Mountain Xpress 07.24.19

OUR 25TH YEAR OF WEEKLY INDEPENDENT NEWS, ARTS & EVENTS FOR WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA VOL. 25 NO. 53 JULY 24 - 30, 2019

JULY 24 - 30, 2019

1

FREE LENSES WITH THE PURCHASE OF ANY FRAME OFFER EXPIRES 08/24/19

SINGLE VISION STOCK LENSES ONLY. NON-STOCK LENSES WILL RECEIVE $95 DISCOUNT WITH COUPON. CANNOT COMBINE WITH OTHER DISCOUNTS OR INSURANCE. SEE STORE FOR MORE DETAILS.

4 SOUTH TUNNEL ROAD • ASHEVILLE 828/

298 -650 0

OUR 25TH YEAR OF WEEKLY INDEPENDENT NEWS, ARTS & EVENTS FOR WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA VOL. 25 NO. 53 JULY 24 - 30, 2019

C O NT E NT S

PAGE 8 ASHEVILLE’S SECRETS — REVEALED! Several local residents, including, from left, Ed Sheary, Zoe Rhine and Lynne Poirier-Wilson, contributed chapters to the new book, Hidden History of Asheville.

COVER PHOTO Joe Pellegrino COVER DESIGN Scott Southwick

C O NTAC T US

(828) 251-1333 fax (828) 251-1311 news tips & story ideas to NEWS@MOUNTAINX.COM letters/commentary to LETTERS@MOUNTAINX.COM sustainability news to GREEN@MOUNTAINX.COM a&e events and ideas to AE@MOUNTAINX.COM events can be submitted to CALENDAR@MOUNTAINX.COM or try our easy online calendar at MOUNTAINX.COM/EVENTS

FEATURES

food news and ideas to FOOD@MOUNTAINX.COM

NEWS

18 HEALTH AND WELLNESS ROUNDUP New support group helps restaurant industry workers; two regional hospitals earn top safety grades

2 Floor plans at 49,500

2B/2BA

FOOD

SUMMER SPECIAL!

28 CLEAN MACHINE Wicked Weed launches its Candler taproom

A&E

63 Bingham Road

Less than 2 miles from downtown

33 GET IT TWISTED Empyrean Arts presents ‘Freakshow’

34 CONTRA-INDICATIONS A history of one of WNC’s most enduring social dance traditions

NEW HOMES OWN FOR LESS THAN RENT!!!

business-related events/news to BUSINESS@MOUNTAINX.COM venues with upcoming shows CLUBLAND@MOUNTAINX.COM get info on advertising at ADVERTISE@MOUNTAINX.COM place a web ad at WEBADS@MOUNTAINX.COM

3 LETTERS 3 CARTOON: MOLTON 5 CARTOON: BRENT BROWN 6 COMMENTARY 8 NEWS 11 BIZ BRIEFS 12 BUNCOMBE BEAT 14 ASHEVILLE ARCHIVES 15 COMMUNITY CALENDAR 18 WELLNESS 22 GREEN SCENE 24 FARM & GARDEN 25 FOOD 28 BEER SCOUT 30 SMALL BITES 31 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT 36 SMART BETS 39 CLUBLAND 44 MOVIES 45 SCREEN SCENE 45 CLASSIFIEDS 46 FREEWILL ASTROLOGY 47 NY TIMES CROSSWORD

CALL 828-505-2564 OR 828-274-4111

Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. Mountain Xpress is available free throughout Western North Carolina. Limit one copy per person. Additional copies may be purchased for $1 payable at the Xpress office in advance. No person may, without prior written permission of Xpress, take more than one copy of each issue.

Visit our website at

To subscribe to Mountain Xpress, send check or money order to: Subscription Department, PO Box 144, Asheville NC 28802. First class delivery.

One year (52 issues) $130 / Six months (26 issues) $70. We accept Mastercard & Visa.

OwnMyOwnHomeNow.com 2

22 OF MOUNTAINS AND MEN New anthology surveys Appalachian nature writing

A&E

GREEN

12 BUNCOMBE BEAT Buncombe board debates ICE detainer bill

WELLNESS

wellness-related events/news to MXHEALTH@MOUNTAINX.COM

JULY 24 - 30, 2019

MOUNTAINX.COM

question about the website?

WEBMASTER@MOUNTAINX.COM find a copy of xpress DISTRO@MOUNTAINX.COM

WWW.MOUNTAINX.COM FACEBOOK.COM/MOUNTAINX follow us @MXNEWS, @MXARTS, @MXEAT, @MXHEALTH, @MXCALENDAR, @MXENV, @MXCLUBLAND we use these hashtags #AVLNEWS, #AVLENT, #AVLEAT, #AVLOUT, #AVLBEER, #AVLGOV, #AVLHEALTH, #AVLWX

COPYRIGHT 2019

BY MOUNTAIN XPRESS ADVERTISING COPYRIGHT 2019

BY MOUNTAIN XPRESS ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

OPINION

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

STA F F PUBLISHER: Jeff Fobes ASSISTANT TO THE PUBLISHER: Susan Hutchinson MANAGING EDITOR: Virginia Daffron

Hemp Oil

A&E EDITOR: Alli Marshall FOOD EDITOR: Gina Smith GREEN SCENE EDITOR: Daniel Walton OPINION EDITOR: Tracy Rose STAFF REPORTERS: Able Allen, Edwin Arnaudin, Thomas Calder, Brooke Randle, Daniel Walton

CARTOO N BY RAN D Y M O L T O N

A win-win-win for TDA’s millions A thought about the millions the Tourism Development Authority has to spend on “brick-and-mortar capital expenses with the potential to generate overnight stays in Buncombe County” [“Buncombe Shares Early Goals for Tourism Dollars,” June 26, Xpress].

The Xpress article mentioned that the greenway in Black Mountain was a potential landing spot for the TDA millions. We know that road maintenance and extra policing is not an option for that money.

So, we have the TDA funds and the issues that Asheville residents want — and that money must draw tourists to the town. Think: Greenways that actually connect to each other equals walkability/ bike/Segway tourist industry which isn’t here — remember the Pit of Despair — what if the TDA funded a really nice park like Pritchard Park, which has live music, the hoop jam and (we add) an edible garden?!

Over the summer, tourists come into town for Downtown LEAF and all the Brewgrass festivals we can come up with. Those events are held at our amazing city facilities such as Roger McGuire Green, Martin Luther King Jr. Park and Memorial Stadium. The TDA should be using their $20 million of hotel tax funding on those tourist-drawing events.

Asheville tax dollars have to pay for the maintenance of these facilities/ spaces for these festivals. Asheville tax-

payers had to pay for the bathrooms to be opened/cleaned/maintained, the grass mowed and regular maintenance of these locations. The TDA can pay for this, and then Asheville tax dollars can be used for paving State Street.

Those are “brick-and-mortar” places that draw overnight guests but also contribute to a rich Asheville society.

Asheville residents’ tax dollars can be used on busing/police/firefighters/paving Hanover Street. (Huge thank-you! My 3-year-old would get upset about how bumpy that road was when biking her to day care every morning. It looks really good — you all did a great job!)

Asheville missed the goal of fully funding the transit budget by $500,000. The TDA is looking for ways to spend money.

I bet the TDA could fund our greenway initiatives, maintenance and policing at those huge tourist-driving events in Asheville, and the City Council could then allocate that revenue to fully funding the Transit Plan or road repairs, etc.

The TDA is doing a great job of advertising Asheville at their current level, and the surplus of dollars could help us all have a win-win-win. People live in Asheville for greenways, bike lanes and parks. I really think the TDA can focus on the “brick-and-mortar” part of that to alleviate Asheville tax spending. What if the TDA funded the Civic Center? Who hasn’t had a friend come in for a concert/ graduation/talk/conference?

What if the TDA funded the local HoeDown Ultimate Frisbee tournament, which has 40 teams of 30 people (math, 1,200 people) come to Asheville from as far and wide as Texas and Illinois, who

BUY ONLINE — at —

COMMUNITY CALENDAR EDITOR: Deborah Robertson

www.FrannysFarmacy.com FREE SHIPPING!

CLUBLAND EDITOR: Lauren Andrews

CBD DISPENSARIES:

MOVIE SECTION HOSTS: Edwin Arnaudin, Bruce Steele CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: Peter Gregutt, Rob Mikulak REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS: Mark Barrett, Leslie Boyd, Cathy Cleary, Abigail Griffin, Laura Hackett, Tony Kiss, Bill Kopp, Cindy Kunst, Ali Mangkang, Jeff Messer, Joe Pellegrino, Kim Ruehl, Shawndra Russell, Luke Van Hine, Kay West, Ami Worthen

DOWNTOWN 211 Merrimon Ave., Ste. 111 Asheville, NC 28801 • 828-505-7105 HENDERSONVILLE 128 Henderson Crossing Plaza Hendersonville, NC • 828-697-7300

ADVERTISING, ART & DESIGN MANAGER: Susan Hutchinson LEAD DESIGNER: Scott Southwick GRAPHIC DESIGNERS: Norn Cutson, Olivia Urban MARKETING ASSOCIATES: Christina Bailey, Sara Brecht, Bryant Cooper, Brian Palmieri, Susan Ragsdale, Heather Taylor, Tiffany Wagner OPERATIONS MANAGER: Able Allen INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES & WEB: Bowman Kelley BOOKKEEPER: Amie Fowler-Tanner ADMINISTRATION, BILLING, HR: Able Allen, Lauren Andrews DISTRIBUTION: Susan Hutchinson (Coordinator), Cindy Kunst DISTRIBUTION DRIVERS: Gary Alston, Russell Badger, Jemima Cook Fliss, Autumn Hipps, Clyde Hipps, Bradley Jones, Joan Jordan, Rick Leach, Angelo Sant Maria, Desiree Mitchell, Charlotte Rosen, Bob Rosinsky EDITORIAL INTERNS: Maude Kneale, Hannah Massen, A.J. O’Leary

JULY 24 - 30, 2019

3

OPI N I ON

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

stay for three days. That might be small fish, but that $20 million would go a long way with the local taxpayers.

AVL? Who do you love?

— Mark Strazzer Asheville

Van Duyn is no friend We moved here from Orange County, Calif., in late 2016. Fed up with Trump conservatives, we were looking forward to a progressive community. Then [Sen.] Terry Van Duyn voted for a bill to ban cities from passing anti-discrimination legislation for LGBT people in cities. She said she was supporting the Democratic governor and called it a compromise that even LGBT groups opposed.

Our GOP member of Congress back in California voted for anti-discrimination legislation. “If the Democrats like Van Duyn and Gov. Roy Cooper were going to be worse than our GOP member of Congress back home, why should my husband and I register with the Democratic Party?” I asked the Democrats of Buncombe County.

My email was forwarded to Van Duyn, who replied “Dear Mr. and Mrs. Vaughn ...” We registered with “No Political Party” affiliation in response.

In seeking how to contact Van Duyn, I saw she had a picture of herself in a rainbow flag T-shirt. Apparently, she wears her principles on her T-shirt so they are easy to shed when they become inconvenient. If she was simply supporting her party leader, how does that make her any better than the GOP officials who vote against what they believe to support Trump? Who does Van Duyn actually represent if not Asheville?

[A recent Xpress] edition said Van Duyn was running for lieutenant governor. Van Duyn doesn’t have our backs, so she won’t get our votes. She shouldn’t get the votes of anyone else in our region, either. “Fool us once, shame on you.” When Republicans vote against basic human rights, we rightfully challenge them. When I ask local Democrats why they support Van Duyn for doing the same thing, I get silences and awkward shrugs.

Buncombe County and the state deserve better than phony friends. At least with an honest enemy, we are allowed to keep fighting. But thanks to Van Duyn and Gov. HB Two-per, the leverage we had in that fight is gone.

— James Vaughn Asheville Editor’s note: Xpress contacted Van Duyn with a summary of the letter writer’s points, but she declined to provide a response.

4

JULY 24 - 30, 2019

MOUNTAINX.COM

Transplant counters ‘Dissatisfied’ view In response to Rachael Bliss’ [July 3 Xpress letter] “The Dissatisfied Move In”: Your fairy-tale [letter] belies your lack of understanding of the big picture here and in the rest of the world.

I wonder how the Cherokee feel, knowing that your moving here in the 1830s displaced them from their tribal lands and now you call it your town.

Asheville has been glamorized by websites and senior organizations as one of the best places in the country to retire.

Certainly no one wants to pay more than they need, whether they have money or not, and those moving here have no control over prices set by your local people. They just come and pay, if they can afford it.

I moved here after being begged three times to help a failing pharmaceutical company, which the FDA was considering shutting down. They could not find anyone smart enough in all of North Carolina to do the job.

My work kept 3,000 local employees working, some of whom travel from as far away as Tennessee just for a chance to work.

If you feel so much hatred against people not born here, please give me your full name and address, and when I leave, I will give it to the 3,000 people who may lose their jobs. I am sure they would like to talk to you up close and personally.

I am from up North. Everything is 30% more expensive there. At least it was, because as I moved into a rented apartment in Black Mountain, rents climbed weekly. In one year, the rents went up 49%. I would have loved to tell my landlord that he had to reduce my rent to keep it fair for you.

In fairy tales perhaps, evil outsiders raise their own rent, but in reality, rents are set by local property owners and local real estate developers.

Developing forests and grasslands into condos is the work of local millionaire property developers and your politicians. If you don’t like it, perhaps you should go to a town meeting or vote.

I looked up taxes on the government websites, and it clearly shows those places you demonize pay more in federal taxes than they get back in services. A portion of the up-North taxes are redistributed to North Carolina to pay for your schools, police, roads and social services. You can’t even survive on your own taxes.

Interesting that you present Asheville as a kind of heaven, but it is

C A R T O O N B Y B R E NT B R O W N also noted for a serious heroin problem. No one from up North came here to experience drug crime.

I came to save people’s jobs and for the career challenge, and I was comforted that Black Mountain was not only one-third cheaper than where I came from, but the town is populated with the most civil and warm people I have ever met; that is, except for you.

— M. Keilp

Black Mountain

Deadly tobacco is still worth fighting In your latest issue, you include three articles and one letter to the editor that address agriculture-related issues. And all three relate, directly or indirectly, to the past or present cultivation of various crops, including tobacco.

It is good to see you address the past, the present and the future of agriculture in Buncombe County and surrounding counties. The past and present are represented by the fact that North Carolina, by some measures, continues to place within the top three tobacco states in the U.S. But tobacco cultivation is waning. Smoking itself has plateaued, though many people believe it, too, is on the wane. That is demonstrably false. Especially when electronic

cigarettes and other “nicotine-delivery systems” are taken into account.

I lived on a 30-acre parcel more than 40 years ago in Madison County, and it then had an abandoned “’baccy barn” on it. The tobacco allotment by the feds was already abandoned. But tobacco cultivation was, and still is, a present part of the history of Western North Carolina.

In the [1990s], we saw the CEOs of the seven largest tobacco companies in America stand up before Congress, swear an oath to tell the truth and then blatantly lie about what they knew to be true. The lies were unveiled shortly after, when internal tobacco company documents demonstrated, in fact, they all knew: 1. That nicotine is highly addictive; and 2. That the “tar” in tobacco is deadly.

Further, the Seven Dwarves (as those CEOs have come to be known) had systematically and intentionally manipulated the nicotine content of cigarettes to maximize their addictiveness, and the tobacco companies themselves considered cigarettes (and other tobacco products) to be “nicotine-delivery systems.” …

Now, [years] later, you can still go into any drugstore (except CVS, which has voluntarily banned cigarette sales from their stores), grocery store and tobacco shop, and buy what amounts to the deadliest weapon to appear on the

scene in the U.S., including handguns, assault weapons and by some counts, war. According to a plethora of research and a wide range of reputable organizations, fully 50% of everyone who has started smoking has died or will die from smoking. By my calculations, cigarettes have been responsible for more deaths in the U.S. than all of the wars we have fought in since World War II. This makes the manufacture and sale of cigarettes quite simply the mass marketing of mass murder.

We will defeat this enemy to the public health both domestically and abroad.

However, how many more people must get sick and die before smoking becomes a thing of the past? How many more hundreds of millions of dollars of profits will Big Tobacco reap before we put a total stop to this slaughter by slow, agonizing debilitation?

Strategies that will be deployed to defeat the entrenched bureaucracies that support this deadly product stream include: 1. Redoing the Controlled Substances Act at the federal and state levels to classify nicotine as a scheduled drug, which is in the top six of the most addictive drugs available legally or illegally in the U.S.; 2. declaring the sale of cigarettes to be a human rights violation under the U.N. charter; 3. prosecute Big Tobacco executives under international law as having committed murder and/or genocide.

Are these strategies “radical”?

Certainly. However, when facing down a proven threat of this magnitude, it is crucial that we engage in effective “end-game strategies.” We fully intend to do so."

— David Karan Asheville

Clarification In our July 10 issue, we failed to identify the two farmers who appeared on the cover for our article about family farms. They are Aaron and Anne Grier of Gaining Ground Farm in Leicester.

JULY 24 - 30, 2019

5

OPINION

My education at the University of Mammon The Gospel According to Jerry “I don’t remember when I didn’t know that money would buy something and that it was absolutely necessary to earn and save every cent.”

BY JERRY STERNBERG As I watch the economic news both locally and nationally, I marvel at the changes in the attitudes toward money — and the overall amount of it in circulation.

I grew up in the depths of the Great Depression, when money seemed to be the driving factor for almost everyone around me, because nobody had any.

I don’t remember when I didn’t know that money would buy something and that it was absolutely necessary to earn and save every cent.

Why, even a penny had commercial value: With just one, a child could buy a piece of candy or a small toy.

When older people came to visit homes where there were small children, they would often give each child one or two pennies — which was, of course, a source of great delight.

I had an “old maid” aunt who lived with my grandparents and claimed to have a money tree hidden in her small room. When we children came to visit, she would go into the room, close the door, wait a few seconds and play on our huge imaginations by dropping some pennies loudly on the floor, knowing we were listening through the door. She would then come out and, with great fanfare, distribute the “harvest.” She would never let us see the tree, but to this day I know exactly what it looked like.

EARLY LESSONS I was 5 years old when I made my first capital purchase.

It was a big Mickey Mouse pocket watch that cost $2. I saw a picture of it somewhere and begged my parents

for it. Thinking this was a good way to educate me in the ways of commerce, they insisted that I save the change people gave me in a piggy bank till I had enough to buy the watch.

While I couldn’t yet tell time, I already knew how to count that change, and when I’d accumulated a little over a dollar, a miracle occurred. I was playing in the street one day and found a dollar bill. I went home screaming, as if I’d just won the lottery. I cherished that watch for several years, and I wish I still had it.

Somewhere during this time I began to realize that money could be obtained by doing something called “work.” There were monetary rewards for doing chores and providing services. As one grew older, one was able to perform more difficult and complex services, and if you could develop a special skill, you could reap even more lucrative rewards.

Raking leaves, filling the coal stoker and hauling out the trash and ashes were mandatory chores compensated by an allowance. By the time I was 8 years old, however, I had also learned to assort scrap metal at my dad’s small hide-and-metal business. I could identify a large number of brass alloys and some nickel alloys as well as copper, aluminum, zinc and lead.

I was probably too young to be working with the metals, but my dad knew it was a rare skill that I could use for the rest of my life if I needed to. Sometimes I loved the work, especially the black men who would patiently teach me, and sometimes I hated it, because it was mostly in the summer. It was hot, strenuous toil for a little guy while all my pals were out swimming and playing ball. However, I knew that on Saturday I would get a pay envelope

Buying, Selling or Investing in Real Estate?

(828) 210-1697

www.TheMattAndMollyTeam.com 6

JULY 24 - 30, 2019

MOUNTAINX.COM

JERRY STERNBERG with real money inside, just like the rest of the employees.

School lunches, believe it or not, were a treat. They cost about 25 cents, and there was always a good homestyle meal with a dessert. Most days, though, I brought my lunch in a brown paper bag as a money saver, and God forbid that I should fail to bring that bag home again, neatly folded for reuse. To this day, I have a problem throwing away paper or plastic bags.

We saved and recycled everything: lead foil, rubber bands, soda bottles, string, old toothpaste tubes and coat hangers. All these things represented “money,” which was always in short supply.

I also learned budgeting and money management from a young age. My allowance was a quarter a week. It cost 6 cents each way for a bus ticket to Pack Square, and the Saturday movie was 10 cents. That left me with a huge budgetary decision to make if I wanted the expedition to include an oh-so-compelling 5-cent cone at the Blue Bird Ice Cream parlor. I would either have to hustle a ride back, come up with 2 extra pennies or walk 2 miles home, which happened on occasion.

BUY CHEAP, SELL DEAR In the fourth grade, we were taught how to manage a checkbook, including writing checks, filling out deposits and reconciling the account. I can’t understand why our current school system doesn’t provide this kind of financial education.

I was able to put my special knowledge of the value of various recyclables to good use early on by becoming the neighborhood scavenger. Alert to neighbors moving out, I would ask whoever owned the property to let me clean out the garage or basement.

There were always assorted scrap metal items and stacks of National Geographic magazines, which everyone saved because they were too colorful to discard. They brought 2 cents a pound, and the metals brought 15-25 cents a pound.

I used to bring all kinds of stuff home from the junkyard: auto hood ornaments, discarded comic books from Asheville Waste Paper, steel ball bearings (which we used in the game of marbles to destroy the other guy’s marbles), old auto inner tubes that we cut up to use as ammunition in rubber guns, and many other items that I bought by the pound and sold by the piece to my schoolmates and the neighborhood kids.

DEEPER MEANING I am grateful to my father for teaching me how to work hard and earn money. Accumulating money clearly offered individuals and their families both security and comfort.

He also taught me that with financial success came a great responsibility to help those who were economically disadvantaged and needed a hand up.

During those dreadful years of the Depression, when he himself was struggling to make a success of his business, many people came to his office door in that shabby little building on Depot Street to see “Mr. Joe.” They were desperate for help to care for their families. He would lend or even give them money out of his limited resources, because he recognized that no matter how difficult his own situation was, these people were much worse off. “Mr. Joe” wrote a different epitaph to the concept of Mammon.

Next time: “More Money.” X Asheville native Jerry Sternberg, a longtime observer of the local scene, can be reached at gospeljerry@aol.com.

JULY 24 - 30, 2019

7

NEWS

BENEATH THE SURFACE

Local historians uncover Asheville’s hidden past

BY THOMAS CALDER tcalder@mountainx.com When former Asheville Mayor Gallatin Roberts committed suicide on Feb. 25, 1931, he had no reason to think that 88 years later a retired Buncombe County assistant librarian would tear up while discussing his life and its tragic end.

“I knew I was going to cry,” says Betsy Murray. “I get real emotional about this.”

Murray’s deep sense of connection to Roberts developed long after his death. In 2013, just two years before her retirement, she and her colleagues at the North Carolina Room at Pack Library received an unexpected historical mother lode.

Linda Burgin, the deceased mayor’s granddaughter, donated photographs, letters, diaries and scrapbooks belonging to him that had languished in an old trunk.

But the item that most caught Murray’s eye was Roberts’ handwritten memoir, which she transcribed for the library’s digital records. “I was so immersed in it that I felt like I really knew him,” she reveals.

Around the same time, fellow staffer Zoe Rhine launched the library’s blog, HeardTell, whose mission is to spotlight and share the room’s evergrowing archival collection. Murray soon became a regular contributor; one of her posts, “A Stolen Suit and the Fickle Finger of Fate,” tells Roberts’ sad story.

More recently, Rhine has spearheaded a project to compile a book out of the blog’s most popular posts, including Murray’s piece on Roberts.

COMMUNITY EFFORT: Zoe Rhine, center, stands before the old receiving vault at Riverside Cemetery. She is joined by fellow historians, from left, Lynne Poirier-Wilson, Terry Taylor, Jon Elliston, Betsy Murray, Laura Gaskin and Ed Sheary. Each contributed chapters to Hidden History of Asheville. The book is available at Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe and the North Carolina Room at Pack Library. Photo by Joe Pellegrino On Wednesday, July 31, the North Carolina Room will host the official launch party, celebrating the publication of Hidden History of Asheville.

The book, which is part of The History Press’ Hidden History series, includes photographs to complement the historical accounts. All proceeds from its sale will benefit the North Carolina Room.

BY THE COMMUNITY, FOR THE COMMUNITY Although history sits at the center (and in the title) of the collection, the publication is far more than just a history book, says Rhine.

She hopes its focus on the city’s unsung heroes will send readers the message that “anyone can make a difference in the place where they live.”

Particularly in Asheville, she continues, “There is just a lot of room for people to make a difference and do the kind of work that they consider important.”

The book itself is a testament to this, notes Rhine. Because of the North Carolina Room’s small staff (there are only two full-time employees), the project relied heavily on the help of volunteers and members of the Friends of the North Carolina Room.

OLD COUNTY MAUSOLEUM Riverside Cemetery’s receiving vault, aka the Old County Mausoleum, was constructed in 1893. The structure was primarily used in the winter months, when snow and frozen ground prevented burials, says Riverside Cemetery director Joshua Darty.

By the early 1920s, he continues, advances in technology made the vault obsolete.

Among its most famous and possibly longest-stored corpse was that of renowned architect Rafael Guastavino. Records show that Guastavino’s family paid the $3 monthly storage fee for three years while the architect’s tomb inside the Basilica of Saint Lawrence was being prepared. The vault has remained vacant and unused for nearly 100 years. X

8

JULY 24 - 30, 2019

MOUNTAINX.COM

From writing to editing, researching to organizing, the book could not have come about without this team effort, says Rhine.

The project’s collaborative nature also ensured that it covered a variety of topics, including Asheville’s early immigrants, former slaves and lost communities.

“Our goal is not to write about the people who are always written about,” stresses Rhine. “There are enough accounts of Vanderbilt, Pack and Grove. … We’re interested in looking at the everyday people who have come and gone in Asheville.”

Murray underscores the point.

“You don’t have to be famous to be important,” she points out, and that message lies at the heart of Hidden History: Everyone’s story contributes to an area’s development in some way, but none of it can be unlocked if the material is thrown away.

