Mountain Xpress 06.12.24

FEATURES PAGE 12 ASHEVILLE’S ANTI-RACISM CONNECTION

In 1993, a small group of Asheville activists, educators, clergy and other community leaders worked together to create a nineweek course on anti-racism. The concept they developed, rooted in establishing a safe space for facilitating hard, multiracial conversations, proved to be wildly popular. This month, the nonprofit Building Bridges marks its third decade with a gala event and an exhibit at Pack Memorial Library.

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City should adopt Candace Pickens Memorial Park

We are writing to suggest that City of Asheville leaders please adopt Candace Pickens Memorial Park into the city Parks and Recreation portfolio of assets. Please don’t leave this park in limbo once again. Candace’s family and the community deserve better than to repeat the same failures of leadership in maintaining the former Jones Park, originally built here in 1999.

In August 2021, Asheville City Schools and City of Asheville leaders met behind closed doors to discuss Jones Park, and the public subsequently learned that a decision was made to tear down the playground without a replacement plan. There was no discussion with the community about potential options for saving or replacing this treasured park. We hope that our city leaders will do better than this in several decades, when this park eventually needs to be replaced. Adopting the park is a small step toward not repeating this cycle again.

Thanks go to Asheville City Council members and Asheville City school board members, voting unanimously in 2022, to allow Jones Park to be

rebuilt with private funding from the community. In this process, the park was renamed for Candace Pickens, tragically killed here in 2016. With huge support from businesses and community members across the city and multistate region, more

than 1,000 volunteers brought this playground back on line last October. It was two solid years without a park. We really don’t want to repeat this again, losing a treasured park without a replacement plan.

Most of us thought the signed interlocal agreement meant we had city leaders’ support in designating this as a true city park. In the agreement, city Parks and Recreation is obligated to “maintain the playground for 20 years or the life of the equipment, whichever is longer.” Asheville City Schools agreed to cut the grass. Seems like a great win for the city and school to have this asset for all to use. Nice example of leveraging the resources we collectively have here in Asheville to create better parks for everyone.

The city originally helped build this park in 1999 and provided maintenance for many years, proudly posting the city logo on the sign. Why doesn’t the city want to put its logo on this now? Why won’t the city adopt Candace Pickens Memorial Park into the park system? We’ve heard it’s a lack of funding, but this isn’t true. The city incurs no additional cost in claiming it other than posting a sign.

It seems like putting this playground on the city park finder website so folks from across the city know they are welcome to use this playground would be something we should all support.

Take the win — put the City of Asheville logo on the park and tell everyone it’s here for them to use. We want more kids from all parts of the city playing here together. We all, adults and children, build relationships organically bridging all socioeconomic boundaries in shared spaces such as this. Parks build community.

We the undersigned all supported the rebuilding of the park and collectively support the adoption of Candace Pickens Memorial Park into the city Parks and Recreation portfolio of resources. Putting the city logo on the park is a small but important symbolic gesture letting people know this is a place where they are welcome and that the city supports and cares for this park. Please, City Council members and Asheville City school board members, work together to make this an official city park.

— Lowell Grabel, Michael N. Lewis and David L. Rodgers Asheville — Leigh Jackson Atlanta

Editor’s note: A longer version of this letter will appear at mountainx. com.

What real pragmatists say about infill development

The most interesting sentence in Bill Branyon’s entertaining but misguided opinion piece [“Look Homeward, Asheville: Let’s Make the City’s Pop-up Parks Permanent,” May 29, Xpress] reads as follows: “But wait! I can almost hear the groans from pragmatic Ashevilleans expressing that we must have more affordable housing and that this involves cramming infill development into as many urban green spaces as possible.” At the risk of intruding on Bill’s reverie, let me make a few minor corrections.

First, I doubt many people would consider it an insult to be called “pragmatic,” even in Asheville.

Second, pragmatists do not groan. They think.

Third, pragmatists tend to express themselves in terms more precise than the grunt Bill attributes to them.

There are many pragmatists who (correctly) perceive a need for more affordable housing — in Asheville and just about everywhere else. Even ideologues and impractical dreamers do that. But I have never heard anyone insist on “cramming infill development into as many green spaces as possible.” I’d like to see that quotation in verbatim form.

What the pragmatists I know want to see is the removal of unnecessary barriers to infill development so as to rationally encourage more multifamily housing, especially in locations where walking, cycling and public transportation reduce car dependency.

That policy is good for the climate because it is more energy-efficient. It’s good for affordable housing because multifamily dwellings are cheaper and because the reduction of a shortage has been known to have a pleasant

CARTOON BY RANDY MOLTON

effect on prices. It’s good for community harmony because denser development attacks the legacy of racial segregation caused by single-family zoning. And, when done properly, infill development is compatible with the existence of public parks and the preservation of leafy neighborhoods.

I wish Bill would stop listening to the pragmatists in his head and starting paying attention to the real ones in his community — some of whom may know more about land-use policy than he does.

— Peter Robbins Marshall

Take action to solve our plastics problem

Is there plastic in that beer? And are we all becoming plastic people? They do say you are what you eat. Before you roll your eyes and think, “Another doomsday exaggeration from tree huggers,” read on. Since the 1950s, plastic production has skyrocketed, with the world on track for 20% of global fossil fuels used for making plastics by 2050. Our food comes in plastic shrink wrap and our water in plastic bottles. Plastics have become so ubiquitous that scientists believe that we have entered a

Plasticene, or Plastic Age — a period when plastic production and waste are dramatically impacting the environment and human health.

Unfortunately, we can’t recycle our way out of this problem. Despite what you might hope as you sort your trash, less than 10% of discarded plastic is actually recycled in America. It’s cheaper for manufacturers to use new, virgin plastics.

Instead, plastic waste ends up in landfills and our environment, where it can persist for centuries. It’s in the air we breathe: The average person inhales 22 million plastic particles yearly. It’s in the water we drink, with about 94 particles per liter of bottled water and 4 per liter of tap. It’s in the food we eat — even organic! One study found plastics in Asheville’s favorite beverage — beer! It’s no surprise that plastics have been found in human blood, brain, lungs, colon, liver, placenta, breast milk and carotid arteries.

This perfect storm of exploding production, ineffective recycling and centurieslong persistence is outpacing our ability to study plastic’s effects on human health: What is plastic really doing to us?

Here’s what health researchers have learned so far. Plastic particles, especially the tiny ones, can enter cells, upset energy production, create inflam-

mation and disrupt the signals sent between our organs. Plastic exposure has been associated with falling sperm counts, infertility, premature births, birth defects, developmental disorders, diabetes, obesity, inflammatory bowel disease, Parkinson’s disease, dementia, cardiovascular disease and cancer of the breast, kidney and testicles. Almost 60% of patients in one study had plastics in their carotid artery plaques, which was linked to a 4.5-fold risk of stroke, heart attack and death within just three years.

It’s clear that we need to pump the brakes on plastic production. To be sure, there are many useful, if not lifesaving, uses for plastics. But one way that we can make a big impact quickly is by reducing demand for single-use plastics, which comprise 40% of plastics produced.

So don’t despair. Instead, do this: First, visit plasticfreewnc.com to find actions to reduce plastic pollution. Other resources are the film We’re All Plastic People Now and the websites for Beyond Plastics and NCPIRG.

Second, take action in your daily life. Use reusable, nonplastic shopping bags. Patronize Asheville stores where you can buy in bulk. Bring your own takeout containers to restaurants. Never buy “disposable” water bottles. For more ideas, check out the Less Plastic Asheville Challenge.

Third, urge your lawmakers to take action. Ask your congressperson to support the Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act and the REDUCE Act, which seek to force producers to take responsibility for plastic pollution and incentivize the use of recycled plastics. Ask your state senators and representatives to support the Break Free from Plastics & Forever Chemicals bill and the Consumer Opt-In for Single-use Foodware bill. Links for these resources are found at [avl.mx/drb].

Earth Day was April 22, and this year’s theme was Planet vs. Plastics. If we don’t take action to solve our plastics problem, there will be less and less environment to celebrate — and maybe even more plastic in your beer.

— Elissa Klein and Christine Mauck Arden X

Word of the week

diurnal

(adj.) active chiefly in the daytime

The brood 19 cicadas have emerged in Western North Carolina. These diurnal insects send out their love calls under the sun’s warm rays. Read more about the brood 19 cicadas on page 15.

CARTOON BY BRENT BROWN

Past their prime County juggles aging ambulances and rising demand

BY GREG PARLIER

As the pandemic-era backlog of emergency vehicles continues to delay new trucks from reaching Buncombe County, paramedics are left driving aging ambulances longer than they should just as they are needed more than ever before.

On Xpress’ recent trip to Buncombe County Emergency Medical Services, a two-person paramedic team reported that their ambulance was having mechanical issues, forcing them to return to the garage. Luckily, this time, they did not break down on the side of the road.

“We’ve had that happen before, where the truck is laid down and would not go,” said division manager Jamie Judd. “So we’ve had to tow the truck back to our garage facility for repair. But ideally, if we see something starting to happen, instead of waiting for a failure, we’ll take the truck out of service and get it addressed and then put the crew into a backup truck.”

Ambulances have been sidelined for engine or electrical malfunctions and broken temperature control in the back box, Judd says.

“During the winter, if the heat is not working, we’re not going to put a patient in a cold box,” he adds.

In keeping with industry standards, the county typically has four or five spare ambulances waiting in the wings, but as the aging vehicles require more maintenance, there have been times over the last three years when there have been more paramedics available than trucks, Judd says.

The county has struggled to replace its ambulances since the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted supply chains around the world, creating back orders

on parts and forcing departments around the country to extend the lives of their vehicle fleets. Before 2020, Buncombe County swapped out all of its 15 or so ambulances every four to five years without trouble. Since the current fleet was purchased in 2017, the county was set for an upgrade in fiscal year 2021-22, but there were no trucks available.

As a result of those shortages and a confluence of other issues at the time, Buncombe’s EMS response times for 90% of its fleet peaked in 2021-22 at over 16 minutes on average, more than seven minutes more than the industry

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The county has 10 EMS bases from Weaverville to Arden and Candler to Black Mountain, but the 2022 study shows it needs 12 more. According to the county’s position and pay dashboard, 97 paramedics cover Buncombe County around the clock.

The 2022 study by N.C. Fire Chief Consulting found that county EMS isn’t keeping up with increasing demand from a booming population — up 16% since 2010 to 276,000 residents — and more than 12 million tourists per year. Calls to EMS are up 20% since 2020, the study showed.

Six in 10 calls for service result in patient transportation, according to the study. It found that county EMS is “frequently responding to calls when out of position from their station location,” and concurrent calls during peak demand exacerbate the inefficiencies.

The 2022 study concluded that the county needs 19 ambulances during peak demand, with five to six more as spares.

standard, according to a 2022 study conducted by N.C. Fire Chief Consulting. Since then, Judd says things have improved, but as the study pointed out, more ambulances and EMS bases are still needed to completely close the gap.

LAY OF THE LAND

The aging fleet issues arise just as demand is soaring. Buncombe County EMS is the first responder in most of the county and second responder in five rural fire districts: Leicester, Barnardsville, Reems Creek, Riceville and Fairview.

Currently, the county runs 14-15 ambulances during peak daytime shifts, staffed by 30 paramedics, with four or five spares, Judd says. At the beginning of the pandemic, departments across the country rushed to replace ambulances, worried supplies would dry up. So manufacturers got backlogged with orders while supply chain issues for electronic components and microchips further snarled production, Judd says.

Thus, Buncombe County’s planned fleet replacement in 2022 didn’t happen.

“What we’re seeing is most of those trucks have over 200,000 miles on them now. That’s about 25,000 to 50,000 more than we would normally like to run them,” Judd says. “When an engine gets run too long and too hard, we’ve had engine failure. So we’ve had to replace several engines and several

NEW WHEELS: Paramedic Fred Norris shows off one of Buncombe County’s new ambulances, complete with a fresh design. Photo by Greg Parlier

BETTER BOXES: As new ambulances come on board, they are equipped with a new bench, seen here to the right of the stretcher, so a paramedic can sit alongside the patient while having most supplies within arm’s reach in various built-in drawers and cabinets. Photo by Greg Parlier

transmissions in order to keep those units running.”

Unlike other government vehicles, ambulances run their engines longer to keep the back powered. Judd expects newer trucks to last longer because they are equipped with LED lights and built-in batteries in the box.

Now that it takes 24-36 months from order to delivery, the county plans to stagger purchases to prevent this backlog going forward, Judd says.

“If this situation happens again, we already have things in motion to better manage our fleet,” he says.

TURNING TIDE

Judd says it finally feels as if the tide is turning.

At Emergency Services in early May, paramedic Fred Norris was getting one of two new ambulances stocked and ready to hit the streets. The new trucks, freshly emblazoned with the county’s new Emergency Services logo on top of a blue, mountain-clad background, were purchased from a manufacturer after another department canceled its order.

The county has dispersed its orders to four different manufacturers based in four states to increase its chances of finding new ambulances.

Two trucks ordered two years ago were delivered early this year. Judd expects four more ambulances to arrive by the end of the year.

“We’re starting to see the stuff we’ve been working on for the last almost three years, we’re starting to see the fruits of those labors starting to be delivered.”

New trucks mean the oldest ambulances can be retired, but Judd and Finance Director Melissa Moore have discussed another way to keep as many trucks in circulation as possible.

Instead of retiring full ambulances, the county might keep the ambulance boxes that house the stretcher and medical supplies and put it on a new chassis, which costs about $155,000 compared with $380,000 for a full ambulance, Judd says.

Judd predicts the county could get another four or five years out of a remounted box.

At the Reems Creek Fire Department, Chief Jeff Justice has employed that method to speed along ambulance replacement.

Between 2020 and 2022, one of the department’s two ambulances was breaking down with increasing regularity, sometimes while on a call. So Justice ordered a chassis and had its old box mounted on the new truck. The mounting process took longer than expected, but Justice says he’s likely to use that strategy again when needing a new truck.

The Reems Creek Fire Department — which handles about 2,000 calls a year compared with the county’s 38,000 calls in 2021-22 — has been waiting two years for a second truck replacement, and Justice says it will likely be another year before it gets one. Fortunately, its oldest truck still has about three years left on its lifespan.

At the county, funding for three new chassis is allocated in next year’s budget, up for a final vote June 16, and Judd says he expects those to be in by the end of the year as well.

It’s still unclear if the idea will lead to faster turnaround on orders long term since some of the remounters are seeing similar supply chain issues for chassis as full ambulances, Judd says.

As the ambulance supply issues get resolved, Judd says the county will start to look toward more EMS bases.

“We’re keeping trucks on the road more consistently now. But until we have true dedicated stations and places to put 24-hour trucks, that’s where everything’s going to start really com-

ing together to address both the call volume and the response time,” Judd says.

The 2022 study identified a need for five additional urban EMS stations, including in West Asheville, where the county is in talks with Asheville City Schools to locate one at the former Asheville Primary School site on Haywood Road.

The study recommended three more on the outskirts of Asheville and four more out in the county, including a planned site near the Owen pool in Black Mountain. X

County greenlights conservation of 600 acres at Warren Wilson College

More than half of Warren Wilson College’s 1,100-acre campus is on its way to permanent preservation after the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners agreed to chip in county funds to make it happen.

Through four conservation easements, the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy has helped acquire funding to conserve 600 acres of the largest remaining privately held tract of farmland and forestland in Buncombe County, said Jess Laggis, SAHC’s farmland protection director.

At its meeting June 4, the county board allocated $310,000 for the surveys, title searches and environmental assessments necessary to prepare for the land’s purchase as a conservation easement. The money comes from a special projects fund so the effort doesn’t require any general funds.

The Warren Wilson College board of trustees voted to partner with SAHC to establish the easements last month, according to a news release from the college.

“The Warren Wilson project is a phenomenal accomplishment. It’ll be looked at as one of the most significant conservation projects in the county’s history. I don’t think that’s overstating it at all. It’s one of those iconic places in the county just in terms of natural beauty and the working landscapes,” said Board Chair Brownie Newman before the vote.

The land includes scenic views, public hiking trails and portions of the Swannanoa River. Warren Wilson hosts a tailgate market and farm general store with products grown on the land, which acts as a living lab for the college. The trail system, which is all open to the public, also connects to county-owned Owen Park in Swannanoa.

The easements will cost $7.8 million in total, paid for with private dollars and state and federal grants, Laggis said. A $484,000 allocation from the county to complete the easements will be brought to commissioners at a future meeting

At the same meeting, commissioners unanimously approved spending $511,500 of 2022 general obligation conservation bond funds to purchase about 42 acres on Lower Brush Creek Road in Fletcher.

The Okoboji Farm property is an active hay and beef cattle farm in a conservation-focused area as identified in the county’s 2043 Comprehensive Plan, said Ariel Zijp, Buncombe’s farmland preservation manager. Cane Creek runs through the property, which is near the county’s southern border.

“Our community is going to reap the benefits of this for quite some time,” Commissioner Parker Sloan said of the conservation spending.

Proposed tax hike clears public hearing

No one showed up to the public hearing June 4 to give their two cents about the county’s proposed 2.55-cent property tax increase in the 2024-25 budget, up for adoption in two weeks.

The $441.9 million general fund budget, if passed as proposed, would raise the tax rate to 52.35 cents per $100 of value. That means the owner of a home valued at $400,000 will pay $2,094 in taxes to the county, $102 more than last year.

Although the budget includes a 1% increase in expenditures of about $5.1 million, county Budget Director John

Hudson called it a “continuation of services” spending plan.

If approved, the county would spend $3.7 million less than last year on operating county departments, Hudson said.

Conversely, the budget includes a $4 million funding increase for schools and an almost $2 million rise for both debt and retirement costs, Hudson said.

At the same time, revenues fell by $7.6 million this year because of fewer sales tax receipts and reductions in intergovernmental revenue, he added.

Commissioners will hold a final vote on the budget at their next meeting Tuesday, June 18.

Commissioners defer vote on capital improvement policy

During budget discussions over the last few months, commissioners expressed interest in adopting a formal policy for how and when it would address capital improvement needs for county properties. After a staff presentation June 4, they tabled a vote on the matter, requesting more flexibility be worked into the policy.

Currently, the county has an informal five-year outlook. Finance Director Melissa Moore recommended the county extend that to seven years and include a process for how commissioners can amend the capital improvement plan.

