Mountain Xpress 12.02.20

OUR 27TH YEAR OF WEEKLY INDEPENDENT NEWS, ARTS & EVENTS FOR WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA VOL. 27 NO. 18 DEC. 2-8, 2020

MOUNTAINX.COM

DEC. 2-8, 2020

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C ONTENT S

NEWS

12 DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER Asheville’s jewelry industry undeterred by pandemic

16 TALKING TRASH Pilot program brings bear-resistant garbage cans to Asheville

WELLNESS

NEWS

FEATURES

22 GRASSROOTS MEDICINE Local CBD shops offer seed-to-shelf remedies

PAGE 8 SHOP SMALL At the end of a challenging year for local specialty shops, Black Mountain independent retailers are hoping that revived sales this fall will continue during the holiday season and beyond.

On the cover: Kathleen Madden, general manager of Sassafras on Sutton COVER PHOTO Mark Barrett COVER DESIGN Scott Southwick 4 LETTERS 4 CARTOON: MOLTON 5 CARTOON: BRENT BROWN 6 COMMENTARY

GREEN

8 NEWS 24 GET OUT OF TOWN Business booms for rural adventure outfitters

18 BUNCOMBE BEAT 19 ASHEVILLE ARCHIVES 20 COMMUNITY CALENDAR

FOOD

22 WELLNESS 26 COOKING GLOBAL, SHOPPING LOCAL Specialty food markets bring internationally sourced products close to home

24 GREEN SCENE 26 FOOD 30 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT 34 CLUBLAND

A&E

36 MOVIES 30 TACTILE MEMORIES Local tintype photographers go mobile during pandemic

38 FREEWILL ASTROLOGY 38 CLASSIFIEDS 39 NY TIMES CROSSWORD

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OPINION

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

Commissioners should have refused devil’s bargain At the recent Buncombe County Board of Commissioners meeting, Chairman Brownie Newman gave two reasons for overriding his conscience about giving tax incentives to war profiteer Pratt & Whitney.

First, he said that decisions about foreign policy are made at the national government level and so localities have no say in things like wars waged in our names.

Second, he said that location doesn’t matter for defense contractors — if they don’t come here, they’ll just go somewhere else. So why not have them come here so we can get the jobs?

In response: First, to abdicate personal and local responsibility for U.S. imperial terrorism is complicity. We always stand morally somewhere in this life, whether we acknowledge it or not. To say we have no decision-making role in foreign policy is a dodge from our moral responsibility. It’s not, “I was only following orders,” but, “It isn’t my area of responsibility.”

Second, if Raytheon were to take its ball and go elsewhere, that would be a victory for peace and climate justice, and maybe we’d have tax incentives for local businesses and social services instead.

To say that we may as well take the deal because if we don’t, someone else will — this is quite the immoral stance. It’s like saying, “I may as well throw my lot in with the criminals, because if I don’t do it, someone else will.”

Look to alternatives for mental health crisis response

C AR T O O N B Y R AN DY M O L T O N “Economic development” is a proven strategy of neoliberalism, getting people to feel grateful for a small payoff in jobs after their wealth and prosperity have been stolen by austerity policies. It is the phrase used by oil companies to justify their continued ecocidal drilling, by logging companies for the destruction of our forests, by Congress for its bogus tax breaks for the rich. The phrase is corporate propaganda.

We don’t need local acquiescence to corporate bribery. That has always meant the extraction of wealth from local communities and workers. How ironic that we

are in Appalachia, where this has been happening for so many years with coal companies. With this present proposal for Asheville, what will be extracted is cheaper labor (thanks to the North Carolina “right to work” law) and “public-private” dollars (the land, the bridge, the no-taxes).

It is a devil’s bargain. And this particular devil has a direct link to the horrific genocide and mayhem being perpetrated in Yemen and elsewhere.

Shame on the Buncombe County Commission.

— Ken Jones Swannanoa

[Regarding the letter, “Speak Out About What We Want From Police,” Nov. 18, Xpress]: On the basis of a 44-year career in nursing, the bulk of it in the field of mental health, I share this. Intervention in a situation involving a person in the midst of a psychotic episode is both frightening and dangerous. Those of us in the field are specifically trained in the areas of crisis management, de-escalation techniques and physical restraint.

With that reality, having an armed and untrained person involved is asking for trouble. And that doesn’t take into account the possibility of racial bias.

To expect the police person to arrive on the scene and “fix it” is both unrealistic and simplistic. Time to look to alternatives.

— Margot Kornfeld Asheville

Learn about racism via Justice in January “The claim of ‘not racist’ neutrality is a mask for racism,” says Ibram X. Kendi, author of How to Be an Antiracist. I think he may be on to something. I know that skin color has absolutely nothing to do with a person’s abilities or worth, but am I doing enough to stop the rampant racism in our country? I don’t think so. Do I fully understand systemic racism and how insidious it is? I doubt it.

If you are like me and see the value in all people and would like to understand the problem better in hopes of doing better

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C AR T O O N B Y B R E N T B R O W N to create a new culture where racism is a thing of the past, then I invite you to join me for Justice in January.

During the month of January, every day we will learn something about racism using suggestions by [the nonprofit] Project HOME. You could spend just 10 minutes a day, or more if you like. When we’re done, I propose we get together virtually or at New Culture Workshop (brainchild of local artist extraordinaire Ken Vallario) to share our thoughts, ideas and experiences.

The calendar of ideas can be found at bit.ly/junejustice. Please contact me if you’d like to discuss what we learn and share ideas at kriskramer64@gmail.com.

— Kris Kramer

Black Mountain

Tipping 101 for shopping and delivery services A customer in the Asheville area encouraged me to write this because she believes people don’t understand how to tip for shop/delivery services like Shipt or Instacart. In the service industry, tips provide most of our income. As a subcontractor, I can’t reveal my pay, but I can tell you it doesn’t cover vehicle maintenance, gasoline and time to return from a delivery to the next store to shop. We must absorb those costs.

Occasionally, I get a much-appreciated generous tip; however, it’s not enough to

compensate for nontippers (about 50% of my customers). I want to provide the shopper’s perspective. Restaurant servers receive 15%-20% tips. In return, they take your order, bring food, refill drinks, generally be attentive and do side work.

What does a shopper do? Drives to store, shops, communicates with customer about substitutions for out-of-stock items (which happens frequently), picks up items customer adds last-minute, checks out/bags items and uses personal vehicle to deliver order.

We devote the entire time to you, providing a highly personalized service. We’re not tending to five or six groups of people simultaneously. Even so, we’re only asking for the same tip — 15%-20% of the total spent. For delivery-only orders, maybe $5.

If you are sick or elderly and can’t get out, I’ll serve you without expecting a tip as a community service. Otherwise, as a rule of thumb, if you can’t afford to tip, you can’t afford the service. Please consider adding an additional percentage if you are not on the first floor or more than 15 minutes from the store. (Most restaurants limit how far they deliver due to time/ costs involved.) All we ask is fair compensation for services rendered. Side note: Shipt treats their subcontractors fairly, so choose your service wisely! Thank you big time for your consideration!

— Mary Summers Candler MOUNTAINX.COM

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OPINION

Casting the first stone The Gospel According to Jerry

BY JERRY STERNBERG

As I write this, Asheville is poised to destroy the Vance Monument. The heavy granite stones may soon come crashing down onto Pack Square, leaving us all feeling emotionally relieved (or not).

Those of us with white guilt will now be absolved. The rightfully angry Black community can feel that “Vengeance is mine,” and many in the white community — who, racist due to birth and ancestry, don’t really give a damn about this old stone pile or the guy it’s named for — will say, “What will they want next?”

That all-too-familiar refrain was heard when we freed the slaves, when we grudgingly made them full citizens, when they were finally able to ride in the front of the bus and send their kids to the same schools as white kids, and even when they were given the right to vote

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— subject, of course, to considerable voter suppression efforts.

I’ll tell you what “they” want next.

They want respect for their contributions to our great nation. They want respect from law enforcement officers who don’t intimidate their children.

They want an end to the kind of aggressive, racially tinged police enforcement that led to the needless killing of George Floyd and the abuse of Johnnie Rush right here in our own community. They want an end to redlining so that they, too, can finance their homes and businesses. They want a change of policy by white banks that gladly accept their money but apply a different set of criteria to minority loan applicants.

Maybe they should have their own banks, some folks say. Well, they’ve tried that but found out that money isn’t black or white, it’s green and must be offered to all on an equal basis.

ANOTHER OPTION

When we look at those heavy stones scattered on the ground, we have to reflect that the monument was a handsome piece of design that, for more than a century, served as our city’s centerpiece.

I must point out that in and of itself, this simple stone spire does not depict an armed man on a horse, a religious symbol, a swastika or some other objectionable idea. In its essential form, the Vance Monument resembles hundreds of similar obelisks found in cities around the world; what tarnished this striking work of art is

JERRY STERNBERG

“Shouldn’t we also tear down Vance Elementary School rather than merely renaming it?” the inscription dedicating it to a man who was a slaveholder, a Confederate officer and a Civil War governor.

There’s a strong movement in this country today to stop honoring those who served in the Confederacy to preserve the horrible institution of slavery. Many now consider these people to have been traitors to our nation, and the latest wave of serious racial incidents has only exacerbated that resentment.

Asheville recently spent $18,500 to put clothes on this “emperor,” and less than two months later those clothes were gone with the wind. Now, we’re about to spend several thousand dollars on the demolition.

That money won’t put one bite of food on the table for white or minority children; won’t improve their education or pay for critically needed affordable housing at a time when low-income people are in such dire straits. What it will do is remove any vestige of the name Vance from the public square.

If we follow that logic, though, shouldn’t we also tear down Vance Elementary School rather than merely renaming it?

A committee appointed by the city has recommended destroying the monument, and City Council is slated to take up the matter at its Dec. 8 meeting.

I understand the zeal that many feel during this time to “do something,” but I suggest that while they feel great angst and an honest desire for retribution, they won’t ultimately feel any better once this icon has been reduced to a pile of rubble lying on the ground.

I also believe that if given a choice between annihilating this objectionable

symbol or simply removing the Vance name and rededicating the monument to honor a truly deserving citizen or group, a majority in the minority community would choose to preserve it in altered form. City Council is constantly doing surveys: Why not poll the minority community — who are, after all, the offended party — and get a consensus instead of allowing just a few people to decide?

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE

In the coming days, both City Council and the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners will vote to determine the monument’s fate. Do these elected community leaders want to be remembered as the ones who chose to destroy a magnificent monument in a time of great racial strife in order to placate an influential group of angry citizens? Or would they rather be remembered for their courage in righting a societal wrong by repurposing this icon, so that future generations can look toward the sky and appreciate this awesome artistic structure, now cleansed of the ugly stain of slavery?

Rather than settling for a pile of useless stones on the ground, why not envision a very special, countywide turnout to rededicate this monument to honor one or more local residents whose lifework, conducted in a spirit of love, care and understanding, aimed to improve their fellow citizens’ lives?

Asheville native Jerry Sternberg, a longtime observer of the local scene, can be reached at gospeljerry@aol.com. X

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606 New Leicester HWY Unit B. Asheville, NC 28806 828-424-7270 MOUNTAINX.COM

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NEWS

Anxious times

Specialty retailers hope fall turnaround continues for holidays As McMurtry suggested, sales would take a huge hit if the recent dramatic increases in COVID-19 cases in North Carolina and the nation prompt Gov. Roy Cooper to impose another shutdown of nonessential businesses. Even if Cooper or local government officials do not institute any further restrictions, record-setting case counts may persuade many potential customers to stay home and do their shopping on Amazon.

National forecasts suggest specialty retailers like those here, in Biltmore Village and in downtown areas of Western North Carolina cities and towns like Asheville, Hendersonville, Waynesville, Sylva and Brevard already face headwinds.

International accounting and consulting firm Deloitte forecasts that overall holiday spending in the United States will increase only 1%-1.5% this year.

That would be a major dip from the 4.1% average annual growth the U.S. has seen this decade, according to real estate consulting firm CBRE. Some analysts suggest there will be no growth in holiday sales, and others predict a decline. A poll for news site Morning Consult found that 45% of consumers planned to spend less on the holidays than usual, 41% said they’ll spend the same, and only 14% will spend more.

Many analysts predict the long-term trend toward more shopping online will get a major boost this year as shoppers shy away from crowds or continue habits developed when many stores were closed.

BY MARK BARRETT markbarrett@charter.net This year has been anxiety-filled for everyone, but independent retailers and their employees have had more reasons to worry than many.

Most small shops in North Carolina had to shut down for several weeks as the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic hit in the spring. Once they reopened, more weeks passed with few customers passing through their doors.

Retailers have had to deal with people who don’t want to wear masks in their shops, challenges keeping their stores stocked because of COVID-related issues in manufacturers’ supply chains, reduced demand related to a weak economy and even more competition from online sales.

Lurking in the background all the while has been the fear that a customer could pass the virus on to them.

So, it may be surprising to hear that owners and managers of mom and pop shops in downtown Black Mountain generally say that, all things considered, 2020 may not be a financial disaster after all.

“We’re still alive. We’re still here,” says Tom McMurtry, co-owner with his wife, Kim, of Europa, a shop selling Polish pottery, French pocketknives, Italian glass and other fine gift items. “Unless they shut us down for several months, we’ll be OK.” However, the success of most retailers here and elsewhere still depends heavily on what happens during the holiday shopping season. Some are guardedly optimistic that November and December sales will provide at least a decent end to a crazy year, but they acknowledge that the course of the pandemic or a flat economy could prevent that.

