Food distribution nonprofits provide post-Helene safety nets for
DOWN TO THE STUDS
Many residents are facing the daunting task of cleanup and repair post-Helene, but those with historic houses have an added layer: preserving the area’s past for the future. On this week’s cover is Javier Morgan.
Amid retirement, community health remains top of mind for former
Turning your post-Helene canned food stash into a Thanksgiving masterpiece
Middle school student writes about Helene’s impact on the
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Hope comes with cleanup
My commute into town from the Woodfin area has always been along Riverside Drive, providing me a peaceful and relaxing ride. Following Helene, it became a scene of incredible devastation, bringing tears to my eyes with almost each trip. It took days for cars to be removed, and the banks, what are left of them, have been denuded of trees and filled with debris.
I have been heartened to see the efforts of IPEX/Silver-Line Plastics to remove and recover the thousands of pipes that were swept from their storage yard and strewn like pickup sticks all along the banks. I’ve seen men on both sides of the river wading in the water to pull them out. Whether they can salvage them for reuse and sale or must dispose of them, I commend the company for tirelessly pursuing this endeavor while simultaneously tackling the destruction of their facilities.
It goes without saying that we are all in for an incredibly long road of recovery. Seeing the progress made every day by the efforts of so many people and organizations gives me hope that our beautiful, funky little city shall rise again. There are so, so many hands helping everywhere. I encourage everyone to participate in whatever way you can — giving money, volunteering time, supporting local businesses and having patience and compassion for those around us. We’re all in this together!
—
Rob Campbell Woodfin
Volunteers have offered water, kindness and hope
As the boil-water advisory is lifted in Asheville, I can’t help but feel that I’ll miss my “water runs.” During this
Editor’s Note
As part of our Fall Nonprofit Issue, Part II, Xpress reached out to a number of local organizations to learn how their work has shifted post-Helene. The “Unstoppable” series is available throughout this week’s issue. X
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time, I’ve met incredible neighbors and volunteers who radiate amazing positive energy.
Years of living in Texas, where tornadoes are common, and Maine, where frozen pipes can be a problem, along with extensive camping and whitewater trips before the rise of solar panels and “glamping,” have taught me two important lessons: (1) always keep a couple of jugs of water in your bathroom, and (2) while it may be unappealing to some, the old adage holds true: “If it’s yellow, let it mellow; if it’s brown, flush it down.”
When Helene hit, two jugs just weren’t enough. I found some containers outside Ingles, and then the long process of getting water began. Luckily, I live near the Reems Creek Fire Department, where a creek with fresh water flows over rocks, making it easy to scoop up. Sitting on the green grass along the creek, I spent time refilling jugs, which worked for a while. Then, around Oct. 4, a miracle arrived.
From Louisville, Ky., came WaterStep and Lynn Smith, who installed a water purification system at the creek and set up spigots along the fence for filling jugs. I’ll never forget the first time I turned one on: The water flowed quickly and cleanly, and Lynn encouraged me to use it for whatever I needed! Later, they brought in
three giant water tanks for after-hours fill-ups. WaterStep is a nonprofit organization funded by donations, dedicated to providing access to potable water around the world.
Keith Krebbs, a resident of Beaverdam, has been a tireless volunteer, offering daily assistance, encouragement and even a hug when needed at our “water run” location. He supervises the water purification system to ensure the water remains clean and safe. His dedication and commitment to the community truly make him a local hero.
Having lived in Asheville for nearly 25 years and retired from my role as a public school educator at Asheville Middle School after 35 years in 2021, I’ve had the privilege of witnessing and participating in a vibrant community. Throughout my 71 years on this “third rock from the sun,” I have experienced a great deal.
What stands out to me the most is the overwhelming kindness, empathy and generosity that characterize the people involved in the recovery and rebuilding of Asheville and all of Western North Carolina. Their dedication to uplifting one another and fostering resilience provides a daily dose of hope that is deeply needed in these times.
— Joanne Robert Asheville
Stop the destruction of the Nolichucky Gorge
The Nolichucky Gorge, a crown jewel of North Carolina and Tennessee’s natural heritage, is under threat from devastating, unregulated mining operations. According to a federal lawsuit, following Hurricane Helene, CSX and/ or its contractors have begun removing massive amounts of rock and soil from the riverbed and banks under federal authorization. And according to the Southern Environmental Law Center, this authorization was granted unlawfully, without proper environmental review.
Federal agencies failed to assess the devastating ecological and economic consequences of this activity, which violates critical environmental laws, including the Clean Water Act, the lawsuit states. Now, conservation groups are suing to halt the destruction and hold CSX and federal agencies accountable for this reckless degradation of the river.
The Nolichucky Gorge, which straddles the Tennessee-North Carolina state line near Erwin, Tenn., and Poplar, N.C., is vital to the region’s tourism, economy and ecology. The removal of bedrock and riverbank material compromises flood mitigation and increases erosion. Future floodwaters will carve new, unstable channels through the gorge, leaving the river shallower, less navigable and potentially unusable for rafting and other recreation — jeopardizing livelihoods and ecosystems.
This illegal mining threatens to permanently alter one of the Southeast’s premier whitewater rivers, with catastrophic consequences for local communities, wildlife and future generations.
We cannot afford to wait. Contact your local representatives and demand immediate action to stop this destruction. Urge them to enforce environmental laws, investigate federal negligence and protect the Nolichucky Gorge before it’s too late. Join the fight to preserve this irreplaceable treasure.
Learn more and take action here: [avl.mx/ebq]. Also take action here: [avl.mx/ebr].
— Brad Preslar Asheville
Word of the week lashings (pl. n.) a great plenty; abundance
We hope this Thanksgiving brings each of you lashings of your most beloved dishes. X
Grandfather’s photo links to local history
The recent picture of the “old-timers” in the Mountain Xpress of the exhibit titled “Striking a Chord” contains a photo showing my grandfather James Sylvester [“Oral History
CARTOON BY RANDY MOLTON
Exhibit,” Nov. 13]. He is the second from right wearing coveralls and a “flyer’s cap.” He ran the service station depicted in the background.
He later owned and operated the Black Mountain Hardware Store in the 1930s and ’40s. My mother was a contemporary of one of the younger men pictured. My grandfather was a friendly man, and folks used to congregate at his places of business.
— Phil Edgerton Asheville
Public housing residents get no relief
When I was growing up in West Asheville, my parents, who were both working for the Asheville City Schools, hired an African American single mother, Izola Branch, to work in our home and take care of us kids when we got home from Aycock elementary school. When my mother got home, she would drive Ms. Branch to her home at Hillcrest Apartments. I liked to go with them and learned something about segregation, unequal treatment on city services and racism. And back then, not many white people went to the “projects” often like we did.
I have seen and taken note of the same elements of discrimination over many years. Recent letters and news
reports have shown clearly that for relief after the flooding, public housing residents in Asheville have more problems and got dumped on, evicted and neglected by the city again.
I contacted Mayor Esther Manheimer early on and asked her to visit public housing projects and meet and talk with the residents. I am still waiting, even though she replied by email and thanked me for the suggestion. Now I read that the director of the Asheville Housing Authority has been fired.
Mayor Manheimer, visit the public housing projects and demand that the state legislature stop evictions now.
I found your cartoon by Brent Brown appalling. Poking fun at people who lost their homes and businesses is no laughing matter.
— Elaine Kabat Candler
Editor’s note: Cartoonist Brent Brown offers the following response: “I agree, a damaged home is no laughing matter. Therefore, that was not the joke subject of the cartoon.” X
CARTOON BY BRENT BROWN
Repairing Western North Carolina Coalition takes aim
BY PAT MORAN
When Tropical Storm Helene swept through Western North Carolina in late September, the region’s already critical affordable housing situation immediately worsened. An Oct. 23 preliminary assessment by the N.C. Office of State Budget and Management estimates that about 126,000 homes were destroyed or damaged by the storm and that some 220,000 households will apply for assistance.
Even Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity, the nonprofit that partners with homeowners to build new houses and preserve existing ones, found itself without a home. The day the storm hit, the Swannanoa River jumped its banks, and water surged onto the first floor of Habitat’s administration building, says Joel Johnson, the nonprofit’s home repair director. He and his co-workers raced into the building to save what they could.
The organization’s repair trucks and construction tools escaped flood damage, but there was no place to warehouse them. With the administrative offices and nearby ReStore facility rendered unusable for the foreseeable future even as the need for home repair work was skyrocketing, Habitat needed to find a port in the storm. But the nonprofit bounced back quickly.
“I assigned our repair staff each a vehicle fully stocked with tools to take home,” Johnson explains. Two days after Helene hit, those staffers were either working from home or out in the community meeting homeowners face to face.
Since then, the local Habitat branch has partnered with three other nonprofits to launch the Asheville Regional Coalition for Home Repair, aka ARCHR, in collaboration with PODER Emma Community Ownership, Mountain Housing Opportunities and Community Action Opportunities. These groups are pooling resources and coordinating their efforts to help low-income, uninsured and underinsured homeowners with their post-Helene repairs.
ARCHR is also working with qualified families whose insurance payout is insufficient to meet their needs, notes Johnson. For details on the requirements, see the box, “How to Qualify.”
The coalition’s goal, says Johnson, “is to build an equitable, transparent and accessible platform for homeowners, one that limits confusion and
at Helene-damaged homes
POOLING RESOURCES: PODER Emma co-founder Andrea Golden, left, and Joel Johnson, Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity’s home repair director, help low-income homeowners with their post-Helene repairs. Photo by Pat Moran
serves as many people as possible in an organized fashion — all at no cost to the owners.” To that end, the group has developed a new software platform, posted on Asheville Habitat’s website, that streamlines the intake and assessment processes for homeowners.
A HOME REPAIR CENTER SETS UP HOUSE
A little more than one month after Helene hit, Johnson is working on his laptop at 17 Westside Drive, a facility operated by PODER Emma. Launched in 2018, the nonprofit is a network of housing and real estate co-ops in West Asheville’s Emma community, which has a large Latino population.
“We’re an organization that works to stop displacement by protecting mobile home communities,” says co-founder Andrea Golden, who is seated across from Johnson.
“I set up my office here,” he explains, adding, “My staff is here and our vehicles are here.” As Johnson and Golden conclude their meeting in the office, staff and volunteers stack and sort boxes of food and water bottles nearby.
Some PODER Emma partners, notes Golden, will continue to distribute supplies through the winter because the communities the nonprofit serves have been hit hard by the loss of tourism-related jobs. La Esperanza, PODER Emma’s neighborhood real estate cooperative, owns the building, which also serves as the command post for ARCHR.
Each of the coalition’s four partner organizations has experience providing affordable home repairs and accessibility upgrades for the region’s aging population.
“Community Action Opportunities offers a weatherization assistance program that focuses on energy efficiency as well as health and safety upgrades in homes,” spokesperson James Duncan wrote in an email. The work includes replacing old or inefficient heating systems and insulating attics, walls and floors. According to Duncan, the goal is to “make the home healthier, safer and more energy-efficient for the people living there.”
Mountain Housing Opportunities, meanwhile, specializes in repairs that address barriers to physical accessibility and remove urgent health and safety hazards. “Even before our col-
laboration with ARCHR,” President and CEO Geoffrey Barton wrote in an email to Xpress, “Mountain Housing Opportunities had already been completing 150 to 200 health and safety-related essential repairs each year.”
Golden sounds a similar note, saying, “What we all have in common is our home repair programs.”
The goal behind ARCHR, says Johnson, is “increasing our impact by working collaboratively, instead of in our individual organizational silos.” In the past, he notes, there have been cases where he signed a contract and went out to start the work — only to discover that it had already been done by another nonprofit. The client, he explains, “went all the way through the contract, and we didn’t know.”
That kind of overlap has been confusing for community members, too, says Golden, leading some homeowners to submit simultaneous aid applications to multiple groups. “It was not efficient for us, because you would think that you were going to go work with a family, but then they had already applied somewhere else,” she explains. “We knew we would do a lot better by collaborating with each other.”
CRAFTING A COALITION
For at least the last five years, these four nonprofits have been trying to navigate a maze of application and funding requirements to cooperate as closely and efficiently as possible, notes Johnson.
The collaboration between PODER Emma and Asheville Habitat, says Golden, dates to 2018, when her organization launched its first repair program in response to an increased incidence of break-ins affecting mobile homes. Habitat helped PODER Emma install motion detector lights and anti-theft plates on those residences’ doors.
“There has always been informal communication between the home repair programs in the area,” says Duncan of Community Action Opportunities. “Going back to 2019, we have completed weatherization services on 57 homes that listed a [future] member of ARCHR as the referral source on their application.”
But even though “We were all connected to each other in different ways,” says Golden, the four organizations “were not yet coordinating our efforts.” What they lacked, adds Johnson, was a centralized platform to efficiently track the work they accomplished.
“These are life-changing and, in many cases, lifesaving services that are available at no cost.”
— James Duncan, Community Action Opportunities
A forerunner of ARCHR came together in 2019, when Asheville Habitat, Mountain Housing Opportunities and Community Action Opportunities began meeting with the Council on Aging of Buncombe County to discuss ways to improve communication. “We were trying to reduce confusion for our aging population around who offers what and [which organization] could be a good fit for them,” remembers Johnson. At that time, he says, the referral process among the different groups was “kind of clunky,” with too much duplication of effort.
Over time, the discussions expanded to include efficiency upgrades and broader home repairs. In the end, however, “We stalled as a group due to a lack of bandwidth to develop the needed platform and processes to work collaboratively,” Johnson maintains.
Then COVID-19 hit. And though the four nonprofits continued their respective work with families, there was still no dedicated platform to track referrals. So in September 2023, Johnson approached his peers to gauge their interest in joining forces to establish ARCHR. The future coalition partners were open to the idea as long as Asheville Habitat took the lead.
Accordingly, Johnson and Ben Wyatt, Asheville Habitat’s home repair project manager, developed the software platform, intake form and automated processes that would enable the coalition partners to communicate, collaborate and track projects. “We were at the point of rolling it out when Helene hit us,” Johnson explains.
At that point, notes Golden, she thought, “It’s now: Now is when we need to do this. The demand on our programs is more than any one program could dream of addressing.”
Johnson concurred. “I approached everybody that was at the table before,” he recalls, “and said, ‘Are you all willing to come back to this if it’s action-orient-
ed?’” So the partners decided to pivot to a disaster repairs collaborative.
THE LONG HAUL
“By formalizing collaboration among the area service providers, ARCHR helps us all respond to the vast home repair needs for low-income families in our community,” says Barton of Mountain Housing Opportunities.
Golden agrees. PODER Emma, she says, “would have been extremely overwhelmed had it not been for Habitat showing up immediately and saying let’s figure this out together. We’re a neighborhood-based organization, and we were called to provide a regional response. We couldn’t have done that alone; we had to collaborate.”
“These are life-changing and, in many cases, lifesaving services that are available at no cost, and so many do not know they can qualify,” Duncan points out.
Since its launch in late October, the coalition has started the assessment process for the more than 100 families that have entered the ARCHR disaster repairs pipeline. In the meantime, each partner organization continues to make home repairs and provide agingin-place upgrades as well as emergency services such as tree removal, tarping and well repairs. Projects begun before the storm hit are also being completed.
The scope and cost of the work done for individual clients, stresses Johnson, will vary based on the severity of the damage. But by working collaboratively, ARCHR can leverage each partner’s funding sources, enabling the coalition to have a greater impact on the families it serves.
“We are local organizations that are dedicated to the long-term recovery effort,” he says. “We’re going to be here beyond other organizations that are going to be here and then move on. We are in this for the long haul.” X
How to qualify
To qualify for no-cost repairs through ARCHR, the home damages must be storm-related, and homeowners must:
• live in either Buncombe or Madison counties and
• have a household income less than 70% of the area median income for their household size. According to figures derived from the city of Asheville’s Department of Community and Economic Development, the AMI for 2024 is $65,400 for a one-person household and $93,500 for a family of four.
To apply for assistance, fill out the form on the Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity website. X
Clearing trees and developing new bonds
Lang Hornthal is the co-executive director of EcoForesters, a nonprofit dedicated to conserving and restoring the Appalachian forests.
Xpress: How has your nonprofit’s focus shifted in the aftermath of Helene?
Hornthal: EcoForesters’ field staff has been actively involved with relief efforts. Our crews have been helping local nonprofits and landowners by cutting up trees that were preventing access to their homes and property. We are also capitalizing on the enormous amount of community building that has occurred since the storm by developing watershed-level planning on privately owned lands.
Could you share a positive story about your nonprofit’s interaction with the community post-Helene?
We have met some incredibly kind people throughout, but working with Compañeros Inmigrantes de las Montañas Acción (CIMA) was a beautiful experience. So many people were impacted by this storm, and to help those that have the added language barrier was very meaningful for our staff. Not to mention the best field lunches our crew has ever had!
Based on the communities you serve, what are the most dire needs?
Forestry is so long-term focused that it is hard to think of needs as being dire. That said, we have real concerns about how the downed debris could impact the severity of wildfires. We also know that nonnative invasive species will take advantage of this newly created growing space and will be a big problem come spring.
Beyond monetary donations, how else could community members support your mission?