“The North Carolina Room will take things in any shape and do what they can to make sense of it,” she explains. Of course, dated and labeled photographs and documents are ideal.

But whatever the condition, Murray urges residents to think about what they’ve got stored away inside their

homes and consider donating it to the library’s special collections.

Whether it’s a trunk’s worth of treasures or just a few personal letters, acquisitions of all sizes are accepted at the North Carolina Room — and, in some cases, celebrated within the pages of Hidden History. “That’s another important thing that the book does,” says Rhine. “It shows the public that we don’t just leave their archives sitting on the shelf: We try and bring them back to the community and make them relevant to today.

I think that’s an important component of what we do.”

‘AUTOMATIC LIAR’ Besides uncovering forgotten events, residents and anecdotes, Hidden History also captures some of the personalities and absurdities that populated the city’s past. Two of the book’s funniest chapters come courtesy of retired head librarian Laura Gaskin.

The first one chronicles the 1909 installation of a weather kiosk on

CONTINUES ON PAGE 10

JULY 24 - 30, 2019

9

N EWS 100 YEARS AGO TODAY

RISING TEMPERATURES: In 1909, a weather kiosk was installed on Pack Square. Residents initially welcomed the device until it began recording higher temperatures than what local businesses promoted to tourists. Photo courtesy of the North Carolina Collection, Pack Memorial Library, Asheville The cannon remained there for nearly three decades before mysteriously vanishing — not once, but twice.

The final disappearance was reported in the Ashevile Times on Oct. 29, 1942.

No one, the paper noted, claimed

responsibility. But a note (supposedly written by the cannon) was found at the Pack Square site. “There is another World War on, fellow citizens,” the cannon proclaimed, “and this time I am on your side. I am made of iron and steel and Uncle Sam needs me.”

Both stories, says Gaskin, echo tensions that still exist in Asheville today.

The kiosk controversy, she notes, captures the city’s long-standing reliance on the tourism industry. Meanwhile, the cannon anecdote constitutes an earlier version of an ongoing debate: What monuments represent the city and why?

Although the publication of Hidden History of Asheville is a major feat for the North Carolina Room, Rhine isn’t resting on her laurels.

“I’m on to other projects,” the librarian says, mentioning her current research into Asheville’s historical African American businesses.

Still, she and the book’s other contributing writers say they’re excited to see their work go out into the community. Gaskin says her greatest hope is that the publication reiterates two important points: that individual stories matter and that history is always in the making.

“Eventually, ‘the last 10 years’ will become ‘100 years ago today,’” she points out. “So what we’re doing now does matter and will continue to matter as time goes on.

What we’re doing now leads to the next thing.” X

WHAT Hidden History of Asheville launch party WHERE North Carolina Room at Pack Library 67 Haywood St. avl.mx/6b4 WHEN Wednesday, July 31, 6-7 p.m. Free

2019 CR-V Special

le T pp r

ee

Apple Tree Honda

A

Pack Square. Part of a nationwide initiative led by the U.S. Weather Bureau (now the National Weather Service), the meteorological instrument was initially met with excitement by residents — until, that is, it began reporting summer temperatures far higher than what local businesses were promoting to tourists.

Like many of the book’s contributors, Gaskin used contemporary newspaper reports as part of her research. In this particular chapter, headlines expose the rising tension between the world of science and the city’s marketing strategy. In a mad dash to change the narrative, for example, an Aug. 30, 1909, article in The Asheville Citizen declared, “Weather kiosk is an automatic liar.”

Gaskin chronicles similar absurdities in her chapter on a captured German cannon that was gifted to the city by returning soldiers at the end of World War I. At first, residents couldn’t agree on where to display the weapon. For a time it was unceremoniously stashed in the rear of the former courthouse yard before a group of veterans won approval to move it to Pack Square in front of the Vance Monument.

As

h ev ille

Over 150 in stock!

Get additional savings now

828-684-4400 or check our website for details Special financing offers on Honda and Acura certified vehicles!

242 Underwood Rd, Fletcher, NC 28732 www.appletreesuperstore.com 10

JULY 24 - 30, 2019

MOUNTAINX.COM

BIZ BRIEFS

by Brooke Randle | brandle@mountainx.com ASHEVILLE METRO ECONOMY FLOURISHES IN Q1 The latest Asheville Metro Economic Report from accounting firm Johnson Price Sprinkle revealed more good news for business in the Asheville area. In the first quarter of 2019, the Asheville area saw an average of 5,400 new jobs compared to the same period the previous year, with gains in manufacturing, professional and business services and construction. Asheville was ranked the metro with the lowest unemployment rate in the state, a position it has held for more than four consecutive years.

The accounting firm also found that retail sales in the Asheville metro totaled $1.7 billion in the first quarter — an all-time firstquarter record. On average, quarterly retail sales have increased during the last two years by 5.4% or $99.7 million.

MOVIN’ ON UP • Janet Whitworth was named president of The Rotary Club of Asheville after serving with the nonprofit for 10 years. Whitworth is the sixth woman to serve as president in the chapter’s 105-year history.

• Josh Hallingse was named to the board of directors for the N.C. Economic Development Association. Hallingse has led the Transylvania Economic Alliance since 2015.

• Paige Henretta, Matthew Johnson, Joseph Stokes, Rika Taylor, Jennifer Wilkerson, Staci Keever and Shane Shoemaker joined EXIT Realty.

GIVING AND RECEIVING • The Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce was named Chamber of the Year by the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives. Kit Cramer,

TOP OF THE HEAP: The Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce was named Chamber of the Year by the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives, which represents over 1,300 chambers around the world. Pictured from left are Chamber staffers April Brown, Corey Atkins, Erin Leonard, Kit Cramer and Clark Duncan.

Photo courtesy of the Asheville Chamber of Commerce president and CEO of the Asheville Chamber, accepted the award on July 15.

• Formation PR + Brand received gold winner recognition for its rebranding of Blue Ridge Community College from the Hermes Creative Awards, an international competition for media professionals.

• Rug and Home owners Rakesh and Dolly Agarwal will donate $25,000 in matching funds to the SECU Center for Memory Care, which supports adults facing dementia.

• Internet security company dmarcian announced that it has earned B Corporation certification from B Lab, a nonprofit organization. Dmarcian’s certification reflects the company’s commitment to environmental sustainability, ethical employee treatment and its positive impact on the broader community.

GOOD TO KNOW • Senior living campus Givens Estates announced a $42 million expansion and redevelopment project at its South Asheville campus. Givens will add two residential buildings with 80 one- and two-bedroom apartments, as well as additions and renovations to dining areas and the wellness center. The project is scheduled to break ground in February.

• South Carolina-based Black Harbor Wealth Management opened a new location in downtown Asheville.

Taxi Co. • Asheville announced a name change and rebranding to AVL Ride. The transportation company will partner with nonprofit advocacy organization Our VOICE to provide free rides to court, counseling and other needs for survivors of sexual assault and abuse. The company will also provide services to Working Wheels, a nonprofit that restores donated vehicles to working condition for families.

In a press release, AVL Ride said it would move donated vehicles and volunteers to mechanics at the Working Wheels lot at no cost.

• Dancing Bear Toys’ new partnership with German toy figurine producer Schleich brings with it a life-sized tiger figure and a new play table to experience while visiting the store.

• After receiving $55 billion in orders and commitments at the Paris Air Show, GE Aviation announced that it will expand two Asheville plants to create a new jet engine production line.

The company plans to hire additional technicians, manufacturing specialists, skilled machinists and welders. X

Bus Service to Mills River, Hendersonville & Brevard

BREVARD ACADEMY

A CHALLENGE FOUNDATION ACADEMY

A Free Quality Education Serving WNC Children From Kindergarten - 8 th Grade

Call 828-885-BOOK Find out more information at brevard.teamcfa.school JULY 24 - 30, 2019

11

BUNCOMBE BEAT

presents

ADULT SPELLING BEE THURSDAY, AUG. 8, 5-8P AT AMBROSE WEST $10 to watch • $25 to spell (TEAM OF 4 REQUIRED TO SPELL)

OUR GOAL IS TO

RAISE $10K

FOR 28806 SCHOOLS Join us for an evening of drinks, snacks and irreverent fun to kick off the school year.

RouleauRealEstateGroup.com for info Would you like to be a sponsor for this special event?

Email Tanya@RREGAvl.com

sponsored by:

Pizza Mind • Haywoood Common • Flora 12

JULY 24 - 30, 2019

MOUNTAINX.COM

Buncombe board debates ICE detainer bill

MAKING THE CASE: Buncombe County Sheriff Quentin Miller shares his position of noncompliance with Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer requests at the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners’ July 16 meeting. Photo by Daniel Walton Sworn oaths, social justice, the rule of law — the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners dove into weighty philosophical discussions at its July 16 regular meeting. But the theoretical discourse was grounded in a practical reality: the N.C. General Assembly’s HB 370, a pending bill that would require Buncombe County Sheriff Quentin Miller and other sheriffs throughout the state to comply with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer requests on penalty of removal from office.

The board’s four Democratic members — Chair Brownie Newman, Vice Chair Jasmine Beach-Ferrara and Commissioners Amanda Edwards and Al Whitesides — had signed letters to Gov. Roy Cooper, House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger urging them to oppose HB 370. Presenting at the meeting, Beach-Ferrara said the bill “was unconstitutional, that it targets immigrant communities here in Buncombe County and across North Carolina, and that it also undermines the authority of duly elected sheriffs to do their jobs and set policies that protect and maintain the public safety of the communities they’re elected to serve.”

Republican Commissioner Robert Pressley, reading from a prepared statement, said his Democratic colleagues “may even have some valid points” in their criticism of the bill. However, he said that his oath as an elected official bound him and his fellow commissioners to uphold the laws of the United States and North Carolina, regardless of their personal opinions.

“As citizens, we don’t get to choose which law we will follow and which law

we will break,” Pressley said. “While I appreciate my colleagues’ social justice activism as a way to change things, I don’t believe we should allow that activism to get in the way of promises we made to the citizens who sent us here.”

Whitesides responded that HB 370 hadn’t yet been signed into law and that, as Americans, the commissioners had a right to express their opinions. He added that the commissioners’ fiduciary responsibility to act in the interest of the county should impel them to speak up against proposals they view as unjust.

“Where is our moral compass, folks?

We’ve gotten to the point where we don’t give a darn anymore about people,” Whitesides said. He later compared ICE detention of immigrants without due process to the racist laws of the Jim Crow era.

While Republican Commissioner Joe Belcher said he supported the county’s Hispanic community, he objected to board members issuing statements against HB 370 on county letterhead, which bears the names of all seven commissioners. He said the board had long avoided issuing official resolutions on state and federal issues, respecting the “Dillon’s Rule” principle that gives the General Assembly preeminence over local governments.

Newman noted that the board did not have a formal policy against such statements and had previously taken positions on local bills, which impact Buncombe County alone. Because Miller is one of only seven sheriffs in the state to adopt a policy of noncompliance with ICE, he said, “it’s almost kind of a little bit of a gray area.”

— Daniel Walton X

Former Buncombe commissioner indicted It started with former Buncombe County Manager Wanda Greene — now, the continuing investigation into corruption within county government has pointed the finger at an elected official for the first time. On July 16, a grand jury charged former Commissioner Ellen Frost of 11 federal crimes, including conspiracy to commit federal program fraud, five counts of federal program fraud and five counts of mail fraud.

At the heart of the case against Frost, who was first elected to the Board of Commissioners in 2012 and served through 2018, are roughly $575,000 in county funds that she and Greene allegedly funneled to support “various equestrian enterprises in North Carolina and Florida.” The Tryon International Equestrian Center in Polk County received over $275,000, while The Chronicle of the Horse magazine and Wellington, Fla.-based Palm Beach International Equestrian Center each received roughly $150,000.

According to the indictment, Frost and Greene took the money from the county’s Economic Development Incentive Fund, any spending of which legally requires a public hearing and vote of the full board. To disguise this source, the two allegedly used the funds to buy sponsorship rights and advertising in the name of the Asheville Regional Airport instead of promoting Buncombe County itself.

Frost, who owned horses and showed them at the Tryon venue during her time on the board, oversaw access to a “Legends Club” VIP table during the center’s 2015 and 2016 seasons, according to federal investigators. The commissioner’s guests — allegedly including airport Executive Director Lew Bleiweis, other members of the airport board and the owners of the Polk County farm where she boarded her horses — received a complimentary “fullspread buffet and a premium selection of liquor, beer and wine” valued at roughly $2,000 per week.

The indictment claims that Frost and Green did not tell any other commissioners about the payments; however, it mentions several other county officials in association with their activities. David Gantt, the former board chair, allegedly attended “an introductory informal tour” of the Tryon facility in mid-July 2014

AT THE START: Ellen Frost was sworn into office on Jan. 15, 2013, giving Democrats a 4-3 majority on the Board of Commissioners, which they have maintained ever since. Frost did not seek reelection in 2018. File photo by Max Cooper that Frost arranged with an eye to supporting the center.

“Due to the possibility that I may be a witness in the trial of this matter, I don’t think it appropriate to discuss your questions in the media,” Gantt responded to a July 18 request for comment. “I will be happy to discuss in detail after all federal investigations and trial are completed.”

The indictment also notes that each of the checks for the equestrian payments were signed by a Buncombe employee besides Greene. A payment of $50,000 to the Wellington center was allegedly executed Feb. 19, 2015, by the county manager and former Finance Director Donna Clark, who retired on March 1 of the same year. The remain-

ing checks were allegedly signed by Clark’s replacement, Tim Flora, whose promotion to interim finance director was recommended by Greene and submitted for a commission vote by Frost on Feb. 3, 2015.

Flora, now finance director for the Raleigh suburb of Knightdale, explained that his signature was applied to the checks as part of the county’s electronic financial software process and that he did not personally approve the spending. He said his department had confirmed that the payments were supported by the county budget; the Economic Development Incentive Fund had enough money to cover the expenses, so the county’s preaudit did not flag any issues.

“Was I aware that those payments were being made? No. Was my name on those checks? Yes,” Flora said.

Flora added that, after the other Buncombe commissioners allegedly learned of one of Frost’s payments through an Aug. 30, 2016, article in the Citizen Times, they did not reach out to him about the suspicious spending.

“The commissioners hardly ever spoke to me about anything,” he said. “Am I surprised about the Ellen Frost indictment? No, I am not.”

Chair Brownie Newman is the only current board member to date who has issued a public statement on the indictment. In a document provided to the media before the commission’s July 16 meeting, he wrote that he spoke to Frost on Oct. 5, 2017, about his concerns over the county’s equestrian support.

“It was not plausible to me that, after setting up the meeting [between Greene and Tryon center owner Mark Bellissimo] and spending extensive time at the equestrian center, she would not have awareness of what was happening,” Newman wrote. He did not mention taking any action immediately after the 2016 revelation of the spending. However, he did apprise Frost on Oct. 6, 2017, that he wouldn’t support her 2018 reelection bid. Frost subsequently announced she would not seek another term on the board, citing a desire to spend more time with her family.

Frost’s attorney, Anthony Scheer, is slated to appear on her behalf for her arraignment at the federal courthouse in Charlotte on Wednesday, July 31, at 10 a.m. If Frost is convicted of all charges, she faces up to 155 years in prison.

— Daniel Walton X JULY 24 - 30, 2019

13

F E AT UR E S

ASHEVILLE ARCHIVES

by Thomas Calder | tcalder@mountainx.com

‘Silent teachers’ Pack Memorial Public Library opens, 1919

Modern Minimalism: Perfect for urban studio settings, small cabins or a coffee shop!

SUNDAY!

m

J uly

- 5p

FREE beer

12 pm

28

th

benefiting Black Mountain Home for Youth

Family Friendly Open Mic Night Thursday, August 1st 5-7pm Talent of all ages welcome!

26 Glendale Ave •828.505.1108 behind Target, across from Brother Wolf

10am-7pm •7 days a week!

TheRegenerationStation

$25 OFF YOUR REMOVAL Excludes our minimum charge

we remove anything. . . from anywhere TRASH • TV’S PAINT • PIANOS

828.707.2407

www.junkrecyclers.net 14

JULY 24 - 30, 2019

MOUNTAINX.COM

On Dec. 8, 1918, The Sunday Citizen reported on the Pack Memorial Library Association’s plans to donate its duesbased library collection to the city.

Dubbed a “Christmas gift” by the paper, the donation included the library’s threestory building on Pack Square (where the Asheville Art Museum stands today), its 15,000 books and an additional empty lot on Church Street. The estimated value of the acquisition totaled $75,000 (roughly $1.2 million in today’s dollars).

For the transfer to go through, conditions needed to be met. Among them, the city was required to operate the space as a public library, doing away with the association’s previous $2 annual fee. Also, it had to continue to operate as a memorial to the late George Willis Pack, who deeded the property to the association in 1899.

An editorial in the same day’s paper praised the impending transfer. Quoting from author and theologian William Ellery Channing, the article read: “Books are true levelers. … The diffusion of these silent teachers through the whole community is to work greater effects than artillery, machinery and legislation; their peaceful agency is to supersede stormy revolutions. This culture which is to spread, whilst an unspeakable good to the individual, is also to become the stability of nations.

Thrice blessed are the people who have unlimited access to good books.”

It’s important to note that in 1918, “the whole community” was not all-inclusive. Such exclusivity was made explicit in Pack Memorial’s earliest rules and regulations, which stated: “The library is free to all white residents of Asheville more than twelve years old.” The city’s Colored Library would not open until 1927 (see “Asheville Archives: Irene Hendrick and the Colored Library,” Sept. 4, 2018, Xpress).

Additional rules were highlighted in the Dec. 29, 1918, edition of The Sunday Citizen. According to the article, application cards would be available to all residents whose names appeared in the city or telephone directory. Meanwhile, individuals whose names did not appear in either directory would need to secure a signature from a verifiable resident in order to check out books; otherwise, unlisted members were required to make a $2 deposit. A sim-

Before Pack Memorial’s opening, the newspaper did what it could to assist residents unfamiliar with the public library system. For example, on Dec. 31, 1918, The Asheville Citizen informed readers that laws did exist and would be invoked “in the possible case of a few crooks.” But in general, the paper continued, “people who come to the library are to be trusted in the same way that people who attend church are trusted to do the right thing.”

In the following day’s paper, further clarification and instruction was offered: “To those who have not been using the library it is suggested that they visit it and consider how it can serve them.

They will doubtless find it has many possibilities of helpfulness which have not occurred to them. It is urged that people do no hesitate to ask the librarians for any information or advice.

Advice will be cheerfully given those who have not familiarized themselves with libraries.”

COURTESY OF GEORGE: In 1918, the Pack Memorial Library Association donated its building and collection to the city of Asheville. On Jan. 2, 1919, Pack Memorial Public Library opened on Pack Square. Photo courtesy of the North Carolina Collection, Pack Memorial Library, Asheville ilar deposit was required of “transients who have resided in Asheville less than six months.”

On Jan. 2, 1919, Pack Memorial Public Library opened. “So far West Asheville residents appear to be availing themselves of the new library privileges in greater numbers, proportionately, than people of the city proper,” the Jan. 4, 1919, edition of The Asheville Citizen reported. Within two weeks membership totaled 1,225.

Over time, community interest continued to grow. On March 30, 1920, The Asheville Citizen announced that Pack Memorial led the state in book circulation with 69,979. Charlotte placed second with a circulation of 57,400. Other cities noted in the state’s official report included Durham, Winston-Salem, Greensboro and Raleigh.

Proud but not satisfied, the paper boasted, “The figures would be even more interesting if they reflected the past two months. At present the circulation of the local library is at the rate of 100,000 a year.”

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

Centennial celebration On Friday, July 26, 2-5 p.m., Pack Memorial Library will celebrate 100 years with a block party at 68 Haywood St. The event will include live music, food trucks, a photo booth, kids activities and more. Got overdue books? As part of the celebration, all Buncombe County branch libraries will also waive late fees that day.

Patrons must visit one of the 11 branches in order for associated costs to be forgiven.

For hours and locations, visit avl.mx/6bf. X

COMMUNITY CALENDAR JULY 24 - AUG. 1, 2019

SUMMER OPEN HOUSE • SA (7/27), 2-8pm Open house. Free. Held at YMCA - Asheville, 30 Woodfin St.

CALENDAR GUIDELINES For a full list of community calendar guidelines, please visit mountainx.com/calendar. For questions about free listings, call 828-251-1333, ext.

137. For questions about paid calendar listings, please call 828-251-1333, ext. 320.

ANIMALS BIRDS OF WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA • TH (8/1), 6:30-7:30pm - Presentation by the Transylvania County Bird Club. Free. Held at Transylvania County Library, 212 S. Gaston St., Brevard

BENEFITS GRACE CHURCH IN THE MOUNTAINS PARISH FAIR • SA (7/27), 9am-1pm - Proceeds from the Grace Church in the Mountains Parish Fair benefits non-profit organizations in Haywood County. Free to attend. Held at Grace Church in the Mountains, 394 N. Haywood St., Waynesville HIGH CLIMATE TEA RAFFLE • TH (7/25), 4pm - Raffle proceeds from the grand opening at High Climate Tea Company benefit Asheville Humane Society. Tickets: $20. Held at High Climate Tea Company, 12 S. Lexington Ave. NIGHT FLIGHT • SA (7/27), 7:30pm - Proceeds from the Night Flight, with after party in the Meadow at the brewery, benefit Connect Buncombe for greenway development. Registration: avl.mx/66s. $43. Held at Highland Brewing Company, 12 Old Charlotte Highway OPEN HEARTS CONCERT SUPPORTING BORDER CHILDREN • SA (7/27), 1-4pm - Proceeds from the Open Hearts Concert supporting Border Children featuring 30 local musicians and five

FOOD & BEER ASHEVILLE VEGAN RUNNERS • 4th SATURDAYS, 5:30-6:30pm - Asheville Vegan Runners, open group meeting. Free to attend. Held at Firestorm Books & Coffee, 610 Haywood Road

visual artists benefit RAICES and their justice work on behalf to migrant children. $10.

Held at Swannanoa United Methodist Church, 216 Whitson Ave., Swannanoa

FALCONHURST COMMUNITY FOOD HUB • WE (7/24), 7pm Falconhurst Community Food Hub information session with Bountiful Cities. Free. Held at West End Bakery & Café, 757 Haywood Road

PANCAKE FUNDRAISER • SA (7/27), 8-10am - Proceeds from this pancake breakfast benefit the Hominy Valley Crisis Ministry. $10/$5 children. Held at Fatz Cafe, 5 Spartan Ave. SUNSET DINING ON THE MOUNTAINTOP • SU (7/28), 6-9pm - Proceeds from this farm-to-fork seated dinner, live music, dancing and sunset views benefit The Free Clinics Phoenix Project. $200.

Held at The Cabin Ridge, 323 Shadow Run Road, Hendersonville

BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY A-B TECH SMALL BUSINESS CENTER 1465 Sand Hill Road, Candler, 828-398-7950, abtech.edu/sbc • WE (7/24), 11am-1pm - Effective Fund Development Strategies, seminar. Registration required. Free.

• TU (7/30), 9amnoon - Deep Dive Lab: Navigating Business Regulations, seminar.

Registration required.

Free.

FLETCHER AREA BUSINESS ASSOCIATION • 4th THURSDAYS, 11:30-noon - General meeting. Free. Held at YMCA Mission Pardee Health Campus, 2775 Hendersonville Road, Arden

STICKS AND SNAILS: Tails in Town hosts a full day of dog lover events with Pints for Pups and Strut Your Mutt 5K fun run/walk benefiting animal rescue centers as well as a pet costume pageant. The festival is planned for Saturday, July 27, 8 a.m.-2 p.m., at the Historic Depot in Hendersonville. Free to attend. For the full schedule, visit wtzq.com/ tails-in-town. Photo courtesy of Juls Buckman (p. 16)

FINES CREEK FISH FRY • SA (7/27), 5-8pm Fish fry dinner with live music by David Teague. $10 per plate. Held at Fines Creek Community Center, 190 Fines Creek Road, Clyde

LEADERSHIP ASHEVILLE’S BUZZ BREAKFAST • TH (7/25), 8am - 2019 Buzz Breakfast series with the theme, How Do We Build a Connected Community? $25/$60 for the series. Held at Crowne Plaza Resort, 1 Resort Drive

FOLKMOOT FESTIVAL FRIENDSHIP DINNER • TH (7/25), 7pm - Folkmoot Festival Friendship dinner with cultural performances. $40/$25 children. Held at Folkmoot Friendship Center, 112 Virginia Ave., Waynesville

CLASSES, MEETINGS & EVENTS EMPYREAN ARTS CLASSES (PD.) Intro to Pole Fitness on Mondays 6:15pm, Tuesdays 7:15pm, and Saturdays 11:30am. Beginning Aerial Arts on Sundays 2:15pm, Tuesdays 1:00pm, Wednesdays 7:30pm, Thursdays 5:15pm, and Saturdays 2:30pm. Aerial Kids on Wednesdays 4:30pm.

EMPYREANARTS.ORG. 828.782.3321 AIGA ASHEVILLE • TH (8/1) , 6pm - The new AIGA Asheville Chapter inaugural event with speaker Ashleigh Axios. $25/$15 members. Held at

Diana Wortham Theatre, 18 Biltmore Ave.

ety.com or 828-743-1658. $20.

AMERICAN LEGION POST 70 • LAST MONDAYS, 6pm General meeting. Dinner at 6pm. Meeting at 7pm. Free.

Held at American Legion Post 70, 103 Reddick Road

GRACE SYMPOSIUM

ASHEVILLE ROTARY CLUB • THURSDAYS, noon1:30pm - General meeting.

Free. Held at Renaissance Asheville Hotel, 31 Woodfin St. CASHIERS DESIGNER SHOWHOUSE • TH (7/25) through SA (8/3) - 2019 Cashiers Designer Showhouse, weeklong event with gala, lectures, book signings, brunch and workshops. See website for full schedule and pricing: cashiershistoricalsociety.org.

CEMETERIES ON TOUR • SA (7/27) - Glenville Area Historical Society historic cemeteries self-guided tour.

