Mountain Xpress 07.29.15

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LEAF’S NEW FEST BUXTON IS COMING

OUR 21ST YEAR OF WEEKLY INDEPENDENT NEWS, ARTS & EVENTS FOR WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA VOL. 22 NO. 1 JULY 29 - AUGUST 4, 2015

Affordable HouSing The Quest for


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gimme shelter With housing costs climbing, Xpress asked residents representing a range of perspectives: “What would it take to solve the Asheville area’s affordable housing problem?” coVer design: Alane Mason

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The art of butchery is the art of killing I found the recent article entitled, “The Art of Butchery” [July 15, Xpress], very sad and disturbing. Being a vegetarian for so many years, I find it so peculiar and even shocking to read something like this. For most people, there truly is a disconnect with what they put in their mouth and their core values. Taste trumps ethics. I grew up in the Midwest, so [I] grew up with meat in my diet. My parents were thoughtful people, but this subject was not thought about. Taking things a step further, I cannot imagine becoming a butcher, and the article had an upbeat tone of “Wow, try this.” Yet the sentence that is pivotal in the article reads, “but we don’t necessarily want the backstage tour from field to plate.” I am sure you do not. Because it would involve witnessing cruelty, suffering, pigs screaming and other details that I am sure would make you uneasy and sad. I know meat tastes good. I know some will read about becoming a butcher and will delight in this. Yet, we are meant to mature and evolve. We are meant to develop our compassion for all and delight in this compassion. I hope the few who read

this will also be moved and pause and reflect about what their tender hearts tell them. — Miriam Hard Asheville

Keep slaughterhouses in sight and in mind “Buncombe County’s restrictions (on slaughterhouses) were enacted to protect a growing tourism industry, the report notes” [“The slaughterhouse debate: Will WNC farmers get a local meat processing plant?” June 17, Xpress]. Of course. Because killing’s not pretty — and out of sight, out of mind. I say, if we want to feed the tourists red meat, then let’s put the slaughterhouse on Pack Square — with lots of windows and tours on the hour. Because however we may feel about it, the killing is real. (Along with all that comes with it: labor issues (http://avl.mx/1d3), public health risks (http://avl.mx/1d6), social and environmental impacts (http://avl.mx/1d7). And do we really want to outsource all that? I say, let’s keep it in sight, and let’s keep it in mind. — Lida Sparer Asheville

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

We want to hear from you Please send your letters to: Editor, Mountain Xpress, 2 Wall St., Asheville, NC 28801 or by email to letters@mountainx.com.

‘Art of Butchery’ sickens reader

You couldn’t have sickened me more than by depicting the killing of innocent animals by humans as a coveted job [“The Art of Butchery: An ancient craft is reborn in Asheville”, July 15, Xpress]. If this article was from certain Asian countries, the butchered pig’s foot could have belonged to a dog. If we ate dog meat in the U.S., I wonder how your article would be received. Oh, excuse me; it’s all about “humane” slaughter, so it’s OK. — Zia Terhune Asheville

Calling animal slaughter ‘art’ is profane

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Your article about the “art” of butchery takes the concept of speciesism to its most extreme [“The Art of Butchery: An Ancient Craft is Reborn in Asheville,” July 15, Xpress]. No one in their right mind would refer to the killing of humans as “artisan.” Yet just because farm animals are not like us, we rob them of their sentience and call their slaughter “art.” It’s profane. I do not eat animals, and if you do, that is your choice. But own up to the fact that the animals you eat are living, complex creatures. There is nothing artisan to them about being killed, carved and served on your plate. — Carrie Stilwell Asheville

Eating meat is bad for animals, you and our planet [Last] week’s article glorifying butchers [“The Art of Butchery: An Ancient Craft is Reborn in Asheville,” July 15, Xpress] and the recent one calling for a local slaughterhouse [“The Slaughterh ouse Debate: Will WNC Farmers Get a Local Meat Processing Plant?,” June 17, Xpress] prompted me to write. Besides the cruelty of what actually

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happens there, slaughterhouses are dangerous for workers and pollute our environment. Please see http://avl.mx/1d4. Call it what you want, but given the choice, the animal would have chosen to live, regardless of whether he or she knew they would be “respectfully” hacked to pieces after being killed. Yes, it would be nice if the pig that you eat for breakfast didn’t live in a cage pumped full of chemicals. But what does this have to do with “artisan’ butchering?” And more importantly, animals don’t “offer” themselves up for killing, slaughter and consumption. All this seems to be an attempt to make people feel OK with eating another sentient animal. As more information comes out about how horrible the conditions are for farmed animals, people are looking for justification for their support of such atrocities. We are horrified when we hear about other cultures that eat animals we call pets. How are animals we call “food” any different? Animal products are largely responsible for obesity and the disease epidemic occurring in our country today. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine has excellent information about plant-based diets and health. Please see the website for more information: http://avl.mx/1d5 No matter how you slice, package and sell them, animal parts and products are bad for them, you and our planet. Ashevilleans consider themselves to be enlightened and aware. Let’s act like it. — Ann Green Candler

Fines for short-term rentals is governmental overreach Reading the letter in [the July 15] paper regarding the city’s approach to STRs [“Proposed Fines for Short-term Rentals Are Overzealous,” Xpress] brings to mind my years in the development business in a similar town to Asheville and that local government’s overreaction to nonexistent problems. I seriously doubt that the STRs in the city of Asheville are eroding the quality of life here as there have not been hundreds upon


hundreds of police reports trotted out as proof. The talking heads at the city are only concerned about raising more revenue to waste. Every property owner should be afforded the right to use that property to its highest and best use, and if that includes short-term rental, so be it. Zoning ordinances are amended all the time to reflect the changing trends of land and property use. Handing out fines is more than overzealous, it’s an overreach of authority and next to impossible to implement without spending more to enforce than will ever be collected. Once again, government shows it’s the problem rather than the solution. — John Green Candler

Silver lining found in vapor trend As one who views the (vile) habit of tobacco and cigarette consumption as a detriment to the greater good and a steady contributor to the litter problem, I did consider one silver lining after reading Mountain Xpress’ article on the vapor inhalation trend [“Foggy Frontiers: The Rise of WNC’s Vapor Industry,” July 15] — perhaps the number of butts being

cartoon by brent brown

tossed to the ground on an endless basis will start to decrease! — Tim Lamb Weaverville

Notify police if it’s too hot for downtown horses I was recently in downtown Asheville and was dismayed to see a horse pulling a carriage full of passengers. As a person who has spent a considerable amount of time around a well-cared-for 32-year-old quarter horse with 12 acres of shaded pasture, I felt sympathy for the horse pulling an extremely heavy load on a busy street. Since it was a hot day and because I thought the horse was in some distress, I called the city of Asheville’s Animal Services unit and was directed to www.ashevillenc.gov, where I found an ordinance which states, among other things, that no animal shall pull horse-drawn carriages when the heat index is above 90 degrees Fahrenheit. The city employee at Animal Services with whom I spoke advised me to notify any city police officer who would speak with the carriage driver about possible ordinance vio-

lations (and hopefully take them off of the road). I encourage others to notify law enforcement when they believe that the horse-drawn carriage ordinance is being violated. Personally, I don’t think we should have horses pulling people around at all in our animalloving city, but until such time as a horse carriage ban is enacted, horses should not be out in extreme heat nor cold. — Joe Walsh Asheville

High-tech energy needs support from Raleigh The EPA guidelines on reducing carbon come out soon. Each state can set its own plan. This is a genuine opportunity for North Carolina, which is a national leader in high-tech energy. This cuttingedge industry offers not only a lot of new and local jobs but a source of energy that’s grown cheaper than fossil fuel. Meanwhile, the new home batteries partner up for more savings and a whole lot of independence from the grid.

But lately, we have heard rumblings out of Raleigh from politicians who are trying to prove their hardline bona fides by cutting off North Carolina’s success at the knees. With some encouragement, we should be leading the way into tech energy for considerable profit and benefit. As a citizen, I respectfully request that the governor not turn his back but apply his expertise to providing a radiant future for the young generation. — Dale Davidson Asheville

CORRECTION In our July 22 issue, Music Academy Asheville was incorrectly listed as a downtown Asheville-based business. It is located at 1408 Patton Ave. in West Asheville. Xpress regrets the error.

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r g fo sin sT ou ue e h e q bl Th da r fo af all together now: Habitat for Humanity volunteers and supporters raise the first wall of the fifth house sponsored in Buncombe County by Thrivent Builds with Habitat for Humanity. To date, Thrivent Financial, in partnership with local Lutheran churches, has sponsored eight houses with Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity. Photo courtesy of Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity

Local experts weigh in on Asheville’s housing crisis by tracy rose

trose@mountainx.com Forget “Keep Asheville Weird.” For many locals, the motto might as well be: “Make Asheville Affordable.” Nationally, housing costs have risen dramatically in the past 20 years, notes jeff staudinger, assistant director of the city’s Community and Economic Development Department. In Asheville, that trend is exacerbated by the high

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cost of land, the particular challenges of building in the mountains, and a growing demand that drives up both home prices and rents. “There’s an extremely limited supply of housing of all ranges in Asheville and Buncombe County,” Staudinger observes. A housing needs assessment prepared for the Asheville City Council in December by Bowen National Research found a 1 percent vacancy rate for multifamily rentals in Buncombe, Henderson, Madison and Transylvania counties. In Buncombe

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County, the vacancy rate is less than 1 percent. Then there’s the income factor. Housing is generally considered affordable if the residents spend less than 30 percent of their gross income on it, says Staudinger. The Bowen report notes that 44 percent of renter households within the study area are cost-burdened (paying more than 30 percent of their income on housing), and another 21 percent are severely cost-burdened (paying more than 50 percent).

So what can we, as a community, do about it? To solicit ideas and stimulate dialogue, Xpress asked residents representing a range of perspectives to briefly respond to the following question: “What would it take to solve the Asheville area’s affordable housing problem?” We got back a range of thoughtprovoking essays by nonprofit leaders, government officials, builders and people who’ve struggled to find affordable housing. In this first of three parts, six writers offer their views on what needs to be done. X


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MUMPOWER

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FOR

Asheville City Council

affordable housing is everybody’s problem

Because he’s running for good reasons. alexander Contributed photo

Our community is facing a crisis. According to a recent study, Buncombe County has an effective zero percent vacancy rate for rental housing. Here at Homeward Bound, we’ve certainly noticed this trend. Every day, our case managers work to find safe, affordable places for our clients to live. Now, however, we simply cannot find those homes. This situation puts the lives of some of our community’s most vulnerable members at risk. Living on the streets for long periods of time exacerbates chronic behavioral and physical health issues that often lead to premature death. But the lack of affordable housing doesn’t just affect the most vulnerable. Affordable housing is vital for the homeless veterans who served our country in Afghanistan and Iraq, for the police and firefighters who make our community safe. It’s for the waiter who served you dinner last night, for the small-business owner who sold you a

beautiful painting last week, for the nurse who took care of your mother in the hospital. And while you may not believe that you can make a difference in this conversation or be effective in increasing the amount of affordable housing in our community, you can! We need you to advocate for more affordable housing, so that all of our neighbors have safe, affordable places to live. If you know people who own rental properties, encourage them to work with Homeward Bound and other service providers. Talk to your neighbors, and convince them that adding affordable housing units to your neighborhood can make it richer and more diverse. You can make a difference! — Brian K. Alexander Executive Director Homeward Bound of WNC Inc.

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A safe place to call home in a neighborhood that’s connected to the wider community helps children and families thrive. For too long we’ve let ZIP codes determine the outcomes for child and family success. And amid a local job market with an abundance of low-wage positions, our history of racial and economic segregation persists. That leaves workers, especially parents, facing difficult choices when it comes to meeting basic needs — particularly housing. How will we close the gap between local wages and housing costs while bridging historical dividing lines? Numerous city leaders, advocates and nonprofits have blazed a path, laying the groundwork for a range of visionary responses that elicit our creativity and generosity. Here are three ideas: • build opportunity, not just housing. Safe, affordable housing is a step toward opportunity and success but not the final destination. It’ll take accessory units, manufactured homes, cooperatives, land banks, increased density, small homes and apartments to address the lack of supply. But turning a physical structure into a home also requires access to schools, jobs,

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transit, parks, food and a community fabric that builds resiliency and interconnection. • cultivate long-lasting, inclusive public/private partnerships. We must work with (and cultivate) leaders in government, schools, health care, hotels, nonprofits, restaurants, small and large employers, neighborhoods and faith communities. We must face our history honestly and move forward with promising strategies and mutual accountability. Bring diverse perspectives to the table, including those of the people whom past and present housing markets left behind. • create sustainable funding sources. Innovative ideas, like the recent attempt to dedicate part of the hotel room tax for affordable housing construction and the public/private partnerships forming around the Lee Walker Heights redevelopment, merit further attention. I encourage you to find your place as volunteer, advocate, dreamer, fundraiser or builder as,

borom Contributed photo together, we lay the foundation for greater opportunity. — Greg Borom Director of Advocacy Children First/Communities in Schools of Buncombe County


no silver bulleT

gantt Contributed photo

The lack of workforce/affordable housing is one of our community’s biggest challenges. Market forces that make Buncombe County such a highly desirable and sought-out place to visit and live have triggered a huge surge in housing costs, whether rentals or sales. Making matters worse is a rental vacancy rate near zero. And meanwhile, the Great Recession left many future Buncombe County residents unable to sell their homes and move here, creating a pent-up demand for homes to buy. Many years ago, the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners recognized and accepted our role in

easing the huge gap between housing costs and many residents’ ability to afford those costs. Since 1997, the board has invested $8.4 million and partnered with nonprofits and private developers, leveraging over $103 million for housing in our community. This investment has created 1,601 units of workforce housing that wouldn’t exist without our support, in addition to helping thousands of residents keep their homes during difficult financial times. We’re not aware of any silver bullet that will end our workforce housing problem. We believe that a rigorous case-by-case evaluation and review of proposals and programs by groups that are on the front lines of the problem is the best way to reduce workforce housing costs. Programs we’ve helped fund address such issues as down payment assistance, permit fee reduction, rehabilitation of older homes and emergency repairs. We’ve also supported groups like Habitat for Humanity, Eblen Charities and Mountain Housing Opportunities, as well as providing direct construction funding. Buncombe County will continue to actively partner with other governments, nonprofits and businesses to increase the supply of rental and sale properties, with the goal of making housing more obtainable for everyone who wants to go to school, work, live or retire in the most gorgeous place in the country. — David Gantt Chair Buncombe County Board of Commissioners

a compleX problem Affordable housing is a complex problem with many facets; the solutions need to be equally diverse. Here are what I see as the best approaches. Several local organizations are working on affordable housing and continues on page 12

guyton Contributed photo

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adding a lot to the effort. Habitat for Humanity, Mountain Housing Opportunities and the Asheville Housing Authority are the three that I’m familiar with that help get housing built at below-market rates. Just Economics’ living wage campaign recognizes that people who work should get paid enough to afford decent shelter. The WNC Green Building Council educates and supports builders and homeowners to make homes more energy-efficient, which reduces monthly utility bills. OnTrack’s financial counseling for homebuyers and energy-efficiency classes also help. The free market isn’t good at providing housing for low- to moderate-income folks. There are a lot of fixed costs in permitting, utility hookups and the ever-increasing lot prices. For builders, a lowercost home is almost always a lower-profit home. One new free market approach is “tiny houses,” which can cost

less than the down payment on the average home. A few Asheville companies are building them, though local building codes are problematic. A tiny house is a good fit for an owner /builder, as it’s a more manageable project for working people. I think a somewhat bigger version — a low cost, 600-squarefoot home that’s designed to be expandable — would be worth pursuing. Buying older homes that need work and fixing them up should also be encouraged. Building or remodeling your own home saves money and also adds a sense of empowerment. Owner/builders in general should be encouraged through better information and education about the building process. — Boone Guyton Co-owner, Cady and Guyton Construction

leT’s face facTs

hatley Photo by Carrie Eidson Asheville’s affordable housing problem is rooted in our lack of affordable land for new housing projects, coupled with our evergrowing need for more affordable housing for lower-income workers. Addressing this conun-

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drum demands facing facts and new approaches. First, in our market of skyrocketing property values, we must acknowledge the need for some amount of subsidy to fill the gap between low-wage workers’ ability to pay rent or a mortgage and the landlord/developer’s need for a fair return on investment. We cannot view this as a problem that the market alone can solve. Fortunately, Asheville has high-performing nonprofit developers who, with appropriate subsidies, can build, preserve and maintain homes. One strategy might be for more lenders to follow the lead of wonderful organizations like Mountain Housing Opportunities and think more in terms of the social impact involved, i.e., accepting more risk in order to make more housing happen. This means giving a project’s potential social and community benefits more weight in underwriting, rather than focusing solely on the economic risk. There is fundamental potential economic development benefit in creating more housing, because our growing


tourism industry depends on workers being able to live affordably. Another strategy is to build/ develop more small units. SelfHelp Credit Union, with 30 years of experience in housing finance under its belt — including more than $8.3 million in loans to affordable housing projects last year alone — now offers innovative multifamily housing loans for small projects. Available to owners, investors and/or developers, these loans are tailored to small multifamily properties that provide rental housing for people making up to 120 percent of the area’s median income.

In addition to expanding those existing strategies, I suggest the following programs for consideration as possible models for Asheville: • Housing cooperatives, in their many different forms and varieties, can be used to serve low-income families. Check out the Fellowship for Intentional Community (ic.org) or the National Association of Housing Cooperatives (coophousing.org/ about-nahc). Or visit Asheville’s local co-housing project in West Asheville to see an example of a completely green co-housing project. • In Holland, there are projects for students to live affordably in homes for the elderly. The students receive free rent in exchange for living with the needs of the old folks and offer-

ing companionship and some service. Here’s the link: http: //avl.mx/1dh. • Additional ideas for affordable housing for city dwellers are listed on the Shareable website (http:// avl.mx/1di). Asheville’s economic rejuvenation is a blessing, but we must be creative in addressing related challenges such as affordable housing. I hope we can build on some of the ideas listed above and help provide more affordable housing to better meet the needs of all our community members. — Jane Hatley WNC Regional Director Self-Help Credit Union

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collision course

Kauffman Contributed photo Asheville seems to be on a collision course to rid itself of all the things that make this city great. By allowing landlords to capitalize on the hype about Asheville and raise rents to levels only the rich can afford, Asheville is destined to eliminate all the tie-dye and the local flair that made our city desirable to begin with. Landlords and city officials need to remember that people are drawn to Asheville because of the art and culture produced by the people who live here. If for-profits want to continue seeing Asheville make lists like the Best Places to Live (livability.

com) or the Top 10 Cities for Art (americanstyle.com), then they’d better turn to nonprofit agencies like Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity for a lesson in payit-forward commerce. My son and I are so incredibly fortunate to have a home through Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity. With a business model that’s based on a hand up instead of a handout, the nonprofit is supporting the city of Asheville by providing affordable homeownership opportunities to the folks who are the backbone of this city. Habitat homeowners (yes, we pay a mortgage) are social workers, educators, civil servants and restaurant workers, among other things — and we’re raising children in a city rich in art, culture and the beauty of individuality. This is what makes Asheville desirable. I hope I can still say those things about Asheville in five years, because the alternative is a tourist trap or a city stripped of the appeal that made it popular in the first place. If I’d wanted to live in a tourist town, I would have stayed in Whitefish, Mont. And if I’d wanted to live in a city that, by approving ridiculously high rent increases, priced out the very artists who made it special, I would have stayed in Seattle. We still have the opportunity to make sure that Asheville doesn’t fall into one of the traps that devoured those cities, but we must address the housing crisis now, before it’s too late. I believe this can be done by requiring employers to pay their employees a living wage — which, like affordable housing, is also an endangered species here. I also believe in limiting rent increases to an acceptable

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percentage, so that a lease renewal doesn’t result in a 20 percent increase for the renter. Moreover, developers and other for-profits must be required to give back to the community by supporting nonprofit agencies like Asheville Habitat that promote affordable housing. If everyone were committed to doing their part, Asheville might be able to maintain its appeal as a uniquely artistic and livable city. I hope city officials are considering some of the regulations that limit corporate greed, so we don’t become merely another cautionary tale for the next up-and-coming city, but instead design the blueprint for maintaining integrity in the face of urban development. — Shannon Kauffman Habitat homeowner

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Western North Carolina

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by Margaret Williams

mvwilliams39@gmail.com

a Time To learn Hall Fletcher’s year-round-school experiment enters second year

“We haven’t yet budged the needle on end-of-year grades,” Grant concedes, but he remains optimistic. Kindergartners who participated in the symphony’s MusicWorks! program last year scored significantly higher in reading than their grade-level expectations, he notes. And angie trantham, the school’s literacy interventionist, says, “We’ve definitely seen, from kindergarten to first grade, that students didn’t regress as much as in the past.” “Overall,” says Grant, “kids like it. Parents like it. Teachers like it.” By the end of 2015, educators and school board members will have firstyear data for the pilot project to help them “determine what our next steps will be,” says Baldwin, who was hired as superintendent last year. “We’ll weigh the decision based on the benefits to our children.” And if the experiment yields the hoped-for results, other city schools may adopt the same approach. “Hall Fletcher’s the pilot for our whole district,” notes Baldwin. year-round learning

#myfirstday: From new pencils to greetings from the Asheville High School cougar and educators like K-12 Curriculum Director April Dockery, Hall Fletcher Elementary students started their first day of school July 16. Photo by Margaret Williams On a cool, foggy July morning, more than 300 children bustle past a row of blooming sunflowers and into Hall Fletcher Elementary as teachers hand out new pencils, the principal greets them by name, and the UNC Asheville mascot poses with them for photos. But it’s only midsummer: Why are these students filing through the doors about a month before their peers at other city schools? “Hall Fletcher serves some of the poorest kids in the district,” says Principal gordon grant. That, he continues, contributes to a significant achievement gap between the school’s white and minority students. In both reading and math, white students at Hall Fletcher did better than black students by about 35 percentage points, according to preliminary data from 2013-14 (the year before the

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experiment began). And both white and black students performed worse than those at other schools in the district. Meanwhile, the traditional long summer break means students are more likely to forget some of what they learned the previous year. “Kids with lower academic performance are hurt the most,” notes Grant. Enter year-round school, a strategy that educators hope will improve endof-grade test scores and counteract the “summer slide.” A three-year pilot project launched last summer combines the July-to-June (or “balanced”) schedule with a school day that’s 20 minutes longer, optional “bonus learning time” sessions during breaks and special after-school programs co-sponsored by organizations such as the Asheville Symphony and the YMCA.

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“All of these combine to create a culture of learning and a structure for success,” says Grant. At this point, though, says city schools Superintendent pamela baldwin, “You don’t have enough data to determine a trend.” And since fewer than 5 percent of U.S. schools have adopted this approach so far, even national statistics on its effectiveness are inconclusive and in short supply. Still, year-round school is more common in the South than in any other part of the country, according to a 2014 report by the Congressional Research Service. Several Henderson County elementary schools go yearround, and the Wake County system has used a balanced calendar in nearly half its schools for two decades — though that’s partly to help with overcrowding.

Hall Fletcher is in session for nine weeks at a time, with threeweek breaks in spring and fall, five weeks for the summer and shorter Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, Grant explains. The extended schedule doesn’t add to the 180 school days that North Carolina requires, though the extra 20 minutes a day does amount to some additional “school day equivalents,” and bonus learning time can tack on up to 10 more days per year. For the most part, though, the yearround schedule simply parcels out the days differently. Still, the city’s last experiment with this approach proved shortlived. Hall Fletcher adopted a yearround calendar in the mid-1990s but discontinued it due to complaints from parents with kids at two schools on different schedules, lack of buy-in by staff and “no conclusive numbers on student academic performance,” says charlie glazener, spokesperson for the Asheville City Schools. This time, though, there appears to be more support for the program. “We tried to keep the calendars matched as much as possible to accommodate split families,” notes Glazener. And hard numbers aside, the approach makes intuitive sense, says Gordon. Students often regress academically during the traditional summer recess, he points out. And whether you’re talking sports or learning a new language, you wouldn’t take


several months off and expect to see improvement or even hold steady. Meanwhile, two new classes have been added this year. One helps disadvantaged preschoolers get off to a good start; a sixth-grade class gives Hall Fletcher students the option of staying on the balanced calendar for another year rather than moving on to Asheville Middle School. This, says Grant, can mean better preparation for high school, college and a lifetime of learning. “Hall Fletcher,” he explains, “is trying to remove the barriers to children’s academic success.” But there’s more to it than simply fiddling with the calendar. “The model matters,” Baldwin emphasizes. Hall Fletcher augments the year-round schedule with “academic support … to help students who need it or need extended learning,” she explains. Bonus learning time — an optional, extra week of classes that are small and allow more one-on-one time with teachers — is offered during the fall and spring breaks, with academics in the morning and enrichment activities in the afternoon. The extra attention helps many students catch up with their classmates; they also benefit from the field trips and special projects. Besides the BLT sessions, the model includes partnerships with other organizations; the YMCA, for example, provides on-site, after-school programs and also “leads the programming for breaks,” says Glazener.

designed and built kites and then tested them outside. “It was pretty cool,” says McDaniel, one of the parents involved in the decision to make the switch. Some people, she remembers, were worried about the logistics and the shortened summer break. “But it’s an opportunity to do different things and gain more knowledge.” Those advantages, McDaniel believes, will help close the achievement gap — and perhaps ease her daughter’s transition to fifth grade. “I hope she’ll be able retain everything she’s learned.” deirdre gilmer, president of the Hall Fletcher PTO, also praises year-round schooling. “I’ve realized this past year that not only did my son lose less over the summer break but we, as a family, got two solid, three-week breaks during the year,” she notes. “We can really unwind from an intense schedule, and my son has an opportunity to absorb and really use the information he’s learning.” Trantham, the school’s literacy interventionist, is also the parent of a Hall Fletcher second-grader, and she says there’s still been ample time for vacations and various other experiences. But this year, with her oldest son at middle school and on a different schedule, “It’ll be a challenge for me,” she admits.

