Mountain Xpress 08.12.20

OUR 27TH YEAR OF WEEKLY INDEPENDENT NEWS, ARTS & EVENTS FOR WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA VOL. 27 NO. 2 AUG. 12 - 18, 2020

COVID stresses Buncombe opioid response

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Bodega on Broadway offers soup to nuts and more

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THE

NEW VANGUARD Young Black leaders demand change

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C O N T E NT S

FEATURES

Asheville Raven & Crone Bottle Riot / formerly District Wine Bar Carolina Hemp Company Dogwood Health Trust Father and Son Home Improvement Franny’s Farm Geraldine’s Bakery Gillespie Dental Associates Givens Gerber Park

FEATURE

Asheville Pizza and Brewing Company

14 COVID CONVERSATIONS Family cat returns after house fire; couple escapes to Asheville during pandemic

18 CRISIS INSIDE CRISIS Pandemic stresses Buncombe opioid response

GREEN

Accounting Office Management

12 OVER THE HUMP Divided Buncombe commissioners pass reparations resolution

WELLNESS

NEWS

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PAGE 9 NEXT GENERATION Young Black leaders have been at the vanguard of many recent protests calling for racial justice and social change. Xpress talked to local youths to learn more about their inspirations, motivations and hopes — and how their activism is going beyond street demonstrations. Here, Brevard native Zeena Abdulkarim addresses a crowd in Asheville.

COVER PHOTO Juan Diego Reyes COVER DESIGN Scott Southwick 6 LETTERS 6 CARTOON: MOLTON 7 CARTOON: BRENT BROWN 9 NEWS 12 BUNCOMBE BEAT

20 MUCH AT STEAK COVID-19 yanks WNC’s local meat supply chain

Ingles Markets Inc.

14 COVID CONVERSATIONS 16 ASHEVILLE ARCHIVES 17 COMMUNITY CALENDAR 18 WELLNESS

Jack of the Wood Land of Sky Regional Council (LOSRC)

20 GREEN SCENE

FOOD

Isis Restaurant and Music Hall

22 FOOD COURT Introducing Kay West’s occasional column on the local culinary scene

22 FOOD 24 CAROLINA BEER GUY 26 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT 31 CLUBLAND

Livewell in WNC / Live Well McDowell Technical Community College Musician’s Workshop Nature’s Vitamins and Herbs New Belgium Brewing

A&E

Leicester Artists

26 TRANSFORMING DOWNTOWN A behind-the-scenes look at Asheville’s Black Lives Matter mural

32 MOVIES 34 FREEWILL ASTROLOGY 35 CLASSIFIEDS 35 NY TIMES CROSSWORD

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OPINION

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

Students and parents on the hook if campuses close My kid is in her second year at Western Carolina University. When the COVID-19 crisis struck, they sent the kids home from dorms and credited the balance of the days left for housing and meal plans.

A short time later, WCU sent out an email saying if the pandemic flared up again in the fall that no student would be receiving any money back for lost housing or meal plans or other fees if they had to send students home again.

Now, every day we hear of more and more cases at universities with student athletes, and yet many of the colleges still contend they may have sports activities as well as normal college life activities with CDC guidelines in place. However, she has already received her class schedule noting that all of her classes are online (none of the same classes would have been online last year before the pandemic). As we watch the numbers continue to grow, one would think that bringing in thousands of kids to one place from all over the country (and possibly world) to put them in dorms would be the last move you would make to control the spread of the virus, as well as prevent a possible closing of the dorms once again. Gov. Cooper has curbed all gatherings of churches, gyms, bars, etc., but allowing these students in dorms and common areas is totally fine?

I predict that within the first month, cases will “spike” at these universities, and they will be forced to again send students home. My belief is that they are

“Fall semester updates at info.wcu. edu/fall2020.”

Vote for candidates who take virus seriously

C AR T O O N B Y R AN DY M O L T O N already preparing to do this by putting the coursework online in the beginning.

However, this time, the students are on the hook for thousands of dollars (many of which are student loans) without housing or meal plans reimbursed. This does not even touch the amount of leases the students who live off campus in apartments will be forced to pay without actually attending the university. These leases are nonrefundable as well. All of this debt to thousands of students could be avoided by heeding their own words

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and delaying the move into the campus until the pandemic is controlled.

I would be curious to know why no news agency is confronting this major financial issue to parents of students during a pandemic when we are all touched financially by this problem and the very state we live in is helping them pull this off.

— Mark Wallen Arden Editor’s note: Xpress contacted Western Carolina University with a summary of the letter writer’s points and received the following response from Brian Mullen of the University Communications and Marketing Department: “Western Carolina University is working diligently to fulfill its academic and regional mission and protect the well-being of its campus community while being responsive to pandemic directives.

“The University of North Carolina system issued guidance to all its institutions about the possibility that housing and dining refunds may not be available if COVID-19 creates a situation where students must leave campus and return to online learning.

“Some have interpreted this as a definitive decision not to issue refunds, but that is not accurate. If UNC system institutions are able to offer financial relief to students — in the form of refunds or other measures — WCU would certainly prefer to do so. However, the current uncertain economic environment and health outlook precludes WCU from making any immediate decisions or commitments on the issue of refunds, should that need arise.

In a recent Mountain Xpress was a moving and sad remembrance of the 1966 University of Texas shooting and deaths to demonstrate the irresponsible attitude of current Republican candidates not wearing masks at several recent political gatherings [“Events That Haunt Us Forever,” July 29].

One of a Republican candidate’s proudest qualifications for public office is his NRA rating, which is worn like a Boy Scout badge. They also frequently brag about their collection of weaponry.

We’ve all seen the photo of Republican candidate Madison Cawthorn with his Cheshire grin while brandishing an expensive rifle. When asked why the importance of owning so many guns, a Republican candidate will often say, “They are to protect my family.”

Bless their hearts! It’s like they almost understand the need to wear a mask.

We are all trying to get through this invisible threat to our families, and we all hold a collective responsibility to use the guidance given us as our understanding of the virus evolves.

Our efforts are devalued by these Republican candidates who laughingly pretend their carelessness and irresponsibility is justified. How many Western North Carolina people have to suffer or die before these Republicans realize their immorality?

We as citizens expect and deserve better of our elected officials. Please vote for these Democratic candidates: Brian Caskey for 48th District Senate, Sam Edney for 113th District representative, Brian Turner for 116th District representative, Josh Remillard for 117th District representative and Moe Davis for 11th Congressional District representative.

They take this coronavirus seriously and understand the anguish of our friends and neighbors suffering on many levels because of COVID-19.

— John H. Fisher Hendersonville

Why bring students back now?

It makes little sense to me to bring college students back to campus when the COVID-19 pandemic is at such a high rate. Students didn’t return from spring break last spring when there were no cases of the virus in Jackson County.

So, why are we bringing hundreds of students here when there are several cases as well as some deaths?

C AR T O O N B Y B R E N T B R O W N The only way we can stop the virus is to isolate from one another for three to four weeks. Many of the young people I see around here now aren’t wearing masks. Why would anyone think students will do any better?

I think we should consider the health and welfare of all the people who live here before we import more people from areas where there may be more cases of the virus. I wish people would follow the scientific evidence and wait until it is safe. I am 85 years old, operate a cat shelter and The American Museum of the House Cat, which helps support the shelter. Both have not been allowed to open this year, and there has been no income to support our cause.

A mask will cost much less than my nonprofits have lost by the state’s effort to stop the spread. Maybe you can do it for the cats.

— Harold Sims Former professor of biology Cullowhee

Elect candidates committed to funding public education Most North Carolina voters understand that our children deserve highly qualified teachers and support staff so that pupils are prepared not only to compete in the workforce and to make

informed decisions as future taxpaying citizens, but also to realize their full potential as healthy, productive lifelong learners.

To redirect the Republican-majority legislature’s trend of budget cuts coupled with diversion of education funds to private schools, we must elect candidates who are committed to legislating robust, fair funding for public schools in a fast-changing and complex 21st century.

This November (earlier, if voting by mail), vote for Democratic candidates for a strong North Carolina public education system that will once again make us proud.

For North Carolina’s children and their future, let’s elect Brian Caskey for North Carolina Senate (District 48), Sam Edney for State House (113), Josh Remillard for State House (117) and Jen Mangrum as state superintendent of public instruction.

Also, let’s vote to replace Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos’ boss. How could she ever have been tapped for such a position? She has never attended public school, has no training or degrees in education and is unqualified to teach in any public school.

— Sheila Clendenning Flat Rock Editor’s note: Clendenning reports volunteering for and contributing to all of the candidates named in the letter.

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OPINION

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

My health problems stem from a rare blood disorder, polycythemia vera, that I developed several years ago. With this disorder, blood clots develop too readily. Clots formed in my liver, necessitating a liver transplant.

The liver transplant took place in 2011 at UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill.

My kidneys eventually failed because my liver was so adversely affected.

My blood disorder is under control with blood thinners. If I can find a living donor and get a transplanted

kidney, I can go back to a fairly normal life. Simple everyday life is such a gift.

You might be the person who could make the difference for me. A kidney donation would provide me the gift of life.

The details are these. The transplant would be done at UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill. My insurance will cover all testing and surgery costs. The donor can return to daily activities in one or two weeks because the surgery is done laparoscopically. A living donor

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— Heather Ledbetter Etowah

The weeds that ate Asheville All of Asheville looks hideous with weeds, weeds, everywhere!

Reasonable appropriations should go toward weed management. Why would citizens want to live with this disgusting eyesore?

What does this say about Asheville?

Shame on you, Public Works.

Tourists? Take a look around you.

— Sherrie Mirsky Asheville Editor’s note: Xpress contacted the city of Asheville with a summary of the letter writer’s points and received the following response from communications specialist Polly McDaniel: “Please be aware that the city of Asheville and NCDOT both have roads within the city limits that they are responsible for maintaining. … Asheville Public Works has two mowing tractors and operators who mow on a daily basis April through November. They rotate around the city, though when specific issues crop up, like sight distance, we do our best to address those for safety reasons.

“We would advise residents who are concerned about a specific location to

report it through the Asheville App, a free downloadable smart device app where people can report an area that needs attention. If you don’t have a smart device, you can also report a service issue on the city of Asheville website at [avl.mx/7tk].”

Cuts to military spending could have gone far We are in a time of crisis, and the crisis is worldwide. The very last thing we need is the U.S. making more war on countries and dropping more bombs on foreigners who never hurt the people of the USA. Sen. Burr, Sen. Tillis and Rep. McHenry, your vote against a cut of 10% from the U.S. military budget deeply hurt the people of the countries where we are making war.

And if you don’t care about foreigners living (or trying to live) under our bombs, then maybe you could care about the people right here at home.

With record unemployment, record lack of health insurance/health care and record lack of affordable housing, there are many, many people here in the USA who could have used those funds right here inside our country.

Instead, they will go hungry, have poor quality schools, lack access to appropriate health care, have record unemployment and sometimes end up homeless.

And a measly 10% of the military budget could have gone a long way toward addressing those issues.

— Susan Oehler Asheville

2020

l Estate Reaissue Publishes Aug. 26 8

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G UE S T C AR T OO N B Y N A N C Y D U N N

NEWS

Next generation

Emerging Black voices demand change

BY LAURA HACKETT

BRYAN THOMPSON

Student Union at Warren Wilson College, got an early start in racial equity advocacy. In elementary school, “This kid Johnny stole my necklace and used a racial slur, and I took my carton of chocolate milk and poured it all over him,” recalls Thompson, who uses they/ them pronouns and identifies as queer.

As Thompson got older, they focused on ways to contribute to inclusive and equitable environments. They served in a leadership role with first-year students at Warren Wilson and recently became a program coordinator for Youth OUTright, which serves LGBTQIA+ youths in Western North Carolina.

“I’ve always had this niche for community and for providing spaces for people to exist in that have difficulty existing in spaces outside of ones they create with chosen community and family,” Thompson says. “I speak a lot about radical self-love and what that looks like, especially in the face of white supremacy.”

In early June, the Black Student Union issued a list of 16 demands to Warren Wilson College. Citing incidents on campus such as “spray-painting of a racial slur on the inside of a Black student’s dorm room,” the letters “KKK” carved into a tree and “microagressions, racial profiling and exclusionary remarks,” the list focused on prioritizing “the safety of past, present and future Black community members” and amplifying Black and brown voices.

“The overall narrative we are wanting to drive home is that Warren Wilson has never been a space or environment where [Black, Indigenous and people of color] community members felt seen, heard or safe,” Thompson clarified in a July 4 email to Xpress. On June 26, Warren Wilson responded to each of the demands. Among other commitments, the college agreed to hire two new diversity-focused positions, establish a $25,000 scholarship fund in Floyd’s memory and expand counseling opportunities with people of color.

But Thompson and BSU leaders Shidaria Solomon, Bria Scott and Elizabeth Patton are continuing their push for more accountability. They formed The Alma Shippy Coalition, a network of students from different backgrounds who are committed to building on the BSU’s accomplishments.

Shippy, the coalition’s namesake, in 1952 became the first Black student admitted to the college.

Like Newton, 23-year-old Bryan Thompson, president of the Black

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lhackett@mountainx.com At recent local protests for racial justice, young people have led chants taken up by thousands of demonstrators protesting the May 25 killing of George Floyd by a white Minneapolis police officer. Some have engaged their colleges’ administrations in discussions about redressing campus inequities, while others joined forces with a multigenerational effort, Black AVL Demands, to advocate for dramatic changes in city policy and spending. Many have been involved in all of those efforts and more.

“Our youth are the energy of the movement,” says Libby Kyles, CEO of the YWCA of Asheville and a Black Lives Matter leader and mentor. “They felt very much like things have not been happening fast enough.”

To understand the stories and visions of these emerging leaders, Xpress reached out to four local racial justice organizers — all younger than 25 — to learn about their experiences and what has motivated them to act.

LONDON NEWTON

Stepping into the role of change agent was just a part of growing up for London Newton, 20. “I’ve always been a pretty involved student in school, so then I really had no choice but to be that person and do that work because I was always having to navigate white spaces,” says Newton, who’s president of the student body at UNC Asheville.“I was always the token Black person and I knew that before I even had the language for it.”

As a person of color, Newton says she sees herself, her siblings and other friends and family members reflected in every news report of a Black or brown person killed at the hands of police.

Those too-frequent stories are “triggering,” she says, so “instead of letting that

TAKING TO THE STREETS: Protesters, many of them young, chanted, “Hands up, don’t shoot” as they marched down College Street in downtown Asheville on June 3. This photo was taken about 10 minutes before the city’s 8 p.m. curfew went into effect. Within the hour, Asheville police had fired tear gas and rubber bullets at demonstrators approaching Otis Street and Patton Avenue, protesters said. Photo

by Jarret Porter be sadness, I’ve kind of turned it into working for change.”

In the wake of protests in late May and June, Newton addressed her UNCA classmates in a June 24 email that later was forwarded to the faculty and administration. She criticized the institution for not using the words “Black Lives Matter” to support the movement and for tokenizing students of color in its marketing materials. And she urged the student body to “examine campus issues such as Eurocentric curriculum, implicit biases and lack of diversity in professional faculty and staff.”