Continue to engage with your neighbors. We have been buoyed by neighbors talking about their forests like never before. Finding common ground related to forest management can help share in the burden — and beauty — of managing forests so everyone can continue to enjoy their benefits. X
TEAM MEMBERS FROM ECOFORESTERS AND CIMA
Photo courtesy of EcoForesters
Root causes
BY GINA SMITH
Food distribution nonprofits provide post-Helene safety nets for WNC farms gsmith@mountainx.com
From demolished greenhouses to washed-out fields, Western North Carolina growers were hit hard by Tropical Storm Helene and have been struggling to tread water ever since. Among the disaster’s many impacts on the area’s agriculture operations has been the shuttering of local restaurants.
For many farms, the decimation of this crucial market base during what should have been a booming fall leaf season has portended a possible death knell for their businesses during the lean winter months. But in the face of this challenge, WNC food distribution nonprofits have worked to offer growers an economic lifeboat.
Bolstered by experience gained and initiatives put in place during the COVID-19 era, several organizations have quickly stepped in to replace lost income streams for WNC farmers.
“Many food distribution nonprofits — as well as chefs powered by nonprofits and/or individual donations — have been able to increase local purchasing during the crisis, which helps make up some of the market outlet loss due to restaurant closures,” says Sarah Hart, communications director at the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP), an Asheville nonprofit that helps connect WNC farmers to market options.
Many area anti-hunger organizations already relied on local food purchasing and had relationships with farmers before Helene, Hart continues. But their budgets have increased with crisis funding and donations in the wake of the disaster, allowing them to initiate new or expand existing farm-to-client programs.
With the 2020 launch of its Appalachian Farms Feeding Families program, ASAP was in the vanguard of local organizations that stepped up during the COVID-19 lockdowns to support farmers by buying their products to share with underresourced community members. “It’s amazing to see how seeds of this [post-Helene] community-driven response, in some cases, go back to the COVID crisis,” Hart says.
‘OVERDRIVE’
The WNC nonprofits with the largest budgets for buying from local farmers during the Helene crisis, Hart points out, have been Yancey Countybased TRACTOR Food & Farms, Foothills Food Hub in Marion and
SEEDS OF RECOVERY: Equal Plates Project kitchen workers prepare celery purchased from one of the nonprofit’s growing partners, Black Earth Farm in Fletcher. Photo by Donnie Bishop
Haywood Christian Ministry (HCM) in Waynesville. One thing these groups have in common, she explains, is that they all work at the intersection of food and health by implementing fresh fruit and vegetable prescription programs funded by the Medicaid-supported Healthy Opportunities Pilot (HOP).
Having partnered with ASAP’s Farms Feeding Families program during the pandemic, HCM has had a long-term goal of eventually developing into a food hub — an organization that manages the aggregation, storage, distribution and marketing of locally grown foods. Over the past year or so, HCM had dabbled in limited ways with a couple of farm-sourcing pilot projects, including a small community-supported agriculture (CSA) program.
But Helene fast-tracked those initiatives and added new ones, says Nicole Hinebaugh, director of the Farms and Food Project for HCM. “We had to basically create this local food procurement system, kind of from scratch,” she says. “It kicked our plans into overdrive in a really, really significant way. We have already worked with at least 33 different farms since the storm.”
When Hinebaugh spoke with Xpress in early November, HCM had already spent around $75,000 in the wake of Helene to pay the market rate to its farm partners — purchasing more than 34,000 pounds of fresh food. Those provisions were distributed to Haywood County residents through HCM’s on-site pantry and its network of about 30 com-
munity partners, including numerous churches and community centers that moved into a food distribution role in the aftermath of the disaster.
In addition to funding from HOP, Hinebaugh says, generous donations from individuals and businesses along with some disaster relief grants have enabled HCM to replace farmers’ lost income streams by paying market price for their products.
“Continuing to have an outlet available that is paying market rate is a big deal; it’s really, really helpful for a lot of farmers,” she says. “We’ve been really happy to be able to pay farmers what they want to be paid for their food.”
The organization is looking for more sustainable funding sources to maintain and expand its fresh-food efforts in the long term. One goal is to find a larger facility to house HCM’s rapidly growing fresh-food programs. Another objective is to establish contract relationships with farm partners so they can plan their growing seasons.
“We will pay a significant portion of the contract right up front, almost like a CSA, so they have those dollars in place for early-season investments, cash flow, then a guaranteed market space that we’ve already agreed on together,” Hinebaugh explains.
SMALL BUT MIGHTY
Even nonprofits with smaller budgets have been able to make a big
impact in supporting local farms to feed the community in the wake of Helene, says ASAP’s Hart. One example she points to, the Asheville-based Equal Plates Project, is another HOP partner that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic as We Give a Share. From its outset, the initiative had the dual mission of providing a market to farmers while battling food insecurity.
Equal Plates’ model from the beginning, says executive director Madi Holtzman, has been to buy fresh food — from meat and eggs to cornmeal, apples and vegetables — from WNC producers, then enlist chefs in the nonprofit’s two kitchen facilities to turn these items into hot meals that are distributed at no cost to residents in need through partner organizations serving specific communities.
Before Helene, Equal Plates was cooking around 1,000 meals a week for its distribution partners, Holtzman says. But following the storm, with the support of significantly increased donations, Equal Plates’ production has ramped up to about 1,000 meals per day — which translates to more financial stability for its roughly 20 local producer partners.
“We essentially tripled our meal production overnight,” says Holtzman. “It made us look around at each other as an organization and say, ‘Hey, wow, we can do this! We can do more meals in our two kitchens than we thought we could.’ And we would like to sustain this level of production.”
“Continuing
— Nicole Hinebaugh, director of the Farms and Food Project for Haywood Christian Ministry
Rather than going wider with its support of farmers, though, Holtzman says, Equal Plates intends to invest more deeply in its existing farm partners. “Our aspiration as we grow is to become a genuinely meaningful account for them, so working with Equal Plates actually matters for their bottom line.”
Bounty & Soul, a food- and wellness-focused nonprofit in Black Mountain, is another small but mighty organization that ASAP’s Hart points to as a key group supporting WNC farmers post-Helene. To supply its weekly, free food distribution events, founder Ali Casparian has maintained relationships with local farmers since she started the organization in 2014. But Bounty & Soul also leaned heavily into donations from MANNA FoodBank, which lost its entire office and warehouse facility in flooding from Helene. Since the storm, Casparian says, Bounty & Soul has tripled its buying from local sources. Now 90%-95% of the fresh food it distributes at its 13 sites in Buncombe and Henderson counties — up to 20 tons a week — comes from local and regional farms and producers. Additionally, Bounty & Soul is supporting farmers by providing information on educational opportunities and resources available within the community to help the agriculture sector with storm recovery. “We are committed to this because our food system has just been rocked in every way,” says Casparian. “This is one way to be part of rebuilding that piece of it.”
DIGGING OUT, GIVING BACK
Haywood Christian Ministry’s commitment to local farms included staff members driving around the county in the first couple of days after the floods to do wellness checks with the farm partners it had at the time. Among those on its list were Sara Martin and Dustin Cornelison, co-owners of Sustainabillies, a 3-acre vegetable-growing operation in Canton. A landslide knocked out one of the farm’s high-tunnel greenhouses and buried about half of its growing space — including fields full of fall and winter vegetables and all of its mature blueberry bushes.
Amid the devastation, Martin recalls the joy of seeing HCM staff driving up to the farm the Sunday after the storm.
“It was so amazing,” she says. “We had all this produce we had harvested in preparation for the [Haywood’s Historic Farmers] Market on Saturday, and we didn’t have power … so, we were like, ‘Oh, no, all this is going to go bad.’”
Martin says she and Cornelison tried to donate the produce to HCM to distribute to people in need, but the staff members insisted on paying them full market value for it. “It was really powerful for us because we missed the next two farmers markets because we just weren’t able to make it, just trying to put our lives back together.”
With the farm as the sole source of income, Martin says being able to rely on HCM as a market while she and Cornelison figure out how to recover and rebuild their business is a blessing. “It’s a really scary situation to be in, and they’re really helping all of us, all the farmers locally who are just trying to scratch together what we can right now,” she says. “Having the ministry there letting us know they’re going to help us get through it, it’s pretty amazing.”
She adds that as a person who has long supported food justice advocacy, partnering with a nonprofit that’s helping feed the community nourishes her spirit. “I love the fact that they’re getting our food to people who really need it.”
Wendy Brugh of Dry Ridge Farm in Madison County shares the same sentiment. Dry Ridge relies on sales of its pastured eggs, with 80% of its business being wholesale to area restaurants and grocers. In the wake of Helene, with restaurants closed, the farm pivoted to selling its eggs to nonprofits such as the Woodfin YMCA, TRACTOR in Yancey County and Equal Plates.
Additionally, with the support of funds raised by individuals and businesses such as The Farm Connection plant nursery in Marshall, Brugh has been able to donate eggs to nonprofits including Southside Community Farm and to community storm recovery efforts in Marshall.
“Organizations that are focused on food distribution have been instrumental in keeping our business sustainable and in making me feel like I have a way to contribute,” Brugh says. “Providing the ability to help while also not taking away from my ability to pay employees has been pretty huge.” X
First,
Second,
NEWS Farm aid
BY JUSTIN M c GUIRE
jmcguire@mountainx.com
The last two months have been a whirlwind for Blair Thompson
As farm manager at Warren Wilson College, Thompson has been working long hours helping clean up the campus’s agricultural fields, which were devastated by flooding from the Swannanoa River when Tropical Storm Helene hit Sept. 27.
The Swannanoa school’s 300-acre farm lost 17 pigs as well as this year’s crop of 20 acres of corn, Thompson says. And about 130 acres of pasture that feed sheep and cattle are buried under sand and will have to be replanted.
“We’ve got tons and tons of sediment and sand, up to 4 and 5 feet deep in certain places,” he says. “And then there’s a large amount of inorganic litter. It’s just tragic to clean it up because you’re constantly coming into contact with the refuse of people whose homes were upended. It’s just an inordinate amount of work.”
Amid all that activity, Thompson was busy running for public office. On Nov. 5, he was elected to a four-year term as a Buncombe Soil & Water Conservation District supervisor. Thompson received 80,148 votes while opponent Stu Rohrbaugh of Asheville got 31,893.
“I feel very grateful and happy to be involved [with the Soil & Water Conservation District], but it certainly is like, ‘Oh man, this is a whole other set of things to deal with,’” he says.
PROTECTING WATER QUALITY
Soil and water conservation districts are state governmental subdivisions, established under a 1937 law. Districts mostly follow county lines. North Carolina has 95 single-county districts, including Buncombe, and one multicounty district.
The Buncombe district has a staff of eight and is overseen by a board of five unpaid supervisors. Two supervisors are appointed by the state Soil & Water Conservation Commission, and three are elected by county voters. Thompson will be one of those three. The board mostly oversees state funding programs, including the N.C. Agricultural Cost Share Program and the Agricultural Water Resource Assistance Program. The board approves the allocation of state money to fund projects by farmers and others designed to protect water quality and soil health, says Jennifer Harrison,
New Soil & Water supervisor talks Helene recovery
TAKING OFFICE: Blair Thompson will be sworn in as a Buncombe Soil & Water Conservation District supervisor Monday, Dec. 2. Photo courtesy of Thompson
director of the county’s Soil and Water Conservation District.
In a typical fiscal year, the district allocates around $60,000 for projects in areas like stream restoration, stream bank stabilization and cropland conversion. It also provides technical assistance, drawings and designs, and supervises construction on all projects to ensure they meet program standards.
For instance, Harrison says, a farmer who wants to build a fence to keep his cows from wading in a stream on his property could apply for funding. Keeping cows out of the stream is important because fecal waste can make it unsafe to drink or swim in the water and can kill aquatic flora and fauna.
If the board approves the project, the farmer pays for the work and then is reimbursed for 75% of the costs once the job is complete.
Supervisors also oversee environmental education programs and hold conservation easements for property under the county’s Farmland Preservation Program. That program encourages property owners to voluntarily preserve farms and forestland from development.
Thompson, a native of Kansas, has worked in agricultural jobs all over the country. He became farm manager at Warren Wilson in 2020.
“Having that agriculturalist perspective [on the board] is something that I think is valuable,” Thompson says. “I’ve seen how these programs work and why they work or don’t work. That’s pretty useful, especially if we do care about making inroads with farmers and being able to see what local agriculture we do still have left in our region continue and thrive into the future.”
“This is not a land-extensive area where you have thousands and thousands of open acres to do corn planting or things like that,” he explains. “These are farmers making do with smaller spots and figuring out ways to stay profitable on a per-acre basis.”
The problem was only compounded by Helene, which caused catastrophic loss of crops, infrastructure, markets, topsoil and more at many local farms, he says.
HELPING FARMERS RECOVER
Thompson, who takes office next week, says Helene has put the important but usually obscure work of the district in the spotlight.
“In some way, it’s just a reminder of the things we already knew, but just in a pretty stark way,” he says. “It makes you understand the importance of the work of making sure all of us citizens understand about our waterways and about giving farmers the tools to implement good conservation practices.”
Thompson has not had much communication with other supervisors or district staff since he was elected. He says they are slammed, and he is trying to stay out of the way. But he knows his new position will play an important role in the recovery efforts of local farms.
“The Soil and Water District is going to be involved in figuring out how to help farmers put their land back together in a way that gets them back to productivity,” he says. “And also in a way that maintains the priority of having good conservation practices built into that rebuilding. So I’m still learning about what all that looks like.”
Along with federal agencies like the Farm Service Agency, the district will be involved with issues like fence repair, debris removal and removing heavy sedimentation. Additionally, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will play a role in agricultural recovery.
FEMA funds are unrelated to the state money the Soil and Water board oversees, but Thompson says the recovery issues being addressed overlap and he hopes the agency will be as involved as possible in the cleanup.
“Some [federal programs] are going to be directly tied to hurricane cleanup, and some of them are going to be connected to longer-term best practices,” Thompson says. “We can make those two things overlap. That’s got to be the sweet spot right now.” X
County commissioners approve expanded emergency housing
The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners voted 7-0 Nov. 19 to approve $1.5 million for rental assistance and expanded the definition of emergency housing within the county in response to Tropical Storm Helene.
During public comment, several people had urged commissioners to expand what is considered emergency housing, how long it can be used and in what areas it is permitted. The revisions allow a range of emergency housing for two years, with a possible one-year extension.
“We don’t want a death epidemic of people freezing to death here,” said Kim Cowart from Savannah, Ga., who has been volunteering in the area.
Jen Hampton , Just Economics housing and wages organizer and lead organizer for Asheville Food and Beverage United, said not
having housing as cold weather approaches would be a “catastrophe after catastrophe.”
After the revisions, emergency housing is now defined as travel trailers, mobile homes, recreational vehicles, manufactured housing or other FEMA-approved shelters. Volunteers also qualify for emergency housing. However, no more than two units can be placed on one lot.
Downtown housing
The board also reallocated $3.7 million from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to Coxe Avenue Affordable Housing Development from the Ferry Road project. Helene delayed work on the Ferry Road project, which requires an access road and other infrastructure. The delay would have put the COVID
HONORING AN ERA: “This is truly the end of an era,” said Buncombe County Commissioner and Chair-elect Amanda Edwards, right, after presenting a proclamation to Chair Brownie Newman, who has served in local government for over 20 years. Photo by Brionna Dallara
recovery funds at risk because of a spending deadline.
Commission Chair Brownie Newman said the downtown project is overdue, noting that “200 very affordable workforce-focused apartments in the heart of our downtown — something that hasn’t happened in a very long time — [will allow] people that work downtown to walk to work. It’s going to be a great infill development on county property, it’s been a great public involvement process. So, we’re really excited about it, and let’s do everything we can to accelerate it across the finish line.”
The board also approved $1.5 million for rental relief, $300,000 of which will be administered by Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church and $1.2 million by Buncombe County Economic Services. The funds are coming from the Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (FRF) established under ARPA.
In other news:
• The board presented a proclamation honoring Commissioner Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, who has served on the board since 2016, and Newman, who has served on the board since 2012 and was elected chair in 2016. Neither ran for reelection. “This is truly the end of an era in Asheville and Buncombe County. Brownie Newman has been a part of local government for more than 20 years. When I think back to what Asheville and
Buncombe looked like pre-Brownie Newman and where we are now, there has been a lot of positive change because of you, your leadership and your crazy ideas,” said Commissioner and Chairelect Amanda Edwards. “We are forever grateful for that.”
• Beach-Ferrara’s wife, Meghann Burke, also lauded her spouse’s work . “Your impact has been immeasurable to not only families like ours but all families.”
• The board approved zoning regulations for cryptocurrency mining operations. The county had a moratorium on such operations since May 2023 over concerns about electricity and water consumption. While the amendment does not address water use, the county said in an email to Xpress that was one of the reasons for regulating the operations. The county is not a water provider and lacks the statutory authority to restrict water consumption.
• The board authorized $1.5 million in grants for small businesses, focused on retaining and rehiring employees post-Helene. The grants provide $5,000 for retaining two or more employees and $2,500 for one employee retained. The program will be administered by Mountain BizWorks.
• The board authorized a $769,000 contract to fix 48 showers in the Buncombe County Detention Center.
— Brionna Dallara X
Come
Down to the studs
BY BRIONNA DALLARA
A massive dehumidifier roars in Michael Burgin’s nearly 100-year-old home in Beacon Village. The house, stripped to the studs, is now dominated by its two fireplaces. A pile of debris, nearly as tall as the house itself, sits out front.