Year-round access to extracurricular activities is yet another advantage, says Hall Fletcher parent angela howell, adding, “Not every kid can afford summer camp or sports.” Her son, who just started second grade, was on the new schedule last year. He’s excited about the chess club (complete with a human-size set in the lobby), the MusicWorks! program and more. The whole package, says Howell, “keeps kids involved,” and Hall Fletcher’s new outdoor learning center, slated for completion later this year, will add still more opportunities for learning. “If this is all done right, you won’t have to worry about leaving any child behind,” she says. “I hope my son will take his education further and keep learning.” time to really teach Hall Fletcher’s staff hopes the new approach will work for every child enrolled in the school. “We serve a higher number of at-risk students, but all of Asheville has a pretty high achievement gap,” notes Trantham, adding, “We really did see the need.” The year-round model, she says, has enabled her “to do some project-based learning and have time to do extra

projects. It’s going back to some of the things that motivated me as a teacher … and it lets the kids lead.” betsie stockslager, science curriculum coach for the city schools, helped shape what students did in last year’s bonus learning time. Kite-flying and model-building, she explains, help kids explore topics and test theories, like engineers. The inquiry-based sessions focus on problem-solving and emphasize the STEM model: science, technology, engineering and mathematics. “The feedback on the BLT was good,” says Stockslager. “Students and teachers really enjoyed having the extra time to dig into the work and spend more time on projects,” she reports. And instead of complaining about having to go to school, they got excited about building a solar oven and testing kites, and bragged that the wolf couldn’t blow their house down, she recalls. “Some of the kids who’d never flown a kite got to run across a field — and learn that ‘If I use this instead of that design, it’ll fly better,’” says Stockslager. continues on page 16

Much Anticipated Annual Event: 15% OFF UPHOLSTERY

what parents say laVette mcdaniel didn’t need convincing about the program’s potential benefits. She attended the school when it went year-round in 1996 and loved the schedule. She now works for the YMCA’s afterschool center, and her daughter is a fifth-grader at the school. “Hall Fletcher is like a family,” says McDaniel. “You always feel welcome.” At first, her daughter didn’t want to switch to the year-round schedule or attend BLT sessions, especially with many of her friends on the traditional calendar, McDaniel says. “But now she’s excited. All the kids enjoyed the one-on-one with their teachers, and they were building things and going on field trips.” In addition to their academic studies, last year’s kindergarten students built model houses out of different materials, then used a fan to see whether, like the wolf in “Little Red Riding Hood,” they could blow the houses down (and find out which materials and designs worked best). Older kids

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neWs whole community, whole child Hall Fletcher’s curriculum, notes Gilmer, emphasizes the “development of the whole child. Most of our students’ challenges are financial: 72 percent of our families live at or below the poverty line. … We’re working hard and creatively to narrow the achievement gap that poverty and privilege, combined, create.” But making that happen requires support from a wide variety of sources. The Asheville Symphony, the YMCA, the Asheville Design Center, the Asheville City Schools Foundation, UNC Asheville and other entities have all been very involved at Hall Fletcher, says Grant. A recent $30,000 grant from the foundation, for example, helped pay for the new preschool class. The symphony used a $610,000 gift to fund MusicWorks! And organizations ranging from the Yale Alumni Association of Western North Carolina to the East West Asheville Neighborhood Association have cosponsored the new outdoor center. When her son started kindergarten two years ago, says Gilmer, “You could tell there was something incredible being created there, and our family wanted to be a part of building that. I really hope my children gain a love for learning and want to go to school.” future Vision “The key to every successful school,” Grant maintains, is becoming “the centerpiece of its community — getting the community to believe in the school and support it.” And, less than an hour into the first day of school, he watches as a UNCA representative quizzes the incoming fifth-graders, saying, “Think about what you’re going to be, or want to be.” “A cancer doctor!” one student replies. “A video game expert,” says another. And then comes another question: “What kind of skills will you need?” Grant nods as the kids ponder that one. Interacting with college representatives, he explains, is one way to get them thinking about their future and what it will take to get there. “It’s about expectations,” he says. “Poverty doesn’t have to be … a predictor of academic performance.” X

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neWs

by Hayley Benton

hayleyebenton@mountainx.com

4x4: four weeks, four candidates Sixteen candidates have officially thrown their hats into the ring for the Asheville City Council elections this fall. Each week, Xpress will introduce, in brief, four candidates’ backgrounds and ideas for the city. Three seats on Council are up for grabs, marking the end of the four-year terms of Marc Hunt, Chris Pelly and Jan Davis. Davis and Pelly have been on Council since 2003 and 2011, respectively, and only Vice Mayor Hunt is seeking re-election in the fall.

Simerly is a campaign organizer for the Dogwood Alliance. And she coordinated and volunteered in campaigns for County Commissioner Brownie Newman, U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler, Councilman Gordon Smith and Commissioner Holly Jones. Simerly says she also experienced what it’s like struggling to make ends meet in Asheville, and vows to “build upon my work as the chair of the Affordable Housing Advisory Committee, advancing affordability and opportunity and … address ing issues of fairness and equality for LGBT people. “Together we will make it possible for teachers, firefighters, baristas, hotel staff — for all of our neighbors — to have the opportunity to have a fair shot at a decent living, a safe home and a better life for their kids,” she writes. For more on Simerly: lindseyforcouncil.org

corey atKins Joining Hunt on the campaign is Barnett & Atkins defense attorney Corey Atkins. While on scholarship at American University in Washington, D.C., Atkins developed a passion for fields that support the public interest. The future attorney then returned to North Carolina to attend law school at UNC Chapel Hill, moving on to an assistant district attorney position in Charlotte. A first-time candidate for Asheville City Council, Atkins writes on his campaign site that, although there are many issues facing the city, “the issues we must focus on, in particular, are sustainable economic development, a citywide anti-discrimination policy and the relationship of our police force with the community. “By addressing these issues,” he writes, “city council can ensure that Asheville is a safe and inclusive community for everyone that visits or calls it home — something that is very important to me and my family.” On economic development, Atkins writes, “I want investment from near and far to continue, but without losing the character that built Asheville. I want to promote small business growth and provide incentives and training to those individuals seeking to establish new businesses here. The city should collaborate with local organizations like Mountain BizWorks and Asheville SCORE in helping small businesses get a smooth start and grow effectively.” For more on Atkins: atkinsforasheville.com carl mumpower Former vice mayor and city councilman from 2001 to 2009, Carl Mumpower has announced he’d like

dee williams 4x4: Because information on 16 candidates is hard to fit in print, Xpress will introduce four randomly chosen candidates per week for the next four weeks. Starting from the top left and moving clockwise, we have Lindsey Simerly, Dee Williams, Carl Mumpower and Corey Atkins. to make a comeback on the local political scene. Voted “best local villain” in the top two spots in Xpress’ Best of WNC poll for (at least) the last three years, Mumpower’s stark contrast to other council members’ views has made him the face of the ultraconservative opinion in Asheville. His Facebook campaign page, quoting Gen. George Patton, explains his view on the current Council’s often unified front: “If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn’t thinking.” Some of his main stances for city government include: maintaining property tax levels, rather than raising them; not supporting economic development tax incentives or tax exemptions; accepting that Asheville cannot both cultivate an elite city for the rich and famous and maintain affordable housing for the average person at the same time; getting rid of Asheville’s “drug culture;” supporting a less politicized police force and less government interference in wages. While on Council, Mumpower created and chaired the Asheville Public Artist of the Year program, the Memorial Stadium Restoration Committee, the Asheville-Buncombe Drug Commission, the For-Our-Kids

public housing initiative and the TopA-Stop bus stop rain-covers program. For more on Mumpower: carlmumpowerforashevillecitycouncil.com lindsey simerly Campaign for Southern Equality Campaign Manager Lindsey Simerly, who also chairs the Affordable Housing Advisory Committee, ran unsuccessfully for City Council in 2007. Back then, she was a student at A-B Tech and worked in construction, as a nanny and a massage therapist. Eight years later, she’s back, having added a lot to her resume. Simerly is a civil rights worker with experience in social justice issues and environmental and voterrights advocacy. “I understand why housing issues matter so desperately to families and working people in Asheville,” said Simerly. “I have 12 years of experience in policy making, organizing, collaborating and engaging the community right here in Asheville. Beyond this, I know what it means to struggle to get by in a city that’s becoming less affordable every day.”

Dee Williams is another familiar face on the list, as she too ran for Council in 2007 with the campaign slogan, “building a bridge to the overtaxed and the underserved in Asheville.” Currently, Williams coordinates the region’s Ban the Box initiative, which seeks to eliminate the criminal history reporting requirement on job applications so that those who have paid their debts can move forward in life. With a bachelor’s degree in public administration and political science from Winston-Salem State University and an associate’s degree in accounting and business administration from Blanton’s Business College, Williams aims to bring a market-based approach to tackling social concerns. “We have to get at the root issue of so many of our problems, which is basic economic security,” she says. Her core concerns are economic security, affordable housing, food access and transportation options. “This campaign is going to be about much more than catch phrases and buzz words,” Williams explains. “We are about turning ideas into action. Over the next few weeks, we will be rolling out a series of initiatives that will show (and not simply tell) how I will work for this community.” For more on Williams: dee4asheville.com X

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communIty calendar july 29 - august 4, 2015

Calendar Deadlines In order to qualify for a free listing, an event must benefit or be sponsored by a nonprofit or noncommercial community group. In the spirit of Xpress’ commitment to support the work of grassroots community organizations, we will also list events our staff consider to be of value or interest to the public, including local theater performances and art exhibits even if hosted by a for-profit group or business. All events must cost no more than $40 to attend in order to qualify for free listings, with the one exception of events that benefit nonprofits. Commercial endeavors and promotional events do not qualify for free listings. free listings will be edited by Xpress staff to conform to our style guidelines and length. Free listings appear in the publication covering the date range in which the event occurs. Events may be submitted via email to calendar@mountainx.com or through our online submission form at mountainx. com/calendar. The deadline for free listings is the Wednesday one week prior to publication at 5 p.m. For a full list of community calendar guidelines, please visit mountainx.com/ calendar. For questions about free listings, call 251-1333, ext. 110. For questions about paid calendar listings, please call 251-1333, ext. 320.

Benefits AffAir in White 255-9282, lovingfood.org • FR (7/31), 7-10pm - Tickets to this night of hors d’oeuvres, drinks, silent auctions and live music benefit Loving food resources hiV/ AiDs food pantry. $65/$125 per couple. Held at Renaissance Asheville Hotel, 31 Woodfin St. AnnuAL rummAge sALe 669-9566, history.swannanoavalleymuseum.org • SA (8/1), 8am - Items sold at this event benefit the swannanoa Valley museum. Free to attend. Held at the corner of Padgettown Road and Old US 70, Black Mountain.

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launch into leaf: Nonprofit music and arts organization LEAF will holds its Art Dash 5K in downtown on Saturday, Aug. 1. The event is both a fundraiser and kickoff for LEAF Downtown, a family friendly music and activity event happening in Pack Square Park on Saturday, Aug. 1, and Sunday, Aug. 2. Photo courtesy of LEAF (p. 18)

Playhouse, 2661 Highway 225, Flat Rock

cLAsses, meetings & eVents

JAm for Justice 210-3405, pisgahlegal.org/jam-for-justice • TH (7/30), 5:30-7pm - Tickets to this evening of local music, wood fired pizza and open studio tours benefit Pisgah Legal services. $15. Held at Pink Dog Creative, 342 Depot St. LeAf Art DAsh 5k theleaf.org/local/artddashasheville • SA (8/1), 6am - Proceeds from this race benefit LeAf schools & streets. $25. Held at Pack Square Park, 121 College St. richArD’s run

DArk night reVue 693-0403, flatrockplayhouse.org • MO (8/3), 6:30pm - Tickets to this theatre performance and live auction benefit the flat rock Playhouse. $40/$100 with dinner/$125 VIP. Held at Flat Rock

926-1401, richardsrun.org • SA (8/1), 10am-2pm - Proceeds from this 5K mountain trail run and memorial race benefit brain cancer research. $25. Held at Cataloochee Ranch, 119 Ranch Drive, Maggie Valley

july 29 - august 4, 2015

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ABout the trAnscenDentAL meDitAtion techniQue: free introDuctorY Lecture (pd.) The most effortless meditation technique is also the most effective. Learn how TM is different from other practices (including common “mantra” methods). An evidence-based technique for going beyond the active mind to access deep inner reserves of energy, creativity and bliss — dissolving stress, awakening your highest self. The only meditation recommended for hypertension by the American Heart Association. NIH-sponsored research shows decreased anxiety, improved brain functioning, heightened well-being. Reduces insomnia, ADHD, PTSD. Personalized training, certified instructors, free follow-up classes. Thursday, 6:307:30pm, Asheville TM Center, 165 E. Chestnut. 828-254-4350 or TM.org or meditationAsheville.org

AsheViLLe Buskers coLLectiVe 242-8076, wordpress.ashevillebuskers.com • TUESDAYS, 10:30am-12:30pm - Open public input session for discussing street performing and busking in downtown. Free to attend. Held at New Mountain Theater/ Amphitheater, 38 N. French Broad AsheViLLe suBmArine VeterAns ussashevillebase.com, ecipox@charter.net • 1st TUESDAYS, 6-7pm - Social meeting for U.S. Navy submarine veterans. Free to attend. Held at Ryan’s Steakhouse, 1000 Brevard Road BuncomBe countY PuBLic LiBrAries buncombecounty.org/governing/ depts/library Free unless otherwise noted. • WE (8/5), 5pm - Swannanoa Knitters, knitting and needlework group for all skill levels. Held at Swannanoa Library, 101 West Charleston St., Swannanoa

BuncomBe countY sheriff’s office 255-5000 • TH (8/6), 6pm - Community discussion on the use of force by law enforcement. Free. Held at North Buncombe Highschool, 890 Clarks Chapel Road, Weaverville

north cAroLinA PeAce Action 505-9425, ncpeaceaction.org • SU (8/2) through SU (8/30) - The Spirit of Hiroshima 1945, exhibit commemorating the bombing of Hiroshima. Free. Held at First Congregational UCC of Asheville, 20 Oak St.

coLBurn eArth science museum 2 South Pack Square, 254-7162, colburnmuseum.org Located in Pack Place. • TU (7/30), 11am - “Stories Under the Stars,” planetarium show on African and Native American mythology. $6.50

ontrAck Wnc 50 S. French Broad Ave., 255-5166, ontrackwnc.org Registration required. Free unless otherwise noted. • WE (7/29), 5:30-7pm “Relationships & Money” workshop. • TH (7/30), noon - “Preventing Identity Theft,” workshop. • Through (7/30), 5:30-8pm “Manage Your Money” workshop series on budgeting and tracking spending.

LAureL chAPter of the emBroiDerers’ guiLD of AmericA egacarolinas.org • TH (8/6), 9:30am - Monthly meeting and discussion of Hapsburg lace bookmark. Free. Held at Cummings United Methodist Church, 3 Banner Farm Road, Horse Shoe

roAD shoW AmAteur rADio cLuB 367-1830, theroadshowarc.com • THURSDAYS through (8/20), 6-9pm - Introductory class on ham radio licensing. Free. Held at


Medicine of the Heart

Cacao Ceremony and Kirtan with Jojo

Skyland Fire Department, 9 Miller Road, Skyland Youth 4 ABoLition youth4abolition.com, Y4A@oewm.net • FR (7/31), 1-4pm - Family-friendly water balloon fight. Registration required. $13/$6 children under 13. Held at Pack Square Park, 121 College St.

DAnce stuDio ZAhiYA, DoWntoWn DAnce cLAsses (pd.) Monday 6pm Hip Hop Wkt 6pm Fusion Bellydance 7:30pm Bellydance• Tuesday 9am Hip Hop Wkt 6pm Intro to Bellydance 7pm Bellydance 2 •Wednesday 5pm Bhangra Wkt 7:30pm Bellydance• Thursday 9am Hip Hop Wrkt 4pm Kid’s Dance 6pm Intro to Bellydance 7pm West African 8pm West African 2 • Friday 8am Hip Hop Wrkt • Saturday 9:30am Hip Hop Wrkt 10:30am Bellydance • Sunday 11am Hip Hop • $13 for 60 minute classes, Hip Hop Wkrt $5. 90 1/2 N. Lexington Avenue. www.studiozahiya.com :: 828.242.7595 henDersonViLLe street DAncing 693-9708, historichendersonville.org • MONDAYS through (8/10), 7-9pm - Includes live music, square dancing and clogging. Free. Held at Hendersonville Visitor Center, 201 S. Main St., Hendersonville mountAin DAnce AnD foLk festiVAL 258-6101, folkheritage.org • TH (8/6) through SA (8/8), 7pm - Traditional music and dance festival. Different performers each night; contact for lineup information. $22/$10 children 12 & younger. Held at Diana Wortham Theatre, 2 S. Pack Square southern Lights sQuAre AnD rounD DAnce cLuB 697-7732, southernlights.org • SA (8/1), 6pm - “Back to School Dance.” Free to attend. School supply donations accepted. Held at Whitmire Activity Center, 310 Lily Pond Road, Hendersonville

eco AsheViLLe citiZens’ cLimAte LoBBY facebook.com/sustainavlwnc • SA (8/1), 12:30pm - Monthly

meeting. Free. Held at Kairos West Community Center, 742 Haywood Road AsheViLLe green Drinks ashevillegreendrinks.com Free to attend. • WE (7/29), 5:30pm - “Why we can’t NOT get to Net Zero” presentation. Held at Green Sage Cafe Downtown, 5 Broadway AsheViLLe historY center 253-9231, smh@wnchistory.org • SA (8/1), 4-5pm - Wildlife Educator will discuss and show birds of prey. $5/12 and under free. Held at SmithMcDowell House Museum, 283 Victoria Road cLeAn energY in the mountAins 919-832-7601, energync.org • TH (8/6), 5:30-8:30pm - Gathering for those interested in NC Sustainable Energy Association. Registration required. Free to attend. Held at Highland Brewing Company, 12 Old Charlotte Highway mountAintrue 258-8737, wnca.org • TH (7/30), 6-8pm - Discussion on environmental issues of this legislative session. Free to attend. Registration required. Held at Battery Park Book Exchange, 1 Page Ave #101 Wnc sierrA cLuB 251-8289, wenoca.org • WE (8/5), 7pm - “Exploring Waterfalls & Wildflowers in the Southern Appalachian Mountains,” presentation by Timothy Spira. Free to attend. Held at Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Asheville, 1 Edwin Place

fArm & gArDen AsheViLLe gArDen cLuB 550-3459 • WE (8/5), 10am - Presentation on how to attract butterflies to your garden. Free. Held at North Asheville Recreation Center, 37 E. Larchmont Road

festiVALs RIVERFEST • SATURDAY August 8 (pd.) 1pm-7pm, French Broad River Park, Asheville, NC. • Live music • Food trucks • Sierra Nevada beer • Kids parade 1:30pm. • And don’t miss the Anything that floats Parade floating by • Presented by RiverLink. Learn more: riverlink.org

LeAf DoWntoWn theleaf.org/downtown • SA (8/1), noon-10pm & SU (8/2), 10am-6pm - Community art festival includes music, family activities and vendors. Contact for full schedule. Free to attend. Held at Pack Square Park, 121 College St.

fooD & Beer AsheViLLe BuncomBe fooD PoLicY counciL abfoodpolicy.org • FR (7/31), 6-9pm - “Meeting of The Whole” local food security movement meeting. Reservation required. Free. Held at Stephens Lee Recreation Center, 30 George Washington Carver Ave. BuncomBe countY sheriff’s office 255-5000 • TU (8/4), 6-7pm - Pizza dinner with neighbors, community leaders and the sheriff’s department. Free to attend. Held at Leicester Community Center, 2979 New Leicester Highway, Leicester Leicester communitY center 2979 New Leicester Highway, Leicester, 774-3000, facebook. com/Leicester.Community.Center • MONDAYS, TUESDAYS, THURSDAYS & FRIDAYS until (8/7), 12:30-1:30pm - Free lunch for all schoolage children.

Sunday, August 2nd at 4:30pm $20-$40 sliding scale 828.350.1167 • WestAshevilleYoga.com 602 Haywood Road, 28806

Tea Tasting & Aromatherapy 7/30: Healing

Magic with Byron Ballard 6-8pm $10 7/31: Hit and Run Henna 7/31 & 8/1: Psychic Fair 8/1: Happy Birthday Tea Party 8/2: Working with the Ancestral Dead 2-4pm $15

Kim & Lisa ∙ Raven & Crone 555 Merrimon Ave. Ste.100 Asheville, NC ∙ 828.424.7868 Facebook = Asheville Raven & Crone

kiDs crADLe of forestrY Route 276, Pisgah National Forest, 877-3130, cradleofforestry.org • THURSDAYS through (8/6), 10:30-noon & 1:30-3pm - “Woodsy Owl’s Curiosity Club,” outdoor-oriented activity exploring forest-related themes. For ages 4-7. $4. kiDs’ ActiVities At the LiBrAries buncombecounty.org/governing/ depts/library Free unless otherwise noted. • FRIDAYS through (7/31), 3pm - LEGO Builders for ages 5-12. Held at Leicester Library, 1561 Alexander Road, Leicester sPeLLBounD chiLDren’s BookshoP 50 N. Merrimon Ave., 708-7570, spellboundchildrensbookshop.com • SATURDAYS, 11am - Storytime for ages 3-7. Free to attend.

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communIty calendar

by Abigail Griffin

CONCIOUS PARTY fun fundraisers

By Kat Mcreynolds | kmcreynolds@mountainx.com

a nola-inspired soirée to benefit sleep Tight Kids

Photo courtesy of NACE’s Appalachian chapter

what: A Kiss to Build a Dream On when: Monday, Aug. 10, 6:309:30 p.m. where: Lioncrest at Biltmore Estate why: While most fundraisers employ a few event planners at most, an upcoming benefit is taking shape at the hands of a veritable troupe of party professionals. Hosted at the Biltmore Estate by the National Association for Catering and Events’ Appalachian chapter, A Kiss to Build a

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Dream On mixes equal parts food, drink and entertainment. “It’s a New Orleans theme, but not your typical, kitschy Mardi Gras theme,” says ellie shwarz, NACE’s local chapter president. “It’s a very classy 1940s-, 1950sera New Orleans theme. That’s when [Louis Armstrong’s] song ’A Kiss to Build a Dream On’ came out.” Schwarz and a team of planners, photographers, floral designers, party rental suppliers and more are putting the final touches on their upscale soirée, which will be held in the Biltmore’s picturesque Lioncrest venue. Like the event’s name, the entertainment lineup pays homage to the musical legacy of the Big Easy, with jazzy performances by Pamela Jones, Empire Strikes Brass and Bronze + Ebony Dance Company. Headlining the evening is local cover band the Business — a high-energy sextet with an expansive catalog of soulful classics by musical icons of decades past. (Think Marvin Gaye, James Brown, Frank Sinatra and “Satchmo” himself). Between visiting (and revisiting) the Biltmore’s food stations — antipasta, assorted dips, salads, pasta and desserts are all on the menu — patrons can partake in a luxury raffle featuring prizes worth $250 and up. Each $100 ticket also includes a welcome cocktail, wine and local beer. One of NACE’s annual fundraisers, the gathering’s proceeds support Sleep Tight Kids as the local nonprofit provides items of comfort like blankets, stuffed animals, toys, books and other bedtime amenities for children in need. “[Sleep Tight Kids’ mission] doesn’t go hand-in-hand with catering and events,” Shwarz says, but “it kind of stole our hearts. “This is the events community coming together and putting our best foot forward,” she continues. “We’d love to see some new faces.” Visit sleeptightkids.org for more information or tickets. X

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Send your event listings to calendar@mountainx.com

outDoors ADuLt LeAgue kickBALL 250-4269 • Through (7/31) - Registration is open for this league from Buncombe County Recreation Services. $40. BLue riDge PArkWAY rAnger ProgrAms 295-3782, ggapio@gmail.com Free unless otherwise noted. • TH (7/30), 7pm - “Talk Like An Animal,” presentation on animal communication. Registration required. Held at Blue Ridge Parkway Visitor Center, MP 384 • FR (7/31), 10am - Ranger-guided moderate 1.5 mile hike to Rattlesnake Lodge. Meets at MP 374.4. • FR (7/31), 11am - “Hiking for the Perfect Picture,” guided ranger hike. Held at Linville Falls Campground Amphitheater, MP 316 • SA (8/1), 7pm - “Night Flyers,” presentation on owls. Held at Crabtree Falls Campground Amphitheater, MP 340 crADLe of forestrY Route 276, Pisgah National Forest, 877-3130, cradleofforestry.org • SA (8/1), 11am-1pm - Birthday party celebration for Smoky the Bear and discussion of fire prevention. $6.

PArenting triPLe P PositiVe PArenting ProgrAm 351-8098 A program from Buncombe County Health & Human Services. Registration required. Free. • TU (8/4), 5:30pm - “Hassle-Free Shopping with Children” discussion group for parents of children ages 0-12. Held at Verner Center for Early Learning, 2586 Riceville Road

PuBLic Lectures BuncomBe countY PuBLic LiBrAries buncombecounty.org/governing/depts/library • WE (7/29), noon - “Hungry For History: The History of the Mountains to the Sea Trail,” presentation by author Danny Bernstein. Free. Held at Pack Memorial Library, 67 Haywood St.

sPirituALitY AsheViLLe insight meDitAtion (pd.) Introduction to Mindfulness Meditation. Learn how to get a Mindfulness Meditation practice started. 1st & 3rd Mondays. 7pm – 8:30. Asheville Insight Meditation, 29 Ravenscroft Dr, Suite 200, (828) 808-4444, www.ashevillemeditation.com Astro-counseLing (pd.) Licensed counselor and accredited professional astrologer uses your chart when counseling for additional insight into yourself, your relationships and life directions. Readings also available. Christy Gunther, MA, LPC. (828) 258-3229.