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DRESSED TO THRILL: Connie Pruitt, general manager of women’s boutique Periwinkles on Cherry Street, says her customers “for the most part don’t shop online except for those things that they can’t really get locally.” Business in downtown Black Mountain, she notes, “was running about half capacity all summer, then September really improved, and October was almost close to normal.” Photo by Mark Barrett

NO CAMPS AND RETREATS, NO SALES

Shopkeepers here say they made it through some bleak months earlier in

“People think that small town USA is probably a little safer than big city USA.” — John McFerrin, owner of Take a Hike Mountain Outfitters

HOLIDAY HELPER: “We’re trying to keep it positive,” says John McFerrin, owner of Take a Hike Mountain Outfitters in Black Mountain. “People are going to do their Christmas shopping.” Photo by Mark Barrett 2020, and an increase in business that began in August or September gives them hope for the crucial holiday shopping season.

Streets in downtown Black Mountain are lined with specialty shops selling hiking shoes, women’s clothes, books, all manner of toys, pottery, T-shirts, collectible figurines, books, furniture, cupcakes, souvenirs, wine, Gurgle Pot pitchers, violins, cuckoo clocks, fine art and crafts, and more. Shopkeepers say their customers are a mix of tourists, seasonal residents and those who live here year-round.

Summer camps and religious retreats in the area either shut down or dramatically reduced operations this summer, and many tourists stayed away because of fears about the safety of travel.

“Summer’s about all the summer camps and the retreats. None of that happened,” says Bob Bissett, owner of Mountain Me, a gift store.

Several retailers made comments similar to that of John McFerrin, owner of outdoor clothing and equipment store Take a Hike Mountain Outfitters. “Foot traffic was way down, and sales were down substantially in June and July,” he says.

State figures tell a similar story about Buncombe County as a whole. The state Department of Revenue says retail sales

reported for June, July and August in the county were down 9.2% this year over the same months in 2019.

Even after Cooper’s shutdown order was lifted, many retailers here reopened with significantly reduced operating hours. “There was literally no one on the streets,” says Connie Pruitt, general manager of Periwinkles, which sells women’s clothing and accessories.

NEW STRATEGIES

To cope with the downturn, several retailers beefed up their online offerings while their shops were closed or business was slow. Internet sales of crafts or other one-of-a-kind products can be a challenge, but websites that in the past had primarily been designed to lure shoppers to visit a store became important means of making sales online. Other retailers added products, relied on other business lines to bring in revenue or just waited for things to change.

Some took out federal Paycheck Protection Program loans to help with payroll costs or used grants from the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority to buy product

CONTINUES ON PAGE 10 MOUNTAINX.COM

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N EWS inventory. Many now offer curbside service, and some will do local delivery.

The Black Mountain kitchen store known as common housefly had had a website offering a small number of mostly big-ticket items for sale for four or five years, owner Mike Liss says, but shoppers can now find 2,000 or more items there. “The commitment we made was to try to put as much of the merchandise on the site as possible,” he says. “The website is what kept us afloat.”

The site started popping up high on internet search pages when people were looking for coffee grinders, he says, and orders came in from around the country.

“We sold a ton of grinders. … It’s really hard to figure out why that happened. I’d like to say I’m a marketing genius, but the truth is I don’t know,” Liss says.

Owner Robert Hope reworked the showroom of C.W. Moose Trading Co., which sells souvenirs, gifts, footwear and leather handbags, and hired a professional to photograph merchandise to spruce up its website.

At Acoustic Corner, which sells guitars, violins, banjos and other stringed musical instruments, sales of vintage instruments via the website, sales to school orchestras and instrument repairs became especially important, owner Joe Friddle says.

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While people have had more time on their hands at home, “There have been a significant number of people who have decided to take those (music) lessons and get that guitar or fiddle fixed,” resulting in a bump in the shop’s repair business.

McMurtry added software allowing him to sell plaques with information about customers’ family names on them and relied on another business he owns, printing T-shirts.

Several shopkeepers said area residents stepped up and increased efforts to shop local.

“Black Mountain is a special community,” said Scott Counce, owner of The Merry Wine Market. “The town really took to heart ‘love your neighbor, love your business’ that you want to come out of this” with its doors still open.

In the first few weeks after common housefly reopened, “Almost everybody who walked in the store would say, ‘We’re trying to support local businesses,’” Liss said. “So good for them. It worked.”

Still, at book, toy and gift store Sassafras on Sutton, “We basically had to lay off our entire staff” early on, General Manager Kathleen Madden said, and temporarily close the coffee bar even after the shutdown was over.

But the shutdown also provided time

Karen Donatelli Pastry Chef \ Owner

CLEAN SWEEP: Courtney King sweeps the sidewalk in front of the hey, hey cupcake! bakery she owns with her sister, Gabriel Dash, on West State Street in downtown Black Mountain. The business has reduced its hours to three days a week because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo by Mark Barrett for the shop to expand into an upstairs floor, turning it into a large toy store.

Sassafras began offering customized gift boxes with goods chosen by employees working with buyers’ preferences on the store website. There was a good flow of shoppers and several employees helping them when a reporter visited on a recent Thursday morning.

A FALL REVIVAL

The pendulum began swinging toward better sales for many shops in late summer or early fall. Shopkeepers said they began seeing more and more customers visiting from out of town as well as more locals feeling comfortable being around others.

Shoppers wanted to get out of the house and “get out of the big city,” McFerrin said. “People think that small town USA is probably a little safer than big city USA.” Figures from the Black MountainSwannanoa Chamber of Commerce visitor center downtown tell part of the story. The number of people who came into the center from January to August of this year fell more than a third over the same period of 2019, but visitation for September and October jumped 40% over last year’s total for those two months.

Sharon Tabor, the chamber’s executive director, says that switch and her conversations with local businesses make her optimistic about what lies ahead: “I think Christmas will be equal to or better than last year.”

The chamber has made pandemic-related changes in some of the holiday events it puts on. The town Christmas parade has been canceled. A video of scenes from past parades will be avail-

able online instead. In years past, most downtown shops stayed open late on a Friday evening in early December as part of Holly Jolly, a well-attended festival that included street musicians, Santa Claus and special food and drink offerings.

There will be no Holly Jolly this year, but the chamber has hired musicians to roam the streets Friday evenings and Saturdays. Another promotion will allow people to entire drawings for a cash prize as they shop with local merchants.

“We want to still have the holiday spirit but not encourage (people) congregating,” Tabor says.

Several stores are still open fewer hours than before the pandemic hit — if you are planning a visit, later in the week is a better bet than a Monday morning.

Several shopkeepers say it is unlikely that overall sales for 2020 will equal those of a year ago.

But, Tabor said, only a few Black Mountain businesses have shut down this year.

Store owners say customers, with a few exceptions, have cooperated in observing their pleas to wear masks in their shops, and they will continue safety protocols to protect themselves and customers. Many stores have Plexiglas barriers around their checkout areas, and it is hard to miss signs in store windows asking customers to wear masks.

Shopkeepers are anxious to see how many holiday shoppers show up.

With COVID case counts rising, “I’m a little nervous,” confessed Dianne Caraway, owner of gift and home accents store Bramblewood.

So is Hope, the C.W. Trading Co. owner, but he says he is ready: “I’m planning and have inventory for a successful and busier holiday season than in the past. I remain hopeful.” X

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NEWS

Diamonds are forever Asheville’s jewelry industry undeterred by pandemic

BY THOMAS CALDER

to choose from as we did this time last year going into Christmas,” she explains.

Fortunately, Sheppard continues, “We bought early,” so inventory isn’t lacking.

Plus, she adds, long-standing relationships with vendors help expedite new arrivals once they are available.

In addition, both Spicer Greene and Alan’s Jewelry & Pawn report an increase in direct purchases from customers.

“We’ve bought a lot of jewelry from people over the last few months,” says Spicer, who speculates that many of the sales may have been motivated by economic hardships created by the pandemic.

But with the price of gold jumping nearly 30% this year, many locals also just see an opportunity for cashing in.

“The price of gold being as high as it is definitely pushes people to bring it in,” says Sheppard.

tcalder@mountainx.com Elliott Spicer, co-owner of Spicer Greene Jewelry, feared the worst. “When we shut down for nearly seven weeks, it was scary,” he says, recalling the early months of COVID-19 when nonessential businesses were ordered to close. The family jewelry store, which opened in Asheville in 1926, had to temporarily layoff all 12 employees. “We didn’t know if we were going to be able to survive,” Spicer says.

Sales, however, did not completely cease, thanks largely to the company’s foresight: Three years earlier, Spicer Greene updated its website making the store’s entire inventory available online. Before 2020, internet sales were insignificant, but once the pandemic hit “more people started shopping online,” Spicer says. This, along with federal relief through the Paycheck Protection Program, helped the nearly 100-year-old business stay afloat and eventually bring back its entire staff along with five additional employees.

Today, despite the pandemic’s resurgence and ongoing economic uncertainties, Spicer says sales are up 40% year-to-date.

And Spicer Greene is not alone in its good fortune. Xpress spoke with several local jewelry shops experiencing similar gains during COVID-19. With the holidays around the corner, these same stores expect the trend to continue. But while the retail side thrives, some in the industry are concerned about local jewelry makers, who are still reeling from the economic hit created by the pandemic.

LOVE ENDURES: Spicer Greene Jewelry launched its Love Is Not Cancelled campaign shortly after the COVID-19 shutdown. Husband-and-wife owners Elliott and Eva-Michelle Spicer see the message as a reminder and call for unity during these difficult and trying times. Photo by Thomas Calder

LOVE, TOO, IS IN THE AIR

Broadly speaking, “Everything sucks” about COVID-19, says Marthe Le Van, curator at Mora, a boutique shop in Asheville’s downtown business district specializing in modern jewelry. But hope is not completely lost. “People still have reasons to celebrate — there are birthdays, weddings and engagements,” she observes.

And with travel expenses down for many this year, Le Van adds, customers have gravitated toward higher-ticket items. “We just finished the best

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September and October that we’ve ever had,” she says.

Tonia Sheppard, marketing manager at Alan’s Jewelry & Pawn, sees similar trends at the company’s three locations.

“The dollar of per ticket sales has actually increased,” she says.

While some national reports indicate a spike in this year’s divorce rates, Sheppard contends love (along with COVID-19) is still in the air. “I don’t know if the pandemic has sprung people into popping the question or what, but we’ve sold a lot of diamond engagement rings.”

At Spicer Greene, a similar surge is underway. “We’re selling two or three engagement rings a day,” says Spicer.

“And we’re manufacturing them right here in Asheville.”

GOLD IS THE NEW GREEN

Spicer Greene’s home-court advantage has been an asset during the pandemic.

The company hasn’t experienced nearly as many delays in production as others in the industry have.

At Alan’s Jewelry & Pawn, for example, outsourcing has created some wrinkles for the holiday season. National and international shutdowns in manufacturing, notes Sheppard, continue to impact the store’s overall inventory. “We don’t have as much

NO MORE BOOTH FEES

But the good times are not universally felt across the industry. Back at Mora, Le Van brings up an unrelenting concern.

“I’m really worried about our artists,” she says. Her store represents 30 jewelry makers, 12 of whom are regionally based.

Because of social restrictions, she points out, trade and craft shows continue to be postponed or canceled. “So, their income is really hampered.”

Among the Asheville artists featured at Mora is Laura Wood, who recently concluded a three-year residency at Penland School of Craft. Roughly a third of her income, says Wood, is tied directly to sales at large craft shows. “So, it’s been really challenging to figure out how to make up for all the projections I had going into the year.”

Throughout the pandemic, Wood has relied heavily on her mailing list and social media platforms as ways to interact with clients. She’s also applied for several grants and received a Small Business Administration loan — money she plans to use only as a last resort.

Looking ahead, Wood wonders what the future holds for the craft show model.

Even before COVID-19, she notes, the industry struggled to attract a younger demographic. Furthermore, the costs associated with participating at such events — booth fees range anywhere from $800 to $1,800, plus travel, lodging and

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even realize how important they are at this very moment because they are the ones who are going into work every day and having to wear a mask and putting themselves at risk. It means a great deal to us that they’re continuing to be advocates for our work. And taking those risks to do so. It’s huge.”

GOOD AND BAD TIMES: “We represent 30 different artists who all make their living making jewelry,” says Marthe Le Van, curator at Mora. While sales remain high at the boutique, Le Van worries about the economic hardships artists face due to the ongoing cancellations of craft shows across the country. Photo by Thomas Calder food — make participation more challenging for artists currently facing significant economic hardships.

Once COVID-19 settles, “I plan on trying to do more things that are geared toward my local economy here rather than traveling quite so much,” says Wood.

Part of that includes showcasing more of her newer work at galleries like Mora rather than taking these items on the road.

“I am so thankful for someone like Marthe [Le Van] and my other galleries for what they’re doing for their artists right now,” says Wood. “I don’t think they

MASKED AND READY

All three retail stores that Xpress contacted stressed the precautions in place during COVID-19. Masks are mandatory at all three businesses. Meanwhile, Mora and Spicer Greene limit the number of guests at a time to four and 12, respectively.

“And we are still to this day keeping our doors locked,” says Le Van. “Because it just gives everybody that extra time to get their masks on and to make sure everyone is ready to abide by our safety measures.”

Clients have respected the rules so far, say store owners and managers. And in some instances, customers have changed their own shopping habits to reduce the risk of exposure as well. For example, whereas pre-COVID shoppers typically browsed, Spicer says many pandemic buyers enter the store familiar with the company’s inventory through its website.

“So, they know what they want and just want to see it in person before they buy it,” Spicer explains. “It’s kind of a quicker thing.”

Meanwhile, at Alan’s Jewelry & Pawn, Sheppard observes a greater sense of appreciation among customers. “When people are here, they just seem grateful to be able to be out and to be able to purchase items in person,” she says.

LOVE IS LOCAL

This holiday season, all three shops say they hope residents will consider where they spend their money. Combined, the three companies directly employ 81 people, with an additional 30 artists represented at Mora.

“So anytime you buy something here, you’re supporting at least two small businesses,” says Le Van. “The maker that made it and us.”

Sheppard echoes Le Van’s point.

