Mountain Xpress 12.14.16

OUR 22ND YEAR OF WEEKLY INDEPENDENT NEWS, ARTS & EVENTS FOR WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA VOL. 23 NO. 21 DECEMBER 14 - DECEMBER 20, 2016

Side hustles provide extra cash

Restaurants build their brands through storytelling 30

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Holiday

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210 Rosman Hwy. Suite C • Brevard • (828) 884-8796 2000 Spartanburg Hwy. Suite 300 • Hendersonville • (828) 697-1050 140 Airport Rd. Suite M • Arden • (828) 654-0906 1269 Tunnel Rd. Suite B • Asheville • (828) 299-8880 660 Merrimon Ave. • Asheville • (828) 253-2883 186 Coxe Ave. • Asheville • (828) 254-4980 1062 Patton Ave. • Asheville • (828) 232-6030

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c o n t e nt s c ontAc t Us

PaGe 38 HOLIDaY HaPPeN-

(828) 251-1333 fax (828) 251-1311

INGS: The festive season is in full swing, with light shows, a trolley tour, a naughty elf and good music all on the celebratory to-do list. cover photo Adam McMillan cover design Scott Southwick

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24 in the loop Hearing loop advocate Juliette Sterkens speaks in Brevard

28 maKing sustainability pay Forest stewardship initiative targets private landowners

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34 taKing stocK The Asheville-Buncombe Food Policy Council looks back at a year of change and growth

24 wellness 28 green scene 30 food 36 small bites

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38 arts & entertainment 40 collective conscience The New Mastersounds co-headline an Asheville show with Turkuaz

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8 investing in affordability Entrepreneurs offer solutions to Asheville’s housing woes

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42 the family and the future The Travelin’ McCourys bring their Bluegrass Ball to Asheville

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Send your letters to the editor to letters@mountainx.com. stA F F publisher & managing editor: Jeff Fobes assistant to the publisher: Susan Hutchinson associate editor: Virginia Daffron a&e editor/writer: Alli Marshall food editor/writer: Gina Smith wellness editor/writer: Susan Foster opinion editor: Tracy Rose staff reporters/writers: Able Allen, Thomas Calder, Virginia Daffron, Dan Hesse, Max Hunt calendar editor: Abigail Griffin clubland editors Abigail Griffin, Max Hunt

cA rtoo n BY r AnD Y M o lt o n

Veteran Jam 5K highlighted PTSD dangers

Photo courtesy of Josiah Johnston

An event worth the attention of Asheville was recently held in Fletcher Community Park. The empty pairs of army boots encircled a maple tree, which still clung to the red leaves of autumn. The boots faced outward, as if guarding the tree from the coming winter. An American flag sprouted from each pair, a reminder that the boots were a symbol for casualties from what has proven to be the most insidious of enemies. The flags were whipped by the cold wind, as if the spirits of every

soldier were calling to those gathered to remember them, and to make some kind of difference in this terrible and little-known battle, a chapter of the wars soldiers have fought which continues being written long after the guns are put away.

Post-traumatic stress disorder. Such is the name we have given to the psychological scars of war. Sisters, brothers, fathers, mothers, sons, daughters and friends: The boots could have been filled by soldiers from many walks of life, of every conceivable description.

PTSD does not discriminate. The unifying thread among these boots was that they were representative of veterans who, somewhere in America that day, lost their battle with mental illness and took their own lives.

Twenty-two a day. Every day. That is the number of veterans who take their own lives due to mental health issues such as PTSD on a daily basis across this country. This lonely killer haunts our culture, undealt with, difficult to talk about, the dirty secret of what war does to our soldiers. Many struggle with it alone, day in and day out, without support.

The Veteran Jam 5K was an opportunity for people from many walks of life to come together and honor those soldiers who have lost this fight and to raise awareness of the dangers of PTSD when left unaddressed. Hundreds gathered on a chilly Saturday morning, Nov. 26,

movie reviewers: Scott Douglas, Jonathan Rich, Justin Souther contributing editors: Chris Changery, Peter Gregutt, Rob Mikulak, Margaret Williams editorial interns: Emma Grace Moon, Clara Murray regular contributors: Jonathan Ammons, Edwin Arnaudin, Jacqui Castle, Leslie Boyd, Coogan Brennan, Scott Douglas, Steph Guinan, Corbie Hill, Rachel Ingram, Tony Kiss, Bill Kopp, Cindy Kunst, Kate Lundquist, Lea McLellan, Kat McReynolds, Clarke Morrison, Emily Nichols, Kyle Petersen, John Piper Watters advertising, art & design manager: Susan Hutchinson graphic designers: Norn Cutson, Jordy Isenhour, Scott Southwick marKeting associates: Thomas Allison, Sara Brecht, Bryant Cooper, Tim Navaille, Brian Palmieri, Nick Poteat information technologies & web: Bowman Kelley booKKeeper: Alyx Perry administration, billing, hr: Able Allen, Lisa Watters distribution manager: Jeff Tallman assistant distribution manager: Denise Montgomery distribution: Gary Alston, Frank D’Andrea, Leland Davis, Jemima Cook Fliss, Adrian Hipps, Clyde Hipps, Jennifer Hipps, Robin Hyatt, Joan Jordan, Marsha Mackay, Ryan Seymour, Thomas Young

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12/26/16

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

at Fletcher Park to commemorate those they had lost and to show unity in the face of this issue. Despite the chill, men, women and children assembled at the park and commemorated their lost loved ones, sharing stories, reading poetry and speaking together about those they knew who had died or about the issues they faced in their own struggles with PTSD. Despite the difficult nature of the problem, in a culture where the toughness to deal with problems personally is expected, there was a sense of community and shared responsibility which emerged from the event. One of the most important things said was that veterans may not know how to ask for help or may be too embarrassed to try reaching out.

This is where we all come in. If you know a veteran, reach out to them.

Tell them thank you. Ask to listen to their stories. Share a laugh. The daily toll of veterans struggling alone with these issues is impossible to ignore, and Americans with a conscience must take action to help these men and women. If you need inspiration to get you to take action, just think of the empty boots, flags blowing in the wind, and the paths those boots might have walked, filled with purpose, had someone reached out to them in time.

— Josiah Johnston Mills River

Thanks for support during wildfires Dear Asheville, What an experience!

Carolinians who live at the coast are more familiar with the kinds of nonpolitical disasters, like hurricanes and floods, than we are in the mountains. We get some torrential rains and our roads flood out from time to time, but this season we got to experience what can happen when an unusually long drought period turns some acts of carelessness and other rudeness into wildfires.

Out here at Earthaven Ecovillage, we’re giving thanks for the amazing turnout of support we received to address the closest of several regional wildfires. After the longest drought in over 100 years, not more than a mile and a half from us, a 7,000-acre fire claimed the brush and leaf litter lying in between. We really want to give a great big shoutout to all the volunteer and professional firefighters and everyone who helped them do such a magnificent job containing the fires!

On-site, teams of Earthaven members, friends and neighbors worked alongside folks from town (some we hadn’t known, some we hadn’t seen for years) to keep our land — and the buildings we’ve placed on them, the animals we house on 6

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them and the forest we hope not to harm — safe, habitable and friendly. Area online bulletins kept us up-to-the-minute on potential threats and evacuation advisories, while the Forest Service, local volunteer fire departments and other determined firefighters tackled and contained the wild beast that came closest to us, a mere 1 ½ miles away. Several area communities closer to the fire’s outbreak were temporarily evacuated; however, not a single structure was lost, nor were there reports of any other major losses.

On-site, teams roamed from one end of the community to the other, checking out neighborhoods for fire hazards, following Forest Service advisories and lending hands and tools wherever needed. Backup teams on the phone and online kept us and residents across the region connected to offers of help in the form of people power and tools, safe havens and information about the progress of the fire.

Donations of food, money and other necessities went to the firefighters and also to an Earthaven kitchen, where lunch and dinner were provided most of the week we were under threat. We learned a lot about fire prevention and also about how much support there is here, for each other and all around us!

Thank you, everyone who sent prayers and any sort of support for helping to make this an educational, inspirational and cautioning experience in a time of severe climate change!

— Arjuna da Silva Black Mountain

Shine your light, Robert White!

Robert White’s brilliant, soulful essay in the Nov. 30 Mountain Xpress [“Black Lives Matter: Enough Is Enough”] should be required reading in all humanities courses at all levels in America today.

It is a powerful plea for people to “come together” — a reminder of the first question that a human being asked God. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” is what Cain asked God when he had killed his brother Abel (Genesis 4:9, King James Version of the Christian Bible). How then, can Christians in America justify not loving their brothers and sisters of all races? God gave no race a superior status.

In regard to White’s plea for opportunity for all, wouldn’t it be amazing to see Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Oprah Winfrey, Michael Jordan and a few other billionaires/ millionaires develop their own Works Progress Administration program in spite of the failure of our Congress to do so? They could set up a jobs program

and leave a lasting, loving legacy of work for the betterment of mankind, including men and women of all races. They could show the world a beautiful America. Our human conscience needs to kick in at some point. Why not now?

Shine your light, Robert White!

— Dave Waldrop Webster

Understanding Black Lives Matter Thank you for sharing the [commentary] by Robert White [“Black Lives Matter: Enough Is Enough,” Nov. 30, Xpress]. It really touched me.

As a white woman, I’m always striving to understand and sympathize with people of color. I thought White did a great job explaining his struggles and hopes for peace. I hope all of your readers read this, especially anyone who has a hard time relating to the Black Lives Matter movement.

Let’s start in Asheville and fill that gaping hole in our country he talks about. Let’s fill it with love.

Thank you, — Ivey Lamos Swannanoa

Thanks for minority view of country life I read [the] article by Mr. [Robert] White, and my husband and I were deeply affected by his keenly felt perceptions of living in a predominantly white, country neighborhood [“Black Lives Matter: Enough Is Enough,” Nov. 30, Xpress].

As senior whites living in Leicester, we appreciated being reminded of the challenges of living in a minority skin, forced to drag around stereotypes and misconceptions for life. It is so unfair that Mr. White and his family can’t even enjoy the “unalienable” right to walk freely and safely in their own neighborhood.

I hope that we see Mr. White out and about someday, so we can say, “Howdy, neighbor” with a smile!

— Kim and Scott Dickens Leicester

Essay offers hope in dark times I stumbled across [Robert White’s commentary] in the recent Mountain Xpress [“Black Lives Matter: Enough Is Enough,” Nov. 30] and wanted to [say] how articulate, inspiring and timely that it is. Since what passed for an

c A rt o o n B Y B r e nt B r o w n election in this country, I have been in a state of shock, but from the way the country has been divided, I anticipated it at some point. ...

The lies the undereducated white working class have been fed about the so-called stagnant state of the economy and unemployment by the political right (highest market in history/lowest unemployment in 40 years, in fact) has moved them to the Republican Party. The American dream, so unattainable! Why? America has always been a racist nation, and since Obama was elected, it was like throwing fire on that latent ember. ...

[The] article caught me at an interesting time when I have been thinking about race, racism and civil rights during this campaign and how Obama has had to contend with obstructionism for his tenure. The political right in this country has become nothing more than fascists in blue jeans. Redistricting, gutting a key component of the Voting Rights Act and other actions to keep people of color away from the polls. ...

When my family moved to North Carolina in the mid-1960s from Chicago, I was shocked to find “white” and “colored” water fountains and restrooms.

(In fact, there is a restroom like that under the sidewalk near the Vance Monument downtown.) I cannot begin to understand what it is to be a black

man in this country, when routine traffic stops become sanctioned police murder and inequality in the judicial system is a matter of course. When routine offenses become jail terms.

We are supposed to be an enlightened society; we are supposed to be a beacon of hope and freedom to the world, not a nation that embraces hatred, denial, physical harm and disdain for those of different colors and faiths and sexual orientation. Progressivism with all its faults has at heart a compassion, a desire to lift up the downtrodden and help those who cannot seem to help get themselves a decent life in this society.

I came of age in North Carolina as a bohemian flower child, a loner. Finishing high school in Greensboro was an adolescent nightmare: fights, rejection, an inability to fit in. I went to college at Western Carolina University in the late ’60s, and as a longhair was often the object of harassment and beatings by “good ol’ boys” in Cullowhee and Asheville. In Atlanta, a good friend and I were brutally beaten and stabbed by some men returning from a George Wallace “Stand up for America” rally! The anger has always been there in this nation.

Still, that doesn’t compare to what people of color have withstood for generations, centuries, and then the great civil rights struggle that was a hallmark of our progress in this country for equal-

ity. Giving black people the basic means to compete and learn and live in this society. Are we going to turn our backs on all that blood, sweat and tears? We will not back down. We shall demand a continued social contract. We will not “hope and heal.” We will not compromise. Our nation has elected a “little man” with no vision. He will not be allowed to crush what is good and right in this country. ...

I thought [White’s] thoughts and writing were beautiful, articulate and erudite. One of the best pieces that I have ever read in the Mountain Xpress. [He is] a good man, and individuals like [him] with courage and intelligence ... do give me some hope in this dark and dire time and the struggle to come.

— Jay S. Gertz Alexander editor’s note: A longer version of this letter will appear online at mountainx.com

Support climate change solution Like thousands of others, we in Western North Carolina have been terrified and heartbroken by the wildfires in our region caused by drought; we know this is a result of runaway climate change. mountainx.com

I have just watched the first two episodes of “Years of Living Dangerously,” and I am wondering whether the solution might not be a carbon fee and dividend. It makes no sense for all of us to pay with our health, and our futures, so that polluters have the right to pollute for free.

Please support a carbon fee and dividend, which is proven to create millions of jobs and grow the economy as well.

Thank you.

— Cathy Holt Asheville

Big Energy connections doomed McCrory In addition to the unpopular HB2, [Gov. Pat] McCrory also lost re-election because he is viewed as corrupt with his connections to Duke Energy.

North Carolinians don’t want fracking; we want safe, clean water. The Big Energy companies that put forth politicians to push pillaging and polluting practices use “moral/religious” issues as a means to divide people.

Politicians representing Big Energy — all they want is to abuse the land, pollute our health and get our money. That is another reason McCrory is out.

— Tamera Trexler Asheville DEcEmBER 14 - DEcEmBER 20, 2016

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INVESTING IN AFFORDABILITY Entrepreneurs offer solutions to Asheville’s housing woes BY miKE cRonin michaelccronin@gmail.com bob swanson’s passion for tackling Asheville’s affordable housing shortage didn’t come from an epiphany. It was more like the culmination of a slow burn.

Swanson and his wife, linda, moved to East Asheville five years ago, although he didn’t involve himself with local government right away. In 2015, the professional real estate investor decided it was time to learn more about the place in which he lived and worked. He began attending City Council meetings. What he found out alarmed him. “I didn’t know the extent of the problem,” he recalls.

At the end of 2014, the rental vacancy rate in Asheville and Buncombe County was less than 1 percent, according to a city-funded report. More than 40 percent of local renters were spending over 30 percent of their gross annual income on housing-related costs, and more than 25 percent of city and county homeowners were in the same boat.