The policy would establish an ongoing transfer of money to a capital reserve fund, which would grow based on interest rates, therefore less-

ening the county’s reliance on financing and saving money in the long run, Moore said.

The reserve fund would be seeded by a transfer equal to 120% of the county’s general fund debt service obligation in fiscal year 2025-26.

Newman questioned whether that would allow future commissioners adequate flexibility to move money around if they were facing a tight budget year.

“This year is probably the hardest budget year … that I’ve faced since I’ve been on the County Commission,” he said.

“I just question whether it makes sense for the county to kind of commit itself to this kind of specific policy, as opposed to, when we get into these future budget years, look at what the capital project needs are [to determine what to fund].”

Commissioner Al Whitesides said he would rather have a stated policy, with an established pool of money to be better prepared in the future.

“If we put this in place 10 years ago, would we be having the problems we’re having today?” he asked.

Future commissioners could always choose to allocate capital funds differently if circumstances dictated, he added.

Considering the tight budget year the county is facing, Commissioner Amanda Edwards said this might not be the best time to pass the new plan, even though it wouldn’t go into effect until 2025-26.

Commissioners will have another chance to review the policy after staff adds language allowing for more flexibility.

— Greg Parlier

X

CONSERVATION BOARD: At its meeting June 4, the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners approved “one of the most significant conservation projects in the county’s history,” according to board Chair Brownie Newman, center. Photo by Greg Parlier

Business owner, former Buncombe GOP chair appointed to county school board

Just in time for the end of the school and fiscal year, the Buncombe County Board of Education appointed a replacement for former at-large board member Amanda Simpkins, who resigned last month.

Former Buncombe County GOP

Chair Glenda Weinert, who is a current member of the Buncombe County Schools Foundation, received the most votes on June 6 in the first round of an open-ended series of votes taken by the six sitting members of the board.

“She has a huge heart for children. And I’ve also had the opportunity to watch how she has navigated some really difficult decisions in some other leadership roles that she’s had in the past,” said board member Amy Churchill. “She has a lot of grace.” Weinert is a franchisee for four area Firehouse Subs locations, owner and president of a business consulting firm and adjunct professor at both Asheville-Buncombe Community Technical College and Lee University, a Christian university in Cleveland, Tennessee, according to her resume.

Dean Shatley, Weinert was one of three candidates nominated by board members for the position. During each round of voting, board members could vote for one, two or all three nominees, in an effort to build consensus on the six-member board.

“The board wanted to ensure it had a process that gave board members the ability to consider multiple candidates at the same time, much like a vote for the board chair or vice chair,” Shatley explained after the meeting. “The board also wanted a method that built consensus around the selected candidate, instead of individual motions for each nominee, which may lead to no one securing a majority,” he added.

During a special called meeting May 28, the board was split 3-3 on a vote to appoint Pat Bryant to the board. Bryant did not receive a nomination at the June 6 meeting.

Weinert received four votes in the first round of open voting, beating out the other nominees, the Rev. Charles Martin and Osondu McPeters. In all there were 27 applications for the position, although two were received late. Martin, who was nominated by board member Rob Elliot, finished second with three votes.

In addition to the BCS foundation, she currently serves on the Four Seasons Hospice Board’s community advisory committee and the Children’s Welfare League of Asheville Board. She has also served on a wide range of boards and committees for the last 25 years, many related to education and child care.

In 1995, she took over operations of Little Beaver Child Care Center from her mother, growing the company from one to five locations in the Asheville area during her 13 years in that role.

“It is my desire to continue to work to improve the educational opportunities for all students in Buncombe County. Serving on the Buncombe County school board would be a privilege,” Weinert wrote in her letter to the board expressing interest in the position.

Although the school board is nonpartisan, Weinert joins Churchill as one of two registered Republicans on the board.

“I don’t see party partisan agenda [in Weinert]. I don’t see her leaning toward one agenda or the other. But I do see a common thread involving children and a lot of volunteering efforts,” Churchill said before the vote.

Prior to the open-ended series of votes implemented by board attorney

Board member Kim Plemmons, who nominated Weinert but also voted for Martin in the first round, said two “influential people” called her to advocate for Martin and encouraged her to look at the decision through a diversity lens. Both Martin and McPeters are Black.

“I’ve said this publicly, and I’ll continue to say it: We do need people who look like our children,” she said.

Ultimately, though, Weinert won the vote, resulting in an all-white board. Weinert is slated to be sworn in as soon as possible and her first board meeting will be on June 27, said BCS spokesperson Ken Ulmer in a release. She is only guaranteed a seat on the board until November, when her at-large seat will be on the general election ballot. Seats currently occupied by Churchill, board Chair Ann Franklin and member Peggy Buchanan are also up for election this year.

Candidate filing for the county school board opens Friday, July 19, and closes Friday, Aug. 2.

BCS joins lawsuit against social media companies

Board of Education members unanimously agreed to sign on to a multi-district class-action lawsuit at its June 6 meeting, joining districts

BOARD ADDITION: Buncombe County Board of Education Chair Ann Franklin, right, presided over a unique vote to appoint a new at-large member to replace Amanda Simpkins, who resigned last month. Also pictured is Superintendent Rob Jackson. Photo by Caleb Johnson

from across the country suing social media companies.

In a survey conducted over two weeks in May by Buncombe County Schools staff and families, 89% of the more than 1,800 respondents said the district should sign on to the lawsuit.

In an informational booklet on the lawsuit produced by the Florida-based law firm Levin Papantonio Rafferty, the firm alleges that social media addiction in students constitutes a public nuisance with consequences that are paid for by the school districts.

“Excessive screen time is harmful to student’s mental health, sleep patterns and emotional well-being, and schools are being forced to actively address these challenges. Children afflicted by these mental health challenges perform worse in school and are more prone to absenteeism, substance abuse and behavioral problems.

Teachers, school counselors, academic advisors, coaches and other staff bear witness daily to the devastating toll these products have taken on their students,” according to the booklet.

SAVE OUR SCHOOLS: About 100 red-clad supporters of the Buncombe County Association of Educators (BCAE) gathered in Pack Square June 6 to advocate for more state and local education funding. “Public education is the future of our state,” the crowd chanted. “Support it and fund it. Our kids can’t wait.” BCAE is advocating for the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners to increase the local allocation to school districts in its fiscal year 2024-25 budget, which is set for a final vote Tuesday, June 18. See more photos from the rally at avl.mx/dry. Photo by Caleb Johnson

Prismatic Services, a vendor hired by Buncombe County to conduct a state-mandated school district consolidation feasibility study this year.

Prismatic conducted 43 interviews with staff during 21 school visits to both Buncombe County and Asheville City schools in May to observe operations, said Rachael Sawyer, strategic partnerships director for Buncombe County and lead project manager on the study.

The contractor worked with district staff to fulfill a large data request of 220 operational items, from academics to budget, facilities and food services.

School consolidation study underway

It doesn’t cost the district anything to sign on to the suit, Shatley added.

Shatley said the suit is similarly structured to previously successful litigation against JUUL brand alternative smoking devices. Buncombe did not sign on to that suit. If this litigation is successful, Shatley said the district would need to apply any winnings directly to help deal with issues related to social media addiction in its students.

One of three major visits to the district has been completed by

Prismatic will submit its findings with recommendations to both school boards no later than the end of 2024, and will present them publicly no later than Jan. 31. Per state law, both the county and city school boards must make their independent recommendations to the N.C. General Assembly by Feb. 15.

— Greg Parlier

In urban areas, 50% of rain fall becomes runoff

In natural areas, 90% of runoff soaks into the ground

For more information on runoff and what YOU can do, scan the QR code below or visit: riverlink.org/urbanization-and-stormwater-runoff/

X Support for Reduce Rain Runoff has been generously provided by: The Community Foundation of WNC, Duke Energy Foundation, the James G.K. McClure Foundation and Land of Sky Regional Council.

Asheville’s anti-racism connection

Building Bridges marks 30 years of equity education

BY GINA SMITH

gsmith@mountainx.com

The plan was to host a single nineweek community course on anti-racism. It was 1993. Inspired by Christianbased Sojourners magazine’s America’s Original Sin: A Study Guide on White Racism, a dozen or so Black and white Asheville residents, including ministers, health care professionals, educators and other community leaders, worked together to develop a one-time educational program.

“We were flying by the seat of our pants,” remembers Susan Presson, a now-retired nurse practitioner and activist who was part of that group of organizers. “But we were all so excited, we were kind of on fire.”

The concept — bringing Black and white people together for facilitated discussions on racism — was a hit in Asheville. Presson estimates that 40-50 people showed up for that nine-class series at New Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church. As word spread, more people expressed interest in the classes. So they did it again. And again.

Around 2007, the group formed a nonprofit called Building Bridges. After three decades, the all-volunteer effort has hosted more than 2,700 community members from multiracial backgrounds and is still drawing crowds twice each year for the nine-week sessions. Workshops include lectures, panel discussions and small-group, mixed-race conversations aimed at fulfilling the organization’s mission of nurturing connections and conversations between individuals as a tool for dismantling racism.

The program has birthed spin-off gatherings and scholarship programs, inspiring individuals to start their own anti-racism groups and enterprises.

This month, Building Bridges leaders are inviting past participants and supportive community members to come together to celebrate its 30th anniversary with a gala dinner on Saturday, June 22, at The Venue in downtown Asheville.

‘BRAVE SPACE’

Jackie Simms was among the attendees for that inaugural course in 1993. Just three years earlier, she had moved to Asheville with her husband and daughter from St. Louis and, as a Black woman, was surprised to see a

BETTER TOGETHER: Building Bridges board of directors co-chairs Walter Bradley, far left, and Heather Tate, far right, are pictured inside the group’s original meeting place, New Mount Olive Baptist Church, with longtime participants and supporters Jackie Simms, second from left, and Tyrone Greenlee, second from right, and co-founder Susan Presson, center. Photo by Caleb Johnson

stark disconnect between Black and white residents in her new home.

“It was like, where are the Black folks?” Simms recalls. “I could go to Black churches and find Black folks there, but I didn’t know where they were otherwise.”

That initial Building Bridges cohort, she says, was her gateway to feeling connected and at ease in Asheville. The program’s format of exploring the study guide’s essays and articles on racism through facilitated, multiracial, smallgroup discussions allowed Simms to examine sensitive topics while forming new relationships, including some friendships that have lasted decades.

“It was just a very comfortable place to hear and share experiences related to racism,” says Simms. “A popular way of saying that is a ‘brave space’ — a safe place for people to bravely state their true feelings and observations or thoughts about race. And there’s not a lot of those around.”

Building Bridges became a passion for the now-retired teacher of the hard of hearing, who has been involved in 61 of the 63 nine-week sessions held so far, from participant to small-group facilitator to board chair. Her late husband, Fred Simms, also became active with the group in the 1990s and eventually served on the board of directors. “He

wanted to find out where I had disappeared to,” Simms says with a smile.

Entrepreneur and former elementary school teacher and A-B Tech professor Bettie Council similarly found a new calling when she joined her first Building Bridges session. She had heard about UNC Asheville professor Dwight Mullen’s 2007 State of Black Asheville research project that showed racial disparities in local health care, criminal justice, education and more.

She estimates that she’s been part of nearly 20 sessions, as a participant, then facilitator and, ultimately, after starting two equity programs of her own — VIGOR Racial Equity Conversations and Act Out Equity — as a panelist and speaker. “I want to do everything I can to support my community, so I’m now an activist, working seven days a week,” Council says.

Building Bridges’ small groups — one of the core components of the experience — are led by mixed-race teams who have attended at least one session, says Heather Tate, co-chair of the board of directors. Facilitators are asked to keep an eye out for participants who might be interested in stepping into that role in the future.

“Our goal of facilitation is not to be just a leader; it is to truly facilitate. So [we’re looking at] how people are

talking to their group members and processing,” Tate explains.

A white kindergarten teacher, Tate enjoys facilitating because in each session she continually uncovers new truths. “It always leads to really

COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS:

Jackie Simms attended the first session of Building Bridges in 1993 after moving to Asheville from St. Louis and finding a disconnect between the city’s white and Black communities. Photo courtesy of Building Bridges

amazing, enriching conversations that help us continue our equity journey,” she says.

EVOLUTION

Though Building Bridges’ basic concept and nine-week format have stayed the same, the location has moved around, going from New Mount Olive to other locations, including Rainbow Community School, Odyssey School and now Evergreen Community Charter School.

The curriculum also has evolved. A few years in, organizers recognized that many participants didn’t relate well to the Sojourners workbook’s Christian perspective, Simms recalls. They additionally saw a need for the material to present a more local focus. So using grant funding, Building Bridges hired the late Asheville author and leadership coach Doug Silsbee to write a new study guide to include Ashevillespecific issues, such as the history of the city’s urban renewal projects and how they affected the Black community.

The workbook is now digital and includes links to additional resources, including articles, audio recordings and videos. To keep the content fresh, says Tate, it’s revised every three years, with the next update happening this summer.

“The way panel discussions happen is continually evolving as well,” says Tate. As an example, a new addition to each series is a potluck finale, called the Community Bridge, during which nonprofits whose leaders are Black, Indigenous and people of color share information about their organizations.

“So you’ve been doing this work, and now it’s on you to figure out what to do next,” she says. “This is a way to help connect folks with different organizations where, maybe they have this new perspective in their journey with their equity work, and maybe their skill set or sphere of influence really meshes well with that organization.”

Walter Bradley, who co-chairs the board of directors with Tate, notes that while each nine-week session averages 60-70 enrollees, attendance doubled after George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police in 2020.

Conversely, “it was hard to get people to sign up when Obama was elected,” remembers Simms. “Everybody was convinced that there was no racism, that it was over.”

Though the organization is run entirely by volunteers, Bradley points out that panelists are compensated, thus the $130 fee, or about $14 for each 2 1/2-hour workshop. Scholarships and equity seats for people of color are always available.

Building Bridges has spawned other equity-focused programs, such as its

LEADING THE WAY: Building

Bridges board co-chair Walter Bradley facilitates a recent session in the gymnasium at Evergreen Community Charter School. Photo courtesy of Building Bridges

TalkBack Series, which hosts public screenings and discussions of films focused on topics related to racism and equity.

AVOIDING TRAUMA

Far fewer Black people typically sign up for the sessions compared with the number of white people, say Council, Presson and Simms. At first, white participants are sometimes puzzled by their absence. Facilitators explain that Black residents make up a small percentage — only about 10% — of Asheville’s population. But there are other factors at play as well, they say.

“The fact is that some Black people choose not to attend discussions like this because it’s so triggering,” says Council. “We have seen over time all of the deaths and all the atrocities that happen to us. And some Black people say, ‘I don’t want to talk about it, to discuss it in a room full of white people.’ So, yeah, it’s harmful to our bodies.”

But despite the discomfort, Council believes Black voices are imperative to conversations about race. “To me, discussing racism in an all-white space, where they don’t have the Black voice and Black perspective is not OK. It’s like the blind leading the blind,” she says.

As a Black man, Bradley, a community health worker and teacher who moved to Asheville from Greensboro almost 11 years ago, says facing these triggers and fighting through his emotional reactions during the sessions he’s attended over the past few years as a participant, facilitator and now board co-chair, has taught him compassion.

“I have to remember what it was like learning something for the first

time, even though the subject is racism, which is near and dear to my heart,” says Bradley. “I’m a man of faith, and self-care looks like a lot of meditation. My trusted friends and colleagues, they hold me, we hold each other. We recharge each other.”

And the emotional ordeal is worth enduring to bring about change, says Council. “Whenever one person attends a meeting and learns more about the systems of oppression and white privilege and racism, all those things, that’s a plus for me because that lessens the possibility of us being shot [by police] by making someone else an ally,” she says. “So with Building Bridges, having that forum to make that happen, having those thousands of people attend over time, whether they act on it or not, it’s like having seeds planted.”

Tate attended her first session in late 2017 after hearing about it from colleagues and friends. “For me, it provided that understanding of how racism is so systemic and so intentional in each different layer of our world — in health care, in the education system and in, well, not the justice system, but the legal system, because there’s not a lot of justice involved in it,” she says.

“It’s about being able to unpack that week by week to see how all that is happening within the different systems of our specific community, not just within the bigger systems of our country, but right here in Asheville.”

Bradley, who was introduced to Building Bridges in 2018 by Tate, his co-worker at the time, agrees that the program helps bring the hidden aspects of systemic racism into sharp focus. “[Racism] is in every micron, every fiber of the fabric of America,” he says. “We can’t assume that we’re as clean as we think. We can’t think [racism] was in the past, it’s still in the fibers of what we’re doing; even as we’re moving away from it, it’s still there.”

BUILDING ON THE PAST

Looking back, Presson thinks Building Bridges’ foundation of creating connections has been crucial to the program’s longevity. “I think probably the biggest part of it was developing

relationships where we cared so much for each other, loved each other,” she says. “We felt like we were doing something really important, really valuable. And I think we were.”

“I think there have been lots of instances where people who’ve been impacted by their experience in Building Bridges have gone out and done something different from what they were doing before,” says Simms. “It made it comfortable for me, finally, to live in Asheville. I know people that I never would have met otherwise.”

Tate says there has been interest in creating a template of Building Bridges that could be replicated in other areas of Western North Carolina. Also, there’s been strong interest from various groups in having a more compact, overview version of the Building Bridges program that could be presented as training to staff or group members in a couple of hours rather than nine weeks.

Bradley would also like to see the Building Bridges model implemented outside Asheville. And he feels that offering multiple levels of training, similar to the national Racial Equity Institute, is another way for Building Bridges to continue evolving.

“Once you get an intro, then we can level up the experience three or four times,” says Bradley. “When you’ve experienced it once, your lens is a little bit sharper, you see things differently, and all these other things start emerging and you want to ask questions and build conversation.”

For an all-volunteer organization, finding the capacity to develop such projects is a monumental task. Tate says the “dream” is to have funding eventually to pay someone to lay the groundwork for achieving those aspirations. “You can box up our format, but you can’t box up our resources. So the ability to do that, being able to have folks that are willing to take that on and do it, would be huge,” says Tate.

“There are ways to do it on a minimal budget, but if we’re trying to move into a place of measurable change, I think we need to invest,” says Bradley. “You know, Asheville needs to invest into what we should be, not what we could be.” X

Learn more and celebrate

An exhibit on the history of Building Bridges is on display through the end of June outside the Special Collections room on the lower level of Pack Memorial Library, 67 Haywood St.