AWAkening WisDom (pd.) For optimal psycho-spiritual health. Guidance and training in Zen influenced meditation, mindfulness, and teachings in a completely contemporary context. Unlocking the secret of non-duality consciousness for a more authentic, wise, compassionate and sane life. Individual, group and telephone sessions available with consciousness teacher and columnist Bill Walz. Very affordable. For info contact healing@billwalz.com, (828) 258-3241. Visit www.billwalz.com crYstAL Visions Books AnD eVent center (pd.) New and Used Metaphysical Books • Music • Crystals • Jewelry • Gifts. Event Space, Labyrinth and Garden. 828-687-1193. For events, Intuitive Readers and Vibrational Healing providers: www.crystalvisionsbooks.com oPen heArt meDitAtion (pd.) Experience and deepen the spiritual connection to your heart, the beauty and deep peace of the Divine within you. Increase your natural joy and gratitude while releasing negative emotions. Love Offering 7-8pm Tuesdays, 5 Covington St. 296-0017 heartsanctuary.org serenitY insight meDitAtion (pd.) A Burmese monk leads authentic Buddhist insight meditation, grounded in 40 years of practice. Beginners and advanced practitioners welcome. • Sundays, 10am-11:30am; • Mondays and Wednesdays, 6pm-7pm. (828) 298-4700. wncmeditation.com WORSHIP SERVICE • FIND THE TRUTH OF goD’s LoVe Within Your heArt (pd.) “God’s love is always working to help Soul find Its way back home. Truth brings divine love. When God’s love enters the heart, only then can a change for the better occur.” Experience stories from the heart, creative arts and more, followed by fellowship and a pot-luck lunch. (Donations accepted). • Date: Sunday, July 5, 2015, 11am-12 noon, Eckankar Center of Asheville, 797 Haywood Rd. (lower level), Asheville NC 28806, 828-254-6775. www.eckankar-nc.org AsheViLLe center for trAnscenDentAL meDitAtion 165 E. Chestnut, 254-4350, meditationasheville.org • THURSDAYS, 6:30pm - “An Introduction to the Transcendental Meditation Technique.” Free. Better LiVing center 606-6834 • THURSDAYS (8/6) through (9/24), 6:30pm Creationist health seminar. Free. Held at Leicester Community Center, 2979 New Leicester Highway, Leicester ceLtic christiAn hoLiDAY oBserVAnce 645-2674, avalongrove.org • SA (8/1), 3-4pm - Outdoor Lughnasadh holiday service and potluck. Free to attend. Held in a private home. Contact for directions. creAtion cAre ALLiAnce of Wnc creationcarealliance.org • TH (8/6), 5:30-7pm - General meeting. Free. Held at First Baptist Church of Asheville, 5 Oak St. shAmBhALA meDitAtion center 19 Westwood Place, 200-5120, shambhalaashvl@gmail.com • 1st THURSDAYS, 6-8pm - Food, conversation and meditation. Free.


the nAmAste center 707 Brooklyn Ave., Hendersonville, 850-585-5496 • WE (7/29), 7pm- Presentation by inspirational speaker and author Alice McCall. $10. the WAY of LoVe communitY grouP thepowerofpassionatepresence.com • WEDNESDAYS, 7pm - Modern mind meditation class. Free. Held at Angle Cottage, 50 Woodlawn Ave. tiBetAn BuDDhist PrActice grouP 512.289.248 • MONDAYS through FRIDAYS, noon - Lunchtime meditation practice. Free. Held at KTC Asheville, 2 Wall St. Suite 112

sPoken & Written WorD 35BeLoW 35 E. Walnut St., 254-1320, ashevilletheatre.org • TH (7/30), 7:30pm - “Listen to This,” stories and original songs from locals. $15. BLAck mountAin coLLege museum & Arts center 56 Broadway, 350-8484, blackmountaincollege.org • TH (8/6), 7pm - Eva Díaz presents her book The Experimenters: Chance and Design at Black Mountain College. Free. BuncomBe countY PuBLic LiBrAries buncombecounty.org/governing/depts/ library Free unless otherwise noted. • TU (8/4), 7pm - Book Club: The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion. Held at EnkaCandler Library, 1404 Sandhill Road, Candler • TU (8/4), 7pm - Book Club: The Greater Journey by David McCullough. Held at Weaverville Public Library, 41 N. Main St., Weaverville • WE (8/5), 3pm - Book Club: Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline. Held at Weaverville Public Library, 41 N. Main St., Weaverville • TH (8/6), 6:30pm - Book Club: Golden Boy by Abigail Tarttelin. Held at East Asheville Library, 902 Tunnel Road citY Lights Bookstore 3 E. Jackson St., Sylva, 586-9499, citylightsnc.com • SA (8/1), 11am - Lisa Horstman discusses her childrens’ book Sabrina. Free to attend. mALAProP’s Bookstore AnD cAfe 55 Haywood St., 254-6734, malaprops.com Free unless otherwise noted. • WE (7/29), 7pm - Dasha Kelly presents her book Almost Crimson. • TH (7/30), 7pm - Works in Translation Book Club: The Hour of the Star. • TH (7/30), 7pm - Margaret Bradham Thornton discusses her novel Charleston. • SU (8/2), 2pm - Poetrio: Poetry readings by Bart White, Kimberly Blum-Hyclak, and Tony Reevy. • MO (8/3), 7pm - Ace Atkins discusses his book The Redeemers. • 1st TUESDAYS, 7pm - Enneagram relationships workshop. • TU (8/4), 7pm - Billy Coffey discusses his book The Curse of Crow Hollow. • WE (8/5), 5pm - Salon: Artist Elise Okrend

and author Phil Okrend discuss their book Messages to the Heart, Reflections of Beauty and Truth. • TH (8/6), 7pm - Adam Caress discusses his books The Day Alternative Music Died and The Struggle Between Art and Money for the Soul of Rock.

Art BUZZ Kids “Be a Famous Artist: the Masters!” Art Camp Starts August 3rd! There’s still time to register! The Kids Division of 640 Merrimon Ave • (828) 255-2442 • wineanddesign.com/asheville

sPeLLBounD chiLDren’s BookshoP 50 N. Merrimon Ave., 708-7570, spellboundchildrensbookshop.com • SU (8/2), 4-5pm - YA book club: Flash Burnout by L. K. Madigan. Free to attend. • SU (8/2), 4pm - Teen Book Club: Graceling by Kristin Cashore. Ages 14-18.

VoLunteering hAnDs on AsheViLLe-BuncomBe 2-1-1, handsonasheville.org • TH (7/30) - Volunteers needed to unpack and price merchandise. Registration required. Held at Ten Thousand Villages, 10 College St. trAiLBLAZers outDoor ADVenture cLuB 255-8777, wwd-f.org/volunteer • MONDAYS through WEDNESDAYS until (8/12) - Volunteers needed to lead children from public housing on outdoor activities. For more volunteering opportunities, visit mountainx.com/volunteering

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21


Wellness

The massage is the message Asheville’s most unusual massage modalities

by emily nichols

emilynicholsphoto@gmail.com “You can’t throw a rock without hitting a massage therapist in Asheville,” or so the saying goes. However, you could throw that rock and miss the Mayan abdominal massage therapist or the Thai massage practitioner down the street. Seeking to uncover the lesserknown, innovative and ancient massage modalities practiced in Asheville, Xpress spoke with several therapists who are shaking up the scene.

Thai massage: get grounded On most days you can find carrie spencer assisting clients with gentle yoga-like stretches as they rest fully clothed on a colorful mat on the floor. She’s a Thai massage therapist at Bodhi of Life in West Asheville, and a defining characteristic of the practice is that it takes place on the ground rather than a massage table. According to Spencer, this shift allows clients to experience a wider range of freedom and movement. Stretches like a spinal twist that would be ruled out and downright awkward to execute on a massage table easily interweave into a Thai massage. Many consider the practice to be “a lazy-man’s yoga,” Spencer says, jokingly. They’re suggesting that you don’t have to do yoga to become more flexible, because the massage increases flexibility, she continues. In fact, during a Thai massage, clients try to remain completely passive and relaxed while the therapist encourages the body to move in different directions, she says. Thai massage is composed of a medley of assisted stretches, compressions and acupressure points that help free the muscles and joints as well as open the body up energetically, Spencer notes. For her, Thai massage is very much a movement meditation for her and the client. When therapists

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the medium is the massage: Carrie Spencer says that Thai massage is a moving meditation for both the practitioner and the client. Photo courtesy of Bodhi of Life. are centered in their own bodies and in sync with their breath as they deliver the massage, clients can have a deeper experience, she explains. “When we can bring our absolute presence to the unwinding of tissue, so, too, do our minds relinquish whatever it is we have been chewing on,” she says. For many people, Thai massage is like a deep mind-body journey, Spencer adds. It “offers a deep visceral, mental, emotional and spiritual cleansing,” she says. “It brings

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in good prana, nutrient-rich blood and fresh energy to our system.”

Mayan abdominal massage: releasing deep belly stress jen “muse” lokajickova sits in her sunroom with the windows open, white curtains blowing in the morning breeze and birds chirping outside. She’s the epitome of a women’s health

practitioner in this sanctuary as she practices The Arvigo Techniques of Maya Abdominal Therapy. Unlike many massage modalities that skip over the abdomen, ATMAT places the belly fearlessly in center stage. The massage covers the entire abdominal region down to the pelvic bone as well as adjunct areas like the sacrum, tailbone and hips. Lokajickova says the massage is ideal for digestive health issues, emotional trauma and women’s reproductive health.


This in-depth sensitivity to the abdomen as the storehouse for stress is a key facet of ATMAT treatment. Working tenderly around the abdomen and inviting clients to bring their breath into the lower torso helps clients clear physical and emotional stagnation from the organs as well as encourage unimpeded circulation of blood, lymphatic fluid and qi throughout the entire torso, she says. Lokajickova works extensively with women in all stages of life, addressing painful menses and, when necessary, repositioning the uterus to comfortably rest inside the pelvic bowl. “If the uterus is leaning to one side, forward or back, it can press on other organs and structures of the pelvis, which can create discomfort and over time block the flow of body fluids through the pelvis,” she says. After an initial session, Lokajickova teaches clients self-massage so they can integrate the understanding and practice into their own lives.

Esalen massage: a slow waVe Just north of downtown Asheville, robin fann-costanzo offers Esalen massage inside the fresh oasis of Still Point Wellness, a business she opened with husband corey last year. While the center is brand-new, Fann-Costanzo has been offering Esalen massage for the last 17 years. Developed at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, Calif., the practice grew out of the unique mixing pot of various healing modalities and influential teachers during the 1960s. The institute is positioned on a cliff just above the Pacific Ocean, FannCostanzo notes, and the massage was developed to the sounds of waves crashing against the mountains. It is this pacing with the element of water, the in-breath and out-breath of the ocean’s tides, that places Esalen massage in a category of its own. According to Fann-Costanzo, it is not unusual for clients to pick up on this connection. “Many [clients] report they experienced the rhythm of the ocean in the pacing of the massage,” she says. The pace is quintessentially slow and rhythmic, helping induce a sense of safety and relaxation while also allowing the receiver of the massage to integrate the whole experience, FannCostanzo says. Unlike other massage modalities, Esalen massage has no set script but is associated rather with

long, slow and rhythmic strokes that cover the whole body. Moving down the entire length of the body in a holistic way during a massage gives the receiver a sense of connection to and integration of the whole body, says Fann-Costanzo. It also invites the client to release and recognize subconscious tension patterns, she adds.

Ashiatsu massage: barefoot bliss On historic Montford Avenue, brady preiss is practicing a unique form of massage, using his feet. Preiss is the founder of Unity Healing Arts and applies ashiatsu massage — which translates as “foot pressure” in Japanese. Unlike most massages, where practitioners mostly bend over a massage table, working with their hands and arms to manipulate the body, ashiatsu is characterized by a practitioner standing on a massage table. Bars suspended above the table help provide extra support and balance. According to Preiss, the feet are amazingly well-designed and adept at working with the contours and angles of the body. “They can work like strong tools with extra surface area to iron out tight muscles, or the pressure can be light and soothing as the compression helps to relax the nervous system,” he says. Although having your massage therapist “surf” up and down the length of your body is truly a unique experience, Preiss says the verticality of the technique provides a depth unmatched by other techniques because gravity lets the practitioner apply more weight and/or pressure than in a traditional massage. This leads to a “sinking in” experience, which Preiss describes as incredibly soothing to the nervous system and thus relaxing for the entire body.

Tui-na massage: chinese manual therapy Zachari cahn is a licensed acupuncturist who integrates Tui-na (pronounced Twee-nah), a Chinese musculoskeletal-based massage, into his acupuncture practice. The name comes from the root “tui,” meaning “to push,” and “na,” meaning “to lift and squeeze.” Cahn says that the hand movements in a Tui-na massage are so unique that some people believe he is using a massage tool. However, Tui-na massage’s real gem is its emphasis on orthopedic evaluation,

Cahn says. The evaluation is done with the hands to identify what muscle, tendon, fascia and/or nerve involvement is causing pain or injury. “Its ability to specifically diagnose and treat muscular and structural abnormality is what makes it unique in the massage world,” Cahn says. Not surprisingly, his clients are generally people experiencing stubborn pain that they can’t seem to get rid of. Sacroilliac and lower back pain are among the most common complaints, he says. Once the root cause is examined, the massage continues with a combination of stimulating acupressure points, rolling the knuckles and shaking to encourage movement through the meridians and relieve the affected area. Whether it’s getting centered with an abdominal massage or allowing gravity to ground you while someone stands barefoot on your back, Asheville has a multitude of massage options. Perhaps next time your body whispers it’s time for a massage, you may feel inspired to try out something new. X

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Thai massage, Carrie Spencer: Bodhi of Life, 828-808-7805 bodhioflife.com Mayan abdominal massage, Jen “Muse”Lokajickova: Medicine of the Feminine, 503-707-5212 medicineofthefeminine.com

530 Hendersonville Road Asheville, NC 28803 (828) 782-5571 M-F 8:30 am-5 pm

Esalen massage, Robin Fann-Costanzo: Still Point Wellness, 828-348-5372 stillpointwellness.com Ashiatsu massage, Brady Preiss: Unity Healing Arts, 828-225-5825 unityhealingarts.com Tui-na massage, Zachari Cahn: Asheville Acupuncture Wellness Center, 828-242-0990 ashevilleacupuncturewellnesscenter.com

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23


Wellness calendar

Life of energY retreAts— With ADVenture (pd.) Experience and learn about alternative health methods for the body. I.P. Yoga, Meditation, Emotion Code, Nutrition Awareness, and more. Energize and free yourself from pain. Enjoy a mountain retreat with added adventure: zip line! First of three sessions, August 28-30. Register: lifeofenergyretreats.com the LiterAcY counciL seeks VoLunteers (pd.) Volunteers are needed to tutor adults in reading, writing, math and English as a Second Language. Tutors receive training and support from certified professionals. Learn more by emailing us (volunteers@litcouncil.com). AsheViLLe communitY YogA center 8 Brookdale Road, ashevillecommunityyoga.com • THURSDAYS through (7/30), 6pm “Birth Matters” prenatal yoga class. $40. • SU (8/2), 4pm - Workshop on arm balancing poses. $20. BuncomBe countY PuBLic LiBrAries buncombecounty.org/governing/depts/ library Free unless otherwise noted. • WE (8/5), 11:30am - Laughter yoga class. Held at Swannanoa Library, 101 West Charleston St., Swannanoa Leicester communitY center 2979 New Leicester Highway, Leicester, 774-3000, facebook.com/Leicester.Community.Center • MONDAYS, 6-7pm - Community yoga class. Free. PisgAh LegAL serVices 253-0406, pisgahlegal.org • TH (7/30), 2pm - Affordable Care Act information sessions for seniors. Free. Held at North Asheville Library, 1030 Merrimon Ave. PuBLic eVents At Wcu 227-7397, wcu.edu • TUESDAYS & THURSDAYS through (7/30), 12:10-12:55pm - Summer aqua fitness workshop. Held in Reid Gymnasium. $35. reD cross BLooD DriVes redcrosswnc.org Appointment and ID required. • SU (8/2), 12:30-5pm - Appointments & info: 712-1756. Held at Calvary Baptist Church, 531 Haywood Road • TU (8/4), 12:30-5pm - Appointments & info: 1-800-REDCROSS. Held at Chili’s Grill and Bar, 420 Airport Road, Arden • TH (8/6), 1:30-6pm - Appointments & info: 669-2725. Held at Black Mountain Presbyterian, 117 Montreat Road, Black Mountain • TH (8/6), noon-5pm - Appointments & info: 1-800-REDCROSS. Held at Chili’s Grill and Bar, 253 Tunnel Road • TH (8/6), 11:30am-4pm - Appointments & info: 628-2800. Held at Flesher’s Fairview Health Care, 3016 Cane Creek Road, Fairview

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25


Green scene

resilient farming systems: How local foodsheds can brace for climate change by jane morrell

jmorrell@mountainx.com What were once green and lush lands have now turned into dry and dead fields. Orchards that have been passed down to farmers from generation to generation are being torn down because there is not enough water to keep them alive. Lakes, rivers and streams have shriveled away to cracked ground, shattered like broken glass. This is the grim reality that California faces entering its fourth year of an extreme drought. In January 2014, Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency that included mandatory water usage reductions, some of which will remain in effect until at least May 2016. According to an economic analysis by an economist at the University of California Davis, the state’s 564,000 inactive acres of farmland will cause farm revenue losses of around $1.8 billion and economywide revenue losses of around $2.7 billion. But what does a drought in California have to do with Western North Carolina? With California

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providing two-thirds of the nation’s produce and 80 percent of the world’s almonds, the drought has the potential to increase retail food prices throughout the country, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Local experts say the situation also holds lessons for food systems in WNC. “California is a good cautionary tale of what happens when we concentrate a lot of agriculture in a small place on extremely large farms,” says charlie jackson, executive director of Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project. “The lesson of California is that a big centralized place where we’re growing most of the food for most of the country is extremely vulnerable and leaves us all very vulnerable.” According to marjorie mcguirk, founder of climate and weather consulting firm CASE Consultants International, much of the nation’s food production used to be in the Southeast. McGuirk explains that subsidies for irrigation, fewer native insect pests and improvements in irrigation techniques led to the shift from a distributed agricultural system to much of the nation’s agriculture being concentrated in the west. The consequence of that change is an agricultural system where weather disruptions such as drought impact the entire national foodshed, says laura lengnick, a local author and former Warren Wilson College professor who works with the climate resilience consulting firm Fernleaf Solutions. “When you have so much concentrated production in one area, you open yourself up to disturbances,” Lengnick explains. “It’s not a resilient system because if something happens in that one area, the entire U.S. food supply is affected.” In addition to the more immediate impact at the grocery store, the drought in California may also be a harbinger of more food system disruptions. According to Lengnick, who recently wrote Resilient Agriculture: Cultivating Food Systems for a Changing Climate, this isn’t the last time we should expect to see climate change have an impact on national agriculture or local food production in WNC. “[As] in most places in the country, climate change in this area is bringing more variable weather, such as warmer

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winters and more frequent and warmer heat waves and cold waves,” she notes. “The nights are getting hotter and interfering with fertilization of fruits like green peppers and tomatoes and squash, especially in the squash family. If nights are too hot, they stop producing female flowers and start producing male flowers, and male flowers won’t give you any fruit.” McGuirk agrees, saying data collected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is also showing changes in WNC’s temperatures. “One of the stronger signals of climate change in WNC is nighttime temperatures,” she explains. “It’s not so much that we are warming up — though we are — it’s more that we’re not cooling off at night. The minimum temperatures are rising.” While McGuirk notes that the different in high and low temperatures is slight, she adds that it doesn’t take much temperature change to begin to notice the effects. Rainfall has also changed — not so much in amount, but in severity. “It’s raining about as much as before, but it rains in bursts — ‘when it rains it pours,’” she says, explaining that we’re seeing less of the steady day after day rainfall WNC is used to having and more heavy rainfall. According to a report from N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources published in June, North Carolina may also experience the effects of a drought. Lack of adequate rainfall and hot temperatures have pushed 20 counties in the central and western parts of the state into a moderate drought, and 51 other counties are abnormally dry — meaning they will be in a drought if dry conditions continue. So how does a foodshed brace for the effects of climate change? Jackson says it may not be possible to predict the next instance of drought, flood or other extreme weather, but supporting a diverse local food network does create a more resilient system. Jackson explains that produce grown in many different places and different climates — where the plants are more adaptable because they are specific to that particular region — creates a system where “we’ll be stronger because we won’t have all our eggs in one basket.”

pLanninG For CHanGe: “When you have so much concentrated production in one area, you open yourself up to disturbances,” says Laura Lengnick. “It’s not a resilient system.” Photo by Jane Morrell For WNC in particular, ASAP estimates that local farmers could produce as much as 40 percent of the fruits and vegetables the local community consumes, providing some protection from disruption caused by extreme weather in other parts of the country. “Having farms in more diverse places, diverse climates, diverse sizes — that’s a resilience,” Jackson adds. “The work that we have been doing here in Western North Carolina is really happening all over the world, which is looking at having more diversity.” According to Jackson, building resilience in agriculture has the cascading effect of building economic resilience as well. Consumers who support that network of local farms are also supporting local businesses and keeping more money in their own communities. It’s also often the case that those local farms tend to be smaller, independently operated and have direct ties to their


consumers. A small local farm is more likely to respond to a community’s calls for increased wages or sustainable waste management, Jackson says, because the farm and its operators live and work within the community. “Our consumption matters in that we make a choice on the kind of food system we want — large, centralized and vulnerable or decentralized, resilient and supportive of our values?” Jackson says. “By keeping food local and regional, we, as consumers and citizens, can create the food system we want, that responds to our values and beliefs — be they environmental, economic, social or all of the above.” This isn’t to say that consumers should not support a national food system. Lengnick adds that the issue is more complex than simply buying local products and that consumers should try to strike a balance. “Farmers in California are hurting from the impacts of this drought,” she says. “I wouldn’t want to say stop buying California products because that’s the system we’re

in and those farmers are depending on sales.” But Lengnick says she believes consumers can drive a transition to more a resilient food system by using their own dollars to develop regional food systems and by advocating with politicians and the government to make policy changes that support those systems. “A resilient U.S. food system would be made up of strong, diverse, local and regional agricultural economies,” Lengnick says. “There are some good ideas in resilience science for how to transform the system, but they’re mostly theories. I would say we want to proceed carefully, but we need to start working now to start transforming our system to be more resilient to climate risk.” Lengnick adds that federal farm subsidies could be restructured to support small-scale, sustainable agriculture instead of industrial production of specific crops. In her book, she suggests this could include accounting for income and ability when distributing financial support so as to give more aid to new and developing farmers

instead of encouraging the expansion of large, investor-owned agricultural operations. She adds that changes to the 2014 Farm Bill, including crop insurance options for organic growers and increased subsidies for beginning farmers, are noteworthy steps. McGuirk notes that there’s another reason we should be thinking about our local food system: The slight increase in temperatures in the region, coupled with the reduced availability of water in California, may mean more large-scale production will be shifting back to the Southeast. “I see the biggest, longterm effect of climate change here as being a return to major food production in the Southeast, rivaling that of the West Coast,” McGuirk explains. “It will take investment in infrastructure, research in pest control and, most of all, adequate clean water. The Clean Water Act has been our friend in that regard. “But, the way I see it, agriculture is ripe for further growth in WNC and elsewhere in the Southeast,” she continues. She points to research by University of Alabama climatologists

that found that water in the West is overvalued relative to what can equally be derived from agriculture in the East. That research suggests the California drought could be an opportunity for underirrigated states such as Alabama and other Southeastern states. “If you’re going to irrigate a crop, you might as well irrigate it in the Southeast, where there’s water, rather than the Southwest, where’s there’s not,” McGuirk adds. Jackson adds that part of localizing a food system is having consumers get in touch with the people who grow their food to let them know what kind of food they want to see produced in the region. It’s also a way to help people to gain a deeper understanding of the origins of the food that they purchase. “[Food] is not just something that just shows up in a grocery store with no past or no real connections,” Jackson explains. “It’s something that’s very intimate and connected.” X

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Food Brewing Company Asheville, NC

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fire and smoKe: For more than a year, chef Elliott Moss and Chai Pani owner Meherwan Irani have been working to ready the space at 32 Banks Ave. in the South Slope neighborhood for their new restaurant, Buxton Hall Barbecue. The ambitious venture features three indoor, wood-fired barbecue grills and is the realization of a long-held dream for Moss, pictured above. Photo by Cindy Kunst

Buxton Hall is coming (and this time, it’s for real)

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jonathanammons@gmail.com It’s a muggy early winter day in Hemingway, S.C., just a short drive from Myrtle Beach. But sitting in the shade at a picnic table at Scott’s BarB-Que, soaking up the humidity and shoveling down some pulled pork, it’s really not a bad place to be. And that’s exactly where James Beard Awardnominated chef elliott moss found himself last December, along with

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business partner (and fellow James Beard nominee) meherwan irani, during an RV trip through North and South Carolina. Seeking to show Irani the roots of Moss’ cooking, the group (the two chefs plus this writer and a camera crew) drove a loop through the Carolinas, eating at dozens of ’cue pits and stopping at two of the most notable bastions of wood-fired barbecue in the country: Scott’s and the Skylight Inn (in Ayden, N.C.). Scott’s is widely regarded as one of the best examples of Eastern-style

South Carolina ’cue. The business has been in rodney scott’s family for generations, winning obsessive fans from all over the world. “It’s my favorite barbecue I’ve ever had, hands down,” Moss proclaims, cradling a scoop of pulled pork in a torn hunk of white bread as sauce drips onto the picnic table’s raw wood. “Rodney’s sauce is a little spicier than most folks’. And everything is cooked whole hog, over wood. Most places have changed that by now, but Rodney’s still doing it.”