Concerned, Swanson began attending meetings of Asheville’s all-volunteer Affordable Housing Advisory Committee. “As a real estate investor, I believe I have an ethical and moral responsibility to help solve this,” he explains, adding, “I see myself as a liaison between real estate investors and the city.”

With his soft-spoken manner and decades of real estate experience, Swanson seems well-suited to serve as an ambassador between his colleagues and Asheville housing staff.

So he decided to pitch the idea of addressing the affordable housing crisis to the Carolinas Real Estate Investors Association, a local nonprofit he’s involved with. Swanson serves on the board and is the organization’s director of member services. Some CREIA members felt that moral or ethical decisions are best left to individuals, but the board agreed to host an educational event for members.

“Small Is Big: New Trends in Affordable Housing,” a panel discussion moderated by Swanson, was held Nov. 14 at the Hilton Asheville Biltmore Park. The free 8

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throwing their hAts in the ring: Allan Clark, left, founder of Iron Castles, and Bob Swanson, director of member services for the Carolinas Real Estate Investors Association, in downtown Asheville. Photo by Mike Cronin event, which was open to the general public, focused on building smaller homes (less than 1,000 square feet), which Swanson believes will be a key to alleviating the crisis. In 2015, the median size of a new single-family home in the U.S. was 2,467 square feet, the largest figure on record, census data show.

Going small makes sense, says jeff staudinger, the city’s assistant director of community and economic development, because it reasserts the importance of appropriate housing for singles, lower-income people and others who don’t fit the traditional assumptions. Building smaller homes of various sorts and incorporating them “into existing city environments,” he maintains, can help increase both density and supply. “I’m hoping something really positive comes out of the CREIA ideas,” says Staudinger. mountainx.com

BAckYArD BUilDers Three of the four speakers at the November panel discussion own companies that build smaller homes. teal brown told an audience of roughly 150 about his company, Wishbone Tiny Homes, which builds residences of up to 800 square feet.

Although there’s no universally accepted standard, tiny homes are often defined as being no more than 400 square feet and set on either a foundation or a trailer. They can occupy their own lot or be placed in someone’s yard.

A June 2015 Asheville zoning change allows homeowners in the city to build “accessory dwelling units” adjacent to the existing residence and up to 70 percent of its size. In other words, not all ADUs qualify as tiny — or even smaller — homes. In either

case, said Brown, the owners have the option of renting the smaller unit. And if they’re looking to downsize, they can choose to move into it and rent out the primary home.

Asheville has long allowed secondary residential structures, and in 1997 general ADU guidelines were added to the Universal Development Ordinance, but that didn’t prevent the critical shortage of affordable housing that the city is facing today.

MAking it pAY The prospect of “becoming an ADUtype of investor” is what drew West Asheville resident deborah busch to the panel discussion.

“I have a nice size lot in West Asheville — a high-demand market,” said Busch, who runs an online retail business and is not a CREIA mem-

pher and server who used to belong to CREIA and is considering rejoining, Molina said he’s looking to buy his first investment property within the next six months.

Besides Brown’s talk on tiny homes and ADUs, Molina was struck by allan clark’s presentation on designing and manufacturing houses made out of recycled shipping containers, calling the speaker’s ideas “amazing.” Clark’s Mars Hill-based company, Iron Castles, is so new that as of mid-November he was still negotiating with his first customer.

Shipping containers have been successfully turned into houses in England, the Netherlands and Denmark, noted Clark. The Asheville resident, whose background is in landscape architecture, architecture and civil engineering, said, “I’m offering people a way to live off the grid — that’s right up my alley.” Outfitted with solar panels, these self-sufficient container homes would be perfect for people on fixed incomes and recent college graduates with student loans, said Clark. “This is my way of fighting global warming and creating ad hoc communities.”

FinDing the FUnDing

Using everY inch: Teal Brown, owner of Wishbone Tiny Homes in Asheville, next to a storage space — accessed from the outside — for the tiny home he is building at 35 Fulton St. Photo by Mike Cronin ber. “Who doesn’t love the idea of an income-producing property?”

The panelists, she said, showed her ways she could get a better return on such an investment while also “help-

ing a little bit with the affordable housing shortage.”

Fellow West Asheville resident oscar molina also liked what he heard from the panelists. A photogra-

Investing in alternative living arrangements — whether they’re converted shipping containers, tiny homes, ADUs or simply more compact dwellings built on less land — is not only savvy, it’s socially responsible, Swanson and some other CREIA members maintain. But there’s at least one major hitch: So far, only people with money to spare have been able to capitalize on the city’s zoning change to build an ADU. “Federal underwriting guidelines don’t allow people to use projected money generated from the accessory dwelling unit as part of their

income when they apply for a loan to build one,” says barry bialik. His company, Compact Cottages, offers five smaller home models that typically cost less than $200,000. A panelist at the CREIA event, Bialik also chairs the city’s Affordable Housing Advisory Committee.

As of October, he notes, only 16 ADUs had been built in Asheville this year. Twelve were funded with cash, he says; the other four by home equity lines of credit or refinancing the existing mortgage. The city has no loan program for folks wanting to build an ADU. HomeTrust Bank does offer temporary financing for ADUs to qualifying borrowers who already live on the land, loan officer jill dotson explains, but, “It is similar to a construction mortgage.” Construction loans are typically harder to get, last no more than a year and carry a higher, variable interest rate.

People with good credit and enough equity in their home can simply take out a credit line to finance the ADU, but for many people, that’s not an option.

Meanwhile, the city is considering changes to its Housing Trust Fund rules that would encourage smaller-scale projects, converted shipping containers and tiny homes, Staudinger explains. In addition, the maximum loan amount would double, to $1 million. The trust fund makes low-interest loans to projects meeting affordability guidelines. At press time, City Council was slated to vote on the changes at its Dec. 13 meeting. no silver BUllet Not everyone believes that building smaller homes can significantly impact the area’s affordable housing

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cottAge sweet cottAge: Barry Bialik stands outside a house that his Skylandbased Compact Cottage Company is building in Asheville’s Kenilworth neighborhood.

Bialik chairs the city’s Affordable Housing Advisory Committee. Photo by Mike Cronin crisis, however. Some skeptics say the market for those kinds of residences simply isn’t big enough to make much of a dent in the shortage. Others question whether products such as tiny homes could be profitably produced in sufficient quantities.

“ADUs can be a piece,” says samuel gunter, director of policy and advocacy at the North Carolina Housing Coalition in Raleigh. His organization, though, “is not doing any major work on ADUs at the state or federal level. I don’t think that’s where we’re going to find the most bang for our buck. They’re not going to be the silver bullet that some say they’re going to be.”

Gunter cites the experience of Denver, which has allowed accessory dwelling units as an affordable housing solution since 2010. “Denver and Asheville are somewhat similar: Both are mountain cities with large tourism sectors and geographical limitations on buildable land.”

Officials there, he says, “poured a lot of energy into their plan; they charted a path and came up with an incentive package.”

As of September, however, only 84 such units had been permitted in this city of some 650,000 people, according to the website Denverite. chris estes, president and CEO of the National Housing Conference, 10

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agrees. Advocates of tiny homes, ADUs and shipping-container residences may promise more than they can deliver, he believes. The Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit seeks to “ensure safe, decent and affordable housing for all in America,” according to its website.

Similar approaches tried in San Francisco, New York and D.C. did not enhance affordability, says Estes, who was executive director of the North Carolina Housing Coalition for nine years before accepting his current position.

As land values in those cities went up, he explains, so did rents. “Those types of housing don’t stay affordable as communities grow, especially when young people will pay a lot to live in desirable places.” the coMMon gooD But those arguments haven’t deterred CREIA board member nancy duggan, who says she’s been building smaller, more affordable homes for decades. “There’s definitely money to be made,” she reports. “I’ve been providing small-scale affordable

housing for 27 years and have made plenty of money.” All of those projects, she notes, were workforce housing.

And even if the smaller-home approach can’t single-handedly solve Asheville’s housing crisis, it’s still expanding the supply while also helping some folks who are getting squeezed out by the area’s rising real estate prices.

“If you’re earning $35,000 a year and can’t afford to buy a house, that’s deplorable,” she declares. Duggan says she’s built about 30 houses in Buncombe County, and “most cost less than $200,000.”

Duggan is not alone, notes Bialik.

Throughout the U.S., there are communities of investors who are interested in solid, stable financial returns — and, more importantly, social returns.

Increasingly, Bialik maintains, today’s investors want to feel their money is contributing to the common good.

“What’s better? Making a 10 to 15 percent return on an affordable housing investment or the same amount in oil stocks?” he asks. “It’s not just about the money anymore.” X

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Winter packages available!

by Thomas Calder

tcalder@mountainx.com

SIDE HUSTLES The new gig economy helps cash-strapped workers survive

Contact advertise@mountainx.com

All in A DAY’s work: Like many in Asheville, Sarajane Case finds ways to make a living through several different income streams: photography, blogging, marketing and business consulting. Photo composite courtesy of Sarajane Case

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DEcEmBER 14 - DEcEmBER 20, 2016

On any given day, sarajane case may be juggling a number of jobs: photographer, business consultant, social media marketer and blogger. “Today’s a good example,” she says. “This morning I wrote a blog. I’m leaving right now to do a photo shoot with Persona,” the social media marketing company she co-founded in Asheville. “We’ll follow that up with a planning session for a new account, and then I’ll write a newsletter for my consulting business in the afternoon. Then I follow that up with a family portrait session around 3:30.”

Case estimates that her online presence generates roughly 70 percent of her business; the internet is her sole marketing tool. Some of her clients are locally based, but just as many are scattered far and wide (including the Netherlands and Australia). “I honestly wouldn’t be in business without the internet,” she says. “Not in the same way.” arne l.

Kalleberg, Kenan Distinguished Professor of sociology at UNC Chapel Hill, says Case is a member of the “gig economy,” though he’s quick to point out that neither the term nor the concept is new. It’s always been the case that many people have worked multiple jobs in order to survive. “We’ve had gigs forever,” notes Kalleberg.

“What I think is distinctive about [the current avatar] is the use of technology mountainx.com

to connect people that otherwise would not be connected.”

It’s hard to say how big this internetbased gig economy really is, he says. A 2016 study titled “The Rise and Nature of Alternative Work Arrangements in the United States, 1995-2015,” by economics professors Lawrence Katz of Harvard and Alan Krueger of Princeton, estimates that as of 2015, 15.8 percent of the entire working population was engaged in “alternative work arrangements” such as temporary employment agencies, contract work or freelancing — and about 0.5 percent was providing services via online platforms such as Task Rabbit and Uber. But these people weren’t necessarily doing multiple jobs at the same time.

In Asheville, where conventional fulltime jobs can be hard to come by, some folks see their multiple endeavors as a way to survive. Others see “side hustles” as a means to feed the soul while supplementing their principal income stream. But whatever you choose to call it, this patchwork approach gives many residents a degree of financial security they couldn’t otherwise find here. And while most of those who spoke with Xpress say they end up averaging 50-60 hours a week, they like the flexibility and freedom the arrangement offers.

FeAst or FAMine In her busiest weeks, emily trimnal may work 75 hours. Her main source of income is freelance web development. Other paying gigs include social media management and blogging. Then there’s the miscellaneous stuff — pet sitting, selling items at the flea market and “anything else where there’s a little money to be made,” she reveals.

Trimnal, 27, says the gig economy provides a survival mechanism at a time when “everything has gotten so expensive.” In addition, several health issues, including migraines and a spinal cord injury, make it impossible for her to manage a more traditional 9-to-5 job.

“Even though I work more hours doing multiple jobs, at least I can have the flexibility to be able to monitor how I’m doing,” she explains.

But Trimnal isn’t putting in 75 hours every week: There’s a sometimes predictable ebb and flow to her schedule.

Around the holidays, for example, she knows that her web design work will probably slow down, because businesses are typically more interested in putting their money into advertising.

So she focuses more on blogging and other gigs.

And though her various income streams generally achieve an overall financial balance, Trimnal stresses that

in the gig economy, no paycheck is guaranteed: At times, it can be “feast or famine.”

Free Bagels. “I run a little bit off of the adrenaline of having a whole bunch of work,” she admits. “Sometimes, my friendships may suffer from working too much, but in another sense, it’s gotten me more connections.” julia staines, 25, says that by week’s end she often feels burned out, due to both the lack of free time and insufficient sleep. Staines works full time as the loan support manager at Mountain BizWorks. She puts in another 12 hours a week as a cashier at Whole Foods and also makes wirewrapped jewelry that she sells online and at music festivals. “Online sales are extremely important to my side hustle, because I don’t have time to hustle in person and manage my full-time and part-time jobs,” she explains. “It’s more time-efficient to post something online and wait for it be to sold, rather than to vend at local shows or markets.”

A Foot in Both worlDs Others in the gig economy choose to maintain a steady paycheck while pursuing their entrepreneurial efforts. lev habif, 37, has been with FedEx for 12 years. He also sells used books and other goods online, and over the years, his sales have gradually increased. “I thought, if I went full force, I could make it work,” he says. “So I kept building up my inventory, doing a lot of research [and] reading other people’s success stories.”

In 2009, Habif went part time at FedEx; with a wife and child, he couldn’t afford to quit and lose his company-provided health insurance.

His mornings are spent delivering packages, to the tune of about 17 hours per week. But he clocks another 40-50 hours a week finding inventory for his online store, packing and shipping items, adjusting listings, researching and ordering.

Over the years, Habif has developed an acute sense of the online market cycle. “At the beginning of school, book prices shoot up almost 50 percent,” he says. “Two weeks later, prices drop. The same goes with toys.

Thanksgiving through the end of the year, prices go up 30 percent; then, a week after the new year, prices are rock bottom. You got to get rid of stuff when it’s hot.”

Following YoUr pAssion

hoUrs loggeD: Lev Habif keeps busy working for FedEx and running his own online business. Photo by Celia Tabitha Photography Like Trimnal, he does his best to surf the seasonal fluctuations. “February and March are slow,” he notes. “But you have to go with the ebb and flow.” work/liFe BAlAnce “The most challenging part of multiple jobs for me is definitely the work/ life balance,” says andrea Kulish, 43.

“Although my planner is full and can look like a mess, I always meet my deadlines,” the artist, graphic designer and teacher continues. But she finds it hard “to shut off the work part of my thinking and take time off.”

Others share similar stories. sarah snyder, 28, is a pastry chef at Rhubarb, a freelance photographer, a photography assistant and occasionally fills in at Home

Google the phrase “side hustle,” and you’ll get countless links to articles listing the best or easiest such undertakings. But if you Google “define side hustle” (or, for that matter, “define gig economy”), you’ll quickly see how little agreement there is concerning what either term actually means.