Since then, Newton has collaborated with other members of UNCA’s student government to explore how the school can exemplify community policing on campus and redefine what constitutes “merit” in scholarship awards to provide more equitable access to those resources.

In a July 22 email to Xpress, UNCA spokesperson Sarah Broberg expressed gratitude for Newton’s leadership and said that the university is collaborating with selected faculty, staff and student leaders to create “the first draft of a racial justice road map” that will guide racial equity work over the next two years. Broberg said the road map will be

shared at the start of the fall semester.

In addition, UNCA Chancellor Nancy Cable has earmarked $65,000 to “support campuswide projects, programs and analysis to promote racial justice and understanding.”

“We look forward to working with [Newton] during the coming year to make sustainable change at UNC Asheville and to make sure that it is very clear that Black lives matter.”

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NEWS

“When I had to confront that rage that came from a child being killed by a white man — and feeling my ancestors just moan through all my family members — I think when I confronted that Black rage is when I confronted the necessity of doing this sort of work.”

— Tashia Ethridge In an official statement on July 9, the coalition asked the college to revisit the demands in a process that would include more active and campuswide participation and that students be involved in policy changes through compensated work.

In a July 30 email, Warren Wilson spokesperson Mary Bates indicated that the college was listening to these suggestions. The institution recently hired Daleah Goodwin as director of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. She is forming an advisory committee that will include students, faculty, staff, a member of the college’s board of trustees and a senior member of the college’s administration. “Members will hold their appointment for a two-year term and will be compensated with a onetime $500 stipend,” said Bates.

AJAX RAVENAL

Now 18, Ajax Ravenal says she experienced racial profiling and bullying from peers and teachers at public and private schools in Western North Carolina.

Those traumatic experiences were followed by mental health challenges that led her to drop out of school at 16.

“In those spaces, there was no one who really understood me from a cultural aspect or a mental health aspect,” says Ravenal. “It was a terrible experience, but moving forward, that got me to where I am now.”

She earned a GED diploma through local nonprofit Green Opportunities and now works as a community engagement coordinator for the YMI Cultural Center, where she is mentored by Black leaders including Michael Hayes and Dewana Little.

Ravenal has carved out a unique role as an intermediary between younger activists and the elders of the movement, who sometimes struggle with the language of the current “woke” generation.

She also helps different age groups navigate the concept of “intersectionality,” which explores how race interacts with other aspects of a person’s identity, such as sexual orientation or gender identity.

In collaboration with the YMI, Ravenal recently launched the Noir Collective, a new storefront project on Eagle Street that exclusively features the products and artwork of local Black creatives.

The space hosted its first pop-up event, “Bring Black Back to the Block” on Aug. 8.

“Once we start having capital and are able to buy storefronts and have storefronts, then there’s that money flow coming through. … Money is power,” she explains. “Right now our city will dangle $500 in front of us, and we end up fighting over it.”

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TASHIA ETHRIDGE

Former Enka High School student and Asheville native Tashia Ethridge says it wasn’t easy “being a Black, gay femme in a predominantly white school,” and Ethridge, who uses they/them pronouns, struggled with self-acceptance. Now, at 20, Ethridge majors in mass communications at UNC Asheville and hopes to promote more equitable representation of Black voices in media.

To that end, Ethridge is working on a podcast about urban renewal in Asheville.

The series aims to shed light on ways the taking of Black-owned property in the 1960s and ’70s shaped present-day racial dynamics in the city. Many people “act as if they have amnesia to the fact that this city was built on the backs of Black people,” they say.

Ethridge helped organize the city’s Black Liberation March on July 4. They point to the 2012 killing of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin — an unarmed Black high school student who was shot by a white resident, George Zimmerman, in Sanford, Fla. — as an event that shaped their activism.

“That’s when I really confronted what it means to be Black,” recalls Ethridge.

“I remember sitting with my family and grieving and then feeling what James Baldwin describes as Black rage: this fire in the bowels that can either be the driving force for us or the bane of our existence.

“When I had to confront that rage that came from a child being killed by a white man — and feeling my ancestors just moan through all my family members — I think when I confronted that Black rage is when I confronted the necessity of doing this sort of work.”

ACROSS THE GENERATIONS

Nearly every activist emphasized that, while the majority of folks on the front lines of recent protests have been young people, much of the work behind the scenes is being orchestrated by other generations of Black leaders.

“The youth are showing up so our elders don’t have to march at such a frightening time. … We are working together intergenerationally and finding our commonalities and our differences and confronting them and having conversations,” says Ethridge.

In early June, a collective of self-described “Black Individuals and Blackled organizations across Asheville and Buncombe County” published Black AVL Demands, which calls for reallocating half of the Asheville Police Department budget to Black communities, creating an all-civilian oversight committee with the power to hold the APD and individual officers accountable for wrongdoing, removing Confederate monuments and renaming streets that memorialize former slave owners.

While many members of the Black AVL Demands Collective have chosen to remain anonymous, Newton and Thompson agreed to go on the record as members of this local and multigenerational organization.

Kyles of the YWCA says that every part of the age spectrum has an important role to play. “We have our elders who have lived through the civil rights movement and who experienced much of the racial discourse and hatred and effects of systemic racism, longer than some of us have been alive,” she says. “We have our resource group, which I consider myself a part of, and then we have our youth.”

She continues, “What I love about our young people is they recognize the intersectionality of this movement. It’s not just about Black lives, it’s about all Black lives. It’s about trans Black lives. It’s about nonbinary Black lives … and that’s the thing we have to hold on to. If one of us [is] bound, we all are bound.”

“We owe it to the ancestors who did the work they did, who got us to where we are now, to where we can even protest,” adds Newton. “We have to keep speaking out, because someone already did the work to get us to where we are now.

“I don’t want future generations of Black people to deal with the same trauma and heal from the same trauma that I have and that my parents’ generations have.”

Photos of Newton, Thompson and Ravenal provided by the subjects; photo of Ethridge by Laura Hackett. X

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12

AUG. 12-18, 2020

MOUNTAINX.COM

Divided commission passes reparations resolution “Reparations, the word — Yeah, it frightens a lot of people,” said Al Whitesides, the sole Black member of the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners, prior to an Aug. 4 vote to support reparations for the county’s Black residents. “But sometimes to get over the hump, so to speak, or to be successful, we need to be frightened.”

Fear wasn’t an obstacle for Whitesides and his three Democratic colleagues as they approved the resolution over the opposition of the board’s three Republicans. The county government is now aligned with Asheville City Council, which unanimously passed a similar measure on July 14.

Buncombe’s resolution does not allocate any specific funding for reparations, nor does it mandate direct payments to Black residents. Instead, the county will appoint members to the city’s Community Reparations Commission and prioritize racial equity in areas such as early childhood education, infant mortality and the justice system.

While the county’s language contains similar apologies for racial injustice and calls for state and federal governments to explore reparations, Democratic Commissioner Amanda Edwards emphasized that it was not a “copy and paste” of the city’s resolution. Together with Democrat Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, Edwards said, she’d drafted the document independently to be “authentic to Buncombe County” and draw on the county’s recently completed strategic plan, which sets equity as a “foundational focus area.”

Republicans Anthony Penland and Robert Pressley both pointed to that strategic plan in explaining their votes against the resolution. Because the county had already flagged racial equity as a priority, Penland argued, the commission didn’t need to “pass another piece of paper” about the issue. (He did join the board in a unanimous vote earlier in the night on another resolution declaring racism a public health and safety crisis.)

Pressley also asserted that Buncombe should focus less on its words and more on fulfilling its prior promises. “We need to be working on affordable housing, we need to be working on this education for them, the welfare of them. And when I say them, I’m talking about everybody,” he said.

“I support a lot that’s in [the resolution], but there is just some things, and

‘GET OVER THE HUMP’: Al Whitesides, the sole Black member of the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners, said before the board’s Aug. 4 vote to approve a reparations resolution that fear of the word “reparations” shouldn’t impede work toward racial justice. Photo courtesy of Whitesides I would like to see some things changed around,” Pressley continued. The commission’s vice chair did not, however, indicate any specific areas where he disagreed with the resolution’s language.

Meanwhile, Republican Joe Belcher said he viewed his job as directing county spending, not making political statements. He outlined a desire to allocate $1 million — approximately 0.3% of Buncombe’s general fund budget for the current fiscal year — toward programs that would help the Black community, including support for Black-owned businesses, homebuyer education and downpayment assistance.

Following the Republicans’ comments, Beach-Ferrara pushed back on their claims that the commission’s words were unimportant. “They matter when we say our marriage vows, they matter when we say our prayers, they matter when we take our oaths of office,” she said. “The substance will come, the strategies will come, the deliverables will come, about what community reparations mean here. … But this is about setting our sights toward that.”

— Daniel Walton X

Controversial plea deal for former APD officer extended

HEARING POSTPONED: Christopher Hickman, center left, shakes hands with Jon Powell of Campbell University, who consulted on the restorative justice process in connection with the 2017 assault of Johnnie Rush by Hickman, who was then an Asheville police officer. Photo by Virginia Daffron Former Asheville Police Officer Christopher Hickman thought he’d be back in court sometime during the week of Monday, Aug. 10. The period of supervised probation for his 2019 plea deal had been expected to end this month, pending a judge’s order.

Last year, Hickman pleaded guilty to the 2017 felony assault of Black Asheville resident Johnnie Rush, as well as two misdemeanors. Leaked body camera footage of the assault published by the Citizen Times in February 2018 ultimately led to the resignation of former Asheville City Manager Gary Jackson and then-Chief Tammy Hooper of the Asheville Police Department, among other changes in city government.

Hickman’s unusual plea agreement required the former officer, who is white, to participate in a restorative justice program during his yearlong probation.

According to program director Jon Powell, Hickman needs more time to complete community input and participation aspects of the agreement.

Buncombe County District Attorney Todd Williams confirmed the decision to extend Hickman’s probation in an email to Xpress, noting that a new hearing date will be set in the coming weeks.

(For more on the original plea deal, see “Christopher Hickman’s controversial plea deal and what it means for Asheville,” Xpress, Oct. 6, 2019)

all risks associated with COVID-19 have abated.

Powell says he sympathizes with the challenges the pandemic has created for many who had hoped to participate in the process. Nevertheless, he continues, Hickman has met with two community groups in the past month.

The probation extension will allow those work sessions to wrap up.

Powell concedes he had “much higher hopes” for Hickman’s restorative justice plea deal. “I still think we’ve been able to do some good work,” he continues. “I still think there is good that will come from this. And I hope people won’t give up on the good that will come from it.”

In an Aug. 5 email exchange with Xpress, Bob Smith, co-founder of Just Us, writes that neither Williams nor Powell reached out to his organization about the decision to delay Hickman’s probation hearing. “This is the first time I have heard about an extension,” he noted, adding that his group had asked for a yearlong extension or “until we could really carry out the terms of the agreement.”

— Thomas Calder X

Williams’ announcement followed a July 31 press release from Just Us, a Black-led community group, that criticized the plea deal. “Just Us gave Powell names and contact information of multiple Black community members, knowledgeable of police-community relations, with whom it was recommended he speak directly,” the statement reads. “Powell, however, failed to follow up with the majority of these contacts until recently.”

Powell acknowledges that he did not meet the group’s desired timeline due to his obligations at the Raleigh-area Restorative Justice Clinic, as well as COVID-19. However, Powell asserts he did call all 12 contacts provided

by Just Us; of these calls, he says, only three were answered. He also reports meeting with six additional community members in person prior to the pandemic.

In its press release, Just Us proposes recruiting local facilitators to develop and implement “a transformational dialogue process … so that the broader Black community can offer and begin implementing viable community solutions.” In-person meetings are imperative, the statement notes, because many impacted community members lack reliable access to the internet.

Such gatherings, the press release continues, cannot safely occur until MOUNTAINX.COM

AUG. 12-18, 2020

13

COVID CONVERSATIONS

FEA T U RE S

On the tail

Escaping to Asheville

Family cat returns months after house fire

Why we moved to WNC in the middle of the pandemic

On Feb. 9, Melissa Meyer awoke to the crackle of fire. Her Black Mountain home was burning. As the flames spread, Meyer searched for her loved ones. Along with her husband, daughter and two dogs, Meyer escaped unharmed, but the fate of their four cats was unknown.

The family secured temporary housing just weeks before Buncombe County ordered residents to “stay home, stay safe.” Meyer, who co-owns a small real estate business, says the pandemic added professional challenges amid her personal turmoil.

“The fire was devastating enough,” she says. “At times, I felt like giving up.”

All the while, she couldn’t stop thinking about her lost felines.

Neighbors helped her canvas the area with notices, but months went by, and the search began to feel hopeless.

That is, until June, when a familiar face appeared on a neighborhood Facebook page. Meyer’s missing cat, Oliver, had been spotted on a nearby greenway path. She and her neighbors quickly converged on the site and after a two-hour search, Oliver was found.

He wasn’t in great shape. Four months in the wild left Oliver with decreased kidney function, a respiratory infection and dehydration. After a five-day stint at MedVet animal hospital in Asheville, though, Oliver returned to his family’s care, where he continues to recover.

“We’re taking it one day at a time,” says Meyer, who started a GoFundMe campaign to help cover Oliver’s veterinary bills. The campaign has raised more than half its $5,000 goal.

“We have no control over what’s going to happen tomorrow,” she continues. “But it’s always been that way. We’ve adjusted and realized we’re going to have to do a lot of things differently, and it has brought us closer as a family.”

14

AUG. 12-18, 2020

INCREDIBLE JOURNEY: Four months in the wild left Oliver the cat with decreased kidney function, a respiratory infection and dehydration. After a fiveday stint at MedVet animal hospital in Asheville, he returned to his family’s care, where he continues to recover.

Photo courtesy of Melissa Meyer Since Oliver’s return, the family continues to push ahead. Meyer’s business remains afloat, and she and her husband, Doug Thoma, will soon build a new home on the site of the residence that burned.

Meyer reflects on the special bond she and her neighbors share in good times and bad. “Black Mountain is a very strong community,” she says.

“People have pulled together to help each other in ways you just don’t get in many other places. We have been blessed in more ways than I can count.”

MOUNTAINX.COM

— Madeline Forwerck X

It wasn’t our plan to move during the greatest wide-scale human health crisis in 100 years. We — my wife, Janet, me and our dogs — were just trying to escape California, where, for two out of the last three years, wildfire had swept within a quarter-mile of our doorstep in Sonoma County.

“I think we should move to Asheville,” Janet suggested in the wake of the Kincade wildfire that scorched nearly 80,000 acres in our neighborhood last fall. “The worst they have is thundershowers.”

To establish our seriousness, we flew here in early February. Even though it rained or sleeted our entire visit, we loved every minute. Asheville seemed as if it had figured out the alchemy of being both town and country at the same time.

Properly smitten, we put our California house on the market shortly after returning to San Francisco and by mid-March, right before coronavirus became a national panic, we were in escrow.

Then, suddenly, it wasn’t safe to venture to the grocery store, let alone cross-country. Each state between California and North Carolina had individual lockdown policies. But a death-defying trip to North Carolina was only one facet of the challenge. We still needed to find a house in Asheville to buy and move into.