Registration information: glenvilleareahistoricalsoci-

• MO (7/29), 4:30-7pm GRACE, graduate student showcase, featuring a multidisciplinary array of projects. Free. Held at Lenoir-Rhyne University, 36 Montford Ave. LAUREL CHAPTER OF THE EMBROIDERERS' GUILD OF AMERICA • TH (8/1), 10am - Monthly meeting. Registration at 9:30am. Free. Held at Cummings United Methodist Church, 3 Banner Farm Road, Horse Shoe ONTRACK WNC 50 S. French Broad Ave., 828-255-5166, ontrackwnc.org • WE (7/24), noon-1:30pm - Preventing Identity Theft, class. Registration required.

Free.

• TH (7/25) & MO (7/29), noon-1:30pm - Budgeting and Debt, class. Registration required. Free.

• TH (7/25), 5:30-7pm - Discover your Money Vision.

Registration required. Free.

• TUESDAYS (7/30) & (8/6), 9am-12:30pm - Basics of budgeting, setting goals, planning spending to realize goals, saving strategies and tracking spending. Registration required. Free.

• WEDNESDAYS (7/24) & (7/31), 5:30-8pm - Basics of budgeting, setting goals, planning spending to realize goals, saving strategies and tracking spending. Registration required. Free.

PAYING YOURSELF FOR CREATIVES • WE (7/24), 3-5pm - Take control of your financial management systems.

Registration: jhanks@ carolinasmallbusiness.org or 828.633.5065 x 102. Free.

Held at The Refinery, 207 Coxe Ave. SPANISH CONVERSATION GROUP • 1st & 3rd THURSDAYS, 5pm - Spanish Conversation Group for adults. Free. Held at Pack Memorial Library, 67 Haywood St.

FOOD NOT BOMBS COMMUNITY MEAL • SUNDAYS, 4pm Community meal. Free.

Held at Black Bear Cof-

fee Co., 318 N. Main St., Hendersonville

FESTIVALS ADÉ PROJECT: ART + WELLNESS • TH (7/25) through SU (7/28) - adé PROJECT: Art + Wellness Weekend, see website for full schedule: avl.mx/6bn. Free. Held at YMI Cultural Center, 39 S. Market St. FOLKMOOT USA 828-452-2997, folkmootusa.org • Through SU (7/28) Ten-day festival taking place in Waynesville, Clyde, Lake Junaluska, Maggie Valley, Canton, Cherokee, Franklin, Hickory, Asheville, Greenville and Hendersonville featuring cultural ambassadors and dance performing groups from many countries. See website for full schedule, costs and locations.

• FR (7/26), 3-9pm - Folkmalt, Folkmoot's first outdoor international craft beer, food truck and music fair with international performance troupes. $30. Held at Sorrells Street Park, Corner of Main and Sorrells Sts., Canton NC MINERAL AND GEM FESTIVAL • TH (8/1) through SA (8/3), 10am-5pm & SU (8/4), 12:30-5pm - 60th annual NC Mineral and Gem Festival featuring jewelry, gemstones, minerals, beads, crystals and fossils. Information: $3. Held at Spruce Pine

EMPYREAN ARTS

4 Year

Birthday Party + Student Showcase Saturday July 27th Doors at 6pm, Show at 6:30pm $5-$15 sliding scale entry

32 Banks Ave #108 • Downtown Asheville

EmpyreanArts.org 782.3321 JULY 24 - 30, 2019

15

CONSCIOUS PARTY

C OMMU N IT Y CA L EN D AR

Commons Shopping Center, 12085 S. Highway 226, Spruce Pine TAILS IN TOWN • SA (7/27), 8am2pm - Proceeds from Tails in Town Festival featuring the Strut Your Mutt 5K, pet costume contest, 40 pet-friendly vendors, food trucks and activities for all ages benefit Pints for Pups and local rescue organizations.

Information: wtzq.com/ tails-in-town. Free to attend. Held at Historic Depot in Downtown Hendersonville.

GOVERNMENT & POLITICS CITY OF ASHEVILLE 828-251-1122, ashevillenc.gov • TH (7/25), 11am-1pm & 2-6pm - Community public art input and design workshop focused on celebrating African Americans through public art. Childcare and Spanish interpretation provided. Free. Held at YMI Cultural Center, 39 S. Market St. • TH (7/25), 11am-1pm & 2-6pm - Community public art input and design workshop focused for ages 10-17, focused on celebrating African Americans through public art.

Free. Held at YMI Cultural Center, 39 South Market St.

CONGRESSMAN MCHENRY TOWN HALL • WE (7/31), 10am Congressman McHenry gives an update on legislative activity in the US Congress and takes questions. Free.

Held at Riceville Fire Department, 2251 Riceville Road • WE (7/31), 6pm Congressman McHenry gives an update on legislative activity in the US Congress and takes questions. Free.

Held at Rutherford County School Board Chambers, 382 W. Main St., Forest City

OLD ROCK CAFÉ (PD.) Join Old Rock Café’s Chef Randall for an evening of grilling and chilling during the Grill King Basics Cooking Class on Thursday,Aug.8 from 5:30-7:30pm. Advance registration required.

Info at chimneyrockpark.com BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY HIKE OF THE WEEK

OPEN MY HEART: All proceeds from the Open Hearts concert supporting border children benefit the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services, raicestexas.org. The concert showcasing 30 local musicians and five visual artists will be held at Swannanoa United Methodist Church on Saturday, July 27, 1-4 p.m. There is a $10 suggested donation for the concert. (p. 15)

her role as Abigail Adams. $5 Adults/$3 Students. Held at West Henderson High School, 3600 Haywood Road, Mountain Home BACK TO SCHOOL BACKPACK GIVEAWAY • SA (7/27), 10am-2pm - Back to school free backpack giveaway with over 800 backpacks stuffed with supplies. Also water bounce houses, waterslides, games and food on site.

Registration: onrealm.org.

Free. Held at Crossroads Church, 20 S. Bear Creek Road BIRDS, BATS AND BUGS

KIDS

• SU (7/28), 11am-3pm - Birds, Bats and Bugs, program. Admission fees apply. Held at Carl Sandburg Home NHS, 1800 Little River Road, Flat Rock

ABIGAIL ADAMS HISTORICAL PRESENTATION • TU (7/30), 11am Nora Brooks reprises

Attorney at Law

BUNCOMBE COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARIES buncombecounty.org/ governing/depts/library • SA (7/27), 1pm - Kids stop by to practice reading skills with JR the therapy dog.

Free. Held at Weaverville Public Library, 41 N. Main St., Weaverville • TU (7/30), 11am Preschool story time. Free.

Held at Weaverville Public Library, 41 N. Main St., Weaverville • 2nd SATURDAYS, 1-4pm & LAST WEDNESDAYS, 4-6pm - Teen Dungeons and Dragons for ages 12 and up. Registration required: 828-250-4720.

Free. Held at Pack Memorial Library, 67 Haywood St. ‘CHARLOTTE’S WEB’ • Through SU (7/28) - Charlotte’s Web, family classic play. Fri.: 7pm; Sat.: 4pm and Sun.: 1pm. $23/$12

DIVORCE IS SCARY but your lawyer’s bill shouldn’t be.

•

My $125/hour rate is ALMOST HALF other attorneys’ rates in Asheville.

•

I have 21 years’ experience.

Divorce • Child Custody • Child Support Property Division • Separation Agreements

•

I handle all my cases personally, rather than handing the work to a paralegal.

$125 PER HOUR

•

Skype appointments days, nights and weekends; so no need to travel to my office.

ceciliacjohnson.com ceciliacjohnson@bellsouth.net

16

OUTDOORS

SHERIFF QUENTIN MILLER LISTENING SESSION • TH (7/25), 6:30-8pm - Sheriff Quentin Miller, Deputies and senior staff from the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office listen to comments and concerns and answer questions.

Free. Held at Leicester Community Center, 2979 New Leicester Highway, Leicester • TH (8/1), 6:30-8pm - Sheriff Quentin Miller, Deputies and senior staff from the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office listen to comments and concerns and answer questions. Free. Held at Weaverville Town Hall, 30 S. Main St., Weaverville

CECILIA JOHNSON

JULY 24 - 30, 2019

by Deborah Robertson

MOUNTAINX.COM

student. Held at Magnetic 375, 375 Depot St. FIRESTORM BOOKS & COFFEE 610 Haywood Road, 828255-8115, firestorm.coop • SA (7/27), 10:30am - Animals read aloud, activity for children. Free to attend.

• SATURDAYS through (8/24), 10:30am - Programs on local ecology, using natural materials to make art, recycling, upcycling and gardening.

Information: firestorm.coop, 828-7074364 or stevensonwa@ guilford.edu. Free.

LEAF EASEL RIDER MOBILE ART LAB • WEDNESDAYS, 6-7pm - AMOS and LEAF host hands-on STEM activities.

See website for lineup.

Free. Held at Pritchard Park, 4 College St. MALAPROP'S BOOKSTORE AND CAFE 55 Haywood St., 828-2546734, malaprops.com • SA (7/27), 6pm - Guest authors and instructors of the Shared Worlds summer program designed for teen writers. Free to attend.

• TU (7/30), 6pm - Melissa Thomson presents her middle-grade novel, Tito the Bonecrusher and Malayna Evans presents her book, Jagger Jones and the Mummy's Ankh.

Free to attend.

PISGAH CENTER FOR WILDLIFE EDUCATION 1401 Fish Hatchery Road, Pisgah Forest, 828-8774423 • WE (7/24) & WE (7/31), 8:30pm - Things That Go Bump in the Night, night hike and presentation about night creatures.

Registration required: pisgahfieldschool.org. $20 ages 13 and up/$8 children.

• TH (7/25), 9-11am - NC Crayfish, educational event for ages 8-13. Registration required. Free.

• FR (7/26), 1-3pm - Learn about local snake species and the role they play in the ecosystem. Ages 8–13.

Registration: avl.mx/68e.

Free.

• SA (7/27), 10am-noon - Wildlife photo hunt competition for all ages.

Registration required.

Free.

• WE (7/31), 9am-3pm - Primitive outdoor skills activities for ages 10-15.

Registration required.

Free.

TENNIS PLAY DAY • SUNDAYS, 2-4pm - Organized tennis for juniors of all ages and skill levels. Registration: avltennis.com or AvlJuniorTennis@gmail. com. Free. Held at Aston Park, 336 Hilliard Ave.

• FR (7/26), 10am Moderate, 1.8 mile round-trip hike along the Mountains-to-Sea Trail. Free. Meet at Sleepy Gap Parking Overlook, Milepost 397.3, Blue Ridge Parkway CITY OF ASHEVILLE POOLS OPEN • SA (6/8) through SU (8/11) - All three city pools open for the summer. Hours and information: avl.mx/64c. $3.

PADDLING THE FRENCH BROAD RIVER • SA (7/27), 10am-1pm - Shuttle to Hominy Creek River Park to board canoes, kayaks and dories for a paddle with talks. Limited to 20. Free. Held at Asheville GreenWorks’ Riverside Office, 318 Riverside Drive PISGAH FIELD SCHOOL 49 Pisgah Highway, Suite 4, Pisgah Forest, pisgahfieldschool.org • TH (7/25), 8-10pm Guided 2-mile sunset and night hike in the Pisgah National Forest.

Registration required. $30/$10 children.

WILD EDIBLES HIKE • SA (7/27), 1-3:30pm - Beginner wild edibles hike for ages 16 and up. Registration: 828-400-5790 or info@ finescreek.org. $15.

Held at Fines Creek Community Center, 190 Fines Creek Road, Clyde

PARENTING BUNCOMBE COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARIES buncombecounty.org/ governing/depts/library • TH (7/25), 11am - Toddler story time. Free. Held at Weaverville Public Library, 41 N. Main St., Weaverville • WE (7/31), 11am Baby story time. Free.

Held at Weaverville Public Library, 41 N. Main St., Weaverville MOTHERS CONNECTION • THURSDAYS, 11:30am-1:30pm Social gathering for mothers and their babies. Registration required. Free to attend. Held at Haywood Regional Medical Center, 262 Leroy George Drive, Clyde SUMMER GAME NIGHTS: SEX ED FOR ADULTS • TUESDAYS until (7/30), 6:30-8pm - Sex education for adults helping parents talk to kids. Free. Held at The Center for Art & Inspiration, 125 S. Main St., Hendersonville YOUNG PARENTS KNITTING GROUP • TH (7/25), 4-6pm Young parents knitting group with toys for young children. Free to attend. Held at Echoview Fiber Mill, 76 Jupiter Road, Weaverville

PUBLIC LECTURES AIGA EVENT WITH ASHLEIGH AXIOS • TH (8/1), 6-9pm - AIGA Asheville presentation by Ashleigh Axios. Information: asheville.aiga.org. $28.16. Held at Diana Wortham Theatre, 18 Biltmore Ave. BEYOND PLUTO: THE NEW HORIZONS MISSION TO ULTIMA THULE • TH (8/1), 7pm Steven J. Conard, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, presents Beyond Pluto:

The New Horizons Mission to Ultima Thule. Free. Held at UNC Asheville Reuter Center, 1 University Heights

SENIORS ASHEVILLE NEW FRIENDS (PD.) Offers active senior residents of the Asheville area opportunities to make new friends and explore new interests through a program of varied social, cultural and outdoor activities.

Visit www. ashevillenewfriends.org SLOW FLOW YOGA • THURSDAYS, 2:30-3:30pm - Slow Flow Yoga, yoga class adapted for all ages and abilities. Free. Held at Senior Opportunity Center, 36 Grove St.

SPIRITUALITY ANATTASATI MAGGA (PD.) Sujata Yasa (Nancy Spence). Zen Buddhism. Weekly meditations and services; Daily recitations w/ mala. Urban retreats.

32 Mineral Dust Drive, Asheville, NC 28806.

828-367-7718. info@ anattasatimagga.org.

ANATTASATIMAGGA. ORG ASTRO-COUNSELING (PD.) Licensed counselor and accredited professional astrologer uses your chart when counseling for additional insight into yourself, your relationships and life directions. Stellar Counseling Services.

Christy Gunther, MA, LPC. (828) 258-3229.

DE-STRESS, GET HAPPY & CONNECT! (PD.) Mindfulness Meditation at the Asheville Insight Meditation Center. Group Meditation: Weekly on Thursdays at 7pm & Sundays at 10am. www. ashevillemeditation. com, info@ ashevillemeditation. com.

LEARN TO MEDITATE (PD.) Introduction to Mindfulness Meditation class at Asheville Insight Meditation Center, 1st Mondays of each month at 7pm-8:30pm. www. ashevillemeditation. com, info@ ashevillemeditation. com.

REIKI INTRODUCTION AND HEALING CIRCLE • THIS SUNDAY (PD.) July 28th, 2:00pm.

Perfect opportunity to try Reiki! After educating you about Reiki, we’ll do a Meditation followed by each person receiving a Reiki Treatment. $20. 12 1/2 Wall Street, Suite O • RSVP: (828) 707-3530. www.NCReiki.com

8/5 (9am) or 8/8 (5:30pm) RSVP: volunteers@ litcouncil.com. Learn more: www.litcouncil. com.

HOMEWARD BOUND OF WNC • THURSDAYS, 11am, 2nd TUESDAYS, 5:30pm & 3rd WEDNESDAYS, 8:30am - Welcome Home Tour, find out how Homeward Bound is working to end homelessness and

how the public can help.

Registration required: tours@homewardboundwnc.org or 828-785-9840.

Free. Held at Homeward Bound of WNC, 218 Patton Ave. LEADER TRAINING • Through FR (7/26) Open registration for the four day volunteer training program Living Healthy with Chronic Pain, taking place in

August. Registration: 828251-7438 or stephanie@ landofsky.org. Held at Land-Of-Sky Regional Council Offices, 339 New Leicester Highway, Suite 140 TEDXASHEVILLE • Through FR (8/30) Volunteer for TEDx on Sunday, Sept. 8. Theme is Challenging Assumptions, Breaking New Ground.

Held at Diana Wortham Theatre, 18 Biltmore Ave. TRANZMISSION PRISON PROJECT • Fourth THURSDAYS, 6-9pm - Monthly meeting to prepare packages of books and zines for mailing to prisons across the US. Free to attend.

Held at Firestorm Books & Coffee, 610 Haywood Road

VOLUNTEER FOR HENDERSON COUNTY UNITED WAY ANNUAL DAY OF ACTION • Through TH (8/15) Register to volunteer for the annual Day of Action.

Volunteers are needed to work on projects at 22 schools and learning centers on Friday, August 16.

Registration: liveunitedhc. org or 828-692-1636 x 1108.

WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA AIDS PROJECT • 2nd & 4th SATURDAYS, 10am-noon - Volunteer to deliver food boxes to homebound people living with HIV/AIDS. Registration: 828-252-7489 x 315 or wncapvolunteer@ wncap.org.

For more volunteering opportunities visit mountainx.com/volunteering

SONGS & SILENCE, ALL FAITH TAIZE SERVICE • THURSDAYS, 6:307:15 pm - All faith Taize service of meditation and music. Free. Held at Grace Lutheran Church, 1245 6th Ave W., Hendersonville THE CENTER FOR ART AND SPIRIT AT ST. GEORGE'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH 1 School Road, 828258-0211 • 4th FRIDAYS, 10amnoon - Contemplative Companions, meditation. Free.

• Last Tuesdays, 7-9pm - Aramaic, Hebrew and Egyptian vocal toning, breath work and meditation. Admission by donation.

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL • Through FR (7/26), 6:30-8:30pm - Vacation Bible school for all ages. Free. Held at Sheba Baptist Church, 870 New Stock Road, Weaverville

VOLUNTEERING TUTOR ADULTS IN NEED WITH THE LITERACY COUNCIL (PD.) Give someone another chance to learn.

Provide reading, writing, and/or English language tutoring and change a life forever.

Volunteer orientation

JULY 24 - 30, 2019

17

WELLNESS

Magical Offerings

Support group aids food, beverage workers

7/25: Aura Photography Reading Sessions w/ Psychic Atena 5-7pm, $25 Per Photo/Cash Only 7/27: STORE ANNIVERSARY WEEKEND! Giveaway for 2 Lucky Shoppers: $25.00 Gift Certificate!

PSYCHIC FAIR: 15 minutes for $20 12-6pm 7/28: Power Symbols, Henna Tattoos & Tea w/ Sarah Jordan 4-6pm, $10-$35/Cash Only 7/31: NEW MOON in Leo

Over 100 Herbs Available!

July Stone: Jasper July Herb: Calendula

(828) 424-7868

ashevilleravenandcrone.com

555 Merrimon Avenue Daily readers including Scrying, Runes, Tarot, & More! Walk-ins welcome!

Center for massage & Natural health

Come to Massage School

Ben’s Friends, a support group for food and beverage industry workers dealing with substance abuse and addiction, held its first meeting at 11 a.m. July 23 at Posana, 1 Biltmore Ave., Asheville. Meetings will continue weekly on Tuesdays at the same time and place.

No registration is required.

Founded in Charleston, S.C., in 2016 following a series of deaths in that city’s restaurant scene, Ben’s Friends has spread to other cities, including Raleigh, Charlotte and Atlanta; Asheville will be the seventh city to have an official chapter. The organization’s name honors Ben Murray, a chef who committed suicide after struggling with alcohol addiction.

“The support group is unique because it brings people together who understand the challenges of being sober while working in the hospitality industry,” said Jane Anderson, executive director of the Asheville Independent Restaurant Association, in a press release. “Addiction is everywhere, but not all people in recovery are required to work around and serve their ‘drug of choice.’ Our goal is to make our restaurants a safe place to work for those in recovery.”

More information is available at bensfriendshope.com.

Next Class starts August 28 Travel/Parking Stipend Free Massage Table & Kit 6 months 2½ days/wk + 12 clinical shifts 600 Hour Program Federal Financial Aid & Scholarships Available

Apply Now CenterForMassage.com/apply 828-505-1033

18

JULY 24 - 30, 2019

Grants power wellness services in WNC • Jackson County-based Vecinos Farmworker Health Program received a $150,000 grant from the Melvin R. Lane Fund of the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina. Vecinos advocates for and provides medical support to uninsured and underinsured farmworkers and their families. “Our mobile clinic helps overcome the barriers that migrant farmworkers face in getting care, including transportation, time, cost, language and cultural competency,” said Marianne Martínez, executive director of Vecinos, in a press release. “By bringing bilingual staff with specific training in agriculture medicine directly to marginalized populations, we are able to offer appropriate services that help ensure a holistic approach to health care.” In the past year, Vecinos served 800 patients in the region.

MOUNTAINX.COM

HEALTHY WORKERS: Vecinos Farmworker Health Program offers health and wellness assessments and therapy services for migrant farmworkers and their families. Photo courtesy of Western Carolina University • The Sisters of Mercy of North Carolina Foundation announced grant awards totaling $230,000 to five nonprofits operating in Buncombe and Henderson counties, including the Boys & Girls Club of Henderson County; the Children & Family Resource Center of Henderson County; Pisgah Legal Services; Read to Succeed; and the United Way of Asheville & Buncombe County’s Middle School Success Initiative.

• The YMCA of WNC offers three programs to help people living with Parkinson’s disease improve movement and build social support networks: Pedaling for Parkinson’s, PWR!Moves and Rock Steady Boxing. Participation in the programs is free for patients and caregivers, a benefit that’s made possible by

support from the Parkinson’s Foundation, including a new $15,000 grant. For more information on PD programming at the Y, see avl.mx/6bh.

Art + Wellness Weekend coming July 25-27 Events focused on the intersection of expression, art and wellness will take place in and around the YMI Cultural Center at 39 S. Market St. in Asheville Thursday-Saturday, July 25-27 as the adé PROJECT presents its first Art + Wellness Weekend. Spanish interpretation will be provided and child care is available with prior notice. More infor-

mation and registration is available at avl.mx/6bn.

In addition, a caucus on healing for people of color will take place 8-10 a.m.

Sunday, July 28, featuring yoga and martial arts instructors in collaboration with the Asheville Yoga Festival and DaniWay Yoga, Wellness and Wisdom.

Location information will be provided upon registration at avl.mx/6bo.

Free tick-removal kits

Mercy Urgent Care will give away tick-removal kits at each of its seven locations in West, East and South Asheville, Weaverville, Brevard, Burnsville and Columbus.

While supplies last, Mercy is offering one kit per family.

In a press release, the health care provider advised, “After any outdoor activity, always check for ticks, paying close attention to the scalp, ears and underarms, and the areas between the legs, inside the belly button and on the backs of the knees.”

AdventHealth, Haywood Regional earn top hospital safety marks The Leapfrog Group recently released new hospital safety grades. The grades are based on performance measures provided to the national Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and supplemental, self-reported data.

AdventHealth Hendersonville and Haywood Regional Medical Center in Clyde received A grades.

Asheville’s Mission Hospital, Margaret R. Pardee Memorial Hospital in Hendersonville and Harris Regional Hospital in Sylva earned B grades, and Rutherford Regional Medical Center in Rutherfordton scored a C grade.

Before choosing a care provider based on online recommendations, Gail Darren, quality services director at Pardee UNC Health Care, recommends that health care consumers view the rankings in context. “I encourage health care consumers to ask, ‘Is the data in the most recent calendar year?

Or is it from three or more years ago?’

CONTINUES ON PAGE 20

Colon Therapy Asheville

Spa & Lodge

CLEANSING TREATMENT FOR DIGESTIVE DISORDERS

Licensed 48 years 828-206-5811 5-Star Rating colontherapyclinic.com

THE

JAPANESE ART OF

relaxation

Outdoor Salt Tubs, Ice Cold Amenities, Massage & More 299∙0999 shojiretreats.com

675 HOUR Massage Certification Program FALL CLASS

Oct. 7, 2019 - Apr. 1, 2020

DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE Apply Online!

AshevilleMassageSchool.org 828-252-7377

JULY 24 - 30, 2019

19

Psychotherapy for Individuals and Couples • Life Transitions • Relationship Issues • Increase Self Esteem • Addiction Recovery • Sexuality/Sex Therapy • Career/Money Issues • Trauma/Grief/Loss Support • Anxiety/Depression/Stress Caring and Confidential 30+ Years Experience

WELLNESS Most organizations have progressed in the past few years; changes might have been made, but it won’t be reflected in the public ratings,” Darren says. “It is usually a minimum of a year before anything is reported on publicly.”

Linda Newman Licensed Psychotherapist L.C.S.W., B.C.D., L.C.A.S.

(828) 225-8988

staywell@aol.com • Sliding Fee • Insurance Accepted

www.lindanewmanlicensedtherapist.com

Health news in brief • The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians received the Redefining American Healthcare Award from the Healthcare

Fully equipped Martial Arts or Yoga studio available

A great opportunity!

RIGHT TOOL FOR THE JOB: Mercy Urgent Care is offering one free-tick removal kit per family at each of its seven Western North Carolina locations while supplies last. Photo courtesy of Mercy Urgent Care

1250 sq. ft.

Tunnel Road Area 828-645-3077 Grand Opening Celebration Celebrating

rs Ye a Re-Imagine Senior Living

Come celebrate our grand opening this Thursday at 4pm! We will be raff ling off a HUGE array of prizes to support the Asheville Humane Society and spread our love of tea.

Enjoy great tea, local fare, and help us support a great cause to ring in our arrival to the community!

12 S. Lexington Ave., AVL, NC 28801 828-505-4771 highclimatetea@gmail.com highclimatetea.com

Leadership Council, a coalition of chief executives representing health care companies and institutions. The award recognized the tribe’s work on substance abuse, diabetes and depression.

The EBCI has opened a $14 million residential addiction treatment facility, and a $46 million crisis stabilization unit is currently under construction next to the Cherokee Indian Hospital.

• The South College School of Nursing earned accreditation from the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education for both its bachelor’s and master’s degree programs in nursing. South College’s Asheville campus is located at 140 Sweeten Creek Road.

• Hinds’ Feet Farm, which serves 34 adults with brain injuries in its Asheville day program, celebrated its 10th anniversary on July 18. Marty Foil, the nonprofit organization’s executive director, said in a press release, “People

and families get discharged from outpatient therapy and rehabilitation facilities with no idea what to do next — where to go, who to contact and how to proceed.

We help them.” More information at hindsfeetfarm.org.