“Shop local,” she says. “Everybody is in this together. We’re doing everything we possibly can to make sure everyone stays safe and that we just keep the community going.” X

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NEWS

Talking trash

Pilot program brings bear-resistant garbage cans to Asheville

SNACK TIME: As much as this black bear may want a midday feast on table scraps, keeping bears away from trash is one of the most effective ways to reduce human and bear interactions, says Colleen Olfenbuttel of the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. City residents can now request bear-resistant garbage containers through a new pilot program. Photo by Mike Carraway, courtesy of NCWRC

BY MOLLY HORAK mhorak@mountainx.com One man’s trash is another bear’s treasure — just ask the four-pawed critters that feast on table scraps, leaving shredded garbage bags and capsized cans in their wake.

But beary good news is on the horizon for Asheville residents tired of the constant garbage battle. On Nov. 10, Asheville City Council authorized the city’s sanitation division to purchase 340 bear-resistant trash carts for customers to rent on a first-come, firstserved basis.

The program has been in the works for at least a year, explains Sharlene Raines, a customer service representative with Asheville’s sanitation division. But budget concerns due to the city’s COVID-19 response temporarily delayed its launch. The initial bulk order of carts — each costing $220 plus 16

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shipping and tax — was funded by $81,000 from the sanitation division’s 2020-21 operating budget; a $10 monthly upcharge for residents who opt into the program is expected to recoup that cost after two years.

As of Nov. 24, 280 of the 95-gallon canisters had been claimed by individuals, while 18 containers had been reserved by condominiums and other properties that share a waste collection account, Raines says. The trash carts will be distributed in early 2021 to residents who commit to a one-year rental.

Bear-resistant trash cans are among the most effective ways to keep bears from becoming habituated to people, says Colleen Olfenbuttel, a wildlife biologist with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. Over a third of the calls that the NCWRC receives about bears come from Buncombe residents, the vast majority of which concern trash cans and bird feeders.

“Our garbage is a wonder of smells for a bear,” Olfenbuttel says. “The odors from garbage attract bears, and they are rewarded when they can easily access the trash. Once they are rewarded with access to the trash, they will keep coming back and will lose their natural wariness of people, which can lead to safety concerns both for bears and people.”

Other municipalities located near natural bear habitats, including Gatlinburg, Tenn., have citywide ordinances requiring residents to use a bear-proof trash container. While such a mandate isn’t on the table for Asheville, Olfenbuttel says that even a handful of animal-resistant garbage cans in an area makes a big difference.

“Even if only one person on a neighborhood street has a bear-resistant trash can, it is a visible way to teach their neighbors what can be done to live with bears,” she explains. “Plus, I suspect that their neighbors will want one after growing tired of having to clean up their scattered garbage from their nonbear-resistant trash container.”

Buncombe County residents with Waste Pro contracts also have a bearproof option: The company offers animal-resistant canisters for a one-time

$300 payment or a $9.50 monthly rental fee. Approximately 1,100 bear-resistant carts have been distributed to unincorporated Buncombe County residents, says Chip Gingles, Waste Pro’s divisional vice president for North Carolina, and several hundred more canisters are in stock at the company’s Asheville facility. Since the deployment of bear-resistant trash carts in Buncombe County, notes Solid Waste Director Dane Pederson, there appears to have been a reduction in the number of garbage-related bear encounters.

If a new trash can isn’t an option, residents can retrofit existing containers with bungee cords or carabiners to deter bears from breaking in, Raines says. Minimizing food waste, freezing food scraps until trash collection day and storing garbage cans inside are other simple steps to reduce bear encounters.

“We obviously live in bear territory, and they’re not going away anytime soon,” Raines says. “We need to figure out a way to continue providing service to all of our customers and find a way for us to live and conduct business alongside the bears. Hopefully this option stays, and hopefully, it grows.” X

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DEC. 2-8, 2020

17

BUNCOMBE BEAT

WNC’s state legislators talk 2021 challenges “What a pleasure to be in a room with real people,” remarked Sen. Chuck Edwards at the start of the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce’s annual legislative wrap-up meeting with state lawmakers on Nov. 17. Approximately 25 chamber members sat with boxed breakfasts around socially distanced tables at Asheville’s Crowne Plaza Resort as the District 48 Republican shared his thoughts about the prior year in Raleigh.

It was a pleasure, however, that Edwards was alone in enjoying among his Western North Carolina colleagues in the General Assembly. Democratic Reps. John Ager and Brian Turner, as well as outgoing Democratic Sen. Terry Van Duyn, all addressed the meeting virtually via Zoom.

Just as the event’s logistics were driven by COVID-19, so too were the challenges for the coming year that the four elected officials discussed.

Chief among those issues, Edwards said, would be balancing the state’s next budget to reflect pandemic-driven downturns in revenue.

While the extent of the shortfall between current spending levels and those the state could support for fiscal year 2020-21 won’t be clear until May or June, Edwards continued, he offered a ballpark estimate of $5 billion to $8 billion. He didn’t detail which programs might be on the chopping block but said lawmakers would need “quite a bit of courage” to close the revenue gap.

Turner agreed that he and his colleagues would have a “tough row to hoe for next year’s budget.” In addition to decreased revenue, he pointed out, the GA will likely face higher demand for local business support, unemployment benefits and rental assistance as the impacts of the pandemic continue to ripple through the economy.

STATE UPDATE: Local representatives to the N.C. General Assembly, clockwise, from top left, Sen. Chuck Edwards, Sen. Terry Van Duyn, Rep. Brian Turner and Rep. John Ager spoke to participants at a Nov. 17 legislative update hosted by the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce. The event reached in-person and virtual audiences. Photos courtesy of the legislators And Ager, who shared that he was under quarantine after his niece had contracted COVID-19, said his top issue was ensuring local institutions such as the Swannanoa Correctional Center for Women and Craggy Correctional Center were safe from the coronavirus. As of Nov. 30, no active coronavirus infections were reported at Swannanoa, while 54 active cases were reported at Craggy; none of the county’s state prisoners have died of the disease to date.

Beyond facing the immediate health and economic challenges of the virus, the WNC delegation expressed a shared commitment to expanding broadband internet access, which members said had proven critical during the pandemic. Both Edwards and Turner said they were open to developing a new commission, similar to the state’s Rural Electrification Authority, that would oversee and incentivize broadband efforts.

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More divisive was a discussion of Edwards’ proposal to cut state funding from cities, including Asheville, that reduce their police budgets. In response to an Xpress question about why the state should penalize cities for maintaining public safety as they deem appropriate, Edwards countered that his measure would instead “incentivize municipalities for protecting their citizens.” He also said the move would “provide political cover” to local leaders under pressure from activist groups that have demanded police defunding.

Turner interjected that state lawmakers are elected to handle North Carolina’s affairs, not micromanage municipalities. “We should leave the city budget up to the City Council and the mayor,” he said. “If residents aren’t happy with the outcomes, they can vote them out.”

— Daniel Walton X

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FEA T U RE S

ASHEVILLE ARCHIVES

by Thomas Calder | tcalder@mountainx.com

‘Sagging with gravestones’ The life, work and impeccable fashion of W.O. Wolfe William Oliver “W.O.” Wolfe died on June 20, 1922 at the age of 71. And perhaps that would have been the end of his story if not for the dead man’s youngest son, Thomas, who immortalized his father in his 1929 debut novel, Look Homeward, Angel. The book is a deeply autobiographical coming-of-age story about a young boy named Eugene Gant. Among the novel’s many characters is Eugene’s father, William Oliver “W.O.” Gant. Like his name, Gant’s personality and profession were inspired by — you guessed it! — the late W.O. Wolfe.

W.O. Wolfe arrived in Asheville in 1880.

Originally from Adams County, Pa., he meandered south following the Civil War, eventually setting up a monument and tombstone shop on the southeast corner of Pack Square, where the Jackson Building stands today.

Throughout his career, W.O. regularly advertised his business in the local papers, promoting his large inventory, low prices and fine designs. Civically engaged, W.O.’s signature also appeared on occasional letters to the editor.

These glimpses of his public and professional life are expanded upon in his son’s novel as well as his daughter Mabel Wolfe Wheaton’s 1961 book, Thomas Wolfe and His Family, co-written by LeGette Blythe.

In Look Homeward, Angel, Thomas describes his father’s shop as a “fantastical brick shack … sagging with gravestones,” and lined with shelves “filled with chisels, frills, mallets, [and] a pedaled emery wheel[.]”

Though Thomas writes that his father’s workspace was “deep in the dust of twenty years,” W.O. managed to keep his clothing impeccable. “He never wore work-clothes; he worked dressed in well brushed garments of heavy black, his coat removed, and a long striped apron covering all his front,” Thomas recounts in his book.

Decades later, Wheaton added her own details about her father’s flawless attire. Whenever anyone entered the shop, Wheaton writes, “particularly a good-looking woman … then off would come that apron, and he would throw it aside, wash his hands carefully, comb his hair, grab the whisk broom on the wall, and dust off his clothing. Then he would bend down and wipe off his shoes.”

Standing 6 feet, 4 inches, W.O. was often seen by his children as someone larger than life. That is especially evident in Thomas’ fiction. In an early chapter of

REST IN PEACE: In 1887, W.O. Wolfe began operating his tombstone and monument shop at a permanent location on the southeast corner of Pack Square. Wolfe, right, poses in this photo, circa 1887, along with his brother-in-law and business partner at the time, William Westall. Photo courtesy of the North Carolina Collection, Pack Memorial Library, Asheville Look Homeward, Angel, Eugene stands inside his father’s shop, watching W.O. chisel an inscription into a stone.

Thomas writes: “‘He is better at this than any one in all the world,’” Eugene thought, and his dark vision burned in him for a moment, as he thought that his father’s work would never, as men reckon years, be extinguished, but that when that great skeleton lay powdered in earth, in many a tangled undergrowth, in the rank wilderness of forgotten churchyards, these letters would endure.”

Had it not been for Thomas’ novel, there is a good chance W.O.’s final print recognition would have appeared in the June 21, 1922, edition of The Asheville Citizen.

“W.O. Wolfe, aged and respected resident of Asheville, passed away last midnight at his residence,” the paper reported.

The notice went on to state how W.O. “was the last of the older businessmen to sell out their establishments.”

“He came to the city when it was only a village,” the article continued, “and watched it grow from an obscure hamlet to one of the most thriving cities in this section.”

Instead, W.O. lives on through Thomas’ words. And just as young Eugene imagined in Look Homeward, Angel, many of W.O.’s inscriptions and monuments remain in graveyards throughout Western North Carolina, including several in Riverside Cemetery, where the late stonecutter is also interred.

Editor’s note: Peculiarities of spelling and punctuation are preserved from the original documents; special thanks to the Thomas Wolfe Memorial for research assistance. X

HEMP & HEALTH HEMPY

Holidaze New release items

Lemon Kush Gummies & Chocolate Truffles Now Available & In Stores Only!

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COMMUNITY CALENDAR DEC. 2-11, 2020 For a full list of community calendar guidelines, please visit mountainx.com/calendar.

For questions about free listings, call 828-251-1333, ext.

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

In-Person Events = Shaded All other events are virtual

ART SHAC Virtual Holiday Gallery Tour Featuring a new gallery each night.

Daily (12/2-12/15), 5pm, $55, sandhillartists.com Art "Travels": Whitney Museum of American Art Virtual tour led by Asheville Art Museum.

TH (12/3), 7pm, Registration required, $20, avl.mx/8pz Kananesgi Cherokee Art Showcase Live demonstrations and stories.

FR-SU (12/4-6), kananesgi.com

Watercolor Painting Demonstration Presented by Barbara Brook.

FR (12/4), 11am, Haywood County Arts Council, 86 N Main St, Waynesville Slow Art Friday: The Human Condition Discussion led by master docent Sarah Reincke and touring docent Megan Pyle at Asheville Art Museum.

FR (12/4), 12pm, Registration required, $10, avl.mx/8q0 First Friday Art Walk Open galleries.

FR (12/4), 5pm, Free, Biltmore Ave/College St

Opening Reception: Botanical Journeys Naturally dyed and eco-printed fiber art.

FR (12/4), 5pm, Free, The Refinery, 207 Coxe Ave Fiber Basket Demonstration Presented by Sarah Altman.

SA (12/5), 1pm, Free, Haywood County Arts Council, 86 N Main St, Waynesville

MUSIC

session.

WE (12/2), 7pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/83c Malaprop's Book Launch Terry Tempest Williams presents Erosion: Essays of Undoing.

TH (12/3), 6pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8pv LEAF Book Launch Party & Short Film Screening The Rebirth of Kool by O. Vazquez.

FR (12/4), 7pm, Registration required, $25, LEAF Global Arts, 19 Eagle St

BMC Perspectives: Asher Gamedze + Another Time Ensemble Pan-African music performance and Q&A. WE (12/2), 1pm, Free, avl.mx/8qo

City Lights Author Discussion Featuring poets Keith Flynn and Sebastian Matthews.

SA (12/5), 3pm, Free, avl.mx/8px

Pack Library: Jazz by Request Featuring pianist Michael Jefry Stevens.

WE (12/2), 5:30pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8qy

Malaprop's Author Discussion Craig Gralley presents Hall Of Mirrors: Virginia Hall: America's Greatest Spy of WWII. MO (12/7), 6pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8r2

LITERARY City Lights Author Discussion Featuring Ginny Sassaman, author of Preaching Happiness: Creating a Just and Joyful World.

WE (12/2), 6pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8ej Malaprop's Book Launch Dan Rather presents What Unites Us: Reflections on Patriotism.

WE (12/2), 7pm, Registration required, avl.mx/8r1 Firestorm: Stay Home & Write(rs) Group Community writing

West Asheville Library: Exploring & Settling the American West Lecture on Willa Cather's O Pioneers! by Charles Peek.

TU (12/8), 7pm, Free, avl.mx/8qz Malaprop's Author Discussion Andrés de la Casa-Huertas presents Reading Quirks.

WE (12/9), 7pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8r4 YMI: Black Experience Book Club The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates.