The Building Bridges 30th anniversary gala takes place 7-11 p.m. Saturday, June 22, at The Venue, 21 N. Market St. The event will include a cocktail reception, seated dinner with dessert, program with discussion and live entertainment. Ticket prices are $50-$75, and individual and corporate sponsorships are available. For details, visit avl.mx/drs.

Thirteen years later

Brood 19 cicadas emerge in WNC

With longer days, butterflies aflutter and trees in full leaf, signs that summer is slowly settling into the mountains of Western North Carolina are all around us.

Adding to those cues this year, however, is the historic emergence of not one but two broods of periodical cicadas — an insect native to North America and known for its rather loud mating song that permeates a summer evening.

The two broods will emerge simultaneously across the eastern United States: brood 19, which only appears every 13 years, and the 17-year brood, known as brood number 13.

Luke Owen, who works as a commercial horticulture agent at the N.C. Cooperative Extension, says that while only brood 19 will make an appearance in Western North Carolina, the occasion is just as momentous.

“It’s going to be a cool thing for people to see if they get a chance,” he says.

Xpress sat down with Owen to learn about the life cycle of cicadas and where we might see them this season.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Xpress: How is the brood 19 cicada different from the kind of cicada I see every summer?

Owen: The difference between the periodical cicada and the annual cicada is really just their overall life cycle. So depending on the brood, periodical cicadas have evolved this mechanism to avoid predation by emerging in such mass numbers so that they can lay their eggs. That’s kind of their biggest weapon in terms of trying to create that next generation.

Emergence can be staggered. Historically, the optimum tim[for periodical cicadas to emerge] is when the soil profile reaches 64 degrees 8 inches below the soil surface. And we have reached that, so I expect people to start seeing them from now through the beginning of June.

Our typical cicada, the annual, emerges in our area in late summer, and they will appear throughout the summer rather than all at one time. So there is potential for overlap between these two types of cicadas.

THE AWAKENING: Brood 19 cicadas, which appear in WNC every 13 years, are emerging this month. Photo courtesy of the N.C. Cooperative Extension

Where are we likely to see these periodical cicadas this year?

We haven’t really seen any widespread emergence of the periodical cicada so far, but we think it’s really going to be isolated to very small areas in southern Buncombe and around the Arden area and in Fairview.

There’s a combination of factors that might be explaining why we’re not really seeing as many this year. Cicadas bury themselves in the ground and the soil profile, so if there’s construction or other things that happen in those areas where they have historically been present, then that larva basically gets destroyed through that building process. But also, they’re located in very isolated areas, and so it’s very possible that your neighbor could see them in their backyard and you wouldn’t. It’s really hit or miss with periodical cicadas.

Do cicadas damage local trees or plants?

A lot of people think that cicadas are like locusts, and that they’re going to defoliate their plants in the landscape or something like that. And that’s just not the case.

They can cause some damage, but generally nothing enough to result in the tree dying or anything. With established trees, you’re going to see some branches that might be affected, with dead tips where female cicadas lay their eggs. If it’s a younger tree, the damage might be harder for the tree to overcome.

We don’t really recommend chemical treatment for a few reasons. The cicada emergence doesn’t really rise to the level of concern to use a chemical product. And a lot of those chemical products that would treat cicadas would also harm a lot of beneficial [species] in the landscape.

If you have a young tree that you just planted and you notice that the cicadas might be emerging around you, we recommend that you use exclusion netting. Exclusion netting

is usually for fruit trees to prevent the birds from eating your fruit. And it’s the same idea for the cicada; you would throw that over the tree, and it will prevent them from depositing their eggs into the tree.

I’ve read that cicada mating calls can be very loud.

It can be pretty deafening! I was actually down east when [another brood] emerged this year, and it was so loud while driving down the interstate. You could hear it through your car when you would pass the pocket of them. They’re louder than a motorcycle.

Should folks who are frightened by insects be worried about cicada bites or stings?

There’s no reason to be squeamish or apprehensive about the insects themselves. You don’t have to worry if your pet were to eat one either. Since the cicada emergence is timed with late spring/early summer, you have a lot of young wildlife, young birds and those sorts of things, consuming cicadas as a food source. And so we’re really expecting a lot of healthy, healthy animals coming out of this spring and summer.

— Brooke Randle X

COMMUNITY CALENDAR

JUNE 12 - JUNE 20, 2024

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



Online-only events

 More info, page 30

 More info, page 32-33

WELLNESS

Tai Chi Fan

This class helps build balance and whole body awareness. All ages and ability levels welcome. Fans will be provided.

WE (6/12, 19), 1pm, Dragon Phoenix, 51 N Merrimon Ave, Ste 109

Community Yoga & Mindfulness

A free monthly event with Inspired Change Yoga that will lead you into a morning of breathwork, meditation and yoga. Bring your own mat.

WE (6/12), 11:30am, AmeriHealth Caritas, 216 Asheland Ave

Tai Chi for Balance

A gentle Tai Chi exercise class to help improve balance, mobility, and quality of life. All ages are welcome.

WE (6/12, 19), 11:30am, Dragon Phoenix, 51 N Merrimon Ave, Ste 109

Nia Dance Fitness

A sensory-based movement practice that draws from martial arts, dance arts and healing arts.

TH (6/13, 20), 9:30am, TU (6/18), Dragon Phoenix, 51 N Merrimon Ave, Ste 109

Weekly Zumba Classes

Free in-person Zumba classes. No registration required.

TH (6/13, 20), TU (6/18), 6:30pm, St. James Episcopal Church, 424 W State St, Black Mountain

Tai Chi for Beginners

A class for anyone interested in Tai Chi and building balance, whole body awareness and other health benefits.

TH (6/13, 20), MO (6/17), 11:30am, Dragon Phoenix, 51 N Merrimon Ave, Ste 109

Flowing w/Flowers

A one-of-a-kind workshop that features chair yoga suitable for everyone, while flowers burst with blooms.

SA (6/15), 8am, Black Mountain Center for the Arts, 225 W State St, Black Mountain

Rooftop Yoga: Creative Flow Series

West Asheville Yoga brings a unique creative flow experience that combines the beauty of

art with the power of mindful movement.

SA (6/15), 9:30am, Asheville Art Museum, 2 S Pack Square

Adult Water Aerobics

Gentle water aerobics that incorporate effective strategies to improve cardio fitness, build strength, boost mood, and ease joint pain. Free for ages 60+.

SA (6/15), 10am, Dr Wesley Grant Sr. Southside Community Center, 285 Livingston St

Qigong for Health

A part of traditional Chinese medicine that involves using exercises to optimize energy within the body, mind and spirit.

FR (6/14), TU (6/18), 9am, SA (6/15), 11am, Dragon Phoenix, 51 N Merrimon Ave, Ste 109

Yoga in the Park Yoga class alongside the French Broad River, based on Hatha & Vinyasa traditions and led by certified yoga instructors. All experience levels welcome.

SA (6/15), SU (6/16), 11am, 220 Amboy Rd

Yoga Taco Mosa Donation based yoga with Clare Desmelik. Bring your mat, a water bottle and an open heart.

SU (6/16), 10am, The Grey Eagle, 185 Clingman Ave

Spring Flow w/Jamie Knox

Prepare your body for warmer weather with a yoga practice designed to release toxins and heaviness left over from winter. No need to pre-register, but bring a mat.

SU (6/16), 10:30am One World Brewing W, 520 Haywood Rd

SUPPORT GROUPS

Women’s Mental Health: Our Unique Needs & Challenges

A discussion about women’s mental health.

THU (6/13), 11:30am, The Community Foundation of WNC, 4 Vanderbilt Park Dr

Magnetic Minds: Depression & Bipolar Support Group

A free weekly peer-led

A JUNETEENTH PLAY: Leah & The Rabbit returns to the Vance Birthplace on Saturday, June 15, to celebrate Juneteenth, starting at 11 a.m. The event features a historical drama told via puppetry and moving panoramas, followed by a discussion on the appropriation of African American stories, resiliency among enslaved people and the romanticized view of the plantation past. Photo courtesy of Lauren May

meeting for those living with depression, bipolar, and related mental health challenges. For more information contact (828) 367-7660.

SAT (6/15), 2pm, 1316 Ste C Parkwood Rd

Huntington’s Disease Coffee Meetup

A casual coffee meetup where HD Reach Family Advisory Member, Jess, meets with people impacted by Huntington’s disease.

SAT (6/15), 2pm, Camden’s Coffee House, 40 N Main St, Mars Hill Wild Souls Authentic Movement

An expressive movement class designed to help you get unstuck, enjoy cardio movement, boost immune health, dissolve anxiety and celebrate community.

SUN (6/16), 9:30am, Dunn’s Rock Community Center, 461 Connestee Rd, Brevard

Asheville Kirtan

These ancient mantras, chanted in Sanskrit, help to connect us to our hearts- invoking feelings of well-being, meditation, and joy.

TUE (6/18), 7pm, Weaving Rainbows, 62 Wall St

DANCE

Tango Tuesdays

Tango lessons and social with instructors Mary Morgan and Mike Eblen. No partner required and no experience is needed for the beginners class.

TUE (6/18), 6pm, Urban Orchard Cider Co. S Slope, 24 Buxton Avenue

ART

Patricia Hargove: The Shape of Water Hargove’s exhibition depicts the powers of water that energize, refresh and heal the soul and body. Attendees will also be able to glimpse into the grandeur of water and its ever-changing play of light and shadow. Gallery open daily, 11am. Exhibition through June 30.

Asheville Gallery of Art, 82 Patton Ave

Shifting Perceptions: Photographs from the Collection

A selection of photographs presented in a trio of sections, each featuring seemingly opposing forces: Natural/Unnatural, Together/ Apart, and Inside/Out. Gallery open daily, 11am, closed Tuesday. Exhibition through September 23.

Asheville Art Museum, 2 S Pack Square

Sov·er·eign·ty: Expressions in Sovereignty of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians

This exhibition educates visitors about the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ autonomy, its relationship with the federal government, and how the tribe has defined its own relationship with its land, people, and culture. Gallery open daily, 9am. Exhibition through Feb. 28, 2025. Museum of the Cherokee People, 589 Tsali Blvd., Cherokee Spark of the Eagle Dancer: The Collecting Legacy of Lambert Wilson

This exhibition celebrates the legacy

contemporary American craft, including woodworking, metalsmithing, fiber and pottery by renowned American artists. Gallery open daily, 11am, closed Tuesday. Exhibition through July. 29, 2024. Asheville Art Museum, 2 S Pack Square

Western North Carolina Glass: Selections from the Collection

A variety of techniques and a willingness to push boundaries of American glass art can be seen in this selection of works. Gallery open daily, 11am, closed Tuesday. Exhibition through September 16. Asheville Art Museum, 2 S Pack Square

Robert Chapman Turner: Artist, Teacher, Explorer

Wings & Strings:

Carver & Carmody

This music series at at the Sweeten Creek location will feature local bluegrass-style bands every week.

TH (6/13), 6:30pm, Rocky's Hot Chicken Shack S, 3749 Sweeten Creek Rd, Arden

Percussion Discussion Afrika & Chinobay

An African Cultural experience highlighting two phenomenal acts, Uganda's premier folkpop band, Percussion Discussion Afrika and singer and storyteller, Chinobay.

of Lambert Wilson, a passionate collector of contemporary Native American art. Gallery open Tuesday through Friday, 10am. Exhibition through June 28, 2024

WCU Bardo Arts Center, 199 Centennial Dr, Cullowhee

Stellar Picks: A Community Choice Exhibition

This exhibition is for everyone who has a favorite piece of art in the WCU Fine Art Museum collection or would like to discover one. Gallery open Tuesday through Friday, 10am. Exhibition through June 28.

WCU Bardo Arts Center, 199 Centennial Dr, Cullowhee

Honoring Nature: Early Southern Appalachian Landscape Painting

This exhibition explores the sublime natural landscapes of the Smoky Mountains of Western North Carolina and Tennessee. Gallery open daily, 11am, closed Tuesday. Exhibition through Oct. 21. Asheville Art Museum, 2 S Pack Square Resonance

An art exhibition that harmoniously weaves together the distinctive styles of two artists, Lauren Betty & Rand Kramer. Each navigate the delicate balance between spontaneity and control in their unique mediums. Gallery open Tuesday through Saturday, 11am. Exhibition through June 30. Citron Gallery, 60 Biltmore Ave

Nabil El Jaouhari: The Color of Air

This new collection consists of paintings and 3D work using air’s elemental, emotional and conceptual nature.

Gallery open Monday through Saturday, 10am. Exhibition through June 22.

Mark Bettis Studio & Gallery, 123 Roberts St

Adult Studio: Queer

Figure Drawing

This class invites participants of all backgrounds and skill levels to explore the beauty and diversity of the human form.

SA (6/15), 2pm, Asheville Art Museum, 2 S Pack Square

Visionary Art Magick: Art Exhibit Opening

A night of art and music with experimental collage artist & accomplished guitarist Tom Johanson. He will exhibit repurposed, altered collages and mandalas while he plays original psychedelic rock.

SA (6/15), 6pm, Flood Gallery Fine Art Center, 850 Blue Ridge Rd, Black Mountain

Aaron Fields: Hidden Colors

This art exhibition presents a story about the perfect summer day in the mountains through the use of mostly acrylic paint, paint markers and spray paint. Gallery open daily, 11am. Exhibition through Sept. 1. See p32-33 Marquee Asheville, 36 Foundy St

Summer 1-On-1 Pottery

Lessons

Private lessons offering individuals 30 minute classes. Walk-ins will be welcome, schedule permitting.

SA (6/15), SU (6/16), 11am, Odyssey Clayworks, 236 Clingman Ave

Counter/Balance: Gifts of John & Robyn Horn

A presentation of important examples of

The exhibition will include work by some of Turner’s students and colleagues as well as work by contemporary ceramic artists whose work fits within the context of the show. Gallery open Tuesday through Saturday, 11am. Exhibition through Sept. 7. Black Mountain College Museum & Arts Center, 120 College St Daily Craft Demonstrations

Two artists of different media will explain and demonstrate their craft with informative materials displayed at their booths, daily. These free and educational opportunities are open to the public. Open daily, 10am. Demonstrations run through Dec. 31. Folk Art Center, MP 382, Blue Ridge Pkwy

The New Salon: A Contemporary View A modern take on the prestigious tradition of the Parisian Salon with the diversity and innovation of today’s art world. Gallery open daily, 11am, closed Tuesday. Exhibition through Aug. 19. Asheville Art Museum, 2 S Pack Square

Third Thursday Open

Studio Social

An opportunity for artists to network, share ideas, and create together with extended gallery hours. Feel free to bring supplies, grab a glass of beer or wine at our bar, and work on art among community.

TH (6/20), 5pm, Foundation Studios, 27 Foundy St

COMMUNITY

MUSIC

Lenny Pettinelli

Live music with local pianist, keyboardist, vocalist, and producer well versed in jazz, rock, funk, reggae and more.

TH (6/13, 20), 6pm, Gemelli by Strada Italiano, 70 Westgate Pkwy

TH (6/13), 7pm, Folkmoot Friendship Center, 112 Virginia Ave, Waynesville Concert Series on the Creek: Whiskey Mountain Band Free concert series for the community with Whiskey Mountain Band providing classic rock and country favorites this week. These events are free with donations encouraged. Everyone is welcome. There will be food trucks available on most nights.

FR (6/14), 7pm, Bridge Park Gazebo, 76 Railroad Ave, Sylva Asheville Pub Sing Folks take turns sharing songs with choruses that everyone can learn together. The focus is on roots and folk music, with an emphasis on songs that are good to sing in groups.

SU (6/16), 3pm, Weinhaus, 86 Patton Ave Mark's House Jam & Sunday Potluck Bring a potluck dish to share with an amazing community of local musicians from around the globe. Please note that this isn’t an open mic.

SU (6/16), 3pm, Asheville Guitar Bar, 122 Riverside Dr

Sundays on the River Series: Will Kimbrough This series features song writer, performer, recording artist, and producer Will Kimbrough.

SU (6/16), 4pm, Olivette Riverside Community and Farm, 1069 Olivette Rd

Singer Songwriter Classical Showcase

A singer and songwriter showcase with local musicians Daniel Anton Balich, Jake Mossman & Andy Jurik with vocalist Rachel Hansbury. WE (6/19), 8pm, Asheville Guitar Bar, 122 Riverside Dr

The Songwriter Sessions w/Andy Bracken, Letters To Abigail & Charlie Wilkinson

An evening of original songs in a natural acoustic listening room. This month we’ll feature popular local musicians Andy Bracken, Letters To Abigail and Charlie

Wilkinson.

WE (6/19), 7pm, The Brandy Bar, 504 7th Ave E, Hendersonville Park Rhythms Concert Series

This series features many talented artists from across the east coast with Wagging and Jessie & The Jinx kicking off the series.

TH (6/20), 7pm, Black Mountain Veterans Park, 10 Veterans Park Dr Black Mountain

Will Ray & The Space Cooties Reunion Concert

After a long hiatus, Will Ray brings his shredder style guitar work back to the AGB stage.

TH (6/20), 8pm, Asheville Guitar Bar, 122 Riverside Dr

COMMUNITY WORKSHOPS

Innerdance: Altered States of Consciousness w/Soundscapes & Energy Work

A music-based, meditative, healing journey. It involves the use of special soundscapes that mimic circadian rhythms and enable people to move effortlessly between different brain wave states.

WED (6/12), 6pm, The Horse Shoe Farm, 155 Horse Shoe Farm Dr, Hendersonville Public Speaking Workshop

A supportive environment to either gain comfort in public speaking or hone your craft. For beginners or experienced, alike. All levels welcome.

TH (6/13), noon, Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity, 33 Meadow Rd

Energetic & Spiritual Defense

An empowering and transformative workshop where you will learn practical techniques to safeguard and defend your energy and soul.

THU (6/13), 6pm, The Well, 3 Louisiana Ave

Fresh Milky Oats: Sacred Nervous System

Medicine

Learn how to harvest, process and tincture milky oats, a sacred medicine that heals the nervous system and reduces adrenal fatigue.

TU (6/18), 6pm, 99 White Pine Dr, Black Mountain

LITERARY

Pack Library Book Club: This is How It

Always Is A book discussion group that meets the second Wednesday of each month to read a variety of genres. The book for June is “This is How It Always Is” by Laurie

Frankel.