Standing in Buxton Hall’s dining room as construction workers hammer away, Moss seems eager to see it finished. Most of the considerable delay (it took more than a year just to complete the building’s shell) has been due to the lengthy process of working with the city to figure out how the hell one safely installs massive, wood-burning pits (which are typically located in a separate building) in an indoor kitchen — and in the central business district, no less. “It took so long, but in the end, wood-burning grills are basically the same thing as what we’re doing: These are just bigger,” he says. In fact, these pits can accommodate three entire pigs at once. The Buxton Hall kitchen is open, meaning patrons will be able to watch the pitmasters smoking the hogs right behind the service line and the fire being tended right next to it. As of now, Buxton Hall hopes to open on Tuesday, Aug. 18. “I’m just dreading that [inspectors will] come in here and say, ‘We know we told you that you could do this ... but there’s no way you can do this’ — which is entirely possible!” jokes Moss. But as the ubiquitous hashtag has read for over a year now, #Buxtoniscoming — and this time, it really does seem to be just around the corner. X

An homage to his upbringing in rural South Carolina, Moss’ cuisine centers on the simple, slow-cooked comfort foods of both the roadside barbecue stands and the country buffets. Scratch-made potato salads, coleslaws, catfish stews, the South Carolina anomaly that is barbecued hash and that particularly endangered species of Carolina cuisine:

no tow 201

5© sen

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Flash-forward to 2 a.m. on a hot night in early May, when Moss is doing just that. The fire’s orange glow is reflected in the lenses of Moss’ thick-framed wayfarer glasses as he stares patiently at the covered pit, en route to serving a crowd at Burial Beer Co. the next day. Built of cinder block and rebar, the pit sits in back of the brewery, where Moss has already hosted a wildly successful pig picking. “We fed almost 500 people the last time,” he says; little does he know that his July 4 cookout at Catawba Brewing will end up feeding well over 600. “I made some sandwiches if anyone’s hungry,” says Moss, always wanting to make sure that everyone is fed. He hands out plastic bags of sandwiches to the few of us gathered around the midnight pit, listening to the hiss and pop as the pig roasts, a sky full of stars overhead. Moss will be up all night, as he will every night once Buxton Hall, his eagerly awaited new restaurant, opens.

n

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chicken bog. It’s a testament to a time when down-home Southern food was made with fresh, local ingredients rather than boxed or corporately sourced components. “My food is nostalgia-driven like a motherf**ker,” Moss says, laughing. “But so much of it is so deep-rooted in myself, I’m still just finding out about it.” “A lot of those places use cornmeal from Sysco now,” he says. And many of the fixtures whose food he grew up eating, continues Moss, have also switched from wood-fired to gas pits. “Why would I buy that from Sysco when I can make hushpuppies [using Farm & Sparrow cornmeal] that support my friend’s family — and his s**t is better than theirs?”

f ca

“There are pits just like this in Africa,” says Scott. “People may do it different in different places, but the procedure is still the same. Wood, fire and a pit.” It’s a small, roadside provisions store and barbecue joint in a town that barely even has a traffic light. But every car honks the horn as it passes the ramshackle structure’s bright-blue-and-white concrete walls. A two-door garage houses the pits, and smoke billows out as if from the end of a giant cigarette. These particular pits recently burned to the ground; that’s not uncommon in whole-hog, wood-fired barbecue houses, where controlled fires often burn 24 hours a day. Pointing to several teenage boys sitting in the bed of a pickup truck, Scott observes, “It’s just a waiting game now. That’s the thing about making barbecue: You got to get real good at waiting.”

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29


Food

by Jacqui Castle

jacquicastle@gmail.com

westward expansion: At its new Haywood Road location, Dobra has rolled out a savory food menu developed by kitchen manager Nikki Moon, pictured. Photo by Cindy Kunst

Three for Tea

traffic and the overall intensity and stimulation of downtown are intense for a lot of people.” West Asheville has embraced the newest location with open arms. “From the moment we opened, it was all of our regulars again, all of the westside crew — the people we haven’t seen in months, who don’t go downtown anymore,” says Snavely. Each location offers its own novel vibe. “For me, Black Mountain is that retreat — you get away from the craziness and go into the quiet space and enjoy tea in the mountain setting,” he says. Downtown, on the other hand, “is always on: There’s never a dull moment, and there’s something to be said about that.” Co-owner lindsay thomas says, “Andrew and I had a lot of fun dreaming up ideas for this tearoom. We really wanted to go for that very feminine, smooth feeling in West Asheville, whereas the Asheville tearoom has more of a linear, edgy feel to it.” “A lot of our customers say it’s a really sweet blend of their favorite aspects of the Asheville and the Black Mountain locations, and it obviously has its own flair and feeling as well,” she continues. As of now, the two have no plans for further expansion. A few things set the West Asheville tearoom apart from its brethren.

A separate tasting room hosts weekend samplings, Fridays with sumitra of Panther Moon Tea Co., and Saturdays and Sundays with Dobra staff. “The tasting room is for really personal, in-depth, intimate tea tastings and education,” Snavely explains. A savory food menu prepared by kitchen manager nikki moon is available, as well as a wider selection of desserts, including a raw, vegan cheesecake whipped up by Thomas. The savory menu features such options as the Westside Bowl (house-made kimchee, shiitake mushrooms, kale, carrot, beet, daikon, cucumber wakame salad and toasted seeds served over rice with a choice of tahini or peanut sauce). Breakfast patrons can enjoy cardamom-rose rice pudding or a coconut parfait (made with coconut yogurt, granola and seasonal fruit) alongside a morning cup of tea. At all three locations, everything offered is gluten-free. Dobra Tea (707 Haywood Road) is open 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 11 a.m.7 p.m. Sunday. X

Dobra comes to West Asheville With the opening last month of a new location on Haywood Road, Dobra is now promoting tea culture in West Asheville as well as downtown and Black Mountain. What is it about these tearooms that’s resonating with residents and supporting such rapid growth? Contrary to common assumption, Dobra Tea didn’t originate in Asheville. Owner andrew snavely has been connected to the company since the first U.S. location opened in Burlington, Vt., in 2003. But Dobra Tea dates back a decade earlier, when the company’s pioneer tearoom opened in the Czech Republic. “Tea became like a refuge, a medicine to enjoy together, kind of like an underground, secret, speakeasy kind of thing,” says Snavely. “Tearooms were definitely talked about and sought after, but weren’t publicly displayed.”

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There are now seven U.S. locations. “There are other hip, cool, conscious places in this country, so collectively, we are spreading our culture of tea, our menu and our offerings to these different places,” says Snavely. “We’re a collective of devoted tea drinkers that really believe in bringing the culture and awareness of tea, and of the trade, to our communities.” Two of the three local sites were added within the past three years, and Snavely believes their success is due in large part to the various neighborhoods’ evolution. “The different quadrants — north, south, east and west — are really starting to become more defined,” he points out. “We’re finding that a lot of our clientele who used to come downtown from these different surrounding neighborhoods are avoiding downtown now, because it’s so busy.” Particularly in summer, he continues, “Parking and

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cheers and cheesecaKes: Dobra Tea owners Lindsay Thomas, left, and Andrew Snavely enjoy tea and small bites from their new menu. Photo by Cindy Kunst


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Food

beer scout by Thom O’Hearn | Send your beer news to avlbeerscout@gmail.com or @thomohearn on Twitter.

cider ciTy, usa? In Asheville, Highland Brewing Co. was the craft beer pioneer. Yet it didn’t take long for other entrepreneurs to see the demand and open breweries of their own. Now, 20 years later, we have more than 20 breweries in Buncombe County. Will hard cider shape up the same way? “We’re at the point where we’re about maxed out [in production] trying to meet the increase in demand,” says john washburn, co-owner of Bold Rock Hard Cider. “We were originally looking at building a brand-new cidery in Mills River. … But the timeline versus the growth for us, and the growth of hard cider in general, meant it was going to take too long.” With that in mind, Bold Rock’s team worked with Henderson County to find a temporary site it could rent until the new building was up and running. Turns out, they found a building perfect enough to buy and move into for good. “The building at 72 Schoolhouse Road appealed to us partly because it was an old farm, and we’re agricultural,” says Washburn. “It has these big old oak trees and a beautiful view out back. And the size, 22,500 square feet, was big enough for us to move into now and have some room to grow on that same site.” The whole build-out-and-grow philosophy is comfortable for the company, as it did the same thing at its first cidery in Virginia. “We started in barns there, and eventually we built out a beautiful new facility as well,” says Washburn. “When you stop by, it’s just right. … People can taste and sample cider, but there’s also an outdoor deck and extra land for events. We will eventually do the same thing in Mills River.” The company was beyond excited to find the right space without leaving Mills River, says Washburn, noting that many of the apples Bold Rock sources are right in its own backyard — less than a half-hour drive away. In July, Bold Rock wrapped up a busy month. It more or less finished the installation of its equipment, including the large fermentation tanks that were delayed in shipment from Italy. Now it’s just a matter of walking through the rest of the installation

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Two up-and-coming cidermakers prepare to open local taprooms … We’ll eventually have different and more experimental ciders than we’ve had in the past.” Baker says the taproom will eventually be a showcase for the full range of Noble ciders as well as all sorts of specialty hard ciders from the U.S. and abroad. It will also offer a full tour program, complete with live apple pressings. “We really want people to be able to understand hard cider like never before,” says Baker. Noble Cider is at 356 New Leicester Highway. Look for updates on its opening at Facebook.com/ NobleCider. X

on taP hardcore growth: Bold Rock Hard Cider co-owners John Washburn, right, and Brian Shanks expected to rent a temporary production space while seeking a more permanent cidermaking facility. Unexpectedly, the two found the perfect home for Bold Rock, complete with growing space and an agricultural ambiance, in Mills River. Photo by Tom Daly and permitting, which Washburn says should be complete by mid-August. The construction team has been working on the taproom simultaneously, taking out a section of wall so taproom visitors can look right into the brewery space. Washburn says there will be a rustic bar, and a mezzanine is planned as well. He’s hoping the space will be ready for visitors by early September. “We’re very dedicated to welcoming people and making sure they enjoy our facility. We’ll make it a great place for families to come … [and] bring your dogs and your kids. It’s all about fun and good times.” noble cider’s new leicester plans Asheville’s first homegrown hard cider producer, Noble Cider, is making a big move soon as well. While its products are available on draft at many bars and restaurants around town, the company has been pressing and fermenting in Fletcher — with no public tours or tasting room.

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Once Noble knew it was going to expand, it acquired a building in town at 356 New Leicester Highway. The goal was not only to move its production facility, but also to welcome guests with a complete tour and taproom experience. If all goes as planned, the company will welcome the first guests to that new space within the next few weeks, says joanna baker, co-owner of Noble Cider. “Just like any business, we’re excited to throw the doors open. … We may not be 100 percent finished with the space — meaning the New Leicester location won’t yet be fully producing from apples to cider — but we want people to come and hang out,” she says. Baker says the tasting room itself features a beautiful handmade bar from lief stevens, a Noble Cider partner and carpenter, as well as 20 taps. “We’ll have several of our ciders on tap, a few craft beers and a nonalcoholic libation when we open,” says Baker. “We won’t have any exciting new flavors the first day, but we will be doing small-batch ciders at the new space.

WeDnesDAY AsheViLLe BreWing: $3.50 all pints at Coxe location; “Whedon Wednesday’s” at Merrimon location; Wet Nose Wednesday (special treats for dogs) at Coxe location, 5-8pm french BroAD: $8.50 growler fills green mAn: Food truck: Appalachian Chic (traditional comfort food) LeXington AVe (LAB): $3 pints all day oskAr BLues: Community bike ride led by The Bike Farm, leaves brewery 6pm; Beer run w/ Wild Bill, group run leaves brewery 6pm; Food truck: Blue Smoke BBQ oYster house: $2 off growler fills PisgAh: Food truck: Latino Heat (Mexican cuisine) WeDge: Food truck: Root Down (comfort food, Cajun)

thursDAY AsheViLLe BreWing: $3.50 pints at Merrimon location BuriAL Beer co.: New brew: The Prayer Biere d’Prune (fruit-infused Belgian blonde ale)


green mAn: Food truck: Belly Up (tacos, tortas, burritos) hi-Wire: Pint Night w/ Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park (15% of taproom sales go to Friends of the Smokies), 4pm oskAr BLues: Food truck: CHUBwagon PisgAh: Food truck: DOGS (gourmet sausages) WeDge: Food truck: Tin Can Pizzeria

friDAY BuriAL Beer co.: Bottle release: Raspberry Moon Belgian Blonde (6% ABV), 2pm green mAn: Food truck: Little Bee Thai highLAnD: Bottle release: Clawhammer Oktoberfest ($1 per pint goes to Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy); Food truck: Tin Can Pizzeria & Mobile Global Bistro oskAr BLues: Burgers, Beer & Bikes w/ Pisgah Cycling, 6pm; Food truck: CHUBwagon PisgAh: Food truck: Tin Can Pizzeria WeDge: Food truck: Melt Your Heart (gourmet grilled cheese)

Heart or Tin Can Pizzeria

monDAY green mAn: Food truck: Happy Lucky (soups, sandwiches) one WorLD: Service Industry Night, 8pm WeDge: Food truck: El Kimchi (Korean/ Mexican street food)

tuesDAY AsheViLLe BreWing: $2.50 Tuesday: $2.50 one-topping jumbo pizza slices & house cans (both locations); $10 growler refills (Hendersonville location only) BuriAL Beer co.: Small plates: Salt & Smoke (chef from Bull & Beggar, charcuterie/country cuisine), 4pm green mAn: Food truck: Wings on Wheels hi-Wire: $2.50 house pints oskAr BLues: Food truck: Chameleon (variety) oYster house: Cask night WeDge: Food truck: Tin Can Pizzeria

sAturDAY green mAn: Free brewery tour, 1pm; Food truck: Melt Your Heart (gourmet grilled cheese) highLAnD: Food truck: Mobile Global Bistro & Tin Can Pizzeria oskAr BLues: Food truck: CHUBwagon oYster house: $5 mimosas & bloody Marys WeDge: Food truck: El Kimchi (Korean/ Mexican street food)

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sunDAY

Jason Whitaker

AsheViLLe BreWing: $6 bloody Marys & $5 mimosas at Coxe location

(acoustic rock)

FRI. 7/31

BuriAL Beer co.: Brunch w/ Salt & Smoke, noon

DJ Moto

(pop, dance hits)

green mAn: Food truck: Out of the Blue (Peruvian cuisine)

SAT. 8/1 Lyric

highLAnD: Community Night w/ Hope Chest for Women ($1 per pint donated to Hope Chest for Women); Food truck: Tasten-See (American standards) oskAr BLues: Food truck: CHUBwagon oYster house: $5 mimosas & bloody Marys WeDge: Food truck: Either Melt Your

(pop,funk,soul) BE

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july 29 - august 4, 2015

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Food

small bItes by Gina Smith | gsmith@mountainx.com 18-21 — include vegan versions of a Philly cheesesteak sandwich, chicken pot pie, grilled cheese with spinach spread and a tofu scramble with biscuits. The featured dessert for that week is chocolate-peanut butter pie. Lunches for each day must be preordered through the site’s online ordering system or via phone, text or email. Prices are $10 per dish for pickup (between 11 and 11:30 a.m. at their space in the Eden-Out kitchen in Woodfin) or $14 per dish for delivery. The week’s featured dessert can be added on for an extra $4.50. The Walshes will obtain much of their produce from local farms and tailgate markets and list No Evil Foods seitan and Smiling Hara tempeh among their protein sources. They currently use Daiya and Field Roast brand cheeses, “but we are always looking for the newest and best option,” says Veronica. Veganized is offering samples of its food at local tailgate markets and will have a booth at Vegan Fest in Pack Square on Sunday, Aug. 16. To view the menu and place an order for the Aug. 18-21 opening week, visit veganizedasheville.com. Pickup is at Eden-Out, 148 Weaverville Road, Woodfin.

of the Award of Excellence and the Grand Award. Posana Café, Omni Grove Park Inn’s Sunset Terrace, Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse and The Inn on Biltmore Estate were among about 2,500 Award of Excellence winners in the world for 2015. Omni Grove Park Inn’s Vue 1913 was among 973 Best of Awards of Excellence winners. The awards “recognize restaurants whose wine lists offer interesting selections, are appropriate to their cuisine and appeal to a wide range of wine lovers,” says Wine Spectator’s website. Posana, the only independent restaurant among the local winners, has announced its beverage director, james moskal, plans to amp up its wine program this summer, increasing stock by 50 percent and adding more emerging wine regions to its list of biodynamic, sustainable, organic and local wines. Moskal is also offering a half-price bottle night for wines on Wednesdays. X

farm burger raffle

Vegging out: Veronica and Eric Walsh will offer vegan comfort-food lunches for delivery and pickup with their soon-to-open business, Veganized. Photo courtesy of Veganized new Vegan lunch serVice A meal should be more than salad. This was the shared sentiment that prompted Veronica and eric walsh to launch Veganized, their soon-toopen vegan lunch service. “One of the things we realized as vegans is that if we were eating with friends or family or if we went to a restaurant, they offered us salad … but we don’t really like salad for dinner,” says Eric. “So ever since then, we’ve been on a mission to veganize comfort food dishes that we knew when we were

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growing up — things like my grandma or her grandpa made.” “We wanted a place where vegans can feel completely comfortable ordering anything on the menu and a place where they have faith that we understand their needs and their compassion for animals,” adds Veronica. The couple, who say they’ve made whole vegan Thankgsiving meals that received praise from even the family’s elder omnivores, will offer a new menu of lunch choices Tuesday-Friday of each week on the Veganized website. Choices currently available to order for Veganized’s opening week — Aug.

mountainx.com

Farm Burger is hosting a raffle to benefit the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project and its mission to support local farmers and bring healthy food to local communities. The winner will receive a Globe bicycle plus a gift basket full of Asheville goodies — think gift cards for Farm Burger and Vortex Doughnuts, tickets for Asheville Food Tours and the ASAP Farm Tour and tons of local swag and food items. The bike and the gift basket are both on display at Farm Burger. Raffle tickets are $5 and are on sale through Friday, July 31, at Farm Burger, 10 Patton Ave. No purchase is necessary. A winner will be announced in August. For details on ASAP, visit asapconnections.org. wine spectator restaurant wine list awards Five Asheville restaurants were recognized in Wine Spectator magazine’s 2015 Restaurant Wine List Awards in its August issue, which hit the stands July 21. There are three tiers of awards presented in the listing: the Award of Excellence, the Best

fooD Writer JonAthAn Ammons Lets us in on his fAVorite Dish Du Jour. Grit cakes at Louise’s Kitchen: They are crunchy, gooey, spicy and salty — a heaping pile of grit cakes topped with sriracha sauce and pico de gallo is a perfect way to start a Sunday brunch. It’s made even better with a megamosa (a mimosa served in a large Mason jar) and a seat on the sunny patio of the quaint house-turned-eatery in Black Mountain.

— Jonathan Ammons


arts & entertaInment

The

gospel TruTh

The Double Crown launches monthly Soul Gospel Night

by edwin arnaudin edwinarnaudin@gmail.com steve mann vividly remembers the first time he saw flossie boyd johnson perform. He was in the low ambiance of an Anderson, S.C., middle school cafeteria with a crowd dulled by the lackluster gospel quartets that had opened the show. To make matters worse, Johnson was running late, but upon arrival she burst up onstage, shoeless and clutching a handbag, grabbed the mic, saw the dazed audience and essentially said, “Not on my watch.” “She started the place on fire and got it going,” Mann says. “There were a few groups after her, and they really had to work. They weren’t too happy about going on after her.” The Bishopville, S.C., singer and her group Favor usher in the monthly Soul Gospel Night at The Double Crown on Thursday, July 30. Mann and co-owner chris bower, both passionate fans of black gospel quartet music, view the series as part of the ongoing process of using quality tunes to heal the former Mike’s Side Pocket location, where three people were stabbed to death in April 2012. The reclamation project began when Mann and Bower booked the Legendary Singing Stars for the venue’s opening night. They’ve brought the group back three more times, most recently for the West Asheville club’s two-year anniversary in December. The positive responses that those shows elicited from attendees and performers alike inspired the owners to bring in similar acts on a regular basis. “Everyone who comes really loves it,” Mann says. “Some people don’t quite get it. They think, ‘Gospel at a bar?’ But they’re blown away by the experience. It’s singing like they’ve never heard before.” Along with the unusual setting — schools, churches and small auditoriums are the norm — the series offers artists a rare night to themselves. As with the show where Mann was introduced to Johnson’s talents, groups are typically on a bill with four of five other acts and limited to

once again with feeling: Flossie Boyd Johnson & Favor, seen here performing in Hartwell, Ga. on June 20, kick off the monthly Soul Gospel Night at the Double Crown on Thursday, July 30. Photo by Steve Mann

30-40 minutes. At The Double Crown, groups normally play two 45-minute sets or one that lasts a full hour. Considering the hard singing and high level of energy on display, running longer isn’t often feasible — “They burn bright but short,” Mann says — but in that expanded timeframe, groups tend to tap into their creativity and go places they haven’t gone before. “The last time the Singing Stars were here, they went into a country/ blues thing. We were all like, ‘What’s happening?’” Mann says. “Someone

has a video of it — I need to watch it to make sure it really happened.” Johnson plans to use the opportunity for some experimentation of her own. With the harmony singers and guitar, bass, drums and keyboard players that make up Favor, she’ll adhere to the lesson her father taught her from a young age as part of the Floyd Family — a lesson that she and her three sisters carried with them in their own act. “He would always tell us, ‘Learn to sing to everyone and learn to sing everywhere. When you do that, you know how

to reach everybody in any place,’” Johnson says. Count Mann among those for whom that mission has been a great success. “Every time I’ve seen her, she sets it off,” he says. “She reads the crowd and dials into them, which is kind of a dying skill, I think, with any kind of performer. She really knows how to do it and she feels it — that’s what she loves doing.” continues on page 36

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A devout Christian and minister, Johnson humbly calls that skill “a gift from God.” She adds that she thinks people “have to have a certain relationship with God to do certain things” and that once she gets up to perform, he will often put a vision before her to reach a particular person. “The tears that people share are a big sign that they are receiving what you say well, or are going through something and what you’re saying is touching them,” Johnson says. Complementing the powerful music, soul food will also be available for purchase at each Soul Gospel Night. Buxton Hall Barbecue’s elliott moss helms the first installment and, after conferring with Johnson on her favorite dishes, will serve pork sandwiches, wood-grilled corn on the cob, summer vegetables and mac and cheese. The series continues on Thursday, Aug. 27, with Thomas Rhyant, a gospel singer who’ll do one set in that style, then turn around and do a Sam Cooke revue. For September, Mann hopes to get the Fantastic Violinaires, with whom Rhyant also performs. Originally from Detroit, the Charlotte-based group was

signed to Chess Records and used to sing with Wilson Pickett. Later potential acts include the Supreme Angels (originally from Milwaukee, now based in Goldsboro) and High Point’s Brooklyn All-Stars, two of many groups across the Southeast whose adherence to tradition has Johnson confident in her music’s future. “Quartets will never die,” she says. “We’ve had a lot of changes in our musical styles and we’re doing different things, but the basics will always stand.” X

who Flossie Boyd Johnson & Favor where The Double Crown thedoublecrown.com when Thursday, July 30 10 p.m. $10

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by Steph Guinan

stephguinan@gmail.com

hello dolly

something in the hair: Asuka Ohsawa’s letterpress portrait of Dolly Parton is one of 35 prints in Tease It to Jesus, an exhibition themed around the country singer. The display debuted in Knoxville, Tenn., and is on view in Asheville through Saturday, Aug. 29. Image courtesy of the artist “Classic country music has always found a home in any good print shop,” says margot ecke of Athens, Ga.-based Smokey Road Press. She’s the organizer behind Tease It to Jesus, a Dolly Parton-themed print exhibition. Of the show’s star, Ecke says, “She is so loved and so colorful and expressive that she makes the perfect subject for such a project.” The exhibition, on display at Asheville BookWorks through Saturday, Aug. 29, began as an invitational portfolio exchange. Thirty-five artists each contributed at least 40 prints — enough for exhibiting and for each artist to receive a complete portfolio of work. This method behind the show also makes use of printmaking’s natural advantage for the creation of multiples. “Printmaking is about community, technical skills, generosity and love of the craft.” says Ecke. “These qualities are also an integral part of Dolly Parton.” Tease It to Jesus debuted in May, in Knoxville, Tenn., during the Southern Graphics Print Conference. Before coming to Asheville, it was on display at Smokey Road Press, and it will travel back to Georgia this fall to

Asheville BookWorks hosts Tease It to Jesus print exhibition

be shown at the University of North Georgia’s Oconee campus. Asheville BookWorks founder and director laurie corral says that when she saw the Knoxville installation, “I just loved the work, the title, the idea and subject of it.” She contacted Ecke to bring the Dolly Parton print show to Asheville. Of Parton’s iconic look, Corral says, “I love her style. She can come off as fluffy as cotton candy, but I admire her downto-earth, honest personality.” Parton is more than just a musician: “She’s iconic Americana material,” says Corral. “She’s held our attention for many years as music performer, film actress and theme park hostess, and she’s a good citizen, giving back through nonprofits that benefit early literacy.” In her piece, California-based artist asuka ohsawa included the text “The higher the hair, the closer to God.” The boldly colored print uses swirling line work for Parton’s bouffant, which is surrounded by a grid of stars and offset by Western-styled text. “As I was working on my ideas for this project, I went on a Dolly binge, looking through tons of Dolly photos online and watching her interviews and concerts on YouTube,” says Ohsawa. Business partners and collaborators beth schaible and ele annand, of local studio 7 Ton Design and Letterpress Co. created an understated portrait of Parton without the glitz and glamor she is often known for. “We love Dolly, particularly really early Dolly,” says Schaible. “We wanted to create a print that taps into that time period, instead of what one normally associates with her image.”