TH (12/10), 6:30pm,

EMPOWERING THE LEADER IN EACH BOY

Journeymen supports adolescent boys on their paths to becoming men of integrity. Our cost-free program is now enrolling young men 12-17.

Mentees participate in bi-weekly mentoring groups and a semi-annual Rites of Passage Adventure Weekend facilitated by men in the community.

journeymenasheville@gmail.com (706) 949-3202

Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8r0

THEATER & FILM MountainTrue: 5Point Adventure Film Festival Screening and fundraiser.

TU (12/1), mountaintrue. org/5pointfilm WNCHA: Guardians of Our Troubled Waters Documentary screening and Q&A with director David Weintraub.

TH (12/3), 5:30pm, Registration required, $5, avl.mx/8py Immediate Theatre Project: It’s a Wonderful Life 2020 Presented by NC Stage Co. TH (12/3), 7:30pm, $25, avl.mx/8q9 Flat Rock Playhouse: Who Tells Your Story?

A song study with Fergie L. Philippe of Hamilton.

Ages 12-18.

SA (12/5), 11am, $5-$25, avl.mx/8r9

CIVICS & ACTIVISM Asheville Planning & Zoning Commission Regular meeting.

WE (12/2), 5pm, avl.mx/8rc Asheville Affordable Housing Advisory Committee Regular meeting.

TH (12/3), 9:30am, avl.mx/8re Buncombe County Planning Board Regular meeting.

MO (12/7), 9:30am, avl.mx/8rd Buncombe County Board of Commissioners Public meeting. Registration required for public comment.

MO (12/7), 5pm, avl.mx/prvb Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, Asheville Chapter Monthly meeting.

MO (12/7), 6pm,

Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8q8 Say His Name: Healing from Collective Trauma in the Age of George Floyd Session 5 of 5: Coalition Building Across Differences, presented by Dr. Dana Patterson.

TU (12/8), 6pm, $25, avl.mx/7qo

BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY Incredible Towns Business Network Weekly meeting.

WE (12/2), 11am, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/7g8 Legal Webinar: Commercial Lease Agreements Presented by Mountain BizWorks and NC LEAP. FR (12/4), 11am, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8q4 Deep Dive Lab: Craft a Speech Worth Sharing Western Women's Business Center webinar with Barrie Barton of Stand and Deliver.

TH (12/10), 10am, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8qw Asheville Chamber: Asheville Metro Economy Outlook Featuring economist Dr. James F. Smith.

TH (12/10), 11:30am, Registration required, $35, avl.mx/8r7 Mountain BizWorks Orientation Info session on lending and learning opportunities.

FR (12/11), 10am, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8qx

CLASSES, MEETINGS & EVENTS Fairview Library: Improving Youth & Park Health Presented by Jason Urroz, director of the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation’s Kids in

10 yrs WNC/ETN notes, bonds, maps, currency etc.

Member SPMC, NCNA, SCNA, TNS

msg/ txt 865-207-8994 or email papermoneybuy@gmail.com DEC. 2-8, 2020

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Hendersonville Woman's Club Monthly meeting.

TU (12/8), 10am, 310 Freeman St, Hendersonville Spanish Conversation Group For adult language learners.

TH (12/10), 5pm, Free, avl.mx/7c6

ECO & OUTDOOR

Resource Center for Eating Disorders.

WE (12/2), 6pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/82e Homeplace Running Club Led by Raelin Reynolds.

WE (12/2), 6pm, Free, Homeplace Beer, 6 S Main St, Burnsville Recovery Support Meeting Hosted by First Contact Ministries.

TH (12/3), 6:30pm, Free, avl.mx/7ko

Rachel Muir on Hiking the John Muir Trail Presented by the WNC Sierra Club.

TH (12/3), 7pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8r5

Gentle Yoga Class Presented by Bounty & Soul.

TU (12/8), 9:30am, Free, bountyandsoul.org/ events

HRI: South Toe River Loop Trail Hike 6-mile hike and education on hemlock conservation.

Register: avl.mx/8r6.

SA (12/5), 10am, Free, 50 Black Mountain Campground Rd, Burnsville

Pardee UNC: Spine & Back Pain Webinar Led by Dr. John Hicks.

TU (12/8), 6pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8r8

HRI: Hike-and-Treat Day Educational hike and volunteer treatment day.

Register: 828-252-4783.

WE (12/9), 10am, Free, DuPont State Recreational Forest, 3045 Sky Valley Rd, Hendersonville

MountainCare: Coping with the Holidays Grief management workshop.

WE (12/9), 6pm, Registration required, $25, mountaincareservices.org

Human Wildlife Interactions & Identifying Wildlife ForestHer NC webinar.

TH (12/10), 1pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8nm

COMMUNITY MEALS MANNA Express Free grocery items for neighbors in need.

FR (12/4), 12pm, Beacon of Hope, 120 Cavalry Dr, Marshall Fairview Welcome Table Community lunch.

TH (12/10), 11:30am, By donation, Fairview Christian Fellowship, 596 Old US Hwy 74, Fairview

KIDS

BUYING OLD PAPER MONEY

20

Parks Program.

TH (12/3), 11:30am, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8q2

Miss Malaprop's Storytime Ages 3-9.

WE (12/2), 10am, Free, avl.mx/73b Family Outdoor Movie: Polar Express SU (12/6), 4:30pm, $5, Rabbit Rabbit, 75 Coxe Ave

WELLNESS Introduction to Medicare Webinar How to avoid penalties and save money.

WE (12/2), 2pm, Registration required, Free, coabc.org Adult Eating Disorder Support Group Hosted by Carolina

SPIRITUALITY Jewish Power Hour Hosted by Rabbi Susskind.

TH (12/3), 6pm, Free, chabadasheville.org/ zoom Baha'i Devotional: Generosity Devotional with prayers and music.

TU (12/8), 7pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8qs

VOLUNTEERING Literacy Council of Buncombe County: Volunteer Orientation Meeting Information on ESOL and adult and youth literacy programs.

TH (12/3), 10am, Registration required, litcouncil.com American Red Cross Pint for Pint Blood Drive Free COVID-19 antibody tests for donors.

TU (12/8), 2-6:30pm, Highland Brewing, 12 Old Charlotte Hwy Lake Logan Volunteer Thursday Maintenance, kitchen and office assistance. Register: brice@lakelogan.org.

TH (12/10), 9am, Lake Logan, 25 Wormy Chestnut Ln, Canton

FOR A MOST MAGICAL YULETIDE…SHOP LOCAL Mention Mountain Xpress & SAVE 10% throughout the store through Dec. 24!

MARSHALL'S MAGICAL MERCANTILE Madison County's one & only metaphysical mercantile for magical & mystical folk from near and far. We honor many paths & traditions and are here to support your spiritual growth & journey.

Crystals, Candles & Brooms * Teas & Herbs Local Artists & Handmade items Readings * Classes * Bookstore Altar offerings * Statuary

Gift Certificates available Visit us online at ofwandandearth.net

ofwandandearth • 828-649-8365 • Now in downtown Marshall • 20 S. Main St., Marshall, NC 28753 MOUNTAINX.COM

DEC. 2-8, 2020

21

WELLNESS

Grassroots medicine Local CBD shops offer seed-to-shelf remedies

BY KAY WEST kwest@mountainx.com The week before Thanksgiving, Brian Bullman drove from Asheville to Marietta, Ga., to oversee the opening of Carolina Hemp Co.’s 13th retail location.

“The concept of a hemp general store was to provide a level of comfort for customers who may not feel comfortable going into a CBD dispensary,” the company’s co-founder explains. “General store sounds familiar and friendly and is not intimidating.”

CBD, or cannabidiol, is derived from selected strains of nonpsychoactive industrial hemp.

But newcomers to the vast array of CBD products now crowding the shelves in brick-and-mortar establishments and filling countless pages of online platforms may feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of options available just since 2018, when Carolina Hemp and Franny’s Farmacy — the first two CBD-dedicated retail stores in Asheville — opened their doors.

Carolina Hemp, says Bullman, was actually founded in 2014 as a distributor of a hemp-infused energy drink made elsewhere; its first retail outlet, in Woodfin, opened in 2016. The following year, the business began moving into growing and production under the auspices of North Carolina’s industrial hemp pilot program. Its first in-house product, a whole-spectrum hemp extract, was introduced in March 2018. The West Asheville store, which also serves as the company’s headquarters, opened later that year.

The initial shift into retail sales came out of necessity, Bullman says with a laugh. “We had so many people randomly

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COUNTER POINT: Carolina Hemp Co. retail operations are designed to offer the welcoming and warm ambiance of a friendly neighborhood general store. Photo courtesy of CHC showing up at our warehouse that we had to modify our space to accept customers.”

Franny Tacy believes her degree in forestry, master’s in education, experience with a startup company and 12 years in pharmaceutical sales were all steps leading to her current role as founder/ owner of Franny’s Farmacy, though she didn’t envision that when she bought uncultivated land in Leicester back in 2012. “I wanted to leave pharmaceuticals and I had always wanted a farm,” she recalls. “It was not with the idea of turning it into a business, but that’s how it rolled.”

In 2017, says Tacy, she became North Carolina’s first female hemp farmer in over 75 years, though that initial crop was geared more toward food and fiber.

After collaborating with researchers at N.C. State University’s Mountain Crop Improvement Lab and the N.C. Department of Agriculture’s Mountain Research Station in Waynesville, however, she quickly pivoted to planting and growing varieties more suitable for CBD production. That, in turn, led to the opening of the first Franny’s Farmacy dispensary on Merrimon Avenue. “It was so successful that, in two months, it funded our second store in Hendersonville, and we now have eight stores in four states,” she reports.

PLANTING A SEED

Many local CBD outlets tout the retail equivalent of area eateries’ farm-to-table philosophy.

Meanwhile, some local businesses’ rapid growth has been fueled, in part, by offering franchises. All of Tacy’s stores, for example, share an aesthetic that she describes as light, clean and modern, and each has “a big-ass mural of the first CBD hemp grove on the farm, to connect back to our motto of ‘Seed to shelf, hemp and health.’”

Asheville Craft Cannabis, which launched on Thanksgiving Day in 2018, operates out of Smith Mill Works, a sprawling greenhouse compound in West Asheville that was once the state’s largest grower of Easter lilies and poinsettia.

Craft Cannabis is a true seed-to-shelf enterprise, says co-owner Taig Rehmel; Mill Works owner Michael Klatt is a partner in the business. “Every single step happens on our property. We have a real focus on sustainability and were the first Demeter-certified biodynamic hemp product in North America, which is more rigorous than organic certification. We are really proud of that.” The nonprofit Demeter verifies that the food or product has been produced using methods pioneered by Rudolf Steiner a century ago.

Asheville Craft Cannabis, notes Rehmel, makes about 32 different items, which are sold on its website and through other retail outlets such as Asheville Hemp Farms, The Asheville Shop and Mother Earth Food.

TOO MANY CHOICES

But finding CBD locally is only step one. Equally important is deciding what to buy, and knowledgeable staff members are key to helping customers — particularly first-timers — determine which CBD product best matches their needs and lifestyle.

There are three umbrella categories: smokables, sublingual oils or tinctures, and edibles. Each produces different effects. Indica-based products are sedating and calming; sativa, on the other hand, is energizing. “The indica strain of cannabis has a body-relaxing effect, and if you smoke it, you’ll be chilling on the couch,” says Bullman. “The sativa is inducive of more cerebral thought and activity, and pretty quick you’ll figure out how to save the world, pressure-wash the house, mow the yard and build something in the shop. There’s a very distinct difference between the two.” CBD or hemp oil is also incorporated into items as diverse as chocolates, salves, lotions, candles and even pet products.

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GREEN ACRES: The mural of Franny Tacy’s Leicester farm that appears in all eight of the company’s stores represents the Franny’s Farmacy mission: Seed to shelf, hemp and health. Photo courtesy of Franny’s Farmacy Franny’s Farmacy dispensaries are staffed by “budtenders” who, Tacy explains, will start with general questions: Why are you here? What is your experience with CBD products? When do you need to use them? What are you comfortable with? The popularity of smokables, she notes, has led the business to create in-store bud vape bars where folks can try different varieties.

Customers, says Rehmel, should consider whether they’re comfortable smoking or would prefer topicals or ingestibles.

“Oils have a much more holistic effect on the body: They light up more of the receptor system, last longer and get users more toward the point of saturation,” he says. “Smokables are quicker, with more acute results but don’t last as long.”

Because edibles such as gummies must go through the digestive system, notes Tacy, it takes longer for the effects to kick in, but they remain in the system the longest. They’re popular across the board, and many parents she knows dispense CBD gummies to their kids. Asheville City Schools, where Tacy formerly taught, was one of the first public school districts in the country to allow CBD on its list of nonrestricted medications, she says.

PLANT MEDICINE

When people visit a Carolina Hemp Co. store, they’re offered a sample of

oil to hold under the tongue for about 30 seconds. “Within about 15 minutes, they begin to experience a psychological response,” says Bullman. “We always go for the sublingual oil first because it’s the highest impact for the lowest price, is absorbed readily and is effective in a whole-body-nutrition kind of way.”

Jason Ward, who with wife Amy Ward and partners Jill and Robert Earwood opened Trinity Pharms Hemp Co. — the first CBD dispensary in Black Mountain — in 2019, offers some additional consumer tips. “Be sure to shop legitimate businesses doing things the right way,” he advises. “Ask for the COAs (certificates of analysis) and commit to some trial and error: You may not find the right one your first time. Try different strengths and find at what dose you notice desired benefits.” Or, as Tacy puts it, “Start low and go slow. You can always do a little more.”

For her part, Tacy maintains that CBD is a healthy Rx for these anxiety-riddled and physical-contact-prohibited times.

“The sensation you get with CBD makes you feel like you’re getting a hug. This society has a pill for every ill, but CBD is part of plant medicine and lets us take our health into our own hands.” As such, she continues, it’s “a gateway into our own healing.” X MOUNTAINX.COM

DEC. 2-8, 2020

23

GREEN SCENE

Get out of town

BY MOLLY HORAK mhorak@mountainx.com On a clear Friday in late November, a shopper stopped by Sycamore Cycles’ Pisgah Forest store. After chatting with owner Wes Dickson, the customer hopped on his mountain bike, crossed the street and pedaled off into the forest for a morning ride.