Burgin and his family were inside when waters from the Swannanoa River came crashing into his home during Tropical Storm Helene on Sept. 27.
“We started getting our pets and our valuables up high as early as we could. ... We went up into the attic, and then it just kept rising and rising, and it became immediately clear that it was going to reach the attic,” Burgin says. Out of places to climb, they had to swim through the kitchen and wedge through a first-floor window onto the roof. A couple of neighbors on higher ground came to the rescue, kayaking through the rapids with tools to help Burgin chop through the attic roof to save his dogs.
Once the water receded, and after a grueling mucking-out process, Burgin began the race against the mold — wrangling as many dehumidifiers and fans as he could into the home to lower the moisture.
Now that he has his building permit, Burgin has been learning how to keep the character of the historic home while shoring up its infrastructure. Most of the homes in his neighborhood were built in the 1920s.
“There’s a lot of things, especially up in the structure of the attic, that probably wouldn’t pass code today,” Burgin says.
Yet if it weren’t for the home’s oldschool construction, Burgin believes
Owners of historical homes share the unique challenges of restoring storm-damaged properties
CURBSIDE CONTENTS: Michael Burgin stands outside his Beacon Village home in Swannanoa, where all the property’s contents are stacked curbside after it was gutted to the studs. Photo by
the outcome would have been a whole lot worse. And it is an opinion that others share, he adds, noting the Samaritan’s Purse, an organization that offers disaster relief to individuals across the globe.
“They seemed pretty convinced that we probably would have floated away on the roof if this was a newer home,” Burgin says. “They think that the main reason so many of [the neighborhood homes] stayed on their [foundations] is because of the materials they were made out of back then.”
And it was this material, Burgin continues, that drew him to purchase the property in 2019.
“I really liked the hardwood floors, but they were obviously destroyed,” Burgin says. “I hated that we couldn’t save any of it, but it was already so moldy. It’s crazy how fast the mold comes.”
In the same neighborhood, Miah Reis is battling her own mold invasion.
“One big challenge is getting the joists and the studs dried out to the point where I can rebuild. These old houses have a lot of previous termite damage and a lot of moisture retention, and so it’s a struggle to try to keep these generators going all the time, incessantly, to dry them out,” Reis says. “If they’re not dried out, then they can’t rebuild, or they’re going to end up having to replace all
Reis’s great-grandparents purchased the home, built in 1925, directly from Beacon Manufacturing Co., which constructed Beacon Village in Swannanoa as housing for
In a single day in September, the yard that was the backdrop for Reis’ fondest childhood memories, the living room that hosted countless holiday gatherings and the walls that had stood
for nearly a century were engulfed by water.
“It was my great-grandparents, and then my grandparents lived in it for well over 60 years. My parents did live in it for a time, but they moved out on their own. But then I inherited it after my grandmother passed away,” says Reis of her historic home in Swannanoa, now stripped to the studs and joists. “I mean, this house, it was my oasis.”
All that was salvageable from the flood were a box of family photos — miraculously preserved in an airtight bin — a couple of vintage end tables and her grandmother’s antique cookie jars.
Reis’ home is a shell of its former self, but she plans to do everything she can to rebuild.
“When I first moved in ... I decided that this was going to be my forever home,” Reis says.
Many residents are facing the daunting task of cleanup and repair post-Helene, but those with historic houses such as Reis and Burgin have an added layer: preserving the area’s past for the future.
Fortunately, the two neighbors are seeing some signs of hope, including recent grants from the Preservation Society of Asheville & Buncombe County. The nonprofit, established in
Brionna Dallara
1976, works to conserve the region’s heritage and sense of place through preservation and promotion of the region’s historic resources.
TALLYING THE TOLL
A week after Helene roared through the area, volunteers and staff from the Preservation Society assessed the damage to historical structures.
“Our focus is specifically any structure that’s 50 years or older, built 1974 or before,” says Jessie Landl, executive director. “We were driving through communities more broadly, taking a look around and seeing where things were impacted.”
Volunteers teamed up to drive along waterways — navigating nearly impassable routes — to survey historic structures in Swannanoa and East Asheville before fanning out toward Black Mountain and Montreat.
“There were days when the staff was driving around where we were just quietly driving through communities and crying because these are places we all love and live in and had experiences in and have memories,” Landl says.
Damage was widespread from Biltmore Village to Beacon Village, leaving layers of muck amid mountains of debris.
“You have one block where everyone’s homes are intact and in perfectly good condition, and the next block over where everyone has been forced to move out because they’re not livable,” Landl says.
Most of the volunteers were doing windshield surveys while more experienced surveyors did walking tours of areas hit hardest.
“We tried to go in every direction and just get a lay of the land, to understand what areas hit hardest and then, surprisingly, what areas sort of seemed to escape the worst of the damage,” Landl says. “That gave us a better idea of where we might be able to focus our efforts.”
The society already had a grant program for restoration projects dating to 2019 with the goal of making preservation of historic properties more accessible to rural communities and areas less frequently surveyed.
“We wanted to give communities the opportunities to tell us what their preservation priorities were as opposed to us being out in the community setting the priorities,” Landl says.
Following the storm, the society rallied for more grant funds, doubling the budget of $50,000 for the fiscal year to $100,000 — which burned up in only two weeks. The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina then provided a $50,000 grant.
“To date, we’ve done $150,000 in grants specific to damage from this
storm to 30 different projects, and those are businesses and individual homeowners,” Landl says.
Each grant recipient received $5,000 for projects that preserve the longevity of historic structures — covering new roofs or grading to divert water away from the buildings.
“A lot of these homes are down to bare studs because everything’s had to be stripped out of them. Those were easy to prioritize as those applications came in,” Landl says.
The team also delivered dehumidifiers and generators to homes as soon as they could, racing the clock to beat mold growth.
GUIDELINES FOR REPAIRS
While private residences in Beacon Village don’t have rebuild requirements, fellow grant recipients, like the owner of the building at 7 All Souls Crescent in Biltmore Village, have to follow guidelines laid out by the Historic Resource Commission (HRC). The 12-member commission was created in 1979 to set design standards for historic areas and landmark structures in the City of Asheville and Buncombe County. The HRC has rebuilding standards in four historic districts: Biltmore Village, Albemarle Park, Montford and St. Dunstan’s.
Enter Michael Logan, owner of Logan Restoration and Contracting in Black Mountain. His piece of repairing 7 All Souls Crescent, built in 1895, is saving its vintage windows following HRC guidelines.
“Almost all the windows we work on are over 100 years old, and so just that is a pretty good testament to their durability,” Logan says. “They were back then made to be repaired, whereas now the replacement windows that you would get are truly just made to be thrown away and replaced once again.”
Guidelines are intended to maintain the character of the area — for instance, you can’t build a Wild-Westthemed storefront in Biltmore Village. Owners are advised to use original materials when feasible and rebuild with original details, not altering the style, roof or finish, according to HRC materials.
“When you buy a historic home, you’re more of a steward for that property than you are the lord over it,” says Tara Granke, Logan’s wife and office manager for the business.
“You can’t just do whatever you want because you’re just one person in this long … continuing history of people and families that have lived there.”
Logan has had his hands full since the storm repairing historic windows at his workshop. His business specializes in keeping old windows out of the
landfill, adding weatherproofing and restoring them.
“We’re trying to take what’s there and make it better instead of tearing it down and making it new. That’s probably one of my favorite parts about this type of work is that we’re really on the sustainable side of the construction process,” Logan says.
Fortunately, Logan says he has been able to repair 20 windows, with several more in the process of being restored.
“We can make individual parts and pieces for these windows. So say, if the bottom piece was rotted out, we can replicate a piece and just replace that bottom piece,” Logan says, noting that if the window has
been split into a lot of pieces, it would be beyond repair.
“If the mold gets too far, then rot starts,” Logan says, however he noted that the old wood is known to be very rot- and pest-resistant.
“It’s sad to lose the old wood of the windows. The wood can be replaced and repaired, but you can’t get that old-growth wood back that the old windows are built from. That’s why they’re so beautiful and sustainable, because that old-growth wood, that virgin wood from the forest here before they were all cut down, that’s where those windows have come from. And it’s just really dense and it’s really irreplaceable,” Granke says. X
Thomas Wolfe Memorial’s guardian angel
Fortunately, preservationists didn’t have to do much to repair one of Asheville’s most iconic sites: the Thomas Wolfe Memorial on Market Street, the childhood home of Thomas Wolfe, author of 1929’s Look Homeward, Angel. Despite a massive tree falling on the property during Tropical Storm Helene, it resulted in little damage.
“It was kind of nestled right up against two of our beautiful glass-window sunrooms,” says Kayla Seay, site manager of the home and museum. “The fact that we didn’t lose a single window seems astronomically lucky, like we probably should have bought a lottery ticket. I think if the tree had shifted just a few feet, those two rooms would have likely been crushed.”
Seay says the silver maple tree might have been planted around the time the house was built in the 1880s. The tree caused some exterior cosmetic damage and cracked plaster inside.
“It almost seems unfathomable that it wasn’t as bad as it could have been,” Seay says. “I feel like, in some small way, this house has persevered through so very much over the years, just the age of it, and this is just one more part of its story.”
TIMBER ON THOMAS WOLFE: A silver maple tree, likely planted in the 1880s, fell onto the Thomas Wolfe House during Tropical Storm Helene, causing only minor damage. Photo by Kayla Seay
NOV. 27- DEC. 5 , 2024
For a full list of community calendar guidelines, please visit mountainx.com/calendar. For questions about free listings, call 828-251-1333, opt. 4. For questions about paid calendar listings, please call 828-251-1333, opt. 1.
Online-only events
More info, page 32-33
WELLNESS
Tai Chi for Balance
A gentle Tai Chi exercise class to help improve balance, mobility, and quality of life. All ages are welcome.
WE (11/27, 12/5), 11:30am, Dragon Phoenix, 51 N Merrimon Ave, Ste 109
Tai Chi Chih
Move towards better health and more happiness with mindful, moving meditation.
WE (11/27), noon, Harvest House, 205 Kenilworth Rd
Thanksgiving Gratitude Flow
In the midst of the holidays, a little yoga can go a long way.
TH (11/28), 10am, W Asheville Yoga, 602 Haywood Rd
Free Community
Acupuncture
In collaboration with Acupuncturists Without Borders, as well as many regional businesses and clinicians, we are providing on-site free treatment services to our affected communities.
SA (11/30), 12:30pm, First Christian Church of Black Mountain, 201 Blue Ridge Rd, Black Mountain
Sunday Morning
Meditation Group
Gathering for a combination of silent sitting and walking meditation, facilitated by Worth Bodie.
SU (12/1), 10am, Quietude Micro-retreat Center, 1130 Montreat Rd, Black Mountain
Strength & Exercise
Workout at your own pace in a fun atmosphere in this weekly class for active adults working on overall fitness and strength.
MO (12/2), 9:30am, Harvest House, 205 Kenilworth Rd
Zumba Gold & Silverobics
Calorie-burning, fun, low-impact class that incorporates dance and fitness for older adults each week.
MO (12/2), 10:30am, Harvest House, 205 Kenilworth Rd
Chen Style Tai Chi
The original style of Tai Chi known for its continual spiraling
movements and great health benefits.
MO (12/2), TH (12/5), 1pm, Dragon Phoenix, 51 N Merrimon Ave, Ste 109
Power Hour Chair
Exercise
Build power through fun, upbeat, and gentle chair exercises each Tuesday.
TU (12/3), 10am, Grove St Community Center, 36 Grove St
QiGong Downtown
An easy to learn series of movements that stimulates and circulates your life force energy. It is suitable for all ages and fitness levels.
TU (12/3), 10am, Asia House Asheville, 119 Coxe Ave
Nia Dance Fitness
A sensory-based movement practice that draws from martial arts, dance arts and healing arts.
TU (12/3), 10:30am, TH (12/5), 9:30am, Dragon Phoenix, 51 N Merrimon Ave, Ste 109
Balance, Agility, Strength & Stretch
This weekly class for adults focuses on flexibility, balance, stretching, and strength. Bring your own exercise mat.
TU (12/3), noon, Harvest House, 205 Kenilworth Rd
Qigong
A gentle form of exercise composed of movement, posture, breathing, and meditation used to promote health and spirituality.
TU (12/3), 1:15pm, Harvest House, 205 Kenilworth Rd
Qigong for Health
A part of traditional Chinese medicine that involves using exercises to optimize energy within the body, mind and spirit.
FR (11/29), 9am,
TU (12/3), 2:30pm, Dragon Phoenix, 51 N Merrimon Ave, Ste 109
Tai Chi Fan
This class helps build balance and whole body awareness. All ages and ability levels welcome. Fans will be provided.
WE (12/4), 1pm, Dragon Phoenix, 51 N Merrimon Ave, Ste 109
COMMUNITY CALENDAR
HOLIDAY TREE LIGHTING CELEBRATION: The Grove Arcade’s Tree Lighting Block Party returns on Saturday, Nov. 30, starting at 4 p.m. This free holiday celebration in downtown Asheville will feature music from DJ Griffin White and the Bill Bares Jazz Trio, performances by the Asheville Ballet, an outdoor holiday market, a Santa appearance and more. Photo courtesy of Grace Schroeder
Gentle Yoga for Seniors
A yoga class geared to seniors offering gentle stretching and strengthening through accessible yoga poses and modifications.
WE (12/4), 2:30pm, Dragon Phoenix, 51 N Merrimon Ave, Ste 109
SUPPORT GROUPS
Innerdance: Altered States of Consciousness with Soundscapes & Energy Work
A healing journey into altered states of consciousness as we flow through brain wave states with soundscapes and energy work.
WE (11/27), 6pm, The Horse Shoe Farm, 155 Horse Shoe Farm Rd, Hendersonville
Nicotine Anonymous
People share their experience, strength and hope to stop using nicotine. You don’t need to be stopped, just have a desire to attend.
TH (11/28, 12/5),
4:30pm, Asheville
12-Step Recovery Club, 1 Kenilworth Knolls Unit 4
Magnetic Minds: Depression & Bipolar Support Group
A free weekly peer-led meeting for those living with depression, bipolar, and related mental health challenges. For more information contact (828) 367-7660.
SA (11/30), 2pm, 1316 Ste C Parkwood Rd
Wild Souls Authentic Movement Class w/ Renee Trudeau
An expressive movement class designed to get you unstuck and to enjoy community and connection with like-hearted women.
SU (12/1), 9:30am, Dunn’s Rock Community Center, 461 Connestee Rd, Brevard WNC Prostate Support Group
This month Christi Capers, medical director with Pfizer, will review advances over the past 5-7 years in testing for biomarkers that can help determine treatment approaches for prostate cancer
patients.
TU (12/3), 6:30pm, First Baptist Church of Asheville, 5 Oak St
DANCE
Zumba Gold
A fun dance exercise that concentrates on cardio, flexibility, strength, and balance for older adults.
WE (11/27, 12/4), 11am, Linwood Crump Shiloh Community Center, 121 Shiloh Rd
Zumba Gold
A weekly interval-style dance fitness party that combines low- and high-intensity moves. Burn calories as you move to the rhythm.
WE (11/27, 12/4), noon, Stephens-Lee Recreation Center, 30 George Washington Carver Ave
Latin Night Wednesday w/DJ Mtn Vibez
A Latin dance social featuring salsa, bachata, merengue, cumbia, and reggaeton with dance lessons for all skill levels.
WE (11/27, 12/4), 8pm, One World Brewing W, 520 Haywood Rd
Rueda de Casino beginners and advanced dancers welcomed at Rueda de Casino, a circle of couples dancing Cuban salsa figures.
SU (12/1), 2pm, Stephens-Lee Recreation Center, 30 George Washington Carver Ave
Line Dance: Beginner
Some familiarity with line dance steps is helpful, but not necessary in this weekly class with instruction to all styles of contemporary music taught by Denna Yockey.
MO (12/2), noon, Harvest House, 205 Kenilworth Rd
Contact Improv Dance Experiment with weight sharing, shifting centers of gravity, and chasing a point of contact in spiraling movement. MO (12/2), 6pm, Stephens-Lee Recreation Center, 30 George Washington Carver Ave
The Asheville Monday Night Contra Dance
The welcoming atmosphere makes it a perfect evening for beginners and seasoned contra dancers. Lessons at 7:45pm to 8:15pm.
MO (12/2), 7:30pm,
The Center for Art and Spirit at St George’s Episcopal Church, 1 School Rd
West Coast Swing
Learn the undamentals that make West Coast Swing so unique in a four-week session. No partner necessary.
TU (12/3), 6pm, Stephens-Lee Recreation Center, 30 George Washington Carver Ave
Intro to Line Dance
A true beginners course for those who are new to line dance taught by Liz Atkinson.
WE (12/4), 10am, Harvest House, 205 Kenilworth Rd
Ballroom Dance
Learn the basics of ballroom dancing in this drop-in class that works on two different dances each week including waltz, tango, cha cha, swing, and salsa. No partner necessary.
WE (12/4), 6pm, Stephens-Lee Recreation Center, 30 George Washington Carver Ave
Zumba Gold
A weekly Latin-inspired Zumba exercise party.
