family-friendly environment.

WE (5/11, 18), 3:30pm, Leicester Community Center, 2979 New Leicester Hwy, Leicester RAD Farmers Market WE (5/11, 18), Weekly, across from the French Broad River.

Pleb Urban Winery, 289 Lyman St Enka-Candler Tailgate Market Fresh local produce and heritage crafts. Weekly.

TH (5/12, 19), 3pm, A-B Tech Small Business Center, 1465 Sand Hill Rd, Candler East Asheville Tailgate Market Local goods, every Friday.

FR (5/13), 3pm, 954 Tunnel Rd

Henderson County Tailgate Market One of the oldest open-air markets in Western North Carolina, this unique market has a festival feel, with local growers who operate small family farms in Henderson County.

SA (5/14), 8am, 100 N King St, Hendersonville North Asheville Tailgate Market The oldest Saturday morning market in WNC. Over 60 rotating vendors.

SA (5/14), 8am, 3300 University Heights Asheville City Market Over fifty vendors and local food products, including fresh produce, meat, cheese, bread, pastries, and more.

SA (5/14), 9am, 52 N Market St Haywood's Historic Farmers Market Located at HART Theatre.

SA (5/14), 9am, Hart Theatre, 250 Pigeon St, Waynesville Transylvania Farmers Market Fifty vendors offering fresh, locally-grown produce, meat, poultry, eggs, honey, cheese, coffee, plants, herbs, cut flowers, baked goods, jams, jellies, relishes, prepared

foods and handcrafted items.

SA (5/14), 9am, 175 East Main St, Brevard

coffee and matcha, and yoga by Ful Flu Yoga.

SU (5/15), 10am, 204 Weaverville Rd

Madison Co. Farmers & Artisans Market Local goods and produce, weekly through October.

SA (5/14), 10am, Mars Hill University, 100 Athletic St, Mars Hill

Gladheart Farm Fest Market Fresh produce, bread and pastries, food vendors, and live music, weekly.

SU (5/15), 11am, Gladheart Farm, 9 Lora Ln

The Spring Market Discover handmade bags, gourmet spices, flavored hummus, one-of-a-kind art and much more. Plus, live music 11am-1pm and a complimentary tote bag for the first 50 attendees.

SA (5/14), 11am, Pack Square Parking Garage - Top Level, 26 Biltmore Ave

Asheville Punk Flea Pop-up flea market featuring vendors from local and surrounding areas.

SU (5/15), 12pm, Fleetwood's, 496 Haywood Rd

HEEAL Market Handcrafted candles, jewelry, fragrances, apothecary, plant medicine remedies, ceremonial artifacts, terrariums, pottery, crystals, reiki infused items, body care, botanicals, home decor, herbal medicine, live plants and more.

SA (5/14), 2pm, One World Brewing West, 520 Haywood Rd

West Asheville Tailgate Market Over 40 local vendors, every Tuesday.

TU (5/17), 3:30pm, 718 Haywood Rd

Centerville Luncheonette Outdoor Market Twelve plus vendors,

Sundays on the Island Local market located on Marshall's island in the middle of the French Broad River.

SU (5/15), 12pm, Blanahasset Island, Marshall

SPIRITUALITY Buddha Day A celebration of the birth, life, and death of the Buddha. All are welcome.

SU (5/15), 3pm, Urban Dharma, 697-C Haywood Rd

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CLASSES, MEETINGS & EVENTS Walk through History: Lake Tomahawk Take a walk and learn about the history of Lake Tomahawk in Black Mountain, from its creation in 1936 as part of the WPA program to the present.

WE (5/11), 10:30am, $25-35, Lake Tomahawk Park, 401 S Laurel Circle Dr, Black Mountain

Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP).

WE (5/11, 18), 12pm, Biltmore Town Square, 1 Town Square Blvd

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MOUNTAINX.COM

MAY 11-17, 2022

33

WELLNESS

Money on my mind

BY JESSICA WAKEMAN

Mental health nonprofit sees funding lag

tive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness Western Carolina, to Xpress in an email.

jwakeman@mountainx.com The coronavirus pandemic is still doing a number on mental health.

In the most recent Household Pulse Survey conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics, nearly 1-in-3 North Carolina residents reported experiencing symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder or depression.

Many people seek counseling through a psychiatrist, psychologist or licensed clinical social worker in private practice. While some of these providers accept insurance, others do not. Even with insurance, the copays for mental health services can be out of reach.

For the uninsured and underinsured, local mental health nonprofits are filling the gap, but they struggle with funding.

“Unfortunately, the need for support with mental health issues has escalated in the last two years, and access to care and support has been affected,” wrote Pam Jaillet, execu-

Dr. Elizabeth Garbarino

A Women’s Healthcare Practice Specializing in Gynecological Care

Welcoming New Patients!

828.575.9562 • LivingWellWNC.com

‘EVERYTHING WAS EXACERBATED’ Nonprofits are accustomed to funding variations. “Oftentimes you don’t know year-to-year exactly what your funding picture is going to look like because it’s based on community economics,” says Meredith Switzer, executive director of All Souls Counseling Center in Asheville, which provides in-person and virtual counseling services on a sliding scale.

It does not accept private insurance, Medicare or Medicaid.

The nonprofit, founded in 2000, is typically a resource for people struggling with depression and anxiety.

“When the pandemic hit, everything was exacerbated, and so we saw our calls for support dramatically increase,” Switzer explains. “We found that people were calling in more of a crisis mode.”

The pandemic led to an increase in calls about stress in families, she continues. Couples counseling, as well as separations and divorces, have persisted as reasons clients reach out.

The center, which serves clients 18 and older, also saw an increase in calls from parents seeking support for their struggling children. Parents of teenagers — already navigating an often tumultuous period of life — have been especially in need of support helping their kids during the pandemic. “Teenagers are having a difficult time with the social isolation that has happened through the pandemic,” Switzer says, noting that social media usage among young people, especially the practice known as

• Aquatic Bodywork • Aquanatal (aquatic-prenatal

movement /childbirth preparation)

GENEROSITY: Meredith Switzer, executive director of All Souls Counseling Center, says the nonprofit received an “outpouring” of donations at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo courtesy of Switzer “doomscrolling,” has amplified some mental health problems.

INITIAL ‘OUTPOURING’ All Souls Counseling Center is supported through private sources like individual donations, corporate foundations and mission-based foundations.

From March 17, 2019, to March 16, 2020, it received $340,019 in grant funding, according to the center’s business office manager, Nicole Almeida, in an email to Xpress. During the 2019-20 fiscal year, the nonprofit provided close to 3,600 therapy sessions and served 458 clients, according to data provided by Almeida.

The coronavirus pandemic shook up the local economies of many communities. Yet All Souls Counseling

New Career as Licensed Therapist in 7 months

Center pushed through with continued financial support. “Early in the pandemic, we found that there was just this outpouring of support from the community — not just from private donors but also from private foundations and then corporate foundations,” explains Switzer. The center maintained its staff of about 20 therapists during the pandemic except for a small number of retirements, she says.

“Foundations in our community just recognized that nonprofits were going to struggle,” Switzer continues.

“They were the ones who were really front-line.” She cites nonprofits The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina, Sisters of Mercy of North Carolina Foundation, Vaya Health and United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County as key grantees. She also notes that some corporate foundations “gave in larger amounts than they had previously.”

The center received $438,461 in grant funding from March 17, 2020, to March 16, 2021, Almeida says.

That fiscal year also saw the number of therapy sessions drop slightly to 3,500, but the number of clients decreased sharply from 458 to 282.

According to Switzer, the reason for increased funding but fewer clients is that existing clients stayed with the center longer and fewer spaces were available. “We decided that we were going to continue seeing people [beyond the usual] three to six months of service,” she explains.

The center has served some clients for two years; it isn’t the nonprofit’s norm, but it recognized the need. ’TAPERING OFF’ The initial “outpouring,” as Switzer put it, has not continued.

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“We did see a lot of funding coming in initially to support mental health that has started to taper off,” she says.

Figures shared by Almeida show the nonprofit received $311,096 in grant funding from March 17, 2021, to March 16, 2022 — lower than its pre-pandemic funding. But Switzer explains, “We haven’t really seen the need for our services to taper off that is consistent with the funding tapering off.” In fiscal year 202122, the number of therapy sessions decreased to 2,815, and the number of clients to 260. When Switzer spoke with Xpress in April, the waitlist for therapy at All Souls Counseling Center was two weeks.

There are a few reasons funding has dipped. Foundations are moving onto other projects and priorities.

The center receives public funding in the form of a grant from the N.C. Department of Public Safety Governor’s Crime Commission for qualified clients. Although this grant has been “pretty steady” for several years, Switzer explains, the department experienced cuts, impacting All Souls Counseling Center’s funding.

“We are still in the pandemic and [do not know] when the impact will subside,” she laments, adding “people are still struggling. ”​ (RHA Health Services and Western North Carolina Community Health Services, a federally qualified health center, both provide mental health services but declined requests to comment for this article.)

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GOING FORWARD All Souls Counseling Center will soon restart its support groups, like grief support programs.

Additionally, Switzer would like to have additional funding for outreach to a wider swath of the community.

Ideally, she would like to hire an employee to exclusively focus on outreach. “We don’t have the resources identified to be able to do any outreach, which I know is a huge gap for us right now,” she explains.

“We realize there are a lot of people who need help and support and have barriers to accessing it,” she continues, noting the area’s Latinx and Ukrainian communities may benefit from Spanish- and Ukrainianspeaking counselors, respectively.

Currently, only one therapist on staff is fluent in Spanish.

Switzer is hopeful that continued support will be forthcoming. “We’re not seeing as much of that right now,” she says of unsolicited donations. “Because, of course, we’re two years down the road. But the need still exists.” X

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ARTS & CULTURE

All the world’s a stage Montford Park Players celebrate 50th season

BY JUSTIN McGUIRE jmcguire@mountainx.com The Montford Park Players were strictly a no-frills operation in the early days.

“We were pitching tents for dressing rooms at Montford Park or changing in the park’s bathrooms,” says Deborah Austin, who first worked with the group in 1974 as a stage manager for a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She subsequently worked on numerous other shows.

Actors used picnic tables at the city park to do their makeup, Austin continues, while costumes were stored in a small space between a restroom and a concrete building.

“It was sort of like camping — with Shakespeare,” she says.

From such humble beginnings at a small neighborhood park, the nonprofit group has grown to where it now averages more than 12,500 patrons a year at the city-owned Hazel Robinson Amphitheatre, says Executive Director John Russell.

Attendance at the Gay Street venue hit a record high of 18,000 in 2018.

The amphitheater, which opened in 1983 in the city’s 17-acre Montford Recreation Complex (today’s Tempie Avery Montford Community Center), enjoys the third-largest attendance of any outdoor theater in North Carolina. According to Russell, only The Lost Colony at Waterside Theatre on Roanoke Island and Unto These Hills at Mountainside Theatre in Cherokee attract more visitors.

THE PLAY’S THE THING: Over the years, the Montford Park Players have performed such Shakespeare plays as, clockwise from top left, Romeo and Juliet, Titus Andronicus, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Othello. Top photos courtesy of the Montford Park Players; bottom photos courtesy of Buncombe County Special Collections But as the Montford Park Players embark on their 50th season, the troupe can claim the mantle of North Carolina’s longest-running Shakespeare theater company.

