Mountain Xpress 06.30.21

OUR 27TH YEAR OF WEEKLY INDEPENDENT NEWS, ARTS & EVENTS FOR WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA VOL. 27 NO. 48 JUNE 30 - JULY 6, 2021

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C ONTENT S

10 NUTRITION FACTS ACS administrators blocked staff from following state rules on meal program

Area taprooms look significantly different this Independence Day weekend compared with last year, but things aren’t completely back to “normal.” Patrons can still expect masked employees, plexiglass partitions at the bar and other safety measures at many local breweries.

WELLNESS

ARCHIVES

COVER PHOTO iStock 15 ‘FIRE AND BLOOD’ The influence of white supremacy in the women’s suffrage movement

COVER DESIGN Scott Southwick

4 LETTERS 4 CARTOON: MOLTON

18 HEALTHY PRIDE WNC offers array of LGBTQ health and wellness resources

7 CARTOON: BRENT BROWN 8 NEWS 12 BUNCOMBE BEAT

A&C

16 COMMUNITY CALENDAR 22 IN THE RAW Local author examines his life growing up in the Jim Crow South

18 WELLNESS 20 ARTS & CULTURE

30 CLASSIFIEDS 31 NY TIMES CROSSWORD

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8 MORE OF THE PIE Canton and Maggie Valley consider additional occupancy tax

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OPINION

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

Homelessness is not a ‘lifestyle’ With great interest, I read the June 16 article about the new low-barrier shelter option for the homeless put forth by ANCHOR [“Come as You Are: Low-barrier Shelter May Fill Temporary Housing Gaps,” Xpress]. The need to meet people where they are and promote safety is integral to the harm-reduction approach when addressing the physical and mental health challenges of our homeless population. The more options available, the better.

What grabbed my attention in this otherwise informative article was the opinion of ABCCM’s executive director, the Rev. Scott Rogers. He expressed the opinion that a portion of our area’s summertime increase in the unhoused population comes from those who “choose a homeless lifestyle” for social or political reasons.

Homeless lifestyle? I respectfully disagree.

Just as mental, physical and socioeconomic conditions are not lifestyles, neither is homelessness;

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C A RT O O N B Y R AN DY M O L T O N it is an outcome of those conditions. While my own son was homeless and traveling the country for four years during the mid-2000s, a hallway conversation with him might have led one to believe that he was choosing a traveling lifestyle; a deeper interaction would have revealed the pain that drove his soul to wander, looking for relief. His untreated bipolar disorder resulted in unhealthy activities: train-hopping, hitchhiking and substance use.

Those who travel through our area during seasonal shifts are often just doing that, traveling.

They seek out a climate where they can sleep out-of-doors without risking hypothermia in the winter or dehydration in the summer.

They are often rootless, detached from family and dependent on the kindness of others. Dismissing this as a choice not only ignores the real-life struggle of the homeless individual, but also the anguish of the families who love them.

We need to lessen the incidence of homelessness by providing permanent, quality, supportive housing and medical services. Until that time comes, having shelter options that will meet folks where they are is a start.

— Anne Seaman Montreat Editor’s note: Seaman adds that she is a community activist in Western North Carolina who advocates for the effective and compassionate medical treatment for those suffering from substance use disorder. Her son, Stuart, was fatally poisoned by opioids in 2017.

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Asheville deserves noise ordinance based on science On June 1, the Asheville Public Safety Committee passed a motion to send the city’s proposed noise ordinance to City Council with a recommendation to allow noise as high as 70-75 decibels at sites of complaint, including residences, in the Central Business District.

The Coalition of Asheville Neighborhoods is strongly opposed and urges the Council to reject this recommendation that contradicts the city’s top two guiding principles for a noise ordinance: (1) “excessive noise is a public health, welfare and safety hazard” and (2) “the community has a right to an environment free from excessive noise that may degrade their quality of life or diminish property values.”

For years and in meeting comments, residents of the CBD, Kenilworth and other neighborhoods have expressed their suffering from excessive commercial and industrial noise, something the committee did not discuss. Without evidence, the committee decided high decibel limits would stimulate economic recovery for the music industry.

Imagine living with continuous noise from an operating vacuum cleaner surrounding your residence, equal to 75 decibels. Like the Richter scale for earthquakes, decibels are logarithmic. An increase in 10 dB represents a tenfold intensity, a doubling of noise. A small increase

can mean a significant increase in potential damage to hearing.

For decades, the American Public Health Association and the World Health Organization have studied noise pollution’s effects on health.

Because continued exposure to excessive noise is highly stressful, damages children’s development and leads to cardiovascular disease, diabetes and other serious illnesses, WHO recommends a nighttime limit of 45 dB in residential zones.

CAN urges the City Council to act with compassion and respect for all by adopting guidelines of leading public health organizations.

By prioritizing noise mitigation, Asheville can support music without causing harm to residents. Asheville deserves a noise ordinance based on proven science that will create a safer, healthier, more sustainable, more socially just and more livable Asheville for everyone.

— Rick Freeman

President, Coalition of Asheville Neighborhoods Asheville

The sorry sight of new Asheville construction So sad. The endless hotel and condo building. And, if you are in doubt as to how mindless and thoughtless it all seems to be, look at the architecture.

The Council OKs box after box as architecture in a city that, as I was told, said no to “forgiveness” of government loans after the war.

The government wanted to rebuild Asheville, tearing down its architecture and replacing it with 1950s-style box architecture.

So now it’s being done to accommodate investors’ greed. Who are these investors? I doubt they are local.

It’s a sorry sight.

— Anita Pandolfi Asheville

Stop with the insular local mentality I’m tired of people here complaining about growth. Frankly, this small-mindedness reminds me of people in Maine who want to keep out “outsiders from away.”

The small and quaint nature scheme here is designed only to prop up an elite of do-gooder locals making money off tourists, who appear ready to play golf at a moment’s

CONTINUES ON PAGE 6

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JUNE 30 - JULY 6, 2021

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OPINION

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

notice. They complain about traffic rather than blame themselves for driving. Historically, this city had light rail or tramways running throughout its streets.

Lets face it, American innocence is two-faced and scheming. The whole Appalachian dream is a fantasy for banjo escapists. Deal with real life.

Here’s an idea: Now that the monument is down, turn that small park into a central light rail hub for people to stand and catch the tramway that will loop around it. Get rid of the insular local mentality and bland art galleries. You people are history.

— J.M. Snyder Asheville

Get vaccinated — for yourself and rural hospitals Following guidelines set by the CDC, Gov. Roy Cooper officially lifted numerous COVID-19 restrictions, including mask mandates and gathering limits for those who are fully vaccinated. I am more hopeful than ever that this pandemic will soon be behind us, and we can return to normal.

However, these lifted restrictions do not apply to those who have not received their full set of shots or have not exceeded the two-week inoculation period. I urge those who haven’t been vaccinated yet to do so.

COVID-19 has not gone away completely, and we have seen thousands of new cases pop up over the last

two weeks. This includes Cherokee and Clay counties, which have seen over 500 new cases in that time frame. Lives are still at risk, and we need to ensure everyone’s safety.

Getting vaccinated is not only critical for public health but also for our local hospital facilities.

In Western North Carolina over the last year, thousands of residents were hospitalized, many of whom had to be placed in intensive care units and put on oxygen. While we have quality health care facilities in our area, there are only a set number of beds and staff on-site who are able to assist a certain number of patients. Especially for those living in rural communities with only a few hospitals available, these health systems worked day and night to ensure treatment for many.

While caring for the sickest of patients, our hospitals also enforced strict rules to keep both patients and staff as safe as possible. Protocols included reduced entry, on-site COVID testing and increased sanitization procedures. Our medical professionals put their own health on the line to ensure the care of others.

To guarantee the efforts of our local hospitals do not go undone, we need to urge every friend, family member and community member to get vaccinated. As more North Carolinians get their shots, the sooner we come to achieving herd immunity, and the fewer hospitalizations are likely to occur due to complications from the virus.

Our local health systems, few but mighty, are counting on vaccina-

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tion rates to increase so COVID-19 patient capacity at our hospitals does not reach or exceed capacity.

Our facilities need to be able to treat those with COVID-19 symptoms, as well as those who require around-the-clock care, as well as everyday patients.

Returning to normal also means our hospital systems do not face overcapacity with COVID-19 patients, and getting vaccinated is the only way to achieve this.

Nearly half of North Carolina’s population has been given their doses. We need to continue this momentum as eligibility continues to open for younger ages. I urge you to get vaccinated and take sensible precautions. Not only will this help ensure your health and the health of your family, it will ease the burden on our local hospitals and their staff to whom we owe so much.

— Hayden Rogers Brasstown Editor’s note: Rogers reports that he served as the chief of staff to Western North Carolina Democratic Congressman Heath Shuler. After running for North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District in 2012, he served as the chief of staff for West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin. He is a native of Robbinsville.

who nominated him for a U.S. Naval Academy appointment. Meadows was even a person whom he worked for later in time.

I think it is also great that he is the one of the youngest persons ever to be elected to Congress in history.

At age 25, he was elected to the U.S. Congress. The youngest woman was Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and she became the Democratic United States congresswoman from New York at age 29.

I admire the success story of recently elected U.S. Congressman Madison Cawthorn, and I think it’s wonderful he overcame the disability of this car accident in Florida to be elected U.S. representative. His new political career as a libertarian fiscal conservative is also wonderful. It is great he focuses on American freedoms and a better North Carolina.

— Steven Hawkins

Greenville, S.C. Editor’s note: Hawkins reports that previous letters to the editor he has written have been collected in the book Letters from South Carolina.

Cawthorn’s inspiring story could encourage others

Mountain Xpress informs the public on important issues of public schooling. It is important, but hopefully we recognize that these issues have been repeated again and again — in my experience, since the 1960s.

Competent educators, psychologists and scholars already know the needs of our children. It’s not knowledge we lack, but addressing it with the courage and energy to understand and act. I believe preschool and primary grades of schooling are more attuned to children’s needs, but after that, the schools are geared more to fitting children into our dysfunctional and polarized society. It is not merely an educational problem, but a spiritual and political problem for the country, which must be addressed locally by we the people. Gulp! That’s us.

We need to transform our institutions — from our politics to our economics, our culture, our patterns of leadership and even, in many cases, our religions, which have become all too competitive, ideological and mostly “noncontemplative.”

By contemplative I mean the practice of some form of meditation, listening, informing ourselves and acting to the best of our ability rather than locked into secondhand media information and politicians controlled by powerful elites.

I think it’s great that newly elected U.S. Congressman Madison Cawthorn serves as a federal legislator in Western North Carolina after Mark Meadows resigned in 2020 to serve as former President Trump’s chief of staff. He was born in the city of Asheville and has been North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District representative since January.

It is a phenomenal and inspiring story of U.S. Congressman Cawthorn, who uses a wheelchair because he is partially paralyzed from the abdomen down. This inspiring story could encourage people to achieve great things and to rise and overcome your limitations for success.

Cawthorn was 18 years old when he became critically injured in 2014 in a car accident after visiting Florida with a friend. While his friend Bradley Ledford drove the car in Daytona Beach, Fla., the vehicle hit a concrete barrier. But after the ordeal of his accident, he started a real estate firm and became a motivational speaker.

Congressman Madison Cawthorn said the former Congressman Mark Meadows, whom he succeeded in office, still and would always be somewhat of a mentor, a person

We need creative responses to transform our institutions

CARTOON BY BRENT BROWN What kind of America do you want? Children need better examples to follow than those offered by our materialistic emphasis on consumption and pleasure seeking.

We need an educational system not just for children, but also for adults.

Talking and blaming is not enough.

What can you do? You may not have the time, experience or temperament to be directly active in issues of peace and justice, but what you do now will influence your later years. Inform yourself, expand your knowledge and spiritual awareness. It will open a burst of energy and understanding with the zest for life that experiences an authentic freedom. It’s more than surviving; it’s creating, thriving, flourishing at any age. And scientific research shows such activities raises spirits, counteracting feelings of helplessness and fear.

Each of us has some degree of truth, and it helps to listen to understand each other. Read books like Compassionate Conversations: How to Speak & Listen From the Heart

by Gabriel Wilson and Kimberly Loh. Or watch TEDx short talks on YouTube along the same line.

Read Thomas Piketty’s book Capital or view the documentary to understand what motivates those who are actively contributing to a positive vision that can unify our country.

And The Way Between by Rivera Sun, a book for teenagers and adults, suggests possibilities of the way between “fight or flight” before polarization and violence destroys everything we love.

Discover your own gift, even if it is just one thing, and use it for the good that gives us unity and embraces kindness and respect. It’s hard work. Athletes know that if our muscles are not challenged, they will eventually be unable to compete. We are not surprised when exercises such as weightlifting lead to physical changes in the muscles. But how about challenging the mind?

Is your life big enough? Do you cling to secondhand information, dogma or a narrow ideology?

Challenge yourself. As life goes on, your patterns of participation and relationships will either expand or contract. Your way of life today will determine the pattern for your whole life. If you are closed-minded, your focus will narrow. If you are hopeful and trusting, it will expand your consciousness and courage. It’s not true that people stop pursuing dreams when they grow older. They grow old and closed-minded when they stop learning. Life is hard. Work at it.

Pray, study, reflect and participate in our democratic system.

— Ed Sacco Asheville MOUNTAINX.COM

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NEWS

More of the pie

Canton and Maggie Valley consider additional occupancy tax

PAPERTOWN: Canton is known for its paper mill, but local leaders hope it can become a tourist destination as well. Image via town of Canton

BY JESSICA WAKEMAN jwakeman@mountainx.com For about a decade, several municipalities in Haywood County have discussed raising additional revenue through an extra tax on tourism. That long-standing conversation might finally be coming to a head following the early May passage of House Bill 412 in the N.C. General Assembly.

Introduced by Rep. Mark Pless, a Republican representative for Haywood, Madison and Yancey counties, the bill would enable Canton and Maggie Valley to levy a 2% occupancy tax on accommodations like hotels, motels and Airbnbs, which would then be managed by new town-specific tourism development authorities. The proposed tax by these municipalities would be added to the 4% occupancy tax already levied by Haywood County and managed by the Haywood County TDA. The legislation is co-sponsored by Rep. Mike Clampitt, a Republican representative for Haywood, Jackson Mountain Xpress 27th Annual

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and Swain counties, and Pless says Sen. Kevin Corbin, a Republican senator for the region, is willing to back the bill in the Senate. (Corbin’s office did not respond to repeated requests for comment.)