Luckily, the world didn’t end. In mid-May, we loaded ourselves into our SUV and drove cross-country without incident, staying in hotels where we had the floor to ourselves and eating food we brought with us in a cooler.

By some wonderful stroke of luck, at the other end of the journey was a house waiting for us that we’d never set foot in. Actually, not luck, but thanks to an Asheville real estate agent named Tracy. The house was ours. We bought it off the internet, sight unseen, forking over well over half a million dollars, the real estate version of running with scissors.

From 2,600 miles away, the place looked dandy, but to assuage our doubts, we’d reinvented the concept of the open house. Like MacGyver, we employed what tools we had, which thankfully didn’t involve chewing gum.

First, Tracy acquired the key to the res-

WELCOME HOME: Janet Vail, left, and Roy Parvin recently bought a house in Asheville sight unseen and moved 2,600 miles from California as the coronavirus pandemic gripped the country. Photo courtesy of Parvin idence. Soon after we began to conduct many FaceTime video sessions.

Along the way, we obtained key insider tips on fitting in. We learned the correct way to pronounce Appalachia.

The appropriate plural second person term was y’all but not you’ins. From the other end of the continent, I took copious notes.

And so this is the rare happy pandemic story. As of 10 weeks ago, we officially became Southerners. Our new house is even better in person than on screen. Same for Asheville.

Much of our new life here remains a plot waiting to happen. On the plus side, our anonymity has made social distancing a snap. For now, we’ve put such things like new friends in a box, like a gift to be opened at a later date.

Roy Parvin is the author of two books of fiction and more recently a funny yoga book, Yoga for the Inflexible Male. His work has been awarded the Katherine Anne Porter Prize and a National Endowment for the Arts grant in literature.

— Roy Parvin X

MOUNTAINX.COM

AUG. 12-18, 2020

15

F E AT UR E S

ASHEVILLE ARCHIVES

by Thomas Calder | tcalder@mountainx.com

Stay informed on

‘The fighting spirit of Asheville’ Citizens respond to the Great Depression, 1932

Local Matters

In the same day’s paper, Bynum celebrated the achievement, stating: “We believe the field workers and the people of Asheville have every right to feel proud of their accomplishment. It takes courage to rise up and fight the depression, and this courage has been abundantly and convincingly displayed.

Far more important than the mere quantity of work pledged is this display of courage. We believe that the fighting spirit of Asheville has asserted itself and that the beginning of better times is, therefore, immediately ahead.”

Over the next three weeks, pledges continued to pour in, surpassing $250,000.

That April, the Normal Business Council sponsored a five-day exposition inside the Grove Arcade. The event showcased a variety of local goods and services available to residents; the gathering also featured food vendors and live entertainment.

At the opening ceremony, Bynum addressed the crowd:

MOBILIZED: Curtis Bynum, back row, far left, described the Normal Business Council and its 1,400 members as “the largest peace-time organization of volunteer workers ever mobilized in the history of Asheville.” The group helped infuse over $250,000 into the local economy through a pledge campaign during the Great Depression. This photo, circa 1929, features members of the Pen and Plate Club of Asheville. Photo courtesy of the North Carolina Collection, Pack Memorial Library, Asheville

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16

AUG. 12-18, 2020

In the winter of 1932, amid the Great Depression, a new organization formed in Asheville: the Normal Business Council. The group’s key mission was to create $100,000 worth of new business (roughly $1.9 million in today’s dollar) through a 90-day, citywide building repair and renovation campaign.

“We are not another charitable agency attempting to relieve suffering,” declared Curtis Bynum, the group’s general chairman, in a Feb. 14 article published in the Sunday edition of the Asheville Citizen-Times.

“Such benefits may come as an indirect result of our program, but our primary effort is to strike at the root of our present crisis, and to contribute in at least a small way to the restoration of normal conditions.”

Within a month, 1,400 volunteers joined the organization as it prepared to launch its campaign.

“There are 1,000 blocks in Asheville and we expect each worker next week

MOUNTAINX.COM

to secure $100 in pledges for each block,” H.E. Gruver, chairman of operations, declared at a March 11, 1932, meeting. Three days later, amid snowfall, canvassing began. Despite the unfavorable weather, the army of volunteers secured $36,501 (roughly $687,000 in today’s dollar) within the first 48 hours.

A majority of the pledges averaged between $5 and $10, The Asheville Citizen reported on March 17, 1932.

According to the same article, participating homeowners received a red, white and blue card to display in their windows to avoid subsequent solicitations.

The Normal Business Council did not promote particular organizations, the article continued. “It merely urges that those doing repairs or construction work of any kind use local labor and materials,” the paper wrote.

By March 20, the organization surpassed its goal, raising $111,510.75.

“The Normal Business exposition is an evidence of the cooperative spirit of Asheville. Call it the new Asheville, if you please, or the old Asheville chastened by the experience of the past three years. All of us realize that the only way to fight is side by side. ‘Every man for himself’ is the cry of defeat. This exposition is proof that Asheville dealers and Asheville buyers are for each other, and for their home town, first, last and all the time.”

By week’s end, an estimated 15,000 had attended the exposition.

Of course, the campaign didn’t end Asheville’s financial hardships.

As historian Nan Chase writes in her 2007 book, Asheville: A History, debt committees for both the city and county negotiated with their creditors for over five years, beginning in 1931.

By 1934, Chase continues, Asheville’s debt and accrued interest reached $56 million (roughly $1 billion in today’s dollar). Two years later, the author writes, “creditors and debtors inked an agreement that would dramatically lower the amount of money owed and limit the repayment period to 40 years.”

On July 1, 1976, the city of Asheville paid off its Depression-era debt. X

COMMUNITY CALENDAR JULY 22-30, 2020

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.

Online Event= q ART The Learning Garden: Intro to Botanical Dyeing How to dye wool with plants.

TH (8/13), 10am, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/7vv q REVOLVE: Optical Research Opening at Tracey Morgan Gallery Conversation with artist Bryan Graf.

TH (8/13), 8pm, $5, avl.mx/7ws q Slow Art Friday: Artist Couples Discussion led by master docent Doris Potash at Asheville Art Museum.

FR (8/14), 12pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/7cr q Come to Leicester Studio Tour Self-guided opening of 11 exhibitions. Map: avl.mx/7x3.

SA (8/15), 10am, Free, Leicester AIGA WatchStack: Group Talk & Signal Buzz Graphic design networking.

TU (8/18), 5:30pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/7dr q Slow Art Friday: A Walk in the Park Discussion led by master docent Sarah Reincke at Asheville Art Museum.

FR (8/21), 12pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/7vo q

MUSIC & DANCE Posey Piano Hour Jazz and swing performance.

TH (8/13), 7pm, Free, avl.mx/7mx q Fringe Digital Summer Vol. 3 Music, dance and spoken word.

WE (8/19), 7:30pm, Free, avl.mx/7vw q

LITERARY BMC Perspectives: Homage to the Auction Block Talk on color theory and racial exploitation with Steve Locke and Ben Hall.

WE (8/12), 1pm, Free, avl.mx/7w6 q Haywood Library: Book Chat

Open conversation with staff.

WE (8/12), 6pm, avl.mx/7kq q Malaprop's Author Discussion Lauren Kirby presents Saving History.

WE (8/12), 6pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/7tc q Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance: Reader Meet Writer Sarah M. Broom presents The Yellow House, in conversation with Imani Perry.

TH (8/13), 7pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/7st q Malaprop's Young Adult Author Discussion Erica Waters and Ash Van Otterloo in conversation.

FR (8/14), 6pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/7td q Ales & Tales Book Club Untamed: The Wildest Woman in America by Will Harlan.

SU (8/16), 2pm, avl.mx/7nl q Haywood Library: Creative Writing Group For adults.

MO (8/17), 3:30pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/7wu q North Asheville Book Club The Poison Squad by Deborah Blum.

TU (8/18), 2pm, Registration required, avl.mx/7w3 q Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance: Reader Meet Writer Adam Rutherford presents How to Argue with a Racist.

TU (8/18), 3pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/7wb q Malaprop's Book Launch David Joy presents When These Mountains Burn.

TU (8/18), 6pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/7uq q Stay Home & Write(rs) Group Community writing session hosted by Firestorm.

WE (8/19), 7pm, Registration required, avl.mx/7r8 q Malaprop's Author Discussion Jill McCorkle presents Hieroglyphics, in conversation with Lee Smith.

TH (8/20), 6pm, Regis-

tration required, Free, avl.mx/7vz q Notorious HBC (History Book Club) Lawrence in Arabia: War, Deceit, Imperial Folly and the Making of the Modern Middle East by Scott Anderson.

TH (8/20), 7pm, avl.mx/7ik q Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance: Reader Meet Writer Justin A. Reynolds presents Early Departures.

TH (8/20), 7pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/7wc q The Moth StorySLAM Five-minute storytelling competition.

TH (8/20), 7:15pm, $10, avl.mx/7o2 q

THEATER & FILM Different Strokes: It Can't Happen Here Staged reading from the Sinclair Lewis satire.

FR (8/14), 7:30pm, Registration required, By donation, avl.mx/7w1 q Movies on the Lawn: The Waterboy FR (8/14), 8:30pm, $5, Creekside Market, 8960 Greenville Hwy, Brevard Escape: A Study in Wax Radio drama performance.

WE (8/19), 8pm, The Paper Mill Lounge, 553 W Main St, Sylva

CIVICS & ACTIVISM Asheville Downtown Commission General meeting.

FR (8/14), 8:30am, avl.mx/7ue q Moving Toward a Beloved Community Gathering to reflect on the Vance Monument’s history and explore its future.

SA (8/15), 10am, Vance Monument, 1 Pack Square Asheville Housing & Community Development Committee General meeting.

TU (8/18), 10am, avl.mx/7wl q French Broad River MPO Workshops Presentation and discussion on the Metropolitan Transportation Plan.

TU (8/18), 10am and 5:30pm, Free, avl.mx/7w2 q Folkmoot Cultural Crash Course: Me Too Movement Lecture by Dr. Ingrid Bego.

TH (8/20), 6pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/7qn q

BENEFITS Asheville Art Museum Summer Fundraiser Auction with entertain-

ment by Room to Dance.

WE (8/12), 6:30pm, Registration required, $10, avl.mx/7wq q Sister Blessing Donation Drive-Thru Diapers, cleaning supplies and toiletries.

SU (8/16), 3pm, Land of The Sky UCC, 123 Kenilworth Rd

BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY Deep Dive Workshop: Adjusting Your Business in the Time of COVID-19 Mountain BizWorks panel with local entrepreneurs.

WE (8/12), 10am, $25, avl.mx/7su q SCORE Mentors: Basics of Bookkeeping Fundamental finance concepts for businesses.

SA (8/15), 10am, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/7vy q Incredible Towns Business Network General meeting.

WE (8/19), 11am, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/7g8 q PPP Loan Forgiveness: Updated Guidance & Strategy Webinar by Johnson Price Sprinkle PA. WE (8/19), 11am, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/7w9 q AFP: Five Mistakes Boards Must Avoid Presentation by Doug Hartjes of COR Consulting.

WE (8/19), 11:30am, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/7rb q

CLASSES, MEETINGS & EVENTS Be Red Cross Ready Emergency preparedness program for adults.

WE (8/12), 5:30pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/7wg q Spanish Conversation Group For adults.

TH (8/13), 5pm, Free, avl.mx/7c6 q

Change is Devastating Our Communities Talk by fire ecologist Tony Dunn.

TH (8/13), 6pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/7t6 q Haywood Library: Seed Saving Procedures Gardening basics class.

MO (8/17), 9am, Free, avl.mx/7wt q NC Arboretum Eco-Poetry Reading and discussion with Nickole Brown.

TH (8/20), 3pm, $15, avl.mx/7t9 q

WEEKLY MARKETS Tuesdays • West Asheville Tailgate Market. 3:30-6:30pm, 718 Haywood Rd Wednesdays • Asheville City Market South. 12-3pm, Biltmore Park Town Square • Weaverville Farmers Market. 2:30-6pm,17 Merrimon Ave, Weaverville • RAD Farmers Market.

3-6pm, Pleb Urban Winery, 289 Lyman St • Locally Grown on the Green. 3-6pm, 35 Hwy 64, Cashiers • Jackson County Farmers Market. 3:30-6:30pm, Innovation Station, 40 Depot St, Dillsboro Thursdays • ASAP Farmers Market at A-B Tech. 9am-12pm, 340 Victoria Rd • Flat Rock Farmers Market. 3-6pm, 1790 Greenville Hwy, Hendersonville • Enka-Candler Tailgate Market. 3:30-6:30pm, 70 Pisgah Hwy, Candler Fridays • Marion Tailgate Market. 10am-3pm, 67 W Henderson St, Marion

Saturdays • North Asheville Tailgate Market. 8am-12pm, UNC Asheville, Lot C • Hendersonville Farmers Market. 8am-1pm, 650 Maple St, Hendersonville • Yancey County Farmers Market.

8:30am-12:30pm,10 S Main St, Burnsville • ASAP Farmers Market at A-B Tech. 9am-12pm, 340 Victoria Rd • Black Mountain Tailgate Market. 9am-12pm, 130 Montreat Rd, Black Mountain • Haywood’s Historic Farmers Market.

9am-12pm, 250 Pigeon St, Waynesville

FOOD & DRINK Haywood Library: Grown-up Grilled Cheese Cooking class for tweens and teens.

FR (8/14), 10am, Free, avl.mx/7tt q Ben’s Big Pop-up To-go meals by chef Ben Hester.

SA (8/15), 1-7pm, The Odditorium, 1045 Haywood Rd

Drive-thru End of Summer Blast Free ice cream treats and take-and-make craft kits.

TH (8/13), 1pm, Historic Johnson Farm, 3346 Haywood Rd, Hendersonville Family Discovery Day: Outer Space Farmstead tour, forest exploration and crafts.

SA (8/15), 10am, Free, Asheville Farmstead School, 218 Morgan Cove Rd, Candler Haywood Library: Storytime Ages 2-6.

TH (8/20), 10am, Free, avl.mx/7ww q Haywood Library: Step-by-Step Painting Ages 10 and up.

FR (8/21), 10am, Free, avl.mx/7wx q

WELLNESS Intro to Medicare: Understanding the Puzzle How to avoid penalties and save money.

WE (8/12), 2pm, Registration required, Free, coabc.org q

MANNA FoodBank Express Free food items for neighbors in need.

TU (8/18), 1pm, Sharing House, 164 Duckworth Ave, Brevard

Tranzmission: Transformers Support Meeting For people who are non-binary, trans and/or exploring their gender identity.

TH (8/13), 6:30pm, avl.mx/7tj q

YPA Social: Mixology Cocktail class and networking.

TH (8/20), 5:30pm, Free, avl.mx/7w0 q

Doulas of Asheville Info Session Live Q&A. SA (8/15), 11:30am, Free, avl.mx/7oi q

KIDS Haywood Library: Kitchen Chemistry Experiments with common household materials.

WE (8/12), 9am, Free, avl.mx/7ts q Miss Malaprop's Storytime Ages 3-9.

WE (8/12), 10am, Free, avl.mx/73b q

Steady Collective Syringe Access Outreach Free educational material, naloxone, syringes and supplies.

