Mountain Xpress 06.01.22 by Mountain Xpress

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. 44 J U N E 1-7, 2022

JUNE 1-7, 2022

MOUNTAINX.COM

C ONTENT S

NEWS

FEATURES 8

VISION FOR THE FUTURE Buncombe’s Comprehensive Plan 2043 enters third phase

10 DEVELOPMENT ROUNDUP Affordable housing complex proposed for Sweeten Creek Road

PAGE 18 CLOSER TO COMPASSION? The N.C. General Assembly may be fine-tuning Senate Bill 711, aka the Compassionate Care Act, a bill to legalize cannabis as a treatment option for certain medical conditions. But critics of the current bill say it would make entering the medical marijuana industry inaccessible to many in North Carolina.

A&C

Q&A

COVER ILLUSTRATION iStock 14 Q&A WITH TIECE RUFFIN The UNC Asheville professor and Rosa Parks Award winner speaks with Xpress

20 DOTS, DASHES AND LOVE Son’s posthumous album helps Asheville mother heal

COVER DESIGN Scott Southwick

LETTERS

CARTOON: MOLTON

CARTOON: BRENT BROWN

COMMENTARY

NEWS

13 BUNCOMBE BEAT

A&C

16 COMMUNITY CALENDAR 22 WORST-CASE SCENARIO Local poet Eric Nelson discusses his latest collection

18 WELLNESS 20 ARTS & CULTURE 30 CLUBLAND

A&C

34 FREEWILL ASTROLOGY 26 WHAT’S NEW IN FOOD AVL Honey Fest buzzes into Salvage Station

34 CLASSIFIEDS 35 NY TIMES CROSSWORD

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JUNE 1-7, 2022

OPINION

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

Does county understand rental market?

Ranked choice voting better represents voters

[Regarding “Buncombe Approves $17 Minimum Wage for County Staff,” May 25, Xpress:] In connection with the Buncombe County pay raise: Bravo anytime an employer recognizes the need for better pay. However, $17 per hour for full-time work, after typical withholdings, still only nets a person about $22,000 per year. A $1,550 per month (supposed average rate) apartment, plus typical utilities, costs about .... $22,000 per year. Every increase is helpful, but the people crunching the numbers must not be living the hourly experience, as they truly don’t seem to understand what it costs to live, even modestly, as a renter in our region. I recently vacated a 700 squarefoot, one-bedroom unit because the landlord raised the rent by about 40% to $2,000. At $17 per hour full-time, two people sharing that particularly monstrous rental rate would still be spending nearly 50% of their incomes just for the privilege of having a roof. — Greg Vineyard Asheville

The primary race was extremely close this year. The nominee for the Asheville mayor was ahead with less than 45% of the votes, and the district attorney won with less than 35%! I don’t know about you, but I’d like to see the winners for these important positions have the backing of a majority (at least half) of the voters. Did you know that when RCV (ranked choice voting) is used, candidates can win only when they receive more than half the votes? This easyto-use, straightforward approach prevents costly runoff elections, provides more choice to voters and encourages candidates to focus on policy issues instead of on tearing down their opponents. To find out more about RCV and to show your support for a government that represents the majority of the people, visit [avl.mx/bmv]. After all, isn’t that what democracy is supposed to be about? — Kris Kramer Black Mountain

Tax relief would also be welcomed [Regarding “Buncombe Approves $17 Minimum Wage for County Staff,” May 25, Xpress:] It’s great that county government employees get a $2/hour raise and likely a $2.70/ hour raise. I’m sure the hardworking peeps deserve it. Most workers in the county, however, do not work for the county. This majority is struggling as much or more than Buncombe County employees, but instead of getting a raise, they get to collectively pay $5.1 million in taxes in addition to what they are already paying.

JUNE 1-7, 2022

C A RT O O N B Y R AN DY M O L T O N What has the county done to reduce taxes for these hardworking citizens? Where is the two-year study that produced a compensatory $5.1 million reduction in taxes for Buncombe County citizens? I’m pretty sure that tax relief will be welcomed “without a note of dissent.” — Mark Tullis Fletcher

May 25, Xpress:] The $2/hour pay raise is not enough. The employees have families to support. Should they have to work two-three jobs, get food assistance and other financial help, or should the county pay them the going rate? At least the “living wage” figured before inflation took hold. — Jody Sloan Asheville

Thumbs-up for county wage hike

Applauding county pay increases

[Regarding “Buncombe Approves $17 Minimum Wage for County Staff,” May 25, Xpress:] Hurrah for the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners! — Grace Pless Asheville

[Regarding “Buncombe Approves $17 Minimum Wage for County Staff,” May 25, Xpress:] I applaud the raise in pay. The cost of living is outrageous for all and especially those paying for those who do not need assistance, just lazy. The hourly rate of $17 is decent, but remember, Xpress does not visit this topic every time a company, other than the government, needs employees and the money. Honestly, you all at Xpress really do not live in the real world. Look at Cawthorn as an example of what we (taxpayers) are tired of from so-called “officials.” — Brenda Newkirk Hendersonville Editor’s response: Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We view reporting on local government pay increases in particular as important to civic accountability, given that local residents support those salaries through their taxes. Both Buncombe County and Asheville city governments are also developing budgets for the next fiscal year, and choices over employee pay impact the funding available for other priorities.

Pay raises are not enough [Regarding “Buncombe Approves $17 Minimum Wage for County Staff,”

MOUNTAINX.COM

Civility crumbles with broken pipe There is a legend at my feet. It lies within the Woodfin Water District main line that eases through here. One hundred years ago, the pipe was put down by men with mules, sleds, pick axes and shovels for 25 cents a day. They weren’t just moving water to Woodfin — every farm they crossed gained access to water. It was an awesome achievement of pure grit. Along with a hookup, the commitment to leave the land like they found it was understood. They were neighbors working with neighbors; they understood the land and respected their relationship to the community. Well, the pipe is crumbling now, and the civility it was put in with has all but dissipated. I clocked a leak above my house at 100 gallons/minute. It has been growing over the years. I first reported it 10 years ago. That is a lot of water to imagine, but I don’t have to. The water sat around the barn, the house and was a foot deep iron sludge in the yard and has been for three years now. The leak got fixed last August, and things have dried out but are not getting restored to the way it was. At least Woodfin Water will not be a part of the cleanup. They claim no neglect. Because they actually believe that, I think it isn’t neglect but pure ignorance that runs that corporation. Soon, the pipe I am standing on will

CARTOON BY BRENT BROWN need replacing. Hopefully, a renewed fiscal responsibility will come with it. One that reflects honorably the original legend of 100 years ago. Leave it like you found it. — Sally Duryea Weaverville Editor’s note: Xpress contacted the Woodfin Sanitary Water & Sewer District with the letter writer’s points and received the following response from Executive Director Joseph Martin: “The District experienced a water main break near this individual’s property. The break was repaired. There were no apparent damages. The individual subsequently requested hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of remediation to replace the topsoil in a field. The matter was turned over to our insurer (N.C. League of Municipalities), which conducted an investigation and found no damages nor responsibility on the District’s behalf. We encourage the individual to forward any claims to their insurer, who can work with ours as necessary.”

Lifelong learning will fortify you “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” — Mary Oliver I see Asheville as a medley of the real world that includes thriving com-

munities participating in the big story of humanity — the good, the bad and the in-between. There is much going on in the local area that connects to the wider world. It’s a great place for democratic participation. I demonstrate with the local Veterans for Peace and the Resist Raytheon groups, calling attention to “just peacemaking” and the military-industrial complex arms dealers. Many support us, but the more interesting conversations develop with those who take the time to give opposing, respectful opinions in opposition. If we converse long enough, we find points of agreement on the problems of our country. On the downside: While demonstrating, we’ve received that “middle finger” from cars as they drive by. Wonder why? And at Pack Square, a young fella brushed between me and a woman, calling her an “ugly bitch.” She had a sign saying, “Wars kill children.” She’s a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. Why would someone who doesn’t know us give us the “finger” or call a grandmother an “ugly bitch”? What experiences did they have in the schools they attended? What are their passions in life? Is this a sign that our educational system and our “way of life” are not preparing us to participate in the future of our country? Spiritually, there are no Democrats, Republicans, white, Black, brown,

rich, poor, liberal, conservative — whatever labels you use to divide and categorize the human species. Thus, we have the “Disunited States” facing the spiritual challenge of changing ourselves, becoming better informed, living more bravely and being honest and kind to each other. We each have partial truths that inform our lives to fulfill our longing for a meaningful life. Your mind is not simply a vessel to be filled by politicians and conventional news, but a fire to be kindled — not to merely survive — but to thrive and transcend all political, religious, cultural and ethnic divisions. That’s freedom. Imagine: What do you want to be like 50, 40 or 30 years from today? What will the world be like 60 years from nows? Do yourself a favor. Prepare yourself with a lifestyle of “lifelong learning” that will determine your retirement years. If you feel helpless, skeptical, suspicious and close-minded, your focus narrows. If you participate and are hopeful and trusting, your life expands and grows. Growth is an endless river, and lost time cannot be made up. Positive change must be social and spiritual because our problems go deeper than politics and cannot be imposed from above. You may feel helpless, but you are not alone. For example, the Earth

Day demonstration by our local Resist Raytheon group connected to 31 states participating throughout the country. This, along with Earth Day demonstrations coordinated globally, included about 1 billion people in more than 193 countries. We all face the challenges of death, illness, loss of relationships, grief and acts of injustice. How we respond can energize you. Take risks, explore, try new things, contemplate, listen, sing, dance, drum and connect to others. I struggle to find the words to express how lifelong learning will help you face the world with courage and intestinal fortitude. It’s up to you. Do what you can with what you have where you are. Practice lifelong learning, and as the neurotic and gifted TV detective Monk says, “You’ll thank me later.” — Ed Sacco Asheville Editor’s note: A longer version of this letter will be posted at mountainx. com.

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.

MOUNTAINX.COM

JUNE 1-7, 2022

OPINION

Pushed out

Aesthetic anti-capitalism is hurting Asheville’s working class BY ANDREW PAUL “Aesthetic anti-capitalists” can be spotted in the wild all over Asheville. You might find them shopping at Whole Foods, which they insist on calling Greenlife. They may have some gray in their hair, and they might drive a Prius or an SUV. They often crop up in the Asheville papers, too. Nearly every week an article or letter appears warning that the city has lost what made it special, that it’s becoming like Charlotte or that its new houses and apartments are all made of ticky-tacky. But there’s something fundamentally wrong with aesthetic anti-capitalism — Karl Marx himself might bristle at it. Sometimes it’s a well-meaning response to the commoditization and homogenization brought about by economies of scale and vast accumu-

JUNE 1-7, 2022

lations of wealth. It originates in the alienation we experience when our surroundings feel out of control. But aesthetic anti-capitalism perniciously prioritizes the interests of the city’s privileged landowners while ignoring Asheville’s younger, multiracial working class. It’s a politics of purity whose adherents pride themselves on righteousness. At the same time, it is deeply conservative, the core idea being that we must “make Asheville great again.” CHARACTER SKETCH In practice, Asheville’s aesthetic anti-capitalism is almost exclusively concerned with residential zoning and land use. It demands that the housing stock be stuck in time, to preserve the city’s so-called “character.” But restricting the definition of something’s character to superficial aesthetics precludes the chance to make Asheville more supportive of mobility, livability and affordability. Why not define a place’s character by its ability to foster connection and well-being? In fact, we often counterpose the “content of one’s character” to what is externally visible. No amount of art deco and “mountain views” can account for the deficit in character that our city holds for mistreating its most vulnerable residents. Aesthetic anti-capitalists often lament that Asheville is no longer “weird,” but they misidentify the cause. Residential construction hasn’t kept up with population growth, and the resulting scarcity pushes up rents and home prices. This means that the folks who make Asheville weird, its artists and young people, are being pushed out. By focusing purely on aesthetics, Ashevilleans miss the point that it’s the material conditions of a city that empower or disempower its cultural workers and foster character in a meaningful sense. Aesthetics are downstream from economics. But aesthetic anti-capitalism doesn’t just arise from a sense of cultural loss: It also reflects a desire to protect property values as well as racial and class homogeneity. Housing scarcity is caused by many factors, but chief among them are local codes that amount to exclusionary zoning. Sometimes called

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ANDREW PAUL

“Scarcity is profitable when you hold the scarce assets.” single-family zoning, these land use restrictions were created in the Jim Crow era by segregationists who saw that even small apartment buildings and duplexes brought poor and Black people into their neighborhoods. Aesthetic anti-capitalist homeowners fiercely defend these codes today. In doing so, they point fingers at “greedy developers.” This is the pot calling the kettle black. In a housing market like Asheville’s, builders hold relatively little power. It’s homeowners who constitute a hegemonic class — one whose interests are opposite those of poor and working people desperate for housing. Our homeowning anti-capitalists may in fact be the greediest of all. Scarcity is profitable when you hold the scarce assets. Consider that at the birth of capitalism, both Adam Smith and Karl Marx decried the role of landowners — whom they called “rentiers” — in monopolizing and speculating in limited resources that might be better used and distributed. SCARCITY BREEDS GENTRIFICATION Housing scarcity, imposed by the asset-owning class through land use codes, is at the root of gentrification. But we can change Asheville by banning exclusionary zoning and promoting more “gentle density,” as the city of Minneapolis and the state of California have both done in recent years. Applying that approach here would empower local workers, giving them more housing options and reducing financial strain. Having more homeowners would also dilute the concentration of housing-based wealth.

The more abundant a commodity is, the riskier speculation in it becomes and the less power those asset holders have. Studies have consistently shown that housing abundance guards against rising rents and home prices. We are in a crisis. Dismissing housing scarcity because builders might earn money is like demanding that food production halt during a famine because General Mills would profit. Yes, we should aim for public housing and social housing, too. But be wary of bad-faith actors. Wealthy, self-interested homeowners will combine aesthetic anti-capitalism with misleading laments that any new construction won’t be affordable when, in fact, this is merely a devious strategy for maintaining the status quo of housing scarcity. At the same time, these people will engage in fearmongering about tree canopy loss and increased crime to distract attention from the bigger issue. STRIVING FOR EQUITY Speaking of crisis, capitalism is certainly at fault for the ongoing climate catastrophe. But nostalgia is not a substitute for environmentalism any more than it is for class analysis. Driving to the farmers market in an SUV — or even a Prius — with a “Keep Asheville Weird” bumper sticker plastered on it can’t compensate for the fact that more and more Asheville workers live outside the city, and they’re dependent on fossil fuels to commute. Those who acquired inexpensive land in the mid-to-late 20th century have apparently decided that the city should now be the exclusive preserve of the wealthy, foreclosing the possibility of transforming our communities to enhance sustainability. Asheville can’t possibly invest in public transit efficiently as long as we keep forcing people to sprawl out. It’s no wonder that the last census revealed a declining Black population. Fearing a homogeneous visual landscape, aesthetic anti-capitalism is making Asheville more homogeneous and xenophobic than ever. Let’s stop pitting established residents against newcomers and immigrants — and older Asheville homeowners against its struggling young renters. Instead, let’s build an Asheville defined by a “character” that prioritizes equity, diversity, livability and worker power, not one obsessed with anti-corporate aesthetics and nostalgia. Andrew Paul teaches history at A-B Tech and is co-founder of the nonprofit organization Asheville For All. X

MOUNTAINX.COM

JUNE 1-7, 2022

NEWS

Vision for the future

Buncombe’s Comprehensive Plan 2043 enters third phase

BY SARA MURPHY hello@saramurphyphd.com What are your biggest concerns about the future of Buncombe County? Over 1,200 residents answered this question as part of a survey conducted by county staff as part of the process to create the county’s first comprehensive plan. Sixty-seven percent chose “rising cost of living,” 51% chose “losing natural areas and agricultural lands to new development” and 33% chose “tourism development changing the character and experience of the county.” (Respondents could choose more than one concern.) Using these answers, and those from the 20 other questions on the survey, Buncombe County staff and a 23-member steering committee will create the county’s first comprehensive plan. When complete, the document will be a nonbinding, advisory blueprint of where residents and county officials want the county to be in 2043 and will outline the goals, objectives and policies needed to achieve that vision. “The comprehensive plan is like a compass,” says Swannanoa native and artisan Dede Styles, a steering committee member. “It’s going to point the way that the county should go.” Despite the cancellation of in-person meetings in January and February due to the omicron variant outbreak, Gillian Phillips, long-range planning division manager, says that the plan is on track to enter its third of four phases, which focuses on policy development, by the end of June. Public engagement will continue throughout the summer. “We’re going to target groups that we didn’t get enough input from in that first phase,” Phillips says, citing in particular Black residents, residents of color

JUNE 1-7, 2022

ENGAGING THE PUBLIC: Residents participate in a mapping activity at the East Asheville Library March 31. Nearly 350 people attended the in-person meetings held by the county’s Planning Department this spring. Photo courtesy of Gillian Phillips and Spanish-speaking residents. Only 3% of the respondents self-identified as Black or African-American, for instance, even though 6.3% of the county’s population is Black. To that end, staff plans to focus particularly on in-person outreach at events like farmers markets and summer festivals. “We will be [in] as many places as we can possibly be with our team,” she adds.