If the bill passes and is signed into law, the additional occupancy taxes for Canton and Maggie Valley would stay in those towns for tourism promotion and tourism-related expenditures instead of being spread across the county. While Buncombe County may be wrestling with how to manage its own TDA and the impacts of tourism, leaders in those small towns say the extra revenue would be a much-needed financial boost.

“The tourism conversation is evolving in Haywood County,” says Zeb Smathers, the mayor of Canton.

“We’re not a side trip anymore — we’re a destination.”

ON THE WISHLIST

The version of HB412 that passed with bipartisan support on May 11 would require two-thirds of occupancy tax revenue to go toward tourism promotion in Canton and Maggie Valley, with the remaining third assigned to tourism-related expenditures that attract visitors.

That breakdown is the same as that of Haywood County’s occupancy tax.

Smathers says he’d like to see some of those revenues put toward the promotion of hiking in Chestnut Mountain Nature Park, mountain biking in Berm Park and recreational uses of the Pigeon River, including tubing and kayaking. The 450-acre Chestnut Mountain property — located a mile outside Canton town limits but owned by the town since 2020 — has particular potential to be “a major economic driving

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force” of tourism, he adds, similar to DuPont State Recreational Forest in Transylvania County.

Canton’s “relatively small tax base” limits how much the city can spend from its existing funds to attract tourism, Smathers says. The city’s total budget for fiscal year 202122 is just over $11 million, with about $1.17 million allocated to recreation.

(By comparison, the annual general fund budget for Asheville exceeds $145 million, with over $13.36 million devoted to parks and recreation.)

In an emailed statement, Canton interim Town Manager Nick Scheuer explained that “the addition of a 2% occupancy tax [would allow] us to capitalize on existing tourism and bring significant improvements to quality-of-life and recreation amenities.”

He cited Chestnut Mountain, Sorrells Street Park and “downtown aesthetic improvements,” such as grants for facade improvements for downtown businesses, as possible expenditures for occupancy tax revenue.

And Mike Eveland, the mayor of Maggie Valley, says the municipal occupancy tax revenues would benefit both tourism and town residents. While specific projects are yet to be determined pending the bill’s passage, he flags recreational assets such as trails as among the biggest opportunities.

“We have several different projects that I think will start to develop in the next three to five years that Maggie [Valley] would want to be involved in that would help both Maggie and Haywood in general,” Eveland says.

Previous funds from the HCTDA have supported the town with the improvement of parks, the addition of several greenways and installing walking paths along Jonathan Creek “that have been huge benefits to the town”

and tourists, Eveland adds. “We need to find those projects that are going to benefit the tourist side, because that’s where the money comes from, and the public in general.”

COUNTY CONTEXT

Tourism in Haywood County has grown steadily since the establishment of the HCTDA about 30 years ago, says Lynn Collins, the authority’s executive director. County occupancy tax revenues have nearly doubled over the past decade, from about $894,000 in fiscal year 2011-12 to $1.53 million in fiscal 2020-21.

Some members of the HCTDA board, however, believe that creating an additional occupancy tax for Canton and Maggie Valley alone isn’t the best way to keep that growth strong going forward. In a May 21 email to Haywood County Manager David Francis, HCTDA Chair Lyndon J. Lowe and Vice Chair Chris Corbin called the proposed legislation “flawed” and instead asked for the power to levy an additional 2% tax across the entire county.

“Since it is municipal, the tax can only be collected within the city limits, thus decreasing by 50% to 70% the potential income this tax will generate versus a county approach,” Lowe and Corbin wrote. They also suggest that the terms of the legislation would require the municipalities to spend unnecessary money advertising tourism markets “already saturated” by HCTDA spending.

“It has been confusing why the municipalities wanted to go around the [Haywood County] commissioners and the HCTDA,” Lowe and Corbin concluded. “We want to be proactive in doing our best to keep this municipal legislation from

becoming an embarrassment for either town, elected official or town manager, as that does not benefit anyone in the county.”

Neither Lowe nor Corbin responded to multiple requests for additional comment. But Eveland, a current member and former finance chair of the HCTDA board, said the organization was viewing the proposed occupancy taxes “in a positive way, looking at this as an opportunity,” in a June 8 interview with Xpress. While he called the legislation “unexpected, the way it kind of came up,” he said that wasn’t necessarily a negative.

Smathers told Xpress on June 23 that he was aware of Lowe and Corbin’s email but had not read it.

When asked to comment, he said, “I am aware the email was sent to them voicing some concerns.”

He continued, “There’s some difference in opinion. Rep. Pless, this is what he brought to us. I understand the county’s concerns.”

And Pless noted on June 3 that the HCTDA turned down an earlier bill that would have enacted an additional 2% county occupancy tax. “[Lowe and Corbin] have suddenly decided they’re the know-all expertise on this whole issue, and they are the ones who refused it,” he said.

DIFFERENT STROKES

If the legislation passes and Canton and Maggie Valley create TDAs, their two-thirds marketing/one-third tourism-related expenditures breakdown of occupancy tax revenue would be different from how Buncombe County divvies up the money. By state law, 75% of the county’s occupancy tax revenue must be allocated to tourism advertising, with 25% to tourism-related capital expenditures.

The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners has been in discussion about tweaking those respective allocations to two-thirds and onethird — levels in line with those of many TDAs across the state. “I do support changing the hotel tax to invest less funding in advertising and more in community priorities and infrastructure,” wrote board Chair Brownie Newman, a Democrat, in a statement to Xpress. “If it were up to me, I would like to see an allocation where 50% of the funds are invested in marketing and 50% is invested in community priorities.”

However, Newman explained, Buncombe would be unlikely to get such a breakdown passed by the General Assembly due to the strong lobbying opposition of the N.C. Restaurant and Lodging Association.

“With that in mind, going from 25% to 33.3% for community priorities is a step in the right direction, and I hope it will happen,” Newman continued.

“But it’s not what we would do if it were simply a decision the county commission could make on our own.”

The Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority expects to collect over $27 million in occupancy tax revenue for fiscal year 2021-22.

Under the current 75%/25% split, about $6.79 million would go to tourism-related capital expenditures; the two-thirds/one-third split would up that amount to $9.05 million, an increase of about $2.26 million.

“Explore Asheville is prepared to implement a FY22 budget based on the two-thirds/one-third allocation should legislation be introduced and passed,” wrote Vic Isley, president and CEO of the Explore Asheville Convention and Visitors Bureau, in response to a request for comment on the county’s proposed split. X

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NEWS

Nutrition facts

ACS administration blocked staff from following state rules on meal program

BY DANIEL WALTON

Freeman’s email to the school community said that he takes “full responsibility for the errors noted

by NCDPI.” However, in response to a June 24 request for comment, he denied having prevented Treece from carrying out her duties and said he did not know who had done so.

“I have no idea why [the requirements] were not fulfilled other than the fact that I instructed staff to ensure our students received meals as we were in the midst of a pandemic,” Freeman added.

“No one raised concerns to me until I started holding them more accountable this spring.”

dwalton@mountainx.com Errors were made, acknowledged Asheville City Schools Superintendent Gene Freeman, in a June 23 “update about our school nutrition department” sent to the district’s students, staff and families. In the email, he said that the N.C. Department of Public Instruction had reviewed the system’s food service operations and detected discrepancies “in the school district’s meal counting and meal claiming process.”

Findings by the state’s administrative reviewers, however, went further than Freeman’s admission, pointing to problems higher up in the district. The errors, which occurred at the Positive Opportunities to Develop Success remote learning sites, were not mere oversights by then-Director of School Nutrition Katie Treece or other ACS nutrition staff — they were the result of deliberate interference by school administrators.

“The school nutrition director was prohibited from implementing, completing and/or fulfilling various compliance requirements in the non-school programs to include the required training of non-school staff, required onsite monitoring requirements in nonschool sites and clear oversight for the accuracy of reimbursable meal counts served to eligible students and children,” the NCDPI report says. “These findings, as described, constitute a serious violation of the district’s agreements with the state agency to administer the federally assisted school

FORCED ERRORS: Per a report by the N.C. Department of Public Instruction, the Asheville City Schools nutrition director “was prohibited” from complying with state regulations for the food service operation at remote learning sites known as Positive Opportunities to Develop Success. Photo

by Virginia Daffron nutrition program(s) in Asheville City Schools.

“Records obtained during the review suggest a district administrator, who had not participated in required continuing education and may not have been knowledgeable of program regulations, provided direct instructions to staff that were inconsistent with regulatory requirements,” the report adds.

Although the report does not directly specify who was involved in blocking Treece’s efforts, it

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notes that only she and Freeman had signed a document committing the district to follow the state’s nutrition program regulations.

As required corrective actions, the district must “describe the role of the superintendent in the administration and operation of the school nutrition programs,” as well as allow the nutrition director “to question and/or report practices that violate the agreement and program-related regulations and policies.”

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At the core of the district’s noncompliance, explains the NCDPI report, is incorrect counting of meals served at PODS through the Summer Food Service Program.

That initiative, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and administered by the state, is meant to provide free healthy meals to children in low-income areas. Sites that serve those meals are reimbursed by the state based on the number served.

Only meals that are actually served to students are eligible for reimbursement. However, the report indicates that those distributing food at PODS claimed other meals, such as those served to parents and school staff, for reimbursement through the program. “Non-program adults must pay for meals when received, and non-program adult meals are not claimed for federal reimbursement,” NCDPI officials list as a required corrective action.

Across nine PODS sites, according to the NCDPI report, the Asheville school district claimed reimbursement for over 1,200 more meals between September and December 2020 than were legally allowed. Jeffrey Squires, an NCDPI administrative review specialist, said in a June 7 letter to Freeman that the system would thus have to repay nearly $5,000 to the state.

NCDPI spokesperson Blair Rhoades said Squires was unavailable for further comment because the department’s review was still underway.

NEWS BRIEFS “During this period, federal child nutrition guidance and state guidance on related issues fluctuated, and the district was working hard to meet the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic at all levels. While this was a challenging time, that fact does not excuse the errors,” Freeman said in his June 23 email. He emphasized that “no one profited from these errors” and that all funds had been returned.

DISCIPLINARY NOTES

Neither Freeman’s email nor the NCDPI report indicate that any ACS administrator will face demotion, a pay cut or termination over their role in the matter. (Treece resigned from the system in March and currently works as the assistant director of nutrition services at the Valley View School District in Romeoville, Ill. She did not respond to a request for comment.)

But several parents are calling for Freeman’s resignation, includ-

ing Pepi Acebo, president of the Montford North Star Academy Parent-Teacher Organization and a recent candidate for the Asheville City Board of Education.

In a June 23 post to the Asheville Politics Facebook group, Acebo alleged that multiple sources told him Freeman had ordered Shane Cassida, the district’s assistant superintendent for auxiliary services, to fire Treece over reporting the interference outlined by the NCDPI. “I do not answer questions based on hearsay. However, Ms. Treece was overseeing a department that lost a million dollars over five years and continued to lose money under her tenure,” Freeman said in response to Acebo’s claim.

Cassida did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

James Carter, the chair of the Asheville school board, did not respond to a request for comment regarding disciplinary action that might be taken against Freeman or other administrators. X

SNAPSHOT

by Xpress Staff | news@mountainx.com

Just as the COVID-19 pandemic is waning in Western North Carolina, local businesses face another, slower-moving economic crisis.

According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, around half of all privately held businesses with employees in WNC — roughly 14,000 firms — are owned by people over age 55.

Many industries around the state are therefore bracing for a retirement wave as business owners reach their golden years. While some owners choose to sell their companies or pass them down to family members, others simply close up shop, potentially leaving thousands of employees without work.

Preventing those closures is the goal of the Durham-based N.C. Employee Ownership Center. The organization advocates for a model in which employees collectively own a percentage of the business for which they work. Business owners can contact the center, the first of its kind in the state, to learn more about the benefits of employee ownership, including tax benefits and job preservation.

According to the NCEOC, North Carolina is already home to approximately 154 employee-owned companies. More information available at avl.mx/9nd.

LOCAL CELEBRITY: Asheville pup BB Casher is a finalist for the 2021 Pibborafi’s International Rescue Hero contest on Instagram. The honor comes four years after BB was rescued from a burning building, suffering critical burns across much of her body. If BB wins, Pibborafi will make a plushie stuffed animal in her likeness; all proceeds from the sale of plushies will benefit the Asheville Humane Society. To vote for BB, go to @pibborafi on Instagram. Photo courtesy of Jodi Casher

N.C. EMPLOYEE OWNERSHIP CENTER PREPARES FOR BUSINESS TRANSITIONS

TOOLS OF THE (TECH) TRADE

Goodwill Industries of WNC, in partnership with the Cybersecurity Youth Apprenticeship Initiative, is offering a new information technology job training pro-

gram aimed at youths 16-21, with a focus on women and individuals of color. Goodwill will identify up to 60 participants from local high schools to learn IT skills and undergo workplace mentoring. For more information or to apply for the program, visit avl.mx/9n1.

In other local tech training news, Montreat College was awarded a grant from the N.C. Department of Information Technology to improve cyber readiness in the state. The college will use some of the funds to host a series of job training cohorts for students interested in a cybersecurity career.

The first cohort starts Monday, July 12; North Carolina residents will receive 50% off program tuition. More information at avl.mx/9ng.

TIP OF THE HAT

Brevard’s Gaia Herbs, which produces natural herbal products, has been recognized as a 2021 Best Employer in North Carolina by Business North Carolina magazine and the Best Companies Group.

Employers were evaluated on workplace policies, practices, philosophy, systems and employee experience on a day-to-day basis.

Gaia Herbs and 56 other companies in North Carolina will be featured and celebrated during the Best Employers in North Carolina Awards Gala in Greensboro on Thursday, Sept. 9.

MOVING ON UP

Asheville-based apparel brand Mount Inspiration has opened its third retail location in Boulder, Colo. The company has also signed a lease at 444 Haywood Road. in Asheville, the current location of outdoor adventure

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gear consignment shop Second Gear. The space will feature live screen printing, local draft beer, yoga classes, live music, local speakers and a selection of apparel and outdoor equipment.

In addition to its Asheville and Boulder locations, the company plans to open stores in other mountain locales such as Bend, Ore., and Burlington, Vt.