TU (8/18), 2pm, Firestorm, 610 Haywood Rd Living Beyond Breast Cancer: Session 3 Pardee UNC survivorship series for young women.

TU (8/18), 6pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/64a q

Alzheimer’s Association Workshop Healthy living for your brain and body during a pandemic.

WE (8/19), 12pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/7wf q First Contact Ministries Recovery support meeting.

TH (8/20), 6:30pm, avl.mx/7ko q Tranzmission: QTPOC Support Meeting Questions: info@ tranzmission.org.

TH (8/20), 6:30pm, avl.mx/7we q

SPIRITUALITY Getting Ahead in a JustGettin'-By World Community problem solving workshop.

TH (8/13), 5:45pm, Foster Church, 375 Hendersonville Rd Jewish Power Hour w/ Rabbi Susskind TH (8/13), 6pm, chabadasheville.org q Practicing Detachment in Troubled Times Devotional, prayer and music with Bahá'ís of Buncombe County.

WE (8/19), 7pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/7vj q

VOLUNTEERING Baby Equipment & Resource (BEAR) Closet Basic administrative support needed. Register: 828-252-6512.

WE (8/12), 4pm-7pm, St. Paul’s UMC, 223 Hillside St American Red Cross Blood Drive Free COVID-19 antibody tests for donors. Register: redcrossblood.org/give.

FR (8/21), 11am, Asheville Outlets, 800 Brevard Rd

Canton Area Historical Museum: A Legacy of Overcoming the Odds Program on the local history of the polio epidemic.

TU (8/18), 9am, Free, avl.mx/7wv q MemoryCare: Elder Fraud Wars Presentation by attorney David Kirkman.

TH (8/20), 2pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/7x2 q

ECO & OUTDOOR Pop up 5k in the Park WE (8/12), 6pm, $10, Fletcher Park, 300 Old Cane Creek Rd, Fletcher Hendersonville Green Drinks: How Climate

MOUNTAINX.COM

AUG. 12-18, 2020

17

WELLNESS

Crisis inside crisis

Pandemic stresses Buncombe opioid response

BY DANIEL WALTON dwalton@mountainx.com The last time Kevin Mahoney practiced social distancing, it wasn’t for his health.

“I isolated for two years and basically squatted in my own bombed-out house,” Mahoney recalls about the days when he was regularly using opioids. Now a peer support specialist for the Mountain Area Health Education Center, he hasn’t taken illegal drugs for over 15 years.

Despite the time that’s passed since he last used, Mahoney continues, stayat-home orders to slow the spread of COVID-19 have still dredged up uncomfortable feelings. “When this started in March, I went, ‘Oh my God, I’m isolated. Nobody to talk to, no faceto-face.’ And my brain starts ruminating,” he explains.

Mahoney hears similar stories from the MAHEC medication-assisted treatment patients he helps with mental and behavioral wellness. Whether he talks with them by phone or in person (behind two layers of masks and gloves), those clients are sharing the strains that coronavirus-induced isolation and job loss have placed on their efforts to stay clean. “We’ve got an [opioid] epidemic within a pandemic,” he says.

Health experts paint a worrying picture of COVID-19’s danger to opioid users. According to Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the federal government’s National Institute on Drug Abuse, drug overdoses may have increased by as much as 40% in some areas since the start of the pandemic. And Amy Upham, Buncombe County’s opioid response coordinator, says emergency

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AUG. 12-18, 2020

HELPING HANDS: Staff and volunteers with Buncombe County Health and Human Services offered mobile distribution of syringes and other supplies after COVID-19 disrupted normal operations. Photo courtesy of BCHHS department visits for overdoses across North Carolina have gone up 18% from January to June.

So far, Upham says, Buncombe has avoided the worst of the pandemic’s effects. During the same period as the state’s recent increase in overdose ED visits, she points out, the county’s numbers have actually decreased 7%. But she stresses that the biggest impacts are likely still to come.

“Historically, looking at major disasters, economic depressions, pandemics, the height of the behavioral health

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issues like suicides and overdoses happens about six months after. That’s where it peaks,” Upham says. “We’re not there yet.”

RAPID ROLLOUT

Upham attributes much of the county’s relative success to the flexibility of its opioid treatment community.

She explains that soon after COVID19 came to Buncombe, county government set up a behavioral health workgroup that included MAHEC,

Vaya Health, RHA Health Services and other partners to identify needs and coordinate responses.

One urgent need came from medication-assisted treatment patients who had lost jobs, and the associated health insurance they had used to pay for care, due to the pandemic.

Upham says the county worked quickly with MAHEC and the Appalachian Mountain Community Health Centers to fund suboxone treatment for 11 such patients through a federal grant. Buncombe also connected the

Bringing Back our

Asheville Comprehensive Treatment Center with state funds to help uninsured, unemployed patients continue methadone treatment on the same day that grant money became available.

Under emergency state authorization, Upham continues, county staff members began distributing syringes and other supplies directly in the community instead of from the downtown Health and Human Services office, where social distancing is difficult.

That move let Buncombe serve triple its usual number of clients — up to 150 per week, from a pre-pandemic level of about 50. Although most syringe services have since returned to the HHS office on an appointment-only basis, Upham says, the county updated its formal safety and security plan to ensure some community distribution can continue.

The nonprofit Steady Collective also pivoted to mobile distribution when COVID-19 hit, says Hillary Brown, to ensure social distancing. The harm reduction group’s co-director (who uses they/them pronouns) notes that the shift wasn’t easy. “Steady is a very hands-on operation; we spend a good bit of time with participants,” they say. “We have tried to handle that as gracefully as we can.”

But the pandemic has pushed Brown to expand Steady’s services as well. Beyond syringes and naloxone, the nonprofit is also handing out advice about how to avoid spreading the virus and distributing masks and hand sanitizer.

“It does feel like we’re a lot of folks’ only source of information about this illness, because a lot of the folks that we’re working with are homeless and don’t have access to the internet or any sort of media,” Brown says. And due to a lack of COVID-19 testing among unhoused residents, they add, “people haven’t taken it superseriously.”

WARNING SIGNS

While Steady hasn’t yet seen a dramatic increase in its number of people served, Brown says, volumes did rise noticeably in June. More worrying than overall numbers, they say, is who’s more often coming to get supplies: first-time clients and those who had made a previous commitment to quit opioids.

“Job loss, housing loss, just lack of access to money has really squeezed people,” Brown explains. “People who were sober are using again because of that stress.”

MAHEC’s Mahoney says people returning to drug use face additional dangers due to COVID-19. If they’re

following social distancing guidelines to avoid the coronavirus, he points out, they’re more likely to be using drugs alone — which means no one is available to administer lifesaving naloxone in the event of an overdose.

And under what he calls the “umbrella of fentanyl,” Mahoney warns, overdoses are more likely now than ever before. The synthetic opioid, roughly 100 times stronger than morphine, is commonly mixed with heroin and other drugs to increase their potency, which makes judging safe doses more difficult. “I always tell people that they’re playing with a loaded gun, like playing Russian roulette with all the chambers filled, whenever they return to use,” he says.

Drugs cut with fentanyl were a problem before the pandemic, Upham notes, but COVID-19 has exacerbated the issue. Distributors and dealers are having trouble getting product, she says, and are under pressure to add fentanyl to make limited supplies go further.

“There’s issues in the supply chain for toilet paper — that’s also true for drugs,” she says. The county is distributing fentanyl test strips as part of its syringe services program and urging participants to test any drugs they plan to take.

BRACE FOR IMPACT

Mid-September will mark the critical six-month point since the start of local measures to control COVID-19, Upham says, and the county is preparing to weather the opioid-related behavioral health problems that may come. Over 60 patient slots for free suboxone treatment remain available through MAHEC and AMCHC, and the Dogwood Health Trust awarded Buncombe $382,000 in July to hire three community paramedics for overdose response.

MAHEC also recently received a $1.8 million, five-year federal grant to expand its Asheville-based addiction medicine fellowship program, which trains doctors to provide treatment services in rural communities. Dr. Nathan Mullins, the program’s director, hopes his work will boost the region’s future capacity to care for opioid users.

COVID-19 has shown that some of that treatment can be safely offered with fewer restrictions, Mullins says.

Many patients, particularly postpartum mothers for whom in-person appointments are challenging to schedule, have used newly permitted telehealth visits to meet the requirements for medication-assisted treatment. And

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relaxed rules around the distribution of methadone and buprenorphine, two commonly used treatments, have let some patients take home larger supplies to keep up with treatment while quarantining.

Despite these positive developments, Mullins continues, access to and cost of treatment remain major issues during the pandemic, especially when insurance is tied to employment.

“As people struggle to continue the treatment that for them so far has been successful, has kept them alive — it depends on when they get back to work,” he says. “And they don’t know how long it’s going to last. It’s month by month.”

Mullins emphasizes that, as government officials struggle to contain the COVID-19 crisis, they must not lose sight of the opioid epidemic. The urgent nature of the coronavirus, he argues, shouldn’t displace efforts to address the chronic problem of drug use.

“It’s not a pandemic, where we’re going to come up with a vaccine in a year or two and it’s going to go away,” Mullins says. “This is something we need consistent treatment and funding for.” X

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GREEN SCENE

Much at steak

COVID-19 yanks WNC’s local meat supply chain

BY GINA SMITH

are now coming to the local producers because our prices are now more comparable to the conventional meat prices, because the conventional meat processing plants have been so directly impacted by COVID,” she observes.

ginasmithnews@gmail.com Fatter prices, slimmer pickings: That’s been the pattern on supermarket shelves as COVID-19 outbreaks have disrupted livestock and poultry processing facilities across the U.S. In response, many Western North Carolina consumers have started looking to area farmers to keep meat on the table.

The sudden surge in demand has opened new markets for WNC’s small meat producers, many of whom saw wholesale accounts devastated when local restaurants closed their dining rooms. But gridlock at the region’s few small-scale processing facilities has put a kink in the local supply chain.

The coronavirus hasn’t struck employees in North Carolina’s smallscale livestock processing sector the way it has in the state’s larger plants, says Sarah Blacklin, program director for NC Choices, an initiative of N.C. State University’s Center for Environmental Farming Systems that works to support North Carolina’s local, pasture-based meat supply chain.

Instead, she explains that COVID-19 has heightened a mismatch between the desire for local meat and the industry’s ability to produce it.

Roughly 10 small processors are available for all of North Carolina’s local livestock farmers, which Blacklin says caused an average two-week wait for processing appointments even before the pandemic. (The state allows small-scale poultry farmers to process their own birds and limited numbers from other farms.) With higher overall demand and some commodity beef producers now leaning on the local

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OFF THE TABLE? Brandon Higgins of C-Saw Hill Farm in Rutherford County says his stock of beef and pork ran out in February and no processing capacity has been available at his local facility to refill it. Photo courtesy of Higgins supply chain in their own transition to direct-market sales, she says some farmers can’t get meat processed until the spring of 2021.

Most of the logjam with the state’s mom-and-pop processing plants is on the cut-and-pack end, Blacklin points out, where skilled labor is both necessary and in short supply. “A couple of our processors have said they’ll hire anyone who knows the sharp end of a knife,” she says.

To cope with the onslaught of demand, Blacklin says processors are working around the clock. Employees kill and process as many animals as possible while legally required U.S. Department of Agriculture inspectors are on-site, then push noninspected duties like cleanup to overtime hours.

“And it is still a huge bottleneck,” she says.

CARNIVOROUS CRAVINGS

Justin Burkins, owner and operator of Rooted Earth Farm and Garden in Leicester, had focused until last year on selling nursery plants, vegetables and cut flowers at tailgate markets and through a community-supported agriculture program. But he obtained state approval to sell cut meat in 2019, and this season, direct-market lamb

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and pork sales have become a mainstay of his business. “With the farmers markets being closed down [in the spring], I wouldn’t have really been selling a lot of perennials, so it kind of saved our butts that a lot of people came looking for meat,” he says.

Wendy and Graham Brugh have also seen a dramatic rise in direct-market demand this season for the grassfed beef and forest-raised pork they produce along with pastured eggs at Dry Ridge Farm in Mars Hill. The 100-120 heritage-breed pigs they raise each year are their primary source of income, says Wendy, augmented by about 15 head of Belted Galloway cattle.

Before COVID-19 came to the region in March, Dry Ridge sold about 30% of its pork and 20% of its beef wholesale to restaurants and the rest directly to customers at four farmers markets.

Although the farm’s wholesale business was completely wiped out with the restaurant shutdown, and two of its usual tailgate markets were closed for the first part of the season, the spike in retail demand has more than made up for those deficits.

“We have been selling 100% of our meat retail and don’t have enough,” says Wendy, noting that Dry Ridge’s meat sales in April and May were triple and quadruple, respectively, over the same months last year. “People

TOO MUCH TO CHEW?

The meat may be flying out of tailgate market coolers, but getting the goods to that point of sale has become much trickier. Prior to COVID-19 disruptions, Burkins was used to just calling Snapps Ferry Packing Co. in Greenville, Tenn., whenever he needed USDA-inspected butchering and was usually able to come the following day. Now, he says, Snapps is booked through March 2021 due to demand spurred by the pandemic, as well as an influx of displaced customers from Mantooth’s Custom Meats, another East Tennessee butchering business that burned down in early June.

Rooted Earth did manage to book appointments back in the spring for August and October to help meet demand from a waiting list of customers eager to buy prime cuts like Boston butts and pork chops. But the animals Burkins was unable to schedule at Snapps will be slaughtered on the farm for his family’s consumption. “They’ll be personal for us this year, which isn’t a terrible thing,” he says. “Sometimes, you eat your profits.”

The Brughs work with Wells Jenkins Wells, a USDA-inspected kill, cut and wrap facility and retail meat market in Forest City. Its slaughterhouse, normally able to schedule processing within a month of request, is completely booked through the end of 2020. As a consequence, Wendy says Dry Ridge Farm’s planning has gotten sticky.

Pigs, she explains, must be slaughtered between 24 and 28 weeks old.

“You can’t keep a pig on the ground for longer because they’ll get too big, and you can’t bring it in earlier, because it’ll be too small,” she says. “So we brought in 30 pigs in February and another 30 pigs in April. Typically, the ones from February would mostly still be in the freezer, but come April, all of those pigs were sold. So I only had 30 pigs to get us through the summer.”

With her next processing appointment in September, Wendy is only selling Dry Ridge products at markets every other week rather than weekly due to lack of supply. And the delays have forced her into the odd situation

of having to schedule pigs for slaughter before they’re even born. “So if a sow didn’t catch the first month and she farrows monthly, my processing date is going to be too early,” she says.

CUTTING DEEP

Unfortunately, there may not be slack in slaughtering schedules anytime soon. Jeff Wells, owner of Wells Jenkins Wells, says his operation, which processes about 25 head of beef and 15-20 hogs a week for farms all over WNC, has been going full throttle since March, and there’s no end in sight. “We have a list of 500 people that want to be on January’s calendar when we start taking appointments for next year,” he says.

When his calendar first started getting backed up, forcing farmers to reserve kill dates six and seven months in advance, Wells assumed many would eventually cancel and free up space in the schedule. That hasn’t been the case.

“I thought they won’t even keep these appointments; it’s so far out that they don’t know what they’re going to do then,” he says. “But people have been pretty faithful with these appointments up until now.”