There’s plenty of overlap. Both are time-consuming, require organization and self-discipline, and often involve some level of entrepreneurship. The

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news biggest distinction seems to be financial. Side hustles are often passion projects: Money is part of the picture, but not the driving force. Staines, for example, says that even if her jewelry didn’t sell, she’d keep making it for the creative outlet it provides. Others echo that sentiment. john almaguer, 33, earns his living as a glassblower in the River Arts District. Making, marketing and shipping glass, plus connecting with galleries, consumes much of his regular 40-hour week. But Almaguer also has a side hustle: offering guided tours of the district.

He started the business this summer, prompted not by financial need but by the desire to connect with others. “I’m a real relationship person,” he explains. “The tours are fun for me.”

Almaguer considers his side hustle a natural product of the same creative energy that fuels his glassblowing. “A lot of entrepreneurs are creative people,” he says. “They enjoy the thrill. … You’ve got this idea, this vision, that you think is fun and exciting and that makes you come alive, and you do it and you happen to be able to make some money from it.”

of downtown; I have a house. It takes something extra to do that,” he points out. And though these gigs now give him “fun money,” they’re also a way of hedging his bets while helping him make ends meet and then some.

As a personnel manager, Brasington is acutely aware of the challenges posed by the high cost of housing in Asheville, which has made it harder for him to fill jobs. “Folks can’t afford to live close in,” he notes. “And when you’re making $9.50-$10.50 an hour, it’s hard to justify driving in from Candler or Black Mountain or Mars Hill.”

rolling with it: John Almaguer makes his living as a glassblower, but offers guided tours through the River Arts District as his side hustle. Photo courtesy of John Almaguer heDging Bets allen brasington, 44, has a fulltime job managing a staffing agency; he’s on call 24 hours a day. Before landing the position, though, he worked as a studio assistant for local artist jonas gerard. “That gig got me through a lot of weeks early on,” remembers Brasington, who came to Asheville in 2008. A former auctioneer and real estate agent in South

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Carolina, he saw his livelihood crash when the recession hit.

And despite his now much busier schedule, Brasington still works 15-20 hours a week for Gerard. Friendship is one factor: “It’s a loyalty thing,” he says.

But Brasington hasn’t forgotten that a mere three years ago, the gallery work was providing essential income. He also serves as an auctioneer for fundraisers, which keeps him involved with the greater community. “I live on the edge

MAking A Dent A 2015 Bowen National Research study prepared for the city’s Community & Economic Development Department defines cost-burdened households as those “paying over 30 percent of their income toward housing costs”; severely cost-burdened households spend more than 50 percent of their income on housing. Among renters, the report continues, 44.2 percent are cost-burdened, and 20.7 percent are severely cost-burdened.

The study also notes that 20.4 percent of Asheville’s population lives in poverty.

“Our role is really in addressing the disparities between our low wages and high cost of living,” community development manager heather dillashaw explains. “We invest the funds we have with partners in the community that are doing work to help make a dent in that.”

The city, she says, has $400,000 in federal Community Development Block Grant funds that goes to such organizations as Green Opportunities, Mountain BizWorks, the Eagle Market Streets Development Corp., the Carolina Small Business Center and Bountiful Cities. “Agencies like that are working to help low-wealth or nowealth entrepreneurs create their own enterprise,” says Dillashaw.

She also cites line items in the 201617 budget as other ways the city is working to improve wages. A $320,000 study, for example, will “evaluate current business and hiring practices in order to identify areas that should be changed or improved,” according to the city’s website. Another $75,000 is earmarked for a diagnostic evaluation of local real estate.

Asheville, says Dillashaw, isn’t the only city with low-wage workers. But “We tend to be unique in that our cost

of living is so astronomical in comparison to our average wage.” soMething For everYBoDY michael dunn, a doctoral candidate at UNC Chapel Hill, recently co-authored an article with Kalleberg titled “Good Jobs, Bad Jobs in the Gig Economy.” One of the phenomenon’s major benefits, says Dunn, is that it “removes spatial constraints that local labor markets typically had over workers.” Thanks to the internet, he maintains, some people whose jobs used to require them to live in cities can now move to rural areas with a lower cost of living. “The most amazing part of what I run into,” he says, “is the incredible diversity” of people working in the gig economy, “and the reasons why they’re doing it: There’s something for everybody.”

Nonetheless, Dunn isn’t making any predictions about the gig economy’s future. “The unknown is how well the economy bounces back,” he says. “Would someone rather have a full-time job with benefits? Probably.

Has this been a godsend for a lot of people? Probably.” X

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DEcEmBER 14 - DEcEmBER 20, 2016

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B U n c o M B e B e At

County board welcomes Whitesides City hosts comprehensive plan input sessions AppointMent with historY It took more than two hours and three rounds of voting, but on Monday, Dec. 5, al whitesides got the nod from Buncombe Democrats to fill a two-year term on the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners. The vacancy was created when Commissioner brownie newman left his District 1 seat after being elected chair. Whitesides becomes the first African-American to serve on the board.

In addition to Whitesides, former Asheville Mayor terry bellamy, jacquelyn hallum and current Asheville City Councilman Keith young were nominated for the post.

“I bring 40 years of experience in finances. I know what budgets are, I know how to make them transparent so you can understand what we are talking about,” Whitesides said, also saying he would form an advisory committee to help him stay in touch with district constituents.

Whitesides also vowed to seek reelection in 2018, when his two-year appointment ends. new BoArD, olD pAtterns The new board showed old tendencies of voting and arguing along party lines during its first meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 6.

In a vote to replace Newman as vice chair, ellen frost won the post 4-3, with Republicans joe belcher, mike fryar and robert pressley voting for Fryar and Democrats jasmine beach-ferrara, Frost, Newman and Whitesides voting for Frost.

Commissioners also clashed over a motion against discrimination and intimidation. Language in the motion stated: “Hate crimes, threats or intimidation of any kind or manner will not be tolerated.” The Democratic bloc of commissioners had added the item to the agenda to respond to what it perceives as an openly hostile postpresidential election landscape.

Pressley and Fryar asked that the motion be tabled until the next meeting, stating it would give them more time to look it over and perhaps make language changes.

Whitesides responded, “We can’t sit back and bury our heads in the sand.

When you look at what’s out there, I have some problems. I went through

this in the ’60s and I’ll be darned if I go through it again today.”

Fryar said he would like to add language to the resolution, including a provision that would require public school teachers to remain apolitical.

Frost retorted, “It’s important to remember we don’t have jurisdiction over the school.”

To which Fryar responded, “We don’t have jurisdiction over the people of Buncombe County, either.”

Beach-Ferrara then asked Fryar if adding the language “political party” to the third section, which lists those whom the resolution applies to, would help.

Fryar responded, “That helps. ... We just keep piling on ordinances on top of ordinances. I want everyone on an equal playing field. We might not agree, but we can work together.”

Whitesides then stressed his rationale for placing this motion before the board despite previous similar measures. “We keep pushing race under the table. We’ve got to talk about it. If we don’t lead, we will have the same problems of the last 50 years over and over again. This resolution keeps it before us,” he said.

Belcher also weighed in, saying he appreciated the conversation commissioners were having on the topic but took issue with the resolution’s tone.

“I’m not really OK with the overall way it’s written and would like some time to tweak it,” he said. “But I want to send a signal to the people of Buncombe County that they should treat each other with dignity. So I’m going to vote for it.”

Commissioners then approved the resolution unanimously. closeD session ABoUt potentiAl JoB openings Commissioners ended the meeting with a closed session about a potential economic development project.

State law allows commissioners to discuss such opportunities behind closed doors. Few details are available at this time. However, county staff tells Xpress the project might bring 500 jobs to the county.

Commissioners are not scheduled to meet again until next year, on Tuesday, Jan. 3.

— Dan Hesse

citY resiDents weigh in on coMprehensive plAn Residents of South Asheville expressed concerns about traffic, infrastructure, development, affordable housing, transit, wages and the environment on Wednesday, Dec. 7, at the South Buncombe Library. The session was one of five hosted in different parts of the city on Dec. 6 and 7 by the city’s planning and urban design department as part of the comprehensive plan process.

Projected to span a year and a half, the comprehensive planning effort is now in its fifth month. When complete, said consultant roger weber of New York-based Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the comprehensive plan will outline the city’s priorities and put forward a “unifying vision” to guide future development and policymaking.

According to Weber, previous public engagement opportunities have included an online survey that garnered almost 400 responses, a public input workshop in October, and advisory and focus groups.

The city’s consultants led a polling activity using individual keypads to collect responses to 12 broad questions about residents’ priorities and expectations for city services.

The first three questions probed views on the relationship between development, density and transit.

To a question exploring the importance of the city’s role in promoting an adequate supply of housing at all income levels, 56 percent of those attending said the city’s role is “very important.”

Most said they would prefer either higher city taxes to support expanded city services or more services financed by user fees.

Walkability, greenways and opportunities for active lifestyles topped the attendees’ priorities for ways the city can promote residents’ quality of life.

In advancing equity for all city residents, attendees said tourists should pay more for their use of city services and facilities, and neighborhoods should have a voice in shaping their own futures.

Throughout the polling activity, residents asked for clarification about the intent of the questions and how the polling data will be used. “This isn’t a perfect technology,” conceded Weber, saying the exercise was part of an early stage in the planning process and that mountainx.com

many more opportunities for input will be available. vijay Kapoor, a South Asheville resident who has been active in organizing the area, pointed out that none of the questions dealt with infrastructure. “Traffic is a big problem down here. Where is that addressed?” he asked. Weber urged those with concerns about infrastructure to note them on their comment cards.

At the end of the formal presentation and discussion, attendees were invited to circulate among stations set up around the room on topics like transit, open space, land use and residents’ visions for the future of the city.

After the meeting in South Asheville, the city’s team had one more meeting, this time in East Asheville, to round out the public input component of this stage in the process.

— Virginia Daffron X

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coMMUnitY cAlenDAr DeceMBer 14 - 22, 2016

❄cArl sAnDBUrg hoMe 1928 Little River Road, Flat Rock, 693-4178, nps.gov/carl • SA (12/17), 10am1pm - "Christmas at Connemara," with music storytelling and hot cider.

Admission fees apply.

For a full list of community calendar guidelines, please visit mountainx.com/calendar. For questions about free listings, call 251-1333, ext. 137. For questions about paid calendar listings, please call 251-1333, ext. 320.

=❄ BeneFits Asheville Browns BAckers clUB 658-4149, ashevillebbw@gmail.com • SUNDAYS, 1pm Proceeds raised at this weekly social group supporting the Cleveland Browns benefit local charities. Free to attend. Held at The Social, 1078 Tunnel Road

❄Asheville MiDDle school 211 South French Broad Ave., 350-6200, ams.ashevillecityschools.net • TH (12/15), 5-6:30pm - Proceeds from this spaghetti supper benefit manna Food Bank. $5/$25 per family.

• SU (12/18), noon-5pm Proceeds from this holiday craft fair with refreshments, entertainment and raffle benefit the asheville middle School eighth grade field trip. Free to attend. ❄cAsting For hope winter MUsic Fest castingforhope.org/ casting-for-hope-presentsmipso/ • SA (12/17) - Proceeds from this music concert with Sweet Revenge, Carolina Blue, Michaela Pittman, Mipso, Travis Book and Jon Stickley benefit casting for Hope.

Afternoon concert: noon5pm. Dinner: 5pm. Evening concert: 7pm. $25 daytime concert/$50 includes concert & afterparty/$75 includes all three events.

Held at City of Morganton Municipal Auditorium, 401 South College St. Morganton ❄Deck the trees libbafairleigh@gmail.com, facebook.com/ montevistahotel • Through SU (12/25), 10am-9pm - Proceeds

18

from donations at this exhibition of unique handdecorated Christmas trees benefit the Swananoa Valley christian ministry Fuel Fund. Awarding of Prizes takes place on Thursday, December 15, 6-8pm. Free to attend.

Held at Monte Vista Hotel, 308 W. State St., Black Mountain

❄eliADA 2 Compton Drive, 254-5356 • TH (12/15), 5-7pm Eliada Christmas party.

Free.

❄ethicAl hUMAnist societY oF Asheville 687-7759, aeu.org • SU (12/18), 2pm - Winter Festival with "This I Believe," presentations followed by a potluck meal.

Free. Held at Asheville Friends Meetinghouse, 227 Edgewood Road

FrAnklin school oF innovAtion BeneFit concert franklinschoolofinnovation.org • WE (12/14), 5-9pmProceeds from this event with live holiday music and raffle benefit arts at the Franklin School of innovation. $10/$25 per family. Held at Isis Restaurant and Music Hall, 743 Haywood Road

❄holiDAY Jingle JAM 708 South Grove St., Hendersonville, 694-1611 • SA (12/17), 4-5:15pm Proceeds from the "NIA Holiday Jingle Jam," NIA creative movement event benefit the Standing Rock Water Protectors. $20.

❄MAke A wish BeneFit theorangepeel.net • TH (12/22), 7:30pm Proceeds from this all ages concert featuring The Dirty Soul Revival, White Soul, Lou Noggins, The Company Stores and White Dog benefit the makea-Wish Foundation. $12.

Held at Orange Peel, 101 Biltmore Ave.

❄UrBAn DhArMA 225-6422, udharmanc.com/ • SA (12/17), 3-5pm Donations of canned foods and pet food for the "Mindful Meal and Holiday Food Drive," buddhist vegan ritual meal benefit manna Food Bank and asheville Humane Society.

Admission by donation of canned and pet food.

Held at Urban Dharma, 29 Page Ave

DEcEmBER 14 - DEcEmBER 20, 2016

An evening oF cArols: The Black Mountain Center for the Arts welcomes back actor and scholar Jamieson Ridenhour at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec.16, for an Evening of Carols. Ridenhour will be offering a Victorian-style reading of the Dickens Christmas classic, A Christmas Carol, which will be followed by a carol singalong led by members of the Black Mountain community and accompanied by musician Aaron Price. “This time of year all of us can use the comfort of being read to. We want to offer the community an opportunity to slow down and listen, to raise their voices in celebration and to join together during this special time of year” says BMCA director Gale Jackson. Admission to the event is by donation. For more information, visit blackmountainarts.org or call 669-0930. Photo of Jamieson Ridenhour courtesy of the Black Mountain Center for the Arts (p. 22) BUsiness & technologY

clAsses, Meetings & events

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AeriAl Arts, DAnce & FlexiBilitY clAsses At eMpYreAn Arts (pD.) • Beginning Aerial Arts drop-in classes happen weekly every Sunday at 4:15pm, Monday at 5:15pm, Tuesday at 11:00am, Wednesday at 4:15pm, and Thursday at 5:00pm • Flexibility drop in classes happen weekly every Tuesday at 8:00pm and Thursdays at 1:00pm • Liquid Motion Dance class happens every Wednesday at 8:00pm • SIGN UP AT EMPYREANARTS.ORG OR CALL/TEXT AT 828.782.3321

551-6355, aafasheville. org • TH (12/15), 5:30pm - Holiday party and toy drive for the Saint Nicholas Foundation of Eblen Charities. Free to attend. Held at Catawba Brewing Tasting Room, 63 Brook St., #1 g&w investMent clUB klcount@aol.com • 3rd WEDNESDAYS, 11:45am - General meeting. Free to attend.