All levels welcome.
TH (12/5), 11am, Grove St Community Center, 36 Grove St, Asheville
Tap Dance: Beginner Learn the basics through a combination of exercise, music, and incredible fun. Students provide their own tap shoes.
Line Dancing Groove in for this fun weekly drop-in class. Free, but donations for the instructor are appreciated.
TH (12/5), noon, Stephens-Lee Recreation Center, 30 George Washington Carver Ave
Line Dancing Designed to teach the latest line dances step by step, this weekly class inspires community members to put on their dancing shoes and boogie.
TH (12/5), 1:30pm, Linwood Crump Shiloh Community Center, 121 Shiloh Rd
We Line Dance Instructor Brenda Mills leads an inclusive exercise class that uses line dancing to get your body moving.
TH (12/5), 6:15pm, Stephens-Lee Recreation Center, 30 George Washington Carver Ave, Asheville
Bachata Dance Lesson & Social Live DJ Bachata nights with some Cha Cha, Cumbia, Merengue and Salsa added to the mix.
Forest Feels invites its viewers to participate in two distinct realities of an art museum experience: to observe the work as it is in this moment, and also to change the work by contributing to its evolution. Gallery open daily, 11am, closed Tuesday. Exhibition through Jan. 20, 2025.
Asheville Art Museum, 2 S Pack Square
Ginny Ruffner: Reforestation of the Imagination
This exhibition explores an imaginative landscape of plant forms that come to life when activated with augmented reality. Gallery open daily, 11am, closed Tuesday. Exhibition through Jan. 20, 2025.
Asheville Art Museum, 2 S Pack Square
The Farm Built on more than a decade’s worth of deep, original archival research, this exhibition will constitute a comprehensive new history of Black Mountain College. Gallery open Tuesday through Saturday, 11am. Exhibition through Jan. 11, 2005.
Black Mountain College Museum & Arts Center, 120 College St Forces of Nature: Ceramics from the Hayes Collection Forces of Nature is drawn from the collection of Andrew and Hathia Hayes, demonstrating the different approaches to ceramics in Western North Carolina.Gallery open daily, 11am, closed Tuesday. Exhibition through March, 2025.
Asheville Art Museum, 2 S Pack Square
At the Table
This exhibition features numerous contemporary works of art from the 1980s to the present that explore ideas of community, power, and representation through their depiction or use of a table.
Gallery open Tuesday through Friday, 10am. Exhibition through Dec. 6, 2024.
WCU Bardo Arts Center, 199 Centennial Dr, Cullowhee Vessels of Merriment
This annual exhibition will feature handcrafted drinking vessels by 17 potters from across
the country. Visitors will be able to browse anything from wine and whiskey cups to flasks, goblets and more. Gallery open Monday through Sunday, 10am. Exhibition through Dec. 31.
Grovewood Gallery, 111 Grovewood Rd
The Last Chair of the Forest & the Plastic Bottle
Immerse yourself in a poignant virtual reality (VR) short film that delves into environmental consciousness and the delicate balance of nature. Gallery open daily, 11am, closed Tuesday. Exhibition through Jan. 20, 2025.
Asheville Art Museum, 2 S Pack Square
Bachelor of Fine Art Portfolio Exhibition
This exhibition highlights the comprehensive course of study at WCU’s School of Art & Design and serves as a preface to their forthcoming careers as professional artists. Gallery open Tuesday through Friday, 10am. Exhibition through Dec. 6, 2024.
WCU Bardo Arts Center, 199 Centennial Dr, Cullowhee
Daily Craft Demonstrations
Two artists of different media will explain and demonstrate their craft with informative materials displayed at their booths. These free and educational opportunities are open to the public. Open daily, 10am. Demonstrations run through Dec. 31. Folk Art Center, MP 382, Blue Ridge Pkwy
Anti Form: Robert Morris’s Earth Projects
A series of ideas for ten works of art shaped out of earth, atmospheric conditions, and built environments. Gallery open Wednesday through Sunday, 11am. Exhibition through May 2025.
Asheville Art Museum, 2 S Pack Square
Carly Owens Weiss: The Boys Will Get Hungry if They See Fruit
An exhibition of new paintings and soft sculptures by multidisciplinary artist Carly Owens Weiss. In this body of work, Owens Weiss wrestles with selfhood and interiority through indirect means. Gallery open Wednesday through Saturday, 11am. Exhibition through Dec. 24. Tracey Morgan Gallery, 22 London Rd
Moving Stillness: Mount Rainier
An immersive experience that explores the ideas of death and regeneration in nature. Gallery open daily, 11am, closed Tuesday.
A revered folk musician that has an effortless talent for spinning lyrics that quietly cut deep with melodies that seamlessly ride the plot twists and turns. See p33 FR (11/29), 7pm, The Grey Eagle, 185 Clingman Ave
Yala Cultural Tour
An in-house cultural exchange with Adama Dembele. Yala
Cultural Tour includes drumming, dancing, and stories from Ivory Coast.
SA (11/30), noon LEAF
Global Arts, 19 Eagle St
The Beatles Bash
Come dressed in your best 1960's or hippie attired. There will be snack and drinks available and alcoholic beverages served at the donation bar.
SA (11/30), 1pm, White Horse Black Mountain, 105C Montreat Rd, Black Mountain
Artist ReLEAF Concert w/Chinobay
This event will both benefit the artists who perform (through the LEAF Local Artist Relief Fund) and help to raise money for the fund.
SA (11/30), 4pm, LEAF Global Arts, 19 Eagle St
Messiah w/George Frederick Handel
Featuring local soloists and an area community choir for a performance of this timeless oratorio.
SU (12/1), 4pm, First Baptist Church of Weaverville, 63 N Main St, Weaverville
Blue Ridge Ringers: A Winter Journey
A Winter Journey showcases the ensemble's versatility and artistry, featuring a mix of holiday favorites, expertly arranged for handbells.
TU (12/3), noon, Transylvania County Library, 212 S Gaston St, Brevard
Messiah Sing-Along Asheville Symphony Chorus is delighted to present a beloved Asheville tradition. Bring your copy of Handel's masterpiece, or use one of our copies. No matter what, bring your voice and your energy.
TU (12/3), 7pm, Trinity Episcopal Church, 60 Church St
Dark City Songwriter Round Presents: Wes Collins & Chris Rosser
The Dark City Song Swap takes place once a month and focuses
on the art and craft of singer-songwriters.
WE (12/4), 7pm, White Horse Black Mountain, 105C Montreat Rd, Black Mountain
Blue Ridge Ringers: A Winter Journey
A Winter Journey showcases the ensemble's versatility and artistry, featuring a mix of holiday favorites, expertly arranged for handbells.
TH (12/5), 7pm, Carolina Village, 600 Carolina Village Rd, Hendersonville Handel's Messiah
Experience powerful choruses and moving solos in this timeless holiday tradition at Parker Concert Hall.
TH (12/5), 7:30pm, Parker Concert Hall at Brevard Music Center, 349 Andante Ln, Brevard
COMMUNITY WORKSHOPS
STEAM Advent Calendar Family Workshop
Design, decorate and create your own unique countdown calendars all about your STEAM interests. Work with AMOS educators to stock them with treats and gifts that will keep you full of surprises for the rest of the month.
SU (12/1), 10am, Asheville Museum of Science, 43 Patton Ave
Free Community Narcan Training
A very important training led by Sunrise Recovery and hosted by AmeriHealth Caritas. Learn how to use Naloxone, an introduction into harm reduction, what’s going on in our community and more.
TU (12/3), 10:30am, AmeriHealth Caritas, 216 Asheland Ave
Beyond Brushes
Step into a world where creativity knows no bounds, where the canvas is your playground, and imagination your guide.
WE (12/4), 5:30pm, Dr Wesley Grant Sr. Southside Community Center, 285 Livingston St
Ugly Christmas Sweater Crafting Class
A fun-filled event where you can design the most festive (and fabulously tacky) Christmas sweater ever. We’ll provide all the materials you’ll need.
WE (12/4), 6pm, Peri Social House, 406 W State St, Black Mountain
LITERARY
Spencer Sunshine on Countercultural Fascism
Antifascist researcher
Spencer Sunshine discusses his new book Neo-Nazi Terrorism
and Countercultural Fascism, which explores the hidden connections between a countercultural clique and violent neo-Nazis.
WE (11/27), 6pm, Firestorm Books, 1022 Haywood Rd
Poetry Critique Night
Everyone is welcome to share a few poems or just sit back and listen.
Signups to share will open 15 minutes prior to the start.
TU (12/3), 6pm, Black Mountain Library, Black Mountain
Pen to Paper Writing Group
Share stories of your life with others on the first and third Wednesday of each month.
WE (12/4), 10am, Harvest House, 205 Kenilworth Rd
Wild Reads Book Club
Featuring exciting narratives of outdoor adventures to insightful discussions on environmental issues, this book club offers space for connection, exploration, and appreciation of the great outdoors.
TH (12/5), 6pm, Stephens-Lee Recreation Center, 30 George Washington Carver Ave
THEATER
& FILM
Day With(Out) Art film screening
A program of seven videos reflecting the emotional spectrum of living with HIV today. The program features new work by Gian Cruz, Milko Delgado, Imani Harrington, David Oscar Harvey
UNSTOPPABLE
and more., SU (12/1), 4pm, Citizen Vinyl, 14 O Henry Ave
Eulogy Movie Night
Featuring an 1988 action film that definitely qualifies as a Christmas movie.
MO (12/2), 7:30pm, Eulogy, 10 Buxton Ave
No Man's Land Film Festival
An all-women adventure film festival featuring environmentally-focused documentary shorts.
Self-care is important
Mary Waller is the development director of All Souls Counseling Center, a nonprofit that provides mental health counseling, outreach and education with a focus on those who are underinsured and uninsured in Western North Carolina.
Xpress: How has your nonprofit’s focus shifted in the aftermath of Helene?
Waller: In the wake of Hurricane Helene, we have expanded our service availability and placed therapists at “community care stations.” Our shortand mid-term focus is to meet the critical needs of fragile communities and reduce additional barriers to accessing mental health care in underresourced areas. Through this work our goal is to help individuals rebuild their lives, improve their well-being and find hope.
We are also creating greater capacity for outreach and coordinating mental health trainings. In partnership with the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce, we are facilitating a six-part, free series called Mental Health Mondays. In collaboration with the Linked4Life Foundation — the charitable arm of Bear’s Smokehouse BBQ — and Vibrant Emotional Health, we are convening two days in November with by-invitation meetings focused on emotional post-hurricane recovery. “Psychological First Aid Support after a Natural Disaster” led by Robin Gurwitch of Duke University will be followed up by a facilitated conversation around assessing community mental health needs in WNC. It is our goal to offer more courses and opportunities like these in the months ahead.
Could you share a positive story about your nonprofit’s interaction with the community post-Helene?
Our counselors in the field hear time and again how much people appreciate feeling heard and receiving validation that their emotions are normal. Seeing our clinicians regularly at comfort sites, in our bright teal T-shirts, helps foster a sense of trust and creates a safe space to chat or cry. Thanks to the help of new licensed therapists, we have connected with hundreds of WNC adults and families, providing mental health “check-ins” at new locations in Asheville, Swannanoa and Fairview. Based on the communities you serve, what are the most dire needs?
For many, basic needs are the most pressing current issue and can lead to amplified stress and anxiety. For example, we see clients that have lost their source of income or place to live. To ease budget concerns that might keep people from seeking or continuing counseling, we have been fortunate to be able to temporarily waive therapy fees for all clients — thanks to our generous funders.
Beyond monetary donations, how else could community members support your mission?
If you are a caregiver, please check in with yourself and how you are feeling emotionally and physically. Self-care such as getting rest, eating as healthy as possible, exercising and setting boundaries is so important. Give yourself grace. Also, check in on your neighbors, family members and colleagues. If they want to talk, being a compassionate listener can be the most positive and impactful “act” you can do for someone. X
TU (12/3), 7pm, The River Arts District Brewing Co., 13 Mystery St
Show Her The Money Documentary
This documentary that has been touring 100+ cities for over a year and highlights the fact that women only receive 2% of venture capital funding.
WE (12/4), 6pm, AB Tech, Ferguson Auditorium, 340 Victoria Rd
All is Calm: the Christmas Truce of 1914
An extraordinary tale of camaraderie, music, and peace. The remarkable true story of a spontaneous truce during World War I, told in the words and songs of the men who lived it.
WE (12/4), 7:30pm, North Carolina Stage Co., 15 Stage Ln Cirque de la Symphonie
The Asheville Symphony combines forces with the incredible Cirque de la Symphonie for a family-friendly holiday-themed performance featuring favorite tunes from Tchaikovsky, John Williams, Brahms and more.
TH (12/5), 7pm, Harrah's Cherokee Center, 87 Haywood St
Traditional Tales w/A Twist
Celebrate the oral tradition with four local storytellers who will delight you with classic folk and fairy tales, some with a few new twists and turns.
TH (12/5), 7pm, Weaverville Community Center, 60 Lakeshore Dr, Weaverville
It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play Frank Capra’s beloved American holiday classic film is reimagined as a live 1940s radio broadcast.
TH (12/5), 7:30pm, Hendersonville Theatre, 229 S Washington St, Hendersonville
MEETINGS & PROGRAMS
IBN Biz Lunch: West Asheville
All are invited to attend and promote their business, products, and services, and meet new referral contacts.
WE (11/27), 11:30am, Gemelli by Strada Italiano, 70 Westgate Pkwy
IBN Biz Lunch: Woodfin
The meeting will consist of introductions by every guest, a discussion of future networking opportunities in the area, a roundtable business needs and solutions segment and more.
TH (11/28), 11:30am, The Village Porch, 51 N Merrimon Ave, Ste 113
Lifestyle Choices
A monthly group for 14 to 19 year-old men to engage in open discussion regarding behaviors and community involvement.
TH (11/28), 6pm, Dr Wesley Grant Sr. Southside Community Center, 285 Livingston St Chinese Tea & Tai Chi Foundations
Settle your Qi with Chinese tea while learning the fundementals of Tai Chi to imorive your health. Beginner friendly so all levels are wecome.
SA (11/30), 10:30am, MO (12/2), 9:30am, Dragon Phoenix, 51 N Merrimon Ave, Ste 109
Sunday Celebration
A Sunday celebration for the spiritual community.
SU (12/1), 11am, Center for Spiritual Living Asheville, 2 Science Mind Way
Adult Community Basketball
Shoot some hoops or play a pick up game with friends. No pre-registration required.
SU (12/1), 1pm, Dr Wesley Grant Sr. Southside Community Center, 285 Livingston St Coloring w/Cats: Teens & Adults
Set time for yourself and cuddle with the panthers, meet other cat-lovers, and color a beautiful picture of a cat from our adult coloring books.
SU (12/1), 2pm, House of Black Cat Magic, Co., 841 Haywood Rd
Family Open Gym
Weekly time in the gym reserved for all ages to shoot hoops and play other active games as a family.
SU (12/1), 4pm, Dr Wesley Grant Sr. Southside Community Center, 285 Livingston St
Random Acts of Flowers: Floral Arrangements for Those Needing a Smile
Random Acts of Flowers
improves the emotional health and well-being of individuals in healthcare facilities by delivering recycled flowers, encouragement, and personal moments of kindness.
MO (12/2), 9am, AmeriHealth Caritas, 216 Asheland Ave
Black Men Monday
A local group that has stepped up in the community to advocate for and mentor students through academic intervention. Kids, ages 7 and up, are welcome to join.
MO (12/2), 5:30pm, AmeriHealth Caritas, 216 Asheland Ave
Dharma & Discuss w/ David McKay David will lead a conversation with the group on the Dharma, with many opportuni-
ties to ask questions, share insights, or listen and learn. May include meditation.
MO (12/2), 6:30pm, Quietude Micro-retreat Center, 1130 Montreat Rd, Black Mountain
New Member Orientation
To learn more about your AmeriHealth Caritas North Carolina benefits and services, we are offering member orientations onsite and online.
TU (12/3), noon, AmeriHealth Caritas, 216 Asheland Ave
EveryDay Strong
A program that equips caring adults with training and tools to support the mental health and wellness of children aged 8 to 18.
TU (12/3), 12:30pm, AmeriHealth Caritas, 216 Asheland Ave
Kung Fu: Baguazhang
It is the martial arts style that Airbending from the show Avatar: The Last Airbender was based on.
TU (12/3), 1pm and 5:30pm, Dragon Phoenix, 51 N Merrimon Ave, Ste 109
Life Planning for Solo Agers
This presentation can benefit those who are experiencing a lack of traditional support while aging in the WNC area, or those who are assisting loved ones. Paula will provide resources, education, and a Q&A session on how to plan for the journey ahead.
WE (12/4), noon, AmeriHealth Caritas, 216 Asheland Ave
Celebrate Cozy Season w/Ashley English
A series of workshops with Ashley English, author of books on topics ranging from raising chickens to canning and preserving, and from hosting potlucks to homemade health and wellness products.
WE (12/4), 6pm, Black Mountain Library, Black Mountain Town Hall on the Future of End-of-Life Psychedelic Care
The event will be led by Diana McCall, founder of Artemesis Facilitation.
Special guests include Michael Mithoefer & Annie Mithoefer, MDMA-assisted therapy researchers; Aditi Sethi, founder of Center for Conscious Living & Dying and more.