Scheduling limits have forced farmers like Brandon Higgins to adapt.

He raises grass-fed beef and pastured pork and chicken at C-Saw Hill Farm in Rutherford County, selling his products to restaurants and directly to customers at the Rutherford County Farmers Market and Landrum Farmers Market just over the state line in South Carolina.

Due to limited freezer space at his farm, Higgins normally processes one head of beef and a couple of hogs per month at Wells Jenkins Wells, making appointments with the facility just two weeks to a month in advance. But this year, when he called in February for his first spring slaughter, he was informed the next available date was in August.

“Our sales actually increased in January and February because we had product,” Higgins recalls. “But since our product ran out in February, we’ve been in a holding pattern trying to get stuff processed.”

Due to the dearth of inventory, C-Saw Hill has been unable to participate in the Landrum market so far this season. At least in the short term, the farm’s losses have been significant: “Normally we sell 10 to 12 beef a year, and this year we’ve sold two,” Higgins says.

The farm processes its own meat chickens, Higgings notes, and those

TABLE FOR FIVE: Justin Burkins, rear, says the animals from his Rooted Earth Farm and Garden in Leicester that he is unable to process at a USDA-inspected facility will end up as food for his family. Photo by Katie Richard sales have been helpful. He also switched gears in late spring to focus on producing and selling raw dairy products, including milk, cheese curds, butter and yogurt (all marketed in accordance with North Carolina law as “not for human consumption”).

Though the dairy offerings have been well received at the Rutherford County market, Higgins says they don’t make up for the loss of beef and pork sales. “We’re lucky in the fact that my wife and I both work full-time,” he says. “If we were relying just on that income, we’d be in a world of hurt.”

producers once processing hurdles are addressed. “Eating is a new pastime in America in the pandemic. We can’t go to a baseball game, we can’t go to Disney World, but we can stay home and eat a big ribeye,” he observes.

“People that used to kill two beef a year, they’re killing 50 a year, and they’re selling them and they’re getting a premium price for a premium product,” he continues. “They’ve definitely got something that Walmart does not offer. Some of them are going to benefit; some of them are going to build a client base that never fades.”

On July 1, Wells and others in WNC’s local meat industry welcomed news that N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper had signed into law N.C. House Bill 1023. The legislation allocates $10 million from federal COVID-19 relief as grants to help small-scale processing facilities retool and expand capacity. Applications for the grants were due Aug. 12, and Wells hopes to qualify, with an eye toward making big changes. “We hope to double, if not triple, our processing capacity,” he says. “That would help a lot of people.”

Blacklin applauds this support from the state legislature. But she also points out that consumers can do their part to relieve pressure on the supply chain — and score some meaty deals — by skipping the cut-and-wrap part of the slaughter process and purchasing whole animals or meat in bulk directly from local farmers. She suggests the online tool MeatSuite.com, which helps connect farmers and consumers for bulk meat sales.

NC Choices also has a YouTube channel with videos on bulk pricing, ways to cook unusual cuts of meat, how to plan freezer space for bulk buys and more. “It can be a little bit intimidating, but what we’re hoping is that once we jump over that learning curve, this kind of buying could stick, at least a decent percentage of it, beyond COVID,” says Blacklin.

Although Rooted Earth’s Burkins fears that many small WNC farms won’t survive the travails of the pandemic, he also harbors some optimism.

“As restaurants start to open back up and tourism and life go back to normal again, I think there’s definitely going to be a chance for small farms to grab some market space,” he says. “If they’re organized and some of these bills go through that make processing easier, we could have a period where some people have some growth and positive things come out of this.” X

GROWTH POTENTIAL

Although Wendy Brugh with Dry Ridge Farm admits it’s frustrating to be sold out of meat when customers are clamoring for it, she counts herself lucky. “It’s been tricky to navigate, but we definitely have the highest sales we’ve ever had,” she says. “It’s almost embarrassing to say that because I know that so many people are struggling so hard, but I think if you’re in the local meat business right now, people want it.”

Wells, who has watched the WNC meat industry evolve for decades, sees the current flood of demand leading to a prosperous future for small-scale

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FOOD

Food Court

Introducing Kay West’s occasional column on the local culinary scene

BY KAY WEST kwest@mountainx.com

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I was living in New York City when I first visited Asheville in July 1981 with my best friend, who wanted to take a road trip down the Blue Ridge Parkway. Asheville 1981 in no way resembles Asheville today. We visited the Biltmore Estate, cocktailed in the Grove Park Inn lobby and watched the Asheville Tourists from wooden bleachers at McCormick Field; there is photographic evidence we square danced somewhere. Other than a ballpark hot dog, neither of us remembers a single thing we ate — quite revealing of the Asheville culinary scene at the time as we both boast total food recall.

I moved to Nashville the next month, where I remained for 37 years, most of those as a freelance writer covering everything from society to sports to celebrities for People magazine. The beat I loved the most was my 15-year tenure writing weekly restaurant reviews for the Nashville Scene.

When I started that column in 1992, Nashville restaurants were often described as “fern bars and four stars,” though the latter part was dubious.

What barely existed were chef-owned, chef-driven independent restaurants and ethnic cuisines.

One of the enduring pleasures of that experience was chronicling Nashville’s restaurant timeline, following young chefs as they honed their craft, witnessing independent restaurants become gathering places and economic drivers for emerging neighborhoods. How exciting to see Mexican, Central American, Indian, Turkish, Lebanese, Korean, and Vietnamese cafes and restaurants open as a result of immigrants settling

in Nashville and enriching the fabric of the city in countless ways.

Though my friends and family were taken aback when I suddenly — to them — decided to leave Nashville, they were delighted at my destination.

“Asheville? I love Asheville!”

Asheville 2019 checked all the boxes for me: mountains, rivers, independent movie theaters, bookstores, restaurants, art, music, beer, baseball and a solid alternative weekly newspaper that took me in and allowed me to start writing about my new town. I covered lots of areas, but again, my favorite beat was the thriving local food scene. When Xpress Food editor Gina Smith decided early this year to leave her post, I happily accepted the offer to write the content for the Food section.

The very week I started writing for my first issue, COVID-19 slammed restaurant doors shut, 86ing every story we had scheduled for March and my binder full of ideas for the future. Instead of seasonal menus, new restaurants and Chow Chow 2020, like every section in the paper, I turned to covering the grim reverberations of the pandemic.

I have been profoundly moved by the ingenious and generous ways the food and beverage industry in Western North Carolina has confronted and coped with the public health crisis that continues to brutally batter its businesses, doing all it can to help feed the dire need in local communities. I am deeply concerned about the independent restaurants I left behind in Nashville and those I was just forming relationships with here. The list of permanent closures grows, and the future is so uncertain.

This new monthly column is intended to be opinionated, and many will no doubt disagree with some of those opinions. But in this debut, I hope we can agree that locally owned businesses — whether clothing stores, art galleries, music halls, movie theaters, breweries or restaurants — weave the unique tapestry of the place we call home. If we lose them, we lose a vital part of ourselves.

To help support independent businesses on local and national levels, check out Asheville Strong and the Independent Restaurant Coalition. X

Market report

Bodega on Broadway stocks everything from soup to nuts and bolts for downtown residents and visitors In downtown Asheville, residents and visitors can take their pick of cuisines, bakeries, coffee shops, boutiques, bookstores, outdoor gear purveyors, artisan pottery galleries and breweries, all within walking distance of home, hotel or Airbnb.

But good luck finding a box of ibuprofen for the morning after, a BandAid should you stumble on Asheville’s mean streets, a cheap rain poncho for an afternoon deluge, a roll of paper towels, a flat-head screwdriver, insect repellent, laundry detergent, batteries or a light bulb.

Charlie Hodge — the entrepreneur who put his avant-garde-meets-retro stamp on the food and beverage scene with Sovereign Remedies, Ole Shakey’s (soon to reopen as The Getaway) and 2019’s Asheville Beauty Academy — may seem an unlikely purveyor of lowbrow essentials, but when the rent is due, a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.

“I never thought I’d be selling candy bars,” Hodge admits with a laugh.

Yet PayDays and KitKats are among the hundreds of sundries for sale in Hodge’s newest enterprise, Bodega on Broadway. The long, narrow storefront at 28 Broadway was the home of his Beauty Academy nightclub until bars and restaurants shut down in March. In July, Hodge transformed the space into a seven-days-a-week downtown market modeled after the bodegas ubiquitous in New York City’s Spanishspeaking neighborhoods.

“I had this big space with big rent and no idea when bars will be allowed to reopen,” he explains. “The Lexington Corner Market was a place people loved, but it closed when the lease ended. We really felt like there was a need downtown for something like that.”

He had a trial run for the concept in the pop-up bodega he staged at Sovereign while it was closed, then supersized the inventory for Bodega on Broadway, from nuts and bolts to wine and candles. Sovereign chef Bert Sheffield, who oversees the cured meat program at Hodge’s commissary kitchen, The Make Space, is contributing charcuterie products. And Terri Terrell, former managing director at HomeGrown, has joined the culinary team. “I love being part of this,” she says. “What a brilliant mind Charlie is and learning new things from chef [Sheffield] is so fun.”

Terrell works from The Make Space to produce cold items such as sandwiches, spreads and salads for the graband-go case, as well as hot breakfast biscuit sandwiches with local sausage and house-cured bacon, and vegetarian and vegan burritos. Sunil Patel of Patchwork Alliance and Patchwork Urban Farms provides fresh produce, which is sold alongside local eggs, cheese and dairy. Ultimate Ice Cream products are coming soon to the freezer case as well as frozen samosas by Patel.

Once permitting is complete, the former stage will be turned into the

BASKET CASE: Charlie Hodge gathers some of the sundries, produce and fresh grab-and-go foods available 7 days a week from his newly opened Bodega on Broadway. Photo courtesy B.o.B. Disco Deli, which Terrell says will provide plenty of sandwich options for all types of diets. Hodge envisions partnering with local chefs and makers for a rotating spotlight of their signature items with a portion of sales going to the new nonprofit Asheville Strong.

“We want to offer these iconic little flavors of Asheville,” he says, “and help our great locals and independents get through this.”

Bodega on Broadway is open 8 a.m.-11 p.m. daily at 28 Broadway.

— Kay West X

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23

CAROLINA BEER GUY

by Tony Kiss | avlbeerguy@gmail.com

Twilight of the growler?

Due to COVID-19 concerns, many beer businesses aren’t refilling customers’ to-go containers

Got an empty growler? In the age of COVID-19, getting it refilled isn’t as easy as it once was.

A staple of the craft beer scene for years, the returnable, reusable glass containers — typically in 32- and 64-ounce sizes — have become favorites with many brew fans. They’re an easy way to take a beer home and keep it in the refrigerator for a few days.

Most breweries offer them for sale, as do stores and shops with tap lines.

And many beer drinkers have their own growlers that they bring to these alcoholic beverage businesses.

But the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has made it more difficult to return the vessels. Some Ashevillearea breweries and shops have put

the brakes on accepting growlers from customers out of concerns that the bottles could spread the virus.

With the process coming to a sudden standstill, it raises the question of what to do with them when the beer is gone.

BALLAD OF AN EMPTY YETI

Former Asheville resident Douglas Corkhill recently ran into this problem when he made the hour drive from his Whittier home to Buncombe County and brought along his empty 2-quart Yeti growler, which he says “will keep the beer cold almost forever.”

“We went to Whole Foods on Tunnel Road. I’ve filled growlers

there in the past,” Corkhill says.

Prior to making the visit, he checked online to be certain growler fills were still being offered. But once at the store, he learned that outside bottles were no longer being accepted.

“I was perturbed,” he says. “I don’t deny COVID. I practice social distancing. I wear a mask, try to be safe.

I just don’t see how filling a growler is COVID-preventative. Couldn’t they wear gloves or spray it like they do a counter top?”

While Whole Foods is not accepting growlers for refill, the stores are selling plastic growlers to go that are filled on demand. Uninterested in that option, Corkhill also checked at the Brew Pump in West Asheville, where his request was likewise denied.

Xpress emailed and left voicemails for Buncombe County Health and Human Services representatives, seeking comments on the efficacy of these safety protocols, but received no reply.

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THE QUEST CONTINUES

Had Corkhill gone to The Casual Pint in South Asheville, he’d have been in luck. “We will sanitize it, clean it and fill it,” says store owner Brad Rogers. The taproom/beer store currently has 30 taps for filling growlers, as well as crowlers — the 32-ounce aluminum version of the growler that’s simply recycled by the customer once the beer is gone — which outsell growlers. “But you have some dedicated growler people,” he says.

Nearly as good is the policy at Wicked Weed Brewing, which — according to spokesman Kyle Pedersen — allows for accepting used growlers that are then swapped out for beer in a freshly cleaned bottle. Elsewhere, however, it’s increasingly likely that customers’ growlers will remain untouched by employees.

Tacos and Taps continues to sell both tacos and draft beer to go, and until COVID-19 began to lash the region in March, the drive-thru business would gladly accept growlers for reuse, says co-owner Mike Rangel, who also is president of Asheville

A CAP ON CONVENIENCE: Many Asheville-area beer businesses have stopped refilling customers’ to-go containers. Douglas Corkhill, pictured, has had trouble getting a refill for his beloved Yeti growler. Photo courtesy of Corkhill Pizza & Brewing Co. But the pandemic has required a shift in operations, and Rangel is no longer taking the growlers back. “We feel it’s unsafe to have so much contact with the growler and customer,” he says.

However, both of his businesses continue to offer fresh growlers filled with beer, as well as crowlers. Wedge Brewing Co. owner Tim Schaller is also a fan of crowlers, which he considers “a better product” than glass growlers, which he feels leads “to a whole lot of waste.” Wedge shifted to crowlers prior to the pandemic and no longer sells or refills growlers.

Hi-Wire Brewing is likewise not accepting used growlers, though the brewery still fills its own fresh growlers. “We were concerned about cross-contamination,” says director of taprooms Christine Ferguson Weaver. It’s the same story at UpCountry Brewing Co., which additionally offers the recyclable crowler.

“For now, we’re being a little cautious,” says owner John Cochran. X

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Transforming downtown

A behind-the-scenes look at Asheville’s Black Lives Matter mural

TO THE LETTER: Prominently featuring African nationalist colors of red, black and green, the Black Lives Matter mural will be on display in downtown Asheville for one year. Photo by Reggie Tidwell/Curve Theory, courtesy of the Asheville Art Museum

BY EDWIN ARNAUDIN earnaudin@mountainx.com The site of the Zebulon Vance Monument in the heart of downtown Asheville has long been a source of tribulation for the local Black community and its allies. Built near the spot where enslaved people were sold and traded, and honoring a Buncombe-born political leader who staunchly opposed abolition and equality, it’s served as a painful public reminder of prominent white supremacists and the lingering effects of centuries of racial oppression.

Now the same plot of land has transformed into one symbolizing unity as well as hope for true equality and lasting change. Since July 8, the obelisk has been shrouded from base to top and a city/county task force has been formed to prepare recommendations for altering or removing it. And on July 19, the arcshaped street around the site became home to a Black Lives Matter mural, spearheaded by Asheville City Council member Sheneika Smith and Asheville Area Arts Council Executive Director 26

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Katie Cornell, that will be on display for a year.