WE (6/12), 10:30am, Pack Memorial Library, 67 Haywood St

Pride Story Time

Blue Ridge Pride Education and Outreach Coordinator Luna Britt will host stories and songs that celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community and gender identity.

TH (6/13), 10:30am, Pack Memorial Library, 67 Haywood St

Juneteenth Story Time

Explore the history of Juneteenth through stories and African songs led by local children’s author Jerrie Settles.

SA (6/15), 11am, Pack Memorial Library, 67 Haywood St

God & Liberation

Read books by Black, Womanist, Mujerista, Latino, Palestinian, Indigenous, LGBQIA+, and disabled authors to deconstruct what we've been taught about who God is and build something new.

MO (6/17), 7pm, St. Mark's Lutheran Church, 10 N Liberty St

North Asheville Book Club: Wastelands

The North Asheville Book Club meets in-person on the 3rd Tuesday of every month. This month’s featured book is Wastelands by Corban Addison.

TU (6/18), 2pm, N Asheville Library, 1030 Merrimon Ave

Dark City Poets Society: Poetry Night

Everyone is welcome to share a few poems or just sit back and drink.

Sign-ups to share will begin 15 minutes prior to the start of the event.

TU (6/18), 6pm, Oak and Grist Distilling Co., 1556 Grovestone Rd, Black Mountain

Wise Words Open Mic

You can rhyme or not, tell a story, sing a song, or even get something off your chest in a creative way.

TU (6/18), 6pm, Dr Wesley Grant, Sr. Southside Center, 285 Livingston St

Asheville Storyslam: Guts

Prepare a five-minute story about moments of boldness and courage and the peaks and pratfalls of a daring spirit. Scaling mountains or admitting to mistakes.

TH (6/20), 7:30pm, The Grey Eagle, 185 Clingman Ave

THEATER & FILM

The Campfireball: Yearning

An interactive storytelling show created live and in the moment out of the real-life stories of the people in the audience.

TH (6/13), 7:30pm, Story Parlor, 227 Haywood Rd

Willy Russell: Shirley

Valentine

Celebrate the incredible journey of life with Shirley Valentine, an off-beat journey of self reflection, the challenges of middle age, and the possibilities of finding happiness and love once more.

TH (6/13), FR (6/14), SA (6/15), 7:30pm, SU (6/16), 35below, 35 E Walnut St

Richard II

Richard II is the second play in the Muse of Fire: Shakespeare’s Wars of the Roses Season. It will depict King Richard II’s rule in England.

FR (6/14), SA (6/15), SU (6/16), 7:30pm, Hazel Robinson Amphitheatre, 92 Gay St

Movies in the Park: Barbie

A free family-friendly movie night on a massive outdoor screen held outside for all community members. Bring blankets and lawn chairs to participate in this fun summer tradition. This week's movie feature is Barbie and kids will also receive free pink and black sunglasses.

FR (6/14), 8pm, Pack Square Park, 80 Court Plaza

The Gods of Comedy

This Ivy League will never be the same as a pair of deities encounter the carnal complexity of college coeds, campus capers, and conspicuous consumption.

FR (6/14), SA (6/15), 7:30pm, SU (6/16), 2pm, Hart Theatre, 250 Pigeon St, Waynesville

Your Fat Friend Film

A film about fatness, family, the complexities of change and the deep, messy feeling we hold about our bodies.

SA (6/15), 10:15am, Grail Moviehouse, 17 Foundy St

Leah & the Rabbit: A Juneteenth Play

A morning of historical drama and discussion on the appropriation of African American stories, resiliency among enslaved people, and the romanticized view of the plantation past through the use of puppetry and moving panoramas.

SA (6/15), 11am, Vance Birthplace, 911 Reems Creek Rd, Weaverville

Frozen JR.

The show features all of the memorable songs from the animated film, with music and lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, plus five new songs written for the Broadway production. See p32

SA (6/15), SU (6/16), 2pm and 6pm, Diana Wortham Theatre, 18 Biltmore Ave

Juneteenth Movie Event: Harriet

Featuring the extraordinary tale of Harriet Tubman’s escape from slavery and transformation into one

of America’s greatest heroes. The movie is free and there will be snacks available.

SA (6/15), 2:30pm, Swannanoa Library, 101 W Charleston St, Swannanoa

Murder Mystery Dinner

An 80's immersive murder mystery extravaganza filled with intrigue, dinner, and all the nostalgia you can handle.

TH (6/20), 6pm, The Hideaway, 49 Broadway St

Man Ray’s Return to Reason

The evening will begin with a solo performance by the Asheville-based multi-instrumentalist Chad Beattie, followed by a free screening of Man Ray's Return to Reason.

TH (6/20), 7pm, Black Mountain College Museum & Arts Center, 120 College St

MEETINGS & PROGRAMS

Walk Through History: Old Swannanoa

A walking tour of the old downtown area and the historic buildings that were once a part of the mill town.

WE (6/12), 9:30am, Swannanoa Valley Museum & History Center, 223 W State St, Black Mountain

Chen Style Tai Chi

The original style of Tai Chi known for its continual spiraling movements and great health benefits. First class is free so you can see if you feel like it is a good fit for you.

TH (6/13, 20), MO (6/17), 1pm, Dragon Phoenix, 51 N Merrimon Ave, Ste 109

National Speakers Association NSA

Featuring professional keynote speakers, coaches, trainers, facilitators, and consultants who cover a broad range of topics, skills, and knowledge.

TH (6/13), 10am, AmeriHealth Caritas, 216 Asheland Ave

Pigeon Community Conversations w/ Storytellers Series

This week features DeWayne Barton, who uses creative expression to help expand the dreams and goals of neighborhoods in the Affrilachian region.

TH (6/13), 6pm, Pigeon Community Multicultural Development Center, 450 Pigeon St, Waynesville

Dharma Talk: Paul Linn Meditation followed by a Dharma talk on Buddhist principles applied to daily life. Beginners and experienced practitioners are welcome.

TH (6/13), 6:30pm, Quietude Micro-retreat Center, 1130 Montreat Rd, Black Mountain

Nerd Nite: AVL

Each month, a rotating cast of knowledgeable characters talk about a topic they are uniquely educated in.

TH (6/13), 7pm, The River Arts District Brewing Co.,13 Mystery St Coloring w/Cats

Set time for yourself and cuddle with the panthers, meet other cat-lovers, and color a beautiful picture of a cat from our adult coloring books.

SU (6/16), 2pm, House of Black Cat Magic, Co., 841 Haywood Rd Christian Ethics vs. Ethics

Dr. Bacote will explore and seek greater understanding of the intersection of beliefs from different doctrines and its impact on ethical discernment.

SU (6/16), 2:30pm, Friends Meeting House, 227 Edgewood Rd

PARI Summer STEM & Space Exploration Camps

Learn how different telescopes work and use them and real data to explore space just like professional scientists do. From Space and Science to tubing, waterfall swimming and roller skating, there are fun, refreshing activities

for everyone.

SU (6/16), 3pm, Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute, 1 PARI Dr, Rosman

Rainbow Color Bash

Bring two white clothing items and participate with other creative folks to tie dye.

MO (6/17), 2pm, Grove St Community Center, 36 Grove St

A 40 year Journey in Vajrayana Buddhism

Vajrayana is a school of Buddhism that originated in Tibet in the 7th century. It emphasizes an accelerated path to enlightenment.

MO (6/17), 7pm, Quietude Micro-retreat Center, 1130 Montreat Rd, Black Mountain

Kung Fu: Baguazhang

It is the martial arts style that Airbending from the show Avatar: The Last Airbender was based on.

TU (6/18), 1pm, Dragon Phoenix, 51 N Merrimon Ave, Ste 109

Hoop & Flow Arts Jam

Whether you're a seasoned hooper or a beginner, this vibrant event invites everyone to dance, spin, and groove to the music in a welcoming and

energetic atmosphere.

TU (6/18), 5:30pm, Pritchard Park, 4 College St

Hemlock Treatment

Demonstration

Learn to treat your hemlocks at this free demonstration of treatment methods for hemlock woolly adelgid. Participants will learn about assessing hemlock health and available treatment options.

TH (6/20), 9am, Montford Park, 345 Montford Ave

Buns in the Sun: Hot Dog Social

Enjoy one of the nation's favorite outdoor meals, hotdogs. There will also be games, music, and more for all ages.

TH (6/20), 3pm, Grove St Community Center, 36 Grove St

Dharma & Discuss Meditation instructions will be given during a sitting which will last 15 to 20 mins. This will be followed by a talk and an opportunity to ask Roger questions afterwards.

TH (6/20), 6:30pm, Quietude Micro-retreat Center, 1130 Montreat Rd, Black Mountain

GAMES CLUBS

Dungeons & Drafts

An evening of adventure, drinks and company to play D&D. There will be premade characters for you to choose from and join the action.

WED (6/12), 6pm, Ginger’s Revenge Craft Brewery & Tasting Room, 829 Riverside Drive

Music Bingo Thursdays Test your music knowledge and your luck with Music Bingo by DJ Spence.

THU (6/13, 20), 6:30pm, Lookout Brewing Co., 103 S Ridgeway Ave, Black Mountain Bingo on Grove Street

A fun and friendly game of bingo in the community.

FRI (6/14), 10:30am, Grove Street Community Center, 36 Grove St Weekly Sunday Scrabble Weekly scrabble play where you’ll be paired with players of your skill level. All scrabble gear provided.

SUN (6/16), 1:30pm, Stephens Lee Recreation Center, 30 George Washington Carver Ave

Downtown Asheville Treasure Hunt

Use your treasure map to follow clues, solve puzzles, and crack codes on this unique walking scavenger hunt through Downtown Asheville.

SUN (6/16), 2pm, Dssolvr, 63 N Lexington Ave

A Night of Dungeons & Dragons

Enjoy a fiery, heroic evening filled with enthralling stories led by the best. Come early to grab and cosplay is encouraged.

MON (6/17), 6pm, Urban Orchard Cider Co. S Slope, 24 Buxton Avenue

KID-FRIENDLY PROGRAMS

Asheville Museum’s Summer of Science

Dive into a world of discovery with interactive science activities, including bubbles and noise machines. This family-friendly event promises to engage and entertain all ages with hands-on experiments and demonstrations.

WED (6/12, 19), 5pm, Pritchard Park, 4 College St

Kids & Teens Kung Fu

Learn fighting skills as well as conflict resolution and mindfulness. First class is free to see if it’s a good fit for you.

TUE (6/13, 18), MO (6/17), TU (6/18), 4pm, Dragon Phoenix, 51 N Merrimon Ave

Teen Nerf Night

A fun night where teens battle it out with friends through exciting Nerf battles. Open to ages 13 to 16 and all you need is a Nerf blaster of choice.

FRI (6/14), 6pm, Tempie Avery Montford Community Center, 34 Pearson Ave

Coloring w/Cats: Kiddie Edition

An artistic session with coloring books and markers for children ages 13 and under to relax by coloring as they pet cats to reduce stress and anxiety.

SAT (6/15), 1:30pm, House of Black Cat Magic, Co., 841 Haywood Rd

Pollinator Days

Stop by the garden center with the whole family for plant shopping galore, plus kid-activities, butterfly releases, snacks, samples, demos, talks, and food trucks. This event is free and all are

welcome. SAT (6/15), 8am, BB Barns, 3377 Sweeten Creek Road, Arden

Toddler Play Time

A fun active time to let your little ones run and play in the gym with different activities each week. Ages 2 to 6 must be accompanied by parent/guardian.

SUN (6/16), 1:30pm, Tempie Avery Montford Community Center, 34 Pearson Ave

Summer Splash

Dive into a world of water-themed activities and beat the heat with an array of aquatic adventures. Free for all ages.

SUN (6/16), 11am, Malvern Hills Park, 75 Rumbough Pl

Imagination Monday

Children can enjoy giant building blocks, tunnels, and fun games on this special day of open play geared for ages 1-5 years-old. No advance registration required, adults must accompany children the entire time.

MON (6/17), 10am, Weaver Park, 200 Murdock Ave

Pickin’ In The Park

Enjoy performances by local singer-songwriters in an intimate and

relaxed setting. Experience the rich musical heritage of Asheville as talented musicians share their stories and songs.

MON (6/17), 6pm, Pritchard Park, 4 College St.

LOCAL MARKETS

Etowah Lions Farmers Market

An array of farm-fresh local produce that features lettuce, collards, kale, mushrooms as well as local artisans, herbal products, plant starts, prepackaged meals and more. Every Wednesday through October.

WE (6/12, 19), 3pm, Etowah Lions Club, 447 Etowah School Rd, Hendersonville

RAD Farmers Market

Providing year-round access to fresh local foods from over 30 local vendors offering fresh produce, baked goods, pastured meats, cheeses, raw honey, and more. Located right on the Greenway, the market is safely accessible by bike, foot, or rollerblade.

WE (6/12, 19), 3pm, Smoky Park Supper Club, 350 Riverside Dr

Weaverville Tailgate Market

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

WE (6/12, 19), 3pm, 60 Lake Shore Dr Weaverville

Enka-Candler Farmer's Market

A grand selection of local foods and crafts, everything from produce to pickles, baked goods to body care, and even educational resources. Every Thursday through October 31.

TH (6/13, 20), 3:30pm, A-B Tech Small Business Center, 1465 Sand Hill Rd, Candler

East Asheville Tailgate Market

Featuring locally grown vegetables, fruits, wild foraged mushrooms, ready made food, handmade body care, bread, pastries, meat, eggs, and more to the East Asheville community since 2007. Every Friday through Nov. 22.

FR (6/14), 3pm, 954 Tunnel Rd

Pack Square Artisan Market

Featuring local handcrafted goods in the heart of downtown Asheville. Browse unique products and meet the folks that produce them. Every Friday through Oct. 25.

FR (6/14), 3pm, 1 South Pack Square Park

Henderson County Tailgate Market

Featuring Henderson County's finest produce, hand crafts, plant starts, vegetables, Sourwood honey, baked goods, fresh eggs, mushrooms, sausage and more.

Every Saturday through Oct.

SA (6/15), 8am, 100 N King St, Hendersonville North Asheville Tailgate Market

The oldest Saturday morning market in WNC, since 1980. Over 60 rotating vendors providing a full range of local, sustainably produced produce, meats, eggs, cheeses, breads, plants and unique crafts.

SA (6/15), 8am, 3300 University Heights, Asheville

Asheville City Market

Featuring local food products, including fresh produce, meat, cheese,

bread, pastries, and other artisan products. Every Saturday through December 21.

SA (6/15), 9am, 52 N Market St

Black Mountain Saturday Tailgate Market

Featuring organic and sustainably grown produce, plants, cut flowers, herbs, locally raised meats, seafood, breads, pastries, cheeses, eggs and locally handcrafted items.

SA (6/15), 9am, 130 Montreat Rd, Black Mountain

Mars Hill Farmers & Artisans Market

A producer-only tailgate market located on the campus of Mars Hill University on College Street. Offering fresh local produce, herbs, cheeses, meats, eggs, baked goods, honey, body care and more.

Every Saturday through Oct. 26.

SA (6/15), 10am, College St, Mars Hill Plant Club Pop-Up Market

Each month features 6-10 different growers and makers offering a wide array of products; from rare tropicals to native medicinals, handmade pots and trellises to botanical watercolor

paintings and more.

SA (6/15), 11am Canopy Gallery in Art Garden, 191 Lyman St, Ste 316

WNC Farmers Market

High quality fruits and vegetables, mountain crafts, jams, jellies, preserves, sourwood honey, and other farm fresh items. Open daily 8am, year-round. 570 Brevard Rd

Honky Tonk Flea

A honky-theme flea market featuring western wear, vintage, antiques and hand crafted finds galore. There will also be a live DJ and food on site.

SU (6/16), 11am, Eda's Hide-a-Way, 1098 New Stock Rd, Weaverville West Asheville Tailgate Market

Featuring an array of goods including fruits, vegetables, baked goods, bread, eggs, cheese, milk, poultry, and fish to locally made specialty items such as natural beauty products, herbal medicine and locally made art and crafts.

Every Tuesday through November 26.

TU (6/18), 3:30pm, 718 Haywood Rd

FESTIVALS & SPECIAL EVENTS

17th Annual Art in Bloom

A multifaceted event, celebrating nature and art with two gallery exhibits, live floral arrangements, and a local garden tour featuring working artists. Visit avl.mx/9nw for the complete schedule of events and their times.

See p33

TH (6/13), 5pm, FR (6/14), SA (6/15), 10am, Black Mountain Center for the Arts, 225 W State St, Black Mountain Sausage Party w/DJ

Rexxstep

An afternoon of celebrating PRIDE with community through yard games, queer socializing, a special cookout and a live DJ set by Rexxstep.

FR (6/14), 6pm, The Getaway River Bar, 790 Riverside Dr,

Forming of the Militia

Witness how the men were recruited in the 18th century to fight off the Cherokee attacks on the frontier of WNC. This day features rug making, games and toys, gunpowder making, Cherokee pottery and more.

SA (6/15), 10am, Davidson's Fort Historic Park, 140 Bud Hogan Dr, Old Fort

Smash the CISTEM

A car smash event with the specific purpose of coming together and raging against an unjust system.

SA (6/15), 11am, The Odd, 1045 Haywood Rd Juneteenth: Day of Freedom

The event will feature games and activities for children and adults, food trucks, music and dancing, entertainment, historical exhibits, a select number of

vendors, and more

SA (6/15), noon, Roseland Community Center, 56 Peake St, Tryon Second Gear's 20th Anniversary Block Party

Celebrating 20 years of community and consigned outdoor gear and apparel with exciting raffles, free activities for the kids, local makers, outdoor vendors and educators, special treats, puppy adoptions and more.

SA (6/15), noon, Second Gear, 99 Riverside Dr Burial x Eulogy Present: Anno XI

A celebration of all things-Burial with specials drinks, food and a killer line up of talented musicians. This year's live performances features Clipping, Yaya Bey, MAVI, Domo Genesis and Irreversible Entanglement.

SA (6/15), 1pm, Burial Beer Co. Forestry Camp Taproom, 10 Shady Oak Dr

Maggie Valley Fly Fishing & Outdoor Festival

This festival will feature local and national fly fishing vendors, live music, food vendors, outdoor recreation vendors, a casting contest, hand clinics and more.