Nonprofits Why I volunteer I have been volunteering with Literacy Together for 17 years. Teaching English for speakers of other languages is something I’ve wanted to do since I was in college. I’ve always loved meeting people from around the world, learning about new places and new cultures.

When my schedule opened up 17 years ago, calling up Literacy Together was one of the first things I did. My initial motivation was to give back. My grandfather and great-grandparents came to Philadelphia from Poland knowing no English, and people helped them along. I wanted to return the favor.

But I have stayed because teaching is incredibly rewarding for me. The moment a concept clicks in my student’s mind, it’s like winning a marathon.

Seeing my students progress and interact with the English-speaking world more confidently and effectively is gratifying. Each step my students take forward is a step for the entire community as it allows them to expand ways that they can contribute and participate.

For more on Literacy Together, visit lit-together.org.

— Anne Dachowski

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While the growth and continued success might be surprising to some who were there at the beginning, at least one person saw the potential: the late Hazel Robinson, the group’s founder.

“Hazel certainly had a great imagination and a great vision of what [the Montford Park Players] could become,” Austin says. “Just the fact that a nonprofit survives its founder is a statement of a strong foundation.”

BRINGING THE BARD TO ASHEVILLE Robinson, who was active in the Asheville theater scene, was inspired to start the Montford Park Players after she and her husband saw a performance of Twelfth Night at a park in Minnesota.

“She thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be great to have Shakespeare in Asheville?’”

Russell says.

Robinson chose to launch the series at Montford Park because of its prox-

imity to her home, which served as the de facto headquarters for the volunteer actors who gathered for line coaching, meals and more.

The troupe debuted in 1973 with As You Like It and stuck to comedies such as A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Taming of the Shrew for the first few seasons. “In tragedies, the actors need to have had enough background that they don’t have to worry about technique,” Robinson told The Asheville Citizen in 1975. “Comedy takes technique, but the play will carry them more easily while they’re learning.”

In 1977, the group finally took on tragedy by performing Macbeth, and over the years it has mounted Othello, Romeo and Juliet, Titus Andronicus and more. The 50th season takes audiences back to the beginning with As You Like It, with Much Ado About Nothing and Hamlet also on the schedule.

While the group has kept Shakespeare plays central to its mission, it quickly branched out by putting on productions of A Christmas Carol at various locations each December. In 1983, it presented Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest as its first non-Shakespeare summer production at the park.

In recent years, the players have performed such works as Pride and Prejudice, adapted from the Jane Austen novel, The Sword in the Stone and The Importance of Being Earnest. In addition to the works by Shakespeare, this year’s slate includes The Little Prince and the WNC premiere of The Three Musketeers.

Before Russell became the troupe’s first (and only) full-time employee in 2006, the company would perform two shows a summer at the Hazel Robinson Amphitheatre. That brought in about 2,000 visitors a year.

Under Russell’s leadership, the group started an aggressive marketing campaign, doubled audience capacity at the amphitheater and increased the number of plays it put on each season.

In 2021, the MPP performed a staggering eight plays over 26 weeks.

“Everybody loved it, but we decided it was killing our staff,” Russell says.

“So I backed it down to five shows this season. Each show will run five weeks.”

MONEY MATTERS In 1975, two years after its first performances, the Montford Park Players was established as a 501(c)(3) non-

profit organization. The group doesn’t charge admission; instead, it raises money through annual donations, grants, program sponsorships, beer and wine sales, and passing the hat during show intermissions.

“We work on the ‘pay-what-youthink-we’re worth’ method,” Russell says. “Actors actually go out there with buckets and collect money.”

In 2021, the Montford Park Players spent $263,000 while taking in $360,000 through grants, donations and revenue. Most of that money came in through federal relief grants tied to COVID-19. Meanwhile, beer and wine sales, which the theater began in 2012, provided a healthy $80,000 in revenue.

This year’s operating budget is slightly less at $250,000, but Russell says that number could increase depending on whether the group lands recent grants he has applied for.

One source of money has disappeared, though. In 2021, the group partnered with Asheville’s PluggedIn Productions to host nine concerts at the amphitheater. Asheville’s newly revised noise ordinance, which went into effect in September, put an end to that. (Plugged-In Productions continues to have talks with city staff in hopes of bringing concerts back to the stage in the future.)

“That brought in a good chunk of revenue to us, which I’m working on trying to replace,” Russell explains.

While Russell is the only full-time staff member, he says it would be impossible to run the Montford Park Players without the work of a number of talented part-timers he hopes to make full time eventually.

And then there are the 200 or so volunteer actors and crew members who give their time each year. Those people include locals looking to scratch an itch for live theater as well as professional non-Equity actors.

“They love coming over here because they love Shakespeare, and working outdoors is a totally different experience,” Russell says. “And, of course, Shakespeare looks really good on a resume. The greatest playwright the world’s ever known.”

Many current Montford Park crew members and actors have been involved for more than 15 years, Russell says.

This includes Trinity Smith Keel, actor and head of costumes, Deanna Braine Smith, production manager, and Caitlin Lane, senior stage manager.

Over the years, shows have also featured actors and crew members who went on to work in theater and film in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, including Cody Magouirk, Casey Morris and Abby Hoke-Brady.

Tiffany Fisher-Love, who got her start with the Montford Park Players, is now an Emmy-nominated filmmaker.

LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY Austin says the city of Asheville, which leases the Hazel Robinson Amphitheatre to the nonprofit for $1 a year, deserves much of the credit for the group’s success. “It’s remarkable to have a parks and recreation department that considers Shakespeare as part of the definition of recreation,” she says.

Having a theater in a neighborhood adds to the life of the community, Austin adds. She remembers in the early days when children would come and watch the productions in Montford Park. Some of them became pages or played fairies on stage and developed a love of theater.

More recently, family-friendly productions such as Peter Pan, Robin Hood and James and the Giant Peach have helped bring in young parents with kids, a completely new demographic for the Montford Park Players, Russell says.

On the performance side, the youthled Montford Moppets, once part of the Montford Park Players’ education department, spun off into its own nonprofit Shakespeare program in 2020. The Moppets, made up of youths ages 9-17, will perform The Tempest Friday-Sunday, July 1-3, and FridaySaturday, July 8-10.

Unlike the work of so many other playwrights, says Austin, “Shakespeare’s plays offer a look at mankind and have a beauty of language that more contemporary drama is lacking.” X

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The Montford Park Players 2022 schedule Shows are presented Fridays-Sundays at 7:30 p.m. at Hazel Robinson Amphitheatre, 92 Gay St. • • • • •

As You Like It, Friday, May 6-Saturday, June 4 The Little Prince, Friday, June 10-Saturday, July 9 Much Ado About Nothing, Friday, July 15-Saturday, Aug. 13 The Three Musketeers, Friday, Aug. 19-Saturday, Sept. 17 Hamlet, Friday, Sept. 23-Saturday, Oct. 22 For more information, visit avl.mx/bje. X

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ARTS & C U L T U R E

FOOD

Endless obstacles

Food nonprofits fight to meet increased need

BY KAY WEST kwest@mountainx.com The whack-a-mole arcade game, adapted from a Japanese concept and first introduced to U.S. players in the 1970s, was simple to grasp: As moles emerged from one of five holes on a waist-high flat playing surface, players armed with mallets would attempt to whack said moles back into said holes. Easy enough. Except that for every mole successfully whacked into submission, another one or two would tauntingly pop up again.

Since COVID-19 emerged in early 2020, local nonprofits dedicated to meeting the needs of food insecure citizens have been engaged in what feels like an endless game of whack-a-mole, no sooner subduing one obstacle before another rears its menacing head.

“At first, with everyone sheltering in place, the challenge was how do we keep our volunteers and keep delivery going,” recalls Debbie Sprouse, executive director of Meals on Wheels of Asheville and Buncombe County.

Immediately after the lockdown, she adds, there was a jump in clients, which precipitated a need to produce more meals and add more routes.

“But we did it, and at a certain point we said, ‘OK, we’ve got this!’

“But fast-forward to today, and the cost of food is going crazy, the supply chain is still totally unpredictable, and fuel costs are through the roof,” Sprouse continues. “It does feel like it’s always something.”

STICKER SHOCK Ali Casparian, founder and executive director of Black Mountain-based Bounty & Soul, echoes Sprouse’s observations. “In the beginning, it was all about how to meet the dramatically increased client numbers and figuring out the logistics of distributing safely. Now we are dealing with rising food and fuel costs, which on a client level creates more need and increases our operational costs.”

Part of Bounty & Soul’s mission is to bring healthy produce received from grocery chains or purchased from area farms to residents experiencing food insecurity. Packaged boxes are distributed twice weekly to more than 300 cars in the parking lot of the vacant Bi-Lo market, 205 N.C. 9, Black Mountain; once a week the organization also delivers to the mercadio communitario de Sherwood,

THE WHEEL DEAL: Meals on Wheels of Asheville and Buncombe County driver Lisa Rutherford, left, and Executive Director Debbie Sprouse gear up for a delivery. Photo courtesy MOWABC serving the Latin community at 21 Sherwood Park Drive, Swannanoa.

While supply chain and staffing issues continue to impact the amount of food Bounty & Soul receives, rising fuel prices are also increasing the nonprofit’s bottom line.

“I nearly hit the ground when I saw our gas bill right after fuel prices jumped,” Casparian says.

Using diesel engines to carry its produce throughout Black Mountain and Asheville, as well as parts of Haywood and McDowell counties, has more than doubled the nonprofit’s travel expenses. “Whatever I experience at the pump when I fill my car pales in comparison,” Casparian says.

Kara Irani, director of marketing and communications for MANNA FoodBank, says the constantly changing variables of the pandemic have kept her organization, which serves 16 WNC counties, on its toes. “We really haven’t had a chance to catch our breath from rebalancing one thing before another thing comes along and we’re chasing our tails again. It’s a constant battle.”

Irani says the nonprofit’s services are at a record high — before the pandemic, monthly distribution reached about 70,000 people; in March, MANNA served over 116,000 residents. The ongoing health crisis, adds Irani, has been particularly hard on mothers, especially those who left the workforce at the start of the pandemic to stay home with children and now face unaffordable and scarce options for child care as they try to return.

“Food costs to consumers are a huge part of why we continue to see so many people,” Irani says. “Seniors and others on fixed incomes don’t have wiggle room as prices rise, especially for healthier foods like fresh vegetables.”

Irani notes that increased benefits through the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program have been helpful but were also offset by the rise in food costs. Furthermore, she says that when the monthly Child Tax Credit ended in January, it put more stress on struggling families.

On top of a growing clientele, MANNA has had to purchase much

more of its inventory, facing the same inflation crisis everyday shoppers experience. “The pandemic has completely changed our donation structure,” Irani says. “Pre-pandemic, probably 85% of our inventory was donated, mostly by wholesale entities. After the first year, it was around 65%, and now we’re lower than that, mostly due to supply chain issues.

Even perishable food drive donations have dipped because people have had to cut back what they can purchase at retail to donate. It puts a lot of pressure on us to purchase — and at much higher costs.”

Sprouse of Meals on Wheels says she experiences sticker shock every month. “Pre-pandemic, our grocery bills were about $17,000 per month.

Now it’s up to about $25,000 per month. Food and food supplies, like the containers we use, are up 21%.

Pre-pandemic, we delivered about

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A R TS & CU LTU R E 100,000 meals a year, and since then it’s about 125,000 a year. That need is not going away.”

