Mountain Xpress 08.07.19

OUR 26TH YEAR OF WEEKLY INDEPENDENT NEWS, ARTS & EVENTS FOR WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA VOL. 26 NO. 2 AUG. 7 - 13, 2019

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The wild, wild

BEST OF WNC Canton: Blue collar meets coffee culture

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Asheville Comedy Festival is back

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The wild, wild

BEST OF WNC Canton: Blue collar meets coffee culture

Asheville Comedy Festival is back

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PULLOUT SECTION BEST OF WNC PART I We are pleased as all get-out to serve up Part I of the Best of WNC, our 25th annual compilation of what you, our readers, declare to be the cream of the crop of what this region has to offer.

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OUR 26TH YEAR OF WEEKLY INDEPENDENT NEWS, ARTS & EVENTS FOR WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA VOL. 26 NO. 2 AUG. 7 - 13, 2019

C O NT E NT S

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OPINION

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

STA F F PUBLISHER: Jeff Fobes

Franny’s 50th Birthday

ASSISTANT TO THE PUBLISHER: Susan Hutchinson

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MANAGING EDITOR: Virginia Daffron

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STAFF REPORTERS: Able Allen, Edwin Arnaudin, Thomas Calder, Brooke Randle, Daniel Walton COMMUNITY CALENDAR EDITOR: Deborah Robertson CLUBLAND EDITOR: Lauren Andrews

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

‘Breast Is Best’?

When I first saw your [cover] headline “Breast Is Best,” I assumed the article [“Going With the Flow: Asheville and Buncombe County Seek Breastfeeding-friendly Designation,” July 31, Xpress] would contain the usual information extolling the benefits of breastfeeding.

I figured this one-size-fits-all gospel of baby feeding would fail to mention that not every woman produces enough milk to adequately feed her child, and I certainly didn’t expect praise to be given to the moms who are willing to go against the current fashion to ensure their children get the nourishment they need. “Here we go again,” I thought, opening the pages and (politely) rolling my eyes.

Imagine my delight to instead read an article encouraging the city of Asheville and its residents to support nursing moms in feeding their babies when and wherever they need! This is a cause I can truly admire and support! So maybe it needs its very own catchphrase, something like “Breasts Are for Babies” or “Get Back on the Mayflower, You Puritan,” etc. Y’all are the journalists, so maybe you can come up with something catchier than the well-worn phrase you chose.

— Cameron Walker Woodfin Editor’s note: Thank you for your feedback. The challenge of crafting words for our covers is likely to be

somewhat different from coming up with a catchy slogan for a public health education campaign. We’ll give it a whirl, though: “Babies Need to Eat, Too,” or “Breast Milk: Not Just for Breakfast,” or “Mammals Drink Milk” (well, maybe not that last one). Readers?

A disturbing encounter in East Asheville This is a warning to people who live in Beverly Hills.

Beverly Hills does not have sidewalks, and many yards do not have walking areas near the curb, so dog-walkers often have to walk in the streets.

On [a recent Sunday morning], I was walking my dog at East Hawthorne and stopped at the corner at Beverly. [An] SUV was stopped at the opposite corner at the stop sign.

In the vehicle was a big man, not wearing a seat belt. He was looking down at his cellphone, so he didn’t see me.

Behind him was a big dog. The window was rolled down, not far enough that the dog could jump out, but enough so that it could stick its head out and bark. I was afraid if the two dogs saw one another, mine might react — yanking on her leash and possibly causing me to fall.

I did not want to startle the man, so I waited a bit before I called to him.

“Hi, there,” I said, indicating my dog

MOVIE SECTION HOSTS: Edwin Arnaudin, Bruce Steele CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: Peter Gregutt, Rob Mikulak REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS: Mark Barrett, Leslie Boyd, Cathy Cleary, Abigail Griffin, Laura Hackett, Tony Kiss, Bill Kopp, Cindy Kunst, Ali Mangkang, Jeff Messer, Joe Pellegrino, Kim Ruehl, Shawndra Russell, Luke Van Hine, Kay West, Ami Worthen ADVERTISING, ART & DESIGN MANAGER: Susan Hutchinson LEAD DESIGNER: Scott Southwick GRAPHIC DESIGNERS: Norn Cutson, Olivia Urban MARKETING ASSOCIATES: Christina Bailey, Sara Brecht, Bryant Cooper, Brian Palmieri, Susan Ragsdale, Heather Taylor, Tiffany Wagner OPERATIONS MANAGER: Able Allen INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES & WEB: Bowman Kelley BOOKKEEPER: Amie Fowler-Tanner ADMINISTRATION, BILLING, HR: Able Allen, Lauren Andrews

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

on the leash, “Could you please move on?” In response, the man screamed, “I can stay at a stop sign as long as I want! Go the other way!”

By this time, terrified, I remained at the corner and tried to explain that I was headed this way in order to go home. More screaming. I didn’t move.

“I hope a car will come by and hit you so I could watch you die!!” the man screamed several times. I remained where I was — I could not risk walking past the open windows of his vehicle. Putting his seat belt on, he sped away up Beverly toward Swannanoa, screaming out the window, “Die! Die! Die!” I was so shaken I could barely walk home.

No one else saw or heard this incident.

No photos. No license plate number.

Nothing like this, to my knowledge, has ever happened in the 20-plus years I’ve been walking dogs in Beverly Hills. So the incident is shocking. Most of my neighbors were supportive and lovely, some offering to accompany me on my walks. Others accused me of lying — go figure.

In any case, the police officer I talked to told me to let the neighborhood know what happened — and that the police would patrol the area more often. Thanks, APD! Be careful out there, folks.

— Marcianne Miller Asheville

Leaf pickup policy needs another look The city’s policy of dumping leaves and other yard trash out of the plastic bags holding them and leaving the bags lying in the gutter is contributing to plastic ending up in the ocean.

The bags wash down the storm drains in the next rain.

They should go back to picking up loose leaves.

— Mark McKenzie Asheville

We all can support immigrants We know that in Nazi Germany, there were some Germans who hid

Jews (like Anne Frank and her family [in the Netherlands]) in their homes to keep them safe from the Gestapo, concentration camps and death. Perhaps we have said to ourselves, “If I’d been in Germany then, I would have taken in a family and protected them.” Or we have shaken our heads sadly at the many other Germans who went about their lives and did nothing to avert the Holocaust.

Today, our president and Congress are imprisoning people desperately trying to cross our border to find a means of existence. Concentration camps is not too strong a term: People forced to drink water out of toilets, not permitted to shower, young children separated from their families, forced to sleep on concrete floors, sexually abused and utterly traumatized. They are fleeing from climate and economic catastrophes induced by North Americans’ policies and lifestyles. And the genocidal abuses continue unabated, with our tacit consent.

Here’s a different idea: What if some [local] hotel owners, Airbnb owners and people with an extra bedroom or two decided to welcome a few families who are at the border to stay for free and raised the funds to transport them here? Restaurant and store owners would be asked to donate food and other necessities.

Businesses and individuals would be asked to offer them decently paid work. Soon they would be integrated into the community. All those donating space and services would be honored for their generosity. It could become a movement that would spread to other cities, an example of kindness in the name of our common humanity.

“For I was hungry and you fed me, thirsty and you gave me a drink; I was a stranger and you took me in, naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you took care of me, in prison and you visited me. … I tell you, whatever you did for the least of these, you did for me!”

— Matthew 25:35.

— Cathy Holt Asheville Editor’s note: Holt notes that she can be reached at cathyfholt@gmail.com.

celebrating 25 Years!

C A R T O O N B Y B R E NT B R O W N

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NEWS

YES WE CAN(TON)

The hopes and dreams of a small town

BY THOMAS CALDER tcalder@mountainx.com When Liz Rhine and Russ Grimmett announced plans to open a craft coffee shop in Canton, family and friends responded with skepticism. “People told us we were crazy,” Rhine says.

Since the construction of Interstate 40 in the 1960s, a slow but relentless trend has plagued the mill town: One after another, local businesses have disappeared. In the early 2000s, then-Mayor Pat Smathers tried to revitalize the area’s downtown, but hurricanes, floods and the 2008 financial crisis hindered progress, leaving the ghost town intact.

More recently, Smathers’ son (and law practice partner) Zeb picked up where his father left off, serving Canton first as a member of its Board of Aldermen/Women and now as mayor. All the while, Smathers

BRINGING IT BACK: Canton’s leadership, residents and local businesses have come together to pump new life into the area’s downtown. In the midst of its growth, community members contemplate how to maintain Canton’s small-town vibe. Photo courtesy of the town of Canton has kept a watchful eye on Asheville.

As the city’s popularity and cost of living continue to climb, Smathers has worked to attract young entrepreneurs to his hometown, where the median home sales price is $190,550 compared with Asheville’s $326,088.

In addition to cheaper living, Smathers points to the economic incentives Canton offers. The three most popular options provide between $1,500 and $10,000 to new building owners or tenants.

All of those enticements factored into Rhine and Grimmett’s decision to settle in Canton where the couple opened Papertown Coffee in June. “We knew that Asheville was becoming way too expensive and that there was a lot of people starting to move outside of the area,” Rhine says. “We felt like the demographics here were changing and that we could hopefully pull it off here.”

The new coffee shop is just one in a string of recent business arrivals.

The goal, says Smathers, isn’t to turn his hometown into the next Asheville.

Rather, his aim is to help stimulate the local economy by providing Cantonians with local options.

Balance, the mayor continues, is among the major challenges. “How do 6

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you continue to attract new people, new ideas and new money without changing who you are?” Smathers asks. “Because we are a manufacturing town. We still have that identity. … We pride ourselves on that.”

SMOKE SIGNALS Train tracks divide the heart of downtown Canton from the industrial sounds and sights of Evergreen Packaging, the successor to Champion Paper.

Nevertheless, the billowing clouds that rise from the factory’s smokestacks permeate the entire town with the smell of hydrogen sulfide. When it comes to the malodor, many longtime residents have often said, “It smells like money.”

The paper mill dates to the turn of the 20th century, when Peter Gibson Thomson expanded his Ohio-based company, Champion Fibre, to Western North Carolina. Champion operated from its location on the banks of the Pigeon River for nearly 100 years. Starting in the early 1990s, the factory’s ownership and name changed hands multiple times before Evergreen Packaging took over in 2007.

At its peak, Champion employed nearly 3,000 workers. Today, Evergreen

Packaging provides jobs to roughly a third of that number. Still, the factory remains a leading employer in the community. And, perhaps surprisingly for those whose communities prize different values, many residents also view the mill as a bulwark against gentrification. “It takes a special person to live in Canton,” says photographer Gna Wyatt.

Despite its smell, Wyatt believes the town is in the midst of a boom. Over the last three years, she says, she has watched new businesses trickle in.

Meanwhile, in her neighborhood she counts 10 houses that are now occupied by Asheville transplants.

Data from the U.S. Census Bureau supports the idea of Canton’s growing appeal. Canton’s population growth has increased by an average of 0.95% in each of the last six years; within the same period, Asheville’s growth has averaged 1.3%. However, in 2017 and 2018, Canton outpaced Asheville by 0.3% and 0.7%, respectively.

Still, Wyatt doesn’t worry about Canton losing its small-town, bluecollar identity. Along with the paper mill, she has confidence in the town’s leadership and approach to community building. “Everyone knows Zeb [Smathers]. He is a friend to all of us,” she says. “When I want speed bumps on my road, I can message my mayor on Facebook, and he will respond to me immediately. That’s cool.”

What’s also cool, Wyatt continues, is how Smathers has expanded local notions of what types of new businesses can fit into the town. “Ten years ago, a brewery or a tattoo shop in downtown Canton was never a possibility or a thought,” she says. Both are now fixtures of the diversifying scene.

That growth, Wyatt says, has in turn benefited her own business, Starling & Oak Photography. Previously based in Asheville, Wyatt is in the final stages of relocating to Canton, where she rents a second-floor studio on Main Street.

“I’m an LGBTQ+ photographer,” she notes. “And I’ve never had any kickback from that. I’ve never experienced anything here but encouragement.”

‘THE FAMILY FARM’ Several other new business owners in the community echo Wyatt’s sentiments. Hospitality, they say, is as much a part of the town’s culture as an appreciation of the area’s natural

LEADING THE WAY: Canton native Zeb Smathers was elected town mayor in 2017.

The pro-business Democrat is working to attract new businesses to his hometown.

Photo courtesy of Smathers

beauty. At the same time, Canton’s leaders aren’t shy about sharing the good news of what the town has to offer.

One example came in 2016, when Canton’s then-Town Manager Seth Hendler-Voss caught wind that BearWaters Brewing Co. was searching for a new home. He immediately called BearWaters’ co-owner Art O’Neil.

“He told us there was a spot he wanted us to see,” remembers O’Neil. The brewery owner agreed to a meeting; HendlerVoss suggested a site visit that day. O’Neil reminded the town manager that it was 4 o’clock on a Friday. “There’s no time like the present,” Hendler-Voss replied.

BearWaters Brewing opened in Canton the following year. Some initial trepidation that the town’s older longtime residents might not welcome the business didn’t last long, O’Neil says.

“There was a lady who stood [in line] probably 45 minutes when we first opened, and when she finally got up to me, she said, ‘Now I don’t even drink beer, but thank you for not overlooking Canton,’” O’Neil recalls.

Robert Kuhhirte, co-owner of J-RO’s Burgers & Subs, shares a similar expe-

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NEW IN TOWN: In June, Papertown Coffee opened in Canton. Owners Russ Grimmett, left, and Liz Rhine purchased the two-story downtown building, converting the upstairs into their living space. Photo

by Thomas Calder rience with Canton’s leadership. Since 1993, he has operated Smoky Mountain Sub Shop in Waynesville. Around 2015, Kuhhirte says he was approached by then-Canton Police Chief Bryan Whitner.

“He asked if we would ever consider opening up a place in Canton,” Kuhhirte remembers. “We didn’t think much about it. But then he came back and said he was really serious about it. That he would show us available spots.”

Kuhhirte and business partner Randy O’Quinn eventually took Whitner up on the offer. In March 2017, J-RO’s opened.

Business, says Kuhhirte, has boomed from day one. “Canton people support their town,” he says. “That’s one of the reasons why we have been so successful.”

Like many in the community, Kuhhirte sees Canton’s potential, but he also worries the possible downsides of growth.

“Some of the old Asheville people, they wouldn’t come over here because of that,” he says, pointing toward the smokestacks. “That was always a deterrent. But now the price of everything is pushing them out. They’ve already gone up to Weaverville and down to Hendersonville, and so it’s ultimately coming this way.”

Despite his concerns, Kuhhirte believes those same smokestacks will ultimately stave off any major threats to the town’s character. “That’s the family farm,” he declares. “That’s everybody’s paycheck.

It’s been here over 100 years, and I think it’s going to stay here another 100.”

When husband-and-wife team Nathan and Michaela Lowe opened their restaurant Southern Porch in 2016, the couple saw it as their chance to help get the ball rolling for Canton.

Natives to the region, Nathan grew up in Waynesville while Michaela spent her youth in Bethel. Their family now calls Canton home.

The Lowes’ restaurant operates out of the former Imperial Hotel, a sprawling Queen Anne-style residence built in 1876. Over the years, the structure expanded in size and fulfilled a number of different roles, including a boardinghouse, post office and commercial space. The building’s many transformations illustrate an important point: Change is nothing new in Canton.

Still, Nathan Lowe notes, that doesn’t mean it always comes easy. “A lot of people resist change,” he says.

“And they still do. Even here, we try to slowly incorporate new ideas or new beers to the menu.”

Like many who grew up in the area, Michaela Lowe wants to see Canton hold onto its small-town feeling. At the same time, she’s also excited to be part of its growth and evolution. So far, she says, the town has managed to balance both.

“We’re starting to see a lot of people moving here from Asheville,” she explains. “But I think the newer arrivals are open to ideas. They see that Canton has a bit of that Asheville flair, but it still has that hometown feel. And I think there are a lot of people coming here that crave the latter.”

Canton’s charm certainly made an impression on Lisa Concord. An Asheville native with family roots in the Canton community, she opened Pigeon River Mercantile on Main Street in September. Founding a retail business wasn’t originally part of her plans, she admits. “My husband and I were going to invest in the building as a rental property or flip it,” she says.

But as they continued work on renovations, members of the community kept checking in on them. Between “the heart of the people and the building itself,” Concord says, she and her family discovered “a great opportunity to have a little store here.”

Concord manages Pigeon River Mercantile’s daily operations with help from her daughter, Haleigh Thompson. With the store’s one-year anniversary approaching, the two hope they’ll soon be able to identify patterns in the local market. To date, they note, it has been difficult to nail down hours of operation.

FAMILY OPERATION: Lisa Concord, left, and her daughter, Haleigh Thompson, own and operate Pigeon River Mercantile. The business opened last September. Photo by Thomas Calder

SINCERELY YOURS Vacant buildings, however, still line sections of Canton’s downtown. A butcher shop, a market, art studios and a bookstore are among the additions local business owners say they would like to see fill those voids. Meanwhile, Smathers is hustling to attract an outdoor store to the area as part of Canton’s broader move to capture some of the region’s outdoor recreational market.

In addition, the mayor highlights the ongoing partnership, begun in October 2017, between the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce and the Haywood County chamber.

“It’s already paying off,” Smathers exclaims, pointing to the June announcement that Abundant Labs will open a $12 million hemp processing facility in Canton, bringing with it 18 new jobs — a number that could grow to over 40 in coming years.

“For me, it’s still important that we make things,” Smathers continues.

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“Canton isn’t necessarily a destination yet,” says Thompson. “It’s a lot of wordof-mouth.” But it is growing, she adds.

“It’s not the ghost town it once was.”

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CASUAL DINING: Southern Porch opened on Main Street in 2016. “We get so many people that come as they are from the paper mill, and that’s how we want it to be,” says co-owner Nathan Lowe, left. Also pictured are co-owner Michaela Lowe and the couple’s two daughters, Khairee and Brindley. Photo by Thomas Calder “Whether that be manufacturing on a large level or with craft beer.

I see Canton wanting to stay that blue-collared town.”

Community involvement, Smathers points out, is also crucial to maintaining the town’s identity. “You have to wash people in the blood of what you are,” the mayor says. “We have to invite new residents to a Pisgah football game, talk to them about the town’s history, get them involved in the local churches and in the community, whether it be through the historic groups, recreation or school.”

For now, the community seems committed to rolling out the red carpet for new arrivals. Inside Papertown Coffee, Liz Rhine stands behind the cash register, as her fiancé and business partner, Russ Grimmett, steams milk. A man walks in carrying a mint green folder. He introduces himself as James Markey, minister of music at Canton First Baptist. He explains he is making rounds downtown, getting to know some of the new business owners. The three chat for a few minutes. On his way out the door, Markey hands the entrepreneurs a sheet of paper from his folder.

Before Markey can leave, a nosy Xpress reporter asks the minister for a copy of the letter, explaining that he is in town working on an article about Canton’s growth. Markey happily obliges.

The letter’s opening two paragraphs read: “First of all, I want to sincerely thank you for all that you do to help make Canton the amazing place to live that it is. The transformative revitalization that has taken place over the past few years has been a tremendous blessing to the people of our town, and credit for the excitement and energy that exists for our strong and vibrant community moving forward is due in large part to your faith, hard work and dedication.

“In the coming weeks, teams from Canton First Baptist church will be reaching out in person to newcomers to our town to simply welcome them here.

While it is our calling to always share our faith message, our primary mission with these visits is not to preach, but simply to tell people we’re glad they’ve chosen Canton to call home.” X

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BUNCOMBE BEAT

McHenry, Buncombe residents clash at Riceville town hall “I know this is not your favorite town hall,” an attendee told U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry, well over an hour into the 10th Congressional District representative’s annual open meeting for residents of Buncombe County on July 31. By that point, the Republican lawmaker had been booed, interrupted and shouted over numerous times by the crowd of over 110 people at the Riceville Community Center.

McHenry chuckled. “Actually, I do like it!” he said.

It was one of the few lighthearted exchanges in a meeting that more often turned confrontational as McHenry’s constituents challenged him on issues including climate policy, Israel-U.S. relations and the behavior of President Donald Trump. Several speakers called for McHenry to chastise the president over his recent comments about Democratic Reps. Alexandria

Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib; the House voted to condemn Trump’s words, in which he called for the representatives of color to “go back” to their home countries (despite three of the four having been born in the U.S.), as racist on July 16.

“Your silence about his racist remarks tells us that you either agree with them or that you are afraid to stand up to him and condemn them,” said one speaker as the audience applauded. “Your constituents are at risk every time he tries to incite racial hatred. …

Someone is going to get hurt, and it will be on you.”

In response, McHenry said that Trump has consistently attacked those who disagree with him regardless of race, ethnicity or party affiliation. “I do not believe the president is a racist,” he said. “In my

STAND AND DELIVER: U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry addresses attendees at his town hall meeting at the Riceville Community Center. Photo by Daniel Walton

interactions with the president, I’ve not seen him utter anything that is racist.”

As members of the audience angrily disagreed with the Congress member’s assessment, he called for them to practice greater civility. “Treat yourself with respect. If you’re going to be so angry about what he says, monitor your language too,” McHenry said. “In the midst of this political discourse — it’s been a dumpster fire much longer than President Trump, before he ever got into politics.”

“Bullshit,” responded a voice from the crowd.

Climate change dominated the policy questions posed by those in attendance, with at least 10 of the roughly 30 speakers asking McHenry to consider stronger measures. Several asked the Congress member to think of his two young daughters as they referenced the 2030 time frame set by a 2018 United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report; that document, the consensus of 91 scientists from 39 countries, calls for “transformative systemic change” to drastically reduce carbon emissions and prevent the worst climate impacts.

Although McHenry said he supports electrical grid modernization and incentives for new energy technologies to combat the climate crisis, he rejected calls for wider plans such as the Green New Deal or a carbon tax and dividend. He particularly criticized the former proposal — which calls for meeting 100% of U.S. energy demand through renewable sources, establishing a federal jobs guarantee and slashing emissions from the transportation and agricultural sectors within 10 years — saying it would “create a direct revulsion by the populace when they have to be exposed to dramatically higher prices on everything.”

McHenry added that in his own opinion, as well as that of voters and society at large, emergency climate action is unnecessary. He said he would pursue politically feasible “singles and doubles” that gradually cut carbon.

“The broad populace is not seeking the actions that you’re demanding,” McHenry said. “[I’m] looking for innovative solutions, not simply a massive change for the way people live in everyday life. They will reject that.”

— Daniel Walton X 12

AUG. 7 - 13, 2019

MOUNTAINX.COM

Buncombe commissioners begin 2040 strategic planning

— Daniel Walton X

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demic achievement, a rising jail population, loss of farmland, higher housing costs and increased public health care spending as high-certainty, highimpact trends. The majority of senior county staff, who were also asked to complete the exercise, agreed with those assessments.

The commissioners did not prioritize the county’s predicted higher frequencies of heavy rains and droughts — the only trend to directly mention climate change — while five of six staff groups noted it as critical to Buncombe’s future. Asked about this discrepancy after the sessions, board Chair Brownie Newman said the scale of the problem was outside the typical scope of local government planning.

“In a really practical way, you can’t fix it,” Newman said. However, he did acknowledge the community’s desire for Buncombe to address climate issues. “There’s a lot of support in this community for [us] to do some things, both to be a leader [and] lower some power bills. Let’s try to make a mark on it.”

After the board identified its topical concerns, Ryan’s colleague and UNC School of Government consultant Donna Warner helped commissioners think through the culture and values they bring to governance. She emphasized the need for collaboration between elected officials and staff in Buncombe’s commission-manager system.

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- 5p

What do the Navy SEALs and the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners have in common?

Both hired Madison, Wis.-based futurist Rebecca Ryan to guide them through strategic planning in the wake of major upheaval — fatalities for the military, an ongoing federal corruption investigation for the board.

“We may not train like the Navy SEALs, we may not be in the same condition as the Navy SEALs, but in having a heart for service, a sense that the moment is now and knowledge that things are changing and we’ve got to change — those things feel common to the SEALs,” Ryan said. On July 29-30 at downtown Asheville’s First Baptist Church, the commissioners began working to create a plan for Buncombe County’s changes through 2040.

Ryan, for whose services the government is paying $40,000, led the board through an exercise she called “The Big Sort,” in which the commissioners classified over 30 trends by their likelihood and potential impact for Buncombe County. Items ranged from demographic changes, such as a growing Hispanic population and rising median age, to technological shifts, including more frequent cybersecurity attacks on local government and increasing demand for digital government services.

The board designated a higher overall population, greater burdens associated with chronic health conditions and obesity, growing racial gaps in aca-

Tom Thumb Kids Metal Desk w/ Chair

pm

BEING TRENDY: Commissioners look on as County Manager Avril Pinder associates future trends with Buncombe County’s current strategic priorities. Photo by Daniel Walton

“The power here in this county is split between you all as the board and [County Manager] Avril [Pinder] as your manager. Unlike other places, you don’t run the county,” Warner said. “One of the temptations that you have as elected officials is to sometimes dig down and try to make decisions for your management because it feels good. What we’re asking you to do in this model is to think long term and strategically.”

Commissioners and staff agreed on the need to restore public trust in government following the indictments of former County Manager Wanda Greene, former Commissioner Ellen Frost and other high-level county officials on corruption charges. Commissioner Al Whitesides said it was crucial for his colleagues to accept personal responsibility for their failure of oversight.

“We can’t blame the staff. Let’s face it: It goes right to the top with the board,” Whitesides said. “If we had been doing our job the way we should’ve, it wouldn’t have happened.”

Warner asked when the county would feel it had succeeded in regaining the trust of its constituents. “When the media stops writing about it,” responded Pinder and Commissioner Joe Belcher in unison.

Ryan and Warner plan to review the results of the planning sessions with county Intergovernmental Relations Director Tim Love, Strategic Partnerships Director Rachel Nygaard and Performance Manager Director Eric Hardy and develop a draft strategic plan by Monday, Aug. 12. The board is expected to approve the final plan by the end of September.

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Tourism Development Authority weighs in on proposed hotel ban Recent meetings of the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority have included a recitation of reports touting the strength of the tourism sector of Asheville’s economy.

While the board’s July 31 meeting began in the same vein, board members soon found themselves exploring new territory: a proposed ban that

would temporarily limit new hotel growth in the city.

Asheville City Council member and nonvoting BCTDA board member Julie Mayfield raised the issue, saying Council will discuss a temporary ban during an upcoming Planning and Economic Development Committee meeting on Thursday, Aug. 29. A mor-

FULL STOP: Asheville City Council member Julie Mayfield talked about Council’s proposed hotel moratorium during a July 31 BCTDA meeting. Members of Council plan to discuss the issue Aug. 29. Photo by Virginia Daffron atorium, Mayfield said, would halt the construction of new hotels inside city limits and allow time for Council members to develop specific criteria for evaluating the suitability of new projects.

She explained that the idea followed a controversial June 25 vote that allowed the conversion of the Flatiron Building on Battery Park Avenue into a boutique hotel.

“I think the impetus for this is pretty clear for anybody who’s been paying attention,” Mayfield said. “We’ve had a number of hotels come through Council and we’ve had votes falling on different lines. It’s pretty clear that everybody’s been applying a different set of criteria to approving or not approving hotels.”

According to BCTDA financial reports for fiscal year 2019 through May 31, hotels make up the lion’s share of room sales in Asheville — 78% compared with 3% for bed and breakfasts and 19% for vacation rentals — and are on track to break more than $300 million in annual sales.

But how a temporary hotel ban might impact future room sales, occupancy tax revenues or BCTDA marketing strategies was not explored during the meeting. Gary Froeba, area managing director at Omni Hotels and Resorts and chair of the board, said that the quasi-governmental agency will remain neutral on the issue while continuing to pursue its state-mandated mission.

“In case there’s any misconception out there, this board has not taken any action on either supporting it or not supporting it, and we’re not going to take a position on it at this time,” Froeba said.

“We will continue to function as we currently are, which is to drive visitation to the community for economic vitality, and 14

AUG. 7 - 13, 2019

MOUNTAINX.COM

we will leave it up to the City Council to come up with policy.”

Mayfield noted that moratoriums are intended to be temporary and pointed out that under North Carolina state law, Council will need to specify the duration of the ban and submit a plan of how it intends to address the issues that created the need for the action. The law also states that Council may not extend or renew the moratorium unless the issues were shown to persist despite the city’s having explored all available opportunities to address the problem.

“My guess is that we would be talking about somewhere between six months and a year,” Mayfield said of the proposed temporary ban.

According to Mayfield, City Manager Debra Campbell plans to tap experts from the Urban Land Institute, a research and education organization that specializes in real estate and land use, to help develop recommendations for the city. Mayfield also called for the establishment of a community advisory committee, which would allow members to provide input on the issue of future hotel development.

Following Mayfield’s remarks, Kit Cramer, president and CEO of the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce, suggested that after an approval process is established by Council, city staff, rather than Council members, should guide future hotel development.

“Once a common-sense, predictable development policy has been created, we’d like to see city staff manage it, rather than the City Council delving into management issues. They need to remain at a policy level,” Cramer told Xpress after the meeting. “[Mayfield] has maintained that the resulting projects are better as a result of the Council’s involvement. I think that opens the door to inconsistent treatment of projects.”

Cramer said that while she has noted that hotel growth and tourism have created both positive and negative effects within the community, she cautioned against singling out the industry.

“We recognize that people have mixed feelings about hotel development. We also respect the right of property owners and the value of tourism,” Cramer said. “We encourage our leaders to not pit one section of the economy versus another. Each industry has a ripple effect on all the other aspects of the economy. We need healthy, well-balanced growth.”

— Brooke Randle X

FEA T U RE S

ASHEVILLE ARCHIVES

by Thomas Calder | tcalder@mountainx.com

‘Beyond one’s comprehension’ The failed paper heist of 1906

PAPER AND STEEL: Ironworkers pose during construction of the Champion Fibre Co. paper mill, circa 1907. The photo is one of several images available in Carroll C. Jones’ 2018 book, Thomson’s Pulp Mill: Building the Champion Fibre Company at Canton, North Carolina 1905 to 1908. Photo courtesy of Jan-Carol Publishing Inc. On Nov. 7, 1905, The Asheville Citizen reported that the Ohio-based company Champion Fibre had plans to open a second plant in Western North Carolina.

Owner Peter Gibson Thomson (which the paper frequently misspelled as Thompson), selected the small town of Canton because of its proximity to timberland, as well its location along the pristine Pigeon River.

“The short distance of Canton from Asheville makes this great enterprise and the great sums of money it will put in circulation tributary to Asheville,” the paper declared.

By the start of 1906, as the prospect of 1,000 new manufacturing jobs sank in, the city of Asheville determined proximity to riches wasn’t enough. And so began the city’s failed attempt at the world’s greatest paper heist.

“That there is a prospect of so great an enterprise as the Thompson pulp mill coming to Asheville seems beyond one’s comprehension, yet stranger things than that have been brought to pass by concerted action and determination,” The

Asheville Citizen proclaimed in a Jan. 7, 1906, editorial. “It is indeed an occasion for quick action, if the greatest opportunity which ever knocked at the gates of our city is to be taken advantage of.”

A public meeting was planned for the coming Tuesday. Turnout to such gatherings was typically dismal, the paper reported. To encourage attendance The Asheville Citizen asked readers, “Will you not take the present matter under serious consideration and ask yourself if you have enough civic pride to prompt you to turn out Tuesday night and assist in capturing for your city one of the richest industries in America?”

Despite the buildup, the meeting was deferred. According to a Jan. 9 article, Champion’s superintendent, S. Montgomery Smith, was in the process of scouting additional locations. But until inspections were carried out, no amount of civic pride or persuasion would matter to the company.

Nevertheless, daily editorials continued to encourage Asheville residents to voice their interest in the plant. “Don’t

forget that pulp mill,” the paper wrote on Jan. 11. “Keep on pegging for it and, ‘mebbe’ something will really drop.”

By Jan. 30, new developments created further hope for Asheville. Upset by the mill’s plan to reroute portions of the town’s road, Canton residents insisted Champion pay landowners for the required acquisitions. Meanwhile, the paper also reported that residents living downstream of the planned site intended to pursue lawsuits against the company “to prevent the dumping of debris in the stream.”

On Feb. 18, The Asheville Citizen ran a letter Smith wrote to Waynesville resident S.A. Jones. (The article does not indicate how the paper came into possession of the missive). In it, Smith laments Canton’s current holdup “instituted by a few selfish people who think they see a chance to get something for nothing.” Later in the note, Smith adds, “The local problems of Canton have been enough to cause the most serious consideration of a change of location[.]”

Asheville’s high hopes were quickly grounded, though. In March, Thomson settled on Canton once and for all.

The decision was unceremoniously announced on page five in the March 6, 1906, edition of The Asheville Citizen.

Of course, Asheville was not alone in its disappointment. In his 2018 book, Thomson’s Pulp Mill, writer Carroll C. Jones notes that Waynesville, Clyde, Sylva, Bryson City, Andrews, Murphy and Newport, Tenn., were also bidding for the plant. (For more on Jones’ book, visit avl.mx/6e0.)

Once the sting of rejection settled, enthusiasm for the project and its overall economic impact on the region returned. “The company is guaranteed 50 cars a day by the Southern [Railway], and the company agrees to furnish that many cars of freight per day,” The Asheville Citizen boasted on March 11, 1906. “It is expected that it will require nearly two years to construct the buildings and place the machinery.”

By January 1908, part of the factory was up and running. The following month, The Asheville Citizen continued to muse over the implication of Champion’s arrival in Canton. “An inland town surrounded by mountains of Western North Carolina, is now the home of one of the most striking examples of the phenomenal industrial growth of the south,” the paper declared. “The capacity of the plant is rated at 250 tons a day, making it the largest wood pulp factory in this country, if not in the world.”

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

MOUNTAINX.COM

AUG. 7 - 13, 2019

15

COMMUNITY CALENDAR AUG. 7 - 15, 2019

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

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

ANIMALS 'ANIMAL HOUSE' • TH (8/15), 5-7pm Animal House, group show, pet portraits, handmade pet supplies and adoptable dogs from Mountain Pet Rescue. Held at Open Hearts Art Center, 217 Coxe Ave. GUIDE DOGS FOR THE BLIND • FR (8/9), 2pm - Learn about raising a Guide Dog for the Blind. Free. Held at Black Mountain Public Library, 105 N. Dougherty St., Black Mountain

BENEFITS AMBROSE WEST 312 Haywood Road, 828-332-3090, ambrosewest.com • TH (8/8), 5-8pm Proceeds from the Adult Spelling Bee benefit four West Asheville schools. $25 participants/$10 spectators.

• FR (8/9), 6-11pm - Proceeds from Franny’s 50th Birthday, a Woodstock themed dance party ben-

efit Women in Hemp, empowering the women who definine the hemp industry. $5.

AN AFFAIR IN WHITE • SA (8/10), 7-10pm - Proceeds from An Affair in White with hors d’oeuvres, drinks, music, live and silent auctions benefit Loving Food Resources, a local food pantry providing food, health and personal care items to the WNC terminally ill. $65, $120/couple. Held at Asheville Renaissance Hotel, 31 Woodfin St. ART SPARK DES MASQUES • SA (8/10), 6-9:30pm - Proceeds from Art Spark des Masques . . . Something Hidden with art chefs, painted servers, live painting demonstrations, live and silent auctions and DJs benefit the Transylvania Community Arts Council. $85. Held at Old Bishop Place Farm, 714 Reasonover Road, Cedar Mountain ASAP’S LOCAL FOOD EXPERIENCE • TH (8/15), 6-8:30pm - Proceeds from Appalachian

Re-Imagine Senior Living

Sustainable Agriculture Project's Local Food Experience, to meet farmers, chefs, artisans, sample small plates and participate in silent auction, scavenger hunt and watch the chef competition, benefit ASAP’s programs to help local farms thrive and build healthy communities through connections to local food. $30.

Held at New Belgium Brewery, 21 Craven St. BACKSTAGE BALL • MO (8/12), 6-9pm - Proceeds from the Backstage Ball with cocktail reception, dinner, live music, a cabaret performance and live and silent auctions benefit Flat Rock Playhouse. $150.

Held at Blue Ridge Community College Conference Hall, 49 E. Campus Drive, Flat Rock BREWS & BEARS • FR (8/9), 5:30-8pm - Proceeds from the Brews & Bears, fundraiser with evening animal exhibits, beer, live music and food trucks benefit the Friends of the WNC Nature Center. $10/$8 members. Held at WNC Nature Center, 75 Gashes Creek Road LAKE LURE OLYMPIAD • FR (8/9) through SU (8/11) - Proceeds from the race events and outdoor activities benefits local charities.

Schedule and tickets: lakelureolympiad.com.

LIGHT UP THE NIGHT 5K • WE (8/9), 7:30pm Proceeds from Light Up the Night: A 5K Glowing Night-time Run benefit Western Carolina Rescue Ministries. Registration: avl.mx/6dk. $40.

BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY A-B TECH SMALL BUSINESS CENTER 1465 Sand Hill Road, Candler, 828-398-7950, abtech.edu/sbc • TU (8/8), 9am-noon - Deep Dive Lab: How to Build Your Brand, seminar. Registration required. Free.

• SA (8/10), 9am-noon - Are You Ready To Start A Small Business, seminar. Registration required. Free.

• TU (8/13), 3-6pm Using WordPress to Blog for Your Business, seminar. Registration required. Free.

• TH (8/15), 6-8pm Como Comenzar Su Propio Negocio (How to Start a Business), seminar. Registration required. Free.

LEADERSHIP ASHEVILLE’S BUZZ BREAKFAST • TH (8/14), 8am 2019 Buzz Breakfast series with the theme, 'How Do We Build a Connected Community?' $25/$60 for the series. Held at Crowne Plaza Resort, 1 Resort Drive

SYNTHESIZER EXERCISER: Moogmentum: Synthesizing Innovation, Music and Creativity, is a three-day grand opening celebration of the Bob Moog Foundation’s Moogseum. From Aug. 13-15, the museum offers concerts, workshops, keynotes, exhibits and tours in addition to the grand opening ribbon-cutting and sonic explorations. For the full schedule and ticket information, visit avl.mx/6dj. Photo courtesy of the Collections of The Henry Ford (p. 17) CLASSES, MEETINGS & EVENTS EMPYREAN ARTS CLASSES (PD.) AERIAL CONDITIONING on Thursdays 1:00pm. BEGINNING AERIAL ARTS on Sundays 2:15pm, Tuesdays 1:00pm, Wednesdays 7:30pm, Thursdays 5:15pm, and Saturdays 2:30pm. INTRO to POLE FITNESS on Mondays 6:15pm, Tuesdays 7:15pm, and Saturdays 11:30am.

EMPYREANARTS.ORG. 828.782.3321

ASHEVILLE CHESS CLUB

ASHEVILLE NEWCOMER'S CLUB • 2nd MONDAYS, 9:30am - Monthly meeting for women new to Asheville interested in making friends and exploring the community. Free to attend.

Held at First Baptist Church of Asheville, 5 Oak St.

• WEDNESDAYS, 6:30pm - Sets provided.

All ages and skill levels welcome. Beginners lessons available. Free.

Held at North Asheville Recreation Center, 37 E. Larchmont Road

ASHEVILLE TAROT CIRCLE • 2nd SUNDAYS, noon - General meeting.

Free to attend. Held at Firestorm Books & Coffee, 610 Haywood Road

SUNDAYS SHOP & SIP AT THE CANDLER CABOOSE! (PD.) Thrift & upcycle shop open Sundays 1-10pm with craft/art making 3-4pm ($10-15, kidfriendly). Lawn games & fire pit + drinks for sale.

Open jam 6pm.

GENEALOGY CLUB • 2nd TUESDAYS, 3pm - Genealogy Club.

Free. Held at Mountains Branch Library, 150 Bill's Creek Road, Lake Lure HOMINY VALLEY RECREATION PARK • 3rd THURSDAYS, 7pm - Hominy Valley board meeting. Free.

Held at Hominy Valley Recreation Park, 25 Twin Lakes Drive, Candler KOREAN WAR VETERANS CHAPTER 314 • 2nd WEDNESDAYS, noon - Korean War

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

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

For more information, to download applications, or to view floor plans, go to www.givensgerberpark.org 16

AUG. 7 - 13, 2019

MOUNTAINX.COM

Veterans Association, General Frank Blazey Chapter 314, general meeting. Lunch at noon, meeting at 1pm.

Free to attend. Held at American Legion Post 77, 216 4th Ave. W., Hendersonville LEICESTER COMMUNITY CENTER 2979 New Leicester Highway, Leicester, 828-774-3000, facebook.com/ Leicester.Community.

Center • 2nd TUESDAYS, 7pm - Public board meeting. Free.

• 3rd THURSDAYS, 7pm - The Leicester History Gathering, general meeting. Free.

ONTRACK WNC 50 S. French Broad Ave., 828-255-5166, ontrackwnc.org • WE (8/7), noon1:30pm - Understanding Credit. Get it. Keep it. Improve it. Seminar.

Registration required.

Free.

• TH (8/8), 5:30-7pm - Preventing Identity Theft, class. Registration required. Free.

• SATURDAYS (8/10) & (8/17), 9am-12:30pm - Basics of budgeting, setting goals, planning, saving strategies and tracking spending series. Registration required. Free.

• TU (8/13), 5:30-7pm - Understanding Credit.

Get it. Keep it. Improve it. Seminar. Registration required. Free.

• TH (8/15), noon1:30pm - Budgeting and Debt, class.

Registration required.

Free.

WEEKLY SUNDAY SCRABBLE CLUB • SUNDAYS, 12:304:30pm - Scrabble club. Information: ashevillescrabble.com.

Free. Held at Stephens Lee Recreation Center, 30 George Washington Carver Ave.

FOOD & BEER ASAP’S LOCAL FOOD EXPERIENCE • TH (8/15), 6-8:30pm - Proceeds from Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project's

Local Food Experience, to meet farmers, chefs, artisans, sample small plates and participate in silent auction, scavenger hunt and watch the chef competition, benefit ASAP’s programs to help local farms thrive and build healthy communities through connections to local food. $30. Held at New Belgium Brewery, 21 Craven St. FAIRVIEW WELCOME TABLE • 2nd THURSDAYS, 11:30am-1pm - Community lunch. Admission by donation. Held at Fairview Christian Fellowship, 596 Old US Highway 74, Fairview KITCHEN READY SHOWCASE DINNER • TH (8/8), 5:30 & 7pm - Green Opportunities Kitchen Ready training program culminates with a community dinner prepared by the students of Cycle 23 showcasing their culinary skills.