SA (6/15), SU (6/16), 11am, Maggie Valley Festival Grounds, 3374 Soco Rd, Maggie Valley Juneteenth on the Block

An all-day celebration of freedom with heavy horsd'oeuvres, drinks, and fellowship within neighbors. Leaf Global Arts, PennyCup Coffee, Noir Collective and more businesses will be attendance.

WE (6/19), 11am, YMI Cultural Center, 39 S. Market St

Third Thursday

An evening featuring live music from Xor Music, a screening of the film Style Wars, special cocktails in the rooftop Perspective Café, and a public tour: Discovering Art in Asheville

TH (6/20), 5pm, Asheville Art Museum, 2 S Pack Square

Summer Solstice & One World West 6th Anniversary Party Celebrate the Summer solstice and One World West’s 6th Anniversary with an outside show by Sun of Stars and and inside show with Organ Fairchild.

TH (6/20), 6pm, One World Brewing W, 520 Haywood Rd

2024 Rhythm & Brews: Queen Bee & The Honeylovers w/ Peggy Ratusz & Daddy LongLegs Free outdoor shows with a variety of established acts as well as up-and-coming artists from around the region. This week, blues and jazz bands Queen Bee and the Honeylovers will be performing alongside Peggy Ratusz and Daddy LongLegs.

TH (6/20), 5:30pm, Downtown Hendersonville S Main St

BENEFITS & VOLUNTEERING

15th Annual Authors for Literacy

This special event will host New York Times bestselling author Lisa See as the keynote speaker this year. Proceeds from this event will benefit programs to help people of all ages reach their personal and educational goals through the power of literacy.

TH (6/13), 6pm, DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Asheville - Biltmore, 115 Hendersonville Rd

Benefit Pint Night

In honor of Mountain BizWorks’ 35th anniversary, Hi-Wire Brewing will host a Benefit Pint Night. A portion of the proceeds will support the nonprofit community development financial institution (CDFI).

TH (6/13), 5pm, Hi-Wire Brewing RAD Beer Garden, 284 Lyman St Brunch w/Pups Humans and pawrents are welcome for an unforgettable time with brunch favorites. Dogs eat free from a special pup-inspired menu and a portion of alcohol sales will be donated to the Asheville Humane Society.

SA (6/15), noon, Bargello, 7 Patton Ave

3rd Annual Raise

Another Home Auction & Gala

This event aims to raise funds to build 12 microhomes for the housing insecure in BeLoved Village, and this year’s theme is There’s No Place Like Home, paying homage to the 85th anniversary of the movie The Wizard of Oz. See p30 SA (6/15), 5pm, AB-Tech Mission Health Conference Center, 16 Fernihurst Dr

Benefit Show w/ Toadhand, Lurky Skunk & Will Franke

A fundraiser show for local queer BIPOC community member in need of funds for medical expenses, car repairs, and secure housing.

SA (6/15), 9pm, 27 Club, 180 Patton Ave Palestine Benefit Benefit Show for Palestine with Baby Cousin Tay and DJ Cig Break.

SU (6/16), 9pm, Static Age Records, 110 N Lexington Ave

‘The stigma that’s out there is so strong’

Panel discussion addresses history of harm reduction in Asheville

BY JESSICA WAKEMAN

jwakeman@mountainx.com

Harm reduction, an evidence-based set of practices that reduces harm among people who use drugs, is a key part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Overdose Prevention Strategy.

But harm reduction wasn’t always embraced in Buncombe County.

“I was brought to a room at one point as a county employee, with major county and city staff, and basically told to shut up,” Amy Upham, who worked as opioid response coordinator for Buncombe County Department of Health and Human Services (BCDHHS) from 2019-21, told an audience at Pack Memorial Library last week.

Upham was one of the panelists who gathered to discuss the history of harm reduction in Western North Carolina, alongside WNC AIDS

Join Elmer Perry from Jo-El Crafts on June 20 as he shows you how to make your first book from a single piece of paper.

Learn about bookbinding and leather crafting.

1465 Sand Hill Rd Thursdays 3:30-6:30 Through October 31

for Buncombe County Department of Health and Human Services Amy Upham, second from left; and WNC AIDS Project prevention educator Michael Harney, second from right, spoke at Pack Memorial Library on June 5 for a panel on harm reduction. Historian Abigail K. Stephens, right, moderated the panel. Photo by Jessica Wakeman

Project (WNCAP) prevention educator Michael Harney and Buncombe County homeless program manager Lacy Hoyle. Buncombe County Special Collections, an archival facility within Pack Memorial Library, organized the event.

In her introduction at the beginning of the June 5 panel, librarian Carissa Pfeiffer noted a somber coincidence: June 5, 1981, was the date the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a report about five cases of what was then referred to as pneumonia. The fatal illness was eventually identified as human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV.

Panel moderator Abigail K. Stephens also noted that Harney donated notebooks, issues of the Community Connections newsletter and letters about the AIDS crisis and harm reduction to Special Collections in 2017. Many of these items, including a 1994 letter from former President Bill Clinton on White House letterhead responding to a letter from Harney about AIDS, were on display before and after the panel.

HARM REDUCTION HERE

Harney came to Asheville in 1992 and became involved in harm reduction through his friendship with the late Marty Prairie. Prairie “became my boss, my friend and my mentor,” Harney said.

Part of Harney’s work focused on safe sex, particularly among men who have sex with men. As documents from Harney’s Special Collections

donations noted, many men who had sex with men were married with families, didn’t consider themselves gay or bisexual and therefore didn’t consider themselves at risk for HIV. (Harney’s focus on safe sex earned him the nickname “the Rubber Man.”)

Intravenous drug use, which can spread HIV and hepatitis B and C, was also hitting Asheville hard. During the 1990s, Harney recalls “tripping over needles downtown.”

A trip to Baltimore, where Johns Hopkins University was conducting a study about syringe exchange programs, inspired Harney and Prairie to start the Needle Exchange Program of Asheville (NEPA). NEPA now operates out of WNCAP.

NEPA existed in Asheville before North Carolina legalized needle exchanges in 2016. Although it was not yet state-sanctioned, Harney said he made a point to introduce himself to new faces in local government. “I think being openly active made a difference,” he said. “Even in the early years, all the mayors always knew about us because we went and spoke to them. All the chiefs of police — I was always introducing myself. I always said, ‘My name is [Michael], and I’m doing the needle exchange in Asheville, and I won’t give you my power. I will not.’ And so I never did.”

LOCAL OPPOSITION

In addition to NEPA and another nonprofit that operates a safe syringe program called Steady Collective,

Buncombe County introduced a harm reduction program of its own.

Upham, who is now executive director of Blue Ridge Pride, worked to establish the safe syringe program at BCDHHS, which was the first one at a health department in Western North Carolina. She also helped establish a naloxone program, which distributes the overdose reversal drug, and co-authored a grant to bring a community paramedicine program to Buncombe County Emergency Medical Services. The community paramedics program launched as a pilot in 2020. It has continued to expand, adding a post-overdose response team to connect people to social services after an overdose, and has begun initiating medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder.

However she faced opposition around harm reduction practices, especially in relation to syringes. Upham said it was “really hard” to get support for sharps disposal containers, which are secure boxes where people can safely dispose of used syringes, to be placed around the county.

“I thought getting needle boxes was going to be the easiest thing [when I was hired at Buncombe County],” Upham said. “We’ll order some, no big deal. It’ll be great. It’ll solve everybody’s problem.” Instead, there was a lot of pushback, with many organizations and businesses not wanting sharps disposal containers on their property. “The stigma that’s out there is so strong,” Upham said.

Later in the panel discussion, Upham said that opposition among

Buncombe County government employees reduced when people received training about harm reduction, including how to protect themselves. She laughed as she recalled training sanitation workers on how to protect themselves from hepatitis C. “I trained waste management workers at the top of the county dump, with vultures flying overhead,” she recalled.

As a current employee of Buncombe County, Hoyle shared, “I feel very fortunate that I’m working for the county and that there is a lot of support for harm reduction efforts across the board.” She added, “I think a lot of opposition has more to do with not knowing and not understanding, and maybe the fear of the unknown, too.”

THE FUTURE

Harney was adamant that getting help — whether it’s for safer sex, for substance misuse or for treating illnesses — needs to be easy. People need to meet their most immediate needs first, he said, explaining that lack of transportation, hunger or not knowing where to sleep that night can all be deterrents for people who might otherwise seek help.

“I think that we have such an easy thing to do and we can’t ever do it easy,” Harney said. “We always want to make it hard. We make it hard on people to … meet certain demands of our agencies, sometimes, in order to get the services.”

More education about substance use disorder, harm reduction and homelessness is needed throughout the community, the panelists agreed.

Hoyle described being contacted by individuals who oppose the plans for a low-barrier shelter the county and city are developing.

“There are some people who think that folks who are not sober don’t deserve a place to be,” Hoyle said. “So I just try to really just engage people in conversations and ask them, ‘If you don’t think [people who use substances] should be in a shelter, for example, what do you think we should do?’”

Hoyle continued, ”And every time I have asked that question, immediately folks say, ‘Oh, well, they do need a place to be. So I think what you’re trying to do is really great.’”

The audience laughed in response.

“I think it’s about having really simple conversations like that and providing education all the time,” Hoyle said. X

ARTS & CULTURE

Truth tellers united

Isa ibn Wali and Saint Disruption release new albums

BY EDWIN ARNAUDIN

earnaudin@mountainx.com

Similar to Michael Corleone in The Godfather: Part III, every time Isa Whitaker thought he was done with hip-hop, the music pulled him back in.

Formerly known on the mic as SIYAH, the Swannanoa-based artist had scaled back his recording and performing in 2019 due to a lengthy child custody battle. But even before then, in the lead-up to his 2018 EP, Dark Clouds, proverbial cracks were beginning to show.

“I was kind of falling out of love with hip-hop and rapping,” Whitaker says. “I was feeling like, ‘Well, if that’s the case, then I need to fall back.’”

The time away, further amplified by the isolation brought upon by the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, proved beneficial. In addition to expanding his interests through collecting comic books, the hiatus gave him an opportunity to better understand the music industry and accept that the odds of being discovered and signed by a label were slim. Rather than discourage him, however, the knowledge revealed other potential routes to making a living through music — including as a teaching artist. But the allure went beyond merely making money.

“Over the years, I started to feel a little bit of that pull — that creative pull. I never felt like I was ever going to necessarily be done; just ‘done for now.’ I needed to figure out how to maneuver next,” Whitaker says. “I started doing those little [freestyle rap] videos in the car and throwing those up on Instagram, just as a way to stay creative and attempt to keep my page from going all the way [inactive].”

In July 2021, Whitaker performed at The Orange Peel, which would be his last show under the stage name SIYAH — a moniker that Whitaker noticed other performers had started to use in various forms. To avoid getting confused with these artists, the devout Muslim rebranded as Isa ibn Wali and focused on putting out an official collection based on the tracks he’d been releasing on Instagram.

Mixed and mastered by local engineer Mike Johnson, the two-part Free the World mixtape includes professional studio versions of those freestyles and a few songs featuring original production. Part 1 was released April 19 and Part 2 on May 19.

The break from music allowed Whitaker to collect his thoughts on numerous social and personal issues. The mixtapes’ titles are a positive twist on hip-hop’s oft-spoken dismissive phrase, “F*** the world,” and the lyrics he spits on the 13 total tracks touch on everything from the liberation of persecuted populations to freeing oneself from various daily stressors.

As noted, the bulk of the beats on Free the World are from tracks originally recorded by other artists, including J. Cole, Drake and Lil Wayne. A lifelong student of hip-hop, Whitaker constantly searches for exciting new productions and is frequently inspired by what he hears — though not necessarily in the traditional sense.

“I might hear a crazy beat and then I end up hearing the lyrics and I’m like, ‘I feel like they wasted that beat,’” Whitaker says. “That’s not always why I jump on certain beats, but there are definitely ones where I’m like, ‘I would have done that’ and ‘Why did they come with this?’ There’s a little bit of that competitive nature, too, where you’re like, ‘I feel like I could jump on your favorite rappers beat and do a little something.’”

Whitaker enjoys these exercises and will continue doing them to stay sharp and nimble, but he plans to focus more on original tracks like the Volume 1 cut “Murder Me.” He’s also getting back on the performance circuit and looks to build on his recent May 29 return to the stage at Eulogy.

To learn more, visit avl.mx/dql.

SUSTAINED MOMENTUM

From Dave Grohl, John Paul Jones and Josh Homme teaming up in Them Crooked Vultures to Jay-Z and Kanye West’s Watch the Throne album, supergroups are often short-lived endeavors that produce one record, then fade away.

PROPHETS UNITE: From left, Isa ibn Wali and the core Saint Disruption team of Jeff “Firewalker Schmitt” and John Medeski probe intellectual depths on their latest albums. Isa ibn Wali photo by Ricky Tale; Saint Disruption photo by Michael Bloom

But Saint Disruption — the music collective composed of legendary New York-based keyboardist John Medeski and Asheville-based songwriter and percussionist Jeff “Firewalker” Schmitt — has produced four albums in as many years. And despite geographic separation and increasingly divergent schedules, the ever-evolving project feels like it’s just beginning.

Schmitt and Medeski met in 2008 while visiting the same healer inside the Amazon rainforests of Ecuador. A drummer since his teenage days, Schmitt had largely set music aside to focus on his work as a folk healer and practitioner of plant medicine. But after being instructed in meditation to put his professional findings to poetry and music, he contacted Medeski in 2020 to collaborate. And with the keyboardist’s robust touring schedule on hold due to restrictions stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, they started working together remotely, looping in a range of Asheville-based artists as those restrictions loosened later that year.

The group’s most recent release, This Starless Night, is the latest in a growing catalog. But albums, says Schmitt, are just part of what keeps the project going.

“One thing that’s really been a big driver for it has been the [Saint Disruption] podcast,” Schmitt says. “A lot of the musicians that are in our cir-

cle are elders, and they’re superexcited about transmitting wisdom to younger artists and helping younger artists get opportunities for collaboration.”

Launched in early 2023, the podcast pairs legendary musical artists with, in Schmitt’s words, “up-and-coming poets and truth tellers” to create new works, which are then debuted on the show. That collaborative spirit extends to the project’s musical side as well.

“[This Starless Night] has ... all told, 12 or 13 local musicians on it,” Schmitt says. “It continues to be a real community effort. We really dig Asheville, and I’m so blessed to be able to work with so many excellent musicians.”

The album started with Schmitt and fellow collective member Datrian Johnson working together on the songs “Towers,” “Six Bullet Sovereign” and “Generations.” The artists first linked up for Saint Disruption’s 2021 debut album, Rose in the Oblivion. But since then, Johnson has become one of the Asheville area’s brightest stars, delivering a show-stealing performance on the side stage during the Warren Haynes Christmas Jam in December and becoming the lead singer of The Fritz. He also has been working on separate projects with Medeski and North Mississippi Allstars’ Luther Dickinson

“Datrian and I have had a really wonderful friendship over the years,” Schmitt says. “He has the ability to

understand — on the emotional plane — what I’m trying to get across in my words, and it’s a real privilege to work with a vocalist who has such a huge range of tools to deliver different emotional states and different meanings.”

With Johnson, as well as fellow locals Jake Wolf, River Guerguerian, Chris Rosser and all-star guests such as Oteil Burbridge (The Allman Brothers Band) joining in on This Starless Night, Schmitt had no shortage of talent at his disposal. In figuring out what direction to give these gifted artists to help realize his often complex vision, the artist — who feels as if he’s still finding his musical bearings after decades of not playing — says he follows his gut.

“I’m still in that ‘tortured artist effect’ kind of phase where 80% of the time it’s just complete torture and 20% it’s OK,” Schmitt says. “Because if you’re trying to tell some sort of truth that’s beyond cognition, and you know that you haven’t hit the mark — at least for me, where I’m at as an artist, it’s just awful. But there are these moments where I just get this intuition and the right artist comes along and just nails it. That’s why I appreciate so many musicians here in Asheville.”

To learn more, visit avl.mx/dqm. X

Shadows of the past

BY EDWIN ARNAUDIN

Can a person truly outrun their past?

That’s the question at the heart of Asheville-based writer Don Silver’s new novel, Scorched, which was published May 7. The narrative centers on Jonas Shore, whose deadly, split-second decision as a teenager has lasting effects into adulthood when an old acquaintance attempts to exploit Jonas’ remorse via blackmail.

Silver says much of the story is pure fiction but adds that parts of the narrative’s potent mix of coming-of-age and thriller traditions were informed by his personal history — particularly sections set in the 1970s and the numerous music references from that period.

A native of Philadelphia, Silver was a guitar player and singer-songwriter in high school but soon discovered he was better at managing his band. Once he got to college in Boston, he represented other musical acts and met with record labels in New York City and Los Angeles.

After seeing the heart of the industry up close in the late 1970s, he interviewed with Arista Records and was hired by the legendary Clive Davis as a talent scout, based out of New York.

“I’ve always loved music, so learning from Clive Davis how to hear every element of a song — lyric, melody, instrumentation — and to be able to develop my ear that way would be a highlight,” he says in discussing that chapter of his life. “And also learning to first edit and then produce music. So eventually, I moved from Arista to independent record production, and that was superfun.”

Don Silver’s new novel explores childhood issues manifesting in adulthood

In 1999, Silver was in his 40s and working a corporate job back in Philadelphia, when he decided to pursue his lifelong passion for writing and applied to a low-residency MFA program at Bennington College in Bennington, Vt. Though he earned his degree in poetry, he quickly shifted to prose, and his debut novel, Backward-Facing Man, was published in 2004. But he never expected it would take 20 years before his next work of fiction was out in the world.

LIGHT MY FIRE

Silver’s follow-up novel proved to be a long, difficult endeavor. And though he eventually finished it, he

says the work “happily is never going to be coming out.”

Instead, inspiration for his latest book struck thanks to someone from his past. Over the years, Silver has stayed close with a childhood friend who’s prone to suggesting ideas for books — “One worse than the next,” Silver says with a laugh. But one day, the friend unexpectedly provided him with the seed for what would become Scorched.

Though Silver’s editor wound up persuading him to significantly change the premise during the revision process, his friend’s suggestion nevertheless helped Silver dream up 15-year-old protagonist Jonas, the 1970s setting and the high points of a plot that kicks off when the

teen’s father unexpectedly dies of a heart attack.

“The first half of the book was basically introducing [Jonas] to a harsh version of adulthood,” Silver says. “And then midway through the book, I decided it would be really interesting to find out what happens to him as an adult, so I moved forward 20 years. There’s some events at the end of the first half — there’s a murder and a sort of a thrilling aspect to it, and I picked up the second half more as a thriller than a coming-of-age story.”