• Roberta Jordan, owner of Shoji Spa and Lodge, has primary biliary cholangitis, an autoimmune disorder of the liver, and is in critical need of a liver transplant. Because the supply of deceased donor organs is limited, a campaign is recruiting people ages 18-55 who would consider donating a portion of their own liver. The removed tissue will regenerate, while the transplanted liver will grow into a full-sized healthy organ in the recipient. Prospective donors must be in good health and have type O or A+ blood. More information at bit.ly/TeamRoberta.

• Jeremey Moses, a certified physician assistant, moved to Pardee Adult and

More Affordable Rental Retirement Community Givens Gerber Park is pioneering the next generation of affordable housing for 55 year olds and better with a range of one- and two-bedroom rental apartments and beautiful on-campus amenities. Residents can enjoy lunch with friends in our café or walk to nearby shops and restaurants while enjoying breathtaking views of the North Carolina mountains. We welcome you to make the most out of your next chapter at Givens Gerber Park.

Contact Nicole Allen at (828)771-2207 or nallen@givensgerberpark.org to schedule an appointment.

For more information, to download applications, or to view floor plans, go to www.givensgerberpark.org 20

JULY 24 - 30, 2019

MOUNTAINX.COM

Family Medicine at 1824 Pisgah Drive, Laurel Park. Moses has been with Pardee since 2015 and previously practiced at Pardee Urgent Care.

• The WNC Veterans Affairs Health Care System will implement a new policy restricting smoking by patients, visitors, volunteers, contractors and vendors at its health care facilities beginning Oct. 1.

According to a press release, “Although VA facilities have historically permitted smoking in designated areas, there is growing evidence that smoking and

exposure to secondhand and thirdhand smoke creates significant medical risks, and risks to safety and direct patient care that are inconsistent with medical requirements and limitations. Accordingly, VA’s Veterans Health Administration and WNCVAHCS have collaborated with key stakeholders to update and recertify the policy to be consistent with the department’s commitment to veterans and the community.”

• Our VOICE announced Marisol Colette as its board president for 2019-20. X

Asheville Holistic Realty Integrity • Creativity • Passion • Results 828-490-1510 | est. 2007 | AshevilleHolisticRealty.com Those who know, have a duty to act.

Elizabeth Garbarino, MD Joins

Grace Evins, MD A Women’s Healthcare Practice Specializing in Gynecological Care

WELL NESS CA L E N DA R SOUND HEALING • SATURDAY • SUNDAY (PD.) Every Saturday, 11am and Sundays, 12 noon. Experience deep relaxation with crystal bowls, gongs, didgeridoo and other peaceful instruments. • Donation suggested. At Skinny Beats Sound Shop, 4 Eagle Street. www. skinnybeatsdrums. com ACCENTUATE THE POSITIVE • WE (7/24), 3-4:30pm - Accentuate the Positive, relationship improvement seminar. Free.

Held at Mountains Branch Library, 150 Bill's Creek Road, Lake Lure COFFEE AND CONVERSATION: AMONG FRIENDS • 4th WEDNESDAYS, 11:30am-noon - Coffee and conversation on wellness topics.

Free. Held at Ferguson Family YMCA,

31 Westridge Market Place, Candler HAYWOOD HEALTH AUTHORITY • TH (7/25), 4pm The Haywood Health Authority Board meeting. Free. Held at Haywood Regional Medical Center, 262 Leroy George Drive, Clyde RED CROSS BLOOD DRIVES redcrosswnc.org • WE (7/24), 9am-1:30pm Appointments & info: 800-RED-CROSS. Held at MAHEC, 121 Hendersonville Road • WE (7/24), 10am2pm - Appointments & info: 800-REDCROSS. Held at Buncombe County Family Justice Center, 35 Woodfin St. • TH (7/25), 1:30-6pm - Appointments & info: 800-RED-CROSS. Held at Black Mountain Presbyterian, 117 Montreat Road, Black Mountain

• FR (7/26), 2:30-7pm - Appointments & info: 800-RED-CROSS. Held at Turkey Creek Baptist Church, 2206 Bear Creek Road, Leicester • TU (7/30), 11am-3:30pm Appointments & info: 800-RED-CROSS. Held at Skyland Fire Department, 9 Miller Road, Skyland • WE (7/31), 7-11:30am - Appointments & info: 828-259-5424. Held at Public Works Building, 161 S. Charlotte St.

SLOW FLOW YOGA • THURSDAYS, 2:30-3:30pm - Slow Flow Yoga, yoga class adapted for all ages and abilities.

Free. Held at Senior Opportunity Center, 36 Grove St.

RICEVILLE COMMUNITY WORKOUT

YOGA IN THE PARK SUMMER SERIES

• THURSDAYS, 6pm - Community workout for all ages and fitness levels.

Bring yoga mat and water. Free. Held at Riceville Fire Department, 2251 Riceville Road

SPECIAL OLYMPICS ADAPTIVE CROSSFIT CLASSES • WEDNESDAYS, 3-4pm - Adaptive crossfit classes for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Free. Held at South Slope CrossFit, 217 Coxe Ave., Suite B

• Bio-Identical Hormone Replacement Therapy, including pellet therapy • Sexual Health Services • Contraception • Management of Abnormal Bleeding

Come Join us for an Office Open House on Tuesday, August 6, 5:30-7:30pm 40 North Merrimon Ave, Suite 305, Asheville NC 28804 828.575.9562 • LivingWellWNC.com

• SATURDAYS until (8/31), 10-11:30am Proceeds from the all level yoga class benefit local nonprofits.

Bring mat and water bottle. Admission by donation. Held at Pack Square Park, 121 College St.

“Bone will adapt to the loads under which it is placed.”

Wolff’s Law

NEW IN WNC

BONE DENSITY CLINIC

Did you know that osteogenic loading?

• Improves bone density & strength • Increases stability, balance & vitality • Reduces weakness • Alleviates chronic pain • Is save for all ages & fitness levels

1340C Patton Ave. Asheville, (828)505-7200, strengthx.me, Info@strengthx.me JULY 24 - 30, 2019

21

GREEN SCENE

OF MOUNTAINS AND MEN

New anthology surveys Appalachian nature writing

BY DANIEL WALTON dwalton@mountainx.com To write about nature has always meant to write about humanity’s place in it. The very first clay tablet of the oldest surviving written story, the Epic of Gilgamesh, speaks not only of gazelles eating grass and drinking at a watering hole but of the wild man Enkidu living among the animals and freeing them from a hunter’s snares.

More than 4,000 years later, a fundamental shift in that relationship is redefining the very meaning of the natural world. Greenhouse gas emissions, plastic pollution and nuclear testing have left an indelible global record of humankind’s activity on the earth; indeed, many scientists believe such phenomena signal the start of the next geological epoch: the Anthropocene.

Mountains Piled Upon Mountains: Appalachian Nature Writing in the Anthropocene explores this new reality as it applies to Western North Carolina and the rest of the region. Jessica Cory, who edited the anthology, is a lecturer in the English department at Western Carolina University. She will speak about her work at Malaprop’s Bookstore/Café in downtown Asheville on Thursday, July 25.

The scientific realities of climate breakdown and environmental degradation, says Cory, have caused Appalachia’s literary community to question basic assumptions about this primordial divide. “We have to start looking at what is nature at this point?

What is the nonhuman world?” she maintains. “We’ve affected the air, which affects everything else. We’re really getting to the point where we have to look at things a little differently.”

REGION AT RISK Cory says her focus arose organically as she reviewed the scores of submissions for the anthology. Much of the work touched on the obvious human destruction of the landscape caused by natural gas fracking and mountaintop removal mining for coal, as well as on the growing climate crisis caused by the burning of those fossil fuels.

And while Cory emphasizes that these problems aren’t unique to Appalachia, she says that many writers identify the region “as a sacrifice zone for a lot of the energy conglom22

JULY 24 - 30, 2019

THE HILLS ARE ALIVE: A new anthology of nature writing, edited by Jessica Cory of Western Carolina University, explores humanity’s relationships with Appalachia. Author photo and cover image courtesy of Cory erates.” Accordingly, an entire section of the anthology is titled “Destroy.” It includes “Just Before Dawn,” a poem

by Kathryn Stripling Byer, the late North Carolina poet laureate, that speaks to the ecological impacts of overdevelopment in the mountains: “She hears the torrent of oncoming mud / from the neighbors so far uphill / she’s never laid eyes on them,” wrote Byer, who lived in Cullowhee in her later years. “She’d seen the logging trucks clearing / the slope of its timber / the ugly machines come to make way / for dwellings with such pretty names / they sounded like wildflowers / strewn on the hillside around her.”

Mountains Piled Upon Mountains balances that sense of grief with a call for humanity to create a healthier relationship with Appalachia: Other sections are titled “Protect,” “Evolve” and “Celebrate.” Asheville writer Wayne Caldwell’s poem “May Fourteenth,” which appears in the anthology’s “Preserve” section, acknowledges the challenges while maintaining hope in nature’s resilience:

MOUNTAINX.COM

“Redwings is scarce, and when’s / The last time you seen a green snake? / Chestnuts — gone, hemlocks — dyin, / It’s enough to make a strong man cry,” the poet notes. “But still: within a day or two / One side or t’other of the Ides of May / Blinkin yellow flashlights start their twilight glow. / Happened yesterday, right on time, / Though ever year there’s less that come.”

PARTS OF THE WHOLE The anthology, says Cory, intentionally surveys the broad diversity of Appalachia, with authors based everywhere from New York all the way to Georgia. But writers with ties to WNC are still very well represented: UNC Asheville archivist Gene Hyde, Cowee-based Brent Martin and Asheville native Michael McFee all have work in the collection.

“Despite the fact that it is a book that looks at the entire region, I wanted the authors to be able to give a glimpse into their particular area,” Cory explains. “It provides a very regional look within this macrocosm of the region as a whole.”

Thomas Rain Crowe’s essay “In Praise of Wilderness: Getting What You Give Up,” for example, includes a litany of WNC authors and environmental groups. Crowe, who lives in Little Canada, N.C., says the area’s nature writing is united by a sense of urgency around climate change that lends itself to the anthology’s theme.

“People are thinking, ‘Us humans have really made a mess of things, and it’s all about us: If we don’t correct it, it’s not going to get fixed,’” says Crowe. The term Anthropocene, he says, “is being used by thoughtful people because it does place the blame where it lies. And we need to wake up and acknowledge that and move forward very quickly.”

Crowe also finds a unique spiritual core in WNC’s nature literature that he believes was inspired by the late Thomas Berry, a Catholic priest with a strong environmental focus.

The Greensboro native spent much of his retirement writing and teaching in these mountains. Before his death in 2009, Berry advocated for what he called “The Great Work”: transitioning the human presence on the planet from ecologically destructive to mutually beneficial.

“Most of these people either knew Thomas or knew of him and his work,” notes Crowe. “If there is a center post for all of us, it may very well be Thomas Berry.”

STORIES TO TELL Besides essays and poetry, the anthology also includes numerous works of short fiction. Although Cory admits to feeling most challenged by these pieces — she’s formally trained as a poet and nonfiction writer, not a spinner of tales — she wanted to give readers another point of entry into the Appalachian Anthropocene.

“Not everybody is the weirdo that I am and just reads nonfiction and poetry,” Cory says with a laugh. “I did want to include fiction — even though you don’t think of nature writing as fictional work — because so many people come to the region and come to learn about it through fiction.”

Weaverville native Ellen Perry, who teaches humanities and literature at A-B Tech, represents WNC in this realm. Her piece “Joni and Jesus” uses the region’s seasonal changes as the backdrop for a med-

Tree Service | Plant Health Care

“We have to start looking at what is nature at this point?

What is the nonhuman world?”

— anthology editor Jessica Cory itation on aging, in the form of letters exchanged between a fictional sister and brother.

“The whole business with the Anthropocene is humans making an imprint on the land. But my story is about, in Appalachia particularly, the land making an impact on us,” Perry explains. Even a character living in perpetually warm California, she notes, doesn’t want to separate himself from his Appalachian roots and the feeling of fall in the mountains.

Although “Joni and Jesus” doesn’t directly reference humans’ environmental impacts, Perry says the climate crisis and other concerns have colored her creative choices. As an author, she feels increasingly called to base her plots in WNC and give her characters deep histories of interaction with the land.

This approach, she explains, gives her “more of a sense of purpose.” Writing about the region more intentionally “calls attention to the importance of the land and

From tree removal to plant health care, Monster Tree Service handles it all! Give us a call today if you would like a free estimate! Upfront pricing.

Phone: 828.747.2183

www.whymonster.com

preservation and what it means scientifically, as well as in terms of the human spirit.” X

BOOK RELEASE EVENTS Jessica Cory will be promoting Mountains Piled Upon Mountains: Appalachian Nature Writing in the Anthropocene at the following events across Western North Carolina: • Thursday, July 25, at 6 p.m. at Malaprop’s Bookstore/Café, Asheville (in conversation with Valerie Nieman) • Saturday, Aug. 10, at 3 p.m. at Blue Ridge Books, Waynesville • Saturday, Aug. 24, at 3 p.m. at City Lights Bookstore, Sylva • Thursday, Sept. 5, at 6 p.m. at Malaprop’s Bookstore/Café, Asheville

Do you want a clean, bright future for Buncombe County? We do.

Responsible Automotive Service & Repair

We’ll make sure you get there!

Our demand for energy demands action.

Save money, save energy!

• Sign up for EnergyWise Home to reduce peak energy demand and get up to $175 a year • Get a Home Energy House Call for free LEDs, lowflow shower heads and faucet aerators, and more • Enroll in Small Business Energy Saver for big energy savings at your business with up to 80% of project costs covered

Visit bluehorizonsproject.com for more ways to save energy and create our clean energy future!

The Blue Horizons Project operates in partnership with the City of Asheville and Buncombe County.

Voted one of the BEST OF WNC for 13 years in a row. Thank you!

Call us!

255.2628

organic-mechanic.com • 568 Haywood Rd • West Asheville JULY 24 - 30, 2019

23

FARM & GARDEN

Falconhurst Community Food Hub For about a decade, a growing number of communities across the U.S. have been bolstering their local food systems by creating food hubs — facilities or organizations that provide infrastructure to help small-scale growers reach broader markets. Several months ago, community leaders in McDowell County announced plans for such a facility, and now Asheville has its own food hub on the horizon.

“This will be the first project of its kind in Buncombe County,” says Kellie Adkins, project manager for urban agriculture nonprofit Bountiful Cities’ proposed Falconhurst Community Food Hub. Plans are for a two-level, multiuse pavilion to be constructed on a 1-acre tract in West Asheville’s Falconhurst neighborhood, she says. The land was historically farmed by the Broome family and was recently donated to the nonprofit by Asheville resident Robert Wood. The structure, which will be built on the former site of the original farm’s barn, will primarily serve

herbmountainfarm.com

(828) 484-7659

BREAKING NEW GROUND: Local nonprofit Bountiful Cities has plans to build Buncombe County’s first food hub on a 1-acre plot in West Asheville. Sunil Patel, pictured, of Patchwork Urban Farms has been farming the property for four years with the help of Bountiful Cities and will continue its cultivation once the two-level facility is built. Photo courtesy of Bountiful Cities Bountiful Cities’ network of community gardens and local urban farmers and will also host the nonprofit’s planned Urban Farm School.

The lower level will offer shared cold storage, a root cellar and a produce processing center with a triple-wash sink and

ECO RIVERLINK RIVERFRONT BUS TOUR • 1st THURSDAYS, 10am-1pm - Proceeds from the Riverfront bus tour benefit RiverLink. Registration: avl.mx/68a. $45.

24

JULY 24 - 30, 2019

MOUNTAINX.COM

FARM & GARDEN MUSHROOMS OF WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA - A HANDS ON FORAGING (PD.) Saturdays, 8/10, 8/17, 8/24, 10am-1:30pm - Explore local forests in search of edible, medicinal & regional mushrooms with local fungi forager Mateo Ryall. $30 per class or

packaging area. “Upstairs would be a value-added kitchen for community outreach and educational programs, but community gardeners would also have access to it to process their value-added products,” Adkins explains.

“It’s really a hub to encourage and continue the support of agriculture in the Falconhurst community and the broader city of Asheville as well.”

For the past four years, Sunil Patel of Patchwork Urban Farms has grown crops on the property and used a Bountiful Cities facility in Montford for packaging and distribution. “What we want to provide for him and for other urban gardeners in the area is a space and a hub to support their agricultural yield,” says Adkins.

The lot currently lacks road access, and Bountiful Cities is working with the city to find a mutually agreeable solution. As for the hub itself, the nonprofit has secured funding for about a quarter of the low-end estimate of $250,000 that’s needed for construction, Adkins says. It hopes to earn the rest through fundraising efforts, including participation in Chow Chow: An Asheville Culinary Event in September, the FEAST program’s Feasting for FEAST event and the Mountain Xpress GiveLocal! campaign.

The project’s timeline is contingent not only on the road access question but also on city permitting once final plans are submitted. “We would love to be able to say we can break ground in early winter to midwinter — before spring to avoid interfering with the farming activities; that would be ideal,” says Adkins.

For more, visit bountifulcities.org.

Send questions to foodhub@ bountifulcities.org.

— Gina Smith X

$75 for 3 classes. Meet at Westgate parking lot.

Info: herbandroots.com, livinroots@gmail.com, or 413-636-4401.

ALL ABOUT CUCURBITS • SA (7/27), 1:30-7pm - All About Cucurbits, workshop with Patryk Battle. Registration required. $15. Held at Living Web Farms, 176 Kimzey Road, Mills River

FIRESIDE SUSTAINABILITY CHAT • TH (7/25), 2-3pm Horticultural, design and garden sustainability questions answered with Southern Highlands Reserve. Information: southernhighlandsreserve.org. Free to attend. Held at Greystone Inn, 220 Greystone Lane, Lake Toxaway

FOOD

DIVERSIFYING ASHEVILLE’S FOOD CULTURE A new wave of culinary competitions aims to dismantle barriers

BLUE RIBBON: Chef Santiago Vargas, co-owner of Out of the Blue Peruvian Fusion Cuisine food truck, says winning top prizes in several Asheville Wing War competitions helped him gain exposure for his business. “It’s been a challenge introducing people to Peruvian food,” he says. “Many don’t know the flavors; they just know Mexican food. But they are coming around more and more.” Photo courtesy of Kelly Denson

BY LAURA HACKETT laurafaye15@gmail.com In Asheville, the age of the “Iron Chef” competition has come and gone, replaced by a new generation of friendlier, more down-to-earth culinary showdowns. The WNC Chefs Challenge was discontinued in 2016, and its parent event, the Asheville Wine & Food Festival, was put on hold last year. In the wake of those developments, promoters Kelly Denson and Stu Helm have taken the reins, increasing the number of culinary competitions while striving for a more inclusive, blue-collar atmosphere.

It’s an interesting shift — and, for many, a welcome one, particularly considering that a lack of inclusivity seems to be what derailed the Chefs Challenge.

When asked about the decision to switch

the competition to live chef demonstrations, Kris Kraft, the event’s director at the time, said it had simply run its course. “Most of the chefs we were attracting were the younger, newer, upand-coming chefs who were less well known, and people just didn’t seem to want to buy tickets for that. It was a lot of work without a lot of return, and it wasn’t really giving anybody the exposure they expected.”

But the showdown approach has proved viable for Denson, the founder and owner of All American Food Fights. She was inspired to host the first Asheville Wing War in 2011 after debating with friends which local eatery made the best chicken wings. “Two hundred people came out. I had no idea what I was doing at the time,” she reflects.

“Eight years later, this is my career.”

What Denson loves about her culinary focus, she says, “is that it’s very accessible, blue-collar food. Everyone loves burgers, wings, mac ’n’ cheese and tacos.

And they’re also foods that make a great canvas. You can make anything you want, whether it’s Thai curry wings or birthday cake-flavored ones. The sky is the limit.”

SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS All American Food Fights hosts four local events annually: the Wing War, a mac ’n’ cheese competition called Mac Attack, the Taco Takeover and the WNC Battle of the Burger. General admission ranges from $8-$12. Denson has also expanded her range, with competitions

CONTINUES ON PAGE 26

Tomahawk for Two

Take your date night to the next level!

Shared tomahawk steak, starter, side, dessert and a bottle of wine for $215.

Some Restrictions Apply.

(828) 398-6200 • ruthschris.com 26 All Souls Crescent, AVL JULY 24 - 30, 2019

25

FOOD in Colorado and Virginia and plans to add events in Florida and Tennessee.

Those offerings, which draw about 1,000 attendees on average, also give chefs who might traditionally be overlooked a chance to gain significant recognition and exposure.

Raynard Walker, chef and owner of the Hendersonville-based DreadLife Kitchen, reports that after winning the 2018 Wing War People’s Choice Award, he saw increased name recognition and wing orders. In fact, Walker is now considering launching a second location in Asheville.

Another success story is chef Jamie Wade, who opened Sand Hill Kitchen in 2017 and achieved local foodie fame after winning the 2018 Battle of the Burger. “It helped establish us as a legitimate place,” she explains. “I have met quite a few people I wouldn’t have ordinarily. I’m grateful that people have

given us a chance, even though we’re located in a gas station.”

Chef Santiago Vargas, co-owner of Out of the Blue Peruvian Fusion Cuisine, a food truck, says the exposure generated by top finishes in three consecutive Wing Wars has been really helpful in getting his name out. “It’s been a challenge introducing people to Peruvian food,” says Vargas, who moved from New York to Asheville four years ago. “Many don’t know the flavors; they just know Mexican food. But they are coming around more and more.”

EGALITARIAN EATS Helm’s casual, approachable and frequent competitions are a more recent addition to the scene. After conducting a Facebook contest for the best fried chicken in town that went viral, he real-

Retail wine shop & wine bar in Historic Biltmore Village

Offering wine by the bottle, glass, or taste, along with light food — perfect for after work or before dinner in the village.

5 All Souls Crescent, Asheville NC 28803 (Off-street parking in rear of building) (828) 552-3905 • ashevillewinesalon.com

Experience the Chef’s Table at Rezaz!

5 or 9 courses that highlight cuisine from around the Mediterranean Sea. Celebrate birthdays, anniversaries or just because...

Make your reservation today!

Make reservations at reserve.com Historic Biltmore Village 828.277.1510 rezaz.com 26

JULY 24 - 30, 2019

MOUNTAINX.COM

TAKING WING: DreadLife Kitchen chef and owner Raynard Walker, second from right, reports that his business got a boost when he won the People’s Choice Award at the 2018 Asheville Wing War. Photo by Jonathan Ammons ized there was a desire for more focus on such humble offerings as Philly cheesesteak, pie, pizza and hot dogs.

So he gave it a try and has continued to produce at least one event per month since 2018.

“I want my food competitions to be fun, easy and not a big burden on organizers, participants and people who attend. They are lighthearted social gatherings that are meant to fit into a lunch break,” he notes.

The events are generally held at the Asheville Masonic Temple in the middle of the workday. Helm donates the proceeds to fund the restoration and preservation of the temple’s antique, hand-painted theater backdrops, which he describes as priceless and beautiful. There’s usually no admission charge; attendees simply buy however many slices, sliders or servings they’d like to try.

“It’s a new concept that people are starting to catch onto. One big reason I have it during the week is for the people in the food industry: I want these people to come and feel like they can afford the event and that they have the time to attend,” Helm says. “I want people who are part of the industry to be able to enjoy the fruits of their labor.”

Helm’s egalitarian approach even extends to the judges’ table. The food scene, he points out, has traditionally favored white men; to combat that, Helm says, he makes a conscious effort to include judges with different backgrounds, ethnicities, occupations and genders. He also randomly selects one of his social media followers who’s expressed an interest in taking part, offering them a chance to participate. “A lot of people get really excited about the chance to be a judge, so I want to give them that opportunity,” Helm explains.

PUTTING OUT THE WELCOME MAT Still, there’s a lot more work to be done if Asheville wants to make the food scene truly equitable, says Davaion Bristol, who works as a cook and leads food tours in town. Bristol (aka hip-hop artist Spaceman Jones) says he’s usually the only black person at food events; Asheville, he maintains, operates under “a thin veneer of progressive.”

At food competitions, he continues, “I see a few black chefs and cooks entering; not equal, but some. The crowd is overwhelmingly white. It’s a surprise when I see another black person. Sometimes, when it happens, it’s like seeing a kind face and an ally.”

And while Bristol appreciates organizers’ efforts to include him on judging panels and bring him into the local food community, he challenges folks in the industry to go a lot deeper, particularly in terms of outreach. “People don’t know they’re welcome until they’ve been invited,” he explains. “In order for food to get better, we need an exchange of culture. ... Take a trip to your local community center. Bring a meal to your after-school program. Send friend requests and messages to people you don’t know but have seen in the scene. Do a pop-up event in the ’hood.”

Bilingual blogger Luis Carlos Serapio, who founded the website DescubreAsheville.com, says he’d like to see food competitions built around a dish such as tacos do more to recognize and reach out to the local Latino community. In a recent interview, he said he hopes to see a more diverse roster of participants at such events, including

the area’s traditional taquerias, rather than focusing solely on the usual group of white entrepreneurs.

“We are so often used as a theme,” he continues. “If you have an event that takes something from our culture, then why not do something for our culture that lifts it up? That would have a lot of positive impact in our community and give another face to the idea of who Latino immigrants are. A lot of people think of us as disposable.”

Serapio also believes business owners and event organizers could do more to make multicultural clients feel welcome. “A lot of people aren’t realizing the market that passes them by when they only advertise in English,” he says.

“I want to believe that Asheville is doing a lot of good things and is moving in the right direction, but we have to push harder. We’re making some of that change happen.”

FOOD FOR THOUGHT Food often serves as the ultimate connector, enabling complete strangers to share a table and an experience. In that role, it can serve as the perfect entrée for stories, identities and cultures. But it’s also “super-hyperpolitical,” says Aisha Adams of Equity Over Everything.

Adams, who founded the initiative in May, attributes many of the current inequities in the food industry to hundreds of years of prejudice and oppression. “There are few black people who own restaurants in Asheville, and there’s not a lot of outreach happening to bring in minority chefs from

outside the area,” she maintains. “There are people who are conscious and trying to do the right thing, but it’s so systemic.