Held at Black Forest Restaurant, 2155 Hendersonville Road, Arden

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pole DAnce & Fitness clAsses At eMpYreAn Arts (pD.) • Beginning Pole drop-in classes happen weekly

every Sunday at 5:45pm, Wednesdays at 5:30pm, Thursdays at 11:00am, and Saturdays at 11:45am • SIGN UP AT EMPYREANARTS.ORG OR CALL/TEXT 828.782.3321 WPVM FM 103.7 • a Better worlD (pD.) • Radio show. Streaming on wpvmfm.org Guest: Monte Leach. U.S. Editor Share International Magazine. Subject: Maitreya, The World Teacher and His call for sharing as the way to justice and justice as the way to lasting peace. Thursday.

December 15. 5-6pm.

BUncoMBe coUntY pUBlic liBrAries buncombecounty.org/ governing/depts/library • MO (12/5), 10am-noon - "Itch to Stitch," needlework group. Free. Held at Weaverville Public Library, 41 N. Main St., Weaverville

❄FrienDs oF hickorY nUt gorge 685-8798, friendsofhng.org • WE (12/14), 6pm Holiday gathering. Free to attend. Held at Lake Lure Inn and Spa, 2771 Memorial Highway, Lake Lure henDerson coUntY pUBlic liBrArY 301 N. Washington St., Hendersonville, 697-4725 • 3rd TUESDAYS, 2-4pm - Apple Users Support Group. Free. hoMinY vAlleY recreAtion pArk 25 Twin Lakes Drive, Candler, 242-8998, hvrpsports.com • 3rd THURSDAYS, 7pm Hominy Valley board meeting. Free. leicester coMMUnitY center 2979 New Leicester Highway, Leicester, 774-3000, facebook.com/ Leicester.Community.Center • 3rd THURSDAYS, 7pm - The Leicester History Gathering general meeting. Free.

McDowell coUntY pUBlic liBrArYMArion BrAnch 90 W Court St., Marion, 652-3858 • WE (12/14), 3pm "Introduction to Finding Grants," workshop.

Registration required. Free.

MoMs DeMAnD Action momsdemandaction.org • 3rd MONDAYS,

4:30pm - Moms Demand Action For Gun Sense in America, general meeting.

Free. Held at St. Mary's Episcopal Church, 337 Charlotte St. ontrAck wnc 50 S. French Broad Ave., 255-5166, ontrackwnc.org • MO (12/19), noon "Budgeting and Debt Class." Registration required. Free.

• MO (12/19), 5:30pm "Understanding Credit.

Get it. Keep it. Improve it." Seminar. Registration required. Free. showing Up For rAciAl JUstice showingupforracialjustice.org • TUESDAYS, 10am-noon Educating and organizing white people for racial justice. Free to attend.

Held at Firestorm Cafe and Books, 610 Haywood Road • 3rd TUESDAYS, 7pm - Coalition building session. Free. Held at Kairos West Community Center, Haywood Road, Asheville the Block oFF BiltMore 39 South Market St., 254-9277, theblockoffbiltmore.com • SU (12/18), 5pm - "Death Cafe," discussion group regarding death and grief.

Admission by donation. wnc phYsiciAns For sociAl responsiBilitY wncpsr.org • 3rd FRIDAYS, noon-2pm - Monthly meeting. BYO lunch. Free. Held at First Congregational UCC of Asheville, 20 Oak St.

DAnce pole Fitness AnD DAnce clAsses At DAnceclUB Asheville (pD.) Pole Dance, Burlesque, Jazz/Funk, Hip Hop, Flashmobs! Drop in for a class or sign up for a series: • Holiday Striptease Workshop - Dec. 10 • 6 Week Intro to Pole Begins Dec. 13 • 6 Week Intro to SPIN Pole - Begins Dec. 15 • Tues. and Thurs. at 12PM - Pole class for $10 • 21 classes offered every week!

• Memberships available for $108/month Danceclubasheville.com 828-275-8628 Right down

Give!Local Calendar

Give!Local nonprofit events from 12/14 through 12/22 BY aBiGaiL GRiFFin | agriffin@mountainx.com Donations for the Give!Local campaign have surpassed the $30,000 mark, with just a little over two weeks left to give! There have been more than 200 donations made during the past six weeks, with an average donation of $158.

This weekend — Friday, Dec. 16 through Sunday, Dec. 18 — is a great time to give to the campaign, as it is the final Big Give Weekend. Anyone donating $20 or more during the weekend will be entered to win the Adventure Package of great outdoor prizes. The package includes a Gregory frame backpack, two three-day membership passes at Gearu for equipment rental, and a ski experience for two at Cataloochee Ski Area.

The Give!Local campaign provides a fun, fast and easy way to give online, from $1 to $1,000s. Donors can give to BeneFits

as many of the participating nonprofits as they like and pay with one easy credit card transaction. Plus, there are hundreds of fun, valuable incentives to encourage donations from everyone, including people who don’t get tax breaks, and a whole new generation of givers — children! To give, or for more information, visit givelocalguide.org Also, Mountain Xpress is happy to announce that, in keeping with its “local matters” mission, it is matching all donations made by its employee, up to $2,000.

Besides donating to the campaign itself, there are plenty of ways to get involved with the participating organizations. Below is a list of what some of the Give!Local nonprofits are up to this week:

AUDitions & cAll to Artists

❄UrBAn DhArMA 225-6422, udharmanc.com/ • SA (12/17), 3-5pm - Donations of canned foods and pet food for the “Mindful Meal and Holiday Food Drive,” buddhist vegan ritual meal benefit manna Food Bank and asheville Humane Society.

Admission by donation of canned and pet food. Held at Urban Dharma, 29 Page Ave

wellness

❄Asheville coMMUnitY

YogA center 8 Brookdale Road, ashevillecommunityyoga.com • FR (12/16), 8-9:15pm - “Solstice Black Light Yoga” class. $10.

• SA (12/17), 12:30-2:30pm “Pratyahara: Turning on the Inner Light,” workshop. $20.

sUpport groUps MY DADDY tAUght Me thAt mydaddytaughtmethat.org • MONDAYS & WEDNESDAYS, 6-8pm - Men’s discussion group.

Free. Held in 16-A Pisgah Apartment, Asheville

FooD & Beer FrienDs oF the sMokies

AnAM cArA theAtre 545-3861, anamcaratheatre.com • Through FR (12/30) - Submissions accepted for play proposals for the 2017-2018 season. Visit the website for full guidelines.

clAsses, Meetings & events

❄eliADA 2 Compton Drive, 2545356 • TH (12/15), 5-7pm - Eliada Christmas party. Free.

FestivAls

❄lAke JUliAn FestivAl oF

lights 684-0376, david.blynt@buncombecounty.org • FR (12/2) through FR (12/23), 6-8pm - Drive through holiday light show featuring animated and stationary light displays.

Twenty percent of ticket sales benefit the Buncombe county Special olympics. $5 per car/$10 per van/$25 per motor coach. Held at Lake Julian Park, 406 Overlook Road Ext., Arden

452-0720, friendsofthesmokies.org, outreach.nc@ friendsofthesmokies.org • TH (12/15), 7pm - WNC Natural History Educational Series Pint Night: Drink beer and learn about that National Park Service Centennial, elk in Western North Carolina, salamanders and climate change. Free to attend. Held at Blue Ghost Brewing Company, 125 Underwood Road. Fletcher

kiDs

light Up A liFe: This holiday season, you can enjoy thousands of colored lights and over 50 animated and stationary light displays at the Lake Julian Festival of Lights while also supporting a great cause: the Special Olympics of Buncombe County.

The annual drive through the holiday light display takes place nightly from 6 to 9 p.m. until Friday, Dec. 23. Twenty percent of proceeds from ticket sales go to the Special Olympics of Buncombe County, which provides year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities.

The event costs $5 per car, $10 per van or $25 per motor coach. For more information, call 684-0376 or email david.blynt@buncombecounty.org. Want to help, but can’t make it out to the Festival of Lights? You can easily donate online to the Special Olympics of Buncombe County at givelocalguide.org dogs are welcome. Registration required: haley@appalachian.org

Attic sAlt theAtre coMpAnY

or 253-0095 ext. 205. $10/Free for

505-2926 • SATURDAYS through (12/31) Family theater performances. $5.

Held at The Magnetic Theatre, 375 Depot St.

members.

oUtDoors

❄soUthern AppAlAchiAn

highlAnDs conservAncY 253-0095, appalachian.org • FR (12/16), 11am - “Dog Days of Winter,” guided, moderately strenuous 5.5 mile hike in the Montreat Wilderness. Well mannered

seniors coUncil on Aging oF BUncoMBe coUntY, inc.

277-8288, coabc.org • FR (12/16), 2-4pm - “Medicare Choices Made Easy,” workshop.

Registration required. Free. Held at Goodwill Career Training Center, 1616 Patton Ave.

volUnteering

hoMewArD BoUnD oF wnc 218 Patton Ave., 258-1695, homewardboundwnc.org

BoUntY & soUl

• 3rd THURSDAYS, 11am -

419-0533, bountyandsoul.org

“Welcome Home Tour,” tours

• TH (12/15), 1:30-3:30pm -

of Asheville organizations that

Volunteer to sort and place pro-

serve the homeless population.

duce and other food onto the truck.

Registration required. Free to

Held at Bounty and Soul, 999 Old

attend.

US Highway 70, Black Mountai • WE (12/16), 2-5:45pm - Volunteer

MoUntAintrUe

to sort and place produce and

258-8737, wnca.org

other food onto the truck and

• SA (12/17), TU (12/20) & TH

serve the community. Held at Black

(12/22), 10am-4pm - Volunteer to

Mountain Elementary School, 100

help plant live-stakes along eroding

Flat Creek Road, Black Mountain,

riverbanks. Registration: mountain-

Black Mountian

true.org/eventscalendar/

mountainx.com

DEcEmBER 14 - DEcEmBER 20, 2016

19

c o n s c i o U s pA r t Y

By Kat McReynolds | kmcreynolds@mountainx.com

Town Mountain’s Asheville Holiday Hang

stAge presents: Town Mountain’s performance at Asheville Holiday Hang will likely include Christmas songs and several unrecorded tunes by the bluegrass band. “We’re due for some studio time,” banjoist and vocalist Jesse Langlais says. “There’s nothing set in stone by any stretch, but it’s on our minds.” Photo by Jeff Fasano what: Town Mountain’s fifth annual benefit concert for MANNA FoodBank, featuring The Honeycutters where: The Grey Eagle when: Friday, Dec. 16, at 8 p.m. why: “A lot of people that I see out on the road are like ‘Oh, I’ve heard about Asheville. I’d love to get there,’” says Town Mountain banjoist and vocalist jesse langlais. “So, why not try to take a little piece of Asheville to some other folks?”

Town Mountain’s new event series — the Asheville Hang — aims to do just that, promoting “some of the killer musicians here” and the city itself through a traveling, all-local lineup.

Depending on the level of success, Langlais plans to build the concept in several ways: adding more bands, venturing beyond the Southeast and booking multiple tours per year, for instance. For the Hang’s maiden voyage, though, Town Mountain and country opener The Honeycutters will keep to the Carolinas with a holiday theme.

20

DEcEmBER 14 - DEcEmBER 20, 2016

mountainx.com

“We’ll certainly be doing collaborations amongst the two bands,” Langlais says, noting that members from the acts comprise the on-and-off band Asheville Country Music Review. He and Honeycutters frontwoman amanda platt have also discussed coming together for some Christmas tunes at the hometown show.

Town Mountain and The Honeycutters both have 2016 full-length albums (Southern Crescent and On the Ropes, respectively) to draw from. “And there’s definitely some new music that we’ve been working on this summer, so look for that in our set,” Langlais adds.

In total, funds from Town Mountain’s four previous benefit concerts for MANNA FoodBank have covered the cost of an estimated 12,500 meals, according to the band. Proceeds from this year’s fifth iteration at The Grey Eagle will also go to the nonprofit.

Visit thegreyeagle.com for tickets ($12/$15) or more information. X

c oMMU n it Y cA l e n D Ar

the street from UNCA - 9 Old Burnsville Hill Rd., #3 stUDio zAhiYA, Downtown DAnce clAsses (pD.) Monday 5pm Ballet Wkt 6pm Hip Hop Wkt 7pm Hip Hop Fusion 8pm Tap • Tuesday 9am Hip Hop Wkt 4:30pm Teen Bellydance 6pm Intro to Bellydance 7pm Bellydance 2 8pm Bellydance 3 8pm Hip Hop Choreography •Wednesday 9am Hip Hop Wkt 5:30pm Hip Hop Wkt 6:30pm Bhangra 7:30pm POUND Wkt 8pm • Thursday 9am Hip Hop Wrkt 4pm Girls Hip Hop 5pm Teen Hip Hop 7pm West African • Saturday 9:30am Hip Hop Wkt 10:45 Electronic Yoga Wkt • Sunday 3pm Tap 2 6:30pm Vixen • $13 for 60 minute classes, Wkt $5. 90 1/2 N. Lexington Avenue. www.studiozahiya.com :: 828.242.7595

❄BAllet conservAtorY oF Asheville 255-5777, balletconservatoryofasheville.com • TH (12/15) & FR (12/16), 4:30pm & 7:30pm - The Nutcracker. $30/$20 students/$15 children under 13. Held at Diana Wortham Theatre, 2 S. Pack Square ❄soUthern lights sQUAre AnD roUnD DAnce clUB 697-7732, southernlights.org • SA (12/17), 5pm - "Mistletoe Magic" themed dance.

Christmas dinner and meeting at 5pm. Early rounds at 7pm.

Squares and rounds at 7:30pm.

Free. Held at Whitmire Activity Center, 310 Lily Pond Road, Hendersonville eco Asheville green Drinks ashevillegreendrinks.com • 3rd WEDNESDAYS, 7pm Eco-presentations, discussions and community connection.

Free. Held at Lenoir Rhyne Center for Graduate Studies, 36 Montford Ave. green grAnnies avl.mx/0gm • 3rd SATURDAYS, 4pm Sing-a-long for the climate.

Information: singfortheclimate. com Free. Held at Pritchard Park, 4 College St. MoUntAintrUe 258-8737, wnca.org • MO (12/19), 4pm - "After the Wildfires: Mitigating Climate Change and Adapting to the New Normal," presenta-

by Abigail Griffin

tion by Jim Fox, Director of UNC Asheville’s NEMAC and Josh Kelly, Public Lands Field Biologist at MountainTrue.

Free. Held at The Collider, 1 Haywood St., Suite 401

FArM & gArDen polk coUntY FrienDs oF AgricUltUre BreAkFAst polkcountyfarms.org • 3rd WEDNESDAYS, 7-8am Monthly breakfast with presentations regarding agriculture.