Silver says he didn’t turn to specific coming-of-age tales for inspiration while writing Scorched but is quick to note that J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye made a profound impact on him as a teen.

“Now, as I look at coming-of-age novels, I’m way more interested in how [childhood] issues manifest in adulthood,” he says. “At a certain point, I realized that I had met a guy who lost his dad when he was 13 or 14. I met him when we were in our 40s, and it had a profound effect on his life going forward. So, I carried that memory of that guy and wrote a little bit to that.”

While the 1997- and 2000-set portions of the novel were easier to draw from, Silver dipped into his own past to make the ’70s sections feel authentic. He describes himself as a keen observer of various cliques in his high school parking lot, and though he was “very much on the periphery,” he picked up their language and behaviors.

“I would write characters, and it would call for memories of people that I knew back then. And the setting — I think it’s natural to be nostalgic for one’s past, and I have

nostalgia for the ’70s. Even though, at the time, I didn’t much care for it,” Silver says. “I would drop things in — like, I realized Muhammad Ali was in the height of his career, and I realized that his personality in the ring would be fascinating to my main character. So, I dropped that in, and it felt more believable to me.”

Silver also tapped into his love of music and inserted references to recording artists whenever possible as well as having his characters frequently listen to iconic albums. In choosing which tunes to feature, he put himself in the shoes of the character at hand and asked what that person would select.

“[Would] it be Allman Brothers [Band], or is this a Led Zeppelin kind of guy, or is this a Southern rock kind of guy? Is this a Deadhead or a singer-songwriter person?” he recalls. “That was fun and kind of easy, just based on my own musical taste.”

GETTING BETTER ALL THE TIME

In the nearly 20 years between novels, Silver also wrote the short literary memoir Clive: Working with the Man in the Age of Vinyl about his time in the music industry. During that stretch, he says he became more economical in his writing process and gained additional skills.

“I learned to write with interruption, which is something I didn’t know how to do [while writing] the first book,” he says. “I was a single dad and I was raising a boy from 7 to 14 when I was writing [Scorched] So I was able to make him lunch, get him set, go back, write for a few minutes, get him set up with some Legos, come back. And I have to say that skill was much better than needing total quiet for five hours in a row. It’s really hard to arrange one’s adult life to do that.”

Though the film and TV rights for Scorched have yet to be sold, Silver says he could see the “very visual” story doing well on the screen. But he won’t be the one adapting the novel.

“I’ve tried a screenplay or two and I have a lot of respect for people who can do that,” he says. “It’s a different skill set and one that I don’t have yet.” Silver is also keeping up with his musicianship, playing guitar with friends a few times at Asheville Guitar Bar and honing some additional abilities.

“Right now, I’m learning sax and I’m woodshedding, so it would not be kind of me to take my sax out and play with others yet,” he says with a laugh. “But I hope to go to Little Jumbo in a couple of years and play out a little bit.”

To learn more, visit avl.mx/dm5. X

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Playbill picks June local

BY EDWIN ARNAUDIN

theater highlights

If you’re a fan of local theater, Western North Carolina offers plenty of options. Below are some highlights of productions hitting various stages across the region.

MATCHMAKER, MATCHMAKER

Already in full swing, Southern Appalachian Repertory Theatre’s 50th season reaches its centerpiece production with Fiddler on the Roof. Set in pre-revolutionary Russia, the musical theater classic follows tradition-minded Jewish peasant Tevye as he marries off his three idealistic daughters and contends with growing antisemitism in his village.

The show runs Thursday, June 20-Sunday, June 30, at Owen Theatre on the campus of Mars Hill University.

Janice Vertucci Schreiber directs this 60th-anniversary production of the beloved book by Joseph Stein, featuring music by Jerry Bock and lyrics from Sheldon Harnick. A Western North Carolina resident for the past six years, Vertucci Schreiber has a long history with the musical, which she describes as “extremely close to [her] heart.”

“As a teenager, I saw the Broadway production with a very young Bette Midler. At 29 years old, I played [village matchmaker] Yente at the Jewish Community Center in Omaha, Neb. Years later, I played Yente again at the Jenny Wiley Theatre in Prestonsburg, Ky.,” she says.

That latter production was where she met Frank Calamaro, who will be playing Tevye in the SART show — his 16th production of Fiddler on the Roof

“I suggested he audition for this production because Frank and I did the show again at the Circa21 Dinner

Playhouse in Rock Island, Ill. But that time, I was [Tevye’s wife,] Golde,” says Vertucci Schreiber. “We have been friends now for a very long time.”

Calamaro notes that despite Fiddler’s age, in light of the ongoing Ukrainian/ Russian conflict — and considering that the show’s setting, Anatevka, is currently a Ukrainian refugee village — its story is more timely now than ever.

“Tevye is truly an everyman and relatable to any parent struggling to provide for his family, keep his family safe and uphold their traditions,” Calamaro says. “Each time I perform this role, I have learned more about who Tevye really is, and having the opportunity to meet and talk with [Fiddler lyricist] Harnick about the show has given me new insight into the creators’ thoughts.”

The star is also excited to reunite with Vertucci Schriber, whose shared history of their past productions further enhances the power of their storytelling.

“All my openings of my shows are important,” he says. “But this has added meaning because I am being directed by Janice, and it is the 50th

anniversary of SART, and I am invested in celebrating this show and theater.”

To learn more, visit avl.mx/drj.

NO GOOD THING EVER DIES

Three decades after writer/director Frank Darabont memorably adapted the Stephen King novella Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption for the screen, the tale of wrongfully convicted felon Andy Dufresne’s odds-defying perseverance in Shawshank State Prison makes its way to the Flat Rock Playhouse stage.

This adaptation of The Shawshank Redemption by Owen O’Neil and Dave Johns runs Friday, June 14-Sunday, June 30, and features such local veterans as Scott Treadway (Warden Stammas) and Pasquale LaCorte (Brooksie).

“It’s an incredible team of actors and designers, which is always a great start. Having such great source material like the iconic movie and novella is just a wonderful and rare opportunity to imagine how to bring it all to a live theater experience,” says director Lisa K. Bryant. “All things combined, we’re having a great time putting it together and discovering how best to create another magical night of theater at FRP.”

The stars of the show agree, including Andy himself, Lawrence Street. “Lisa said a really amazing thing in the first rehearsal: ’I don’t think any human should be judged by the worst moment of their life.’ And that sums [Shawshank Redemption] up for me,” he says.

Adds Joe Pallister, who plays fellow con Red, “A lot of this play is about hope and that it’s important not to lose hope no matter what circumstances you’re in. I think this play really tells that story well and in such a beautiful way. It’s heartbreaking.”

To learn more, visit avl.mx/drk. X

JUNE BUGS: Local theaters hit their stride as temperatures warm up. Photo by iStock

June Stone: Walnut Jasper

June Herb: Chickory

6/14: Reader: Krysta 12-6:30

Merry Meet & Greet 5-7

6/15: Reader: Edward 12-6

Local Vendor Pop-Up 10-6

6/16: Reader: Andrea 12-5

Welcoming Circle 4:30-6

6/18: Reader: Byron 1-5

6/19: Reader: Jessica 12-5

Kids Class w/ Abby 1:30-3 & 3:30-5

What’s new in food

Blind Pig Supper Club to host Father’s Day barbecue

The Blind Pig Supper Club kicks off its 2024 season of special events Sunday, June 16, 5:30-8:30 p.m., with the barbecuecentric Southeast Southwest six-course Father’s Day tasting menu. Thanks to special guest chef Alexis Lepore, it could be subtitled Three Men and a Barbs.

The three men are chefs Mike Moore, who founded Blind Pig in 2011, Ryan Kline of Jargon and Sam Etheridge of the now-closed North Asheville eatery, Ambrozia. Barbs is Lepore, who with partners and friends Chuck Carnichart and Haley Conlin, is owner and pitmaster of one of the Lone Star State’s hottest new destinations for brisket and ribs, Barbs-B-Q.

A July article in Texas Monthly states that “never has a new barbecue joint in Texas been more highly anticipated than Barbs-B-Q in Lockhart,” a small town near Austin that’s widely acknowledged as a barbecue mecca. Another story in Garden & Gun says Barbs-B-Q might be “one of the most important restaurants in Texas: a woman-owned-and-operated, South Texas-inspired barbecue joint.”

Moore says he’s had an eye on Barbs-B-Q and Lepore on Instagram for some time. “I have been following what they do and their success from afar, and it’s so great to bring chef Alexis to Asheville,” he says. “What’s been so cool with Blind Pig is the fact we can bring together people we have never met, old friends, people from different places and different backgrounds to make food that tells their stories.”

The menu will feature smoked meats and other signature flavors of traditional Mexican barbacoa as a nod to Lepore’s Mexican heritage. Local chef Luis Martinez, a native of Oaxaca, Mexico, will be a guest at the event and will provide 8 pounds of special heirloom maize for Lepore to use in her dish. When the dish is served, Martinez will talk to diners about his Tequio Foods project, which partners with small-scale growers in Mexico.

Chefs for Blind Pig events work together to ensure that the courses don’t duplicate and mesh well with each other, Moore explains. “In the beginning, we had chefs serving brains, and it got a little too out there for some guests,” he says. “There will be beef and pork — no brains — with a lot of barbecue techniques, so it’s entertaining to watch.”

will join local chefs Mike Moore, Ryan Kline, Sam Etheridge and Luis Martinez in a barbecue hoedown for the Blind Pig Supper Club Father’s Day event. Courtesy of Blind Pig Supper Club

The seated dinner will take place at Hi-Wire Brewing’s Biltmore Village taproom. A special beer pairing is available, as well as other Hi-Wire beers on tap, wine and cocktails. A DJ will spin tunes, and proceeds from the event will support Hope Pantry, a small food pantry affiliated with the church Moore’s great-grandfather built in Elm City.

Hi-Wire Brewing is at 2 Huntsman Place. Tickets for the dinner are $90 per person and are available at avl.mx/dri.

Oz-themed event benefits BeLoved

Follow the yellow brick road — metaphorically speaking — on Saturday, June 15, to BeLoved Asheville’s third annual Raise Another Home auction and gala at the Mission Health/A-B Tech Conference Center. Aimed at raising funds to build 12 microhomes for the housing insecure in BeLoved Village, this year’s theme is There’s No Place Like Home, paying homage to the 85th anniversary of the movie The Wizard of Oz

There will be no wicked witches or flying monkeys but plenty of fun and food for attendees, with dishes from Chestnut and Corner Kitchen restaurants, local craft beer and wine, live jazz and some Oz-inspired surprises. Guests can peruse and bid on silent auction items, then raise a hand in the air for live auction goodies like a trip to Costa Rica.

A VIP package for $100 includes early entry from 5-6 p.m. with hors d’oeuvres, a sneak peek at auction items, a free raffle drawing and a commemorative gift; general admission admits ticket holders from 6-9 p.m. and are $50.

Mission Health/ A-B Tech Conference Center is at 16 Fernihurst Drive. For more information and to buy tickets, visit avl.mx/dr6.

Regina’s marks 1-year anniversary

Regina’s Westside is going big for its first birthday party on Saturday, June 15, celebrating with a popup dinner from 5-10 p.m. by chef Kat Fitzgerald. Among the classic and elevated diner dishes on the menu are sticky ribs with pineapple rice, Peruvian chicken thighs, meatloaf and halibut with lovage cream. Co-owner Lisa Wagner says there will be slices of supersized birthday cake for all diners and photo ops with an 8-foot-tall cast iron skillet.

Service hours for breakfast and lunch are 9 a.m.-3 p.m. daily with a set menu that includes biscuits, waffles, shrimp and grits, pork loin hash, wedge salad, a hot honey fried chicken sandwich and fresh-baked cakes. Fitzgerald also offers specials like breakfast carbonara and meatand-threes served on retro cafeteria trays. The restaurant plans to add dinner service in the coming year.

“We did a run of dinner hours Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights last winter to see how it was received and what types of dishes our customers were looking for,” adds Wagner. “We plan to restart that again soon.”

Meanwhile, the outdoor patio is open and welcoming humans and pets.

Regina’s Westside is at 1400 Patton Ave. Follow Regina’s on Instagram at

or Facebook at

SMOKIN’: Pitmaster Alexis Lepore of Barbs-B-Q in Lockhart, Texas,

for details, or contact the restaurant at info@reginaswestside.com or 828505-3099 to reserve seats for the party.

South Slope hosts cider festival

On Saturday, June 22, on the South Slope, beer steps back and relinquishes the spotlight to cider at the Carolina CiderFest. The event, presented by the N.C. Cider Association and Shay & Co., will feature tastings of hard cider, mead, apple wine and seltzers plus food, live music, arts and crafts and workshops.

General admission tickets are $45 and include a commemorative glass and unlimited tastings from nearly two dozen beverage businesses from 12:30-4 p.m. The $85 VIP tickets allow early entry at 11:30 a.m., access to a VIP area with snacks and tastes of limited-edition ciders and meads. Food vendors will include Good Hot Fish, Paperhouse Pizza, Bear’s Smokehouse and South Slope Cheese. On CiderFest Eve (Friday, June 21), Noble Cider will host the Carolina CiderFest Pre-Party from 6-9 p.m. at its cidery at 356 New Leicester Highway. An afterparty is planned for Saturday, June 21, 4-8 p.m. at Urban Orchard Cider Co., 24 Buxton Ave.

For a complete list of vendors, additional details and tickets, visit avl.mx/d2p.

Event magically transforms Jargon

Do you believe in magic? There’s more than meets the eye at Jargon’s Dinner and Magic Show with magician Doc Docherty. The third event in the ongoing series will take place Saturday, June 22, in the West Asheville restaurant’s snazzy, private Argot Room. Doors open at 5 p.m. for a cocktail hour, and the threecourse dinner by chef Ryan Kline begins at 6 p.m. Then prepare to be amazed, amused and astounded at the sleight of hand, hocus pocus, trickery and audience participation antics from the skilled magician who has performed at the Magic Castle in Los Angeles and the Chicago Magic Room.

Tickets for the dinner and show are $105 per person and do not include alcohol, tax or gratuity.

Jargon’s Argot Room is at 717 Haywood Road. For reservations, visit avl.mx/dr7.

Organic oatmeal sold at tailgate markets

What’s in a name? When John Baldwin informally introduced his superfood oatmeal mix at the 2023 Toe Down music and arts festival in Green Mountain, he called it Plant Power Porridge. Alliteration is all well and good, observed his partner Missi Ziegler, but the branding was confusing.

“Every time we made it for someone, we had to explain what it was,” she recalls. “I suggested renaming it something that was more descriptive and rhymed.” And thus, Big Deal Oatmeal was launched in July 2023.

This spring, Baldwin and Ziegler began selling the product at the Enka-Candler and West Asheville Asheville tailgate markets, and it debuted on June 1 at the Asheville City market downtown. After some recipe testing, Big Deal has settled on a mix of oats with five seeds, five nuts, five fruits and a dash of Spicewalla’s cinnamon, pumpkin spice and cardamom, as well as ground roasted vanilla bean. The conventional recipe features organic, gluten-free oats; all ingredients in the organic version are organic.

The mix can be prepared several ways. “John and I use the kettle at home, but for the samples at the market we do the overnight oats method,” says Ziegler.

With each bag purchased, customers get a BDO-based treat baked by Baldwin from recipes featured on the business’s website. “The superfood bliss balls are really good and a great energy boost,” Ziegler testifies.

Big Deal Oatmeal is at the West Asheville Tailgate Market Tuesdays, 3:30-6:30 p.m.; the Enka-Candler Tailgate Market Thursdays, 3-6 p.m. and the Asheville City Market Saturdays, 9 a.m.-noon. Find it online at avl.mx/drf.

Around Town

Marion plantation recognizes woman of color as descendant

Regina Lynch-Hudson has become Col. John Carson’s first descendant of color to join the Daughters of the American Revolution. The Historic Carson House, the 640-acre plantation in Marion that he founded, is also constructing a new interpretive center honoring the slave experience.

Analyses from Family Tree DNA confirmed that Carson, a distinguished Revolutionary War officer, was Lynch-Hudson’s fifth great-grandfather. For Lynch-Hudson, the DNA confirmation was a significant milestone in her lifelong exploration of her tangled European-African-Native American lineage and the complex amalgamation of oppressed and oppressor. “Transitioning from the role of a publicist and travel writer to that of a family history reviver was a natural progression,” she says. “All of these roles involve researching and documenting narratives of people and places to create content that transcends time and geography.”

The Daughters of the American Revolution is a 190,000-member lineage-based organization founded in 1890 for women directly descended

MOVIE REVIEWS

TUESDAY: In this edgy but onenote drama, Death takes the form of a talking parrot and tries to help a mother accept the loss of her daughter. Grade: B — Edwin Arnaudin

from the supporters of the American Revolution. Lynch-Hudson is the inaugural African American member of its Greenlee chapter.

Coinciding with Lynch-Hudson’s induction into the DAR, Historic Carson House is constructing a 3,000-square-foot interpretive center with a permanent exhibition about the slave experience on the plantation. It will feature furniture and household items made by expert enslaved artisans such as Kadella, who quilted. For her induction ceremony, Lynch-Hudson wore a replica of one of Kadella’s quilts as a scarf in her memory.

Establishing ancestral ties to the period of the Revolutionary War can be especially challenging for African Americans because of the scarce slave record beyond oral histories. LynchHudson says her case exemplifies how DNA evidence can help enrich these American family narratives. “My membership in DAR honors faceless foremothers such as Kadella,” says Lynch-Hudson, “and every plantation daughter whose unrecognized contributions have profoundly shaped our nation’s heritage.”

Lynch-Hudson serves as co-administrator for two regional DNA projects: the Cragmont Community Project and the Payne Family of Western North Carolina Project.

The Historic Carson House is at 1805 U.S. 70, Marion. For information visit avl.mx/drn. For information on Daughters of the American Revolution, visit avl.mx/dro.

’Frozen Jr.’ live on Wortham stage

Asheville Junior Theater will perform Frozen Jr. at the Wortham Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday, June 15, and Sunday, June 16, from 2-6 p.m.