The three-color letterpress print has the nostalgia of a vintage record album cover. The introspective portrait is paired with lyrical handwriting. “The calligraphy lyrics in the background are pulled from an album that has much more subdued and sad songs, which I suppose is generally more of our speed around the shop,” says Schaible. Though it can be difficult for some artists to create a piece around an externally determined theme, it is not foreign to Schaible and the 7 Ton team. While producing many of their contracted design and letterpress products, “we have set parameters and guidelines we have to adhere to, and then within that we get to stretch and show our design style,” Schaible says. In her own response to the theme, Utah-based artist sage perrott says Parton has “created such a completely

what Tease It to Jesus where Asheville BookWorks ashevillebookworks.com when Through Saturday, Aug. 29

recognizable aesthetic. She is so visually fascinating. It’s part of the reason she makes such a great subject for all these prints.” Perrott’s silk-screened print for the portfolio is titled “Bittersweet,” a nod to “I Will Always Love You,” one of her favorite songs written by Parton. “The lyrics are sort of floating or swimming inside her signature hairstyle, which is also surrounded by a few ghosts,” Perrot says. “I’d venture to guess [Dolly Parton] and that hair might be magic.” X

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by Bill Kopp

Branching out LEAF launches its Downtown AVL festival

The organizers of LEAF Community Arts launched their signature event — the now-biannual LEAF Festival at Lake Eden in Black Mountain — in 1995. “When you hit a landmark like 20 years,” says LEAF Executive Director jennifer pickering, “it’s time to ask yourself: ‘How are we meeting our mission? How are we serving our community? What are the new opportunities, the new ways of doing things?’” A conversation that began in 2014 yielded some answers, and an outgrowth of those conclusions is the upcoming LEAF Downtown AVL, a free event taking place Saturday and Sunday, Aug 1-2, in Pack Square Park. Beginning in 2011, LEAF sponsored Benefit of Culture, a fundraiser celebrating cultural diversity while supporting youth arts education in the Asheville area. The success of that event led LEAF organizers to explore the viability of a city-centric festival. “A downtown event starts a new conversation,” says Pickering. “It allows us to serve the communities that we work with in a new way, to partner with them in a more engaging way.” It’s also an opportunity to showcase some of the features that have made LEAF in Black Mountain so successful. LEAF Downtown AVL features some high-profile performers. “After Bootsy Collins headlined our fall festival out at Lake Eden, he approached

us about creating a Bootsy Funk Dynasty Day,” says Pickering. “For just $100, you can spend an entire day with the masters of funk.” The July 31 event includes workshops, skills sessions and a lecture by the legendary funk bassist. As plans unfolded for that event, LEAF Downtown AVL organizers realized that Bootsy Collins’ Rubber Band would be the perfect fit to act as headliner for the festival in Pack Square Park, too. At first, to some observers, LEAF Downtown AVL might look like a replacement for Bele Chere, an annual street festival that ended its 35-year run in 2013. Not so, insists Pickering. “We’re not following in Bele Chere’s footprints. No one needs to worry about that,” she says. “Bele Chere served a need that Asheville had during those years, and that’s not where Asheville is now.” Pickering says that LEAF Downtown AVL focuses on “the current challenges to and opportunities for Asheville.” Other acts on LEAF Downtown AVL’s diverse bill include eclectic party band Red Baraat, roots-rockers Dangermuffin and rock ’n’ roll band The London Souls. But the downtown festival’s emphasis is decidedly local overall. “We’re focusing more on local community,” Pickering says. “It’s great to engage a lot more local bands, including ones that don’t necessarily fit into the LEAF festival’s cultural connection model.” LEAF Downtown AVL will feature a wide variety of local artists, including funk-fusion collective

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party in the parK: Eclectic New York-based party band Red Baraat has played LEAF and will help to launch the new LEAF Downtown AVL. “A downtown event starts a new conversation,” says LEAF Executive Director Jennifer Pickering. Photo courtesy of LEAF Empire Strikes Brass and singer-songwriter Jeff Thompson. LEAF’s ongoing cultural focus will be showcased through the Old Landmarks Spiritual Revival, headed by Lyric and Randy Weston. That performance brings together gospel singers and “voices from several of our local powerhouse choirs,” Pickering says. And the LEAF Love Band — representing a “collaboration of some of Asheville’s raw, powerful and deep talent” — will make its debut at LEAF Downtown. “That will be one of the event’s big surprises,” Pickering promises. The local theme continues well beyond the music. All food and arts vendors are from the area. “Ever since I started LEAF 20 years ago,” says Pickering, “our mission has been to bring together a lot of different cultures. And now, LEAF Downtown really gives us an opportunity to dive in and support the beauty of our local communities.” Pickering hopes that the festival will help give voice to such groups: “For the Voices of Asheville tent, we’re partnering with the Housing Residents Council and the Center for Diversity Education, to create an experience that allows people to step into the history of Asheville, so they can recognize and start to think about the seen and unseen diverse communities” in and around the city. “Some of those [communities] may not be a part of your

daily life,” Pickering says, “but bringing them to your attention and creating opportunities for conversation will help us all to create a thriving, diverse community where everyone and anyone feels welcome.” Pickering sums up LEAF Downtown AVL in this way: “We’re creating a gathering where the community can have a conversation in a really fun, fabulous and celebratory way.” The festival is designed to facilitate that, but she also hopes that festivalgoers will “explore what’s going on in our city and come away with a little bit more knowledge and intention to create that welcoming community in the decades to come.” X

what LEAF Downtown AVL theleaf.org where Pack Square Park when Saturday, Aug. 1, noon-10 p.m., and Sunday, Aug. 2, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Free


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state oF the arts by Elliot Smith | elliot.emory.smith@gmail.com

terroir: “I think the idea of landscape as metaphor really shows in Charles [Ladson]’s work,” says Michael Manes at Blue Spiral 1. In New Terrain, the gallery exhibits Ladson’s work, such as the oil on canvas painting “Ridgeline,” seen here, along with pieces by Hoss Haley, Robyn Horn, Peggy Root and Hannah Skoonberg. Image courtesy of Blue Spiral 1

New Terrain at Blue spiral “The appreciation of natural beauty and the painting of landscape is a normal and enduring part of our spiritual activity,” the art critic Kenneth Clark wrote in 1949. In New Terrain — on display at Blue Spiral 1 through Friday, Aug. 28 — this spiritual activity is examined, showcased and refracted in the paintings and sculptures of hoss haley, robyn horn, charles ladson, peggy root and hannah skoonberg. Landscape is an old and sometimes undervalued painterly tradition. It goes back several thousand years in China and nearly as far back in the West, depicting wide vistas of natural scenery in a unified system of perspective. The seed of New Terrain lies in the landscape paintings of Root and Ladson, two painters showing the genre’s range, from Root’s forthright field work to Ladson’s dreamlike narrative approach. “We had these two very different sides of the landscape from these two

very different painters, and we wanted to fill the gaps with some sculpture,” says michael manes, Blue Spiral 1’s assistant director. The sculptures of Haley and Horn suggest the structural underpinnings of a landscape in their geometry, and like the graceful prints of Skoonberg, the art objects themselves function as enacted landscapes. “The artists are all very different, using very different mediums. Landscape is the string that attaches all of them,” says Manes. The Chinese tradition of threedimensional landscapes is visible in the work of Horn, a wood sculptor using pieces of the natural environment to create geometrically minded monoliths that evoke formations of stone, wood and water. Horn says the basis of her work is “the process of wood materializing into stone shapes,” and in these surfaces exist entire topographies. Haley works primarily in steel. “It rusts,” he says, “it shows age, it deteriorates.” The work displays a

tension between the order imposed by humans and the uncontrollable forces that resist that order. His sculptures and works of paint or enamel on steel surfaces seem expressly created to be reclaimed by the forces of nature. Each piece becomes a landscape in itself, a monolothic element that is acted upon by its environment. Hannah Skoonberg’s prints are figurative and delicate, seemingly at odds with the brawny blocks of Haley’s or Horn’s work. Skoonberg’s prints are less focused on the larger vistas favored by the show’s two painters, instead dialing in on figures representative of those landscapes. “Quilt,” her piece woven from tiles cut out of cyanotype prints, creates a literal landscape from representations of nature, in a craft tradition tied intimately to the natural resources of the American South. This focus on texture, on the landscape of the art object itself, can be traced throughout the works in this show. Root’s work is perhaps the most accessible of the exhibition, painting scenes from life in the tradition called en plein air, but her method and her end result are similarly focused on process. She emphasizes that each piece is “a meditation in paint on a

particular place at a particular time and what it feels like,” a statement that reflects the Eastern strain of landscape painting and also closely echoes Skoonberg’s philosophy of landscape art as a kind of meditation. Look closer at Root’s work, and the thick brush strokes and bold framing have more in common with Haley’s geometric sculptures or Ladson’s suggestive narration than one might expect. Ladson’s paintings straddle the border between narrative and en plein air landscape painting, concerned as they are with the interplay of color, texture and space. Much of his work suggests photographs recently vacated by their human subjects or oblique frames cropped from more explicitly narrative images. His and Skoonberg’s works are neat intersections of two conceptual poles in this exhibit — the tradition of landscape painting as a representation of an observed natural environment on one hand, and a concern with landscape as a literal feature of the art object on the other. The interplay between form and content in this show, wherein content consists of the representation of natural forms, becomes pleasurably blurry, creating connections between disparate styles and mediums that allow viewers to question and reinterpret landscape as a genre. “I think the idea of landscape as metaphor really shows in [Ladson]’s work,” Manes says. “Maybe less so with [Root’s], because it’s more straightforward, but I think by putting their work next to each other, you can really make that connection. And then of course with these sculptural pieces, it does push the boundaries of what it means to work in landscape. We didn’t call it ‘New Landscapes,’ we called it New Terrain.” X

what New Terrain where Blue Spiral 1 bluespiral1.com when Through Friday, Aug. 28

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a&e calendar by Abigail Griffin • SA (8/2), 7:30pm - Brevard Music Center Orchestra. $15 lawn/ Additional seats $25+. Held at 349 Andante Lane, Brevard grooVin’ on groVemont 250-6486 • TU (8/4), 4-6pm - The Paper Crowns, indie/ folk/blues. Free. Held at Swannanoa Library, 101 West Charleston St., Swannanoa music At Wcu 227-2479, wcu.edu • TH (7/30), 7pm - Summer Concert Series: Steph Stewart and the Boyfriends, Americana. Free. Held in Central Plaza. music on mAin 693-9708, historichendersonville.org • FR (7/31), 7pm - Featuring a classic car show and the Blind Lemon Phillips Band, classic rock. Free. Held at Hendersonville Visitor Center, 201 S. Main St., Hendersonville north mAin music & Art DemonstrAtion 692-6335 Free to attend. Art Demo starts at noon; Music starts at 4:30pm. • SA (8/1) - Music by Shades of Time, oldies. Free. Held at Green Room Cafe & Coffeehouse, 536 N. Main St., Hendersonville oPen ukeLeLe JAm • MONDAYS, 6-8pm - All skill levels and stringed instruments welcome. Free. Held at Montford Recreation Center, 34 Pearson Drive shinDig on the green 258-6101 x345, folkheritage.org • SATURDAYS until (9/5), 7pm - Traditional old-time music and dance. Free. Held at Pack Square Park, 121 College St. st. mAtthiAs church 1 Dundee St., 285-0033, stmatthiasepiscopal.com • SU (8/2), 3pm - String quartet performance of works by Boccherini, Haydn and Gounod. Admission by donation.

soul to sole: Asheville photographer Steve Mann will display his portraits of gospel singers at Upstairs ArtSpace in Tryon from Saturday,

Aug. 1, until Friday, Sept. 11. Mann, who co-owns The Double Crown venue in West Asheville, has been photographing Southern gospel performers since the late 1980s. Photo courtesy of the artist. (p. 41)

trAnsYLVAniA countY LiBrArY 212 S. Gaston St., Brevard, 884-3151 • WE (7/29), 6:30pm - Secret Agent 23 Skidoo, all-ages hip-hop show. Free.

theAter Art

music

cLouD cottAge 219 Old Toll Circle, Black Mountain, 669-6000, cloudcottage.org • MONDAYS and THURSDAYS through (7/31), 1-4pm - Open studio intensive with puppet maker Judith Toy. Admission by donation.

AuDitions & cALL to Artists AsheViLLe sYmPhonY chorus shevillesymphonychorus.com • TU (8/4), 3-8pm - Open auditions for the 2015-16 season. Registration required. Held at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, 10 North Liberty St.

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AfricAn Drum Lessons At skinnY BeAts Drum shoP (pd.) Sundays 2pm, Wednesdays 6pm. Billy Zanski teaches a fun approach to connecting with your inner rhythm. No experience necessary. Drums provided. $12/class. ( 828) 768-2826. www.skinnybeatsdrums.com Amicimusic 802-369-0856, amicimusic.org • FR (7/31), 7:30pm - “French Frolic,” highlighting Debussy, Faure and Poulenc, with clarinet, violin and piano. Held in private home. Location given on registration. $35. • TH (8/6), 7:30pm - “Around the World in 80 Minutes,” with clarinet, violin and piano. $15-

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$20. Held at Cathedral of All Souls, 3 Angle St. BreVArD music center 862-2105, brevardmusic.org • WE (7/29), 7:30pm - The American Spiritual Ensemble. $25. Held in Ingram Auditorium at Brevard College. • FR (7/31), 4:30pm - Piccolo Opera. Held in the Porter Center at Brevard College Campus. Free. • FR (7/31), 7:30pm - “A London Symphony” performed by the Brevard Concert Orchestra. $15 lawn/ Additional seats $25+. Held at 349 Andante Lane, Brevard • SA (8/1), 10:30am - Brevard Symphonic Winds. Free. Held at 349 Andante Lane, Brevard • SA (8/1), 7:30pm - Brevard Sinfonia performs Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4. $15 lawn/ Additional seats $25+. Held at 349 Andante Lane, Brevard

AnAm cArA theAtre 545-3861, anamcaratheatre.com • FRIDAYS and SATURDAYS (7/31) until (8/8), 7:30pm - Romeo & Juliet. $12. Held at Toy Boat Community Art Space, 101 Fairview Road Suite B fLAt rock PLAYhouse 2661 Highway 225, Flat Rock, 693-0731, flatrockplayhouse.org • WEDNESDAYS through SUNDAYS until (8/16) - Gypsy. $15-$40. Wed.-Sat.: 8pm; Sun.: 2pm. montforD PArk PLAYers 254-5146, montfordparkplayers.org • FRIDAYS through SUNDAYS until (8/1), 7:30pm - Twelfth Night, 1920s adapta-


tion. Free. Held at Hazel Robinson Amphitheatre, 92 Gay St. PArkWAY PLAYhouse 202 Green Mountain Drive, Burnsville, 682-4285, parkwayplayhouse.com • FRIDAYS through SUNDAYS until (8/8) All Shook Up. $22/$12 children.Fri. & Sat.: 7:30pm; Sun.:3pm. southern APPALAchiAn rePertorY theAtre 689-1384, sartplays.org • WEDNESDAYS & THURSDAYS (8/5) until (8/13), 7:30pm - Radio Gals, musical. $20-$25. Held at Crest Mountain Dinner Show, 6 Celebration Place the mAgnetic theAtre 375 Depot St., 279-4155 • WE (7/29) through FR (7/31), 7:30pm - If You Must, dark comedy. $15/$12 advance.

Gallery dIrectory

5 WALnut Wine BAr 5 Walnut St., 253-2593 • SA (8/1) through MO (8/31) - The Night’s Thoughts Considered, paintings by Suzanne Saunders and Terri Owen. Opening reception: Aug. 1, 6-9pm. AmericAn foLk Art AnD frAming 64 Biltmore Ave., 281-2134, amerifolk.com • TH (8/6) through WE (8/26) - Natural Affinity, paintings by Ellen Langford and pottery by Shawn Ireland. Opening reception: Aug. 6, 5-8pm. Art At uncA art.unca.edu • Through FR (7/31) - Celebrating Middle School Success, art by area students. Held in Highsmith Gallery. Art in the AirPort 61 Terminal Dirve, Fletcher • Through FR (10/30) - The Rhythm of Color, works by WNC artists. AsheViLLe Art museum 2 N. Pack Square, 253-3227, ashevilleart.org • Through SU (10/11) - Heritage and Home: Photographs of Hickory Nut Gap Farm, photography by Ken Abbot. AsheViLLe BookWorks 428 1/2 Haywood Road, 255-8444, ashevillebookworks.com • Through MO (8/31) - It’s About Time, workbooks by Impractical Labor in Service of the Speculative Arts members. AsheViLLe gALLerY of Art 16 College St., 251-5796, ashevillegallery-of-art.com • SA (8/1) through MO (8/31) Watercolor paintings by Elinor Bowman. Opening reception: August 7, 5-8pm.

BLAck mountAin center for the Arts 225 W. State St., Black Mountain, 669-0930, blackmountainarts.org • Through FR (9/4) - Works by glass artist John Almaguer.

WEB XTRAS

BLue sPirAL 1 38 Biltmore Ave., 251-0202, bluespiral1.com • Through FR (8/28) - Mentor, contemporary works in glass, steel and wood. • Through FR (8/28) - New Terrain, works by five artists depicting landscapes. • Through FR (8/28) - Southern Skies, paintings by John I. Cleveland, Jr. • Through FR (8/28) - Summer Salon, works by new members. mcDoWeLL Arts counciL AssociAtion 50 S. Main St., Marion, 652-8610, mcdowellarts.net • SA (8/1) through MO (8/31) - “Blue Ridge Series,” paintings by Kasey Moran. Opening reception: Aug. 15, 2-4pm. rhetoricAL fActorY 444 Haywood Road, 424-1378, rhetoricalfactory.com • Through FR (8/14) - Photography of Cindy Kunst in collaboration with fabric artist Bethany Adams.

Our web series with Sherwood’s Music continues this week at mountainx.com. Check in on Friday to see a new video featuring a performance by Valerie meiss of Tiny Wonder.

sWAnnAnoA VALLeY fine Arts LeAgue svfalarts.org • Through SA (8/8) - Americana, patriotic-themed work by SVFAL members. Held at Red House Studios and Gallery, 310 W. State St., Black Mountain the Design gALLerY 7 South Main St., Burnsville, 678-9869, the-design-gallery.com • FR (7/31) through MO (8/31) - The Renaissance of the Family Farm, works by the Blue Ridge Fine Arts Guild. Opening reception: July 31, 5-7pm. trAnsYLVAniA communitY Arts counciL 349 S. Caldwell St., Brevard, 884-2787, tcarts.org • Through FR (8/7) - Art Spark, display and silent auction of outdoor garden artwork. Proceeds benefit T.C. Arts council programs. uPstAirs ArtsPAce 49 S. Trade St., Tryon, 859-2828, upstairsartspace.org • SA (8/1) through FR (9/11) - Soul to Sole, gospel portraits by Steve Mann. • SA (8/1) through FR (9/11) - Endless Night, photography by Rimas Zailskas. ZAPoW! 21 Battery Park Suite 101, 575-2024, zapow.net • SA (8/1) through SU (10/11), Heroes and Villains!, a member artist group show. Opening reception: Aug. 1, 7-9pm. Contact the galleries for admission hours and fees.

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Send your arts news to ae@mountainx.com

smart bets Tia McGraff

Little Tybee

If Americana seems like an invention of the United States, Canadian musician Tia McGraff reminds us that the genre extends its reach to the entire continent. McGraff’s most recent album, Crazy Beautiful, was recorded in Austin, Texas and Nashville as well as in southern Ontario. This 10-track collection includes contributions from Grammy-winning musicians Cindy Cashdollar, Dave Sanger (Asleep At The Wheel), Tommy Harden (Reba McEntire) and Dave Labruyere (John Mayer), according to a press release, and is “climbing the Americana Music Association chart in Nashville,” McGraff reports. Her single, “Baby’s Got a Banjo,” is at once gritty and evocative — a kind of “Black Velvet” for the 21st century. McGraff and collaborator Tommy Parham will perform at Jack of the Wood on Wednesday, Aug. 5, for an afternoon set. Showtime is 2 p.m., donations are encouraged. jackofthewood.com. Photo courtesy of McGraff

Layering each member’s subtle intricacies into the mix, Atlanta-bred Little Tybee quickly establishes a full and artfully earthy sound in most recent release “Tuck My Tail” — a preview from the band’s forthcoming album. The solo and eventually collective performances depicted in the music video’s panned shots provide imagery to support what the ears can’t quite prove: Each musician, while attentive to the others, is ultimately guided by an internal musical force all his (or her) own. That display of musical acquiescence is as beautiful as it is uncommon. Skylar Gudasz and Luke Norton open for the orchestral pop outfit at The Mothlight on Tuesday, Aug. 4, at 9:30 p.m. $8. themothlight.com. Photo courtesy of the band

Secret Agent 23 Skidoo California-based kid-hop artist (and former Ashevillean) Secret Agent 23 Skidoo has been having a good time on summer tour. “We’re in Arizona playing on a stage with subs so strong that it feels like surfing when the 808s kick,” he wrote in a recent Facebook post. “If you know what I mean, you’re grinning.” While the Grammy-nominated rapper might not bring that kind of ear-blazing wattage back to Asheville, he’ll definitely bring the exuberance. “We are rocking The Orange Peel [with] a live Skidoo show backed by Yo Mama’s Big Fat Booty Band,” he tells Xpress “They’re learning a full set of our tunes, and we’re all donning suits and bringing the family funk to new levels.” The concert, on Saturday, Aug. 1, at noon, includes Forty Fingers & A Missing Tooth and Ultimate Ice Cream. $10 advance/$13 day of show. theorangepeel.net. Photo courtesy of 23 Skidoo 42

july 29 - august 4, 2015

mountainx.com

If You Must On a mission to “activate, engage, surprise and provoke audiences into new and challenging territory,” theatrical startup The Cardboard Sea will make its debut with several productions of If You Must this month. The dark comedy follows three 20-somethings who, over the course of a late-night hangout in the park, discover that much of their common ground is based in lies. “The characters in the piece are clinging to versions of themselves that may or may not be true,” director Todd Weakley says. “I hope the production questions the assumptions we build into our sense of identity.” Weakley and Cardboard Sea co-founder Jeff Donnelly, who wrote the play, debut If You Must at The Magnetic Theatre on Thursday, July 30, at 7:30 p.m. Shows are also held Friday, July 31, and Saturday, Aug. 1, at 7:30 and 9 p.m. $12/$15. themagnetictheatre.org. Image courtesy of The Cardboard Sea


clubland (Poulenc, Debussy, Saint-Saens, Faure), 7pm JGBCB (Jerry Garcia Band covers), 9pm

WeDnesDAY, JuLY 29

JAck of the WooD PuB Bluegrass jam, 7pm

185 king street Movie night, 8pm

LAZY DiAmonD The Replacement Party w/ Dr. Filth, 10pm

5 WALnut Wine BAr Wine tasting w/ Gypsy Guitars (Gypsy jazz), 5pm Juan Benavides Trio (flamenco), 8pm

LeX 18 Ray Biscoglia & Grant Cuthbertson (jazz standards), 7pm Michael Andersen (honky-tonk), 10pm

AsheViLLe music hALL DJ Unk w/ Chachillie, Ponkinhead Allstars & Major and G Red (rap), 10pm

LoBster trAP Hank Bones (“The man of 1,000 songs”), 6:30pm

Ben’s tune-uP Asheville Country Music Review w/ Town Mountain, The Honeycutters & John Stickley Trio, 5pm

mArket PLAce Ben Hovey (dub jazz, beats), 7pm o.henrY’s/the unDergrounD Gayme Night w/ Xandrea Foxx, 9pm

BLAck mountAin ALe house Play To Win Game Night, 7:30pm BLue mountAin PiZZA & BreW PuB Open Mic, 7pm

oDDitorium Valkyrie w/ Horseburner, Squidlord & Boar (metal), 9pm

Burger BAr Karaoke Denial, 9pm

off the WAgon Dueling pianos, 9pm

DirtY south Lounge Disclaimer Stand-Up Lounge (comedy open mic), 9pm

oLiVe or tWist Dance lesson w/ Ian & Karen, 8pm DJ (oldies, Latin, line dance), 8:30pm

DouBLe croWn Classic Country w/ DJs Greg Cartwright, David Gay, Brody Hunt, 10pm foggY mountAin BreWPuB Ashley Heath (Americana), 9pm funkAtorium John Hartford Jam (folk, bluegrass), 6:30pm grinD cAfe Trivia night, 7pm

dirt don’t hurt: The dance-groove troubadours of East Coast Dirt have been soothing minds and setting fire under the feet of fans across Western North Carolina since 2007. The soulful jam-band fixture brings its earthly vibe to the Bywater on Friday, July 31 for a 9pm show down by the river. PisgAh BreWing comPAnY Bradley Carter (bluegrass, old-time, Americana), 6pm Pour tAProom Karaoke, 8pm reJAVAnAtion cAfe Open mic night, 6pm

one WorLD BreWing Ashley Heath (singer-songwriter), 8pm

WiLD Wing cAfe south Skinny Wednesdays w/ J Luke, 7pm

orAnge PeeL Viva Ashevegas! (Elvis tribute), 8pm

thursDAY, JuLY 30

oskAr BLues BreWerY Chris Jamison (singer-songwriter), 6pm

room iX Fuego: Latin night, 9pm

185 king street Nikki Talley & Jason Sharp (country, folk, old-time), 8pm

scuLLY’s Sons of Ralph (bluegrass), 6pm

5 WALnut Wine BAr Eleanor Underhill & Friends (Americana, soul), 8pm

sLY grog Lounge Cards Against Humanity Game Night, 10pm

ALtAmont theAtre Tom Scheve w/ special guests (comedy), 9pm

soL BAr neW mountAin World Wednesdays, 8pm

BArLeY’s tAProom AMC Jazz Jam, 9pm

tALLgArY’s At four coLLege Open mic & jam, 7pm

BLAck mountAin ALe house Dirty Badgers (acoustic blues, rock), 8pm

LAZY DiAmonD Killer Karaoke w/ KJ Tim O, 10pm

the Joint neXt Door Bluegrass jam, 8pm

BLue mountAin PiZZA & BreW PuB Patrick Fitzsimons (blues, folk), 7pm

LeX 18 Patrick Lopez (modern, Latin jazz), 7pm

the miLLroom South Slope Boogie (country, line dance), 7pm

Burger BAr 70’s & 80’s classic underground and power pop, 9pm

LoBster trAP Ben Hovey (dub-jazz, trumpet), 6:30pm

the mothLight Chuck Johnson w/ Parish Dorji Duo & Sarah Louise (minimalist, folk, experimental), 9pm

cLuB eLeVen on groVe Swing lessons & dance w/ Swing Asheville, 6:30pm Tango lessons & practilonga w/ Tango Gypsies, 7pm

the PhoeniX Jazz night, 8pm

creeksiDe tAPhouse Station Underground (reggae), 8pm

the sociAL Marc Keller, 6pm Karaoke, 9:30pm

croW & QuiLL Carolina Catskins (ragtime jazz), 9pm

highLAnD BreWing comPAnY Woody Wood Wednesdays (rock, soul), 5:30pm iron horse stAtion Kevin Reese (Americana), 6pm isis restAurAnt AnD music hALL An evening w/ Sean McGowan, Steve Baughman & Jonathan Brown (Celtic, jazz, blues, country), 7pm Adron w/ Flatland (world, folk, soul), 8:45pm JAck of the WooD PuB Old-time session, 5pm Hearts Gone South (honky-tonk, country), 9pm

mountAin moJo coffeehouse Open mic, 6:30pm noBLe kAVA Open mic w/ Caleb Beissert, 9pm o.henrY’s/the unDergrounD “Take the Cake” Karaoke, 10pm oDDitorium No Regrets Improv!, 7pm Pop Punk Wednesday, 9pm off the WAgon Piano show, 9pm oLiVe or tWist Intermediate swing dance lessons w/ Bobby Wood, 7pm Beginning swing dance lesson w/ Bobby Wood, 7:30pm 3 Cool Cats (vintage rock), 8pm

the southern Disclaimer Comedy open mic, 9pm tiger mountAin Flux (’80s & ’90s dance party), 10pm timo’s house Spectrum AVL w/ Jericho, Ixnee, Kri & guests, 9pm toWn PumP Open mic w/ Parker Brooks, 9pm tressA’s DoWntoWn JAZZ AnD BLues Blues & soul jam w/ Al Coffee & Da Grind, 8:30pm

one stoP DeLi & BAr Lip sync karaoke, 10pm

tWin LeAf BreWerY Cancellieri (singer-songwriter, folk, bluegrass), 7pm

one WorLD BreWing Redleg Husky (acoustic roots duo), 8pm

White horse BLAck mountAin Wednesday Waltz, 7pm

one stoP DeLi & BAr Phish ’n’ Chips (Phish covers), 6pm An evening w/ Water Seed (funk, soul, jam), 10pm