WE (12/4), 7pm, Citizen Vinyl, 14 O Henry Ave
NSA-WNC Meeting
Professional keynote speakers, coaches, trainers, facilitators, and consultants who cover a broad range of topics, skills and knowledge. TH (12/5), 10am, AmeriHealth Caritas, 216 Asheland Ave
IBN Biz Lunch: Hendersonville Sarah Brice, financial advisor with Edward Jone will lead an Incredible business networking event, along with other business people and entrepreneurs like yourself.
TH (12/5), 11:30am, Thai Spice, 220 S King St, Hendersonville
Dimensions of Wellness This program will empower you to explore the positives and negatives of stress and the effects ongoing stress has on your overall well-being.
Play a variety of card games including bid whist, spades, tunk, and more every Wednesday.
WE (11/27,12/5), 2pm, Grove St Community Center, 36 Grove St
Let the Games Begin: A Night of Fun & Connection Bring your favorite games or jump in and play something new. Snacks and beverages available for purchase. FR (11/29), 7pm, Center for Spiritual Living Asheville, 2 Science Mind Way
Bid Whist
Each Saturday, make your bids, call your trump and win the tricks in this friendly competition.
SA (11/30), 1pm, Dr Wesley Grant Sr. Southside Community Center, 285 Livingston St
Weekly Sunday Scrabble Weekly scrabble play where you’ll be paired with players of your skill level. All scrabble gear provided.
SU (12/1), 1:30pm, Stephens Lee Recreation Center, 30 George Washington Carver Ave Bid Whist Group meets weekly with light refreshments and teams formed based on drop-in attendance. MO (12/2), 5:30pm, Stephens-Lee Recreation Center, 30 George Washington Carver Ave
Ultimate Bid Whist & Spades Bring a partner or come solo for a fun evening of competitive bid whist and spades every Tuesday.
TU (12/3), 6pm, Linwood Crump Shiloh Community Center, 121 Shiloh Rd
Ultimate Freeplay Pinball Tournament Knockout pinball action with all skill levels welcome. There will be prizes up for grabs and
MARY WALLER
Photo courtesy of All Souls Counseling Center
beer specials.
TU (12/3), 7pm, Dssolvr, 63 N Lexington Ave
EcoPlay Game Club
Roll the dice, draw cards, and embark on thrilling journeys through forests, oceans, and beyond as we explore the wonders of the natural world through nature themed tabletop games.
TH (12/5), 1pm, Well Played Board Game Café, 162 Coxe Ave, Ste 101
Music Bingo w/DJ
Spence
Test your music knowledge and your luck with Music Bingo by DJ Spence.
TH (12/5), 6:30pm, Lookout Brewing Co., 103 S Ridgeway Ave, Black Mountain
KID-FRIENDLY PROGRAMS
Coloring w/Cats: Kiddie Edition
Release your inner child by coloring with us in the cat lounge while you relieve stress and anxiety.
SA (11/30), 1:30pm, House of Black Cat Magic, Co., 841 Haywood Rd
Kids & Teens Kung Fu
Learn fighting skills as well as conflict resolution and mindfulness. First class is free to see if it’s a good fit for you.
MO (12/2), TU (12/3), TH (12/5), 4pm, Dragon Phoenix, 51 N Merrimon Ave, Ste 109
Rookie Readers
An engaging literacy program designed specifically for toddlers with an aim to foster a love for reading while nurturing creativity through crafts.
MO (12/2), 10am, Dr Wesley Grant Sr. Southside Community Center, 285 Livingston St
Youth Beginner
Climbing
A three-week instructional climbing class for beginners. A parent or guardian must attend and be prepared to participate and belay their child.
MO (12/2), 6pm, Tempie Avery Montford Community Center, 34 Pearson Ave
Parks & REC-cess
A recreation experience for kids and teens who are homeschooled with a variety of activities. Advance registration required.
WE (12/4), 1pm, Linwood Crump Shiloh Community Center, 121 Shiloh Rd
LOCAL MARKETS
RAD Farmers Market
A vibrant mid-week market with dozens of high-quality artisan food businesses. Fresh
vegetables, baked goods, pastured meats, raw honey, ferments, hot sauces and more.
WE (11/27, 12/5), 3pm, RAD Farmers Market, 848 Merrimon Ave
Thanksgiving Surplux Box Market
A great way to bring fresh, local produce to the table while helping sustain family farms. It will feature produce items like Hakurei turnips, potatoes, sweet potatoes, butternut squash and more.
WE (11/27), 10am, Mother Earth Food, 29 Hawk Hill
Weaverville Tailgate Market
A selection of fresh, locally grown produce, grass fed beef, pork, chicken, rabbit, eggs, cheese, sweet and savory baked goods, artisan bread, body care, eclectic handmade goodies, garden and landscaping plants.
Open year round.
WE (11/27), 3pm, 60 Lake Shore Dr Weaverville
Highland Holiday Market
Come out on and support a stacked list of local artisans and makers. Enjoy Blackwatch, a taproom exclusive while you browse.
FR (11/29), 11am, Highland Brewing Co., 12 Old Charlotte Hwy, ste 200
Asheville City Market
Featuring local food products, including fresh produce, meat, cheese, bread, pastries, and other artisan products. Every Saturday through December 21.
SA (11/30), 9am, 52 N Market St
Holiday Market
Come shop and support local WNC craftsman and artisans, you might just check off your holiday gift list.
SA (11/30), 10am, Flat Rock Playhouse, 2661 Greenville Hwy, Flat Rock
Rebuild RAD: Local Market
A local RAD Market every Saturday where visitors can peruse local arts, crafts and other handmade goods. Enjoy a beer or taco from the in-house taqueria while you browse.
SA (11/30), 10am, The Grey Eagle, 185 Clingman Ave
WNC Farmers Market
High quality fruits and vegetables, mountain crafts, jams, jellies, preserves, sourwood honey, and other farm fresh items. Open daily 8am, year-round. 570 Brevard Rd
Junk-O-Rama
Browse vintage clothing vendors, local crafters, antiques and more.
SU (12/1), 11am, Fleetwood's, 496 Haywood Rd
BMCA Handmade Holidays Market
Browse incredible locally-made items or stop by Holly Jolly celebration for some extra sweet treats. Support local artists and get your holiday shopping done at the same time.
TU (12/3), 10am, Black Mountain Center for the Arts, 225 W State St, Black Mountain
Handcrafted Holiday Market
A festive craft market with one-of-a-kind gifts and artwork. Guests can enjoy holiday food, drinks, and music while shopping the market. Santa will also be joining us for those wanting a picture.
WE (12/4), 9am, Tryon Arts and Crafts School, 373 Harmon Field Rd, Tryon
FESTIVALS & SPECIAL EVENTS
South Asheville Turkey Trot
An annual community Thanksgiving tradition that brings together local residents and visitors for a morning of festive fun and fitness.
TH (11/28), 9am, Biltmore Park Town Square, Town Square Blvd
Annual Christmas in Sylva Christmas celebration with an official lighting of the Sylva Christmas tree at the fountain on Main Street. There will also be a holiday-themed concert, fireworks, and ol' Saint Nick is scheduled to make a special appearance too.
FR (11/29), 6pm, Downtown Sylva
2024 Holiday Tree
Lighting & Santa’s Arrival
Enjoy live Christmas music, shopping, hot drinks and delicious treats, followed by a countdown to Santa’s arrival to light the town’s Christmas tree.
Spend your Thanksgiving weekend Holiday shopping while enjoying food trucks, music, a full bar and a kid's station.
SA (11/30), 1pm, The Hideaway, 49 Broadway St
Holiday Tree Lighting Block Party
The Grove Arcade Tree Lighting Block Party returns with live music
from DJ Griffin White and the Bill Bares jazz trio, performances by the Asheville Ballet, an outdoor holiday market, a Santa appearance and more.
SA (11/30), 4pm, Grove Arcade, 1 Page Ave
2024 Kenilworth Artists Open Studio Tour & Sale Artists will open their studios in the Kenilworth Neighborhood to showcase works in oil, watercolor, acrylic, gouache, encaustic, jewelry, pottery, glass and more. Each artist will donate a portion of sales to Loving Food Resources. See p32
SU (12/1), 10am, Kenilworth neighborhood
Sylva Christmas Parade
The annual Sylva Christmas Parade will take place rain or shine. SU (12/1), 3pm, Downtown Sylva, Downtown Sylva
Black Mountain Mama's for Kids & Crafts
Together, we'll make Christmas crafts and celebrate the season with creativity and fun. Kids of all ages are welcome to join in.
MO (12/2), 3pm, Peri Social House, 406 W State St, Black Mountain
Historic Johnson Farm Christmas Tours Tour the decorated historic house, visit the Heritage Weavers and Fiber Artists, and enjoy hot cocoa and cookies. While drop-ins are allowed, those with reservations take priority.
MO (12/2), TU (12/3), WE (12/4), TH (12/5), 10:30am, Historic Johnson Farm, 3346 Haywood Rd, Hendersonville
Candy Cane Flashlight Hunt
Search the park for candy canes and enjoy hot chocolate as the sun sets. Please bring your own flashlight or headlamp.
WE (12/4), 5:15pm, Murphy-Oakley Community Center, 749 Fairview Rd
BENEFITS & VOLUNTEERING
Annual Books for Good Holiday Sale
An all-volunteer nonprofit organization in Fletcher that sells items to benefit donor-specified charities. More
than 45,000 adult and children’s books, CDs, and DVDs will be available.
FR (11/29), 10am, Books for Good, 50 Heritage Park Dr Fletcher
Urban Combat Wrestling: Hurricane Helene Relief Show
An unforgettable evening of Urban Combat Wrestling with a full-sized ring, Proceeds will benefit CMB photography and other performers. FR (11/29), 7pm, The Mule, 131 Sweeten Creek Rd Ste 10
Rock n Roll Rewind
Performing some of your favorite hit songs spanning from 70’s through the 90’s. Portion of the proceeds to benefit NoHungryPeople.org.
This event will also be a toy drive for The Jingle Bell Trolly of Woodfin.
FR (11/29), 8pm, The Orange Peel, 101 Biltmore Ave
Cornhole Tournament Play cornhole for a good cause. All entry fees and donations benefit Owen Babe Ruth League to aid in rebuilding the fields at Veteran’s Park.
SU (12/1), noon, White Horse Black Mountain, 105C Montreat Rd, Black Mountain Catan Tournament Fundraiser Benefiting Hurricane Helene Relief Efforts This collaboration aims to bring joy and connection to families in Western North Carolina affected by Hurricane Helene, all through the power of board games. MO (12/2), 6pm, Well Played, 162 Coxe Ave, Ste 101
Karen Cragnolin Park Volunteer Day Closed-toed shoes are required and pants are recommended. Everyone is encouraged to bring a water bottle and gardening gloves if you have them.
WE (12/4), 10am, Karen Cragnolin Park, 190 Amboy Rd
Santa Paws w/Asheville Humane Society Santa and the Grinch will be available for pictures with pets, kids, families, friends, and anyone interested in raising money for needy pets in Buncombe County.
WE (12/4), 5pm, Highland Brewing Co., 12 Old Charlotte Hwy, Ste 200
Hands-on approach
Amid retirement, community health remains top of mind for former MAHEC member
BY CHASITY LEAKE
When Tropical Storm Helene tore through Asheville, leaving devastation in its wake, Jaquelyn Hallum sprang into action. Equipped with her Girl Scout-inspired motto, “Always be prepared,” she transformed her car into a lifeline, delivering water and supplies to the hardest-hit areas, including public housing communities.
Her independent efforts filled critical gaps before organizations fully mobilized. Later, she collaborated with local churches, the City of Asheville and Asheville Parks & Recreation to expand relief efforts, ensuring families had access to essentials during the chaotic days post-storm.
Though Hallum retired from her role as director of Health Careers and Diversity Education at Mountain Area Health Education Center (MAHEC) in 2021, her dedication to service has not wavered. This year, the MAHEC Medical Mentoring Program, which Hallum founded, celebrated its 20th anniversary. The program has opened doors for countless students from communities of color, helping them envision and pursue careers in health care. Hallum was also selected as the keynote speaker for the 25th MAHEC Health Careers Conference, which was canceled due to Tropical Storm Helene.
discuss her past and current work within the community.
Xpress: Helene brought unprecedented challenges to the Asheville area. What inspired you to take such a hands-on approach to relief efforts?
Hallum: Being prepared has always been a part of who I am — it’s something I learned as a Girl Scout. When the hurricane hit, I saw families in communities of color struggling without water or basic supplies, and I knew I couldn’t wait for others to step in. At first, it was just me loading my car and going directly to those in need. Later, working with churches and community organizations allowed us to reach even more people, but those early days were about showing up and doing what I could.
How have your previous experiences at MAHEC influenced your approach to post-Helene relief?
Photo courtesy of Hallum chasity.leake@gmail.com
Her recent storm relief efforts and her enduring dedication to equity and education exemplify how a lifetime of service can evolve. Hallum recently sat down with Xpress to
My time at MAHEC taught me how to build strong networks and think strategically about meeting people’s needs. Whether coordinating the MAHEC Medical Mentoring Program or delivering relief supplies, the principles are the same: Listen to what the community needs and find ways to meet those needs efficiently. I also learned to stay calm under pressure and work collaboratively — critical skills during the storm. It reminded me that everything I’ve done in my career has prepared me for moments like this.
You’ve spoken before about the lessons you learned from your family. How did those lessons shape your response to the storm?
STILL AT IT: “Helping others is simply who I am,” says Jaquelyn Hallum, former director of Health Careers and Diversity Education at Mountain Area Health Education Center (MAHEC). “Retirement hasn’t changed that — it’s just given me the freedom to focus on what matters most.”
My family always emphasized showing up for people. My sister, who raised me after we lost our parents, believed that when you’re in a position to help, you should do it. That’s how I’ve approached everything in life. During the hurricane, I thought about her and how she would have been out there, doing whatever it took to help. Those lessons gave me the drive to act and the determination to keep going, even when exhausting.
The MAHEC Medical Mentoring Program recently celebrated its 20th anniversary. What does it mean to see this program continue to thrive?
It’s deeply meaningful. When I started the program, I wanted to create opportunities for students from communities of color to see themselves in health care careers. Seeing it reach its 20th year is a reminder that the seeds we plant today can grow into something much bigger than we imagined. Knowing the program is still making an impact after all this time shows me that the work I did mattered, and that’s incredibly fulfilling.
After such an impactful career, what motivates you to stay so actively involved in the community?
Helping others is simply who I am. Retirement hasn’t changed that — it’s just given me the freedom to focus on what matters most. I’ve been fortunate to have allies throughout my journey, and they’ve played an enormous role in my success, especially in predominantly white environments. Those connections remind me that we all have a role in creating spaces where people can thrive. That’s what drives me to keep going. Looking ahead, how do you hope your work continues to make a difference?
I hope my actions inspire others to get involved, whether it’s through mentorship, education or direct service. I genuinely believe small acts of kindness and service can ripple out in ways we can’t see. I aim to keep planting those seeds, trusting that the impact will grow long after I’m gone. X
Talk to friends and family about mental health
Cammy Sky Holt is the office administrator and communications director of Black Mountain Counseling Center, a nonprofit that is dedicated to providing mental health counseling to all.
Xpress: How has your nonprofit’s focus shifted in the aftermath of Helene?
Sky Holt: Our mission at Black Mountain Counseling Center (BMCC) is to serve those regardless of their ability to pay. Our main areas of focus have been in the Swannanoa Valley/Black Mountain and Old Fort. Our focus has remained on those who are underinsured or uninsured in these areas. With that in mind, we know that many people have lost their jobs and their stability due to Helene; and we know that in the near future, the need for mental health services will increase while the WNC population processes the trauma we have all experienced. Since we completely lost our new office building in Old Fort, we are in great need of finding a new space to see our clients in that location. Could you share a positive story about your nonprofit’s interaction with the community post-Helene?
When Helene first hit, some of our staff were able to evacuate and had reliable internet service to contact clients and continue their work. Others who stayed were on the ground working with the community directly. BMCC was a part of a mental health hub where social workers and counselors were able to support the community with immediate needs and emotional support. While our office phone system was down and we did not have access to the internet at our office, we were able to set up a Helene support hotline where BMCC staff could support clients. We had a number of counselors, some from across the country, call us asking how they could support. It was beautiful to watch the mental health community pull together. Based on the communities you serve, what are the most dire needs? There is an emotional life cycle of a disaster, and many of us in our community are still in the “disillusionment” stage. When we, the community, begin making our way through the “coming to terms” stage, mental health services will become essential when we begin processing our grief, loss, depression, anxiety and trauma. These are all natural responses in the aftermath of a disaster. The most dire needs are going to be affordable mental health care. Another need is child care and support services, especially in west McDowell. Our office in Old Fort is gone, and the children who attend Old Fort Elementary are having to go to a different school. Beyond monetary donations, how else could community members support your mission?