CUTTING EDGE

Next Level Rehab, an Asheville-based wellness and rehabilitation services provider, is offering robotic exoskeleton technology to improve patient mobility. The company says it is the first locally to use the tool, which aims to help people who cannot walk due to paralysis, stroke, traumatic brain injury or neuromuscular disorder retrain their brain and body.

More information at avl.mx/9n3. X

HIGH-TECH HELP: Physical therapist and co-founder of Next Level Rehab Robert McCloskey assists a patient who is paralyzed from the chest down to use robotic exoskeleton technology to stand, walk and exercise. Photo courtesy of Next Level Rehab

JUNE 30 - JULY 6, 2021

11

BUNCOMBE BEAT

You know us in print each week.

Asheville Council approves tax increases, hears crime update

Try us online each day.

Essential updates.

Original reporting.

Daily at 2 p.m.

Sign up at MountainX.com/Newsletters

It’s official: Taxes are going up in Asheville.

During its June 22 meeting, Asheville City Council voted 6-1 to approve the $201.67 million operating budget for fiscal year 2021-22, which includes an effective property tax increase of 2 cents per $100 in valuation and $8.7 million in new spending. City residents will also pay higher taxes to Buncombe County after its Board of Commissioners unanimously approved an effective 2-cent rate increase on June 15.

The city budget allocates $6.7 million for increases in employee compensation, including raising Asheville’s firefighter pay to a minimum of $15 per hour. The budget also includes $1.1 million to extend bus service hours in line with the 2018 Transit Master Plan and $150,000 to fund Asheville’s participation in a county grant program that aims to mitigate the impacts of

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BOXING DAY: Asheville City Council member Kim Roney, right, used a cardboard box to illustrate what she called the three dimensions of the city budget: what, how and why. Photo by Brooke Randle property tax increases for low-income homeowners.

Council member Kim Roney was the sole vote against the budget, arguing that the tax increase would harm poorer residents. She presented data compiled by Joe Minicozzi, former executive director of the Asheville Downtown Association and principal of municipal consulting firm Urban3, showing that values for the lowest-priced Buncombe homes have increased more than twice as much over the past 20 years as have values for the highest-priced properties, thus leading to disproportionately higher property tax bills. Those bigger value increases are concentrated in areas with high minority populations.

Ahead of the vote, Roney made a motion that would have frozen 15 of 88 vacant positions at the Asheville Police Department to free up money for other uses. She also moved to increase funding for the county homeowner grant program by as much as $1 million. “The ‘how’ we get to our budget funding matters,” she said.

But Council member Antanette Mosley, who said she had requested data from APD regarding crime statistics for Black women, said that Roney’s proposed hiring freeze could have negative consequences for that segment of the community.

“Despite comprising only 6% of Asheville’s population, Black females are 16% of all violent crime victims.

The disparity is even greater when considering that one in every five — 20% — of domestic crime victims in our city are Black and female,” Mosley

said. “Have we been able to extrapolate how many Black women will die if we reduce the number of police we have by 15? Has anyone considered that?

I didn’t think so.” (Roney’s motion would not have eliminated existing officers, and the positions Mosley referenced are currently unfilled.)

Both of Roney’s amendments died on the floor without a second from any other member of Council.

ZACK GIVES CRIME UPDATE

Council members also heard a presentation from APD Chief David Zack regarding various categories of crime in the city. He noted that Asheville’s number of violent crimes, including murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault, was about 45% higher in 2020 than in 2011.

Property crimes were about 30% higher in 2020 than in 2011 but down slightly from 2019 numbers.

Zack also said Asheville’s homicide rate has stayed relatively flat compared with that of other large metropolitan areas, which saw an increase of about 32% from 2019 to 2020.

He noted that five people had been killed in Asheville to date in 2021, including one person who was killed the night before the presentation.

“Despite our current staffing shortages, APD is still very aggressively developing and working on strategies to address violent crime and other types of crime,” he said.

— Brooke Randle X

Local media win legal fees from Asheville after open-meetings suit

ACCESS GRANTED: Xpress attended Asheville City Council’s March 31 retreat after winning a legal action against the city to prevent it from conducting public business behind closed doors. Photo by Molly Horak The city of Asheville must pay nearly $4,200 in legal fees to a coalition of local media organizations, including Mountain Xpress, following a ruling by Buncombe County Superior Court Judge Steven Warren. Those costs were incurred earlier this year as the paper, along with the Citizen Times, Blue Ridge Public Radio, Carolina Public Press and Asheville Watchdog, sued the city over its plan to hold a March 31 Council retreat behind closed doors.

Warren had concluded on March 30 that the retreat was an official meeting of the government body and thus had to be open to the public. As the “prevailing parties” in the action, he ruled June 21, Xpress and its coalition partners are entitled to recover the entirety of their attorney fees. (In North Carolina, attorney fee awards are not automatic and depend on judicial discretion.)

“The decision to initiate litigation was not an easy one due to the formidable fiscal environment for media organizations. Nevertheless, the importance of the issue left

them no choice,” Warren stated in his findings of fact.

The judge also noted that, while Xpress and other outlets had attempted to reach an agreement with the city without litigation, Asheville’s lawyers had held firm to their interpretation of the law — even after Frayda Bluestein, a professor with the UNC School of Government and open meetings expert, told them it was likely incorrect.

“This is a retreat of the board, specifically aimed at the behavior and relationships and among [City Council members] as they do the work of the city,” Bluestein told Xpress in March. “This is a planned activity with a goal of improving their efficacy as a board. That seems like public business to me.”

The media coalition’s lawyer, Amanda Martin, said Warren’s decision on the fees sends a message to other North Carolina jurisdictions that might attempt to conduct public business in secret. “We are grateful that Judge Warren apparently agreed that it was important not only for the city of Asheville to com-

ply with the open meetings law but to be accountable when they tried to sidestep it,” she said. “A different ruling could have encouraged public bodies and public agencies to flout the law with little consequence.”

Brad Branham, Asheville’s city attorney, confirmed that he would respect the June 21 ruling despite disagreeing with it. However, he suggested that the decision would not necessarily impact Asheville’s future approach to matters of transparency.

“Any decisions regarding application of the state’s open meetings laws are applied on a case-by-case basis in order to most effectively adhere to those guiding principles.

Therefore, it is difficult to say that this particular ruling would have any bearing on Council meetings moving forward,” Branham told Xpress.

Branham did not provide a specific estimate for how much the city spent on its legal defense. Instead, he said that the case was handled entirely by Asheville’s own lawyers and that “relatively minimal staff resources and time were utilized.”

— Daniel Walton X

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JUNE 30 - JULY 6, 2021

13

FEA T U RE S

Q&A with Mac Franklin, director of horticulture at the NC Arboretum Since he was a teenager in Charlotte, Mac Franklin knew what his life’s work would be. He began landscaping during high school and continued the career while studying art, industrial art and design at Appalachian State University. After college, Franklin moved west to work for a landscape architect in San Francisco and a nursery in Denver.

He found his way to Asheville in 1993 to work at the Biltmore Estate’s gardens and grounds, then joined the team at the N.C. Arboretum.

Franklin is currently the arboretum’s director of horticulture and manages the teams who keep its 65 acres of cultivated gardens looking tiptop. And as a metal sculptor who operates a workshop at the arboretum, he is the artist behind numerous planters, sculptures and a birdbath in those gardens.

Some of his metalwork has even appeared in the arboretum’s annual Winter Lights show. “Being able to combine my two passions, which are horticulture and art, has brought a great deal of satisfaction to my job over the years,” Franklin says.

During a golf-cart ride and stroll about the grounds, Franklin spoke with Xpress about the importance of native plants, pollinator-friendly plantings and his concern about urban sprawl.

This interview has been condensed and lightly edited.

What brought you to Asheville and to the arboretum?

I wanted to move back to North Carolina, so Asheville was the logical choice to be back in the mountains and to be close to Charlotte. The focus on crafting culture was a strong draw for

GREEN THUMB: Mac Franklin, director of horticulture for The N.C. Arboretum, stands beside a metal planter he made in the gardens. Photo by Jessica Wakeman

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me, as well as the amount of horticulture that was taking place in Asheville.

Having the state public garden — the N.C. Arboretum — here was a big draw, as was the Biltmore Estate.

Can you explain in layman’s terms the difference between horticulture and botany?

Horticulture is the practice of working with plants in a landscape.

It’s the active participation between a human and the plant material and the manipulation of that plant material. Botany is more the study of plants generally in their native habitats. There’s quite a bit of crossover.

The ideal is that your horticulturists would also be students of botany.

Why are native plants and wildflowers important to the environment in Western North Carolina?

The importance for them is providing habitat, not only for pollinators, but also for our winged friends: all of the birds that eat seeds and use those areas for open collection of insects.

You can purchase a “wildflower blend,” and it may not be plants that are native to your area — it’s just labeled that way. Native herbaceous material is going to give you the best benefit for your environment.

Why is the arboretum certified as a Bee Campus USA institution?

It is wonderful that people are so aware of the needs and benefits of our pollinators. We work with a vast majority of native plant material, which is the most productive material for pollinators — not only as host plants, but as nectar plants. The wide range of native plants and variable habitats on our property can be very conducive to pollinators.

So, does the arboretum have beehives?

We do not, but we have no lack of honeybees or pollinators. We have considered hives. We actually are planning, in the future, to put them on the roof of our operations center.

What do you think is the most pressing sustainability issue in WNC? Urban sprawl. Being able to create sustainable development is definitely the biggest challenge for our community.

It also speaks to the importance of urban escape to places such as the arboretum. That was very evident during the pandemic. Seeing our increases in visitation during COVID-19 really exemplified that we were getting that urban escapism into our natural areas of the arboretum and gardens.

Are you able to identify every single plant on the arboretum grounds?

The more that you know in horticulture and in botany, if you are a humble person, you will realize how little you know. We live in one of the most biodiverse areas of the county, the Southern Appalachians. There are some great plant professionals on our staff that do know quite a bit, but personally, I would say I do not know every single plant that may be on our property. It’s certainly a goal to strive towards.

Can you recommend a houseplant that is hard to kill?

Interior plants are not necessarily my forte, but peace lily is one that’s hard to kill. As for exterior plants, it’s hard to go wrong with any native plants in their proper setting.

— Jessica Wakeman X

ASHEVILLE ARCHIVES

by Thomas Calder | tcalder@mountainx.com

‘Fire and blood’ In early August 1920, the United States was on the verge of historic change. At the time, 35 states had ratified the 19th Amendment; one additional state was needed to earn women the right to vote across the land. North Carolina was among the remaining 13 states yet to join the majority in approving the measure.

For one Asheville resident, resistance was an appropriate stance.

In an Aug. 14, 1920, letter to the editor, a Charles H. Neal told The Asheville Citizen he disapproved of the amendment not because he was opposed to women’s rights, but rather because he saw it as a threat to white supremacy.

“Dear women of North Carolina, the men of the south have gone through fire and blood to protect you against domination by an inferior race of people,” Neal wrote.

The letter writer went on to quote from N.C. Gov. Thomas Bickett’s Aug. 12 address to the state legislature. Ignoring Bickett’s call to accept “the inevitable” passage of the 19th Amendment, Neal highlighted one of the governor’s lingering concerns about the women’s movement — the Black vote. “I greatly fear that woman suffrage would reopen these old questions and force us to fight again the battle for a white government,” Bickett declared.

On Aug. 16, 1920, Elizabeth Earl Jones, chairman of the Special Committee of the Asheville Woman Suffrage League, responded to Neal’s claims in her own letter to the editor. An unapologetic white suprematist herself, Jones did not refute Neal’s racist ideology.

Instead, she challenged the notion that women’s suffrage would apply to all races.

Like Neal, Jones backed her assertions with the words of a powerful figure — North Carolina U.S. Senator Furnifold Simmons. “If this amendment should be ratified, the North Carolina constitutional amendment of 1900 would operate to disfranchise negro women to the same extent, and in the same way, as it now disfranchises negro men,” Simmons told The Associated Press in an Aug. 13, 1920, article published in The Asheville Citizen. “The education tests of this amendment have for 20 years effectually eliminated negro men from politics in North Carolina. Why should negro women, if enfranchised and subject to the same tests, fare better?”

The influence of white supremacy in the women’s suffrage movement

WHO GETS TO VOTE? In the summer of 1920, local residents disputed the merits and perceived risks associated with the passage of the 19th Amendment. Racism, rather than sexism, was a key factor on both sides of the argument. This composite image is not meant to suggest all women suffragists aligned with white supremacy ideology but is meant to convey the influence of white supremacy among some involved in the women’s movement. Klan photo courtesy of Buncombe County Special Collections; women’s suffragist photo courtesy of the State Archives of North Carolina (For more on the 1900 amendment, see “Asheville Archives: ‘White Supremacy Made Permanent,’ 1900,’” February 6, 2018, Xpress) Along with the senator’s remarks, Jones offered her own bigoted reassurances to the paper’s white male readers: “To all who have fought and suffered for white supremacy in the south, let me say, the white women appreciate your protecting arm, and we want to stand beside you and be allowed to do our part so as to doubly insure the safety of our homes, our institutions, and the purity of our politics (which, by the way, need some insuring.)”

Her letter’s final point, however, called to mind the American Revolution — namely, taxation with-

out representation. Though Jones refrains from promulgating further racist ideology within these remarks, her words reveal the implicit view that the work and concerns of Black Americans did not necessitate similar considerations that white women such as herself were now insisting upon. Jones writes: “Since anti-bellum days circumstances have forced the women of the south in very many instances to enter the business world, to compete with voting business men, in order to earn a living, and often to help support our families.

We have to labor and pay taxes, and yet we have no actual voice in the conditions under which we must labor. Worse still, we have no actual voice in the government which vitally affects the welfare

and even the lives of our loved ones. We have no actual voice in upholding our national honor and yet we feel its obligations as keenly, and sometimes more keenly, than do our men.”

On Aug. 18, 1920, Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the 19th Amendment. On Aug. 26, it was signed into law. Yet for decades, poll taxes, literacy tests and violence continued to conspire to keep the majority of women and men of color from exercising their right to vote.

And though white women across the nation were eligible to partake in democracy, the General Assembly of North Carolina did not endorse the amendment until 1971.

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

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COMMUNITY CALENDAR JUNE 30-JULY 9, 2021 For a full list of community calendar guidelines, please visit mountainx.com/calendar. For questions about free listings, call 828-251-1333, opt. 4. For questions about paid calendar listings, please call 828-251-1333, opt. 1.