These issues, Casparian adds, are not unique to food nonprofits.

“Everyone — individuals and organizations — is going through it,” she says. “We all have to make decisions based on what we can do, what our resources are and how to best use those resources. It takes a lot more planning, effort and energy. It’s a collective effort.”

POSITIVE THINKING With metaphorical mallets in hand, the nonprofits continue to whack away at the lingering aftershocks of the pandemic and the persistent problems of food insecurity. Collectively, they assert that what inspires them on a daily basis are their donors and volunteers, as well as the glimpses of pre-pandemic normalcy.

“We are getting back to some choice markets again where clients can shop for their food rather than have a prepacked box put in their car,” says Irani. “We are doing well with volunteers. So many new folks stepped in to help when our older volunteers had to step back, but since vaccines, [our older volunteers] have come back. We just hosted our first really big virtual food drive in March, and thanks to a donor who gave us $100,000 as a matching challenge, we raised over $200,000 to buy fresh vegetables, which we desperately needed.”

Sprouse notes that rising fuel costs have put an additional burden on volunteers, many of them retired seniors. Yet, when some MOW supporters donated gas cards, the volunteers declined. “They all said they had already made adjustments to continue driving and we should use the cards for our vans,” Sprouse says.

Like other organizations, MOW has not been able to do its signature annual fundraiser, Plate Expectations, since 2019. And yet, says Sprouse, the plate gets replenished. “We have some incredibly supportive businesses that pick us up.

Maybe in the past, they did a $2,500 sponsorship for Plate Expectations, but now they send us a $10,000 check to keep us going. Our community has been incredible.”

Casparian sees many silver linings emerging from the storm clouds of the last two years, among them a significant increase in volunteer hours, stronger relationships with the local food system and a deeper outreach to the Hispanic community.

“When we’ve been able to take a minute and reflect, we’re pretty amazed at what we’ve been able to do,” she says. “You have to be adaptable and resilient. I am reminded of the victory gardens Americans [planted] during World War II. We all have that within us. When a crisis hits, we can come together and figure it out. ” For more information on MANNA FoodBank, visit avl.mx/6gn; for Bounty & Soul, see avl.mx/8zg; and for Meals on Wheels, go to avl.mx/bj1. X

Nonprofits Why I volunteer I began working at Bounty & Soul five years ago after moving to Asheville and finding myself unexpectedly unemployed, following two decades of a traveling career. Bounty & Soul was recommended to me by a church friend as a way to get to know the community.

I adore hard work. I love people from all walks of life. And I find it both a duty and an immense pleasure to be in community serving others. For me, Bounty & Soul is a banquet of people and personalities with volunteers, staff and participants from all walks of life and every possible background supporting each other in what feels like a colorful street party twice a week at our markets.

More people than you think have to make painful choices between healthy food and other obligations. We’ve seen it. The elderly often have to choose between medication and food. For young families, it’s the pain of having to choose between bills and the grapes, bananas and fruit their children adore. For young professionals, it’s often a choice between eating and rent. Hunger is real.

You learn in life that we are here to take care of each other. At Bounty & Soul, we collect and pass out food donated by the community back out to the community. All are welcome, and all share equally as we clear out our warehouse twice a week, giving away everything we have for free with no questions asked and no strings attached. Moreover, we support healthy lifestyles by conducting cooking and wellness classes.

Being a part of Bounty & Soul is a constant reminder to get my priorities straight and remember we are all in this together — “Y’all means All.” Come join the fun!

For more on Bounty & Soul, visit bountyandsoul.org.

— Austin Brown

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ARTS & C U L T U R E

MUSIC

Resilient rockers

Asheville Music School emerges from pandemic stronger than ever

BY EDWIN ARNAUDIN earnaudin@mountainx.com Weathering the COVID-19 pandemic has proved arduous for practically everyone, but the folks at Asheville Music School deserve special commendations for their perseverance.

“Where to begin?” says Ryan Reardon, the nonprofit’s executive director. “Paying rent; trying to teach music via online platforms; being asked to move out of our downtown location before our new facility was ready; canceling concerts; fundraising. The list [of challenges] goes on.”

Despite those obstacles, Reardon, his colleagues and their students persist, and as life gradually returns to normal, Reardon says he feels that AMS will be even stronger going forward.

LONG-RANGE PLAN: Asheville Music School board members celebrate the start of renovations on the nonprofit’s new West Asheville facility. Photo courtesy of AMS PROBLEM-SOLVERS The AMS team realized early on in the pandemic that staying connected would be a huge challenge. Reardon explains that, especially when a student is learning an instrument, there’s a personal connection, both to the music and to one’s teacher. AMS faculty wanted to preserve that link as much as possible while still adhering to local and state indoor gathering restrictions, which pushed them and other music educators into the digital realm.

“It’s a living, breathing, rhythmic art form, and without your teacher in the room with you, it can be hard to keep progressing as a music student,” Reardon says. “It’s an art of time as well, so playing duets or accompanying a student is next to impossible. Even the split second of

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latency that happens online makes it a huge challenge.”

Whenever possible, AMS faculty avoided those technological hiccups by holding outdoor lessons, teaching from home or traveling to students’ homes. But they also developed a platform to help teachers instruct online that’s remained in use even as pandemic-related restrictions have lifted.

These efforts and the support of AMS staff, donors and its board of directors kept the school afloat, while the livestreamed Come Together Asheville and Home for the Holidays concerts in 2020 helped fill the in-person performance void.

“We rely on the stability of our donor support, fundraising events and tuition to keep going. All of this was disrupted, but particularly our special events like the Sound

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Effects benefit concert,” says Sally Sparks, AMS board chair. “So, we had to come up with other ways, such as live video concerts. We had zero experience with that but were able to launch a couple of successful events that helped us stay connected with the community and raise some support.”

NOMAD LIFE Despite the financial backing, Reardon identifies a stable home as AMS’ biggest issue. The rent for its College Street facility had been steadily increasing with no end in sight, and when the pandemic hit, it became even harder to justify the high downtown rent.

“Our landlord did give us a bit of rent relief, but that was temporary,” Reardon says. “We had been looking for a new home for years, and the pandemic amplified the need. Luckily, we found an amazing building in West Asheville that will be our long-term, rent-controlled home, with the option to purchase in the future.”

Located at 10 Ridgelawn Road, just off Beacham’s Curve, the build-

ing is being leased to AMS by a generous supporter who wishes to remain anonymous. The school is in the midst of its Play It Forward capital campaign to renovate the space, and in March received a $124,000 grant from the Asheville-based Glass Foundation. Work on the building began April 1, and both Reardon and Sparks are confident the new home will help AMS bring music education into the modern era with a multiuse rehearsal studio, a sound lab to teach recording, engineering, composition, production techniques and more.

“West Asheville is perfect for accessibility and convenience for our students coming from all directions,” Sparks says. “The new building will serve our needs for many years and facilitate expanding our programs to include newer ways of engaging students with music tech.”

She adds that AMS leaders want to find fresh ways to engage with the community beyond instrument instruction, and that as they settle into the new space, they’ll be looking for intersections with schools and other organizations as part of their outreach efforts.

Moving in, however, can’t come soon enough. Just as coronavirus infection rates were declining and Asheville was starting to open up again last October, AMS was given a six-week notice to leave its downtown location — part of an agreement with its then-landlord — before its new facility was ready. While renovations are underway, faculty members are teaching at satellite locations around town, including SoundSpace@Rabbit’s, Experience Music, Citizen Vinyl and Trinity United Methodist Church.

“These local businesses [and churches] really stepped up and helped us through,” Reardon says.

“In the end, it was really our community that helped us overcome these challenges, and staying connected helped us continue the work that we do.”

a painter who paints the most beautiful painting but no one can see it,” Reardon says. “The online shows we all did and watched were — OK. It got us through, and we all appreciated them. But there’s nothing like a live show.”

Much to the AMS community’s delight, Sound Effects returns for its eighth iteration on Thursday, May 19, at Salvage Station’s outdoor stage. AMS flagship student rock band, Minør, will open the show, along with fellow student groups Liminal Spaces and Dollars on Ice. Then the Asheville Beatles Band will take to the stage and perform The Beatles, aka The White Album.

This year’s ensemble is composed of Matt Williams (lead vocals/guitar/ violin), Dulci Ellenberger (vocals), Jon Lauterer (drums/Ringo Starr vocals), Rich Brownstein (keyboards), Alec Fehl (lead guitar), Jason Moore (saxophone), Kylie Irvin (vocals) and Rachel Hansbury (vocals). Reardon plays bass in the band and notes that while rehearsals are going well, he and his fellow musicians feel humbled by the experience.

“Every time we learn a new one, it’s like. ‘Whoa! I never realized how

unique this song is,’” Reardon says.

“For me, ‘Dear Prudence’ is such a gorgeous, uplifting song — one of their best, as if ranking songs is even possible. And ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’ has got to be one of the greatest rock songs of all time. I mean, it’s a rock song about a guitar!”

Reardon adds that The White Album’s handful of intimate, stripped-down acoustic songs (e.g., “Blackbird” and “Mother Nature’s Son”) followed by “some seriously intense rockers” (namely “Helter Skelter”) make crafting a set list to enhance and showcase both elements a challenging yet rewarding undertaking. X

WHAT Sound Effects benefit concert WHERE Salvage Station, 468 Riverside Drive, avl.mx/biw WHEN Thursday, May 19, 6-10 p.m. $20 advance/$25 day of show/free for children under 10

OB-LA-DI, OB-LA-DA The Sound Effects benefit concert last occurred in 2019 when the Asheville Beatles Band — composed of AMS faculty and other talented local musicians — played Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Forgoing the annual fundraiser over the past two years has also provedextremely difficult for Reardon and his colleagues, many of whom also work as gigging musicians.

“Being a performing musician who can’t perform live in front of a crowd is like a chef who cooks a big feast but no one’s there to eat it. Or MOUNTAINX.COM

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ARTS & C U L T U R E

Q&A: Marissa Percoco discusses earth skills and perks of nonprofit status When Marissa Percoco, the executive director of Firefly Gathering, relocated to the Southeast from the West Coast, she’d never seen fireflies. “I remember opening my door and yelling, ‘Fairies!’” she says. “And then I was like, ‘No, they’re fireflies!’”

Long before leading the nonprofit, Percoco participated in its 2010 annual summer solstice event. The gathering offers courses in earth skills and traditional Indigenous skills such as flintknapping and friction fire.

“I was so relieved to know that I wasn’t alone in my awareness of the unsustainability of our modern consumptive culture and that there was a whole community of folks committed to living with the land and trying to create a sustainable culture,” she says.

By 2015, Percoco was hired as the organization’s youth programs coordinator. Four years later, she became Firefly Gathering’s executive director, just as it obtained its new nonprofit status. The change has allowed the organization to expand its education program and introduce low- to no-cost options to attendees who qualify.

The name, Firefly Gathering, was inspired by the fact that fireflies communicate through illumination. “You see one firefly blink, and you’ll see a couple around it blink. They’re passing messages back and forth,” Percoco explains. “We were just really inspired by a critter that could communicate through flashing light in the darkness.”

Xpress sat down with Percoco to learn more about the organization’s process of becoming a nonprofit, the inspiration to attain the status and some of the pitfalls aspiring nonprofits should aim to avoid.

This interview has been condensed and lightly edited.

What inspired Firefly Gathering to become a nonprofit?

We wanted to be qualified for grants.