We don’t have all the answers. Equity isn’t about bending the rules.”

Both Denson and Helm say they’re working to address these complex issues.

Denson has hired two bilingual employees for her event team, and she’s working on learning Spanish herself and getting her marketing materials translated. In advance of this year’s Taco Takeover, she says, she and those staffers visited local taquerias, inviting owners — in their native language — to participate.

“We got a lot of noes,” says Denson.

“But next year, I’m thinking, maybe by switching the event from Sunday to Saturday we’ll be able to attract more Mexican-owned taquerias to participate, on a day when they aren’t already committed to church or family time. I don’t know what the answer is, but I’m going to keep seeking it out.”

Serapio adds, “I’m very grateful when people like Stu [Helm] support me because it gives me access. Other people could do the same or go beyond. ... We’re all walking new ground right now. We need to walk without being afraid of making a mistake. The worst thing we can do is nothing.” X

RATED • Best Craft Beer Bar in NC by Craftbeer.com • TOP Beer Bar in NC by Forbes magazine • Top 5 New Bottle Shops in the USA

by Hop Culture for 2017

30 taps - over 150 beers

cider • wine • mead TRIVIA every Tuesday at 7:30pm

biscuit head beer dinner

FAMILY FRIENDLY DINING TUES - SAT • 11:30am - 8:30pm

WED. August 28th

GET TICKETS NOW

music STARTS THURS. August 1st

bingo 80’S MUSIC free food fridays

Every week 5-7pm FOOD PROVIDED

BY LOCAL VENDORS with beer purchase

harry potter trivia tournament

TUES. 30TH LAST DAY

harry potter birthday party WED. July 31st

W/ GREEN SCREEN PHOTOS

MONDAYS

1/2 price

drafts ALL DAY

100 Julian Shoals Dr #40

(off Long Shoals Rd) next to Bojangles

River Ridge Marketplace • 828-298-1035 • blackbearbbqavl.com

828-676-0075

www.craftcentricbeer.com JULY 24 - 30, 2019

27

BEER SCOUT

FOOD

by Edwin Arnaudin | earnaudin@mountainx.com

Clean machine Located nearly 10 miles from its bustling downtown Asheville pub and South Slope Funkatorium, Wicked Weed Brewing’s clean beer production brewery in Candler operates largely outside the sight of craft beverage consumers. Other than hosting two of the brewery’s Funkatorium Invitationals in the grassy area beyond its walls, the structure has been seen by few nonemployee eyes, and its interiors were once thought to be improbably large by the bulk of the company.

“When we came in in 2015, we were like, ‘There’s no way we can ever fill this place out, let alone think about adding another 30,000 square feet to it,’” says Wicked Weed founder Ryan Guthy.

The brewery has done just that in 2019 with a significant expansion to its 50-barrel production brewery, including a full sensory area, a new lab that’s double the size of the previous one, a barrel-aging room and eight new fermenters with more brite tanks still on the way. According to Guthy, 140,000 barrels per year can currently be produced at the facility, which also now serves as the brewery’s sole point of distribution, considerably increasing efficiency on that level. The buildout also comes with such enhanced employee spaces as new offices, a conference room and employee locker rooms, bathrooms and a break room.

But for the public, especially residents of the surrounding up-and-coming neighborhoods, the most important new component is the Wicked Weed West taproom, which opened June 7. The second-floor space seats 99 and features 15 tap lines and a full bottle shop selling all the brewery’s

28

JULY 24 - 30, 2019

Wicked Weed West serves the blossoming Candler community

ISLAND IN THE SUN: Wicked Weed West’s upstairs taproom features an aesthetic that founder Walt Dickinson describes as “if Apple acquired Anthropologie and then opened a tiki bar.” Photo courtesy of Wicked Weed Brewing packaged clean and sour beers. Guthy says the company also plans to start a kegs-to-go program, where everything from one-offs to full distribution batches will be available to customers.

CANDLER STYLE Fellow founder Walt Dickinson spearheaded the taproom’s design aesthetic, which seeks to acknowledge its shared environment with the surrounding nonsour brewery.

“Cleanliness is an important part of the brewing process and something we really pride ourselves on — every inch of this brewery being spotless,” Dickinson says. “And so what we tried to do was have a very clean aesthetic, a little more modern. But then we wanted to make sure this place felt integrated into [the production brewery] space, so we decided to incorporate this chartreuse green, which is [a color associated with] safety — pulling from that core for the palette.”

Complementing the chartreuse are rose gold chairs and plentiful plants — aided by the installation of grow lights — that, along with copious natural light, give the space a relaxed, tropical vibe.

“We spent a lot of energy and love to create a really pretty facility inside a big box, so we wanted to have a tap-

MOUNTAINX.COM

room where we could show it off a little bit,” Dickinson says. “It’s kind of like if Apple acquired Anthropologie and then opened a tiki bar.”

Guthy notes that while Wicked Weed’s other spaces are decidedly not focused on TV, the founders wanted to provide a space at the Candler facility for people to watch sporting events while having a beer, all within view of the beverages being made.

“I think it’s very unique to have this level of exposure to a production-scale brewery,” says marketing director Kyle Pedersen. “Although Hi-Wire [Brewing] is very exposed, it’s not at this scale. You don’t have the same ability of overlooking a running canning line or seeing these fermenters or seeing the brewers at work. You’re not behind a plexiglass wall or window — for better or for worse, the heat is here, the fermenters are on, things are moving, and that heat is a demonstration of the activity that surrounds you.”

LOCAL FOCUS Guthy adds that there have been talks of hosting homebrew competitions and local cook-offs at Wicked Weed West, as well as developing an education center with classes on brewing and identifying off flavors. (It’s already a stop on the

brewery’s four-site Grand Cru tour each Saturday and home to a recurring class on barrel aging.) As of June 17, a local food truck has been on-site every day in lieu of a kitchen, with such businesses as El Kimchi (Tuesdays), The Wood Fired Oven (Thursdays) and Trippy Dogs (Saturdays) having their own designated day of the week.

These local partnerships are consistent with what Pedersen calls Wicked Weed’s “strong DIY ethos,” which started with the creation of tap handles and labels six years ago.

That approach has evolved into making as much as possible in-house at the wood and metal fabrication shop at the company’s Funk House sour brewery in Arden.

“The ethos of our company is: We’re artists, we create things. If we can create it, we should try to create it ourselves because that’s going to give us the result we want,” Dickinson says.

“If we have the means to do it, we do it. And if we don’t, obviously we try to find a local partner. And if not, we’ll look somewhere else.”

Tying in with all of the above growth, the founders and Pedersen feel that Wicked Weed West is a means of enlightening skeptics who, following the company’s 2017 sale to AnheuserBusch InBev, were concerned that its beer would be made off-site. By offering a direct glimpse of the magnitude of its Asheville operation, run by members of the local community — which Guthy says has involved the on-boarding of 131 employees thus far in 2019 — they hope that their ongoing commitment to the city where Wicked Weed began is evident.

“It’s very important,” Pedersen says. “Nowadays, everything is so cookie-cutter, and I think people assumed we’d [outsource] because it’s more efficient and less expensive, but Anheuser-Busch has only seen that as a point of differentiation for us, and they doubled down on it and want us to do more of it. They’re not saying, ‘How can you do less?’ or ‘How can you tag on to this resource that we have?’ They say, ‘Keep doing what you’re doing — and let’s do more of it.’”

Wicked Weed West is at 145 Jacob Holm Way in Candler. Tasting room hours are 4-10 p.m., MondayFriday, noon-10 p.m. Saturday and noon-8 p.m. Sunday. X

JULY 24 - 30, 2019

29

SMALL BITES

by Thomas Calder | tcalder@mountainx.com

Weaverville Tailgate Market hosts salsa contest Salsa aficionados take heed: The Weaverville Tailgate Market will celebrate tomato season with a salsa contest on Wednesday, July 31. The event’s two featured categories are best salsa recipe and salsa with most local ingredients. “Fresh tomatoes at market is always an exciting and vibrant time,” says Weaverville Tailgate Market President Brenda Dillingham. “In having the contest, we get to showcase a product that everyone loves.”

Dillingham is also hopeful the event will help promote the market’s new location and interim home at Reems Creek Nursery. The move came about earlier this year due to the temporary shutdown of the market’s former location at the Weaverville Community Center (the town is in the process of building a new center on the site).

Though the partnership with the nursery has been positive, Dillingham says many of the market’s regular customers are unaware of its new Wednesday afternoon location, which Dillingham anticipates will remain the market’s home through 2020.

The competition is free to enter, but preregistration is required via the event’s Facebook page. Competitors are asked to bring a quart of homemade salsa to the event. Tickets to taste all the entries and vote for the winners are $8. All proceeds will benefit the market, which has seen an increase in expenses due to its move. The top three vote-getters per category will be

Summer Cook Along: Eggplant edition On Thursday, July 25, The Lord’s Acre will demystify the eggplant with a free Summer Cook Along cooking class that covers two recipes: broiled eggplant salad and tomato eggplant salad. Both recipes come from Leanne Brown’s 2013 cookbook, Good and Cheap: Eat Well on $4/Day. According to the event’s Facebook page, folks are encouraged to “come cook, learn, laugh and snack with us.”

The demo runs 7-8 p.m. Thursday, July 25, at the Fairview Christian Fellowship, 596 Old U.S. Highway 74, Fairview. To learn more, visit avl.mx/6ao.

EmpTea Bowls

TOMATO SEASON: Brenda Dillingham, president of the Weaverville Tailgate Market, has organized a salsa competition to celebrate the tomato season. Photo by Thomas Calder

Thanks, Asheville!

VOTED BEST INDIAN EVERY YEAR SINCE 2006

melaasheville.com 70 N. LEXINGTON AVENUE 828.225.8880 30

JULY 24 - 30, 2019

School. “The classes will cover the fundamentals of slow and low barbecue, while also sharing the competition tricks and techniques that create consistency every time you cook,” reads the event’s Facebook page. Three additional classes are planned for later this year. Tickets are $75.

The class runs 6-8 p.m. Thursday, July 25, at The Chop Shop Butchery, 100 Charlotte St. To purchase tickets, visit avl.mx/6ay.

announced on the market’s social media accounts. Prizes (yet to be determined) will be awarded to first-place finishers.

“A contest like this brings the community together and also gives us the financial support that we need right now,” says Dillingham. “It’s also just a great way to have fun at the market.”

The salsa contest runs 2:30-6:30 Wednesday, July 31, at the Weaverville Tailgate Market, 76 Monticello Road. To learn more and to register to compete, visit avl.mx/6ax.

MOUNTAINX.COM

Smoking ribs The Chop Shop Butchery will team up with Shelton Steele for a new series that aims to help participants elevate their smoked meats game. Steele, whose youth was spent on a beef farm in Statesville, is a regular competitor in Asheville’s KnuckleDeep BBQ event. He has also catered Beer City Festival and Brewgrass, in addition to hosting an annual barbecue fundraiser at Hall Fletcher Elementary

The Dr. John Wilson Community Garden in Black Mountain will host its seventh annual EmpTea Bowls event on Sunday, July 28, in partnership with Spiral Roots Sanctuary, a local company that specializes in herbal teas and elixirs. For $20, participants will receive a locally made tea bowl with an endless supply of tea. All proceeds from ticket sales and an accompanying $5 raffle will benefit the community garden’s internship program. Garden manager Diana McCall says the event is open to all. If guests cannot afford the $20 bowl, free compostable teacups will be available to sample the beverages. “We want people to come and participate and get involved and find out about our program,” she says. “If you’ve never been to the community garden, then we invite you to come and experience it and maybe go away inspired to do this work in your own community and to realize the importance of connecting to soil, connecting to place and working together as a community.”

EmpTea Bowls runs 6-8 p.m.

Sunday, July 28, at the Dr. John Wilson Community Garden, 99 White Pine Drive, Black Mountain. To learn more about the event, visit avl.mx/6as. X

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

A LANE OF ITS OWN Arrested Development headlines LEAF Downtown AVL

27 YEARS IN THE LIFE OF: Atlanta-based group Arrested Development has long been at the forefront of conscious hip-hop, with positive subject matter that sets it apart from gangsta rap. On the heels of its well-received latest album, Craft & Optics, the band plays a headlining set at this year’s LEAF Downtown Festival. Photo courtesy of the artists

BY BILL KOPP bill@musoscribe.com Hailed as creators of a new musical genre, the musicians of Arrested Development scored a worldwide blockbuster hit with their 1992 debut album. The group’s unique take on hip-hop influenced an entire generation of artists, and by 2000 Arrested Development was making music on its own terms, operating largely outside of the machinery of the music industry. The group headlines this year’s LEAF Downtown AVL with a performance at Pack Square Park on Friday, Aug. 2.

When Arrested Development released 3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life Of ..., most listeners had

never heard anything like it. Leader Speech was never a fan of the label applied to his group — alternative hip-hop — but he understood why the band was described that way. “I got that from a subject-matter standpoint,” he says. “When we came out, hip-hop was starting to get only on gangsta themes. There was a lot of talking about drug dealing, gang bangin’ and stuff like that. And our subject matter was thoroughly — and purposely — an alternative to that narrative.”

But songs like “Tennessee,” “People Everyday” and “Mr. Wendal” — all three of which hit the Top 10 on hip-hop and mainstream charts — had a lot more going on than just a positive lyrical approach. Arrested

Development’s sound was a highly melodic, funky mix that drew from folk and blues as well.

“I was hoping to expand the tent of what hip-hop is, and I think we did that,” Speech says. “But I didn’t want our music, or our whole entire genre, to be called alternative hiphop.” He makes the point that other artists who followed in the wake of Arrested Development’s breakout success (Black Eyed Peas and Outkast, to name two) didn’t suffer from the same kind of pigeonholing.

From its start, Arrested Development connected with hip-hop fans as well as music lovers who may not have had much interest in rap.

CONTINUES ON PAGE 32 JULY 24 - 30, 2019

31

A &E “Right off the bat, we were able to do Lollapalooza tours at 20,000-seaters every day throughout the nation,” Speech says. “And Lollapalooza was primarily rock groups: Fishbone, Primus, Rage Against the Machine and the like. Then we were doing jazz tours and reggae tours.”

But difficulties familiar to the music industry — internal dissension and label pressure — tore the group apart, and Arrested Development failed to capitalize on its early success. Speech embarked on a solo career, finding great success in Japan. And, when in 2000 he revived the group, its records were initially only released there.

“Japan received it extremely well, but we still didn’t have an ’in’ for the States,” Speech says.

Subsequent albums, released on the band’s own Vagabond Productions, were available in the U.S., but even today, the group has a bigger following overseas. Speech has his own ideas about why an American hip-hop band is more popular in Japan than at home. “America sells products,” he says. “The product could be very soulful, very heartfelt. But once that product is old, America needs a new product.” So, in the minds of some music consumers, Arrested Development’s early successes perhaps count for less than they should.

But the group continues to record and tour, making music that does carve out a distinctly different character from its gangsta rap counterparts.

And compelling lyrics — always an Arrested Development hallmark — remain at the core of the group’s music. A track on 2018’s Craft & Optics, the band’s latest album, exemplifies that quality. “Kings” is built around a spoken-word vocal that calls out the inherent racism in the Tarzan legend.

Speech laughs heartily and agrees when it’s pointed out that people aren’t likely to dance to that spoken-

word piece. “That album is very much a listening record,” he says.

Now 50 years old, Speech makes the kind of music that feels right for him. “People my age have grown up with hip-hop as their main music,” he explains. “But if you’re 50 and have grown children and a full life, you don’t want to pretend that you’re a young high schooler. And yet, you want to enjoy the music.”

With that in mind, he believes that Craft & Optics has earned a place in today’s musical landscape. “I think there’s a lane that should be crafted for that type of hip-hop,” he says.

But while many of the tracks on Craft & Optics are best experienced at home, while paying close attention, the band’s live shows remain full of engaging energy and excitement. Speech and his group have a long relationship with Asheville audiences: Arrested Development played the LEAF festival in 2009 and has appeared multiple time at The Orange Peel. “I love Asheville,” Speech says. “The people there have been very understanding of the music of Arrested Development, and they’re appreciative of what we contribute.” X

WHAT LEAF Downtown AVL with Arrested Development, Stephen Marley, Delhi to Dublin and more WHERE Pack Square Park 80 Court Plaza theleaf.org/downtown WHEN Friday and Saturday, Aug. 2 and 3 See website for schedule. Free

Thanks for voting!

WINNERS will be ANNOUNCED in august Look for the two giant issues 32

JULY 24 - 30, 2019

MOUNTAINX.COM

by Alli Marshall

amarshall@mountainx.com

GET IT TWISTED “As an aerialist,” says Heather Poole, “you want to hang off of anything, all the time.” Poole co-owns Empyrean Arts — a center for movement and alternative fitness — with Waverly Jones. The studio offers classes in pole dancing, aerial arts, contortion, floor work and more. Empyrean Arts observes its fourth anniversary with Freakshow, a showcase of student performances (and birthday cake) on Saturday, July 27.

Empyrean Arts was created to a fill a void. Poole and Jones had both been teaching aerial arts around the Asheville area. Jones even offered instruction as part of Warren Wilson College’s circus program. It was Jones who first became interested in pole fitness and dancing, going so far as to install a pole for practice in her apartment.

“We consider ourselves to be aerialists-turned-pole dancers,” Poole explains. But the closest pole class at the time the two got into the art form was in Greenville, S.C., “and that was out of somebody’s house, too. There wasn’t a pole community [in Asheville].”

They teamed up with their friend Dakota Fox, the owner of Aradia Fitness USA in Cary. Part of the reason was that, during skill shares with Fox, “as aerialists, it was easier for Waverly and I to take to the higher-level pole skills because we already had a lot of that strength,” Poole says. “We wanted to make it accessible to people who weren’t aerialists.” So they purchased the pole curriculum from Fox. The original plan was to open a pole dancing studio in Asheville. “But we thought, ‘We’re aerialists, we should offer aerialist classes,’” remembers Poole. “And I was like, ‘I’m a contortionist, so I want to offer contortion classes.’ It really quite easily built itself to become what it is.”

And, Poole points out, Empyrean Arts continues to grow. Last year the South Slope business expanded into the space next door, growing to three studio rooms. Current initiatives include a guest instructor program where visiting teachers sub in the studio’s regular drop-in classes so, instead of a one-off workshop, students can access out-of-town experts for multiple sessions using regular class credits.

That idea stemmed from an early intention of the Empyrean Arts concept. “We found ourselves traveling a lot for training,” Poole says. She and

Empyrean Arts presents ‘Freakshow’

GET OFF THE GRID FEST SOLAR EXPO & SUSTAINABILITY FAIR

WARREN WILSON COLLEGE AT BIG BEREA PASTURE | RICEVILLE RD ASHEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA

workshops, demos, food, music

(RISING APPALACHIA SATURDAY)

GETOFFTHEGRIDFEST. WORDPRESS.COM

BEND THE RULES: The pole dancing and aerial arts communities have become a lot more intertwined over the years, says Empyrean Arts co-founder Heather Poole, pictured. Those two interests, as well as contortion, led her and Waverly Jones to found the local movement and alternative fitness studio. Empyrean Arts marks its fourth birthday with a student showcase.

Photo courtesy of Poole Jones didn’t want to leave Asheville to improve their craft, so by opening their own studio, “we found we could bring teachers here.” One of Poole’s mentors, rhythmic gymnastics champion Olga Karmansky, offers an annual contortion intensive at the local space.

These successes and more will be celebrated with Freakshow. The theme was decided collectively, Poole says, and it will feature 20 student artists “performing everything we have at the studio. … The acts are really stunning.”

Poole suggests arriving as close to when doors open at 6 p.m. as possible, as previous shows have sold out. But — despite being a main organizer of the anniversary production — when it comes to the performances, she remains largely hands off. “It’s been very important to me … that our students and performers feel like they have full creative freedom to perform as they want to,” Poole says. “As a performer myself, that has been some-

thing I’ve prized the most: the events where I can be myself and perform things that I’m feeling drawn to. I want to give that to others.”

Plus, she adds, “I try not to see people’s acts until the dress rehearsal because I like to be surprised.” X

MONDAY » Comedy Open Mic TUESDAY » MTN Shag Club WEDNESDAY » Trivia THURSDAY » Drag Night

WHAT Freakshow WHERE Empyrean Arts 32 Banks Ave. Studio 108 empyreanarts.org WHEN Saturday, July 27, doors at 6 p.m. and show at 6:30 p.m.

Sliding scale $5-$15

FRIDAY » Open Mic Night SATURDAY » Live Music

Kitchen & Bar OPEN! 45 S. French Broad Downtown AVL

FREE Parking behind building

GastropubatHopey

JULY 24 - 30, 2019

33

A& E

by Carla Seidl

carla.seidl@gmail.com

CONTRA-INDICATIONS Each Thursday evening, more than 100 people gather at Warren Wilson College’s Bryson Gym for a community dance tradition that dates back to the 1930s. That’s when Raymond Peak started a dance called the Farmer’s Ball at a hall that he and his father-in-law, George Watkins, built on Warren Wilson College Road. The original dance — bigcircle-style, Southern Appalachian squares — drew couples from hours away and even had its own traveling dance team. The original Farmer’s Ball lasted until Peak moved away in the mid-1950s.

Luckily, the story didn’t end there.

A visit to what today is known as the Old Farmer’s Ball reveals a mix of ages, from teenagers to dancers in their 70s, all having fun together. Able Allen, who started dancing regularly at the Old Farmer’s Ball in 2001 and served as board president for five years (he’s also an Xpress staffer), believes the intergenerational nature of the contra dance makes it unique. “I think that’s a deep and abiding service to the area, just to offer a really wholesome and valuable, joyful experience,” he says.

And, as Phil Jamison, professor of mathematics and Appalachian music and dance at Warren Wilson College, points out, “When else do you get to hold hands with people you don’t even know in our society?”

OPEN TO ANYONE The OFB mission is to “bring joy to our community by cultivating folk and social dance and music traditions,” and the group has a tradition of holding open-band and opencaller nights. When veteran contra dance musician Laura Light moved to Asheville five years ago, she started meeting with local musicians who wanted to play at dances and providing them with more structure and support to develop their skills. The Front Porchestra, as the group is now called, meets twice a month at Light’s home.

“It’s still ’open band’ in that anybody can come and play. … It’s just that we actually rehearse,” says Light. The community band plays a variety of jigs and reels, plus a couple of waltzes, drawing from New England, Quebecois and old-time traditions, in addition to 34

JULY 24 - 30, 2019

A history of one of WNC’s most enduring social dance traditions

NOW AND THEN: Dancers swing their partners at the Old Farmer’s Ball in Warren Wilson College’s Bryson Gym, in April, left. On the right, their counterparts at the original Farmer’s Ball promenade, with dance founder Raymond Peak leading the line. Contemporary photo by Carla Seidl, historic photo courtesy of Phil Jamison more modern, improvisational and composed music.

“It might be 20 people onstage,” says Light, “so you’ve got this huge amount of not only sound but energy, so that makes it a lot of fun.”

The weekly dance was revived in 1981, when musician and old-time dance presenter Frederick Park moved to Swannanoa from Brasstown.

He heard country and bluegrass music coming from what was previously the Farmer’s Ball venue and took to playing and talking with the building’s owners, Jerry and Lily Wooten. When Park, who had danced and studied Appalachian studies at Berea College in Kentucky, discovered the history of the building as a dance hall, he had the idea to start a new dance.

In January 1982, following a few trial runs at the old hall, Park sent out a letter to local callers, inviting them to what he dubbed the “Old Farmer’s Ball.” The first official event was

MOUNTAINX.COM

scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 28, 1982, with a $2 admission. “We couldn’t start on a Wednesday, because folks went to church on Wednesday,” Park explains. The dance has been held each Thursday since.

“The music and dance community in Asheville was very small back then,” says Jamison, who was one of the five callers leading dances that first night in ’82. “We’d all come out on Thursday nights, whether we wanted to dance or not.”

Musician Julia Weatherford describes the ruggedness of the building: The dance hall had no insulation and would be freezing. She remembers attending work parties for repair projects and how community members would arrive early to sweep and build a big fire in the woodstove. Dede Styles, a heritage dyer who has lived in this area for 72 years, recalls watching over children and taking admission at the door. She and a couple of

others collected rocks to build a stone chimney for the hall.

FUN FACTOR Over the decades, the Old Farmer’s Ball has grown from a small, homegrown dance to a nonprofit with an elected board of directors and affiliation with the larger Massachusettsbased Country Dance and Song Society. It started attracting outof-town bands and has had a broad impact, says Weatherford, influencing the start of the River Falls Contra Dance and other regional dances.

As at many contra dances across the nation, some callers at the Old Farmer’s Ball have adopted the gender-neutral terms larks and ravens (indicating the partner on the left or right), as opposed to gents and ladies.

Callers in the OFB’s early years led a mix of contras, square danc-

es, mixers, couple dances and circle dances. The community learned how to waltz, schottische, polka, mazurka and swing. “I’d say in the first 15, 20 years of the Old Farmer’s Ball, people were simply interested in having a good time,” says Park. “And if it was a new and interesting dance, all that mattered is it was fun.”

Over the years, the dance has changed. It moved down the road to Warren Wilson College after The Blizzard of ’93 collapsed the roof of the original dance hall. This led to more students and fewer families participating. “The young people were on the tails of the big contra mania that was happening all over the country,” says Weatherford. New England contra dance took over as the main dance form at the OFB. Currently, Thursday nights feature primarily contra dance, with waltzing at the break, and only the occasional, thinly tolerated square dance or mixer.

Allen notes that the incorporation of swing-dance-oriented moves increased heavily in the late ’90s and early 2000s. For some OFB old-timers, this shift in style was not a good thing.

“Over the years,” says Styles, “especially after they got to Bryson Gym,

[dancers] didn’t seem to pay much attention to the music … and I guess maybe they were more exuberant or more reckless. They sort of lost interest in good form.”

For others, however, the addition of new moves like dips and extra twirls made Asheville-area dances more flavorful and creative than contra dances in other places. “It became an exciting, fun place to be,” says Allen.