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A COMPREHENSIVE VISION According to Buncombe County Planning Director Nathan Pennington, a common misconception about a comprehensive plan is that it is simply a zoning or city planning document. “It goes beyond that, to things like making sure that in your growth areas there’s adequate infrastructure, enough police, fire, schools, potable water, parks and recreation opportunities,” Pennington said. The plan will address hazards as well, including not only forest fires and mudslides associated with climate change but also cyberattacks and pandemics. Work began last August with the appointment of a steering committee composed of residents representing a variety of racial and ethnic backgrounds, incomes, occupations, ages and years of residence in the area. One hundred eleven people applied, including committee member Kareen Boncales, director of entrepreneurship at Mountain BizWorks. “I’ve been working in the economic development [and] small-business space for many, many years,” she

tells Xpress. “I wanted to be involved in a more comprehensive way in terms of shaping the decisions that are made about our community, and I saw this as a way to do that.” Over the course of three virtual meetings last fall, the committee worked with county staff and land use consulting firm Clarion Associates on phase 1 of the planning process. This phase focused on reaching out to major stakeholders. Committee members interviewed local city and county officials, as well as 22 major stakeholders that included representatives from neighboring counties, organizations such as Land of Sky Regional Council, school districts and economic agencies. Presentations were also made to local groups like the Rotary Club, N.C. Farm Bureau and faith leaders. “Cooperation and collaboration are key to analyze issues and opportunities and move forward with the best plan to benefit both communities,” says Henderson County Planning Director Autumn Radcliff, in charge of that county’s 2045 Comprehensive Plan. She has had multiple conversations with Buncombe County staff

about rapid growth on the shared borders, spurred by existing sewage and water infrastructure and the airport. “Planning doesn’t stop just at our boundaries,” adds Pennington. “It’s a regional conversation.”

Land also emerges as a crucial concern. Seventy-nine percent of the survey respondents selected “[the] natural environment” in response to the question “What do you like most about Buncombe County?”; 67% wanted growth to occur away from areas at risk from climate change like flood plains and wildlife habitats. However, respondents also pointed out concerns not specified in the survey, including homelessness, public safety, and accountability and transparency of local government. Pennington explains that, while not specifically mentioned in the survey, fire, police and emergency medical services are considered as part of growth infrastructure. As for homelessness, the county is currently working with a consultant and will likely develop a separate plan around that initiative.

GETTING THE WORD OUT Once the stakeholder interviews were complete, county staff and Clarion designed the 21 questions for the public survey, as well as a graphic demonstrating the relationship among seven key topic areas. “Our project team set an ambitious goal….to reach everyone we could in the county,” Phillips says. The team partnered with Raleighbased startup PublicInput to create Engage Buncombe, a portal that enables residents to provide feedback, as well as learn about and livestream county meetings. Work began with a word cloud exercise in November, where residents could list up to five words or phrases that best described their visions for the county in 20 years’ time. As of publication, over 1,300 people have contributed over 2,000 comments. (The exercise is still live.) The portal proved particularly useful when the omicron outbreak delayed the start of in-person public meetings until March. The team also distributed over 3,200 postcards to residents, with special instructions for children. “Something innovative we’ve done through this plan is [to] place an emphasis on youth involvement,” Phillips says. She and her staff visited county and city schools and distributed K-12 and college-level lesson plans to instructors. “I really hope that one of these kids remembers me standing up in front of their class and talking about it when the next comp plan comes,” Phillips adds. Children’s tables also played a large role in the 20 in-person meet-

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FROM VISION TO STRATEGY

A COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH: This graphic illustrates the key areas of focus that will be covered in the Buncombe County Comprehensive Plan. Image courtesy of Gillian Phillips ings scheduled at libraries, community centers, and schools across the county. According to Phillips, 347 participants attended these meetings, contributing approximately 30% of the responses to the phase 2 public engagement survey. Steering committee members also helped get the word out. To involve residents in her area of Lytle Cove, Styles stood outside Ace Hardware and Ledford’s Produce and visited East Haven Apartments, an affordable housing development in the area, to distribute paper copies of the survey.

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“We need to know what the most vulnerable among us need,” she says. SURVEY SAYS Unsurprisingly, the greatest consensus in the public engagement survey centered on housing. Seventy-six percent of respondents chose the statement “Housing is not affordable to many families” as the biggest concern for housing in Buncombe County, far ahead of the 35% who selected “There are not enough choices of housing types to meet the needs of different households.”

County staff and the steering committee hope to begin using the survey data to identify concrete policies and actions to include in the plan by the end of June. The public will be invited to provide feedback about these policies, according to Phillips. “You tell us what you want, and we bring it back to you. And we say, ‘Does this look good?’” she explains. That back-and-forth process will continue after a first draft is written, scheduled to happen sometime this fall. “Everyone wants the same thing, but everyone has different priorities in terms of how to get there,” Boncales says. She was encouraged by County Commission Chair Brownie Newman to “dream big” when considering not only visions and goals but also the policies and processes to get there. “Now is the time to shape where we’re going to be in 20 years,” says Boncales. “It’s really an opportunity for us to be bold.” X

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Home Improvement Billy & Neal Moxley

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JUNE 1-7, 2022

N EWS

DEVELOPMENT ROUNDUP

Affordable housing complex proposed for Sweeten Creek Road City of Asheville The public will be able to provide input on one development at the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting 5 p.m. Wednesday, June 1, which will take place in person at City Hall’s first-floor North Conference Room at 70 Court Plaza. A pre-meeting of the same body to review the agenda, which is open to the public but does not allow public comment, will be held at 4:30 p.m. in the fifthfloor Large Conference Room. The Design Review Committee will meet virtually at 12:30 p.m. Thursday, June 16. The agenda for that meeting was not available as of press time.

Planning and Zoning Commission Members of the public can submit comments over email and voicemail until 24 hours prior to the meeting or provide in-person comment during the meeting itself. Instructions on how to attend and comment, as well as the full meeting agenda, are available at avl.mx/8b6. Fairhaven Summit Apartments (3124 and 3130 Sweeten Creek Road, 28803) Property owners Alfred Berlin IV and Melanie Berlin and the Thomas Chapman JF Family Trust request a conditional zoning change from high-density multifamily (RM-16) to residential expansion conditional zone for 3124 and 3130 Sweeten Creek Road, respectively. The owners propose to work with The Commonwealth Cos., a Wisconsinbased development firm, to build a 77-unit multifamily affordable housing complex on 7.68 acres. The

SWEETEN CREEK SLOPE: If approved, Fairhaven Summit Apartments would provide 77 one-, two- and three-bedroom units at rental prices affordable to residents making 30%-80% of the average median income. Because the property is subject to steep-slope requirements, the three apartment buildings will have four stories on the downhill side and two or three stories on the uphill. Graphic courtesy of the city of Asheville development would consist of three four-story buildings and a one-story clubhouse, as well as a playground, fitness center, computer center and picnic area.

Engage Buncombe The Engage Buncombe public input portal, created as part of the public engagement process for the county’s 2043 Comprehensive Plan, now lists Board of Adjustment meetings. Members of the public can use the site to register to attend the meetings either virtually or in person. Gillian Phillips, the county’s long-range planning division manager, anticipates that board meetings will also be streamed from the site in the near future, rather than from the the Planning & Development Department’s website. Engage Buncombe can be accessed at avl.mx/bl7. X

JUNE 1-7, 2022

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All of the 12 one-bedroom units, 25 two-bedroom units and 40 three-bedroom units planned for the development would be guaranteed as affordable for households earning between 30% and 80% of the average median income for a minimum of 30 years. All units would also accept federal housing vouchers. Detailed project documents can be found at avl.mx/bmi.

Buncombe County Three projects requiring special use permits, as well as a zoning variance, will be on the agenda for the Buncombe County Board

of Adjustment meeting at noon Wednesday, June 8. The in-person meeting will take place at the Board of Commissioners Chambers, 200 College St. (One SUP request, that for the ArtSpace Charter School Expansion project, was continued from the May 11 meeting; see avl.mx/bms for more details.) Information on how to attend the meeting and apply for comment can be found at avl.mx/anq. Asheville Christian Academy SUP Revision (60 Capps Road, Swannanoa, 28778) Asheville Christian Academy requests approval of a revision to previously approved plans to construct two tennis courts on its cam-

pus as part of a larger expansion project. The revised plan relocates one of the tennis courts. The larger project was approved at Board of Adjustment meetings on Aug. 14, 2019, (case number ZPH201900035: west campus and facilities) and Sept. 11, 2019, (case number ZPH2019-00037: main campus). Detailed project documents are available at avl.mx/bml. Fairview Mini Storage SUP (1366 Charlotte Highway, Fairview, 28730) Charlotte-based AREP Fairview LLC and property owner Susan Miller of Pooler, Ga., request an SUP to build a 523-unit storage facility. Nine buildings with a combined total of 72,150 square feet are planned. The largest building will be a 24,000-square-foot, two-story, climate-controlled building; the other buildings, all one story,

will not be climate-controlled. The SUP is required because the proposed 22-foot minimum distance between buildings is less than usually required. Detailed project documents are available at avl.mx/bmm. SECO Electric Variance (375 Old Charlotte Highway, Fairview, 28730) Asheville resident Ken Slechter, owner of SECO Electric in Fairview, requests a variance on the 0.38-acre site where the business is located. If granted, the required setback on the eastern side of the property would be reduced to allow construction of restrooms for staff. The property owner adjacent to the eastern property line has signed a letter approving the variance. Detailed documents can be found at avl.mx/bmn.

Hello Spring!

— Sara Murphy X

May 4 P&Z At last month’s meeting, the Asheville Planning and Zoning Commission voted on the projects below. All members were present except for Robert Hoke. Ingles #122 Patton Avenue (1001 Patton Ave., 28806) The commission voted 5-1 to approve Ingles Markets’ request for a zoning change from Highway Business to Commercial Expansion – Conditional Zone, allowing the redevelopment of the former Kmart site with a new store and additional retail space. Commissioners added two more conditions: relocating a proposed bus stop to the interior of the site, pending N.C. Department of Transportation approval, and requiring the developer to speak with community members about what businesses would meet local needs. Commission Chair Joe Archibald was the lone dissenting vote. Asheville City Council unanimously approved the rezoning at its May 24 meeting. Proposed Rezoning (285 Livingston Ave. and 415 S. French Broad Ave., 28801) and Amendment to Open Space Requirements Asheville’s Planning and Urban Design Department proposed to update the zoning and open space requirements in the city’s Unified Development Ordinance for two city-owned parcels located at 285 Livingston Ave., which includes the Dr. Wesley Grant Sr. Southside Community Center, and 415 S. French Broad Ave., where Fire Station 2 is located. Commission members voted 5-1 to approve the proposed changes to the open space requirements, with Archibald opposed. However, they voted 5-1 to deny the rezoning requests, with Commissioner Jenifer Bubenik opposed. The primary reason for the denial was concern over overriding city Resolution 20-184, which suspended the rezoning or sale of any city property acquired by urban renewal. Redwood Commons (21 Governors View Road, Asheville, 28805) The commission voted 5-1 to approve conditional rezoning for a 18,500-square-foot apartment building containing 70 one- and two-bedroom units for affordable senior living near the Swannanoa River. However, members added three more conditions for the developer, Columbus, Ohiobased Buckeye Community Hope Foundation. Commissioners requested that BCHF reach out “in good faith” to NCDOT to discuss improving the crosswalk and light at the intersection of Bleachery Boulevard and Swannanoa River Road. They also requested another informal review of the plans by the city’s Design Review Committee and asked that the developer be relieved of tree canopy requirements. Commissioner Brenton Faircloth voted against the motion. City Council unanimously approved the rezoning at its May 10 meeting. Council member Kim Roney expressed concern over the tree canopy condition but ultimately voted to support the project, citing the city’s dire need for affordable housing. X

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Merrimon ‘road diet’ to move forward after Council approval Merrimon Avenue is about to go on a diet. The plan, approved May 24 by a 6-1 vote of Asheville City Council, would slim down the road from four lanes of vehicle traffic to three. And just like a food-based New Year’s resolution, it brings hope for a healthier lifestyle — as well as questions about feasibility and unforeseen consequences. According to a presentation by Ken Putnam, the city’s transportation director, the proposal is designed “to improve safety and provide options for all multimodal users” such as pedestrians and bicyclists. While the N.C. Department of Transportation had planned in 2018 to widen Merrimon to five lanes, Council members at the time rejected that plan and asked for alternatives more in line with the city’s goals. The new plan would reduce the section of the avenue between Midland Road and W.T. Weaver Boulevard from its current four-lane, two-way configuration to one lane in each direction, along with a center turn lane and bicycle lanes. The conversion is part of a larger Merrimon resurfacing project scheduled by NCDOT. The total anticipated cost of that work, slated for completion by the end of the year, is $2.5 million. Asheville will contribute $275,000 toward the road diet, and if safety issues are found with the new configuration, the city could choose to reverse the conversion for a maximum cost of $300,000. According to a staff report, the city gathered substantial input on the project through a Feb. 28 public meeting and a survey conducted in February and March. Over 300 people attended the meeting, with more than 3,000 filling out the survey. Of survey respondents, 59% supported the project; during the May 24 meeting, public comment on the issue was split, with five people speaking out against the conversion and four voicing support. Council member Sandra Kilgore, the lone vote against the road diet, questioned the level of public support for the project. She claimed, without providing evidence, that the “majority of those [survey] participants are not local” and said most attendees at the February meeting were opposed. Kilgore also raised concerns about the project’s overall cost to the city and the potential for increased accidents if the new road configuration draws more cyclists. Meanwhile, Mayor Esther Mainheimer, who said she had lived in North Asheville since 1988 and regularly commutes downtown,

LIFE IN THE SLOW LANE: The Merrimon Avenue “road diet” will reduce the section of the avenue between Midland Road and W.T. Weaver Boulevard from its current four-lane, two-way configuration to one lane in each direction, along with a center turn lane and bicycle lanes. Image courtesy of the city of Asheville was in favor of the road diet. She emphasized that her backing was not because of the increased accessibility to cyclists the new configuration would create, but instead because of overall safety concerns for motorists, cyclists and pedestrians. “If bikers are able to use this corridor safely, that is a great benefit. But for me, this is a safety issue,” Manheimer said. “The number of accidents on this section of Merrimon is very high when compared to similar roads.” A city website on the project cites NCDOT data showing that Merrimon has experienced 50% more crashes over the past 10 years compared with similar roads across the state. Of those crashes, nearly a quarter have caused an injury. “I have a neighbor whose son killed a pedestrian accidentally in a very early morning collision right in front of Avenue M,” Manheimer continued. “We have a duty to make this road safer for our community. And it is unacceptable, the level of danger surrounding this road right now.” An FAQ prepared by the NCDOT states a study of the 2019 Charlotte Street road diet found the project had reduced motorist speeds, increased bike volume and reduced the number of motorist crashes with minimal increases in vehicle travel time. However, the NCDOT “does not consider [Charlotte Street] a fair

comparison to Merrimon Avenue, given the difference in motorist volume and driveway density between the two corridors.”