We feel like these skills and experiences [we offer] are crucial for everybody because of that deep satisfaction we get when we make something. So many people don’t get that. They’re in the grind — I got to work, I got to feed my kids, I got to go to bed, I got to pay the bills. In this reactive stress mode, we don’t have creative flow. Becoming a nonprofit makes it possible for us to start to look at grants to fulfill this bigger dream of helping folks reconnect to creative process, power and healing.

How has the nonprofit status changed your mode of operations?

IN TUNE WITH NATURE: “We all have this cyclical nature, and that’s been taken away from us through modern culture with alarm clocks and climate-controlled buildings,” says Marissa Percoco, executive director of Firefly Gathering. Photo courtesy of Percoco It’s been awesome since we’ve become a nonprofit. We used to just have one event every summer. Now we have perennial workshops and year-round classes. We also have a community connections program in the works, which is more outreach and more collaboration with [organizations] like Black Wall Street AVL. What classes are you offering this year?

We start with traditional Indigenous skills like flintknapping, hide tanning, friction fire and cordage. They’re core essential skills that people all over the planet have been doing since we have recorded time.

Firefly is unique in that we branch out from there. We do sacred sexuality classes [as well as] Thai massage.

We have a robust cooking class — everything from fermenting cabbage to making alcohol to butchering animals. We have an awesome kids program for all ages. We do things like spoon carving and basket making and sacred tattoo classes. We’re trying to touch on all the facets that it takes to be a well-rounded, happy, connected human.

There’s a big conversation about appropriation, because a lot of the skills that we’re teaching come from Indigenous peoples. We’re trying to address that and have more Indigenous teachers teaching these traditional crafts. Being a nonprofit,

we can start to have funding to pay Indigenous teachers.

How do you practice your earth skills here in WNC? I like to pick up a lot of roadkill and take them apart. A dead animal on the side of the road is just a treasure trove for me. I like to process hides, and then I make tools and jewelry out of the bones.

I have walnut trees on my little farmstead, and I collect the black walnuts when they fall in the spring to make dye out of them. Then in the fall, I spin wool and dye it with the walnut.

Our craft life becomes synced up with nature. We make bark baskets out of tulip poplars, and you can only slip their bark in the spring. Spring becomes bark time. Picking up hides is better in the winter. Also there’s no flies, so it’s much better processing animals in the fall and winter.

That’s what I love about earth skills.

Each one cycles you back around and connects you with the rhythms of the earth, our seasons, the moon, our bodies. We all have this cyclical nature, and that’s been taken away from us through modern culture with alarm clocks and climate-controlled buildings. Earth skills crafting realigns folks with that rhythm and with those harmonies that come from nature.

What pitfalls should aspiring nonprofits try to avoid?

We started the switch in 2018. Our lawyer retired and didn’t tell us. He just stopped working on the case, and we had to start over, which was a huge financial burden and a big pain in the butt. So, it’s not fast, and it’s not cheap. And make sure your lawyer is not about to retire.

The second lawyer wanted to sit and ask questions about the gathering. And I was like, “Wait, are you charging me by that $10 per minute price schedule out there?” She said, “Oh, yeah.” I was like, “I don’t have time to talk about all my feelings and mission with you! I want to get through the paperwork and get this done because you’re charging me.”

It’s really important to be concise.

— LA Bourgeois X

Nonprofits Why I volunteer I have been involved with Open Hearts Art Center since I moved to Asheville in 2016 and met one of its artists at another nonprofit. My career was in developmental disabilities, so I was thrilled to hear that OHAC ’s mission combined my interest in art and people with special abilities.

As I continue to stay connected in different ways with the organization, I realize that the most endearing aspect of helping is the affection I feel for and from the artists when I work or just chat with them. The director, staff and artists show so much respect and love for one another as individuals. To me that represents a very hopeful way to navigate these times.

OHAC’s presence in the Asheville art scene gives people an opportunity to develop their skills and to be empowered as artists. By volunteering at OHAC, I’ve been able to contribute in some small way to a community of creative and loving people, which is a wonderful gift I will try to pay forward.

For more on Open Hearts Art Center, visit openheartsartcenter.org.

— Connie Falcone

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ARTS & C U L T U R E

FOOD ROUNDUP

What’s new in food

On April 26, at the conclusion of the winter/spring season, APBL donated $830 and 447 pounds of food to LFR. The summer league, which runs 12 weeks as opposed to the two 15-week winter/spring seasons, kicks off Tuesday, May 17, at 7 p.m. Holmes says all levels of bowlers and all people are welcome to join. “We call ourselves the LGBT and friends Bowling League,” he clarifies. “You don’t have to be gay or a good bowler. I guarantee you will have fun and make friends.”

For more information on APBL, visit avl.mx/bj2. For more information on Loving Food Resources, visit avl.mx/bj3.

Bowling for Loving Food Resources Since Mark Holmes started the Asheville Pride Bowling League in the summer of 2016, he has witnessed three members bowl a perfect game. But the big winner over the past six years has been Loving Food Resources, the recipient of APBL’s food drives and donated prize money.

Loving Food Resources, now in its 30th year, is a nonprofit agency that provides food, health and personal care items to clients across Western North Carolina living with HIV/ AIDS. On average, 90-plus people utilize the Loving Food Resources’ food pantry each week, serving an ongoing total of over 225 people.

Holmes, who has been bowling since he was a kid, moved to Asheville from Orlando, Fla., in January 2016 and says his initial goal in starting the league was to make friends. “I didn’t know a soul here, and a Florida friend kept telling me I should start a gay bowling league,” he recalls. “We started at Sky Lanes with five teams basically made up of people who had no bowling experience but a shared desire to meet people. I had to explain to most how league bowling works, but everyone was very enthused.”

They were also receptive to his vision of donating money to a non-

Aging in place

POT LUCK: Asheville Pride Bowling League founder Mark Holmes, far left, and other bowlers deliver some of their food drive bounty to Loving Food Resources and the nonprofit’s executive director Brent Wyatt, center. Photo courtesy APBL profit. Each week league bowlers pay $14: $10.50 to the bowling center; 50 cents for administrative league costs; and $3 contributed to

Nonprofits Why I volunteer I have been a volunteer at Asheville Humane Society since 2007 — for 15 years! I first got involved with AHS because I am a retired certified dog groomer, and I wanted to use my skill to help the homeless dogs in our community. I could see right away that animals that were given a bath and haircut tended to get adopted more quickly.

I work in a fully equipped grooming parlor on the AHS animal care campus. I’m there at least one day a week and over the years have groomed thousands of dogs — and a few cats, too. I find grooming to be a very creative experience, but most of all, I love seeing how my grooming talent connects homeless animals with loving families.

One day, in 2007, when I first started volunteering, I noticed a 6-week-old kitten in a cage all by herself, meowing loudly. AHS allowed me to take this kitty home and foster her. I named her Sheba, and she was the beginning of my becoming a longtime foster mom. My husband and I turned our walk-out basement into an amazing “foster space.” Since taking home Sheba, I have fostered over 1,200 animals; mostly cats and kittens but occasionally dogs and puppies, too.

I love watching a foster animal blossom simply by offering it a safe and loving place while it recuperates and grows strong again. Fostering is one the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had. During the pandemic, my “fur buddies” helped keep me emotionally healthy. They make me smile every day!

For more on the Asheville Humane Society, visit ashevillehumane.org.

— Sharon Wood

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the end-of-season prize fund for the top finishing teams. An additional 50/50 weekly jackpot is funded by the sale of tickets — two for $1, 12 for $5 and 36 for $10. One ticket is pulled at the end of each week’s game; the winner must bowl a strike in order to keep 50% of what is in the jackpot (with the other 50% designated to LFR). If the ticket holder does not clear the pins, he or she gets $1 per pin knocked down, with the rest of the money remaining in the prize portion of the pot.

Holmes says most teams and individuals opt to keep all winnings in the pot for LFR. The group presents a check to the nonprofit at the end of each season.

In its second season, APBL moved to AMF Star Lanes on Kenilworth Road and made an ongoing commitment to LFR. When COVID ended the winter/spring season in March 2020, the league was up to 16 teams and 64 bowlers. Locked out of Star Lanes, the bowlers gathered in the parking lot for a food drive and to give a check to Brent Wyatt, LFR’s executive director. “Between prize money and individual donations, we gave Brent a check for over $2,000 and weighed our most amount of food ever,” says Holmes.

On Feb. 15, MetroWines closed its flagship store on Charlotte Street to walk-in customers, as renovations were underway to restore the small building to its century-old bones.

(The shop continued to accept online orders and offer curbside pickup throughout the process.) “We took off all the drywall to expose the original brick and removed the drop ceiling to reveal the original tin ceiling,” says store manager Zach Eidson.

“That added about 2 feet of height and really brightened things up.”

When the store opened to the public again on April 22, customers saw not only the refurbished old but also some new additions, including flooring, racks and lighting.

What has not changed, assures Eidson, is the layout. “Regular customers walk in and are blown away by the look, but glad to see their favorite wines in the same places.”

On Saturday, May 14, 1-5 p.m., MetroWines will celebrate its official grand reopening with a tasting of DAOU Vineyards wines, paired with small bites by chef Sam Etheridge.

Metro Wines is at 169 Charlotte St. Tickets for the drop-in event are $20 and can be reserved by calling 828-975-9525 or registering online at avl.mx/bj4.

Sake-mosa?

With the launch of Sunday brunch service on April 10, Ben’s Tune Up is offering a morning-after remedy for Saturday night sake revelry. Chef Chris Langdon has introduced what may be Asheville’s most untraditional brunch menu with items such as Korean breakfast sandwich, beef and carrot steamed bun, New Jersey pork roll sandwich, a tofu scramble bowl and an over-the-top chocolate bun oozing Nutella and peanut butter,

encircled with fresh banana coins and topped with fresh whipped sweet cream and walnuts.

Ben’s Tune Up is at 195 Hilliard Ave. Sunday brunch runs 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

Wild child In October 2020, mother-daughter partners Michele Clark and Sydney Keating opened The Wild Violet in a renovated building on Main Street in Mars Hill. Their zero-waste organic grocery store operates out of the first floor, selling eco-friendly home goods, herbs, bulk items and locally made products and gifts. Tea lattes, juice and smoothies are sold from a small counter.

More recently, the pair launched The Wild Violet Vegetarian Café and Teahouse, now open on the second floor, with a vegetarian, organic and gluten-free menu of small plates, soups, salads and additional items.

The Wild Violet is at 4 N. Main St., Mars Hill. The market is open Tuesday-Saturday 10 a.m.-6 p.m. The second-floor café operates the same days from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. For more information, visit avl.mx/alu.

Annual manual The 20th annual Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project Local Food Guide is hot off the presses. The 80-page publication is packed with listings for farms, farmers markets, restaurants, groceries, artisan producers and travel destinations. It also features charts for finding farms offering u-pick, farm stands, lodging, visitor activities and Community Supported Agriculture shares. Furthermore, the 2022 edition contains stories looking back at 20 years of ASAP, as well as profiles of local farms.

The print version of the 2022 guide is free and can be found in local libraries, grocery stores, farmers markets and other local businesses. For the online version, visit avl.mx/bj5.

Produce to the people Community Supported Agriculture is a seasonal subscription service of weekly boxes of locally grown produce. Five years ago, the N.C. State Extension and Tourism Extension introduced Vacationer Supported Agriculture. Through its online partner, People-First Provisions, VSA coordinates the sale of weekly produce bags to vacationers over the summer tourism season. VSA works with nonprofit groups and select farms to aggregate and distribute the fresh bags.