PiAno emPorium Just Jazz: Piano Trio concert series, 8pm PisgAh BreWing comPAnY Mclovins (jam), 9pm PurPLe onion cAfe Danika & Jeb (pop, Americana), 7:30pm renAissAnce AsheViLLe hoteL TLQ+2 (rock, blues), 6:30pm room iX Throwback Thursdays (all vinyl set), 9pm scAnDALs nightcLuB DJ dance party & drag show, 10pm sLY grog Lounge Open mic (musicians, poets, comedians & more welcome), 8pm soL BAr neW mountAin Songwriter Thursdays w/ Caine McDonald, 8pm southern APPALAchiAn BreWerY Aura Rhanes (jazz), 7pm tALLgArY’s At four coLLege Gentle Jones Band (classic rock mix), 7pm

DouBLe croWn 33 and 1/3 Thursdays w/ DJs Devyn & Oakley, 10pm eLAine’s DueLing PiAno BAr Dueling Pianos, 9pm

the mothLight Landlady + Buke & Gase w/ Ahleuchatistas (indie, rock, experimental), 9:30pm the PhoeniX The Wilhelm Brothers (Americana, folk), 8pm the sociAL Jordan Okrend (pop, rock, soul), 6pm

foggY mountAin BreWPuB Jangling Sparrows (rock), 10pm french BroAD BreWerY Redleg Husky (Americana, folk), 6pm

the southern Throwdown Thursday w/ Jim Raves & Nex Millen (DJ, dance party), 10pm

gooD stuff Jon Stickley Trio (bluegrass, jazz), 8pm

the strAnD @ 38 mAin Zoe & Cloyd (Appalachian folk duo), 8pm

greY eAgLe music hALL & tAVern Misty Mountain String Band (folk, bluegrass), 6pm

the VALLeY music & cookhouse Karaoke w/ Sound Extreme, 10pm

isis restAurAnt AnD music hALL On the patio: Laid Back Thursdays, 7pm Classical dinner w/ Amicimusic’s “French Frolic”

timo’s house TRL w/ Franco Nino (dance party, requests), 10pm

mountainx.com

july 29 - august 4, 2015

43


Dinner Menu till 10pm Late Night Menu till

Tues-Sun

5pm–12am

Full Bar

12am

COMING SOON WED 7/29 6:30 PM – CROSSROADS STRING BAND ON THE PATIO 7:00 PM – GUITAR TRIO WITH MCGOWAN,

BAUGHMAN & BROWN

8:45 PM–

ADRON W/ FLATLAND THU 7/30

6:30 PM – MAGENTA SUNSHINE ON THE PATIO 7:00 PM – CLASSICAL DINNER AND A CONCERT

AMICIMUSIC’S “FRENCH FROLIC” 9:00 PM– JERRY GARCIA BAND COVER BAND: JERRY GARCIA BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION FRI 7/31 6:30 PM – CONCERT ON THE LAWN W/ OMNITET 7:00 PM – AN EVENING OF THE BLUES W/

RIYEN ROOTS AND KENNY DORE 9:00 PM– FRIDAY NIGHT DANCE PARTY W/ FREE FLOW

SAT 8/1 7:00 PM – AN EVENING W/ DANIKA HOLMES 7:00 PM – CaroMia TILLER & SIAMESE JAZZ CLUB ON THE PATIO

THU 8/6

clubland

Send your listings to clubland@mountainx.com

toWn PumP The Paper Crowns (Americana), 9pm

DouBLe croWn DJ Greg Cartwright (garage & soul obscurities), 10pm

tressA’s DoWntoWn JAZZ AnD BLues The Westsound Revue (Motown, soul), 9pm

Dugout Grand Ole Uproar, 6pm

tWisteD LAureL Karaoke, 8pm

eLAine’s DueLing PiAno BAr Dueling Pianos, 9pm

WiLD Wing cAfe Throwin’ Down Thursday w/ DJ Ramin, 5pm

foggY mountAin BreWPuB Blood Gypsies (jazz, funk), 10pm

WiLD Wing cAfe south Joey Wilton, 6pm Live DJ, 9pm

french BroAD BreWerY The Gravelys (Americana), 6pm

friDAY, JuLY 31 185 king street Danika Holmes & Jeb Hart (pop, acoustic, Americana), 8pm 5 WALnut Wine BAr Sankofa (world), 9pm ALtAmont theAtre An evening w/ Deep River (country), 8pm AsheViLLe music hALL Jerry Garcia B-Day Bash w/ Cosmic Charlie (Grateful Dead covers), 10pm AthenA’s cLuB Dave Blair (folk, funk, acoustic), 7pm

gooD stuff Hustle Souls (Americana), 9pm greY eAgLe music hALL & tAVern Michelle Leigh (southern rock), 8pm highLAnD BreWing comPAnY Darren Nicholson Band (country, bluegrass, Americana), 7pm iron horse stAtion Barb Turner (R&B), 7pm isis restAurAnt AnD music hALL Concert on the lawn w/ Omnitet (soul, funk, jazz), 6:30pm An evening of blues w/ Riyen Roots & Kenny Dore, 7pm Friday Night Dance Party w/ Free Flow (funk, soul), 9pm

Ben’s tune-uP Woody Wood (acoustic, folk, rock), 5pm

JAck of the WooD PuB Shane Pruitt Band w/ Rye Baby (gospel, blues, rock ’n’ roll), 8pm

BLAck BeAr coffee co. Alan Barrington (country, blues, folk), 7pm

JerusALem gArDen Middle Eastern music & bellydancing, 7pm

BLue mountAin PiZZA & BreW PuB Acoustic Swing, 7pm Burger BAr Juke Joint Blues w/ Rare Burger Band, 9pm

LAZY DiAmonD Sonic Satan Stew w/ DJ Alien Brain, 10pm

BYWAter East Coast Dirt (rock), 9pm

LeX 18 Michael John Jazz (classic jazz), 4pm HotPoint Trio (Gypsy swing, jazz), 6:30pm Lenny Pettinelli (pop, jazz), 9pm

cLAssic WineseLLer Aaron Burdett (folk rock, bluegrass, Americana), 7pm

LoBster trAP Calico Moon (Americana), 6:30pm

cork & keg One Leg Up (Gypsy jazz, Latin, swing), 8:30pm

mArket PLAce The Sean Mason Trio (groove, jazz, funk), 7pm

croW & QuiLL Kimset (acoustic, ambient), 8pm

nAtiVe kitchen & sociAL PuB Ryan Furstenberg (from The Moon & You), 7:30pm

7:00 PM – AN EVENING W/ CINDY ALEXANDER

FRI 8/7 9:00 PM – FRIDAY NIGHT DANCE PARTY W/

JIM ARRENDELL SAT 8/8

7:00 PM – AN EVENING W/

MAHARAJA FLAMENCO TRIO 9:00 PM – THE HERMIT KINGS W/ P3RIPH3RAL Every Tuesday

7:30pm–midnite

BLUEGRASS SESSIONS

Every Sunday

6pm–11pm

JAZZ SHOWCASE

743 HAYWOOD RD 828-575-2737 ISISASHEVILLE.COM 44

july 29 - august 4, 2015

mountainx.com

*Doors open at 6:30pm! *Over 40 sexy entertainers! *Daily drink special!


neW mountAin theAter/AmPhitheAter LEAF Bootsy Funk Dynasty Day w/ Bootsy Collins, 9am LEAF Downtown kickoff party w/ The Ohio Players (funk, R&B), 6:30pm oDDitorium Jacked Up Joe w/ Copestoned & The Nobodies (rock, metal), 9pm off the WAgon Dueling pianos, 9pm oLiVe or tWist WestSound (blues, Motown), 8pm one stoP DeLi & BAr Free Dead Fridays w/ members of Phuncle Sam (jam), 5pm dep w/ Munook & Divine Love Mission (electronic), 9pm

timo’s house Thank You Asheville w/ Dara, Liminal, Gabe Real, Crux, & McDubbin (D&B), 9pm tiPPing Point tAVern Redleg Husky (folk, soul), 9pm

greY eAgLe music hALL & tAVern Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real w/ Porch 40 (rock ’n’ roll), 9pm

tWisteD LAureL 3 Cool Cats (rock ’n’ roll), 8:30pm Live DJ, 11pm

highLAnD BreWing comPAnY The Rock Academy showcase, 5pm

White horse BLAck mountAin Bob Hinkle w/ Linda Go & more (folk, country, bluegrass), 8pm WiLD Wing cAfe Contagious (acoustic rock), 6pm WiLD Wing cAfe south A Social Function (acoustic), 9:30pm

oskAr BLues BreWerY Skribe (garage folk), 6pm

ZAmBrA Zambra Jazz Trio, 8pm

PiAno emPorium Just Jazz: Piano Trio concert series, 8pm PisgAh BreWing comPAnY Blue Dragons (rock, Americana, blues), 8pm root BAr no. 1 Easy Street Apothecary (indie), 8pm scAnDALs nightcLuB DJ dance party & drag show, 10pm scuLLY’s DJ, 10pm southern APPALAchiAn BreWerY Nikki Talley & Jason Sharp (Americana, singer-songwriter, folk), 8pm sPring creek tAVern Blue Ribbon Healers (funk, indie, psychedelic), 9pm tALLgArY’s At four coLLege Fine Line (classic rock), 9:30pm the ADmirAL Hip Hop dance party w/ DJ Warf, 11pm the mothLight Hearts Gone South w/ JB 5 n Dime (honky-tonk, country, Americana), 9pm

gooD stuff Jeff Thompson (singer-songwriter), 8:30pm

toWn PumP Six Shots Later (rock, alt-reggae), 9pm

one WorLD BreWing In Plain Sight (house DJ), 10pm

PAck’s tAVern DJ MoTo (dance hits, pop), 9pm

foggY mountAin BreWPuB Jon Stickley Quartet (folk), 10pm

sAturDAY, August 1 185 king street Noche Latina, 8pm ALtAmont theAtre Tom DiMenna w/ Greg Cartwright & guests (folk), 8pm AthenA’s cLuB Dave Blair (folk, funk, acoustic), 7pm BArLeY’s tAProom sPinDALe Redleg Husky (folk), 8pm Ben’s tune-uP Gypsy Guitars, 2pm

July/ August 2015

iron horse stAtion Mark Shane (R&B), 7pm isis restAurAnt AnD music hALL Danika Holmes w/ Jeb Hart (soul, alt-country), 7pm Music on the patio w/ CaroMia Tiller & the Siamese Jazz Club (jazz, R&B, neo-soul), 7pm JAck of the WooD PuB Brother Dege Legg & His Brethren w/ Peter Von Toy (delta blues), 9pm JerusALem gArDen Middle Eastern music & bellydancing, 7pm LAZY DiAmonD Unknown Pleasures w/ DJ Greg Cartwright, 10pm

THURSDAY

BYWAter Megan Saunders & the Driftless (folk, Americana), 8pm

oDDitorium Hospital Call w/ Lush Agave (experimental), 9pm

cLAssic WineseLLer Joe Cruz (Beatles & Elton John covers), 7pm

off the WAgon Dueling pianos, 9pm

cork & keg The Gypsy Swingers (jazz, Latin, pop), 8:30pm

oLiVe or tWist 42nd Street Band (big band jazz), 8pm Dance party (hip-hop, rap), 11pm

the VALLeY music & cookhouse Free jukebox Friday, 9pm

Dugout State of Mind, 9pm

PAck sQuAre PArk LEAF Downtown Festival, 12pm-10pm

tiger mountAin Dark dance rituals w/ DJ Cliffypoo, 10pm

eLAine’s DueLing PiAno BAr Dueling Pianos, 9pm

PAck’s tAVern Lyric (pop, funk, soul), 9pm

THE FRITZ W/ GHOST NOTE

8PM

neW mountAin theAter/AmPhitheAter Asheville Anime Convention afterparty w/ Empire Strikes Brass, Nex Millen, The Last Wordbenders, Press B & DJ Kutzu (big brass, hip-hop, dance), 8pm

8.27 8PM

SATURDAY

THEATER

AMPITHEATER

HARD WORKING AMERICANS

FT. TODD SNIDER, DAVE SCHOOLS, NEAL CASAL, DUAN TRUCKS, CHAD STAEHLY AND JESSE AYCOCK

THEATER

GOVT MULE SIDE PROJECT

PLANET OF THE ABTS OUTSIDE STAGE

YO MAMA’S BIG FAT BOOTY BAND W/ JONATHAN SCALES FOURCHESTRA

THEATER

9.5

NC GET DOWN

9.19

TINY UNIVERSE W/ EARPHUNK

8PM SATURDAY 6PM

orAnge PeeL Secret Agent 23 Skidoo w/ Yo Mama’s Big Fat Booty Band (kid-hop), 12pm The Breakfast Club (80’s tribute), 9pm oskAr BLues BreWerY Trail of The Lonesome (singer-songwriter), 6pm

8.13

W/ EMPIRE STRIKES BASS & SPECIAL GUESTS 8PM THURSDAY

8.24

BLAck BeAr coffee co. Billy Litz & The Hustle Souls (blues, soul, rock fusion), 7pm

DouBLe croWn Rock ’n’ Soul w/ DJs Lil Lorruh or Rebecca & Dave, 10pm

8.1

MONDAY

moJo kitchen & Lounge Dine ’n’ Disco (funk, soul, hip-hop), 5:30pm

THEATER

ANIME AFTER PARTY

6PM

mArket PLAce DJs (funk, R&B), 7pm

the sociAL Steve Moseley (acoustic), 6pm Get Vocal Karaoke, 9:30pm

SATURDAY

8.21

LoBster trAP Sean Mason Trio (jazz), 6:30pm

the PhoeniX Misty Mountain String Band (bluegrass), 9pm

WITH COFFEE, COLD-PRESSED JUICE AND LIGHT FARE

8PM FRIDAY

LeX 18 Ray Biscoglia Duo (jazz standards), 6:30pm Michael John Jazz (classic jazz), 7pm Michael Andersen (honky-tonk piano), 10pm

DiAnA WorthAm theAtre Cecil Bothwell w/ Mike Cronin, Jada Nye and Pat Farris, Randy Robins, Lynn Foster & Sandra Gudger (storytelling), 10am

NOW OPEN EVERYDAY

ROOSEVELT COLLIER’S

AMPITHEATER KARL DENSON’S

7/31: FRIDAY SOL VIBES W/ EARTHCRY FEAT. ANTHONY OF PAPADOSIO 8/7-8/9: MOUNTAIN FLOW FEST 11AM - 9PM DAILY 8/7: FRIDAY SOL VIBES W/ DJ BOWIE 9PM 8/8: PUSH/PULL 9PM 8/14: HELP SHEILA SHINE BENEFIT W/ DRUMSTRONG 7PM

mountainx.com

july 29 - august 4, 2015

45


clubland

7/29 wed chuck johnson w/parish/dorji duo, sarah louise

7/30thu landlady + buke & gase w/ ahleuchatistas

PurPLe onion cAfe JPQ Band (jazz), 8pm

iron horse stAtion Mark Shane (R&B), 6pm

riVerWAtch BAr & griLL Roots & Dore (blues, rock), 7pm

isis restAurAnt AnD music hALL Sunday Classical Brunch, 11am Sunday jazz showcase, 6pm

room iX Open dance night, 9pm

scuLLY’s DJ, 10pm

8/1 sat the appleseed cast w/ annabel, adjy

sLY grog Lounge Merritt Rooke (rock ’n’ roll), 9pm

8/4 tue little tybee w/skylar gudaz, luke norton

8/5 wed ancient warfare

w/ hailey wojick, kitty tsunami

fly golden eagle w/ranch ghost

8/7 fri plankeye peggy rusty wedding 8/8 sat theresa & rusty's celebration!

the dead tongues

off the WAgon Piano show, 9pm

the ADmirAL Soul night w/ DJ Dr. Filth, 11pm

oLiVe or tWist DJ (oldies rock, swing), 8pm

the mothLight The Appleseed Cast w/ Annabel & Adjy (altrock, indie, emo), 9:30pm

one stoP DeLi & BAr Bluegrass brunch w/ Woody Wood, 11am Reggae Sundays, 7pm

the southern Disclaimer Comedy w/ Mello Mike, Blaine Perry & Chaz Scovel (comedy), 8pm

tWisteD LAureL Modern Day Society (rock), 8:30pm Live DJ, 11pm

Woody Wood 5:30-7:30

White horse BLAck mountAin AmiciMusic: French Frolic (classical), 7:30pm

Fri • July 31

WiLD Wing cAfe Karaoke, 8pm

Clawhammer release party featuring Darren Nicholson Band

WiLD Wing cAfe south Rory Kelly Band (rock), 6pm WXYZ Lounge At ALoft hoteL DJ Marley (electronic, DJ), 8pm

7:00-9:00

Sat • August 1

ZAmBrA Zambra Jazz Trio, 8pm

Rock Academy Quarterly Showcase

sunDAY, August 2

5:00-9:00

Sun • August 2

Community Night featuring Hope Chest for Women & Music by MojomaticT BE

S

AsheViLLe music hALL First Thursdays w/ Phuncle Sam (Grateful Dead covers), 10pm BLAck mountAin ALe house Sunday Jazz Brunch w/ James Hammel, 12pm

OF

HALL OF FAME WNC 2014

Pour tAProom Open mic, 8pm riVerWAtch BAr & griLL Carrie Morrison (Americana), 6pm scAnDALs nightcLuB DJ dance party & drag show, 10pm sociAL Lounge & tAPAs In the Biz Networking Night w/ Patrick Lopez (acoustic, piano, pop, open to everyone), 8pm southern APPALAchiAn BreWerY The Dan Keller Trio w/ Elisse Pratt (jazz), 5pm tALLgArY’s At four coLLege Jason Brazzel (acoustic), 6pm the omni groVe PArk inn Bob Zullo (pop, rock, blues), 7pm Lou Mowad (classical guitar), 10pm the PhoeniX Redleg Husky (acoustic roots), 12pm the sociAL Get Vocal Karaoke, 9:30pm the southern Yacht Rock Brunch w/ DJ Kipper, 12pm timo’s house Asheville Drum ’n’ Bass Collective, 10pm WeDge BreWing co. Vollie McKenzie & Hank Bones (acoustic jazzswing), 6pm

BYWAter Chris Jamison (singer-songwriter), 5pm

WiLD Wing cAfe south Party On The Patio w/ Crocs Duo, 5pm

gooD stuff Music & Raffle for Little Ivy Learning Center, 5pm

mountainx.com

PiAno emPorium Just Jazz: Piano Trio concert series, 2pm

WickeD WeeD Mrs. Dubfire (reggae), 3pm

DouBLe croWn Karaoke w/ Tim O, 9pm

july 29 - august 4, 2015

PAck sQuAre PArk LEAF Downtown Festival, 10am-6pm

Burger BAr De La Sunday w/ Foul Mouth Jerk (old-school hip hop), 2pm Pick a Flick movie night (on the big screen, pizza), 9pm

croW & QuiLL Piano Karaoke, 9pm

46

LeX 18 Michael John Jazz (classic jazz), 7pm Lenny Pettinelli (pop, jazz), 9pm

tALLgArY’s At four coLLege Daddy Rabbit (rockin’ blues), 9:30pm

timo’s house Smasheville w/ Jim Raves & Mike Funk, 10pm

Wed • July 29

LAZY DiAmonD Honky Tonk Night w/ DJs, 10pm Matt Heckler w/ Carolina Catskins (fiddle, ragtime), 10pm

oDDitorium Timothy Eerie w/ Kitty Tsunami, Zin Vetro & Shadow Show (rock), 9pm

the VALLeY music & cookhouse Bull Moose Party (bluegrass), 8pm

w/josh moore

JAck of the WooD PuB Irish session, 5pm Swampbird (folk-rock, Southern rock), 7pm

southern APPALAchiAn BreWerY The Patrick Lopez Experience (salsa, Latin), 8pm

the sociAL Get Vocal Karaoke, 9:30pm

w/ wasted wine

1:00-3:00

highLAnD BreWing comPAnY Mojomatic (blues, funk, soul), 1pm

scAnDALs nightcLuB DJ dance party & drag show, 10pm

w/jb 5 n dime

8/6

PiAno emPorium Just Jazz: Piano Trio concert series, 8pm

root BAr no. 1 Jay Brown & Matt Rue (roots, blues), 8pm

7/31 fri honky tonk country night hearts gone south

thu

Send your listings to clubland@mountainx.com

WiLD Wing cAfe Bluegrass Afternoons, 3pm

monDAY, August 3 185 king street Captain Green (funk, space jazz), 8pm ALtAmont BreWing comPAnY Old-time jam w/ Mitch McConnell, 6:30pm


gooD stuff Open mic w/ Laura Thurston, 7pm

Burger BAr ’77 punk night (punk classics), 9pm

greY eAgLe music hALL & tAVern Contra dance (lessons, 7:30pm), 8pm

cork & keg Old Time Jam, 5pm

JAck of the WooD PuB Quizzo, 7pm Millie Palmer Quartet w/ Brett Ramsey (Mountain music, singer-songwriter), 9pm

croW & QuiLL Darien Crossley w/ Michael Hefner & Laura Blackley (singer-songwriter), 9pm

LAZY DiAmonD Glint (stand-up comedy w/ Grayson Morris, Tom Peters, Taylor Rogers, Cary Goff, Tom Scheve & Minori Hinds), 9:30pm Heavy Night w/ DJ Butch, 10pm LeXington AVe BreWerY (LAB) Kipper’s “Totally Rad” Trivia night, 8pm LoBster trAP Dave Desmelik (Americana, folk, singer-songwriter), 6:30pm

gooD stuff Old time-y night, 6:30pm greY eAgLe music hALL & tAVern Carolina Cud Chewers (old-time, bluegrass, folk), 6pm iron horse stAtion Open mic, 6pm

o.henrY’s/the unDergrounD Geeks Who Drink trivia, 7pm

isis restAurAnt AnD music hALL Tuesday bluegrass sessions, 7:30pm

oDDitorium Vundabar w/ Petey (rock), 8pm

JAck of the WooD PuB Reverend Red (Americana), 9pm

oLiVe or tWist 2 Breeze Band (Motown), 6pm

LAZY DiAmonD Punk ’n’ Roll w/ DJ Leo Delightful, 10pm

one WorLD BreWing Beats & Brews w/ DJ Whistleblower, 8pm

LeX 18 Bob Strain (jazz ballads & standards), 7pm

orAnge PeeL Coal Chamber w/ Fear Factory, Jasta, Saint Ridley & Madlife (nu-metal, industrial), 6:30pm

LoBster trAP Jay Brown (acoustic-folk, singer-songwriter), 6:30pm

oskAr BLues BreWerY Mountain Music Mondays (open jam), 6pm

mArket PLAce The Rat Alley Cats (jazz, Latin, swing), 7pm

sociAL Lounge & tAPAs In the Biz Networking Night w/ Patrick Lopez (acoustic, piano, pop, open to everyone), 8pm

oDDitorium Odd comedy night, 9pm

soVereign remeDies Stevie Lee Combs (acoustic), 8pm the mothLight PBR Art Showcase w/ Ouroboros Boys, Charlie Megira & The Bet She’an Valley Hillbillies (surfrock, psychedelic, exotica), 8pm

off the WAgon Rock ’n’ roll bingo, 8pm one stoP DeLi & BAr Turntablism Tuesdays (DJs & vinyl), 10pm one WorLD BreWing DJ Brandon Audette, 8pm

the omni groVe PArk inn Bob Zullo (pop, rock, blues), 7pm

orAnge PeeL Summer movie series: Jaws, 8pm

the sociAL Ashli Rose (singer-songwriter), 7pm Salsa Night, 9pm

Pour tAProom Frank Zappa night, 8pm

the VALLeY music & cookhouse Monday Pickin’ Parlour (open jam & storytelling), 8pm

soL BAr neW mountAin Pre-Funk Jam Party w/ Foe Destroyer (indie, boom), 8pm

tiger mountAin Service industry night (rock ’n’ roll), 9pm

tALLgArY’s At four coLLege Jam night, 9pm

timo’s house Movie night, 7pm

the Joint neXt Door Open mic w/ Laura Thurston, 7pm

urBAn orchArD Old-time music, 7pm

the mothLight Little Tybee w/ Skylar Gudasz & Luke Norton (folk, experimental, rock), 9:30pm

White horse BLAck mountAin Bill Bares & Russ Wilson (jazz), 7:30pm

the sociAL Jason Whitaker (acoustic), 5pm

6PM 8PM 9PM

THU

FRI

SAT

DouBLe croWn Punk ’n’ roll w/ DJs Sean & Will, 10pm

6PM

BuffALo nickeL Trivia, 7pm

8PM

DouBLe croWn Punk ’n’ roll w/ DJs Dave & Rebecca, 10pm

CUD REE 8/4 CAROLINA F CHEWERS 8/6 HOT CLUB OF COWTOWN 8/13 WILLY PORTER 8/14 BLUE MOTHER TUPELO 8/15 BOBBY LONG PORTER JR & 8/16 GEORGE RUNNIN’ PARDNERS The Grey Eagle Taqueria Patio Series

W/ THE BLUE RIBBON HEALERS

W/ BIG SHOALS

8PM

BLAck mountAin ALe house Trivia, 7pm

WiLD Wing cAfe south TuesdayeDnesDAY, bluegrass, 6pm Trivia w/ 5 Kelilyn, August 8:30pm

W/ PORCH 40

9PM

croW & QuiLL Los Abrojitos (Argentine tango), 9pm

White horse BLAck mountAin Irish sessions & open mic, 6:30pm

9PM

Ben’s tune-uP Eleanor Underhill (acoustic), 5pm

Pickin’ on the Patio

8PM

courtYArD gALLerY Open mic (music, poetry, comedy, etc.), 8pm

WestViLLe PuB Blues jam, 10pm

TUE

AsheViLLe music hALL Tuesday Night Funk Jam, 11pm

WeDge BreWing co. Lyric (pop, rock, soul), 7pm

THU THU

cLuB eLeVen on groVe First Friday’s: DJ Jam & His Jamming Machine (hip-hop, R&B, soul), 9pm

ALtAmont BreWing comPAnY Open mic w/ Chris O’Neill, 8:30pm

urBAn orchArD Billy Litz (Americana, singer-songwriter), 7pm

7/30 MISTY MOUNTAIN STRING BAND 7/31 MICHELLE LEIGH LUKAS NELSON & 8/1 PROMISE OF THE REAL

FRI

BYWAter Open mic w/ Taylor Martin, 8pm

tuesDAY, August 4

tressA’s DoWntoWn JAZZ AnD BLues Funk & jazz jam w/ Pauly Juhl, 8:30pm

SAT

Burger BAr Honkytonk ladies night w/ Brody, 6pm

WiLD Wing cAfe south Monday Bike Nights, 6pm

SUN

BLAck mountAin ALe house Acoustic jam w/ Hunter, Charlie & Friends, 7:30pm

4pm-2am Mon-Fri | 12pm-2am Sat | 3pm-2am Sun Mon.-Thur. 4pm-2am • Fri.-Sun. 2pm-2am

87Patton Patton Ave., Asheville 87 Asheville

JACK OF THE

WOOD PUB

WED

7.29 & 8.5

Fri 7.31 SAT 8.1

HEARTS GONE SOUTH

(KICK ASS FOR REAL DEAL HONKY TONK) HONKY TONK / COUNTRY DANCE PARTY EVERY WEDNESDAY NIGHT IN THE SUMMER) 9 p.m. Free (Donations Encouraged)

SHANE PRUITT BAND

W/ A EARLY SET BY RYE BABY 8PM START

(GOSPEL, BLUES & ROCK AND ROLL)

8 p.m. $5

SATURDAy PARkER & SmITH (OLD

FASHIONED BLUES), 2-4P.M.