First-come, first-served. $10. Held at Arthur R. Edington Education and Career Center, 133 Livingston St. LIVE, LOVE, LATCH FAMILY PICNIC • SA (8/10), 2-5pm - La Leche League of Buncombe County family picnic, Live, Love, Latch. Free to attend.

Held in the gazebo at Asheville Recreation Park, 65 Gashes Creek Road

FESTIVALS MOOGMENTUM: SYNTHESIZING INNOVATION, MUSIC AND CREATIVITY • TU (8/13) through TH (8/15) - Concerts, lectures, workshops, tours and exhibits celebrating the Moogseum's Grand Opening. Schedule and tickets: avl.mx/6dj.

Free to $295. Held at Moogseum, 56 Broadway St. SOURWOOD FESTIVAL • FR (8/9) through SU (8/11) - The 42nd annual Sourwood Festival, family entertainment with live

music, dance, arts and crafts, food, kid's rides and games. Free to attend. Held at Black Mountain Town Square, Black Mountain

GOVERNMENT & POLITICS BLUE RIDGE REPUBLICAN WOMEN'S CLUB MEETING • 2nd THURSDAYS, 6pm - General meeting.

Free to attend. Held at Yao, 153 Smoky Park Highway CITIZENS-POLICE ADVISORY COMMITTEE • 1st WEDNESDAYS, 5pm - Citizens-Police Advisory Committee meeting. Free. Meets in the 1st Floor Conference Room. Held at Public Works Building, 161 S. Charlotte St. DEMOCRAT WOMEN OF BUNCOMBE COUNTY • TH (8/15) - Monthly dinner meeting, registration: 5:15pm, dinner: 5:30pm, program: 6pm. $15 members/$18 nonmembers. RSVP: buncombedemwomen@ gmail.com by Aug. 9. Held at Buncombe County Democratic Headquarters, 951 Old Fairview Road INDIVISIBLE COMMON GROUNDWNC • 1st WEDNESDAYS, 6:30-8pm - General meeting. Free. Held at St. David's Episcopal Church, 286 Forest Hills Road, Sylva REDISTRICTING PANEL DISCUSSION • SA (8/10), 2-4pm - Redistricting--What Happens Now? panel discussion featuring Representative Chuck McGrady, Senator Terry VanDuyn and Blake Esselstyn. Free.

Held at Henderson County Public Library, 301 N. Washington St., Hendersonville SHERIFF QUENTIN MILLER LISTENING SESSION • TH (8/15), 6:308pm - Sheriff Quentin Miller, Deputies and senior staff from the Buncombe County

Sheriff’s Office listen to comments, concerns and answer questions.

Free. Held at Skyland/ South Buncombe Library, 260 Overlook Road

KIDS APPLE VALLEY MODEL RAILROAD & MUSEUM • WEDNESDAYS, 1-3pm & SATURDAYS, 10am-2pm - Open house featuring operating model trains and historic memorabilia.

Free. Held at Apple Valley Model Railroad & Museum, 650 Maple St., Hendersonville BACK TO SCHOOL PARTY • SA (8/10), noon-4pm - Back to school party and wellness event with free health screenings for kids and adults, face painting, bounce house and community resource tabling. Free.

Held at AMCHC Leicester Community Health Center, 711 New Leicester Highway, Leicester BUNCOMBE COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARIES buncombecounty.org/ governing/depts/library • WE (8/7), 10:30am - Up-cycled Universe: Re-use and re-work stories and art using gathered items. Free.

Held at Black Mountain Public Library, 105 N. Dougherty St., Black Mountain • 1st WEDNESDAYS, 11am-noon - Storytime + Art, project for preschoolers. Free. Held at North Asheville Library, 1030 Merrimon Ave. • 1st WEDNESDAYS, 4-5:30pm - Heroes Unlimited, role playing game for grades 6-12.

Registration required.

Free. Held at Fairview Library, 1 Taylor Road, Fairview • WE (8/7), 4pm - Make unicorn costumes.

Registration required.

Ages 4-8. Free. Held at North Asheville Library, 1030 Merrimon Ave. • WE (8/7), 6pm - Family Tai Chi. Free. Held at Pack Memorial Library, 67 Haywood St.

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DINNER WINNER: Green Opportunities Kitchen Ready training program culminates with a community dinner prepared by the students of Cycle 23 showcasing their new culinary skills at Arthur R. Edington Education and Career Center on Thursday, Aug. 8, for two seatings, 5:30 and 7 p.m. firstcome, first-served. The suggested donation is $10, with all proceeds supporting the Kitchen Ready training program. Information: avl.mx/5lm. (p. 17)

• TH (8/8), 2:30 & 4pm - Make a robot out of Legos, break into teams to battle the remote-controlled robots. Ages 5 and up.

Free. Held at Weaverville Public Library, 41 N. Main St., Weaverville • THURSDAYS, 4pm Lego Club, ages 5 and up. Free. Held at Pack Memorial Library, 67 Haywood St. • FR (8/9), 2pm - Teen Zine Club. Free. Held at Pack Memorial Library, 67 Haywood St. • FR (8/9), 7pm Unicorn Party, ages 4-8.

Free. Held at Skyland/ South Buncombe Library, 260 Overlook Road • 2nd SATURDAYS, 1-4pm & LAST WEDNESDAYS, 4-6pm - Teen Dungeons and Dragons for ages 12 and up. Registration required: 828-250-4720.

Free. Held at Pack Memorial Library, 67 Haywood St. • MONDAYS, 10:30am - Spanish story time for children of all ages.

Free. Held at EnkaCandler Library, 1404 Sandhill Road, Candler • WE (8/14), 10:30am - Moon stories, moon art, along with Tom Petty classics for children in sync with the full moon. Free.

Held at Black Mountain Public Library, 105 N.

Dougherty St., Black Mountain • WE (8/14), 3pm EcoExplore: Intro to Herpetology. Free.

Held at Oakley/South Asheville Library, 749 Fairview Road • TH (8/15), 3pm - Billy Jonas - performer, singer-songwriter, composer, multiinstrumentalist and educator - presents his Neo-Tribal Hootenanny. Registration required. Free. Held at Weaverville Public Library, 41 N. Main St., Weaverville CRAFTY HISTORIAN: 1960S PARTY • SA (8/10), 10:30am12:30pm - Craft activities, 60s music, dance and light refreshments. Ages 7+. $10, $5/chaperone. Held at Smith-McDowell House Museum, 283 Victoria Road FLETCHER LIBRARY • WEDNESDAYS, 10:30am - Family story time. Free. Held at Fletcher Library, 120 Library Road, Fletcher HOMESCHOOL ART PROGRAM • 2nd TUESDAYS, 11am-12:30pm - Homeschool program for grades 1-4. Registration required: 828-253-3227 x 124. $4 per student.

Held at Asheville Art

Museum, 175 Biltmore Ave. JUNIOR APPALACHIAN MUSICIANS • Until (8/31) - Register for Junior Appalachian Musicians, Haywood County 2019-20 school year held Tuesday afternoons, (9/10) through (5/19), 4-5:30pm. Lessons: $95/semester (~$6 per class), siblings $50/ semester. Information: 828-452-0593 or bmk.morgan@yahoo. com. Application: avl.mx/6dq. Held at First United Methodist Church of Waynesville, 556 S. Haywood St., Waynesville LEAF EASEL RIDER MOBILE ART LAB • WEDNESDAYS, 6-7pm - AMOS and LEAF host hands-on STEM activities. See website for lineup.

Free.

MISS MALAPROP'S STORY TIME • WEDNESDAYS, 10am - Miss Malaprop's Story Time for ages 3-9. Free to attend.

Held at Malaprop's Bookstore and Cafe, 55 Haywood St. PISGAH CENTER FOR WILDLIFE EDUCATION 1401 Fish Hatchery Road, Pisgah Forest, 828-877-4423

• WE (8/7), 9-11am Determine the water quality of the river and learn how these macros play an important role in the ecosystem and mountain trout. Ages 8-12. Registration required. Free.

• FR (8/9), 1-3pm - Eco Explorers: Monarchs, class for ages 8-13.

Registration required.

Free.

• FR (8/9), 9-11am Nature Nuts: Monarchs, class for ages 4-7.

Registration required.

Free.

• FR (8/9), 9-11am Learn to identify local species of salamanders, their habitat requirements and why they are important to our ecosystems. Ages 8-12.

Registration required.

Free.

SUMMER SERIES BLOOMS • SATURDAYS through (8/24), 10:30am - Programs on local ecology, using natural materials to make art, recycling and upcycling and gardening. Information: firestorm.coop, 828-707-4364 or stevensonwa@ guilford.edu. Free. Held at Firestorm Books & Coffee, 610 Haywood Road YOUTH ART CLASSES WITH BETINA • WEDNESDAYS, 4-5pm - Youth Art Class

C OMMU N IT Y CA L EN D AR

with Betina Morgan, ages 8-13. Registration required. $10. Held at Haywood County Arts Council, 86 N. Main St., Waynesville

OUTDOORS OLD ROCK CAFE (PD.) Enjoy live music from Chicken Coup Willaye and a specially-crafted buffet of food by the Rocky Broad River during Music on the Deck on Thursday, Aug. 15 from 6-8:30pm. Info at chimneyrockpark. com BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY HIKE OF THE WEEK • FR (8/9), 10am - Easy, two mile loop hike with Tales from Our Neighborhood. Free.

Meet at the long gravel pull-off at Milepost 395 (approximately 1 mile south of NC 191) CITY OF ASHEVILLE POOLS OPEN • Through SU (8/11) - All three city pools open for the summer.

Hours and information: avl.mx/64c. $3.

FRIENDS OF THE SMOKIES HIKE DOWN THE MOUNTAIN • TU (8/13) - Friends of the Smokies offers

by Deborah Robertson

a guided 7.4-mile hike in the heart of the Smokies including the Appalachian Trail, Sweat Heifer Trail and Kephart Prong Trail.

A shuttle provides the opportunity for a net downhill hike. Registration: avl.mx/5qd. $20 members/$35 new and renewing.

PISGAH CENTER FOR WILDLIFE EDUCATION ncwildlife.org/Learning/ Education-Centers/ Pisgah/ Event-Registration • SA (8/10), 9am-noon - Learn the basics of fly tying in this introductory level class. Ages 12 and up. Registration: avl.mx/68e. Free. Held at Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education, 1401 Fish Hatchery Road, Pisgah Forest • WE (8/14), 10am-3pm - Learn the overhead cast, roll cast and the art of false casting.

Ages 12+. Registration: avl.mx/68e. Free. Held at Lake Imaging in DuPont SRF. PISGAH CHAPTER OF TROUT UNLIMITED • 2nd THURSDAYS, 7pm - General meeting and presentations.

Free to attend. Held at Ecusta Brewing, 49 Pisgah Highway, Suite 3, Pisgah Forest

PARENTING BABY GYM • TU (8/13), 11am - Play time with baby and toddler toys, tunnels and climbing structures.

Free. Held at Pack Memorial Library, 67 Haywood St. PREPARATION FOR CHILDBIRTH • THURSDAYS until (8/29), 7-9pm - Preparation for Childbirth, four week series.

Registration required.

Free to attend. Held at Haywood Regional Medical Center, 262 Leroy George Drive, Clyde

PUBLIC LECTURES BUILDING OUR CITY WITH KRISTEN JEFFERS • WE (8/7), 6pm Kristen Jeffers, founder of The Black Urbanist, urban planner and advocate, shares her story to illustrate what land use and planning means and does. Free.

Held at The Collider, 1 Haywood St., Suite 401 CIVIL WAR ROUNDTABLE • MO (8/12), 7pm - General meeting and presentation by

Edward S. Alexander regarding the Battle of Rappahannock Station.

Free. Held at Waynesville Inn Golf Resort & Spa, 176 Country Club Drive, Waynesville LEGIBILITY THAT IS THE QUESTION • TH (8/15), 5:30pm - Artist Jacqueline Sullivan talk and exhibition on 'Legibility That is the Question.' Free to attend. Held at Congregation Beth Israel, 229 Murdock Ave. ONE GIANT LEAP • TH (8/15), 6:307:30pm - One Giant Leap: North Carolina and the Space Race, public lecture on our role in space exploration and the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo missions. Free. Held at Transylvania County Library, 212 S. Gaston St., Brevard

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ASHEVILLE ELDER CLUB • TUESDAYS & THURSDAYS, 11am-2pm - The Asheville Elder Club Group Respite program for individuals with memory challenges and people of all faiths.

Registration required: 828-253-2900. $30.

Held at Jewish Family Services of WNC, 2 Doctors Park, Suite E

HENDERSONVILLE ELDER CLUB • WEDNESDAYS, 11am-2pm - The Hendersonville Elder Club for individuals with memory challenges and people of all faiths. Registration required: 828-253-2900. $30. Held at Agudas Israel Congregation, 505 Glasgow Lane, Hendersonville

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CHAIR YOGA • THURSDAYS, 2pm - Chair Yoga. Free.

Held at North Asheville Library, 1030 Merrimon Ave.

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

32 Mineral Dust Drive, Asheville, NC 28806.

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

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

COLLECTIVE HEALING INITIATIVE (PD.) Deepen your Spiritual Awakening & Ascension. Individual Energetic Healing & Guided Group Meditation will

benefit personal & global healing. West Asheville Yoga August 17, 1pm-3pm $20/ advance, $25/door Tickets & Info: https:// ashevillecyberscan. com/upcoming-events/ DE-STRESS, GET HAPPY & CONNECT! (PD.) Mindfulness Meditation at the Asheville Insight Meditation Center. Group Meditation: Weekly on Thursdays at 7pm & Sundays at 10am. ashevillemeditation.com, info@ ashevillemeditation.com.

EXPERIENCE THE SOUND OF SOUL (PD.) Sing HU, the most beautiful prayer, and open your heart to balance, inner peace, Divine love, and spiritual self-discovery. Love is Love, and you are that. HU is the Sound of Soul. Spiritual discussion follows. Sponsored

by ECKANKAR. Date: Sunday, August 11, 2019, 11am. Eckankar Center of Asheville, 797 Haywood Rd. (“Kings and Queens Salon” building, lower level), Asheville NC 28806, 828-254-6775. (free event). www. eckankar-nc.org LEARN TO MEDITATE (PD.) Introduction to Mindfulness Meditation class at Asheville Insight Meditation Center, 1st Mondays of each month at 7pm – 8:30pm. ashevillemeditation.com, info@ ashevillemeditation.com.

NONDENOMINATIONAL HEALING PRAYER • 2nd FRIDAYS, 1-2pm - Non-denominational healing prayer group.

Free. Held at Grace Lutheran Church, 1245 6th Ave W., Hendersonville OPEN SANGHA • THURSDAYS, 7:309pm - Open Sangha night. Free. Held at Urban Dharma, 77 W. Walnut St.

by Deborah Robertson

VOLUNTEERING LITERACY COUNCIL OF BUNCOMBE COUNTY VOLUNTEER INFORMATION SESSION (PD.) Mon. 8/5 (9am) Information session for those interested in volunteering two hours per week with adults who want to improve reading, writing, spelling, and English language skills. Free.

BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS WNC • 2nd & 4th THURSDAYS, noon-12:30pm Orientation sessions for prospective volunteers.

Free. Held at Big Brothers Big Sisters of WNC, 50 S. French Broad Ave., #213.

HENDERSON COUNTY UNITED WAY ANNUAL DAY OF ACTION • Through TH (8/15) - Register to volunteer for the annual Day of Action. Volunteers are needed to work on projects at 22 schools and learning centers on Friday, August 16. Registration: liveunitedhc. org or 828-692-1636 x 1108.

HOMEWARD BOUND OF WNC • THURSDAYS, 11am, 2nd TUESDAYS, 5:30pm & 3rd WEDNESDAYS, 8:30am - Welcome Home Tour, find out how Homeward Bound is working to end homelessness and how the public can help. Registration required: tours@ homewardboundwnc. org or 828-785-9840.

Free. Held at Homeward Bound of WNC, 218 Patton Ave.

June Pearson train volunteers in the techniques of quilt block painting. Registration: director@haywoodarts. org Held at Haywood County Arts Council, 86 N. Main St., Waynesville SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN BOG HABITAT • FR (8/9), 10am-2pm - Volunteer to help maintain a protected southern Appalachian Bog habitat by assisting in non-native invasive plant control. Registration: volunteer@ conservingcarolina.org or 828-679-5777 x.211.

STITCHES OF LOVE • 2nd MONDAYS, 7-9pm - Volunteer to stitch or crochet handmade articles for local charities. All skill levels welcome. Held at New Hope Presbyterian Church, 3070 Sweeten Creek Road TEDXASHEVILLE • Through FR (8/30) Volunteer for TEDx on Sunday, Sept. 8. Theme is Challenging Assumptions, Breaking New Ground. Held at Diana Wortham Theatre, 18 Biltmore Ave. TOOLS FOR SCHOOLS • WE (8/7), 4:30-7pm The 11th annual Ingles Tools for Schools supply drive benefits Eblen Charities. Information: 828-255-3066. Held at Ingles Tunnel Road, 29 Tunnel Road WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA AIDS PROJECT

POSTCARD PARTY • FR (8/9), 4:306pm - El Centro and Progressive Alliance of Henderson County partner for a postcard party advocating for humane and inclusive policies for Latinos.

Held at Sanctuary Brewing Co., 147 1st Ave., Hendersonville

• 2nd & 4th SATURDAYS, 10amnoon - Volunteer to deliver food boxes to homebound people living with HIV/AIDS. Registration: 828252-7489 x 315 or wncapvolunteer@ wncap.org.

QUILT TRAILS OF WNC • MO (8/12) & TU (8/13) - Carole and

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Magical Offerings 8/10: Aura Photography Reading Sessions w/ Psychic Atena 12-2pm, $25 Per Photo/Cash Only Intuitive Healing w/ Meade 3-5pm, $20/Cash or CC 8/11: Tarot Reader: Star 1-5pm 8/13: Create Space for Joy w/ Laura Staley 6-7pm, $25/Cash 8/15: FULL MOON in Aquarius Circle Round Presents: An It Harm None 6-8pm, Donations

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BY DANIEL WALTON dwalton@mountainx.com Shows curiosity, likes to play with others, tries to get things that are out of reach, responds to other people’s emotions — like an actual infant, the 6-month-old Dogwood Health Trust is showing many signs of age-appropriate development. Following the DHT’s official birth on Feb. 1, a result of Mission Health’s purchase by Nashville-based, for-profit HCA Healthcare, its staff and board of directors have been working to raise the nonprofit right.

The DHT is a very big baby and one with the potential to grow into a regional giant. The foundation will eventually steward roughly $1.5 billion resulting from the Mission Health sale and expects to spend $60 million to $75 million annually on “dramatically improving the health and well-being of all people and communities of Western North Carolina,” according to a fact sheet. Given the area’s relatively sparse population — just over 900,000 across 18 counties — the DHT’s leaders believe it to be the nation’s largest nonprofit foundation per capita.

Janice Brumit, chair of the DHT’s board of directors, says the fledgling foundation has so far focused on its goals and internal operations, with months to go before its first funding steps. After the nonprofit hires its inaugural CEO and finishes its strategic plan later this year, she estimates that other organizations will be able to apply for its grants starting in the spring of 2020 and receive money the following fall.

In the meantime, says DHT leadership team staffer Lakesha McDay, the trust will keep exploring its mission and building relationships with people throughout the region. “The work of Dogwood is to continue to listen,” she explains. “Each county is unique, and within each county, each community is unique.”

Xpress met with Brumit, McDay and public relations representative Liz Chandler of Charlotte-based firm Luquire George Andrews to discuss the nonprofit’s progress and future plans.

The three described a foundation with both ambitious goals and a measured approach toward achieving them.

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Dogwood Health Trust shares six-month update

The trust’s first major outward-facing effort has been a series of listening

SOCIAL DETERMINERS OF HEALTH: Janice Brumit, left, and Lakesha McDay are among the leaders of the Dogwood Health Trust, which expects to spend $60 million to $75 million annually on improving Western North Carolina’s health and well-being.

Photos courtesy of the Dogwood Health Trust engagements with nonprofit leaders across the DHT service area. McDay says those leaders, who will interact regularly with the trust once it begins funding programs, represent DHT’s “core public” for outreach.

“We were asking them what do they see as a healthy community, what makes a healthy community, what are the barriers to healthy community?” says McDay. “What helps and what hinders addressing the social determinants of health?”

The DHT plans to compile that input into “a very readable, bite-sized communication,” McDay says, which will be released publicly within the next month. Although reluctant to share details in advance of that release, the Dogwood representatives mention spotty broadband internet access and a lack of connection between existing nonprofits as issues that emerged from the listening sessions.

Members of the general public will get their first chance to share concerns with DHT in person during the fall, when the nonprofit will hold an open event in each of its three geographical divisions. These meetings were mandated by Attorney General Josh Stein

as part of his conditions for approving the Mission Health-HCA transaction; the trust had not originally guaranteed any opportunity for public input.

Brumit says the trust has not yet determined specific times or locations for those meetings. She notes that they will involve both public participation and talks by national health leaders.

The meetings will also likely be the first public events for the nonprofit’s yetto-be-named CEO, who will be chosen from the current field of three finalists.

NUTS AND BOLTS While the trust’s professional leadership remains under consideration, Brumit confirms that its board has filled out its inaugural complement of 14 members from WNC. In a Jan. 14 letter to Stein, Brumit wrote that the board was expected to reach 15 members; she explains that one spot is currently reserved “to entice a national expert on social determinants of health.”

Brumit also praises the board’s regional and racial diversity, for which she and the foundation earlier faced criticism by community groups such as the Asheville-Buncombe NAACP,

Ayurveda Wellness Counselor Certification Just Economics of WNC and YWCA of Asheville and WNC. (See “Get on board,” Xpress, Dec. 12.) Since an Oct. 26 op-ed critiquing the board’s makeup published in the Citizen Times by Carmen Ramos-Kennedy, the local NAACP chapter president, the trust has added five board members, four of whom have been women of color.

“Every meeting, we have an exercise in diversity, equity and inclusion,” Brumit says. “We think that is one of our guiding principles and in fact is the very first guiding principle in our values.”

The board leads what Brumit calls a “skeleton staff” of 14, seven managing the DHT itself and seven working with the hospital legacy foundations that also spun out of the Mission-HCA deal. She says the trust’s CEO will flesh out that manpower after his or her hiring, eventually reaching a headcount of 35-50 in line with organizations of similar size.

“One of the things I love about our board — I see them almost as much as I see the folks that I work with every single day at the organization,” notes McDay. “That has been my first interaction ever in an organization where I have seen the board at work every day.”

Chandler adds that the trust has yet to receive its full $1.5 billion endow-

Sept. 13, 2019 - Aug. 16, 2020

ment and is still in the early stages of determining how it will invest those funds long term. She says the Bostonbased firm Cambridge Associates is currently handling the money and that a separate investment committee of the board is “reviewing Dogwood’s current investments and developing a range of policy recommendations for managing its eventual assets.”

DHT representatives declined to share any further details about the nonprofit’s finances, including which board members are serving on the investment committee and how much money it can currently access. The trust also would not comment on divestment from the fossil fuel industry as a means to combat climate change, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says will likely lead to widespread negative public health outcomes.

SMART MONEY At least some of the trust’s resources have already been spoken for: As part of Stein’s conditions, the DHT agreed to invest $25 million over five years

CONTINUES ON PAGE 24

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in work related to the region’s opioid crisis. Brumit says the board has been collaborating closely with Dr. Mandy Cohen, the state’s secretary of health and human services, and will begin funding those programs in the fall of 2020.

Beyond that initiative, Brumit emphasizes that the trust is still determining its strategic direction. One key approach to getting the most bang for the DHT’s buck, she says, will be investing in depth rather than breadth.

“I think we have to be very careful not to allow mission creep. It’s very easy, because it is such a big and bold, allencompassing idea of drivers of health or social determinants of health,” Brumit explains. “We have to be focused.”

Brumit is excited about the trust’s potential for long-term grants, making more permanent commitments than the one or two years many nonprofits can support. Chandler suggests that such work could set the agenda for funders throughout WNC, including county governments, businesses and other large nonprofits such as The Duke Endowment and Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation.

“It’s about really moving collective impact. [Dogwood has] this great seed to start with; they’ll fund certain things, and then I think it brings other people

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• SA (8/10), noon-4pm - Health screenings for children and adults, food and refreshments, facepainting and a bounce house. Free. Held at AMCHC Leicester Community Health Center, 711 New Leicester Highway, Leicester

CHAI CHATS SERIES • SA (8/10), 3-4pm - Power of Sleep, presentation by Mary Liske. $5-$25. Held at OM Sanctuary, 87 Richmond Hill Drive NALOXONE TRAINING AND DISTRIBUTION • TH (8/8), noon-2pm - Naloxone training and distribution drop-in program. Information: jesselee@nchrc.org or 828476-1465. Free. Held at Haywood County Health and Human Services, 157 Paragon Parkway, Clyde PARDEE IN THE PARK • WE (8/7), 9am - Walk & Talk, walk with a care provider, hear about their area of expertise and ask questions. Registration: pardeehospital.org/ classes-events. Free. Held at The Park at Flat Rock, 55 Highland Golf Drive, Flat Rock RED CROSS BLOOD DRIVES redcrosswnc.org • TH (8/8), 1-5pm Appointments & info: 828-418-1178. Held at

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Comfort Suites Outlet Center, 890 Brevard Road • SU (8/11), 2-6:30pm Appointments & info: 828803-2884. Held at Bethel Seventh Day Adventist Church, 238 South French Broad Ave. • MO (8/12), noon-5pm - Appointments & info: 828-552-3620. Held at Black Mountain YMCA, 25 Jane Jacobs Rd. Black Mountain • MO (8/12), 1-5:30pm - Appointments & info: 828-650-0404. Held at Living Savior Lutheran Church, 301 Overlook Road • TH (8/15), 10am-2pm - Appointments & info: 828-771-2876. Held at Change Healthcare, 300 Ridgefield Court, Suite 308, Asheville SPECIAL OLYMPICS ADAPTIVE CROSSFIT CLASSES • WEDNESDAYS, 3-4pm - Adaptive crossfit classes for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Free. Held at South Slope CrossFit, 217 Coxe Ave., Suite B

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And Brumit believes the trust can become a regional think tank for social determinants of health, which she defines as “everything that happens upstream of the hospital.”

“We want to be the known source for information regarding WNC on health, wellness and all of that information that surrounds that,” she says. “That’s part of our mission, to be that valued source of information and continually be able to educate anyone in the region that needs that type of information.” X

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to the cause, whichever cause they’re identifying,” Chandler says.

Although the DHT is a nonoperating foundation, meaning that it will not run its own charitable programs, the trust plans to offer a number of support services for other nonprofits.

McDay says that will include grantwriting assistance and other support for grassroots “organizations where people are wearing 10 hats” — a way to remove systemic barriers for already challenged populations.

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ARMORED INVASION

Armadillos roll into WNC

BY A.J. O’LEARY augustu5@live.unc.edu Flexible bands of skin on its back hold the hard pieces of its roly-poly shell together. Scales cover much of its body, interrupted by the shaggy, grey hair that covers its belly.

Deserving a spot alongside the platypus as one of the world’s strangest mammals, the latest arrival to the Tar Heel State is doing its part to keep the Asheville area weird.

Since May 17, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission has been asking residents to report any sightings of a creature that has come to the state all the way from South and Central America: the nine-banded armadillo. The call comes as part of the NC Armadillo project, a citizen-science initiative to track the unusual animals.

Armadillos began their expansion throughout the U.S. in the early 1800s. Since their arrival, they have moved north and east, establishing themselves in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee and Kentucky.

Armadillos were first seen in North Carolina in Macon County in 2007, and the first confirmed Buncombe County sighting took place in July 2014 near Leicester. Numerous confirmed sightings have since occurred throughout the state, with many more unconfirmed reports — as many as 13 in Buncombe County alone.

Colleen Olfenbuttel, the commission’s black bear and furbearer biologist, says some scientists attribute the expansion of armadillos into North Carolina in part to climate change, which might also be affecting the ranges of many other organisms in the state. Although urbanization and relocation by humans have also helped the armadillo’s invasion, she says, climate is likely a key factor.

“Certainly the more mild winters we’re having are helpful for armadillos,” Olfenbuttel explains.

WHAT THE SHELL? Sightings of nine-banded armadillos, a species native to South and Central America, are becoming increasingly common in Western North Carolina. Photo by Jay Butfiloski, courtesy of the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission

haven’t come this far north without bringing along a few potential problems. Jodie Owen, a spokesperson for the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, says there are a few things to watch out for when seeing brown, scaly shells around town.

Humans and armadillos are the only known organisms that can contract leprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease. Although the chances are low of contracting leprosy from an armadillo, even in regions where they are well established, it’s not impossible. One study by the National Hansen’s Disease Program found that over 16% of armadillos in the Southeast may carry the disease. “Like with anything, we always tell people to leave wildlife alone,” says Owen.

Owen adds that armadillos are also deceptively good leapers and will jump when scared, making them prone to becoming roadkill.

Their hard shells may damage vehicles in the process; a Google image search for “armadillo vehicle damage” brings up numerous pictures of bumpers destroyed by an unfortunate high-velocity meeting with the mammal.

CONTINUES ON PAGE 26

Graham Reynolds, an assistant professor of biology studying evolutionary history at UNC Asheville, agrees that climate change has played some role in the armadillo’s northward push.

“Undoubtedly, we expect that with warming climates in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic that they’ll continue to move,” he says.

SHELL SHOCKS Despite the unique (for now) photo ops they’ll provide — and invasive fire ants, which also hail from South America, they’ll consume — armadillos

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Brasstown resident Michael Oliphant thinks such a collision was responsible for the armadillo carcass he found in his yard about a year ago. “My daughter saw it and said, ‘There’s a dead armadillo,’ and I really couldn’t believe it until I got close to it,” Oliphant recalls. After approaching the edge of his yard and the road, he says, “It was pretty clear what it was.”

Gardeners should also beware, says Owen. Armadillos are considered pests in areas where they are more well established, such as Texas, due to their tendency to root through and dig up gardens in search of insects, as well as their habit of burrowing for shelter and safety.

There is a perpetual open season on armadillos in North Carolina. The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission recommends shooting instead of trapping as the most effective way of dealing with an armadillo problem, although there have been reports of bullets ricocheting off their shells and causing injury.

IT’S GETTING HOT IN HERE Although climate change could affect the distribution of many species, including armadillos, Reynolds with UNCA explains that scientists must parse out exactly which changes in a given environment are affecting a species and which are not. “When we try to understand what’s causing shifts in things like distribution or abundance or geographic range, it can be hard to determine which shifting factor is contributing the most to that, especially since we’re seeing shifting climate happening relatively recently,” he says.

Armadillos likely benefit from North Carolina’s increasingly higher average winter temperatures, Olfenbuttel says, because their shells are not well insulated and do not protect them from the cold. Similarly, she says, other animals that are affected heavily by temperature are seeing range shifts driven in part by climate change.

One such group is the various salamanders of Southern Appalachia, a region Reynolds calls “the global hotspot for salamander biodiversity.”

Recent studies, Reynolds says, suggest that warming temperatures at higher elevations have had a particularly strong effect on salamanders.

“Some of the midelevation species are shifting higher, and some of the low-elevation species are shifting higher, and so they’re able to colonize higher elevations than they might have recently,” Reynolds

says. Temperature and precipitation, both directly influenced by climate change, are two of the most important factors determining whether a particular species of salamander can live in a particular area.

Many insects could also see their ranges expand into North Carolina as temperatures continue to rise.

“There’s anticipation of a lot of new species of invertebrates, new species of mosquitoes, new species of ticks, and those species would definitely benefit from more milder winters, especially ticks,” Olfenbuttel says.

Olfenbuttel also lists the nutria — a ratlike creature that, like the armadillo, comes from South America — as an organism that could see a western range expansion in North Carolina as a result of climate change, although she notes that no data has been collected on the subject at this time.

Some native North Carolina species such as black bears, striped skunks and groundhogs, she adds, appear to be spreading without any apparent tie to climate.

MARCHING ON Armadillos have now been seen in 46 counties in North Carolina, mostly in the southern half of the state. Scientists are unsure how many armadillos live in the state but hope to remedy that knowledge gap through efforts such as NC Armadillo.

“Even in those counties where we’ve had observations, we want to keep hearing about observations, because that helps us then determine, ‘OK, not only have armadillos been seen, they keep being seen,’” Olfenbuttel says.

In March, the first armadillo was spotted in Virginia’s Buchanan County, and two months later, a different armadillo was found dead less than 20 miles away. The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries thinks the armadillos must have headed east into the state from Kentucky, where there is an established population.

Olfenbuttel is hardly surprised by those findings. “I fully anticipate they’ll make it to Pennsylvania in the next 20-40 years,” she says.

Those wishing to report armadillo sightings can either directly email the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission or post about their encounter on the iNaturalist site launched for NC Armadillo. Instructions for both methods can be found at avl.mx/pru4. X

FARM & GARDEN

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YARD BIRDS: Experts will answer questions and provide information on the care and management of backyard poultry during a free event Aug. 10 at Asheville’s Tractor Supply Co. In recent years, keeping a chicken coop or even a few ducks in the yard has become almost as commonplace in Western North Carolina as growing a vegetable garden. On Saturday, Aug. 10, Asheville’s Tractor Supply Co. on Brevard Road will offer a free event geared both for newbies who are curious about how to get started with raising poultry at home as well as for those who have some experience managing a backyard flock.

The drop-in event, which runs 1-4 p.m., will feature educational displays and experts who will be on hand to provide information and answer

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questions on everything from poultry nutrition and care to homegrown food sources. Customers will even be able to learn how to select chicken breeds based not only on their egg-laying capabilities but also on other less celebrated — but equally helpful — talents, such as their bug-killing skills.

“Some breeds actually are pretty much for pest control, so we’ll explain that and the certain benefits of having pest control chickens versus egg layers,” says store manager Austin Peltier. “There will be a huge amount of information for people who want to start raising a flock or have a lack of knowledge or want to refresh.”

In addition to the informative part of the event, customers of all ages will have the option to participate in a free egg hunt game where the prizes are discount coupons for store merchandise, including poultry starter kits, feed and feeders, bedding, coops and more.

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Free. Held at Buncombe County Cooperative Extension Center, 49 Mt. Carmel Road WILDFLOWER LABYRINTH TOUR • TH (8/8), 10-11am Wildflower labyrinth tour. $15. Held at Southern Highlands Reserve, 558 Summit Ridge Road, Lake Toxaway

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27

FOOD

BUCKET LIST

Asheville restaurants discuss efforts to reduce, reuse and recycle

BY HEATHER BERRY Heather@heatherberrycopywriter.com Tourists who visit Chupacabra Latin Café often ask, “What’s this town have against straws? Why doesn’t anyone use a straw?” laughs Emily Abernathy, who owns the restaurant with her chef-husband, Patrick. “Our counter person will say with disbelief, ‘Don’t you know about the problem with plastic straws?’”

Apparently, the Asheville area’s growing commitment to keeping plastic and other materials out of our landfills is obvious to — and sometimes misunderstood by — outsiders. But who knew the efforts would extend to 5-gallon plastic buckets?

According to the North Carolina Food Code Manual, single-use articles, such as to-go plastics and bulk food containers, must be discarded and cannot be reused on the premises of food service businesses. The regulation brings to light the unique challenges health codes can present for local restaurants when it comes to recycling.

Some Asheville restaurants complain that this and other regulations interfere with their recycling initiatives, while others quietly step around the bureaucracy to find other, clever ways to reuse and upcycle plastics.

“I think you should be able to reuse as much as you can if it’s not hurting anyone,” says Natalie Moore, manager at downtown restaurant Blue Dream Curry House. “Health code regulations are completely wack and should be updated.”

BUCKET BUREAUCRACY Restaurants that receive food shipments from suppliers in 5-gallon buckets are not permitted to reuse those containers on the premises, according to Zo Mpofu of the Buncombe County Health Department.

But recycling the buckets isn’t an option in Asheville. “Bulky plastics are not part of our recycling program,” explains Nancy Lawson of Curbside Management, Inc., Asheville’s recycling service.

Some businesses may argue that the regulation inhibits their recycling efforts. But Chupacabra Latin Café doesn’t stress about it. Instead, staff put the plastic buckets in the trash as required, where they are claimed by local gardeners and others for reuse.

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TRASH OR TREASURE?: Chupacabra Latin Café co-owner Emily Abernathy says her restaurant complies with health code regulations by placing used food-grade buckets in the trash as required, but they’re usually claimed by staff, customers and neighbors for other uses. Photo by Hannah Ramirez “We have a lot of regulars who garden, so we keep them in a stack near the back door,” Abernathy says.

“Some of our own staff take them home, and every so often, someone will come by and take them all.” She says anyone who wants them is welcome to pick them up from the waste pile.

Beyond the bucket issue, many local restaurants actively explore ways to limit waste as much as possible. “We recycle cardboard, glass, plastic and we compost,” says Abernathy, adding that Chupacabra is also “trying to reduce

the amount of recyclable materials used to reduce our recycling waste.”

As part of those efforts, she says, she closely watches what’s happening with recycling on a national level and follows suit. “We are trying to reduce our commitment to plastic in general and make sure we send items to recycle correctly,” she adds.

The Reynold’s Mountain restaurant has also shifted away from plastic straws in favor of biodegradable straws. “We don’t offer straws to customers and only give them out when

asked,” she says. The restaurant tried paper straws, she says, but they disintegrated too quickly.

The restaurant also uses biodegradable containers for takeout. “If we send someone home with food, we don’t want the container to have a negative impact on the environment,” says Abernathy. “We try to do every little thing we can to help.”

WASTE NOT HomeGrown, which has locations on Merriman Avenue and in West Asheville, has been committed to recycling and composting for many years.

“We have a lot of customers and staff who are passionate about recycling, so we really try to find every small way to reduce,” says Sean Cudmore, manager at the Merriman Avenue location.

HomeGrown’s to-go utensils are compostable — they’re made of potatoes.

And instead of sending cardboard from drink six-packs straight to the recycling bin, the staff at HomeGrown use the cardboard first for notes and orders.

“I’m really proud of how we minimize trash bags,” Cudmore adds. “If there’s no organic waste and just paper in the bag, instead of sending the plastic garbage bag to the landfill, we dump the paper waste into a container and reuse the plastic garbage bag.”

In addition, Homegrown offers a self-serve water station for customers at the counter, limiting the amount of wasted water at tables. “At the end of the night, we always have a big jug of unused water,” says Cudmore.

“Instead of throwing it out, we will use the water to presoak dishes.”

And, like Chupacabra, HomeGrown runs a tight straw game, offering only compostable straws and keeping them behind the counter. “We don’t have any signage or anything advertising the straws,” he says. “It has cut down our straw usage exponentially.”

Like Chupacabra and HomeGrown, Blue Dream Curry House disposes of food-grade buckets per health department regulations but encourages staff and customers to claim them for other uses. In the interest of avoiding food waste, the restaurant uses a composting service, Compost Now, and all unused, cooked rice is given to local homeless individuals each evening.

Blue Dream makes other wastereduction efforts as well. “We are always really, really good about recycling paper, and we only give out green, compostable straws to patrons who ask,” says Moore. She also explains that the restaurant uses biodegradable containers for takeout food, except for curry sauces — the earth-friendly containers it’s used have not proven durable enough to handle the piping hot liquids. Instead, Moore urges customers to bring containers from home for takeout sauces. The restaurant will even sanitize the containers before filling them with sauce.

So, next time you hear a visitor complaining about Asheville’s loathing of plastic straws, explain how local restaurants are investing in the future by reducing and reusing — except for the plastic buckets they must place in the “trash.” X

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TOP SHELF VIEWS

FOOD

by Audrey and Bill Kopp | audreybill@liquornerds.com

More vermouth In our previous feature, we began our discussion of vermouth by looking at the most widely known varieties — styles based on French and Italian recipes. But those traditional dry and sweet vermouths are only the beginning. Sweeter white vermouths are now available, and while most vermouth is still made using neutral white wine as a base, some red winebased varieties are gaining a foothold in the marketplace.

Spain, a country with a viticulture history that dates from before 3000 B.C., is home to a wide array of delightful vermouths that bear the character of those traditions. “There was a vermouth renaissance in Spain that started about 10 years ago,” says Jessica Salyer, restaurant and wine program manager at downtown tapas restaurant Cúrate. She explains that at that time, vermuterias — the vermouth equivalent of a pub — began popping up across the Iberian Peninsula, and frequenting them “became a hipster thing to do in Spain.”

Like their counterparts from France, Italy and elsewhere, Spanish vermouths are primarily offered in dry and sweet styles. “With white vermouth, you get a little bit more citrus and herbal notes with the bitterness,” Salyer says.

“With red vermouth, you’re going to get more caramelization and more of baking spices coming across.”

Spanish varieties, she says, tend to be more Mediterranean-influenced and full-bodied than a typical Italian vermouth. The drink is a centerpiece of Cúrate’s menu. Bringing a touch of vermuteria culture to Western North Carolina, the restaurant even offers some vermouths on draft. Vermouth is

SPANISH FLAIR: For the past decade, Spain has been experiencing a vermouth renaissance, says Jessica Salyer, restaurant and wine program manager at downtown tapas restaurant Cúrate. She attributes the drink’s resurgence in popularity in part to its versatility. Salyer is pictured in Cúrate’s vermuteria, or vermouth bar, with Appalachian Vintner co-owner Geoff Alexander. Photo by Luke Van Hine often garnished with both an olive and citrus peel, both of which complement the drink’s herbal qualities.

Salyer attributes vermouth’s resurgence in popularity in part to the drink’s versatility. “At Cúrate, there are three different ways — all chilled — that we serve it,” she says. “Doing it neat, putting a big rock [ice] in there or a little soda water on top of it.” The last option, she notes, is popular among lunch patrons.

“Soda opens up the vermouth, bringing out the herbs. And it also lightens it

Fernet and “Coke” Courtesy of Jessica Salyer • 1 ounce Eda Rhyne Appalachian Fernet • ¾ ounce cream sherry • ¾ ounce Spanish sweet vermouth Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice; shake and strain into a cocktail glass (served “up”) and garnish with an orange peel.

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AUG. 7 - 13, 2019

Fortified wine from Spain and beyond

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up for somebody that, at 12 to 2 o’clock, doesn’t want a 16% [alcohol] drink.”

Hoping to ride the wave of the overall surge of interest in all things related to craft cocktails, New World vintners have begun making forays into vermouth, too.

As Sam Slaughter wrote for the Tales of the Cocktail Foundation in his 2016 essay, “The Story of American Vermouth,” production began in 1998, “but it took almost a decade for more American-made vermouths to start popping.”