Online Events = Shaded FITNESS & WELLNESS Zumba Gold Dance to all styles of Latin rhythms, plus pop, oldies and tango.

Easy, lead-and-follow class. No experience necessary. $5 suggested donation.

WE (6/30, 7/7), 12pm, Stephens Lee Recreation Center, 30 George Washington Carver Ave Sprakle Time! Holistic Senior Exercise Aerobic, strengthening, balance, flexibility and fun. Call Lois, BA Holistic He., 828-274-1779 to register, Classes are ongoing.

WE, MO (6/30, 7/5), $5, 10:30am, Avery’s Crk Community Center, #899 Glen Bridge Rd, SE

LGBTQ+ Yoga Class w/ Tranzmission Inclusive, donation based class. Meet at the picnic pavilion. All are welcome.

WE (6/30), 5pm, Carrier Park, 220 Amboy Rd Hot Summer Series: Total Body Training with Eva A month of free, weekly workouts in different outdoor locations.

WE (7/7), Asheville YMCA, 30 Woodfin St

ART & ART/ CRAFT FAIRS The Asheville Gallery of Art June show Soul of Place: Images Inspired by the Places We Love. Featuring art

by Karen Keil Brown and Cathyann Burgess.

Gallery open daily from 11am to 6pm.

Asheville Gallery of Art, 82 Patton Ave

Circle Earrings of Copper, Brass, and Silver Artist Debbie Skelly offers a class on earring making.

WE (6/30), 12pm, $40, Haywood County Arts Council, 86 N. Main St, Waynesville

COMMUNITY MUSIC Music On Main Concert Series A free night of live music, dancing and a car show.

FR (7/9), 7pm, Hendersonville Visitor Center, 201 S. Main St., Hendersonville

Artists' Demonstration w/Gabe Crowe Basket weaving demonstration.

SA (7/3), 11am, Haywood County Arts Council, 86 N. Main St, Waynesville

Opening Night: A Beethoven Celebration Conductor Keith Lockhart sets the stage for our 85th Anniversary Season with two of Beethoven's greatest works and a new piece

by Kennedy Center Composer Carlos Simon.

FR (7/9), 7:30pm, Brevard Music Center, 349 Andante Lane, Brevard

Westside Creative Market Local handmade goods and artwork.

SA (7/3), 11am, Haywood Quick Stop, 495 Haywood Rd At First Light: NCGC Lighting Invitational SU (7/4), New exhibit featuring light and glass. Gallery open daily from 10am-5pm, North Carolina Glass Center, 140 Roberts St, Suite B Art in Bloom This multi-faceted event combines two gallery exhibits, live floral arrangements, local garden tours featuring working artists, and floral-inspired workshops.

TH (7/8), $5-$50, Black Mountain Center for the Arts, 225 W. State St, Black Mountain Junk in the Trunk Vintage and Handmade Outdoor Market Multi-vendor outdoor market.

SA (7/3), 9am, Lady Beatrice, 244 W Main St Brevard Mini Outdoor Craft Fair Mini outdoor craft fair.

SA (7/3), 10am, Crucible Glassworks, 60 Clarks Chapel Rd, Weaverville The Black Wall Street MarketPlace Find wonderful gifts, great services and amazing networking while supporting Black-owned businesses in Asheville.

SA (7/3), 10am, Grind AVL, 346 Depot St

Hendersonville Summer Concert Series The series kicks off with Daniel Sage who covers everyone from Elton John to The Eagles. The free series will continue through the summer.

FR (7/9), 7pm, Downtown Hendersonville

SPOKEN & WRITTEN WORD Miss Malaprop’s Storytime Join Malaprop’s with your wee ones for classic and contemporary stories sure to enchant and entertain. Recommended for ages 3-9.

WE (6/30), 10am, avl.mx/9op Connect Beyond Book Club Third book club of 2021 will feature Hell Yeah or No by Derek Sivers.

TH (7/1), 7pm, Registration required, avl.mx/9m0 In-store Signing w/ Sarah Maslin Nir Malaprop’s presents an in-store signing with the author of Horse Crazy.

SA (7/3), 11am, Malaprop’s Bookstore/ Cafe, 55 Haywood St

Why I support Xpress: “I depend on Mountain Xpress every Wednesday for keeping me in the know. Can’t imagine life without it!”

– Susan Roderick

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THE BEARS ARE BACK IN TOWN: Brews and Bears, a fundraising event hosted by and in support of the WNC Nature Center, will make a comeback on July 9, 5:30-8 p.m. Pal around with resident black bears Uno and Ursa, stroll the park with a craft beer in hand and enjoy local fare from Cecilia’s Kitchen’s food truck and Blunt Pretzels’ cart. $15-$30. For more information, visit avl.mx/9iq. Photo courtesy of WNC Nature Center Poetrio: Saddiq Dzukogi, Jen Karetnick, and Michael Hettich Monthly poetry event featuring three poets and hosted by poet Mildred Barya.

SU (7/4), 3pm, Registration required, avl.mx/9oq WILD (Women in Lively Discussion) Book Club Join former Malaprop’s General Manager Linda-Marie Barrett for this woman-only book club that seeks to have fun by reading books (fiction & non) by women writers.

TU (7/6), 6:30pm, Registration required, avl.mx/9or A Night with Christina Baker Kline and Friends An Indie celebration of the paperback release of The Exiles with

author Christina Baker Kline and Friends.

WE (7/7), 7pm, Registration required, avl.mx/9os New Used Bookstore Opening The store is stocked with thousands of books, audio books, CDs, DVDs and more.

All books priced between $1.50 and $3.

Opening will feature a bargain priced area and a collection of “special finds.”

TH (7/8), 1pm, Weaverville Public Library, 41 N. Main St, Weaverville Reader Meet Writer: Living Brave with Shannon Dingle For all women looking to find “hope in a hopeless world and bravery in an age that seems to lack it,” comes a searing

THE FEHR PIANO STUDIO Piano Lessons: all ages, experienced artistic teaching fully vaccinated Sand Hill Road: 1 Mile from 1/26 & 1/40 Juncture

(828) 777-0061

memoir by Shannon Dingle, a writer and disability advocate.

TH (7/8), 7pm, Registration required, avl.mx/9ot Book + Author: Migrations with Charlotte McConaghy in conversation with Jeff VanderMeer A discussion and live Q&A with authors Charlotte McConaghy and Jeff Vandermeer, hosted by Macmillan.

This is a book-as-ticket event with the option to purchase one of three books.

TH (7/8), 7pm, Registration required, avl.mx/9ou

THEATER Billy Goat Gruff One act features original Appalachian music

woven into a story about the 3 billy goat brothers: Billy, Goat, and Gruff. Tickets only available at the door.

FR (7/2), 10am, $15, Hart Theatre, 250 Pigeon St, Waynesville Magnetic in the (Smoky) Park Outdoor variety show.

TU (7/6), 7pm, $15, Smoky Park Supper Club, 350 Riverside Dr S'Wonderful The John Crawley Band is back, this time with John Crawley playing piano as George Gershwin. S’Wonderful takes place in the home of George and Ira Gershwin with a party full of singers and dancers.

FR (7/9), 7:30pm, $14$34, Hart Theatre, 250 Pigeon St, Waynesville

BUYING OLD PAPER MONEY 10 yrs WNC/ETN notes, bonds, maps, currency etc.

Member SPMC, NCNA, SCNA, TNS

msg/ txt 865-207-8994 or email papermoneybuy@gmail.com

The Magnetic Theatre presents Kore A Modern Telling of the Persephone Myth. Written by Gabrielle Orcha, directed by Jessica Johnson, featuring Zak Hamrick, Katie Langwell, and Heather Nicole Bronson.

FR (7/9), 7:30pm, $23, The Magnetic Theatre, 375 Depot St

BENEFITS K9 Service Dog Fundraiser Throughout July, Pet Supermarket stores will be selling themed pet bandanas for $5 and will donate 100% of the proceeds from sales to the U.S. War Dogs Association.

TH (7/1), 11am, Pet Supermarket, 244 Tunnel Rd Consider Haiti: Freedom Gala & Bike Ride All event proceeds will go to Consider Haiti, a local 501c non-profit that provides sustainable food, clean water and medical care to children in Haiti.

SU (7/4), 8:30am, Multiple Locations, Citywide, Asheville

CLASSES, MEETINGS & EVENTS Weatherize 1000 Homes with ESN & HACA Hands-on volunteer opportunity to make an impact in WNC by helping to lower the energy cost burden of limited-income families.

We welcome groups of 8-16 people who can usually fill a full week's worth of shifts.

MO (7/5), Klondyke Place Freedom Days at the Farm Fresh picked raspberries, blueberries, blackberries and other fruits and vegetables will be available for purchase in the farm market.

FR-SU (7/2,3,4), 9am-5pm, Mountain Fresh Orchards, 2887 Chimney Rock Rd, Hendersonville Yoga in the Park Asheville Community yoga by the French Broad River.

SU (7/4), 1:30pm, Carrier Park, 220 Amboy Rd App Development Summer Camp MO (7/5), HatchWorks, 45 S. French Broad Ave Ben's Friends - Support Group A support group for people in the hospitality industry struggling with addiction.

MO (7/5), 10am, AB Tech Culinary Arts & Hospitality School, 30 Tech Dr

Bereavement Support Group A community of grief support for each other.

RSVP is required by calling Will at 412-9130272.

TU (7/6), 6pm, Woodfin YMCA, 40 N. Merrimon Ave, Suite 101

H✰ H Fourth of July Events ✰ H✰ H ✰

Fridays at the Folk Art Center Join a Parkway ranger to learn all about black bears and how to safely live with them.

FR (7/2), 7:30pm, Folk Art Center, MP 382, Blue Ridge Pkwy

FOOD & BEER Hendersonville Farmers Market Local produce and artisans.

SA (7/3), 8am, Historic Hendersonville Train Depot, 650 Maple St. Mills River Farmers Market Weekly farmers market.

SA (7/3), 8am, Mills River Elementary School, 94 Schoolhouse Rd, Mills River North Asheville Tailgate Market Tailgate market featuring local farmers and vendors.

SA (7/3), 8am, West Asheville Tailgate Market, 3300 University Heights Meadow Market A rotation of local bakers, makers, and artisans.

SU (7/4), 12pm, Highland Brewing Co., 12 Old Charlotte Hwy #200 RAD Farmers Market A variety of local farmers, artisans and makers.

WE (7/7), 3pm, Pleb Urban Winery, 289 Lyman St Flat Rock Farmers Market Weekly farmers market.

TH (7/8), 3pm, Flat Rock Farmers Market, 1790 Greenville Hwy, Hendersonville Brews and Bears Live music, beer and a variety of local vendors.

FR (7/9), 5:30pm, WNC Nature Center, 75 Gashes Creek Rd Sierra Club July 1: Connecting Trails in Buncombe County The Sierra Club presents Buncombe County Greenway Planner Karla Furnari.

TH (7/1), 7pm, Free, Registration required, avl.mx/9ov

SPIRITUALITY Recipe for Serenity: Journey of Self Discovery How to reconnect with your inner joy and peace using the "Emotional Freedom" technique.

Register: anancy08@ gmail.com.

TH (7/1), 6pm, Free

THE (FIRE)WORKS: Looking for a place to go this Fourth of July? We have you covered — below are some local options. Photo courtesy of iStock SATURDAY, JULY 3 RUMBLING BALD 4TH OF JULY CELEBRATION Beachside cookout, pool party, golf cart parade and fireworks display. Events taking place all day and night.

Rumbling Bald on Lake Lure, 112 Mountains Blvd, Lake Lure, 8am LAKE JUNALUSKA INDEPENDENCE DAY CELEBRATION Live music, barbecue, fireworks display and floating laterns. Balsam Range concert begins at 7:30pm.

Lake Junaluska Conference & Retreat Center, 91 North Lakeshore Dr, Lake Junaluska, 8:30am FREEDOM FEST IN DOWNTOWN BRYSON CITY An old-fashioned American celebration featuring an early morning race and fireworks in the evening.

Downtown Bryson City, 10am MONTREAT FOURTH OF JULY PARADE Flag raising, parades and games, followed by worship.

Montreat Conference Center, 401 Assembly Dr, Montreat, 10:30am SPANGLED BANNER ELK 4TH CELEBRATION Hourlong parade on Main St followed by the famous Kiwanis Duck Races. Downtown Banner Elk, 11am ARTS & CRAFTS FAIR AT THE BARN IN PENROSE Various local vendors, food and live music.

The Barn in Penrose, 1911 Crab Creek Rd, Penrose, 12pm DOWNTOWN HOT SPRINGS INDEPENDENCE DAY CELEBRATION Live music, food and a fireworks show in the evening.

Downtown Hot Springs, 7pm INDEPENDENCE DAY SUNSET FIREWORKS AND HIKE 1.5 mile, moderate hike. Suitable for the whole family.

Black Mountain Savings Bank, 200 East State St, Black Mountain, 7pm

SUNDAY, JULY 4 FREE FISHING DAY IN NORTH CAROLINA Free Fishing Day in NC, begins at 12am TWISTED LAUREL VIEWING PARTY Fireworks viewing party, food and cocktails on the patio. Restaurant opens at 11am, reservations recommended.

Twisted Laurel, 130 College St, $30, 8pm RED, WHITE & BREW AT HIGHLAND BREWING CO. Cold beer, live music and activities for the whole family.

12 Old Charlotte Hwy., #200, 12pm THE MOUNT OLIVE MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH FOURTH OF JULY FISH FRY. $10 plates at the event will include whitefish filets along with sides of coleslaw, baked beans, hush puppies and desserts.

Mars Hill City Park,690 Park Dr, Mars Hill, 12pm

4TH PICNIC AND WATER SLIDE AT LITTLE RIVER BAPTIST CHURCH Family oriented event with free food and a large water slide.

51 Little River Church Rd, Penrose, 12:30pm PEZ ERIC CONGDON ACOUSTIC TRIO WITH GUEST HOPE GRIFFIN Live performance.

Saint Paul Mountain Vineyards, 588 Chestnut Gap Rd, Hendersonville, 2:30pm THE DIRTY DEAD AT BIG PILLOW BREWING Grateful Dead tribute band performs live.

Big Pillow Brewing, 25 Andres Ave N, Hot Springs, 3pm 4TH OF JULY COOKOUT AT EAST FORK BAPTIST CHURCH Free hamburgers, hotdogs and fun for the whole family.