Asheville-based artists Joseph Pearson and Jenny Pickens and former Western Carolina University professor Marie T. Cochran were chosen from a pool of applicants to be the project’s lead artists and were responsible for recruiting supporting artists to create and implement designs within the letters of their assigned word. Meeting twice via Zoom, the three agreed on having African nationalist colors of red, black and green, and shared basic sketches for what they had in mind for their sections of the mural. They then looped in collaborators to see their visions through — albeit with a significant dose of personal creative freedom.

At 2 a.m. on the day of the mural’s creation, city of Asheville employees pressure-washed the street, and prior to the artists arriving at 7 a.m., representatives from UNC Asheville’s STEAM Studio laid out the 15-foot by 15-foot stencils that had been created on their 3D printer. Though the lead artists and many of the supporting artists hadn’t

previously met one another in person, they quickly began working as a concerted yet individualistic team, filling the letters with low-grade, environmentally friendly acrylic paint. A little before 5 p.m., a protective anti-graffiti layer was applied to the mural, and the artists, all of whom were paid for their efforts, took a look at their collective work.

BLACK For each letter of the mural’s first word, Pearson made a basic sketch and let each of his artists choose how to express the concept. In starting the mural, he felt it was important that the face of slain Minneapolis resident George Floyd, whom he calls “the reason for the season,” be its primary image and selected Dustin Spagnola — who previously painted Floyd on the wood panels protecting the glass windows of Rosetta’s Kitchen — to carry it out.

“I knew he was the man for that job.

There was nobody else,” Pearson says.

“I don’t care who else is out there, there is nobody else who could do that but

him. The work that he did — I just keep looking at it myself.”

With “L,” Jas Williams paid tribute to similar past protests, referencing U.S. sprinters John Carlos and Tommy Smith iconically raising their black-gloved hands on the medal podium at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. “A,” painted by Autumn Nelson, finds black and brown hands intertwined with an Adinkra symbol that Pearson says “represents unity and human relationships,” while “C” features Ovidio Acevedo’s swirled cursive lettering of the phrase “Silence is violence,” which specifically places accountability on the three policemen who stood by and did nothing while Floyd lay dying.

As for “K,” realized by James Love, Pearson admits he “hadn’t quite resolved that one by the time we got to the project,” but knew he “wanted someone with raised hands holding a protest sign.” Also part of the design are chains attached to another clenched fist — but with an open link at the bottom to symbolize freedom.

“Everything just went smoothly,” Pearson says. “Everybody came out knowing beforehand what was expected, knowing what to do and who would be doing what. And because of the cultural and historical significance of it, everybody was fully invested in making it a success and doing the best they could to see that that happened.”

LIVES Pickens, an Asheville native with family roots in the area, expressed a strong interest in designing the mural’s second word.

“It made me think of a history — what we originated from, the things we went through by being here and how we’re going to be progressing,” she says. “I sat up one night and I just started sketching and everything just came to me.”

For her crew, she selected personal artist friends who’d long discussed working together but had yet to have an opportunity arise. The exception was Cj Randall, who contacted Pickens about taking part. The two later discovered that they’d both crafted murals at the Arthur R. Edington Education & Career Center — Pickens in 2002 and Randall in 2016.

“Being from here and being an artist, there’s really not a lot of doors open for you because you don’t have that special training. And so I was saying to them, ‘It doesn’t require you to have to be in school. Some people are just naturally gifted,’” Pickens says. “I wanted to select people that needed that opportunity for that door to open for them — and nobody really knows them.”

UNITED ARTISTS: Over 20 muralists joined forces for the project. Photo by David Huff, courtesy of the Asheville Art Museum The artists worked from Pickens’ sketches but had the freedom to put their own spins on the concepts. Michael Barnard, whom Pickens says is “good with faces,” handled the “L.” The lead letter features Black men and women in COVID-19 masks along with Floyd’s dying words, “I can’t breathe,” written at the bottom. Airbrush expert Walter Dickerson’s “I” originally had an elder, but Pickens changed it to reflect another unfortunately frequent saying: “Hands up! Don’t shoot!”

Randall’s “V,” the lone letter to turn out exactly as Pickens had originally drawn it, showcases a young Black boy who’s died and become an angel — and is also her personal favorite from her team’s work. Mixed media artist Beth Ivey filled the “E” with sun iconography, which was appropriately followed by Pickens’ son Timothy Davison’s “S” paying homage to Africa and the continent’s rich earth, with traditional symbolism reflecting a particular family’s stories.

“I had a clear vision of this imagery that I wanted, because I had handpicked these artists and, literally, I felt like, with the meaning being ‘Black Lives Matter,’ it was almost like I gave each of them a gift,” Cochran says. “Each of their letters had some kind of personal significance that they could draw from.”

Elsewhere, Blount’s “M” incorporates a mountain and imagery merging a quilt and kente cloth; Mateen’s “A” pays tribute to mountain arts, specifically the banjo’s African origins; and Flanigan’s “E,” the shape of which resembles railroad tracks, is filled with the legs and feet of Black youths, which Cochran notes symbolize “past and present aspirations of journeys and freedom.”

But it’s the two “T”s — the mural’s lone consecutively repeating letters — that Cochran feels are the key to her portion of the project. Enacted by college friends Hunt and Miles, the co-joined consonants feature twin figures of West Africa and an overarching color of

green that represents land and money, with brown hands reaching toward the long-promised $20 bill with Harriet Tubman’s visage — the significance of which is not lost on Cochran in regard to the mural’s placement.

“It wasn’t just that it was the Vance Monument. It’s that it’s right in front of the Asheville Art Museum. And that’s not being irreverent for me, because back in February I was on other side of the glass. I was in the show Appalachia Now,” she says. “But even though I, as a first-generation college student who ended up being a college professor, know that I have the privilege of those degrees, one of the things we were chatting about is the fact that we were separated by the glass. It begs the question of African American presence and prominence in the arts. When are we going to change?”

With additional reporting by Thomas Calder X

MATTER In her capacity as founding curator of the Affrilachian Artist Project, Cochran organized a grassroots exhibition at the Haywood County Arts Council in February that featured the work of WCU arts school graduates LaKeisha Blount, Rahkie Mateen, Kela Hunt and Trey Miles. Once Cochran was named a lead artist on the Black Lives Matter mural, she pulled in those four colleagues, plus Athens, Ga.-based activist Broderick Flanigan and Sylva native Faustine “Tina” McDonald, whose design of blood cells in reference to her sickle cell anemia on the letter “R” perhaps best exemplifies Cochran’s goal for her collaborators.

Thank You FOR VOTING! BEST OF WNC Results will be published in September MOUNTAINX.COM

AUG. 12-18, 2020

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A&E

Fringe from afar Asheville Fringe Arts Festival’s summer series moves online

The annual Asheville Fringe Arts Festival takes place each January with a week of performances, installations and parties. To maintain the festival’s momentum, a summer series was scheduled at The Crow & Quill, where Asheville Fringe artists staged short performances.

Though the COVID-19 pandemic displaced the warm-weather shows, Fringe Digital Summer offers a virtual alternative. “We reached out to a few artists with the goal of collecting a diverse cast in a number of genres.

Most of them have already been teaching and performing online,” says Jennifer Bennett, the festival’s media director. Most recently, the program took place on July 22, and it returns via the Zoom videoconferencing platform on Wednesday, Aug. 19, at 7:30 p.m.

That date’s lineup includes New York City-based Adventure Society’s choose-your-own-adventure show; new pieces by Yuhas & Dancers from Columbia, S.C., and local puppet show innovator Toybox Theatre; New Jersey-based Perspective Collective’s quirky, opera-based, historical storytelling; Asheville-based troupe The Accidentals sharing absurdist improvisational dance; work from local clown/puppeteer/musician Michael Woodward; and this writer showcasing a multimedia and spoken-word video short. Burlesque artist Millie van Illa will host. “About half of our performances are prerecorded performances, or are films,” Bennett says.

“The other half are performed live.”

“It’s expanded our audience,” managing festival director Katie Jones says of the livestream shows. Some repeat Fringe performers, such as spoken-word artist Christian Prins Coen, have used The Magnetic Theatre’s space to stream productions. (Jones is also the artistic director of the Magnetic.) “When we did our first digital Fringe … my sister in LA was able to watch, so it does give opportunities we don’t have with in-person shows,” Jones says. She points out that differently abled audience members, who might not have the means to leave home, are also afforded the opportunity to watch online presentations.

And artists are accepting the challenge to experiment with different media. In the July show, for example, local puppeteer and dancer Edwin Salas debuted a spooky, puppet-centric short film while avant-guard music duo Cookie Tongue “dazzled us with a dreamy live musical performance that took place inside a self-created fantastical animated world,” says Bennett. “While virtual events have their own limitations, it certainly is the closest thing to getting that communal theater-style experience outside of an actual theater.”

She adds, “It was very cool to have artists all gathered watching each other’s shows. We hope to help performing artists across the country forge new relationships and share with each other the necessary skills to continue performing at this time.”

In previous years, Fringe Summer Nights at The Crow & Quill also served

VIRTUAL VIRTUES: Asheville Fringe Arts Festival organizers have found that online performances allow for a broader audience, and performers are rising to the challenge of digital platforms. The summer series continues on Wednesday, Aug. 19, with offerings from Michael Woodward, left, and Yuhas & Dancers, plus others. Woodward’s photo by Jennifer Bennett, Yuhas & Dancers photo courtesy of the dance troupe as the launch for the next January festival. True to form, Asheville Fringe organizers opened applications on July 22, in conjunction with Fringe Digital Summer Vol. 2. But plans for January 2021 are still far from finalized, with possibilities ranging from an all-digital event to streamed performances by out-of-town artists, and locals having the option to be onstage, in the flesh. “While we are open to creative ideas for safe, in-person live shows, we foresee that much of the festival will be virtual,” Bennett says. “Not only do we have in mind the safety of the artists, audiences, staff and volunteers, but several of our venues have permanently closed.”

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“It’s been interesting to see different strategies,” Jones says of how other cities’ fringe festivals are handling social distancing measures. Orlando Fringe and Hollywood Fringe Festival (LA) canceled altogether, while Cincy Fringe Festival (Cincinnati) went entirely online. Jones will be performing in a toy theater piece called Trainwreck as part of the digital St Lou Fringe (St. Louis) in August.

“There’s a group called Frigid Fringe [in New York] and they’re doing these Fringe Fridays where they interview different Fringe organizers and feature a different fringe performance from around the country,” Jones says.

It’s a collective learning curve, but the fringe arts — with their DIY aesthetic, risk taking and quirky sensibilities — are known for adaptability. “There are some nonstop conversation threads among all the U.S. Association of Fringe Festivals, and right now it seems like everyone who hasn’t canceled for the year is taking different approaches to virtual festivals, including Zoom, YouTube, Facebook Live, Facebook Premiere, Vimeo and Streamyard,” Bennett says. “This network is full of smart, creative folks who are all learning from each other as quickly as possible.” ashevillefringe.org

— Alli Marshall X

Up in flames

Wildfires spread in David Joy’s latest novel Both land and heart are afire in acclaimed author David Joy’s latest book, When These Mountains Burn, available Tuesday, Aug. 18. Set in Western North Carolina during the 2016 wildfires, Joy’s novel offers an unflinching look at addiction, family ties and loss. To celebrate its release, Malaprop’s will host a virtual launch party that same day at 6 p.m.

At the story’s center are two characters: Ray Mathis and Denny Rattler.

The former is a retired forester who no longer recognizes the world around him — land riddled with heroin needles and “No Trespassing” signs. The latter, an enrolled member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, previously worked construction until a job-related injury led to a dependency on opioids. The two men wind up irreversibly connected through Ray’s 41-year-old son Ricky, who also struggles with drug problems.

“Addiction for me is something that I’ve always written about and it’s largely because it’s something I understand,” says Joy. “I’ve been around addicts my whole life.”

But unlike in his previous novels, Joy continues, Ray’s character introduced a new challenge. “He’s the father of an addict,” the author says. “And I think that was a hard perspective for me to really try and get my head around.”

Rage and love simultaneously dwell inside Ray. The novel begins with him paying off his son’s $10,000 debt to a local drug dealer. But shortly thereafter, Ray discovers Ricky passed out with a needle in his neck, leading the father to forcefully sever ties with his son once and for all.

“There were times when Ray wondered if some folks were just born sorry,” Joy writes in the book, “and that thought hurt the worst because that was no way to think about his own flesh and blood, no way to think of his son.”

Yet these conflicting thoughts continue to haunt Ray throughout the novel, ultimately inspiring the retired forester to take extreme actions to combat the region’s illegal drug trade.

examine different responses to WNC’s opioid crisis. Specifically, the author wanted to juxtapose how the relics of a dying mountain culture react in comparison to members of the Eastern Band of Cherokees, a group that Joy notes is experiencing a cultural renaissance through a resurgence of the Cherokee language as well as a more accurate representation of the tribe’s history.

An important factor, Joy notes, was understanding his limitations and identifying his blind spots. “Something I’ve never done as a white, male writer is write across race,” he says. “There is a long history of people who look like me stealing the stories of others.”

Joy continues, “I’m lucky in that I have a lot of friends who are enrolled members” — including Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle, whose debut novel Even As We Breathe will be published in September. “They were very generous in letting me ask hard questions and giving me honest answers.”

Joy’s interviews, along with his research, fostered confidence in tackling the topic from an informed perspective. And his poise comes across on the page. “If the United States government thought holding fifty thousand acres in trust and allowing a couple of casinos had settled the debt, they were out of the minds,” Joy writes early in the novel.

“There were Cherokee who refused to carry twenty-dollar bills because they didn’t want to look at Andrew Jackson’s face. The Trail of Tears wasn’t a singular event in history. It was a continuum.

The government had never stopped shitting on natives.”

Still, Joy realizes shortcomings are unavoidable. “You have to recognize that no matter how much research you do, you’re still not ever going to fully grasp the perspective,” he says.

“And so when this book comes out and somebody who grew up on The [Qualla] Boundary tells me I got something wrong, I can’t be defensive about that. And I can’t argue with that. What I have to do is listen. I think that’s the big thing for me when we’re talking about writing across race. It’s about accepting responsibility for your failures because they are inevitable.”

RAGE AND LOVE

WRITING ACROSS RACE

One of Joy’s main interests in crafting When These Mountains Burn was to

RACE TO THE FINISH

What Joy undoubtedly gets right in his latest novel is the complexity of his

DISCONNECTED: Like many writers with books published during the COVID-19 pandemic, David Joy is promoting his latest novel via virtual events. But unlike most of his peers, the Jackson County resident must do so while contending with the challenges of unreliable internet access — which is necessitating trips to Cullowhee for stable Wi-Fi. “Rural connectivity is a disaster,” he says, but notes that the recent increased reliance on technology for remote work has shined a brighter light on the matter, especially as it relates to the area’s schoolchildren. Photo by Ashley T. Evans characters, a deep sense of place and a plot that refuses to slow down.

“I love when a book is able to create the kind of propulsion and pacing to where you reach the end of a chapter and you look at the clock and you realize you’ve got somewhere to be, but you don’t want to quit reading, so you flip ahead to see how many pages the next chapter is to see if you can sneak one more in,” Joy says. “[Those are] the kind of books I want to write.”