Today the number of American vermouths remains small, but one of the first to hit the market — Vya — is found behind the bar at many Asheville drinking establishments. (American mass marketer Gallo sells red and dry vermouths, but those are to fortified wine what Miller Lite is to craft beer.)

Domestic brands make up a portion of the extensive vermouth selection at Appalachian Vintner on Biltmore Avenue. Co-owner Geoff Alexander notes that with the increased popularity of the beverage, the distinctions between types are more blurred than ever. “Just about everybody makes three kinds now,” he says. “Sweet red, sweet white and dry white.”

He notes that while there are plenty of budget-friendly brands — domestic and imported — his store doesn’t stock some of the most common ones.

“They don’t always use the highest quality ingredients,” he explains. “At those prices, they can’t.”

Alexander says his customers “want that step above” for their cocktails.

“It’s like cooking,” he says. “If you’re making a really good dish, don’t add some not-very-good ingredient. If you’re already going the extra mile, why not add the best you can?”

The mixes of ingredients in vermouth are closely guarded secrets, not unlike Colonel Sanders’ fabled 11 herbs and spices. But a number of do-it-yourself recipes circulate online; being mildly adventurous, we recently gave one a try. Once it was all done, we poured a small serving for each of us with great anticipation, sipped it and … duly poured the contents of the bottle down the kitchen sink. It was terrible.

Undaunted, we’ll try another recipe in the future, but for now, we’re reminded that quality vermouth commands a premium price for a reason: It tastes delightfully complex.

Salyer has noticed that those new to vermouth are often surprised by its taste. “They think they’re going to be tasting cough medicine,” she says with a laugh. “And then they’re really blown away by the floral notes, the sweetness that comes across in them,” she says. “People are expecting to have that bitter, medicinal quality, not realizing that there are beautiful, herbaceous, citrus notes. Those balance out that bitter.”

She adds, “I can see the surprise on people’s face when they drink vermouth for the first time.” X

Rye Manhattan Courtesy of Geoff Alexander • 2 ounces rye whiskey • 1 ounce Carpano Antica sweet vermouth • 2 dashes Angostura bitters Combine rye, vermouth and bitters in a shaker with ice. Stir well and strain into a cocktail glass.

Garnish with a cherry.

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AUG. 7 - 13, 2019

31

SMALL BITES

FOOD

by Thomas Calder | tcalder@mountainx.com

ASAP’s Local Food Experience returns

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LOCAL INGREDIENTS: ASAP’s fourth annual Local Food Experience returns to New Belgium Brewing Co. on Aug. 15. Photo

by Chelsea Lane, courtesy of ASAP When it comes to ASAP’s annual Local Food Experience, Sarah Hart, the nonprofit’s communication coordinator, really enjoys seeing the chefs and farmers interacting with each other. For many of these growers and restaurateurs, she notes, their professional ties are limited to email exchanges and order forms.

“But at this event, you get to see local chefs and regional farmers kick

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back and hang a little, which is a fun thing to partake in,” she says.

Entering its fourth year, the gathering returns to New Belgium Brewing Co. 6-8:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 15. All proceeds from sales of the $30 tickets benefit ASAP, which develops programs to help local farms thrive and build healthy communities through local food connections.

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lighting ingredients from partnered producers. At press time, collaborations include: AUX Bar/Farm Fresh Ventures; Buncombe County Schools/ Brasstown Beef; Early Girl Eatery/ Mountain Food Products; Eden-Out Meals/R Farm; The Montford/Ivy Creek Family Farm; Sawhorse/Dry Ridge Farm; Shanti Elixirs/Jah Works Farm; and Sugar & Snow Gelato/ Looking Glass Creamery. Serotonin Ferments, Sovereign Remedies and West Village Market will also participate with farms to be determined.

Many of the items prepared, notes Hart, will be unique to the event itself. “You get these creative dishes that chefs have prepared, which are not necessarily on the menus at their restaurants,” she explains. “Instead, they might offer something very seasonal, based on what the farms have available right now.”

In addition to helping ASAP raise funds, Hart says the Local Food Experience promotes “greater awareness of and enthusiasm for local food and the connection between our local

CONTINUES ON PAGE 33

restaurants and farms here in Asheville and Western North Carolina.”

ASAP’s Local Food Experience runs 6-8:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 15, at New Belgium Brewing Co., 21 Craven St. Tickets are $30. To purchase, visit avl.mx/6db.

Kitchen Ready Showcase Dinner On Thursday, Aug. 8, Green Opportunities Kitchen Ready training program will host its latest Showcase Dinner highlighting the culinary skills of its most recent graduating class. The menu will include bruschetta, empanadas, skirt steak with chimichurri and churros among other items. Suggested donation is $10. Seating is first-come, first-served.

Dinner will be served at 5:30 and 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 8, at the Arthur R. Edington Education & Career Center, 133 Livingston St. For details, visit avl.mx/6d4.

DIY sausage Butchers Rob Jones and Matt Helms will lead students through a sausage making workshop on Thursday, Aug. 8, at The Chop Shop Butchery. The course will teach several techniques and offer tastings.

Pisgah Brewing Co. will provide libations. Sausage will be available to take home that evening. Tickets are $85.

The workshop runs 6-8 p.m.

Thursday, Aug. 8, at The Chop Shop Butchery, 100 Charlotte St. To purchase tickets, visit avl.mx/6da.

The book signing runs 5-7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 9, at Hole Doughnuts, 168 Haywood Road. For more information on Sleep Tight Kids, visit avl.mx/6d5. For details on the book signing event, visit avl.mx/6d6.

Brews & Bears Beers, ciders and bears — oh my!

Brews & Bears returns to the WNC Nature Center Friday, Aug. 9, with drinks from Oskar Blues Brewery and Bold Rock Hard Cider. Food and dessert will be served by Appalachian Chic Food Truck and The Hop Ice Cream Cafe. Tickets are $10 for nonmembers and $8 for members. Children age 2 and younger enter for free. The event is rain or shine.

Brews and Bears runs 5:30-8 p.m.

Friday, Aug. 9, at WNC Nature Center, 75 Gashes Creek Road. To learn more, visit avl.mx/6d7.

Breakfast pop-up at Sovereign Remedies Sovereign Remedies recently began hosting a regular morning pop-up featuring baked goods from Old World Levain Bakery. Pastries and light bites from the West Asheville bakery are available 8 a.m.-2 p.m. weekdays along with specials from Sovereign Remedies’ chef Graham House. Coffee and morning cocktails will also be served.

Sovereign Remedies continues to offer its regular weekend brunch services 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Sovereign Remedies is at 29 N. Market St. For more information on the latest breakfast pop-up, visit avl.mx/4yd.

Fresco Live Lunches Haywood Street Congregation recently announced plans to extend its July series, Fresco Live Lunches, through August. Every Tuesday and Thursday community members are invited to spend their lunch hour in the congregation’s new pews, where they can watch and speak with artists as they work on the church’s fresco.

Bring your own lunch or pre-order a boxed lunch from the congregation for $15 (Tuesdays only). Boxes include a wrap (meat or veggie), chips, fruit cup, dessert and bottled water. All proceeds support the production of the fresco.

Lunches are served 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

Tuesdays and Thursdays in August at Haywood Street Congregation, 297 Haywood St. To pre-order your lunch, visit avl.mx/6d8.

Closed: Mojo Kitchen & Lounge Mojo Kitchen & Lounge closed on July 28. In a Facebook post, owners A.J. Gregson and Autumn Pittman shared a farewell message that read: “Thank you! We are humbled by the love and support this town has shown us for the past 5 ½ years.” The couple will continue to operate Lil Mojo food truck and Black Bear BBQ in East Asheville. X

Tomahawk for Two

Book signing at Hole Local children’s book author Holly Myers will be at Hole Doughnuts on Friday, Aug. 9, signing copies of the second edition of her book Goodnight Asheville. Myers says fans of the work will discover additional businesses and landmarks featured in the latest edition, including shoutouts to Hole Doughnuts and the Asheville Tourists.

As part of the book signing event, Hole will donate 50% of its daily sales to Sleep Tight Kids, a local nonprofit that provides newly purchased bedtimerelated items for children in need.

The event will also feature a raffle.

Ticket prices were not available at press time. Prizes will include gift certificates and promotional items from Hole, The Hop, French Broad Food Co-Op and other local businesses featured in Myers’ book.

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Coming this September

TIMING IS EVERYTHING Four-day Asheville Comedy Festival returns

The ADVENTURE Issue

FUNNY BUSINESS: “I like to balance jokes with crowd interaction,” says Brevard native and current Chicagoan Hobert Thompson, right, who will perform at the 13th annual Asheville Comedy Festival. “I want the audience to feel like they’re in on my bit, not just passengers.” Fellow North Carolinian Maddie Weiner, left, is also on the bill, along with Pedro Gonzalez, center, and dozens of others. Photos courtesy of the comedians

BY MIKE SCHOEFFEL mikeschoeffel89@gmail.com

Break out of your rut!

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Brevard native and current Chicagoan Hobert Thompson is returning to Western North Carolina this week to perform at the 13th annual Asheville Comedy Festival. But that’s not his only motivation for coming home.

“I’m definitely going to make some time to visit family ... and go to Bojangles,” he says. “We don’t have Bojangles in Chicago. I don’t want to sound like I’m only returning to eat a Cajun filet biscuit, but it was a factor.”

Thompson is one of 51 comedians selected from a substantial applicant pool to perform at this year’s event. The festival’s executive producer, Charlie Gerencer, declined to comment on the exact number of submissions but noted that it takes approximately four months to select the official lineup.

Those who made the cut for the 2019 Asheville Comedy Festival, previously

known as Laugh Your Asheville Off, will perform at three venues (Diana Wortham Theatre, Highland Brewing and LaZoom Room) WednesdaySaturday, Aug. 7-10.

“The comedians at our festival are top-shelf,” Gerencer says. “[They’re] well-known, established comics and are, or will be, stars in the comedy world.”

Take Thompson: The N.C. State graduate has never performed in Asheville, though he has appeared in Brevard and Hendersonville. He’s a relatively new convert to stand-up, having moved to Chicago from Raleigh in 2014 with the aim of pursuing improv.

Not long after arriving in the Windy City, however, he felt compelled to try open-mic stand-up.

It stuck.

“I stumbled into something I love doing,” he says. “Chicago has been great so far. I really feel like its comedy scene is conducive to letting performers try new and different things.”

Thompson is certainly trying different things. His act is offbeat, avantgarde and often incorporates his extensive improv background.

Take, for instance, one of his most popular bits, which he begins with the declaration that a paternity test has proved that he’s the father of every single person in the audience.

He then proceeds to walk through the crowd, grilling his “kids” about their drug use, career paths and other fatherly topics.

At least one iteration of this bit — a 2016 YouTube video filmed at CAMP comedy showcase in Chicago — finds Thompson shouting at one of his “sons” to “stand in the corner and stare at the wall” because he hasn’t done his homework. It ends with the comedian belting out Elton John’s “Circle of Life,” while inviting his “children” (including his disgraced “son”) onstage for an absurd, grandiose finale.

“If I had to describe my act to someone in a gun-to-my-head scenar-

io, I’d quickly blurt out, ‘Conceptual crowdwork, please don’t shoot me,’” he says. “I’d understand if they shot me anyway because that sounds obnoxiously pretentious.”

But basically, he continues, “I like to balance jokes with crowd interaction. I want the audience to feel like they’re in on my bit, not just passengers.”

While Thompson is more off-thecuff, Pedro Gonzalez is a standup traditionalist. Gonzalez’s story is unique. Born in Colombia, he moved to the United States at age 19 to join other members of his family who had already immigrated here.

Gonzalez, who now lives in New York, initially wanted to be an engineer. He soon realized he was better suited for a creative field. So he ended up at UCLA, pursuing a Ph.D. in literature “so he could get a cushy job teaching at a university and work only a few hours a day,” as the bio on his website puts it.

He eventually ditched the Ph.D. track for comedy after he realized the latter requires even less work.

“I grew up a middle-class city child, but I come from a long line of farmers,” he says. “Which is funny, because I’d die if I had to harvest my own food. The only reason I do standup is because all it requires is a piece of paper, a pen and an imagination.”

Much, but not all, of Gonzalez’s act addresses the struggles of living in Trump’s America with the name Pedro and a strong accent. He employs a deadpan, nonsequitur style — ala Mitch Hedberg — to grapple with the touchy subject of race.

In one bit, he talks about a girlfriend he once lived with in Manhattan. The girl’s father, “an old wealthy dude,” as Gonzalez puts it, tells the comedian that he doesn’t like Hispanics because they come to America and “live off the government.”

“I was like, ‘Sir, I’ll have you know that I’m Hispanic and I don’t live off the government. I live off your daughter. So get out of my house,’” Gonzalez responds, to uproarious laughter.

Though Gonzalez’s material often pokes fun at the prevalence of racism in America, his actual experience in this country has been mostly positive. He’s never encountered “aggressive racism,” as he puts it. But he has had to deal with occasional affronts.

“Having the name Pedro makes me pretty unsexy on dating apps, for sure,” he says.

Whatever bigotry he’s come across has generally been offset by the welcoming nature of others — especially those in the New York comedy community, where he’s found a home. On the whole, that community has been a bastion of acceptance, filled with fellow comics who have fully supported Gonzalez’s version of the American dream. “[The New York comedy scene] is filled with hardworking, positive friends who have encouraged me for years, and I’m grateful for that,” he says. “I have nothing but good things to say about los gringos.” X

WHAT Asheville Comedy Festival ashevillecomedyfestival.com WHERE Diana Wortham Theatre 18 Biltmore Ave. LaZoom Room 76 Biltmore Ave. and Highland Brewing 12 Old Charlotte Highway.

See website for schedule WHEN Wednesday-Saturday, Aug. 7-10 Ticket packages $20-$70

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35

A&E

by Ami Worthen

amiworthen@gmail.com

LEGACY PROJECT

Art & Craft Exhibition highlights black history and culture in Henderson County

When Crystal Cauley hosted the first Black Art & Craft Exhibition in Hendersonville this spring, she was confident about the value of the event but wondered if there would be a receptive audience for it. Her concerns were unfounded: The exhibition was a success, with an overwhelmingly positive response from the community and requests not to wait too long to hold another. Happy to build on what she started, Cauley has scheduled a second Black Art & Craft Exhibition for Saturday, Aug. 10, at Emanuel’s Corner in Hendersonville. It will showcase art and craft, highlight local African American history and celebrate Jamaicans living in the area.

Before the exhibition came to fruition, Cauley’s initial idea was to have the stories she’d heard from her family about black history in Henderson County interpreted in artwork “because it’s something people can see,” she says. “The history is dynamic, and it should be covered more.”

INHERITANCE: Crystal Cauley, pictured, the producer of the upcoming Black Art & Craft Exhibition, is working with artist Diamond Cash to document Henderson County’s black history through visual art. Photo courtesy of Cauley

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Cauley sees art as a powerful way to illuminate black achievements. While African American people have played a significant role in Henderson County for centuries, their stories have been hidden in the margins. “From what I’ve been told, it has been a struggle to have a voice,” she says.

Cauley took her idea to visual artist Diamond Cash, who, like Cauley, is a Hendersonville native. Cash agreed to create a series of paintings about this history. The first, revealed at the exhibition in March, is titled “Legacy.” As Cauley describes it, the painting “shows the shape of Henderson County being uplifted with black hands. That signifies that African Americans, or black Americans, in Henderson County, have always uplifted this area and [strove] for excellence. There is a kente border on both sides to celebrate ethnic pride, and the background is the Blue Ridge Mountains.” The second painting, to be unveiled at the exhibition on Aug. 10, is called “Glory” and will honor historical black churches in Hendersonville.

With “Legacy” as a centerpiece, the first exhibition featured black vendors, with Cauley selling clothes and handmade items from Africa. The significance of the event, the first of its kind, was recognized by Hendersonville Mayor Barbara Volk, who presented certificates of commendation to Cauley and Cash in May. The two were also invited to make a display for the Henderson County Public Library.

Media outlets including Blue Ridge Now, Black Southern Belle and Urban News picked up on the story. “People are very excited; they are very receptive to this, that’s what’s driving the whole thing,” Cauley says. “It’s not just black people, but white people, too. It’s a wonderful experience.”

The upcoming exhibition will have similar components — an array of black vendors and the display of Cash’s latest painting. A new addition will be the recognition of the Jamaican influence locally.

“Their culture has made an impact here ... especially in Edneyville, Dana

and Flat Rock,” says Cauley, who has Jamaican family members. She grew up around their “stories of happiness, reggae house parties and friendships that span over 50 years.”

She has encouraged cultural pride in her children, who have Jamaican roots on their father’s side as well.

As in the case of many immigrants, there’s little documentation of their initial move to the area. According to local elder Ronnie Pepper, Jamaicans began settling in Henderson County in the 1950s and ’60s to work in agriculture. Cauley’s mother says they established camps off Asheville Highway and in the Clear Creek community.

Today, you can find them living and working throughout the county.

For the Black Art & Craft Exhibition, Cauley is coordinating a display with pictures of people with Jamaican heritage who live in Henderson County.

The goal is for Jamaicans who attend “to be honored and celebrated and feel appreciated,” says Cauley. There will be Jamaican food at the event as well.

The Black Business Network of WNC, which Cauley founded in 2016, helps raise visibility for black-owned businesses and has a similar mission to the exhibition in terms of increasing the profile of blacks in this part of the state. “I created that network and these events because they are needed,” she says. With entrepreneurship and art, Cauley is increasing awareness of black contributions that have long been absent in dominant narratives.

She particularly hopes to reach young people, explaining, “Because children, they need exposure to African culture, and also to our own history.”

Cauley plans on continuing to grow this work and invites others to participate. “This is an ongoing project, telling the black history of Henderson County through artwork and craft,” she says, “and I’m always looking for people to join me.” X

WHAT Black Art & Craft Exhibition WHERE Emanuel’s Corner 726 First Ave. Hendersonville WHEN Saturday, Aug. 10, 1 p.m. Free

MOUNTAINX.COM

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37

PET

POP UP SHOP

A& E

by Bill Kopp

bill@musoscribe.com

FOSSIL FUELED Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears keep the blues relevant

A MULTIMEDIA EXHIBITION OF WORKS REFLECTING ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HUMANS AND DOMESTICATED ANIMALS.

RECEPTION AUG. 15, 5-7PM 217 COXE AVE. (828) 505-8428 OPENHEARTSARTCENTER.COM

ADOPTABLE DOGS WILL BE AT THE OPENING RECEPTION!

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Joe Lewis knows that the musical path he has chosen is a difficult one.

In the face of machine-generated pop and a society that seems increasingly afflicted with attention deficit order, the soul-funk-blues of his band, Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears, can seem out of place. But the Austin, Texasbased musician follows his muse wherever it takes him. In support of the 2018 release The Difference Between Me & You, Lewis’ group plays The Mothlight on Saturday, Aug. 10.

Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears first broke out nationally in 2007, when they landed opening slots on tours with fellow Austin bands Spoon and Okkervil River. Lewis’ group earned positive notices for that year’s self-titled, debut full-length album. But, as often happens in the life cycle of a band, the successes slowed.

“When we first started, we were in all the publications, we were on TV and stuff,” Lewis says. “And at that point, I was like, ‘Man, we haven’t even really done anything yet!’ But that’s how this industry works. Once you start making quality work and you’ve been around forever, nobody really cares, because you’re just not new anymore.”

Lewis points out the disposable nature of pop seems to have planned obsolescence built into it. “Your biggest pop stars right now — the ones who have come up within the last four or five years — are all people who have gone viral,” he says. “They got one thing, and that’s it. But they’re huge. It’s like society’s super ADD.” Lewis believes that an emphasis on all things new is ingrained into the collective pop culture psyche. “People are so quick to forget about things nowadays,” he says. “Back in the day, people would kind of retain things longer. So, now you’re trying to constantly figure out ways to stay on the road.”

He acknowledges that “you can’t really go out when nobody’s thinking about you. So we’re all having to put out records over and over and over again.”

Though that comment might make it seem that Lewis doesn’t enjoy making records, that’s not the case. Along with a raft of original compositions, The Difference Between Me & You features a reading of Wilco’s “Handshake Drugs.”

It’s a reinvention that owes as much to the style of Creedence Clearwater Revival as to anything else. Lewis

GUT FEELING: Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears, from Austin, Texas, acknowledge that their blues-based music is out of step with prevailing pop trends, but it suits them just fine.

Photo courtesy of Mason Jar Media recalls the moment when he decided to add it to the album. “This is a good cover,” he thought. “Because it’s different from what we [usually] do, we can put our own spin on it.”

The unique take is a product of Lewis’ unusual musical journey. He grew up in Texas on a steady diet of hip-hop. “My dad always hated that,” he recalls. “He thought it was stupid.”

Instead, the elder Lewis tried to turn his son onto rock groups like Nirvana.

But that presented its own problems.

“When I was younger, if you were a black kid trying to listen to rock ’n’ roll, you just got f**ked with,” he says.

“If you played the guitar or if you had a skateboard, everyone was like, ‘Oh, this is white dude shit.’”

From his perspective, things are different now. “The young’uns have gotten more open-minded over the years,” he says.

Lewis taught himself to play guitar and started hanging out with musicians.

That led to his discovery of the blues.

“I’d already heard the blues before, through my uncles,” he admits, “but I didn’t really pay attention. Because that was, like, old-people stuff.”

When Lewis started writing his own material, his take on the blues reflected the influence of the more modern styles that had informed his musical sensibility. The result was something updated, something unique. And, for his efforts, he has gained a solid following. His 2017 album, Backlash, entered

Billboard’s Top Blues Albums chart at the No. 3 position.

Lewis remains sure of his musical approach but concedes that it’s out of step with mainstream culture. “I’m a bluesman in 2019,” he says. “We’re obsolete. We’re playing instruments; the biggest music right now doesn’t have instruments.”

He lets out a hearty laugh: “It’s like we’re still f**king with greenscreen computers; you know what I’m saying?” X

WHO Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears WHERE The Mothlight 701 Haywood Road themothlight.com WHEN Saturday, Aug. 10, 9 p.m. $15 advance/$18 day of show

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39

SMART BETS

A&E

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

The Ex-Optimists Forged in the boiling metropolis of Houston, The Ex-Optimists now also call Asheville and its milder climate home. Self-described purveyors of “pop songs played with guitars plugged into amps turned up way too loud to get over a drummer who hits them too hard, hollered to be heard,” the indie/noise rockers unite the talents of Katie Keller (bass), Kelly Minnis (vocals/guitar), Michael Scarborough (guitar) and Colin Witucki (drums).

Still riding the high of its acclaimed 2018 album, Drowned in Moonlight, which drew comparisons to the likes of Dinosaur Jr. and Superchunk, the band makes its local debut Friday, Aug. 9, at Fleetwood’s. The evening starts at 9 with opening sets by Asheville rock trio Ugly Runner and Carrboro-based punk quartet Personality Cult. $7 general admission/$10 for attendees under 21. fleetwoodschapel.com. Photo by Kylie Alyssa

The Children of Dionysus Fresh off her April show, Noble Beasts, which featured oil paintings that confront the symbolic links between humans and animals by transforming Renaissanceera royalty into their wildlife equivalents, Asheville artist Elizabeth Albright returns with a solo show titled The Children of Dionysus. Works in the new collection are transformations of figures in rococo paintings into animals associated with the Greek god of wine, fertility, ecstasy and other aspects of frivolity and excess. While acknowledging that the myth of Dionysus and the rococo art movement are separated by centuries, Albright sees them as conceptually similar and seeks to combine the two and create a new narrative. There will be an opening reception for the paintings at ZaPow Gallery on Friday, Aug. 9, 7-9 p.m., complete with complimentary drinks, cake, music, parlor games, prizes and a masquerade ball. The show runs through Sept. 8. zapow.com. Image of “The Swing” courtesy of the artist

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Linqua Franqa By day, Mariah Parker is a self-professed “prison abolitionist county commissioner” for Athens-Clarke County District 2 in Georgia — an office for which she was sworn in with her hand on a copy of The Autobiography of Malcolm X. She’s also a Ph.D. student and teaching and research assistant in the University of Georgia’s language and literacy education department. By night, Parker combines those professional passions and social justice advocacy into conscious hip-hop under the name Linqua Franqa.

A veteran of the 2018 RAD Fest, Parker heads to The Mothlight on Friday, Aug. 9.

Asheville rhymers Musashi Xero, P.T.P. and Resonate will warm up the stage starting at 9 p.m. with DJ Kutzu and DJ Honey on the boards. $10. Attendees are encouraged to bring a cash or book donation to support Asheville Prison Books. themothlight.com.

Photo by Daniel Borremans

Tanya Solomon Ever get the feeling that stage magic could use more blindfold targeting with knives, conjuring of live fish from thin air and showcases that highlight the numerous capabilities of creamed corn? If the answer is yes, Tanya Solomon may be the performer for you. One of the industry’s few female professionals brings all of the above, plus an illusion by her rescue coonhound, Stormy the Mystery Dog, to her show, Truth Assassin.

Joining the Brooklyn-based artist on the Sunday, Aug. 11, bill at The Odditorium is Asheville’s own Toybox, aka America’s Favorite Cartoon Witch, and his blend of puppetry, storytelling and performance art. The entertainment begins at 9 p.m. $10. ashevilleodditorium.com. Photo

by Adrian Buckmaster

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THEATER REVIEW

by Patricia Furnish | drpatriqua@yahoo.com

‘Bye Bye Birdie’ at Hendersonville Community Theatre A musical comedy full of late 1950s nostalgia and beloved songs, Bye Bye Birdie is onstage at the Hendersonville Community Theatre through Sunday, Aug. 18.

The story centers on the arrival of a rock ’n’ roll teen idol to Sweet Apple, Ohio, for a publicity stunt. Conrad Birdie (played by Alexander Guazzo) has been drafted, so his promoter, Albert Peterson (Kiran Bursenos), sees this as an opportunity to save his failing business. Meanwhile, Albert’s long-suffering secretary, Rosie Alvarez (Keelie Jones), is tired of waiting for Albert to stop being a mama’s boy and marry her. She’s realizing that Albert may never take their secret love affair into the daylight of matrimony.

Sweet Apple has its own local celebrities in high school sweethearts Kim McAfee and Hugo Peabody. Kim (Jaylan Skye Brinson) is a member of the Conrad Birdie Fan Club, and she’s the one who will publicly give Birdie his last kiss before his deployment.

The town’s local boys find Birdie’s gyrating performances worthy of ridicule. Birdie is an urbane outsider who really just wants to find the local dive bar and live a little before he starts his military service. The immature teenage boys just don’t get why all the girls in town fall to the floor screaming when Birdie belts out “Honestly Sincere.”

Even mature women find themselves overcome by his sex appeal. This rock

WHOLE LOTTA SHAKIN: Pop icon Conrad Birdie (played by Alexander Guazzo, center) upends small-town sensibilities and stirs up some latent sexual tension in Bye Bye Birdie, onstage at Hendersonville Community Theatre. Photo by Sharon Madison ’n’ roll star turns Sweet Apple into a hotbed of hyperventilation.

More turmoil occurs back at the McAfee home, where Kim’s transition to womanhood is disrupting her parents’ peace of mind. Doris (Chelsea St. John-Wade) and Harry (Rob Sneller), convey clueless parental love as their daughter insists on calling them by their first names. Even more disturbing, Kim uses the word “puberty” in the house, rendering Harry cringingly upset. Brinson delivers a moving, ironic rendition of “How Lovely to Be a Woman,” which the audience can enjoy for her powerful vocal skills and for the lyrics. When she sings of the “hallelujah” moment of “that happy grown-up female feeling,” it’s full of the optimism of youth. She has no idea what’s coming.

Another familial problem emerges because Albert’s mother, Mae (Linda Meigs), doesn’t like Rosie’s Hispanic heritage. She also doesn’t like her son slipping out of her grasp. Meigs plays this role with an over-the-top interpretation of the prejudiced, clingy mother who can’t let her son go. Meigs brings 42

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edgy humor to the role and to a character it would have been easy to dismiss.

The show brims with standout musical numbers, dancing and vibrant costume design for songs like “Put on a Happy Face” and “A Normal American Boy.” Jones’ dance skills are also superb, especially when she performs “Spanish Rose.” The show is full of the youthful exuberance and adult angst that continues to make this production a favorite for fans of musicals. X

WHAT Bye Bye Birdie WHERE Hendersonville Community Theatre Second Stage 229 S. Washington St. Hendersonville hendersonvilletheatre.org WHEN Through Sunday, Aug. 18. Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. $20-$30

A & E CALENDAR ART 'ANIMAL HOUSE' • TH (8/15), 5-7pm - Animal House, group show, pet portraits, handmade pet supplies and adoptable dogs from Mountain Pet Rescue. Held at Open Hearts Art Center, 217 Coxe Ave. ARTIST COFFEE & CHAT • TH (8/8), 10-11:30am - Artist coffee and chat.

Free. Held at Haywood County Arts Council, 86 N. Main St., Waynesville BRING US YOUR BEST XVI • MONDAY through FRIDAY until (8/16), 10am4pm - Bring Us Your Best XVI, a juried competition of 2D, 3D, fine craft and photography. Held at Blue Ridge Community College Conference Hall, 49 E. Campus Drive, Flat Rock BUNCOMBE COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARIES buncombecounty.org/ governing/depts/library • Through (8/10) - Leicester artists' work on display as well as brochures for the Leicester Artist Studio Tour, Sat. & Sun.: Aug. 17-18. Held at Leicester Library, 1561 Alexander Road, Leicester • WE (8/14), 5-6:30pm - Learn to fix clothes, like buttons, zippers or patches. Free. Held at Pack Memorial Library, 67 Haywood St. HOLLOW BOOKMAKING WORKSHOP • SU (8/11), 3-5pm Hollow book making workshop. Admission by donation. Held at Firestorm Books & Coffee, 610 Haywood Rd NATURE/ART DAY AT CATALOOCHEE RANCH • WE (8/14), 10am1:30pm - A day of bird watching, hiking, reading, painting and relaxing.

Lunch may be purchased at the ranch. Register: 828-452-0593. Free. Held at Cataloochee Ranch, 119 Ranch Drive, Maggie Valley PERSPECTIVES, LUNCHTIME CONVERSATIONS: EVA BARES • WE (8/14), noon-1pm - Explore the Bauhaus 100 exhibition along with

Eva Bares. Free. Held at Black Mountain College Museum & Arts Center, 120 College St. SECOND SATURDAY FOLKMOOT MARKET • 2nd SATURDAYS, 6-9pm - Second Saturday Market featuring vendors, live music, dance lessons, food and beverages.

Free to attend/$10-$15 for dinner/$5 per dance lesson. Held at Folkmoot Friendship Center, 112 Virginia Ave., Waynesville

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

Held at Woodlands Gallery, 419 N. Main St., Hendersonville RIVER ARTS DISTRICT SECOND SATURDAY • 2nd SATURDAYS, 11am-4:30pm - River Arts District gallery walks and open studios featuring more than 200 artists.

Information: riverartsdistrict.com. Free to attend/Free trolley.

Held at River Arts District Studio Stroll, Depot St. SECOND SATURDAY CELEBRATIONS • 2nd SATURDAYS, 11am5pm - Second Saturday Celebration, event with food, music and artist demonstrations. Free to attend. Held at Odyssey Cooperative Art Gallery, 238 Clingman Ave. SHOP & SIP THIRD THURSDAYS • TH (8/15), 5:30-9:30pm Pop-up art show featuring 5-10 artists and makers.

Free to attend. Held at Mad Genius Studios, 121 Cozy Rose Lane, Candler THIRD THURSDAY IN MARSHALL • TH (8/21), 5-8pm - Gallery openings, studio tours, shops, food and drinks. Free to attend.

Held at Downtown Marshall

AUDITIONS & CALL TO ARTISTS ASHEVILLE SYMPHONY CHORUS 2019-2020 AUDITIONS • TU (8/13), 3pm - Open auditions for the 2019-2020 Asheville Symphony Chorus season.

Registration required: mlancastercond@gmail. com. Held at First Congregational UCC of Asheville, 20 Oak St. GRASSROOTS ARTS PROGRAM SUBGRANTS • Through FR (8/30) Grassroots Arts Program Subgrants provide financial support for Jackson County community groups and nonprofits that offer arts programs.

Application information: jacksoncountyarts.org or info@jacksoncountyarts. org. Held at Jackson County Arts Council, 310 Keener St., Sylva NORTH CAROLINA ARTS COUNCIL REGIONAL ARTIST PROJECT GRANTS • Through FR (8/16) Applications accepted for the North Carolina Arts Council Regional Artist Project Grants. Information: acofhc.org.

SONG O' SKY CHORUS • TUESDAYS (until (8/27), 6:45pm - Women interested in joining the chorus may attend rehearsals.

Free. Held at St. John's Episcopal Church, 290 Old Haw Creek Road TOE RIVER ARTS 2019 JURIED EXHIBIT • Through SA (8/10) Applications accepted for artists for the Toe River Arts 2019 Juried Exhibit taking place Saturday, Sept. 28 until Saturday, Nov. 2. $35. See website for full guidelines.

DANCE LEARN HOW TO DANCE (PD.) Ballroom, Swing, Waltz, Salsa, Wedding, TwoStep, Special Events. Certified instructor. Contact Richard for information: 828-333-0715, naturalrichard@mac.com, DanceForLife.net HARVEST HOUSE 205 Kenilworth Road, 828-350-2051

• TUESDAYS, 7:309:30pm - International folk dancing, dances from around the world. No partner needed. Info: 828-645-1543. Free.

• WEDNESDAYS, noon-2pm - Intermediate/ advanced contemporary line dancing. $10.

IMPROVER CONTEMPORARY LINE DANCING • THURSDAYS until (8/22), 3-4pm - Improver contemporary line dancing. $5. Held at Senior Opportunity Center, 36 Grove St. LINE DANCING PARTY • SA (8/10), 2:30-5:30pm - Line Dancing Party open to all dancers and non-dancers. $10. Held at Montford Community Center, 34 Pearson Drive MONDAY NIGHT CONTRA DANCE • MONDAYS, 7:3010:30pm - Community contra dance. $7. Held at The Center for Art and Spirit at St. George’s Episcopal Church, 1 School Road OLD FARMER'S BALL oldfarmersball.com • 2nd SUNDAYS, 3-5pm - Family contra/square dances for families with children ages 6-12. All ages welcome. Free. Held at Harvest House, 205 Kenilworth Road • THURSDAYS, 7:3011pm - Old Farmers Ball, contra dance. $8/$7 members/$1 Warren Wilson Community. Held in Bryson Gym Held at Warren Wilson College, 701 Warren Wilson Road, Swannanoa STREET DANCE • MONDAYS, 7-9pm - Season finale features Walt Puckett as caller, Blue Ridge Tradition and Southern Connection Cloggers. Free. Held at Hendersonville Visitors Center, 201 South Main St., Hendersonville

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

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A & E CALENDAR Drop-ins welcome. • Drums provided. $15/ class. (828) 768-2826. skinnybeatsdrums.com AN EVENING WITH LYLE LOVETT • TH (8/8), 7:30pm Concert featuring Lyle Lovett and his Large Band playing a fusion of country, swing, jazz, folk, gospel and blues. $25 and up. Held at Brevard Music Center, 349 Andante Lane, Brevard ASHEVILLE DRUM CIRCLE • FRIDAYS, 6-9:50pm - Asheville outdoor drum circle. Free. Held at Pritchard Park, 4 College St. CLASSICAL GUITAR SOCIETY MEETING / PLAYER'S CIRCLE • 2nd SUNDAYS, 1pm - Classical Guitar Society meeting followed by a potluck and musician's jam. Free to attend.

Held at Asheville Guitar Bar, 122 Riverside Drive CONCERTS ON THE CREEK • FRIDAYS, 7-9pm - Concerts on the Creek series through Labor Day. For lineup: mountainlovers.com.

Free. Held at Bridge Park Pavilion, 76 Railroad Ave., Sylva ISIS LAWN SERIES • WEDNESDAYS and THURSDAYS, 6-8:30pm - Concert on the lawn including bluegrass, blues and jazz. Free to attend.

Held at Isis Music Hall, 743 Haywood Road

JOHN SEBASTIAN CONCERT • SU (8/11), 7:30pm - Celebrate the 50th anniversary of Woodstock with the founder of The Lovin Spoonful, John Sebastian. $39.50$49.50. Held at Diana Wortham Theatre, 18 Biltmore Ave.

Mountains: Appalachian Nature Writing in the Anthropocene, features nearly fifty writers from across Appalachia sharing their placebased fiction, literary nonfiction, and poetry.

Free to attend. Held at Blue Ridge Books, 428 Hazelwood Ave.

LÉON THEREMIN’S BIRTHDAY • TH (8/15), 11am-5pm - Léon Theremin’s birthday and grand opening celebration includes concerts and lectures. $6. Held at Moogseum, 56 Broadway St. MCCOY & MCKAY BAND • FR (8/9), 7pm - McCoy and McKay Band concert. Free to attend.

Held at First Baptist Church of Weaverville, 63 N. Main St., Weaverville MUSIC ON MAIN • FRIDAYS, 7-9pm Music on Main concert series. Information: avl.mx/648. Free. Held at Hendersonville Visitor Center, 201 S. Main St., Hendersonville OLE TYME PICKERS FRIDAY BLUEGRASS • 2nd & 4th FRIDAYS, 7pm - Ole Tyme Pickers, bluegrass concert. Free. Held at Big Willow Community Building, Willow Road, Hendersonville PUBSING • 2nd SUNDAYS, 4-6pm - Gospel jam and sing-along. Free to attend. Held at Zillicoah Beer Co, 870 Riverside Drive, Woodfin

POETRY READING WITH JEFFERY BEAM • WE (8/8), 7pm - Jeffery Beam discusses, reads and sings from Spectral Pegasus/Dark Movements. Free.

Held at Black Mountain College Museum & Arts Center, 120 College St.

I’M SORRY: Hear men read aloud from Eve Ensler’s new book, The Apology. After years working as an anti-violence activist, Ensler decided she would wait no longer for an apology from her abusive father; an apology could be imagined, by her, for her, to her. Held at West Asheville Library, Thursday, Aug. 15, 6-7 p.m. Free to attend. (p. 44)

RHYTHM & BREWS CONCERT SERIES 828-233-3216, facebook.com/ rhythmandbrewshendersonville • TH (8/15), 5:30-9:30pm Tellico and Fireside Collective, outdoor concert. Free to attend. Held at South Main Street, 200 South Main St., Hendersonville SANDBURG SINGALONG • SU (8/11), 3-5pm Musicians lead songs, lyrics provided. Admission fees apply. Held at Carl Sandburg Home NHS, 1800 Little River Road, Flat Rock SHINDIG ON THE GREEN • SATURDAYS, 7pm Outdoor old-timey and folk music jam sessions and concert. Free. Held at Pack Square Park, 121 College St. SUMMER TRACKS • FR (8/9), 7pm - Summer Tracks concert series, Alien Music Club, Bridge: Paul Simon Meets The Beatles.

Information: summertracks. com. Admission by donation. Held at Rogers Park, 55 W. Howard St., Tryon TOP OF THE GRADE CONCERTS • FR (8/9), 7-9pm - Top of the Grade concert series.

Information: avl.mx/65a.

Free. Held on the Ella

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MOUNTAINX.COM

by Deborah Robertson

Grace Mintz Stage. Held at McCreery Park, Smith Drive., Saluda

SPOKEN & WRITTEN WORD 2ND SUNDAYS AT THE CENTER • SU (8/11), 3-5pm - Sherry Lovett and Lillian Chase with traditional Appalachian words and blue grass music. $18/$15 advance.

Held at The Center for Art & Inspiration, 125 S. Main St., Hendersonville BUNCOMBE COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARIES buncombecounty.org/ governing/depts/library • WE (8/7), 3pm - Book Club: Varina by Charles Frazier. Free. Held at West Asheville Public Library, 942 Haywood Road • TU (8/13), 2pm - Discussion of Fairview's Town Wide Read is One Foot in Eden by Ron Rash. Free to attend. Held at Trout Lily, 1297 Charlotte Highway, Fairview • TU (8/13), 7pm - Mull it Over Book Club: Amity and Prosperity by Eliza Griswold. Free. Held at Pack Memorial Library, 67 Haywood St. • TH (8/15), 6-7:30pm Hear men read aloud Eve Ensler’s The Apology. Free.

Held at West Asheville Public Library, 942 Haywood Road

FLETCHER LIBRARY 120 Library Road, Fletcher, 828-687-1218, library. hendersoncountync.org • 2nd THURSDAYS, 10:30am - Book Club. Free.

• 2nd THURSDAYS, 1:30pm - Writers' Guild.

Free.

MALAPROP'S BOOKSTORE AND CAFE 55 Haywood St., 828-2546734, malaprops.com • WE (8/7), 6pm - Elwood Watson, PhD, presents his book, Keepin' It Real: Essays on Race in Contemporary America.

Free to attend.

• WE (8/7), 7pm - Malaprop's book club discusses Another Country by James Baldwin. Free to attend.

• TH (8/8), 6pm - Christina Proenza-Coles presents her book, American Founders: How People of African Descent Established Freedom in the New World. Free to attend.

• SA (8/10), 6pm - Jamie Mason presents his book, The Hidden Things, in conversation with Joe D'Agnese. Free to attend.

• SU (8/11), 3pm - George Ellison presents his book, Back of Beyond: A Horace Kephart Biography. Free to attend.

• MO (8/12), 6pm - Michael Diettrich-Chastain and William L. Sparks, PhD, present their books, Actualized Leadership: Meeting Your Shadow and

Maximizing Your Potential and Changes. Free to attend.

• MO (8/12), 7pm - Mystery book club discusses Earthly Remains: A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery by Donna Leon. Free to attend.

• TU (8/13), 6pm - Bobbie Pyron presents her book, Stay. Free to attend.

• WE (8/14), 6pm - Megan Shepherd presents her book, Midnight Beauties.

Free to attend.

• TH (8/15), 6pm - Andy Parker presents his book, For Alison: The Murder of a Young Journalist and a Father's Fight for Gun Safety. Free to attend.

• TH (8/15), 7pm - Notorious History Book club is reading Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II by John W. Dower. Free to attend.

MICHAEL DIETRICHCHASTAIN AUTHOR EVENT • TH (8/8), 5-10pm - Book release party for Changes, Reduce Stress, Achieve Goals and Master Adaptability written by Michael Diettrich-Chastain. Event includes a fundraiser for Woof Meow Pet Rescue.