ASSESSING ANCESTORS: Regina Lynch-Hudson, descendant of Historic Carson House’s founder, and historian Jim Haney view the slave rolls in Historic Carson House. Photo courtesy of Lynch-Hudson

Frozen Jr. is an adaptation of the Disney story about love and the bond of sisterhood. The performance features the film’s original music by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, plus five new songs from the popular 2018 Broadway production. The Asheville Junior Theater performance is a 60-minute version of the Broadway performance, intended for all ages. It stars local actors, including Gigi Haas as Anna and Windsor Bishop as Elsa.

Asheville Junior Theater is a youth theater company that offers classes and workshops for children interested in the performing arts. Tickets to the performance range from $20-$25.

The Wortham Center for the Performing Arts is at 18 Biltmore Ave. For more information, visit avl.mx/drp.

‘Brew and View’ on the market again

A deal to buy Asheville Pizza & Brewing Co.’s North Asheville location, known as the “Brew and View,” has lapsed, and the building is back on the market.

The North Asheville theater shows first- and second-run movies and hosts regular televised sporting events, comedy shows and trivia contests. It features a full menu of food and beverages and a large arcade room. Mike Rangel, one of Asheville Brewing Co.’s founding owners, hopes to sell the diverse business to someone local who understands the legacy of the location and shares the company’s commitment to the community. “The main thing is, we’re not closing down,” says Rangel. “It’s just about finding the right group to come in and keep it going.”

Over three dozen such groups showed initial interest in the location, but a prospective deal recently

fell through, leaving the future of the space uncertain. Now the company plans to open the sale to a regional market once again. “When we announced the sale the first time, our goal was to take a few months and find a local buyer who would have the best hope of success,” says Rangel. “You know, someone who has the actual IQ of how to treat employees. That was our big thing, really, was wanting to make sure that we take care of our amazing staff.” Some of the staff, he says, have been with the company for the entire 25 years of its existence.

The sale relates only to the theater location in North Asheville, not to the downtown location or the Asheville Brewing Co. brand as a whole.

The North Asheville theater is also rolling out some new offerings, such as a lunch buffet and free family movies playing every day on the screen in the arcade room.

Asheville Pizza & Brewing Co.’s North Asheville location is at 675 Merrimon Ave. For more information, contact Mike@ashevillebrewing.com.

New painting exhibit by Aaron Fields

Painter Aaron Fields has opened a new exhibit titled Hidden Colors at Marquee Asheville, running through Sunday, September 1.

The paintings in the Hidden Colors collection are bright and minimal, according to Fields, meant to evoke a perfect summer day in the Appalachian mountains with pink skies and misty green hills. The works are done with acrylic, paint marker and spray paint, and often incorporate reclaimed materials such as doors and wood panels, a technique that connects Field’s art to his mission. “While living here, I’ve wanted

to re-create experiences I’ve had in nature and to ethically bring them to life using recycled materials.”

Fields has lived in Asheville his whole life. He studied fine art at A-B Tech and has been creating art for over 15 years. He has previously worked with New Morning Gallery and The Foundation.

Marquee Asheville is at 36 Foundy St. Field’s digital collection can be viewed on Instagram @aaronfields24.

New book explores labyrinths

Asheville native Jim Gardner has released a new book titled Short Circuits: Brief Takes on Labyrinths in Popular (and Unpopular) Culture

The book explores artistic and philosophical representations of mazes and labyrinths, emphasizing their appearances in popular culture such as works by Pablo Picasso, Taylor Swift, F. Scott Fitzgerald and the Wu-Tang Clan. It also follows characters such as Jesus, Icarus and Pocahontas as they navigate the labyrinths of their lives. “Gardner draws on a wide swath of sources, peppered with his own hard-won wisdom, to

fashion a captivating path through the twists and turns of labyrinthine mythology, scholarship and pop culture,” says L.D. Russell, senior lecturer emeritus at Elon University, in a press release. The book also explores an urban design component and includes an interview with professional labyrinth designer and builder Lars Howlett. Gardner has written for Goldmine, Beat Magazine, CMJ, Spectator Magazine, Indy Week and Asheville’s Green Line Newspaper, among other publications. He makes music under the moniker Jr. James & The Late Guitar. He was a humanities instructor at Asheville School and is a substitute teacher for Asheville High School/SILSA.

The book is available for purchase from Malaprop’s Bookstore & Cafe. For more information, visit avl.mx/drq.

Fundraiser combines art, garden tour

Black Mountain Center for the Arts presents the 18th annual Art in Bloom fundraiser and exhibition.

The fundraiser combines two gallery exhibits of art by region-

al artists, live floral arrangements inspired by the artwork, and a local garden tour, combining nature and art to support working artists in the Asheville community.

The Art in Bloom preview party on Friday, June 13, 5-7 p.m., will give visitors an opportunity to see the floral interpretations in advance and speak with the designers. Drinks, hors d’oeuvres and music will be provided.

On Saturday, June 14, and Sunday, June 15, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., the work of ikebana and Western floral designers will be on display in the gallery for a limited two-day show. A self-guided local garden tour from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. will feature diverse gardens from around town with plein air artists creating works of art in each one. A garden tour ticket includes a map and directions to each garden as well as access to the main Art in Bloom gallery exhibit.

On Friday, June 21, 5-6:30 p.m., Black Mountain Center for the Arts will host a post-exhibit reception to review the works created by the plein air artists during the garden tour. Complimentary refreshments will be provided along with the opportunity to mingle with the artists.

The other exhibit, Art from the Garden, will remain on display through Tuesday, July 16, and is free and open to the public.

Black Mountain Center for the Arts is located at 225 W. State St., Black Mountain. For more information, visit avl.mx/8yh.

Fae Summer Solstice planned at brewery

Sweeten Creek Brewing will host A Fae Summer Solstice on Saturday, June 15, 5-10 p.m.

The brewery invites fantasy fans and “fellow bookish babes” to celebrate the beginning of summer by connecting with other fantasy lovers. Participants are invited to dress up as any type of fae and to bring along their favorite books to swap at the brewery’s free on-site library. There will be outdoor dancing and a menu of themed drinks such as sparkling faerie wine and small bites. Vendors will be selling magical items. Admission to the event is free. Sweeten Creek Brewing is at 1127 Sweeten Creek Road. For information visit avl.mx/drr.

— Oby Arnold  X

CLUBLAND

MIAMI-BASED POWER QUARTET: On Friday, June 14, Miami-based quartet Electric Kif plays at Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. in Mills River. The show starts at 6:30 p.m., exploring the boundaries of rock, jazz fusion, and electronic drum and bass.

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

OKLAWAHA

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12

12 BONES BREWERY

Robert's Totally Rad Trivia, 7pm

ASHEVILLE GUITAR

BAR Ben Balmer (Americana), 8pm

ASHEVILLE PIZZA & BREWING CO.

Trivia Trivia!, 6:30pm

BARLEY'S TAPROOM & PIZZERIA

Trivia Night w/ PartyGrampa, 7pm

EULOGY

Pallbearer w/REZN & The Keening (metal, doom), 8pm

FRENCH BROAD

RIVER BREWERY

Saylor Brothers & Friends (jamgrass), 6pm

HI-WIRE BREWING

BIG TOP Trivia, 7pm

IMPERIÁL

DJ Otto Maddox (soul, funk), 9pm

JACK OF THE WOOD

PUB Old Time Jam, 5pm

BREWING CO.

Bluegrass Jam w/Derek McCoy & Friends, 6pm

ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC

HALL

Swanny, Crowe & The Monk (multi-genre), 10pm

ONE WORLD BREWING WEST

Latin Night Wednesday w/DJ Mtn Vibez, 8pm

SHAKEY'S Sexy Service Industry Night, 10pm

SHILOH & GAINES

Trivia Wednesdays, 7pm

SOVEREIGN KAVA Poetry Open Mic, 8pm

THE DRAFTSMAN BAR + LOUNGE Trivia Nights, 7pm

THE JOINT NEXT DOOR Moonshine State (Americana, country), 7pm

THE MEADOW AT HIGHLAND BREWING CO.

Well-crafted Music Series: Stevie Tombstone & Matt Smith, 6pm

THE ODD Ape Vermin, Mean Green & Halogi (prog-metal, doomsludge), 8pm

THE ORANGE PEEL

Sold Out: Duncan Trussell, 8pm

THE OUTPOST

Bluegrass Jam w/Sam Wharton, 6pm

THE RAILYARD BLACK

MOUNTAIN Dan's Jam (bluegrass), 7pm

URBAN ORCHARD

CIDER CO. SOUTH SLOPE Trivia, 6:30pm

THURSDAY, JUNE 13

BOWL IN THE WALL

Trivia Night, 6:30pm

CITIZEN VINYL

Philip Bowen & Aaron "Woody" Wood (Americana, soul, bluegrass), 8pm

CROW & QUILL

Nick Garrison Jazz, 8pm

EDA'S HIDE-A-WAY Karaoke, 8pm

EULOGY

Rose Hotel & Spencer

Thomas (indie-rock, folk, psych), 8pm

FALLOUT ART SPACE Open Mic Night, 7pm

FLEETWOOD'S

Mongo, On The Block & Green Quams (punk), 9pm

FRENCH BROAD

RIVER BREWERY

Jerry's Dead (Grateful Dead & JGB Tribute), 6pm

IMPERIÁL

DJ Mark Majors (hiphop, funk, R&B), 9pm

JACK OF THE WOOD PUB

Bluegrass Jam w/Drew Matulich, 7pm

LA TAPA LOUNGE

Iggy Radio (southern-rock), 7pm

LAZOOM ROOM BAR & GORILLA

Modelface Comedy

Presents: Mark Chalifoux, 8:30pm

MAD CO. BREW

HOUSE

Karaoke w/Banjo Mitch, 6pm

OKLAWAHA

BREWING CO.

Billy Litz (Americana, blues, indie-folk), 7pm

ONE WORLD

BREWING

The Knotty G's (Americana), 8pm

ONE WORLD BREWING WEST

Suns of Stars (bluegrass), 6pm

OUTSIDER BREWING

Robert's Totally Rad Trivia, 7pm

PULP

Slice of Life: Standup Comedy Contest, 7pm

PISGAH BREWING CO.

KD Groove Alliance (blues, rock), 6:30pm

SHAKEY'S Karaoke w/DJ Franco, 9pm

SHILOH & GAINES Karaoke Night, 8pm

SOVEREIGN KAVA

Django & Jenga Jazz Jam, 7pm

STATIC AGE LOFT

Karaoke Night, 10pm

STATIC AGE RECORDS

Napalm Cruiser, Love & Compassion, Loss of Consciousness & Divorce Papers (noiserock, metal-core), 9pm

THE GREY EAGLE

John R Miller (country, blues), 8pm

THE JOINT NEXT DOOR

Hope Griffin (folk), 7pm

THE RAILYARD BLACK MOUNTAIN

Anthony Wayne Vibe (alt-indie), 7pm

WICKED WEED

BREWING

Andy Ferrell (folk, blues, bluegrass), 6pm

FRIDAY, JUNE 14

27 CLUB

Nacht Musik (postpunk, death-rock, dark-wave), 9pm

ASHEVILLE GUITAR

BAR

Mr. Jimmy's Big City Blues, 8pm

ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL

Sex Bruise w/Future Joy (pop, electronic), 9pm

CATAWBA BREWING COMPANY S SLOPE

ASHEVILLE

• Comedy at Catawba: Louis Katz (early show), 7pm

• Comedy at Catawba: Louis Katz (late show), 9:15pm

CORK & KEG

T Marie & Bayou Juju (Cajun, Zydeco, country), 8pm

CROW & QUILL Sparrow & Her Wingmen (jazz, swing), 8pm

EDA'S HIDE-A-WAY

Jack Marion & The Pearl Snap Prophets (country, honky-tonk), 9pm

FLEETWOOD'S Blistering Dissonance, Bad Fidelity & Pink Eye (punk), 9pm

GINGER'S REVENGE CRAFT BREWERY & TASTING ROOM

The Tallboys (rock, reggae), 6pm

HIGHLAND BREWING DOWNTOWN TAPROOM

Charles Walker (Americana, folk, bluegrass), 6pm

IMPERIÁL

DJ Lake Solace (R&B, hip-hop), 9pm

JACK OF THE WOOD PUB

Vaden Landers (country), 9pm

LA TAPA LOUNGE

Open Mic w/Hamza, 8pm

MAD CO. BREW

HOUSE

Toe River Bandits (rock), 6pm

Photo courtesy of Lucas Maguire

OKLAWAHA

BREWING CO.

Raphael Graves (Americana, folk), 8pm

ONE STOP AT

ASHEVILLE MUSIC

HALL

Mono Means One (dnb, psychedelic), 10pm

ONE WORLD

BREWING

Matt McCann of Muskrat Flats (acoustic), 8pm

ONE WORLD

BREWING WEST

• Company Swing w/ Rock Academy Jazz (swing, jazz, blues), 6pm

• BCee & Richerich (dnb, dance, eletronic), 10pm

RABBIT RABBIT

Silent Disco, 9pm

SALVAGE STATION

Good Luck Club (dance party), 9pm

SHILOH & GAINES

The Late Shifters (Southern-rock, Americana, rock), 9pm

SIERRA NEVADA

BREWING CO.

• Brett Dennen w/ Rivvrs (folk-pop), 6pm

• Electric Kif (rock, dnb, jazz), 6:30pm

SOVEREIGN KAVA

My Magnificent Nemesis (prog-rock, jazz), 8pm

STATIC AGE LOFT

Slow Drip, 9pm

STATIC AGE RECORDS

Corpse Dust & No One

Is Looking (industrial, noise), 9pm

THE GREY EAGLE

• Patio: Maya de Vitry (folk, Americana), 5:30pm

• Chikomo Marimba (African), 8pm

THE JOINT NEXT DOOR

The Pubsters (rock'n'roll, Americana, blues), 7pm

THE MEADOW AT HIGHLAND BREWING CO.

Hey Dreamer (funk, rock, jazz), 7pm

THE ODD

Bold Burslesque: A Juneteenth Celebration, 8pm

THE ORANGE PEEL

80s vs 90s Dance Party, 9pm

THE OUTPOST

Snake Oil Medicine Show (psychedelic, bluegrass, rock), 7:30pm

THE RAILYARD BLACK

MOUNTAIN

Illegal Milk (rock, western), 7pm

THE RIVER ARTS

DISTRICT BREWING

CO.

Mitch McConnell & the Senators (folk, bluegrass, indie), 7pm

WXYZ BAR AT ALOFT

Roots & Dore (blues, soul), 7pm

WICKED WEED WEST

Stephen Evans (folk, rock), 5pm

SATURDAY, JUNE 15

284 LYMAN ST Secret Garden Comedy Showcase, 9pm

ASHEVILLE CLUB

Mr Jimmy (blues), 6pm

ASHEVILLE GUITAR

BAR

Miami Gold (rock'n'roll), 8pm

ASHEVILLE MUSIC

HALL

Sapphic Factory (dance party), 9pm

CORK & KEG

Soul Blue (soul, blues, R&B), 8pm

CROW & QUILL

Meschiya Lake & The Moodswingers, 8pm

EDA'S HIDE-A-WAY

T Marie & Bayou

Juju (Cajun, country, Zydeco), 8pm

FLEETWOOD'S

Red Beard Wall, Stone

Nomads & Night Beers (doom-metal, stoner-metal), 9pm

GINGER'S REVENGE

Modelface Comedy

Presets: Gluten-Free Comedy, 7pm

IMPERIÁL

DJ Nex Millen (hip-hop, R&B), 9pm

JACK OF THE WOOD PUB

• Bluegrass Brunch w/ Cast Iron Bluegrass, 12pm

• Nobody’s Darling String Band, 4pm Fancy & The Gentlemen (Americana, honkytonk), 9pm

LA TAPA LOUNGE Karaoke, 9pm

LAZOOM ROOM

Karaoke w/KJ Beanspice, 8:30pm

MAD CO. BREW HOUSE

Crystal Fountains (Americana, folk, bluegrass), 6pm

OKLAWAHA

BREWING CO.

• Blase (acoustic), 2pm

• Carolina Drifters (Southern-rock, alt-country), 8pm

ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC

HALL

Brock Butler (folk), 10pm

ONE WORLD BREWING

Acklen Walker (hip hop, pop, indie-rock), 8pm

ONE WORLD

BREWING WEST

The Paper Crowns (Americana, Appalachian, folk), 4pm

PISGAH BREWING

CO.

Fantastic Cat (folk-rock, country, Americana), 6:30pm

SALVAGE STATION

Josh Phillips w/Josh

Blakes Acoustic Band & Hoveykraft (folk, Americana), 8pm

SHAKEY'S

• Friday Late Nights w/ DJ Ek Balam, 12am

FRI

THE LATE SHIFTERS

Southern Rock / Americana 6/14

SAT

Southern Rock / Cosmic Americana 6/15

Your neighborhood bar… no matter where you live. 21+

FRI VELVET TRUCKSTOP

ANDRE LASSALLE ALL STAR BAND

Annual Juneteenth Celebration 6/21

• Trash Talk Queer

Dance Party & Drag Show, 10pm

SHILOH & GAINES

Velvet Truckstop (Southern-rock, Americana), 9pm

SIERRA NEVADA

BREWING CO.

Pinkerton Raid (folkrock, pop), 2pm

SOVEREIGN KAVA

Dayowulf (electronic, afro-beats, trance), 8pm

STATIC AGE LOFT

Time Lapse: Jose Vera & Chris F (electronic, deep-house), 10pm

STATIC AGE RECORDS

Rig B, Sinai Vessel, Eternal Garb & Trust Blinks (shoegaze, alt-folk, experimental), 8:30pm

THE GETAWAY RIVER

BAR

Pluto's 90's Rave w/ Just Nieman & Divine Thud, 8pm

THE MEADOW AT HIGHLAND BREWING CO.

Relay Relay (indie-pop), 6pm

THE ODD Party Foul Drag, 8pm

THE ORANGE PEEL

Bonny Light Horseman (folk), 8pm

THE RAILYARD BLACK

MOUNTAIN

The Get Right Band (psych, alt-rock), 8pm

THE RIVER ARTS DISTRICT BREWING CO.