East Fork Baptist Church, 13175 Cruso Rd, Canton , 4pm MR. JIMMY INDEPENDENCE DAY CELEBRATION AT TURGUA BREWING Live jazz performance with Asheville’s own Mr. Jimmy.

Turgua Brewing, 3131 Cane Creek Rd, Fairview, 4pm DOWNTOWN SYLVA FOURTH OF JULY FIREWORKS Downtown Sylva, 76 Railroad Ave, Sylva, 4pm JULY 4TH JAM AT SALVAGE STATION Featuring a live performance by The Fritz, The Get Right Band & Jeff Santiago Y Los Gatos Negros.

468 Riverside Dr, $20, 4:30pm WEAVERVILLE’S JULY 4TH CELEBRATION AT LAKE LOUISE Lake Louise Dr, Weaverville, 5pm TAYLOR MARTIN AND THE SONG DOGS AT ONE WORLD BREWING Live performance by local bluegrass band.

One World Brewing, 10 Patton Ave, 5pm CONCERTS ON THE CREEK AT BRIDGE PARK Fireworks and a live performance by The All In One Party Band,.

Fireworks in the Bridge park Pavilion at 9:45pm.

Bridge Park, 76 Railroad Ave, Sylva, 6pm FIREWORKS IN DOWNTOWN ASHEVILLE With music from DJ Nex Millen.

Pack Square Park, 121 College St, 6:30pm JULY 4TH IN HENDERSONVILLE 4th of July concert and fireworks.

Hendersonville Visitors Center, 201 S Main St, Hendersonville 7pm INDEPENDENCE DAY CONCERT AT CREEKWOOD FARM RV PARK Rock band Dixie Revival will play a live, outdoor show.

Creekwood Farm RV Park, 4696 Jonathan Creek Rd, Waynesville, 7:30pm INDEPENDENCE DAY AT LAKE JULIAN Fireworks begin at 9:15pm.

406 Overlook Extension, Arden

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JUNE 30 - JULY 6, 2021

17

WELLNESS

Healthy pride

WNC offers array of LGBTQ health and wellness resources

BY JESSICA WAKEMAN jwakeman@mountainx.com Western North Carolina is a health-conscious place, but one that hasn’t always been welcoming for the LGBTQ community. And without health and wellness opportunities that provide care, while also affirming sexuality and gender identity, some LGBTQ folks may not share essential information with their providers or avoid health care settings entirely.

Numerous local organizations and wellness providers are seeking to change that by prioritizing LGBTQ health. As Scott Parker, the director of development for Western North Carolina Community Health Services, puts it, “If you’re providing care to someone and you leave out the sexual health component, you’re leaving out a big part of who that person is.”

In honor of June as LGBTQ Pride Month, Xpress caught up with several of these providers to learn more about their efforts.

WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA AIDS PROJECT

WNCAP formed in Asheville in 1986 in response to the HIV/AIDS crisis, providing food and care for people with AIDS. The nonprofit now serves 18 WNC counties, with offices in Asheville, Shelby and Franklin.

WNCAP offers services for the treatment and prevention of sexually transmitted diseases, substance abuse and mental health issues, says spokesperson Michael Poandl.

“There continues to be a lot of stigma around these health issues,” he says.

“Of course, these issues don’t just affect queer people, but they do disproportionately affect queer people.”

The organization provides free testing for HIV, hepatitis C and syphilis. WNCAP also operates a pharmacy services program that works with Sona Pharmacy, Avita Pharmacy and Appalachian Specialty Pharmacy to arrange unlabeled home delivery of medications. “We take anonymity very seriously,” notes Poandl.

WNCAP can connect patients to affordable treatment for hepatitis C, as well as PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) and PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis) — pills that can prevent HIV transmission before or after exposure, respectively. Case management for people living with HIV/ 18

JUNE 30 - JULY 6, 2021

where every provider is approachable about any issue.

WNCCHS opened in 1994 to offer health services for people with AIDS, and in 2010, the clinic partnered with Buncombe County, with a mandate to address health disparities in the region. Of the 14,800 patients who received care from the clinic in 2019, 60% were uninsured, and 95% had an income at or below the federal poverty level.

Addressing this population, Parker says, means continually adapting to its changing needs. For example, WNCCHS received federal funds at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic to address food insecurity by providing food boxes.

“We realized that was an unmet need for a lot of our patients,” Parker explains. When that pandemic relief funding ended, the clinic adjusted its own budget to continue the program in partnership with Loving Foods Resources, a local food pantry.

“We’re anticipating that food insecurity will continue after COVID, so we’re continuing to provide it as long as we can,” he says of the aid.

Also known as the Minnie Jones Clinic, named in honor of the nonprofit’s co-founder, WNCCHS offers HIV treatment and prevention services, including PReP and PEP, and operates an in-house pharmacy.

Its transgender health clinic offers everything from primary medical care to hormone therapy to support services, such as assistance with officially documenting gender changes.

More information at WNCCHS.org.

ALLÉ K - TRANS YOGA TEACHER

NAMASTE: Allé K teaches yoga geared toward queer, trans and larger-bodied people. Image via TransYogaTeacher.com AIDS is also available. According to a N.C. Department of Health and Human Services report, Buncombe and Henderson counties were home to 730 and 176 people with HIV, respectively, in 2019. (WNCAP estimates that about 3,000 people in WNC are currently living with HIV.) As part of its harm reduction services, WNCAP distributes the anti-overdose medication naloxone, properly disposes of unsterile syringes and provides sterile injection equipment. A mobile syringe exchange unit travels to rural areas as well. WNCAP also assists clients with transportation to medical care, including medication-assisted therapy for opioid use disorder, and can

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help clients enter rehab. All services are free and confidential.

More information at WNCAP.org.

WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA COMMUNITY HEALTH SERVICES

Western North Carolina Community Health Services is a primary care provider offering family medicine, dental care and behavioral health care. But unlike other providers, Parker says, at the core of its work is the acknowledgement that sexuality and gender identity impacts every aspect of life. He says the Asheville-based organization’s approach of “whole person care” seeks to make the clinic a safe space

Asheville-based yoga instructor Allé K teaches a practice geared toward queer, trans and fat or larger-bodied people. It’s something that he himself needed. “I know that it’s important to have affinity spaces where pronouns and chosen names will be respected, and so that’s why I do what I do,” he says. “I’ve been misgendered in many yoga spaces so I want folks to feel affirmed in their healing journey, unlike I was.”

Classes begin with a community check-in where anyone who wants to can share their name and pronoun.

His slow-paced dharma yoga instruction is “gender-affirming, accessible to beginners and accessible for folks with different needs and shapes and sizes of bodies,” he says. On the physical side of the classes, K offers pose modifications that other instructors may not be aware about.

“I had top surgery and I’ve had to learn how to move my body in different ways,” he explains. “I’m good

at offering different options based on my lived experience.”

K’s weekly yoga class in Carrier Park geared toward queer, trans and fat or larger-bodied people begins in July. Tuition will be sliding scale or donation-based.

More information is available at TransYogaTeacher.com or Instagram. com/TransYogaTeacher.

BLUE RIDGE PRIDE

The nonprofit Blue Ridge Pride is best known for community-building events like its LGBTQIA+ oral history project (I and A representing intersex and asexual people, respectively) or the Pride celebration in September. While not a health organization, Blue Ridge Pride runs a program called Generation Plus that offers an essential mental health resource: social connection for LGBTQ folks over age 55.

“As we age, whether we’re gay or straight, people tend to isolate more,” says Butch Thompson, president of Blue Ridge Pride’s board.

But isolation, he continues, can present particular challenges for the well-being of older LGBTQ people.

“They tend to go back in the closet,

so to speak,” says Thompson. Elders can lose social support and affirming medical care, letting health issues go untreated out of fear of discrimination and stigma.

COVID-19 forced the organization to operate primarily online. Throughout the pandemic, Generation Plus has held two twice-monthly online meetings: Rainbow Inspiration, which is sponsored by AARP NC Mountain Region and spotlights LGBTQ community members, and Pride Time, an hourlong social chat over Zoom. “We saw the need when COVID hit that people couldn’t get out. And unfortunately, for some elderly people, it was already challenging to get out,” explains Thompson. “We thought by doing these virtual segments online that it would really help them.”

Through its website, Blue Ridge Pride seeks to connect the aging LGBTQ population to services, like education about Medicare, telehealth and caregiving assistance. Generation Pride also anticipates restarting its in-person lunch and learn events in September, including some with a health focus.

More information at BlueRidgePride. org. X

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JUNE 30 - JULY 6, 2021

19

ARTS & CULTURE

Responsible reveling

What to expect at local breweries this July 4 weekend

BY EDWIN ARNAUDIN

and capacity policies to get input and make sure folks on the front lines of service are in a position that allows them to do their job effectively and safely.”

earnaudin@mountainx.com As the Independence Day holiday neared in 2020, Asheville-area breweries were in an unusual predicament. Statewide restrictions to curb the spread of COVID-19 meant taprooms had to operate at reduced capacities indoors and adhere to social distancing requirements both inside and out.

Patrons comfortable with navigating those environments had to mask up and often follow oneway routes to the bar, where they ordered from a masked employee, likely with a plexiglass partition separating them during their touch-free financial transaction.

Only when customers sat down at a table with their party could masks be removed to imbibe, almost certainly from a plastic cup.

One year later, the scene at local taprooms hasn’t quite returned to July 2019 levels, but at many businesses, it’s not far off. On May 14, in response to encouraging COVID-19 vaccination levels and decreasing infection rates, Gov. Roy Cooper lifted capacity restrictions and social distancing requirements in all settings, as well as face-covering requirements in most settings. Employers, business owners and local governments may still require safety measures, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continues to recommend such precautions for unvaccinated people (including children) and for all people in large venues.

“A lot of tasting rooms have opted to keep existing signage up or adjust them to encourage or recommend mask-wearing, particularly by

HOLIDAY HOSPITALITY: Zillicoah Beer Co. co-owner Jonathan Chassner and his colleagues are excited to welcome larger crowds this July 4 weekend, though several safety precautions remain in place. Photo courtesy of Zillicoah those who are unvaccinated,” says Leah Rainis, executive director of the Asheville Brewers Alliance.

“Whether or not staffs are being required to wear masks seems

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to be varied, but the thing that appears to be consistent across tasting rooms is that leadership and front-of-house staff have had team discussions around masking

BACK TO ’NORMAL’

Traditionally, Independence Day arrives a mere month after the busy AVL Beer Week and typically doesn’t inspire special events at local breweries; nevertheless, the industry usually experiences an uptick in traffic from tourists and off-work residents alike. This year, even without a spring Beer Week, increased attendance at breweries is expected across the holiday weekend. With important pandemic metrics improving, industry figures like Zillicoah Beer Co. co-owner Jeremy Chassner and his front-of-house staff are feeling optimistic about welcoming back larger crowds.

“Since vaccines really got rolled out in the last few months, the stress has diminished to a much more tolerable level,” Chassner says. “We recently bumped capacity up a bit, and everyone on our team is on board with that decision.”

Zillicoah reopened in June 2020 with outdoor seating but recently made available some four-top tables inside with capacity just under 30 people. Bar seating, however, remains closed, with orders still solely taken from the patio service window. In addition, employees have opted to continue wearing masks in an effort to keep themselves and customers as safe as possible.

“In turn, we’re asking customers to continue to wear masks while

in line to extend that same courtesy,” Chassner says. “It’s been a long hard road, and it was never guaranteed that we would make it through. We’re feeling much more positive about the future each day, and we’re starting to have some fun again.”

Zillicoah has also returned to using glassware, as has Highland Brewing Co., though Nikki Mitchell, Highland hospitality manager, says that compostable cups may be requested by patrons in the brewery’s Meadow space.

Meanwhile, the “seating circles” that kept visitors at a responsible distance from each other prior to the capacity shift are gone, allowing people to naturally spread out with their own folding chairs or blankets. On July 4, the space will host Highland’s weekly Meadow Market, noon-5 p.m., featuring an array of local vendors, plus live music from Jackson Grimm & The One String Band and Pleasure Chest.

The Meadow offers some seating in its shaded mulch areas, and the taproom’s front porch is equipped with shade sails. The taproom itself is also open, though seating remains socially distanced and, in Mitchell’s words, there’s still “a big, wide bar line” for more comfortable ordering. She adds that Highland is following CDC guidelines and not requiring masks for vaccinated patrons on an honor system. As such, the fully vaccinated staff is not required to wear masks, which she feels is resulting in a more welcoming environment all around.

“We’ve eased our way into it, and in general, our team feels supercomfortable. They’re excited to see the space being used as it was built for,” Mitchell says. “When they work in the Meadow bar, they don’t have to sweat through a mask and a plexi-shield that’s

preventing airflow. These things have been a relief.”

PLEXIGLASS FUTURES

As taproom operations return to normal and personal protective equipment is no longer needed, breweries are faced with the decision of what to do with the remaining supplies. Mitchell says that the plumbed hand-washing stations will remain in the Meadow.

The plexiglass barriers and their wooden frames, however, are in storage. Upcycling or repurposing projects, adds Mitchell, are both possibilities.

Chassner notes that much of the PPE that Zillicoah invested in — namely masks and hand sanitizer — has a diminishing inventory and will continue to be used for a while. (“Eventually, we’ll get to a point where we run out, and perhaps we don’t reorder,” he says.) For other items, he and his colleagues are brainstorming what to do.

“It would be great to come up with some sort of permanent use for things like plexiglass, but we haven’t landed on an answer just yet. It’s possible some of these items will end up being stored here at the brewery for potential future use,” Chassner says. Otherwise, Zillicoah will look into depositing items at the Western North Carolina Brewery Recycling Cooperative.

Whether or not these and other safety measures are still in place when patrons visit a brewery this Independence Day weekend, brewery representatives are trusting that attendees will use their expanded taproom freedoms responsibly.

Following an eventful year in which numerous compromises had to be made to encourage a return to the current more relaxed environments, such progress is worth celebrating — and preserving. X

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21

ARTS & C U L T U R E

LITERATURE

In the raw

BY THOMAS CALDER tcalder@mountainx.com Longtime Asheville resident, poet and retired therapist Robert “Zack” Zachary is no stranger to stories. In 2015, he launched Dialogue Café, a lecture series that emphasizes the sharing of individual histories as a way to encourage social change. Since that time, he’s taken the event across several states.