A few minutes later, the customer came back — with a blown-out bike tire.

Dickson hooked him up with one of the store’s bike technicians, who promptly replaced the damaged wheel. Happy, the biker headed back out to finish his ride.

That kind of thing happens all the time, Dickson says, and it’s one of the many perks of the shop’s location feet from some of the region’s best mountain bike trails.

As urban dwellers flock to rural counties to get their fix of socially distanced outdoor recreation, local adventure shops are seeing a boom, and those located near trails, rivers and campsites have an added advantage: Close to the action means tailored advice and last-minute purchases.

“It’s kind of funny,” Dickson says.

“We’ve never been this busy before.

We’re just trying to keep our heads above the water.”

Business booms for rural adventure outfitters

DISPLACED DEMAND

Wayne Cosby is used to meeting outof-town visitors. As the owner of Bluff Mountain Outfitters in Hot Springs, he greets thru-hikers trying to complete the 2,190-mile Appalachian Trail in a single season, weekenders getting their fix of fresh mountain air and day hikers checking out some local views.

But this year, Cosby reports, many of those hikers are also fleeing from coronavirus hot spots. Since the store reopened in May following an eightweek closure due to COVID-19 restrictions, he’s had visitors from New York, New Jersey and Florida. “People will come into our store and say how great it is that they don’t have to feel so scared here. Meanwhile, we’re all terrified,” he says.

“A lot of people that would normally travel to the Caribbean or Italy or Mexico or Canada, this year they couldn’t,” Cosby continues. “Instead, they chose to keep travel local and come to Western North Carolina. When things open back up again, I bet everyone will fly off to Disney or Paris and all the places they wanted to go this year. And I bet there will be lots of used bicycles and backpacking equipment for sale.”

A similar tourism wave is washing over Southern Drifters in Burnsville.

Business at the store, which specializes in outdoor apparel and guided fishing

FUN FOR ALL: Hannah Dickson rides her mountain bike in the North Mills River area in October. Biking is one of the few sports people of all ages can participate in together, says her dad, Wes Dickson, owner of Sycamore Cycles. Photo courtesy of Wes Dickson trips, has been better than usual, says owner Kyle Burnette. Small fishing expeditions were popular over the summer, and recently, he’s had out-oftown customers unfamiliar with North Carolina’s wildly fluctuating weather stop by for a warm layer before a hike to Mount Mitchell or Roan Mountain.

“I’m hearing that people want to be away from the big cities during this time,” Burnette says. “Being in a rural area feels a bit safer, I guess.”

BLOWN OUT OF THE WATER

Prior to the pandemic, there was a consensus among the fly-fishing community: The 1992 release of Robert Redford’s fishing film A River Runs Through It was the biggest entry point the sport had ever experienced.

COVID-19 knocked the Oscar-winning movie out of the water, says Matt Canter, one of the owners of Brookings Anglers, a fly-fishing store with locations in Cashiers and Highlands. Since the pandemic began, he estimates interest in the sport has increased tenfold.

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DEC. 2-8, 2020

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As for other outdoor retailers, the exploding interest in fishing means business is booming at Canter’s stores.

He carries every major brand of fly-fishing equipment, tackle and outdoor clothing, along with local photography, wood-turned bowls and lifestyle brands — anything the average outdoors enthusiast could want, he says with a laugh.

Location has helped, too. Cashiers and Highlands are popular communities for vacation homes. When coronavirus cases started rising in the spring, Canter says, out-of-town residents retreated to their summer houses to ride out the pandemic and explore new outdoor hobbies. Many haven’t left since, while others who returned home earlier in the year are coming back to WNC as a new COVID-19 surge grows throughout the country.

An hour away in Rosman, the team at Headwaters Outfitters has also noticed more people participating in water sports. Named for the headwaters of the French Broad River, which starts in the shop’s front yard, the family-owned business specializes in “all things river,” says store manager Jessica Whitmire.

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GONE FISHIN’: COVID-19 restrictions on indoor activities have increased interest in fishing. A family poses with their catch after a guided trip on the river with Southern Drifters Outfitters. Photo courtesy of Kyle Burnette Paddling gear, tubing equipment and fly-fishing lures have all been flying off the shelves, she notes.

Food trucks and an on-site taproom with local beer give visitors the chance to relax and enjoy the area following a trip on the river. “Adults have a cold brew; kids splash around in the water.

It encompasses the whole atmosphere of our shop,” Whitmire says.

But not all has been relaxing: Whitmire says public river access points have been packed in recent months. To avoid the influx of people, Headwaters shifted its guided river tubing and fly-fishing routes to private sections of river in late spring to avoid overcrowding.

ROCK AND ROLL

Back at Sycamore Cycles, staff members are scrambling to find inventory to meet increased customer interest.

A national bike shortage, prompted in part by a scramble for pandemic-safe alternatives to public transportation, means new bikes and parts are hard to come by.

“It’s definitely hard to tell a kid that their bike isn’t going to be in for three more months, but luckily, we’re just dealing with bicycles, not something that’s critical to life,” Dickson says. “At the end of the day, we’re dealing with something that should make you smile, so it could be a whole lot worse in the grand scheme of the world right now.”

But temperatures are dropping, and winter weather may diminish interest in outdoor sports. Dickson doesn’t know what that will mean for his business — if he did, he’d be making millions on cable news, he jokes — but he hopes newfound passion for the sport doesn’t fade.

“I have no clue what’s going to happen,” he says. “We’re trying to do the best that we can, accommodate the people that want to be outside and be healthy and make sure that they’re still able to do what they love to do.” X

Holiday hints Need a gift for a nature lover in your life? Here are two local products to check out: • “100 Favorite Trails of the Smokies and the Carolina Blue Ridge” map, avl.mx/8qe.

Originally created in 1966 by legendary local hiker Bernard Elias, the guide has been updated for the first time in 25 years with detailed hike directions, locations and trail lengths.

• A bandana map of Bent Creek and the North Carolina Arboretum, avl.mx/8qh.

Produced by Jamie Womack of Weaverville’s Mucha Gear, the cloth is designed to keep hikers on the right path without adding an extra item to carry. X

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FOOD

Cooking global, shopping local

Specialty food markets bring internationally sourced products close to home

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When Suzy Phillips, a native of Lebanon, moved to Asheville in 2003, she was glad to find Jerusalem Garden Café, the family-owned Mediterranean and Middle Eastern restaurant downtown.

“But it wasn’t my mom’s food,” she says.

“I wanted to share a part of me with my new community through food.”

She didn’t have the capital to open a restaurant, so instead, in 2010, she helped kickstart Asheville’s food truck scene with Gypsy Queen Cuisine. The success of her mobile venture led to the Gypsy Queen brick-and-mortar restaurant on Patton Avenue in West Asheville that marked its fifth anniversary in October.

For Phillips, the challenge in cooking food true to her Lebanese roots — particularly as a home cook before she opened her businesses and could tap wholesale options — was sourcing ingredients.

“When I wanted to buy groceries to cook at home, I had to drive to Greenville,” she recalls. “There is a restaurant there called the Pita House, and in a separate room were all the groceries, spices, cheeses, dried beans and bread. They’re Palestinian, and their bread is a little different than Lebanese bread, but it was what I could find.”

Phillips laments that Asheville still lacks a Middle Eastern specialty store or international market — she notes the Dekalb Farmers Market in Decatur, Ga., which offers food items from all over the world. To assist home cooks, she has assembled and sells what she calls the “Lebanese Survival Kit”: prepared tahini, yogurt sauce with cucumbers and mint, toum (a garlic sauce used with shawarma and some vegetables), homemade hot sauce and a couple of spice blends such as za’atar and Lebanese seven-spice.

RESOURCEFUL SOURCING

There are also no nearby specialty markets devoted to Indian or Pakistani products, says Dawn Gonzalez, manager of the newly opened Pakistani restaurant Biryani Express AVL, owned by Najeeb Raja. The two cuisines are similar, she says, though nihari and haleem stews are unique to Pakistan, and biryani is the signature rice dish of the region.

“The only place we have found in Asheville to source some authentic

WINDOW SHOPPING: Suzy Phillips, owner of Gypsy Queen restaurant and market, has assembled Lebanese Survival Kits for home cooks. Photo courtesy Gypsy Queen Indian spices and ingredients is Foreign Affairs [Oriental Market], but otherwise we have to order and ship them in. All of our meat is halal, and we special order it and go to Charlotte or Greenville to get it.

We do bake our own bread — naan, roti and paratha.”

Ricardo Carrasco was born and lived 31 years in Tampico, Mexico, followed by one year in Charlotte before he came to Asheville four years ago to open Polanco restaurant on Market Street. He’s also faced challenges in sourcing authentic ingredients in his new home.

“I was really lost when I moved here, because Asheville is not a very diverse city, and I was worried about finding my product,” says Carrasco. “When I first opened Polanco, I had a guy in Charlotte that would send a truck with what I needed.”

In time, though, he has found multiple specialty markets where he sources various items. “I like [Tienda] Los Nenes for meat,” he says. “They have a full-on butcher shop, and I don’t have to explain what cuts I need. Taqueria Muñoz has a certain type of chili I use, and while I’m there, I grab a couple of the tacos from the restaurant.”

Carrasco gets goat, frog legs, duck quarters and other hard-to-find proteins at M&M Meatlocker in Hendersonville.

He’s also a big fan of Smiley’s Flea Market in Fletcher. “It’s like the Taj Mahal of Latin foods,” he says with a laugh. “It’s the closest to a mercado in Mexico I’ve found here.”

His under-the-radar source for Latin products is the Sav-Mor grocery on Patton Avenue, which has an extensive selection of everything from fresh and dried peppers and banana leaves to

canned goods, large bags of maize and packaged corn husks for tamales.

The Sav-Mor is in the same shopping center as Tamaleria and Tortilleria Molina, which Jesus Molina Sr. and Jesus Molina Jr. opened in April, after operating a location in Weaverville for six years. The small store sells tamales, empanadas and carnitas and makes fresh corn tortillas while customers watch. A paper-wrapped package of 34 corn tortillas is $3.25, and Molina Jr. says they deliver to restaurants.

“A lot of people think they don’t like corn tortillas, because they have only tried the ones in the plastic bags in the stores, and they are horrible,” says Carrasco. “I used to drive to Weaverville twice a week for his — they are the best, and I’m glad they’re in town now.”

Carassco and his business partner, chef Santiago Vargas, a native of Lima, Peru, were deeply immersed in plans to convert Polanco into Pachama5 — a tapas restaurant showcasing Peruvian, Mexican, Cuban, Venezuelan and Argentinian flavors — when COVID-19 caused them to tap the brakes. They are now planning a February opening.

CULTURE SHOCK

There is no lack of Asian markets in Asheville, but the written and spoken language barrier and huge scope and unfamiliarity of products present obstacles for the English-only shopper.

“It can be overwhelming,” admits chef J. Chong. Since leaving her position as sous chef at Cúrate last spring, the Toronto-born chef has offered pop-up events celebrating the Cantonese cuisine of her childhood, started selling freshmade dumplings at tailgate markets and launched Instagram cooking classes.

“I offer to go with friends [to Asian markets] and help guide them, but I can’t do that for everyone,” says Chong. She does have some advice, however, particularly about navigating her twice-weekly

destination, YZ Asian Market on New Leicester Highway, owned by brothers Jerry and Tim Cheng. Allow at least an hour for shopping, she urges. And take your time, making sure to go up and down every aisle where shelves are jampacked with products.

Like conventional American groceries, YZ arranges aisles by category: rice, noodles, canned goods, pickled and dried products, sauces and condiments, salty and sweet snacks, produce and refrigerated items and freezer cases. Unlike many local grocery stores, there are also tanks with live lobsters and Dungeness crabs. “I grew up with that so I was excited to see YZ has the tanks,” says Chong.

In her cooking classes, Chong demonstrates recipes that are accessible enough to replicate but unusual enough to give home chefs a sense of adventure and accomplishment. She always shows the products she uses, including the brand, which makes it easier to shop for unfamiliar items.

To stock a simple inventory of ingredients key to Asian cooking, Chong starts with soy sauce, a staple about which she admits she’s a bit obsessive. “I buy Pearl River Bridge — one light and two dark, which I use more for cooking.”

Her preferred brand of sesame oil is Kadoya. “A little goes a long way, so buy a small bottle if you don’t cook Asian regularly,” she says. Also in her pantry is jasmine rice, which she eats every day, as well as Shaoxing Chinese cooking wine, white pepper and corn starch.

From the produce bins, she buys ginger, scallions, garlic, mushrooms, bean sprouts, bok choy and leafy greens, especially gai lan, which is like a Chinese broccoli rabe. Finally, a wok is essential to Chinese cooking, and she recommends the carbon steel ones YZ carries.

“Don’t let the shopping experience intimidate you,” she says. “Think of it as the Ikea of food.” X

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FOOD ROUNDUP

by Kay West | kwest@mountainx.com

Spanish specialties, fried fish and a kitchen leadership change What’s new in food as Asheville kicks off the last month of 2020? Spanish fare at Earth Fare, fried fish on a bun or in a basket and kitchen switches at Benne on Eagle.

Market ready

In November, chef Katie Button’s Cúrate label, which has shifted during COVID-19 to include a Spanish specialty food market, La Bodega by Cúrate, settled into another home in the local foods section of the prepared food case at Earth Fare in West Asheville. Shoppers will find Cúrate’s gazpacho, romesco sauce, piquillo confit and aceitunas on a shelf beneath Chai Pani specialties and right above Roots Hummus.

“We thought if we were already producing these things that surely we could find other places to put them so more people could get them,” Button says. “The folks at Earth Fare have been wonderful about cutting red tape and easing the entry. We appreciate their support of locals.”