On April 27, the N.C. State Extension and EmPOWERing Mountain Food Systems announced the expansion and early opening of the VSA program, working with the Jackson County Tourism Development Authority and the Haywood County Tourism Development Authority to promote the program of delivering local produce from farms operating in a 50-mile radius to vacationers in their regions. The 2022 delivery schedule kicked off the first weekend of May and will continue to the last weekend of September.

To link to the program, visit avl.mx/bj6. Jackson and Haywood County partners can be found in the Smoky Mountains region.

Friends of Ben The Asheville chapter of Ben’s Friends, dedicated to supporting members of the food and beverage industry on their sobriety journey, has a new meeting day — Tuesdays at 10 a.m. — in the same place, Avenue M restaurant, 791 Merrimon Ave.

Plant people In 2014, Mike Woliansky and Sadrah Schadel founded No Evil Foods, the plant-based meat substitute made from sustainable and animal-free ingredients and packaged in compostable materials. Based in Weaverville, the product line can be found nationally at Whole Foods, Wegmans, Sprouts and Walmart stores.

On April 18, Shadel, previously chief creative officer, assumed the role of CEO, and Woliansky, who has served as CEO for four years, took over as chief operating officer. Shadel will continue to guide the overall direction of the brand’s marketing.

In early 2022, No Evil Foods introduced Best Life Beef, its first entry into the plant-based beef category.

— Kay West X

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AR T S & C UL TU R E

ROUNDUP

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When three River Arts District artists recently visited Rome, Florence and Venice, they viewed the experience as more than a simple vacation.

“We all knew that this was going to be first and foremost a trip that was meant to inspire and grow us as artists,” says Philip DeAngelo. “There were magical elements of each city that we visited that will forever become fuel for our art. We all returned with new ideas to try in our studios.”

DeAngelo, fellow painter Mark Bettis and ceramicist Michael Hofman will strive to re-create their trip with a new exhibit, I Sensi dell’Italia (The Senses of Italy), at the Philip DeAngelo Studio, Saturday, May 14-Saturday, May 21.

Bettis, who has five paintings in the exhibit, says he was inspired by the textures and colors he saw on the trip. “The pinks, terra cotta, Veronese greens, sienna and, of course, Naples yellow are all in my palette of colors for the show,” he says. “To me, that was Italy.”

DeAngelo says Hofman did an amazing job of capturing the dichotomy of ancient and modern Rome in the sculptures he will display in the exhibit.

“And in my work, I hope to convey the beautiful rolling hills of Tuscany,” DeAngelo says. “It seemed that time slowed down for me while I was in that countryside, and I hope the viewer can get a sense of that in my paintings.”

An opening reception for I Sensi dell’Italia (The Senses of Italy) will be Saturday, May 14, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

The Philip DeAngelo Studio, 115 Roberts St., is open Mondays-Saturdays, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. For more information, go to avl.mx/bjf.

Partners no more Maria “Ria” Young has dissolved her Artistic Partner fellowship with Asheville Community Theatre four months early.

“My cast, crew and myself were consistently met with apathy, disregard, disrespect and an overall ill-mannered feeling while preparing to share a vulnerable piece of Black art,” she shared in a Facebook post. “After the premiere of Transition [a play Young adopted from her memoir Lost in a Game], I filed a five-page grievance letter with ACT and their board of directors detailing every single issue, misuse, challenge, barrier and harm

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LA DOLCE VITA: Asheville artists, from left, Mark Bettis, Philip DeAngelo and Michael Hofman have a new exhibit inspired by a recent trip to Italy. Photo courtesy of DeAngelo we encountered, as well as things that were not carried out by them.”

The Asheville writer, director and filmmaker became ACT’s inaugural Artistic Partner in September. As part of the planned yearlong partnership, Young directed a staged production of Transition, performed on the ACT main stage April 1-3.

At Young’s request, ACT agreed to end the partnership, paid her in full and released all rights to her plays.

“We are deeply sorry that her experiences were so negative,” ACT says in statement. “It’s painful to hear that she experienced our actions as barriers. We appreciate the feedback — it helps us to understand her experience from her perspective so that we can make changes and continue our work with a better understanding.”

Additionally, ACT says it has committed to expanding its internal diversity, equity and inclusion training, and examining and making improvements to its culture.

“Only time will tell if tangible changes are made and willing to be sustained within that organization,” Young stated in her Facebook post. “I would not recommend any Black artist be subjected to even half of what my cast and I experienced in that space.”

Young is in talks to find a new home for Through Troubled Waters, a

play she wrote during the fellowship that was going to get a staged reading this summer.

For a song The LEAF Festival SingerSongwriter Competition and Showcase has the word “competition” right there in the title, but don’t expect a cutthroat reality show approach by the contestants.

“The mission is to build a supportive community of performers and songwriters across all genres of music and levels of skill and to identify the truly exceptional artists within this community,” says Alli Marshall, director of artist communication for NewSong Music. “This is a chance for artists to network with each other and other LEAF artists, to meet potential collaborators and supporters, and to be inspired.”

The event is a partnership between LEAF Global Arts and Asheville-based NewSong, which recently announced this year’s eight finalists. They are invited to network and compete at the Spring LEAF Retreat, Saturday, May 14, at the Lounging Barn at Lake Eden in Black Mountain.

The finalists are: Grace Morrison, a country-pop artist based in

Massachusetts; American Idol alum Stephen Sylvester; rapper Rachard Dennis; indie-folk artist Kristian Phillip Valentino; indie-rocker Kelly Hoppenjans; guitarist Sadie Gustafson-Zook; roots musician Philip Bowen; and Justin Poindexter and Sasha Papernik, who make up the award-winning Americana duo Our Band.

The winner will be chosen by a panel of music industry judges and will earn a spot as one of eight finalists at the annual International NewSong Competition, held in Asheville in the fall. The winner will also be a featured, paid performer at the Fall LEAF Festival, Thursday-Sunday, Oct. 20-23.

For more information, visit avl.mx/bjb.

Mistaken identity Local author Kristin Dwyer finds teenagers to be a tough audience, but she loves writing for them.

“I like that teen readers don’t ask you to justify messy complicated feelings with rational explanations,” she says.

“Feelings can exist just simply because they do. I like that teen readers love firsts. First loves, first heartbreak, first experiences that shape you.”

Dwyer’s debut young adult novel, Some Mistakes Were Made, was released May 10 by HarperTeen. It tells the story of a romance between two teens, Ellis and Easton, whose inseparable bond is tested by calamitous events.

“The idea of family and what makes you feel connected to others has always been important to me,” Dwyer says. “I wanted to talk about how the loss of one person can actually change your whole life and affect all of your relationships, and what it means to forgive someone even when someone doesn’t think they were wrong.”

The novel has been praised by School Library Journal and Kirkus Reviews, which called it “a powerful tale of found family and first love.”

Dwyer will discuss the book with author Adrienne Young on Wednesday, May 18, at 6 p.m., at a hybrid in-person/online event sponsored by Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe, 55 Haywood St. For more information or to register for the May 18 event, visit avl.mx/bj9.

Inspired by the Langston Hughes poem “Mother to Son,” the show will pay tribute to Black women in America through spoken-word poetry, singing and interpretive dance.

Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Hendersonville is at 2021 Kanuga Road, Hendersonville. For more information, go to avl.mx/bjg.

Magic in the air The Vanishing Wheelchair, a nonprofit public charity for people with disabilities, will celebrate its reopening with a performance by magician Michael Lair on Saturday, May 21, at 7:30 p.m., at its new location, 175 Weaverville Highway, Suite H. The event also will celebrate the reopening of Magic Central Magic Shop.

The Vanishing Wheelchair was founded in 2010 by magicians Ricky D. Boone and T.J. Shimeld. It has used proceeds from its events to launch All Things Possible workshops, which teach skills in performing, painting, photography, music, crafts, writing and woodworking to people with disabilities.

Boone’s magic shop, Magic Central, has moved into the same space as the nonprofit.

Ticket sales of $20 for adults and $5 for children will help raise money for The Vanishing Wheelchair. For more information or to buy tickets, go to avl.mx/bjh.

— Justin McGuire X

MOVIE REVIEWS

www.AshevilleSoap.org

The Asheville Soap Company is a wholesale manufacturer 501c3 non-profit community fundraising organization.

Candidates for a

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Paid for By: YourTeamAsheville.com Authorized by Dr. Cliff Feingold, Alex Cobb, Doug Brown and Andy Ledford.

Local reviewers’ critiques of new films include: PETITE MAMAN: Writer/director Céline Sciamma follows up Portrait of a Lady on Fire with this quiet but thought-provoking and emotionally rich time travel drama. Grade: A-minus — James Rosario

Honoring Black women

THE DUKE: The late Roger Michell didn’t mean for this fact-based comedy about cabbie Kempton Bunton (Jim Broadbent) stealing Goya’s portrait to be his final narrative film, but as unintentional swan songs go, it’s an apt one. Grade: A-minus — Edwin Arnaudin

Crystal Cauley, a Hendersonville creative writer, spoken-word poet and community leader, will present No Crystal Stair, Evolutionary Struggle of the Black Woman at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Hendersonville on Sunday, May 15, 10:30-11:30 a.m.

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

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CLUBLAND

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The featured icon indicates which venues or artists require proof of vaccination for upcoming shows. Due to the evolving nature of the matter, the list may not be comprehensive.

Before heading out, please check with all venues for complete information on any vaccine or negative COVID-19 requirements.

For questions about free listings, call 828-251-1333, opt. 4.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 11 12 BONES BREWERY Robert's Totally Rad Trivia, 7pm 185 KING STREET Trivia and Karaoke, 7pm ALLEY CAT SOCIAL CLUB All Night Karaoke Dance Party, 8pm AMERICAN VINYL CO. Stump Sprouts (Trevor Wilson) w/Oil Derek & Ethan Woods (folk, cosmic Appalachian), 7pm ASHEVILLE BEAUTY ACADEMY • Beauty Parlor Comedy: Harrison Tweed, 7pm • AQUANET Goth Party w/Ash Black, 9pm ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Disclaimer Stand-Up Lounge Comedy Open Mic, 8pm BLACK MOUNTAIN BREWING Jay Brown (roots), 6pm BOLD ROCK ASHEVILLE Karaoke Night, 7pm CBD CAFE Jakey Jake (of the Screaming Js), 7pm FLEETWOOD'S Terraoke! Karaoke w/KJ Terra Ware, 6pm FLOOD GALLERY FINE ART CENTER Andy Cohen w/Ash Devine (blues, folk), 7pm

SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN BREWERY Jason DeCristafaro's Weekly Wednesday Jazz Night & Jam, 6pm SOVEREIGN KAVA Poetry Open Mic w/ Host Caleb Beissert, 8pm SWEETEN CREEK BREWING Witty Wednesday Trivia, 6:30pm THE BARRELHOUSE Open Mic Hosted by Kid Billy, 8pm THE GREY EAGLE Joy Oladokun (singer songwriter), 8pm THE ODDITORIUM Bumpin' Uglies Presents EMO NIGHT, 8pm THE ORANGE PEEL Slice of Life Comedy Open Mic w/Alex Joyce, 9pm TWIN LEAF BREWERY Open Mic, 6pm WHITE HORSE BLACK MOUNTAIN Irish Music Circle, 7pm