Free to attend. Held at Archetype Broadway, 174 Broadway St. MOUNTAINS PILED UPON MOUNTAINS • SA (8/10), 3pm Mountains Piled upon

WILD WORDS WRITING GROUP • 2nd & 4th FRIDAYS, 2:30pm - Wild Words writing group. Free to attend. Held at Firestorm Books & Coffee, 610 Haywood Road WORD! • TH (8/15), 7pm WORD! Spoken word series featuring Murphy Funkhouser Capps.

Hosted by David Joe Miller. Free. $15/$12 advance. Held at Archetype Brewing, 265 Haywood Road WRITERS AT WOLFE • TH (6/13), 5:30-7pm Writers at Wolfe: Phillip Lewis presents his book, The Barrowfields.

Free. Held at Thomas Wolfe Memorial, 52 N. Market St.

THEATER 'ALL SHOOK UP' • WEDNESDAYS through SUNDAYS until (8/18) - All Shook Up, musical comedy. Wed., Thurs., Sat. & Sun.: 2pm. Wed. & Thurs.: 7:30pm. Fri. & Sat.: 8pm. $25 and up. Held at Flat Rock Playhouse, 2661 Highway 225, Flat Rock 'BYE BYE BIRDIE' • FRIDAYS through SUNDAYS until (8/18) Bye Bye Birdie, musical.

Fri. & Sat.: 7:30pm.

Sun.: 2pm. $30/$25 students/$20 youth.

Held at Hendersonville Community Theatre,

229 S. Washington St., Hendersonville 'INDECENT' • FRIDAYS through SUNDAYS until (8/25) - Indecent, based on a true story. Fri. & Sat.: 7:30pm; Sun.: 3pm. $23. Held at The Magnetic Theatre, 375 Depot St. 'LOVE, LINDA (THE LIFE OF MRS. COLE PORTER)' • FRIDAYS through SUNDAYS, (8/9) until (8/25) - Love, Linda (The Life of Mrs. Cole Porter), musical. Fri. & Sat.: 7:30pm. Sun.: 2:30pm. $25. Held at 35below, 35 E. Walnut St. 'RABBIT HOLE' • FRIDAYS through SUNDAYS, (8/9) until (8/25) - Rabbit Hole, drama. Fri. & Sat.: 7:30pm. Sun.: 2:30pm. $12-26. Held at Asheville Community Theatre, 35 E. Walnut St. 'RED' • FRIDAYS through SUNDAYS until (8/11) - Red, based on the life of abstract expressionist painter Mark Rothko.

Tickets: avl.mx/6bu. $15. Held at Mix, 62 S. Main St., Marshall 'ROMEO & JULIET' • FRIDAYS & SATURDAYS until (8/24), 7:30pm - Romeo & Juliet, Shakespeare tragedy. Free to attend.

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

by The Cardboard Sea Theatre Troupe. $15.

Held at BeBe Theatre, 20 Commerce St. 'THE LYONS' • THURSDAYS through SUNDAYS (8/8) until (8/18) - The Lyons, comedy. 18 and over only. Thurs.-Sat.: 7:30pm. Sat. & Sun.: 2:30pm. $25-$30/$18 students. Held at Owen Theatre, 44 College St., Mars Hill

GALLERY DIRECTORY

WOMEN IN BUSINESS COMING SOON advertise@mountainx.com

MOMENTUS APPRENTICE: The Village Potters Clay Center Studio Apprentice Program provides a full mentoring experience for selected emerging potters who show promise as future professionals in ceramics. The 2019 Apprentice Exhibit, Trade, opens Saturday, Aug. 10, in the Feature Gallery. An opening reception is planned from 5-7 p.m. Photo courtesy of Tim Barnwell.

ADLER GALLERY • Industry, exhibition of works curated by Katrina Chenevert. Reception: Thursday, Aug. 8, 6-8pm.

Aug. 8-Aug. 31 1 Biltmore Ave.

ASHEVILLE GALLERY OF ART • Simple Moment, exhibition of paintings by Sahar Fakhoury.

Aug. 1-Aug. 31 82 Patton Ave.

ALLEY CAT SOCIAL CLUB • Exhibition of art works by Joey D'Altri and Thomas Cornish. Reception: Friday, Aug. 8, 5-midnight.

Aug. 8-Aug. 31 797 Haywood Road

BLACK MOUNTAIN CENTER FOR THE ARTS • Red House Photographers in the Arts exhibition.

July 26-Aug. 30 225 W. State St., Black Mountain

AMERICAN FOLK ART AND FRAMING • Defining Lines, focusing on contemporary and modernist self-taught artists.

Aug. 1-Aug. 21 64 Biltmore Ave. ASHEVILLE AREA ARTS COUNCIL • Arthur Rothstein's photos of the Great Depression.

Curated by Michael Carlebach.

Aug. 2-Aug. 31 • Deconstruct to a New Paradigm, group exhibition curated by Tekla Howachyn.

July 16-Aug. 16 207 Coxe Ave.

BLUE RIDGE COMMUNITY COLLEGE CONFERENCE HALL • 16th annual Bring Us Your Best art exhibition is the work of 100+ artists working in all media.

Aug. 2-Aug. 16 49 E. Campus Drive, Flat Rock GALLERY 1 • Exhibition of works by Tia Corbin and Warren Carpenter. Reception: Friday, Aug. 9, 5pm.

Aug. 9-Sept. 30 604 W. Main St., Sylva GROVEWOOD GALLERY • Street to Studio, solo exhibition by Neil Carroll featuring graffiti-inspired

mixed-media art and furniture.

July 13-Aug. 18 111 Grovewood Road HAYWOOD COUNTY ARTS COUNCIL • 40 local artists working in paint, ceramics, jewelry and photography.

Aug. 2-Aug. 31 86 N. Main St., Waynesville

EMPYREAN ARTS Thank you for voting us Best of 2019 Asheville!

New Student Specials: First Class $15 + 6 Classes for $60

32 Banks Ave #108 • Downtown Asheville

EmpyreanArts.org 782.3321

DANCE

at night in ASHEVILLE!

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

exhibition of drawings by Hugh McKay. July 10-Sept. 28 821 Riverside Drive, #179 THE REFINERY • Mist Sister: ReFashioned Myths of Ragnarök, by Valeria Watson.

Aug. 2-Sept. 27 207 Coxe Ave.

NORTH CAROLINA GLASS CENTER • Residue, exhibition of glass art work by Signe Ballew. Reception: Saturday, Aug. 10, 5-8pm.

Aug. 10-Sept. 30 140 Roberts St., Suite C

THE VILLAGE POTTERS • Trade, 2019 TVPCC apprentice exhibit.

Reception: Saturday, Aug. 10, 5-7pm.

Aug. 10-Aug. 31 191 Lyman St., #180

TUESDAY » MTN Shag Club

PENLAND SCHOOL OF CRAFTS • Correction Line, six monumental steel sculptures by Hoss Haley.

Aug. 3-Sept. 15 67 Doras Trail, Bakersville

TRACEY MORGAN GALLERY

THURSDAY » Drag Night

• Sight Lines, exhibition of works by Randy Schull.

July 19-Aug. 24 188 Coxe Ave.

FRIDAY » Open Mic Night

PINK DOG CREATIVE • Beyond Words, exhibition of artworks by Ginger Huebner.

July 19-Aug. 18 348 Depot St.

ZAPOW!

REVOLVE • Through SA (9/28) Swimming Upstream,

• Solo show by Elizabeth Albright: The Children of Dionysus.

Aug. 3-Sept. 8 150 Coxe Ave., Suite 101

MONDAY » Comedy Open Mic WEDNESDAY » Trivia

SATURDAY » Live Music

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

FREE Parking behind building

GastropubatHopey

Contact the galleries for hours and admission fees

MOUNTAINX.COM

AUG. 7 - 13, 2019

45

CLUBLAND

FRIDAY NIGHT GET DOWN w/ COUSIN TL

Friday, August 9th 8pm-Midnight

De ‘rumba: Salsa, merengue, bachata, & more!

Free Lesson @ 9pm Friday, Aug. 16th, 9pm-1am Check our website for our monthly rotation of Friday Night DJ’s

24 BUXTON AVE • SOUTH SLOPE URBANORCHARDCIDER.COM

SQUARED AWAY: Little Lesley & the Bloodshots, from New York City, create rockabilly-styled music with twang, humor and sass. The band is led by singer-songwriter Lesley Swift, who usually climbs on her doghouse bass as the show’s finale. The trio, now based in Greenville, S.C., is touring in support of its second album (recorded in the U.K. with Alan Wilson, founding member of neo-pyschobilly group The Sharks).

Little Lesley & the Bloodshots perform at Jack of the Wood on Friday, Aug. 16, at 9 p.m. $5. jackofthewood.com. Photo by Alexander Thompson

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 7 5 WALNUT WINE BAR Les Amis, (African folk music), 8:00PM ASHEVILLE DISPENSARY Plant Witch Academy & AVL Dispensary host Herb of The Month Club: St. John's Wort, 7:00PM ALLEY CAT SOCIAL CLUB Anything Goes Karaoke, 8:00PM Karaoke w/ Kitten Savage, 8:00PM BLUE MOUNTAIN PIZZA & BREW PUB Open Mic w/ Billy Owens, 7:00PM CORK & KEG 3 Cool Cats, 7:30PM CROW & QUILL Firecracker Jazz Band (New Orleans party jazz), 9:00PM DOUBLE CROWN Western Wednesday w/ Rebecca & The Reckoning & live Honky Tonk, 9:00PM FLEETWOOD'S Punk Karaoke, 7:00PM FUNKATORIUM The Saylor Brothers, 6:30PM

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HAYWOOD COUNTRY CLUB Back to the 80's (new wave, synth, post punk), 10:00PM HIGHLAND BREWING COMPANY Woody Wood Wednesday, 6:00PM ISIS MUSIC HALL & KITCHEN 743 Isis Lawn Series w/ HotClub of Asheville, 6:00PM Fort Defiance, 7:00PM Dawson Hollow, 8:30PM JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Old Time Music Jam Session, 5:00PM LAZY DIAMOND Killer Karaoke w/ KJ TimO, 10:00PM LOBSTER TRAP Cigar Brothers, 6:30PM LOCAL 604 BOTTLE SHOP DJ Tape Fire, 8:00PM

ODDITORIUM The Karma Mechanics, The Egg Eaters (Punk/ Rock/Blues), 9:00PM ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Disclaimer Lounge Comedy Open Mic, 9:30PM ONE WORLD BREWING WEST OWB West: Latin Dance Night, 9:00PM PRITCHARD PARK Cultural Arts in the Park w/ LEAF Easel Rider, 6:00PM REVOLVE Shane Parish & Wendy Eisenberg w/ Wes Tirey, 8:00PM SANCTUARY BREWING CO. French Broad Valley Music Association Mountain Music Jam, 6:00PM

MOE'S ORIGINAL BBQ WOODFIN Bluegrass Jam hosted

by Gary Mac Fiddle & Friends, 6:00PM

SLY GROG LOUNGE Monthly Monster Maker: Exquisite Corpse, 6:00PM Get Weird Wednesdays!

An Evening of Electronic Collaboration, 8:00PM

MONTFORD RECREATION CENTER Line Dance for Beginners (contemporary styling, no experience necessary), 12:00PM

SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN BREWERY Jazz Night hosted by Jason DeCristofaro, 6:30PM

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

THE 63 TAPHOUSE Weekly 9 Ball Tournament (sign ups at 7:00 p.m.), 8:00PM

THE BLOCK OFF BILTMORE Wednesday Night Blues Jam w/ Ruby Mayfield, Jeff Rudolph, Jim Simmons, & Brad Curtioff, 9:00PM THE GREY EAGLE Hunter Begley, 5:00PM Max Frost, 8:00PM THE MARKET PLACE RESTAURANT AND LOUNGE Lenny Pettinelli (solo eclectic keys, singersongwriter), 6:30PM THE SOCIAL LOUNGE Music On The Rooftop, 9:00PM TOWN PUMP Open Mic w/ David Bryan, 9:00PM TREEROCK SOCIAL CIDER HOUSE Witty Wednesday Trivia, 7:00PM UPCOUNTRY BREWING COMPANY Music Bingo, 8:00PM WILD WING CAFE SOUTH Showers on Mars (alternative, indie-rock), 9:00PM

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

FREE PATIO SHOW AT 5PM

FRI

7 MAX FROST

SAT

WED

7

ASHEVILLE CLUB Live Cello, 6:00PM

ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Mitch's Totally Rad Trivia, 7:00PM IPM w/ Fuzzy Peppers, 10:00PM

BEN'S TUNE UP Offended! Comedy Open Mic, 9:30PM BLUE MOUNTAIN PIZZA & BREW PUB Billy Litz, 7:00PM

ONE WORLD BREWING OWB Downtown: Clair Brockway, 9:00PM

BROWN MOUNTAIN BOTTLEWORKS NC Songsmiths, Forest Bailey, 7:30PM CALYPSO DJ Red Iyah & The Mete (Caribbean beats), 6:00PM CROW & QUILL Big Dawg Slingshots (hot jazz & Western swing), 10:00PM DOUBLE CROWN Old Gold w/ DJ Jasper (soul 'n' rock 'n' roll), 10:00PM

FLOOD GALLERY FINE ART CENTER True Home Open Mic, 6:30PM FUNKATORIUM Hot Club of Asheville, 6:00PM ISIS MUSIC HALL & KITCHEN 743 Matt Fassas Trio, 6:00PM Hiroya Tsukamoto: Cinematic Guitar Poetry, 7:00PM JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Bluegrass Jam, 7:00PM LAZY DIAMOND 80's INVASION w/ DJ Mac, 10:00PM

ODDITORIUM Burlesque! Burlesque!

Burlesque! Battle: Elvis vs Madonna, 9:00PM

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

ONE WORLD BREWING WEST OWB West: West Side Funk Jam, 9:00PM

THE SOCIAL LOUNGE Music On The Rooftop, 9:00PM

ORANGE PEEL ZoSo (Led Zeppelin tribute), 9:00PM ORCHARD AT ALTAPASS Sam McKinney, 1:45PM PULP Slice of Life Comedy Open Mic hosted by Cody Hughes, 9:00PM

PACK’S TAVERN Jeff Anders Duo (acoustic rock), 8:00P

TOWN PUMP Taylor Martin, 10:00PM UPCOUNTRY BREWING COMPANY BREVARD Originals and Traditionals Jam, 7:00PM URBAN ORCHARD CIDER CO. SOUTH SLOPE Holding Jackie - A Fundraising Party, 6:00PM WEAVER HOUSE Kevin Williams & Dulci Ellenberger (soul), 8:00PM

PISGAH BREWING COMPANY Albert Castiglia (blues), 9:00PM PURPLE ONION CAFE Rebecca & the Reckoning, 7:30PM SANCTUARY BREWING CO. Jamie Gorsuch, 7:00PM SLY GROG LOUNGE Hope Huntington, Voice of the Sidhe, 7:00PM STRAIGHTAWAY CAFE Acoustic Jam, 6:30PM THE BLOCK OFF BILTMORE Happy Hour: Solo Guitar Favorites w/ Albi, 5:00PM Jesse Barry (sultry soul, blues), 8:00PM THE BARRELHOUSE Ter-rific Trivia, 7:00PM

LOBSTER TRAP Hank Bones, 6:30PM

THE MARKET PLACE RESTAURANT AND LOUNGE Bob Zullo (rock, pop, jazz, blues), 7:00PM THE MOTHLIGHT Hibou, 9:00PM

PILLAR ROOFTOP BAR Dave Desmelik, 7:00PM

FLEETWOOD'S Reason Define, Mega X, The Shrunken Heads, 9:00PM

THE IMPERIAL LIFE The Roaring Lions (jazz), 9:00PM

THE GREY EAGLE JP Parsons, 6:00PM Señora May w/ Savannah Smith & Southern Soul, 9:00PM

ASHEVILLE DISPENSARY CannaComedy w/ Hilliary S. Begley, 8:30PM ALLEY CAT SOCIAL CLUB Curve Jamz w/ the House Katz feat: RickiiRain, Peri Meters, Bunsen Burner, 10:00PM ASHEVILLE CLUB Live Classical Guitar, 6:00PM

5 WALNUT WINE BAR Virginia & The Slims (jump blues, swing), 9:00PM

IPM

FREE PATIO SHOW AT 6PM

THU

SENORA MAY

FRI

FREE PATIO SHOW AT 6PM

8 JP PARSONS 8

BURLESQUE! ASHEVILLE BURLESQUE PAGEANT

SUN

CUDDLE IN THE COSMOS + UP JUMPED THREE + JUST BELOW AVERAGE

MON

FREE PATIO SHOW AT 5PM

11 12

W/ SAVANNAH SMITH AND SOUTHERN SOUL

NERDLESQUE REVUE

CLAIR BROCKWAY

MON THE HAWTTHORNS +

9 EARLEINE

12

ANYA HINKLE & TELLICO

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

TAVERN

ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Mystic Grizzly & G-Space, 10:00PM BATTERY PARK BOOK EXCHANGE Dinah's Daydream (Gypsy jazz), 7:00PM BIER GARDEN Dirty Birds, 7:30PM DJ Razor, 10:00PM

Downtown on the Park Eclectic Menu • Over 30 Taps • Patio 15 TV’s • Sports Room • 110” Projector Event Space • Shuffleboard Open 7 Days 11am - Late Night LIVE M U R A COV SI C !

E V NE ER CHARGE!

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

27 CLUB Bone Shaker: Industrial Dance Party, 10:00PM

THU

BURLESQUE! GEEKTASTIC

ASHEVILLE GUITAR BAR the Travelling Pilsbury's of Asheville, 8:00PM

WILD WING CAFE SOUTH Acoustic Karaoke Thursdays, 6:00PM

FRIDAY, AUGUST 9

10

W/ SWELLS

BEN'S TUNE UP DJ Kilby Spinning Vinyl, 10:00PM

ZAMBRA Kessler Watson, (jazz), 7:00PM

9

WED

AMBROSE WEST Franny’s 50th Birthday Benefit (Woodstock attire encouraged!)

6:00PM

WICKED WEED WEST Haley Gehrke & Ashton McKinley, 5:00PM

WORTHAM CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS Laugh Your Asheville Off, 8:00PM

HUNTER BEGLEY

THU. 8/8 Jeff Anders Duo (acoustic rock)

BOLD ROCK HARD CIDER Soldado, 6:00PM

FRI. 8/9 DJ RexxStep

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

(dance hits, pop)

CORK & KEG Old Time Jam, 8:00PM

Carolina Lowdown Band

SAT. 8/10 (classic rock, dance)

CROW & QUILL Queen Bee & the Honeylovers (swing jazz & Latin music), 9:00PM DOUBLE CROWN Rotating Rock 'n' Soul DJs, 10:00PM FLEETWOOD'S Ex-Optimists, Ugly Runner, Personality Cult, 9:00PM

w/ Fuzzy Peppers

Mystic Grizzly + G-Space

THU, 8/8 - SHOW: 10 pm [ SPACE/JAM/ROCK] CA$ H DONATION $ @ THE DOOR

FRI, 8/9 - SHOW: 10 pm (DOORS: 9 pm ) - adv : $10

w/ Xenotype

20 S. Spruce St. • 225.6944 packStavern.com

Andy Mowatt’s Frequency Movement

Our House Presents:

Charles Feelgood

ILL DOOTS

w/ Jeff White

FRI 9/8 - SHOW: 10 pm [FUNK] CA$ H DONATION $ @ THE DOOR

SAT, 8/10 - SHOW: 10 pm (DOORS: 9 pm ) - tix : $15

SAT 8/10 - SHOW: 10 pm [HIP-HOP/SOUL/FUNK] CA$ H DONATION $ @ THE DOOR

FRI

THU

WED

TUE

UPCOMING SHOWS: 8/16 - Stardust to Ashes - Tribute to David Bowie • 8/17 - Machine Funk - WSP Tribute • 8/23 - Voodoo Visionary • 8/24 - Lose Yourself to Dance w/ Marley Carroll • 9/12 - The Shady Recruits Tuesday Early Jam - 8PM TICKETS & FULL CALENDAR AVAILABLE AT ASHEVILLEMUSICHALL.COM Mitch’s Totally disclaimer F ree Dead Tuesday Night Funk Jam - 11PM @AVLMusicHall @OneStopAVL F riday - 5pm comedy - 9:30pm Rad Trivia - 6:30pm Electrosoul Session w/ strongmagnumopus - 11:30PM MOUNTAINX.COM

AUG. 7 - 13, 2019

47

C L UB L AND FLOOD GALLERY FINE ART CENTER 25th Annual Twin Rivers Multimedia Festival & Film Screenings, 6:30PM FOGGY MOUNTAIN BREWPUB 8 String Collective (folk, jam), 10:00PM FUNKATORIUM Supatight, 8:00PM GASTRO PUB AT HOPEY DOWNTOWN The Mic is Open hosted

by Heather Taylor, 7:00PM GINGER'S REVENGE Jeff Thompson, 7:30PM HIGHLAND BREWING COMPANY Hustle Souls, 7:00PM ISIS MUSIC HALL & KITCHEN 743 Ever More Nest, 7:00PM The Aristocrats w/ Travis Larson Band, 8:30PM JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Irish Session, 3:00PM Rakish (Irish & American Folk duo), 9:00PM LAZY DIAMOND Slayed & Fade w/ DJ Ethan M (rockers & soul), 10:00PM LOBSTER TRAP Hillbilly Diamonds, 6:30PM

LOCAL 604 BOTTLE SHOP Chillectronica, 8:00PM

PACK’S TAVERN DJ RexxStep (dance hits, pop), 9:30 PM

NEW BELGIUM BREWERY Three Star Revival, 5:30PM

PISGAH BREWING COMPANY Mike Rhodes Fellowship, 8:00PM

ODDITORIUM Party Foul Drag Circus, 9:00PM

RUSTIC GRAPE WINE BAR Cowbaby duo (folk), 7:30PM

ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL A History of Standup Comedy w/ Ritch Shydner, 2:30PM Free Dead Fridays feat.

Members of Phuncle Sam, 5:30PM Andy Mowatt's Frequency Movement w/ Jeff White, 10:00PM ONE WORLD BREWING Tree Theater & The Heat of Noon (experiemental live Performance), 9:00PM

THE IMPERIAL LIFE DJ Dance Party w/ Phantom Pantone DJ Collective, 9:00PM

SALVAGE STATION JGBCB (Jerry Garcia Band Cover Band), 9:00PM

THE MOTHLIGHT Linqua Franqa w/ Musashi Xero, P.T.P & Resonate w/ DJ Kutzu & DJ Honey, 9:00PM

SANCTUARY BREWING CO. Resonant Rogues, 8:00PM

THE OMNI GROVE PARK INN Andrew J. Fletcher (solo jazz piano), 2:30PM

STATIC AGE RECORDS DJ Party (techno, house, hip-hop), 9:00PM

TIGER MOUNTAIN Tiger Dance Party Nights, 10:00PM

SOVEREIGN KAVA Michael Jerry Stevens Trio (jazz), 9:00PM

TOWN PUMP Egg Eaters, 10:00PM

ORANGE PEEL Godspeed You! Black Emperor, 9:00PM

THE BLOCK OFF BILTMORE Line Dance lessons w/ Brenda Mills, 7:30PM Freedom's Friday: Urban Sounds feat. Sole Eastside, Freedom the 10th Wonder, & Open Mic w/ Cypher, 9:00PM

ORCHARD AT ALTAPASS Sound Traveler, 1:45PM

THE GREENHOUSE MOTO CAFE Blake Super Jam, 8:00PM

ONE WORLD BREWING WEST OWB West: Andrew Thelston, 9:00PM

THE GREY EAGLE Earlene, 6:00PM Burlesque! Burlesque!

Burlesque! 7th Annual Geektastic Nerdlesque Revue, 9:00PM

URBAN ORCHARD CIDER CO. SOUTH SLOPE UO Friday Night GETDOWN w/ Cousin TL, 8:00PM WARREN WILSON COLLEGE Get Off The Grid Festival w/ Rising Appalachia, 12:00AM WILD WING CAFE Izzi Hughes, 9:00PM

WILD WING CAFE SOUTH Showers on Mars (alternative, indie-rock), 8:30PM WORTHAM CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS Laugh Your Asheville Off, 8:00PM ZAMBRA Hot Club Of Asheville, (Gypsy jazz)., 8:00PM

SATURDAY, AUGUST 10 5 WALNUT WINE BAR The John Henrys, (hot jazz), 8:00PM AMBROSE WEST Andrew Scotchie & the River Rats Summer Out West Tour Send Off Party, 8:00PM ASHEVILLE CLUB Mr. Jimmy, (blues) 4:00PM ASHEVILLE GUITAR BAR Asheville Guitar Bar 3rd Anniversary Celebration, 3:00PM ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Our House Presents: Charles Feelgood, 9:00PM

ASHEVILLE YACHT CLUB Iggy Radio, 3:00PM BLUE GHOST BREWING COMPANY Chalwa, 7:00PM BIER GARDEN Dance Party w/ DJ Longway, 10:00PM BOLD ROCK HARD CIDER the Dimestore Cowboys, 6:00PM CORK & KEG The Big Dawg Slingshots, 8:30PM CROW & QUILL Momma Molasses (dreamy folk rock), 9:00PM DOUBLE CROWN Soul Motion Dance Party w/ DJ Dr. Filth, 10:00PM FLEETWOOD'S Fleetwood's Fest, 4:00PM FOGGY MOUNTAIN BREWPUB Cactus Punch, 10:00PM FUNKATORIUM The Remarks, 8:00PM GINGER'S REVENGE NC Songsmiths, Forest Bailey, 2:30PM

BEST Of WNC 2019

PartY

Come hang out with and celebrate the

Wild, Wild Best • Beer from Highland Brewing Co. • Food from Melt Your Heart • Fun from LaZoom • Live music from the Best bands

he t w o h e e s

Best n Was wo

Thursday., Aug. 15 • 5-9 p.m.

Highland Brewing Co’.s Meadow 48

AUG. 7 - 13, 2019

MOUNTAINX.COM

FREE

HIGHLAND BREWING COMPANY Laura Blackley and the Wildflowers, 7:00PM ISIS MUSIC HALL & KITCHEN 743 The Allen Boys, 5:00PM Shay Martin Lovette, 7:00PM

SANCTUARY BREWING CO. The Honey Badgers, 8:00PM SLY GROG LOUNGE Champion Chills, 9:30PM SOVEREIGN KAVA Chuck Lichtenberger (rock’n jazz), 9:00PM

JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Old Time Jam, 3:00PM Chelsea Lovitt & Boys, 9:00PM

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

LAZY DIAMOND Slushie Saturday Patio Shows w/ Craig Sandburg (w/ Gypsy Queen food truck), 2:30PM Raw Funk, Stomp, Rock, Groove, & Skank w/ DJ The Bogart, 10:00PM

THE BLOCK OFF BILTMORE Community Salsa/Latin Dance Night w/ DJ Edi Fuentes (salsa lesson at 9 PM), 9:00PM

LOBSTER TRAP Sean Mason Trio, 6:30PM LOCAL 604 BOTTLE SHOP Darxyde (dark ambient), 8:00PM MOE'S ORIGINAL BBQ WOODFIN Mark Bumgarner, 6:00PM ODDITORIUM Broad River Nightmare, Velvet Reaper, Electric Phantom (metal), 9:00PM ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Ill Doots, 10:00PM ONE WORLD BREWING WEST OWB West: Bull the Barker, 9:00PM ORANGE PEEL Styrofoam Turtles, Sane Voids & The By Gods, 9:00PM ORCHARD AT ALTAPASS Crossfire & The Butterbean Band, 1:00PM PACK SQUARE PARK Shindig on the Green, 7:00PM PACK’S TAVERN Carolina Lowdown Band (classic rock, dance), 9:30PM PILLAR ROOFTOP BAR Ryan Furstenberg, 7:00PM PURPLE ONION CAFE Citizen Mojo, 8:00PM

THE 63 TAPHOUSE Karaoke, 9:00PM

THE GREENHOUSE MOTO CAFE Eric Congdon Electric Trio, 8:00PM

COMING SOON WED 8/7 6:00PM–ISIS LAWN SERIES W/ HOTCLUB OF ASHEVILLE 7:00PM–FORT DEFIANCE 8:30PM–DAWSON HOLLOW

THU 8/8 6:00PM–ISIS LAWN SERIES W/ MATT FASSAS TRIO 7:00PM–HIROYA TSUKAMOTO: CINEMATIC GUITAR POETRY

FRI 8/9 7:00PM–EVER MORE NEST

THE GREY EAGLE Burlesque! Burlesque!

Burlesque! Asheville Burlesque Pageant, 9:00PM THE IMPERIAL LIFE DJ Dance Party w/ Phantom Pantone DJ Collective, 10:00PM THE MOTHLIGHT Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears, 9:00PM TIGER MOUNTAIN Tiger Dance Party Nights, 10:00PM TOWN PUMP Jangling Sparrow, 10:00PM TRYON INTERNATIONAL EQUESTRIAN CENTER Tryon Resort’s Saturday Night Lights (music, carousel, face painting), 6:00PM

ARISTOCRATS

8:30PM–ARISTOCRATS W/ TRAVIS LARSON BAND

SAT 8/10 7:00PM–SHAY MARTIN LOVETTE 8:30PM–THE ALLEN BOYS

SUN 8/11 6:00PM–AL PETTEWAY 7:30PM–OLIVER THE CROW WITH HOOT AND HOLLER

TUE 8/13

7:30PM–TUES. BLUEGRASS W/ THE THOMAS CASSELL BAND

WED 8/14 6:00PM–ISIS LAWN SERIES W/ FWUIT! 7:00PM–LAUREN ANDERSON & MEG WILLIAMS

TWISTED LAUREL DJ Dance Party w/ Phantom Pantone DJ Collective, 11:00PM WILD WING CAFE Karaoke at the Wing, 9:00PM WILD WING CAFE SOUTH Its So Easy (Guns n' Roses tribute), 9:00PM WICKED WEED WEST Ben Taylor Solo, 5:00PM

RUSTIC GRAPE WINE BAR Quetzel of Tina & Her Pony, 8:00PM

WORTHAM CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS Laugh Your Asheville Off, 8:00PM

SALVAGE STATION Jesse Barry and the Jam, 8:30PM

ZAMBRA Justin Watt, (jazz), 8:00PM

JEFF SIPE TRIO

8:30PM–JEFF SIPE TRIO W/ RAHM SQUAD

THU 8/15 6:00PM–ISIS LAWN SERIES WITH UPLAND DRIVE 7:00PM–NIKKI TALLEY + JASON SHARP

FRI 8/16 7:00PM–JOSH OKEEFE 8:30PM–MOONLIGHT STREET FOLK: DEBUT ALBUM RELEASE

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

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

MOUNTAINX.COM

AUG. 7 - 13, 2019

49

CLU B LA N D

Local

Nightly Supper starting at 5PM

Sunday Brunch

MOOGMENTUM: The Bob Moog foundation kicks off a three-day grand opening celebration of The Moogseum at 56 Broadway with many interactive experiences.

The Asheville Masonic Temple will host performances and discussions by musicians Patrick Moraz and Herb Deutsch (who helped Moog create his namesake synthesizer), on Tuesday, Aug. 13, 7 p.m. Synthesist Lisa Bella Donna will give a workshop on Thursday, Aug. 15, at 11:30 a.m. and a concert at 8 p.m., both at Asheville Music Hall. The museum’s ribbon-cutting ceremony also takes place on Thursday at 4 p.m. bit.ly/Moogmentum2019. Photo courtesy of the Bob Moog Foundation

from 10:30-3:30PM

Closed Mondays 828-350-0315 SMOKYPARK.COM

SUNDAY, AUGUST 11

heville M Join tfhorethAesnext Movie Noivghiet! Guys

5 WALNUT WINE BAR Acousticmuffin, (Americana), 7:00PM ALLEY CAT SOCIAL CLUB SongBird Sundays w/ Jerry Dean, 8:00PM ARCHETYPE BREWING Post-Brunch Blues, 4:00PM ASHEVILLE CLUB Live Bluegrass, 4:30PM

The evening includes a brief introduction by the Asheville Movie Guys, Bruce C. Steele and Edwin Arnaudin of AshevilleMovies.com, as well as a lively discussion with the audience after the credits.

THE FAREWELL Mon., 8/12, 7:15pm • Fine Arts Theatre 36 Biltmore Ave., Asheville

50

ASHEVILLE GUITAR BAR Classical Guitar Society Meeting 1PM, Pot Luck & Musician's Jam, 3:00PM ASHEVILLE YACHT CLUB Iggy Radio, 3:00PM BEN'S TUNE UP Good Vibes Sunday w/ The Luv Boat, 6:00PM BLUE MOUNTAIN PIZZA & BREW PUB Tim McWilliams, 7:00PM BOLD ROCK HARD CIDER Bluegrass Brunch, 12:00PM BYWATER Sunday Bywater Bluegrass Jam, 4:00PM

Do you want an email reminder prior to each Asheville Movie Guys night?

Send an email with ‘Asheville Movie Guys’ in the subject line to ashevillemovies@gmail.com

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

Xpress readers who say “Grandmother” at the box office receive a discounted ticket price of $6.50 per person.

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

AUG. 7 - 13, 2019

MOUNTAINX.COM

FLEETWOOD'S Fleetwood's Fest, 4:00PM

PACK'S TAVERN Sunday Social Club, 4:30PM

FUNKATORIUM Bluegrass Brunch w/ Gary Macfiddle, 11:00AM

PISGAH BREWING COMPANY Pisgah Sunday Jam w/ Paper Crowns Electric Band, 6:00PM

HIGHLAND BREWING COMPANY Local Sunday in the Meadow w/ DJ Kutzu & Chalwa (music, vendors, farmers market), 12:00PM ISIS MUSIC HALL & KITCHEN 743 Brew Davis, 6:00PM Al Petteway, 7:00PM Oliver the Crow w/ Hoot and Holler, 7:30PM JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Irish Session, 3:00PM LAZY DIAMOND Noiz Oasis w/ DJ Salty Stax (post-punk), 10:00PM LOBSTER TRAP MandoCyn, 6:30PM NEW BELGIUM BREWERY August Second Line Sunday Brunch, 11:30AM ODDITORIUM Tanya Solomon: Truth Assassin with Toybox Magic Show, 9:00PM

RUSTIC GRAPE WINE BAR Robert Thomas (smooth jazz), 5:00PM SALVAGE STATION Blue Dragon, 6:00PM SANCTUARY BREWING CO. Joey Harrington Trio, 1:00PM SLY GROG LOUNGE Sly Grog Lounge The Most Open Mic, 6:00PM STRADA ITALIANO Jazz Guitar Brunch w/ Dan Keller, 11:00AM THE BLOCK OFF BILTMORE Kristin Reitter's One Woman Show (comedy), 7:00PM THE BARRELHOUSE Weekly Original Music Open Mic, 6:00PM THE GREENHOUSE MOTO CAFE Tools on Stools, 3:00PM

ORANGE PEEL Grace VanderWaal, 8:00PM

THE GREY EAGLE Cuddle in the Cosmos & Up Jumped Three w/ Just Below Average, 7:00PM

ORCHARD AT ALTAPASS Harlan County Grass & Tom Sparks, 1:00PM

THE IMPERIAL LIFE DJ Dance Party w/ Phantom Pantone DJ Collective, 9:00PM

THE JOINT NEXT DOOR Mr Jimmy (blues), 4:00PM THE WEDGE STUDIOS Live Music Sundays, 5:30PM UPCOUNTRY BREWING COMPANY Geeks Who Drink Pub Quiz, 8:00PM WICKED WEED BREWING Seth Brand at Wicked Weed Brewing Pub, 4:00PM ZAMBRA Andrew Platt Trio, (jazz)., 7:00PM

MONDAY, AUGUST 12 27 CLUB Monday Mayhem Karaoke, 9:00PM 5 WALNUT WINE BAR CaroMia, Ashley Heath, & Eleanor Underhill (Americana), 8:00PM ARCHETYPE BREWING Old Time Jam, 5:00PM BYWATER Bele Chere, 12:00PM CATAWBA BREWING SOUTH SLOPE Musicians in the Round, 5:30PM DOUBLE CROWN Country Karaoke w/ KJ Tim-O, 10:00PM HIGHLAND BREWING COMPANY Trivia Night, 6:00PM

JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Open Mic, 9:30PM LOBSTER TRAP Bobby Miller and friends, 6:30PM ODDITORIUM Risque Monday Burlesque Hosted By Deb Au Nare, 9:00PM ONE WORLD BREWING OWB Downtown: Open Mic Night, 8:00PM ONE WORLD BREWING WEST OWB West: Jazz Monday (open jam), 8:30PM OSKAR BLUES BREWERY Mountain Music Mondays Open Jam, 6:00PM SANCTUARY BREWING CO. Open Mic Night: It Takes All Kinds w/ host Josh Dunkin, 7:00PM SLY GROG LOUNGE Stella Blue Presents: Druids, Paladin, Harsh Realm, 8:00PM STATIC AGE RECORDS Harlan, Diva 93, Mordaga & Decyve (dream pop & electric punk), 9:00PM SOVEREIGN KAVA Trivia w/ Lau, 8:00PM THE BLOCK OFF BILTMORE Soul Jam w/ Jamar Woods of The Fritz, 8:00PM THE GREY EAGLE Clair Brockway, 5:00PM The HawtThorns w/ Anya Hinkle & Tellico, 8:00PM THE IMPERIAL LIFE Leo Johnson (Gypsy Jazz), 9:00PM THE MOTHLIGHT MJ Lenderman, 9:00PM UPCOUNTRY BREWING COMPANY Monday Night Bluegrass Jam, 7:00PM

TUESDAY, AUGUST 13 ALLEY CAT SOCIAL CLUB Alley Cat Open Mic, 8:00PM ASHEVILLE GUITAR BAR Gypsy Jazz Jam w/ Steve Karla & Phil Alley, 8:00PM ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Tuesday Night Funk Jam, 11:00PM BLUE MOUNTAIN PIZZA & BREW PUB Ben Phan, 7:00PM BYWATER Bele Chere, 12:00PM

DOUBLE CROWN Tuesday Matinee Show Series feat. Local Bands, 6:00PM Sonic Stew w/ DJ Lil Side Salad & Seymour, 10:00PM

TIGER MOUNTAIN Tigeraoke Tuesdays (karaoke night), 10:00PM

FIRST CONGREGATIONAL UCC OF ASHEVILLE Asheville Symphony Chorus 2019-2020 Auditions, 3:00PM

WHITE HORSE BLACK MOUNTAIN Irish Jam, 6:30PM Open Mic, 8:30PM

HAYWOOD COUNTRY CLUB Turntable Tuesdays (dance, pop, hip-hop throwbacks), 10:00PM ISIS MUSIC HALL & KITCHEN 743 Tuesday Bluegrass Sessions hosted by the Thomas Cassell Band, 7:30PM LAZY DIAMOND Psych Night w/ DJ Marcula (projections and vinyl), 10:00PM LOBSTER TRAP Jay Brown, 6:30PM ODDITORIUM Free Open Mic Comedy, 9:00PM ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Tuesday Early Jam, 8:00PM Electrosoul Sessions w/ strongmagnumopus, 11:30PM PULP Numatik & Friends w/ I, Star, Biko & Arouna, 8:00PM PILLAR ROOFTOP BAR Rhoda & the Risers, 7:00PM SANCTUARY BREWING CO. Team Trivia w/ host Josh Dunkin, 7:00PM THE 63 TAPHOUSE Weekly 8 Ball Tournament (sign ups at 7:00 p.m.), 8:00PM

TWIN LEAF BREWERY Robert's Twin Leaf Trivia, 8:00PM

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14 5 WALNUT WINE BAR Les Amis, (African folk music), 8:00PM ALLEY CAT SOCIAL CLUB Karaoke w/ Kitten Savage, 8:00PM ASHEVILLE GUITAR BAR Big City Blues Jam w/ host Chicago Don, 8:00PM BLACK MOUNTAIN CENTER FOR THE ARTS Auditions for WIT

by Margaret Edson, 6:00PM BLUE MOUNTAIN PIZZA & BREW PUB Open Mic hosted by Billy Owens, 7:00PM CORK & KEG 3 Cool Cats, 7:30PM CROW & QUILL Firecracker Jazz Band (New Orleans party jazz), 9:00PM DOUBLE CROWN Western Wednesday w/ w/ Vaden Landers Band + Savannah Smith & Southern Soul & live Honky Tonk, 9:00PM FLEETWOOD'S A Country Set by Mary Battiata and Little Pink, 8:00PM Jacuzzi Boys, w/ Greg Cartwright & The Tip Tops & DJ Death Jam Jasper, 9:30PM

THE BLOCK OFF BILTMORE Happy Hour: Guitar solo classics w/ Albi, 5:00PM Swing AVL Dance w/ One Leg Up (swing lessons at 8 PM), 9:00PM Late Night Blues, 11:00PM

FUNKATORIUM The Saylor Brothers, 6:30PM

THE GREY EAGLE Alexander Wolf, 5:00PM Dirtyboys w/ Aftermeth & $The828Mob$, 8:00PM

ISIS MUSIC HALL & KITCHEN 743 Isis Lawn Series w/ Fwuit, 6:00PM Lauren Anderson & Meg Williams, 7:00PM Jeff Sipe Trio w/ Rahm Squad, 8:30PM

THE IMPERIAL LIFE Andrew J. Fletcher (solo jazz piano), 9:00PM THE MARKET PLACE RESTAURANT AND LOUNGE Bob Zullo & Grant Cuthperson (American songbook, jazz), 6:00PM THE MOTHLIGHT Molly Burch, 9:00PM THE SOCIAL Open Mic w/ Riyen Roots, 8:00PM

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

JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Old Time Music Jam Session, 5:00PM LAZY DIAMOND The Protruders (protoneo, art, punk from Montreal), 6:00PM Killer Karaoke w/ KJ TimO, 10:00PM LOBSTER TRAP Cigar Brothers, 6:30PM

MOE'S ORIGINAL BBQ WOODFIN Bluegrass Jam hosted

by Gary Mac Fiddle & Friends, 6:00PM

UPCOMING SHOWS: DOORS 6PM

MONTFORD RECREATION CENTER Line Dance for Beginners (contemporary styling, no experience necessary), 12:00PM NOBLE KAVA Poetry Open Mic w/ Caleb Beissert (7:30PM Sign Up), 8:00PM ODDITORIUM Day & Dream, Angry Lovers, Uncle Kurtis (Rock), 9:00PM ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Disclaimer Lounge Comedy Open Mic, 9:00PM ONE WORLD BREWING WEST OWB West: Latin Dance Night, 9:00PM ORANGE PEEL Baroness w/ War on Women, 9:00PM SANCTUARY BREWING CO. French Broad Valley Music Association Mountain Music Jam, 6:00PM

AUG 9

AUG 10

GRAMMY WINNER MIKE FARRIS

UNDERHILL ROSE WITH ALONZO WESLEY

DOORS 6PM

ANDREW SCOTCHIE & THE RIVER RATS

SHOW 8PM

BRING YOUR BOOGIE SHOES & DRESS IN YOUR BEST WOODSTOCK ATTIRE!