Admission by donation. Held at the 4-H Center, Locust St, Columbus

FooD & Beer Asheville vegAn societY meetup.com/The-AshevilleVegan-Society/ • 1st TUESDAYS & Third SATURDAYS, 10am - Social meeting. Free to attend. Held at Firestorm Cafe and Books, 610 Haywood Road Downtown welcoMe tABle haywoodstreet.org/2010/07/ the-welcome-table/ • SUNDAYS, 4:30pm Community meal. Free. Held at Haywood Street Congregation, 297 Haywood St. FAirview welcoMe tABle fairviewwelcometable.com • THURSDAYS, 11:30am-1pm - Community lunch. Admission by donation. Held at Fairview Christian Fellowship, 596 Old Us Highway 74 Fairview FooD not BoMBs henDersonville foodnotbombshendersonville@ gmail.com • SUNDAYS, 4pm - Community meal. Free. Held at Black Bear Coffee Co., Rosdon Mall, 318 N Main St., #5, Hendersonville FrienDs oF the sMokies 452-0720, friendsofthesmokies.org, outreach.nc@ friendsofthesmokies.org • TH (12/15), 7pm - WNC Natural History Educational Series Pint Night: Drink beer and learn about that National Park Service Centennial, elk in Western North Carolina, salamanders and climate change.

Free to attend. Held at Blue Ghost Brewing Company, 125 Underwood Road. Fletcher

❄JAckson coUntY FArMers MArket Railroad Ave., Sylva, 631-3033, jacksoncountyfarmersmarket.org

• SA (12/10) & SA (12/17), 10am-1pm - "Holiday Bazaar," holiday market with crafts, herbal products, baked goods and food. Free to attend leicester coMMUnitY center 2979 New Leicester Highway, Leicester, 774-3000, facebook. com/Leicester.Community.

Center • 3rd TUESDAYS, 2:30-3:30pm - Manna FoodBank distribution, including local produce. Free.

• WEDNESDAYS, 11:30am-1pm - Welcome Table meal. Free.

car/$10 per van/$25 per motor coach. Held at Lake Julian Park, 406 Overlook Road, Ext. Arden

❄MontForD pArk plAYers 254-5146, montfordparkplayers.org • SATURDAYS & SUNDAYS through (12/18), 3pm - "Day with Dickens Festival," Victorian themed event with crafts and food and A Christmas Carol. Festival from

3-5pm. Showtime at 5pm.

Free. Held at Hazel Robinson Amphitheatre, 92 Gay St.

❄n.c. ArBoretUM winter lights 665-2492, ncwinterlights.com • FR (11/18) through SU (1/1), 6-10pm - "Winter Lights," outdoor holiday lights exhibition. $18/$16 children under 12/ Free children under 4. Held at N.C. Arboretum, 100 Frederick Law Olmsted Way

governMent & politics

citY oF Asheville 251-1122, ashevillenc.gov • TH (12/15), 4pm - Asheville Area Riverfront Redevelopment Commission meeting. Free.

Held at Dr. Wesley Grant Sr. Southside Center, 285 Livingston St.

MontMorenci UniteD MethoDist chUrch 89 Old Candler Town Road, Candler, 667-1211 • MONDAYS 6-7:30pm & THURSDAYS noon-2pm Community meal. Free. sAnctUArY Brewing coMpAnY 147 1st Ave., Hendersonville, 595-9956, sanctuarybrewco.com/ • SUNDAYS, 1pm - Community meal. Free.

❄YMcA oF wnc 210-2265, ymcawnc.org • SA (12/17), 10am-12:30pm Holiday market featuring local produce, cheeses, breads, meats, baked goods, specialty products, and crafts. Free to attend. Held at YMCA Mission Pardee Health Campus, 2775 Hendersonville Road Arden

Magical Offerings

FestivAls

❄cherokee triBAl FAirgroUnDs 545 Tsali Blvd., Cherokee, (800) 438-1601, visitcherokeenc.com/ • FRIDAYS & SATURDAYS (12/9) through (12/31), 5-10pm - Holiday light display and legends of the Cherokee. Free to attend. ❄citY oF henDersonville cityofhendersonville.org • FRIDAYS & SATURDAYS (12/9) until (12/17), 6-8pm "Santa's House," installation and photos with Santa Claus.

Free to attend. Held in front of American Detailing, 620 North Main, Hendersonville ❄lAke JUliAn FestivAl oF lights 684-0376, david.blynt@buncombecounty.org • Through FR (12/23), 6-8pm - Drive through holiday light show featuring animated and stationary light displays.

Twenty percent of ticket sales benefit the Buncombe county Special olympics. $5 per

Dance and transformational classes for women of all sizes, ages, and backgrounds.

Specials on classes and holiday gift certificates all month long!

Dec. 15 - Circle Round Presents: Psychic Protection, 7-9pm, Donations Dec. 17 - Tarot Reader: Edward, 12-6pm Dec. 19 - Astrologer: SpiritSong, 12-6pm Mercury Retrograde Dec. 21 - Tarot Reader: Jonathan, 12-6pm MERRY SOLSTICE! Dec. 23 - Psychic: Andrea Allen, 12-6pm Frau Holle Workshop: w/ Angela, 7-8pm, Donations

Dec. 25 - CLOSED MERRY HOLIDAYS!

Over 100 Herbs Available!

828-548-0698 christinegarvin.com mountainx.com

555 Merrimon Ave. (828) 424-7868 Daily readers including Scrying, Runes, Tarot, & More! Walk-ins welcome!

DEcEmBER 14 - DEcEmBER 20, 2016

21

coM M U n i tY cA len DA r

kiDs Attic sAlt theAtre coMpAnY 505-2926 • SATURDAYS through (12/31) - Family theater performances. $5. Held at The Magnetic Theatre, 375 Depot St. BUncoMBe coUntY pUBlic liBrAries buncombecounty.org/ governing/depts/library • WE (12/14), 4pm - After school art club for school aged children. Free. Held at Leicester Library, 1561 Alexander Road, Leicester • FR (12/16), 4-5:30pm - Teen Awesome Group: Board game party with refreshments.

Free. Held at Weaverville Public Library, 41 N. Main St., Weaverville • SA (12/17), 2-3:30pm - "Drawing for Kids and the Young at Heart," kids activities. Free. Held at West Asheville Library, 942 Haywood Road • WE (12/21), 3:30pm - Pack Makers & Shakers Club: Make pottery with the Dry Ridge School of Art. Participants will be glazing ceramic bowls to be donated to Manna Food Bank. For ages 5 and up. Free.

Held at Pack Memorial Library, 67 Haywood St. Fletcher liBrArY 120 Library Road, Fletcher, 687-1218, library.hendersoncountync.org • WEDNESDAYS, 10:30am Family story time. Free.

❄lAke JAMes stAte pArk 6883 N.C. Highway 126 Nebo, 584-7728 • WE (12/21), 10am - "Animal Track Ornaments," rangerled activity to create ornaments from animal tracks.

Registration required. Free.

MAlAprop's Bookstore AnD cAFe 55 Haywood St., 254-6734, malaprops.com • WEDNESDAYS, 10am - Miss Malaprop's Story Time for ages 3-9. Free to attend.

❄sMith-McDowell hoUse MUseUM 283 Victoria Road, 253-9231, wnchistory.org • SA (12/17), 2-3:30pm "Cookies with Mrs. Claus," event with refreshments, songs, book readings and crafts. $5.

22

DEcEmBER 14 - DEcEmBER 20, 2016

mountainx.com

by Abigail Griffin

spellBoUnD chilDren's Bookshop 640 Merrimon Ave., #204, 708-7570, spellboundchildrensbookshop.com • SATURDAYS, 11am Storytime for ages 3-7. Free to attend.

oUtDoors

❄lAke JAMes stAte pArk 6883 N.C. Highway 126 Nebo, 584-7728 • FR (12/16), 8:30am - "Winter Bird Hike," ranger led hike. Free.

• SA (12/17), 1pm - "Winter Plant Hike," ranger led .75 mile hike. Free.

❄soUthern AppAlAchiAn

highlAnDs conservAncY 253-0095, appalachian.org • FR (12/16), 11am - "Dog Days of Winter," guided, moderately strenuous 5.5 mile hike in the Montreat Wilderness.

Well mannered dogs are welcome. Registration required: haley@appalachian. org or 253-0095 ext. 205. $10/ Free for members.

pArenting YoUth oUtright 866-881-3721, youthoutright.org • 3rd SATURDAYS, 11am - Middle school discussion group. Free. Held at First Congregational UCC of Asheville, 20 Oak St.

seniors coUncil on Aging oF BUncoMBe coUntY, inc.

277-8288, coabc.org • FR (12/16), 2-4pm "Medicare Choices Made Easy," workshop. Registration required. Free. Held at Goodwill Career Training Center, 1616 Patton Ave.

spiritUAlitY ABoUt the trAnscenDentAl MeDiTaTiON TeCHNiQUe • Free introDUctorY tAlk (pD.) Deep with everyone is a limitless field of peace, energy and happiness, waiting to be discovered and fully lived in daily life. With proper instruction you can access that inner wellspring and meditate effortlessly and successfully—every time. Learn how TM is different from mindful-

ness, watching your breath, common mantra meditation and everything else. NIHsponsored research shows deep revitalizing rest, reduced stress and anxiety, improved brain functioning and heightened well-being. Thursday, 6:30-7:30pm, asheville tm center, 165 E. Chestnut.

828-254-4350. TM.org or meditationasheville.org Astro-coUnseling (pD.) Licensed counselor and accredited professional astrologer uses your chart when counseling for additional insight into yourself, your relationships and life directions. Readings also available.

Christy Gunther, MA, LPC. (828) 258-3229. open heArt MeDitAtion (pD.) Come experience a relaxing, guided meditation connecting you to the peace and joy of the Divine within you.

7-8pm Tuesday. Suite 212, 70 Woodfin Place. Suggested $5 donation. shAMBhAlA MeDitAtion center (pD.) Wednesdays, 10-midnight, Thursdays, 7-8:30pm and Sundays, 10-noon • Meditation and community. Admission by donation. 60 N. Merrimon Ave., #113, (828) 200-5120. asheville.shambhala.org

❄AvAlon grove 645-2674, avalongrove.org, avalongrove@gmail.com • SU (12/18), 3-4pm - Celtic Christian holiday service for the winter solstice. Register for location. Free. Held in a private home.

MArY whitesiDes: gAthering oF FrienDs dolly3695@aol.com • FR (12/16), 7-9pm "Mastery or Mystery," nonduality meeting with Mary Whitesides. Free. Held at Asheville Women's Wellness & Education Center, 24 Arlington St.

spoken & written worD

❄BlAck MoUntAin

center For the Arts 225 W. State St., Black Mountain, 669-0930, blackmountainarts.org • FR (12/16), 7pm- Jamieson Ridenhour reads A Christmas Carol followed by a carol singa-long with Aaron Price. $7.

• SU (12/18), 2pm - James

Send your event listings to calendar@mountainx.com

Navé recites Dylan Thomas’ A Child’s Christmas in Wales.

Free to attend.

BlUe riDge Books 152 S. Main St., Waynesville • WE (12/14), 10am-noon - Proceeds from purchases of homemade Ecuadorian items benefit the building of a library system for the children of the remote andean regions of Ecuador.

Information: read-organization. com. Free to attend.

• 1st & 3rd SATURDAYS, 10am - Banned Book Club. Free to attend.

❄BUFFAlo nickel 747 Haywood Road, 575-2844, buffalonickelavl.com/ • WE (12/14), 7pm - "Carolina Christmas," storytelling event hosted by David Joe Miller and featuring Michael Reno Harrell. $17/$15 advance.

BUncoMBe coUntY pUBlic liBrAries buncombecounty.org/ governing/depts/library • WE (12/14), 4pm - The Liberators No Shame in Escapism Book Club: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon. Free. Held at Pack Memorial Library, 67 Haywood St. • TU (12/20), 7pm- Fairview Evening Book Club: My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry by Fredrik Backman. Free. Held at Fairview Library, 1 Taylor Road, Fairview FirestorM cAFe AnD Books 610 Haywood Road, 255-8115 • FR (12/16), 6-8:30pm Marshall James Kavanaugh presents his collection of poetry, Travel By Haiku: Volumes 1-5, Still Trippin' Across The States. Admission by donation.

MAlAprop's Bookstore AnD cAFe 55 Haywood St., 254-6734, malaprops.com • WE (12/14), 7pm - Charles Vess and Emoke B'Racz present the fantasy book, Walking Through the Landscapes of Faerie. Free to attend. north cArolinA writers' network ncwriters.org • Through MO (1/30) Submissions accepted for the 2017 Thomas Wolfe Fiction Prize. See website for full guidelines. sYnergY storY slAM avl.mx/0gd • WE (12/14), 8pm -

Storytelling Open Mic Night on the theme "So Long." Signups at 7:30pm. Free to attend.

Held at Odditorium, 1045 Haywood Road

sports BUncoMBe coUntY recreAtion services buncombecounty.org/ Governing/Depts/Parks/ • Through MO (12/19) - Open registration for the winter adult dodge ball league. $30 per player.

volUnteering tUtor ADUlts in neeD with the literAcY coUncil (pD.) Literacy and English language skills help people rise out of poverty and support their families. Volunteer and give someone a second chance to learn. Sign up for volunteer orientation on 1/4 (5:30 pm) or 1/5 (9:00 am) by emailing volunteers@litcouncil.com. www. litcouncil.com BoUntY & soUl 419-0533, bountyandsoul.org • TH (12/15), 1:30-3:30pm Volunteer to sort and place produce and other food onto the truck. Held at Bounty and Soul, 999 Old US Highway 70, Black Mountain • WE (12/16), 2-5:45pm Volunteer to sort and place produce and other food onto the truck and serve the community. Held at Black Mountain Elementary School, 100 Flat Creek Road, Black Mountain, Black Mountian

❄cAre pArtners

Volunteer to knit hats for community members in need. All skill levels welcome.

Registration required.

• MO (12/19), 6-8:30pm Volunteer to help bake homemade cookies for hospice patients and their families at CarePartners' John Keever Solace Center. Registration required.

• TH (12/22), 11am-12:30pm Volunteer to serve a homemade lunch to the men staying at the ABCCM Veteran's Restoration Quarters. Registration required. hoMewArD BoUnD oF wnc 218 Patton Ave., 258-1695, homewardboundwnc.org • 3rd THURSDAYS, 11am "Welcome Home Tour," tours of Asheville organizations that serve the homeless population.

Registration required. Free to attend. loving FooD resoUrces 255-9282, admin@lovingfood.org • Through SA (12/31) Volunteer with Loving Food Resources. Registration: ngavin@lovingfood.org or 443655-3074.

• FR (12/16), 6-8pm - Donations of four dozen or more homemade cookies accepted.