Online ordering for shipping nationwide, another new venture, is available through the Cúrate website at avl.mx/8qm.

La Bodega by Cúrate, with a freshly painted storefront, serves breakfast, lunch and semiprepared dishes to take away 8:30 a.m.-7 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday.

Cúrate reopened July 1 for limited-capacity indoor dining.

La Bodega by Cúrate, 32 S. Lexington Ave.; Cúrate, 13 Biltmore Ave.

PRIME RIB

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CASE WORK: It’s a “Made in Asheville” sandwich in Earth Fare’s local prepared foods case with newly added Cúrate classics nestled between Chai Pani and Roots Hummus products. Photo courtesy La Bodega by Cúrate

Fit to be fried

Mother Ocean Market, which started out selling fresh seafood from a trailer at local tailgate markets and parking lots in 2017, opened a brick-and-mortar store on Merrimon Avenue in late March, tweaking in-store service in response to the pandemic and offering curbside pickup and delivery through Takeout Central and Kickback AVL.

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With a nod to co-owner Sam Kosick’s memories of picking up a fish sandwich from fish markets he used to frequent, MOM has started partnering with chef Mark Schmitt to do lunch service 11 a.m.2 p.m. Tuesday-Friday. Offerings include fish sandwiches, po’boys, lobster rolls, crab cake sandwiches, steamed shrimp and baskets of fried shrimp, oysters, clam strips or fish with hushpuppies and slaw.

Front-of-house manager Kat Hundertmark urges people to call ahead

Goodbye, hello

Since chef John Fleer opened Benne on Eagle in 2018, the restaurant has received heaps of national attention and acclaim for its mission of highlighting African American culinary traditions and Southern Appalachian food. Also celebrated has been the heritage-rooted work of Benne’s young and talented Black chef de cuisine, Ashleigh Shanti, who was nominated for a James Beard Foundation Rising Star Chef award shortly before COVID-19 closed restaurants.

In early November, Shanti parted ways with the restaurant to focus on creating an Asheville-based restaurant group that will address the low rate of Black-owned restaurants in the region.

“I want to be a part of diversifying that sector, and I feel like Asheville is a great place to do it,” she says.

Benne on Eagle’s new chef de cuisine, according to a recent press release, is Malcolm McMillian, who joined the restaurant as sous chef under Shanti in July. McMillian trained in classical French techniques at Johnson & Wales University in Charlotte and, after a fouryear stint in the U.S. Army, honed his cooking skills at restaurants in Charlotte, Washington, D.C., New York City and, most recently, The DeBruce, an upstate New York inn known for its French farmto-table menu.

Benne on Eagle has reopened for limited capacity indoor dining with outdoor seating and an online takeout menu. For details, visit avl.mx/8qq.

Benne on Eagle, 35 Eagle St. X

New Seasonal Selections

Online Orders

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to order as indoor customer capacity is limited. “We’re trying to be a one-stop shop,” Hundertmark says. “Pick up some fresh seafood to cook for dinner and a po’boy to go for lunch.”

Find the menu at avl.mx/8qn.

Mother Ocean Market, 640 Merrimon Ave.

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29

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Tactile memories

Local tintype photographers go mobile during pandemic

BY JARRETT VAN METER jarrettvanmeter@gmail.com There is a special thrill reserved for flipping through old photographs. Images of bygone times, people and places evoke a powerful nostalgia, with Polaroids and Kodak disposables providing glimpses into the past as warm and grainy as dreams themselves.

But a different form of photography, the much older and even more handson tintype, has taken hold in Asheville.

Several local photographers are offering services in the medium and creating tangible, visually distinct memories.

Tintype was introduced in the mid19th century and requires the application of a collodion-nitrocellulose solution to a thin metal plate before exposure. The result is a metallic, gray-and-dark photograph that lends satisfying heft and a timeless aesthetic.

It was the one-of-a-kind, tactile nature of tintype photographs that drew Sara Mulvey to the form. In 2015, her mother gave her an antique cigar box full of old tintypes of what Mulvey’s grandmother — the collection’s previous owner — claimed were long-passed family members. Though she doesn’t know for certain that the people in the photos are in fact relatives, she chooses to believe they are, and the box remains within arm’s reach in her Revelry Tintype studio in the River Arts District.

“It could be the biggest joke my grandmother has taken to her grave, or it could be true,” Mulvey says. “But yeah, supposedly these are my relatives.”

She continues, “I was enamored by [the tintypes]. You feel like you can dive

TANGIBLE RESULTS: Sara Mulvey is one of a small number of Asheville-area photographers who specialize in tintype. Photo by Meghan McIver into them. These people are obviously long gone, but I feel like I know them. It’s the thing when people get their portrait taken, it’s something different. You can’t really put your finger on it, but it’s there.”

Prior to receiving the box, Mulvey’s photography experience was limited to using disposable cameras at sleepovers, but she decided on the spot that she needed to explore the visceral curiosity the old pictures spurred. She sought out John Coffer, a key figure in the revival of wet-plate photography, as a mentor and continues to visit him twice a year at his farm in Dundee, N.Y. “It was like a hobby that kind of blossomed and went crazy,” she says.

David Humphreys found his way to tintype a bit more gradually. After more than 30 years of professional photogra-

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phy experience, with a special interest in fine art black-and-white photography, he moved from Tallahassee, Fla., to Asheville in 2003 and, around 2010, discovered tintype while browsing images on various websites.

“I did a little investigation and started studying the process online and just really kind of fell in love with the look of it,” Humphreys says. “I like the kind of rough-around-the-edges feeling of it.

There are certain aspects of it — like, the eyes of subjects look very different, almost kind of a liquid-y look to them. Especially if you have blue eyes, it makes your blue eyes look very light in color — almost otherworldly, I guess.”

Humphreys already had the camera equipment necessary to begin shooting in the form and purchased the requisite wet-plate chemicals from an online listing.

Three years ago, he opened Asheville Tintype in a Woodfin riverside studio.

Like many small makers and businesses, Mulvey and Humphreys have been forced to innovate in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and with respect for social distancing guidelines. Humphreys has been hosting his clients on the front porch of his home off Charlotte Street, taking the photos in the open air and then retreating to his new portable darkroom in a converted Volkswagen bus.

The bus still runs, and Humphreys outfitted it with blackout fabric and custom framing. He occasionally takes it out for location shoots, but the majority of his recent work has been on his own property.

Humphreys has plans to do more on-location work moving forward, including taking the bus into downtown Asheville and shooting photographs from its roof rack. “Then I can come down and go inside the darkroom and do it right there,” he says.

While Mulvey’s Toyota Tacoma doesn’t make quite the same splashy entrance as Humphreys’ set of wheels, it’s become her mobile base despite moving into a new studio just as the pandemic was erupting.

“It’s so gear-intensive,” she says of the mobilization. “I have to take a complete darkroom setup, my chemistry, my silver bath tank — which is what the plate gets put into — camera, stands … everything.

So, I’m working out of the back of my truck, and my stuff pretty much stays in there, but I think it’s a lot more fun this way.”

Despite building her business mostly on indoor portraits, Mulvey originally learned to shoot outside, and the return to her roots has proved rewarding.

“I think, more than anything, people always take pictures, but it definitely is something more special if I can come to you — and it’s unique and different in a way that it’s a one-off,” she says.

“You’re not going to be able to reproduce that.” X

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DEC. 2-8, 2020

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A &E

The new old school C. Shreve the Professor releases first post-academia album

EVERFLOWING: Deep Gap-based hip-hop artist C. Shreve the Professor is known for freestyling during his set, resulting in an experience that can’t be replicated via livestreaming. “I see people in the front row who don’t know the song anyway... so I’ll just rap about them or give them energy and [they] give it back,” he says.

“That’s not there in Zoom.” Photo by Tiffany Shreve After a dozen years in academia, Chris Shreve was ready for a change. From the stress of teaching in an era of school shootings to organizational frustrations, the senior lecturer in Appalachian State University’s public health department had gradually become disenchanted with his profession.

At the same time, he was making some of the best music of his life in his side venture as a hip-hop artist under the moniker C. Shreve the Professor. With his day job becoming increasingly taxing, the late nights of working on his art growing more difficult to bounce back from each morning, and the touring in his free time keeping him from being with his 10-yearold son at their Deep Gap home, Shreve tendered his resignation after the fall 2019 semester. Inspired by peers who’d committed to music as a career, he doubled down on his decade-plus recording and performing experience and joined their ranks.

“It was the fourth or fifth time I’d met a friend who was doing it full time, and I was working with them and I could just kind of see the weight lifted in their eyes,” he says. “They weren’t writing songs at 2 a.m. all the time, unless they chose to. It was less barely getting their art done and more, ‘I’m going to take a month or two to work on my cover art.’ It made sense to me.”

Much of that decision, however, was rooted in his ability to make a living primarily as a touring artist. Following a successful run of shows in Florida in February, Shreve returned to Watauga County to plot his next move. Had he known that, in a matter of weeks, the COVID-19 pandemic would shut down venues across the country, he says he may have stayed in the classroom a little while longer. But the shift has afforded him the time he craved with his son and art, and also prompted an increase in music production and the launch of his Who Needs

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a Classroom podcast. Nevertheless, some old habits have proven difficult to break.

“Some part of me likes late nights still.

I was used to that. When people go to bed, the juices start flowing,” he says.

“But it’s nice to have it available at 8 a.m., and sometimes the beats are fun to make earlier in the day and just take a different approach. It’s not like writing. Just sitting down with some samples and choppin’ ’em is a very different process, and then sometimes that makes me want to write in a different way.”

When the pandemic hit, Shreve had already begun work on an EP with Bristol, U.K.-based producer Ile Flottante.

The two connected via the music-sharing platform SoundCloud in 2012, when the beat-maker was a mere 16 years old, and they have since collaborated on such tracks as “My Hemisphere,” “Orbits” and, most recently, “Ruffle Feathers,” a popular call-and-response song that Shreve loves performing live.

“It’s been interesting to watch him grow, but we’ve always connected on a wavelength,” Shreve says. “He likes that I say something and likes that I’m not corny with how I say it. And I just really like his style.”

Aiming for a mid-to-late summer release, Shreve met his five-song goal for the album and felt confident in the results. But then Ile Flottante — whom he describes as “a classic, DJ Premier boom-bap producer” — sent him another set of beats, from which he “easily” picked another five instrumentals, then went way back into his collaborator’s SoundCloud archive to pick a previously unused track to round out the album. The expansion of the project — appropriately dubbed

ILE.Pro and slated for a Thursday, Dec. 3, release — also allowed Shreve the time and space to lyrically address not only the pandemic and its numerous effects, but other developments as well, including the social justice demonstrations following the death of George Floyd.

“I didn’t want to release music that wasn’t relevant,” he says. “During the protests, I felt like it was better to make space and not take up space, so my Instagram became, ‘Let’s share stats. Let’s share protest movement stuff. Let’s share helpful things.’ As opposed to, ‘Hey, look at me and my single!’ I just didn’t feel like there was anything I could say that was going to work there.”

A potent mix of social commentary and escapism, ILE.Pro also features “Luna,” a conceptual song that arose after Shreve’s wife had a miscarriage early in the pandemic. In the wake of the loss, Shreve felt inconsolable and struggled to make sense of the novel pain. But as has been the case throughout his life, he turned to his music for therapy and processed what he was experiencing.

“My favorite songs that I write, they click and then kind of pour out, and I write them very stream-of-conscious.

And that one did that,” Shreve says. “I hope that for my fellow artists, if a rapper hears that, it might lend them the courage to rap about something they would never have rapped about. Because there’s things that you went through that is your truth that’s difficult to speak on sometimes. I don’t know how much more of those I’ll do, but it needed to be done.” shreveraps.com

— Edwin Arnaudin X

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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3 LAZY HIKER BREWING SYLVA Open Jam, 5pm SWEETEN CREEK BREWING Open Mic w/ Thomas Yon, 6pm ISIS MUSIC HALL An Evening with Tim Easton (solo acoustic), 7pm ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Gunslinging Parrots (Phish tribute), 8pm THE GREY EAGLE Blake Christiana & Rick Bugel of Yarn w/ Mike Sivilli of Dangermuffin, 8pm

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4

SOVEREIGN KAVA q Poetry Open Mic, 8:30pm, avl.mx/76w

ONE WORLD BREWING WEST Matt Waters & the Recipe (funk), 6pm

THE PAPER MILL LOUNGE Karaoke X, 9pm

SALVAGE STATION Doom Flamingo (electronic, rock), 6pm

THOUGHT EXPERIMENT: The release of The Get Right Band’s 2020 album, Itchy Soul, marked “a turning point for the band,” says bassist-vocalist Jesse Gentry. Recorded independently, the collection showcases a distinct brand of experimental rock, combining funk, psychedelic and electronic music. The trio plays a show at The Grey Eagle Friday, Dec. 4, 6 p.m. $12. avl.mx/8rb. Photo by Tom Farr SWEETEN CREEK BREWING J.C. Tokes (rockabilly, Southern rock), 6pm THE GREY EAGLE The Get Right Band (psychedelic, indie), 6pm ISIS MUSIC HALL An Evening with Jacob Johnson (solo acoustic), 7pm OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. Laura & Tim (rock, R&B), 8pm

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ISIS MUSIC HALL Unspoken Tradition (bluegrass), 7pm THE GREY EAGLE Nikki Lane (country, rock), 7pm ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Mama Said String Band, 8pm WILD WING CAFE Karaoke Night, 9:30pm

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 6 THE GREY EAGLE Brunch of Jokers Standup Comedy, 11am ONE WORLD BREWING WEST Sunday Jazz Jam Brunch w/ Jason DeCristofaro, 12pm SWEETEN CREEK BREWING Marc Keller (acoustic, soft rock), 2pm

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BURNTSHIRT VINEYARDS James Hammel (solo acoustic), 2pm BOLD ROCK HARD CIDER Mr Jimmy (blues), 3pm 185 KING STREET Open Electric Jam, 6pm TRISKELION BREWERY JC & the Boomerang Band (Irish trad, folk), 6pm ISIS MUSIC HALL Pretty Little Goat (Americana, roots), 7pm

MONDAY, DECEMBER 7 RABBIT RABBIT Outdoor Movie: A Christmas Story, 5:45pm HIGHLAND BREWING CO. Nerdy Talk Trivia, 6pm OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. It Takes All Kinds Open Mic Night, 7pm

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8 ONE WORLD BREWING WEST Mike Dillon & Brendon Burr (punk, jazz), 5pm OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. Team Trivia Tuesday, 6pm

ISIS MUSIC HALL q Del Rey & Steve James (blues, folk), 7pm TRISKELION BREWERY InterActive Triska Trivia, 7pm TWIN LEAF BREWERY Open Mic w/ Thomas Yon, 7pm RABBIT RABBIT Slice of Life Rooftop Comedy, 7:30pm THE GREY EAGLE Andy Shauf (indie, rock), 8pm SOVEREIGN KAVA q Poetry Open Mic, 8:30pm, avl.mx/76w THE PAPER MILL LOUNGE Karaoke X, 9pm

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10 LAZY HIKER BREWING SYLVA Open Jam, 5pm RABBIT RABBIT Silent Cinema: Gremlins, 5:45pm SWEETEN CREEK BREWING Open Mic w/ Thomas Yon, 6pm THE JOINT NEXT DOOR Mr Jimmy (blues), 6pm

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9

ISIS MUSIC HALL Christmas with The Currys (folk, pop-rock), 7pm

OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. French Broad Valley Mountain Music Jam, 6pm

TRISKELION BREWERY Jason's Technicolor Cabaret: Music & Comedy, 7pm

MOUNTAINX.COM

DEC. 2-8, 2020

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MOVIE REVIEWS THIS WEEK’S CONTRIBUTORS

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

BRUCE STEELE bcsteele@gmail.com

= MAX RATING

H PICK OF THE WEEK H

and the rare man capable of a purely platonic relationship with the opposite sex.