Honestly, monetary donations are critical to our work. We use donations to provide services to those in need through our client assistance program. We are in need of a new space in Old Fort, and once we have that space, we will need items like furniture and artwork to create a safe and comfortable space for our clients. Other ways to support our mission is to talk to friends and family about mental health. This is an important step in normalizing seeking mental health support and is just as important as seeing a doctor for physical ailments. Please follow our social media pages and sign up to receive our newsletter for updates regarding our needs to support BMCC. X
CAMMY SKY HOLT
Photo courtesy of Sky Holt
ARTS & CULTURE
Cast collaboration
BY EDWIN ARNAUDIN
The destruction from Tropical Storm Helene has brought out the best in many Western North Carolinians. Sifting through the aftermath, neighbors met each other for the first time and, along with other former strangers, have joined forces to help those in need.
The Asheville-area theater community was already close-knit before the natural disaster, but the crisis is forging even stronger bonds between local stage professionals.
Power, water, phone and internet outages forced Asheville Community Theatre to cut short its run of The Sound of Music and prompted N.C. Stage Company, Flat Rock Playhouse, the Sublime Theater and Parkway Playhouse to cancel shows slated to open in late September, early October and beyond.
Elsewhere, Montford Park Players were able to stage four performances of Richard III , Oct. 24-27, and Different Strokes Performing Arts Collective pushed the world premiere of Dear God to February. But as these and other theater companies navigate an uncertain future, their peers who have been able to rebound are using their good fortune to help those that are struggling.
Haywood Arts Regional Theater (HART) in Waynesville rescheduled its production of Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap to Oct. 17-27 and Nov. 8-17, and will donate 50% of profits from this run to nonprofit WNC theaters that have yet to reopen after Tropical Storm Helene. And Hendersonville Theatre, which delayed its production of Stephen King’s Misery by one week to Oct. 24-Nov. 3, will donate proceeds from these shows to the Community Foundation of Henderson County, Interfaith Assistance Ministry, and Rural Organizing and Resilience WNC.
TAKING STOCK
“We felt so lucky that we still had a theater,” says Victoria Lamberth , Hendersonville Theatre artistic director. “We realized it was very possible that we could have lost
everything, and we had an opportunity to respond to the situation and bring people together.”
The Hendersonville Theatre building sits in a floodplain and sustained some water damage in the back of the property. Though the performance area escaped unscathed, several members of the community who work with the company weren’t so lucky and lost their homes.
Thankfully, everyone emerged physically unharmed, and after 10 days of repairing damage to the theater and allowing the community at large to absorb events, Lamberth and her team evaluated their situation.
“We were in a condition where we felt like we could [reopen]. And also felt like, by Halloween, a lot of people were going to need a diversion from everything, and we might be one of the few Halloween events still left in Western North Carolina,” Lamberth says. “We felt like we needed to provide people an opportunity for entertainment
and a chance to escape from reality for a few hours.”
She adds that the Hendersonville Theatre wanted to serve as “kind of a hub” for the community. During the performances of Misery , the lobby served as a drop-off spot for attendees to donate specific items for the beneficiary aid organizations. And monetary donations will be split evenly among the three nonprofits.
“We wanted to make sure that there was a way for us to provide [donation drop-offs] and make it accessible to people — and also kind of alleviate some of the survivor guilt of coming to the theater and enjoying the night out,” Lamberth says.
The appropriateness of offering escapism at a time when many community members are suffering likewise weighed heavily on the mind of HART artistic director Candice Dickinson . Like Lamberth, she first gauged the health and safety of her team and the condition of their building. With her cast and crew “chomping
GOOD NEIGHBORS: Allie Marée Starling donates items to local aid organizations in the Hendersonville Theatre lobby. Photo by Victoria Lamberth
at the bit” to get back, Dickinson sent a survey to HART’s mailing list, inquiring about recipients’ thoughts of resuming production on The Mousetrap , and was met with enthusiastic support.
“We got off scot-free with the flood, so we wanted to be able to give back,” Dickinson says. “I saw that we really are in a great place financially, and it made me realize the decisions I’m making from this point on don’t have anything to do with finances for us. They have to do with our community.”
Since HART is a nonprofit, Dickinson says, it’s only allowed to donate funds to fellow nonprofits. In turn, half of the show’s proceeds will be distributed equally to qualifying impacted theaters.
ORGANIZED EFFORTS
Such support is encouraging to Jeff Catanese , founder of the Asheville Theater Alliance (ATA). The nonprofit launched in late August and seeks to help create a more vibrant, diverse and sustainable theater community and patronage in WNC.
“I think it’s amazing,” he says. “It really shows what a great community we have here.”
Though a fledgling organization, the ATA also looked for ways to help out industry colleagues and partnered with George Awad of Double Dip Productions to organize The Show Must Go On. Held Oct. 25 to a capacity crowd at LaZoom Room, the showcase of improv comedy raised funds for ATA member organizations that lost income due to Helene. And the Helene Performing Arts Relief Fund seeks to bolster those numbers with a goal of raising $5,000.
“We are hoping that the organizations will use those funds to pay the casts and crews of the canceled
shows who were counting on that money in their bank accounts,” Catanese says. “We also hope they can be used to replace any tangible assets that were lost.”
He adds that the storm’s devastation “demonstrated the need for a well-funded and easily activated organization dedicated to WNC’s vibrant performing arts scene.”
Though ATA growth has been slow thus far, Catanese is optimistic about its future and that of the Asheville-area theater community’s ability to bounce back from the storm’s destruction.
“[The COVID-19 pandemic] prevented people from coming together, but Helene has driven them to,” he says. “With very little permanent damage done to most of the performance spaces here — unlike what happened to the visual arts — our theater community provides a wonderful opportunity for folks to join each other as we repair and heal.”
While Lamberth is concerned that some companies might not bounce back from these latest setbacks, she’s encouraged by the community response shown at a recent cleanup day at Hendersonville Theatre. She says they usually get 10-15 people to volunteer on these occasions but wound up attracting over 60 folks, including many who “have never walked into the theater before.”
That level of unexpected aid is part of what gives Dickinson hope about the weeks, months and years ahead.
“Western North Carolina, in all of its beauty, has always attracted amazing artists and people who love the arts — and I don’t think that’s going to change anytime soon,” she says. “People want to give money to what they love and what they believe in. And I think we’re really lucky to live in a space where people love the arts.” X
Serving the community is a key priority
Amy Upham is the executive director of Blue Ridge Pride. The nonprofit works to promote equality, safety and quality of life for Western North Carolina’s LGBTQIA+ and allied communities.
Xpress: How has your nonprofit’s focus shifted in the aftermath of Helene?
Upham: Our primary focus right now is hurricane relief. In an odd series of events, we had actually decided to open a food resource area and onboarded our first mental health intern right before the hurricane hit. These two brand-new initiatives, along with our 1:1 financial assistance program, are pretty much all we are doing right now. We are still looking for ways to gather the community, but the “S” or “Service” part of our four pillars or “ACES” will likely continue to be a huge part of our work now going forward — even beyond this crisis.
Could you share a positive story about your nonprofit’s interaction with the community post-Helene?
Our distribution site — aka our new office — has only been open twice a week for two weeks. In those few days, we have seen numbers rise from two per day to 10 per day. We are hearing people who have been denied for or waiting on everything with tears in their eyes when we hand them a grocery gift card. We love that we can be nimble and responsive. We don’t have thousands for each person, but we are filling gaps quickly and helping people get through.
Based on the communities you serve, what are the most dire needs?
Rental and mortgage assistance. We hope to hear some positive news on a couple of grants as we’d like to also offer this assistance to people. We are seeing a lot of people who lost their jobs or hours due to the storm. We also are hearing about issues with community bathrooms for our trans and nonbinary friends, so a queer-specific mobile shower would be amazing.
Beyond monetary donations, how else could community members support your mission?
We’d love more donations to our food and supply shelves. We have plenty of canned and dry goods; what we are really needing is allergen-friendly food and cleaning supplies. We are not taking general clothing donations, but we could use hats, gloves and socks (all new please) for the colder weather ahead. X
AMY UPHAM
Photo courtesy of Upham
WITH CAYLA CLARK
BY CAYLA CLARK
My fellow Best Medicine co-host, Eric Brown, touched on the topic of finding humor after Tropical Storm Helene in last month’s feature — a delicate art, to say the least. Many of us are still reeling, and the future feels more uncertain than ever. Open mics are slowly resurfacing, and comedy shows are happening again in Asheville and beyond, but there’s still a heaviness in the air that prompts the unavoidable question: “Too soon?” Yet people keep telling me that they need to laugh. Those little pockets of humor, scattered among the grief and chaos, help keep everyone just a bit more sane. And I’m right there with them — I need to laugh to keep from breaking down 24/7. Stand-up and sketch comedy have been my lifeline back to some semblance of normalcy. Laughter really is the best medicine … right after penicillin, which I happen to be deathly allergic to. With this in mind, I’ve wrangled three of Asheville’s finest, most resilient funny people for this month’s conversation.
First up, my partner, Ryan Gordon, who had the privilege of seeing every side of me during the storm. We mutually decided that if our relationship could survive Helene, it could survive anything. Ryan’s also one of my favorite local comics. (And not because I’m biased — but because he won’t take out the trash unless I praise him relentlessly.) Next is the ever-hilarious Cloud Hudson, who managed to spin some absolute comedy gold out of the storm. I’ve caught some of it at recent open mics, and it’s as cathartic as it is funny. Rounding out the lineup is Clay Jones, a comedian whose warm smile and edgy political humor light up the room.
Turning your post-Helene canned food stash into a Thanksgiving masterpiece
DIG IN: In this month’s Best Medicine, co-host Cayla Clark, top left, shares the secret ingredients to her now-famous Clif Bar and Turbidity Casserole. “It’s … how do you say … not good,” she tells us. Joining her are fellow comedians, clockwise from top right, Cloud Hudson, Clay Jones and Ryan Gordon. Photos of Clark and Gordon by Donnie Rex Bishop; photos of Hudson and Jones courtesy of the comedians. caylaclark73@gmail.com
Cayla: Speaking of political humor — let’s talk about that election. As we all know, the felonious Donald Trump swept the vote, which means he’ll be reestablishing residence in the White House come January. If we could swap him out for a true Asheville hero, who would it be?
Ryan: I’d have to say our cat, Barry. Cayla and I adopted him after spotting a random rehoming post on Instagram, and he’s been an absolute game-changer in the short five or six months he’s been with us.
Cayla: Oh, God, Ryan. Barry naps for at least 20 hours a day and spends the other four screaming for kibble.
Ryan: So he’s kinda like Biden, with less napping. Listen, Barry would make an exceptional POTUS for several reasons. First off, he’s got the presidential look — he’s orange.
He also has multiple felonies; or should I say, feline-ies? (Sorry.) His agenda includes lots of vibing but also some screaming, as Cayla mentioned. He’s an enigma. He can’t be pigeonholed. Ask the last pigeon that tried that. Oh, wait. You can’t.
Cayla: RIP.
Ryan: Also, Barry has a voice that would stop any diplomatic negotiation in its tracks. He speaks with the timeless flair of JFK but has an RFK Jr. rasp, a lasting reminder of his problematic catnip habit. This cat is unpre-
dictable, ungovernable and, somehow, still profoundly wise. In short, Barry is the candidate America deserves.
Cloud: Or ... does America deserve a candidate at all, Ryan? In this town full of contrarians with an anarchy fetish, it’s easy to get away with a “No One for President” bumper sticker. But this isn’t a joke to me — I seriously believe that everyone who didn’t vote should count as a vote for making literally no one the president. There were approximately 245 million eligible voters in the U.S. this year. This one dude got, like, 76.8 million votes, and the other lady got, like, 74.3 million votes. That leaves 94 million votes cast for no one! A real democracy would take these nonvotes seriously. Let’s finally give the people what they clearly want — absolutely no one in charge of the so-called United States of America. It won’t be that bad. Plenty of workers in this town have had to soldier on when senior management quits on a whim, investors pull out or chancellors randomly resign. So why can’t the federal government do the same? Just pull yourself up by your bootstraps, boys.
Clay: If these last couple of months have taught me anything, it’s this: In times of trouble, the American people don’t need a politician’s speech to make them feel better, they need memes. That is why I would nominate fellow comedian and local memesmith Petey Smith-McDowell for president.
Cayla: OK, this is a candidate I can get behind.
Clay: Right?! His administration would eliminate the need for a press secretary, as press releases would all be replaced by a simple, easy-to-understand meme. Imagine the boost to civic education. People would no longer wonder how the economy works because Petey would explain it masterfully using a GIF of Homer Simpson disappearing into the bushes. And lastly, another pro would be that Petey would be virtually immune to scandal, as his only mistress is a Fleshlight.
Cloud: Good lord, Clay. He almost had my vote. Petey needs a new PR team.
This year’s Give!Local campaign wraps up at midnight December 31. So far over 225 donors have generously contributed. Beginning from $5, you too can make a difference. Will you help us power through to make this year a record-setting campaign? Simply complete this form, cut it out and mail it to us with your check. Or donate online at givelocalguide.org .
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Cayla: Personally, my pick would be none other than Laura Lynn of the Ingles empire. Picture this: a president who not only fights for affordable groceries and gas but looks sharp as hell doing it. I’m convinced she’d rock the polyester power suit like nobody’s business. She’d be the kind of leader who’d mandate community potlucks to bring neighbors together — all in the name of diplomacy, of course. And she’d finally put the spotlight on the true hero of every barbecue: that mustard potato salad, which, let’s be honest, is straight fire. I could totally see her giving a State of the Union address while urging us all to “keep it local, y’all.” I love her.
Cayla: Speaking of groceries, I’d be remiss not to at least mention Thanksgiving. One unexpected silver lining of Tropical Storm Helene has been the surplus of donated supplies we now have on hand, which makes for some interesting — if unconventional — holiday dishes. Case in point: My now-famous Clif Bar and Turbidity Casserole. What’s that, you ask? Picture an artisanal layering of crumbled Clif Bars with a rich gravy made from murky and heavily chlorinated tap water. It’s … how do you say … not good. If you had to repurpose hurricane supplies into a Thanksgiving dish, what culinary masterpiece would you whip up?
Ryan: This is hard to talk about because the storm wiped out all the corn my grandma had meticulously frozen in preparation for Thanksgiving. It’s a real tragedy. You think you know adversity until you’re faced with the absence of my grandma’s corn, the best corn this side of the French Broad River. (I’m not sure which side of the river she’s technically on — it’s one of them — but the corn is unrivaled.) Corn so buttery and sweet, it might as well have been dessert. Now, thanks to
Mother Nature, my family will have to choke down corn from a bag. Frozen corn from a store that doesn’t even know my grandma’s name.
Cayla: Say corn one more time.
Ryan: Corn. If I had to prepare a meal with the supplies I have on hand right now, it would be a chaotic masterpiece. For the main course, I’d serve a fine pâté made of canned dog food, elegantly spooned into a to-go container I’d MacGyver out of diapers. For dessert, perhaps a selection of AAA, AA and 9-volt batteries arranged like a charcuterie board. Pair it with a glass of rainwater filtered through my least favorite hoodie for that artisanal touch.
If there’s one thing we’ve learned, it’s that resilience means never underestimating what you can do with a can of SpaghettiOs and a strong stomach. Still, I’d trade it all for one bite of my grandma’s corn.
Cloud: As a meteorologist who also studies astrology, I knew this would happen, so naturally I was among those of us who PREPared for this storm. With all these resources to spare, I’ll be making our main course, Turkey of the Sea. For my fish-based, no-bake turkey substitute, I’ll be needing about 75 tuna pouches — you know, the tuna that comes in something the size and shape of a pamphlet of unhinged political beliefs — and all that expired unflavored Jell-o from the ’90s that people thought was an appropriate donation to hurricane relief centers. From these two humble ingredients, and possibly some creek water that went through a bushcrafted reverse osmosis filter, I shall craft the most glorious turkey-shaped tuna aspic known to man. I’ll send images of my creation far and wide in hopes that someone will reply, “Damn, that’s a nice aspic.”
Clay: If I had to turn my hurricane stash into a Thanksgiving dish, Asheville-style, I’d present to you Mountain-Storm Surprise. It’s a rus-
tic, locally sourced (from my pantry) dish that combines canned beans, boxed wine and suspiciously old quinoa. Picture this: a casserole topped with crushed, gluten-free crackers and a drizzle of artisanal hot sauce I found at a farmers market sometime before Tropical Storm Fred.
Cayla: Oh my God, we’re both bringing a casserole. How embarrassing.
Clay: Yes, but here’s what sets mine apart. For presentation, I’d serve it in a hollowed-out Fleshlight (a pornucopia, if you will). Just like Asheville itself, it’s quirky, unexpected and raises questions you’re not sure you want answered. One bite, and you’ll be thankful the power’s still out so you don’t have to see anyone’s reaction.
Cayla: Should we be concerned about this recurring mention, Clay?
Clay: Bon appétit, y’all.
Ryan: Corn.
Cayla: All right, let’s talk comedy. Here’s the thing: Stand-up thrives on a rotating audience. We rely on fresh ears to hear our material because, let’s face it, we’re recycling the same jokes over and over until we physically can’t. So, with tourists still scarce, I think the comedy community is facing some unique challenges as we rebuild. Without the usual turnover of audiences, comedians will have to work harder to keep things fresh. It’s a whole new playing field: We might have to break out new material faster, lean into local humor or get creative with themed shows to keep things engaging. What do you think? Do you see other challenges on the horizon as we begin this long journey back to “normal” — or whatever version of normal we end up with?