Jesse Bloodgood (altrock), 5pm

WXYZ BAR AT ALOFT

DJ Molly Parti, 7pm

WHITE HORSE BLACK MOUNTAIN

The Get Right Band (psych, alt-rock), 8pm

SUNDAY, JUNE 16

ARCHETYPE

BREWING

Sunday Funday w/DJs, 1pm

CATAWBA BREWING

COMPANY S SLOPE ASHEVILLE

Dad Jokes: Father's Day Comedy Showcase, 6:30pm

FRENCH BROAD RIVER BREWERY

Reggae Sunday w/ Chalwa, 3pm

GINGER'S REVENGE CRAFT BREWERY & TASTING ROOM

Jazz Sunday's, 2pm

IMPERIÁL

DJ Ek Balam (hip-hop, indie, electronic), 9pm

JACK OF THE WOOD PUB

• Bluegrass Brunch w/ The Bluegrass Brunch Boys, 12pm

• Traditional Irish Jam, 3:30pm

OKLAWAHA BREWING CO.

Shed Bugs (funk, blues, psych-rock), 3pm

ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC

HALL

Quinn Sternberg's Mind Beach (jazz), 9pm

PISGAH BREWING CO.

Pisgah Sunday Jam, 6pm

S&W MARKET

Mr Jimmy (blues), 1pm

SALVAGE STATION

The Beach Boys (popsurf), 6:30pm

SIERRA NEVADA BREWING CO.

Tambem (Brazilian, bossa nova, samba), 2pm

SOVEREIGN KAVA

Cosmic Appalachian Soul Sundays, 7pm

THE DRAFTSMAN

BAR + LOUNGE

Karaoke Nights, 7pm

THE GREY EAGLE

• Burlesque Brunch, 12pm

• The JLloyd Mashup (Paul Simon tribute), 6:30pm

THE MEADOW AT HIGHLAND BREWING CO.

• Detective Blind (indierock), 12pm

• Lyric (funk, R&B), 2pm

THE OUTPOST

The Grateful Family (Grateful Dead tribute), 4pm

THE RIVER ARTS

DISTRICT BREWING CO.

Adi the Monk (blues, funk, soul), 4pm

PL

ĒB URBAN WINERY

Robert's Totally Rad Trivia, 4pm

MONDAY, JUNE 17

27 CLUB

Monday Karaoke, 9pm

5 WALNUT WINE BAR

CaroMia, Rahm, Iannuci & Jaze Uries (dreampop, soul, R&B), 8pm

DSSOLVR

Robert's Totally Rad Trivia, 7pm

FLEETWOOD'S Best Ever Karaoke w/KJ Chels, 9pm

HIGHLAND BREWING CO.

Geeks Who Drink Trivia, 6pm

JACK OF THE WOOD PUB

Quizzo! Pub Trivia w/ Jason Mencer, 7:30pm

OKLAWAHA BREWING CO.

Takes All Kinds Open Mic Nights, 7pm

ONE WORLD BREWING Open Mic Night, 7:30pm

ONE WORLD BREWING WEST

Mashup Mondays w/ JLloyd, 8pm

STATIC AGE RECORDS

Seymor Glass, Lara

Allen & Kreamy 'Lectric

Santa (punk, psych, experimental), 9pm

THE JOINT NEXT DOOR

Mr Jimmy & Friends (blues), 7pm

THE RIVER ARTS

DISTRICT BREWING CO. Trivia w/Billy, 7pm

TUESDAY, JUNE 18

ARCHETYPE BREWING Trivia Tuesday, 6:30pm

FRENCH BROAD RIVER BREWERY

Robert's Totally Rad Trivia, 7pm

FUNKATORIUM

Trivia at the Funk, 7pm

IMPERIÁL

DJ Mad Mike (hip-hop, indie, funk), 9pm

LOOKOUT BREWING CO.

Team Trivia Tuesday's, 6:30pm

OKLAWAHA BREWING CO.

Team Trivia, 7pm

ONE WORLD BREWING WEST

The Grateful Family Band Tuesdays (Grateful Dead tribute), 6pm

SHAKEY'S 3rd Bootys w/DJ Ek Balam, 9pm

SHILOH & GAINES

Open Mic, 7pm

SOVEREIGN KAVA Tuesday Night Open Jam, 8pm

THE GREY EAGLE

Kim Gordon (alt-indie, rock), 8pm

THE ORANGE PEEL King's X w/Sound & Shape (metal, rock), 8pm

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19

12 BONES BREWERY

Robert's Totally Rad Trivia, 7pm

27 CLUB

ADJY, Drowning Leo, Sunset Electric & WhoamI (pop, punk, electronic), 10pm

ASHEVILLE PIZZA & BREWING CO. Trivia Trivia!, 6:30pm

BARLEY'S TAPROOM & PIZZERIA Trivia Night w/ PartyGrampa, 7pm

EDA'S HIDE-A-WAY Alma Russ (country), 8pm

FRENCH BROAD RIVER BREWERY

Saylor Brothers & Friends (jamgrass), 6pm

HI-WIRE BREWING BIG TOP Trivia, 7pm

IMPERIÁL

DJ Otto Maddox (soul, funk), 9pm

JACK OF THE WOOD PUB

Old Time Jam, 5pm

MAD CO. BREW HOUSE

Jim Hampton (country), 5pm

OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. Bluegrass Jam w/Derek McCoy & Friends, 6pm

ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL

Le Gato (funk, jazz, pro-rock), 10pm ONE WORLD BREWING WEST Latin Night Wednesday w/DJ Mtn Vibez, 8pm

SHAKEY'S

Sexy Service Industry Night, 10pm

SHILOH & GAINES

Trivia Wednesdays, 7pm

SOVEREIGN KAVA Poetry Open Mic, 8pm

STATIC AGE RECORDS

Jessie & the Jinx & R. Hundro (country, honky-tonk), 9pm

THE DRAFTSMAN

BAR + LOUNGE

Trivia Nights, 7pm

THE JOINT NEXT

DOOR

Rod Sphere (soul, rock), 6:30pm

THE MEADOW AT HIGHLAND BREWING CO.

Well-crafted Music Series: Aaron Woody Wood & Matt Smith, 6pm

THE OUTPOST

Bluegrass Jam w/Sam Wharton, 6pm

THE RAILYARD BLACK MOUNTAIN

Dan's Jam (bluegrass), 7pm

URBAN ORCHARD

CIDER CO. SOUTH SLOPE Trivia, 6:30pm

THURSDAY, JUNE 20

27 CLUB

Forsaken Profits, Weightshift, Wide Open Wound & Hashwitch (punk, metal), 8pm

BOWL IN THE WALL Trivia Night, 6:30pm

CROW & QUILL

Russ Wilson & The Kings of Jazz, 8pm

EDA'S HIDE-A-WAY Karaoke, 8pm

FLEETWOOD'S Creekbed Carter Hogan, Jude Brothers, Nordmoe & The Rodeo (country, folk, punk), 9pm

FRENCH BROAD RIVER BREWERY

Jerry's Dead (Grateful Dead & JGB Tribute), 6pm

IMPERIÁL

DJ Roselle (hip-hop), 9pm

JACK OF THE

WOOD PUB

Bluegrass Jam w/ Drew Matulich, 7pm

LA TAPA LOUNGE

Iggy Radio (southern-rock), 7pm

LAZOOM ROOM BAR & GORILLA

Eyes Up Here Comedy Presents: AVLGBTQ, 8:30pm

MAD CO. BREW HOUSE

Connor Hunt (Appalachian, country), 6pm

OKLAWAHA

BREWING CO.

82 Drifters Band (bluegrass, Americana, old-time), 7pm

ONE WORLD BREWING

The Knotty G's Duo (Americana), 8pm

OUTSIDER BREWING

Robert's Totally Rad Trivia, 7pm

PISGAH BREWING CO.

Bald Mountain Boys (bluegrass), 6:30pm

SALVAGE STATION

The Menzingers w/ Lucero & The Dirty Nil (rock, punk), 8pm

SHAKEY'S

Karaoke w/DJ Franco, 9pm

SHILOH & GAINES

Karaoke Night, 8pm

SIERRA NEVADA

BREWING CO.

JMSN (R&B, soul), 6pm

STATIC AGE LOFT

Karaoke Night, 10pm

STATIC AGE RECORDS

Mere Fever, Claire Whall, Superflower & Yoni Bologna (pop, folk, experiemntal), 8:30pm

THE JOINT NEXT DOOR

The Loudes (punk, folk, rock'n'roll), 7pm

THE ODD

Palm Ghosts & Half

Blind Eyes (pop, postpunk), 9pm

THE ORANGE PEEL

Lovett or Leave (live podcast), 8pm

THE OUTPOST

Will Hartz w/SantiagoY Los Gatos (Appalchian, soul, blues), 8pm

THE RAILYARD BLACK MOUNTAIN

The Loverfaces (acoustic), 7pm

THE RIVER ARTS

DISTRICT BREWING

CO.

Howie Johnson(blues, jazz, soul), 7pm

WICKED WEED

BREWING

Owen Walsh (folk), 6pm

INDOOR AND OUTDOOR SPACE

food. music. beer. community. and maybe a train or two.

Wednesday, June 12, 7-9pm

Live Music with Dan 's Jam

Join us every Wednesday for a wild night of open bluegrass jamming.

ThurSDAY, June 13, 7-9pm

Live music with Anthony Wayne Vibe

Friday, June 14, 7-9pm

Live music with Illegal Milk

Saturday, June 15, 8-10pm

Live music with The Get Right Band - Outdoor stage , all ages

Details, food menus and more at railyardblkmtn.com

live music + 15 screens of sports + full bar + tasty eats + ice cream sammies + fun for the family open til 11 pm | kitchen closes 10 pm on

FREEWILL ASTROLOGY

ARIES (March 21-April 19): The term “maze” has various meanings. Most commonly, it signifies a puzzling cluster of choices that lead nowhere and bode frustration. But there are more positive meanings of the word. In ancient myths, a maze was where heroes underwent ritual tests. There they might summon ingenuity to win access to a hidden treasure. In modern psychology labs, the maze is a structure used to stimulate learning in rats. According to my analysis of the astrological omens, the maze you are now in is metaphorically akin to the second two meanings, not the first.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): There is an abundance of good news, Taurus. In the coming weeks, your conversations could awaken realizations that will augment your wealth — both the financial and emotional kind. So be eager to commune with vigorous souls who inspire your power to attract resources and goodies. Furthermore, you could generate enriching benefits for yourself by engaging with unfamiliar influences that are outside your web of expectations. Don’t be too sure you already know everything you need. Helpful surprises could arrive if you’re extra open-minded.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Though 2024 isn’t even half over, you have already earned the title “Least Boring Zodiac Sign of the Year.” Or maybe a more positive way to frame it would be to award you the title “Most Scintillating, Interesting, and Stimulating Zodiac Sign of the Year.” Please keep doing what you have been doing, Gemini. Entertain us with your unruly escapades and gossip-worthy breakthroughs. Encourage us to question our dull certainties and dare us to be more fun. If we seem nervous to be in your stirring presence, disarm our worries with your humor.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Your subconscious mind is full of marvelous capacities and magic potencies. But it also contains old habits of feeling and thinking that influence you to respond to life in ways that are out of sync with what’s actually happening. These habits may sabotage or undermine your conscious intentions. Now here’s the good news: In the next nine months, there’s a lot you can do to dissolve the outmoded imprints. You will have more power than ever before to perform this wizardry. So get started! How? Ask your subconscious mind to send you intuitions about how to proceed.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): The fairy tale “Jack and the Beanstalk” will serve as a prime metaphor for you in the coming weeks. Ruminate on its themes as being applicable to your life. I’ll refresh you with the main points of the story. Young Jack and his mother need money, so she decides to take drastic measures. She bids him to sell the family cow at the marketplace a few miles away. But on the way into town, Jack meets a man who coaxes him to sell the cow in exchange for magic beans — not money. When Jack returns home, his mother is angry at his foolishness. In disgust, she flings the beans out the window into the dirt. Later, though, the beans live up to their promise. They grow into a giant beanstalk that Jack climbs to reach the lair of a giant who lives in the clouds. There Jack retrieves three of his family’s lost treasures, which had been stolen by the giant long ago.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Before the reign of Emperor Qin Shi Huang in the third century BCE, Chinese people had built many local walls designed to keep out invaders. Qin Shi Huang initiated a great public works project to connect all of these fragments into what’s now known as the Great Wall of China. He also erected a vast system of roads and a city-sized mausoleum filled with the Terracotta Army: sculptures of 8,000 soldiers with their chariots and horses. Qin Shi Huang was a big thinker who was also highly organized! In accordance with astrological omens, I invite you to glide into your very own Qin Shi Huang phase. What long-lasting structures do you want to build in the next 11 months?

BY ROB BREZSNY

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Psychologist Carl Jung believed we could accomplish profound self-transformation by working hard on our psyches’ unripe and wounded aspects. That might entail honest self-examination, objective observation of how we affect others, and a willingness to recognize and forgive our mistakes. Jung also recommended another way to heal our neuroses: through the power of numinous experiences. By “numinous,” he meant mystical, sublime, or awe-inspiring. Jung said that such visitations could radically diminish our painful habits of mind and feeling. They might arrive through grace, thanks to life’s surprising interventions. They may also be coaxed to appear through meditation, dreamwork, communing with myth and fairy tales, and spiritual practices. I foresee a wealth of numinous events in your life during the coming months, Libra. May they bring you a steady stream of healing.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): In a moment, I will list events I foresee as being possible for you during the next 11 months. They are cosmic tendencies but not cosmic mandates. Whether or not they actually occur will depend on how you wield your willpower — which, by the way, could be freer and more muscular than it has been in a long time. Now here are the potential developments. 1. An offer to create one of the most symbiotic unions or robust collaborations ever. 2. Great chances for you to capitalize on the success of others. 3. Alterations in the family configuration. 4. Major shifts in loyalty and affinity. 5. A raise in rank. 6. Revelations of secrets you can use to your advantage.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Have you been metaphysically itchy and psychologically ticklish? Are you unsure whether those tingling sensations you’re feeling are worrisome symptoms or signs of healing and awakening? I believe they are signs of healing and awakening. They suggest you are doing the metaphorical equivalent of what a snake does when it sheds its skin. Expect imminent redemption, Sagittarius! Reframe the discomfort as a herald of relief and release.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): It’s time for Super Mom to make an appearance. Some circumstances in your life could benefit from healing tweaks best initiated by her. And when I say “Super Mom,” I’m not necessarily referring to your actual mother. I’m envisioning a wise older woman who sees you as you really are and who can assist you in living your destiny according to your own inner necessity, no one else’s. If you have no Super Mom in your world, see if you can locate one, even hire one. I also recommend creating an inner Super Mom in your imagination. You need and deserve sympathetic input from the archetype of the sage crone.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): I suspect that later in 2024, I will authorize you to commune with boisterous adventures and tricky risks. But right now, I advise you to flirt with modest adventures and sensible risks. Can you contain your burning, churning yearnings for a while? Are you willing to coax your crazy wild heart into enjoying some mild pleasures? By early autumn, I’m guessing you will have done the necessary preparations to successfully roam through the experimental frontiers. Until then, you are most likely to corral X-factors on your behalf if you pace yourself and bide your time.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): “Oh God, if there is a God, save my soul, if I have a soul.” That prayer was the handiwork of Piscean philosopher Joseph Ernest Renan. If his ironic minimalism is the only spiritual aspiration you can manage right now, so be it. But I hope you will strive for a more intimate, expansive and personal connection with the Divine Intelligence. The coming weeks will be an extra favorable time for you to speak and listen to mysterious powers beyond your rational comprehension. Please take advantage! Go in quest of the sweet, deep lowdown directly from the Sublime Source!

MARKETPLACE

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RENTALS

APARTMENTS FOR RENT

APARTMENT FOR RENT

Lower level 1 bed 1 bath apartment East of Asheville near Warren Wilson College. Owner shares laundry room. $1050/month, plus $150 for utilities. Includes heat, A/C, and Wi-Fi. 828-545-0043

HOMES FOR RENT

4 BEDROOM HOUSE IN ASHEVILLE 4 bedroom one bath home. Walking distance to downtown Asheville. Tenant pays own utilities. No pets. Rent: $2500 per month. Security deposit $2500 required. References needed. Contact J Lloyd 828-298-5316

VACATION RENTALS

2-2 B&B IN BEAUTIFUL LAKE TOXAWAY CLOSE TO THE GORGES STATE PARK Unique bungalow located in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Queens beds. Hot tub, sauna. Fully equipped home ready for you. $300/day or $1500/week. Call 828-556-2253

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DRIVERS/ DELIVERY

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DELIVERY Mountain Xpress is seeking energetic, reliable, independent contractors for

part-time weekly newspaper delivery. Contractors must have a safe driving record, a reliable vehicle with proper insurance and registration, and be able to lift 50 lbs. without strain. Distribution of papers is on Tuesday mornings and afternoons and typically lasts about 3-5 hours per week. Preference given to applicants who reside in the delivery area. E-mail distro@ mountainx.com

PROFESSIONAL/ MANAGEMENT

MOUNTAIN HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES SEEKS COMMUNICATION & ENGAGEMENT OFFICER MHO seeks a dynamic external relations professional. The Communications and Engagement Officer will develop and deliver innovative strategies to build awareness, grow connections, showcase impact, and inspire support. https:// www.careers-page.com/ mho/job/L7796Y5X

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1 Waterproof overshoes

8 Drop-___ (surprise visitors) 11 FedEx rival

15 Service provided by Kaplan and the Princeton Review

18 Catherine the Great, for one

19 Some poison control center cases, in brief

20 City on Florida’s Space Coast

22 “The Marriage of Figaro,” e.g.

24 “___ pigs fly!”

25 Bassist Meyer

28 Mazda sports car

32 Nickname for a clumsy person

36 Cry from under a sheet, perhaps

37 Capital of Georgia?

38 Mine discovery

39 Coffee holder

42 Some stir-fry vegetables

46 “Heaven forbid!”

47 Component of a “Mickey Mouse degree,” say

48 “___ and the Detectives” (1929 novel)

51 “See ya!”

54 Rapper with the hit 1990 album “To the Extreme”

58 Gut-punch response

61 “That’s a terrible hiding spot”

62 What you might cry upon recognizing this puzzle’s ingredient list?

65 “Ding, ding, ding!”

66 International news agency since 1851

67 Explosive stuff 68 “Shameless” channel, for short

Doomsday prepper’s stockpile

Surprise attack 3 Cartoon frames 4 “For shame!” 5 Part of T.G.I.F.

6 Jim who sang “Time in a Bottle” 7 Abnormally deep sleep 8 What “:” means in an analogy 9 Employer of rocket scientists 10 Sharp pain 11 Dickens’s