But only recently has the storyteller committed his oral tales to paper. Set to publish later this summer, Zachary’s debut essay collection, Forgotten Stories Remembered, spans the author’s 71 years, with an emphasis on his childhood in Anniston, Ala., as well as his time in the military.

“I wanted to tell stories in the raw,” says Zachary. “My hope is that people will take away the realness of what happened, which is different from what seems to be the common belief: that there was no joy in Black America. We were the joy. We gave each other joy. We were about defying the ‘can’t-dothis’ [Jim Crow system].”

BLACK WALNUT MALT

Yet amid this joy, there were moments of sadness and trauma.

A section in the book’s opening chapter explores the confusion and heartbreak Zachary experienced in early childhood, during a weekend visit to a creamery where he and his older sister regularly purchased ice cream.

Local author examines his life growing up in the Jim Crow South

At the time, Zachary was too young to understand the arbitrary and dehumanizing rules of Jim Crow. So when a white family entered the creamery behind Zachary and his sister, he didn’t realize custom called for the two Black children to step aside.

Adding to the story’s complexity, the creamery’s white owner, who was friendly with Zachary and his sister, decided to serve his customers in the order in which they arrived. The decision infuriated the white family, resulting in a verbal conflict between customer and store owner. Meanwhile, the young Zachary wept.

“I did not understand Jim Crow,” the author writes. “I was not used to people … acting like this around me.”

Ultimately, the white family left the creamery, threatening to report the white owner to the authorities.

Once they left, the white owner consoled Zachary, serving him a black walnut malt.

The incident, like many in his book, captures Zachary’s gift as a storyteller. His writing never downplays the cruelties of Jim Crow, but he doesn’t ignore the complicated dynamics at play. Even amid racial tension and hostility, moments of tenderness did unfold.

THREE DAYS

Though Zachary has previously shared many of the tales in Forgotten Stories Remembered through Dialogue Café, writing the book did require some unearthing.

Two of the author’s most frequent sources were his older sisters

— one who lives in Detroit and the other who continues to live in the family home in Anniston.

“Sometimes I was on the phone with them all day,” he says.

Meanwhile, objects — such as the black walnut malt — also helped recall past happenings.

“We forget a lot of times that we live by symbols and images,” says Zachary. “The images of childhood to me remain in a person’s life always. And the black walnut story remains alive in me all the time.”

In other instances, the events weren’t hard to remember but committing them to paper proved emotionally taxing. The most draining story to write, notes Zachary, represented a chronic danger for African Americans in the Jim Crow South — traveling while Black.

Beverages were discouraged, if not forbidden, before taking off for a road trip. The risk of pulling into an unknown town was too grave; meanwhile, the designated “Colored” facilities for Black citizens were poorly maintained. “You wouldn’t allow your dog to go into them,” Zachary says.

Frequently, the author notes, his family would pull over alongside a highway to relieve themselves. “I remember watching my mother and sisters and aunts stepping out of the car to find a safe place,” Zachary says. “And I would watch Black men — my dad, my brothers-in-law, my uncles — get out of the car and stand at attention, watching out for their wives and their daughters in case a white-bodied person came and tried to injure them.”

The memory, continues Zachary, was brutal. “That took some time

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LISTEN UP: Poet and storyteller Robert “Zack” Zachary is adding essayist to his credentials with his forthcoming debut, Forgotten Stories Remembered. Photo courtesy of Propertius Press to write,” he says. “That took me three days.”

SELF-RESPECT The second half of Zachary’s book unfolds as a series of philosophical contemplations on religion, white privilege, police brutality and history. The topics are deeply explored, but the very nature of the section feels jumbled at times, especially in comparison to the book’s previous tight focus on Zachary’s life.

Still, the messages Zachary relays are worthy of consideration.

It’s also where he’s in direct dialogue with some of today’s current issues such as policing and racial justice.

“Back in the day, we never talked about defunding the police,” Zachary says. “Our thing was about getting Black policemen in the Black communities and to get white police out of the Black community.

I have always believed in that.”

And though much of his collection confronts the destructive nature of racism, the author says one of his key interests in writing Forgotten Stories Remembered is to encourage self-reflection.

“Before a person can understand another race, they have to understand themselves and their own race,” Zachary explains. “If you can’t respect your own culture, you can’t respect mine.”

To preorder a copy of Forgotten Stories Remembered, visit avl.mx/9mr. X

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JUNE 30 - JULY 6, 2021

23

AR T S & C UL TU R E

MUSIC

Instrumental moments Recent A.C. Reynolds High School graduate selected for Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra

Aaron Lipsky feels that he didn’t choose to play clarinet as much as he simply went with the flow of life.

Now, after riding that wave for seven years and dedicating his life to music, he’s about to attend one of the top university programs in the country and has earned a spot in the prestigious NYO-USA, Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra.

The recent A.C. Reynolds High School graduate knew as a fifth grader that he wanted to be in sixth grade band but wasn’t sure what to play.

When word of these aspirations got to his grandfather Phillip Rhodes, the elder relative and still-active composer sent his grandson his old clarinet.

From there, Lipsky credits his Cane Creek Middle School band director Clif Dodson with pushing the young ensemble to be great. Two

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WOODWIND WONDER: Asheville-based clarinetist Aaron Lipsky, pictured with “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band in April, earned a spot in the prestigious NYO-USA, which convenes just outside New York City in July. Photo by Staff Sgt. Chase Baran years later, Dodson tapped Lipsky to solo during the band’s performance at the N.C. Music Educators Association annual convention in Winston-Salem — an experience that the clarinetist identifies as a key moment in his musical journey.

Other standout accomplishments include performing his grandfather’s composition “Following Picasso” with Rhodes in attendance and, more recently, winning “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band concerto competition in February 2020. But while each highlight has played a major role in his development, Lipsky feels that his decision to pursue music professionally has been a gradual, organic progression, rather than one resulting in a singular, Hollywood-style epiphany.

“Whatever you put into it, you can get in reward back from it,” Lipsky says. “It’s sort of like you’re competing with yourself a little bit to see how good you can be. I find that exciting, but it’s also just enjoyable to play with so many other people, learning a different language, basically.”

That passion paid off this spring when, after auditioning the past two years, Lipsky became one of four clarinetists, ages 16-19, chosen for NYOUSA. The highly selective group typically plays at Carnegie Hall and goes

on tour, but this July, due to what its website calls “the ongoing effects of COVID-19,” the players will gather at Purchase College, State University of New York, for a monthlong program capped by digital performances.

Though Lipsky is somewhat disappointed to not partake in NYO-USA’s usual perks, he acknowledges that the compromise is “nothing on the scale of what people have lost this year.” “‘If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again,’” says Lipsky in regard to the power of perseverance. “It’s pretty surreal to be representing the whole United States as a collective group of young artists and individuals.”

Following the summer program, Lipsky will attend Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, where he plans to study clarinet performance. He hopes both experiences will forge lasting connections with fellow musicians, and he’ll also continue to pursue his interest in political science while keeping up with regular exercise.

“I find running helps me sometimes with music,” Lipsky says. “It’s sort of like meditating. You’re totally in your own head and you can think about what you want to do with music or planning concerts or thinking about a piece.”

— Edwin Arnaudin X

FOOD ROUNDUP

What’s new in food

Summer rolls in with a fish fry on Fourth of July Members of the 104-year-old Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church in the Long View community of Mars Hill don’t know for sure when their traditional Fourth of July fish fry started. But for several years the annual event has been on hiatus.

Last November, Mount Olive received word of their acceptance into a grant program administered

by Partners for Sacred Places to support much-needed renovations to the aging church building. The award will require the church to raise funds to match the grant amount. On learning this, the Rev. William Hamilton, called to Mount Olive’s pulpit in 2017, says he knew resurrecting the fish fry was the perfect way to kick off the campaign.

“The building we are in now is nearly 70 years old, built when the first one was torn down,” Hamilton explains. “The roof needs repairs, the tile floor in the fellowship hall needs to be replaced, and we want to switch out the old furnace to save money.”

The $10 plates at the Fourth of July Fish Fry will include whitefish filets dredged in a secret recipe known only by church elders, along with sides of coleslaw, baked beans and hush puppies. Desserts, also made by members of the congregation, will be sold separately. Hamilton gets close to giddy thinking of them. “Oh man, so many kinds of desserts. I can’t remember them all, but lots of cakes for sure.”

The Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church Fourth of July Fish Fry begins at noon at Mars Hill City Park, 690 Park Drive, Mars Hill. For more on Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church, visit avl.mx/9ms.

Friends reunion The Friends group is reuniting — not Rachel’s, Monica’s and Phoebe’s “Friends,” but the Asheville chapter of Ben’s Friends, the national support group for people in the hospitality industry struggling with addiction.

Founded in 2016 in Charleston, S.C., the local group began in 2019, meeting weekly at Posana restaurant.

When COVID-19 closed restaurants and prohibited in-person gatherings, all chapters nationwide pivoted to virtual meetings. Briefly last summer, the Asheville chapter, led by chefs Paul Cressend and Andrew McLeod, resumed meeting at District

42, before returning to online sessions during the winter and spring.

On June 14, the chapter convened for the first time at its new location at A-B Tech inside the Magnolia building, the main facility for the school’s much-touted culinary program. “I went to A-B Tech, and I also drank a lot when I was in culinary school,” says McLeod. “It would have benefited me to know there were people making different choices and living a different lifestyle while maintaining their professional path.”

McLeod adds that while virtual meetings were helpful in navigating the unique challenges of the pandemic, in-person meetings and making human connections are key to managing sobriety. “The opposite of addiction is connection,” he explains.

“It is a different experience sitting in a room with someone, making a friend, exchanging numbers, and going out for coffee after.”

Ben’s Friends Asheville meets Mondays, 10-11 a.m., in the main dining room of the Magnolia building on the A-B Tech Asheville campus, 340 Victoria Drive.

In a jam

When Tupelo Honey’s 16 nationwide locations pivoted to takeout-only in March 2020, many employees were temporarily out of work. To assist its furloughed staff, the restaurant turned to one of its more popular menu items.

“Using biscuits, we found a simple way guests could give back while also enjoying biscuits at home,” says chief operating officer Caroline Skinner.

Biscuits for a Cause was cooked up last summer as a $4 appetizer of two cathead buttermilk biscuits with blueberry jam and whipped butter, available at all stores, as a tasty way for guests to support the company’s employee relief fund during COVID19. That initiative transitioned to the Biscuits for a Cause 501(c)(3) foundation, which has raised over $500,000 since its inception. Grants are generally capped at $3,000, and the average amount requested is $1,000 to $2,500.

“We’ve used the fund to support team members that had unexpected transportation issues, like one whose car was totaled and was not reimbursed by insurance,” says Skinner.

“Additionally, BFAC has supported employees with unexpected medical

ON A MISSION: Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church’s pastor, William Hamilton, and his daughter JeNaya Hamilton are bringing back the Fourth of July fish fry to raise funds for the century-old Mars Hill church. Photo courtesy of William Hamilton issues, treatments such as surgeries and ER visits.”

The success of the foundation and decision to continue disbursing grants to assist employees in crisis beyond COVID-related needs has led the company to form a board of directors to help Tupelo Honey’s human resources department manage the guest-driven relief fund.

Tupelo Honey, 12 College St. and 1829 Hendersonville Road, avl.mx/9m7

Piece of cake

Shana McDowell has been baking and selling custom cakes, cupcakes, cookies, brownies and sweetbreads from her AVL Cake Lady shop on New Leicester Highway since March 2019.

The pandemic hit the business hard, and though she kept baking, she also did a lot of thinking about the future.

“Foot traffic has always been a challenge there, and COVID really hurt it,” says McDowell. “As things started to open back up and people were getting out and about, I felt I needed to get out where the people are.”

In early June, McDowell opened what she calls a permanent AVL Cake Lady popup in Building 2 at the WNC Farmers Market on Brevard Road.

“We built everything on wheels so we can move it all around,” she says of the family effort that includes her daughter, Elizabeth McDowell, and Shana’s father, Walter Brannan, the face behind the counter at the market location.

Open 9 a.m.-5 p.m., the new location sells banana bread, blueberry crumble, pound cake, mini-pies, cookies, brownies and banana pudding, all

made in the Leicester Highway store, which remains open 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

Tuesday-Saturday.

AVL Cake Lady, 34 New Leicester Highway and WNC Farmers Market, Building B, 570 Brevard Road, avl.mx/9ma

Beer today, gone tomorrow Erin Jordan literally worked her way from the ground up to become Archetype Brewing’s head brewer in 2020, the only woman to hold the position in Asheville. “I’ve been there since it was a dirt floor and helped finish the buildout,” she told Xpress earlier this year, shortly after accepting bronze and silver medals and the title N.C. Belgian-Style Brewery of the Year at the prestigious New York International Beer Competition.

Now Jordan is bidding adieu to Archetype and will take her talents to Charlotte’s Resident Culture Brewing Co. “We’re devastated to lose Erin,” says Archetype co-founder Eric Casanova. “Erin is an incredible talent, and I’m sure she will make us all proud in her next step in her journey.”

Jordan will work with the recently hired assistant brewer and brewing intern before she departs in July. In the meantime, Archetype is looking for a new head brewer. “The rare opportunity we’re offering to applicants is thrilling, but my heart is broken to lose such a powerful, competent, creative, kind woman,” adds co-owner Corina Casanova. “We’ll miss Erin’s energy, but we’ll surf this change together.”

MOUNTAINX.COM

— Kay West X JUNE 30 - JULY 6, 2021

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JUNE 30 - JULY 6, 2021

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ARTS & CU L T U R E

ROUNDUP

Around Town

Sisters Grimm In 2019, Asheville-based playwright Honor Moor approached Montford Park Players Executive Director John Russell with an idea for a show: three fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm, each reinterpreted by a different local female playwright.

“Classical theater has been traditionally dominated by male writers,” Moor says. “I felt that giving strong female writers free rein to pick their own play to interpret would provide interesting results.”

The outcome, simply called Grimm’s Fairy Tales, premiered June 25 at the Hazel Robinson Amphitheatre and continues each Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 7:30 p.m. through Saturday, July 24. In addition to Moor’s take on “The Shoes That Were Danced to Pieces,” the one-acts include Barbie Angell’s “The Griffin” and Kathryn Langwell’s “Rumpelstiltskin.”