“It was a wild ride.” X

WHAT Old Farmer’s Ball oldfarmersball.com WHERE Bryson Gym Warren Wilson College 701 Warren Wilson Road Swannanoa WHEN Weekly on Thursday.

Beginner lesson at 7:30 p.m., dance at 8 p.m. $7 members/$8 nonmembers/$1 Warren Wilson community

JULY 24 - 30, 2019

35

SMART BETS

by Edwin Arnaudin | Send your arts news to ae@mountainx.com

The B-52s Ever wondered what it would be like to hear “Love Shack,” “Roam” and “Rock Lobster” on the South Terrace of the Biltmore House? On Friday, July 26, that very specific fantasy will come true as The B-52s take to the scenic stage for the second installment in the estate’s annual summer concert series. The Athens, Ga.-based band is in the midst of its 40th anniversary, a celebration that includes the first book (slated for publication in 2020) to officially chronicle the group’s history and development of an authorized documentary directed by Craig Johnson (The Skeleton Twins) and executive produced by Fred Armisen. Also in the works is a newly remastered anniversary edition of the band’s album Cosmic Thing, featuring B-sides, remixes and unreleased concert recordings from the 1990s. The show starts at 7:30 p.m. $65-75. Advance ticket purchase required. biltmore.com/concerts. Photo by Pieter M. Van Hattem

Stevie Tombstone A Georgia native who now calls Western North Carolina home, Stevie Tombstone led an Atlanta-based swampabilly band, appropriately called The Tombstones, in the 1980s and ’90s before embarking on a solo career. The singer-songwriter and guitarist has since mixed folk, country and blues traditions on five albums, collaborated with members of Wilco and shared bills with such stars as Leon Russell, Gregg Allman, Willie Nelson and Drive-By Truckers.

Among his 200-plus performances this year is a Wednesday, July 31, stop at White Horse Black Mountain. Tombstone’s friend and former fiddle player Ralph White, an Austin, Texasbased multi-instrumentalist, gets the night going at 7:30. $10 advance/$12 day of show. whitehorseblackmountain.com.

Photo courtesy of the musician

36

JULY 24 - 30, 2019

MOUNTAINX.COM

Thunder Road: The Musical While Robert Mitchum was filming the bootlegger thriller Thunder Road in the Asheville area, odds are good that he never thought the film would one day be turned into a stage musical. Bruce Springsteen, however, seems a more likely candidate to predict such a future, seeing as he was inspired to write his song of the same name after seeing the movie’s poster. Josh Dunkin and Steve DuRose of the Hendersonville duo The Gathering Dark combine all of the above influences and more in Thunder Road: The Musical. The performance re-creates scenes from the film and weaves them together with true stories of moonshine runners and Mitchum’s Western North Carolina adventures during the film’s production — all set to songs from The Boss’s 1978-80 albums. The creative undertaking will be unveiled Sunday, July 28, at 7 p.m. at Sanctuary Brewing Co. Free; donations are welcome. thegatheringdark.com. Photo courtesy of the artists

Kaleta & the Super Yamba Band When Brooklyn-based Afro-funk group Kaleta & Super Yamba Band take to the stage, they unite shared musical passions that supersede their disparate backgrounds. With histories primarily rooted in Greensboro and honed in New York City, Super Yamba Band found its groove playing largely instrumental tunes inspired by their love of West African traditions. The sounds attracted the ear of Kaleta, aka Afrobeat singer/guitarist/percussionist Leon Ligan-Majek, who was impressed by the ensemble’s interpretations of the music from his native Benin as well as Nigeria, where he spent his teen years.

A single unit since 2017, the group plays The Mothlight on Wednesday, July 31.

Asheville’s own Evil Note Lab, composed of local notables Phill Bronson, Ben Hovey and Derrick Johnson, open the evening at 9 p.m. $10 advance/$12 day of show. themothlight.com. Photo by Florencia Saavedra

A & E CALENDAR ART ARTIST BUSINESS BRAINSTORM • TU (7/30), 10am - Artist Business Brainstorm, business session with Katherine Lewis. Registration required. Free.

Held at The Refinery, 207 Coxe Ave. CITY OF ASHEVILLE 828-251-1122, ashevillenc.gov • TH (7/25), 11am-1pm & 2-6pm - Community public art input and design workshop focused on celebrating African Americans through public art. Childcare and Spanish interpretation provided. Free. Held at YMI Cultural Center, 39 South Market St. • TH (7/25), 11am-1pm & 2-6pm - Community public art input and design workshop focused for ages 10-17, focused on celebrating African Americans through public art. Free. Held at YMI Cultural Center, 39 South Market St. ITCH TO STITCH • MO (7/29), 10am-noon - Itch to Stitch, a casual knitting and needlework group for all skill levels.

Free. Held at Weaverville Public Library, 41 N. Main St., Weaverville MARVELOUS MONDAY STUDIOS • MONDAYS, 9:30am-12:30pm or 1-4pm - Marvelous Mondays, beginner and up, includes watercolor, oils, acrylics, drawing and mixed media. Registration required. $27 and up. Held at 310 ART, 191 Lyman St., #310 WEEKLY OPEN STUDIO • WEDNESDAYS, 2-4pm - Weekly Open Studio art classes resume with Betina Morgan. $20. Held at Haywood County Arts Council, 86 N. Main St., Waynesville

ART/CRAFT STROLLS & FAIRS ART & ARCHITECTURE TOUR • SA (6/29), 9-10:30am - Art and architecture tour of downtown Hendersonville. Free.

Held at Woodlands Gallery, 419 N. Main St., Hendersonville BREVARD’S 4TH FRIDAY GALLERY WALK • 4th FRIDAYS, 5-8pm - Brevard 4th Friday gallery walk with open galleries, art stores, restaurants, live music and refreshments.

Free to attend. Held in Downtown Brevard Held at Transylvania Community Arts Council, 349 S. Caldwell St., Brevard

AUDITIONS & CALL TO ARTISTS ARTS COUNCIL OF HENDERSON COUNTY 828-693-8504, acofhc.org • Through TH (8/1) - Artist vendor submissions accepted for the 60th annual Art on Main Festival taking place on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 28 & 29. See website for full guidelines, acofhc.org.

• Through FR (8/16) Applications accepted for the North Carolina Arts Council Regional Artist Project Grants.

Information: acofhc.org.

STUDIO TOUR LOGO CONTEST • Through (8/1) - Submissions accepted for The Studio Tour Logo Contest. Information: haywoodarts.org/ logo-contest. Held at Haywood County Arts Council, 86 N. Main St., Waynesville TOE RIVER ARTS 2019 JURIED EXHIBIT • Through SA (8/10) Applications accepted for artists for the Toe River Arts 2019 Juried Exhibit taking place Saturday, Sept. 28 until Saturday, Nov. 2. $35.

See website for full guidelines.

DANCE LEARN THE COUNTRY TWO-STEP (PD.) 2-Hour dance class. Saturday, July 27th 12-2PM at Grey Eagle, Asheville. $20 online discount by July 26 at www.Danceforlife. net, $25 at door.

naturalrichard@mac.com, 828-333 0715.

FOLKMOOT FESTIVAL • WE (7/24), 7pm - Folkmoot Festival celebration of cultural heritage through folk music and dance. $31. Held at Diana Wortham Theatre, 18 Biltmore Ave. INTERNATIONAL FOLK DANCE • TUESDAYS, 7:309:30pm - International folk dancing, dances from around the world.

No partner needed. Info: 828-645-1543. Free. Held at Harvest House, 205 Kenilworth Road STREET DANCE • MONDAYS, 7-9pm - Square dancing and clogging to regional bluegrass bands. Free.

Held at Hendersonville Visitors Center, 201 South Main St., Hendersonville

MUSIC AFRICAN DRUM LESSONS AT SKINNY BEATS SOUND SHOP (PD.) Wednesdays 6pm. Billy Zanski teaches a fun approach to connecting with your inner rhythm.

Drop-ins welcome. • Drums provided. $15/ class. (828) 768-2826. www.skinnybeatsdrums. com ABRAHAM JAM CONCERT • SA (7/27), 8pm - Abraham jam, CD release concert. $20-$30. Held at Diana Wortham Theatre, 18 Biltmore Ave. ASHEVILLE DRUM CIRCLE • FRIDAYS, 6-9:50pm Asheville outdoor drum circle. Free. Held at Pritchard Park, 4 College St. BREVARD MUSIC CENTER 349 Andante Lane, Brevard, 828-862-2105, brevardmusic.org • WE (7/24), 7:30pm Schumann's Chamber Music Year, piano quartet. $28.

• FR (7/26), 7:30pm - Brahms and Mozart features guest conductor and pianist Christian Zacharias. $20 and up.

• TH (7/25), 7:30pm & SA (7/27), 2pm - Die Fledermaus, sung in English with supertitles. $35 and up.

• SA (7/27), 7:30pm - Debussy and Ravel features guest soloist Rémi Geniet and the Brevard Sinfonia. $20 and up.

• SU (7/28), 3pm - Soloists of Tomorrow features winners of the prestigious Jan and Beattie Wood Concerto Competition. $20 and up.

• SU (7/28), 3pm - Supersonic | Percussion. $25.

CONCERTS ON THE CREEK • FRIDAYS, 7-9pm - Concerts on the Creek series through Labor Day. For lineup: mountainlovers. com. Free. Held at Bridge Park Pavilion, 76 Railroad Ave., Sylva ISIS LAWN SERIES • WEDNESDAYS and THURSDAYS, 6-8:30pm - Concert on the lawn including bluegrass, blues and jazz. Free to attend. Held at Isis Music Hall, 743 Haywood Road MICHAEL RENO HARRELL CONCERT • SU (7/28), 4pm Michael Reno Harrell, Southern Appalachian Mountain songwriter, storyteller and entertainer. $15. Held at Ebbs Chapel Performing Arts Center, 271 Laurel Valley Road, Mars Hill ‘MOONDANCIN’ • SA (7/27), 8pm - Moondancin, concert. Tickets: danielsage.com. $25/kids free. Held at Bo Thomas Auditorium, Blue Ridge Community College, 180 W. Campus Drive, Flat Rock MOUNTAIN DANCE AND FOLK FESTIVAL • TH (8/1) through SA (8/3), 6:30pm - Showcase of the region’s traditional and old-time musicians, ballad singers, mountain dance groups and cloggers. Tickets: bit.ly/2OBWKtG. $20 adults/$25 door, $5 student and child/$10 door. Held at Lipinsky Auditorium at UNC Asheville, 300 Library Lane

JULY 24 - 30, 2019

37

A & E CALENDAR

DANCE

at night in ASHEVILLE!

cream, music and food trucks. Free. Held at Pack Memorial Library, 67 Haywood St. • SU (7/28), 1-6pm 100 year anniversary celebration of Pack Library with book themed drinks and librarian outreach.

Literary character costume contest. Free to attend. Held at The Whale: A Craft Beer Collective, 507 Haywood Road, #10 • WE (7/31), 6pm - Zoe Rhine, NC Room Librarian, presents her book, Hidden History of Asheville. Free. Held at Pack Memorial Library, 67 Haywood St.

theblockoffbiltmore.com 39 S. Market St. • 254-9277 Thanks

for voting!

WINNERS will be ANNOUNCED in august Look for the two giant issues

SOME PIG: Asheville Creative Arts presents a new take on E.B. White’s tale of friendship, sacrifice and growing up in Charlotte’s Web. Directed by Abby Felder, music by Jonesalee and puppets, costumes and sets by Edwin Salas Acosta, the children’s play runs at Magnetic 375 until July 28. Performances will be held Fridays at 7 p.m., Saturdays at 4 p.m. and Sundays at 1 p.m. Tickets are $23; $12 for students. For more information, visit ashevillecreativearts.org. Photo courtesy of Sarah Elizabeth Malinak (p. 16)

MUSIC ON MAIN • FRIDAYS, 7-9pm - Music on Main concert series.

Information: avl.mx/648.

Free. Held at Hendersonville Visitor Center, 201 S. Main St., Hendersonville OLE TYME PICKERS FRIDAY BLUEGRASS • 2nd & 4th FRIDAYS, 7pm - Ole Tyme Pickers, bluegrass concert. Free.

Held at Big Willow Community Building, Willow Road, Hendersonville SHINDIG ON THE GREEN • SATURDAYS, 7pm Outdoor old-timey and folk music jam sessions and concert. Free. Held at Pack Square Park, 121 College St. SLY GROG OPEN MIC • SUNDAYS, 7pm - Openmic for storytellers, poets, musicians and all kinds of performance artists. Sign ups at 6:30pm. Free to attend. Held at Sly Grog Lounge, 271 Haywood St. ‘SONATAS AND INTERLUDES’ • TH (8/1), 7pm - John Cage’s Sonatas and Interludes performed by

38

JULY 24 - 30, 2019

MOUNTAINX.COM

Amy Williams. $15/$10 members. Held at Black Mountain College Museum & Arts Center, 120 College St. SUMMER TRACKS • FR (7/26), 7pm - Summer Tracks concert series. Information: summertracks.com.

Admission by donation.

Held at Rogers Park, 55 W. Howard St., Tryon SWANNANOA GATHERING CONCERT • WE (7/24), 7:30pm Swannanoa Gathering old-time music concert. $25. Held at Kittredge Theatre, Kittredge Theatre at Warren Wilson College, 701 Warren Wilson Road, Swannanoa

SPOKEN & WRITTEN WORD BUNCOMBE COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARIES buncombecounty.org/ governing/depts/library • FR (7/26), 2-5pm - 100 year anniversary celebration with handson activities for kids, relay race, library tours, historical displays, ice

MALAPROP'S BOOKSTORE AND CAFE 55 Haywood St., 828-254-6734, malaprops.com • WE (7/24), 6pm Amy Reed presents The Boy and Girl Who Broke the World, in conversation with Jaye Robin Brown and Amber Smith. Free to attend.

• TH (7/25), 6pm - Valerie Nieman presents To the Bones, in conversation with Jessica Cory. Free to attend.

• TH (7/25), 7pm Works in Translation book club reads The End of Days by Jenny Erpenbeck, translated

by Susan Bernofsky.

Free to attend.

• MO (7/29), 7pm - Science Fiction book club reads The Vegetarian: A Novel by Han Kang.

Free to attend.

• TH (8/1), 6pm - Fred and Susan Chappell present As If It Were: Poems. Free to attend.

NEW DIMENSIONS TOASTMASTERS • THURSDAYS, noon-1pm - General meeting. Information: 828-329-4190. Free to attend. Held at Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity, 33 Meadow Road NORTH CAROLINA WRITERS’ NETWORK • TH (8/1), 6-7:30pm Writers’ beat the heat social and writing in place from prompts.

NCWN membership not required. Free to attend. Held at The BLOCK off biltmore, 39 S. Market St. THE SPEAK EASY STORY SLAM • TH (8/1), 7pm - Story slam. Free to attend.

Held at Sly Grog Lounge, 271 Haywood St.

THEATER 'ALL SHOOK UP' • WEDNESDAYS through SUNDAYS (7/26) until (8/18) - All Shook Up, musical comedy. Wed., Thurs., Sat. & Sun.: 2pm.

Wed. & Thurs.: 7:30pm. Fri. & Sat.: 8pm. $25 and up. Held at Flat Rock Playhouse, 2661 Highway 225, Flat Rock 'MOTHER OF THE BRIDE' • SA (7/27), 7:30pm & SU (7/28), 2pm Mother of the bride stories, comedy.

Information: 828-6978547 or avl.mx/699. $18/$20 door. Held at The Center for Art & Inspiration, 125 S. Main St., Hendersonville 'ROBIN HOOD: QUEST FOR JUSTICE' • FRIDAYS through SUNDAYS until (7/27), 7:30pm - Robin Hood: Quest for Justice.

Free to attend. Held at Hazel Robinson Amphitheatre, 92 Gay St. 'THE DEVOTEES' • THURSDAY through SATURDAY (8/1) until (8/10), 7:30pm - The Devotees, produced

by The Cardboard Sea Theatre Troupe. $15.

Held at BeBe Theater, 20 Commerce St. 'THUNDER ROAD: THE MUSICAL' • SU (7/28), 7pm Thunder Road: The Musical, presented by The Gathering Dark. $20/$15 advance. Held at Sanctuary Brewing Company, 147 1st Ave., Hendersonville

CLUBLAND

STRINGS ATTACHED: Atlanta-based artist AJ Ghent, who appeared on Zac Brown’s Grohl Sessions Vol. 1, alongside Dave Grohl, has reason to celebrate: His song “Power” was added to HBO’s “Game of Thrones” finale playlist on Spotify.

The third-generation musician is the grandson of Henry Nelson, who was was credited as the founder of the Sacred Steel style adopted by steel guitar players such as the Campbell Brothers and Robert Randolph. Ghent performs at New Belgium on Friday, Aug. 2, at 5:30 p.m. Free. newbelgium.com. Photo by Bruce Davis

WEDNESDAY, JULY 24 5 WALNUT WINE BAR Les Amis, (African folk music), 8:00PM ALLEY CAT SOCIAL CLUB Karaoke w/ Kitten Savage, 8:00PM ASHEVILLE GUITAR BAR Open Mic, 6:30PM BEN'S TUNE UP Summer Music Series w/ Juan Holladay, 5:00PM BLUE MOUNTAIN PIZZA & BREW PUB Open Mic w/ Mark Bumgarner, 7:00PM BREVARD MUSIC CENTER Student Piano Recital, 12:30PM CORK & KEG 3 Cool Cats, 7:30PM DOUBLE CROWN Western Wednesday w/ Julia Sanders & The Stinging Nettles + HonkyTonk DJ, 9:00PM

HIGHLAND BREWING COMPANY Woody Wood Wednesday, 6:00PM ISIS MUSIC HALL & KITCHEN 743 Isis Lawn Series w/ the Daydream Creatures, 6:00PM Ireland to Appalachia: An Evening with Aoife Clancy & Kyle Carey, 7:00PM JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Old Time Music Jam Session, 5:00PM LAZY DIAMOND Killer Karaoke w/ KJ TimO, 10:00PM LOBSTER TRAP Cigar Brothers, 6:30PM MOE'S ORIGINAL BBQ WOODFIN Bluegrass Jam hosted

by Gary Mac Fiddle & Friends, 6:00PM MONTFORD RECREATION CENTER Line Dance for Beginners (contemporary styling, no experience necessary), 12:00PM

ONE WORLD BREWING WEST OWB West: Underground Unheard: 3rd Annual Showcase, 7:00PM PILLAR ROOFTOP BAR Kind, Clean Gentlemen, 7:00PM PRITCHARD PARK Cultural Arts in the Park w/ LEAF Easel Rider, 6:00PM SANCTUARY BREWING COMPANY French Broad Valley Music Association Mountain Music Jam, 6:00PM SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN BREWERY Jazz Night hosted by Jason DeCristofaro, 6:30PM THE BLOCK OFF BILTMORE Happy Hour Solo Guitar Classics w/ Albi, 5:00PM Wednesday Night Blues Jam w/ Ruby Mayfield, Jeff Rudolph, Jim Simmons, & Brad Curtioff, 9:00PM THE GOLDEN FLEECE Scots-Baroque ChamberFolk w/ The Tune Shepherds, 7:00PM

FLEETWOOD'S Marc's Groovy Movie, 7:00PM

NOBLE KAVA Poetry Open Mic w/ Caleb Beissert (7:30PM Sign Up), 8:00PM

FRENCH BROAD RIVER BREWERY Trivia Night!, 7:00PM

ODDITORIUM Lucy Furr, Kids Born Wrong (punk), 9:00PM

FUNKATORIUM The Saylor Brothers, 6:30PM

ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Disclaimer Lounge Comedy Open Mic, 9:30PM

THE MARKET PLACE RESTAURANT AND LOUNGE Lenny Pettinelli (solo eclectic keys, singer-songwriter), 6:30PM

ONE WORLD BREWING OWB Downtown: Nathan Allen, 9:00PM

THE MOTHLIGHT Mike Krol w/ Ugly Runner & Bad Molly, 9:00PM

HAYWOOD COUNTRY CLUB Back to the 80's (new wave, synth, post punk), 10:00PM

THE GREY EAGLE Dog Daze of Summer Social w/ Unrepentant Heathens (benefit w/ Charlie's Angels Animal Rescue), 5:00PM

THE SOCIAL LOUNGE Music on the Rooftop, 9:00PM TOWN PUMP Open Mic w/ David Bryan, 9:00PM TREEROCK SOCIAL CIDER HOUSE Witty Wednesday Trivia, 7:00PM UPCOUNTRY BREWING COMPANY Music Bingo, 8:00PM WHITE HORSE BLACK MOUNTAIN Zoe Hamrick, 7:30PM WILD WING CAFE SOUTH J Luke, 8:00PM

THURSDAY, JULY 25

TAVERN Downtown on the Park Eclectic Menu • Over 30 Taps • Patio 15 TV’s • Sports Room • 110” Projector Event Space • Shuffleboard Open 7 Days 11am - Late Night THE SUNDAY SOCIAL LUB C IC ON THE P MUS ATIO @ 4:30PM

THU. 7/25

5 WALNUT WINE BAR Pleasure Chest, (blues, rock, soul), 8:00PM

Hope Griffin Duo

ARCHETYPE BREWING Canned Heat Vinyl Night, 5:00PM

FRI. 7/26

ASHEVILLE CLUB Live Cello, 4:30PM ASHEVILLE GUITAR BAR The Travelling Pilsburys of Asheville, 8:00PM BEN'S TUNE UP Offended! Comedy Open Mic, 9:30PM

(acoustic rock)

DJ RexxStep

(dance hits, pop)

SAT. 7/27 The Carolina Lowdown Band (hits, bluegrass)

BLUE MOUNTAIN PIZZA & BREW PUB Chris Jamison, 7:00PM BROWN MOUNTAIN BOTTLEWORKS NC Songsmiths, Jesse Harman, 7:30PM

20 S. Spruce St. • 225.6944 packStavern.com JULY 24 - 30, 2019

39

C LUBLAND

COMING SOON WED 7/24 6:00PM–ISIS LAWN SERIES WITH DAYDREAM CREATURES

7:00PM–IRELAND TO APPALACHIAAN EVENING WITH AOIFE CLANCY AND KYLE CAREY

THU 7/25 6:00PM–ISIS LAWN SERIES WITH IN FLIGHT TRIO 7:00PM–THE TWO’S: PUSH ON- EP RELEASE TOUR

FRI 7/26 7:00PM–THE ROUGH & TUMBLE’S HOWL BACK TOUR

CALYPSO DJ Red Iyah & The Mete (Caribbean beats), 6:00PM

PURPLE ONION CAFE The Paper Crowns (delta blues, southern gospel, folk), 7:30PM

CROW & QUILL Big Dawg Slingshots, (hot jazz & western swing), 10:00PM

SANCTUARY BREWING COMPANY Brother Bluebird, 7:00PM

DOUBLE CROWN Old Gold w/ DJ Jasper (soul 'n' rock 'n' roll), 10:00PM

SLY GROG LOUNGE The Last Underground Album Release Show, 7:30PM

FLEETWOOD'S Comedy at Fleetwood's: Katherine Jessup, 9:00PM FLOOD GALLERY FINE ART CENTER True Home Open Mic, 6:30PM FUNKATORIUM Hot Club of Asheville, 6:00PM ISIS MUSIC HALL & KITCHEN 743 Isis Lawn Series w/ In Flight Trio, 6:00PM The Two’s: Push On EP Release Tour, 7:00PM JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Bluegrass Jam, 7:00PM

ELLIS PAUL

8:30PM–ELLIS PAUL WITH LOUISE MOSRIE SAT 7/27 7:00PM–STEVE JAMES AND DEL REY: MASTERS OF RESONATOR GUITAR, UKELELE, AND MANDOLIN 8:30PM–AMICI MUSIC PRESENTS: TUTTI FLUTTI

SUN 7/28 6:00PM–TALL TALES

7:30PM–JESSE BARRY SINGS CAROL KING’S TAPESTRY

TUE 7/30 7:00PM–TUES. BLUEGRASS: KRISTY COX CD RELEASE

WED 7/31 6:00PM–ISIS LAWN SERIES WITH WHISTLEPIG 7PM–MINK’S MIRACLE MEDICINE & HOPE GRIFFIN TRIO

THU 8/1 6:00PM–ISIS LAWN SERIES WITH PIMPS OF POMPE 7:00PM–PAT DONOHUE 9:00PM–JERRY FEST W/ WAVY TRAIN

FRI 8/2 7:00PM–DOWNTOWN ABBY & THE ECHOES

LAZY DIAMOND 80's INVASION w/ DJ Mac, 10:00PM LOBSTER TRAP Hank Bones, 6:30PM NEW BELGIUM BREWERY John Butler Trio w/ Trevor Hall, 6:30PM NOBLE KAVA Hip Hop Night, 9:00PM ODDITORIUM Partyfoul Drag Circus, 9:00PM ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Mitch's Totally Rad Trivia, 7:00PM FUX, 10:00PM ONE WORLD BREWING OWB Downtown: Flint Blade (dub, rock, jazz, electronica), 9:00PM ONE WORLD BREWING WEST OWB West: West Side Funk Jam, 8:00PM ORCHARD AT ALTAPASS Randy Flack, 1:45PM PULP Slice of Life Comedy Open Mic hosted by Cody Hughes, 9:00PM

MAHARAJAH FLAMENCO TRIO 8:30PM–MAHARAJAH FLAMENCO TRIO

ISISASHEVILLE.COM DINNER MENU TIL 9:30PM LATE NIGHT MENU TIL 12AM

TUES-SUN 5PM-until 743 HAYWOOD RD 828-575-2737

40

JULY 24 - 30, 2019

MOUNTAINX.COM

PACK'S TAVERN Hope Griffin Duo, 8:00PM PILLAR ROOFTOP BAR Ben Phan, 7:00PM PISGAH BREWING COMPANY Liz Teague & Friends, 8:00PM

STRAIGHTAWAY CAFE Acoustic Jam, 6:30PM THE BARRELHOUSE Ter-rific Trivia, 7:00PM THE BLOCK OFF BILTMORE Happy Hour Solo Guitar Classics w/ Albi, 5:00PM Summer Lovin’ Thursdays w/ Paula Hanke (blues, disco, Motown) THE GREY EAGLE Old North State, 5:00PM Jared & the Mill w/ Nora Jane Struthers, 9:00PM THE IMPERIAL LIFE The Burger Kings (rock n' roll), 9:00PM THE MARKET PLACE RESTAURANT AND LOUNGE Bob Zullo (rock, pop, jazz, blues), 7:00PM THE MOTHLIGHT Strange Avenues w/ Sane Voids, 9:00PM THE SOCIAL LOUNGE Music on the Rooftop, 9:00PM THE WINE AND OYSTER NC Songsmiths, 8:00PM UPCOUNTRY BREWING COMPANY BREVARD Originals and Traditionals Jam, 7:00PM WEAVER HOUSE Random Animals (indie, soul, rock), 9:00PM WHITE HORSE BLACK MOUNTAIN Abby the Spoonlady & Chris Rodriguez, 7:30PM ZAMBRA Dinah's Daydream (Gypsy jazz), 7:00PM

FRIDAY, JULY 26 27 CLUB Halloween in July, 9:00PM 5 WALNUT WINE BAR Secret B-Sides Trio, (soul, R&B), 9:00PM AMBROSE WEST Carly Taich & Friends, 8:00PM ASHEVILLE CLUB Live Classical Guitar, 4:30PM

WED DOG DAZE OF SUMMER

ASHEVILLE GUITAR BAR Bity City Blues Jam w/ host Chicago Don, 8:00PM BATTERY PARK BOOK EXCHANGE Dinah's Daydream (Gypsy jazz), 7:00PM BEN'S TUNE UP DJ Kilby Spinning Vinyl, 10:00PM

JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Irish Session, 3:00PM Jackson Grimm Band, 9:00PM LAZOOM BUS TOURS Fwuit, 5:30PM LAZOOM ROOM LaZoom Comedy: David Gborie (Night One), 9:00PM

BLUE MOUNTAIN PIZZA & BREW PUB Acoustic Swing, 7:00PM

LAZY DIAMOND Slayed & Fade w/ DJ Ethan M (rockers & soul), 10:00PM

BOLD ROCK HARD CIDER Shabudikah, 6:00PM

LOBSTER TRAP Hillbilly Diamonds, 6:30PM

CAPELLA ON 9 @ THE AC HOTEL DJ Dance Party w/ Phantom Pantone DJ Collective, 9:00PM

LOCAL 604 BOTTLE SHOP Tristan Welch, Lunar Creature: The Ambient Eye, 8:00PM Bryce Denton, 9:00PM

CORK & KEG One Leg Up, 8:30PM CROW & QUILL Hot Club of Asheville, (Gypsy jazz), 9:00PM DOUBLE CROWN Rotating Rock 'n' Soul DJs, 10:00PM FLEETWOOD'S Sleepy Poetry, Bergenline, Anywhere From Here, 9:00PM FOGGY MOUNTAIN BREWPUB Sauce (funk, jam), 10:00PM GASTRO PUB AT HOPEY Open Mic hosted by Heather Taylor, 7:00PM GINGER'S REVENGE Sarah Tucker, 7:30PM HIGHLAND BREWING COMPANY Jake Quillan, 7:00PM HISTORIC BURKE COUNTY COURTHOUSE LAWN Morganton TGIF Summer Concert Series, 6:00PM

THIS WEEK AT AVL MUSIC HALL & THE ONE STOP!!!