Combined with its (sadly unintentional) modern political overtones, Mank hits the sweet spot between Hollywood nostalgia and contemporary social justice, making it a special work that transcends time and place.

Available to stream starting Dec. 4 via Netflix REVIEWED BY EDWIN ARNAUDIN EARNAUDIN@MOUNTAINX.COM

Ammonite HHHS

Mank HHHHH DIRECTOR: David Fincher PLAYERS: Gary Oldman, Amanda Seyfried, Lily Collins BIOPIC/DRAMA RATED R Mank may not feel like a David Fincher film, but as with his previous impressive detours, The Social Network and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, it proves that he’s a master of more than just thrillers.

Written nearly 30 years ago by his father, Jack — then delayed until the director could find a studio that would support his commitment to filming in B&W — this entertaining, insightful look at Herman Mankiewicz’s tumultuous journey to pen Citizen Kane offers a tantalizing glimpse into the mind of a great screenwriter whose artistic gifts were intertwined with his humanism.

But while many of his good deeds took traditional philanthropic forms, when mixed with his predilections for alcohol and gambling, they could take the form of scathing yet justified retribution for those he felt deserved such reckonings.

All of these angles are represented in Mank, bathed in beautiful B&W cinematography — complete with digitally added “cigarette burns” on the would-be celluloid — to give it the appearance of a Depression-era product. Portraying the volatile genius, Gary Oldman delivers the most well-rounded performance of his illustrious career, hitting the character’s 36

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wide range of seriocomic and tragic qualities with veteran ease.

Hopping between a convalescing Mank laboring on his iconic screenplay at a Victorville ranch an hour or so outside LA and key moments from the eventful decade that landed him in his current predicament, the Finchers craft an impressive flow that keenly balances the demons driving their hero and the improbable enduring wit that gives his life meaning.

The filmmakers playfully incorporate such historical Hollywood figures as Louis B. Mayer (Arliss Howard, Full Metal Jacket), William Randolph Hearst (Charles Dance), Irving Thalberg (Ferdinand Kingsley, Dracula Untold), Mank’s future Oscar-winning brother Joseph (Tom Pelphrey, Netflix’s “Ozark”), John Houseman (Sam Troughton, Peterloo), and — naturally — Orson Welles (Tom Burke, The Souvenir) to great effect, producing a true ensemble vibe that’s elevated by the characters’ insider access to movie lots and location shoots.

Captivating as Mank’s dealings with these powerful, famous men are, it’s in the company of women where he meets his matches and fully realizes his potential as a human. Be it his wife, “Poor” Sara (Tuppence Middleton, Downton Abbey), British stenographer Rita Alexander (Lily Collins), or Hearst’s young companion, Marion Davies (Amanda Seyfried, ably handling her most complex role to date), Mank comes off as both an early feminist

DIRECTOR: Francis Lee PLAYERS: Kate Winslet, Saoirse Ronan, Gemma Jones, James McArdle BIOPIC/DRAMA/ROMANCE RATED R Writer/director Francis Lee follows up his acclaimed debut, God’s Own Country, with Ammonite, the latest entry in the “sullen, sapphic lovers convalescing by the sea” canon.

Kate Winslet stars as Mary Anning, a cagey, formerly celebrated paleontologist in 19th century England who’s been sidelined into an unglamorous life of peddling seashell-encrusted trinkets to tourists to keep herself and her ailing mother afloat. When Roderick Murchison (James McArdle, Mary Queen of Scots), a fellow scientist and wealthy admirer of her work, walks into her shop and asks to shadow her seaside excavations for a “premium,” Mary grudgingly accepts and, in turn, meets the woman who will change her life … sort of.

Even though Roderick’s wordless, withering wife, Charlotte (Saoirse Ronan), is barely within view, it becomes clear that Mary is far more taken with the young woman than her male admirer. After a fossil-hunting outing in which he comes off like a gnat that Mary would like to swat, Roderick suggests that Charlotte stay with Mary while he tends to business in London. Blanketed from head to toe in black and mourning the loss of her child, Charlotte is suffering from “mild melancholia” and, according to her husband, has become a ghost of her former “bright, funny, clever” self. As such, she’s been prescribed rest and sea air — a remedy Roderick deems Mary fit to dole out in his absence.

Building on the period convention of “paid caretaker who becomes a friend and subsequent secret lover,” Ammonite

Kristina Guckenberger

Douglas Davidson

Melissa Myers

aims to tell the forbidden love story of two tragically neglected women. Led by the star power of Winslet and Ronan, an exquisitely melancholy score from Volker Bertelmann and Dustin O’Halloran, and gorgeously muted cinematography from Stephane Fontaine, Ammonite seemingly possesses all the right elements to solidify itself as a remarkable addition to the genre. However, there’s something slightly amiss that limits its potential and feels too impenetrable to enjoy.

Read the full review at mountainx.com/movies/reviews Available to rent starting Dec. 4 via Amazon Video, iTunes and other streaming services REVIEWED BY KRISTINA GUCKENBERGER KRISTINA.GUCKENBERGER@GMAIL.COM

Dear Santa HHHH DIRECTOR: Dana Nachman PLAYERS: Damion DiGrazia, Orlando Mendez, Andrew Wallace DOCUMENTARY NOT RATED A gift to moviegoers, Dear Santa provides a joyous and heartfelt exploration of Operation Santa, a 113-year-old initiative within the U.S. Postal Service that answers letters to St. Nick. The latest documentary from Dana Nachman (Batkid Begins; Pick of the Litter) skillfully juggles the insights of children, the feelings of the season and the aspirations of people seeking to provide cheer in the three weeks before Christmas — and the all-ages, kid-friendly film does it all without spoiling the holiday’s biggest secret.

In addition to chronicling Operation Santa’s past and present, Dear Santa also spotlights the people who make tangible the notion of “goodwill toward men” each December, including interviews with a variety of children who kickstart the process. Each youngster has amusing ideas regarding who Santa is, how his magic works and what they would do if they captured the Man in Red, and they fill the film with a certain innocence and enchantment.

Just as engaging are individuals like the postmaster in Pearce, Ariz., a mail carrier in Chico, Calif., and nonprofit organizers in the New York City area — all “elves” helping Santa fulfill his annual duties. By weaving these stories together, Nachman seems to posit that the magic of the holiday depends on a series of random

strangers ensuring that the magic lives for everyone, a bit like the audience clapping for Tinkerbell in the stage play version of Peter Pan. Starts Dec. 4 at the Flat Rock Cinema REVIEWED BY DOUGLAS DAVIDSON ELEMENTSOFMADNESS@GMAIL.COM

Ending Disease HHHH DIRECTOR: Joe Gantz DOCUMENTARY NOT RATED Ending Disease examines the controversial topic of stem cell research and delivers its findings in the least controversial packaging possible. Through the lens of 10 case studies, Joe Gantz’s documentary shows the multitude of ways in which stem cell therapy is revolutionizing health care for patients of all ages and backgrounds who are battling everything from terminal cancer to blindness.

The topic has been a touchy subject for decades, garnering public scrutiny from many fundamentalist Christians and anti-abortion forces for its connection to the use of aborted fetal tissue. Ending Disease calls for an end to the stigma and misinformation surrounding this research by dispelling myths about the science and highlighting actual patients whose lives have been saved by CAR T-cell and stem cell therapies.

In addition to confronting false claims that all stem cell research comes from terminated pregnancies — much of it actually derives from the patients’ own tissue and bone marrow — the film also profiles several recipients who were at first morally opposed to the practice. Their changes of heart are powerful to witness and nicely complement interviews with scientists and doctors involved in this research, especially as they highlight the hypocrisy of the anti-stem-cell terrorists who threaten their lives.

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

Mangrove/Lovers Rock/ Red, White and Blue HHHHS

DIRECTOR: Steve McQueen PLAYERS: Letitia Wright, John Boyega, Alex Jennings FACT-BASED DRAMA NOT RATED With his five feature-length Small Axe films — which are being released each Friday as of Nov. 13 and best viewed sequentially — director/co-writer Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave) has woven a tapestry of connected yet independent

narratives unlike anything in cinematic history.

Set between the late 1960s and mid-’80s in London’s Caribbean immigrant-centric West Indian community, the sadly prescient works suggest that McQueen knew the world would come to a tipping point in 2020 and made these films to honor the struggles on which modern protest movements are built.

That sentiment is especially prevalent in Mangrove (124 minutes), the less theatrical but arguably more relevant and impactful cousin to Aaron Sorkin’s achingly similar The Trial of the Chicago 7.

McQueen’s dramatization of the plight of The Mangrove Nine — who endured intense harassment by racist Notting Hill, London police officers around the same time that the Chicago 7 clashed with cops during the 1968 DNC — expertly builds its characters, then places them in a pressure-cooker courtroom situation where proving their innocence feels of the utmost importance.

After a suspenseful battle for human rights, Mangrove concludes with a perfect placement of Toots and the Maytals’ timeless “Pressure Drop,” which doubles as a strong lead-in to the music-heavy Lovers Rock — the series’ lone fictional offering.

Though the second film works as a recreational balm for the social justice hardships in the initial installment — chronicling a secret, all-night house party for Black youths unwelcome at white music clubs — the cinematic endurance test plays like a 65-minute expansion of the “Too Late to Turn Back Now” scene from BlacKkKlansman.

Some pleasure is derived from getting immersed in the joys of people losing themselves to song and dance, but the actors’ accents are extremely difficult to decipher (be sure to turn on closed cap-

tions) and hints of a plot are few, forcing most viewers to interpret the basics of what’s happening from body language and vocal tones.

Things pick back up with Red, White and Blue, based on the life of Leroy Logan (John Boyega, Star Wars: The Force Awakens), who left his career as a forensic scientist to better help his community as a policeman. An emotional, 80-minute exercise in personal conviction, the film is bolstered by Boyega’s powerful depiction of Leroy as he attempts to weather the disappointment of his father and Black brethren, plus bigotry within his department.

This third installment also features the closest that the series comes to a long take — typically a McQueen staple — via an especially tense suspect foot chase.

While the flash of technical bravado is a welcome addition, the director’s otherwise restrained style works well with the material at hand and adds to his already impressive filmography.

Mangrove and Lovers Rock are available to stream via Amazon Prime Video, where Red, White and Blue joins them starting Dec. 4, followed by Alex Wheatle (Dec. 11) and Education (Dec. 18) REVIEWED BY EDWIN ARNAUDIN EARNAUDIN@MOUNTAINX.COM

AVAILABLE VIA FINEARTSTHEATRE.COM (FA) GRAILMOVIEHOUSE.COM (GM) Born to Be (NR) HHHH (FA, GM) Coded Bias (NR) HHHS (GM) Collective (NR) HHHH (FA) Desert One (NR) HHHH (FA) The Donut King (NR) HHHH (FA, GM) Dosed (NR) HHHH (FA, GM) Driven to Abstraction (PG) HHS(FA) Ending Disease (NR) HHHH (GM) Fantastic Fungi (NR) HHHH (FA) Herb Alpert Is... (NR) HHS (FA) Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President (NR) HHHHH (FA, GM) John Lewis: Good Trouble (PG) HHHH (FA) The Keeper (NR) HHS (FA) Martin Eden (NR) HHH (FA) Meeting the Beatles in India (NR) HHS (FA) Monsoon (NR) HHHH (GM) Oliver Sacks: His Own Life (NR) HHHH (GM) Out Stealing Horses (NR) HHHHS (FA) RBG (NR) HHHH (FA) We Are Many (NR) HH (FA) Zappa (NR) HHHS (FA, GM) MOUNTAINX.COM

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FREEWILL ASTROLOGY ARIES (March 21-April 19): An anonymous blogger on Tumblr writes the following: “What I’d really like is for someone to objectively watch me for a week and then sit down with me for a few hours and explain to me what I am like and how I look to others and what my personality is in detail and how I need to improve. Where do I sign up for that?” I can assure you that the person who composed this message is not an Aries. More than any other sign of the zodiac, you Rams want to be yourself, to inhabit your experience purely and completely — not see yourself from the perspective of outside observers.