THURSDAY, MAY 12 185 KING STREET South Carolina Blues Alliance, 7pm ASHEVILLE BEAUTY ACADEMY Kiki Thursdays Drag and Dancing, 8pm

HIGHLAND BREWING COMPANY Wel-Crafted Wednesdays with Matt Smith, 6pm

ASHEVILLE GUITAR BAR KB and the LMD (jazz standards, classic pop) k 7:30pm

JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Old Time Jam, 5pm LAZY HIKER BREWING SYLVA Trivia Night, 6:30pm OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. Mountain Music Jam, 6pm ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Wild Wednesday Funk-n-Rock w/Free Anesthesia, 10pm

MAY 11-17, 2022

PULP Slice of Life Comedy ft Alex Joyce, 8:30pm

HI-WIRE BREWING RAD BEER GARDEN Game Night, 6pm

ISIS MUSIC HALL & KITCHEN 743 Steff Mahan (country, Americana), 7:30pm

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ONE WORLD BREWING Pingo Wednesdays, 7pm

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BOLD ROCK HARD CIDER Robert's Totally Rad Trivia, 5pm CREEKSIDE TAPHOUSE Thursday Night Trivia w/Kelsey, 6:30pm CROW & QUILL Black Sea Beat Society (Baltic, Klezmer, Turkish)k 8:30pm DOUBLE CROWN DJ Fast Eddie, 10pm FRENCH BROAD RIVER BREWERY Jerry's Dead (Grateful Dead & JGB Tribute), 6pm

HILLBILLY ROCK: Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives will perform at Franklin’s Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts on Friday, May 13, at 7:30 p.m. A five-time Grammy winner and member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, Stuart is know for a combination of rockabilly, country and bluegrass musical influences. Photo courtesy of Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives HIGHLAND BREWING COMPANY Up Jumped Three (jazz), 6pm ISIS MUSIC HALL & KITCHEN 743 • Asheville Sessions ft Melody Cooper (jazz, blues, rock), 7pm • Sam Holt Band: Remembering Mikey & Todd (Widespread Panic), 8:30pm JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Bluegrass Jam w/Drew Matulich & Friends, 7pm OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. Kool Dewey Kudzu (singer-songwriter), 7pm ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Gunslinging Parrots (Phish tribute), 9pm ONE WORLD BREWING WEST John Duncan (fiddler), 8pm PISGAH BREWING COMPANY Ashley Heath and Her Heathens (Americana rock), 6:30pm RENDEZVOUS Gin Mill Pickers, 6pm RIVERSIDE RHAPSODY BEER CO. Songwriters Round w/ Josh Carpenter, Wayne Robbins & Vickie Burick, 6pm SALVAGE STATION Grateful Shred (Dead tribute), 8pm STATIC AGE RECORDS Cicala, Fleur Girl, & J.J. (indie/folk), 8pm THE 2ND ACT Jeff Michels Folkadelic 2, 7pm

THE BARRELHOUSE Trivia w/Po' Folk, 8pm THE DUGOUT Thursday Night Open Jam w/Paul Liford, 8pm THE GETAWAY RIVER BAR • Rum Punchlines Comedy Open Mic, 6pm • Karaoke w/Terraoke, 9pm THE GREY EAGLE • Clint Roberts (singer songwriter), 5pm • Twisted Pine w/Bill and the Belles & Golden Shoals (bluegrass, Americana, 8pm TWIN LEAF BREWERY Craft Karaoke, 9pm

FRIDAY, MAY 13 185 KING STREET Randall Bramblett Band (pop, rock, R&B, soul), 8pm ALLEY CAT SOCIAL CLUB Salsa Night, 9pm ASHEVILLE BEAUTY ACADEMY Venus (dark house dance party), 10pm ASHEVILLE GUITAR BAR Mr. Jimmy's Big City Chicago Bluesk 7:30pm ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Runaway Gin (Phish tribute), 10pm BIG PILLOW BREWING Happy Dog (Americana, jam band, psych rock), 6pm BREWSKIES Karaoke, 10pm CITIZEN VINYL David Barnard (singer-songwriter), 4pm

CORK & KEG Fancy and the Gentlemen (roots, country, classic country), 8pm CROW & QUILL Momma Molasses (honky tonk, blues)k 8:30pm DSSOLVR Tone Death: a Friday the 13th Nu Metal Party, 5pm DRY FALLS BREWING CO. The Mug Band (roots, blues), 7pm FLEETWOOD'S Spirit System, VIA & Zillicoah (shoegaze, goth), 8pm FROG LEVEL BREWERY The Never B's (various genres), 6pm HARRAH'S CHEROKEE CENTER - ASHEVILLE Blues Traveler (rock, blues, jam), 8pm HIGHLAND BREWING DOWNTOWN TAPROOM Drag Music Bingo w/ Divine the Bearded Lady, 7pm ISIS MUSIC HALL & KITCHEN 743 • An Evening w/Reggie Harris (folk, storyteller), 7pm • Maya de Vitry w/ Alexa Rose (Americana), 8:30pm JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Sons of Ralph (bluegrass, rock), 8pm MAD CO. BREW HOUSE Ryan Furstenberg (acoustic), 7pm

MALAPROP'S BOOKSTORE AND CAFE Edible North Carolina w/Marcie Cohen Ferris, KC Hysmith, Courtney Lewis and Ronni Lundy, 6pm MILLS RIVER BREWING Zapato (funk, jazz), 7pm OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. Ross Osteen Band (blues, rock), 8pm ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Free Dead Friday w/ Gus & Friends (Grateful Dead tribute), 9pm ONE WORLD BREWING 5j Barrow (folk rock), 8pm ONE WORLD BREWING WEST Jones Cove (funk, soul, rock), 8pm RIVERSIDE RHAPSODY BEER CO. Jug Tucker Bluegrass, 6pm SILVERADOS John King w/Adam Church (country), 7pm SMOKY MOUNTAIN CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS An Evening with Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives (classic country), 7:30pm SOVEREIGN KAVA Tomato Calculator (experimental, blues, indie), 8pm STATIC AGE RECORDS Baby Bleak, VVitchboy, Jagger, & Lavay (trap hip-hop), 8pm THE 2ND ACT Izzi (indie, roots rock), 7pm

THE BARRELHOUSE Hope Griffin (acoustic, folk, blues), 8pm THE DUGOUT Fineline (rock), 8pm THE GETAWAY RIVER BAR Getaway Comedy: Sean Donnelly, 8pm THE GREY EAGLE Pierce Edens w/Rachel Baiman (Appalachicana, singer songwriter), 9pm THE ORANGE PEEL The Polish Ambassador (electronic, hip hop), 7pm TWIN LEAF BREWERY Life Like Fire Band (folk), 8pm WHITE HORSE BLACK MOUNTAIN Teso McDonald & Chilltonic (R&B, Americana), 8pm

SATURDAY, MAY 14 185 KING STREET Sam Burchfield & The Scoundrels (folk, gospel, soul), 8pm ALLEY CAT SOCIAL CLUB All Night Karaoke Dance Party, 8pm ASHEVILLE BEAUTY ACADEMY Beauty Parlor Comedy: Zach Peterson, 7pm

ASHEVILLE GUITAR BAR 40 20 10s (Americana)k 7:30pm

FLEETWOOD'S Gracie Lane, Hannah Frances & Willy Nillys (Americana), 7pm

ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL ill.Gates w/Audio Goblin, Tan Leather, & Soakk (dance, electronic), 8pm

FROG LEVEL BREWERY Natti Love Joys (reggae), 6pm

BIG PILLOW BREWING The Jukebox Jumpers (Piedmont & Delta blues), 5pm BLACK MOUNTAIN BREWING Silver Travis Band (country), 6pm BOLD ROCK ASHEVILLE Austin Barrett (folk), 7pm BREWSKIES Pool Tournament Saturdays, 7pm BURNTSHIRT VINEYARDS CHIMNEY ROCK Roots and Dore (roots), 2pm CBD CAFE Dirty Dead (Grateful Dead tribute, rock), 7pm

ISIS MUSIC HALL & KITCHEN 743 • Chuck Brodsky (Americana, folk, acoustic), 7pm • Bluegrass w/The Tray Wellington Band, 8:30pm JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Chelsea Lovitt & Boys (bluegrass, country, soul, rock), 8pm MILLS RIVER BREWING • Country Pour (country), 2pm • ALR Trio (rock, blues), 7pm OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. High Flying Criminals (funk, soul, groove), 8pm

DFR LOUNGE The Julie McConnell Quartet (jazz), 7pm

ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL KillaKeyz Band (alt/ indie), 10pm

DRY FALLS BREWING CO. Twisted Trail (Southern rock, country), 7pm

ONE WORLD BREWING WEST Fooshee's Forecast (rock, funk, blues), 8pm

PILOT COVE AMPHITHEATER Women Who Rock w/ Emily Musolino Band, Ashley Heath & Her Heathens & Christina Chandler, 7pm RIVERSIDE RHAPSODY BEER CO. River Logic, 6pm SILVERADOS Donnie Baker & The Pork Pistols (comedy, country), 7pm SOVEREIGN KAVA Moon Unit (funk), 8pm STATIC AGE RECORDS Ex-Parents & Nerve Endings (hardcore punk), 8pm THE DUGOUT Ricky Gunter (country), 8pm THE ORANGE PEEL Somewhat Petty (Tom Petty tribute), 9pm THE POE HOUSE Mr Jimmy (blues), 7pm WHITE HORSE BLACK MOUNTAIN Ska City, 8pm

SUNDAY, MAY 15 ALLEY CAT SOCIAL CLUB Low Key Karaoke Chill Vibes, 8pm

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C L UB L AND ASHEVILLE BEAUTY ACADEMY SOL Dance Party w/Zati (soul house), 9pm

• Pretty Little Goat w/Nicholas Williams (roots, traditional, blues), 7:30pm

ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Gone Gone Beyond w/ Noah Proudfoot and The Botanicals (future folk, roots, blues), 9pm

JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Sunday Bluegrass Brunch w/Supper Break, 12pm

BURNTSHIRT VINEYARDS CHIMNEY ROCK The JackTown Ramblers (bluegrass, swing, jazz), 2pm CITIZEN VINYL Sunday Live ft. Tina Collins (singer-songwriter), 11am CROW & QUILL The Roaring Lions (parlour jazz)k 8pm HARRAH’S CHEROKEE CENTER - ASHEVILLE Chicago (classic rock), 7:30pm HIGHLAND BREWING COMPANY Soul Jazz Sundays w/ Taylor Pierson Trio, 3pm HIGHLAND DOWNTOWN TAPROOM Blues and Brews w/Mr Jimmy & Friends, 1pm ISIS MUSIC HALL & KITCHEN 743 • Brother & The Hayes (Americana), 6pm

MILLS RIVER BREWING Gin Mill Pickers (Americana, Piedmont blues, ragtime), 2pm OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. Seth and Sara (Americana, country, pop), 3pm ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Shakedown Sundays (rock, jam band), 8pm ONE WORLD BREWING WEST Billy Litz (roots, blues, ragtime), 5pm OSKAR BLUES BREWERY Crawfish Boil w/John Trufant, 12pm PLEB URBAN WINERY Robert's Totally Rad Trivia, 4pm THE GETAWAY RIVER BAR • Bike Night w/Ashley & Big Matty, 2pm • Getaway Comedy: Ismael Loutfi, 8pm