In other news Council members approved a conditional zoning and a nearly $753,000 land use incentive grant for the Reed Creek mixed use development project. According to a staff report, the project will contain 49 residential units, 10 of which will be available to those earning at or below 60% of the area median income ($31,575 for an indi-

open

fo r bu sine s s ISSUE

vidual or $45,300 for a family of four). Two units will be available for those earning at or below 80% AMI; all affordable units will be guaranteed for a minimum of 30 years. Council member Gwen Wisler opposed the incentive grant, saying that while she supported the project, the developer should receive a smaller grant due to an existing deed restriction. Council member Kim Roney opposed the conditional zoning because it included a reduction in the number of trees that were required to be planted or preserved on the property.

— Brooke Randle X

Opened a new location? Changed hours? Changed menus or services? Need more staff? Let the Asheville Area Know! In the Mountain Xpress annual celebration of the Asheville area’s business community Contact us to advertise! Publishes 6/22 • 828-251-1333 x1 advertise@mountainx.com

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FEA T U RE S

Q&A with Tiece Ruffin, educator and activist During her recent acceptance speech for the 2022 Rosa Parks Award, Tiece Ruffin, director of Africana Studies and professor of Africana Studies & Education at UNC Asheville, described herself as a publicly engaged, scholar/activist. “I don’t believe I should stay in the ivory tower institutions of higher education, where I simply research and problematize issues,” she stated in her address. Instead, “I take action, influence policy, use my scholarly expertise as protest and as a disrupter to propose solutions and engage in work with the community to transform.” The annual award, given by the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Association of Asheville and Buncombe County, honors women in Asheville working to foster a culture of inclusion as part of a larger effort toward a more just society. Additional winners of the 2022 prize include Kathey Avery, founder and owner of Avery Health – Education and Consulting; Sophie Dixon, a leader in the Shiloh community; and Asheville City Council member Antanette Mosley. A recent press release from UNCA highlights Ruffin’s advocacy for school-age children. Her accomplishments, the press release states, “include serving as an elected board member for the Public School Forum of North Carolina, co-directing an after-school community-based learning program in the Pisgah View com-

munity with UNCA professor of mathematics Sam Kaplan and three community-based leaders and co-curating the delivery of hundreds of STEM fun packs with funding from the Dogwood Health Trust Racial Equity Community Grant, an initiative to tackle the ever-widening opportunity and achievement gap between Black and white Asheville and Buncombe County Public Schools’ students.” Below, Xpress speaks with Ruffin about the award, motherhood and her ongoing community advocacy and educational work. What does receiving the 2022 Rosa Parks Award mean to you and your work? I consider myself a scholar/activist and freedom fighter for justice, especially educational justice. So it’s a true honor to receive an award under the namesake of Rosa Parks. We know that she resisted injustice and was strategic and uncompromising. Parks really forged ahead despite criticism, fear and violence that could be inflicted. So for me, the award is a true honor. So much of your work focuses on school-age children. What inspired this? My experience as a former high school teacher, particularly as a special education teacher and inclusive co-teacher, is why I focus on schoolage children. When I first became a special education teacher it was

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FREEDOM FIGHTER: “I consider myself a scholar/activist and freedom fighter for justice, especially educational justice,” says Tiece Ruffin, recipient of the 2022 Rosa Parks Award. Photo by Adrian Etheridge Photography clear to me that difference in our society made a difference in K-12 schooling and that difference did not equate to equity or recognizing one’s humanity and value in education. I’ve been a teacher educator now for 17 years preparing pre-service teachers for the K-12 classroom, and my work has a cornerstone of justice. I firmly believe that education is a human right, and I believe it could be a common good if it was designed for everyone to thrive. I believe everyone deserves an education rooted in humanity, a human rights-based education, where all are respected, valued, included and enfranchised . How do you go about encouraging inclusivity within your work? I talk to my teacher licensure students about making sure they facilitate inclusive, equitable and justice-based learning spaces. They must be equipped with tools in order to be effective teachers for diverse learners in K-12 education. Tools that provide choice, flexibility and variety, with multiple paths to engage students in learning opportunities. We can’t just do direct instruction or just be teacher-centered; we have to be student-centered, inclusive, equitable and just. That means using a variety of strategies and techniques because we teach a variety of learners.

Do you find that your background in academia helps or informs your activism? I do believe my role at UNC Asheville supports my activism because I work in solidarity with various communities of practice within academia as well as community groups, school districts and various nonprofits. I have a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction in education, so people understand that I have studied what content and approaches are appropriate for our schools. Also, I think people understand that credentials add to the practices and tools that I present in the community, but it also adds to the action-oriented work of what needs to be done. Because I don’t just talk theory or all the theoretical frameworks and books that you need to read, I’m able to drill down to concrete and practical practices and specific things that we can do to move toward justice and equity-based learning spaces. What advice do you have for those interested in doing similar types of work within the community? Within two years of arriving in Asheville by 2012 or so, I joined the Asheville City Schools Foundation board. At the time, my sons were in kindergarten and second grade, and I thought, “You know, let me get connected to the school system.” Through the foundation, I got connected to other people concerned with education and supporting a local school district. It’s important to join organizations that connect you to communities and being unafraid to recognize people you see in community — reaching out to them and telling them you’d like to connect. And what about youths interested in community work? Where would you direct them? I would urge them to get involved in organizations, too. The Asheville City Schools foundation has a group called REAP [Racial Equity Ambassadors Program for young people], and they support racial equity work at Asheville High and the School of Inquiry and Life Sciences. I’ve also worked with My Daddy Taught Me That, My Sistah Taught Me That, Umoja Health, Wellness, and Justice Collective, Christine W. Avery Learning Center and the Delta House Life Development. But if similar opportunities do not exist within someone’s community, I would encourage young people to start their own organization. Rosa Parks was part of organizing with the NAACP, being strategic and intentional. Not giving up her seat on the bus wasn’t by accident!

— Nizarah Caddick X

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JUNE 1-7, 2022

COMMUNITY CALENDAR JUNE 1 - 9, 2022

run Thursdays through Sundays June 3-18. $25, The Magnetic Theatre, 375 Depot St

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.

BENEFITS Queer Film Night: My Name Is Pauli Murray: Benefit for Tranzmission Prison Project An exploration of the life and times of a nonbinary and queer Black activist, priest, author, lawyer and scholar. This is a benefit for Tranzmission Prison Project. Outdoors, sliding scale. WE (6/1), 8pm, The Odditorium, 1045 Haywood Rd

Online Events = Shaded WELLNESS & HEALTH Sparkle Time Holistic Senior Exercise Aerobic, strengthening, balance and flexibility. Proof of vaccines required. Every Monday and Wednesday. WE (6/1, 8), MO (6/6), 10:30am, Avery's Creek Community Center, 899 Glennbridge Rd SE, Arden Men's Cancer Support Group RSVP to Will at (412)913-0272 or acwein123@gmail.com. WE (6/1), 6pm, Woodfin YMCA, 40 N Merrimon Ave, Ste 101 Anxiety Support Group For those wanting support to deal with their anxiety. Contact: info@namiwnc.org for group registration. TH (6/2), 7pm Waves On The Edge, LGBTQ Sweat Your Prayers Safe space for Queer people to move. No dance experience required. Sliding scale. SA (6/4), 9:30am, Haw Creek Commons, 315 Old Haw Creek Rd Goat Yoga at the Breweries Breathe, move, play and drink beer - with goats. SA (6/4), 11am & 12:15pm, $35, Whistle Hop Brewing Co, 1288 Charlotte Hwy, Fairview Parkinson's Support Group of Asheville Opportunity for those with PD and their caregivers to meet, socialize, and learn more. TU (6/7), 10am, Grose UMC, 954 Tunnel Rd

ART Bullington Gardens Fairy Trail Three hundred yards of installations, a fairy wings photo op and poetry stands to foster literacy. Closed Sundays. Bullington Gardens, 95 Upper Red Oak Trail, Hendersonville Asheville Gallery of Art's June Exhibit: Nature's Mirror Oil painter Cynthia LLanes. Opening reception June 3, 5-8pm. Exhibit daily. Asheville Gallery of Art, 82 Patton Ave

Nature and Nurture: The Voorhees Family Artistic Legacy This multi-generational, multi-media exhibit displays paintings, pottery and jewelry from seven members of the Voorhees family. Daily through Sept. 5. NC Arboretum, 100 Frederick Law Olmsted Way Rise: Carolina Lebar A solo exhibit of original works by Colombia-born WNC resident; in graphite, watercolor, and oil. Opening reception June 4, 4pm. Exhibit through July 31, closed Wednesdays. Art Garden AVL, 191 Lyman St Celebrate Artsville Honoring guest artits Betsy Meyer, Karen Stastny and Michelle Wise, with guest speakers Andrea Kulish and Steve Frowine. SA (6/4), 2pm, Marquee Asheville, 36 Foundy St Floralia An exhibition to celebrate the birth of Spring with glass vessels, botanical sculpture and mixed media, all with a nature theme. Closed Tuesdays. Free, North Carolina Glass Center, 140 Roberts St, Ste B Unconventional Perceptions The artist creates contemporary photographic essays that play with the possibilities of the everyday imagery that surrounds our daily lives, challenging the concept of what a photograph is, and can be. Closed Sundays. Contemporaneo Asheville Gallery-Shop, 4 Biltmore Ave

MOUNTAINS TO SEA: The 15th annual Mermaid Parade and Festival will take place Saturday, June 4, in downtown Marshall. Festivities get underway with Splash Island at 11 a.m. on Blannahassett Island. Arts and crafts, kids events, music and more will be on tap before the parade starts at 5 p.m. Downtown events will held until 11 p.m. Photo courtesy of Downtown Marshall Association around the globe. Daily through July 31. Trackside Studios, 375 Depot St

COMMUNITY MUSIC Summer Tracks: Ol' 74 Jazz Band This 18-piece big band plays a wide array of genres from swing, bebop, rock, funk, and Latin. Food and non-alcoholic beverages available for purchase. FR (6/3), 7pm, Rogers Park, 55 W Howard St, Tryon What's Shaking? Music and Dance Party A class for kids and their adults. Performances include original songs and some covers by Ryan Glass, aka Mr. Ryan. Beverages available and a food truck on site. SA (6/4), 3pm, Sweeten Creek Brewing, 1127 Sweeten Creek Rd

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

Asheville Symphony Orchestra Masterworks 6: Ode to Joy Closing the season with Darko Butorac, conductor, and the Asheville Symphony Chorus, performing Beethoven coupled with Copland’s rousing Fanfare for the Common Man and Tower’s feminist answer. SA (6/4), 7pm, Thomas Wolfe Auditorium at Harrah's Cherokee Center

Home and the Journey There: a collection and exhibition of Augmented Reality artworks by Asheville artist Jaime Byrd An immersive art experience combining paintings and AR by multimedia artist Jaime Byrd, inspired by her six year nomadic travels

Ellen Trnka with the Steve Wilson Jazz Trio Featuring vocalist Ellen Trnka, world renowned jazz trombonist Steve Wilson, guitarist Ray Ring and bassist Connor Law. SA (6/4), 7:30pm, $30, Hendersonville Theatre, 229 South Washington St, Hendersonville

JUNE 1-7, 2022

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Weston Olencki and Laura Steenberge Musician, composer, and sound artist; and composer, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist at the crossroads of music and language. TH (6/9), 7pm, Free, Black Mountain College Museum & Arts Center, 120 College St

SPOKEN & WRITTEN WORD Malaprop's Crime and Politics Book Club Participants will discuss People Who Eat Darkness by Richard Lloyd Perry. Registration required. TH (6/2), 7pm, avl.mx/ahj POETRIO: José Angel Araguz, Danita Dodson, and Cathryn Hankla Monthly poetry event featuring three poets. Sponsored by Malaprop's. Registration required. SU (6/5), 4pm, avl.mx/bmw Making the Invisible Visible: The Lives and Music of African American People in Far Western North Carolina, with Ann Miller Woodford The author will talk about the themes in her book; as well as share historic images and discuss some of the significant people, communities and musical traditions that comprise African-American histories in far WNC, particularly from the 1950s-1960s to the present day. MO (6/6), 6:30pm, $10-15, avl.mx/b99

WILD (Women in Lively Discussion) Book Club Participants will discuss Lycanthropy and Other Chronic Illnesses: A Novel by Kristen O'Neal. Sponsored by Malaprop's. Registration required. TU (6/7), 6:30pm, avl.mx/9or Discussion Bound Book Club A monthly discussion about readings that relate to artworks and the art world. Participants will discuss Chalk: The Art and Erasure of Cy Twombly by Joshua Rivkin. WE (6/8), 12pm, Asheville Art Museum, 2 S Pack Square Kris Spisak presents The Baba Yaga Mask The author discusses her novel. Sponsored by Malaprop's. Registration required. WE (6/8), 6pm, avl.mx/bmq

THEATER & FILM Living in a World The premiere screening of the new short documentary film Tommy Simpson's Living in a World - created by Why Make? Podcast and UNCA STEAM Studios. FR (6/3), 6pm, Ramp Studios, 821 Riverside Dr Celebrate Pride In partnership with Blue Ridge Pride and PFLAG of Hendersonville; with queens Celeste Starr, Mimi Monroe and Lethia Dose. FR (6/3), 7:30pm, $20-25, Hendersonville Theatre, 229 South Washington St, Hendersonville

Meet the Author: Talk and Q&A with Jonathan Baurer The author will be discussing his new book, Positive Parenting Solutions to Raise Highly Sensitive Children: Understanding Your Child's Emotions and How to Respond with Radical Compassion, Love, and Confidence. TH (6/9), 6pm, Free, Enka-Candler Library, 1404 Sandhill Rd, Candler

Cinema on the Square Swannanoa's outdoor movie series kicks off with a showing of the 2022 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film. The terms of the movie license prohibit advertising the title of the movie; please call the Swannanoa Library (828)250-6486 for more info. Pre-movie festivities include cartoons, face painting, children’s crafts, and Zumba. FR (6/3), 7:30pm, Free, Grovemont Square, 101 W Charleston Ave, Swannanoa

Y'all Means All: The Emerging Voices Queering Appalachia Editor Zane McNeill and contributors Beck Banks, Kendall Loyer and Matthew Ryan Sparks discuss the anthology. Sponsored by Malaprop's. Registration required. TH (6/9), 6pm, avl.mx/bmx