BROTHER DEGE LEGG & HIS BRETHREN (DJANGO UNCHAINED) w/ PETER VON TOY

9 p.m. $5

SUN 8.2

SWAmPBIRD (FOOT-STOMPING FOLK-

MON 8.3

mILLIE PALmER QUARTET

ROCK FIVE PIECE)

9 p.m. Free (Donations Encouraged)

(MOUNTAIN STYLE SINGER SONGWRITER)

w/ BRETT RAMSEY

9 p.m. Free (Donations Encouraged)

OPEN AT NOON DAiLY

SATUrDAY Parker & Smith (old-fashioned blues), 2-4pm SUNDAy Celtic irish session 5pm til ? mONDAy Quizzo! 7:30-9pm • WEDNESDAY Old-Time 5pm SINGER SONGWRITERS 1st & 3rd Tuesdays THURSDAY Scottie Parker (old-fashioned blues) 2-4pm, Bluegrass Jam 7pm

95 PATTON at COXE • Downtown Asheville

252.5445 • jackofthewood.com

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friday, july 31 thursday, august 6 Due to possible scheduling changes, moviegoers may want to confirm showtimes with theaters.  n AsheViLLe PiZZA & BreWing co. (254-1281) Mad Max: Fury Road (R) 7:00 Pitch Perfect 2 (Pg-13) 1:00, 4:00 spy (r) 10:00

 cArmike cinemA 10 (298-4452)  cAroLinA cinemAs (274-9500)

 co-eD cinemA BreVArD (883-2200) mission: impossible -- rogue nation (Pg-13) 12:30, 4:00, 7:30

 ePic of henDersonViLLe (693-1146)  fine Arts theAtre (232-1536) Amy (r) Late show fri-sat only 9:40 infinitely Polar Bear (r) 1:00, 4:00, 7:00, Late Show Fri-Sat 9:00 mr. holmes (Pg) 1:20, 4:20, 7:20

Mark Ruffalo, Imogene Wolodarsky, and Ashley Aufderheide in Maya Forbes’ beguiling directorial debut Infinitely Polar Bear.

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Infinitely Polar Bear HHHH

director: Maya Forbes players: Mark Ruffalo, Zoe Saldana, Imogene Wolodarsky, Ashley Aufderheide, Keir Dullea, Beth Dixon drama-comedy rated r the story: Autobiographical account of growing up with a bi-polar father. the lowdown: Sweet, but not cloying — and carefully dodging the bullet of romanticizing mental illness — this is a remarkably assured debut film from Maya Forbes, with terrific performances helping out.

 fLAtrock cinemA (697-2463) A Little chaos (r) 3:45, 7:00 (Closed Mon.)

 regAL BiLtmore grAnDe stADium 15 (684-1298)  uniteD Artists BeAucAtcher (298-

Maya Forbes’ directorial debut, Infinitely Polar Bear, might have

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HHHHH = max rating contact xpressmovies@aol.com

THEATER LISTINGS

the 100-Year-old man Who climbed out the Window and Disappeared (r) 11:45. 2:20, 4:50, 7:30 Aloft (r) 9:10 Ant-man 2 D (Pg-13) 11:30, 2:10, 4:45, 7:35, 10:10 inside out 2D (Pg) 11:15, 1:45, 4:05, 6:50 A Lego Brickumentary (g) 2:25, 7:00 minions 2D (Pg) 12:40, 2:50, 5:00, 7:10, 9:20 mission: impossible -- rogue nation (Pg-13) 11:15, 1:15, 2:15, 4:15, 5:15, 7:15, 8:10, 9:15, 10:15 mr. holmes (Pg) 11:10, 1:55, 4:25, 6:55, 9:25 Paper towns (Pg-13) 11:40, 2:05, 4:30, 7:20, 9:55 Pixels 2D (Pg-13) 11:50, 2:15, 4:45, 7:25, 9:50 southpaw (r) 11:00. 1:40, 4:20, 7:05, 9:45 the stanford Prison experiment (r) 10:50, 1:30, 4:10, 7:00, 9:40 trainwreck (r) 11:20, 2:00, 4:55, 7:40, 10:25 Vacation (r) 11:05, 1:20, 3:40, 6:00, 8:15, 10:30 the Young and Prodigious t.s. spivet (Pg) 12:00, 4:40, 10:00

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been a disaster waiting to happen but, happily, never becomes one because it never gives in to the very real pitfalls inherent in stories about the mentally ill. Perhaps the key to this is that it’s less about mental illness than about the person with the illness — and his impact (both good and bad) on his family. It is certainly a topic Forbes knows well: Infinitely Polar Bear is a fictionalized autobiographical work — mostly set in 1978 — about growing up with a bi-polar father. But I think why it works has more to do — when all is said and done — with the fact that it stops short of the tendency to romanticize the illness as most films of this sort tend to do. Oh, there’s a certain amount of it, but every time the film gets perilously close, it sidesteps the trap. Moreover, it paints her father’s condition matter-offactly as something that’s dealt with on a day-to-day basis. Mark Ruffalo stars as Cam Stuart, the father in question, which works in the film’s immediate favor because of the actor’s innate likability. It also works because Ruffalo is quite capable

of handling the darker aspects of the character. The film is quick to establish Cam as troubled but impossibly endearing, but it’s just as quick to establish that this is far from the entire story. The film isn’t many minutes old before his wife Maggie (Zoe Saldana) is packing the kids — Amelia (Imogene Wollodarsky) and Faith (Ashley Aufderheide) — and her baggage in the car and making a panicked getaway from Cam, suggesting that not only is he difficult to live with, but possibly potentially dangerous. Whether the danger is physical or psychologically manipulative goes unanswered. Both seem possible. We see Cam’s rages, though they never seem threatening. We see his manipulations — right up to the end — and those are very threatening. Cam isn’t just bi-polar. You sense that he’d be eccentric under any circumstances. Moreover, he’s from a wealthy family, and though he hasn’t direct access to any of the family money — something he doesn’t quite explain — his grasp on reality is that of a privileged person. That he can’t hold a job and that there’s not enough money have only the slightest impacts on him. As a result, he has trouble understanding semi-estranged Maggie’s desire to get her M.B.A. and better her lot in life — at least until Maggie (who is black) points out that, while poverty for white people can be a chic affectation, the rules are different for black people. The upshot of all this is that Maggie opts to go to New York to get her degree, leaving Cam in charge of the kids, but promising to come home on the weekends. This premise — which plays better than it sounds — could have easily become predictable sitcom stuff. There’s a hint of it in the scenes where Cam is in his upbeat manic state, but that’s undercut at every turn by both his down swings and the fact that, in whatever state, Cam can be an embarrassment — even more so than the average parent. He tries too hard at everything. His attempts at being neighborly are disastrous. His attempts at being a great dad often fare no better. That he drinks heavily and chain smokes Lucky Strikes only


MOVIES

by Ken Hanke & Justin Souther

makes things worse. But underneath all this, there’s a sadness in the fact that Cam nurses a dream of having a whole family again, yet clearly knows it probably won’t happen. Infinitely Polar Bear isn’t perfect, but it’s very good. It’s also a tricky film in that it only really works when all the parts fit together. By this I mean that I found it hard to judge until the film ended. Up till then, I waffled back and forth as to whether or not I even liked it. But the film’s final scene — brilliantly backed by George Harrison’s “Run of the Mill,” the lyrics of which almost might have been written for the film — pulls it all together. Obviously, I’m not going to describe it here, but I will say that it’s both wonderful and heartbreaking. Rated R for language. Starts Friday at Fine Arts Theatre. reviewed by Ken Hanke khanke@mountainx.com

A LEGO Brickumentary HHHS DIRECTOR: Kief Davidson, Daniel Junge PLAYERS: Jason Bateman (voice), Jamie Berard, Alicia Finch Lee, Adam Reed Tucker, Nathan Sawaya, David Pagano DOCUMENTARY RATED G THE STORY: Documentary about — well, Legos. THE LOWDOWN: How you feel about this documentary is almost certainly going to be determined by your fondness for Legos and the various creative uses to which they can be put. Well made, but definitely specialized.

From the perspective of someone whose childhood did not include Lego bricks, A LEGO Brickumentary starts off as mildly interesting, but quickly becomes something of a chore. It falls prey to a frequent documentary problem — the idea that the viewer is just as fascinated by the topic as the filmmaker is. From the outside looking in what we have here feels a lot like a 90-minute

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promotional film — one that is riding the coat-tails of The LEGO Movie (2014) — which is probably fine if you’re a fan of the toy, and is undoubtedly the bee’s knees if you’re a shareholder in the company. If not...well, that’s another load of bricks altogether. Now, I have nothing against Legos — apart from them turning Cypress Gardens into an overpriced theme park — but I also have no interest in them. It is, I suspect, simply that they weren’t something that was even on my radar at an early age. I didn’t have them. I didn’t even know I was supposed to want them. Oh, I had Tinker Toys, Lincoln Logs, an Erector Set (which defeated me totally) and my personal favorite, an American Skyline set. But Legos were something neither I nor any of the kids I played with had (or if they did, they hid them from me). The upshot of this is simply that — with no nostalgia for the product — there’s just not much here for me. It’s easy to say that the fault lies with me and my deprived childhood (we could perhaps drag my parents into this). But at the same time, isn’t it the duty of an informational documentary to engage a broad audience — to convey why these things are wonderful and endlessly fascinating? That said, I’m sure that Lego fanciers will be more than happy with A LEGO Brickumentary. The film dutifully — and with a certain forced cute-ness, heightened by having Jason Bateman voice an animated Lego character — charts the history of the company (though if it actually notes when the product really took off in the U.S., I missed that). But its greatest interest — at least when it isn’t enthusing over its tie-in status with Star Wars — lies in dealing with AFOLs (Adult Fans of Lego). This is pretty self-explanatory stuff and is also mostly what you expect. The most interesting is an artist who creates his works with Legos. Some of his works — at least when he’s creating original art — are indeed striking. They’re certainly worlds away from the more easily anticipated hobbyist elements. Unfortunately, the creations that attempt to replicate famous works of art (a Rembrandt self-portrait or Munch’s The Scream, for instance) fall soundly into the hobbyist realm — on par with reproducing the Taj Mahal in sugar cubes.

HHHHH Other aspects of the AFOL are touched on over the course of the film, including a psychiatrist who uses Legos in his treatment of autistic children. In terms of individual stories, the movie is fine. And apart from the overdose of the cute factor, A LEGO Brickumentary is hard to fault as a basic nuts-andbolts documentary work. My only reservation comes back to the basic question of whether or not you really want to watch people make elaborate creations out of Legos for 90 minutes. Rated G. Starts Friday at Carolina Cinemas. reviewed by Ken Hanke khanke@mountainx.com

Paper Towns HHHS DIRECTOR: Jake Schreier (Robot & Frank) PLAYERS: Nat Wolff, Cara Delevingne, Austin Abrams, Justice Smith, Halston Sage, Jaz Sinclair TEEN COMEDY-DRAMA RATED PG-13 THE STORY: When the girl he’s fixated on disappears, a young man follows the clues she’s left behind in order to find her. THE LOWDOWN: Ultimately, the movie doesn’t quite work, but most of the cast make up for a lot of the shortcomings.

Coming out of Paper Towns and saying, “Well, I’ve certainly sat through worse,” while someone else admits that it’s at least better than The Fault in Our Stars, is a long way from unstinting praise. Can I do any better? Yes, but with qualifications — qualifications that keep me from fully recommending it. There are good things in this combined coming-ofage and road trip story, but there’s a hollowness to it — not to mention a pretty unsatisfying ending — that keeps it from ringing the gong, despite a lot of those things we’re told the road to hell is paved with. However, the intentions here don’t so much lead to hell as they lead to vague dissatisfaction.

The central premise of Paper Towns (the title refers to fake towns put on maps by cartographers to spot plagiarism) is good. It’s at once familiar — boy whose been stuck on a girl since early childhood gets what appears to be a chance with her — and unusual — girl disappears, but leaves a trail of clues to find her. So far, so good. The boy is Quentin (a solid turn by Nat Wolff), who long ago lost his chance with Margo (a less solid performance from Cara Delevingne) by not being adventurous enough for her, which here means not being enough of a rule-breaker. His shot at redemption comes when Margo finds out that her boyfriend has been cheating on her and she enlists Quentin (or Q as he’s generally called) to help in her revenge scheme. Turns out that Q likes the rush he experiences, but more than that he likes having spent time with Margo — climaxing in a giddy late night romantic dance in the Sun Trust building — and is looking forward to seeing her again on this new footing. Unfortunately, by morning Margo has disappeared. As it turns out, Margo has a history of disappearing — so much so that her parents (especially her mother) are unimpressed with this latest vanishing act. It also turns out that Margo always leaves a trail of clues to her whereabouts, which causes Q and his friends to start looking to see if she has left any — and they find them. And Q deduces that she has left them so he can find her, prompting the road trip to find her. This makes up most of the film and is where the movie starts becoming a mixed, but not disastrously so, bag. Parts of the road trip are quite good — and the dawning realization about Margo’s personality is even excellent. The problem is that it’s also entirely too pat and too easy. Everything — including the fizzled-out ending — feels conveniently scripted, and not entirely convincing. The truly unfortunate thing about the movie’s shortcomings is that the Q’s friends — and a couple of interested parties — are so well fleshed-out. Oh, sure, they’re pretty much a standard collection of types, but they’re given some interesting quirks that afford the illusion of reality. They’re also nicely acted by young performers, and while there’s nothing remarkable about Jake Schreier’s direction, he gets the most out of this cast. Well, most of the cast. Carla

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Delevingne has a definite presence, but she’s at best a competent actress. It doesn’t hurt the film much since she’s offscreen a good deal of the time, and Margo is less a character than she’s other people’s idea of one. Overall, there’s enough that’s good about Paper Towns that it’s not without merit — just maybe not quite enough. Rated PG-13 for some language, drinking, sexuality and partial nudity — all involving teens. Playing at Carmike 10, Carolina Cinemas, Epic of Hendersonville, Regal Biltmore Grande. reviewed by Ken Hanke khanke@mountainx.com

Pixels H DIRECTOR: Chris Columbus PLAYERS: Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Michelle Monaghan, Peter Dinklage, Josh Gad, Brian Cox, Sean Bean, Jane Krakowski, Dan Aykroyd SCI-FI ACTION COMEDY RATED PG-13 THE STORY: Aliens intercept footage of a 1980s video game tournament, implausibly interpret said footage as a declaration of war, and inexplicably employ 8-bit game sprites on steroids as the arbiters of Earth’s annihilation. THE LOWDOWN: A contrived confluence of ’80s and ’90s nostalgia that never rises to the promise of its concept.

As a feature, Pixels suffers from a fatal flaw — while the short film upon which it was based supplied a novel and intriguing premise, Adam Sandler and company attempted to graft nostalgia for their early-’90s heyday onto ’80s arcade culture, creating an anachronistic paradox that leaves the film with no clearly intended audience. Much of the humor and storytelling in Pixels is clearly engineered for a young audience likely to be only passingly familiar with both Sandler’s oeuvre and the specific video games that provide the script’s conceit — the end result being tonal confusion and ineffective pandering that will dis-

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appoint both children and adults. While the film seeks to take millennials down memory lane, it fails to root itself firmly in the traditions it uses as window dressing in favor of dumbing down every joke and plot point to something that might only pass for a third-grade level in a school with very low standards. The 2010 short that provides the basis for Pixels, written and directed by Patrick Jean and clocking in at just under three minutes, effectively and efficiently depicts the ramifications of classic arcade-game characters invading (and destroying) the Earth. Happy Madison’s 2015 reimagining takes this fertile starting point, strips out everything that made the original interesting, and replaces it with a misappropriated plot from a 2002 episode of Futurama in which Sandler and company’s dim-witted gamers are called upon to save the day. While Chris Columbus’ direction is competent, he manages affairs with the cynical detachment of a studio-era journeyman. The script plays as though some nameless exec took a fully developed story and forced it through a standardized three-actstructure cookie cutter, resulting in perfectly timed act breaks at the expense of character development and narrative cohesion. Every turn in the story feels arbitrary and yet somehow still heavily telegraphed. That might have been forgivable in a film aimed at children were it not for the fact that all of the characters are broadly stereotypical and none of them particularly likable. Sandler stars as Sam Brenner, a 1982 video game championship runner-up who peaked too soon and has fallen on hard times — a metaphor so apt that it had to be addressed in the script. In a particularly telling exchange early in the film, Sandler says to Kevin James’ President (?!) Cooper, “What are we doing? We’re too old, it’s just gross, already.” James and Sandler do indeed seem worse for wear, their comedic timing having clearly lost a step (or more) over the years. The supporting cast fares little better, with Peter Dinklage attempting to breathe life into his performance as Eddie “The Fire Blaster” Plant before inevitably succumbing to boredom. Josh Gad also tries to make a go of things, but enthusiasm alone can’t make up for his awkward delivery of the toothless material he’s been given. It’s disappointing that our protagonist and his allies are all presented as stereotypically “nerdy” losers. It’s even more damning that only two women

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contact xpressmovies@aol.com are given significant roles, both of which are ostensibly geared toward creating strong female characters on paper but fall apart as soon as those characters speak. It’s a sad film indeed in which the best performances come from Sean Bean and Brian Cox expressing exasperated disbelief — possibly in the context of the script, but more likely at the ludicrous job their respective agents talked them into. In a recent interview, longtime Sandler writer Tim Herlihy confessed that the rewrite process on this film “taught [him] to be lazy and quick.” Pixels does indeed strive for comedy, but the jokes that land are few and far between, relying instead on flaccid and predictable action set pieces that will likely lose their impact when not viewed in 3D. Viewers can save themselves 100 minutes of tedium by showing up as the credits begin to roll, under which an 8-bit rendering recounts the entire story more capably than the preceding film. Better still, stay home and watch the short. Rated PG-13 for some language and suggestive comments Now playing at Carmike 10, Carolina Cinemas, Epic of Hendersonville, Regal Biltmore Grande. reviewed by Scott Douglas jsdouglas22@gmail.com

Southpaw HS DIRECTOR: Antoine Fuqua PLAYERS: Jake Gyllenhaal, Forest Whitaker, Oona Laurence, 50 Cent, Rachel McAdams BOXING DRAMA RATED R THE STORY: A champion boxer finds his life unraveling after the sudden death of his wife. THE LOWDOWN: A cheesy, clichériddled boxing drama built around a gimmicky performance by Jake Gyllenhaal.

The marketing for Antoine Fuqua’s Southpaw seems to be predicated on two things. The first being that Fuqua made Training Day 14 years ago, but

HHHHH = max rating since then has put out a long list of macho, tough guy garbage, and the second being that Jake Gyllenhaal is all puffed-up and covered in fake tattoos to play boxer Billy Hope in a film that’s built around one gimmicky, unsympathetic performance by Gyllenhaal, with little regard for anything else. The film itself is little more than a standard boxing flick. You could even lump it into the realm of uplifting sports film, since it’s ultimately a movie about overcoming the odds — even if those odds are created by the protagonist’s wealth of terrible, self-destructive decisions. Gyllenhaal plays Billy Hope, a boxer who rose up through foster care and impoverished beginnings to become a world champion. He’s also a loving husband to his wife Maureen (Rachel McAdams) and loving father to his daughter Leila (Oona Laurence), despite the approaching end of his career. All of this is torn apart, however, after a scuffle with a rival boxer (TV actor Miguel Gomez) ends in the sudden death of his wife, and the quick unraveling of Billy’s life as he loses his title, his house, his wealth and his daughter. It’s not hard to guess where the arc of the film is going after this as Billy pulls himself up by his bootstraps (after a lot of wallowing in self-pity), which gives him a chance to redeem himself in the ring. Since there’s not much dramatic tension (let alone originality), all that’s left is what Fuqua the filmmaker can bring. If you’ve seen the rest of his filmography, you’ll know this isn’t much. There’s no style on display here (he’s still stuck using a lot of frustrating handheld camera work) and even less energy, a sad state of affairs for a film that’s focused on something as kinetic as boxing. Helping just as little is Gyllenhaal, who’s officially turned into a full-on dreary method actor. He’s beefed up considerably to suit his role, and mumbles his way through the entire film. The script, unfortunately, gives him little else to do than form a character that’s generally unlikable, or at the very least cursed with some terrible decisionmaking skills. The idea, of course, is to watch him grow, but Billy — as written — has no depth, undercutting the notion of Southpaw being some sort of character study. The sense is that Fuqua’s decided to make an updated version of Rocky (1976), but the lack of an amiable title character and the unfortu-


nately natural pitfalls of modernizing such a story (like Southpaw’s tackedon grittiness) make the film a tough sell. Rated R for language throughout, and some violence. Playing at Carmike 10, Carolina Cinemas, Epic of Hendersonville, Regal Biltmore Grande. reviewed by Justin Souther jsouther@ mountainx.com

The Stanford Prison Experiment HHHH director: Kyle Patrick Alvarez players: Billy Crudup, Michael Angarano, Thomas Mann, Ezra Miller, Logan Miller, Tye Sheridan, Nelsan Ellis, Olivia Thirlby fact-based drama rated r the story: A filmic recreation of the controversial 1971 psychological experiment of the same name. the lowdown: Powerful, but decidedly unpleasant, look at the effects of power and the loss of power as evidenced by college students acting out the roles of inmates and prison guards. Strong stuff, but rather flatly made. It succeeds mostly on its ideas.

I respect what has been attempted with The Stanford Prison Experiment. I admire the questions it raises — and the fact that it doesn’t pretend to be able to really answer them. As filmmaking, on the other hand, I found it largely indifferent, and the film looks cheap, which is perhaps inescapable in a movie that mostly takes place in a makeshift prison in the basement of a university. And it certainly doesn’t offer an enjoyable time at the movies, but then it’s not meant to. It is meant to be a penetrating look at an actual experiment that took place in 1971. The film’s idea is to call into question the methods employed by Stanford University Psychology Department Professor Philip Zimbardo (Billy Crudup), and at the same time consider the possible truths uncovered by the study. In this regard, the film is largely successful — uncomfortably so. The actual experiment involved 24 male college students — who were to be paid $15 a day — selected to

play either inmates or guards in the “prison” for a period of two weeks. Depending on how you look at it, things either went wrong very quickly, or it didn’t take nearly as much time to prove the point as was estimated. In either case, the two weeks only lasted six days. Now, if the film is to be believed, there’s a large amount of questionable methodology at work right from the start. For instance, those chosen to play guards were told that the decision was made because of their leadership qualities. In fact, the decision was completely random. In fact, a good bit of the experiment comes across as random. Considering the fact that Prof. Zimbardo (not the actor depicting him) was involved in the film’s making — and since the film certainly does him no favors — it’s not unreasonable to assume that what we’re seeing is essentially true, or at least as true as the combination of recorded data and 44-yearold memories allow. The idea was to study the effects of total subjugation on the prisoners and what effect the more or less unlimited power had on the guards. In a sense, the results are fairly predictable. The guards quickly become drunk on their power — especially once Zimbardo ups that power when things aren’t progressing to his satisfaction. The primary guard in the film is Christopher Archer (Michael Angarano). He quickly decides to model himself on Strother Martin in Cool Hand Luke and just as quickly becomes a flatout sadist — or at least he’s effectively playing one, and the film tacitly raises the question of whether or not there’s really any difference. At the same time, it suggests that the inherent flaw in the experiment may be that someone like Archer is simply giving the performance he thinks Zimbardo wants. But even then, where does the line get crossed? How much is Archer giving in to his own latent sadism? On the other hand, the prisoners are clearly not acting. Through the dehumanizing process — subjugation, humiliation, degradation, deprivation — they rebel until they are mentally beaten into submission. The fact that they are ultimately on the receiving end of what appear to be Archer’s own homoerotic fantasies only deepens the complexity of the dynamic at work. But perhaps the most disturbing aspect of all is the manner in which this changes not just the guards and the prisoners, but

those conducting the experiment. What may have started as a scientific study — and that is still under debate — gives way to arrogance and a loss of simple humanity among the controlling powers as well. This is not an easy film on any level, though its most unsettling aspect is the question of whether or not these aspects lie dormant in us all and only require the right circumstances to bring them to the surface. Rated R for language including abusive behavior and some sexual references. Starts Friday at Carolina Cinemas. reviewed by Ken Hanke khanke@ mountainx.com

Community Screenings

fiLm PuBLic LiBrArY screenings buncombecounty.org/governing/depts/library • FR (7/31), 6pm - Silent Movie Comedy Series: The Kid and Mabel’s Strange Predicament. Hosted by film historian Chip Kaufmann. Free. Held at Leicester Library, 1561 Alexander Rd., Leicester • SA (8/1), 2pm - Throwback Theater: The Love Bug. Free. Held at North Asheville Library, 1030 Merrimon Ave.

sPecIal screenInGs

Las Brujas de Zugaramurdi (Witching & Bitching) HHHH director: Alex de la Iglesia players: Hugo Silva, Mario Casas, Pepón Nieto, Carolina Bang, Carmen Maura horror comedy Rated NR Alex de la Iglesia’s Las Brujas de Zugarramurdi was saddled with the moronic English language title Witching & Bitching — the translation of its Spanish title is The Witches of Zugarramurdi — but don’t let that put you off this magnificent mash-up of the kind only Alex de la Iglesia could provide. On the surface, it may feel a bit like Robert Rodriguez’s From Dusk Till Dawn (1996). The set-up is similar, except that thieves-on-the-run here find themselves at the mercy of a coven of witches rather than a nightclub full of vampires. The execution, on the other hand, is very different — not in the least because the witches are about as likable as the film’s apparent hero. Basically, it’s an over-the-top — and patently ridiculous — heist movie that turns into a horror comedy done in what can only be called explosively bad taste. It’s at once subversive and silly, funny and grotesque — and very, very strange. The Thursday Horror Picture Show will screen Las Brujas de Zugarramurdi (Witching & Bitching) Thusday, July 30 at 8 p.m. in Theater Six at The Carolina Asheville and will be hosted by Xpress movie critics Ken Hanke and Justin Souther.