Cloud: Storms always create a windfall. That means that all those dead limbs in your lawn should be seen as compost gold or firewood
for years to come instead of trash to clean up. Comedians turn life’s piles of sh*t into handcrafted manure. I’m not saying that everyone has to transform their pain for it to be valid, or that you have to find a silver lining in the clouds of a hurricane. But I am saying that’s what comedians have to do. That’s kind of, like, our whole deal here. If you want to be sad, be sad. But when you’ve cried so much that tears don’t even provide catharsis anymore and the thought of living one more day feels absurd, come watch the clowns have a mental breakdown.
Clay: The Asheville comedy scene is in for some serious reinvention. With fewer tourists around, the local crowd isn’t going to be impressed by the same old jokes about kombucha explosions or interpretive dance yoga. No, we’re talking about an audience that already knows the punch line to your joke about the guy at the drum circle who smells like a discarded Fleshlight.
Cayla: Clay — what is going on with you?
Clay: And let’s not forget themed shows like “Open Mic, Open Third Eye” night, where comedians have to do stand-up while holding a crystal to ensure good vibes. But here’s the real challenge — keeping things interesting enough that the guy who spends his nights running his obscure, psychedelic mushroom tour doesn’t decide mid-set that he’s better off staying home with his emergency flashlight collection (and I’m not talking about the battery-operated kind).
Ryan: I feel like that last one was a loophole, and we can let it slide.
Clay: Haha, hole. Bottom line? Comedians are going to need local humor so deep it’s practically underground — like that “wellness shop” on Haywood Road that claims it sells essential oils but definitely has an opium den behind the beaded curtain.
Young poet
BY THOMAS CALDER
tcalder@mountainx.com
A few weeks after Tropical Storm Helene hit, Xpress received an email from local resident Elizabeth Lee Steere, who shared the poem “A Very Rad Place,” written by her son, Alexander Steere. The poem depicts the storm’s devastation to the River Arts District. Alexander is a seventh grader at Francine Delany New School.
Xpress recently spoke with the young poet about his piece and his love for the RAD.
Xpress : Do you write poetry often or was “A Very Rad Place” your first poem?
Steere: I don’t write poetry often, but I do like writing stories. This poem was part of a project in school, and I was working on a poem about Asheville before the hurricane. But when we got back to school, I decided to change it.
How did writing the poem help you process the storm’s destruction?
I think it helped, and I also think it’s something worth writing about.
Do you have a favorite spot in the RAD? What makes it special to you?
I really like Odyssey ClayWorks because I made clay figurines and claymation there. I also really like the art in the RAD.
I hear you turned 13 the week of the storm. Happy belated birthday! Were you able to celebrate? What did you do?
Thanks! I had my birthday party at the Retrocade, and luckily it was before the storm.
Do you mind me asking how you and your friends are doing? Do you all discuss the storm much?
Middle school student writes about Helene’s impact on the RAD
HONORING THE RAD: Shortly after Tropical Storm Helene descended on Asheville, local resident Alexander Steere penned a poem about the destruction it caused in the River Arts District. Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Lee Steere
If so, what have the conversations been like?
My friends are doing all right. We all have our own stories about what it was like during the hurricane, but other than that things are pretty normal.
What do you hope people who read your poem take away from it?
I just hope that it accurately depicts what it’s like living in Asheville right now. X
A Very Rad Place
by Alexander Steere
Every day I’m very glad
That I live so close to the RAD.
And every morning on a school day
The River Arts District is on the way.
There’s creative graffiti art everywhere
On the sides of many buildings.
And you might even see a bear
Or at least some bears in paintings.
There are warm quesadillas in White Duck Taco, There’s gelato at Sugar and Snow.
There’s lots of great places in Asheville to go, But this is the coolest place I know.
Until …
The French Broad River started to rise, And people there couldn’t believe their eyes, As the road was torn away from the ground, And random debris was flying around,
As all of the buildings collapsed with a crash. The River Arts District was covered in trash.
And every morning on a school day
What once was the RAD is on the way.
There’s ruined furniture everywhere
And there aren’t as many buildings.
And everything looks so bad over there
That even looking at it stings.
There’s nothing left in White Duck Taco, There’s nothing in Sugar and Snow.
And even though the storm has passed It’ll never look like it was in the past.
And every day I’m very sad
That the hurricane was this bad.
Additional poems about Helene
In addition to Alexander Steere’s poem, Xpress received two additional submissions.
The first piece, which is untitled, was written by Jeannie Mckenzie of Weaverville. In her email to Xpress, she noted, “I wrote this poem about grief, and I wanted to share it because I feel like it is an important part of the emotional soup we are navigating and I found that once I was really able to express my grief, I had much more energy for the joy of life.”
Untitled
This grief wells up in my heart as fast as a river, defying its banks and washing away everything in sight. This grief crashes blindly in jagged lightning strikes, tearing apart houses and splitting trees.
This grief weighs as much as a landslide of rubble that closes highways, uproots houses, breaks dams, annihilates villages. This grief forgets that there is anything except tears and pounds down in torrents of rain.
Until all it has left is dry heaving sobs that fell forests and knock trees onto houses.
This grief shakes loose everything that has served its time and no longer cares to hold on.
This grief changes the course of rivers forever as it cries uncontrollable tears of letting go. This griefs knows that it just needs to be felt. This grief is collective grief. Mama Gaia’s grief.
And she won’t settle for anything less than a major rearrangement of the furniture. Nothing less than mandatory release of all plans, as she spins us into the blind trust of adaptation.
Together, we are crying out all of the tears as the contractions grow stronger, pushing out my grief, your grief, Gaia’s grief.
Together we are being reshaped and reformed, rebirthed into the kintsugi of our ineffable oneness.
The second poem arrives courtesy of Swannanoa resident Jerry Nelms. In his email to Xpress, Nelms says he wrote “The Crisis Chronicles” a few days after the storm at 2 a.m., “using flashlight, of course.”
The Crisis Chronicles
born from a long sleepless night
When paradise breaks up and hell rains down.
When what is taken for granted is taken away.
When sunlight reveals your pain and night reveals your fears.
When batteries are real and plug-ins are myths.
When a light switch is a dark trick and a faucet yawns into your empty glass.
When a clean body is a dream and clean teeth rob the water you drink. When your home is up the river and your comfort is down the drain.
When you take care of yourself so you can take care of others.
When strangers become neighbors and neighbors become friends.
When helping hands lift beleaguered lands.
All the while you know …
This too shall pass this too shall pass as did all those yesterdays, all those yesterdays, those yesterdays.
Editor’s note: While Xpress appreciates readers submitting poems, space limits how many of these works we can publish. X
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What’s new in food
The Admiral names a new chef and partner
When The Admiral restaurant lights 17 candles on its birthday cake on Saturday, Dec. 7, new executive chef Austin Inselmann will be celebrating alongside founder Drew Wallace. Both are now partners in The Admiral and its sister restaurant, Leo’s House of Thirst, a couple of miles west on Haywood Road.
The Admiral’s story began in 2007, when Wallace and Jonathan Robinson bought the B&D Bar at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Haywood Road when the only nearby sit-down eateries in the scruffy West Asheville neighborhood were Sunny Point Café, Tastee Diner and Westville Pub. The Admiral was a pioneer in full-service, elevated, adventurous Asheville dining and before long became a nationally known culinary calling card to the city itself. Wallace went on to open Bull & Beggar in the River Arts District in 2013, Leo’s House of Thirst in 2020 and Baby Bull, also in the RAD, in 2021.
The Admiral boasts a history of bold chefs who made their mark on the restaurant and in the industry, but this past summer, Wallace found himself pondering his firstborn’s future. He looked down Haywood Road to Leo’s and homed in on rising young chef Inselmann, who has led Leo’s kitchen from the start.
Inselmann moved to Asheville from Portland, Ore., in October 2019 and helped open Leo’s as kitchen manager in September 2020 with a small-plates menu aimed at not overwhelming the business’s primary intent. “Leo’s has always been a wine bar first that happens to have really good food,” he says. His bright, inventive creations — all made from a basement kitchen equipped with only four induction burners and a panini press — soon earned him his first executive chef title.
“Austin was doing such great work at Leo’s, but in order to reach his full potential, he needed a bigger kitchen,” Wallace explains. He shared with Inselmann his vision for an Admiral refresh, and by the end of summer, they had reached an agreement.
Inselmann moved Leo’s lead line cook Josh Williamson to The Admiral in the role of sous chef. At Leo’s, he promoted sous chef Connor Flaherty to chef de cuisine. Inselmann will spend most of his time for now at The Admiral doing recipe development, management and quality control for both restaurants.
They closed The Admiral Sept. 9-13 to deep-clean and renovate the kitchen, installing new equipment, including a flat-top for the popular dry-aged burger and a four-burner grill for making one of Inselman’s favorite, old-school classics — steak frites. After being shuttered by Tropical Storm Helene, The Admiral reopened on Oct. 25 with a pared-down menu that will gradually evolve.
In addition to the burger and steak frites, diners will find Admiral’s legacy steak tartare and arugula salad. “They are both classic, and we stay true to them but gave them a little face-lift,” Inselmann says. “It was a fun project to make a menu that suits The Admiral’s dark and moody dining room. It’s classic entrée food for a sitdown dinner place.”
Wallace is happy with the changes.
“We wanted to reopen The Admiral with comfort and stability,” he says.
“Having a chef as a partner changes the dynamic in your relationship; it’s more teammate-oriented.”
The Admiral, 40 Haywood Road, avl.mx/9za. Leo’s House of Thirst, 1055 Haywood Road, avl.mx/9f1.
Asheville Tea Co.’s comeback
Asheville Tea Co. lost its 6,000-square-foot building on Thompson Street near Biltmore Village on Sept. 27, when floodwaters from the Swannanoa River lifted it off the foundation and carried it away, strewing product and equipment for blocks. Since then, founder and owner Jessie Dean and her sister, Melissa Dean, director of sales and marketing, have taken the first steps toward resurrecting the company with the release of its annual Holiday Trio collection, featuring Snow Day, Spiced Apple Butter and Winter Wonderland teas. Online sales of the 20-count boxes as well as gift certificates are available on the website. One of Asheville’s most high-profile success stories, Asheville Tea Co. is woman-owned, founded in 2016 as an incubator program at Blue Ridge Food Ventures and fully committed to local sourcing. avl.mx/don
Gobble up without cooking
No bird in your oven’s Thanksgiving plans? Several area restaurants have been cooking for days so you don’t have to and might have a seat at their tables for fowl and fixin’s.
• Pack’s Tavern’s Thursday, Nov. 28, Thanksgiving Day buffet (gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan dishes available) is a local favorite, and reservations are already full, but the cavernous two-story restaurant leaves room for walk-ins 11 a.m.-7 p.m. The cost is $49.99 for adults and $24.99 for children ages 10 and younger. 20 Spruce St
• The Moose Café dining room is walk-in-only on Thanksgiving Day. Open 11 a.m.-4 p.m., the restaurant will serve a special Thanksgiving menu — either an all-you-can-eat feast for $18.99 or a traditional Thanksgiving platter for $15.99. 570 Brevard Road
• Downtown fine-dining restaurants Bargello and Posana are offering seated, prix fixe Thanksgiving Day menus. Reservations are required and filling fast at both. Bargello
SHIPMATES: The Admiral founder Drew Wallace, left, reviews menus in The Admiral’s dining room with executive chef and business partner Austin Inselmann. Photo by Leila Amiri
(7 Patton Ave. in the Arras Hotel) will serve three courses family-style, plus dessert, noon- 8 p.m. at $89 per person for adults, $49 for ages 10 and younger. avl.mx/eba Posana (1 Biltmore Ave.) will serve four courses family-style noon-6:30 p.m., $90 per person/$45 12 and younger. avl.mx/ebb
Go fish!
No telling what will be on the plate when Affrilachian and Spanish flavors meet to throw a Pintxo Party on Thursday, Dec. 5, at Cúrate.
Good Hot Fish owner/chef Ashleigh Shanti will collaborate with the Cúrate crew for the eats, while Rise Over Run will provide Spanish wine pairings. Cinco Jotas will also be in the building for a live jamón iberico carving. Copies of Shanti’s new cookbook, Our South: Black Food Through My Lens, will be for sale, and the chef will be available for signings. Tickets are $125 each. Cúrate, 13 Biltmore Ave. For more information and tickets, visit avl.mx/eb8.
Happy Paw-lidays
It’s time for Fido and Daisy to don their gay apparel and get fancy for the fourth annual Historic Seventh Avenue District Pup Crawl Paw-liday edition noon-5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7, in downtown Hendersonville. The canine-centric fundraiser for the Blue Ridge Humane Society was rescheduled from Oct. 19 due to the impact of Tropical Storm Helene. The silver lining: Santa will be on-site and available for selfie photos with pets and their people.
Participants who buy a “Pawsport” receive a pet giveaway or treat and petthemed activity at each dog-friendly food and beverage business on the Pup Crawl, earning stamps at each stop for a chance to win a grand prize. Participating businesses include Brandy Bar + Cocktails, Celtic
Creamery, Guidon Brewing Co., M&T Distilling, Southern Appalachian Brewery and White Duck Taco Shop. If bought by Wednesday, Dec. 4, Pawsports are $20 for one dog and $40 for two or more dogs from the same household. On the day of the event, Pawsports are $30 for one dog, $50 for two or more dogs from the same household. Human-only Pawsports at the same price will allow participants to collect all six stamps for entry into the grand prize drawing. Dogs must be leashed at all times and current on vaccinations.
For information and to buy Pawsports, visit avl.mx/eb7.
And the winners are…
• Eda Rhyne Distilling Co. was among the Biltmore Village buildings severely impacted by Helene, but founders Chris Bower and Rett Murphy’s spirits were buoyed with the news that their Appalachian Fernet was named the drink winner in Garden & Gun magazine’s 15th annual Made in the South Awards. The magazine’s write-up lauds the duo for “crafting a highly bitter style of amaro called fernet, using about forty herbs, roots, barks, and other plants.” Eda Rhyne’s second location, Eda’s HideA-Way, at 1098 New Stock Road in Weaverville was unharmed by the storm and remains open. avl.mx/ebl
• Chef Ashleigh Shanti’s Good Hot Fish has been named one of Eater’s Best New Restaurants in America for 2024. Shanti opened the casual eatery in South Slope in January 2024 and
has been reeling in the accolades ever since, including being the only North Carolina restaurant listed among The New York Times list of 50 Favorite Restaurants in America 2024. GHF has reopened post-Helene, adding daily land-based specials like oxtail and fried chicken. 10 Buxton Ave., avl.mx/dbr
• Oprah Winfrey’s annual Oprah’s Favorite Things holiday gifts list is out, and French Broad Chocolate is in. On the recommendation of her longtime bestie Gayle King, Oprah chose the Asheville-based business’s Classic Hot Chocolate Collection, a trio that includes classic, vanilla bean and cinnamon flavors. The holiday edition trades cinnamon for peppermint. avl.mx/pryk
• Pour a round of doubles for restaurateur Eric Scheffer and the Scheffer Group to celebrate the inclusion of Vinnie’s Neighborhood Italian South and Jettie Rae’s Oyster House in Tripadvisor’s 2024 Best of the Best Awards. In the “Casual Dining” category for the United States, Vinnie’s South earned the No. 6 spot, and Jettie Rae’s ranked No. 8. avl.mx/ebm.