Cookies will be donated to the clients of Loving Food Resources. Held at Kenilworth Presbyterian Church, 123 Kenilworth Road MoUntAintrUe 258-8737, wnca.org • SA (12/17), TU (12/20) & TH (12/22), 10am-4pm - Volunteer to help plant live-stakes along eroding riverbanks.

Registration: mountaintrue.org/ eventscalendar/

FoUnDAtion 277-4815, carepartnersfoundation.org • Through SA (11/24) Volunteers needed to wrap gifts in exchange for a donation to CarePartners Hospice.

Registration: carepartnersfoundation.org/event/ or 989-5067. Held at Asheville Outlets, 800 Brevard Road

❄n.c. ArBoretUM winter

hAnDs on AshevilleBUncoMBe 2-1-1, handsonasheville.org • WE (12/14), 5-7pm Volunteer to help keep up with the maintenance of the Verner Community Garden.

Registration required.

• SA (12/17), 2-5pm Volunteer to help accept donations at the Habitat ReStore.

Registration required.

• SU (12/18), 1-2:30pm -

riverlink 170 Lyman St., 252-8474 ext.11 • WE (12/14), 10am & 5:30pm - Volunteer information session. The 5:30 session features the presentation "Who was Wilma Dykeman?" Registration required: volunteer@riverlink.org.

lights 665-2492, ncwinterlights.com • Through SU (1/1) - Volunteer to help with the Winter Lights exhibition. Individuals, couples and groups are welcome! Must be 18 or over. Registration and training required. Held at N.C. Arboretum, 100 Frederick Law Olmsted Way

For more volunteering opportunities visit mountainx.com/volunteering

mountainx.com

DEcEmBER 14 - DEcEmBER 20, 2016

23

wellness

IN THE LOOP

BY KaYLa c. LEED

Hearing loop advocate Juliette Sterkens speaks in Brevard

sound system. The loop transmits the sound electromagnetically, and its signal is then picked up by the telecoil in the hearing aid or cochlear implant.

Hearing loops are becoming more popular in the U.S., Sterkens pointed out. They’re available in airports, train stations, places of worship, stadiums, auditoriums, grocery store cash registers and libraries. New York City subway stations and taxis are required to have hearing loops installed.

One in 10 Americans has some sort of hearing loss, according to Sterkens. And it is one of the most common birth defects, and the thirdmost common health condition for people over the age of 65, she adds. rosemary tuite, former president of the Brevard chapter of HLAA and now on the steering committee, organized the talk by Sterkens. “Looping is a big thing right now,” Tuite said.

“It’s been a big thing in Europe for a long time, but now we’re getting a lot [of loops] in Western North Carolina.” She hardly saw any loops in WNC 20 years ago, she recounts.

Tuite and her sister Kathy borzell decided to start the Brevard chapter and sought Sterkens’ help in establishing loops in public buildings, starting with Transylvania Regional Hospital’s Carlson conference room, the first public looped space in Transylvania County. The looping of churches and other public buildings followed.

Tuite notes that Asheville now has an HLAA chapter, which meets at CarePartners. The chapter has worked to loop the Reuter Center at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UNC Asheville and is in the process of bringing loops to the Asheville Community Theatre. Tuite says she is making proposals for loops at Mission

kaylaleed@gmail.com “I am here because I want to change the world. You know everybody does,” announced juliette sterkens, national hearing loop advocate for the nonprofit Hearing Loss Association of America. Sterkens was speaking at an informational community meeting in early November at the Transylvania County Library in Brevard. The event, hosted by the Brevard and Asheville Chapters of HLAA, educated a crowd of people with hearing loss, as well as hearingloss advocates, about the benefits of hearing loops.

The Rogow Room at the Brevard library is magnetically looped to enhance hearing accessibility for those who use hearing aids or cochlear implants that have a T-coil. Headsets were available to access the loop, and real-time captioning was provided, enabling everyone to participate.

Inspired by her father’s hearing loss, Netherlands native Sterkens has been on the journey of introducing hearing loops to businesses and organizations all over America. “I always wondered why hearing loops did not exist in this country,” she said.

An audiologist for more than 30 years, Sterkens worked with children with hearing deficiencies in the Netherlands when she was younger. She said she was in awe of how much the moods of the children would change when they switched from a T-coil to the hearing loop.

A hearing loop is a wire that circles a room and is connected to a

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DEcEmBER 14 - DEcEmBER 20, 2016

mountainx.com

“i cAn heAr YoU, BUt i Don’t UnDerstAnD YoU”: Audiologist Juliette Sterkens explains that it’s a common misunderstanding that hearing loss is only a loudness issue.

It’s more about clarity and getting a good signal to the impaired ear, she says. Photo courtesy of Juliette Sterkens Hospital, which until now has been geared more toward accommodating the deaf with interpreters rather than providing assistive devices for hardof-hearing people. “There’s a need for loops when people are checking in,” she points out, “and sometimes people aren’t understanding [doctors’] instructions. There are even portable loops a nurse could use.” jill roberts, a member of the steering committee of the Brevard chapter, says the chapter has been instrumental in bringing hearing loops to Western North Carolina.

She was initially influenced by a talk

Sterkens gave in 2014, she explains, and then worked to bring loops to area churches. “Older people quit going to church because they couldn’t hear, with the rustle of hymnals and the echoes of organs,” she says, “and it was making it impossible for them to enjoy and benefit.” Roberts notes that looping churches eased the isolation of older people by giving them a reason to return. “Research shows that hearing loss isolates people, and it’s a precursor to dementia,” she adds.

Roberts is a hearing person but became a proponent of looping because of her husband’s hearing loss. “It was such an incredible improvement for my husband,” she says.

Tuite, who has cochlear implants in both ears, says she can now clearly hear everything a speaker is saying in a looped space.

Sterkens noted that the most common hearing loss affects the clarity of sounds, including consonants, which is why the phrase “I can hear you, but I don’t understand you” is very common.

She discussed three major aspects of hearing loss: volume, speech discrimination and, when aging and hearing loss are combined, the ability to discern speech from noise (signal-to-noise ratio, or SNR).

“People with hearing loss will often move closer to the speaker or ask the speaker to increase their volume,” Sterkens said. “But you know what they really need?

Hearing loops, access to clear sound or improvements in SNR.” Hearing aids are often returned with the complaint that they did not help with hearing, Sterkens explained, because the devices are limited to a 6- to 10-foot working radius. The most frequent reason for return, she added, is that hearing aids pick up background noise; in large, public places, they make all sounds louder, which limits benefits to the user.

Roberts also points out that many people are not educated about their hearing aids at the point of purchase.

Often audiologists do not inform people that their hearing aids have T-coils, she says, because they don’t expect them to be used, in the absence of loops in many public spaces. But

with the rise in loops, education helps people better utilize their hearing aids.

“That’s what we’re about,” she says.

“Educating people.”

In 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed, making it illegal to discriminate against people with disabilities, including hearing loss. The ADA was aimed at employers with 15 or more employees and any public entity or place.

“This act proved to have many flaws,” said Sterkens, “It was hard to prove your disability, as the definition of ‘disability’ was not clear.

It was probable to hear things like, ‘Well, you have a cane, so you don’t need a handicapped parking space.’”

In 2008, President George W. Bush updated the act, defining disability as an impairment that limits a major life activity.

“The ADA assumes people with hearing loss are limited from ‘life activities’ and makes certain that provisions ... are made,” Sterkens continued. “The goal is to ensure that communication with people with these disabilities is equally effective as communication with people without them.”

The ADA was updated once more in 2010, requiring assistive listening systems in assembly areas where audible communication is an integral use of the space. This act created increased demand for hearing loops, said Sterkens, as they provide an easy and effective way to meet the needs of those with hearing loss.

With the quick rise of hearing loops, Sterkens began taking surveys at places of worship, including the Catholic church she attended in Wisconsin. She asked 866 people with hearing loss how well they could hear on a scale of 1 to 10, with just their hearing aids, and then how well they could hear with the hearing loop.

Before hearing loops were installed, Sterkens found that 13 percent of people heard “great” (8-10 range). Once the hearing loops were installed, 93 percent said they heard “great.”

“This was not because these people had bad hearing aids; it was because they could not hear without the loop,” said Sterkens. “Loops are easy. You get to decide when you want to use it, it sounds better, and it doesn’t drain the hearing aid battery. The microphone I have on my ear becomes the microphone on the hearing aid. And that is what is so slick about the hearing loop.”

Hearing aids have added more technical features, Sterkens explained: There are hearing aids that will automatically switch from T-coil to the hearing loop, depending on which works best. And there are mobile apps available for download on Apple iPhone that can act as the remote for hearing aids, allowing the user complete control.

“There are a variety of different loops with a variety of effects and flaws. Well-trained installers are key to successful loops,” Sterkens said.

The loop finder app is like Yelp for hearing loops, she added. The user is able to find nearby loops, rate the loop, add comments and even let the installer know if the loop is not working properly.

“We need more torchbearers — we need advocates for hearing loops,” Sterkens said. “We need welltrained installers, supportive audiologists and hearing care providers and a plan to use available funds toward installing.”

There are also many benefits to hearing professionals who advocate for hearing loops, she noted. “[They] reduce hearing aid returns, offer an easy solution in

places where hearing aids alone are unable to deliver,” Sterkens said. “They make clients more satisfied with hearing devices, and loops create PR and goodwill money cannot buy.” X

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MORE INFO hearing loss association of america hearingloss.org assistive listening device locator and map aldlocator.com jill roberts, brevard chapter of hlaa svtumbleweed@comporium.net juliette sterkens jsterkens@hearingloss.org hearing loops hearingloop.org

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green scene

MAKING SUSTAINABILITY PAY

BY ViRGinia DaFFRon vdaffron@mountainx.com “When I first bought this property in 1979, I didn’t plan to ever cut one single tree,” says gary mccurry, who owns Fox Gap Farms in Morganton.

These days, McCurry’s commitment to caring for the 110-acre forested tract is as strong as ever, but he’s learned along the way that conservation and responsible use aren’t necessarily opposed.

Several years ago, McCurry discovered a heavy pine beetle infestation on 13 acres of his property. Eliminating the pests meant removing trees, so he and his son decided to turn the cleared area into an organic apple orchard. The farm sold its first crop this year. “We’re one of only three certified organic apple growers in the state,” McCurry says proudly.

Fox Gap also has blueberry bushes, honey-producing beehives and several historic log structures that McCurry installed on the property.

Following N.C. Forest Service recommendations, he uses controlled burns to reduce underbrush and encourage tree regeneration in the wooded areas.

Down the line, McCurry does envision selling some timber but says the selective harvest will be done with an

eye toward improving forest health and protecting water quality.

Collectively, small private landowners hold over half of all forest lands in Western North Carolina. But this vital constituency has been underserved, according to forest product companies, the U.S. Forest Service and environmental nonprofits. Encouraging these landowners to practice sustainable forest management, experts say, is critically important to addressing the effects of climate change, combating invasive species and pests, and preserving biological diversity.

a three-year effort giving landowners technical and market support for implementing sustainable practices. proMises kept

the new lAnD BArons When we think about such issues, we tend to focus on large, publicly owned tracts like the Nantahala and Pisgah national forests, which together comprise more than 1 million acres. In fact, however, 86 percent of forest lands in the South are privately held, according to a 2011 U.S. Forest Service report, and individuals and families own two-thirds of those.

Corporations like Champion Paper in Canton, now part of Evergreen Packaging, once owned significant acreage in North Carolina and throughout the South, says jim sitts of Columbia Forest Products in Old Fort. But in the 1980s and ’90s, most of them sold off their timber holdings. And with only lim-

tAlking trees: Gary McCurry speaks to a group of about 100 forestland property owners at an educational event sponsored by the Appalachian Woodlands Alliance in Morganton on Oct. 29. Photo by Andrea Desky, Call to Action Media/Rainforest Alliance ited logging taking place on public lands these days, continues Sitts, 90 percent of the wood his company buys every year en route to producing some 40 million board feet of plywood comes from small private landowners. “Small, nonindustrial landowners are critical to every wood products company in Western North Carolina,” he explains. “We couldn’t run our mills without material from them.”

Thus, efforts to promote sustainable forest management practices must meet those owners’ specific needs and goals in order to be effective, says andrew goldberg of the Rainforest Alliance.

Yet finding and collaborating with thousands of small-scale landowners is no easy task. That’s why Goldberg’s nonprofit and its public- and private-sector partners established the Appalachian Woodlands Alliance last spring. Coalition contributors include the U.S. Forest Service and large corporations such as Avery Dennison, Columbia Forest Products, Domtar, Evergreen Packaging, Kimberly-Clark and Staples. They’ve pledged to support

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DEcEmBER 14 - DEcEmBER 20, 2016

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Forest stewardship initiative targets private landowners

Since Staples doesn’t manufacture paper or furniture products itself, the office supply retailer depends on partners such as Columbia Forest Products and Domtar (headquartered in Fort Mill, S.C.) to meet its corporate sustainability commitments and respond to customer demand for responsible paper products, says mark buckley, vice president of environmental affairs. Thus, Staples indirectly relies on timber grown by thousands of small landowners.

In WNC, he notes, some of those holdings “have been in the family for many, many years. There’s an incredible amount of pride in the land: They view it as a legacy commitment for them and their children and grandchildren.”

The Woodlands Alliance seeks to help those folks generate income from their land while preserving the forest, notes Buckley. “We’ve all grown up thinking that there’s got to be some kind of net loss every time we’re talking about something like this, and the reality is you can create much more value.” chad leatherwood of Evergreen Packaging is on the same page. He works with hundreds of private landowners who supply the small trees and treetops that are the raw material for Evergreen’s packaging and paper products. But the demand for sustainably managed forest products exceeds the supply, says Leatherwood; he hopes the Woodlands Alliance can help small landowners implement sustainable practices and achieve certification by the Forest Stewardship Council or other industry-recognized entities.

MAn with A plAn Keith johnston owns 1,600 acres in Wilkes and Watauga counties. He inherited the land from his father, who received it as payment for his share of a furniture manufacturing business. Johnston hopes to hand down the land to his two children someday. “People need to remember they just have the land for now,” he observes.

If Johnston had to pay property taxes based on the land’s value for development, keeping the acreage in the family would be hard. But like most private forest landowners, he takes advantage of the state’s present-use value program, which sets the taxes based on a property’s ability to produce income as agricultural, horticultural or forest land.

This “significant subsidy” encourages landowners to “keep their forests as forests,” notes Goldberg of the Rainforest Alliance. To qualify, he explains, owners must submit a forest management plan every 10 years outlining their goals for the property.

In 2015, Johnston hired EcoForesters to create a new plan for his land, which had been logged periodically since the 1930s. In the process, he learned that there wasn’t much marketable timber left. “My dad thought forest management meant you avoid the banks of creeks, you cut it and then you let it grow back,” Johnston says with a chuckle.

“What I’ve learned from EcoForesters is that you can do both: You can take care of the land and still harvest from it.”