DOORS 7PM

CHARLIE TRAVELER PRESENTS: A SOLO ACOUSTIC EVENING WITH

FRANNYʼS 50TH BIRTHDAY BENEFIT

SUMMER OUT WEST TOUR SEND OFF PARTY FT. THE ROLLING EXPERIENCE

AUG 10

WORTHWHILE SOUNDS PRESENTS:

SHOW 8PM

DOORS 7PM

AUG 15

DAUGHTER OF SWORDS

FT. ALEXANDRA SAUSER-MONNIG OF MOUNTAIN MAN

DOORS 6:30PM

AUG 17 AUG 18

WORTHWHILE SOUNDS PRESENTS:

COMEDIAN ROB DELANEY

DOORS 7PM

AUG 9

MOTHER MARROW ALBUM RELEASE PARTY

AUG 15

SHOW 7:30PM

AUG 17

SHOW 8PM

AUG 18

TICKETS SOLD HERE: W W W. A M B R O S E W E S T. C O M B OX O F F I C E S : T H E H O N E Y P O T & T H E C I RC L E

BOOK YOUR WEDDING OR EVENT NOW: 828.332.3090 312 HAYWOOD ROAD

SLY GROG LOUNGE Get Weird Wednesdays!

An Evening of Electronic Collaboration, 8:00PM SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN BREWERY Jazz Night hosted by Jason DeCristofaro, 6:30PM THE 63 TAPHOUSE Weekly 9 Ball Tournament (sign ups at 7:00 p.m.), 8:00PM THE BLOCK OFF BILTMORE Happy Hour: Guitar solo classics w/ Albi, 5:00PM Wednesday Night Blues Jam w/ Ruby Mayfield, Jeff Rudolph, Jim Simmons, & Brad Curtioff, 9:00PM THE GREY EAGLE Reignwolf w/ JJ Wilde, 8:00PM THE MARKET PLACE RESTAURANT AND LOUNGE Lenny Pettinelli (solo eclectic keys, singersongwriter), 6:30PM THE MOTHLIGHT Illiterate Light, 9:00PM THE SOCIAL LOUNGE Music On The Rooftop, 9:00PM TOWN PUMP Open Mic w/ David Bryan, 9:00PM TREEROCK SOCIAL CIDER HOUSE Witty Wednesday Trivia, 7:00PM UPCOUNTRY BREWING COMPANY Music Bingo, 8:00PM

MOUNTAINX.COM

AUG. 7 - 13, 2019

51

MOVIE REVIEWS

Hosted by the Asheville Movie Guys HHHHH

= MAX RATING

EDWIN ARNAUDIN earnaudin@mountainx.com

H PICK OF THE WEEK H

BRUCE STEELE bcsteele@gmail.com

THIS WEEK’S CONTRIBUTORS

Casey Ellis

STARTING FRIDAY Maiden (PG) HHHHS Them That Follow (R) HHH JUST ANNOUNCED The Art of Racing in the Rain (PG) A golden retriever forms a tight bond with his auto-racing owner.

Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw HHHHH

DIRECTOR: David Leitch PLAYERS: Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Idris Elba ACTION/ADVENTURE RATED PG-13 In preparation for seeing this weekend’s bona fide blockbuster, I attempted to watch all eight of the Fast & Furious films that came before it — but I failed myself and my team.

Luckily for me and everyone else in the world, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw needs no backstory to be enjoyed.

It stands alone as an action film in its own right, dedicating two-plus hours for some of the more enjoyable characters — and certainly the most talented actors — in the F&F universe to shine.

Our story follows larger-than-life lawman Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) and his nemesis, the mercenary Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham), as they’re forced, once again, to work together. This time it’s to track down Shaw’s younger sister, Hattie (Vanessa Kirby), an MI6 agent framed for killing her entire team during a retrieval operation while making off with a deadly virus.

It’s there that she encounters our villain, Brixton Lore (Idris Elba). A marvel of science — half man, half robot — he’s out to nab the virus and get this whole global genocide thing started. Mass murder really gets his circuits charged.

The story is incredibly grandiose and 52

AUG. 7 - 13, 2019

MOUNTAINX.COM

Brian Banks (PG-13) Fact-based story of a football star convicted of a crime he didn’t commit.

Dora and the Lost City of Gold (PG) The famed teenage explorer leads her friends on an adventure to save her parents and solve a mystery.

The Kitchen (R) The wives of imprisoned Hell’s Kitchen gangsters operate their husbands’ rackets in 1978.

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (PG-13) Teens face their fears after discovering a haunted book.

plays more like a James Bond narrative than one born out of a series of fuelinjected heist movies. The level of every conceivable element has been ratcheted up from the franchise’s previous films, and the action pops, thanks to stunt-manturned-director David Leitch. Above all, it’s thoroughly entertaining.

Read the full review at mountainx.com/ movies/reviews REVIEWED BY CASEY ELLIS C.DALTON.ELLIS@GMAIL.COM

Maiden HHHHS DIRECTOR: Alex Holmes PLAYERS: Tracy Edwards DOCUMENTARY RATED PG Alex Holmes’ Maiden offers an informative look at Tracy Edwards and her pioneering of the first all-woman yachting crew in the 1989 Whitbread Round the World race on the titular ship. Despite being such a niche subject matter, the documentary presents a story about female trailblazers that’s bound to inspire many young women to bring equality to maledominated sports.

Cameron Allison

Ian Casselberry

CURRENTLY Aladdin (PG) HH

Melissa Williams

IN THEATERS

Annabelle Comes Home (R) HHHS The Art of Self-Defense (R) S The Biggest Little Farm (PG) HHHH Booksmart (R) HHHHS Crawl (R) HH Echo in the Canyon (PG-13) HHHS The Farewell (PG) HHHHS Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (PG-13) HHHHH (Pick of the Week) The Lion King (PG) HHH Marianne and Leonard: Words of Love (R) HHH Midsommar (R) HHHHH Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood (R) HHHHS Rocketman (R) HHHH The Secret Life of Pets 2 (PG) HHHS Spider-Man: Far From Home (PG-13) HHHH Stuber (R) HHS Sword of Trust (R) HHHHS Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am (PG-13) HHHHS Toy Story 4 (G) HHHHS Yesterday (PG-13) HHHH

Using archival footage alongside present-day interviews with reporters and crew members proves an eye-opening way to tell the story at hand. The formula produces moments of pure disdain when reporters reflect on the language and reporting they used 30 years ago to describe these women during the race, speculating on their personal lives and romances rather than the athletes’ actual merit. The sexism shown makes the audience root for Edwards and her team and begs the question of how far society has come regarding female inclusion in sporting events and how they are talked about.

Read the full review at mountainx.com/ movies/reviews Starts Aug. 9 at Grail Moviehouse REVIEWED BY CAMERON ALLISON CAMERONRTALLISON@GMAIL.COM

Marianne and Leonard: Words of Love HHH DIRECTOR: Nick Broomfield PLAYERS: Leonard Cohen, Marianne Ihlen, Judy Collins DOCUMENTARY RATED R

MARKETPLACE

SCREEN SCENE

by Edwin Arnaudin | earnaudin@mountainx.com

LOOK HERE: A still from Ouroboros, directed by Asheville filmmaker Emma Keehan. The short drama recently played at the Real to Reel Film Festival in Kings Mountain. Photo courtesy of Keehan • Asheville-based filmmaker Emma Keehan’s short work Ouroboros was selected for the Real to Reel Film Festival in Kings Mountain, where it screened on July 26. The eight-minute drama centers on a masked female dancer who, trapped in an oppressive artistic system, experiences an epiphany.

Keehan created the film in professor Tate Bunker’s Collaborative Filmmaking course in 2016 while attending at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She was elected to direct the piece by her classmates.

“To come up with such a unique and interesting story, we took an old book of poems and extracted a sentence from random poems throughout the entire

FILM 25TH ANNUAL TWIN RIVERS MULTIMEDIA FESTIVAL & FILM SCREENINGS • FR (8/9) & SA (8/10) - Film festival featuring

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Leonard Cohen’s story cannot be told without acknowledging the significant role that Marianne Ihlen played in that narrative. She undoubtedly buoyed his career, to which he pays tribute in the song “So Long, Marianne.”

But the support was literal, in addition to creative. Cohen embodied the “struggling artist” while living on the Greek island of Hydra, where his romance with Ihlen began. (At the very least, a compelling tourist video for Hydra could be cut from director Nick Broomfield’s footage.)

Upon achieving success, his career was never the same, nor was the life he had with Ihlen. The deterioration of their relationship was the greatest casualty of Cohen’s success and it’s depicted in dispiriting detail.

Broomfield tries not to follow a cliché, forget-where-you-came-from path, and Cohen didn’t forget that he owed his fame to Ihlen. But as she becomes

book, putting together one stanza of ‘nonsense,’” Keehan says. “We then all wrote a script based on our new poem, whittled down to a select few, combined a few ideas from the others and came up with the Ouroboros story.”

The film was completed in just under three months and won the school’s student film festival. It’s since won five awards, including the Grand Jury Prize at the Midwest Independent Film Festival last August and Best Wisconsin Film at the 2018 Milwaukee Short Film Festival.

Keehan has been living in Asheville for nearly a year and also works as an education mentor. funnybrainfilms.com • Quentin Tarantino’s new 1969-set film, Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood, features two actors with Asheville ties.

Former resident Margaret Qualley, daughter of Andie MacDowell, has a substantial supporting role as Pussycat, a member of the Manson Family. Fellow local Perla Haney-Jardine, who previously worked with Tarantino on Kill Bill: Vol. 2, also makes a brief appearance as a hippie who sells stuntman Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) a drug-laced cigarette. The film is currently playing at the Fine Arts Theatre. fineartstheatre.com X

Center, 850 Blue Ridge Road, Unit A-13, Black Mountain SUMMER HISTORIC DOCUMENTARY SERIES • 3rd THURSDAYS through August, 5:30pm

- Summer Historic Documentary Series, event featuring film screenings on historical topics.

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less prominent in his life, the film understandably becomes more about Cohen and turns into the conventional documentary that Broomfield presumably wanted to avoid.

Read the full review at mountainx. com/movies/reviews Now playing at Grail Moviehouse REVIEWED BY IAN CASSELBERRY IANCASS@GMAIL.COM

Them That Follow HHH

DIRECTORS: Britt Poulton and Dan Madison Savage PLAYERS: Alice Englert, Walton Goggins THRILLER RATED R Near the end of Them That Follow, I realized I hadn’t taken a deep

REAL ESTATE | RENTALS | ROOMMATES | SERVICES JOBS | ANNOUNCEMENTS | MIND, BODY, SPIRIT CLASSES & WORKSHOPS | MUSICIANS’ SERVICES PETS | AUTOMO TIVE | XCHANGE | ADULT Want to advertise in Marketplace? 828-251-1333 x141 cbailey@mountainx.com • mountainx.com/classifieds If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Remember the Russian proverb: “Doveryai, no proveryai,” trust but verify. When answering classified ads, always err on the side of caution. Especially beware of any party asking you to give them financial or identification information. The Mountain Xpress cannot be responsible for ensuring that each advertising client is legitimate. Please report scams to ads@mountainx.com REAL ESTATE HOMES FOR SALE

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breath for about an hour and a half.

And then all I could do was sigh.

The film is set in an all-white, impoverished, evangelical Appalachian community whose members’ lives are rooted in their church and in the practice of snake handling as a test of — and a testament to — their faith.

The protagonist, Mara (Alice Englert), is the pastor’s daughter and a true believer. Englert’s portrayal is excellent and sincere — crucial since much of the movie centers on Mara’s face as she struggles with wanting a life that neither her stern, fiery

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father Lemuel (Walton Goggins), nor her community, nor even she herself, would approve of. Mara’s transgression is revealed in the first few minutes, and she prays and prays to be cleansed.

The movie is well-cast and there’s so much to work with here — religion, rattlers, rage, secrets and sin — but the payoff is just “meh.” Like Mara, I may have had too much faith.

Read the full review at mountainx. com/movies/reviews Starts Aug. 9 at Grail Moviehouse REVIEWED BY MELISSA WILLIAMS

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FREEWILL ASTROLOGY ARIES (March 21-April 19): When it came time to write your horoscope, I was feeling unusually lazy.

I could barely summon enough energy to draw up the planetary charts. I said a weak prayer to the astrological muses, pleading, “Please don’t make me work too hard to discover the message that Aries people need to hear; just make the message appear in my mind.” As if in response, a voice in my head said, “Try bibliomancy.” So I strolled to my bookcase, shut my eyes, pulled out the first book I felt and went to a random page. Here’s what I saw when I opened my eyes: “The Taoist concept of wu-wei is the notion that our creative active forces are dependent on and nourished by inactivity; and that doing absolutely nothing may be a good way to get something done.”

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): There’s an old Rosicrucian vow you might have fun trying out: “I pledge to interpret every experience that comes my way as a communication of God with my soul.” If you carry out this intention with relaxed playfulness, every bird song you hear is an emblem of divine thought; every eavesdropped conversation provides hints of the creator’s current mood; the shape that spilled milk takes on your tabletop is an intimation of eternity breaking into our time-gripped realm. In my years of offering you advice, I have never before suggested you try this exercise because I didn’t think you were receptive. But I do now. (If you’re an atheist, you can replace “God,” “divine,” and “creator” with “life.”)

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Below are unheralded gifts possessed by many Geminis but not commonly identified by traditional astrologers: 1. a skill for deprogramming yourself: for unlearning defunct teachings that might otherwise interfere with your ability to develop your highest potentials; 2. a sixth sense about recognizing artificial motivations, then shedding them; 3. a tendency to attract epiphanies that show you why and how to break taboos that may once have been necessary but aren’t any longer; 4. an ability to avoid becoming overwhelmed and controlled by situations you manage or supervise.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): In 1993, I began writing a book titled The Televisionary Oracle. By 1995, I had generated over 2,000 pages of material that I didn’t like. Although I was driven by a yearning to express insights that had been welling up in me for a long time, nothing about the work felt right. I was stuck. But finally I discovered an approach that broke me free: I started to articulate difficult truths about aspects of my life about which I was embarrassed, puzzled and ashamed. Then everything fell into place.

The process that had been agonizing and fruitless became fluidic and joyful. I recommend that you try this strategy to dissolve any mental blocks you may be suffering from: dive into and explore what makes you feel ashamed, puzzling or embarrassed. I bet it will lead to triumph and fulfillment, as happened for me.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): I am overjoyed that you’re not competing for easy rewards or comparing yourself to the mediocre crowd. Some people in your sphere may not be overjoyed, though. To those whose sense of self isn’t strong, you may be like an itchy allergen; they may accuse you of showing off or acting puffed up. But freaks like me appreciate creative egotists like you when you treat your personality as a work of art.

In my view, you’re a stirring example of how to be true to one’s smartest passions. Keep up the good work! Continue to have too much fun! I’m guessing that for now you can get away with doing just about anything you want as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Let’s enjoy a moment of poignant silence in honor of your expired illusions.

They were soulful mirages: full of misplaced idealism and sweet ignorance and innocent misunderstandings. Generous in ways you may not yet realize, they exuded an agitated beauty that aroused both courage and resourcefulness. Now, as those illusions dissolve, they will begin to serve you anew, turning into fertile compost for your next big production.

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AUG. 7 - 13, 2019

BY ROB BREZSNY

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Old rules and traditions about how best to conduct intimate relationship are breaking down. New rules are still incubating.

Right now, the details about how people express their needs to give and receive love seem to be riddles for which there are no correct answers. So what do you do? How do you proceed with the necessary blend of confidence and receptivity?

Can you figure out flexible strategies for being true both to your need for independence and your need for interdependence? I bring these ruminations to your attention, Libra, just in time for the “Transforming Togetherness” phase of your cycle.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): It’s time for your once-a-year shout-out to your most audacious possibilities. Ready? Go ahead and say, “Hallelujah!

Hosanna! Happiness! Hooray for my brilliant future!”

Next, go ahead and say, “I have more than enough power to create my world in the image of my wisest dreams.” Now do a dance of triumph and whisper to yourself, “I’m going to make very sure I always know exactly what my wisest dreams are.”

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): During the next three weeks, I advise you to load up on copious amounts of caffeine from Monday at 8 a.m. until Friday at 6 p.m. Then drastically cut back on the coffee and consume large amounts of alcohol and/ or marijuana from 6:01 p.m. on Friday through 6 p.m. on Sunday. This is the ideal recipe for success.

JUST KIDDING! I lied. Here’s the truth, Sagittarius: Astrological indicators suggest you would benefit from making the coming weeks be the most undrugged, alcohol-free time ever. Your potential for achieving natural highs will be extraordinary, as will your potential to generate crucial breakthroughs while enjoying those natural highs. Take advantage!

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): I don’t presume you should or will gleefully embrace the assignment I’ll propose. The task may indeed be too daunting for you to manage right now. If that’s the case, don’t worry. You’ll get another chance in a few months. But if you are indeed ready for a breathtaking challenge, here it is: Be a benevolent force of wild nature; be a tender dispenser of creative destruction; be a bold servant of your soulful dreams — as you demolish outmoded beliefs and structures that have been keeping a crucial part of your vitality shackled and latent.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): I have cast a feisty love spell that will be triggered in anyone who reads the first line of this horoscope. And since you have done that, you are now becoming even smarter than you already were about getting the most out of your intimate alliances. You’re primed to experiment with the delights of feeling with your head and thinking with your heart. Soon you’ll be visited by revelations about any unconscious glitches that might be subtly undermining your togetherness and you’ll get good ideas about how to correct those glitches. Astrological rhythms will be flowing in your relationships’ favor for the next seven weeks!

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): I estimate that about 25% of your fear results from your hesitation to love as deeply and openly and bravely as you could. Another 13% originates in an inclination to mistake some of your teachers for adversaries, and 21% from your reluctance to negotiate with the misunderstood monsters in your closet. But I suspect that fully 37% of your fear comes from the free-floating angst that you telepathically absorb from the other 7.69 billion humans on our planet.

So what about the remaining 4%? Is that based on real risks and worth paying attention to? Yes! And the coming weeks will be an excellent time to make progress in diminishing its hold on you.

MOUNTAINX.COM

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T H E NEW Y O R K T IM E S C R O S S W O R D P UZ Z L E

ACROSS

10 Go ___ (lose it)

1 Medal of Honor recipient 5 Leonardo’s “The Last Supper,” e.g.

13 Sunburn cause

16 Verse ender in “My Country, ’Tis of Thee”

15 Part of the eye that a fish doesn’t have

18 “Me too,” formally

edited by Will Shortz 19 Color of most Solo cups 20 Great Plains tribe 21 Magnavox competitor 23 Strokes in miniature golf 24 Things to keep tabs on 28 Scottish Highlander 29 Old-time actress Le Gallienne 30 Trapped 33 Firecracker that doesn’t go off 34 Thumbs-down 35 “That’s just ter-r-rible!”

37 Go-between 39 Under the weather 40 Kept a bead on 41 Give the right 43 When dinner may be served 45 “Of course!”

46 “Coming ___” (store sign) 47 Early Chinese dynasty 50 Symbol of resistance

puzzle by Evan Mahnken 54 “Here’s hoping” … or a hint to 16-Across/ 10-Down and 37-Across/ 14-Down 57 The works 58 Sold off, as assets 59 Key chess piece, in Spain 60 “True” 61 The “m” in the equation “F = ma”

DOWN 1 Dance with a lot of hip movement 2 Nights when kids have a hard time falling asleep 3 No longer active: Abbr.

4 Alma mater for J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis 5 “The Simpsons” bartender 6 Pusher’s customer 7 Inconsiderate

No. 0703

8 Half of a celebrity couple with J.Lo starting in 2017 9 Moon lander, for short 10 Somewhat 11 Cab alternative?

12 Beats by a small margin 14 Bureau of Labor Statistics statistic 17 City in which Joan of Arc died 22 Matthew ___, English poet who wrote “Dover Beach” 23 2010s NBC drama that revolved around three generations of a family 24 What banks look to when setting interest rates, with “the” 25 Egg 26 “Men not allowed” 27 Hold on to 28 Did very well on the test

31 Command to Rover 32 Kaiser ___ 36 Shout after a score, maybe 38 Like a phone down to 1% 42 2001 Sean Penn movie 43 To the same extent 44 Fabric with a repeated design

47 Certiorari, e.g.

48 Bar members: Abbr.

49 Places for post-op patients 51 “Cómo ___?”

52 Thousands of dollars, in slang 53 Throws in 55 2010’s “The Book of ___” 56 Where Ipanema Beach is

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS NY TIMES PUZZLE

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BEST OF WNC PArt

e n o

2019 x awards

BE

ST OF

14

20 WNC

white duck taco shop 2

BEST OF WNC - PART ONE

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BEST OF WNC - PART ONE

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Mountain Xpress presents

BEST OF

WNC 2019

X Awards

CONTENTS 6 Arts & Entertainment 18 Shopping 30 Personal Services 34 Professional Services 48 Kids 56 Health & Wellness 70 Uniquely Asheville 80 Small Towns 80 Brevard 83 Hendersonville & Flat Rock 84 Sylva & Cullowhee 85 Waynesville, Maggie Valley & Canton

vested in our purple hats and the voting power of thousands of the rootinest, tootinest folks this side of the Tennessee River.

in these hills, but this T gold being the 25th Best of WNC,

HERE may not be much

we’ve surely struck silver. Way back in 1995 (when downtown Asheville was for the most part a boarded-up ghost town), the first Best of WNC poll boasted only 184 categories, and no one had even heard of online ballots. This year’s slate tips its Stetson to growth and progress, with 444 categories, giving WNC residents a place to attest to their diverse and sometimes quirky passions and predilections.

Corralling the resultant 1,100 or so rambunctious Best of WNC winners is no job for greenhorns. Luckily, our trusty steed Bo (short for Best Of)

helped Mountain Xpress rough riders fan out over the range, looking under every stone for the finest this region has to offer. You’ll find Bo lurking in photos, keeping the peace and rounding folks up for the camera.

People from these parts don’t always agree; in fact, there are some regular Hatfields and McCoys. But they do come together every year to determine what’s as fine as frog hair. And that’s how democracy wins the day. We Western North Carolinians know how to show those varmints in the capital how it’s done. Of course, smelling success, town boosters will be champing at the bit to jump the locals’ claim on a good thing, lickety-split. Well, it ain’t happening, not while there’s authority

Allow us to present 2019’s “wild, wild best” in this and next week’s issue of Mountain Xpress.

Winners of an X Award get more than just bragging rights; after all, it’s their neighbors, friends and customers who have heaped those accolades on them. And lassoing a Hall of Fame title is reserved for those who’ve withstood the seasons by claiming first place four or more years in a row.

A new voting platform this year gave both voters and ballot judges the giddyup. Drop-down prompts speeded the voting, introduced standardized spelling and greatly simplified the judging process. Everything’s up to date in WNC. We hope you’ll enjoy perusing this compilation of local businesses all duded up in their best bibs and tuckers. And keep an eye out for Bo, in all his two-dimensional, bucking-bronc glory.

Thanks, pardners!

x

THE HALL OF FAME ICON The Hall of Fame designation is reserved for winners who have won first place four years in a row, including this year (2016 - 2019)

We have taken great care to ensure the accuracy of the Best of WNC listings, but if you have corrections, questions or suggestions, email us at bestofwnc@mountainx.com, or call 828-251-1333.

Some Best of WNC categories received inadequate votes to allow us to declare first-, second- and third-place winners.

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PUBLISHER Jeff Fobes BALLOT OFFICIALS Able Allen, Lauren Andrews, Edwin Arnaudin, Thomas Calder, Jeff Fobes, Susan Hutchinson, Alli Marshall, Brooke Randle, Tracy Rose, Gina Smith, Daniel Walton BEST OF WNC SUPPLEMENT DESIGN Scott Southwick DESIGNERS: Norn Cutson, Scott Southwick, Olivia Urban LISTINGS EDITORS Able Allen, Deborah Robertson LISTINGS ASSISTANTS Lauren Andrews, Christina Bailey PHOTO COORDINATOR Able Allen PHOTOGRAPHERS Able Allen, Thomas Calder, Morgan Ford, Joe Pellegrino, Scott Southwick, Luke Van Hine WRITERS Able Allen, Edwin Arnaudin, Thomas Calder, Virginia Daffron, Jeff Fobes, Alli Marshall, Brooke Randle, Tracy Rose, Gina Smith, Daniel Walton AD SALES Christina Bailey, Sara Brecht, Bryant Cooper, Brian Palmieri, Susan Ragsdale, Heather Taylor, Tiffany Wagner IT & WEB Bowman Kelley FRONT OFFICE/ ACCOUNTING Able Allen, Lauren Andrews, Amie Fowler-Tanner DISTRIBUTION Susan Hutchinson, Cindy Kunst, and a fantastic team of devoted drivers

C O M E C E L E B R AT E

the

l i d w , best d l i w

party Thursday, Aug. 15 5-9 p.m. at

Highland Brewing Co’.s Meadow • Beer from Highland Brewing Co. • Food from Melt Your Heart • Fun from LaZoom • Live music from the Best bands

Copyright 2019 by Mountain Xpress COVER PHOTO Asheville Aerial Artists photo by Luke Van Hine COVER DESIGN Scott Southwick

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LOCAL MUSIC FESTIVAL 1 LEAF FESTIVAL e ax

377 Lake Eden Road, Black Mountain 828-686-8742 • theLEAF.org

2 ALL GO WEST FEST (NOT TAKING PLACE IN 2019) w Asheville

2 DOWNTOWN AFTER 5 d

North Lexington Ave., Asheville 828-251-9973 • ashevilledowntown.org

3 LEAF DOWNTOWN d Pack Square Park, Asheville 828-686-8742 • theleaf.org

PLACE TO HEAR LIVE MUSIC 1 THE ORANGE PEEL d x

101 Biltmore Ave., Asheville 828-398-1837 • theorangepeel.net

2 THE GREY EAGLE r

185 Clingman Ave., Asheville 828-232-5800 • thegreyeagle.com

3 ISIS MUSIC HALL w

743 Haywood Road, Asheville 828-575-2737 • isisasheville.com

OUTDOOR MUSIC VENUE 1 SALVAGE STATION n

466 Riverside Drive, Asheville 828-407-0521 • salvagestation.com

PHOTO BY JOE PELLEGRINO

2 PISGAH BREWING CO. e a

AMANDA ANNE PLATT & THE HONEYCUTTERS

150 Eastside Drive, Black Mountain 828-669-0190 • pisgahbrewing.com

Best Americana/Country

2 THE MEADOW AT HIGHLAND BREWING e

12 Old Charlotte Highway, Asheville 828-299-3370 • highlandbrewing.com

3 AMPHITHEATER AT SIERRA NEVADA BREWERY s a 100 Sierra Nevada Way, Mills River 828-708-6242 • sierranevada.com

n ORTH s OUTH e AST w EST d OWNTOWN AREA r IVER ARTS DISTRICT a OUTLYING AREA

x HALL OF FAME (Winner four years or more in a row)

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BEST OF WNC - PART ONE

A

SHEVILLE is an arts des-

tination for many reasons, 60 or so of which received top votes in this year’s readers’ poll.

But while beloved institutions such as LEAF (Local Music Festival), The Orange Peel (Place to Hear Live Music) and LaZoom Tours (Comedy Troupe or Series) deserve every accolade they rack up, there are plenty of perhaps lesser-known — but no less inspiring — creatives and businesses worth mentioning.

For example, Stephen Pruitt (who captures the “pieces of life we always want to remember,” according to his Facebook page) was named best

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Photographer. Ginger Huebner, a collage artist and the founding director of Roots + Wings School of Art and Design, takes top mention in the Painter/Illustrator category. And Robert Beatty, who penned the New York Times bestselling Serafina series, elbowed out the likes of Ron Rash and Wiley Cash as best Local Author.

Even if the Best of WNC reads like a who’s who on the local arts scene, it also offers readers’ tips into what’s worth checking out. Noble Kava garnered attention as the best Open-Mic Night Venue, Heather Neeld was named best Local Filmmaker and pianist Taylor Pierson, who often lends his talents to the projects of other local

musicians, received recognition in the Jazz category.

This year also brings some big winners: Lyric continues to dominate in many areas of local music (Lyricist, Singer-Songwriter, Vocalist, R&B/ Soul, All-Round Favorite Band and a second place for Hip-Hop). Meanwhile, Abby the Spoon Lady managed to claim first, second and third places in the Busker/Street Group category, thanks to her various collaborations.

We also welcome Peggy Ratusz (Blues) to this year’s Hall of Fame.

— Alli Marshall X

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BEST OF ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT LISTENING ROOM 1 ISIS MUSIC HALL w

743 Haywood Road, Asheville 828-575-2737 • isisasheville.com

2 THE GREY EAGLE r

185 Clingman Ave., Asheville 828-232-5800 • thegreyeagle.com

3 AMBROSE WEST w

312 Haywood Road, Asheville 828-332-3090 • ambrosewest.com

weekly live

music

Tickets & Music Schedule at

isisasheville.com TUES-SUN 5PM-MIDNIGHT

BLUEGRASS EVERY TUESDAY

Thank You, Asheville!

ART/CRAFTS FAIR OR EVENT 1 THE BIG CRAFTY d x

Pack Square Park and US Cellular Center/ Harrah’s Cherokee Center, Asheville thebigcrafty.com

2 CRAFT FAIR OF THE SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS d

US Cellular Center/Harrah’s Cherokee Center, 87 Haywood St., Asheville 828-298-7928 • southernhighlandguild.org

3 VILLAGE ART AND CRAFT FAIR s Cathedral of All Souls (on the grounds), 9 Swan St., Asheville 828-274-2831 • avl.mx/54r

STUDIO STROLL/ DRIVING TOUR 1 RIVER ARTS DISTRICT STUDIO STROLL r x

Asheville 828-552-4723 • riverartsdistrict.com

2 WEAVERVILLE ART SAFARI n a Weaverville 828-338-9335 • weavervilleartsafari.com

3 TOE RIVER STUDIO TOUR n a 102 W. Main St., Burnsville 828-682-7215 • toeriverarts.org

CRAFT SCHOOL OR PLACE TO LEARN A CRAFT 1 PENLAND SCHOOL OF CRAFT n ax 67 Doras Trail, Penland 828-765-2359 • penland.org

#1 Listening Room

2 JOHN C. CAMPBELL FOLK SCHOOL w a

1 Folk School Road, Brasstown 828-837-2775 • folkschool.org

RESTAURANT TUES-SUN 5PM-MIDNIGHT BRUNCH EVERY SUNDAY 10AM-3PM 743 HAYWOOD ROAD ASHEVILLE 828.575.2737 • ISISASHEVILLE.COM 8

BEST OF WNC - PART ONE

3 ODYSSEY CENTER FOR CERAMIC ARTS r

236 Clingman Ave., Asheville 828-285-0210 • odysseyclayworks.com

LOCAL ART GALLERY

PHOTO BY LUKE VAN HINE

GRAIL MOVIEHOUSE Best Movie Theater

CRAFT-ORIENTED GALLERY 1 FOLK ART CENTER/ SHCG GALLERIES e s e x

Milepost 382, Blue Ridge Parkway, Asheville 828-358-3192 26 Lodge St., Asheville, 828-338-2949 930 Tunnel Road, Asheville 828-515-1951 southernhighlandguild.org

2 NEW MORNING GALLERY s

7 Boston Way, Asheville 828-274-2831 • newmorninggallerync.com

3 GROVEWOOD GALLERY n 111 Grovewood Road, Asheville 828-253-7651 • grovewood.com

NONPROFIT THAT SERVES THE ARTS 1 ASHEVILLE AREA ARTS COUNCIL d 207 Coxe Ave., Asheville 828-258-0710 • ashevillearts.com

2 LEAF COMMUNITY ARTS e 906 E. Tunnel Road, Asheville 828-686-8742 • theleaf.org

3 OPEN HEARTS ARTS CENTER d 217 Coxe Ave., Asheville 828-505-8428 • openheartsartcenter.org

MOVIE THEATER

1 BLUE SPIRAL 1 d x

1 GRAIL MOVIEHOUSE d

2 ZAPOW! d

2 THE CAROLINA CINEMARK ASHEVILLE s

38 Biltmore Ave., Asheville 828-251-0202 • bluespiral1.com

150 Coxe Ave., Suite 101, Asheville 828-575-9112 • zapow.com

3 MOMENTUM GALLERY d

24 N. Lexington Ave., Asheville 828-505-8550 • momentumgallery.com

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45 S. French Broad Ave., Asheville 828-239-9392 • grailmoviehouse.com

1640 Hendersonville Road, Asheville 828-274-8811 • avl.mx/3n9

3 REGAL BILTMORE GRANDE & RPX s

Biltmore Park Town Square, 292 Thetford St., Asheville 844-462-7342 • regmovies.com

LOCAL FILMMAKER 1 HEATHER NEELD Asheville

THEATER COMPANY 1 ASHEVILLE COMMUNITY THEATRE d 35 E. Walnut St., Asheville 828-254-1320 • ashevilletheatre.org

2 NORTH CAROLINA STAGE COMPANY d 15 Stage Lane, Asheville 828-239-0263 • ncstage.org

3 MONTFORD PARK PLAYERS n 92 Gay St., Asheville 828-254-5146 • montfordparkplayers.org

ACTOR (MALE OR FEMALE) 1 SCOTT TREADWAY x

Flat Rock 828-329-6360 • scotttreadwayphotography.com

2 STEPHANIE HICKLING BECKMAN Asheville differentstrokespac.org

3 MICHAEL MACCAULEY Asheville avl.mx/6cj

COMEDY TROUPE OR SERIES 1 LAZOOM d x

76 Biltmore Ave., Asheville 828-225-6932 • lazoomtours.com

2 REASONABLY PRICED BABIES 828-450-2120 • avl.mx/57k

3 ASHEVILLE IMPROV COLLECTIVE d 174 Broadway, Asheville aicasheville.com

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BEST OF ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

PHOTO BY LUKE VAN HINE

ASHEVILLE AERIAL ARTS

Best Vaudeville Troupe (Burlesque, Aerial Arts, Jugglers, etc.)

PERFORMANCE DANCE COMPANY 1 TERPSICORPS THEATRE OF DANCE w x 1501 Patton Ave., Asheville 828-761-1277 • terpsicorps.org

2 ASHEVILLE CONTEMPORARY DANCE THEATRE d 20 Commerce St., Asheville 828-254-2621 • acdt.org

3 ASHEVILLE BALLET n

4 Weaverville Highway, Asheville 828-252-4761 • ashevilleballet.com

PLACE TO DANCE 1 SCANDALS NIGHTCLUB d

11 Grove St., Asheville 828-505-1612 • scandalsnightclub.com

Thank you from Old Europe for supporting us for the past 25 years.

We will carry on "Making Asheville Sweeter" in the years to come!

2 DANCECLUB ASHEVILLE n

9 Old Burnsville Hill Road, Suite 3, Asheville 828-275-8628 • danceclubasheville.com

3 THE ORANGE PEEL d

101 Biltmore Ave., Asheville 828-398-1837 • theorangepeel.net

PLACE TO TAKE DANCE CLASSES OR LESSONS 1 STUDIO ZAHIYA d

90 N. Lexington Ave., Asheville 828-537-0892 • studiozahiya.com

2 DANCECLUB ASHEVILLE n

9 Old Burnsville Hill Road, Suite 3, Asheville 828-275-8628 • danceclubasheville.com

3 ASHEVILLE BALLROOM AND DANCE CENTER s

291 Sweeten Creek Road, Asheville 828-274-8320 • ashevilleballroom.net

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LOCAL AUTHOR 1 ROBERT BEATTY Asheville robertbeattybooks.com

2 RON RASH Cullowhee avl.mx/3vj

3 WILEY CASH Asheville wileycash.com

LOCAL POET 1 ALLAN WOLF Asheville 828-772-7474 • allanwolf.com

2 CALEB BEISSERT Asheville calebbeissert.wordpress.com

3 GLENIS REDMOND Greenville 864-679-9212 • glenisredmond.com

VAUDEVILLE TROUPE (BURLESQUE, AERIAL ARTS, JUGGLERS, ETC.) 1 ASHEVILLE AERIAL ARTS e

9 N. Pershing Road, Asheville 828-301-5615 • ashevilleaerialarts.com

2 EMPYREAN ARTS d

32 Banks Ave., Studio 108, Asheville 828-782-3321 • empyreanarts.org

3 ASHEVILLE VAUDEVILLE COLLECTIVE Asheville 314-795-7232 • avlvaudeville.com

CONTINUED

PHOTO BY LUKE VAN HINE

SOVEREIGN KAVA (FORMERLY NOBLE KAVA)

Best Open-Mic Night Venue and Kava Bar

OPEN-MIC NIGHT VENUE 1 SOVEREIGN KAVA (FORMERLY NOBLE KAVA) d 268 Biltmore Ave., Asheville 828-505-8118 • ashevillekava.com

2 THE GREY EAGLE r 185 Clingman Ave., Asheville 828-232-5800 • thegreyeagle.com

3 THE SOCIAL e 1078 Tunnel Road, Asheville 828-298-8780 • thesocialasheville.com

TRIVIA NIGHT EMCEE 1 KIPPER SCHAUER (TOTALLY RAD TRIVIA) x Asheville 828-484-1896 • kipperstrivia.com

2 DR. BROWN'S TEAM TRIVIA (BARLEY'S TAPROOM & PIZZERIA) d 42 Biltmore Ave., Asheville 828-255-0504 • barleystaproom.com

3 JASON MENSER (QUIZZO AT JACK OF THE WOOD) d 95 Patton Ave., Asheville 828-252-5445 • jackofthewood.com

3 ROBERT BENNET (TOTALLY RAD TRIVIA) w 21 Craven St., Asheville 828-333-6900

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BEST OF ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT ACOUSTIC/FOLK 1 RISING APPALACHIA Asheville risingappalachia.com

2 ASHLEY HEATH Asheville ashleyheathmusic.com

3 ABBY THE SPOON LADY & CHRIS RODRIGUES Asheville spoonlady.com

AMERICANA/COUNTRY 1 AMANDA ANNE PLATT & THE HONEYCUTTERS x Asheville 585-765-2083 • honeycutters.com

2 ASHLEY HEATH Asheville ashleyheathmusic.com

2 STEEP CANYON RANGERS Asheville and Brevard steepcanyon.com

PHOTO BY JOE PELLEGRINO

3 LUKE COMBS

PEGGY RATUSZ

Asheville lukecombs.com

Best Blues

BLUES 1 PEGGY RATUSZ x

Asheville reverbnation.com/peggyratusz

2 THE MOJO BROTHERS BLUES BAND Brevard avl.mx/6co

3 PATRICK DODD Asheville

BUSKER/STREET GROUP 1 ABBY THE SPOON LADY x Asheville spoonlady.com

2 ABBY THE SPOON LADY & CHRIS RODRIGUES Asheville spoonlady.com

3 ABBY THE SPOON LADY & BANCO BEN Asheville spoonlady.com

FUNK 1 YO MAMA'S BIG FAT BOOTY BAND Asheville 303-444-1554 • bootyband.com

2 LYRIC (LEEDA JONES) Asheville reverbnation.com/lyricfans

2 TUESDAY NIGHT FUNK JAM (ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL) d 55 College St., Asheville ashevillemusichall.com

3 THE FRITZ

Asheville marleycarroll.com

2 LIL MEOW MEOW (ANNELISE KOPP) Asheville avl.mx/6cn

3 KIPPER SCHAUER Asheville 828-484-1896 • kipperstrivia.com

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Asheville reverbnation.com/lyricfans

2 HEATHER TAYLOR Asheville heathertaylormusic.com

OLD-TIME/BLUEGRASS 1 STEEP CANYON RANGERS 2 BALSAM RANGE

HIP-HOP ARTIST/GROUP 1 SPACEMAN JONES & THE MOTHERSHIPS s Asheville avl.mx/54t

2 LYRIC (LEEDA JONES) Asheville reverbnation.com/lyricfans

Asheville naturalbornleadersband.com

1 MARLEY CARROLL

1 LYRIC (LEEDA JONES)

Asheville and Brevard steepcanyon.com

Asheville thefritzmusic.com

3 NATURAL BORN LEADERS DJ (NONRADIO)

LYRICIST

JAZZ 1 TAYLOR PIERSON

Waynesville 336-909-1921 • balsamrange.com

3 TOWN MOUNTAIN Asheville 202-669-3818 • townmountain.net

R&B/SOUL 1 LYRIC (LEEDA JONES) Asheville reverbnation.com/lyricfans

2 RYAN RNB BARBER Asheville 828-423-5637 • ryanrnbbarber.com

ROCK

2 RUSS WILSON

1 ANDREW SCOTCHIE & THE RIVER RATS x

3 THE CORE

2 MODERN STRANGERS

Asheville

Asheville 828-388-1645 • everswinging.com Asheville avl.mx/6co

Asheville andrewscotchiemusic.com Asheville modernstrangers.com

Thanks for voting us one of the best overall, people-watching, and kid-friendly pizza joints in Asheville!

You rock!

50 Broadway • 236-9800 mellowmushroom.com/asheville

THANK YOU, WNC!

for voting us one of the Best Craft-Oriented Galleries

FINE AMERICAN ART & CRAFT 111 Grovewood Rd, Asheville | 828.253.7651 | grovewood.com

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BEST OF ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT SINGER-SONGWRITER 1 LYRIC (LEEDA JONES) Asheville reverbnation.com/lyricfans

Thank you for your votes, Avl!