Joy certainly achieves this goal with When These Mountains Burn. The story’s short chapters manage to pack plenty of depth while keeping readers racing across WNC — from Cherokee to Sylva to a brief interrogation scene in Asheville. All the while the fires rage on as Joy’s characters struggle to make sense of the flames and the world around them.

These assets converge in one of the book’s most memorable scenes, during which Denny wakes in his car to windows covered in what appears to be snow. Turning on the windshield wipers, he quickly discovers the true source.

“The air was filled with smoke.

Ash fell from the sky. The car was covered, as was the ground where he stood. There was something strange about knowing everything was burning down around him but not being able to see the flames. He’d

caught the news on a screen at the gas station pump while he rattled the last of five dollars into his tank.

Wildfires stretched the Appalachian chain from Alabama to Kentucky, tens of thousands of acres burning across western North Carolina alone and not a drop of rain to come. The sky was yellow with smoke and for Denny Rattler it felt like a sign from God. Deep down he figured it was probably the end of the world.”

To register for the free Malaprop’s virtual release party on Aug. 18, visit avl.mx/7v3.

— Thomas Calder X

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Asheville-based metal band Bleedseason releases its debut album When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the U.S. in March, Asheville-based metal band Bleedseason was just shy of completing its debut full-length album. Not ones to give up, the self-proclaimed “Appalachian Horror Groove” outfit found a way to put the finishing touches on the project through a pair of determined and calculated studio trips manned by a tightly knit bubble of essential personnel. The result is Afterbirth (released July 5), a brooding and melodic journey through a landscape littered with despair and desperation, but fueled by movement and energy.

While founding members Elijah Wayne Lynn (lead vocals) and Ryan Coker (guitar and vocals) both come from musical backgrounds that would be considered “heavy” by most, their specific tastes and influences within the metal subgenre only occasionally overlap. Still, the pair — along with bassist Michael Sommers and percussionist Eli Raymer — have found a way to blend their disparate influences into a formula that clearly showcases their individual musical upbringings. Cleverly disguised within the depths of Afterbirth lies reverence for such varied acts as Alice in Chains and Sick of it All, along with heavy doses of metalcore from the late ’90s onward.

“We’ve always liked the sense of Bleedseason being a tribe,” Lynn says. “[But] we don’t want to build a cult or a following as much as we do a community of healing in an aggressive and positive way.”

That unusual combination may sound counterintuitive to the uninitiated, but the cathartic nature of mosh pits and slam dancing has been well documented in punk documentaries, books and testimonials from the past few decades.

“We love playing music even if no one’s there,” Lynn says. “But nothing touches a packed-out, sweaty room when you know the crowd’s feeling you, and you’re feeling the crowd.”

Live music can be a transformative experience for both artist and audience, but Bleedseason’s outlook extends beyond physical venue walls and into the bedrooms of children trying to carve out a place of belonging. “If there can be one kid that’s in some nasty trailer park, half-starved, and we keep him around for him or her to be an artist. … That’s what I wanna put back into the world,” Lynn says.

MOUNTAINX.COM

RAW POWER: Local metal band Bleedseason thrives in a live setting and eagerly awaits the day it can return to regional stages. “We love playing music even if no one’s there,” says lead vocalist Elijah Wayne Lynn, pictured. “But nothing touches a packed-out, sweaty room when you know the crowd’s feeling you, and you’re feeling the crowd.” Photo by iMayOccur Photography This positivity, while not necessarily represented lyrically in Afterbirth, is a driving force behind the band’s ideology. The back-and-forth between audience and artist is not just acknowledged, but respected as a necessity.

However, with music venues closed until at least Sept. 11 under phase 2 of Gov. Roy Cooper’s Safer at Home executive order, and limited capacities and other significant safety measures all but certain when operations resume, is it viable for a band to persevere with no full-fledged return to a live setting in sight? The agreement between Coker and Lynn seems to be that Bleedseason and the following it’s garnered are capable of weathering the storm. But, as Lynn says, “It’s going to be malnourished.”

Modernized music delivery has certainly become easier with the advent and industry takeover of the many streaming platforms available, and bands like Bleedseason — unsigned and fully self-financed — rely on them more than ever as a major source of exposure.

“With streaming, the music will stay alive,” Coker says. But with no live setting to sell additional merchandise like T-shirts and physical albums to newcomers and longtime fans alike, the rigors of sustaining relevance and the short attention spans of many music fans may take their toll.

“Everyone’s eager to get back to it, but I don’t think it’s going to be quite the same,” Lynn says. “Everything you’ve

worked for and have crafted for and strived for can just be like, ‘Well, we can’t do that no more.’”

Afterbirth was originally set for release on the full moon of June 5, but the band decided to postpone in deference to the protests rocking the country in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis. “There’s other things to hear right now,” Lynn says.

With a new date chosen — July 5, another full moon — the album was finally released on streaming platforms, including Spotify and iTunes. But to add yet another complication, The Mothlight — the band’s chosen venue to debut the album — unexpectedly announced that it had permanently closed. The release show was quickly moved to The Odditorium, but, once again, COVID-19 interfered as music halls were ordered to stay shuttered. Bleedseason remains optimistic, however, that even with the lack of in-person experiences to support Afterbirth, the band can find new fans and impress old ones.

“This is how we heal — this is our friendship, this is our brotherhood,” Lynn says. “I don’t think we want to put a ceiling on Bleedseason. We want to grow, we want to tour. We want to touch as many lives as we can.”

Hopefully, they’ll still get that chance before too long. bleedseasonband.bandcamp.com

— James Rosario X

CLUBLAND

Online Event= q WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12 OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. French Broad Valley Mountain Music Jam, 6pm THE JOINT NEXT DOOR Laura Thurston (solo acoustic), 6pm 185 KING STREET Team Trivia & Games, 7pm MOUNTAIN SPIRIT q

Flagship Romance (folk, alternative), 7pm, avl.mx/7t0 THE GREY EAGLE Patio Show w/ The Greenliners (bluegrass), 7pm TWIN LEAF BREWERY Open Mic w/ Thomas Yon, 7pm THE MOTHLIGHT q Farewell Mothlight: Dead Tongues, Indigo De Souza & Manas, 8pm, avl.mx/7wa SOVEREIGN KAVA q

Poetry Open Mic, 8:30pm, avl.mx/76w THE PAPER MILL LOUNGE Karaoke X, 9pm THE SOCIAL Karaoke w/ Lyric, 10pm

THURSDAY, AUGUST 13 LAZY HIKER BREWING Open Jam, 5pm

BALSAM FALLS BREWING CO. Open Mic Night, 8pm

FRIDAY, AUGUST 14 WHITESIDE BREWING CO. Doug Ramsay (jazz, soul), 5:30pm

ONE WORLD BREWING WEST Judaculla Blue (jam), 6pm SAINT PAUL MOUNTAIN VINEYARDS Almost Vintage (rock), 6pm

T HU 8 /13 MARVELOUS MASQUERADE: Asheville-based psychedelic rock band The Snozzberries will host an outdoor festival at Mills River Brewing Co. on Friday, Aug. 21, at 8 p.m. With local vendors and food trucks onsite, the festival will feature two musical sets and a light projection show. Photo by DJS Photography

THE JOINT NEXT DOOR Perry Wing Band (folk), 7pm

BATTERY PARK BOOK EXCHANGE Dinah's Daydream (jazz), 6pm

BANDS2FANS q Kristy Cox (bluegrass), 7pm, avl.mx/7x4

ISIS MUSIC HALL Lawn Concert w/ Matt Fassas Trip (rock), 6:30pm

BALSAM FALLS BREWING CO. Western Carolina Writers (folk), 7pm MOUNTAIN SPIRIT q

Jess Klein w/ Mike June (folk, blues), 7pm, avl.mx/7sp DRY FALLS BREWERY Izzi Hughes (rock, folk), 8pm WHITE HORSE BLACK MOUNTAIN

THE GREY EAGLE Chatham County Line (Americana), 8pm

Mark Bumgarner (Americana), 8pm, avl.mx/7uh

SATURDAY, AUGUST 15 APPALACHIAN RIDGE ARTISAN CIDERY Laura & Tim (blues, R&B), 3pm SAINT PAUL MOUNTAIN VINEYARDS 3 Shades of Gray (pop, jazz), 3pm

COUNTRY POUR

HONKY-TONK, OUTLAW COUNTRY

F RI 8 /14

RANDOM ANIMALS INDIE-SOUL

ISIS MUSIC HALL Lawn Concert w/ Random Animals (indie, soul), 6:30pm

THE GREY EAGLE Patio Show w/ J.W. Carlson & Matt Smith (country), 7pm

185 KING STREET One Night Stand String Band (bluegrass), 8pm

CONCERTS BEGIN AT 6:30PM

POINT LOOKOUT VINEYARDS Mojomatic (rock, funk), 5:30pm

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ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Gunslinging Parrots (Phish tribute), 8pm

DINNER AND A CONCERT ON THE LAWN

FLEETWOOD'S Fortezza (psychedelic), 6pm

ISIS MUSIC HALL Lawn Concert w/ Country Pour (honky tonk), 6:30pm

OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. Izzi Hughes (rock, folk), 8pm

WE’RE BACK!

ONE WORLD BREWING WEST Dirty Dead (Grateful Dead tribute), 6:30pm THE GREY EAGLE Patio Show w/ Planefolk (bluegrass, rock), 7pm 185 KING STREET The Harrows (country), 8pm THE PAPER MILL LOUNGE Trippin' Hardie (rock), 9pm WILD WING CAFE Karaoke Night, 9:30pm THE SOCIAL Karaoke Show w/ Billy Masters, 10pm

SUNDAY, AUGUST 16 SUMMIT COFFEE Frances Eliza (jazz, folk), 11am HIGHLAND BREWING CO. Reggae Sunday w/ Chalwa, 2pm

ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Shakedown Sunday w/ Drip A Silver (Grateful Dead tribute), 4:30pm RIVERSIDE RHAPSODY BEER COMPANY Drinkin’ & Thinkin’ Trivia, 5pm TRISKELION BREWERY JC & the Boomerang Band (Irish trad, folk), 6pm 185 KING STREET Open Electric Jam, 6pm ISIS MUSIC HALL Lawn Concert w/ The Richard Shulman Trio (jazz), 6:30pm ICONIC KITCHEN & DRINKS UniHorn (funk), 7pm MOUNTAIN SPIRIT q

OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. It Takes All Kinds Open Mic Night, 7pm

TUESDAY, AUGUST 18 OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. Team Trivia Tuesday, 6pm

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19

MOUNTAIN SPIRIT

HIGHLAND BREWING CO. Nerdy Talk Trivia, 6pm

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31

MOVIE REVIEWS THIS WEEK’S CONTRIBUTORS

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

BRUCE STEELE bcsteele@gmail.com

= MAX RATING

Michelle Keenan

Casey Ellis

Jorma Taccone, Molly Evensen COMEDY RATED PG-13

At the Video Store HHHHS DIRECTOR: James Westby PLAYERS: Bill Hader, Nicole Holofcener, Todd Haynes DOCUMENTARY NOT RATED Once upon a time, the movie rental store reigned supreme and was a neighborhood hub in cities and towns across the U.S. Now largely a relic of the past, the few that remain are more than video stores — they are curated libraries for film lovers. At the Video Store, the new documentary from James Westby (The Auteur; Film Geek), is an ode to the once great industry staple and a celebration of those remaining survivors for whom daily operation is more a labor of love than a viable business.

Movie geeks will revel in Westby’s low-budget yet creative love letter to a largely bygone cultural chapter. The independent video store (read: not Blockbuster) was a place where film nerds could be “the cool kids.” It was the place where a slightly creepy video clerk with an encyclopedic knowledge of cult cinema could hold court and cast judg32

AUG. 12-18, 2020

ment on lesser beings. Using interviews with shop owners as well as filmmakers and actors — including John Waters, Gus Van Sant, Bill Hader, Nicole Holofcener, Todd Haynes and Kevin Corrigan — At the Video Store explores the importance of this institution’s impact on society.

Their reminiscences evoke the viewer’s own memories: that video store smell, perusing the titles, the cinematic discoveries and, of course, the conversations. Each of the stores featured in the documentary has its own distinct style, yet they all share one very special thing in common: community. The footage taken in some of the country’s last and, in some cases, legendary video stores is a pure delight. Through his interviews and his own cinematic sensibilities, Westby captures the off-beat nature of the typical cinephile.

Unfortunately, the narrative is interrupted by satirical music video cutaways, created just for the film. Initially, it’s a bit of lark, but as the film goes on, it’s a slightly cringe-worthy indulgence that many viewers will find distracting. With a

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running time of only 72 minutes, Westby could have given a little more attention to the many wonderful characters who are fighting to keep this dinosaur of a business alive.

At the Video Store took several years to complete — and, sadly, some of the stores featured in the documentary are now no longer open. Though released during the golden age of streaming, the film makes the case that there is still a place and need for well-curated movie collections in our communities.

Ultimately, Westby gives us hope that the video store, and the human connection it offers, will survive. That’s an industry rewind this movie geek would love to see.

REVIEWED BY MICHELLE KEENAN REELTAKES@HOTMAIL.COM

An American Pickle HHHS

DIRECTOR: Brandon Trost PLAYERS: Seth Rogen, Sarah Snook,

For such a weird, high-concept comedy, An American Pickle sheds its zaniness surprisingly quickly.

Seth Rogen stars as Herschel Greenbaum, an Eastern European Jew who moves to 1920 Brooklyn to seek a better life for himself and his wife, Sarah (Sarah Snook, HBO’s “Succession”).

At his pickle factory job, Herschel falls (improbably unnoticed) into a vat of vinegary cucumbers and, by chance, seconds later, the factory is condemned and the giant container is sealed up with him inside.

In the not-quite 15 minutes it takes to chronicle Herschel’s journey to picklization, former “Saturday Night Live” scribe Simon Rich (adapting his short story “Sell Out”) squeezes in a generous amount of gags concerning hardships in the Old Country and the only slightly better American immigrant experience.

And the witty jokes continue once Herschel wakes up 100 years later, including a hilarious explanation of the science behind how he survived for a century and our man’s understandable discombobulation in adapting to the modern world under the wing of his great-grandson Ben (also Rogen).

But as An American Pickle attempts to add an emotional undercurrent to the comedy when Herschel visits the shockingly unkempt family cemetery plot and Ben is unwilling to confront his lingering sadness at losing his parents a few years prior, the film largely abandons its core Rip Van Winkle wackiness for a new storyline that follows the rift that arises through the relatives’ discord in how they mourn the dead.

Despite its believability, the rivalry between Herschel and Ben is a somewhat unsatisfactory substitute for the initial nuttiness and overall inanity of the basic reason for their improbable reunion, and though major laughs arise at the expense of Williamsburg hipsters turning Herschel’s impromptu pickle business into an artisanal sensation, the shift in overall style isn’t as successful.

True to form, Rogen is sufficiently funny in both roles, but the schtick of his dual performances wears a bit thin as the family beef drags on. Not helping matters is Rich’s script, which barely has the Greenbaums interact with anyone beyond venture capitalist Liam (Jorma

Taccone, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping), pickle business intern Clara (Molly Evensen) and a few pickle fans, leaving Rogen to rely on himself — via a stand-in — to deliver his lines. (Mark Ruffalo in “I Know This Much Is True,” this ain’t.)