ISIS MUSIC HALL & KITCHEN 743 The Rough & Tumble’s Howl Back Tour, 7:00PM Ellis Paul, 8:30PM

ODDITORIUM Asheville After Dark Presents: Perversions (kink night), 9:00PM ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Free Dead Fridays feat. members of Phuncle Sam acoustic, 5:30PM ONE WORLD BREWING OWB Downtown: 5j Barrow (Americana, folk), 9:00PM ONE WORLD BREWING WEST OWB West: Sister Ivy Tour Kick-Off Show, 9:00PM

FUX THU, 7/25 - SHOW: 10 pm - [ROCK] CA$ H DONATION $ @ THE DOOR

SUN

FREE PATIO SHOW AT 3PM

WICKED WEED WEST WW West: Ben Saylor Solo, 5:00PM

THU

PACK'S TAVERN DJ RexxStep, 9:30PM

WILD WING CAFE Showers on Mars, 9:00PM

STRAIGHTAWAY CAFE Eastside Blues Project, 6:00PM

NOBLE KAVA Noble Pursuits: An Evening w/ Jason Moore, 9:00PM

FREE PATIO SHOW AT 5PM

ORCHARD AT ALTAPASS Terry McKinney, 1:45PM

SLY GROG LOUNGE Broad City Boogie, 8:00PM

NEW BELGIUM BREWERY Proxima Parada, 5:30PM

THU

25

SANCTUARY BREWING COMPANY Modern Strangers, 8:00PM

MOE'S ORIGINAL BBQ WOODFIN Mr Jimmy, 7:00PM

27

FREE PATIO SHOW AT 3PM

WHITE HORSE BLACK MOUNTAIN Rod Abernethy, 8:00PM

SALVAGE STATION Natti Love Joys, 8:30PM

MAD CO BREW HOUSE The Moon & You, 6:00PM

SAT

ORANGE PEEL Peter Pablo & Special Guests, 9:00PM

PISGAH BREWING COMPANY G.A.M.E (Grateful Asheville Music Experience), 8:00PM

LOOKOUT BREWING COMPANY NC Songsmiths, 7:00PM

24

BRING YOUR DOG + LAGUNITAS SPECIALS • FT. UNREPENTANT HEATHENS – 5PM, FREE

THE BLOCK OFF BILTMORE DJ Jam (R&B, soul, Motown), 9:00PM THE BARN AT PAINT FORK Southern Halo, 6:00PM THE GREENHOUSE MOTO CAFE Log Noggins, 8:00PM THE GREY EAGLE The Scatterlings, 6:00PM West End Blend, 9:00PM THE IMPERIAL LIFE DJ Dance Party w/ Phantom Pantone DJ Collective, 9:00PM THE MOTHLIGHT Asheville FM & Pansy Fest Local Queer Music Showcase Benefit, 9:00PM TIGER MOUNTAIN Tiger Dance Party Nights, 10:00PM UPCOUNTRY BREWING COMPANY Saylyn Roots Reggae, 9:00PM URBAN ORCHARD CIDER CO. SOUTH SLOPE Breakin' on Buxton 80's Dance party w/ DJ Free Range, 9:00PM

25

ZAMBRA Heavenly Vipers (Gypsy jazz), 8:00PM

OLD NORTH STATE

28

STEPHEN EVANS AND THE TRUE GRITS

JARED & THE MILL

MON

FREE PATIO SHOW AT 5PM

W/ NORA JANE STRUTHERS

29

26

THE SCATTERLINGS

FREE PATIO SHOW AT 6PM

MON

29

FRI

WEST END BLEND

30

FRI

26

THE BLUE RIDGE BUSKETEERS

TUE

W/ MAJ DEEKA

MERCER & JOHNSON

AN EVENING WITH

STEPHEN CHRISTIAN & CHRISTIAN MCALHANEY FREE PATIO SHOW AT 5PM

LAURA THURSTON

Asheville’s longest running live music venue • 185 Clingman Ave TICKETS AVAILABLE AT HARVEST RECORDS & THEGREYEAGLE.COM

SATURDAY, JULY 27 185 KING STREET Elysium Park, 8:00PM 5 WALNUT WINE BAR Lazybirds (Americana, roots), 9:00PM ASHEVILLE CLUB Mr. Jimmy, 4:00PM ASHEVILLE GUITAR BAR Swing Step Band, 5:00PM Will Ray and the Space Cooties, 8:00PM ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL James Brown Dance Party, 10:00PM

Breakin’ on buxton

ASHEVILLE YACHT CLUB Iggy Radio, 3:00PM

80’s Dance Party w/ DJ Free Range

BLUE GHOST BREWING COMPANY The Get Right Band, 7:00PM

Friday, July 26th 9pm-1am

BLUE MOUNTAIN PIZZA & BREW PUB Ben Phan, 7:00PM

DJ Juan Bounce Saturday, July 27th

CORK & KEG The Big Dawg Slingshots, 8:30PM CROW & QUILL Firecracker Jazz Band (New Orleans style party jazz), 9:00PM

9pm-Midnight

DIANA WORTHAM THEATRE Abraham Jam CD Release Concert, 8:00PM

Check our website for our monthly rotation of Friday Night DJ’s

FLEETWOOD'S Clever Girls w/ Miles Richard, 9:00PM

Official Solasta Pre Party

ft. Hullabalo0 + Murkury

FRI, 7/26 - SHOW: 10 pm (DOORS: 9: 30 pm ) - adv : $10 dos : $12

24 BUXTON AVE • SOUTH SLOPE URBANORCHARDCIDER.COM

ShwizZ w/ Lee Ross

FRI 7/26 - SHOW: 10 pm - [FUNK] CA$ H DONATION $ @ THE DOOR

James Brown Dance Party SAT, 7/27 - SHOW: 10 pm (DOORS: 9 pm ) - adv : $15 dos : $18

The Kind Thieves SAT 7/27 - SHOW: 10 pm [ROCK/JAM/AMERICANA] CA$ H DONATION $ @ THE DOOR

FRI

THU

WED

TUE

8/2 - DT LEAF OFFICIAL AFTERPARTY ft. Delhi 2 Dublin • 8/3 - DT LEAF OFFICIAL AFTERPARTY ft. DJ Logic • 8/9 - Mystic Grizzly + G-space • 8/10 - Our House Presents: Charles Feelgood • 8/16 - Stardust to Ashes - Tribute to David Bowie Tuesday Early Jam - 8PM TICKETS & FULL CALENDAR AVAILABLE AT ASHEVILLEMUSICHALL.COM Mitch’s Totally disclaimer F ree Dead Tuesday Night Funk Jam - 11PM @AVLMusicHall @OneStopAVL F riday - 5pm comedy - 9:30pm Rad Trivia - 6:30pm Electrosoul Session w/ strongmagnumopus - 11:30PM JULY 24 - 30, 2019

41

CLU B LA N D

Local UPCOMING SHOWS: DOORS 7PM

JUL 26

DOORS 7PM

AUG 10

CARLY TAICH & FRIENDS ANDREW SCOTCHIE & THE RIVER RATS

JUL 26

SHOW 8PM

FT. THE ROLLING EXPERIENCE

AUG 10

CHARLIE TRAVELER PRESENTS:

SHOW 7PM

SUMMER OUT WEST TOUR SEND OFF PARTY

DOORS 6PM

SHOW 8PM

A SOLO ACOUSTIC EVENING WITH AUG AUG 25 GRAMMY WINNER MIKE FARRIS 25

DOORS 7PM

AUG 30

WITH ALONZO WESLEY

DOORS 7PM

OCT 4

UNDERHILL ROSE CHARLIE TRAVELER PRESENTS: AN EVENING WITH

ERICK BAKER [AMERICANA]

SHOW 8PM

AUG 30

SHOW 8PM

OCT 4

TICKETS SOLD HERE:

IN GOOD FAITH: “We don’t have to be singing the same note to cultivate peace,” says local singer-songwriter David LaMotte. “We can sing different notes that are beautiful together.” LaMotte is 1/3 of the folk group Abraham Jam with Dawud Wharnsby and Billy Jonas. The musicians come from Christian, Jewish and Muslim practices and aim is to promote interfaith respect, using art as a platform to highlight the strength within diversity. The Abraham Jam’s Saturday, July 27, performance at Diana Wortham Theatre also serves as a release for the group’s second album. 8 p.m. $20-30. dwtheatre.com. Photo by Sara Blandin

W W W. A M B R O S E W E S T. C O M BOX OFFICES: T H E H O N E Y P O T & T H E C I RC L E

BOOK YOUR WEDDING OR EVENT NOW: 828.332.3090 312 HAYWOOD ROAD

FOGGY MOUNTAIN BREWPUB Virginia Electric (folk, rock), 10:00PM FRENCH BROAD RIVER BREWERY Smooth Goose, 7:00PM FUNKATORIUM Added Color, 8:00PM GINGER'S REVENGE Jesse Harman, NC Songsmiths, 2:30PM

$2 off IPAs Try any of The Doner’s Signature Dishes for $8!

HIGHLAND BREWING COMPANY The Hedonistas, 7:00PM ISIS MUSIC HALL & KITCHEN 743 Steve James & Del Rey (resonator guitar, ukulele, mandolin), 7:00PM AmiciMusic presents Tutti Flutti, 8:30PM JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Old Time Jam, 3:00PM Left Lane Cruiser (blues, rock), 9:00PM LAZOOM BUS TOURS Ryan Barber & Boogi Therapi, 1:30PM

Grand Opening!

LAZOOM ROOM LaZoom Comedy: David Gborie (Night Two), 9:30PM LAZY DIAMOND Raw Funk, Stomp, Rock, Groove, & Skank w/ DJ The Bogart, 10:00PM LOBSTER TRAP Sean Mason Trio, 6:30PM

AUGUST 3RD FREE live music from CHALWA and Jarvis Jenkins 1042 HAYWOOD ROAD, ASHEVILLE, NC 28806 828.575.2400 • UPCOUNTRYBREWING.COM 42

JULY 24 - 30, 2019

MOUNTAINX.COM

LOCAL 604 BOTTLE SHOP Saki Bomb w/ Interstate Lakes, 8:00PM MAD CO BREW HOUSE Jangling Sparrows, 5:00PM

NOBLE KAVA Music Trivia, 6:00PM Shane Parish, 9:00PM

SLY GROG LOUNGE Misfits of Rock Super Show, 8:00PM

ODDITORIUM Pet Collective, Dirtyboys, Sinker (hip hop), 9:00PM

STRADA ITALIANO Jazz Guitar Brunch w/ Dan Keller, 11:00AM

ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL The Kind Thieves, 10:00PM

SWEETEN CREEK BREWING Growing Wild Summer Benefit w/ Stray & Friends, Mica Whitmire, 5:00PM

ONE WORLD BREWING OWB Downtown: Kind Clean Gentlemen, 9:00PM

THE BLOCK OFF BILTMORE Community Salsa/Latin Night w/ DJ Edi Fuentes (lessons at 9:00pm), 9:30PM

WICKED WEED WEST WW West: Rebecca O'Quinn, 5:00PM

THE BARN AT PAINT FORK Billy Dean w/ Jody Medford, 6:00PM

ZAMBRA Killawatts (jazz), 8:00PM

ONE WORLD BREWING WEST OWB West: Doctor Ocular, The Settlement, 9:00PM ORANGE PEEL Town Mountain & the Dead Tongues, 9:00PM ORCHARD AT ALTAPASS Amantha Mill w/ Tom Sparks and friends, 1:00PM PACK SQUARE PARK Shindig on the Green, 7:00PM PACK'S TAVERN The Carolina Lowdown Band, 9:30PM PILLAR ROOFTOP BAR Mercer & Johnson, 7:00PM PISGAH BREWING COMPANY Funk You w/ the Freeway Jubilee, 9:00PM PURPLE ONION CAFE Nikki Talley (soulful singersongwriter, honky-tonk), 8:00PM

MCGOURTY'S PUB Roots and Dore, 9:00PM

SALVAGE STATION Epic Celebration Party w/ MC Yogi & DJ Drez, 7:00PM

NEW BELGIUM BREWERY The Mug Band, 6:00PM

SANCTUARY BREWING COMPANY Faded Jade, 8:00PM

THE GREENHOUSE MOTO CAFE Blown Glass, 8:00PM THE GREY EAGLE Learn to Dance Country Two Step, 12:00PM The Blue Ridge Busketeers, 3:00PM VVitchgang, 9:00PM THE IMPERIAL LIFE DJ Dance Party w/ Phantom Pantone DJ Collective, 10:00PM THE MOTHLIGHT Bask w/ Nest Egg & Almuten, 9:00PM TIGER MOUNTAIN Tiger Dance Party Nights, 10:00PM TRYON INTERNATIONAL EQUESTRIAN CENTER Tryon Resort’s Saturday Night Lights (music, carousel, face painting), 6:00PM TWISTED LAUREL DJ Dance Party w/ Phantom Pantone DJ Collective, 11:00PM

UPCOUNTRY BREWING COMPANY Dirty Dead at Upcountry Brewing, 9:00PM URBAN ORCHARD CIDER CO. SOUTH SLOPE DJ Juan Bounce, 9:00PM WHITE HORSE BLACK MOUNTAIN Robin Bullock & Steve Baughman, 8:00PM

WILD WING CAFE SOUTH Band Billingsley, 9:00PM

SUNDAY, JULY 28 27 CLUB Hallelujah! Hillary's Comedy Revival, 9:00PM 5 WALNUT WINE BAR Eleanor Underhill & Friends, (Americana, soul), 7:00PM ARCHETYPE BREWING Post-Brunch Blues, 4:00PM ASHEVILLE CLUB Live Bluegrass, 4:30PM ASHEVILLE GUITAR BAR Pot Luck & Musician's Jam, 3:30PM ASHEVILLE YACHT CLUB Iggy Radio, 3:00PM BEN'S TUNE UP Good Vibes Sunday w/ The Luv Boat, 6:00PM BLUE MOUNTAIN PIZZA & BREW PUB Larry Dolamore, 7:00PM BOLD ROCK HARD CIDER Sunday Brunch w/ live music, 12:00PM

BYWATER Sunday Bywater Bluegrass Jam, 4:00PM

STRADA ITALIANO Jazz Guitar Brunch w/ Dan Keller, 11:00AM

NOBLE KAVA Locals Night Showcase, 8:00PM

CAPELLA ON 9 @ THE AC HOTEL Lo-Fi DJ & Brunch (all ages), 11:00AM

STRAIGHTAWAY CAFE Peter Fraser, 1:30PM

ODDITORIUM Risque Monday Burlesque Hosted By Deb Au Nare, 9:00PM

DOUBLE CROWN Killer Karaoke w/ KJ TIM O, 10:00PM

THE BLOCK OFF BILTMORE De la Noche: Milonga, (lesson at 8:30PM), 9:00PM

FLEETWOOD'S Asheville Punk Flea Market, 12:00PM Shutterings, Slumped, Pet Collective, 8:30PM

THE BARRELHOUSE Singer-Songwriter Competition, July Qualifying Round, 6:00PM

FUNKATORIUM Bluegrass Brunch w/ Gary Macfiddle, 11:00AM Joseph Herbst Quartet, 4:00PM

THE GREENHOUSE MOTO CAFE Tools on Stools, 3:00PM

HIGHLAND BREWING COMPANY Local Sunday in the Meadow w/ DJ Kutzu & Chalwa (music, vendors, farmers market), 12:00PM ISIS MUSIC HALL & KITCHEN 743 Tall Tales, 6:00PM Jesse Barry Sings Carole King’s Tapestry, 7:30PM JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Irish Session, 3:00PM LAZY DIAMOND Noiz Oasis w/ DJ Salty Stax (post-punk), 10:00PM LOBSTER TRAP Drew Matulich, 6:30PM NEW BELGIUM BREWERY Strong Water, 3:00PM Totally Rad Trivia, 5:00PM NOBLE KAVA Every Month is Black History, 2:00PM ODDITORIUM Hallow Point, As Sick As Us, A World of Lies (metal), 9:00PM ONE WORLD BREWING WEST OWB West: Homegrown Sundays All Summer Long!, 4:00PM ORCHARD AT ALTAPASS Johnny Ellis & The Grass Catchers, 1:00PM PACK'S TAVERN Sunday Social Club, 4:30PM PILLAR ROOFTOP BAR Open Mic Night w/ Laura Blackley, 7:00PM PISGAH BREWING COMPANY Pisgah Sunday Jam w/ Paper Crowns Electric Jam, 6:30PM SALVAGE STATION Caleb Caudle, 8:30PM SANCTUARY BREWING COMPANY Katie Cilluffo & Bill Altman (jazz), 2:00PM Thunder Road: The Musical, 7:00PM SLY GROG LOUNGE Sly Grog Open Open Mic, 6:30PM

THE GREY EAGLE Stephen Evans & the True Grits, 3:00PM THE IMPERIAL LIFE DJ Dance Party w/ Phantom Pantone DJ Collective, 9:00PM THE MOTHLIGHT William Ryan Key of Yellowcard, 8:00PM THE WEDGE STUDIOS Live Music Sundays, 5:30PM UPCOUNTRY BREWING COMPANY Geeks Who Drink Pub Quiz, 8:00PM WEDGE BREWING CO. Justin Sikes, 5:30PM WHOLE FOODS MARKET NC Songsmiths, 1:30PM WICKED WEED BREWING WW West: Joseph Herbst Quartet, 4:00PM ZAMBRA Kessler Watson (jazz), 7:00PM

MONDAY, JULY 29 27 CLUB Monday Mayhem Karaoke, 9:00PM 5 WALNUT WINE BAR Siamese Sound Club, (R&B, soul, jazz), 8:00PM ALLEY CAT SOCIAL CLUB Alley Cat Open Mic, 8:00PM ARCHETYPE BREWING Old Time Jam, 5:00PM CATAWBA BREWING SOUTH SLOPE Musicians in the Round, 5:30PM DOUBLE CROWN Country Karaoke w/ KJ Tim-O, 10:00PM HIGHLAND BREWING COMPANY Trivia Night, 6:00PM JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Quizzo, 7:30PM Open Mic, 9:30PM LOBSTER TRAP Bobby Miller and friends, 6:30PM

ONE WORLD BREWING OWB Downtown: Open Mic Night, 8:00PM ONE WORLD BREWING WEST OWB West: Jazz Monday (open jam), 8:30PM OSKAR BLUES BREWERY Mountain Music Mondays Open Jam, 6:00PM SANCTUARY BREWING COMPANY Open Mic Night: It Takes All Kinds w/ host Josh Dunkin, 7:00PM THE BLOCK OFF BILTMORE Ryan Stout (ambient, alien space sounds), 5:00PM Monday Soul Jam, 8:00PM Service Industry Night w/ Karaoke hosted by Cat Daddy, 11:30PM THE GREY EAGLE Mercer & Johnson, 5:00PM Stephen Christian & Christian McAlhaney, 8:00PM

HIGHLAND BREWING COMPANY Rooftop Music Series: Tuned Up Tuesday, 6:00PM ISIS MUSIC HALL & KITCHEN 743 Tuesday Bluegrass Sessions : Kristy Cox CD Release, 7:30PM LOBSTER TRAP Jay Brown, 6:30PM MAD CO BREW HOUSE NC Songsmiths, 5:00PM NOBLE KAVA Open Jam, 8:00PM ODDITORIUM Free Open Mic Comedy Night, 9:00PM ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Tuesday Early Jam, 8:00PM Electrosoul Sessions w/ strongmagnumopus, 11:30PM ONE WORLD BREWING WEST OWB West: FLOW feat.

Pathwey, 8:00PM ORANGE PEEL Hannibal Buress [SOLD OUT], 7:00PM PILLAR ROOFTOP BAR Rhoda & the Risers, 7:00PM

THE IMPERIAL LIFE Leo Johnson (Gypsy Jazz), 9:00PM

SANCTUARY BREWING COMPANY Team Trivia w/ host Josh Dunkin, 7:00PM

THE MOTHLIGHT Penny, Sacred Daisy, Lil Spacebar, 8:00PM

SLY GROG LOUNGE Netherlands, Night Beers, Nest, Userpent, 9:00PM

UPCOUNTRY BREWING COMPANY Monday Night Bluegrass Jam, 7:00PM

SOUTHERN PORCH NC Songsmiths, 6:30PM

TUESDAY, JULY 30 5 WALNUT WINE BAR The John Henrys, (hot jazz), 8:00PM ALLEY CAT SOCIAL CLUB Alley Cat Karaoke, 9:00PM ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Tuesday Night Funk Jam, 11:00PM BEN'S TUNE UP Turn UP Tuesdays w/ DJ Lyric, 10:00PM BLUE MOUNTAIN PIZZA & BREW PUB Billy Litz, 7:00PM BYWATER Bele Chere, 12:00PM DOUBLE CROWN Sonic Stew w/ DJ Lil Side Salad & Seymour, 10:00PM HAYWOOD COUNTRY CLUB Turntable Tuesdays (dance, pop, hip-hop throwbacks), 10:00PM

THE BLOCK OFF BILTMORE Swing AVL Dance w/ Posey Quintet, 9:00PM Late Night Blues Dance w/ Bingading, 11:00PM THE GREY EAGLE Laura Thurston, 5:00PM Jonathan Scales Forchestra w/ Tall Tall Trees, 8:00PM THE IMPERIAL LIFE Leo Johnson (Gypsy Jazz), 9:00PM THE MARKET PLACE RESTAURANT AND LOUNGE Rat Alley Cats, 6:30PM THE MOTHLIGHT Bit Brigade, 9:00PM THE SOCIAL Open Mic w/ Riyen Roots, 8:00PM TIGER MOUNTAIN Tigeraoke Tuesdays (karaoke night), 10:00PM TWIN LEAF BREWERY Robert's Twin Leaf Trivia, 8:00PM WHITE HORSE BLACK MOUNTAIN Irish Jam, 6:30PM Open Mic, 8:30PM

JULY 24 - 30, 2019

43

MOVIE REVIEWS THIS WEEK’S CONTRIBUTORS

Hosted by the Asheville Movie Guys EDWIN ARNAUDIN earnaudin@mountainx.com HHHHH

BRUCE STEELE bcsteele@gmail.com

= MAX RATING

The Lion King HHH

DIRECTOR: Jon Favreau PLAYERS: The voices of Donald Glover, Beyoncé, Chiwetel Ejiofor, James Earl Jones, John Oliver, Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen ADVENTURE/MUSICAL RATED PG I’m not sure who the intended audience is for The Lion King, but I’d surmise that it’s primarily nostalgic adults who watched the original animated movie ad nauseam as children 25 years ago. Plot-wise, the remake

is indistinguishable from the original; shot-by-shot, it’s also uncreatively nearly identical. As was the case for Jon Favreau’s take on The Jungle Book (2016), the director’s second retread is clearly a way for Disney to flex its CGI muscles to the extent that viewers could do a side-by-side comparison with the 1994 original to see how far technology has come.