Midsummer For Haters Shakespeare’s beloved classic gets a new treatment by the people who can’t stand it, resulting in a kidnapped Amazon, mystified mortals, sadistic fairies, and mechanicals gone "stuffed." This co-production with The Magnetic Theatre will

Muck Boot Ball Live music with The Screaming Js and 75 Singlewide, a curated picnic of WNC foods, specially-crafted beverages from Big Pillow Brewing, the unveiling of a new mural by TREK6, Chicken Bingo, a silent aucution and a giving wall. Dress in your best Muck Boots. 21+ FR (6/3), 6pm, $50, Woodson Branch Nature School, 14555 US-25, Marshall The Inaugural Flying Squirrel 10 Miler Run through the hills of Asheville to benefit the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy. SA (6/4), 7:30am, Downtown Asheville First Annual Mike Traynor Memorial Ride A scenic motorcycle ride to benefit the Pediatric Cancer Treatment Foundation; with live music, food, a silent auction and more. SA (6/4), 9am, Harley Davidson of Asheville, 20 Patton Cove Rd, Swannanoa 18th WNC Flyer A bicycle ridge through the hills of WNC, to benefit the Blue Ridge Bicycling Club, to support safe and enjoyable bike rides. The event will end with barbecue, bluegrass and beer. SU (6/5), 8am, Oskar Blues Brewery, 342 Mountain Industrial Dr, Brevard Paint Your Pet A fundraiser for Asheville Humane Society. SU (6/5), 1pm, Down Dog, 51 Sweeten Creek Rd

CLASSES, MEETINGS & EVENTS Blue Ridge APA Pool League Meet people and play pool weekly, no skill required. For more information, call Shonte Barnes (828)545-6769. Multiple Locations Laurel Chapter of the Embroiderers’ Guild of America With a presentation by Sandy Washington,

owner of Sandy's Cross Stitch on the Go. Visitors welcome. TH (6/2), 9:30am, Cummings United Methodist Church, 3 Banner Farm Rd, Horse Shoe WNC Sierra Club Presents: How WNC's Hiking Trails are Built & Maintained View photos and maps of mountain scenery, while learning what it takes to maintain these trails, who does the work, and what makes people volunteer to do this work. For more information, contact WENOCA Chair Judy Mattox judymattox15@ gmail.com, (828)6832176. TH (6/2), 7pm Date Night: Make a Jute Vessel Using natural jute rope and either monofilament thread or hot glue, create a jute vase, placemat, or tabletop object. FR (6/3), 6pm, $15, Center for Craft, 67 Broadway Wear Orange to End Gun Violence Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in Western NC will host a community gathering to honor victims and survivors and work together to end gun violence. SA (6/4), 12pm, Hendersonville Historic Courthouse Square WNC Forest Farming Series Explore the world of forest farming with hands-on workshops and site visits to offer beginning and advanced forest farmers learning opportunities. SU (6/5), 2pm, Thatchmore Farm, 153 Dix Creek Chapel Rd #1, Leiceste Walk through History: Oteen Hospital and the Western Regional Archives A historic walking tour of the grounds of the historic hospital, including a visit to the archives, now housed in a historic dormitory on the grounds of the hospital. WE (6/8), 10:30am, $2535, Swannanoa Valley Museum & History Center, 223 W State St, Black Mountain Carbon Offsets Informational Webinar Carbon Harvest is hosting an informational webinar about the regional carbon offsets platform, and will answer questions from farmers and community members about carbon offsets, and discuss how to participate. WE (6/8), 7:30pm, avl.mx/prws

FOOD & BEER RAD Farmers Market Live music and over 30 local vendors weekly with food, flowers,

plants, crafts, and more. Safely accessible by bike or foot, plus ample parking. WE (6/1, 8), 3pm, pleb urban winery, 289 Lyman St Etowah Lions Club Farmers Market Fresh produce, meat, sweets, breads, arts, and more, through October 26. WE (6/1, 8), 3pm, 447 Etowah School Rd, Hendersonville Weaverville Tailgate Market Local foodstuffs, alongside a small lineup of craft and artisan vendors. WE (6/1, 8), 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 (6/1, 8), 3:30pm, 338 New Leicester Hwy, Leicester Flat Rock Tailgate Market A diverse group of local produce farmers, jam and jelly makers, bread bakers, wild crafters, and merrymakers.

TH (6/2, 9), 3pm, Pinecrest ARP Church, 1790 Greenville Hwy, Flat Rock Enka-Candler Tailgate Market Fresh local produce and heritage crafts. Weekly. TH (6/2, 9), 3pm, A-B Tech Small Business Center, 1465 Sand Hill Rd, Candler East Asheville Tailgate Market Local goods, every Friday. FR (6/3), 3pm, 954 Tunnel Rd Henderson County Tailgate Market One of the oldest openair markets in WNC, this unique market has a festival feel, with local growers who operate small family farms in Henderson County. SA (6/4), 8am, 100 N King St, Hendersonville Hendersonville Farmers Market Produce, meat, eggs, baked goods, coffee, crafts and more from 30+ local vendors. With live music, kids' activities and cooking demos weekly. SA (6/4), 8am, 650 Maple St, Hendersonville Mills River Farmers Market A producer-only market, selling products raised or produced within 50 miles

of the market. With local musicians, a wide variety of vegetables, fruits, meat, eggs, and high-quality crafts. SA (6/4), 8am, Mills River Elementary School, 94 Schoolhouse Rd, Mills River North Asheville Tailgate Market The oldest Saturday morning market in WNC. Over 60 rotating vendors. SA (6/4), 8am, 3300 University Heights Asheville City Market Over 50 vendors and local food products, including fresh produce, meat, cheese, bread, pastries, and more. SA (6/4), 9am, 52 N Market St Black Mountain Tailgate Market Seasonal community market event featuring organic and sustainably grown produce, plants, cut flowers, herbs, locally raised meats, seafood, breads, pastries, cheeses, eggs and local arts and handcrafted items. SA (6/4), 9am, 130 Montreat Rd, Black Mountain Haywood's Historic Farmers Market Weekly, located at HART Theatre. SA (6/4), 9am, 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 (6/4), 9am, 175 East Main St, Brevard Madison Co Farmers & Artisans Market Local goods and produce, weekly through October. SA (6/4), 10am, Mars Hill University, 100 Athletic St, Mars Hill Mini Pop-up Craft Fair Twenty booths will fill the parking lot, featuring a variety of media crafted by members of the Southern Highland Craft Guild. Disciplines represented include stained glass, wheelthrown and hand-built ceramics, woodcarving, screen-printed, and sewn textiles, basketry, and metalsmithing. SA (6/4), 10am, Folk Art Center, MP 382, Blue Ridge Parkway Art Market Monthly celebration of local artists, makers and live music. SA (6/4), 12pm, Continuum Art, 147 Ste C, 1st Ave E, Hendersonville

Dalton Distillery Cookout, Tasting & Tours Handcrafted small batch Caribbean influenced vodkas and rums, free burgers and tours of the distillery. SA (6/4), 1pm, Dalton Distillery, 251 Biltmore Ave

Jackson Arts Market Makers & Music Festival Live music from "Blue" Jared Smith on Saturday. Authentic, handmade products and live arts demos. Every weekend through August 13. SA (6/4) & SU (6.5), 1pm, Downtown Sylva

Gladheart Farm Fest Market Fresh produce, bread and pastries, food vendors, and live music, weekly. SU (6/5), 11am, Gladheart Farm, 9 Lora Ln

West Asheville Tailgate Market Over 40 local vendors, every Tuesday. TU (6/7), 3:30pm, 718 Haywood Rd

Meadow Market Runs every Sunday from May-August and will feature a rotation of local bakers, makers and artisans. SU (6/5), 12pm, Highland Brewing Company, 12 Old Charlotte Hwy Sunday Brunch Market A variety of vendors will sell pollinator-friendly plants, food, jun, beer and honey, with a demo of hive inspections. SU (6/5), 12pm, Sideways Farm & Brewery, 62 Eade Rd, Etowah Sundays on the Island Local market located on Marshall's island in the middle of the French Broad River. SU (6/5), 12pm, Blanahasset Island, Marshall

Asheville City Market South Midweek market operated by the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP). WE (6/8), 12pm, Biltmore Town Square, 1 Town Square Blvd

FESTIVALS "Thanks to Teachers" Block Party In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week, local event organizers and supporters of public education will celebrate educators in Henderson County Public Schools. With local band Tuxedo Junction, cheerleaders, food trucks and the Pepsi Wagon. TH (6/2), 6pm, Hendersonville Historic Courthouse Square

White Squirrel Festival With live music from Empire Strikes Brass, Johnathan Scales Fourchestra, John Trufant and more; also in conjunction with the Brevard Music Center's first annual NC Guitar Celebration, hosted by Bryan Sutton. Local food vendors, a beer and wine garden, craft and nonprofit vendors. FR (6/3) & SA (6/4), Downtown Brevard Oceans of Possibilities Summer Library Fest Featuring local kid-hop band Secret Agent 23 Skidoo, with beach party games, a mermaid meet-and-greet, mini golf,and other activities for kids of all ages. SA (6/4), 10am, East Asheville Library, 902 Tunnel Rd 15th Annual Mermaid Parade & Festival Splash Island, an arts and crafts market, live music, a seafood cookoff to benefit Beacon of Hope food pantry, and the parade at 5pm. Downtown festivities until 11pm. SA (6/4), 11am, Downtown Marshall Cold Mountain Fest Featuring music from Hiss Golden Messenger, Futurebirds, The Mother Hips, Chatham Rabbits

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and Draw Slow. Plus local food and beverage vendors, family-friendly activities and more on a 300 acre property with a mile-long lake surrounded by Pisgah National Forest. SA (6/4), 12pm, Lake Logan, 25 Wormy Chestnut Ln, Canton Asheville Honey Festival/Black Jar International Honey Contest A family-friendly event by the Center for Honeybee Research and Shanti Elixirs; with live music, vendors, environmental nonprofit booths, pollinators and habitats. The Center for Honeybee Research will also hold its 11th annual Black Jar International Honey Contest, with a grand prize of $5,500. SU (6/5), 12pm, $12, Salvage Station, 468 Riverside Dr The Firefly Gathering Four full days of Earthskill classes by day, live entertainment and camping under the stars by night. A variety of nature connection programs guide children and teens to engage through learning and play. TU (6/7), Deerfields, 101 Watagnee Trail, Horse Shoe

JUNE 1-7, 2022

WELLNESS

Closer to compassion?

N.C. may inch closer to legalizing medical marijuana

BY JESSICA WAKEMAN

Band of Cherokee Indians legalized the cultivation and sale of medical marijuana in the Qualla Boundary, its tribal land in Western North Carolina, in August 2021.) In 2014, the N.C. legislature legalized the use of limited access to products containing CBD for patients with intractable epilepsy, also called drug-resistant epilepsy. But other legislation for medical marijuana has failed to get off the ground. While cannabis has not been legalized for medical conditions, N.C. allows hemp farming in the state. In 2014, the federal Agricultural Act permitted state departments of agriculture to oversee growing industrial hemp, and the next year, N.C.’s General Assembly legalized farming industrial hemp. Currently, N.C. has roughly 1,500 licensed hemp producers. And over the past several years, numerous dispensaries selling CBD products have opened, including many in Asheville.

jwakeman@mountainx.com The N.C. General Assembly reconvened for a short session last week. Among the work legislators face may be fine-tuning the Compassionate Care Act, a bill to legalize medical marijuana that would have wide ramifications. Supporters of medical marijuana and the local hemp industry want to see the state allow the use of cannabis as a treatment option for debilitating medical conditions. But there are disagreements with Senate Bill 711 as written, says state Senator Julie Mayfield, who represents District 49. “As much as we all want the medical marijuana law in North Carolina, this bill would be worse than no bill,” says Mayfield, who is among four Democratic lawmakers at the forefront of negotiations on medical marijuana. Critics of the current version of SB 711 say the limited number of licenses, high permitting fees and a requirement that the license holder grow, distribute and sell would make entering the medical marijuana industry in North Carolina inaccessible to many. Blake Butler, executive director of the Southeast Hemp Association, a trade association for hemp growers, says he wants any medical marijuana bill in N.C. to “be advantageous for

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MEDICAL MARIJUANA’S N.C. HISTORY Marijuana and hemp are the same plant genus; it’s helpful to think of the two as cousins. According to Healthline, hemp contains 0.3% or less of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, a psychoactive cannabinoid that causes a “high.” Marijuana contains 0.3% or more of THC. Cannabidiol oil is nonpsychoactive cannabinoid, or phytocompound, which is derived from either marijuana or hemp. Marijuana is a Schedule 6 controlled substance under the N.C. Controlled Substances Act and possession of it is punishable as a Class 3 misdemeanor. (On May 23, state senators filed a bill to continue to exclude hemp and hemp products from the definition of marijuana in the N.C. Controlled Substances Act. If lawmakers don’t act, the current exclusion would expire through a sunset provision June 30, meaning hemp and CBD products would become illegal. “This gets everything in line with federal law and amends the [N.C.] Controlled Substances Act,” Butler explains.) North Carolina is one of 12 states where medical marijuana is not legal, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. (The Eastern

Republican state Senator Bill Rabon of District 8 introduced the N.C. Compassionate Care Act, or SB 711, April 7, 2021. The North Carolina chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws called SB 711 “a very restrictive framework to legalize medical cannabis for a limited number of medical conditions.” But the bill has been sitting in the Senate Committee on Rules and Operations since August 2021. (Rabon also chairs that committee. His office did not respond to multiple requests from Xpress for comment.) Mayfield says she has heard SB 711 will be referred out of the committee where it is currently sitting. However, she says she’s unsure if the bill will be referred to the Senate floor for a vote or to another committee for additional review. “But there is a desire to move it,” Mayfield says. SB 711 currently states a patient would be required to have a written diagnosis from a physician for cancer, epilepsy, HIV/AIDS, post-traumatic stress disorder and other conditions. Mayfield tells Xpress she would like to see the permissible uses for medical marijuana include more conditions. “My personal feeling is that the existing list is not expansive enough,” she explains, but notes the legislature can always expand the permissible medical conditions later. She says her issues with the current bill are the regulatory frame-

CONCERNED: Nicolette Baglio, who owns a hemp-based wellness brand, says that proposed legislation to grant licenses to grow and sell medical marijuana would exclude most North Carolina hemp farmers. Photo courtesy of Baglio work and licensing structure. As written, SB 711 allows an 11-member Medical Marijuana Production Commission to approve 10 medical cannabis supplier licenses for the entire state. The bill also requires vertical integration of each licensed medical marijuana business, called “seed-to-sale tracking.” It means every aspect of the supplier’s business — from cultivation to selling — is operated by one company. “We need to be thinking about and prioritizing North Carolina businesses,” explains Mayfield, proposing a “horizontal integration system … [where] you would license growers, processors and retailers separately.”