“Barbie has a dark whimsy about her,” Moor says. Meanwhile, Langwell’s annual theatrical production at Hanger Hall assured Moor that she could create a humorous play.

Other women in key roles for the production include Victoria Lamberth (director), Sara Hassinger and Lydia Congdon (stage mangers), Beth Norris (sound design) and dramaturg Carole Saich, whom Moor credits with providing important assistance for each writer with language and editing.

“We wrote with humor and with a woman’s eye for how the characters respond to their circumstances,” Moor says. “We hope to entertain and make folks of all ages laugh but also feel the vibe of the magic of watching theater under the stars. After a long pandemic, we are thrilled to present this evening to audiences.”

Montford Park Players is located at 92 Gay St. For more information and to reserve free tickets, visit avl.mx/9mj.

University. The works selected for his new show consist of oil, ash and charcoal paintings on burned panel and paper, featuring clouds, mountains, portraits, ephemera and remnants of nature.

According to a gallery press release, the paintings are “conceptually dark, yet haunting and beautiful at the same time.” Often using found objects that he burns, “[Pazderka] transforms the painting surface with the destructive, yet creative power of fire.”

Bender Gallery is located at 29 Biltmore Ave. The exhibition runs through Tuesday, Aug. 31, and is viewable Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., and Sunday noon5 p.m. There will be also be an opening reception for Pazderka on Saturday, July 3, 6-9 p.m., by RSVP only. To reserve a spot and learn more, visit avl.mx/9mn.

Craft pathways

July marks the second annual Blue Ridge Craft Trails Month in Henderson County, during which residents and visitors are encouraged to explore a trio of routes that unite local studios and galleries. The three trails are Touring the Heart of Hendersonville, Wandering Flat Rock and Finding Wonders in the Outskirts, which collectively include a total of 14 sites. Throughout the month, the venues will feature artist demonstrations, exhibit openings and other special events.

“When people come to our area, they have things in mind that we are known for, and one of those is handmade, one-of-a-kind crafts,” says Michelle Owens, executive director of the Henderson County Tourism Development Authority.

“Craft Trails Month is a way to highlight these wonderful artisans, so visitors are able to find what they’re looking for.”

Most galleries keep regular hours, though some studios are open by appointment only. For more information, visit avl.mx/9mp.

Playing with fire

Bender Gallery’s latest solo exhibition, One Day I Will Disappear, debuts Saturday, July 3, and spotlights paintings by Czech American artist Tom Pazderka, who earned a BFA from Western Carolina

The 11th annual season of Concerts on the Creek begins Friday, July 2, at Sylva’s Bridge Park, 76 Railroad Ave., with Terri Lynn Queen, Scott Baker and Tim Queen playing classic rock hits,

Creek style

LILITH LIVES: From left, Barbie Angell, Victoria Lamberth, Kathryn Langwell and Honor Moor form the creative team behind Montford Park Players’ “Grimm’s Fairy Tales.” Photo by Laurie Johnson Photography 7-9 p.m. Festivities continue on Sunday, July 4, with the All in One Band performing classic R&B, funk, rock and beach hits, 6-9:30 p.m., followed by fireworks.

The series rolls on each Friday through Sept. 3, and each event is free, with donations encouraged.

Attendees are asked to bring their own chairs or blankets; all dogs must be on a leash; and coolers, smoking and alcohol are prohibited. Anyone who is not yet vaccinated for COVID-19 is asked to practice social distancing, proper hand sanitizing and preferably wear a mask. Vaccinated attendees are not required to wear a mask. For more information, visit avl.mx/9ml.

Printed word

The Sublime Theater & Press plans to return to the stage this fall, but in the meantime, the company is leaning into its “Press” side.

Hardcover, paperback and e-book editions of My Crazy My Love by John Crutchfield, Washington Place by David Brendan Hopes and American Arcade by Steven Samuels are now available via such online bookstores as Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop. All three plays are written by Ashevillebased authors with world premieres produced and directed by Samuels in local theaters. For more information, visit avl.mx/9mm.

Family Homeplace is available to view online. The guided look at the four architecturally distinct barns on the Mars Hill area farmstead is led by ABA researcher Taylor Barnhill, who weaves in stories and historical details across the hourlong video. To take the free tour, visit avl.mx/9mk.

— Edwin Arnaudin X

MOVIE LISTINGS Bruce Steele’s and Edwin Arnaudin’s latest critiques of new films available to view in local theaters and via popular streaming services include: SUMMER OF SOUL: Ahmir-Khalib “Questlove” Thompson’s joyful debut documentary chronicles the largely forgotten Harlem Cultural Festival, which booked Nina Simone, Stevie Wonder and other Black artists the same summer as Woodstock.

Grade: A-minus. Rated PG-13 F9: THE FAST SAGA: Dom (Vin Diesel) and family try to stop his long-lost brother Jakob (John Cena) from... something evil, in this idiotic but action-packed sequel. Grade: C. Rated PG-13

Barns by Barnhill The Appalachian Barn Alliance’s virtual tour of the Anderson MOUNTAINX.COM

Find full reviews and local film info at ashevillemovies.com patreon.com/ashevillemovies JUNE 30 - JULY 6, 2021

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

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 30 305 LOUNGE & EATERY Mark Fisher (solo acoustic), 1pm HAZEL ROBINSON AMPHITHEATRE The Travelin’ McCourys Present: The Grateful Ball (bluegrass), 5:30pm SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN BREWERY Jazz Night at SAB w/ Jason DeCristofaro, 5:30pm BOLD ROCK HARD CIDER Trivia Night, 6pm HIGHLAND BREWING Well Crafted Wednesdays w/Matt Smith (rotating artists), 6pm

FLEETWOOD’S Terraoke! Karaoke with Terra!, 6pm ONE WORLD BREWING Isaac Hadden (solo acoustic), 6pm SWEETEN CREEK BREWING Open Mic, 6pm SALVAGE STATION The Blue Dragons (Grateful Dead, Phish covers), 6:30pm CATAWBA BREWING SOUTH SLOPE Weekly Trivia w/Billy Nesbit, 6:30pm 185 KING STREET Unpaid Bill & the Bad Czechs (acoustic blues, swing), 7pm

OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. French Broad Valley Mountain Music Jam, 6pm

AMERICAN VINYL CO. Libby Rodenbough (of Mipso) w/Trippers and Askers, 7pm

HOME GROUND COFFEE BAR & DELI Bluegrass Jam, 6pm

ISIS MUSIC HALL & KITCHEN 743 Seth Mulder and Midnight Run (bluegrass), 7pm

TWIN LEAF BREWERY Open Mic Night w/ Tommy Yon, 6pm THE GREY EAGLE Lo Wolf (folk), 6pm SWEETEN CREEK BREWING Witty Wednesday Trivia, 6:30pm 12 BONES BREWERY Robert's Totally Rad Trivia, 7pm CATAWBA BREWING SOUTH SLOPE Bingeable Trivia, 7pm 185 KING STREET Trivia Night, 7pm ONLINE Kim Richey (Americana), 7pm RABBIT RABBIT Trivia Night, 7pm THE BARRELHOUSE Open Mic/Free Jam, 8pm THE ORANGE PEEL Min Xiao-Fen “White Lotus” album release (original score), 8pm ASHEVILLE BEAUTY ACADEMY Beauty Parlour Comedy featuring Shaunak Godkhindi, 8:30pm ALLEY CAT SOCIAL CLUB Karaoke Party, 9pm

JUNE 30 - JULY 6, 2021

THURSDAY, JULY 1

MILLS RIVER BREWING Open Mic Night, 6pm

ISA’S FRENCH BISTRO Jay DiPaola’s Live Lounge (solo acoustic), 6pm

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ONE WORLD BREWING Latin Night Wednesday, 9pm

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JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Bluegrass Jam w/ Drew & the Boys (bluegrass), 7pm THE ORANGE PEEL The Old-Time Radio Comedy Show w/ Stand-Up Acts, 7:30pm THE GETAWAY TIKI BAR Getaway Comedy featuring Kenny DeForest, 8pm THE GREY EAGLE Love Bubble (acoustic trio), 8pm SLY GROG LOUNGE Dots w/Green Slime & Thieveslikeus (rock, dance), 8pm TWIN LEAF BREWERY Karaoke w/KJ Salina, 8pm

FRIDAY, JULY 2 BLACK MOUNTAIN CENTER FOR THE ARTS The Intentional String Band (folk), 5pm 305 LOUNGE & EATERY The Geriatric Jukebox (folk, light rock), 5pm SWEETEN CREEK BREWING George Trouble (Americana, folk, classic rock), 5pm

HOWL YOUR HEART OUT: The Grey Eagle will welcome classically trained harpist gone folk singer Lo Wolf on Wednesday, June 30, at 6 p.m. The dynamic, Asheville-based solo artist will play on the patio stage in a socially distanced show open to all ages. Visit avl.mx/9ow to reserve a table. $8 in advance, $10 at the door. Photo courtesy of Lo Wolf STUDIO276 Music & Moonshine (rotating artists), 6pm

FLEETWOOD’S Safety Coffin // Guy Roswell, 8pm

THE GREY EAGLE Alex Krug Combo (folk rock), 6pm

CATAWBA BREWING SOUTH SLOPE Tony Palkovic (jazz, folk, reggae), 6pm

THE SOCIAL Roots & Dore Band (rock, soul), 8pm

ASHEVILLE BEAUTY ACADEMY Beauty Parlour Comedy featuring Blaire Postman, 7pm

HIGHLAND BREWING CO. Rhoda and the Risers (vocalist), 6pm MAD CO. BREW HOUSE Seth & Sara (acoustic duo), 6pm ONE WORLD BREWING Pimps of Pompe (jazz), 6pm THE GREY EAGLE - Rob Leines (country rock), 6pm - Wild and Free Burlesque Party, 8pm BRIDGE PARK Concerts on the Creek: Terri Lynn Queen, Tim Queen & Scott Baker, 7pm SALVAGE STATION Little Stranger w/ Human Resources & Leisureville (alternative, hip hop), 7pm SILVERADOS Saliva w/Contagious (rock), 7pm

185 KING STREET Dr. Bacon (Appalachian funk), 8pm THE GREENHOUSE MOTO CAFE The Lads AVL (acoustic, electric covers), 8pm

ISIS MUSIC HALL & KITCHEN 743 The Foreign Landers (Americana, bluegrass), 7pm

THE ORANGE PEEL Jeremy's Ten (Pearl Jam tribute), 8pm

SALVAGE STATION Check Your Head (Beastie Boys tribute), 7pm

SOQDET IN SYLVA Wachacha & Friends w/Orion Records Linz-E (drum & bass), 9pm

SILVERADOS Jim Lauderdale w/ The Road Band (singer-songwriter), 7pm

SATURDAY, JULY 3 BLUE RIDGE HEMP CO. DJ Series w/Ralphie Day (dance), 3pm THE GREENHOUSE MOTO CAFE - Perry Wing Combo (Appalachian, Americana), 4pm - Mr Jimmy Trio (blues), 8pm

ISIS MUSIC HALL & KITCHEN 743 Christie Lenée (acoustic, folk rock), 7pm

BATTERY PARK BOOK EXCHANGE Dinah’s Daydream (jazz), 5pm

JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Sons of Ralph (bluegrass), 7:30pm

ONE WORLD BREWING Gunslinging Parrots (Phish tribute), 6pm

TWIN LEAF BREWERY Jamie Gorsuch (solo acoustic), 8pm

SWEETEN CREEK BREWING Jokers Trade (rock, jam), 6pm

SLY GROG LOUNGE Rhythm-Furcation I, Cryoverb, MycoLyco, Mcdubbin, Ganjourn, 56k Connection (electronic, dance), 8pm 185 KING STREET Jeff Sipe Trio ft. Mike Seal and Taylor Lee w/Sarah Siskind, 8pm THE ORANGE PEEL End of the Line (Allman Brothers tribute), 8pm SOQDET IN SYLVA Johnny Favorite from Moolah Temple $tringband (folk, blues), 9pm

SUNDAY, JULY 4 JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Bluegrass Brunch, 12pm

HIGHLAND BREWING Red, White & Brew, 12pm WAGBAR Emily Musolino (blues, rock, soul), 12pm ONE WORLD BREWING - Jazz Jam Brunch (jazz), 1:30pm -Taylor Martin & The Song Dogs (folk, bluegrass) - 4th of July Show, 5pm THE MONTE VISTA HOTEL 4th of July concert (live performances), 2pm SWEETEN CREEK BREWING Mark Keller (acoustic, easy listening), 2pm SAINT PAUL MOUNTAIN VINEYARDS 4th of July w/ PEZ Eric Congdon (acoustic trio) & Hope Griffin, 2:30pm APPALACHIAN RIDGE ARTISAN CIDERY The Last Full Measure (folk, blues), 2:30pm ARCHETYPE BREWING Sunday Live Sessions + Food Trucks, 3pm BIG PILLOW BREWING The Dirty Dead (Grateful Dead tribute), 3pm

OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. Blues Brunch w/ Blake Ellege & Travis Corcoran, 3pm TURGUA BREWING CO Mr Jimmy Independence Day Celebration (Chicago blues), 4pm SALVAGE STATION July 4th Jam (with The Fritz, The Get Right Band, and Jeff Santiago Y Los Gatos Negros), 4:30pm SALUDA OUTFITTERS Izzi Hughes (solo acoustic) at Saluda Outfitters, 5pm RIVERSIDE RHAPSODY BEER CO. Thinkin' & Drinkin' Trivia w/Allie, 5:30pm 185 KING STREET Open Electric Jam ft. King Street House Band w/John Trufant (rock), 6:30pm CREEKWOOD FARM RV PARK Independence Day Concert, 7:30pm

MONDAY, JULY 5 HIGHLAND BREWING CO. Mitch's Totally Rad Trivia, 6pm OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. House of SYNth, 6:30pm THE JOINT NEXT DOOR Blue Monday with Mr Jimmy at The Joint Next Door, 7:30pm

TUESDAY, JULY 6 GREEN MAN BREWERY Old Time Jam (musical collaboration), 3pm HIGHLAND BREWING CO. Music Bingo, 6pm MILLS RIVER BREWING Weekly Trivia Night, 6pm OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. Team Trivia, 7pm 185 KING STREET Travis Book & Friends w/Trey Wellington & Jon Stickley (bluegrass), 7pm DOWN DOG AVL Tacos and Trivia, 7pm TWIN LEAF BREWERY Open Mic Night w/ Tommy Yon, 6pm Tuesday Trivia with Eister, 7pm WHITE HORSE BLACK MOUNTAIN Open Mic at White Horse, 7pm