2 ASHLEY HEATH Asheville ashleyheathmusic.com

3 JANE KRAMER Asheville janekramermusic.com

RECORDING STUDIO 1 ECHO MOUNTAIN RECORDING STUDIO d x 14 N. French Broad Ave., Asheville 828-232-4314 • echomountain.net

2 THE EAGLE ROOM n a

1 Northview Lane, Weaverville 828-399-0424 • theeagleroom.com

3 ASHETOWN SOUND STUDIO (THE MUSIC ACADEMY ASHEVILLE) w 1408 Patton Ave., Suite F, Asheville 828-252-1888 • musicacademyasheville.com

VOCALIST 1 LYRIC (LEEDA JONES) Asheville reverbnation.com/lyricfans

2 ASHLEY HEATH Asheville ashleyheathmusic.com

3 KAT WILLIAMS

1 FREE PLANET RADIO freeplanetradio.com

heydaymusic.net • 828-254-0402

Asheville juliandreyer.com

2 JOSH BLAKE Asheville joshblakemusic.com

1 LEAF COMMUNITY ARTS e WORLD MUSIC

108 N . Lexington Ave • Downtown AVL

1 JULIAN DREYER

MUSIC-RELATED NONPROFIT

Asheville kat.fm

vintage and used amps guitars | effects electronics repair consignment

MUSIC ENGINEER OR PRODUCER

2 TOUBAB KREWE Asheville toubabkrewe.com

906 E. Tunnel Road, Asheville 828-686-8742 • theleaf.org

2 ASHEVILLE MUSIC SCHOOL d 126 College St., Asheville 828-252-6244 • ashevillemusicschool.org

3 BOB MOOG FOUNDATION d 56 Broadway, Asheville 828-258-1262 • moogfoundation.org

3 APPALACHIAN RENEGADES Asheville appalachianrenegades.com

FIBER ARTIST 1 JAN WESCOTT (JANI WOVENS) Asheville

ALL-ROUND FAVORITE BAND 1 LYRIC (LEEDA JONES) Asheville reverbnation.com/lyricfans

1 STEEP CANYON RANGERS Asheville and Brevard steepcanyon.com

2 EMPIRE STRIKES BRASS Asheville empirestrikesbrass.com

3 ANDREW SCOTCHIE & THE RIVER RATS Asheville andrewscotchiemusic.com

MUSIC INSTRUMENT REPAIR COMPANY 1 MUSICIAN’S WORKSHOP n

319 Merrimon Ave., Asheville 828-252-1249 • musiciansworkshop.com

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63 Haywood St., Asheville 828-254-5088 • jewelsthatdance.com

2 ANNA JOHNSON Asheville annajohnsonjewelry.com

3 LAUREN MOODY (FOX & BEAUX BOUTIQUE) d 56 Haywod St., Asheville 828-585-7230 • foxandbeaux.com

METAL ARTIST OR METALWORKER 1 DAVID EARL TOMLINSON (DYNAMIC METAL WORK) Asheville 828-337-3241 • dynamicmetalwork.com

2 HOSS HALEY d

24 N. Lexington Ave., Asheville hosshaley.squarespace.com

3 STEFAN BONITZ (STEEBO DESIGNS) w

3 ACOUSTIC CORNER e a

3 TINA COUNCELL (IRON MAIDEN STUDIOS) w

105-F Montreat Road, Black Mountain 828-669-5162 • acoustic-corner.com

BEST OF WNC - PART ONE

1 PAULA DAWKINS (JEWELS THAT DANCE) d

2 HEYDAY MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS & REPAIR d 108 N. Lexington Ave., Asheville 828-254-0402 • heydaymusic.net

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JEWELRY ARTIST/DESIGNER

355 Haywood Road, Asheville 828-253-4610 • steebo.com

329 Emma Road, Asheville 828-712-8254 • ironmaidenstudios.com

Thank you, Asheville!

We couldn't do what we LOVE without YOU or our amazing TEAM! We truly appreciate all of our amazing customers and your votes for

3rd place Best Jeweler / Jewelry Artist!

To show our gratitude to you and all of Asheville, mention this ad for 15% off your next in-store purchase!

Great recordings start with great music.

Thank you to all the amazing artists who make magic in “The E.R.” and to all who voted it one of the “Best Of WNC”!

With love,

Lauren Moody

TheEagleRoom.com

Owner & Head Designer Fox and Beaux Boutique

* O N LY 1 R E D E M P T I O N P E R

PERSON. Offer expires September 30th, 2019 . Not valid for past purchases or custom designs.

56 Haywood Street, 28801 (828) 585-7230 • www.foxandbeaux.com MOUNTAINX.COM/GUIDES

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BEST OF ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT MURAL ARTIST 1 GUS CUTTY Asheville guscutty.com

2 DUSTIN SPAGNOLA w

474 Haywood Road, Suite 102, Asheville 315-436-1382 • dustinspagnola.com

3 IAN WILKINSON Asheville ianthepainter.com

PAINTER/ILLUSTRATOR 1 GINGER HUEBNER s

573 Fairview Road, Suite 10, Asheville 828-545-4827 • gingerhuebner.com

PHOTOGRAPHER 1 STEPHAN PRUETT Asheville 828-712-4669 • stephanpruittphotography.com

2 DAVID SIMCHOCK Asheville 828-216-6457 • davidsimchock.com

2 EVAN KAFKA PHOTO BY MORGAN FORD

MELISSA WEISS

Asheville 917-553-3907 • evankafka.com

3 SHEILA MRAZ Asheville 828-550-4663 • sheilamraz.com

POTTER/CERAMIC ARTIST 1 MELISSA WEISS Asheville melissaweisspottery.com

2 ROB AND BETH MANGUM (MANGUM POTTERY) n a 16 N. Main St., Weaverville 828-645-4929 • mangumpottery.com

3 AKIRA SATAKE r 191 Lyman St., Studio 165, Asheville 828-275-7612 • akirasatake.com

LOCAL COMEDY SHOW/ NIGHT/EVENT 1 LAZOOM d 76 Biltmore Ave., Asheville 828-225-6932 • lazoomtours.com

2 OPEN MIC COMEDY FREAKSHOW AT THE ODDITORIUM w 1045 Haywood Road, Asheville 828-575-9299 • avl.mx/6av

3 ASHEVILLE COMEDY FESTIVAL ashevillecomedyfestival.com

Best Potter/Ceramic Artist

Can’t thank the locals enough for voting us again!

#1 SPORTS BAR

We couldn’t do it without our local support!!

46 Haywood St. • Mon-Sun 11am-2am • (828) 285-0002 • www.ashevillebiergarden.com 16

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BIKE SHOP 1 LIBERTY BICYCLES s x

1378 Hendersonville Road, Asheville 828-274-2453 • libertybikes.com

2 MOTION MAKERS BICYCLE SHOP w a 878 Brevard Road, Asheville 828-633-2227 36 Allen St., Sylva 828-586-6925 • motionmakers.com

3 YOUNGBLOOD BICYCLES n 233 Merrimon Ave., Asheville 828-251-4686 • youngbloodbikes.com

CLOTHING: DRESS-UP/ STYLIN' (WOMEN'S) 1 MINX BOUTIQUE d x

64 N. Lexington Ave., Asheville 828-225-5680 • minxboutique.wordpress.com

2 HAZEL TWENTY BOUTIQUE d 16 Patton Ave., Asheville 828-575-9720 • hazeltwenty.com

3 ELEMENTALITY e

4 S. Tunnel Road, Suite 220, Asheville 828-299-4751 • myelementality.com

CLOTHING: OFFICE (WOMEN'S)

PHOTO BY LUKE VAN HINE

1 BELK e s a

WEST VILLAGE MARKET & DELI

5 S. Tunnel Road, Asheville 828-298-4970 1800 Four Seasons Blvd., Hendersonville 828-692-3236 • belk.com

Best Convenience/Corner Store

2 TALBOTS s w

10 Brook St., Suite 120, Asheville 828-274-3343 Asheville Outlets, 800 Brevard Road, Suite 752, Asheville 828-633-4086 • talbots.com

3 MINX BOUTIQUE d

64 N. Lexington Ave., Asheville 828-225-5680 • minxboutique.wordpress.com

n ORTH s OUTH e AST w EST d OWNTOWN AREA r IVER ARTS DISTRICT a OUTLYING AREA

x HALL OF FAME (Winner four years or more in a row)

18

BEST OF WNC - PART ONE

E

ACH of us would likely characterize Asheville and environs differently — outdoorsy and adventurous ... culinary and healthful ... bustling and driven by tourism. The region is a place of multiple moods, many of which you’ll find reflected on the well-stocked shelves of Mast General Store. Voters picked the expansive shop on Biltmore Avenue as the Store that Best Represents the Spirit of Asheville for a fourth year in a row, ushering it into this year’s Hall of Fame.

Other area stores choose to tackle smaller segments of the retail landscape, but put together, they offer a magnificently multifaceted experience for area shoppers. From the basics of life — Ingles, Earth Fare and Aldi all

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repeated their wins in the three busiest categories of All-Round Grocery, Health Food Store and BudgetFriendly Grocery, respectively — to the finer things of flowers (Flora), jewelry (Jewels That Dance) and lingerie and adult toys (VaVaVooom), WNC’s vendors can supply just about any need or want.

For residents concerned with their ecological footprint — a priority particularly on the minds of many regular Xpress readers, who, overall, ranked the environment the top interest in this year’s readers’ poll — several WNC sellers focus on used or vintage goods, avoiding the carbon emissions associated with new production. Mr. K’s Used Books (Bookstore—Used), Reciprocity (Clothing: Used or Vintage

— For-Profit Store) and Goodwill Retail Stores (Clothing: Used or Vintage — Nonprofit Store) all got top honors in categories related to more sustainable shopping. Also helping us recycle, the Regeneration Station (Used Furniture Store—For-Profit Store) has consistently won reader praise for its selection of antiques and upcycled home decor, earning it a place in this year’s Hall of Fame.

And it should be noted that, despite receiving one voter’s tap as best Romantic Dining location, the Hot Spot placed second as best Convenience/ Corner Store, with first place going to West Village Market Deli.

— Daniel Walton X

o t A p s u h e t ville’s h g i r p e t S itu

r n e r store u f d e s & #1 u n a t t i s q e u b e e s h t t o f r o e e s n o

Mid-Century Modern, Architectural Salvage, Antiques, Uniques & Repurposed Rarities!

THANK YOU FOR MAKING US #1

Affordable Eco-Friendly Junk Removals!

$10 off purchases of $50 or more from our TRS Inventory

26

08

Glendale Ave • 828-505-11 TheRegen nstation o i t a r erationStation e n e g e r e @th

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BEST OF Shopping CLOTHING: OFFICE (MEN'S) 1 JOS. A. BANK s x

9 Kitchin Place, Asheville 828-274-2630 • josbank.com

2 BELK e s a

5 S. Tunnel Road, Asheville 828-298-4970 1800 Four Seasons Blvd., Hendersonville 828-692-3236 • belk.com

CLOTHING: USED OR VINTAGE (FOR-PROFIT STORE) 1 RECIPROCITY w

732 Haywood Road, Asheville 828-505-3980 • reciprocityasheville.com

2 HONEYPOT d

86 N. Lexington Ave., Asheville 828-225-0304 • honeypotvintage.com

3 LULU’S CONSIGNMENT s a 3699 Hendersonville Road, Fletcher 828-687-7565 • ilovelulus.net

SHOE STORE 1 TOPS FOR SHOES d x

27 N. Lexington Ave., Asheville 828-254-6721 • topsforshoes.com

2 DISCOUNT SHOES w

1263 Brevard Road, Asheville 828-667-0085 • discountshoesofasheville.com

3 DSW DESIGNER SHOE WAREHOUSE e 4 S. Tunnel Road, Asheville 828-575-5918 • dsw.com

JEWELRY STORE 1 JEWELS THAT DANCE d x 63 Haywood St., Asheville 828-254-5088 • jewelsthatdance.com

2 SPICER GREENE JEWELERS d 121 Patton Ave., Asheville 828-253-1805 • spicergreene.com

3 ELEMENTALITY e

4 S. Tunnel Road, Suite 220, Asheville 828-299-4751 • myelementality.com

Undefeated for 17 years!

ALL-ROUND GROCERY STORE 1 INGLES MARKETS e n s w ax 29 Tunnel Road, Asheville 828-253-1528 7 New Leicester Higyway, Asheville 828-253-2005 669 Haywood Road, Asheville 828-259-9268 • ingles-markets.com

2 PUBLIX n as

165 Weaver Blvd., Weaverville 828-658-1020 1830 Hendersonville Road, Asheville 828-274-6287 • publix.com

3 TRADER JOE'S n

120 Merrimon Ave., Asheville 828-232-5078 • traderjoes.com

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BUDGET-FRIENDLY GROCERY STORE 1 ALDI e w n s ax

480 Swannanoa River Road, Asheville 855-955-2534 1344 Patton Ave, Asheville 330 Airport Road, Arden • aldi.us

2 HOPEY AND CO. d e a

45 S. French Broad Ave., Suite 110, Asheville 828-255-5228 3018 US 70 W., Suite #1, Black Mountain 828-669-8988 • hopeyandcompany.com

3 TRADER JOE'S n

120 Merrimon Ave., Asheville 828-232-5078 • traderjoes.com

HEALTH FOOD STORE 1 EARTH FARE w s x

66 Westgate Parkway, Asheville 828-253-7656 1856 Hendersonville Road, Asheville 828-210-0100 • EarthFare.com

2 WHOLE FOODS MARKET e n 4 S. Tunnel Road, Asheville 828-239-9604 70 Merrimon Ave., Asheville 828-254-5440 • wholefoodsmarket.com

3 FRENCH BROAD FOOD CO-OP d 90 Biltmore Ave., Asheville 828-255-7650 • frenchbroadfood.coop

IMPORT/ETHNIC FOOD STORE 1 KIM’S ORIENTAL FOOD & GIFTS w x 5 Regent Park Blvd., Suite 110, Asheville 828-254-7235

2 FOREIGN AFFAIRS ORIENTAL MARKET e

611-A Tunnel Road, Asheville 828-299-0333 • foreignaffairsorientalmarket.com

3 LEE’S ASIAN MARKET s

1950 Hendersonville Road, Suite 7, Asheville 828-676-1499

CONVENIENCE/ CORNER STORE 1 WEST VILLAGE MARKET & DELI w 771 Haywood Road, Asheville 828-225-4949 • westvillagemarket.com

2 HOT SPOT d n w

79 Asheland Ave., Asheville 828-253-0425 110 Weaverville Road, Asheville 828-645-5790 • hotspotcstore.com

3 GAS-UP w

405 Haywood Road, Asheville 828-252-5589 • avl.mx/6bv

NEW FURNITURE STORE 1 TYSON FURNITURE e ax 109 Broadway St., Black Mountain 828-669-5000 • tysonfurniture.com

2 MOBILIA d

43 Haywood St., Asheville 828-252-8322 • mobilianc.com

3 DAVIS HOME FURNITURE s

100 Fairview Road, Asheville 828-785-1452 • davishomefurniture.com

Kim’s

WNC’s Budget Friendly Grocery Store

Oriental Market

5 Regent Park Blvd.

Asheville, NC 28806 828-254-7235

Thank you for voting us one of the best, Asheville!

Locations:

—

Downtown & Black Mountain

www . hopeyandcompany . com

—

Thank you for voting us as your favorite corner store... ...is that becuz it smells so good in here?? or maybe cuz it’s warm & friendly? or could it be the unique grocery selection?

Radically inclusive of you AND your food choices!

Meat-eater? Gotcha.

Vegan? Gotcha.

Gluten-free? Gotcha.

You don’t care? Gotcha.

Fully stocked natural foods, tons of locally-made products, all organic produce, beer & wine and a scrumptious deli with pure ingredients

Mon-Sat: 8am-10pm • Sun: 9am-10pm 771 Haywood Rd. • West Asheville • 225-4949

www.westvillagemarket.com MOUNTAINX.COM/GUIDES

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BEST OF Shopping

PHOTO BY MORGAN FORD

COLTON MATTRESS

Voted Best Antique Shop in WNC!

Best Bed and Mattress Store

USED FURNITURE STORE (FOR-PROFIT STORE) 1 THE REGENERATION STATION s x 26 Glendale Ave., Asheville 828-505-1108 • regenerationstation.com

Welcome to the Antique Tobacco Barn, where our 77,000 square feet of shopping makes us the largest selection of antiques and collectables in North Carolina!

2 LULU’S CONSIGNMENT BOUTIQUE s a

3699 Hendersonville Road, Fletcher 828-687-7565 • ilovelulus.net

3 ATOMIC FURNISHING & DESIGN e 124 Swannanoa River Road, Asheville 828-774-5441 • atomicfurnishings.com

3 SCREEN DOOR s

115 Fairview Road, Asheville 828-277-3667 • screendoorasheville.com

BED AND MATTRESS STORE 1 COLTON MATTRESS FACTORY s x 848 Hendersonville Road, Asheville 828-299-4445 • coltonmattress.com

2 MATTRESS FIRM e s a

83 S. Tunnel Road, Asheville 828-296-9955 300 Airport Road, Suite 50, Arden 828-253-4256 • stores.mattressfirm.com

75 Swannanoa River Rd, Asheville, NC 28805 828-252-7291 • www.atbarn.com 22

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3 MATTRESS MAN SUPERSTORES e 80 S. Tunnel Road, Asheville 828-298-0200 • mattressmanstores.com

ANTIQUE STORE 1 ANTIQUE TOBACCO BARN s x 75 Swannanoa River Road, Asheville 828-252-7291 • ATBarn.com

2 SCREEN DOOR s

115 Fairview Road, Asheville 828-277-3667 • screendoorasheville.com

2 THE REGENERATION STATION s 26 Glendale Ave., Asheville 828-505-1108 • regenerationstation.com

3 SWEETEN CREEK ANTIQUES s 115 Sweeten Creek Road, Asheville 828-277-6100 • sweetencreekantiques.net

PICTURE FRAMER 1 FRUGAL FRAMER d s ax 95 Cherry St. N., Asheville 828-258-2435 2145 Hendersonville Road, Arden 828-687-8533 • frugalframer.com

2 BLACKBIRD FRAME & ART n 365 Merrimon Ave., Asheville 828-225-3117 • blackbirdframe.com

3 MICHAELS e

111-A River Hills Road, Asheville 828-299-0183 • michaels.com

CONTINUED

hazel twenty

Monday-Saturday 9am-9pm Sunday 9am-7pm

828.254.6734 55 Haywood St., Avl NC 28801

PHOTO BY ABLE ALLEN

MR. K’S USED BOOKS, MUSIC AND MORE Best Bookstore - Used

AUTOMOBILE TIRE STORE 1 NEWBRIDGE TIRE CENTER n 1475 Merrimon Ave., Asheville 828-255-8005 • newbridgetirecenter.com

2 JAN DAVIS TIRE STORE d 209 Patton Ave., Asheville 828-253-5634 • jandavistire.com

3 DISCOUNT TIRE e 105 Bleachery Blvd., Asheville 828-318-0949 • discounttire.com

AUTO DEALER NEW AND/OR USED 1 PRESTIGE SUBARU e 585 Tunnel Road, Asheville 877-300-1447 • prestigesubaru.com

2 APPLE TREE HONDA/ACURA s a 242 Underwood Road, Fletcher 828-684-4400 • appletreeautomobiles.com

3 FRED ANDERSON TOYOTA/NISSAN w 777 Brevard Road, Asheville 828-585-5825 • ashevilletoyota.com

BOOKSTORE - NEW 1 MALAPROP'S BOOKSTORE/CAFE d x 55 Haywood St., Asheville 828-254-6734 • malaprops.com

2 BARNES & NOBLE e s

Asheville Mall, 3 S. Tunnel Road, Asheville 828-296-7335 Biltmore Park Town Square, 33 Town Square Blvd., Suite 100, Asheville 828-687-0681 • barnesandnoble.com

3 FIRESTORM BOOKS & CAFE w

www.malaprops.com

Mr. K’s Used Books, MUsic and More

NEW & USED: Books • Vinyl Records CDs • Comics • Video Games Books on CD • DVDs BUY • SELL • TRADE

Thank You for Voting Us

#1 Used Book Store

7 Years in a Row!

610 Haywood Road, Asheville 828-255-8115 • Firestorm.coop

BOOKSTORE - USED 1 MR. K’S USED BOOKS, MUSIC & MORE s x

800 Fairview Road, Asheville 828-299-1145 • mrksusedbooks.com

2 DOWNTOWN BOOKS & NEWS d 67 N. Lexington Ave., Asheville 828-253-8654 • dbnbooks.com

3 BATTERY PARK BOOK EXCHANGE & CHAMPAGNE BAR d

Grove Arcade, 1 Page Ave., Suite 101, Asheville 828-252-0020 • batteryparkbookexchange.com

Open Mon. - Sat. 9am-9pm • Sun. 12-6pm 800 Fairview Rd. • Asheville, NC River Ridge Shopping Center • Beside A.C. Moore • Hwy 240 exit #8

299-1145 • www.mrksusedbooks.com MOUNTAINX.COM/GUIDES

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BEST OF Shopping

PHOTO BY MORGAN FORD

WHIST

Best Gift Shop FLORIST 1 FLORA w x

1 MUSICIAN’S WORKSHOP n x

2 MERRIMON FLORIST n

2 GUITAR CENTER e

3 BLOSSOMS CREATIVE s

3 ACOUSTIC CORNER e a

428-B Haywood Road, Asheville 828-252-8888 • florabotanicalliving.com

Thank Yo u !! !

329 Merrimon Ave., Asheville 828-232-4474 • merrimonflorist.com Biltmore Park Town Square, 8 Town Square Blvd., Asheville 828-650-6464 • blossomscreative.com

GIFT SHOP 1 WHIST w x

444 Haywood Road, Suite 102, Asheville 828-252-5557 • whistshop.com

2 L.O.F.T. (LOST OBJECTS FOUND TREASURES) d 53 Broadway, Asheville 828-259-9303 • loftofasheville.com

3 DUNCAN AND YORK MODERN MARKET d

33 N. Lexington Ave., Asheville 828-575-2441 • duncanandyork.com

HEAD SHOP 1 OCTOPUS GARDEN SMOKE SHOP w n s e x

1062 Patton Ave.Asheville 828-232-6030 188 Coxe Ave., Asheville 828-254-4980 1269 Tunnel Road, Asheville 828-299-8880 • octopusgardensmokeshops.com

du ncanand york.com 33 N. Lexington Ave. – 828.575.2441 | 4 South Tunnel Rd. – 828.575.2590 24

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MUSICAL INSTRUMENT STORE

2 WONDERLAND d

33 Patton Ave., Asheville 828-225-5037 • avl.mx/54x

3 THE CIRCLE ASHEVILLE w

426 Haywood Road, Asheville 828-254-3332 • thecircleasheville.com

319 Merrimon Ave., Asheville 828-252-1249 • musiciansworkshop.com

4 S. Tunnel Road, Suite 430, Asheville 828-298-0131 • stores.guitarcenter.com/asheville 105-F Montreat Road, Black Mountain 828-669-5162 • acoustic-corner.com

RECORD/CD STORE 1 HARVEST RECORDS w x

415 Haywood Road, Asheville 828-258-2999 • harvest-records.com

2 STATIC AGE RECORDS d

110 N. Lexington Ave., Asheville 828-254-3232 • staticagerecords.biz

PAWN SHOP 1 ALAN'S JEWELRY & PAWN w e ax 1186 Patton Ave.Asheville 828-554-0073 736 Tunnel Road, Asheville 828-348-7573 510 Paint Town Road, Cherokee 828-554-1316 • alanspawn.com

2 FINKELSTEIN'S LOAN OFFICE d 21 Broadway, Asheville 828-253-7731 • finkelsteinspawn.com

SKATEBOARD STORE 1 PUSH SKATESHOP AND GALLERY d x 25 Patton Ave., Asheville 828-225-5509 • pushtoyproject.com

2 FLIPSIDE BOARDSHOP d s a 88 N. Lexington Ave., Asheville 828-254-9007 1712 Asheville Highway, Hendersonville 828-693-0900 • flipsideboardshop.com

Thank you for voting us

#

1 PAWN SHOP We LOVE Our Fans!

Follow us on

Alan’s West

1186 Patton Ave.

828.254.8681 Mon - Sat: 9 to 7 Sun: 1 to 6

Cherokee

(Across from Casino)

828.554.0431

Se Habla Español

:: 20 ever-rotating tap selections :: :: extensive bottle selection of craft beers, wines, meads, sakes, and ciders :: Mon-Thur: 2pm-10pm Fri-Sat: Noon-Midnight Sun: Noon-10pm

Alan’s East

736 Tunnel Road

828.299.4440

507 Haywood Road, W. Asheville 828-575-9888

Mon - Sat: 9 to 7

TheWhaleAVL.com

NC‘s Oldest Pawn Shop Oldest … and maybe quirkiest!

THANKS TO YOU, WE‘RE NUMBER 2!

21 BROADWAY • DOWNTOWN ASHEVILLE

Open 7 Days • 253-7731 • www.FinkelsteinsPawn.com MOUNTAINX.COM/GUIDES

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We appreciate your loyalty & support for over 25 years!

Thank you for voting us

#1 head shop #2 vape shop 9

4

LOCATIONS — TO — SERVE YOU

LOCATIONS — TO — SERVE YOU

Thank you for voting us

#1 vape shop LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED MOUNTAINX.COM/GUIDES

AUG. 7 - 13, 2019

BEST OF WNC - PART ONE

27

BEST OF Shopping VAPE SHOP 1 OG VAPORS w e s n a

1334 Patton Ave., Suite 110, Asheville 828-255-5152 168 Tunnel Road, Suite 20, Asheville 828-785-1589 335 Airport Road, Suite 500, Arden 828-676-3595 • ogvapors.co

2 ASHEVILLE VAPOR n s a 333 Merrimon Ave., Asheville 828-367-3333 2144 Hendersonville Road, Arden 828-393-8273 • ashevillevapor.com

3 OCTOPUS GARDEN SMOKE SHOP w 1062 Patton Ave., Asheville 828-232-6030 • octopusgardensmokeshops.com

CLOTHING: USED OR VINTAGE (NONPROFIT STORE) 1 GOODWILL w e s n ax 1616 Patton Ave., Asheville 828-771-2179 86 S. Tunnel Road, Asheville, 828-299-3595 51 Mills Gap Road, Asheville 828-687-0057 • goodwillnwnc.org

2 ZEN & NOW n

9 Brookdale Road, Asheville 828-255-5575 • avl.mx/6c0

3 GOODWILL OUTLET (THE BINS) w 1616 Patton Ave., Asheville 828-771-2179 • goodwillnwnc.org

USED FURNITURE STORE (NONPROFIT STORE) 1 ASHEVILLE AREA HABITAT FOR HUMANITY RESTORE s x

31 Meadow Road, Asheville 828-254-6706 • ashevillehabitat.org/restore

2 WNC BRIDGE FOUNDATION THRIFT STORE & ESTATE SALES ASHEVILLE s 75 Fairview Road, Asheville 828-575-2509 • wncbridge.org

3 GOODWILL w d n s e 1616 Patton Ave., Asheville 828-771-2179 • goodwillnwnc.org

ADULT TOYS, LINGERIE & NAUGHTY THINGS STORE 1 VAVAVOOOM d 57 Broadway, Asheville 828-254-6329 • vavavooom.com

2 BEDTYME STORIES s a 2334 Hendersonville Road, Arden 828-684-8250 • bedtymestories.com

STORE THAT BEST REPRESENTS THE SPIRIT OF ASHEVILLE 1 MAST GENERAL STORE d x 15 Biltmore Ave., Asheville 828-232-1883 • mastgeneralstore.com

2 L.O.F.T. (LOST OBJECTS FOUND TREASURES) d 53 Broadway, Asheville 828-259-9303 • loftofasheville.com

3 EARTH FARE w s 66 Westgate Parkway, Asheville 828-253-7656 • EarthFare.com

3 ELEMENTALITY e 4 S. Tunnel Road, Suite 220, Asheville 828-299-4751 • myelementality.com

ASHEVILLE-STYLE CLOTHES 1 ELEMENTALITY e 4 S. Tunnel Road, Suite 220, Asheville 828-299-4751 • myelementality.com

2 GOODWILL w e s n a 1616 Patton Ave., Asheville 828-771-2179 86 S. Tunnel Road, Asheville 828-299-3595 • goodwillnwnc.org

3 MAST GENERAL STORE d 15 Biltmore Ave., Asheville 828-232-1883 • mastgeneralstore.com

Thank You! Our Customers are the Best!

76 Monticello Rd. Weaverville, NC I-26/Exit 18 828-645-3937

www.reemscreek.com 28

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THANKS FOR VOTING US ONE OF THE BEST IN WNC! SALES, SERVICE & ACCESSORIES FEATURING BIKES FROM

BMC, YETI, PIVOT & CANNONDALE 233 MERRIMON AVE

828-251-4686

YOUNGBLOODBIKES.COM

MOUNTAINX.COM/GUIDES

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SPA 1 THE SPA AT OMNI GROVE PARK INN n x 290 Macon Ave., Asheville 828-252-2711 • avl.mx/554

2 SENSIBILITIES DAY SPA d s 59 Haywood St., Asheville 828-253-3222 43 Town Square Blvd., Asheville 828-687-8760 • sensibilities-spa.com

3 SHOJI SPA & LODGE s

96 Avondale Heights Road, Asheville 828-299-0999 • shojiretreats.com

HAIR SALON 1 ANANDA/ANANDAWEST d r 22 Broadway, Asheville 828-232-1017 37 Paynes Way, Asheville 828-236-2444 • anandahair.com

2 WILLOW’S DREAM d

64 Broadway, Asheville 828-225-5922 • willowsdream.com

3 WINK SALON & BOUTIQUE s 18 Brook St., Suite 103, Asheville 828-277-4070 • ilovewink.com

HAIRSTYLIST

PHOTO BY JOE PELLEGRINO

1 VERONICA COIT (WESTSIDE SHEARS) w

MISHA’S ALTERATIONS AND TAILOR Best Tailor/Alterations

755 Haywood Road, Asheville 828-505-1068 • westsideshearssalon.com

2 HOLIDAY CHILDRESS (SOLA SALON STUDIOS) d

T

124 College St., 2nd Floor, Asheville 828-318-9315 • avl.mx/3th

3 CAITLIN CROSS (SALON DRAGONFLY) d

115 Patton Ave., Asheville 828-253-3977 • salondragonfly.net

n ORTH s OUTH e AST w EST d OWNTOWN AREA r IVER ARTS DISTRICT a OUTLYING AREA

x HALL OF FAME (Winner four years or more in a row)

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BEST OF WNC - PART ONE

REAT yourself! You deserve

to get your hair done right.

Rock that new, one-of-a-kind tat. And don’t put off your spa day any longer. Those are the pampering and aesthetic services voters said they were most interested in this year, if their turnout speaks for them. Hair Stylist and Hair Salon tied for most heavily voted categories, while about twice as many people cast votes for best Tattoo Parlor as for Place to Get Pierced.

In some categories, the champs reign for years: Omni Grove Park Inn’s Spa has been a Hall of Fame winner since 2012, winning every year since before Instagram was a thing or most people had heard of a selfie.

AUG. 7 - 13, 2019

MOUNTAINX.COM/GUIDES

In other categories, sudden shifts happen dramatically: This year, Kimi Leger of Sacred Lotus Tattoo earned the coveted Hall of Fame status — after displacing former HOFer Danny Reed, of Hot Stuff Tattoo, four years ago and holding onto first place each year afterward.

Beyond those two Hall of Famers, Personal Services wins have been actively changing hands from year to year as everyone strives to keep up with WNC’s ever-evolving style and preferences. For instance, Ananda and Willow’s Dream have jockeyed back and forth for the last five years, striving for the top spot in Hair Salon.

When selecting personal services, remember that your next new look or

self-care regimen might emerge from an unexpected place. When asked what category they’d like to see next year, voters told us about their interests in all kinds of treatments, from microblading to IV hydration to fairy hair.

Whatever you discover, be sure to tell Xpress about it in next year’s ballot!

Continuing on the theme of the unexpected, consider this year’s winner in the highly contested Hair Stylist category, Veronica Coit, who also won this year’s Local Hero category for her leadership of Asheville Cat Weirdos. It would seem Veronica knows as much about people’s hair as she does about cat hair.

— Able Allen X

Sensibilities LOVES Asheville!

Thank you for 20 wonderful years and for voting us among the best Asheville has to offer. massage • facials • nails • gift certificates

Downtown : 59 Haywood St. : 828.253.3222 South : Hilton Asheville Biltmore Park : 828.687.8760

sensibilities-spa.com

MOUNTAINX.COM/GUIDES

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Thanks for voting us First Place Butcher Shop AGAIN! A premier whole animal butcher shop featuring all-natural, pasture-raised meats from local farms and prepared by experienced butchers Beef - Pork - Poultry - Seafood www.chopshopbutchery.com • 100 Charlotte St. • 828.505.3777

THANK

YOU AVL!

BEST OF Personal services NAIL SALON

LOCAL BODY PRODUCTS MAKER

1 HANDS ON SPA n

640 Merrimon Ave., Asheville 828-255-4540 • handsonspaasheville.com

1 BONNY BATH ORGANIC BODYCARE Asheville 828-713-7695 • bonnybath.com

2 CICI NAILS n

964 Merrimon Ave., Asheville 828-281-4646 • avl.mx/6bd

2 FAERIE MADE

3 THE PARLOR n

Asheville 828-251-5291 • faeriemadesoaps.com

7 Beaverdam Road, Suite 101, Asheville 828-348-5202 • theparlorofasheville.com

BARBERSHOP

TATTOO PARLOR

1 THE LOCAL BARBER & TAP d

1 SACRED LOTUS TATTOO w

328 New Leicester Highway, Suite 140, Asheville 828-552-3177 • sacredlotustattoo.com

2 HOT STUFF TATTOO w

2 THE CHOP SHOP BARBER SHOP w

2 ZEN INK d

3 ASHEVILLE BARBER & BEARD d

606 New Leicester Highway, Suite C, Asheville 828-412-5466

416 Haywood Road, Asheville 828-251-6040 • hotstufftattoos.com 157 S. Lexington Ave., Suite D, Asheville 828-505-4456 • zeninkasheville.com

Grove Arcade, 1 Page Ave., Suite 107, Asheville 828-281-9659 • avl.mx/wordcaoo

3 THISTLE AND PEARL TATTOO n

DIY Dogwash • Grooming Daycare • Boarding LOCALLY OWNED & OPERATED SINCE 2003 828-350-0333 • thesoapydog.com

84 W. Walnut St., Asheville 828-232-7005 • barberandtap.com

107 Merrimon Ave., Suite 310, Asheville 828-424-7880 • thistleandpearltattoo.com

AESTHETICIAN 1 GINGER KELLEY (POSH LASH LOUNGE & BEAUTY BAR) n

TATTOO ARTIST 1 KIMI LEGER (SACRED LOTUS TATTOO) w x

7 Beaverdam Road, Suite 103, Asheville 828-348-0111 • poshlashandbeauty.com

328 New Leicester Highway, Suite 140, Asheville 828-552-3177 • sacredlotustattoo.com

2 DANNY REED (HOT STUFF TATTOO) w 416 Haywood Road, Asheville 828-251-6040 • hotstufftattoos.com

3 HEATHER RUIN (MAN’S RUIN TATTOO & PIERCING) e 1085 Tunnel Road, Suite 2A, Asheville 828-253-6660 • mansruintattoos.com

3 VIOLIT B. HARTWELL (ZEN INK) d 157 S. Lexington Ave., Suite D, Asheville 828-505-4456 • zeninkasheville.com

TAILOR/ALTERATIONS 1 MISHA'S ALTERATIONS AND TAILOR w 5 Regent Park Blvd., Unit 106, Asheville 828-350-1176

2 MARY’S MAGIC TAILORING n a 320 Old Mars Hill Highway, Weaverville 828-231-7039 • avl.mx/6bb

3 QUICK AS A WINK CLEANERS s 750 Biltmore Ave., Asheville 828-253-2331

PIERCING STUDIO 1 BELLA FINE JEWELERY AND PIERCING d 51 Coxe Ave., Asheville 828-301-1711 • bellapiercing.com

1 KITZI BLACK (THE PARLOR) n 7 Beaverdam Road, Suite 101, Asheville 828-348-5202 • theparlorofasheville.com

2 DIAMOND THIEVES BODY PIERCING & TATTOO w 1060 Patton Ave., Asheville 828-225-3845 • diamondthieves.net

3 EMPIRE TATTOO & PIERCING d 83 Patton Ave., Asheville 828-252-8282 • empiretattooavl.com

NAIL TECHNICIAN

2 LEAH KRAUSE (CURE NAIL STUDIO AT WILLOW’S DREAM) d 64 Broadway, Asheville 828-225-5922 • willowsdream.com

T hank you for helping us be the best!

As a token of our appreciation 712-B Merrimon Ave, Asheville (828) 285-0515 Mon-Sat 10-6 & Sun 11-4 AshevilleBrewers.com Free Classes!

Family Owned Living Wage Certified 32

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$ 5 OFF all purcha ses over $ 25 Expires 08/30/19

ASHEVILLE BREWERS SUPPLY The area’s largest selection of ingredients and equipment for making beer, wine, cider and mead Now stocking high grade hemp and cbd oil!

Posh Lash Lounge & Beauty Bar

Western North Carolina’s Leader in Eyelash Extensions THANK YOU FOR VOTING GINGER KELLEY 1ST PLACE ESTHETICIAN! Services include eyelash extensions, microblading, lash lifts, facials & waxing!

Come see why we’re voted #1!

7 BE AVERDA M RD #103, ASHE VILLE • (828) 348-0111 POSH L A SH A N DBE AU T Y.COM

Thank You

Asheville!

Best BBQ in WNC 14 Years in a Row! www.12bones.com 12bonesbrewing.com

MOUNTAINX.COM/GUIDES

Asheville Location 5 Foundy Street in the River Arts District Mon-Fri 11am-4pm

253-4499

Arden Location

with 12 Bones Brewing

2350 Hendersonville Rd. Tues-Sat 11am-4pm (Take out only 4pm-8pm)

687-1395 AUG. 7 - 13, 2019

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PRINT SHOP 1 HENCO REPROGRAPHICS d n x 54 Broadway, Asheville 828-253-0449 1445 Merimon Ave., Asheville 828552-3671 • hencorepro.com

2 IMAGE 420 SCREENPRINTING w 420 Haywood Road, Asheville 828-253-9420 • image420.com

3 POSTNET e

129 Bleachery Blvd., Suite B, Asheville 828-298-1211 • postnet.com

ACCOUNTANT/CPA FIRM 1 AUSTIN CPA, PC d x

301 W. Haywood St., Asheville 828-785-1556 • austincpapc.com

2 GOULD KILLIAN CPA GROUP, PA d 100 Coxe Ave., Asheville 828-258-0363 • gk-cpa.com

3 CHAD STORCK (STORCK CPA) n 8 Magnolia Ave., Suite 200, Asheville 828-505-3791 • storckcpa.com

LAW FIRM 1 VAN WINKLE LAW FIRM d s ax 11 N. Market St., Asheville 828-258-2991 422 S. Main St., Hendersonville 828-697-6196 • vwlawfirm.com

PHOTO BY MORGAN FORD

2 GOOSMANN ROSE COLVARD & CRAMER, P.A. d s

GENERAL EQUIPMENT RENTAL

77 Central Ave., Suite H, Asheville 828-258-0150 Biltmore Park Town Square, 2 Town Square Blvd., Asheville • grcclaw.com

3 MCGUIRE WOOD & BISSETTE LAW FIRM d 48 Patton Ave., Asheville 828-254-8800 • mwblawyers.com

n ORTH s OUTH e AST w EST d OWNTOWN AREA r IVER ARTS DISTRICT a OUTLYING AREA

x HALL OF FAME (Winner four years or more in a row)

34

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Best Equipment Rental Services

A

SHEVILLE Mayor Esther

Manheimer just won another election: The Van Winkle Law Firm, for which she works as a principal, garnered Hall of Fame status this year as the region’s best Law Firm.

The city’s top public servant, with 17 years at Van Winkle, thus ranks among those offering WNC’s most outstanding Professional and Home Services.

Joining Van Winkle in this year’s Hall of Fame is Keller Williams Professionals (best Real Estate Company); the business earned the honor after wresting away first place from Beverly Hanks & Associates in 2016 and retaining it since then in

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heavily voted races. In the wildly popular category of Real Estate Agent, the Matt & Molly Team came out on top once again.

Voters also had strong opinions about whom they want to help spruce up their abodes after a purchase in WNC’s still-hot real estate market — buyer demand was up 26% year-todate in June, according to Carolina Multiple Listing Services, with the average list price 8.4% higher than the same month last year. Green Home Cleaning (Home Cleaning Service) entered this year’s Hall of Fame, while Greg Holden and Ben Weaver won first- and second-place Handyman (Or

Woman) titles, respectively, in the section’s closest competition.

Finally, we doff our caps to General Equipment, which secured the top rank in the new category of Equipment Rental Services. They’ve got some catching up to do, however, with their Professional and Home Services colleagues — old-timers Charlotte Street Computers and Liberty Bikes have reigned atop their respective categories of Computer Repair and Bike Shop for at least 13 years, while nine other businesses have six or more wins in a row.

— Daniel Walton X

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Responsible Automotive Service & Repair

Thank you for letting us LOVE your vehicle!

BEST OF Professional services CAR REPAIR 1 XPERTECH CAR CARE e x 1295 Tunnel Road, Asheville 828-298-3612 • avl.mx/551

2 JIMMY’S AUTOMOTIVE n

277 Weaverville Road, Asheville 828-658-3030 • autorepairasheville.net

3 THE ORGANIC MECHANIC w 568 Haywood Road, Asheville 828-255-2628 • organic-mechanic.com

COMPUTER REPAIR 1 CHARLOTTE STREET COMPUTERS n x 252 Charlotte St., Asheville 828-225-6600 • charlottestreetcomputers.com

2 ONE CLICK FIX COMPUTER REPAIR n 438 Montford Ave., Asheville 828-318-8558 • oneclickfix.com

REAL ESTATE COMPANY 1 KELLER WILLIAMS PROFESSIONALS d x

Voted one of the BEST OF WNC for 14 years in a row.

Thank you!

86 Asheland Ave., Asheville 828-254-7253 • kellerwilliamsasheville.com

2 BEVERLY-HANKS & ASSOCIATES d n s e w a

Call us!

255.2628

organic-mechanic.com • 568 Haywood Rd • West Asheville

300 Executive Park, Asheville 828-254-7221 820 Merrimon Ave. 828-251-1800 • beverly-hanks.com

3 MOSAIC COMMUNITY LIFESTYLE REALTY d

60 Biltmore Ave., Suite 210, Asheville 828-707-9556 • mymosaicrealty.com

REAL ESTATE AGENT 1 THE MATT & MOLLY TEAM (KELLER WILLIAMS) d x

86 Asheland Ave., Asheville 828-210-1697 • themattandmollyteam.com

2 SONA MERLIN (APPALACHIAN REALTY ASSOCIATES) n 23 Arlington St., Asheville 828-255-7530 • appalachianrealty.com

3 NICK HINTON (CAROLINA GREEN REALTY) d 20 Battery Park Ave., Suite 204, Asheville 818-441-1231 • carolinagreenrealty.com

BIKE REPAIR 1 LIBERTY BICYCLES s x

1378 Hendersonville Road, Suite G, Asheville 828-274-2453 • libertybikes.com

2 MOTION MAKERS BICYCLE SHOP w a 878 Brevard Road, Asheville 828-633-2227 36 Allen St., Sylva 828-586-6925 • motionmakers.com

3 FIND YOUR LINE BICYCLE SHOP w 487 Haywood Road, Asheville 828-585-7289 • findyourline.bike

3 HEARN’S CYCLING d 28 Asheland Ave., Asheville 828-253-4800 • avl.mx/55x

THANK YOU, ASHEVILLE! for voting us

#1 Automotive Repair Shop, Again!