Now is a good time to emphasize this specialty.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): “Humans like to be scared,” declares author Cathy Bell. “We love the wicked witch’s cackle, the wolf’s hot breath and the old lady who eats children, because sometimes, when the scary is over, all we remember is the magic.” I suppose that what she says is a tiny bit true. But there are also many ways to access the magic that don’t require encounters with dread. And that’s exactly what I predict for you in the coming weeks, Taurus: marvelous experiences — including catharses, epiphanies, and breakthroughs — that are neither spurred by fear nor infused with it.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): In 1994, the animated movie The Lion King told the story of the difficult journey made by a young lion as he struggled to claim his destiny as rightful king. A remake of the film appeared in 2019. During the intervening 25 years, the number of real lions living in nature declined dramatically. There are now just 20,000.

Why am I telling you such bad news? I hope to inspire you to make 2021 a year when you will resist trends like this. Your assignment is to nurture and foster wildness in every way that’s meaningful for you — whether that means helping to preserve habitats of animals in danger of extinction or feeding and championing the wildness inside you and those you care about. Get started!

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Is there anyone whose forgiveness you would like to have? Is there anyone to whom you should make atonement?

Now is a favorable phase to initiate such actions.

In a related subject, would you benefit from forgiving a certain person whom you feel wronged you? Might there be healing for you in asking that person to make amends? The coming weeks will provide the best opportunity you have had in a long time to seek these changes.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Scientists know that the Earth’s rotation is gradually slowing down — but at the very slow rate of two milliseconds every 100 years. What that means is that 200 million years from now, one day will last 25 hours. Think of how much more we humans will be able to get done with an extra hour every day! I suspect you may get a preview of this effect in the coming weeks, Leo. You’ll be extra efficient. You’ll be focused and intense in a relaxing way. Not only that: You will also be extra appreciative of the monumental privilege of being alive. As a result, you will seem to have more of the precious luxury of time.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Adventurer Tim Peck says there are three kinds of fun. The first is pure pleasure, enjoyed in full as it’s happening.

The second kind of fun feels challenging when it’s underway, but interesting and meaningful in retrospect. Examples are giving birth to a baby or taking an arduous hike uphill through deep snow. The third variety is no fun at all. It’s irksome while you’re doing it and equally disagreeable as you think about it later. Now I’ll propose a fourth type of fun, which I suspect you’ll specialize in during the coming weeks. It’s rather boring or tedious or nondescript while it’s going on, but in retrospect, you are very glad you did it.

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DEC. 2-8, 2020

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): “I made the wrong mistakes,” said Libran composer and jazz pianist Thelonious Monk. He had just completed an improvisatory performance he wasn’t satisfied with.

On countless other occasions, however, he made the right mistakes. The unexpected notes and tempo shifts he tried often resulted in music that pleased him. I hope that in the coming weeks you make a clear demarcation between wrong mistakes and right mistakes, dear Libra. The latter could help bring about just the transformations you need.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): “Home is not where you were born,” writes Naguib Mahfouz. “Home is where all your attempts to escape cease.” I propose we make that one of your mottoes for the next 12 months, Scorpio. According to my astrological analysis, you will receive all the inspiration and support you need as you strive to be at peace with exactly who you are. You’ll feel an ever-diminishing urge to wish you were doing something else besides what you’re actually doing. You’ll be less and less tempted to believe your destiny lies elsewhere, with different companions and different adventures. To your growing satisfaction, you will refrain from trying to flee from the gifts that have been given you and you will instead accept the gifts just as they are. And it all starts now.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): “Pictures of perfection, as you know, make me sick and wicked,” observed Sagittarian author Jane Austen.

She wrote this confession in a letter to her niece, Fanny, whose boyfriend thought that the women characters in Jane’s novels were too naughty. In the coming weeks, I encourage you Sagittarians to regard pictures of perfection with a similar disdain. To accomplish all the brisk innovations you have a mandate to generate, you must cultivate a deep respect for the messiness of creativity; you must understand that your dynamic imagination needs room to experiment with possibilities that may at first appear disorderly. For inspiration, keep in mind this quote from Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich: “Well-behaved women seldom make history.”

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Capricorn novelist Anne Brontë (1820-1849) said, “Smiles and tears are so alike with me, they are neither of them confined to any particular feelings: I often cry when I am happy and smile when I am sad.” I suspect you could have experiences like hers in the coming weeks.

I bet you’ll feel a welter of unique and unfamiliar emotions. Some of them may seem paradoxical or mysterious, although I think they’ll all be interesting and catalytic. I suggest you welcome them and allow them to teach you new secrets about your deep self and the mysterious nature of your life.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Aquarian philosopher Simone Weil formulated resolutions so as to avoid undermining herself. First, she vowed she would only deal with difficulties that actually confronted her, not far-off or hypothetical problems. Second, she would allow herself to feel only those feelings that were needed to inspire her and make her take effective action. All other feelings were to be shed, including imaginary feelings — that is, those not rooted in any real, objective situation. Third, she vowed, she would “never react to evil in such a way as to augment it.”

Dear Aquarius, I think all of these resolutions would be very useful for you to adopt in the coming weeks.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): In June 2019, the young Piscean singer Justin Bieber addressed a tweet to 56-year-old actor Tom Cruise, challenging him to a mixed martial arts cage fight. “If you don’t take this fight,” said Bieber, “you will never live it down.” A few days later, Bieber retracted his dare, confessing that Cruise “would probably whoop my ass in a fight.” If Bieber had waited until December 2020 to make his proposal, he might have had more confidence to follow through — and he might also have been better able to whoop Cruise’s ass. You Pisceans are currently at the peak of your power and prowess.

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Call Sage at (617) 987-1307 or email vsbarfield@gmail.com.

EMPLOYMENT GENERAL

MOUNTAIN XPRESS IS LOOKING TO ADD A NEW MEMBER TO OUR SALES TEAM. Ideal candidates are personable, organized, motivated, and can present confidently, while working within a structure.

Necessary skills include clear and professional communications (via phone, email, and in-person meetings), detailed record-keeping, and working well in a team environment. While no outside sales experience is required, 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, and working to meet or exceed sales goals.

If you are a high energy, positive, cooperative person looking to join an independent, community-minded 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

THE AMERICAN CHESTNUT FOUNDATION IS HIRING! POSITION OPEN: SOUTHERN REGIONAL SCIENCE COORDINATOR Join The American Chestnut Foundation in its mission to restore the American chestnut species! Looking for someone with an interest and experience in conservation, especially related to forestry and terrestrial ecology. The Southern Regional Science Coordinator directs scientific and volunteer activity across 7 states in the south. This position requires quite a bit of travel and excellent leadership and diplomacy skills. For the full job description and information on applying, visit this website: https://acf.org/employment/

RESTAURANT/ FOOD CHEF DE CUISINE/SOUS CHEF/PREP COOKS WANTED Galley Beach is a high volume, fine dining seasonal restaurant, (May-October), on Nantucket Island. We offer competitive pay and an exceptional working experience. Please email resumes to info@galleybeach. net.

HUMAN SERVICES HELPMATE SEEKS LAP COORDINATOR Helpmate, a non-profit serving survivors of intimate partner domestic violence in Buncombe County, NC seeks a LAP Coordinator. This is a full time, non-exempt salaried position, reporting directly to the Program Director. The LAP Coordinator serves as the primary liaison and resource for law enforcement around officer response to domestic violence incidents, especially implementation, support and monitoring of the Lethality Assessment Protocol. This position requires on-call responsibilities, including recurring night/weekend availability. Qualified candidates for this position will demonstrate significant knowledge/history of law enforcement and criminal justice work. They will have experience in victim & cross-systems advocacy, as well as experience delivering professional trainings. This position requires a Bachelor's degree, or equivalent experience, plus at least 2 years' service for domestic violence survivors or in a related field.

Diverse candidates encouraged to apply. Fluency in Spanish,

TEACHING/ EDUCATION A-B TECH POSITION NEEDED A-B Tech is currently taking applications for an adjunct position Adjunct Instructor, Nurse Aide Program (Need to fill immediately) For more details and to apply: https:// abtcc.peopleadmin.com/ postings/5506

XCHANGE WANTED BUYING OLD PAPER MONEY Asheville, WNC, ETN over 10 years. Fair, open, and responsive. Buying currency, bonds, maps, documents, etc. Email papermoneybuy@gmail.com, or call/text 865-207-8994.

Member SPMC, NCNA, SCNA, TNA.

SERVICES CAREGIVERS COMPANION • CAREGIVER • LIVE-IN Alzheimer's experienced • Heart failure and bed sore care • Hospice reference letter • Nonsmoker, with cat, seeks live-in position • References • Arnold, (828) 273-2922.

personal items; tools; weapons (including firearms): jewelry: automotive items; building supplies; bikes and other miscellaneous items. Anyone with a legitimate claim or interest in this property has 30 days from the date of this publication to make a claim. Unclaimed items will be disposed of according to statutory law. For further information, or to file a claim, contact the Asheville Police Department Property and Evidence Section, 828-232-4576. NOTICE OF DISPOSITION The following is a list of unclaimed and confiscated property at the Asheville Police Department tagged for disposition: audio and video equipment; cameras; clothing; lawn and garden equipment; personal items; tools; weapons (including firearms): jewelry: automotive items; building supplies; bikes and other miscellaneous. All items will be disposed of 30 days from date of posting. Items to be auctioned will be displayed on www.propertyroom.com.

MIND, BODY, SPIRIT COUNSELING SERVICES ASTRO-COUNSELING Licensed counselor and accredited professional astrologer uses your chart when counseling for additional insight into yourself, your relationships and life directions. Stellar Counseling Services. Christy Gunther, MA, LCMHC. (828) 258-3229.

HOME IMPROVEMENT HANDY MAN HIRE A HUSBAND • HANDYMAN SERVICES Since 1993.

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References and estimates available. Stephen Houpis, (828) 280-2254.

ANNOUNCEMENTS ANNOUNCEMENTS NEW DISCOVERY ELIMINATES COMMON SEXUAL PROBLEMS! All Natural Male Enhancement Product Increases Staying Power, Performance, & Pleasure. Risk FREE 60 Day Guarantee + FREE SHIPPING | 15% Discount with Coupon perform08 | Visit: TryProZyte. com (AAN CAN) NOTICE OF UNCLAIMED PROPERTY The following is a list of unclaimed and confiscated property at the Asheville Police Department: electronic equipment; cameras; clothing; lawn and garden equipment;

POSITIVE HYPNOSIS | EFT | NLP Michelle Payton, M.A., D.C.H., Author | 828-681-1728 | www.MichellePayton.com | Mind Over Matter Solutions books, online and face-2-face education, workshops and sessions for all learners--audio, visual, and tactile. Learn to use Positive Hypnosis—science of re-learning thru positive reinforcement, Emotional Freedom Technique, Neuro-Linguistic Programming, Birth Mix Personality Assessment, Past Life Regression.

ADULT ADULT FEELING WHACKED? Let Kaye's revive you back! Incall/ Outcall 280-8182

Is the crossword part of your weekly ritual?

Us, too.

Join at SupportMountainX.com You can help make sure Xpress continues to print the crossword each week by becoming a monthly contributor.

edited by Will Shortz

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1 With 21-, 30-, 49-, 61- and 74-Across, end of a Carrie Bradshaw

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quote that starts “Men in their 40s are like the New York Times Sunday crossword puzzle …”

7 At most 11 Peter the Great, for one 15 Take out 16 Orchestra tuner

17 Smart, in a way 18 Turkish inn 19 Frequent “S.N.L.” role for Beck Bennett 21 Part 2 of the quote 23 Category in pitching’s Triple Crown, in brief 24 Exam for a wannabe A.D.A. 25 Piolet, e.g.

28 Surveying unit 30 Part 3 34 Like two-thirds of Fibonacci numbers 36 Microwaves 37 Flatow of public radio 38 Major-league manager Kapler 41 Do some lexicography 44 Sicken with sweetness 45 A barb might cause it to deflate 46 When to take a foliage tour 47 Liberty Mutual commercial mascot 49 Part 4 53 Sounds at pounds 56 “Same”

No. 1028 57 Senate rebuke 59 Black ___ 61 Part 5 66 Casual ristorante 68 U.S. Navy builder 69 Ticked off 70 Dolly’s last name in “Hello, Dolly!”

71 Whispered name in “The Raven” 72 Sue Monk ___, author of “The Secret Life of Bees” 73 Pull a fast one on 74 End of the quote

DOWN

1 Very short time 2 Suckerfish that attaches itself to sharks 3 Line in an old series of Apple commercials 4 N.Y.S.E. listing: Abbr.

5 Was verklempt from pride 6 What members of the Church of the SubGenius parody religion claim to be descended from

puzzle by Peter Gordon 7 First Campbell’s Soup flavor, introduced in 1895 8 Piece that often includes a D.O.B. 9 Raw fish dish 10 Start of an idea 11 From that place 12 Arizona State University mascot 13 Compass creation 14 GPS calculation: Abbr.

20 Careful effort 22 Coral reef 26 Sleekly designed, for short 27 See through?

29 Good eggs?

31 Rap’s Lil ___ Vert 32 Saw print 33 Modern pentathlon event 35 It’s called “le jour J” in France 38 Start of an idea 39 Palindromist Jon of “Sit on a Potato Pan, Otis!”

40 Shipbuilding place 42 Chicago transports 43 Winter malady 44 Mongrel

46 Openly disregard 48 “Rent” role for Idina Menzel 50 Plundered 51 Go (for) 52 Biblical verb ending 54 Rare weather phenomenon that’s white, unlike its colorful cousin 55 Area of expertise

58 One of the subjects of the book “War of the Currents” 60 Helm 62 Driving test, of a sort 63 Cookie with creme 64 DVR brand 65 Johns, to Scots 66 Disapproving sound 67 Lyon king

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS NY TIMES PUZZLE

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