Persona HHHHH director: Ingmar Bergman players: Bibi Andersson, Liv Ullmann, Gunnar Björnstrand, Margaretha Krook, Jörgen Lindström psychological drama continues on page 52

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july 29 - august 4, 2015

51


moVIes

Local film news

by Edwin Arnaudin

sPecIal screenInGs contInued

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Rated NR Calling Ingmar Bergman’s Persona (1966) the filmmaker’s most disturbing film is a pretty bold assertion, but I think it may well be true. It is certainly one of his most difficult films — possibly the most impenetrable film in his entire oeuvre and the most seemingly bizarre. From the moment the film begins — with the carbon arc lamp in a movie projector being struck — it’s obvious that Persona is no ordinary movie. This is then hammered home by a series of apparently unrelated flashing images: the projector shutter, film chattering through the machine, an erect penis, an upside down cartoon of a fat woman at the seaside, footage from a silent comedy in which “death” in a skeleton suit chases people for no apparent reason, a sheep being sheared and gutted, a nail being pounded into the hand of a man being crucified, glimpses of incomprehensible scenes that will later be encountered in the body of the film etc. All of this culminates in a strange scene of a singularly unattractive, slightly androgynous boy (Jörgen Lindström) trying to sleep on what appears to be a mortuary table, finally giving up to read a book before becoming transfixed on projections of blurry faces of two women that keep shifting. And this, mind you, only comprises the first seven minutes of the film. Classic World Cinema by Courtyard Gallery will present Persona Friday, July 31 at 8 p.m. at Phil Mechanic Studios, 109 Roberts St., River Arts District (upstairs in the Railroad Library). Info: 273-3332, www. ashevillecourtyard.com

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance HHHHS director: John Ford players: John Wayne, James Stewart, Vera Miles, Lee Marvin, Edmond O’Brien, Woody Strode western Rated NR Few films are as deeply flawed yet so wonderful or so essential to a great director’s filmography as John Ford’s The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). I suppose Josef von Sternberg’s The Devil Is a Woman (1935) runs a close second, and for a lot of the same reasons. Both films contain all the trademarks of their creators — maybe too much so. In the case of Ford’s film — his last great Western — one has to add that it’s a film out of its own time. This tale of the passing of the Old West was old-fashioned and out of date even in 1962. It contains all the elements of films of 20 years earlier — the broad comedy, the stereotypes (Woody Strode in Uncle Remus makeup being given “pork chop money” by James Stewart!), the tendency to simplify and glorify the past. But it’s deliberately, even defiantly out of step. It’s an aging filmmaker accepting the fact that time has moved on, but he’s accepting it on his own terms. The Hendersonville Film Society will show The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance Sunday, Aug. 2, at 2 p.m. in the Smoky Mountain Theater at Lake Pointe Landing Retirement Community (behind Epic Cinemas), 333 Thompson St., Hendersonville.

The Palm Beach Story HHHHH director: Preston Sturges players: Claudette Colbert, Joel McCrea, Mary Astor, Rudy Vallee, Sig Arno comedy Rated NR The Palm Beach Story (1942) is almost certainly not Preston Sturges’ best film, but it very well might be his funniest. It’s almost certainly his fastest-paced and has a plot device that would have made Shakespeare proud. What we have here is the tale of Gerry (Claudette Colbert) and Tom Jeffers (Joel McCrea), a couple who are struggling to make ends meet while Tom tries to his invention of a new kind of airport that’s suspended over a city “like a tennis racket.” Just as they’re about to be tossed out of their apartment, a prospective tenant — the Wienie King (Robert Dudley), inventor of the Texas Wienie (“Lay off of ‘em, you’ll live longer”) — takes a shine to Gerry and gives her $700. After getting them out of debt, Gerry takes off for a divorce in Palm Beach where she hopes to marry a millionaire — primarily to finance Tom’s airport. After getting taken in by a group of wealthy, rowdy drunks — the Ale and Quail Club — with a private railroad car, she sneaks into a Pullman when the rowdiness gets out of hand. She then just happens to run into the richest man in the world, John D. Hackensacker III (Rudy Vallee), by stepping on his face (twice) while climbing into an upper berth. But in the meantime, the Wienie King has financed Tom’s trip to fly down and get her back. It’s fresh and funny and full of the kind of dialogue that only Preston Sturges could write. The Asheville Film Society will screen The Palm Beach Story Tuesday, Aug. 4, at 8 p.m. in Theater Six at The Carolina Asheville and will be hosted by Xpress movie critics Ken Hanke and Justin Souther.

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big screen adVenture: The movie Denali is one of the offerings of the 5Point Film Festival. It’s a tribute by photographer Ben Moon, above, to his dog who helped him through cancer. Photo by Lisa Skaff • Western North Carolina adds to its reputation as a home for outdoor and adventure art with the 5point film festival, set to take place Friday and Saturday, Aug. 14 and 15, in Asheville. Now in its seventh year, 5Point is a four-day concert-style festival, held each year in Carbondale, Colo. As the Southeast regional hub, Asheville joins Somerville, Mass., and Bellingham, Wash., as host sites for two-day festivals that organizers plan to eventually grow into four-day gatherings. In addition to consecutive nights of short films at the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, events include a free panel discussion with top Asheville athletes anna levesque, will harlan, jay curwen, sam Koerber and adam hill at New Mountain’s Sol Bar; live music and a community picnic and ice cream social. Tickets and festival passes start at $20 and can be purchased through the 5Point Film website. 5pointfilm.org • Wilderness therapy leader suws of the carolinas will host a free community screening of the award-winning film Girl on the Edge on Wednesday, Aug. 12, at The Altamont Theatre. Directed by jay silverman and starring elizabeth peña and peter coyote, the film is based on a true story. It follows a young woman who finds healing through the wilderness in the wake of a horrific trauma. Some content and language may not be appropriate for children younger than 13, and the event’s planners recommend that children younger than 16 be accompanied by an adult. Upon the film’s conclusion, a panel discussion on mental health issues will take place. Panelists include SUWS of the Carolinas therapist trysh huntington, a

former student and others. There is a suggested donation of $10-$20 per ticket, which will benefit the California-based Sky’s the Limit Fund, a nonprofit that transforms the lives of at-risk youths through wilderness therapy programs. To reserve tickets, visit the Sky’s the Limit Fund’s website. skysthelimitfund.org • throwback theater continues on Saturday afternoons at the North Asheville Library, featuring live-action, family-friendly Disney films from the 1960s and ’70s. Selections include The Love Bug (Aug. 1), The Gnome-Mobile (Aug. 22), Blackbeard’s Ghost (Saturday, Aug. 29), the original Escape to Witch Mountain (Sept. 5), The Apple Dumpling Gang (Sept. 12), the original Freaky Friday (Sept. 19) and The Black Hole (Sept. 26). Throwback Theater screenings begin at 2 p.m. in the library’s meeting room and are free and open to the public. avl.mx/1d0 • On Thursday, Aug. 13, at 2:30 p.m., the South Buncombe Library hosts a screening of the documentary short Yes You May: The Story of Christopher’s Garden. Director bill torgerson and the film’s subject, Asheville gardener christopher mello, will be in attendance and lead a post-film Q&A session on gardening and filmmaking. The event is free, open to the public and takes place in the library’s meeting room. avl.mx/o9 Send local film ae@mountainx.com X

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jobs skiLLeD LABor/ trADes cArPenters heLPer Local residential home builder seeking a carpenter's helper for full time employment. All projects are in the Asheville area. We only require reliable transportation. Room for advancement we are a small company but have a lot of projects. Please email your credentials to erictschenk@ gmail.com

ADministrAtiVe/ office Annie’s BAkerY: customer serVice/Account mAnAger Responsible for acting as liaison between customers and company. Assist sales people, account questions, errors, billing and all queries. QuickBooks required. Contribute to team effort working with sales, finance, production and drivers. Friendly, energetic, positive, strong communication and interpersonal skills, detail oriented, effective multitasker and able to work in a fast paced environment. Manage social media. • No Phone calls. Email resume to finance@anniesbread.com BookkeePer-hr/office ADministrAtor neeDeDJob responsibilities: (1) maintain and reconcile financial and accounting records, (2) process payroll, (3) file taxes, (4) manage personnel records and benefits programs, (5) maintain advertising-sales records, accounts, invoicing & collections, and (6) provide front office support. Qualified applicants must have an associate’s degree or higher in HR and/or accounting (or demonstrate equivalent business experience) and at least two years’ successful experience in an office environment in the relevant fields. Must be mature, with extremely high ethics and good judgment, and able to communicate effectively with employees, supervisors, clients and the public. Must be computersavvy, Macintosh preferred. Knowledge of MYOB accounting application and Excel are plusses. We are a small, community-minded, media outlet. If you want a meaningful job with a company that serves the community in a calm and respectful environment, send your resume and cover letter outlining your experience, your goals, and why you think you would fit in with Xpress. Please respond by email to xpressjob@mountainx.com

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afternoon. 2pm-7pm. Monday-Thursday. Approximately 20 hours. route Driver: We are looking for an experienced route driver for a Full time position. Applicant should have experience with box-trucks, customer relations and expect to work Monday through Saturday. No phone calls. Email resume to finance@anniesbread.com APOLLO FLAME • WAITstAff Full-time. Fast, friendly, fun atmosphere. • Experience required. • Must be 18 years old. • Apply in person between 2pm-4pm, 485 Hendersonville Road. 274-3582. WiLD Wing cAfé in south AsheViLLe is now hiring Servers, Cooks and Expos. Open call interviews on Wednesday July 29, 2015 between 9am and 6pm AND Thursday July 30, 2015 between 9 am and 4pm at our location at 65 Longshoals Road in South Asheville. Candidates should have a strong work ethic, great customer service, and a positive/outgoing personality. Some experience is ideal, but not necessary. Must be 18+

humAn serVices WeBmAster/ DeVeLoPerMountain Xpress is seeking the right person to continue the evolution of our online presence. You must have: 1) Excellent web development skills (PHP, MySQL, HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, RWD) with at least 2 years of professional experience; 2) Strong problem solving skills with the ability to work independently; 3) Ability to manage in-house and outsourced projects; 4) Willingness to be a team player; 5) Commitment to a locally focused, social-media-engaged outlet. The ideal candidate will have WordPress development experience (templating, custom post types, taxonomies, widgets, hooks & actions), the ability to write custom database queries, as well as modify existing custom PHP applications. You will also need experience managing a LAMP infrastructure with high-availability principles. Salary based on experience and skill, with benefits package. Send cover letter (that demonstrates your passions, how those passions would fit with Mountain Xpress’ mission and needs, and why you’d like to work with us) and resume to: webcoordinator@mountainx.com. No phone calls please.

restAurAnt/ fooD 2 POSITIONS • ANNIE’S BAkerY PAcking teAm Packing team: Packing bread for delivery and quality control. Part-time position will assist packaging department during the peak hours of the

AVAiLABLe immeDiAteLY • DIRECT CARE POSItions Must have clean driving record, dependable and insured auto, exemplary background, and flexibility to work. Please contact Jeannie Aiken, Rescare HomeCare. EOE. 828-252-0891 or apply online at rescare.com

AVAILABLE POSITIONS • meriDiAn BehAViorAL heALth Jackson county: Psychiatric nurse - Assertive Community Treatment Team – (ACTT). Seeking a psychiatric nurse with 2 years of psychiatric nursing experience to join our Jackson County Assertive Community Treatment Team (ACTT) in the beautiful mountains of western North Carolina. Come experience the satisfaction of providing recoveryoriented services within the context of a strong wraparound model. If you are not familiar with ACTT, this position will provide you with an opportunity to experience a service that really works! clinician - Assertive Community Treatment Team – (ACTT). Seeking an energetic and passionate individual to join the Assertive Community Treatment Team in the beautiful mountains of western North Carolina. Come experience the satisfaction of providing recovery-oriented services within the context of a strong team wraparound model. If you are not familiar with ACTT, this position will provide you with an opportunity to experience an enhanced service that really works! Must have a

Master’s degree and be licensed/license-eligible. certified medical Assistant (cmA) Jackson/macon Graduate of an accredited Certified Medical Assistant program and CMA certification with AAMA or AMT required. Two years of related experience preferred, preferably in an outpatient medical office setting. clinician – offender services Meridian is seeking a therapist to be a member of a multi-disciplinary treatment team, providing assessment, individual and group therapy services to sex offenders and their nonoffending partners within a structured Sexual Abuse Intervention Program (SAIP) and to domestic violence abusers and their families within a structured Domestic Violence Intervention Program (DVIP). Prior clinical experience working with sexual offenders and an understanding of the dynamics of sexual deviance strongly preferred as well as familiarity with relevant research literature, clinical assessments, procedures and methods, particularly those designed for sexual offenders. Demonstrated interpersonal skills and the ability to establish rapport and maintain objectivity with a criminal or forensic population is a necessity. Masters Degree in a human services field and licensure as a Professional Counselor or Clinical Social Worker or Psychological Associate is required. At least one year of supervised clinical experience is required, preferably in a community mental health center setting. Services provided in Haywood, Jackson, and Cherokee County. haywood county: clinician, team Leader - Assertive Community Treatment Team – (ACTT). We are seeking a passionate, values-driven and dynamic professional to oversee our Assertive Community Treatment Team (ACTT), which serving Jackson, Macon and Swain counties. ACTT is an evidence-based, multi-disciplinary, community-based service which supports individuals with severe psychiatric disorders in remaining in the community and experiencing mental health recovery. We have a deep commitment to our ACTT services because, over the years, we have seen that is a service that truly makes a difference in the lives of the people that struggle the most with mental health challenges. Our ACTT staff have been known to describe the work as the “hardest job that you will ever love”. Come be part of our rural team and experience if for yourself! Master’s Degree in Human Services Required, One Year Experience with Adults with Mental Health, Substance Abuse or Development Disability Required. macon county: clinician recovery education center (rec) Seeking passionate, values-driven and dynamic professional to join our Macon County Recovery Education Center. This program reflects a unique design which

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integrates educational, clinical and peer support components in a center-based milieu. To be considered, an applicant should be familiar with the recovery paradigm of mental health and substance abuse services. A Master’s degree and license eligibility are also required. transylvania county clinician – child and family services Seeking Licensed/ Associate Licensed Therapist for an exciting opportunity to serve youth and their families through individual and group therapy, working primarily out of the local schools. AgencyWide: employment support Professional (esP) The ESP functions as part of a team that implements employment services based on the SE-IPS model. The team’s goal is to support individuals who have had challenges with obtaining and/or maintaining employment I the past and to obtain and maintain competitive employment moving forward. The ESP is responsible for engaging clients and establishing trusting, collaborative relationships that result in the creation of completion of individualized employment goals. The ESP will support the client through the whole employment process and provide a variety of services at each state to support the individual in achieving their employment goals. Peer support specialist (PAce) Being a Peer Support Specialist provides an opportunity for individuals to transform their own personal lived experience with mental health and/or addiction challenges into a tool for inspiring hope for recovery in others. Applicants must demonstrate maturity in their own recovery process, have a valid driver’s license, reliable transportation and have moderate computer skills. clinician – Peers Assisting in Community Engagement (PACE). Clinician will be providing ongoing therapy with individuals and clinical support to the peer support team. The position will involve travel and community-based work in multiple counties. A Master’s degree and license eligibility are required. PACE provides structured and scheduled activities for adults age 18 and older with a diagnosis of Mental Health and Substance Use disorders. • For further information and to complete an application, visit our website: www.meridianbhs.org fAmiLY PreserVAtion serVices of nc, inc. Great Job Opportunities available at Family Preservation Services. Seeking fully/ associate licensed professionals to work with children/ adults. Please see the Web ad for Job details. Resumes to Crystal Simpson (csimpson@ fpscorp.com). 828-225-3100 csimpson@fpscorp.com 828225-3100 csimpson@fpscorp. com http://www.fpscorp. com/fps-home.html

july 29 - august 4, 2015

53


FreeWIll astroloGy

by Rob Brezny

ARIES (March 21-April 19): "I am very much in love with no one in particular," says actor Ezra Miller. His statement would make sense coming out of your mouth right about now. So would this one: "I am very much in love with almost everyone I encounter." Or this one: "I am very much in love with the wind and moon and hills and rain and rivers." Is this going to be a problem? How will you deal with your overwhelming urge to overflow? Will you break people's hearts and provoke uproars everywhere you go, or will you rouse delight and bestow blessings? As long as you take yourself lightly, I foresee delight and blessings. TAURUS (April 20-May 20): In her io9.com article on untranslatable words, Esther Inglis-Arkell defines the Chinese term wei-wu-wei as "conscious non-action . . . a deliberate, and principled, decision to do nothing whatsoever, and to do it for a particular reason." In my astrological opinion, the coming days would be a favorable time to explore and experiment with this approach. I think you will reap wondrous benefits if you slow down and rest in the embrace of a pregnant pause. The mysteries of silence and emptiness will be rich resources. GEMINI (May 21-June 20): "I always liked side-paths, little dark back-alleys behind the main road -- there one finds adventures and surprises, and precious metal in the dirt." The character named Dmitri Karamazov makes that statement in Fyodor Dostoyevsky's novel The Brothers Karamazov. And now I'm thinking that you might like to claim his attitude as your own. Just for a while, you understand. Not forever. The magic of the side paths and back-alleys may last for no more than a few weeks, and then gradually fade. But in the meantime, the experiences you uncover there could be fun and educational. I do have one question for you, though: What do you think Dmitri meant by "precious metal in the dirt"? Money? Gold? Jewelry? Was he speaking metaphorically? I'm sure you'll find out. CANCER (June 21-July 22): "Sometimes the road less traveled is less traveled for a reason," says comedian Jerry Seinfeld. His implication is that rejecting traditional strategies and conventional wisdom doesn't always lead to success. As a professional rebel myself, I find it painful to agree even a little bit with that idea. But I do think it's applicable to your life right now. For the foreseeable future, compulsive nonconformity is likely to yield mediocrity. Putting too much emphasis on being unique rather than on being right might distract you from the truth. My advice: Stick to the road more traveled. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Expiration dates loom. Fond adieus and last laughs and final hurrahs are on tap. Unfinished business is begging you to give it your smartest attention while there's still time to finish it with elegance and grace. So here's my advice for you, my on-the-verge friend: Don't save any of your tricks, ingenuity, or enthusiasm for later. This is the later you've been saving them for. You are more ready than you realize to try what has always seemed improbable or inconceivable before now. Here's my promise: If you handle these endings with righteous decisiveness, you will ensure bright beginnings in the weeks after your birthday. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): A company called Evil Supply sells a satirical poster that contains the following quote: "Be the villain you were born to be. Stop waiting for someone to come along and corrupt you. Succumb to the darkness yourself." The text in the advertisement for this product adds, "Follow your nightmares . . . Plot your own nefarious path." Although this counsel is slightly funny to me, I'm too moral and upright to recommend it to you -- even now, when I think there would be value in you being less nice and polite and agreeable than you usually are. So I'll tinker with Evil Supply's message to create more suitable advice: "For the greater good, follow your naughty bliss. Be a leader with a wild imagination. Nudge everyone out of their numbing routines. Sow benevolent mischief that energizes your team." SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): "Every time you resist

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july 29 - august 4, 2015

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): I expect you to be in a state of constant birth for the next three weeks. Awakening and activation will come naturally. Your drive to blossom and create may be irresistible, bordering on unruly. Does that sound overwhelming? I don’t think it will be a problem as long as you cultivate a mood of amazed amusement about it. (P.S. This upsurge is a healthy response to the dissolution that preceded it.) acting on your anger and instead restore yourself to calm, it gets easier," writes psychologist Laura Markham in Psychology Today. In fact, neurologists claim that by using your willpower in this way, "you're actually rewiring your brain." And so the more you practice, the less likely it is that you will be addled by rage in the future. I see the coming weeks as an especially favorable time for you to do this work, Scorpio. Keeping a part of your anger alive is good, of course -- sometimes you need its energy to motivate constructive change. But you would benefit from culling the excess. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Much of the action in the world's novels takes place inside buildings, according to author Robert Bringhurst. But characters in older Russian literature are an exception, he says. They are always out in the forests, traveling and rambling. In accordance with astrological omens, I suggest that you draw inspiration from the Russians' example in the coming days. As often and as long as you can, put yourself in locations where the sky is overhead. Nature is the preferred setting, but even urban spots are good. Your luck, wisdom, and courage are likely to increase in direct proportion to how much time you spend outdoors. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Has a beloved teacher disappointed you? Are there inspirational figures about whom you feel conflicted because they don't live up to all of your high standards? Have you become alienated from a person who gave you a blessing but later expressed a flaw you find hard to overlook? Now would be an excellent time to seek healing for rifts like these. Outright forgiveness is one option. You could also work on deepening your appreciation for how complicated and paradoxical everyone is. One more suggestion: Meditate on how your longing for what's perfect might be an enemy of your ability to benefit from what's merely good. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): French and Italian readers may have no problem with this horoscope. But Americans, Canadians, Brits, and Aussies might be offended, even grossed out. Why? Because my analysis of the astrological omens compels me to conclude that "moist" is a central theme for you right now. And research has shown that many speakers of the English language find the sound of the word "moist" equivalent to hearing fingernails scratching a chalkboard. If you are one of those people, I apologize. But the fact is, you will go astray unless you stay metaphorically moist. You need to cultivate an attitude that is damp but not sodden; dewy but not soggy; sensitive and responsive and lyrical, but not overwrought or weepy or histrionic. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Which signs of the zodiac are the most expert sleepers? Who best appreciates the healing power of slumber and feels the least shame about taking naps? Which of the twelve astrological tribes are most inclined to study the art of snoozing and use their knowledge to get the highest quality renewal from their time in bed? My usual answer to these questions would be Taurus and Cancer, but I'm hoping you Pisceans will vie for the top spot in the coming weeks. It's a very favorable time for you to increase your mastery of this supreme form of self-care.

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AcADemY mentor stAff WAnteD Mentor Staff Wanted: The Academy at Trails Carolina, a year-round experiential and adventure based therapeutic boarding school for boys grades 9-12 based in Henderson County North Carolina, is seeking passionate and energetic individuals to join its student life staff. Academy Mentor Staff coordinate with the Director of Student Life to create and facilitate integrated and experiential resident life programming for Academy students. Interested applicants should email copies of their resume, letters of reference, and any pertinent wilderness certifications (WFR, CPR, etc.) to jobs@ trailsacademy.com www. trailsacademy.com

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the neW yorK tImes crossWord Puzzle

Across 1 “Rock and Roll All Nite” band 5 Crime chief 9 Region known for its black tea 14 Quechua speaker 15 Pike, e.g. 16 Big bang material, informally 17 Luxury hotel overlooking Central Park 19 Some airport transports 20 Like some cheaper tuition 21 Weak 22 Not yet available at press time, for short 23 First chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, 1949 25 Labor Day deliveries 27 ___ bran muffin 28 Exam-administering org. 29 Hubbub 30 Red stone 33 Constellation visible in Melbourne and Sydney 38 Any of three author sisters 39 “Fine by me” 41 ___ deviation: Abbr. 44 Swiss canton 45 To no purpose

47 Flier over Tiananmen

Square 51 Bo Derek, in a 1979 film 52 Election do-over 53 Richard who won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony and Pulitzer 55 Pennsylvania Dutch speakers 56 What 17-, 23-, 33and 47-Across each have 58 Places to stand and deliver? 59 Bambi and others 60 Feature of a big cake 61 “I Hated, Hated, Hated This Movie” author 62 Tosses in 63 Mönch and Eiger, for two Down 1 Baby fox 2 Puts the brakes on 3 Plot outline 4 Drains, as energy 5 Wipes the floor with 6 Vessel with many branches 7 Kitchen doohickey 8 Keats’s “To Autumn,” e.g. 9 “B.C.” animal that goes ZOT!

edited by Will Shortz

Fathered 35-Down quarters Small sea projection Shuffles (along) Classic Langston Hughes poem 21 Swiss money 22 Common waiting area distractions 24 Shouldered 26 Chow 30 Robin Williams voiced one in “Aladdin” 31 ___ studio 32 Horn sound 34 “I agree” 35 Derby hopeful 36 Slippery slope? 37 Worker on commission 40 ¥ unit 41 Predicament 42 What a 5-Across is a boss in 43 What “/” means in math class 45 Sound control knobs 46 Popular sheepskin boots 48 Subordinate’s refusal 49 Mentally pooped 50 Gave a glowing review, say 54 “At Last” singer James 10 11 12 13 18

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puzzle by IAN lIVeNGOOD AND J.A.S.A. CROSSWORD ClASS

56 “Protecting and promoting your

57 Many honorees at M.L.B.’s

health” org.

Old-Timers’ Day

ansWer to PreVIous Puzzle

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