Still, enough laudable elements keep An American Pickle engaging, including its sharp visuals — maybe not a surprise with it being the feature directorial debut of Brandon Trost, cinematographer on the bulk of Rogen’s recent output, beginning with This Is the End (2013), even though he’s not the director of photography here.

The film also briefly reembraces its oddball roots in its third act, during which it appears to be morphing into a hyperrelevant political metaphor, then changes course again and takes a path lined with a surplus of sentimentality that nonetheless produces several moving moments.

Perhaps the hodgepodge of tones and concepts is appropriate for a comedy about a man preserved for a century in a giant container of dills, but considering how well its goofy foundational conceits work, it’s a shame that it wasn’t seen through with more confidence.

Available to stream via HBO Max REVIEWED BY EDWIN ARNAUDIN EARNAUDIN@MOUNTAINX.COM

Starting at Zero H DIRECTOR: Willa Kammerer PLAYERS: Jim Hunt, Steve Bullock, Kay Ivey, Ralph Northam, Phil Bryant DOCUMENTARY NOT RATED About two-thirds of the way through Starting at Zero, Sharnelia Cook begins to tell her story, and she’s like a cool breeze on a stifling day. Cook went to a state-supported preschool — the subject of the documentary — and talks about how it helped prepare her for a successful life. We don’t see Cook in the context of her life — at school, at work, with friends or family; nope, nope, nope — but at least she’s telling a personal story in an engaging way.

The rest of Starting at Zero is styled like a pharmaceutical commercial crossed with a PowerPoint presentation.

The film is mostly a string of repetitive sound bites from politicians (from both parties), plus administrators, academics, nonprofit fundraisers and a few actual educators — all making the case for early childhood education. The intention is worthy and the cause admirable, but their arguments are endless truisms and generalities, with statistics tossed about without any grounding in scientific detail.

For visuals, the film relies on endless footage of well-groomed, squeaky clean, racially diverse, adorably dressed tykes in preschool classrooms and playgrounds, interacting with equally scrubbed (and all-female) teachers. They’re sweet as candy, but none is ever identified or humanized, nor are the locations ever mentioned. It’s great stock footage — and has nothing to do with documentary filmmaking. Save for Cook and a couple of parents who are seen briefly, human narrative is replaced by earnest posturing and dry assertions.

Starting at Zero is the kind of slick, soulless media presentation you expect at an educators’ conference or political convention, but for the average viewer, it will be neither informative nor absorbing.

I wish it success. May it go forth and sway votes in state legislatures across the country. Maybe an infomercial can have that power. But maybe an actual documentary would have been a better tool.

REVIEWED BY BRUCE STEELE BCSTEELE@GMAIL.COM

AVAILABLE VIA FINEARTSTHEATRE.COM (FA) GRAILMOVIEHOUSE.COM (GM) 2020 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Tour (NR) HHH (GM) A Girl Missing (NR) HHH (GM) Ai Weiwei: Yours Truly (NR) HHHS (GM) Alice (NR) HHH (FA) Amulet (R) HHHH (GM) At the Video Store (NR) HHHHS (Pick of the Week) (GM) Beyond the Visible: Hilma af Klint (NR) HHHS (FA) The Booksellers (NR) HHHS(FA) Creem: America’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll Magazine (NR) HHHH (GM) Days of the Whale (NR) HHHS(GM) Fantastic Fungi (NR) HHHH (FA) The Fight (PG-13) HHHH (FA, GM) Flannery (NR) HHHH (FA) Fourteen (NR) HHHH (FA) Gordon Lightfoot: If You Could Read My Mind (NR) HHHS (GM) Helmut Newton: The Bad and the Beautiful (NR) HHH (FA) The Hottest August (NR) H (FA) I Used to Go Here (NR) HHHHS (GM) John Lewis: Good Trouble (PG) HHHH (FA, GM) My Dog Stupid (NR) HHHH (FA) Out Stealing Horses (NR) HHHHS (FA, GM) Papicha (NR) HHH (FA) Proud (NR) HHH (FA) Rebuilding Paradise (PG-13) HHHS (GM) River City Drumbeat (NR) HHHHS (GM) Runner (NR) HHHS (GM) Someone, Somewhere (NR) HHHH (FA) Starting at Zero (NR) H (FA) The Surrogate (NR) HHHHS (FA) The Times of Bill Cunningham (NR) HHHHS (FA) The Tobacconist (NR) HHHS (FA) Vitalina Varela (NR) HHHHS (FA) You Never Had It: An Evening with Bukowski (NR) HHHS (GM) MOUNTAINX.COM

AUG. 12-18, 2020

33

FREEWILL ASTROLOGY

M O VIE RE V I EW S

The Tax Collector HS DIRECTOR: David Ayer PLAYERS: Bobby Soto, Shia LaBeouf, George Lopez, Canejo ACTION/CRIME NOT RATED The hero of David Ayer’s The Tax Collector, also conveniently named David, does just the right amount of heroic things to reach the end of his heroic quest. If you ever doubt that David is our hero, you need only reference the amount of times he prays to God. It’s a lot — and, really, all a person ever needs to validate a day of violently intimidating clients into paying for protection.

Between being an amazing husband and securing a dress for his daughter’s quinceañera, David (Bobby Soto, A Better Life), along with his ride-ordie Creeper (Shia LaBeouf), runs collections for his uncle, Luis (comedian George Lopez), the kingpin of LA’s Latinx underworld. David’s truest “save the cat” moment is in the unwritten acknowledgment that he hasn’t got the heart to tell his lifelong friend Creeper that he’s not Latino. Ditto for the film’s casting department with LaBeouf.

But every hero needs a villain, and ours is a doozy! Not only does he love keeping severed heads in Lil Oscar coolers, he also practices the ancient black art of Santeria. (Didn’t see no crystal ball, though.) It’s an honest-to-goodness literal allegory of good vs. evil!

Conejo, played by LA rapper Conejo (is there an echo in here?), is back stateside after a long hiatus and ready to enact revenge on Luis — and his little nephew, too! What comes next is trope after trope of pretty forgettable cinema. You’ve seen this story time and again, but usually with white people.

(Like, always white people.)

So, for all its shortcomings and terrible writing, one-dimensional characters and shoehorned plot points, the only thing that I can say in this movie’s favor is that B-movies need equal representation, too. And I truly believe that. So, before you go popping in The Room for the hundredth time, think about the last time you had to read subtitles for 10% of a movie. This is your moment.

Or you could watch a real classic like Blood In Blood Out instead.

Available to rent via Apple, Amazon Video and other streaming services REVIEWED BY CASEY ELLIS C.DALTON.ELLIS@GMAIL.COM

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2020 X AWARDS

Thank You FOR VOTING! RESULTS WILL BE PUBLISHED IN SEPTEMBER

mountainx.com/ bestofwnc 34

AUG. 12-18, 2020

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ARIES (March 21-April 19): Motivational speaker Les Brown says his mission in life is to help people become uncomfortable with their mediocrity.

That same mission is suitable for many of you Rams, as well. And I suspect you’ll be able to generate interesting fun and good mischief if you perform it in the coming weeks. Here’s a tip on how to make sure you do it well: Don’t use shame or derision as you motivate people to be uncomfortable with their mediocrity. A better approach is to be a shining example that inspires them to be as bright as you are.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Taurus musician and visual artist Brian Eno has a practical, down-to-earth attitude about making beautiful things, which he has done in abundance. He says that his goal is not to generate wonderful creations nonstop — that’s not possible — but rather to always be primed to do his best when inspiration strikes.

In other words, it’s crucial to tirelessly hone his craft, to make sure his skills are constantly at peak capacity. I hope you’ve been approaching your own labors of love with that in mind, Taurus. If you have, you’re due for creative breakthroughs in the coming weeks. The diligent efforts you’ve invested in cultivating your talents are about to pay off. If, on the other hand, you’ve been a bit lazy about detail-oriented discipline, correct that problem now.

There’s still time to get yourself in top shape.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): In his 2010 album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Gemini musician Kanye West confesses the decadent and hedonist visions that fascinate and obsess him. Personally, I’m not entertained by the particular excesses he claims to indulge in; they’re generic and unoriginal and boring. But I bet that the beautiful dark twisted fantasies simmering in your imagination, Gemini, are more unique and intriguing. In accordance with astrological omens, I invite you to spend quality time in the coming weeks diving in and exploring those visions in glorious detail. Get to know them better. Embellish them. Meditate on the feelings they invoke and the possibility that they have deeper spiritual meanings. (P.S. But don’t act them out, at least not now.)

CANCER (June 21-July 22): “Make all your decisions based on how hilarious it would be if you did it,” advises Cancerian actor Aubrey Plaza. I wish it were that simple. How much more fun we might all have if the quest for amusement and laughter were among our main motivating principles. But no, I don’t recommend that you always determine your course of action by what moves will generate the most entertainment and mirth. Having said that, though, I do suspect the next few weeks may in fact be a good time to experiment with using Plaza’s formula.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): In the dictionary, the first definition of “magic” is “the art of producing illusions as entertainment by the use of sleight of hand and deceptive devices.” A far more interesting definition, which is my slight adjustment of an idea by occultist Aleister Crowley, doesn’t appear in most dictionaries. Here it is: “Magic is the science and art of causing practical changes to occur in accordance with your will — under the rigorous guidance of love.” According to my analysis of the astrological omens, the latter definition could and should be your specialty during the next four weeks.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): “The soul, like the moon, is new, and always new again,” wrote 14th-century mystic poet Lalleswari. I will amend her poetic formulation, however. The fact is that the soul, unlike the moon, is always new in different ways; it doesn’t have a predictable pattern of changing as the moon does. That’s what makes the soul so mysterious and uncanny. No matter how devotedly we revere the soul, no matter how tenderly we study the soul, it’s always beyond our grasp. It’s forever leading us into unknown realms that teem with new challenges and delights. I invite you to honor and celebrate these truths in the coming weeks, Virgo. It’s time to exult in the shiny dark riddles of your soul.

BY ROB BREZSNY

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): “I have one talent, and that is the capacity to be tremendously surprised,” writes Libran author Diane Ackerman. I advise you to foster that talent, too, in the weeks ahead. If you’re feeling brave, go even further. Make yourself as curious as possible. Deepen your aptitude for amazements and epiphanies. Cultivate an appreciation for revelations and blessings that arrive from outside your expectations. To the degree that you do these things, the wonderments that come your way will tend to be enlivening and catalytic; unpredictability will be fun and educational.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Author and theologian Frederick Buechner writes, “If we are to love our neighbors, before doing anything else we must see our neighbors. With our imagination as well as our eyes, we must see not just their faces but also the life behind and within their faces.” The coming weeks will be prime time for you to heed Buechner’s advice, Scorpio. You’re in a phase when you’ll have extra power to understand and empathize with others. Taking full advantage of that potential will serve your selfish aims in profound ways, some of which you can’t imagine yet.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): “Refine your rapture,” advised occultist Aleister Crowley.

Now is an excellent time to take that advice.

How might you go about doing it? Well, you could have a long conversation with your deep psyche — and see if you can plumb hidden secrets about what gives it sublime pleasure. You could seek out new ways to experience euphoria and enchantment — with an emphasis on ways that also make you smarter and healthier. You might also take inventory of your current repertoire of bliss-inducing strategies — and cultivate an enhanced capacity to get the most out of them.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Are you ready to make the transition from slow, deep, subtle and dark to fast, high, splashy and bright? Are you interested in shifting your focus from behind-the-scenes to right up front and totally out in the open? Would it be fun and meaningful for you to leave behind the stealthy, smoldering mysteries and turn your attention to the sweet, blazing truths? All these changes can be yours — and more. To get the action started, jump up toward the sky three times, clicking your heels together during each mid-leap.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Greenland is a mostly autonomous territory within the nation of Denmark. In 2019, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that his government was interested in buying the massive island, describing it as “a large real estate deal” that would add considerable strategic value to his country. A satirical story in The New Yorker subsequently claimed that Denmark responded with a counteroffer, saying it wasn’t interested in the deal, but “would be interested in purchasing the United States in its entirety, with the exception of its government.” I offer this as an example for you to be inspired by. The coming weeks will be a favorable time for you to flip the script, turn the tables, reverse the roles, transpose the narrative and switch the rules of the game.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Author Doris Lessing told us, “It is our stories that will recreate us.”

Whenever we’re hurt or confused or demoralized, she suggested, we need to call on the imagination to conjure up a new tale for ourselves. “It is the storyteller, the dream-maker, the mythmaker, that is our phoenix,” she believed. The fresh narratives we choose to reinvent ourselves may emerge from our own dreams, meditations or fantasies.

Or they might flow our way from a beloved movie or song or book. I suspect you’re ready for this quest, Pisces. Create a new saga for yourself.

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ACROSS

1 Shoe company with a fish name 5 Bumbling 10 Hot rod race 14 Sets of points, in math 15 Some cartridge filler 16 Hershey caramelfilled candy 17 Land between the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf 18 With sleight of hand, say 19 Devil-may-care attitude, in modern parlance 20 Having a meal!

23 Word from Swahili for “journey” 24 Go as far down as 28 Curses 31 Oscar-winning Sophia 32 Landmark 1973 Supreme Court case, informally 35 M i l i t a r y trainees 38 ___ Tometi, activist who co-founded Black Lives Matter 40 Author Mario Vargas ___ 41 Aching 42 Downward dog 45 Bit of butter 46 Historic 1965 march location 47 Business sign abbr.

49 “Seems about right” 52 Providers of some comic relief in “Star Wars” 56 “Will you marry me?”

59 Grand party 62 Language quintet 63 Word on a deli scale 64 Retail giant that opened its first U.S. store near Philadelphia in 1985 65 Words, informally 66 In great shape 67 Ending with four or six, but not three or five

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1 Pure joy 2 Main artery 3 Neck warmer 4 Singer O’Connor 5 “Piece of cake!”

6 Florida State athlete, for short 7 Four-time Grammy winner for Best New Age Album 8 Bombards 9 “Have a taste!”

10 Textiles and sundries 11 Aussie hopper 12 “Is that ___?”

13 Glue … or a rhyme for “glue” 21 Sp. ladies 22 Mardi Gras locale, for short 25 About to go under the knife, in brief 26 Four: Prefix 27 Beginning

Why I support Xpress:

29 Simba’s mate in “The Lion King” 30 Range

DOWN

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69 “Shoo!”

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68 Sound of disgust

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34 Some English nobles 36 Those, to José 37 Make something seem less likely to be true 39 Vegetable in succotash 43 Pugilist’s goal 44 Historical figure played by Kurt Russell in “Tombstone”

48 Some diner seating choices 50 Russians and Belarusians 51 Classic theater 53 Singer/songwriter Hayes 54 Girl in the “Our Gang” movies 55 Wintry mix 57 ___ de gallo (condiment) 58 Thunder 59 Concern when buying shoes 60 Squeeze (out) 61 Where a long drive often starts

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N Y Y R A E S W A P P E D

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I O T A

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– Tracey Gruver

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