STATIC AGE RECORDS Hocico, Mordaga, Absynthe of Faith, and Missfit Toys (aggrotech, dance, electronic), 8pm

STATIC AGE RECORDS Shane Parish, Blake Hornsby, and Bacchus (singer songwriter), 8pm

WHITE HORSE BLACK MOUNTAIN Sirens of Folk, 7:30pm

THE JOINT NEXT DOOR Mr Jimmy (blues), 7pm

ZILLICOAH BEER CO Sunday Bluegrass Jam Series, 4:30pm

WHITE HORSE BLACK MOUNTAIN Local Live w/Jay Brown, Dave Desmelic & Matt Gaffney, 7pm

MONDAY, MAY 16 5 WALNUT WINE BAR Freshen Up Comedy Open Mic, 7pm ALLEY CAT SOCIAL CLUB Industry Nite w/DJ, 8pm BREWSKIES Open Jam w/Tall Paul, 7:30pm DOUBLE CROWN Country Karaoke, 10pm HAYWOOD COUNTRY CLUB Open Mic w/Taylor Martin & Special Guest, 7:15pm JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Quizzo! Pub Trivia w/ Jason Mencer, 7:30pm LITTLE JUMBO The Page Brothers Quartet (jazz)k 7pm SOVEREIGN KAVA Improv Workshop, 8pm

TUESDAY, MAY 17

THE ORANGE PEEL In This Moment (alt metal), 8pm TWIN LEAF BREWERY • Dog's Night Out, 5pm • Eister's Twin Leaf Trivia, 7pm WHITE HORSE BLACK MOUNTAIN Open Mic, 7pm

WEDNESDAY, MAY 18 185 KING STREET Trivia and Karaoke, 7pm

185 KING STREET Tuesday Casual Collaborations hosted

by Travis Book, 6pm

ALLEY CAT SOCIAL CLUB All Night Karaoke Dance Party, 8pm

5 WALNUT WINE BAR The John Henrys (jazz, swing), 8pm

ASHEVILLE BEAUTY ACADEMY Ashevillians: A Local Comedy Showcase, 7pm

CASCADE LOUNGE Tuesday Bluegrass Jam, 6pm HEMINGWAY'S CUBA Para Gozar (Cuban), 5pm OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. Team Trivia, 7pm SILVERADOS Buckcherry (rock), 7pm SOVEREIGN KAVA Open Jam hosted by Lactones, 7pm STATIC AGE RECORDS BleakHeart (doomgaze, dark/indie), 8pm

ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Disclaimer Stand-Up Lounge Comedy Open Mic, 8pm CBD CAFE Jakey Jake (of the Screaming Js), 7pm DOUBLE CROWN Western Wednesday w/ Todd Day Wait's Pigpen & Vaden Landers, 8pm FLEETWOOD'S Terraoke! Karaoke w/KJ Terra Ware, 6pm HI-WIRE BREWING RAD BEER GARDEN Game Night, 6pm HIGHLAND BREWING COMPANY Well-Crafted Wednesdays w/Matt Smith, 6pm JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Old Time Jam, 5pm LAZY HIKER BREWING SYLVA Trivia Night, 6:30pm OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. Mountain Music Jam, 6pm

Ready for sunny days at the Supper Club SMOKYPARK.COM 350 RIVERSIDE DR. ASHEVILLE, NC 28801 828-350-0315

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ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Wild Wednesday Funk-n-Rock w/Free Anesthesia, 10pm ONE WORLD BREWING Pingo Wednesdays, 7pm RIVERSIDE RHAPSODY BEER CO. Wednesday Acoustic Jam, 5pm SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN BREWERY Jason DeCristafaro's Weekly Wednesday Jazz Night & Jam, 6pm SOVEREIGN KAVA Poetry Open Mic w/ Caleb Beissert, 8pm SWEETEN CREEK BREWING Witty Wednesday Trivia, 6:30pm THE BARRELHOUSE Open Mic Hosted by Kid Billy, 8pm THE DUGOUT Thursday Night Open Jam w/Paul Liford, 8pm

TWIN LEAF BREWERY Open Mic, 6pm

THURSDAY, MAY 19 185 KING STREET Nikki Talley & Jason Sharp (Americana, bluegrass), 7pm ASHEVILLE BEAUTY ACADEMY Kiki Thursdays Drag and Dancing, 8pm ASHEVILLE GUITAR BAR MGB at the AGB (covers, singer-songwriter) k 7:30pm ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Sounds Up for Mental Health, 9pm ASHEVILLE PIZZA & BREWING CO. Slice of Life Comedy Open Mic & Features, 7:30pm BLACK MOUNTAIN BREWING The Blushin' Roulettes (folk), 6pm CREEKSIDE TAPHOUSE Thursday Night Trivia w/Kelsey, 6:30pm FRENCH BROAD RIVER BREWERY Jerry's Dead (Grateful Dead, JGB Tribute), 6pm ISIS MUSIC HALL & KITCHEN 743 Asheville Sessions ft.

Ryan "RnB" Barber (jazz, blues, rock), 8:30pm JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Bluegrass Jam w/Drew Matulich & Friends, 7pm MAD CO. BREW HOUSE Andy Ferrell (Southern roots), 6pm OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. Billy Litz (roots, blues, ragtime), 8pm ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Gunslinging Parrots (Phish tribute), 9pm ONE WORLD BREWING WEST High Blue Heron (Americana, blues), 8pm SOVEREIGN KAVA Lo Wolf w/Nathanael Jordan (singer songwriter), 8pm THE BARRELHOUSE Trivia w/Po' Folk, 8pm THE FOUNDRY HOTEL Pimps of Pompe (jazzed-up pop & hiphop), 7pm THE GETAWAY RIVER BAR • Rum Punchlines Comedy Open Mic, 6pm • Karaoke w/Terraoke, 9pm THE ORANGE PEEL Kikagaku Moyo (psychedelic), 7pm TWIN LEAF BREWERY Karaoke, 9pm

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FREEWILL ASTROLOGY ARIES (March 21-April 19): “Choose the least important day in your life,” wrote Aries author Thornton Wilder. “It will be important enough.” I recommend that you make those your words to live by in the next two weeks.

Why? Because I suspect there will be no tremendously exciting experiences coming your way. The daily rhythm is likely to be routine and modest. You may even be tempted to feel a bit bored. And yet, if you dare to move your attention just below the surface of life, you will tune into subtle glories that are percolating.

You will become aware of quietly wondrous developments unfolding just out of sight and behind the scenes. Be alert for them. They will provide fertile clues about the sweet victories that will be available in the months ahead.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): “Every successful person I know starts before they feel ready,” declared life coach Marie Forleo. Author Ivan Turgenev wrote, “If we wait for the moment when everything, absolutely everything, is ready, we shall never begin.” Here’s what educator Supriya Mehra says: “There’s never a perfect moment to start, and the more we see the beauty in ’starting small,’ the more we empower ourselves to get started at all.” I hope that in providing you with these observations, Taurus, I have convinced you to dive in now. Here’s one more quote, from businesswoman Betsy Rowbottom: “There’s never a perfect moment to take a big risk.”

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Poet Ranata Suzuki writes, “There comes a point where you no longer care if there’s a light at the end of the tunnel or not. You’re just sick of the tunnel.”

That’s good advice for you right now, Gemini.

The trick that’s most likely to get you out of the tunnel is to acknowledge that you are sick of the damn tunnel. Announce to the universe that you have gleaned the essential teachings the ride through the tunnel has provided you.

You no longer need its character-building benefits because you have harvested them all. Please say this a thousand times sometime soon: “I am ready for the wide-open spaces.”

CANCER (June 21-July 22): In the coming weeks, your imagination will receive visions of the next chapter of your life story. These images and stories might confuse you if you think they are illuminating the present moment. So please keep in mind that they are prophecies of what’s ahead. They are premonitions and preparations for the interesting work you will be given during the second half of 2022. If you regard them as guiding clues from your eternal soul, they will nourish the inner transformations necessary for you to welcome your destiny when it arrives. Now study this inspirational quote from poet Rainer Maria Rilke: “The future glides into us, so as to remake itself within us, long before it occurs.”

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): “Remember that you will never reach a higher standard than you yourself set,” wrote author Ellen G. White.

That’s true! And that’s why it’s so crucial that you formulate the highest standards you can imagine — maybe even higher than you can imagine. Now is a favorable phase for you to reach higher and think bigger. I invite you to visualize the best version of the dream you are working on—the most excellent, beautiful, and inspiring form it could take. And then push on further to envision even more spectacular results. Dare to be greedy and outrageous.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Before Virgo-born Leslie Jones achieved fame as a comedian and actor, she worked day jobs at United Parcel Service and Roscoe’s House of Chicken and Waffles. Her shot at major appreciation didn’t arrive until the TV show Saturday Night Life hired her to be a regular cast member in 2014, when she was 47 years old. Here’s how she describes the years before that: “Everybody

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was telling me to get a real job. Everybody was asking me, What are you doing? You’re ruining your life. You’re embarrassing your family.”

Luckily, Jones didn’t heed the bad advice. “You can’t listen to that,” she says now. “You have to listen to yourself.” Now I’m suggesting that you embrace the Leslie Jones approach, Virgo.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): “A person must dream a long time in order to act with grandeur, and dreaming is nursed in darkness.” Author Jean Genet wrote that, and now I’m offering you his words as the seed of your horoscope. If you’ve been attuned to cosmic rhythms, you have been doing what Genet described and will continue to do it for at least another ten days. If you have not yet begun such work, please do so now. Your success during the rest of 2022 will thrive to the degree that you spend time dreaming big in the darkness now.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): “Cursed are those who feel floods but who can only express a few drops.” So says an internet proverb. Luckily, this principle won’t apply to you in the coming weeks. I expect you will be inundated with cascades of deep feelings, but you will also be able to articulate those feelings. So you won’t be cursed at all. In fact, I suspect you will be blessed. The cascades may indeed become rowdy at times. But I expect you will flourish amidst the lush tumult.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): “It takes a great deal of experience to become natural,” wrote Sagittarian author Willa Cather. I’m happy to report that in recent months, you Sagittarians have been becoming more and more natural. You have sought experiences that enhance your authenticity and spontaneity. Keep up the good work! The coming weeks should bring influences and adventures that will dramatically deepen your capacity to be untamed, soulful, and intensely yourself.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): “I intend to live forever,” proclaims 66-year-old comedian Steven Wright, who then adds, “So far, so good.” I offer you his cheerful outlook in the hope that it might inspire you to dream and scheme about your own longevity. Now is a great time to fantasize about what you would love to accomplish if you are provided with 90 or more years of life to create yourself.

In other words, I’m asking you to expand your imagination about your long-term goals. Have fun envisioning skills you’d like to develop and qualities you hope to ripen if you are given all the time you would like to have. (PS: Thinking like this could magically enhance your life expectancy.)

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): “Stop insisting on clearing your head,” advised author Charles Bukowski. “Clear your f---ing heart instead.”

That will be a superb meditation for you to experiment with in the coming weeks. Please understand that I hope you will also clear your head. That’s a worthy goal. But your prime aim should be to clear your heart. What would that mean? Purge all apologies and shame from your longings. Cleanse your tenderness of energy that’s inclined to withhold or resist. Free your receptivity to be innocent and curious.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): “The winner will be the one who knows how to pick the right fights,” wrote author Jane Ciabattari.