The most exceptional special effects authentically stimulate more senses than just sight, and with The Lion King, Disney has jumped right into the tactile realm. Most notably, the

fur and hair are realistic enough to practically reach out and touch, especially in 3D. From Simba’s fuzzy lion-cub face to Pumbaa’s wiry warthog bristles, this has to be the most realistic and advanced CGI that currently exists.

Visually, the new Lion King is more akin to watching a nature documentary than a whimsical Disney animated movie. Some of the thematic lightness and fantasy are missing this goround, replaced by more realistic, dull and drab surroundings. The brighter colors and cartoony elements of the original telling are similarly absent, and the stark realism makes the musical numbers feel awkward and far more forced.

Favreau’s version is also slightly more frightening. The goofy visual comedy of the hyenas is gone, for instance, replaced by the gnashing teeth and snarls of scavenger predators. Other darker elements likewise feel more sinister and murderous.

Death and danger feel more real and ominous, and, unlike a nature documentary, there are premeditated, evil motives behind The Lion King’s “circle of life.”

While the main reason to catch this remake is to revel in Disney’s most recent spectacle of CGI prowess, the delightful reimagining of Timon (Billy Eichner) and Pumbaa (Seth Rogen) is just as valid a reason to partake. The dynamic duo wisely gets an update to fit contemporary comedic stylings, and Eichner and Rogen must have been given creative license to riff off each other rather than closely follow the script as the rest of the vocal cast had to do. Otherwise, much like the major case of déjà vu that James Earl Jones likely experienced while rehashing his role as Mufasa, the film is familiar to a fault.

REVIEWED BY MELISSA MYERS MELISSA.L.MYERS@GMAIL.COM

The Art of Self-Defense S DIRECTOR: Riley Stearns PLAYERS: Jesse Eisenberg, 44

JULY 24 - 30, 2019

MOUNTAINX.COM

Melissa Myers

Chris Maiorana

STARTING FRIDAY JUST ANNOUNCED Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (R) In Quentin Tarantino’s new feature, a television actor (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his stunt double (Brad Pitt) seek success in the LA film industry of 1969. At the Fine Arts Theatre

CURRENTLY IN THEATERS Aladdin (PG) HH Annabelle Comes Home (R) HHHS The Art of Self-Defense (R) S Avengers: Endgame (PG-13) HHHHS Crawl (R) HH The Dead Don’t Die (R) HHHHS Echo in the Canyon (PG-13) HHHS John Wick: Chapter 3 Parabellum (R) HHHH The Last Black Man in San Francisco (R) HHHH The Lion King (PG) HHH Midsommar (R) HHHHH Rocketman (R) HHHH The Secret Life of Pets 2 (PG) HHHS Spider-Man: Far From Home (PG-13) HHHH Stuber (R) HHS Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am (PG-13) HHHHS Toy Story 4 (G) HHHHS Yesterday (PG-13) HHHH Wild Rose (R) HHHHH

Alessandro Nivola, Imogen Poots COMEDY RATED R The old movie stars had it right when they said dying is easy, but comedy is hard.

The Art of Self-Defense proves that old adage as we watch Casey (Jesse Eisenberg), a lonely bean counter, suffer a debilitating mugging and subsequently take up karate lessons.

Though billed as a dark comedy, what we see on screen succeeds more in agitating than amusing.

MARKETPLACE

SCREEN SCENE

by Edwin Arnaudin | earnaudin@mountainx.com

BIRDMEN: A behind-the-scenes shot from the making of The Coup, which won Best Film at the 2019 Asheville 48 Hour Film Project. Photo courtesy of S.D. Soboleski • The Coup, created by team One Time Productions, was awarded Best Film of the 2019 Asheville 48 Hour Film Project. The short comedic work centers on a flock of talking pigeons, including one who plots his escape from the coop to seek revenge on a human neighbor. It also won Best Directing, Best Writing, Best Editing and Best Use of Genre in an awards ceremony and screening July 18 at Asheville Pizza & Brewing Co. The Coup will represent Asheville

FILM 'RIGGED: THE VOTER SUPPRESSION PLAYBOOK' • FR (7/26), 7pm - Envi-

ronmental and social justice night, watch Rigged: The Voter Suppression Playbook, documentary.

Free. Held at Unitarian Universalist Congregation

If you’re going into Self-Defense expecting a few good chuckles, you won’t be disappointed. However, the movie’s end result makes you wonder why filmmakers don’t outsource jokes from comedians.

A short lesson in humor would have served writer/director Riley Stearns (Faults) well. Simply put, male inadequacy is funny. (See: Woody Allen or George Costanza.) Hyperdominant male violence, on the other hand, is not funny at all. Ignoring this subtle comedic guideline sadly drains the film of much of its attempted humor.

And while subtlety and timing are necessary to make dark topics humorous, subtlety is exactly what this movie abandons first. Don’t expect a nuanced view of hardhitting cultural topics. What we get looks and sounds more like an undergraduate treatise on male violence, gun control and — weirdly —animal husbandry.

Like Fight Club (a comparison one simply cannot avoid making), SelfDefense has a few things to say about manhood and what it means to be a

against 130 fellow city winners from across the world at Filmapalooza 2020 (location to be determined) for a chance at the grand prize and an opportunity to screen at the Cannes Film Festival 2020, Court Métrage.

Judging the qualifying local entries were Xpress film critics Michelle Keenan, Marcianne Miller and this writer.

48hourfilm.com/asheville My Big Gay Italian Wedding is the next selection in Blue Ridge Pride’s Movie & Mixer Summer Film Series, which takes place Thursday, July 25, at 7:30 p.m. at the Fine Arts Theatre, 36 Biltmore Ave. The 2018 comedy follows the complicated marriage plans of two men as they attempt to win over their reluctant family members. Tickets are available online and at the Fine Arts box office. General admission tickets are $20, and student tickets are $10, and include a complimentary drink at the post-film mixer at Aloft Asheville Downtown’s W XYZ Bar. All proceeds benefit Blue Ridge Pride’s Community Partner Fund. fineartstheatre.com X

of Asheville, 1 Edwin Place FLOOD GALLERY WORLD CINEMA • FR (7/26), 8pm - The Bird with the Crystal

Plumage, film screening.

Admission by donation.

Held at Flood Gallery Fine Art Center, 850 Blue Ridge Road, Unit A-13, Black Mountain

REAL ESTATE | RENTALS | ROOMMATES | SERVICES JOBS | ANNOUNCEMENTS | MIND, BODY, SPIRIT CLASSES & WORKSHOPS | MUSICIANS’ SERVICES PETS | AUTOMO TIVE | XCHANGE | ADULT Want to advertise in Marketplace? 828-251-1333 x141 cbailey@mountainx.com • mountainx.com/classifieds If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Remember the Russian proverb: “Doveryai, no proveryai,” trust but verify. When answering classified ads, always err on the side of caution. Especially beware of any party asking you to give them financial or identification information. The Mountain Xpress cannot be responsible for ensuring that each advertising client is legitimate. Please report scams to ads@mountainx.com REAL ESTATE HOMES FOR SALE HOME 4 SALE BY OWNER W Asheville, Steel Framed, 2100 Sq Ft, Wooded, 0.31 Acre, 3 BR, 3 BTH, SUN RM, BSMT Apartment, Huge Deck, Optional 0.18 Acre Lot. PH 828 253 4169 After 3pm

EMPLOYMENT GENERAL EVERY CHILD DESERVES A CHANCE Make a Difference in the Life of a Child in Asheville! Youth Counselors are needed to provide support to atrisk youth being served in our short-term residential facility. Duties include implementing direct care services, motivating youth,

and modeling appropriate behaviors. Candidates must be at least 21 years old and have a valid driver's license. Experience working with youth is highly preferred. We offer paid training, excellent benefits, and advancement opportunities.

Apply online at mhfc.org/ employment FULL-TIME NURSING INSTRUCTOR A-B Tech is currently taking applications for a Full-Time position Nursing Instructor. For more details and to apply: https:// abtcc.peopleadmin.com/ postings/5172 TROLLEY TOUR GUIDES If you are a "people person," love Asheville, have a valid Commercial Driver's License (CDL) and clean driving record you could be a great Tour Guide. Full-time and seasonal

part-time positions available.

Training provided. Contact us today! 828 251-8687.

Info@GrayLineAsheville.com www.GrayLineAsheville.com

RESTAURANT/ FOOD DISHWASHER-PART TIME DISHWASHERS at Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. play an important role in the success of our Taproom & Restaurant. This entry-level position allows you the opportunity to learn how our kitchen works, gain and improve your culinary skills, and show your dedication toward a long-term kitchen career. Dishwashers thoroughly clean and inspect dishes, silverware, glasses and kitchen equipment. To Apply- Please visit our website https:// sierranevada.com/careers

HOST-PART TIME We are looking for friendly, service oriented people who want to be a part of the brewery experience by joining our team as a part-time Host in our highvolume Taproom & Restaurant. This fast-paced position requires the ability to provide exceptional customer service while multitasking, and a willingness to learn. The Host is the first employee to interact with arriving guests as they enter the Taproom.

It is the job of the host to greet arriving guests, welcome them into the establishment and seat them according to established guidelines.

The guests typically receive their first impression of the service of the restaurant by their exchange with the host. TO APPLY: Please visit our website https:// sierranevada.com/careers

heville Movie Guys s A e h t n i o J for the next Movie Night!

man. Unlike the former, however, the commentary proves to be little more than a simplistic caricature of men as unthinking drones who blindly associate violence with power. Again, subtlety and context prove to be the dragons this movie winds up slaying.

Its simplistic message sufficiently made, the film hangs around for its entire 104-minute duration to pick up every last bit of low-hanging fruit.

Halfway through, you’ll be saying, “OK, OK. I get it, I get it.” But the hits keep coming.

With its humor abandoned for punditry and virtually no characters to care about except Casey’s dog, what’s left of the movie feels like a feature-length student film with muted colors, performances of the Napoleon Dynamite variety and somber scenery. Not a bad student film, mind you, but rather a very good one that just happens to lack a mature and consistent message suitable for an exploration of human nature’s darker corners.

Do you want an email reminder prior to each Asheville Movie Guys night?

Send an email with ‘Asheville Movie Guys’ in the subject line to ashevillemovies@gmail.com

REVIEWED BY CHRIS MAIORANA STANORDAN@GMAIL.COM

Xpress readers who say “Royale with cheesee” at the box office receive a discounted ticket price of $6.50 per person.

The evening includes a brief introduction by the Asheville Movie Guys, Bruce C. Steele and Edwin Arnaudin of AshevilleMovies.com, as well as a lively discussion with the audience after the credits.

ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD Mon., 7/29, 7:30pm • Fine Arts Theatre 36 Biltmore Ave., Asheville

JULY 24 - 30, 2019

45

FREEWILL ASTROLOGY ARIES (March 21-April 19): After analyzing unusual animal behavior, magnetic fluctuations, outbreaks of mayhem on Twitter and the position of the moon, a psychic has foretold that a moderate earthquake will rumble through the St. Louis, Mo., area in the coming weeks. I don’t agree with her prophecy. But I have a prediction of my own. Using data about how cosmic forces are conspiring to amuse and titillate your rapture chakra, I predict a major lovequake for many Aries between now and Aug. 20. I suggest you start preparing immediately. How? Brainstorm about adventures and breakthroughs that will boost exciting togetherness. Get yourself in the frame of mind to seek out collaborative catharses that evoke both sensory delights and spiritual insights.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): “Tell me what you pay attention to and I will tell you who you are,” wrote Taurus philosopher José Ortega y Gasset. You could use that idea to achieve a finer grade of peace and grace in the coming weeks. The navel-gazing phase of your yearly cycle has begun, which means you’ll be in closest alignment with cosmic rhythms if you get to know yourself much better. One of the best ways to do that is to analyze what you pay most attention to. Another excellent way is to expand and refine and tenderize your feelings for what you pay most attention to.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Uruguayan author Eduardo Galeano wrote that in Havana, people refer to their friends as mi sangre, my blood, or mi tierra, my country.

In Caracas, he reported, a friend might be called mi llave, my key, or mi pana, my bread. Since you are in the alliance-boosting phase of your cycle, Gemini, I trust that you will find good reasons to think of your comrades as your blood, your country, your key or your bread. It’s a favorable time for you to get closer, more personal and more intimate. The affectionate depths are calling to you.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Your emotional intelligence is so strong right now that I bet you could alleviate the pain of a loved one even as you soothe a long-running ache of your own. You’re so spiritually alluring, I suspect you could arouse the sacred yearning of a guru, saint or bodhisattva. You’re so interesting, someone might write a poem or story about you. You’re so overflowing with a lust for life that you might lift people out of their ruts just by being in their presence. You’re so smart you could come up with at least a partial solution to a riddle whose solution has evaded you for a long time.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): The Queen of North America and Europe called me on the phone. At least that’s how she identified herself. “I have a message for your Leo readers,” she told me. “Why Leo?” I asked. “Because I’m a Leo myself,” she replied, “and I know what my tribe needs to know right now.” I said, “OK. Give it to me.” “Tell Leos to always keep in mind the difference between healthy pride and debilitating hubris,” she said. “Tell them to be dazzlingly and daringly competent without becoming bossy and egomaniacal.

They should disappear their arrogance but nourish their mandate to express leadership and serve as a role model. Be shiny and bright but not glaring and blinding. Be irresistible but not envy-inducing.”

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Congrats, Virgo! You are beginning the denouement of your yearly cycle.

Anything you do to resolve lingering conflicts and finish up old business will yield fertile rewards. Fate will conspire benevolently in your behalf as you bid final goodbyes to the influences you’ll be smart not to drag along with you into the new cycle that will begin in a few weeks. To inspire your holy work, I give you this poem by Virgo poet Charles Wright: “Knot by knot I untie myself from the past / And let it rise away from me like a balloon. / What a small thing it becomes. / What a bright tweak at the vanishing point, blue on blue.”

46

JULY 24 - 30, 2019

BY ROB BREZSNY

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): I predict that between now and the end of the year, a Libran genetic engineer will create a new species of animal called a dat. A cross between a cat and a dog, it will have the grace, independence and vigilance of a Persian cat and the geniality, loyalty and ebullient strength of a golden retriever. Its stalking skills will synthesize the cat’s and dog’s different styles of hunting. I also predict that in the coming months, you will achieve greater harmony between the cat and dog aspects of your own nature, thereby acquiring some of the hybrid talents of the dat.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Scorpio poet Marianne Moore (1887–1972) won the Pulitzer Prize and several other prestigious awards. She was a rare poet who became a celebrity. That’s one of the reasons why the Ford car company asked her to dream up interesting names for a new model they were manufacturing. Alas, Ford decided the 43 possibilities she presented were too poetic and rejected all of them. But some of Moore’s names are apt descriptors for the roles you could and should play in the phase you’re beginning, so I’m offering them for your use. Here they are: 1. Anticipator. 2. The Impeccable. 3. Tonnere Alifère (French term for “winged thunder”). 4. Tir á l’arc (French term for “bull’s eye”).

5. Regina-Rex (Latin terms for “queen” and “king”).

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): It’s conceivable that in one of your past lives you were a pioneer who made the rough 2,170-mile migration via wagon train from Missouri to Oregon in the 1830s. Or maybe you were a sailor who accompanied the Viking Leif Eriksson in his travels to the New World 500 years before Columbus.

Is it possible you were part of the team assembled

by Italian diplomat Giovanni da Pian del Carpine, who journeyed from Rome to Mongolia in the 13th century? Here’s why I’m entertaining these thoughts, Sagittarius: I suspect that a similar itch to ramble and explore and seek adventure may rise up in you during the coming weeks. I won’t be surprised if you consider making a foray to the edge of your known world.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): When the dinosaurs died off 65 million years ago, the crocodiles didn’t. They were around for 135 million years before that era and are still here now. Why? “They are extremely tough and robust,” says croc expert James Perran Ross. Their immune systems “are just incredible.” Maybe best of all, they “learn quickly and adapt to changes in their situation.” In accordance with the astrological omens, I’m naming the crocodile as your creature teacher for the coming weeks. I suspect you will be able to call on a comparable version of their will to thrive. (Read more about crocs: tinyurl.com/ToughAndRobust.)

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): “My only hope is that one day I can love myself as much as I love you.” Poet Mariah Gordon-Dyke wrote that to a lover, and now I’m offering it to you as you begin your Season of Self-Love.

You’ve passed through other Seasons of Self-Love in the past, but none of them has ever had such rich potential to deepen and ripen your self-love. I bet you’ll discover new secrets about how to love yourself with the same intensity you have loved your most treasured allies.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): “Poems can bring comfort,” writes Piscean poet Jane Hirshfield.

“They let us know ... that we are not alone — but they also unseat us and make us more susceptible, larger, elastic. They foment revolutions of awareness and allow the complex, uncertain, actual world to enter.” According to my understanding of upcoming astrological omens, Pisces, life itself will soon be like the poems Hirshfield describes: unruly yet comforting; a source of solace but also a catalyst for transformation; bringing you healing and support but also asking you to rise up and reinvent yourself. Sounds like fun!

MOUNTAINX.COM

M AR K ET PL AC E TAPROOM SUPPORTBUSSER Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. is looking for friendly, service oriented people who want to be a part of the brewery experience by joining our Front of House Taproom & Restaurant service team in a part-time Taproom Support role.

Ensures guests are seated at a clean, properly set table within the shortest amount of time possible. •Offers assistance to guest by clearing away dishes and glassware.

•Cleans and reset tables and the bar top once guests have left. •Delivers food to tables and beer to guests. TO APPLY: Please visit our website https:// sierranevada.com/careers

TEACHING/ EDUCATION INTERIM HUMANITIES TEACHER Hanger Hall School is seeking a full-time, interim History and Language Arts Instructor to teach for 3 months starting in midOctober with 2 weeks off in December. Hanger Hall is an all-girl school serving grades 6-8. Email cover letter and resume to employment@hangerhall. org.

OUR VOICE IS HIRING A PRIMARY PREVENTION EDUCATOR! Our VOICE is seeking a Primary Prevention Educator to facilitate sexual violence prevention programming for middle school students in Buncombe County. Please submit a resume and written or video cover letter to apply@ourvoicenc. org. A full job description can be found at https:// www.ourvoicenc.org/ employment-opportunities/.

COMPUTER/ TECHNICAL

positive feedback. Call 865 207 8994 or email papermoneybuy@gmail. com

SERVICES IN NEED OF A GEEK Mountain Xpress offers a part-time position in IT helping administer, develop and provide day-to-day support for the company's IT systems in a multi-user, server-based Mac environment. This 15-25 hour/ week position could be for someone newly entering the job market or taking the next step in an IT career or returning to IT after a hiatus. The successful applicant should be strong on learning new systems and have a desire to contribute to our mission-driven organization.

Position will assist with the LAN, database systems (FileMaker-based) and website (WordPress CMS). Actual job description may flex according to skills of strong applicant. Points for experience with Mac OS server admin, database-development and FileMaker server admin, management and configuration of network equipment, web development, network protocols, phone systems, printers, graphics (Adobe Creative Suite) and computer hardware. Send cover letter, resume and references to: employment@ mountainx.com

EDUCATION/ TUTORING FLUTE LESSONS Beginners through high school ages, learn to play or improve for all county/ district/state auditions!

College prep also available.

Personalized lessons to ensure you succeed and meet your goals. avcmusicc@gmail.com 828-335-6727

HOME IMPROVEMENT HANDY MAN HIRE A HUSBAND • HANDYMAN SERVICES Since 1993. Multiple skill sets. Reliable, trustworthy, quality results. Insured.

References and estimates available. Stephen Houpis, (828) 280-2254.

CLASSES & WORKSHOPS CLASSES & WORKSHOPS

SCHOOL COUNSELOR ArtSpace Charter School is accepting applications for a School Counselor (K-8). Applicants must XCHANGE have an NC Educator’s License- Counselor and be WANTED willing to work in a colOLD PAPER laborative, experiential BUYING environment. Knowledge MONEY buying old paper bonds, docuof the arts and arts inte- money, gration strategies is pre- ments, maps, etc. Asheferred but not required. ville, WNC, ETN. Trusted Candidates should send buyer and seller. Over 10 resume to resumes@ years on eBay and in the artspacecharter.org High Country with 100%

THAI VEDIC BODYWORK TRAINING AND RETREAT AT PRANA INSTITUTE ThaiVedic Bodywork Training - all-inclusive retreat at Prama Institute Aug 7-11, 2019 30 CEU credits Ayurvedic principles and Thai Massage, bridging the world’s greatest holistic medicine systems. Contact: Eliza.volk@gmail. com www.thaivedic.com 914-494-6527 TRANSFORMATIONAL MASSAGE THERAPY For $60.00 I provide, at your home, a 1.5-2 hour massage [deep Swedish with Deep Tissue work and Reiki]. • Relieve psychological and physiological stress and tension. • Inspires deep Peace and Well-Being. • Experience a deeply inner-connected, trance like state • Sleep deeper. • Increase calmness and mental focus. I Love Sharing my Art of Transformational Massage Therapy! Book an appointment and feel empowered now! Frank Solomon Connelly, LMBT#10886. • Since 2003. • (828) 707-2983.

Creator_of_Joy@hotmail. com

SPIRITUAL

SALON/ SPA EXPERIENCED ESTHETICIAN SENSIBILITIES DAY SPA is now hiring for a full time experienced esthetician. The ability to work weekends and both locations is required. Eminence Skin Care experience is preferred. Please bring your resume to either location to apply.

caboose for a gentle hour practice. Sliding scale $1015 includes drink and mingling after.

SACRED SPACE PAINTING "Intuitive Painting for Highly Sensitive People” 4-Week August Tuesday and Thursday Night Group Series.

No Experience Necessary!

Go to sacredspacepainting.com or call Kaylina for more info: 828-252-4828.

MIND, BODY, SPIRIT BODYWORK OUTDOOR YOGA @ CANDLER CABOOSE Join us every Wednesday at 6:30 under huge oak trees behind a converted

Thanks for voting!

WINNERS will be ANNOUNCED in august Look for the two giant issues

EXPANDING IN NATURE Woodland walks. Relax in nature, learning the wild plants and herbs. Experience the healing energy of trees. Isis, herbalist, healer. 843-576-9202

ADULT ADULT LIVELINKS Chat Lines.

Flirt, chat and date! Talk to sexy real singles in your area. Call now! 1-844-3595773 (AAN CAN).

PENIS ENLARGEMENT PUMP Get Stronger & Harder Erections Immediately. Gain 1-3 Inches Permanently & Safely.

Guaranteed Results. FDA Licensed. Free Brochure: 1-800-354-3944 (AAN CAN)

edited by Will Shortz

T H E NEW Y O R K T IM E S C R O S S W O R D P UZ Z L E 1

2

3

4

14

5

6

9

10

25

27

28 31 37

32 38

43

26

29

30

33

34

39

40

44

47

45

48

53

49

54

55

58

41 46

50

51

56 60

61

62

65

66

67

68

69

70

1 Blog feed format, for short 4 “Awesome!”

63

10 Heart-to-heart, maybe 14 Where some R.N.s work 15 Modern music hybrid

52 57

59

ACROSS

13

22

24

36

12

19 21

23

11

16

18

20

42

8

15

17

35

7

64

16 Diner option 17 *Plays around (4 & 6) 19 Very, very 20 “Lohengrin” soprano

21 Siri runs on it 22 Start appealing to more 23 *Language in which “hello” is “privet” (4 & 3) 25 *Opening a beer bottle with a ring, e.g. (4 & 4) 27 ___-red 28 27-Across, e.g.

30 Sin-ful teaching?

31 In medias ___ 33 Jazz singer Anita 34 Presidential threat 35 Ride that you “catch” 38 *Bounce (4 & 4) 41 Barrett of the original Pink Floyd 42 Abbr. above “0” 44 Western wolf 45 Wall Street average, with “the” 47 Summertime cooler 48 What Romeo and Juliet plan to do 50 Jesus, in a metaphor

puzzle by Sam Trabucco 53 *Omaha Beach locale (4 & 4) 55 *1988 Winter Olympics host (3 & 4) 58 Give a break from the game 59 Load of cash 60 Fort ___, Ontario 61 Store of riches 62 Bachelors no more … or, literally, the answers to the six starred clues 65 Ed of “Up” 66 They might include an R.S.V.P. interface 67 What’s frequently found in poetry?

68 Rules, for short 69 Be out of one’s league, in a way 70 Org. whose workers get hands-on experience?

DOWN 1 Less green, perhaps 2 Disheveled sort 3 Credit ___ (financial giant)

No. 0619

4 Setting for much of the “Odyssey” 5 Amor vincit ___ (love conquers all) 6 Genetic sequences 7 Bauxite and others 8 Crew’s control?

9 D.J.’s library 10 Invention celebrated by NBC’s peacock logo 11 Starts without a key, say 12 Horrible event 13 “Phew!”

16 Singer/songwriter Bacharach 18 Kind of beam 22 Aged, in England 24 Way of old Rome 25 Dark blue?

26 Wife of Esau 29 “Whew, that was something!”

32 Like three of the letters of “aisle” 35 Machine for counting loose change

36 Class for college-bound kids, maybe 37 Aid for getting drunk fast 39 Distant 40 Cost that weighs heavily 43 Takes off 46 Carried on, as war 49 Card game akin to whist 51 Animal in the squirrel family

52 Underwear option 54 Violin virtuoso Leopold 56 “Till we meet again” 57 Gossipy sort 59 ___ large 62 T-shirt size: Abbr.

63 Director DuVernay 64 “I know what you’re thinking” feeling

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS NY TIMES PUZZLE

W A T T

A S H E

R E E L

M A L E N R U N A A T O M G A T E S H E I V E R M A X I O L A C K I C E D T S

I N D I R A

N A Y S A Y

J A I N V E E M O F N A E X

E M I R

A V O W S

C P A

D E B T I V E R V A N I S E P A P R O F B R I D E L O G S E P S C S C R S I B L E S L A V P R U R I H A R A C I E R E L L Y S

JULY 24 - 30, 2019

O C H R E

L E E K S

D O S A S

P L U M

D A D A

A M E N

E T C H

N E R O

T R U E

47

48

JULY 24 - 30, 2019

MOUNTAINX.COM