BABY STEPS: Franny Tacy, founder of Franny’s Farmacy — which sells cannabidiol, or CBD, products — says any medical marijuana legislation at all would be “a step forward.” Photo courtesy of Franny’s Farmacy

Nicolette Baglio, owner of Ashevillebased Citizen Bloom Botanics, a hempbased wellness brand, does not intend to apply for a medical cannabis supplier license. “Very high-cost barriers of entry, a low number of licenses and the vertical integration requirement makes it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for the current hemp industry [in North Carolina] to participate in this incoming market,” says Baglio. Baglio notes that SB 711 requires a license fee of $50,000, plus a $5,000 fee for each production facility and medical cannabis center the licensee plans to operate. Additionally, the law requires a $10,000 license renewal fee, plus $1,000 per production facility and medical cannabis center. Baglio says most local businesses don’t stand a chance against established cannabis companies, called multistate operators, or MSOs. MSOs already produce cannabis products in Canada and the 38 states where medical marijuana or recreational marijuana is legal. “Corporate cannabis are the only ones that have the capital to operate that type of structure [vertical integration],” explains Baglio. “They’re kind of like the Walmarts of cannabis,” she says of MSOs. Baglio adds that the current SB 711 “also leaves billions of dollars on the table for the state by not increasing participation and access to who can get a license.” (According to the nonprofit research organization The Urban Institute, states that have legalized marijuana levy a wide variety of state and local retail taxes. Some taxes are a percentage of the price and others are based on weight.)

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POLITICAL FOOTBALL Butler from the Southeast Hemp Association doesn’t think SB 711 as currently written can garner enough support in the General Assembly to become law. As for rewriting the bill, he says, “I think we need to take as much time as possible to get it done right.” But not everyone in WNC’s hemp industry objects as strongly. Franny Tacy, founder of Franny’s Farmacy, which sells CBD products ranging from gummies to tinctures to tea, would like medical marijuana legislation in North Carolina approved, arguing that something is better than nothing. “We’ve got to see legislation make progress,” Tacy tells Xpress. “It’s very easy to see sometimes [legislators], they’re putting stuff that’s self-serving or trying to limit the progress. [But] it’s OK. By limiting numbers [of licenses], only certain people, the chosen one — it’s OK. It’s a step forward, and we need one foot in front of the other. … [K]eep making steps forward.” X

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ARTS & CULTURE

Dots, dashes and love

Son’s posthumous album helps Asheville mother heal

BY EDWIN ARNAUDIN

they had messages in their songs. ... [Konopasek] wanted to drop knowledge while being entertaining.” He also wasn’t afraid of making mistakes. In one song from Islands in the Sky, Konopasek raps, “Lennon said, ‘Let it be.’” Upon hearing the track, Mason informed her son that it was actually Paul McCartney who wrote that lyric. A perfectionist, Konopasek drove to Atlanta, where he’d been tracking the album in a professional studio over the course of three years, and rerecorded the song. In addition to wanting to be a great MC and producer, Konopasek loved chess and traveled throughout North Carolina, competing in tournaments. “He would say chess is like grammar, is like a song, is like a sentence — it has a system and makes sense, and if it’s done properly, you succeed in it,” Mason remembers. “He was fascinated with the game’s mechanics.” But his chief passion was for words. Around the same time he began listening to hip-hop, Konopasek started carrying a dictionary, his mother recalls. If he didn’t know a word, he’d look it up and learn about its origin. A year into his obsession, Mason gave her son a thesaurus. “You could have shot him to the moon,” she notes, remembering his joy.

earnaudin@mountainx.com For the last two years, Claudia Mason has been grieving the death of her only child, Brian Konopasek. In late January 2020, the aspiring local rapper — who went by the name Morse Code — died at the age of 42 from an accidental overdose from fentanyl-laced cocaine. Alone, Mason felt unmoored by her loss. But a dream involving rap legend Ice-T grounded the bereaved mother and proved life-changing. Earlier this year, Mason published her son’s previously unreleased album, Islands in the Sky. And over the course of the last five months, she has made it her mission to share his words, voice and music with the world. In turn, she hopes that speaking openly about her son’s cause of death, normalizing conversations around a topic that many consider taboo and raising awareness about

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BACK ON TRACK: Claudia Mason has found a renewed purpose in sharing the music of her late son, Brian Konopasek, aka Morse Code. Photo by Cindy Kunst the opioid impact will help save other people’s lives. And by spreading his impressive creations, she strives to encourage all who hear Morse Code’s music to follow their own passions. INTELLIGENT SOUL From an early age, Mason says, her son had an eclectic taste in music. A fan of his mother’s beloved

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Led Zeppelin, The Beatles (particularly John Lennon) and The Moody Blues, the young Konopasek also enjoyed his grandfather’s jazz albums before discovering hip-hop as a preteen. “When he was 10 or 11, he began listening to Public Enemy, Eazy-E, then Wu-Tang Clan and Nas. He was a huge Ghostface Killah fan,” Mason says, adding that her son could perfectly imitate the Wu-Tang rapper’s iconic drawl. “He liked that

Mason and Konopasek moved from Blowing Rock to Asheville in fall 2019, primarily because of Konopasek’s musical ambitions. He had researched the city’s local music scene and believed the community would embrace his style and sound. Tragically, he never got to find out, passing away mere months after relocating. Living alone in an unfamiliar city, Mason says she felt isolated without her son. Two months later, with COVID-19 lockdowns in place, that sense intensified as even the counseling she sought amid her grief shifted to the digital realm. One of the only places she visited during this period was the Skyland Ingles. “I was just going out in whatever I had on, wearing sunglasses, crying through the store,” she says. “The Ingles employees slowly befriended me and talked to me about faith and

God’s promise. And they wanted to know about Brian and gave me hugs and love.” The Ingles crew provided Mason with some welcome face-to-face interactions, but it wasn’t until the night of Aug. 23, 2021, that she truly began her road to recovery, thanks to a dream. For a long while Mason could not explain why, of all the hip-hop artists in the world, Ice-T appeared to her in her sleep, asking to hear her son’s music. Konopasek didn’t own a single album by the gangsta rap pioneer. But Mason soon established a theory. “Before we moved [to Asheville], we were watching Ice-T in [‘Law & Order: Special Victims Unit’]. And Brian looked at me and said, ‘I gotta give this guy props. He went full circle from living in the ghetto to a gangsta rapper ... to being a cop in a TV show,’ which is kind of the antithesis of gangsta rap,” Mason says. “[My son] just thought how paradoxical that was, and for him it was kind of like a chess move where [Ice-T] went from being a pawn to the queen, who can move on all the spaces on the board.” She’s convinced that the chess symbology played a part in her dream, reminding her that she, too. could move in a different direction and away from her crippling grief. THE ROAD TO HEALING Imbued with a purpose after a year and a half of suffering, Mason found Konopasek’s master recording of Islands in the Sky in a box in his room. The “conscious hip-hop,” as Konopasek called it, provided Mason with much-needed comfort, and she made it her mission to release the album. With help from Boone-based graphic artist, musician and longtime friend Aaron Burleson, Mason compiled some of Konopasek’s origi-

nal artwork for the cover design and ordered 100 CDs of Islands in the Sky through New Jersey-based company Disc Makers. Her first stop was the Skyland Ingles. She sold four copies that day, then went to other South Asheville businesses and sold all 100 in five weeks, prompting her to place another order. “It kind of happens more incidentally than just, ‘I’m going to go out today and make some sales,’” Mason says. “I didn’t want that to be the priority. The therapy was more that I got to tell [my son’s] story and hoped to share his gifts and his amazing talent with someone. I felt a little less alone because [people] took [Brian’s music] home with them.” As she’s expanded her distribution footprint throughout Asheville, Mason has been surprised by the number of people she’s met who’ve also lost a child. Many of these individuals have purchased copies of Islands in the Sky for loved ones going through difficult times. And in multiple instances, Mason has received emails from those recipients, thanking her for the comfort Konopasek’s words and music have given them — in turn, providing her with confidence that she can survive her own unimaginable loss. “It’s actually given me a way to find a community of like-minded people who are either struggling with the same problem or have some unrequited talent that they don’t have the guts to go for,” Mason says. “People say, ‘Wow, what a great mom you are, carrying the torch for him.’ And they give me a little pat on the back. But Brian did all the heavy lifting. “I say, ‘Thank you, but it’s really not me. It’s him. It’s his story and his talent and his labor of love. But now it’s my labor of love.’” To learn more, visit avl.mx/blm. X

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A R TS & CU LTU R E

POETRY

Worst-case scenario

Local poet Eric Nelson discusses his latest collection Though both horse and zebra find their way into the title of local, award-winning poet Eric Nelson’s latest collection, Horse Not Zebra, it is a black bear that plods its way across many of the works. Like the poems themselves, the creature’s presence reveals many sides in Nelson’s writings — at times curious, checking in on humans amid stay-at-home orders; at other times, mysterious, “hugging the shoulder” of city streets as it disappears into the night. Along with the black bear, Nelson’s poetry captures many other aspects of life in contemporary Western North Carolina — from hikes and

campfires to protests and the everyday sounds of city life. But the poet is not stuck in one place or one time. In an instant, readers are brought back to John F. Kennedy’s assassination; in yet another moment, the poet reflects on the influence of Ellis Island on his family name. No matter the topic, what underlies the collection is Nelson’s talent and appreciation for the unexpected, reminding his audience that amid the darkness, there is also beauty, comedy and hope. Xpress recently caught up with the poet, who along with discussing his writing influences and habits, has

Horse Not Zebra by Eric Nelson When med students are learning how to diagnose symptoms, they’re told think horse, not zebra—the common, not the exotic. Which is good advice even if you’re not a doctor. Like when your phone rings at 3:00 in the morning, think wrong number, not who died? Or if your love is over an hour late for dinner and hasn’t called to explain, think gridlock, not head-on; dead zone, not dead. When the guy in the truck doesn’t slow down much less stop when you step into the crosswalk, think distracted, not son-of-a-bitch. Recall the time your mind was still at work, how shocked you were to see in your rearview a woman in the crosswalk flipping you off with both hands. And if you’re steaming in a mile long backup because protesters have blocked the bridge again, don’t think where are the damn cops when you need them, think how, when popping sounds wake you at night, you think firecracker, not gun.

JUNE 1-7, 2022

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LONG TIME COMING: “Ever since I first heard, years ago, the expression, ‘When you hear hoofbeats, think horse, not zebra,’ I wanted to write a poem around it,” says local poet Eric Nelson. Photo courtesy of Nelson shared his collection’s titular piece, “Horse Not Zebra.” Xpress: Can you take us through the process of writing this poem and the inspiration behind it? Nelson: Ever since I first heard, years ago, the expression, “When you hear hoofbeats, think horse, not zebra,” I wanted to write a poem around it. I love how concrete and apt the phrase is, and how well it applies to many situations, not just its medical context. But I didn’t start writing the poem until 2021, when I was doing a poem-a-day exchange with my friend David Graham, which we do once a year. It’s grueling, but it forces me to write poems that I’ve only vaguely been thinking about. The poem is mainly a list of examples of times I’ve jumped to worstcase conclusions. But one tricky part about writing a list poem is how to wrap it up in a way that seems like an ending and not an abrupt stop. I wanted some kind of reversal at the end. Not a surprise ending, but a little different from what came before. Around the time the poem was written, there were a lot of social justice demonstrations going on, one of which blocked a bridge in Asheville. And that was the catalyst that took me to the final line. With the ending’s powerful reversal in mind, tell us a little bit more about the revision process itself and how the poem evolved? The poem started out as one long stanza. Then, as I edited out unnecessary language and made each example a separate stanza, it evolved into multiple three-line stanzas. I also fiddled with the order of the stanzas,

and I cut two of them entirely because they didn’t seem as strong or well connected to the others. I wanted the final stanza to enlarge the poem somehow, to make it bigger than one individual. The bridge protest I mentioned before was on my mind, and I wondered if the people stuck in their cars felt empathy for the protesters or just totally annoyed. I don’t even know where the “firecracker not gun” part came from. It just appeared in the first draft, and it felt right. Speaking of broader topics — what do you view the poet’s role as in our modern day, and what is poetry’s impact on our culture? I think the poet’s role is to pay attention to the world in both its beauty and its ugliness. And to our interior lives, especially the conflicts between heart and mind. And to language — to keep it fresh and vivid and lively; to avoid what a friend of mine calls crimes against language — cliches, triteness, oversimplification, obfuscation. I think the best poems excel in paying attention to those three things — the external world, the internal world and language itself — and how they overlap. The impact of poetry in our culture is subtle but profound. It’s safe to say that most people don’t read or think about poetry much, if at all. But somehow poetry slips out into the world and gets absorbed, like a good virus. A pandemic of poetry moves invisibly from person to person, influencing our lives and culture. Even people who claim to dislike poetry will use the phrase “poetry in motion” to describe a physical action that they don’t have any other words for. And in one of my favorite

movies, McCabe & Mrs. Miller, which is set in a rough and dangerous frontier town, the hapless, doomed main character says to his prostitute lover, “I got poetry in me.” I love that, and I believe that we’ve all got poetry in us, whether we are poets or not. Is there a new collection from a local poet that you’re excited about, and what is it about their work that resonates with you? There’s so many outstanding poets in this area, including Anne MarenHogan, whose recently published book, Vernacular, won the 2021 Lena Shull Book Award from the N.C. Poetry Society. Anne’s voice and vision come from her childhood on a farm in Iowa, as well as from her adulthood in an intentional community near Burnsville. That may seem idyllic, and in some ways it is, but Anne’s poems are clear-eyed in their depiction of not only wonder and beauty, but also the harshness of living where “life and death dare each other” and the outcome is uncertain. It’s a rich and compelling collection. Lastly, who are the four poets on your Mount Rushmore? Walt Whitman. Gwendolyn Brooks. Theodore Roethke. Elizabeth Bishop.