WEDNESDAY, JULY 7 305 LOUNGE & EATERY Mark Fisher (solo acoustic), 1pm SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN BREWERY Jazz Night at SAB w/ Jason DeCristofaro (jazz), 5:30pm

BOLD ROCK HARD CIDER Trivia Night, 6pm HAZEL ROBINSON AMPHITHEATRE Molly Tuttle (bluegrass, Americana, solo guitarist), 6pm ISA'S FRENCH BISTRO Jay DiPaola's Live Lounge (solo acoustic), 6pm THE GREY EAGLE - Jesse Barry & Friends (soul, blues), 6pm - Sabine McCalla (folk, roots, soul), 8pm MILLS RIVER BREWING Open Mic Night, 6pm OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. French Broad Valley Mountain Music Jam (folk), 6pm TWIN LEAF BREWERY Open Mic Night w/ Tommy Yon, 6pm SWEETEN CREEK BREWING Witty Wednesday Trivia, 6:30pm CATAWBA BREWING SOUTH SLOPE Bingeable Trivia, 7pm RABBIT RABBIT Trivia Night, 7pm 185 KING STREET Trivia Night, 7pm

ASHEVILLE BEAUTY ACADEMY Queer Comedy Party featuring Hayley Ellman at Beauty Parlour, 9pm

THURSDAY, JULY 8 SWEETEN CREEK BREWING Open Mic, 6pm FLEETWOOD’S Terraoke! Karaoke with Terra!, 6pm CATAWBA BREWING SOUTH SLOPE Weekly Trivia w/Billy Nesbit, 6:30pm SALVAGE STATION The Very Jerry Band (Jerry Garcia tribute), 6:30pm 185 KING STREET Jangling Sparrows (Americana), 7pm ISIS MUSIC HALL & KITCHEN 743 Hank, Pattie & The Current (folk, bluegrass), 7pm THE GREY EAGLE Ley Line blues, folk, soul), 7pm JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Bluegrass Jam w/ Drew & the Boys (bluegrass), 7pm

THE BARRELHOUSE Open Mic/Free Jam, 8pm

TWIN LEAF BREWERY Karaoke w/KJ Salina, 8pm

ONE WORLD BREWING Latin Night Wednesday, 9pm

SLY GROG LOUNGE Metal Night w/DJ Grey and Jagger (heavy metal), 9pm

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FREEWILL ASTROLOGY ARIES (March 21-April 19): Columnist Linda Weltner says that there’s a dual purpose to cleaning your home, rearranging the furniture, adding new art to the walls and doting on your potted plants. Taking good care of your environment is a primary way of taking good care of yourself. She writes, “The home upon which we have lavished so much attention is the embodiment of our own self-love.”

I invite you to make that your inspirational meditation for the next two weeks.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): “For peace of mind, I will lie about any thing at any time,” said author Amy Hempel. Hmmmm. I’m the opposite.

To cultivate peace of mind, I try to speak and live the truth as much as I can. Lying makes me nervous. It also seems to make me dumber. It forces me to keep close track of my fibs so I can be sure to stick to my same deceitful story when the subject comes up later. What about you, Taurus? For your peace of mind, do you prefer to rely on dishonesty or honesty? I’m hoping that for the next four weeks, you will favor the latter. Cultivating judicious candor will heal you and boost your intelligence.

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LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Libran Zen teacher Thich Nhat Hanh advises you and me and everyone else to “seek the spiritual in every ordinary thing that you do every day.” You have to work at it a bit, he says; you must have it as your firm intention.

But it’s not really hard to do. “Sweeping the floor, watering the vegetables and washing the dishes become holy and sacred if mindfulness is there,” he adds. I think you Libras will have a special knack for this fun activity in the coming weeks. (Thich Nhat Hanh wrote a series of “Mindfulness Essentials” books that includes “How to Eat,” “How to Walk,” “How to Relax” and “How to Connect.” I invite you to come up with your own such instructions.)

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): My unexpected interpretation of the current astrological omens suggests that you will be wise to go naked as much as possible in the coming weeks. Being skyclad, as the pagans say, will be healing for you. You will awaken dormant feelings that will help you see the world with enhanced understanding. The love that you experience for yourself will soften one of your hard edges and increase your appreciation for all the magic that your life is blessed with. One important caveat: Of course, don’t impose your nakedness on anyone who doesn’t want to witness it.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): In her essay about education, “Don’t Overthink It,” philosopher Agnes Callard reminds us, “No matter how much we increase our investment at the front end — perfecting our minds with thinking classes, long ruminations, novel-reading, and moral algebra — we cannot spare ourselves the agony of learning by doing.” That will be a key theme for you in the next four weeks, dear Gemini. You will need to make abundant use of empiricism: pursuing knowledge through direct experience, using your powers of observation and a willingness to experiment.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): If you analyzed the best-selling songs as measured by “Billboard” magazine, you’d think we were in the midst of a dangerous decline in population.

The vast majority of those popular tunes feature lyrics with reproductive themes. It’s as if there’s some abject fear that humans aren’t going to make enough babies, and need to be constantly cajoled and incited to engage in love-making.

But I don’t think you Sagittarians, whatever your sexual preference, will need any of that nagging in the coming days. Your Eros Quotient should be higher than it has been in a while.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche said that when our rational minds are working at their best, they inspire us to cultivate our most interesting and enlivening passions. They also de-emphasize and suppress any energy-draining passions that might have a hold on us. I’m hoping you will take full advantage of this in the coming weeks, Cancerian. You will generate good fortune and sweet breakthroughs as you highlight desires that uplift you and downgrade desires that diminish you.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Pulitzer Prize-winning author Donna Tartt, born under the sign of Capricorn, writes, “Beauty is rarely soft or consolatory. Quite the contrary. Genuine beauty is always quite alarming.” In my view, that’s an unwarranted generalization. It may sometimes be true, but is often not. Genuine beauty may also be elegant, lyrical, inspiring, healing and ennobling.

Having said that, I will speculate that the beauty you encounter in the near future may indeed be disruptive or jolting, but mostly because it has the potential to remind you of what you’re missing — and motivate you to go after what you’ve been missing.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Leo author Wendell Berry suggests, “It may be that when we no longer know what to do, we have come to our real work, and when we no longer know which way to go, we have begun our real journey.”

Although there’s wisdom in that formulation, I don’t think it’s true a majority of the time.

Far more often we are fed by the strong, clear intuitions that emerge from our secret depths — from the sacred gut feelings that give us accurate guidance about what to do and where to go. But I do suspect that right now may be one of those phases when Berry’s notion is true for you, Leo. What do you think?

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): On July 21, 1969, Aquarian astronaut Buzz Aldrin was the second human to walk on the moon. It happened during a spectacular astrological aspect, when transiting Jupiter and Uranus in Libra were trine to Aldrin’s natal Sun in Aquarius. But after this heroic event, following his return to Earth, he found it hard to get his bearings again. He took a job as a car salesman, but had no talent for it. In six months, he didn’t sell a single car. Later, however, he found satisfaction as an advocate for space exploration, and he developed technology to make future trips to Mars more efficient. I hope that if you are now involved in any activity that resembles Aldrin’s stint as a car salesman — that is, a task you’re not skilled at and don’t like — you will spend the coming weeks making plans to escape to more engaging pursuits.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): In 1750, more than 250 years after Columbus first visited the New World, Native Americans were still a majority of the continent’s population. But between 1776 and now, the United States government stole 1.5 billion acres of land from its original owners — 25 times the size of the United Kingdom.

Here’s another sad fact: Between 1778 and 1871, America’s federal administrations signed over 500 treaties with indigenous tribes — and broke every one of them. The possibility that these sins will eventually be remedied is very small. I bring them up only to serve as possible metaphors for your personal life. Is there anything you have unfairly gained from others? Is there anything others have unfairly gained from you? The next six months will be prime time to seek atonement and correction.

JUNE 30 - JULY 6, 2021

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Astronomers say the Big Bang birthed the universe 13.8 billion years ago.

But a star 190 light years away from Earth contradicts that theory. Its age seems to be 14.5 billion years, older than the universe itself. Its scientific name is HD 140283, but it’s informally referred to as Methuselah, named after the Biblical character who lived until age 969. Sometimes, like now, you remind me of that star. You seem to be an impossibly old soul — like you’ve been around so many thousands of lifetimes that, you, too, predate the Big Bang. But guess what: It’s time to take a break from that aspect of your destiny. In the next two weeks, you have cosmic permission to explore the mysteries of playful innocence. Be young and blithe and curious. Treasure your inner child.

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SALES/ MARKETING

SALES PROFESSIONAL Mountain Xpress is looking to add a new member to our sales team. Ideal candidates are personable, organized, motivated, and can present confidently, while working within a structure. Necessary skills include clear and professional communications (via phone, email, and in-person meetings), detailed record-keeping, and working well in a team environment. While no outside sales experience is required, experience dealing with varied and challenging situations is helpful. The position largely entails account development and lead generation (including cold-calling), account management, assisting clients with marketing and branding strategies, and working to meet or exceed sales goals. If you are a high energy, positive, cooperative person looking to join an independent, community-minded organization, please send a resume and cover letter (no walk-ins, please) explaining why you are a good fit for Mountain Xpress to: xpressjob@mountainx.com

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HOUSE ADVISOR FT Position Evening Shift, supporting residents with mental health challenges in meeting goals and oversee all aspects of community living. Send resumes to hr@cooperriis.org.

A-B TECH IS HIRING A-B Tech is currently taking applications for a Part-Time position New Student Orientation Facilitator.

For more details and to apply: https://abtcc.peopleadmin. com/postings/5649

RECOVERY COACH FT Day shift; supporting residents with mental health challenges in attaining goals and maintaining structure. Send resume to hr@ cooperriis.org.

A-B TECH IS HIRING A-B Tech is currently taking applications for a Veterinary, Lab Assistant, Laboratory Techniques and Anatomy & Physiology position. For more details and to apply: https://abtcc.peopleadmin. com/postings/5613

PROFESSIONAL/ MANAGEMENT EVENTS & EXPERIENCE MANAGER Do you love creating events and experiences where people come together to build authentic and strong relationships? This new position supports event planning with school and community partners. unitedwayabc.org/ employment-opportunities.

EVENTS & EXPERIENCES ASSOCIATE (PT) Logistics and project management for events and experiences that bring people together to build a united and resilient community where everyone belongs and everyone thrives. unitedwayabc.org/ employment-opportunities

TEACHING/ EDUCATION A-B TECH IS HIRING A-B Tech is currently taking applications for a Adjunct position – Quest for Success Instructor. For more details and to apply: https:// abtcc.peopleadmin.com/ postings/5668 A-B TECH IS HIRING A-B Tech is currently taking applications for a Lab Assistant Instructor, Small Animal Clinical position . For more details and to apply: https://abtcc.peopleadmin.com/postings/5614

ARTS/MEDIA

NEWS REPORTER WANTED Mountain Xpress is seeking an experienced reporter to join our team. You should have the chops to cover a wide range of issues of community concern including local government, community activism, education, economic issues, public safety and criminal justice, as well as some arts and culture coverage. You must be able to craft stories that convey important, timely information and empower readers to take part in meaningful civic dialogue and effect change at the local level. Qualified applicants will have experience in news-writing, have social-media skills, write efficiently and enjoy a fast-paced news-gathering environment.

Must have knowledge of Asheville and WNC, be community-minded, have a keen sense of fairness with respect for differing points of view and be committed to Xpress’ mission of community-based journalism. Flexible availability required to cover some afterhours meetings and weekend events. This is a full-time

MOUNTAIN XPRESS PRESENTS

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edited by Will Shortz | No. 0526

ACROSS 1 Hairstyle for Billy Preston 5 Pacific nation composed of 250+ islands 10 Fairy tale baddie 14 Brest milk 15 Cold War concern, for short 16 Spot for an ibex 17 Event with minutes that might last hours 20 What choristers may sing in 21 Persistently bothers 22 Shania Twain’s “___! I Feel Like a Woman!”

23 Bacillus shape 25 Left after taxes 26 Purchase inspired by a New Year’s resolution, often 33 Diamond parts that are rounded 35 Transport from Seattle to Bainbridge Island 36 Kerfuffle 37 Poet Dove 38 Hardly iffy 39 Avocado or olive products 40 Computing pioneer Lovelace 41 Made a peeling?

42 Sound, e.g.

43 Rubella, by another name 46 Suffix with “most,” redundantly 47 Item sometimes made with pikake flowers 48 Director DuVernay 51 Surname of father-and-son Latin pop singers 56 Chair wheel 58 Ominous request from a teacher … or a hint to the first words (and following letters!) of 17-, 26- and 43-Across

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DOWN 1 Song collection 2 Animals of a region 3 Future celebrity 4 Inventor Boykin who helped develop the pacemaker 5 Wunderkind 6 Prominent features on firefighter calendars 7 Played paper against scissors, e.g.

8 Food, in a food fight 9 Tech-obsessed sort, perhaps 10 Largish chamber groups 11 Cheshire cat’s signature feature 12 Tirade

13 They run when they’re broken 18 Standards 19 Rock powder used as an abrasive 24 Warp 27 Vote of support 28 Hockey game interruption, maybe 29 Like some suites 30 Waves from the curb, say 31 Duty-free?

32 Blog entry 33 Crow 34 Gofer 38 Major pilgrimage destination in Spain 39 Number aptly found in “loner”

41 So last year 42 ___ crest (part of the pelvis) 44 Granny, in the South 45 It’s meant to be kept 49 Scooter brand whose name means “wasp” 50 Crime in insurance investigations 51 Goddess sister of Nephthys 52 Courteous chap 53 Kind of block 54 Way off 55 Knock for a loop 57 “Ethan Frome” vehicle 59 Literally, “I”

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS NY TIMES PUZZLE

B I G S A F E P A S T A S O F A W H E R O U T N E T P T S A R E P E N Z A L A B A C K S T R O T E E P

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T H B E L U T S A A N T N O E S S L E F A R H I

R E D S E A V I A L U L M

E A D S A L U P T I M E B B L L I O T A M O B S A L U E D N A M E S T O P C B S T U R E O B E S P E R

JUNE 30 - JULY 6, 2021

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