The Asheville-based nonprofit was established last year; andrew tait is one of two full-time employees. Historically, he says, foresters have tended to operate on a for-profit model, giving them an incentive to promote unsustainable practices such as high-grading: harvesting “only the best and biggest trees.”

That maximizes the profit of loggers, who often pay foresters a commission based on the value of the trees cut. But it also removes the best genetic stock, leaving only the inferior trees to regenerate.

As a nonprofit, though, EcoForesters doesn’t focus solely on its bottom line.

“We are looking to do good, ecologically sound forestry and then, secondarily, make an income for our client landowners,” Tait explains. Profits from its forest management work support the organization’s educational programs and conservation efforts.

high hopes What’s unique about the alliance’s approach, says Goldberg, is its market orientation. “We’re looking for ways that the marketplace can recognize and support improving forest management,” he says. “More value needs to reach the landowners based on clear evidence of good management happening on the ground.”

Alliance partners, says Sitts, have been meeting quarterly, either by teleconference or in person. A weekend gathering in October, for example, included an educational event for Morganton-area landowners.

They sent out about 8,000 invitations to people in Burke and adjoining counties who own more than 20 acres, Sitts reports, attracting nearly 100 attendees. The collaboration now hopes to hold seven or eight such events per year; likely future locations include Asheville and Fletcher. “We have high hopes that we can reach a lot of people who’ve been neglected in the past,” he explains.

Educational programs offered by the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service and the wood pulp industry have focused more on the Piedmont and coastal regions, says Sitts. “This is an outreach program to bring the message of good forestry and sustainable management to landowners in this region over next three years.” After that, he hopes the project will transition into a more permanent form.

The Woodland Alliance’s corporate and public-sector partners, notes Goldberg, “didn’t have to do this.”

But given the demand for sustainable forest products, “There’s a bona fide opportunity.” The alliance’s challenge is making it pay for landowners, corporations — and the environment. X

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telling the tAle: In the seven years since it opened, downtown Indian street food eatery Chai Pani has mushroomed into a multibrand restaurant group with businesses in Asheville and Georgia. Much of this growth has stemmed from the use of storytelling to convey the vibrant personalities and rich history behind the brand. Photo courtesy of Michael Files

BY nicK WiLSon nickjames.w@gmail.com Since it opened in 2009, Asheville Indian street food joint chai pani has evolved from the humble creation of meherwan and molly irani to a criti-

mountainx.com

cally acclaimed multibrand restaurant group on the brink of exploding onto the national scene.

As the chef, Meherwan now boasts two James Beard Award nominations, and Chai Pani has been praised by the likes of The New York Times, GQ and Bon Appétit. With its suc-

cess, the restaurant has expanded into the Chai Pani Restaurant Group, which features an impressive portfolio — a second Chai Pani location in Decatur, Ga., the Indo-Persian(Parsi) themed Botiwalla in Atlanta and Asheville-based hotspots Buxton Hall Barbecue and MG Road Lounge.

With the hard-earned growth of its brick-and-mortar operations and an effective combination of national media coverage and in-house marketing savvy, CPRG has caught the attention of television producers, publishing executives, potential investors and business partners, all eager to tap into the buzzing energy of a brand on the rise. weAthering the storM oF sUccess Facing a whirlwind of new opportunity is a fortunate situation, no doubt, and an interesting one for any brand, artist or individual to navigate. The experience is almost paradoxical, in that the joy and exhilaration of success and growth is met equally by the anxiety and struggle that come from facing new, difficult challenges and questions.

Evolving gracefully, intentionally and authentically seems to require a tremendous level of focus and discipline and a commitment to maintaining the core essence and values that generated the success in the first place. But there’s also a need for creative thinking, shifting strategies and an element of risk taking that seems to be fundamental to growth and evolution.

Chai Pani Restaurant Group brand director, partner and jack-ofall-trades michael files frequently ponders this unique situation.

“It’s something we’ve thought a lot about. Do we want mainstream success? Are we excited by it or worried about it becoming an untamable beast one day? There is an unabashed thrill in growing and sharing our restaurants with more and more people and being more financially stable, but we are pretty vigilant about keeping our ‘feel’ right,” says Files. “With all of the opportunities coming at us, we kind of want to do them all, but we also know what we like and what we don’t like. It’s a jungle figuring it out.” with A little help FroM MY FrienDs Chai Pani Restaurant Group isn’t riding the wave of success alone.

“What’s cool is that we hear a lot from other Asheville businesses and other peers that are also growing,” says Files, who’s emphatically grateful to be entrenched in such a supportive and inspiring environment.

“For example, I think we feel a big kinship with French Broad Chocolates as far as growth goes,” says Files. “Theirs is an amazing Asheville success story from the ground up, and we confer with [owners dan and jael rattigan] a lot about the different challenges we face with growth while maintaining our core values.”

Files also counts Katie button and felix meana, owners of Cúrate and Nightbell, among local restaurateurs who share similar growth aspirations and challenges. And the owners of Atlantabased farmburger, he says, can also relate. Along with having a popular Asheville location, “They are our next-door neighbors [in Atlanta], and we confer often about growth,” Files explains. “They are growing rapidly, but it’s always comforting to have discussions with them where they have the same concerns: How to grow but keep things meaningful?”

These business owners, he notes, all of whom are enjoying big press nationwide, are all taking a similar approach. “No one has gotten McDonald’s involved yet to invest millions and open 20 stores in a year. I think even with guys that are on the national scene, like David Chang with Momofuku, his growth has been very organic too. I think it’s a hallmark of this particular time in the culinary world. There are a lot of places that have made big splashes for the right reasons, and they are all trying to grow in meaningful ways. It’s heartwarming when you think about it really,” says Files.

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conscioUs storYtellers Although CPRG now oversees several restaurants, it all began with the careful cultivation and execution of Chai Pani in Asheville. For Meherwan, Molly and Files, central to Chai Pani’s initial growth, current success and future strategy is the view of themselves as storytellers. Every detail — from the physical construction of the restaurant to their social media marketing strategy — has been a conscious effort to reflect the unique stories of their own lives and the grand tale of the Indian street food tradition that dates back thousands of years.

This storytelling effort is in no way forced, though. Rather it seems to be a natural byproduct of Meherwan’s and Files’ shared life

continuES on PaGE 32 mountainx.com

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on the roAD: Chai Pani chefs, from left, James Grogan and Daniel Peach, spent 10 hectic days in 2013 traveling through India sampling street food with owner Meherwan Irani, right. Chai Pani Restaurant Group brand director Michael Files filmed the adventure to create the Cutting Chai documentary, which debuted in Asheville in early November. Photo courtesy of Michael Files

Come into The Chocolate Lab of Asheville for a warm shot of drinking chocolate and do your Holiday shopping! We have gift boxes of chocolates in several sizes, bagged hot chocolate mix and t-shirts available!

Monday - Saturday 11am - 8pm

2 Weaverville Rd. Suite 201

828.774.5589

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experience — a story in itself that stems from their meeting each other as children in India. Meherwan’s family lived in a community that was attached to a spiritual ashram that was frequently visited by Americans and other foreigners, including Files’ parents.

“Meherwan had all of these cultural influences from an early age,” says Files — not only with the connection to the ashram, but with his own peculiar heritage. Growing up the child of a Parsi father and a Hindu mother is not commonly seen, and it instilled within Meherwan an appreciation for differences in food, culture and the stories behind them.

“There’s no template for street food in India,” Meherwan adds. “It evolves to meet the needs of the people, but it does so with this vibrancy and this energy and this life force to it. For me personally,

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capturing that and encapsulating it somehow in this thing that is Chai Pani is what drives me. It’s not just the food; it is the feeling, the energy of India. I know I can’t take every Chai Pani customer to India to experience it, so our mission is to bring back as much of that as we can and do our best to provide that nourishment not just with the food, but with the soul of India.”

A DigitAl worlD Online content has been a big part of Chai Pani’s branding from the beginning, says Files. The restaurant jumped on the social media scene early, when Facebook and Twitter were still relatively new as marketing tools for businesses, creating a buzz on those platforms before the eatery even opened.

Since then, Files and Chai Pani have particularly embraced the use of digital video content as a device for telling stories in an authentic way. Since Chai Pani’s 2009 launch, Files has spearheaded the production of over 20 original videos for the various CPRG restaurants, including an eight-part web series in connection with Bulleit Bourbon called Libation Migration and an ambitious 59-minute documentary film about the Indian street food scene called Cutting Chai.

“Because of the quickness [with which] quality content can be created and disseminated and how easily someone’s story can be captured and shared with the world, it feels like it is actually a ripe environment for chefs to flourish if they have something interesting to put out there,” says Files; in the case of CPRG, it’s the mixture of intriguing

food stories and the charismatic personalities of Meherwan, Files and other key team members.

Meherwan was already tapped for a potential TV show last year, which fizzled after he shot the pilot in Mexico. But the experience led him “to some lasting friendships and contacts in that world, and lately there’s been even more coming in — people with ideas of what they want to do with us on TV,” says Files. cUtting chAi The production of a nearly hourlong documentary film is no small task, let alone one filmed predominantly over the course of 10 days in the hectic streets of 10 different cities in India. And in the case of Cutting Chai, bold plans have bold origins. The project originally started as a clever scheme of Files’ to finagle his way into a trip to India — a trip that was initially intended for Meherwan and Chai Pani Asheville and Decatur chefs james grogan and daniel peach.

Grogan and Peach were two of the first four people hired in the Chai Pani kitchen when the restaurant opened. “They both were so instrumental to the whole story of Chai Pani,” says Files. “Meherwan actually flew his mom over here to teach them how to cook family recipes.” But Grogan had never been to India, so Meherwan planned a culinary expedition in September 2013 in which the two of them and Peach would eat their way across the country.

“Basically, I was like, ‘Guys, I gotta come along and film this, and I think you should get me a plane ticket,’” says Files with a chuckle.

“So I really just weaseled my way in at first, but it quickly became ‘Oh, wow, this will actually be amazing.’”

Although Files admits the filming process was a bit of a logistical nightmare, he looks back on the overall experience fondly. He’s particularly grateful for the countless hours of editing work his younger brother, daniel files, contributed to the project. In the end, what comes through with Cutting Chai is a one-of-a-kind look at the journey of four friends, each of whom comes

away with a newfound appreciation for the culture and tradition at the heart Chai Pani’s story.

The full documentary, which consists of 10 short episodes, made its world premiere at the Atlanta Film Festival in March and debuted in Asheville at The Grail Moviehouse in November.

Another public showing is planned for Feb. 17 in Oxford, Miss., where the Chai Pani team will partner with Indian chef and James Beard Award semifinalist Vishwesh Batt to prepare food for guests.

Files also says that the individual episodes of Cutting Chai are destined to roll out online, hopefully by the beginning of January. For updates, stay tuned to Chai Pani social media channels or check out cuttingchaimovie.com.

DoUBling Down Files and the CPRG team have plans to continue controlling their story through the creation of original online video content. Getting a studio space is the first thing on the list. “The idea is to build a kitchen where we can film whatever we want and develop more content.

It will be our own little Chai Pani Studios,” says Files.

The group will also add new team members to focus solely on video production. The goal is to release one drink video and one cooking video per week starting in January for Chai Pani’s YouTube

channel (youtube.com/chaipanichannel). “We’re really looking forward to building these fun and easy-to-follow instructional videos that can hopefully gain an audience online,” says Files. He adds that the studio space will also house a completely new business venture for the group, but he says it’s too early for an official comment on what it will be, other than something “very exciting and ambitious.”

Other big news is that Files and company are laying the groundwork for Cutting Chai 2. The team is planning to go back to India with an even crazier travel and filming schedule than they pulled off in 2013. Filming will take place in February or March, and video content will be released in real time via social media channels and YouTube. “It will be a challenge, but I have a filmmaker friend who specializes in this kind of thing who we are hiring to come along and help pull it off,” says Files.

Look for updates on the project on social media in the coming months.

In the meantime, Files, Meherwan and the CPRG team are continuing to field opportunities from outside partners and put together their own projects independently. Either way, they’re committed to staying true to themselves and only pursuing opportunities that are in line with their own core vision. X

Announcing Sofra Sunday’s @ Rezaz Come together and enjoy a five course family styled menu designed to highlight sharing, communication & the society of feasting!

Each Sunday through December 18th will highlight a different Mediterranean Cuisine.

See the menu @ rezaz.com/sofra-sundays $47 - per person (Gratuity & Drinks not included)

28 Hendersonville Rd | 828.277.1510 mountainx.com

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Culinary Cooking Experiences at

FooD

by Jonathan Ammons

jonathanammons@gmail.com

TAKING STOCK

THE FARM

Asheville-Buncombe Food Policy Council’s year in review

Hands-on Culinary Classes

Join our Executive Chef, Mike Ferrari

JAN. 7TH JAN. 10TH JAN. 24TH JAN 31ST -

Asian Cuisine Healthy Cooking Super Bowl Snacks Date Night Meals

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Includes Appetizers, Wine and Dinner Reserve your space! limited to 12 students/class

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info@thefarmevents.com Visit us on Facebook for more Cooking Class Information and for information on our Culinary Escapes

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A new plAn: Kiera Bulan took on the role of coordinator for the Asheville-Buncombe Food Policy Council in October. Pictured here at the group’s Dec. 8 annual meeting of the whole held at Toy Boat Community Art Space, Bulan’s first task as coordinator is to work with council members and city officials to redraft Asheville’s Food Action Plan. Photo by Cindy Kunst It’s been several years since the Asheville Convention and Visitors Bureau trademarked the term “Foodtopia,” but for some area residents, that moniker remains a bitter joke. A 2013 study by the Washington, D.C.-based Food Research and Action Center ranked the Asheville metropolitan statistical area ninth in its list of the nation’s hungriest cities and found that 1 in 5 residents had experienced “food hardship.”

Other prior studies had yielded similarly alarming results, prompting community activists and advocates to form the Asheville-Buncombe Food Policy Council in 2011. Since then, the group has served as a watchdog, urging the city to formally endorse the Food Action Plan — which lays out 14 steps for reducing food insecurity in the region — and pulling together a

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core of volunteers and organizers to help develop local food policy.

“We spent much of this last year working through the development of our internal governing documents,” says Food Policy Council member nicole hinebaugh. “We created the policies and procedures necessary to enable an organization like ours to make smooth and consistent decisions, transitions and structural developments, in order to become more effective and efficient in our operations and our work in the community.”

One of those transitions was hiring a new coordinator, Kiera bulan.

Hinebaugh says the council chose Bulan because she had “the right combination of a long and varied history of relevant professional experiences and skill sets, and also

possessed the thoughtful, energetic and warm personality we were looking for.”

Bulan came on board in October, having moved here from Maine with her family. She previously worked on farmer training and food access projects in Providence, R.I., and Madison, Wis. Her initial focus here will be working with amber weaver, the city’s chief sustainability officer, and members of the group’s General Council, to redraft the Food Action Plan.