1295 Tunnel Road Asheville, NC 298-3612

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Thanks for voting us #1 Green Builder in Best of 2019!

828.216.3946 jademountainbuilders.com MOUNTAINX.COM/GUIDES

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Thank you WNC for voting us #1!

Call 828-628-1369 for all your plumbing needs

90 Number Nine Rd., Fairview, NC 28730

THANKS, ASHEVILLE! for voting me one of the Best!

7 years in a row!

Sona Merlin Real Estate Broker Appalachian Realty (828) 216-7908 www.sonamerlin.com 38

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39

BEST OF Professional services

Asheville’s Businesses Rely On Us 24/7

Thank you

for recognizing One Click Fix in the “Best of” Computer Repair category.

We install and maintain firewalls, manage antivirus protection, and provide the most secure wireless networks in Asheville.

Business owners rely on us for UP TIME!

info@oneclickfix.com | oneclickfix.com | 828-318-8558 438 Montford Avenue, Asheville, NC 28801

PHOTO BY LUKE VAN HINE

TERMINIX

Best Pest Control Service GREEN BUILDER 1 JADE MOUNTAIN BUILDERS d

Asheville 828-216-3948 • Jademountainbuilders.com

2 JAG & ASSOCIATES CONSTRUCTION e 33 Mineral Springs Road, Asheville 828-252-4205 • JAGGreen.com

3 LOBO BUILDERS d

ounce your win Ann WITH AN OFFICIAL

BEST Of WNC

eleEOS offers products that make Going Green, Living Healthier and Reducing Electric Bills EASY for any Home or Business. So come in and start shaping your environment the way YOU have always wanted it!

AWARD PLAQUE HIGH QUALITY MOUNT 8.5” x 11” • $75 + SHIPPING

Asheville 828-713-3884 • lobobuilders.com

ALT ENERGY SALES ounce AND n A n INSTALLATION

r win you 1 ELEEOS w

606 New Leicester Highway, Suite D, Asheville 828-575-9337 • eleeos.com

2 SUNDANCE POWER SYSTEMS n a 11 Salem Hill Road, Weaverville 828-645-2080 • sundancepower.com

3 SUGAR HOLLOW SOLAR e a 6 Sugar Hollow Lane, Fairview 828-776-9161 • sugarhollowsolar.com

PLUMBING COMPANY 1 T.P. HOWARD'S PLUMBING CO. e a 90 Number Nine Road, Fairview 828-628-1369 • tphowardsplumbing.com

2 FOUR SEASONS PLUMBING s 30 Bella Way, Asheville 828-216-3894 • callfourseasons.com

3 BLUE PLANET PLUMBING s

1131 Sweeten Creek Road, Asheville 828-392-8573 • blueplanetplumbing.com

Thanks for Voting Us #1 Alternative Energy Sales & Installation!

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BEST OF WNC - PART ONE

ELECTRICAL/ELECTRICIAN COMPANY

Only available at Mountainxpress. newskeepsake.com MOUNTAINX.COM/GUIDES

1 GENTRY HEATING e ax 100 Buckeye Access Road, Swannanoa 828-581-4045 • gentryheatinginc.com

2 BULLMAN HEATING & AIR n 10 Red Roof Lane, Asheville 828-658-2468 • bullmanheating.com

2 HAYNES HEATING & COOLING w 187 Deaverview Road, Asheville 828-254-6141 • mbhaynes.com

3 MIKE'S HEATING & COOLING w a 329 Dogwood Road, Candler 828-665-4343 • mikesheatingandcooling.com

ARCHITECTURAL FIRM 1 SAMSEL ARCHITECTS d x 60 Biltmore Ave., Suite 240, Asheville 828-253-1124 • samselarchitects.com

2 FORM & FUNCTION ARCHITECTURE d 9 Walnut St., Asheville 828-619-0301 • ffarchitecture.com

PEST CONTROL SERVICE 1 TERMINIX e w ax 232 Swannanoa River Road, Asheville 828-253-3816 396 New Leicester Highway, Asheville 828-232-1338 3241 Asheville Road, Waynesville 828-456-3729 • terminix.com

1 HAYNES ELECTRIC CONSTRUCTION w x

2 DODSON PEST CONTROL w

2 JACKSON ELECTRICAL CONTRACTORS (ROSS JACKSON) s a

3 GIBSON PEST CONTROL s

187 Deaverview Road, Asheville 828-254-6141 • mbhaynes.com

6 Bagwell Mill Road, Arden 828-891-4335 • jacksonelect.com

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HEATING/COOLING COMPANY

121 S. Bear Creek Road, Asheville 844-501-5088 • dodsonbros.com

20 Rosscraggon Road, Asheville 888-483-6507 • gibsonpest.com

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BEST OF Professional services

PHOTO BY LUKE VAN HINE

GRIFFIN WEB DESIGN & MARKETING Best Web Development Firm

HOME CLEANING SERVICE 1 GREEN HOME CLEANING d x 306 W. Haywood St., Asheville 828-505-7320 • greenhomecleaning.com

2 GREEN BEE CLEANING d e a 8 Magnolia Ave., Suite 101, Asheville 828-450-0846 107 Black Mountain Ave., Black Mountain greenbeeclean.com

MOVING COMPANY 1 TWO MEN AND A TRUCK s ax

240 Rutledge Road, Fletcher 828-355-6058 • twomenandatruckasheville.com

Detailed cleaning with earth friendly products.

2 PERSONAL TOUCH MOVERS w a 12 Pete Luther Road, Candler 828-380-3154 • personaltouchmovers.net

Ask about our

Move In - Move Out Packing / Unpacking / Organizing

Thank you for voting us into the Hall of Fame!

3 GASPERSON MOVING & STORAGE n 250 Weaverville Road, Asheville 828-263-6736 • gaspersonmoving.com

DRY CLEANER 1 SWANNANOA CLEANERS d n w s e ax

165 Coxe Ave., Asheville 828-253-3691 712 Merrimon Ave., Asheville 828-252-3676 1356 Patton Ave., Asheville 828-254-2098 • swannanoacleaners.com

2 ASHEVILLE CLEANERS n

230 Merrimon Ave., Asheville 828-254-2364 • ashevillecleaners.com

3 QUICK AS A WINK CLEANERS s 750 Biltmore Ave., Asheville 828-253-2331

WEB DEVELOPMENT FIRM 1 GRIFFIN WEB DESIGN & MARKETING d 37 Haywood St., Suite 200, Asheville 828-385-4900 • griffinwebdesign.com

2 INTEGRITIVE d

120 Coxe Ave., Suite 2-A, Asheville 828-250-0970 • integritive.com

Thank you for voting us one of the best for 7 years in a row!

Green Bee

House Cleaning

828.505.7320 | greenhomecleaning.com 42

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828.450.0846 greenbeeclean.com

60 Biltmore Avenue 828-252-4426 88 Charlotte Street 828-254-4289

citybakery.net

Thank you, WNC!

y r e k a #1 B (Bread)

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BEST OF Professional services FINANCIAL ADVISER 1 CHRISTINA SIMPSON (OPPENHEIMER & CO.) s 10 Brook St., Suite 290, Asheville 828-251-7884 • avl.mx/552

2 KEVIN PASARILLA (NORTHWESTERN MUTUAL WEALTH MANAGEMENT CO.) s 4 Vanderbilt Park Drive, Suite 350, Asheville 828-210-3806 • kevinpasarilla.nm.com

PLACE TO GET YOUR TAXES PREPARED 1 AUSTIN CPA, PC d

301 W. Haywood St., Asheville 828-785-1556 • austincpapc.com

2 H&R BLOCK d w

204 Executive Park, Asheville 828-254-0321 891 H Patton Ave., Asheville 828-232-6757 • avl.mx/54y

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101 W. Buckeye Road, Swannanoa 828-202-9996 • balkenroofing.com

2 JOHN MCCLUNG ROOFING Asheville 828-582-4165 • johnmcclungroofing.com

3 DLV ROOFING s a 162 American Way, Fletcher 828-654-0212 • dlvroofing.com

HANDYMAN (OR WOMAN) 1 GREG HOLDEN (HOMEWORK HANDYMAN) Asheville 828-258-1107

2 BEN WEAVER (LEAVE IT TO WEAVER) Weaverville 828-301-4725 • leaveittoweaver.net

EQUIPMENT RENTAL SERVICES

1 BIONIC MAN PAINTING CO. w

1 GENERAL EQUIPMENT RENTAL n a

Thank You for Voting Us Best Of for 7 Years in a Row!

BEST OF WNC - PART ONE

1 BALKEN ROOFING e a

HOUSE PAINTERS 57 Salola St., Asheville 828-215-7772 • bionicmanpainting.com

46

ROOFING COMPANY

25 A-B Emblem Drive, Weaverville 828-658-2334 • generalrents.com

#1 Accountant/CPA Thanks for voting us #1 in WNC six years in a row!

Asheville, you’re the LIFO the party!

-George Austin CPA, CVA & Joel Chambers Action Tax

301 W Haywood St Asheville, NC 28801 | 828-785-1556 | austincpapc.com MOUNTAINX.COM/GUIDES

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AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAM 1 ASHEVILLE SUN SOO MARTIAL ARTS e 800 Fairview Road, Suite D2, Asheville 828-505-4309 • martialartsasheville.com

2 YMCA OF WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA d n s e w a 30 Woodfin St., Asheville 828-210-9622 40 N. Merrimon Ave., Asheville 828-505-3990 • ymcawnc.org

3 RAINBOW COMMUNITY SCHOOL w 574 Haywood Road, Asheville 828-258-9264 • rainbowcommunityschool.org

DAYTRIP FOR KIDS 1 WNC NATURE CENTER e x 75 Gashes Creek Road, Asheville 828-259-8080 • wncnaturecenter.com

RECREATION CENTER FOR KIDS 1 MOUNTAIN PLAY LODGE s a

PHOTO BY ABLE ALLEN

3389 Sweeten Creek Road, Arden 828-676-2120 • mountainplaylodge.com

MOUNTAIN PLAY LODGE

Best Recreation Center for Kids; second place Place for Birthday Parties

MUSEUM 1 ASHEVILLE MUSEUM OF SCIENCE (AMOS) d 43 Patton Ave., Asheville 828-254-7162 • ashevillescience.org

2 HANDS ON! CHILDREN'S MUSEUM s a 318 N. Main St., Hendersonville 828-697-8333 • handsonwnc.org

3 ASHEVILLE ART MUSEUM d 2 S. Pack Square, Asheville 828-253-3227 • ashevilleart.org

n ORTH s OUTH e AST w EST d OWNTOWN AREA r IVER ARTS DISTRICT a OUTLYING AREA

x HALL OF FAME (Winner four years or more in a row)

48

BEST OF WNC - PART ONE

I

F you have a child at home —

as do about half of Mountain Xpress’ readers, according to this year’s reader poll — then this section is for you. (Even if you don’t, it still may: Xpress readers generally report high interest in reading about education and learning, according to the same poll.)

Speaking of education, voting for best School—Pre-College drew the heaviest voting of any of the categories in this section, with the wellloved ArtSpace Charter School taking top honors, in addition to winning the Art Education Program category.

For the younger set, the Day Care and Preschool categories likewise garnered high voter interest, with Asheville Jewish Community Center winning the former, and its Shalom Children’s Center tying with Rainbow Community School for the latter.

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Best Day Camp also brought out the kingmakers, with perennial favorite Asheville Sun Soo Martial Arts grabbing that accolade, as well as first-place wins for Martial Arts Program, AfterSchool Program, Parents Night Out Program (and a third place for Youth Sports Program).

Kids around here are lucky to have such a wide range of things to do, as evidenced by the array of category winners — including WNC Nature Center (Day Trip for Kids), Mountain Play Lodge (Recreation Center for Kids), Asheville Museum of Science (Museum), Carrier Park (Playground) and more. A June report from WalletHub, a personal finance website and veritable fountain of statistics, likewise confirms this notion by putting Asheville in a six-way tie for having the most family-friendly attractions among 87 North Carolina cities.

Best of WNC voters also appreciate a good toy store, with this category drawing high interest. Winner Dancing Bear took home the gold, followed by fellow independents O.P. Taylor’s and Sparky’s Toys & Gifts (the latter making its first appearance in the top three). Now closed, The Toy Box received some wistful love from voters; and one reader wrote in “Toys‘R’Us (RIP),” in honor of the bankrupt corporate giant that had an outpost on Brevard Road.

Read on for all of this year’s winners — from the new category of Overnight Camp to the established favorites such as Pediatric Practice—General Medicine, to Place for Birthday Parties, to Dance Studio for Kids and more.

— Tracy Rose X

12

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BEST OF Kids

PHOTO BY THOMAS CALDER

FIRED UP! CREATIVE LOUNGE Best Place to Make Art

PLACE FOR BIRTHDAY PARTIES 1 FUN DEPOT s

7 Roberts Road, Asheville 828-277-2386 • ashevillesfundepot.com

2 MOUNTAIN PLAY LODGE s a 3389 Sweeten Creek Road, Arden 828-676-2120 • mountainplaylodge.com

3 LAUNCH TRAMPOLINE PARK s a 24 Walden Drive, Arden 828-651-0280 • launchtrampolinepark.com

PLACE TO MAKE ART 1 FIRED UP! CREATIVE LOUNGE d x 26 Wall St., Asheville 828-253-8181 • fireduplounge.com

2 ROOTS + WINGS SCHOOL OF ART & DESIGN s 573 Fairview Road, Asheville 828-545-4827 • rootsandwingsarts.com

3 ASHEVILLE ART MUSEUM d 2 S. Pack Square, Asheville 828-253-3227 • ashevilleart.org

PARENTS NIGHT OUT PROGRAM 1 ASHEVILLE SUN SOO MARTIAL ARTS e x

800 Fairview Road, Suite D2, Asheville 828-505-4309 • martialartsasheville.com

2 ASHEVILLE COMMUNITY MOVEMENT n 812 Riverside Drive, Asheville 828-254-6060 • avl.mx/3sh

3 YMCA OF WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA d 30 Woodfin St., Asheville 828-210-9622 • ymcawnc.org

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VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY FOR KIDS 1 MANNA FOODBANK e

627 Swannanoa River Road, Asheville 828-299-3663 • mannafoodbank.org

SCHOOL (PRE-COLLEGE) 1 ARTSPACE CHARTER SCHOOL e a 2030 US Highway 70, Swannanoa 828-298-2787 • artspacecharter.org

2 RAINBOW COMMUNITY SCHOOL w 574 Haywood Road, Asheville 828-258-9264 • rainbowcommunityschool.org

3 EVERGREEN COMMUNITY CHARTER SCHOOL e 50 Bell Road, Asheville 828-298-2173 • evergreenccs.org

PRESCHOOL 1 RAINBOW COMMUNITY SCHOOL w 574 Haywood Road, Asheville 828-258-9264 • rainbowcommunityschool.org

1 SHALOM CHILDREN’S CENTER (ASHEVILLE JCC) n 236 Charlotte St., Asheville 828-253-0701 • jcc-asheville.org

2 ASHEVILLE WALDORF SCHOOL w 27 Balm Grove Ave., Asheville 828-575-2557 • azaleamountain.org

3 VERNER CENTER FOR EARLY LEARNING e a

2586 Riceville Road, Asheville 828-298-0808 • vernerearlylearning.org

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BEST OF Kids

PHOTO BY MORGAN FORD

CHILDREN’S TRADING POST Best Kids’ Clothes

DAY CARE 1 ASHEVILLE JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER n x 236 Charlotte St., Asheville 828-253-0701 • jcc-asheville.org

2 KIDS GARDEN e 4 S. Tunnel Road, Unit 700, Asheville 828-417-7310 • kidsplaygarden.com

2 VERNER CENTER FOR EARLY LEARNING e a 2586 Riceville Road, Asheville 828-298-0808 • vernerearlylearning.org

3 CHILDREN'S CENTER AT GRACELYN n

573 Fairview Road, Asheville 828-545-4827 • rootsandwingsarts.com

3 RAINBOW COMMUNITY SCHOOL w 574 Haywood Road, Asheville 828-258-9264 • rainbowcommunityschool.org

DANCE STUDIO FOR KIDS 1 ASHEVILLE DANCE THEATER e 802 Fairview Road, Asheville 828-298-0258 • ashevilledancetheater.com

3 BALLET CONSERVATORY OF ASHEVILLE n

2030 US Highway 70, Swannanoa 828-298-2787 • artspacecharter.org

3 KIMBERLY CANN (PIANO LAB STUDIOS) w 40 Westgate Parkway, Asheville 828-412-3775 • pianolabasheville.com

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2 ROOTS + WINGS SCHOOL OF ART & DESIGN s

MUSIC TEACHER (CLASSROOM)

2 MEG BOERNER (ARTSPACE CHARTER SCHOOL) e a

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2030 US Highway 70, Swannanoa 828-298-2787 • artspacecharter.org

2 CENTER STAGE DANCE STUDIO s

574 Haywood Road, Asheville 828-258-9264 • rainbowcommunityschool.org

BEST OF WNC - PART ONE

1 ARTSPACE CHARTER SCHOOL e a

789 Merrimon Ave., Asheville 828-253-0542 • childrenscenteratgracelyn.com

1 SUE FORD (RAINBOW COMMUNITY SCHOOL) w x

52

ART EDUCATION PROGRAM

38-L Rosscragon Road, Asheville 828-654-7010 • centerstage1.com

6 E. Chestnut St., Asheville 828-255-5777 • avl.mx/3sl

GYMNASTICS PROGRAM 1 ASHEVILLE COMMUNITY MOVEMENT n x 812 Riverside Drive, Asheville 828-254-6060 • avl.mx/3sh

2 ASHEVILLE GYMNASTICS s

130 Swannanoa Road, Asheville 828-575-2238 • ashevillegymnastics.com

3 THE LITTLE GYM OF ASHEVILLE w 1000 Brevard Road, Suite 168, Asheville 828-667-9588 • thelittlegym.com

1

#

ICE CREAM 2nd Place • Frozen Treats Other Than Ice Cream 3rd Place • Locally-Made CBD Treats Blue Ridge Humane Society

BLACK MOUNTAIN

Animal Adoptions, Community & Educational Programs, Spay/Neuter, and More!

Fridays 3-9pm • • 114 Cherry St. 357-5461 Daily 12-9pm

Hendersonville, NC • (828)692-2639

www.blueridgehumane.org

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Thanks for voting us best toy store!

Celebrating 25 years in Asheville!

BEST OF Kids MARTIAL ARTS PROGRAM 1 ASHEVILLE SUN SOO MARTIAL ARTS e x

800 Fairview Road, Suite D2, Asheville 828-505-4309 • martialartsasheville.com

2 BUDO MOUNTAIN FAMILY MARTIAL ARTS n

640 Merrimon Ave., Suite 207, Asheville 828-280-0624 • BudoMountain.com

YOUTH SPORTS PROGRAM 1 ASHEVILLE BUNCOMBE YOUTH SOCCER ASSOCIATION e 593 Azalea Road E., Asheville 828-299-7277 • abysa.org

2 YMCA OF WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA d n s e w a 30 Woodfin St., Asheville 828-210-9622 40 N. Merrimon Ave., Asheville 828-505-3990 • ymcawnc.org

3 ASHEVILLE SUN SOO MARTIAL ARTS e 800 Fairview Road, Suite D2, Asheville 828-505-4309 • martialartsasheville.com

KIDS' CLOTHES 1 CHILDREN'S TRADING POST n 633 Merrimon Ave., Asheville 828-254-5432 • childrenstradingpost.com

2 THE LITTLEST BIRDS w

647 Haywood Road, Asheville 828-253-4747 • thelittlestbirds.com

3 LOLLIPOPS LIMITED s

1950 Hendersonville Road, Unit 9, Asheville 828-654-7771 • lollipopsltd.com

TOY STORE 1 DANCING BEAR TOYS e x 518 Kenilworth Road, Asheville 828-255-8697 • dancingbeartoys.com

2 O.P. TAYLOR'S s a

2 Town Square Blvd., Asheville 828-681-1865 16 S. Broad St., Brevard 828-883-2309 • optaylors.com

3 SPARKY’S TOYS & GIFTS w 726 Haywood Road, Asheville 828-808-1098 • sparkystoyshop.com

Asheville & Hendersonville

DAY CAMP

NATURE CAMP 1 WNC NATURE CENTER e

75 Gashes Creek Road, Asheville 828-259-8080 • wncnaturecenter.com

2 DISCOVERY CAMP (THE NORTH CAROLINA ARBORETUM) w 100 Frederick Law Olmsted Way, Asheville 828-665-2492 • ncarboretum.org

3 FOREST FLOOR WILDERNESS PROGRAMS n a 100 Charcoal Road, Weaverville 828-338-9787 • ontheforestfloor.org

PLAYGROUND 1 CARRIER PARK w x

220 Amboy Road, Asheville 828-259-5800 • beta.ashevillenc.gov/department/ parks-recreation

2 RAINBOW COMMUNITY SCHOOL w 574 Haywood Road, Asheville 828-258-9264 • rainbowcommunityschool.org

3 LAKE JULIAN s a 406 Overlook Road, Arden avl.mx/6cd

3 LAKE LOUISE PARK n a Lake Louise Drive, Weaverville avl.mx/6cc

PEDIATRIC PRACTICE GENERAL MEDICINE 1 ABC PEDIATRICS OF ASHEVILLE s x 64 Peachtree Road, Suite 100, Asheville 828-277-3000 • abcasheville.com

2 MOUNTAIN AREA PEDIATRICS e 500 Centrepark Drive, Asheville 828-254-4337 • mountainareapeds.com

3 ASHEVILLE PEDIATRIC ASSOCIATES s 2 Medical Park Drive, Suite 1000, Asheville 828-254-5326 • ashevillepediatrics.com

PEDIATRIC PRACTICE DENTISTRY 1 GREAT BEGINNINGS PEDIATRIC & ORTHODONTIC DENTAL SPECIALISTS s w ax 10-B Yorkshire St., Asheville 828-274-9220 50 Bowman Drive, Waynesville 828-407-4034 37 Crestview Heights, Sylva 828-586-9333 • begreatdental.com

2 ASHEVILLE PEDIATRIC DENTISTRY s 76 Peachtree Road, Suite 100, Asheville 828-277-6788 • ashevillepedo.com

1 ASHEVILLE SUN SOO MARTIAL ARTS e 3 BEST BITES DENTAL s

Awarded Best Toy Store, USA, 2018

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800 Fairview Road, Suite D2, Asheville 828-505-4309 • martialartsasheville.com

2 CAMP RUACH AT THE ASHEVILLE JCC n 236 Charlotte St., Asheville 828-253-0701 • jcc-asheville.org

3 ASHEVILLE COMMUNITY MOVEMENT n 812 Riverside Drive, Asheville 828-254-6060 • avl.mx/3sh

11 Yorkshire St., Asheville 828-274-4744 • drjoshdentistry.com

OVERNIGHT CAMP 1 CAMP CEDAR CLIFF e

5 Porters Cove Road, Asheville 828-450-3331 • campcedarcliff.org

2 YMCA CAMP WATIA w a

5030 Watia Road, Bryson City 828-209-9600 • ymcacampwatia.org

#1 Pediatric Dentistry Practice 6 years in a row!

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PHYSICIAN (GENERAL PRACTICE) 1 MEREDITH POLANSKY (OUR FAMILY DOCTOR) d x 43 Oakland Road, Asheville 828-252-2511 • ourfamilydoctorasheville.com

2 GUS VICKERY (VICKERY FAMILY MEDICINE) s 15 Yorkshire St., Asheville 828-274-1600 • vickeryfamilymed.com

3 ANANDA VIEAGES (OUR FAMILY DOCTOR) d 43 Oakland Road, Asheville 828-252-2511 • ourfamilydoctorasheville.com

PEDIATRICIAN 1 LAUREN KEELY CARLISLE (FRENCH BROAD PEDIATRICS) n x 40 N. Merrimion Ave., Suite 117, Asheville 828-348-8232 • frenchbroadpeds.com

2 JOHN S. PASCHALL (ABC PEDIATRICS) s

PHOTO BY JOE PELLEGRINO

64 Peachtree Road, Suite 100, Asheville 828-277-3000 • abcasheville.com

THE FAMILY HEALTH CENTERS Best Family Medical Practice

2 SAMUEL M. KOHN (ASHEVILLE CHILDREN’S MEDICAL CENTER) s 7 Vanderbilt Park Drive, Suite 100-A, Asheville 828-258-0969 • avl.mx/6cq

3 CAROL A. LONG (MOUNTAIN AREA PEDIATRICS) e 500 Centrepark Drive, Asheville 828-254-4337 • mountainareapeds.com/providers/ carol-a-long-md-faap

n ORTH s OUTH e AST w EST d OWNTOWN AREA r IVER ARTS DISTRICT a OUTLYING AREA

x HALL OF FAME (Winner four years or more in a row)

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T’S a modern-day gold rush,

with cannabidiol purveyors of all sorts and sizes hustling to join the hemp-fueled boom. From downtown Asheville boutiques to rural convenience stores dotting the hills and valleys of Western North Carolina, folks stampeding to sample the health benefits of the nonpsychoactive components of the hemp plant have plenty of choices.

Accordingly, “Place to Buy CBD Oil” became the newest category in our roundup of the best health-andwellness service providers and businesses, with Franny’s Farmacy scoring the inaugural top spot. Carolina Hemp Co. wafted into second, and Clover CBD smoked the rest of the competition for third.

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But even though CBD grabbed attention as the new big thing, more traditional categories continued to pull in the votes, with “Dentist” lassoing the most overall votes. All those happy mouths voted Drs. Jason and Jennifer Marks the top tooth-pokes around, with Dr. Timothy Gillespie hot on their heels in second place. Rounding out the herd was Dr. Mark Knollman in the third position.

Top general practice physician Dr. Meredith Polansky joined the Hall of Fame this year, as did pediatrician Dr. Lauren Keely Carlisle and psychotherapist James Colvin in the Psychologist/ Counselor category.

Two health centers also joined the Hall of Fame: WNC Community Health Services, aka Minnie Jones Health Center, readers’ pick for Place

to Get Medical Care When Under- or Uninsured; and The Family Health Centers, the prime choice for Family Medical Practice.

And bringing mindfulness to the Hall of Fame, Michael Greenfield (Yoga Teacher) joined that august assemblage this year.

While there’s little doubt that Asheville is a health-and-wellness mecca, not everyone is able to take advantage of the excellent resources available here. According to the most recent census data, 13.7% of city of Asheville residents lack health care coverage. With over 15% of the city’s souls living in poverty, the search for truly equitable health care continues.

— Virginia Daffron X

Thank you WNC!

Dr. Dan Martin Affordable Chiropractic Care is Our Mission. ✓

Experienced, Professional & Friendly Staff

✓

Convenient Appointments & Hours

1011 Tunnel Rd., Suite 110, Asheville, NC 28805 • 828-333-4447 • www.radiuschiropractic.com MOUNTAINX.COM/GUIDES

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BEST OF Health & Wellness

PHOTO BY SCOTT SOUTHWICK

LIZ ROSEMAN (SUSTAINABLE HEALTH ACUPUNCTURE) Best Acupuncturist

CHIROPRACTOR 1 J. ANYA HARRIS (CRYSTALIGN CHIROPRACTIC) d

1 MISSION HOSPITAL d x

218 Patton Ave., Asheville 828-335-2208 • crystalignchiropractic.com

509 Biltmore Ave., Asheville 828-213-1111 • missionhealth.org

2 DEREK KASTEN (ONE LOVE CHIROPRACTIC) n

2 ADVENTHEALTH HENDERSONVILLE s a

959 Merrimon Ave., Suite 201, Asheville 828-505-1584 • onelovechiropractic.com

3 DAN MARTIN (RADIUS CHIROPRACTIC) e 1011 Tunnel Road, Suite 110, Asheville 828-333-4447 • radiuschiropractic.com

ACUPUNCTURIST 1 LIZ ROSEMAN (SUSTAINABLE HEALTH ACUPUNCTURE) n x

36 Clayton St., Asheville 828-333-4614 • Acupuncture-in-Asheville.com

2 EMMY BETHEL (ALCHEMY: TEAROOM, APOTHECARY & ACUPUNCTURE) n

62 Clayton St., Asheville 828-575-9419 • alchemyasheville.com/emmy-bethellac.html

3 SAM SOEMARDI (THE PEOPLE’S ACUPUNCTURE OF ASHEVILLE) d

55 Grove St., Asheville 828-254-4098 • peoplesacupunctureavl.com

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HOSPITAL

100 Hospital Drive, Hendersonville 855-774-5433 • adventhealth.com

3 PARDEE HOSPITAL s a 800 N. Justice St., Hendersonville 828-696-1000 • pardeehospital.org

PLACE TO GET MEDICAL CARE WHEN UNDEROR UNINSURED 1 WNC COMMUNITY HEALTH SERVICES (MINNIE JONES HEALTH CENTER) d x 257 Biltmore Ave., Asheville 828-285-0622 • wncchs.org

2 RANGE URGENT CARE n 674 Merrimon Ave., Asheville 828-412-0327 • rangeurgentcare.com

3 MISSION HOSPITAL d 509 Biltmore Ave., Asheville 828-213-1111 • missionhealth.org

#1 Acupuncturist

Liz Roseman

Thank you for your votes!

“Thank you for voting me #1 Acupuncturist for the sixth year.

I’m deeply honored!”

Dr. J. Anya Harris, DC Welcoming Dr. Molly Meinhardt, DC to the practice!

Specializing in: Women's Health Fertility Struggles Emotional Issues Insomnia Digestive Issues Pain Sustainable Health Acupuncture 828-216-3101 • 36 Clayton St, Asheville, NC 28801

www.acupuncture-in-asheville.com liz@acupuncture-in-asheville.com

CristalignChiropractic.com 218 Patton Ave., Asheville, NC 28801 (828) 335-2208 • crystalignchiro@gmail.com MOUNTAINX.COM/GUIDES

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BEST OF Health & Wellness

PHOTO BY JOE PELLEGRINO

YMCA OF WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA

Best Gym or Place to Work Out and Fitness Studio With Classes; Second place After-School Program and Youth Sports Program; Third Place Parents Night Out Program EYE CARE SPECIALIST/SERVICE 1 ASHEVILLE EYE ASSOCIATES s x 8 Medical Park Drive, Asheville 828-258-1586 2001 Hendersonville Road, Asheville 828-258-1586 • ashevilleeye.com

2 ENVISION EYECARE n 181 Charlotte St., Asheville 828-254-6757 • myenvisioneyecare.com

3 TUNNEL VISION e 4 S. Tunnel Road, Asheville 828-298-6500 • tunnelvisionasheville.com

DENTIST 1 JASON AND JENNIFER MARKS (MARKS FAMILY DENTISTRY) n 674 N. Merrimon Ave., Asheville 828-255-8447 • northashevilledentist.com

www.NorthAshevilleDentist.com 94 North Merrimon, Suite 101 (828) 255-8447

2 TIMOTHY E. GILLESPIE (GILLESPIE DENTAL ASSOCIATES) d 36 Orange St., Asheville 828-252-9351 • drtimgillespie.com

3 MARK A. KNOLLMAN, DDS e 600-B Centrepark Drive, Asheville 828-254-5677 • drknollman.com

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MASSAGE THERAPIST 1 DARREN CADWELL (REVITALIFE MASSAGE & WELLNESS) n WNC School of Massage, 200 Charlotte St., Asheville 828-777-3882 • revitalifemassagenc.com

2 AVYANNA GRACE (BLOSSOM & BE) e a

569 Old Toll Circle, Black Mountain 828-545-1899 • blossomandbe.com

2 TONI CORADETTI (ALCHEMY TEAROOM, APOTHECARY & ACUPUNCTURE) n 62 Clayton St., Asheville 828-575-9419 • alchemyasheville.com

3 MICAH HAINES (BLAZING LOTUS HEALING HOUSE) n 54 Merrimon Ave., Asheville 828-252-7827 • bestashevillemassage.com

FAMILY MEDICAL PRACTICE 1 THE FAMILY HEALTH CENTERS d s ax

206 Asheland Ave., Asheville 828-258-8681 2161 Hendersonville Road, Arden 828-258-8681 1219 Smokey Park Highway, Candler 828-258-8681 • fhconline.com

2 OUR FAMILY DOCTOR d

43 Oakland Road, Asheville 828-252-2511 • ourfamilydoctorasheville.com

3 COMMUNITY FAMILY PRACTICE n 260 Merrimon Ave., Asheville 828-254-2444 • communityfamilyonline.com

Thank You Asheville for Voting Us One of The Best!

We love YOU! Thank you for continuing to vote us "BEST OF" in WNC, 9 years strong!

myenvisioneyecare.com

DARREN C. CADWELL

REVITALIFE MASSAGE & WELLNESS Improving lives, one massage at a time 2019 marks the second consecutive year this amazing community has stepped up to the plate and pushed Darren to the top. He is beyond grateful to have received the support displayed by his family, friends and clientele.

RevitaLife will continue to grow, expand our treatment methods, and work even harder to improve lives one massage at a time. We deeply appreciate everyone who has supported us along this journey.

828.254.5677 600-B Centrepark Drive Asheville, NC

200 Charlotte St., Asheville • 828-777-3882 darren@revitalifemassagenc.com • revitalifemassagenc.com

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THANK YOU for VOTING US #1

We’re Honored to be Voted

Best Vegan Restaurant

2nd place • Best Chef 2nd place • Best Vegetarian 3rd place • Best Green/Sustainability Friendly Restaurant 3rd place • Healthiest Food

165 merrimon avenue • (828) 258-7500 • plantisfood.com

Celebrating our 14th anniversary!

National 2014 Practice of the Year, Gentle 24 Hour Nursing Care, Advanced & Accurate Dental Care, Gold Standard Feline Practice, Minimally Invasive Laparoscopic Surgery, Soft Tissue and Orthopedic Surgery, Endoscopy, Ultrasound, Echocardiograms, Digital X-Ray, Video Ear Diagnostics, Advanced Pain Control Unsurpassed in Caring • State-of-the-Art Affordable • Serving all WNC • Extended Hours

Thanks, Asheville!

1st Place Indian every year since 2006 2nd Place Hot Bar

melaasheville.com

70 N. LEXINGTON AVENUE 828.225.8880 62

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1 Beaverdam Road at Merrimon Ave. • 828-253-3393 ahna.net • Join us on Facebook

Thank you.

*

Brandan Adcock, MD Hominy Valley

Rustan Adcock, MD Asheville

Laura Dressel, MD Hominy Valley

Allie Fay, PharmD, CPP All Locations

*

Paul Midkiff, MD Asheville

Holly Musgrove, MD Hominy Valley

Bailey Balentine, DO Asheville & Arden

*

Jason Goldie, MD Asheville

Lisa Choe Scott, MD Asheville & Arden

Alan Baumgarten, MD, MPH Asheville

Richard Burris, MD Arden

*

*

Sydney Hendry, MD Asheville

Jeff Graham, MD, MPH Asheville

* Laurie Steitler Panzer, PA-C* Asheville

Wendy Coin, MD Asheville

*

Todd Hodges, MD Hominy Valley

Cindy Stephens, Michael Stephens, MD DNR, RN, FNP-BC Arden Family Nurse Practitioner Arden

*

*

Jason Cook, MD Arden

*

Cameron Kurowski Hominy Valley

*

Rob Steward, MD Asheville & Arden

Natalie Dorsey, PA-C Hominy Valley

*

Mark Lenderman, MD Asheville

Megan Thomas, MD Asheville

Thank you, Asheville, for entrusting your care to The Family Health Centers of Asheville, Arden & Hominy Valley. To find out why we were voted the #1 Family Medical Practice in the area, please give us a call and request your first appointment.

Asheville Office I 206 Asheland Avenue Arden Office I 2161 Hendersonville Road Hominy Valley Office I 1219 Smokey Park Highway

To schedule an appointment, please call (828) 258-8681

* Welcoming new patients.

When it comes to your health, we’re in this together. www.fhconline.com MOUNTAINX.COM/GUIDES

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Thank to the readers for Voting Groce Favorite once again!

BEST OF Health & Wellness

Asheville’s Local, Family-Owned Cremation & Funeral Service Lake Julian 72 Long Shoals Road Arden 828-687-3530

West Asheville 1401 Patton Avenue Asheville 828-252-3535

East Asheville 856 Tunnel Road Asheville 828-299-4416

www.grocefuneralhome.com *Flat rate visits *Membership Options Urgent Care re.imagined.

Simplified. Transparent. Respectful.

Skip the wait and schedule your appointment online at rangeurgentcare.com

*Most insurances accepted 674 Merrimon Ave | Asheville, NC 28804 M-F 8AM-7:30PM, Sat-Sun 8AM-4PM

PHOTO BY JOE PELLEGRINO

GROCE FUNERAL HOME & CREMATION SERVICE Best Mortuary/Funeral Services

WOMEN'S HEALTH CENTER 1 ASHEVILLE WOMEN'S MEDICAL CENTER d s ax 143 Asheland Ave., Asheville 828-258-9191 310 Long Shoals Road, Suite 202, Arden 828-687-2955 • ashevillewomens.com

2 PLANNED PARENTHOOD: ASHEVILLE HEALTH CENTER d 68 McDowell St., Asheville 828-252-7928 • avl.mx/3va

3 LAUREL OB/GYN s 41 Oakland Road, Suite 200, Asheville 828-253-5381 • laurelobgyn.com

Celebrating over 40 years of Excellence in Women’s Health Care

ALTERNATIVE HEALING CENTER 1 ASHEVILLE COMMUNITY YOGA n 8 Brookdale Road, Asheville 828-255-5575 • ashevillecommunityyoga.com

2 ALCHEMY: TEAROOM, APOTHECARY, ACUPUNCTURE n

FIRST PLACE: • Women’s Health Center • Maternity Care/Service (828) 258-9191 • www.ashevillewomens.com 64

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62 Clayton St., Asheville 828-575-9419 • alchemyasheville.com

3 ASHEVILLE BRAIN TRAINING s a 2124 Hendersonville Road, Unit 100, Arden 828-375-0002 • AshevilleBrainTraining.com

HOSPICE 1 CAREPARTNERS s x

68 Sweeten Creek Road, Asheville 828-213-1111 • missionhealth.org/member-hospitals/ carepartners

2 FOUR SEASONS COMPASSION FOR LIFE s a 571 S. Allen Road, Flat Rock 828-692-6178 • fourseasonscfl.org

MORTUARY/FUNERAL SERVICES 1 GROCE FUNERAL HOME & CREMATION SERVICE w x 1401 Patton Ave., Asheville 828-252-3535 • grocefuneralhome.com

2 WEST FAMILY FUNERAL SERVICES n a

17 Merrimon Ave., Weaverville 828-645-3011 • westfamilyfuneralservices.com

3 MORRIS FUNERAL HOME n

304 Merrimon Ave., Asheville 828-252-1821 • morrisfamilycaregroup.com

YOGA STUDIO 1 ASHEVILLE COMMUNITY YOGA n x 8 Brookdale Road, Asheville 828-255-5575 • ashevillecommunityyoga.com

2 ASHEVILLE YOGA CENTER n 211 S. Liberty St., Asheville 828-254-0380 • youryoga.com

3 HOT YOGA ASHEVILLE e

802 Fairview Road, Suite 100, Asheville 828-299-7003 • hotyogaasheville.com

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BEST OF Health & Wellness YOGA TEACHER

MARTIAL ARTS STUDIO

1 KELLY GILMORE (ASHEVILLE COMMUNITY YOGA) n

1 ASHEVILLE SUN SOO MARTIAL ARTS e x

1 MICHAEL GREENFIELD (ASHEVILLE COMMUNITY YOGA) n x

2 BUDO MOUNTAIN FAMILY MARTIAL ARTS n

8 Brookdale Road, Asheville 828-255-5575 • ashevillecommunityyoga.com

8 Brookdale Road, Suite A, Asheville 828-255-5575 • ashevillecommunityyoga.com

2 WENDY MALLET LANTIS (ASHEVILLE COMMUNITY YOGA) n 8 Brookdale Road, Asheville 828-255-5575 • ashevillecommunityyoga.com/ teachers/wendy-mallett

3 MICHAEL JOHNSON (CLEARLIGHT YOGA) Asheville clearlightyoga.com

PHYSICAL TRAINER 1 RICHARD CLARKE (HARD EXERCISE WORKS) s

1636 Hendersonville Road, Suite 195, Asheville 828-575-2556 • hardexerciseworks.com

2 JAMIE NAKAMURA (MADABOLIC) d 150 Coxe Ave., Suite 102, Asheville 828-552-3911 • madabolic.com

GYM OR PLACE TO WORK OUT 1 YMCA OF WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA d n s e w a 30 Woodfin St., Asheville 828-210-962 240 N. Merrimon Ave., Asheville 828-505-3990 Biltmore Park Town Square, 3 Town Square Blvd., Asheville 828-651-9622 • ymcawnc.org

2 HARD EXERCISE WORKS s

1636 Hendersonville Road, Asheville 828-575-2556 • hardexerciseworks.com/locations/ asheville.html

3 GOLD’S GYM w

1047 Patton Ave., Asheville 828-398-1430 • goldsgym.com

800 Fairview Road, Suite D-2, Asheville 828-505-4309 • martialartsasheville.com

640 Merrimon Ave., Suite 207, Asheville 828-280-0624 • BudoMountain.com

3 ROGUE COMBAT CLUB e

811 Tunnel Road, Suite D, Asheville 828-450-4836 • roguecombatclub.com

PILATES STUDIO/ CENTER/CLASSES 1 RISE: AUTHENTIC PILATES d x 60 Biltmore Ave., Suite 002, Asheville 828-575-9500 • riseasheville.com

2 CLASIQUE ACUPUNCTURE AND PILATES STUDIO d 50 McCormick Place, Asheville 828-333-5053 • studioclasique.com

3 CLUB PILATES s

28 Schenck Parkway, Suite 155, Asheville 828-318-8800 • clubpilates.com

PHYSICAL THERAPIST 1 MIRIAM SALLOUM (THE RUNNER’S MECHANIC) s 1977 Hendersonville Road, Suite 1, Asheville 828-713-0929 • therunnersmechanic.com

2 AMANDA ROACH (PHYSIO PHYSICAL THERAPY & WELLNESS) n 640 Merrimon Ave., Suite 107, Asheville 828-348-1780 • PhysioWNC.com

3 WESLEY MILLER (ANTI-FRAGILE PHYSICAL THERAPY) n 959 Merrimon Ave., Suite 3B, Asheville 828-242-0343 • antifragilephysicaltherapy.com

PSYCHOLOGIST/COUNSELOR 1 JAMES COLVIN MARRIAGE & FAMILY THERAPIST (BALANCE U) n x 16 Arlington St., Asheville 828-424-7941 • jamesccolvin.com

Thanks for the love, Asheville!