• Sourhouse, the Asheville-based startup founded by Jennifer Yoko Olson and Erik Fabian that aims to make sourdough baking accessible to all, has earned a Good Housekeeping 2024 Best Kitchen Gear Award in the “Reliable Prep Tools” catgory for its sourdough warming device, Goldie. Selected from over 300 contenders, Goldie was named the “Just-Right Sourdough Starter.” avl.mx/ebf
by Kay West |
Kenilworth Artists
Open Studio Tour Winter Wonder Walk
It will be hard to attend the Kenilworth Artists Open Studio Tour & Sale and walk away empty-handed. One of Asheville’s artiest and friendliest annual events was rescheduled from its traditional October time slot due to Tropical Storm Helene and will now take place Saturday-Sunday, Nov. 30-Dec. 1. Fourteen studios featuring 26 artists will be open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. both days. Works in a wide range of mediums will be on display and for sale for holiday gift-giving, including oil, watercolor, acrylic, gouache and encaustic paintings; jewelry; ceramics; glass; fiber; woodcraft; mixed-media; photography; collage and more. The tour is self-guided. Be sure to bring your sense of direction and sensible shoes to navigate the curvy, uphill-downhill streets of this historic neighborhood, which will likely be decked out for the holidays. Each artist will donate a portion of sales to Loving Food Resources, a pantry serving Western North Carolina hospice and HIV/AIDS clients. A brochure with a map of studio locations and information about participating artists can be found at avl.mx/ebi. X
The annual Winter Wonder Walk, created by Asheville Plays, turns the Adventure Center of Asheville at 85 Expo Drive into an immersive storybook experience with costumed actors guiding guests through festively lit outdoor trails winding through Winterland. A heated tent offers a holiday market with locally made gifts, a kids play area, fresh doughnuts, hot chocolate and cider, s’mores for the bonfire, Venezuelan cuisine from Delish Food Truck and local beer and wine. The Treetops Adventure Park Glow Trail features lower-elevation trails illuminated with thousands of colorful twinkle lights. Winter Wonder Walk happens 6-8:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, Nov. 29-30, Dec. 6-7 and Dec. 13-14. General admission tickets are $18, free for children ages 3 and younger. Combo tickets that include the Glow Trail are $48. Kids can earn
free general admission tickets by participating in the S’Mitten with Books program (avl.mx/ebj). Proceeds from each ticket will donate four meals to MANNA Foodbank. avl.mx/ebk. X
Photo of Pop by LeeAnn Donnelly courtesy of the artist
Photo courtesy of Asheville Plays
Flood Back Art
“Tomorrow’s Cost,” a song written by Whitney Moore Roda, Matt Williams and Secret Agent 23 Skidoo, tells the wrenching story of the devastation Tropical Storm Helene brought to Asheville’s creative community. Shot by David Saich and Stephan Pruitt and produced and edited by Saich, the video was filmed in the River Arts District and at Salvage Station, capturing in heartbreaking images what the flood left behind. Along with the well-known outdoor music venue, Asheville residents will recognize the remnants of Marquee design marketplace, Foundation Skatepark and Cotton Mill Studios plus restaurants and shops. The music begins
and ends in instrumental cacophony, with the song sung by Moore and Juan Holladay and rap by 23 Skidoo. Filmed in performance are Williams and musicians Ben Bjorlie, Jacob Rodriguez, Alex Bradley and Kyle Snuffer with a beat by Justin Aswell Blackwood. 23 Skidoo and his daughter, Sakara Sullivan, created the Flood Back Art website, a by-the-community, for-the-community initiative with a directory of creatives impacted by Helene. Supporters can contact individual artists to contribute to GoFundMe campaigns, buy art, become Patreon subscribers and more. View the video at avl.mx/ebn. Learn about Flood Back Art at avl.mx/ebo. X
David Wilcox’s Thanksgiving Homecoming
Folk musician, singer, songwriter and storyteller David Wilcox is home for the holiday with his annual Thanksgiving Homecoming Concert at The Grey Eagle on Friday, Nov. 29. Though born in Ohio, he forged his artistic path in Western North Carolina, graduating from Warren Wilson College in 1985 and performing regularly in those years at a Black Mountain music club. His 1987 debut album, The Nightshift Watchman, led
to him winning the Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk Competition, and since then, he has recorded and released more than 20 albums, tours the U.S. consistently and holds weeklong music events in Europe. At The Grey Eagle, Wilcox will perform from his extensive catalog as well as from his current acoustic album My Good Friends. Doors open for the all-ages, seated show at 6 p.m., and music begins at 7 p.m. avl.mx/ebp X
We’re excited to be featured in Give!Local again this year as a social justice non-profit!
100% of donations through Give!Local go to local non-profit organizations of your choice — and we’ll be dedicating 50% of our donations to our Hurricane Helene Recovery Fund. givelocalguide.org/ nonprofits/blue-ridge-pride
Photo by RaeAnne Genth/Fiasco Media
Photo of David Wilcox by Lynne Harty
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 27
ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL
Stand-Up Comedy Open Mic, 8pm
EDA'S HIDE-A-WAY
Bless Your Heart Trivia w/Harmon, 7pm
FLEETWOOD'S
PSK Karaoke, 9pm
JACK OF THE WOOD PUB
Old Time Jam, 5pm
OKLAWAHA
BREWING CO.
Bluegrass Jam w/Derek McCoy & Friends, 6pm
ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL
Swanny, Crowe & The Monk (funk, bues), 10pm
SHILOH & GAINES
Trivia Wednesdays, 7pm
SLY GROG LOUNGE
Weird Wednesday Open Jam, 6pm
THE GREY EAGLE
All Aboard AVL: The Last Waltz, 8pm
THE MEADOW AT HIGHLAND BREWING
CO.
Well-Crafted Music w/ Matt Smith, 6pm
THE MULE
Saylor Brothers & Friends (jamgrass), 6:30pm
THE ORANGE PEEL
Ocie Elliot w/William Prince (folk), 8pm
THIRD ROOM
Marley Carroll (electronic, experimental), 8pm
WHITE HORSE BLACK MOUNTAIN Irish Session, 7pm
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 28
BATTERY PARK BOOK
EXCHANGE
Mike Kenton & Jim Tanner (jazz), 5:30pm
DSSOLVR
Hot To Go! Karaoke Night, 8pm
FRENCH BROAD
RIVER BREWERY
Jerry's Dead (Grateful Dead & JGB Tribute), 6pm
JACK OF THE WOOD PUB
Bluegrass Jam w/Drew Matulich, 7pm
ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL
Isaac Hadden's Thursday Throwdown, 9pm
SHAKEY'S Karaoke w/Franco Nino, 9pm
SHILOH & GAINES
Karaoke Night, 8pm
SOVEREIGN KAVA
Stand Up Comedy for Your Health, 8pm
STATIC AGE LOFT
Auto-Tune Karaoke w/ Who Gave This B*tch A Mic, 10pm
TWIN WILLOWS
The Candleers (country), 5pm
VOODOO BREWING CO.
Music Bingo Thursdays, 7pm
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 29
ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL
The Snozzberries Psychedelic Circus w/ Magenta Sunshine (psych-rock), 9pm
CORK & KEG
Daniel Ullom & Nathan Vargo (old-time, bluegrass, Americana), 8pm
CROW & QUILL
Matadragones (Cuban, swing), 8pm
EULOGY
• Modelface Comedy & Blind Date Live
Presents: The Comedy Roast of Hurricane Helene, 7pm
• Dance Floor Rapture w/DJ Lil Meow Meow, 9pm
CLUBLAND
PSYCHEDELIC FOLK MUSIC: On Thursday, Dec. 5, Asheville-based psych-folk musician Blake Hornsby hosts an album release show at Sly Grog Lounge, starting at 8 p.m. Hornsby’s album A Village of Many Springs explores the experimental possibilities to be found in traditional folk music. Photo courtesy of Joshua White
HIGHLAND BREWING CO.
• The Asheville Mountain Boys (bluegrass), 1pm
• Dr. Bacon (Appalachian-funk, rock'n'roll), 6pm
JACK OF THE WOOD PUB
Ben Balmer (Americana), 9pm
ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC
HALL
• Marcus White (multigenre), 6pm
• The Wilson Springs Hotel w/Conrad Moore (country, folk-rock), 8pm
ONE WORLD BREWING
C.J. Brewer (rock, country, R&B), 8pm
ONE WORLD BREWING WEST
Suns of Stars (bluegrass), 8pm
SHAKEY'S DJ Dance Party w/Savvy G, 10pm
SHILOH & GAINES
Candler Rice (folk, country), 9pm
SIERRA NEVADA
BREWING CO. Lyric (R&B, soul, funk), 2pm
STATIC AGE LOFT
Night Moves w/Brandon Manitoba, 10pm
THE GREY EAGLE
Eddie Roberts & The Lucky Strokes (Southern-rock), 10:30pm
THE GREY EAGLE The Doors Unhinged (The Doors tribute), 8pm
THE ORANGE PEEL Sold Out: Sam Barber w/Waylon Wyatt (country), 8pm
VOODOO BREWING CO.
Music Bingo Thursdays, 7pm
WHITE HORSE BLACK MOUNTAIN Dulci Divas & Decadence (jazz), 7:30pm
FREEWILL ASTROLOGY BY ROB BREZSNY
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Renowned composer Mozart had a sister nicknamed Nannerl. During their childhoods, she was as much a musical prodigy as he. They toured Europe doing performances together, playing harpsichord and piano. Some critics regarded her as the superior talent. But her parents ultimately decided it was unseemly for her, as a female, to continue her development as a genius. She was forcibly retired so she could learn housekeeping and prepare for marriage. Is there a part of your destiny, Aries, that resembles Nannerl’s? Has some of your brilliance been suppressed or denied? The coming months will be an excellent time to recover and revive it.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Do you know if you have any doppelgangers, Taurus? I bet you will meet one in the coming weeks. How about soul friends, alter egos, or evil twins? If there’s no one like that in your life right now, they may arrive soon. And if you already know such people, I suspect your relationships will grow richer. Mirror magic and shadow vision are in the works! I’m guessing you will experience the best, most healing kind of double trouble. Substitutes and stand-ins will have useful offers and tempting alternatives. Parallel realities may come leaking through into your reality. Opportunities for symbiosis and synergy will be at an all-time high. Sounds like wild fun!
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Humans have been eating a wide range of oranges since ancient times. Among the most popular type in modern times is the navel orange. It’s large, seedless, sweet, juicy, and easy to peel. But it didn’t exist until the 1820s, when a genetic mutation on a single tree in Brazil spawned this new variety. Eventually, the navel became a revolutionary addition to the orange family. I foresee a metaphorically comparable development in your life during the coming months, Gemini. An odd tweak or interesting glitch could lead to a highly favorable expansion of possibilities. Be alert for it.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Cancerian, you are a finalist for our “Most Resourceful and Successful Survivor of the Year” trophy. And if you take a brief trip to hell in the next two weeks, you could assure your victory. But wait! Let me be more exact: “Hell” is an incorrect terminology; I just used it for shock effect. The fact is that “hell” is a religious invention that mischaracterizes the true nature of the realm of mystery, shadows and fertile darkness. In reality, the nether regions can be quite entertaining and enriching if you cultivate righteous attitudes. And what are those attitudes? A frisky curiosity to learn truths you have been ignorant about; a brave resolve to unearth repressed feelings and hidden yearnings; and a drive to rouse spiritual epiphanies that aren’t available when you’re in the trance of everyday consciousness.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): In my astrological opinion, you need and deserve big doses of fun, play, pleasure, and love. Amusement and enchantment, too. As well as excitement, hilarity and delight. I trust you will schedule a series of encounters and adventures that provide you with a surplus of these necessary resources. Can you afford a new toy or two? Or a romantic getaway to a sanctuary of adoration? Or a smart gamble that will attract into your vicinity a stream of rosy luck? I suggest that you be audacious in seeking the sweet, rich feelings you require.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): December will be Home Enhancement Month for you Virgos. Get started immediately! I’ll offer tips for how to proceed and ask you to dream up your own ideas. 1. Phase out décor or accessories that no longer embody the style of who you have become. 2. Add new décor and accessories that will inspire outbreaks of domestic bliss. 3. Encourage everyone in your household to contribute creative ideas to generate mutual enhancement. 4. Do a blessing ritual that will raise the spiritual vibes. 5. Invite your favorite people over and ask them to shower your abode with blessings.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Libran songwriter and producer Kevin MacLeod has composed over 2,000 pieces of music — and given all of them away for free. That’s why his work is so widespread. It has been featured in thousands of films and millions of YouTube videos. His composition “Monkeys Spinning Monkeys” has been played on TikTok over 31 billion times. (P.S.: He has plenty of money, in part because so many appreciative people give him free-will donations through his Patreon page.) I propose we make him your inspirational role model in the coming weeks and months, Libra. How could you parlay your generosity and gifts into huge benefits for yourself?
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): According to my grandmother, I have such a mellifluous voice I should have pursued a career as a newscaster or dj on the radio. In eighth grade, my science teacher admired my work and urged me to become a professional biologist. When I attended Duke University, my religious studies professor advised me to follow his path. Over the years, many others have offered their opinions about who I should be. As much as I appreciated their suggestions, I have always trusted one authority: my muses. In the coming weeks and months, Scorpio, you may, too, receive abundant advice about your best possible path. You may be pressured to live up to others’ expectations. But I encourage you to do as I have done. Trust your inner advisors.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): I invite you to get a head start on formulating your New Year’s resolutions. Jan. 1 is a good time to instigate robust new approaches to living your life, but the coming weeks will be an even better time for you Sagittarians. To get yourself in the mood, imagine you have arrived at Day Zero, Year One. Simulate the feeling of being empty and open and fertile. Imagine that nothing binds you or inhibits you. Assume that the whole world is eager to know what you want. Act as if you have nothing to prove to anyone and everything to gain by being audacious and adventurous.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): There was a long period when many popular songs didn’t come to a distinct end. Instead, they faded out. The volume would gradually diminish as a catchy riff repeated over and over again. As you approach a natural climax to one of your cycles, Capricorn, I recommend that you borrow the fade-out as a metaphorical strategy. In my astrological opinion, it’s best not to finish abruptly. See if you can create a slow, artful ebb or a gradual, graceful dissolution.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): When he was young, Aquarian musician and sound engineer Norio Ohga wrote a critical letter to the electronics company now known as Sony. He complained in detail about the failings of their products. Instead of being defensive, executives at the company heeded Ohga’s suggestions for improvement. They even hired him as an employee and ultimately made him president of the company at age 40. He went on to have a stellar career as an innovator. In the spirit of the Sony executives, I recommend that you seek feedback and advice from potential helpers who are the caliber of Norio Ohga. The information you gather in the coming weeks could prove to be highly beneficial.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): What would your paradise look and feel like? If you could remake the world to suit your precise needs for maximum freedom, well-being, and inspiration, what changes would you instigate? Now is an excellent time to ponder these possibilities, Pisces. You have more ability than usual to shape and influence the environments where you hang out. And a good way to rouse this power is to imagine your ideal conditions. Be bold and vivid. Amuse yourself with extravagant and ebullient fantasies as you envision your perfect world.
MARKETPLACE
REAL ESTATE & RENTALS | ROOMMATES | JOBS | SERVICES
Want to advertise in Marketplace? 828-251-1333 advertise@mountainx.com • mountainx.com/classifieds
If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Remember the Russian proverb: “Doveryai, no proveryai,” trust but verify. When answering classified ads, always err on the side of caution. Especially beware of any party asking you to give them financial or identification information. The Mountain Xpress cannot be responsible for ensuring that each advertising client is legitimate. Please report scams to advertise@mountainx.com
ROOMMATES
ROOMMATES
ROOMMATE NEEDED
Looking for a roommate to share a house with two others. Fairview area, Morgan Hill Road. $875/ month, includes everything. Smokers welcome. Phone calls only: (828) 222-0192
Ask for Michael.
EMPLOYMENT
SALES/ MARKETING
SALES PROFESSIONAL WORK FOR A LOCAL COMPANY THAT HAS COVERED THE ASHEVILLE SCENE FOR OVER 30 YEARS! This is a full-time, salaried position with benefits, in a community-service, locally-owned media outlet. Ideal candidates are personable, organized, motivated, can follow guidelines as well as think independently. Necessary skills include clear and professional communications (via phone, email, and in-person meetings), detailed record-keeping, and a drive to close sales. Outside sales experience is preferred, experience dealing with varied and challenging situations is helpful. The position largely entails account development and lead generation (including cold-calling), account management, assisting clients with marketing and branding strategies. If you are a high energy, positive, cooperative person looking to join an independent
media organization, please send a resume and cover letter (no walk-ins, please) explaining why you are a good fit for Mountain Xpress to: xpressjob@mountainx. com.
HOME IMPROVEMENT
HANDY MAN
HANDY MAN 40 years experience in the trades, with every skill/tool imaginable for all trades with the exception of HVAC. No job too small. $35 an hour. Carl (828) 551-6000 electricblustudio@gmail. com
ANNOUNCEMENTS
ANNOUNCEMENTS
AFFORDABLE TV & INTER-
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UPDATES In as little as ONE DAY! Affordable prices - No payments for 18 months! Lifetime warranty & professional installs. Senior & Military Discounts available. Call: 1-877-510-9918. (AAN CAN)
BEAUTIFUL BATH
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NAME CHANGE I, Vakil Singh, S/O Mahinder Singh, resident of Fresno, California, want to change name from Vakil to Vakil Singh for all future references.
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WATER DAMAGE CLEANUP & RESTORATION A small amount of water can lead to major damage and mold growth in your home. We do complete repairs to protect your family and your home's value! For a free estimate, call 24/7: 1-888290-2264. (AAN CAN)
YOU MAY QUALIFY For disability benefits if you have are between 52-63 years old and under a doctor’s care for a health condition that prevents you from working for a year or more. Call now! 1-877-2476750. (AAN CAN)
FOR MUSICIANS
MUSICIANS’ BULLETIN WANTED: BANDMATES FOR ROCK/METAL Possible limited practice space. Bass, drums, other. Equipment necessary. Chevelle, Tool, Måneskin, Clutch, Paramore, Pantera, not Ghost. Text Lee W. (828) 335-0930
1 Birth day party?
6 Oyster relative
10 Pick up the tab
13 Canvas holder
14 Princess with “space buns”
15 Warrior I or Warrior II, in yoga
16 B.A. in Communications?
19 Energizing force
20 Doha native
21 “Is that true about me?”
24 Stat for a successful squeeze play
25 Confident
26 M.S. in Biology?
32 Cunning plans
33 Accessory that might read “Prom King” or “Bride to Be”
34 Website builder, for short
35 Reasonable
36 Not accidental
38 Tinder can be used for this
39 College, to an Aussie
40 Spot for drying dishes
41 Contribute to the mix
42 Ph.D. in Computing?
46 “It seems to me,” in online shorthand
47 “___ Mubarak!” (greeting around Ramadan)
48 Marshall’s friend on “How I Met Your Mother”
49 Genre for James Baldwin’s “Giovanni’s Room,” familiarly
52 “Nothing runs like a ___” (ad slogan)
54 Not distinguished by large differences … or an apt title for this puzzle?