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ARTS & CU L T U R E

MUSIC

Playing host

Bryan Sutton debuts Blue Ridge Guitar Camp

BY BILL KOPP bill@musoscribe.com Asheville native Bryan Sutton has been anticipating his inaugural Blue Ridge Guitar Camp for years. “It’s been in the works since 2018,” says the Grammy Award-winning musician and nine-time International Bluegrass Music Association Guitar Player of the Year. “We had things up and ready to go in 2020 but had to shut it down because of the pandemic.” Now, two years later, Sutton’s wait is finally over. On Wednesday, June 1, he’ll launch the camp’s five-day gathering at Brevard Music Center, 349 Andante Lane. According to the Nashville-based star, some of the inspiration behind the camp came from events organized by like-minded musician friends, including the Steep Canyon Rangers-hosted Mountain Song Festival, as well as Béla Fleck’s Blue Ridge Banjo Camp. “One of my main goals is to shake things up,” Sutton says. “We want to try some new programming that’s not like what folks have experienced at other camps.” Joining Sutton will be four other highly regarded masters of the sixstring instrument — Michael Daves, Grant Gordy, David Grier and Courtney Hartman. “I want folks to experience conversation outside of normal guitar education,” Sutton says. Blue Ridge Guitar Camp isn’t so much about learning to play new music, he continues. Rather, “It’s about a new way to look at playing and a healthier way [for guitarists] to examine what they’re already doing.” STRENGTH IN NUMBERS When it came to selecting the camp’s instructors, Sutton says he was intentional in bringing together a group of artists with unique strengths. “Grant Gordy is a great improviser who has stretched the boundaries of bluegrass and jazz guitar,” he explains. “So his lane is more about discovering that improvisational voice.” Meanwhile, Daves brings a “wealth of knowledge of bluegrass traditions, rhythm playing and singing.” Grier, whom Sutton considers “a master of repertoire,” will focus on crosspicking, which Sutton describes as “a subgenre of flatpicking.” And Hartman will emphasize “artistry,

A NEW WAY TO LOOK AT PLAYING: Bryan Sutton says the inaugural Blue Ridge Guitar Camp will be characterized by “conversation outside of normal guitar education.” Photo by Scott Simontacchi musicianship and playing with others,” Sutton explains. For his part, Sutton’s instruction will explore mechanics and fundamentals. Inevitably, the five instructors’ presentations will intersect at various points. “But a student can expect a different conversation with each instructor,” Sutton promises. “And everybody [who attends] is going to see every instructor.” The camp will also feature guest speakers. Master luthier Dana Bourgeois is among those on the list. His talk will take participants through the actual guitar-making process. Meanwhile, Dr. Josh Turknett, a neurologist and author of The Laws of Brainjo: The Art & Science of Molding a Musical Mind will examine the intersection of musicianship and the human brain. TIME TO CELEBRATE The camp will be capped by Bryan Sutton’s North Carolina Guitar Celebration, Saturday, June 4, at 7:30 p.m., at Brevard Music Center’s Whittington-Pfohl Auditorium. The revue-style concert extravaganza is also part of this year’s White Squirrel Festival. The ticketed event will feature Sutton, his fellow instructors and other stars. Available to the public, ticket prices range $24-$67. Among those scheduled to appear are celebrated dobro player and 14-time

Grammy winner Jerry Douglas and Grammy-winning musician Dom Flemons, formerly of Carolina Chocolate Drops. Sutton’s pals Woody Platt and Nicky Sanders of Brevardbased Steep Canyon Rangers will perform as well, along with several other award-winning musicians. The celebration is envisioned as a variety show, carrying on the proud tradition of historic revues like the Grand Ole Opry and Louisiana Hayride. “There will be a few different setups,” Sutton explains. The main stage will feature larger ensembles, while additional smaller stages will showcase solo performers and “intimate little trios with singers and players around a couple of mics.” Sutton expects the celebration to be a nonstop flurry of activity. “There will be people on the side of the stage, ready to go” while other acts are performing, he says. “There will continually be a variety of things happening. My role is to host and curate and to have fun.” Campers will likely also be involved in the celebration. “My goal is to plug them into the show,” Sutton says. “And there will certainly be a big finale where we’ll try to get as many people on stage as we can, playing a big bluegrass jam.” The musical host says the show, as well as the Blue Ridge Guitar Camp, are designed to occupy the sweet spot between laid-back and intensive. “I’ve toyed with the question, ‘Should we call this a camp at all?’” Sutton says. “It’s more like an experience, or a summit.” Looking ahead, Sutton’s vision for the annual gathering is to create a place where players can come to relax, build community and challenge themselves and their playing skills. “There’s a lot going on in this camp that reflects how I’ve learned,” Sutton says. “And how I continue to learn.” X

WHAT Bryan Sutton’s North Carolina Guitar Celebration WHERE Saturday, June 4, 7:30 p.m., avl.mx/bln WHEN Brevard Music Center, 349 Andante Lane

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ARTS & C U L T U R E

FOOD ROUNDUP

What’s new in food

Asheville may have been named the first Bee City USA in 2012, but only now have local bee enthusiasts come together for the city’s inaugural AVL Honey Fest. Taking place Sunday, June 5, at Salvage Station, the event is presented by the Center for Honeybee Research and Shanti Elixirs. For 11 years, the CHR held an annual honey tasting contest in various Asheville venues, among them the Renaissance Asheville Hotel, which has two working hives on its roof. The Honey Fest greatly expands the contest and opens it to the public with the purpose of raising funds for the organization. “It’s what we call a black jar contest because the jars are covered so the color doesn’t influence the tasting,” says Rebecca Robertson, a beekeeper who serves on the center’s board. “There will be multiple categories, including international, local and sourwood, which we are famous for in this region.”

A honey bar, included in the admission price, will also be set up so attendees can taste the different types and flavors of domestic and international treats. “People are always amazed experiencing the really radically different flavors honey can have,” says Robertson. “When you get honey off the shelf in the supermarket it’s been heated, pasteurized, blended, and so it all kind of tastes the same. But when you get honey from beekeepers, especially from around the world, the experience is quite different.” Four types of Melipona bee honey will also be available to taste for an additional $20 donation, which will go to the Mayan Melipona Bee Sanctuary Project, founded in 2020 by Robertson in Vallodolid on the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. Melipona honeybee tending tradition dates to about 300 B.C.; the stingless honeybee produces very small amounts of rare medicinal honey, quite dissimilar to honey used for sweetening teas and other

Ready for sunny days at the Supper Club SMOKYPARK.COM 350 RIVERSIDE DR. ASHEVILLE, NC 28801 828-350-0315

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AVL Honey Fest buzzes into Salvage Station

PLENTY OF BUZZ: Bee and honey enthusiasts will unite at the inaugural AVL Honey Fest. Taking place at Salvage Station, the event will feature over 40 vendors, as well as a honey bar with flavors from local and international hives. Photo courtesy of the Center for Honeybee Research food items. Vallodolid, an Asheville sister city, is considered the honey capital of Mexico. The contest and the honey bar will be inside the Salvage Station building for obvious reasons. “When you have open honey jars, you attract bees,” Robertson points out. Along with these featured events, over 40 vendors will be selling jewelry, pottery, clothing, honey, honey-related items, art and pet treats. Additionally, food and beverages will be available for purchase, and the gathering will feature live performances from Chikomo Marimba and Queen Bee and the Honeylovers. The inaugural AVL Honey Fest runs noon-5 p.m. Sunday, June 5, at Salvage Station, 468 Riverside Drive. Tickets for the family-friendly event are $12 per person. More information can be found at avl.mx/blr.

full time. “We have been out two or three days a week, but by mid-June, when I’m fully available, we intend to increase that.” Beginning Sunday, June 5, they will be taking over Vegan Sunday at Ginger’s Revenge. Parker says many of the existing vegan dishes on the menu will remain. He also hopes the introduction of the new avocado BLT featuring house potato bacon and a Reuben calzone with house sweet potato pastrami and house cashew Swiss will help assuage people’s dismay over the removal of the Cuban grilled cheese. “By popular demand, our fried Brussels sprouts will be a regular item on the new menu,” he adds. Find Smokin’ Onion’s new menu and follow its expanding food truck schedule at avl.mx/blu.

Veggie tales

Pig out

Nine months after revving up their Smokin’ Onion food truck, owners Keems and Parker Schultz introduced a fully vegan menu on May 20. “Going all vegan was kind of always the plan for us,” says Parker, who served as head chef at Laughing Seed for five years. “This is a little sooner than we initially anticipated, but we had a lot of positive feedback with the vegan items we had, so we’re fully ready to commit to that now.” Along with the new menu, Keems will be joining Parker on the truck

People not from these parts are probably unfamiliar with livermush — a regional pork product peculiar to WNC made from pig liver, parts of pig head, cornmeal and spices, formed into a loaf, sliced, fried and served as a breakfast meat or as a lunch sandwich. In 2007, the town of Marion debuted the Livermush Festival to mark the 50th anniversary of one of the town’s oldest businesses, Hunter’s Livermush. Though there is debate among participants on whether the item is one or two

words, Marion Business Association event outreach coordinator Megan Stevens says organizers followed Hunter’s lead in naming the fest. After a two-year Covid suspension, the latest Livermush Festival returns to Main Street on Saturday, June 4, 5-9 p.m. with vendors, activities, live bluegrass music from Ages Past and the inaugural food truck rodeo. The Mountain Gateway Museum will have a display tracing the history of livermush. “We’re excited to be back,” says Stevens, courting controversy with the admission she puts Duke’s mayonnaise on her livermush sandwiches (tradition calls for yellow mustard only). “We’ll still have the hog-calling and pig-squealing contests but not the livermush eating contest. Instead, each of the four food trucks in the rodeo will offer a livermush dish, and one of them will be named Livermush Master.” For more information on the Livermush Festival, visit avl.mx/bls.

Turning tables On Monday June 6, Benne on Eagle chef de cuisine Cleophus Hethington and Citizen Vinyl will drop the needle on the first spin of the Turntable Supper series. Hethington, a James Beard Foundation finalist for Emerging Chef, will curate a prix fixe fourcourse dinner honoring the legacy and history of African foodways across continents. His signature African diaspora dishes will be accompanied by Afrobeat, Cuban jazz, reggae and soca music. Tickets are $125 per person with a portion of proceeds going to Therapist Like Me, a nonprofit that connects minority-identifying clients with minority-identifying therapists. The evening includes four seatings of 20 people each; wine and beer will be available for purchase. Citizen Vinyl’s Cass Herrington says local chefs are invited to submit proposals for future suppers. Citizen Vinyl is at 14 O. Henry Ave. For tickets, menu and more information, visit avl.mx/blw.

Game on Bring your lockdown-honed Monopoly, Clue, Life, Risk and Candyland skills and strategies to the grand reopening weekend of Well Played Board Game Café in its new and expanded location in the historic Chrysler Building in South Slope. Not only can guests access one of the largest board game libraries in

North Carolina — 700 plus — but they can fuel up and stay hydrated with a full-service menu of small plates, salads and sandwiches from the café, coffee and espresso drinks, 20 beers on tap and a new cocktail program. The first 100 customers to arrive on Friday, June 3, beginning at 6 p.m. will receive a free one-year game pass, valued at over $300. Well Played Board Game Café is at 162 Coxe Ave. For more information, visit avl.mx/bm7.

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Hot stuff Asheville-based Devil’s Foot Beverage Co.’s craft sodas are the alternative nonalcoholic drink of choice in many local bars, restaurants and entertainment venues. Now they can be purchased by the six-pack to take home from Fresh Market stores in Asheville and Hendersonville. Launched in 2017, Devil’s Foot now offers 11 flavors; eight will be carried in Fresh Markets. The newest is Ginger Beer Ghost, a collaboration with Ghost Dog Hot Sauce, which adds some sizzle to the snap and provides the Jeopardy question: What’s cold and hot at the same time?

Hazy days of summer On Friday, June 3, Highland Brewing Co. celebrates the release of its latest year-round IPA, Hazy Heights, with a late-night dance party from 8 p.m.-midnight at its downtown taproom at the S&W Market; the gathering also marks the venue’s one-year anniversary. S&W food vendors will remain open for the party. S&W Market is at 56 Patton Ave. Tickets are $15. For more information, visit avl.mx/blx.

— Kay West X

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JUNE 1-7, 2022

ARTS & CU L T U R E

ROUNDUP

Around Town

Asheville Junior Theater launches with ‘Matilda the Musical Jr.’

CHILD’S PLAY: Asheville Junior Theater, which started in March, will present its first performances on Saturday, June 11. Photo courtesy of Asheville Junior Theater When a group of Asheville parents became concerned the area didn’t offer enough opportunities for children to participate in live theater, especially during the past two years of COVID-19 restrictions, they decided to do something about it. The result is Asheville Junior Theater, which launched in March. The troupe stages its first production, Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical Jr., at 2 and 6 p.m., Saturday, June 11, at T.C. Roberson High School. “Since beginning rehearsals, many of us have seen a huge transformation in our kids,” says Carla Delangre, one of the organizers of AJT. “So many kids these days are addicted to screens, and since the pandemic, we saw them sink into this world of everything virtual even more. Once the kids auditioned and saw our vision, many of them stopped even asking for screen time, and all they want to do is practice and be with their new friends.” The show, which features a cast of 28, is produced and directed by Kelly Haas, who also is in charge of costumes, sets and props. Jessica Damon serves as choreographer, while Alecia English is musical 28

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director, and Doug Wert works with the actors. Directly following each show will be a guest performance by singer-songwriter and Broadway performer Carrie Manolakos, who has appeared in Mama Mia!, Wicked and more. Manolakos is friends with Damon. “These kids have been working long hours and are so passionate about this musical,” Delangre says. “It’s like we have seen the spark in them come back to life since the pandemic dimmed it.” T.C. Roberson High School is at 250 Overlook Road. To buy tickets, go to avl.mx/bm0. For more information about AJT, visit avl.mx/bma.

Sound and vision Asheville filmmaker Simon Bonneau calls it kismet that he and a group of local actors and crew members ended up making a music video for cellist Brianna Tam. When participating in the annual 48 Hour Film Project competition last summer, Bonneau decided to use licensed music from a website for his movie and discovered Tam’s song “Intrepid.”

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“I shared our film with some friends, who looked up the track and found out that Brianna was located in Greensboro,” he says. “This website features music and artists from all over the world, so we were surprised that we unknowingly picked a North Carolina musician.” Bonneau shared the film with Tam, who responded by asking him to work with her on a music video. With a crew of four and a cast of 10, Bonneau shot the video in October on two private properties in Hendersonville and around the Buck Spring Gap overlook and Mount Pisgah trailhead. “We had a lot of fun experimenting with the mysterious hands [featured in the video] and frolicking around the forest,” he says. “Brianna would tell you that she almost froze to death shooting that sunrise sequence at Mount Pisgah, but it was all worth it when she saw the end result.” Watch the video at avl.mx/bm1.

Which one’s Pink? Asheville Guitar Bar is launching Music to Your Ears, a monthly discussion series. Led by local music

writer and Xpress contributor Bill Kopp, the inaugural event looks at Pink Floyd’s 1972 album Obscured by Clouds. “It’s the little-known precursor to The Dark Side of the Moon, one of the most popular albums in the history of recorded music,” Kopp says. “It showcases many of the same musical strengths as its better-known follow-up.” The inaugural event takes place Wednesday, June 1, 7-8:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 at the door. Asheville Guitar Bar is at 122 Riverside Drive, Suite D. For more information, go to avl.mx/bmo.

Barn aid The Appalachian Barn Alliance will host the benefit art gala A Pastoral Palette on Friday, June 3, and Saturday, June 4, at Echoview Fiber Mill, 76 Jupiter Road, Weaverville. The alliance partners with The Saints of Paint for the gala. The Friday event, 5-8 p.m., is ticketed and will feature works by 12 Asheville-area artists, as well as food donated by local restaurants, including Fig Bistro and HomeGrown in

Asheville, and The Sweet Monkey in Marshall. The gala continues Saturday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., with a free event where the public will have a chance to purchase the artists’ works. Money raised benefits the work of the Appalachian Barn Alliance in preserving the agricultural heritage of the Southern Appalachians via its historic barns. For more information or to buy tickets, go to avl.mx/bm2.

Enter Sandman Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center will present Jo Sandman / TRACES, an exhibition of works by an artist who was galvanized by a summer studying at Black Mountain College in 1951. The exhibit runs Friday, June 3-Saturday, Sept. 3. An opening reception will be Friday, June 3, 5:30-8 p.m. It will feature a talk by Katherine French, curator of the Sandman Legacy Project. After her time at BMC, Sandman developed a Boston-area studio exploring painting, drawing, experimental sculpture, installation and photography. The studio operated for more than 60 years. “Her restless curiosity always led the way toward experimentation with a wide variety of imagery, materials and processes,” according to a press release from the arts center. BMCM+AC is at 120 College St. and is open Monday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. For more information, go to avl.mx/bm3.

Pop-up craft fair The Southern Highland Craft Guild will host a Pop-up Mini Fair in the lower-level parking lot of the Folk Art Center on Saturday, June 4, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. The fair will feature 20 booths with a variety of media crafted by members of the guild. Disciplines represented will include stained glass, wheel-thrown and hand-built ceramics, woodcarving, screenprinted and sewn textiles, basketry and metal smithing. The Folk Art Center is at Milepost 382 on the Blue Ridge Parkway in East Asheville. Admission is free. For more information, go to avl.mx/bm4.

place Saturday, June 4, 4-7 p.m., and the show runs through Sunday, July 31. Lebar, originally from Colombia, works in graphite, watercolor and oil. “My work begins with pencil, creating fine, beautiful details,” she says. “Then with delicate layers of graphite and occasionally paint, I finalize my art. Using pencil and paint, I explore tying the past to the present with gatherings of feather, fur, fins, symbolism and feminine beauty.” Canopy Gallery at Art Garden AVL is at 191 Lyman St., Suite 316. Hours are Thursday-Monday, 11 a.m.5 p.m. For more information, go to avl.mx/bm5.