New Location & Services coming this Fall 2019

Voted one of the Best Places to Center Yourself in WNC!

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Thank you for voting me the

1 Physical #

Therapist in Asheville!

To schedule or contact simply go to www.therunnersmechanic.com

JAMES COLVIN

Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist Holistic Therapy for Individuals & Couples

THANK YOU for your votes ASHEVILLE!

#1 Psychologist/Counselor Check out video interview & radio podcasts on website!

36 Clayton Street, Asheville, NC 28801 828-424-7941 colvin3@gmail.com • JamesCColvin.com MOUNTAINX.COM/GUIDES

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BEST OF Health & Wellness FITNESS STUDIO WITH CLASSES 1 YMCA OF WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA d n s e w a 30 Woodfin St., Asheville 828-210-9622 40 N. Merrimon Ave., Asheville 828-505-3990 Biltmore Park Town Square, 3 Town Square Blvd., Asheville 828-651-9622 • ymcawnc.org

2 HARD EXERCISE WORKS s

1636 Hendersonville Road, Asheville 828-575-2556 hardexerciseworks.com/locations/asheville.html

3 WENDY MALLET LANTIS (ASHEVILLE COMMUNITY YOGA) n 8 Brookdale Road, Asheville 828-255-5575 • ashevillecommunityyoga.com/ teachers/wendy-mallett

MATERNITY CARE/SERVICE 1 ASHEVILLE WOMEN'S MEDICAL CENTER d s ax 143 Asheland Ave., Asheville 828-258-9191 310 Long Shoals Road, Suite 202, Arden 828-687-2955 • ashevillewomens.com

2 LAUREL OB/GYN d

41 Oakland Road, Suite 200, Asheville 828-253-5381 • laurelobgyn.com

3 BILTMORE OB-GYN s

24 Medical Park Drive, Asheville 828-277-7727 • biltmoreob-gyn.com

ORTHODONTIST 1 KEITH BLACK (BLACK ORTHODONTICS) s 5 Yorkshire St., Asheville 828-277-7103 • kblacksmiles.com

2 JEFFREY ROEDER (ROEDER ORTHODONTICS) s 22 Medical Park Drive, Suite C, Asheville 828-274-2500 • roederorthodontics.com

3 TIMOTHY SCANLAN (TS ORTHODONTICS) s

4 Vanderbilt Park Drive, Suite 110, Asheville 828-201-2660 • tsorthodontics.com

PLACE TO BUY SUPPLEMENTS, VITAMINS & HERBS 1 EARTH FARE w s

66 Westgate Parkway, Asheville 828-253-7656 1856 Hendersonville Road, Asheville 28803 828-210-0100 • EarthFare.com

2 FRENCH BROAD FOOD CO-OP d 90 Biltmore Ave., Asheville 828-255-7650 • frenchbroadfood.coop

3 WHOLE FOODS MARKET e

4 S. Tunnel Road, Asheville 828-239-9604 • wholefoodsmarket.com

ACUPUNCTURE CLINIC 1 ASHEVILLE COMMUNITY ACUPUNCTURE w

378 Haywood Road, Asheville 828-777-8804 • communityacupuncture.com

2 THE PEOPLE'S ACUPUNCTURE OF ASHEVILLE d

55 Grove St., Asheville 828-254-4098 • peoplesacupunctureavl.com

3 ALCHEMY: TEAROOM, APOTHECARY, ACUPUNCTURE n 62 Clayton St., Asheville 828-575-9419 • alchemyasheville.com

PLACE TO CENTER YOURSELF 1 ASHEVILLE COMMUNITY YOGA n 8 Brookdale Road, Asheville 828-255-5575 • ashevillecommunityyoga.com

2 ASHEVILLE SALT CAVE d

12 Eagle St., Asheville 828-236-5999 • ashevillesaltcave.com

3 IN NATURE PLACE TO BUY CBD OIL 1 FRANNY’S FARMACY n s a

211 Merrimon Ave., Suite 111, Asheville 828-505-0446 128 Henderson Crossing Plaza, Hendersonville 828-697-7300 • frannysfarmacy.com

2 CAROLINA HEMP CO. w

290 Haywood Road, Suite 002, Asheville 828-438-4367 • carolinahempcompany.com

3 CLOVER CBD w

1129 Patton Ave., Asheville 828-417-9003 • clovercbdavl.com

Thanks for voting us one of the area’s best!

$300 OFF

Brain Mapping Evaluation regular price $600

Includes initial 1 hour visit with Brain Map and follow up 1 hour visit with detailed report.

A Safe, Drugless, Non-Invasive approach to symptoms related to: ADD/ADHD • Learning Challenges • Autism/Asperger’s Dementia/Alzheimer’s • Migraines/Headaches • Insomnia Concussions/TBI • Anxiety/Depression 2124 Hendersonville Road, #100 • Arden, NC 28704 828-375-0002 • ashevillebraintraining.com 68

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Announce your win WITH AN OFFICIAL

BEST Of WNC AWARD PLAQUE HIGH QUALITY MOUNT 8.5” x 11” • $75 + SHIPPING

Only available at Mountainxpress.newskeepsake.com

Thanks WNC! We feel the LOVE

#1 Place to buy CBD Oil #1 Locally-Made CBD treats

One of the Best Farms to Visit for Events One of the Best for CBD drinks/health elixirs

DOWNTOWN 211 Merrimon Ave., Ste. 111, Asheville, NC 28801 • 828-505-7105

HENDERSONVILLE 128 Henderson Crossing Plaza, Hendersonville, NC • 828-697-7300 MOUNTAINX.COM/GUIDES

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NEIGHBORHOOD 1 WEST ASHEVILLE w x 2 MONTFORD n 3 NORTH ASHEVILLE n LOCAL FUNDRAISING EVENT 1 DINING OUT FOR LIFE (WNCAP) 828-252-7489 • wncap.org/dofl-2

2 DINE TO BE KIND (ASHEVILLE HUMANE SOCIETY) 828-761-2001 • ashevillehumane.org

ACTIVIST GROUP FOR CIVIC/POLITICAL ACTION 1 BELOVED ASHEVILLE d

39 Grove St., Asheville 828-242-8261 • belovedasheville.com

2 MOUNTAINTRUE d s a

29 N. Market St., Suite 610, Asheville 121 Third Avenue W., Suite 1, Hendersonville 828-258-8737 • mountaintrue.org

PROJECT YOU'D LIKE TO SEE LOCAL GOVERNMENT DO 1 AFFORDABLE HOUSING 2 MORE AND BETTER SIDEWALKS 3 FIX OUR ROADS AND BRIDGES LOCAL HERO 1 VERONICA COIT (ASHEVILLE CAT WEIRDOS) Asheville 828-329-9391• ashevillecatweirdos.org

2 AMY CANTRELL (BELOVED ASHEVILLE) d

10 N. Market St., Asheville 828-242-8261 • belovedasheville.com

n ORTH s OUTH e AST w EST d OWNTOWN AREA r IVER ARTS DISTRICT a OUTLYING AREA

x HALL OF FAME (Winner four years or more in a row)

70

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PHOTO BY THOMAS CALDER

LAZOOM

Best Local City Tour, Comedy Troupe or Series and Local Comedy Show/Night/ Event and Business that Best Represents the Spirit of Asheville

C

ONSIDER: Abby Roach (better known as Abby the Spoon Lady) has announced plans to leave the city; the Flatiron Building was recently approved for conversion to a hotel; and “elite empty nesters” remain a prized demographic sought by the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority.

A cynic with an eye for exploitation might be tempted to sell handcrafted, commemorative nails for folks to hammer into the coffin of Asheville’s former unique stature. But in today’s political and social climate, even cynicism seems a bit quotidian. After all, over the past four years, the number of locals who think Asheville is getting worse has been increasing (it’s now 41%), while the number who think it’s getting better is shrinking (currently at 30%), according to Xpress’ reader polls for 2016-19.

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Optimism (no matter how difficult a mindset to maintain) might very well be the remedy for Asheville’s current growing pains and flirtation with the mundane. Perhaps this charge could be led by Veronica Coit of Asheville Cat Weirdos and the Rev. Amy Cantrell of BeLoved, who were voted first and second, respectively, in this year’s Local Hero category.

Or maybe the offensive doesn’t require a leader. Maybe our renewed faith in the city’s uniqueness will come from simply frequenting what remains.

The Odditorium, for example, claimed the top spot for Place to Take Your Eccentric Friends for the second year in a row.

Another option for an Asheville Optimism Maintenance Plan could be to volunteer with or donate to one of the city’s many nonprofits, includ-

ing Asheville GreenWorks, MANNA FoodBank and Asheville Cat Weirdos Emergency Fund, voted first, second and third respectively as this year’s Nonprofit That Improves Asheville. By the way, special hats off to MANNA for gaining entry to the Hall of Fame this year as Nonprofit That Serves the Underprivileged.

Or perhaps the solution is something far simpler and more leisurely, such as a walk through West Asheville (Best Neighborhood), a saunter down Lexington Avenue (Best Street for a Stroll) or a visit to the Botanical Gardens (Best Place to Connect With Nature Within Asheville City Limits).

Solutions and results may vary. Keep your head up, Asheville.

— Thomas Calder X

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BEST OF uniquely asheville

Thank you WNC for voting us Best of 2019!

20 19

“If you ain’t first, you’re last.”

• THE 31ST •

— RICKY BOBBY

IMAGE DESIGN BY NORN CUTSON

DR. CARL MUMPOWER Voted 2nd place for

Best Local Villain

— 2019 WNC READER’S POLL

Thanks Mountain Xpress readers!

See everyone

WANDA GREENE (FORMER BUNCOMBE COUNTY MANAGER) Best Local Villain

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 19TH on Main St. Waynesville for all things apple.

LOCAL VILLAIN

HaywoodAppleFest.com

1 WANDA GREENE (FORMER BUNCOMBE COUNTY MANAGER) 2 CARL MUMPOWER Asheville

3 MARK MEADOWS s a

200 N. Grove St., Suite 90, Hendersonville 828-693-5660 • meadows.house.gov

LOCAL POLITICIAN 1 ESTHER MANHEIMER d

70 Court Plaza, Asheville 828-259-5600 • ashevillenc.gov/council/meet_city_ council.htm

2 TERRY VAN DUYN s

Biltmore Forest 828-361-3610 • votevanduyn.com

Thank you,Asheville 1st Place

Pub Grub 1st Place

Neighborhood bar West

3 JULIE MAYFIELD d

70 Court Plaza, Asheville 828-271-4544 • mayfieldforncsenate.com

BUMPER STICKER OR SLOGAN ABOUT ASHEVILLE 1 KEEP ASHEVILLE WEIRD x 2 ASHEVILLE CAT WEIRDOS ashevillecatweirdos.org

3 GOOD VIBES PLACE TO GET MARRIED 1 BILTMORE ESTATE s x 1 Lodge St., Asheville 800-411-3812 • biltmore.com

2 HAIKU I DO s

10:30am-2am, 7 days a week• Food 10:30am–1am (Brunch, Lunch & Dinner) 777 Haywood Road Asheville • www.westvillepub.com • 225-WPUB 72

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26 Sweeten Creek Road, Asheville 828-412-3939 • haikuido.com

3 THE NORTH CAROLINA ARBORETUM w 100 Frederick Law Olmsted Way, Asheville 828-665-2492 • ncarboretum.org

BEST THING TO HAPPEN TO ASHEVILLE IN THE LAST 12 MONTHS 1 MORE DIVERSITY IN LEADERSHIP (PEOPLE OF COLOR IN MULTIPLE CITY/COUNTY LEADERSHIP ROLES) STREET FOR A STROLL 1 LEXINGTON AVENUE d Asheville

2 WALL STREET d Asheville

3 MONTFORD AVENUE n Asheville

THING DOWNTOWN ASHEVILLE NEEDS 1 PARKING 2 BICYCLE & PEDESTRIAN INFRASTRUCTURE 3 AFFORDABLE HOUSING THING WEST ASHEVILLE NEEDS 1 PARKING 2 BICYCLE & PEDESTRIAN INFRASTRUCTURE 3 AFFORDABLE HOUSING THING NORTH ASHEVILLE NEEDS 1 MORE QUALITY RESTAURANTS 2 AFFORDABLE HOUSING 3 BICYCLE & PEDESTRIAN INFRASTRUCTURE

CONTINUED

Project you’d like to see local government do

Thing the river arts disctrict needs

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BEST OF uniquely asheville

~Grazie Mille~ (A thousand thanks)

Consistently Voted One of WNC’s Best Italian Restaurants in: Best Italian

PHOTO BY ABLE ALLEN

Best Chef

LEXINGTON AVENUE

Anthony Cerrato

Best Street for a Stroll

Best Pasta Thank you for your support

stradaasheville.com 27 Broadway, Downtown AVL

THING SOUTH ASHEVILLE NEEDS 1 TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT 2 MORE INDEPENDENT RESTAURANTS 3 BICYCLE & PEDESTRIAN INFRASTRUCTURE THING EAST ASHEVILLE NEEDS 1 MORE QUALITY RESTAURANTS 2 SIDEWALKS 3 AFFORDABLE HOUSING THING THE RIVER ARTS DISTRICT NEEDS 1 MORE RESTAURANTS 2 PARKING 3 AFFORDABLE HOUSING BIGGEST THREAT TO ASHEVILLE'S UNIQUENESS 1 HOTELS 2 TOURISTS/TOURISM 3 OVERPOPULATION NONPROFIT THAT IMPROVES ASHEVILLE

Eat Drink & Be Social

Asheville’s Premiere Cocktail Lounge

socialloungeasheville.com

29 Broadway, Downtown AVL 74

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1 ASHEVILLE GREENWORKS w 2 Sulphur Springs Road, Asheville 828-254-1776 • ashevillegreenworks.org

NONPROFIT THAT SERVES THE UNDERPRIVILEGED 1 MANNA FOODBANK e x

627 Swannanoa River Road, Asheville 828-299-3663 • mannafoodbank.org

2 BELOVED ASHEVILLE d

39 Grove St., Asheville 828-242-8261 • belovedasheville.com

3 ABCCM w

20 20th St., Asheville 828-259-5300 • abccm.org

LOCAL CITY TOUR 1 LAZOOM d x

76 Biltmore Ave., Asheville 828-225-6932 • lazoomtours.com

2 GRAY LINE TROLLEY TOURS OF ASHEVILLE d 36 Montford Ave., Asheville 828-251-8687 • graylineasheville.com

3 ASHEVILLE FOOD TOURS Asheville 828-243-7401 • ashevillefoodtours.com

LOCAL ASHEVILLE ATTRACTION 1 BILTMORE ESTATE s x 1 Lodge St., Asheville 800-411-3812 • biltmore.com

2 MANNA FOODBANK e

2 DRUM CIRCLE AT PRITCHARD PARK d

3 ASHEVILLE CAT WEIRDOS w

3 BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY

627 Swannanoa River Road, Asheville 828-299-3663 • mannafoodbank.org 74 Buffalo St., Asheville ashevillecatweirdos.org

67 Patton Ave., Asheville avl.mx/559

blueridgeparkway.org

CONTINUED

Thing West asheville needs Thank you Asheville for recommending us to host your visitors! – The Windsor Team

We Love You Asheville, Thank you for 11 yrs

1st Place Beer Store 2nd Place Wine Store appalachianvintner.com @appalachianvintner

@appalachian_vintner @ashevillenaturalwine

Asheville Poverty Initiative

Thing south asheville needs

• All economic realities • Building Community • Rescuing 1,300 lbs food per week Join us Mon.-Fri. 11:00am-1pm in Kairos West Community Center at the corner of Haywood and State St, West Asheville

Check us out at

www.ashevillepovertyinitiative.com Follow us on Facebook & Instagram

@12BasketsCafe

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WASABI

BEST OF uniquely asheville

Japanese Restaurant & Sushi Bar

BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE OWNERS OF ICHIBAN JAPANESE STEAKHOUSE

THANK YOU ASHEVILLE! VOTED BEST OF WNC 15 YEARS IN A ROW! PHOTO BY ABLE ALLEN

PARKING

First place Thing Downtown Asheville Needs and Thing West Asheville Needs; second place Thing the River Arts District Needs PLACE TO TAKE YOUR ECCENTRIC FRIENDS 1 THE ODDITORIUM w

1045 Haywood Road, Asheville 828-575-9299 • ashevilleodditorium.com

2 DRUM CIRCLE AT PRITCHARD PARK d 67 Patton Ave., Asheville avl.mx/559

3 THE CROW & QUILL d 106 N. Lexington Ave., Asheville thecrowandquill.com

HOTEL 1 OMNI GROVE PARK INN n x 290 Macon Ave., Asheville 828-252-2711 • omnigroveparkinn.com

Open 7 days for Lunch & Dinner 19 B R OA DW A Y • DOWNT OWN • 225-2551

2 ALOFT ASHEVILLE DOWNTOWN d 51 Biltmore Ave., Asheville 828-232-2838 • avl.mx/675

3 AC HOTEL d

10 Broadway, Asheville 828-258-2522 • http://avl.mx/6c9

B&B OR SMALL BOUTIQUE HOTEL

Voted One Of The Best Japanese Restaurants 2019

Near Biltmore Village, 2 Hendersonville Rd. • 828-252-7885 76

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1 THE WINDSOR BOUTIQUE HOTEL d 36 Broadway, Asheville 844-494-6376 • windsorasheville.com

2 PRINCESS ANNE HOTEL n

301 E. Chestnut St., Asheville 828-258-0986 • princessannehotel.com

HOLIDAY EVENT WINTER/SPRING 1 WINTER LIGHTS AT THE NORTH CAROLINA ARBORETUM w 100 Frederick Law Olmsted Way, Asheville 828-665-2492 • ncarboretum.org

2 CHRISTMAS AT BILTMORE ESTATE s 1 Lodge St., Asheville 800-411-3812 • biltmore.com

3 GINGERBREAD HOUSE COMPETITION: THE OMNI GROVE PARK INN n 290 Macon Ave., Asheville 888-444-6664 • avl.mx/3te

HOLIDAY EVENT SUMMER/FALL 1 LEAF FESTIVAL e a

377 Lake Eden Road, Black Mountain 828-686-8742 • theLEAF.org

2 SHINDIG ON THE GREEN d

Pack Square Park, Asheville folkheritage.org/asheville-events/shindig-on-the-green

3 NC APPLE FESTIVAL s a 318 N. Main St., Hendersonville 828-697-4557 • ncapplefestival.org

WORST THING TO HAPPEN TO ASHEVILLE IN THE LAST 12 MONTHS 1 HOTEL GROWTH 2 CONTINUED GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT 3 FLOODING/LANDSLIDES

The

Venue

Marta Santamaria opened The Venue ten years ago fulfilling her dream of owning an event space reflecting her personality. The Venue is an all inclusive event facility that specializes in providing premier food and beverage, designing unique events that fit our clients' vision, and ensuring flawless execution.

Thank you for voting us #1 in WNC! We are able to make magic every day because you believe in us.

21 North Market Street, Asheville • 828-252-1101 • ashevillevenue.com MOUNTAINX.COM/GUIDES

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BEST OF uniquely asheville PLACE TO CONNECT WITH NATURE WITHIN ASHEVILLE CITY LIMITS 1 BOTANICAL GARDENS n 151 W.T. Weaver Blvd., Asheville 828-252-5190 • ashevillebotanicalgardens.org

2 WNC NATURE CENTER e 75 Gashes Creek Road, Asheville 828-259-8080 • wncnaturecenter.com

3 THE NORTH CAROLINA ARBORETUM w 100 Frederick Law Olmsted Way, Asheville 828-665-2492 • ncarboretum.org

greenteasushiasheville.com

HISTORIC/INTERESTING BUILDING 1 BILTMORE ESTATE s 1 Lodge St., Asheville 800-411-3812 • biltmore.com

2 FLATIRON BUILDING d 20 Battery Park AveFour, Asheville 828-258-3999 • flatironbuilding.org

3 GROVE ARCADE d 1 Page Ave., Asheville 828-252-7799 • grovearcade.com

“Thank you for voting us one of the best for Japanese food and sushi” - Tony

2 Regent Park Blvd. | 828-252-8300 Like us on facebook.com/greenteasushi 78

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PLACE TO PRETEND YOU'RE A TOURIST 1 DOWNTOWN ASHEVILLE d 2 BILTMORE ESTATE s 1 Lodge St., Asheville 800-411-3812 • biltmore.com

3 OMNI GROVE PARK INN n 290 Macon Ave., Asheville 828-252-2711 • omnigroveparkinn.com

VENUE TO BOOK FOR A PARTY OR EVENT 1 HAIKU I DO s 26 Sweeten Creek Road, Asheville 828-412-3939 • haikuido.com

1 THE VENUE d 21 N. Market St., Asheville 828-252-1101 • ashevillevenue.com

2 HIGHLAND BREWING CO. e 12 Old Charlotte Highway, Asheville 828-299-3370 • highlandbrewing.com

MOJOKITCHEN.BIZ

MOJO Kitchen & Lounge

HAS Closed it’s doors

Thank you for five years of customer loyalty

Keep an eye out for Lil’ Mojo food truck!

THANK YOU FOR FIVE YEARS OF CUSTOMER LOYALTY

Asheville Community Acupuncture $30-50 sliding scale fee.

New patients mention this ad and we will wave New Patient Fee through the month of August.

Thank you to our beloved community for voting us #1!

Cat Finks, Jess Mund, Todd Walker,

Jessi Davis, Allison Mahoney

378 Haywood Road, West Asheville • 828-777-8804 • CommunityAcupuncture.com MOUNTAINX.COM/GUIDES

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brevard BREAKFAST RESTAURANT 1 SUNRISE CAFE x

273 N. Broad St., Brevard 828-884-3331 • the-sunrise-cafe.com

2 THE SQUARE ROOT

33 Times Arcade Alley, Brevard 828-884-6171 • squarerootrestaurant.com

3 MAYBERRY'S

30 W. Main St., Brevard 828-862-8646 • mayberrys.co

LUNCH RESTAURANT 1 THE SQUARE ROOT x

33 Times Arcade Alley, Brevard 828-884-6171 • squarerootrestaurant.com

2 MAGPIE MEAT & THREE

170 King St., Brevard 828-877-3773 • magpiemeatandthree.com

2 MAYBERRY'S

30 W. Main St., Brevard 828-862-8646 • mayberrys.co

DINNER RESTAURANT 1 THE SQUARE ROOT x

33 Times Arcade Alley, Brevard 828-884-6171 • squarerootrestaurant.com

PHOTO COURTESY OF NATIONAL FORESTS IN NORTH CAROLINA

2 HAWG WILD BBQ

PISGAH NATIONAL FOREST

91 Pisgah Highway, Pisgah Forest 828-877-4404 • hawgwild-bbq.com

Best Local Place to Enjoy the Outdoors

2 MARCO TRATTORIA

204 W. Main St., Brevard 828-883-4841 • marcotrattoria.com

A

n ORTH s OUTH e AST w EST d OWNTOWN AREA r IVER ARTS DISTRICT a OUTLYING AREA

x HALL OF FAME (Winner four years or more in a row)

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LONG

with Asheville’s growing reputation comes the traffic, the tourists and the hype — and for many, a desire to get away.

Good news! This year’s Best of WNC amply demonstrates that just beyond Asheville — in communities such as Brevard, Hendersonville, Waynesville and Sylva — great restaurants, breweries and swimming holes await — without the madding crowd.

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When folks discover a new spot off the beaten path, they sometimes try to keep it a secret. Thankfully, Best of WNC voters are more civic-minded, sharing the gems, eccentricities and signature styles of WNC’s small towns.

Thanks to them, we know where to find a great breakfast and where the nightlife is brightest. Plus, you’ll also get their takes on the best local cultural and arts events and the businesses that best represent the spirit of their towns.

One standout trend this year: Breweries are the top vote-getters in the towns to the south and west of Asheville, where local love flows freely for Oskar Blues, Sanctuary, Innovation and Boojum brewing companies.

And we welcome two businesses to this year’s Hall of Fame: Hendersonville’s Mast General Store (Retail Store) and Sylva’s City Lights Cafe (Coffee & Sweets).

— Brooke Randle X

#1

Thanks to everyone who voted for us ~ Best Coffee and Sweets in Burnsville Best Breakfast and Lunch Restaurant in Burnsville Business that best represents the Spirit of your Town

Second year in a row! ~ 8 West Main Street, Burnsville, NC 28714 828-682-0120 www.appalachianjavaburnsville.com

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The Square rooT

BEST OF small towns COFFEE & SWEETS

RETAIL STORE 1 D.D. BULLWINKEL'S OUTDOORS

1 QUOTATIONS COFFEE CAFÉ

60 E. Main St., Brevard 828-862-4700 • ddbullwinkels.com

147 E. Main St., Brevard 828-883-8966 • quotationscoffeecafe.com

2 THEOPHILUS

2 BRACKEN MOUNTAIN BAKERY

66 E. Main St., Brevard 828-884-2994 • theophilusnc.com

42 S. Broad St., Brevard 828-883-4034 • brackenmountainbakery.weebly.com

CULTURAL OR ARTS EVENT

3 BLUE RIDGE BAKERY

1 THE WHITE SQUIRREL FESTIVAL

86 W. Main St., Brevard 828-883-8444 • blueridgebakery.com

175 E. Main St., Brevard 828-884-3278 • whitesquirrelfestival.com

2 BREVARD MUSIC CENTER SUMMER CONCERT SERIES

MUSIC/ENTERTAINMENT VENUE

349 Andante Lane, Brevard 828-862-2100 • brevardmusic.org

1 BREVARD MUSIC CENTER x 349 Andante Lane, Brevard 828-862-2100 • brevardmusic.org

LOCAL BAR/BREWERY/ WATERING HOLE

2 185 KING STREET

1 OSKAR BLUES BREWERY

185 King St., Brevard 828-877-1850 • 185kingst.com

342 Mountain Industrial Drive, Brevard 828-883-2337 • oskarblues.com

3 OSKAR BLUES BREWERY

2 BREVARD BREWING CO.

342 Mountain Industrial Drive, Brevard 828-883-2337 • oskarblues.com

63 E. Main St., Brevard 828-885-2101 • brevard-brewing.com

3 THE HUB AND PISGAH TAVERN

BUSINESS THAT BEST REPRESENTS THE SPIRIT OF YOUR TOWN

11 Mama’s Place, Pisgah Forest 828-884-8670 • thehubpisgah.com

LOCAL PLACE TO ENJOY THE OUTDOORS

1 THE HUB AND PISGAH TAVERN 11 Mama’s Place, Pisgah Forest 828-884-8670 • thehubpisgah.com

1 PISGAH NATIONAL FOREST 828-257-4200 • avl.mx/6aw

2 WHITE SQUIRREL SHOPPE

2 DUPONT STATE FOREST

2 W. Main St., Brevard 828-877-3530 • whitesquirrelshoppe.com

Staton Road, Cedar Mountain 828-877-6527 • dupontforest.com

NG AREA MAP OUTLYI Burnsville

40 26

Hot Springs 25

19E 19

Mars Hill

Marshall Weaverville

Brevard

Woodfin

Black Mountain 40

Swannanoa 40

First Place - Lunch Restaurant First Place - Dinner Restaurant

s q ua r e r o o t r e s ta u r a n t . c o m 33 TimeS arcade alley B r e va r d , N c 828.884.6171 82

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Waynesville 74

Sylva

280

26

64

Cullowhee

Hendersonville Brevard 64

Flat Rock

CONTINUED

hendersonville & flat rock BREAKFAST RESTAURANT 1 HONEY AND SALT 2730 Greenville Highway, Flat Rock 828-676-8322 • honeyandsaltnc.com

2 HENDOUGH CHICKEN AND DONUTS 532 Kanuga Road, Hendersonville 828-595-2885 • hendough.com

3 FIRESIDE RESTAURANT 295 Sugarloaf Road, Hendersonville 828-697-1004 • firesidepancakeinn.com

LUNCH RESTAURANT 1 FLAT ROCK VILLAGE BAKERY 2710 Greenville Highway, Flat Rock 828-693-1313 • Flatrockwoodfired.com

2 NEVER BLUE 119 S. Main St., Hendersonville 828-693-4646 • theneverblue.com

3 MOUNTAIN DELI 343 N. Main St., Hendersonville 828-693-0093 • mountaindelinc.com

DINNER RESTAURANT 1 NEVER BLUE 119 S. Main St., Hendersonville 828-693-4646 • theneverblue.com

2 WEST FIRST WOOD FIRED PIZZA 101-B First Ave. W., Hendersonville 828-693-1080 • Flatrockwoodfired.com

3 POSTERO 401 N. Main St., Hendersonville 828-595-9676 • postero-hvl.com

COFFEE & SWEETS 1 BLACK BEAR COFFEE CO. 318 N. Main St., Hendersonville 828-692-6333 • blackbear.coffee

2 MCFARLAN BAKERY 309 N. Main St., Hendersonville 828-693-4256 • mcfarlanbakery.com

3 FLAT ROCK VILLAGE BAKERY 2710 Greenville Highway, Flat Rock 828-693-1313 • Flatrockwoodfired.com

ART GALLERY

MUSIC/ENTERTAINMENT VENUE 1 FLAT ROCK PLAYHOUSE x

2661 Greenville Highway, Flat Rock 828-693-0731 • flatrockplayhouse.org

2 SANCTUARY BREWING CO. 147 First Ave. E., Hendersonville 828-595-9956 • sanctuarybrewco.com

3 SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN BREWERY 822 Locust St., Hendersonville 828-684-1235 • sabrewery.com

BUSINESS THAT BEST REPRESENTS THE SPIRIT OF YOUR TOWN

HONEY AND SALT Best Breakfast Restaurant

1 MAST GENERAL STORE 527 N. Main St., Hendersonville 828-696-1883 • mastgeneralstore.com

2 SANCTUARY BREWING CO. 147 First Ave. E., Hendersonville 828-595-9956 • sanctuarybrewco.com

3 HENDERSONVILLE COMMUNITY CO-OP 60 S. Charleston Lane, Hendersonville 828-693-0505 • hendersonville.coop

RETAIL STORE 1 MAST GENERAL STORE x

527 N. Main St., Hendersonville 828-696-1883 • mastgeneralstore.com

CULTURAL OR ARTS EVENT 1 NC APPLE FESTIVAL 318 N. Main St., Hendersonville 828-697-4557 • ncapplefestival.org

2 GARDEN JUBILEE 201 S. Main St., Hendersonville 800-828-4244 visithendersonvillenc.org/garden-jubilee

3 ART ON MAIN 306 Derby Lane, Hendersonville avl.mx/3se

LOCAL BAR/BREWERY/ WATERING HOLE 1 SANCTUARY BREWING CO. 147 First Ave. E., Hendersonville 828-595-9956 • sanctuarybrewco.com

2 BOLD ROCK HARD CIDER 72 School House Road, Mills River 828-595-9940 • boldrock.com

1 ART MOB STUDIOS AND MARKETPLACE 3 SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN BREWERY 124 Fourth Ave. E., Hendersonville 828-693-4545 • artmobstudios.com

PHOTO BY ERIN HILL

822 Locust St., Hendersonville 828-684-1235 • sabrewery.com

LOCAL PLACE TO ENJOY THE OUTDOORS 1 CARL SANDBURG HOME NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE 1800 Little River Road, Flat Rock 828-693-4178 • nps.gov/carl/index.htm

2 DUPONT STATE FOREST Staton Road, Cedar Mountain 828-877-6527 • dupontforest.com

3 JUMP OFF ROCK 4433 Laurel Park Highway, Hendersonville 828-693-4840 • laurelpark.org

LOCAL CAUSE TO SUPPORT 1 BLUE RIDGE HUMANE SOCIETY 88 Centipede Lane, Hendersonville 828-692­-2639 • blueridgehumane.org

CULTURAL OR HISTORICAL LANDMARK 1 CARL SANDBURG HOME NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE 1800 Little River Road, Flat Rock 828-693-4178 • nps.gov/carl/index.htm

2 HISTORIC HENDERSON COUNTY COURTHOUSE 1 Historic Courthouse Square, Hendersonville 828-694-1619 • hendersoncountymuseum.com

3 FLAT ROCK PLAYHOUSE 2661 Greenville Highway, Flat Rock 828-693-0731 • flatrockplayhouse.org

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BEST OF small towns

Sylva

& Cullowhee BREAKFAST RESTAURANT 1 THE COFFEE SHOP x 385 W. Main St., Sylva 828-586-2013

2 CITY LIGHTS CAFE 3 E. Jackson St., Sylva 828-587-2233 • citylightscafe.com

LUNCH RESTAURANT PHOTO COURTESY OF JACKSON COUNTY NC TDA

HISTORIC JACKSON COUNTY COURTHOUSE AND LIBRARY Best Cultural or Historical Landmark

1 MAD BATTER FOOD & FILM 617 W. Main St., Sylva 828-586-3555 • avl.mx/6cg

2 GUADALUPE CAFÉ 606 W. Main St., Sylva 828-586-9877 • guadalupecafe.com

3 CITY LIGHTS CAFE 3 E. Jackson St., Sylva 828-587-2233 • citylightscafe.com

DINNER RESTAURANT 1 LULU'S ON MAIN x

678 W. Main St., Sylva 828-586-8989 • lulusonmain.com

2 BOGARTS RESTAURANT & TAVERN 303 S. Main St., Waynesville 828-452-1313 • bogartswaynesville.com

3 MAD BATTER FOOD & FILM 617 W. Main St., Sylva 828-586-3555 • avl.mx/6cg

COFFEE & SWEETS 1 CITY LIGHTS CAFE x

3 E. Jackson St., Sylva 828-587-2233 • citylightscafe.com

BUSINESS THAT BEST REPRESENTS THE SPIRIT OF YOUR TOWN 1 INNOVATION BREWING 414 W. Main St., Sylva 828-586-9678 • innovation-brewing.com

CULTURAL OR HISTORICAL LANDMARK 1 HISTORIC JACKSON COUNTY COURTHOUSE AND LIBRARY 310 Keener St., Sylva 828-586-2016 • discoverjacksonnc.com/attractions/ jackson-county-courthouse

2 JUDACULLA ROCK 552 Judaculla Rock Road, Cullowhee 828-293-3053 • judacullarock.com

CULTURAL OR ARTS EVENT 1 GREENING UP THE MOUNTAINS West Main St., Sylva greeningupthemountains.com

LOCAL BAR/BREWERY/ WATERING HOLE 1 INNOVATION BREWING 414 W. Main St., Sylva 828-586-9678 • innovation-brewing.com

2 THE CUT COCKTAIL LOUNGE 610 W. Main St., Sylva 828-631-4795

2 WHITE MOON CAFE 545 Mill St., Sylva 828-331-0111 • whitemoonsylva.com

MUSIC/ENTERTAINMENT VENUE 1 INNOVATION BREWING 414 W. Main St., Sylva 828-586-9678 • innovation-brewing.com

2 THE PAPER MILL LOUNGE AND THEATRE 513 Mill St., Sylva 828-508-0554 • thepapermilllounge.com

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LOCAL PLACE TO ENJOY THE OUTDOORS 1 PINNACLE PARK Fisher Creek Road, Sylva avl.mx/6c5

LOCAL CAUSE TO SUPPORT 1 CATMAN2 637 Bo Cove Road, Cullowhee 828-293-0892 • catman2.org

CONTINUED

Wanesville M a gg ie

BREAKFAST RESTAURANT 1 JOEY'S PANCAKE HOUSE

4309 Soco Road, Maggie Valley 828-926-0212 • joeyspancake.com

2 THE BUTTERED BISCUIT

1226 Dellwood Road, Waynesville 828-246-6446 • butteredbiscuitwnc.com

3 CLYDE'S RESTAURANT 2107 S. Main St., Waynesville 828-456-9135

LUNCH RESTAURANT 1 BOOJUM BREWING CO. TAPROOM 50 N. Main St., Waynesville 828-246-0350 • boojumbrewing.com

2 BLUE ROOSTER SOUTHERN GRILL 207 Paragon Parkway, Clyde 828-456-1997 • blueroostersoutherngrill.com

3 HAYWOOD SMOKEHOUSE

79 Elysinia Ave., Waynesville 828-456-7275 • haywoodsmokehouse.com

3 THE SWEET ONION RESTAURANT 39 Miller St., Waynesville 828-456-5559 • sweetonionrestaurant.com

DINNER RESTAURANT 1 BOOJUM BREWING CO. TAPROOM 50 N. Main St., Waynesville 828-246-0350 • boojumbrewing.com

2 THE SWEET ONION RESTAURANT 39 Miller St., Waynesville 828-456-5559 • sweetonionrestaurant.com

3 FROGS LEAP PUBLIC HOUSE

44 Church St., Waynesville 828-456-1930 • frogsleappublichouse.com

COFFEE & SWEETS 1 PANACEA COFFEE CO. x

66 Commerce St., Waynesville 828-452-6200 • panaceacoffee.com

2 KANDI'S CAKES & BAKE SHOP

200 S. Main St., Waynesville 828-246-0180 • kandiscakesandbakeshop.com

2 SMOKY MOUNTAIN ROASTERS 444 Hazlewood Ave., Waynesville 828-452-1212

ART GALLERY

Valley & Ca nton

MUSIC/ENTERTAINMENT VENUE 1 BOOJUM BREWING CO. TAPROOM 50 N. Main St., Waynesville 828-246-0350 • boojumbrewing.com 56 Commerce St., Waynesville 828-454-5664 • froglevelbrewing.com

BUSINESS THAT BEST REPRESENTS THE SPIRIT OF YOUR TOWN 1 BOOJUM BREWING CO. TAPROOM 50 N. Main St., Waynesville 828-246-0350 • boojumbrewing.com

2 MAST GENERAL STORE

Best Local Cause to Support

LOCAL PLACE TO ENJOY THE OUTDOORS 1 LAKE JUNALUSKA lakejunaluska.com

1 SARGE’S ANIMAL RESCUE FOUNDATION 256 Industrial Park Drive, Waynesville 828-246-9050 • sargeanimals.org

2 BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY blueridgeparkway.org

3 CATALOOCHEE VALLEY

LOCAL CAUSE TO SUPPORT

2 REACH OF HAYWOOD COUNTY

Great Smoky Mountains visitncsmokies.com/attractions/cataloochee-valley

627 N Main St., Waynesville 828-456-7898 • reachofhaywood.org

63 N. Main St., Waynesville 828-452-2101 • mastgeneralstore.com

3 HAZELWOOD SOAP CO. 435 Hazelwood Ave., Waynesville 828-456-3385 • hazelwoodsoapcompany.com

RETAIL STORE 1 MAST GENERAL STORE x

63 N. Main St., Waynesville 828-452-2101 • mastgeneralstore.com

2 HAZELWOOD SOAP CO. 435 Hazelwood Ave., Waynesville 828-456-3385 • hazelwoodsoapcompany.com

3 ROBIN BLU 486 Hazelwood Ave., Waynesville 828-246-9697

CULTURAL OR ARTS EVENT 1 FOLKMOOT USA INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL 112 Virginia Ave., Waynesville 828-452-2997 • folkmoot.org

2 APPLE HARVEST FESTIVAL Waynesville 828-456-3021 • avl.mx/67f

LOCAL BAR/BREWERY/ WATERING HOLE 1 BOOJUM BREWING CO. TAPROOM 50 N. Main St., Waynesville 828-246-0350 • boojumbrewing.com

2 BEARWATERS BREWING CO.

2 T PENNINGTON ART GALLERY

3 FROG LEVEL BREWING CO.

15 N. Main St., Waynesville 828-452-9284 • tpennington.com

SARGE’S ANIMAL RESCUE FOUNDATION

2 FROG LEVEL BREWING CO.

1 TWIGS AND LEAVES GALLERY x 98 N. Main St., Waynesville 828-456-1940 • twigsandleaves.com

PHOTO COURTESY OF SARGE’S ANIMAL RESCUE FOUNDATION

101 Park St., Canton 828-237-4200 • bwbrewing.com 56 Commerce St., Waynesville 828-454-5664 • froglevelbrewing.com

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Offering our own craft-brewed beer, hand-tossed pizza with fresh local ingredients, & scrumptious homemade ice cream

Blue Mountain Pizza & Brew Pub

1st Place Business That Best Represents The Spirit Of Your Town (Weaverville & Woodfin) 1st Place Music/Entertainment Venue (Weaverville & Woodfin) 1st Place Local Bar/Brewery/Watering Hole (Weaverville & Woodfin) Top 3 Lunch Restaurant, Regional (Weaverville & Woodfin) Top 3 Dinner Restaurant, Regional (Weaverville & Woodfin) Extensive menu, Fresh local ingredients Live music every night from 7-9 55 N Main St downtown Weaverville www.bluemountainpizza.com • 828.658.8778 Tuesday-Sunday 11am to 9pm with extended hours Friday & Saturday until 10pm

Enjoy monthly meals for a cause! Each month Blue Mountain Pizza hosts the “Third Thursday Fundraising Program,” benefiting a Weavervillebased nonprofit or organization (including schools, senior meal centers, food banks, and more) . We will match 100% of all community donations made at Blue Mountain Pizza, in addition to contributing 10% of the day’s profit, to the featured organization of the month.

Thank you to the best staff around who work hard every day to make it happen To our customers who over the years have become our friends And to the Weaverville community who have embraced us Your support and recognition is appreciated more than you will ever know 86

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is grateful for your votes!

We are Honored to be #1!

Thank you for helping us sort over 1 million TONS of solid waste since 2009!

EATNEO.com West Asheville

1341 Parkwood Rd.

828-772-9602

East Asheville

4 South Tunnel Rd. #750

828-772-9619

Use this ad for buy one get one FREE or 20.00 off any catering!

Biltmore Park

2 Town Square Blvd.

828-676-2066

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Greenville

1268 Pendleton St.

864-552-1054 BEST OF WNC - PART ONE

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