Heed her advice, please, Pisces. You will soon be offered chances to deal with several interesting struggles that are worthy of your beautiful intelligence. At least one will technically be a “conflict,” but even that will also be a fruitful opportunity. If you hope to derive the greatest potential benefit, you must be selective about which ones you choose to engage. I recommend you give your focus to no more than two.

MOUNTAINX.COM

MARKETPLACE

BY ROB BREZSNY

REAL ESTATE & RENTALS | ROOMMATES | JOBS | SERVICES ANNOUNCEMENTS | CLASSES & WORKSHOPS | MIND, BODY, SPIRIT MUSICIANS’ SERVICES | PETS | AUTOMOTIVE | XCHANGE | ADULT REAL ESTATE SERVICES OPEN LOT EVENT AT PRIVATE MOUNTAINTOP COMMUNITY Lots for sale at Skydance, a beautiful new gated residential development close to Hendersonville NC. The community offers magnificent panoramic views of the Blue Ridge Parkway and Pisgah National Forest. Enjoy music, wine, and refreshments from 12 to 4 p.m., Saturday the 14th.

1175 Kilpatrick Rd., Hendersonville NC 28793. Follow the signs for Skydance, the gate will be open on your left. 828-707-8411

EMPLOYMENT GENERAL AFG DISTRIBUTION FULL TIME WAREHOUSE ASSOCIATE AFG Distribution is looking for several full-time employees to join our growing shipping and receiving departments. $17.55 per hour. For more information contact us at afgdistribution. com/careers or call us at 828252-5228.

JCC HIRING CAMP COUNSELORS! Hiring ages 16+ for summer camp counselor position at the JCC. Get paid to have summer fun at the J! Free pool membership for all employees.

Email daniel@jcc-asheville.org to apply.

JCC HIRING LIFEGUARDS! Hiring ages 15+ for full-time and part-time lifeguards positions summer and year-round.

Free pool membership for all employees! Email wendy@ jcc-asheville.org to apply.

TOUR GUIDE-CDL DRIVERS If you are a "people person" you could be a great TOUR GUIDE! Part-time and seasonal FULL-TIME. Training provided.

MUST have a Commercial Driver's License (CDL). Call 828-436-0202 or email Info@ GrayLineAsheville.com.

SKILLED LABOR/ TRADES NEED A FLEXIBLE SCHEDULE WHERE YOU ARE EARNING A SOLID LIVING WAGE? We are looking for the best, most detailed, and punctual cleaners.

Join The Nice and Fresh Cleaners Dream Team! Job Title: Cleaning Crew Member. Compensation:

$17.50-$25.00 /hour. Job Types: Full-time, Part-time. Application: nicefreshclean.com/job-application/.

MEDICAL/ HEALTH CARE

ADMINISTRATIVE/ OFFICE CUSTOMER CARE ASSOCIATE - 1ST SHIFT Weaverville, NC $20.00/hour + monthly incentive + sign-on! You'll provide personalized customer service of the highest level, empowered to serve our customers through a variety of means. Apply: www. ally.com/about/careers CUSTOMER CARE ASSOCIATE - 2ND SHIFT Customer Care Associate - Weaverville, NC $20.00/hour + monthly incentive + sign-on bonus! More info and to apply: www.ally.com/about/ careers JCC HIRING RECEPTIONIST! Connect community members to all of the JCC’s programming, services, and engagement opportunities! 20 hr/wk reception job with free pool membership. Email your resume to geri@jcc-asheville. org to apply.

RESTAURANT/ FOOD TALISMAN SUMMER CAMP KITCHEN CREW Seeking a kitchen manager and 2 cooks at our camp for kids with ADHD or autism. Great hours, positive environment, management experience, and meaningful summer work. Email ltatsapaugh@ talismanprograms.com or visit https://talismancamps.com/.

DRIVERS/ DELIVERY

MOUNTAIN XPRESS DELIVERY Mountain Xpress is seeking an energetic, reliable, independent contractor for parttime weekly newspaper delivery.

The contractor must have a safe driving record, a reliable vehicle with proper insurance and registration, and be able to lift 50 lbs. without strain. Distribution of papers is on Tuesday mornings and afternoons and typically lasts about 7-8 hours per week.

Occasional Wednesday morning delivery is is sometimes needed or can be an option. E-mail distro@mountainx.com.

NOW HIRING DIRECT SUPPORT PROFESSIONALS Urgently Hiring at all locations!

Starting Hourly Base Rate of Pay $16.00 plus shift differential for 2nd, 3rd, and weekends To apply send resume to : apply@ bluewestopportunities.org EOE, DFWP

HUMAN SERVICES CASE MANAGER NEEDED Case Manager needed for our CAP-DA Program in the greater Asheville area. Contract position, flexible scheduling, immediate need. Must have degree in Human Services or related field. Send resumes to rcuellar@ candbsupportservices.com and bethspeace@outlook.com.

Phone: 828-654-0644 HELPMATE SEEKS YOUTH OUTREACH SPECIALIST 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 $16.55-$19.11/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 5/18/22. 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. www.helpmateonline.org WOMEN'S HOLISTIC RECOVERY COMMUNITY - DIRECT CARE - WEST ASHEVILLE Ember Lodge is seeking an experienced Recovery Mentor for a part-time live-in shift position. Ember Lodge provides a healing environment for young adult women in recovery from substance use disorder. If interested, you can email a letter of interest and resume to amanda@emberlodge.com. https://emberlodge.com/

TEACHING/ EDUCATION JCC HIRING TEACHERS! Hiring lead and assistant teachers for Shalom Children's Center, a 5 star childcare center. $15-18/ hr with benefits and tuition assistance for ECE courses.

Email your resume to tiffany@ jcc-asheville.org to apply.

RETAIL FULL-TIME SHIRT PRESSER NEEDED Benefits include paid vacation, sick leave and holidays.

Will provide training if necessary.

Apply in person at Hour Glass Cleaners, Unit #39, Innsbruck Mall, 85 Tunnel Road, Asheville, NC 28805 — 828-251-1906.

XCHANGE ANTIQUES & COLLECTIBLES STILL BUYING ANTIQUES Seeking old stuff! Cast iron, advertising signs, military, primitives, collections, art, pottery, estates, crocks, bottles, silver, license plates, unusual stuff, taxidermy, rifles, bbguns, more.

Call/Text 828-582-6097,steadyaim1@yahoo.com.

THE N EW Y OR K TI M ES C ROSSWORD P UZ Z LE SERVICES

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CAREGIVERS COMPANION • CAREGIVER • LIVE-IN VACCINATED • Alzheimer's Experienced • Heart failure and bed sore care • Hospice reference letter • Nonsmoker, with cat, seeks live-in position • References • Arnold, (828) 273-2922.

EDUCATION/ TUTORING CONVENIENT IN HOME GUITAR LESSONS Fun in home guitar lessons. I have been playing guitar for 30 years.

Teaching for 20. I offer a general course in guitar. Focusing on building good technique with a wide range of materials.

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We do the work… You reap the Rewards! Call for a FREE Author’s Submission Kit: 844-511-1836.

(AAN CAN) COMPUTER & IT TRAINING PROGRAM Train ONLINE to get the skills to become a Computer & Help Desk Professional now! Grants and Scholarships available for certain programs for qualified applicants. Call CTI for details! 1-855-554-4616. The Mission Program Information and Tuition is located at CareerTechnical.edu/consumer-information.

(AAN CAN) DIRECTV SATELLITE TV Service Starting at $74.99/month! Free Installation! 160+ channels available. Call Now to Get the Most Sports & Entertainment on TV! 877-310-2472 (AAN CAN) DO YOU OWE OVER $10,000 TO THE IRS OR STATE IN BACK TAXES? Our firm works to reduce the tax bill or zero it out completely FAST. Let us help!

Call 877-414-2089. (AAN CAN) (Hours: Mon-Fri 7am-5pm PST) DONATE YOUR CAR TO KIDS Your donation helps fund the search for missing children. Accepting Trucks,

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(AAN CAN) HENSEL PHELPS CONSTRUCTION CO. - ASHEVILLE REGIONAL AIRPORT CONSTRUCTION TRADE OPPORTUNITIES Hensel Phelps has been selected as the Construction Manager for the Terminal Building Modernization Project at the Asheville Regional Airport in Asheville, North Carolina, and is requesting proposals on its Baggage Handling System scope. The Baggage Handling System scope has been revised and re-issued as a part of Bid Package #2, which is the second of three anticipated work packages associated with this project. The overall Terminal Building Modernization Project expands and modernizes the existing single-story, seven-gate terminal building to a two-story building with a minimum of 12 gates. The overall size of the structure will be approximately 275,000 sqft. NC statutes require all first-tier trade partners to be pre-qualified or your proposal will not be considered. Thus, if you have not yet completed and submitted the pre-qualification questionnaire, please do so immediately. The pre-qualification form can be accessed via the following link: avl.mx/bc1. Bid Proposals for the revised Baggage Handling System scope is due no later than May 17th, 2022 @ 3:00 PM Eastern.

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(AAN CAN)

edited by Will Shortz | No. 0406

ACROSS 1 *Leave briefly 6 Follow 10 Colorful freshwater fish 15 Midwest hub 16 Mystical character 17 Celeb with a good friend named Gayle 18 World leader born Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov 19 Hankering 20 Subdued hue 21 Seriously vex 22 *Final say 24 Aromatherapy provider, perhaps 25 How best to determine consent 27 Coral-based ecosystems 28 Went the distance 31 Pioneer in color TV 32 Start of all Washington, D.C., ZIP codes 35 Contingent of like-minded voters 37 Nation on the Gulf of Oman 39 Like some Quad Cities residents 41 *All for one 45 Louvre Pyramid architect 46 Witty Mort 47 Mulligan 48 ___ Wee Reese 49 Fund-raising group for the G.O.P. 52 Didn’t fail 54 Subs 56 Bit of body ink 57 TV screen type, for short 60 *Flies frequently 64 She released “30” in ’21 66 Broadcast again 67 Farming prefix 68 Word with wave and pool 69 “___ luck!”

70 Political commentator Joy

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1 Animals that become different animals when their first letter is changed to an “M” 2 Oodles 3 Fruit often served in ball form 4 “Brava!” elicitor 5 Busybodies 6 Underhanded tactics 7 Not manually operated 8 Bring on 9 Longtime news anchor Jim 10 “Seeing the other side of the matter …”

11 Blunted blades 12 Cereal “for kids” 13 Musical form heard in some Bollywood films

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71 Arctic people 72 Get-go 73 Monopoly holding 74 Punctuation mark missing in “Let’s eat people!” (at least one would hope!) …as well as from the starred clues

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23 Fleeting moment 26 Move about 29 Doxycycline target 30 Some playground attendants 32 Wonderland twin 33 Pixie stick?

34 Not conned by 35 Minor anomaly 36 Shiny fabric 38 Spring’s opposite 40 Brutish sort 42 No-good, backstabbing scoundrel 43 “How bizarre” 44 Disney’s Queen of Arendelle

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50 Pedagogic org.

51 Unfounded rumor 53 Unchanging 54 State capital in the so-called “Treasure Valley” 55 “Me and Bobby ___” (posthumous #1 hit for Janis Joplin) 58 Something staked 59 Difference symbol, in math 60 Singer/ songwriter Guthrie 61 Blindingly bright 62 D.C. nine 63 Buffalo’s county 65 Pet in the town of Bedrock

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