ASHEVILLE G E T T H E A P P !

Now available on Apple Store & Google Play for Apple and Android smartphones.

Independence day Asheville Zine Fest returns with an in-person event at RAMP Studios on Saturday, June 4, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. The festival will feature more than 30 independent publishers, smallpress representatives and creators of zines, comics, book art, chapbooks, anthologies, pamphlets and other ephemera. Also on the schedule are a zine and authors reading, a zine library and reading room, and zine-making workshops. All events are free and open to the public. RAMP Studios is at 821 Riverside Drive. For more information, go to avl.mx/bmc.

— Justin McGuire X

MOVIE REVIEWS Local reviewers’ critiques of new films include: TOP GUN - MAVERICK: Nearly four decades after Pete "Maverick" Mitchell (Tom Cruise) road a highway to the danger zone and took our breath away in Top Gun, the gifted Navy fighter pilot returns to prepare the current generation of hotshot aviators for a dangerous mission. While the action sequences under the direction of Joseph Kosinski (Only the Brave; TRON: Legacy) are frequently thrilling, the screenplay is atmospherically thin in all regards. Grade: B-minus — Edwin Arnaudin

All rise The Canopy Gallery at Art Garden AVL will present RISE, a solo exhibit of original works by Carolina Lebar. An opening reception takes

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JUNE 1-7, 2022

CLUBLAND

COMIN’ HOME TO YOU: Grammy award-winning guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and producer Warren Haynes will return to his hometown to play with his band Gov’t Mule at Salvage Station on Friday, June 3, at 6:30 p.m. The outdoor show, which will kick off the band’s summer tour, will open with local WNC group Travers Brothership, which features twin brothers Eric Travers and Kyle Travers. Photo by Jay Sansone, courtesy of Gov’t Mule

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, JUNE 1 12 BONES BREWERY Robert's Totally Rad Trivia, 7pm 185 KING STREET Trivia and Karaoke, 7pm ASHEVILLE BEAUTY ACADEMY • Queer Comedy Party: Powell Mansfield, 7pm • AQUANET Goth Party w/Ash Black, 9pm ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Disclaimer Stand-Up Lounge Comedy Open Mic, 8pm HI-WIRE BREWING RAD BEER GARDEN Game Night, 6pm HIGHLAND BREWING COMPANY Well-Crafted Wednesdays w/Matt Smith, 6pm

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ISIS MUSIC HALL & KITCHEN 743 Albert Cummings (blues), 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 ONE WORLD BREWING Pingo Wednesdays, 7pm RIVERSIDE RHAPSODY BEER CO. Wednesday Acoustic Jam, 5pm

SILVERADOS Open Jam w/Hamza Vandehey, 6-10pm SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN BREWERY Jason DeCristafaro's Weekly Wednesday Jazz Night & Jam, 6pm

ASHEVILLE BEAUTY ACADEMY Kiki Thursdays Drag and Dancing, 8pm ASHEVILLE GUITAR BAR MGB at the AGB (covers, singer-songwriter)k 7:30pm

SOVEREIGN KAVA Poetry Open Mic w/ Host Caleb Beissert, 8pm

ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL OPIUO w/The Sponges (dance/electronic), 10pm

SWEETEN CREEK BREWING Witty Wednesday Trivia, 6:30pm

BOLD ROCK HARD CIDER Robert's Totally Rad Trivia, 5pm

THE DUGOUT Thursday Night Open Jam w/Paul Liford, 8pm

CONTINUUM ART Singer Songwriter Open Mic, 6pm

THE GREY EAGLE • Thomas Dollbaum (singer-songwriter), 5pm • Slaughter Beach, Dog w/Trace Mountains & Anika Pyle (indie rock), 8pm

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

THE ORANGE PEEL Superchunk (alt rock), 8pm THE POE HOUSE Team Trivia w/Wes Ganey, 7pm TWIN LEAF BREWERY Open Mic, 6pm

THURSDAY, JUNE 2 185 KING STREET Darren Nicholson Band (bluegrass), 6:30pm

FRENCH BROAD RIVER BREWERY Jerry's Dead (Grateful Dead, JGB Tribute), 6pm HIGHLAND BREWING DOWNTOWN TAPROOM Drag Music Bingo w/ Divine the Bearded Lady, 6pm ISIS MUSIC HALL & KITCHEN 743 Asheville Sessions ft. Mary Kay Williams (jazz, blues, rock), 7pm JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Bluegrass Jam w/Drew Matulich & Friends, 7pm

OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. 5J Barrow (folk), 7pm ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Gunslinging Parrots (Phish tribute), 9pm ONE WORLD BREWING Blase (indie), 8pm ONE WORLD BREWING WEST Random Animals (indiesoul), 6:30pm PISGAH BREWING COMPANY Lenny Pettinelli (rock, jazz, funk), 6:30pm SALVAGE STATION The JLloyd Mashup (soul, funk, reggae, Afrobeat), 8pm THE BARRELHOUSE Trivia w/Po' Folk, 8pm THE FOUNDRY HOTEL Pimps of Pompe (pop, hip-hop), 7pm THE GETAWAY RIVER BAR • Comedy Open Mic, 6pm • Karaoke w/Terraoke, 9pm THE GREY EAGLE Sean Hayes w/Haunted Shed (soul, dirt-road folk), 8pm TWIN LEAF BREWERY Thursday Night Karaoke, 9pm

FRIDAY, JUNE 3 185 KING STREET The Resonant Rogues (Appalachian folk), 8pm 305 LOUNGE & EATERY Geriatric Jukebox (oldies), 5pm ASHEVILLE BEAUTY ACADEMY Venus (dark house dance party), 10pm ASHEVILLE GUITAR BAR Mr Jimmy's Big City Chicago Bluesk 7:30pm ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL MiMOSA w/Levitation Jones, Zeplinn, & Sophron (dance/electronic), 8pm BIG PILLOW BREWING Vaden Landers (old-time country), 5:30pm BLUE RIDGE HEMP CO. Chaotic Comedy, 8pm BOOJUM BREWING COMPANY DJ Kountry in the Gem, 9pm BREWSKIES Karaoke, 10pm BRIDGE PARK Concerts on the Creek w/The Robertson Boys (bluegrass), 7pm

BURNTSHIRT VINEYARDS Denis Coleman (acoustic), 3pm

BATTERY PARK BOOK EXCHANGE Dinah's Daydream (Gypsy jazz), 5:30pm

CITIZEN VINYL Madelyn Ilana (singer-songwriter), 4pm

BOOJUM BREWING COMPANY Arnold Hill ft. Borderline Band (Americana, alt rock), 9pm

CORK & KEG Fancy & the Femmes (country roots), 8pm CROW & QUILL Drayton & the Dreamboats (vintage jazz & rock 'n' roll)k 8:30pm HIGHLAND BREWING COMPANY The Bergamot (indie folk), 7pm HIGHLAND BREWING DOWNTOWN TAPROOM Tropical Smooth Birthday Bash w/DJ Marley Carrol, 8pm ISIS MUSIC HALL & KITCHEN 743 • AmiciMusic presents Jewish Jazz, 7pm • The JackTown Ramblers (bluegrass, swing, jazz), 8:30pm JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Laurel Lee & the Escapees (original country), 9pm ONE WORLD BREWING WEST Emily Musolino Band w/ The Sifted (blues, rock, outlaw country), 8pm SALVAGE STATION Gov't Mule w/ Travers Brothership (rock, jam, blues), 6:30pm THE GETAWAY RIVER BAR • Kevin McCaffrey (comedy), 8pm • Hot Bish: a drag experience w/Danielle Eclipse, 10pm THE GREY EAGLE • John Kirby & The New Seniors (rock), 6pm • Reverend Horton Heat w/Koffin Kats (country blues, rock roots), 9pm THE ODDITORIUM Violent End, Darkhand, Regions, Iron Sights and Odd Squad (metal), 8pm WHITE HORSE BLACK MOUNTAIN Buddy K Big Band (jazz, swing), 7:30pm

SATURDAY, JUNE 4 185 KING STREET Shabudikah w/Strange Orchard (funk), 8pm 305 LOUNGE & EATERY Old Men of the Woods (folk, pop), 1pm ASHEVILLE BEAUTY ACADEMY • Comedy w/Drew Morgan & DJ Lewis, 7pm • Vinyl Timetravelers: Hip Hop Dance Party, 10pm ASHEVILLE CLUB Mr Jimmy (blues), 8pm ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Mike T's Hot Mess Bday w/Check Your Head (Beastie Boys tribute), 9pm

BREVARD MUSIC CENTER BMC Presents: NC Guitar Celebration, 7:30pm BREWSKIES Pool Tournament Saturdays, 7pm

X Awards 2022

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For

Results publish in August

CROW & QUILL Big Dawg Slingshots (Western swing)k 8:30pm FLEETWOOD'S Crawfish Boil w/The Squealers and Jessi and the Jinx (country), 4pm HIGHLAND BREWING COMPANY Alex Krug Combo (dream rock, Americana), 6pm HIGHLAND DOWNTOWN TAPROOM Asheville 8 String Collective (jazz, funk, blues), 7pm ISIS MUSIC HALL & KITCHEN 743 • Sarah Faith (Americana), 7pm • Cristina Vane (Delta blues, old time), 8:30pm JACK OF THE WOOD PUB • Nobody's Darling String Band, 4pm • Sons of Ralph (bluegrass, rock), 9pm OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. Buffalo Kings (soul, pop, funk), 8pm ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Sneezy (funk, rock, soul), 10pm ONE WORLD BREWING Joey Fletcher Band (blues rock), 8pm ONE WORLD BREWING WEST • Reedy River String Band, 6pm • Rossdafareye & Friends (Appalachian space funk), 9pm THE 2ND ACT Eric Congdon and Kelly Jones (acoustic), 7pm THE GREY EAGLE Thomas Kozak (singer-songwriter, folk, Americana), 6pm THE ORANGE PEEL Fade to Black (Metallica tribute), 9pm URBAN ORCHARD CIDER CO. SOUTH SLOPE Breakin' on Buxton w/ Free Range DJ (80s dance party), 8pm WHITE HORSE BLACK MOUNTAIN AmiciMusic presents Ragtime to Rhapsody, 7:30pm

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SUNDAY, JUNE 5 185 KING STREET Open Electric Jam w/ the King Street House Band ft. Howie Johnson, 5pm ASHEVILLE BEAUTY ACADEMY • Life's A Drag Brunch with Ida Carolina, 12pm • SOL Dance Party w/ Zati (soul house), 9pm ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Weedeater, High Tone Son Of A B, JD Pinkus & Witchpit (metal), 8:30pm BURNTSHIRT VINEYARDS Myron Hyman (acoustic), 2pm CITIZEN VINYL Sunday Live ft Moiré Quartet (jazz), 11am CROW & QUILL The Roaring Lions (parlour jazz)k 8pm HIGHLAND BREWING COMPANY Loose Roosters (roots), 2pm HIGHLAND DOWNTOWN TAPROOM Blues and Brews w/Mr Jimmy & Friends, 1pm ISIS MUSIC HALL & KITCHEN 743 • Ryan Kijanka ft Jorge Garcia (jazz), 6pm

• Claire Lynch and Jim Hurst (Americana, bluegrass), 7:30pm JACK OF THE WOOD PUB • Bluegrass Brunch w/ Supper Break, 11am • Irish Jam, 3:30pm MAD CO. BREW HOUSE Tina Collins (folk), 12:30pm OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. Paul Edelman (Americana), 3pm ONE WORLD BREWING WEST Jackson Grimm and the Bull Moose Party (folk pop), 6pm PLEB URBAN WINERY Robert's Totally Rad Trivia, 4pm SWEETEN CREEK BREWING Mr Jimmy (blues), 3pm THE GREY EAGLE Circuit Des Yeux w/ Brett Naucke (singer-songwriter), 8pm THE ODDITORIUM Panties in a Brunch Drag Brunch, 2pm THE ROOT BAR Benefit for Ukraine (various artists), 3pm WHITE HORSE BLACK MOUNTAIN Mathis Haug and Benoit Nogaret (folk), 7:30pm

MONDAY, JUNE 6 5 WALNUT WINE BAR Freshen Up Comedy Open Mic, 7pm BREWSKIES Open Jam w/Tall Paul, 7:30pm HAYWOOD COUNTRY CLUB Taylor Martin's Open Mic, 6:30pm HIGHLAND BREWING COMPANY Totally Rad Trivia w/ Mitch Fortune, 6pm JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Quizzo! Pub Trivia w/ Jason Mencer, 7:30pm LITTLE JUMBO Asheville Art Trio (jazz) k 7pm SOVEREIGN KAVA Improv Workshop, 8pm THE GETAWAY RIVER BAR Trivia by the River w/ James Harrod, 8pm

TUESDAY, JUNE 7 185 KING STREET Travis Book & Friends ft. Graham Sharp with Julian Pinelli and Mike Ashworth, 6:30pm

5 WALNUT WINE BAR The John Henrys (jazz, swing), 8pm ASHEVILLE BEAUTY ACADEMY • Drag Bingo w/ Calcutta, 8pm • Downtown Karaoke w/Ganymede, 10pm CASCADE LOUNGE Tuesday Bluegrass Jam, 6pm FBO AT HOMINY CREEK Open Mic and Jam, 6pm FRENCH BROAD BREWERY Robert's Totally Rad Trivia, 7pm OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. Team Trivia, 7pm ONE WORLD BREWING WEST Grateful Family Band Tuesdays (Dead tribute), 6pm

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8 12 BONES BREWERY Robert's Totally Rad Trivia, 7pm 185 KING STREET Trivia and Karaoke, 7pm ASHEVILLE BEAUTY ACADEMY • Beauty Parlor Comedy: Jeremy Alder, 7pm • Aquanet Goth Party, 9pm ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Disclaimer Stand-Up Lounge Comedy Open Mic, 8pm HI-WIRE BREWING RAD BEER GARDEN Game Night, 6pm ISIS MUSIC HALL & KITCHEN 743 LASKA (folk, pop, rock), 7:30pm JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Old Time Jam, 5pm

SOVEREIGN KAVA Open Jam hosted by Lactones, 7pm

LAZY HIKER BREWING SYLVA Trivia Night, 6:30pm

SWEETEN CREEK BREWING All Arts Open Mike w/ Mike Waters, 6pm

OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. Mountain Music Jam, 6pm

TWIN LEAF BREWERY Tuesday Night Trivia, 7pm

ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Free Anesthesia (funk), 10pm ONE WORLD BREWING Pingo Wednesdays, 7pm RABBIT RABBIT Rebelution (reggae), 6pm

erie g n i L t Bes Years 1 # d e t Vo ys for 6 & To

SALVAGE STATION Wifisfuneral (hip-hop, rap), 8pm SILVERADOS Open Jam w/Hamza Vandehey, 6-10pm SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN BREWERY Jason DeCristafaro's Weekly Wednesday Jazz Night & Jam, 6pm SWEETEN CREEK BREWING Witty Wednesday Trivia, 6:30pm THE DUGOUT Thursday Night Open Jam w/Paul Liford, 8pm THE GETAWAY RIVER BAR Sausage Party, 7pm

now at 2 locations! 57 Broadway Street

Downtown Asheville

723 Haywood Rd West Asheville

THE GREY EAGLE The Travis Book Happy Hour w/Graham Sharp of Steep Canyon Rangers, 7pm THE POE HOUSE Team Trivia w/Wes Ganey, 7pm TWIN LEAF BREWERY Open Mic, 6pm

THURSDAY, JUNE 9 185 KING STREET Congdon & Co. w/ Hope Griffin (covers), 7pm

JUNE 1-7, 2022

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ASHEVILLE BEAUTY ACADEMY Kiki Thursdays Drag and Dancing, 8pm ASHEVILLE GUITAR BAR KB and the LMD (jazz standards, classic pop) k 7:30pm ASHEVILLE PIZZA & BREWING CO. Stand Up Comedy, 7:30pm BOLD ROCK HARD CIDER Robert's Totally Rad Trivia, 5pm CREEKSIDE TAPHOUSE Thursday Night Trivia w/Kelsey, 6:30pm CROW & QUILL Kelli Jones & Daniel Coolik (psychedelic jazz, Cajun), 8pm FLEETWOOD'S Tommy Goodroad, Julia Sanders & Boy Howdy (honky tonk), 8pm FRENCH BROAD RIVER BREWERY Jerry's Dead (Grateful Dead & JGB Tribute), 6pm HIGHLAND DOWNTOWN TAPROOM Shane Meade and the Sound (folk rock), 6pm ISIS MUSIC HALL & KITCHEN 743 • Charlotte Sommers (jazz, blues, rock), 7pm • Rachel Sumner & Traveling Light & Liv Greene w/Alice Bradley (Americana, storyteller), 8:30pm JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Bluegrass Jam w/Drew Matulich & Friends, 7pm ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Gunslinging Parrots (Phish tribute), 9pm ONE WORLD BREWING Tristan Dougherty (folk), 8pm ONE WORLD BREWING WEST Knotty G's (jam, rock, soul), 7pm SALVAGE STATION Old Crow Medicine Show (bluegrass, Americana), 6:30pm THE BARRELHOUSE Trivia w/Po' Folk, 8pm THE BURGER BAR The Waymores (folk, blues, honky tonk), 9pm THE FOUNDRY HOTEL Pimps of Pompe (pop, hip-hop), 7pm THE GETAWAY RIVER BAR • Comedy Open Mic, 6pm • Karaoke w/Terraoke, 9pm THE ORANGE PEEL Cannibal Corpse (death metal), 7pm TWIN LEAF BREWERY Thursday Night Karaoke, 9pm

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JUNE 1-7, 2022

FREEWILL ASTROLOGY ARIES (March 21-April 19): Who loves the truth better than you Aries people? Who has the greatest potential to speak the real story in every situation, even when it requires extra courage? Who has more fun than you in discovering and defining and expressing the raw facts? In my Book of Life, you Rams are radiant beacons of candor — the people I go to when I need accuracy and honesty. And all I’m saying here will be especially crucial in the coming weeks. The whole world needs concentrated doses of your authenticity. Now read this pep talk from Aries philosopher St. Catherine of Siena: “Let the truth be your delight; let it always be in your mouth, and proclaim it when it is needed. Proclaim it lovingly and to everyone, especially those you love with a special love — but with a certain congeniality.” TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Before the 20th century, you couldn’t buy a loaf of bread that was already sliced into thin pieces. Then in 1912, the American inventor Otto Frederick Rohwedder developed a slicing machine. But all his work, including the blueprints and the machine prototypes, was destroyed in a fire. He had to seek new funding and begin again. Sixteen years later, his innovation was finally ready for broad public use. Within five years, most of the bread in the U.S. was sold sliced. What does this have to do with you? I am picking up an Otto Frederick Rohwedder vibe when I turn my visions to you, Taurus. I suspect that in the coming months, you, too, will fulfill a postponed dream. GEMINI (May 21-June 20): A blogger named Sweetlikeacherry reminds us, “Some epiphanies are only possible when you put away your phone and go completely offline for a while.” She adds that sometimes you also need to at least partially avoid your phone and the internet if you hope to incubate new visions of the future and unlock important discoveries in your creative work and summon your untamed genius. According to my astrological analysis, all these possibilities are especially likely and necessary for you in the coming weeks. I trust you will carry out the necessary liberations to take full advantage. CANCER (June 21-July 22): Poet Carolyn Kizer (1925–2014) won a Pulitzer Prize for her poetry. She was smart! But when she was young and still studying her craft in college, a professor objected to one of her poems. He said, “You have pigs in this poem; pigs are not poetic.” Kizer was incensed at such ignorance. She testified, “I got up and walked out of that class and never went back.” Judging from the astrological omens, I suspect you may have comparable showdowns headed your way. I advise you to be like Kizer. You are the only one who truly knows the proper subjects of your quest. No one else has the right or the insight to tell you what your work (or play) should be about. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Leo author James Baldwin said it wasn’t often “that two people can laugh and make love, too — make love because they are laughing and laugh because they’re making love. The love and the laughter come from the same place: but not many people go there.” Your assignment, Leo, is to be the exception to Baldwin’s rule during the coming weeks. According to my analysis of the astrological omens, there’s a high possibility that interesting eros can converge with humorous fun in a glorious synergy. You will have a knack for conjuring up ribald encounters and jovial orgasms. Your intuition will guide you to shed the solemnity from your bliss and replace it with sunny, carefree cheer. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): I’m worried you will over-indulge in your pursuit of perfection during the coming weeks. It’s fine to be exquisitely skillful and masterful; I hope you do that. But if you get obsessed with flawlessness, you will risk undoing your good intentions. As an antidote, I offer you two pieces of advice. The first is from actor and activist Jane Fonda. She

JUNE 1-7, 2022

MARKETPLACE

BY ROB BREZSNY

said, “We are not meant to be perfect; we are meant to be whole.” The second counsel is from philosopher and psychologist William James, who wrote, “Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence.”

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Author Mustafa Mahmoud described the signs of love between two people: 1. feeling a comfortable familiarity; 2. having no urge or need to lie; 3. being natural, not trying to be different from who one is; 4. having little or no possibility of being embarrassed in front of the other person; 5. experiencing silence as delicious, not alienating; 6. enjoying the act of listening to the other person. I bring these pointers to your attention, Libra, because the coming months will be a favorable time to define and redefine your understandings about the signs of love. How do you feel about Mahmoud’s ideas? Are there any more you would like to add?

Want to advertise in Marketplace? 828-251-1333 advertise@mountainx.com • mountainx.com/classiﬁeds If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Remember the Russian proverb: “Doveryai, no proveryai,” trust but verify. When answering classiﬁed ads, always err on the side of caution. Especially beware of any party asking you to give them financial or identification information. The Mountain Xpress cannot be responsible for ensuring that each advertising client is legitimate. Please report scams to advertise@mountainx.com

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): “We do not love each other without changing each other,” wrote author Madeleine L’Engle. Meditate on that gem, Scorpio. Now is a perfect time for you and your loved ones to acknowledge, honor and celebrate the ways your love has changed each other. It may be true that some transformations have been less than ideal. If that’s the case, the coming weeks will be a favorable time to correct those trends. As for the positive changes that you and your allies have stimulated in each other: I hope you will name them and pledge to keep doing more of that good work. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): “I always deserve the best treatment, because I never put up with any other,” wrote Sagittarian novelist Jane Austen. Sagittarian politician Stacey Abrams said, “From the moment I enter a room, I am clear about how I intend to be treated and how I intend to engage.” You’ll be wise to cultivate those attitudes in the next seven weeks, Sagittarius. It’s high time for you to raise your self-respect in ways that inspire others to elevate their appreciation and regard for you. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): In 1963, Jim Munro and Alice Munro founded Munro’s Books, a store in Victoria, British Columbia. After being on the job for a few months, Alice found she was not impressed with many of the products they sold. “I can write better books than this,” she told Jim. Five years later, she published her first collection of short stories, Dance of the Happy Shades. Fourteen books later, she won the Nobel Prize in Literature. Will the coming months bring your equivalent of Alice Munro’s pivotal resolution? I suspect they could. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): “True love for whatever you are doing is the answer to everything,” proclaimed performance artist Marina Abramović. Amen to that righteous attitude! I hope you will embrace it in the coming weeks. I hope your heart and imagination will reveal all you need to know to bring tender fresh streams of true love to the essential activities of your life. Now is an excellent time to redefine the meaning of the word “love” so it applies to all your relationships and pursuits. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): A homeless woman in a wheelchair stopped where I was sitting outside a café. She was pushing her belongings in a small shopping cart. “Would you like to go dancing?” she said to me. “There’s a nearby park that has a great grassy dance floor.” “Maybe another day,” I told her. “My energy is low. I’ve had a lot of personal challenges lately.” I’m sure the expression on my face was less-than-ebullient. “Cheer up, mister,” she told me. “I’m psychic, and I can tell you for sure that you will live a long life and have many more fine adventures. I’ll be in the park if you change your mind.” My mood instantly brightened. “Thanks!” I yelled toward her as she rolled away. Now I predict that you, Pisces, will have comparable experiences in the coming days. Are you willing to welcome uplifting surprises?

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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 828-252-5228. 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.

CAREGIVERS/ NANNY SENIORS HELPING SENIORS Are you an active, mature person interested in helping other seniors? Check out SeniorCareAsheville. com or call 828-989-5671 for a meaningful part-time employment opportunity.

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.

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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. (828)713-7158.

HOME 4G LTE HOME INTERNET NOW AVAILABLE! Get GotW3 with lightning fast speeds plus take your service with you when you travel! As low as $109.99/mo! 1-866571-1325. (AAN CAN)

ANNOUNCEMENTS ANNOUNCEMENTS BATH & SHOWER UPDATES In as little as ONE DAY! Affordable prices - No payments for 18 months! Lifetime warranty & professional installs. Senior & Military Discounts available. Call: 1-866-370-2939 (AAN CAN) BECOME A PUBLISHED AUTHOR! We edit, print and distribute your work internationally. We do the work… You reap the Rewards! Call for a FREE Author’s Submission Kit: 844-511-1836. (AAN CAN) COMPUTER & IT TRAINING PROGRAM Train ONLINE to get the skills to become a Computer & Help Desk Professional now! Grants and Scholarships available for certain programs for qualified applicants. Call CTI for details! 1-855-5544616 The Mission, Program Information and Tuition is located at CareerTechnical. edu/consumer-information. (AAN CAN) CREDIT CARD DEBT RELIEF! Reduce payment by up to 50%! Get one LOW affordable payment/ month. Reduce interest. Stop calls. FREE no-obligation consultation Call 1-855-7611456 (AAN CAN) NEED IRS RELIEF? $10K $125K+? Get Fresh Start or Forgiveness Call 1-877-7075521 Monday through Friday 7AM-5PM PST (AAN CAN) TOP CA$H PAID FOR OLD GUITARS! 1920-1980 Gibson, Martin, Fender, Gretsch, Epiphone, Guild, Mosrite, Rickenbacker, Prairie State, D'Angelico, Stromberg. And Gibson Mandolins / Banjos. 877-589-0747 (AAN CAN)

WATER DAMAGE TO YOUR HOME? Call for a quote for professional cleanup & maintain the value of your home! Set an appt. today! Call 833-664-1530 (AAN CAN)

MIND, BODY, SPIRIT COUNSELING SERVICES ASTRO-COUNSELING Licensed counselor and accredited professional astrologer uses your chart when counseling for additional insight into yourself, your relationships and life directions. Stellar Counseling Services. Christy Gunther, MA, LCMHC. (828) 258-3229.

POSITIVE HYPNOSIS | EFT | NLP Michelle Payton, M.A., D.C.H., Author | 828-681-1728 | www.MichellePayton.com | Mind Over Matter Solutions books, online and in-person education, workshops and sessions. Positive Hypnosis—re-learning thru positive reinforcement, Emotional Freedom Technique, Neuro-Linguistic Programming, Birth Mix Personality Assessment, Past Life Regression.

AUTOMOTIVE AUTOMOTIVE SERVICES CASH FOR CARS! We buy all cars! Junk, high-end, totaled – it doesn’t matter! Get free towing and same day cash! NEWER MODELS too! Call 866-535-9689. (AAN CAN)

The Key to a New Barbering Career PROGRAMS 1 Hour Drive from Asheville GI Bill Accepted

• Master Barber • Cosmetologist to Barber Crossover • Barber Instructor

809 N. Roan St., Johnson City, TN 37601 • 423.461.0004 info@crowncutzacademy.com • crowncutzacademy.com

THE N EW Y OR K TI M ES C ROSSWORD P UZ Z LE edited by Will Shortz | No. 0427

Community Action Opportunities HELPING PEOPLE. CHANGING LIVES.

SEEKING SUBCONTRACTORS: Community Action Opportunities is looking for reliable subcontractors (electrical, plumbing, HVAC, insulation, etc.) to perform residential weatherization services in FY 2022-23. Minority, women, disabled owned businesses are encouraged to apply.

ACROSS

1 One inclined to go in and out

5 “Peace out”

10 Certain vipers 14 Where one may purchase a sectional with a side of meatballs 15 Cover story 16 “Star Wars” general with the line “If you see our son, bring him home”

open

fo r b u si ne s s ISSUE

Opened a new location? Let the Asheville area Changed hours? know! Changed menus? In the Mountain Xpress Changed Services? annual celebration of the Asheville area’s Need more staff? business community Contact us to advertise! Publishes 6/22 • 828-251-1333 x1 • advertise@mountainx.com

18 Deals with fries and a beverage, maybe 20 Hornswoggle 21 County north of the Firth of Forth

42 44

61 “___ on the igpay atinlay!”

DOWN

32 Put (down)

1 Christina of 1991’s “The Addams Family”

36 Fight a needless fight, metaphorically

2 City nicknamed “Rubber Capital of the World”

39 Thrill-seeker’s acronymic motto

3 Has the best intentions

40 Top 40 songs

5 Pretty trim

41 Ring around a lagoon

6 Up in the air

42 Hairstyle that sounds edible

8 Flow back

57 Singer Rexha

62 Heater meas.

56 Two in a two-car garage

31 38

29 What’s often kept undercover?

53 Extra-bountiful harvest

60 Parched

52 Bruce on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

28 Screen, as a potential running mate

51 Director Kazan

59 Playing extra minutes, briefly

49 “Same with me”

27 Not square, in a way

44 One with a quintessential McJob

58 Community far from a city’s center

43 Swings around

23 It may lead to a “no catch” ruling

30 Cygnus constellation, with “the”

PUZZLE BY ALEX BAJCZ

17 Stuff

22 Three or more on a semi

Visit communityactionopportunities.org/contractors/ for details and application instructions.

4 Actress Grier

26 Be in limbo

43 Evade capture

29 Place for mucking around

44 Thumper’s forest friend

30 29-Down residents

45 Cried foul?

31 Drollery 32 Like festive houses during the holidays 33 Potted succulent

46 Any “Scrubs” or “Friends” episode, now 47 Regional greenery 48 Takes time off 49 Group with the tribute band Björn Again

34 “Until we meet again” 35 Cable alternative 37 Rap’s Young ___ 38 Onetime presidential daughter with the code name Radiance

50 One alleging injury, perhaps 54 Big retailer of camping gear 55 Roman numeral equal to 12% of M 56 Chest protector

42 Cheeseboard staple

7 Hourglass, e.g. ANSWER TO PREVIOUS NY TIMES PUZZLE

9 2016 Olympics host, informally 10 Name often called in a smart home 11 Tuft & Needle competitor 12 Stack 13 ’Tude 19 Type of shake 21 Fruity soda brand 24 Hook up with 25 Jazz pianist Bill

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