“Our hope is not to completely revise the previous plan,” says Bulan, “but to offer some revisions and also add new items and work with the structure to make it a more actionable plan, where we can trace progress and hold both the city and the community more accountable to moving the needle forward.”

At this point, Bulan says she’s still trying to get a handle on the situation. “The city is saying, ‘Look at all these great things we’ve done!’ And the community is saying, ‘The city hasn’t done anything.’ I don’t have my own opinion on that yet, because I’m so new.

“What I do know, as a total outsider, is that the Food Action Plan is a list of 14 relatively vague points.

You can make the argument that lots of them have been addressed, and you can make the argument that nothing has happened. I’d like to have our plan be more actionable and more benchmark-oriented, so we can really say at the end of six months or a year, here’s what we did and here’s what we didn’t do. That’s the goal.”

The council has seen its share of changes this year. The communitybased organization consists of what it calls “clusters” of individual volunteers, each with their own expertise and focus. Clusters often come and go, depending on a situation’s urgency and the level of interest among active volunteers.

Currently there are four standing clusters: Food Access, Farmer

Support, Land Use and Water. “The only real change to the cluster format came with the decision to shift Policy Mobilization from a full-time cluster to an as-needed working group,” says Hinebaugh. “This group will now come together only when specific policy objectives and recommendations are submitted by the clusters.”

In the meantime, a Dec. 8 “meeting of the whole” — an open event designed to allow community members to contribute to the conversation — gave the Food Policy Council a chance to reflect on its accomplishments and the necessary steps moving forward.

For her part, says Bulan, “My priority in coming into the position has literally just been meeting people and listening.” She says she appreciates the progress the organization has already made.

“The cluster structure,” Bulan points out, “seems like a strength, in that people can take their passion and be autonomous, and there are a lot more opportunities to be collaborative as a council — to take those initiatives that clusters are researching and passionate about, and bring them forward.” X

BE

ST OF

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20 WNC

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sMAll Bites

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by Thomas Calder | tcalder@mountainx.com

Bomba refreshes its menu Since it opened in downtown Asheville in 2012, Bomba has gone through several renditions. What began as a bar and lounge quickly shifted to coffee and pastries, later adding a lunch menu and outdoor seating before more recently introducing a dinner menu. “Bomba is a challenge,” says hector diaz, its owner and chef. (Diaz also owns and operates Salsa’s and Modesto, and previously owned the now-closed Chorizo, which is currently searching for a new location.)

Bomba is not, however, a burden. As Diaz discusses the restaurant’s latest phase — which includes a European-inspired dinner menu, as well as new breakfast and lunch options that focus on French and Spanish cuisine — there is a sense that these changes excite Diaz more than anything else. “I’m going back almost to the beginning of Bomba, when we decided to make tapas,” he says. “We are kind of turning the clock back to the past.”

Diaz looks over the dinner menu, his finger running down the list. He says he travels the world collecting the best recipes: “When you care, your food will show it. The taste will show it, the look will show it. That is the goal.”

He pauses to discuss the wild mushrooms in vegetable broth.

“You can taste a forest,” he says of the soup, before continuing on to mention the mussels and lobster bisque, which, he notes, combines elements of both Spanish and French influence.

Because of his approach and outlook, Diaz says the menu will continue to morph. “Some people like the change, some people hate the change, some people are OK with it.

But guess what — it’s always going to change, no matter what.”

You get a sense that Diaz is discussing more than food, even as his attention turns to the breakfast and lunch items. French toast, empanadas and breakfast tacos are among the all-day breakfast plates served. A steak au poivre entrée, the madame croquette sandwich (turkey, bacon, tomato, gruyere and mustard) and the señorita burrito (new potatoes., beans, feta cheese, avocado, pico de gallo and greens) are a part of the lunch options.

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feast rounding out the series with the next event. The five-course meal will feature insalada Italiano, a green salad with green olives, tangerines and creamy red wine dressing; minestrone with housemade capunti pasta; and braised South Carolina rabbit cacciatore with house pappardelle pasta and grilled veal osso bucco. “We are billing this as a family-styled chef tasting with the idea that all the mains are served to be shared along with a lot of small plates to be passed around,” says brian smith, owner and chef.

Safra Sunday at Rezaz begins at 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 18, at 28 Hendersonville Road. Tickets are $47, not including drinks, tax or gratuity.

To reserve tickets, visit avl.mx/37p. philippe BoUrgeois wine tAsting

A chAnge is in the Air: Hector Diaz says Bomba’s latest menu is a European blend.

He wants guests to think of Bomba as a global cuisine pop-up bistro, where every month new items will be shared. Photo by Thomas Calder Diaz says Asheville’s growing culinary scene inspires him to continue to explore new options. It isn’t a competition so much as a welcome challenge of self-improvement. An open mind and a creative approach to the every day seem to be Diaz’s guiding principles.

That doesn’t mean, however, that an old favorite can’t be revisited. “For those that would like to have things one way, we are open to do it for them that way,” he says. “You may not see it on the menu, but it’s there. If you are a regular, we are an open kitchen.”

Bomba is at 1 S.W. Pack Square. It is open 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday-Wednesday and 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Thursday-Saturday.

For more information visit bombanc.com.

Book signing AnD cooking DeMonstrAtion with kAtie BUtton On Saturday, Dec. 17, Cúrate chef and owner Katie button will offer

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cooking demonstrations at Le Creuset.

The demonstration will focus on espinacas a la Catalana — a sautéed spinach dish with raisins, pine nuts and apple. Free samples will be available for guests. Copies of Button’s book, Cúrate: Authenic Spanish Food from an American Kitchen, will be for sale at the event. Button will be available to sign copies once the demonstration is complete.

The event runs 2-4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 17, at Le Creuset in the Asheville Outlets mall on Brevard Road. The event is free and open to the public. For details, visit avl.mx/37q. soFrA sUnDAY At rezAz Rezaz will host its final event in the Sofra Sunday dinner series on Sunday, Dec. 18. The family-style gatherings have each focused on the cuisine of a different region of the Mediterranean, including Turkey, Greece and Portugal, with an Italian

Metro Wines will offer free wine samples on Tuesday, Dec. 20. The event, led by local importer philippe bourgeois, will include four wines from France and Spain, including Bellula Blanquette de Limoux Spakling Brut and Chateau Grand Francais, Bordeaux Superior 2010.

Bourgeois focuses on the two regions with a particular interest in handcrafted, sustainably farmed or certified organic wines.

The free wine tasting runs 5-6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 20, at Metro Wines, 169 Charlotte St. For more information, visit metrowinesasheville.com. olive or twist closes After eight years, Olive or Twist will close on Jan. 2. The location, at 81 Broadway in Asheville, will be converted into a retail space. In addition to its food, the restaurant is known for attracting blues and swing bands. Live music will continue until its closing (except on Mondays and Christmas Day). A closing night dance will feature russ wilson. In a press release, owner bill devlin says he hopes to reopen in another location. X

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A r t s & e n t e r tA i n M e n t

FA-LA-LA-LA-LOT TO DO

Holiday happenings around Asheville from the Old English ‘geol,’ which was the name of the winter festival held in many European countries around the time of the winter solstice,” says a press release. The gathering includes music from carolina ceili with special guests the belfast boys, fiddler laura smith and the ashegrove garland dancers at white horse black mountain, 105 C Montreat Road, on Saturday, Dec. 17, 8 p.m. $18 advance/$20 at the door. whitehorseblackmountain.com • If your band name is “The Mistletoes,” you’d better book a lot of gigs in December. Actually, that group (Chris Boerner on guitar, Allyn Love on pedal steel, Casey Toll on bass and Joe Westerlund on drums) backs Raleighbased singer-songwriter jeanne jolly on her seasonal-themed eightdate jolly holiday revue. Expect “a mix of holiday favorites and original compositions,” according to a press release for the show that stops at the isis restaurant & music hall, 743 Haywood Road, on Saturday, Dec. 17, 7 and 9:15 p.m. $15. isisasheville.com

light it Up: The North Carolina Arboretum’s Winter Lights display, pictured, is one of many outdoor LED light exhibits to visit throughout the holidays. Photo courtesy of the N.C. Arboretum

BY aLLi maRSHaLL amarshall@mountainx.com The holiday season is in full swing, and there’s so many celebratory possibilities that it would be easy to miss out on something big — lights shows, a trolley tour, a naughty elf and good music are all on the list.

Consider this a bit of a cheat sheet, providing a peek at festively themed craft shows, art openings, theatrical productions and concerts. Need more ideas?

Visit the Community Calendar and mountainx.com

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a 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday, Dec. 18. $15. ashevilletheatre.org • “Revel with local musicians and storytellers,” says the webpage for christmas at connemara, held Saturday, Dec. 17, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the carl sandburg home national historic site. The celebration takes place in the garage adjacent to the Sandburg Home. There will be cookies and cider, and craft-making in the bookstore from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

81 Carl Sandburg Lane, Flat Rock, avl.mx/364

• Santaland Diaries started as an essay by David Sedaris about the holiday season he spent working as an elf at Macy’s. He read a version of the story on Public Radio International’s “This American Life” more than 20 years ago, and it was adapted for the stage. The one-man play returns to 35below at Asheville Community Theatre, 35 E. Walnut St., Wednesday, Dec. 14, through Saturday, Dec. 17, 7:30 p.m., with 9:30 p.m. shows Friday and Saturday and

• the north carolina arboretum hosts its winter lights exhibit through Sunday, Jan. 1. The walk-through experience — “a winter wonderland [of] uniquely lit displays and landscapes composed of nearly 500,000 energy-efficient LED lights,” according to the arboretum’s website — is on view in the gardens.

“Listen to the sounds of your favorite holiday tunes or enjoy a cup of holidayinspired cocoa, cider or beer,” and the property’s Savory Thyme Café serves a holiday buffet every weekend. 100 Frederick Law Olmsted Way. 6-10 nightly.

DEcEmBER 14 - DEcEmBER 20, 2016

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$18 adults/$16 children ages 5-11 with group and member discounts available. ncarboretum.org • duo vela is American flutist Marla Nistico and Australian guitarist Daniel Nistico. The married musicians started their band while attending The Eastman School of Music. Though they’ve toured extensively (including in China, Australia and New Zealand), the Nisticos recently relocated to Asheville.

They’ll play a special concert as part of the N.C. Arboretum’s Winter Lights (see above). The performance of christmas carols takes place on Sunday and Tuesday, Dec. 25 and 27, 6:30-10 p.m., on the Education Centre’s Atrium Stage.

• The lake julian festival of lights is a drive-through light show featuring thousands of colored bulbs and 50 animated and stationary displays. The exhibit is on view through Friday, Dec. 23, 6-9 nightly. $5 cars/$10 vans/$25 motor coaches. 406 Overlook Road Ext., Arden, avl.mx/365 • Celebrate Irish and Scottish heritage (yours or someone else’s) at the annual celtic yulefest. “The word yule comes

• The historic smith-mcdowell house offers special insight into a Victorian-era Christmas. “Six rooms of the Smith-McDowell House representing the 1840s-1890s will be on display with costumed interpreters describing the evolution of Clement Moore’s poem through the 19th century,” says a press release. The theme of the house’s holiday display is Moore’s famed A Visit from St. Nicholas. The Smith-McDowell house is open to the public Wednesday to Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., and Sunday, 1-4 p.m. Christmas decorations will be on view through Friday, Jan. 6; general daytime admission is $9. 283 Victoria Road. wnchistory.org • “Using the most technologically advanced equipment in the industry, Christmas Wonderland magically expresses what Christmas means to us,” say the organizers of shadrack’s christmas wonderland, a “drive-through, fully synchronized, LED Christmas light and music show” held in six locations. One of those spots is the wnc agricultural center, 1301 Fanning Bridge Road, Fletcher. Visit the display through Friday, Dec. 30, dusk-10 p.m. $25 cars and family vans/$40 activity vans. shadrackchristmas.com/asheville • Local collective the billy jonas band combines conventional instru-

val — crafts and food in the setting of “a tranquil Victorian village,” according to a press release, takes place from 3-5 p.m. “There will be outdoor space heaters and free hot cider and hot chocolate for the wee ones, and mulled wine available for purchase. The place will be lit up, as the season should be, and a festive atmosphere will prevail, despite the presence of mean, old Scrooge.” A performance of the beloved holiday play follows at 5 p.m. Both events are free and take place at the hazel robinson amphitheater, 92 Gay St. Theatergoers are asked to bring donations of dry or canned goods for MANNA FoodBank. montfordparkplayers.org

solstice soUnDs Amy White, pictured, and others celebrate winter with music, song and dance from Celtic, Appalachian, Scots-Irish and world traditions. Photo by Sandra Stambaugh ments with homemade noisemakers (“buckets and barrels, keys and cans, bells and body percussion,” according to a press release) to craft sounds that appeal to a range of ages. The group performs an all-faith holiday show — “Whether you honor Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Christmas, Solstice, all of them, or just the days getting longer again, there will be something for everyone. … Our goal is truly to put more love in the world” — at white horse black mountain on Sunday, Dec. 18, 3 p.m. $10 advance/$12 at the door.

• winter wonderland at the grove arcade runs through Wednesday, Jan. 4. Events are free and open to the public and include a visit from santa on Sunday, Dec. 18, and a gingerbread house display in partnership with The Omni Grove Park Inn’s annual gingerbread house competition. 1 Page Ave. grovearcade.com • The annual swannanoa solstice concert celebrates winter with “a splendid selection of celtic, appalachian, scots-irish, and world-influenced holiday music on guitars, mandolins, Appalachian dulcimer, Celtic harp, bouzouki, piano and world percussion,” according to a description of this year’s show. Multi-instrumentalists Al Petteway, Amy White and Robin Bullock perform with musician and storyteller David Holt, dancers Phil Jamison and Ellie Grace, and Highland bagpiper E.J. Jones. Doug Orr hosts.

Sunday, Dec. 18, 2 and 7 p.m. at diana wortham theatre, 2 S. Pack Square. $45 general/$40 students/$20 children. dwtheatre.com

• The holly jolly christmas trolley tour offers a trip through “the lights and sights of the holidays, stories of local holiday traditions, and singing of classic carols,” according to the tour’s website. The 75-minute ride runs Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7 p.m. through Friday, Dec. 30. $23 adults/$11 children ages 5-11, reservations required. The trolley departs the olde world christmas shoppe, 5 Boston Way. graylineasheville.com • Montford Park Players presents its day with dickens festival and Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 17 and 18. The festi-

• grovewood gallery brings back its Vessels of Merriment exhibit — the work of 14 ceramic artists showcasing “everything from beer steins and growlers to porcelain sake sets and decorative moonshine jugs,” according to a press release — throughout the holiday season. It will remain on view through Saturday, Dec. 31. To add to the imbibing theme, the galley also hosts its final holiday sip & shop events on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 16 and 17, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Craft demonstrations by local artists, wine, warm cider and cookies are part of the festivities. 111 Grovewood Road, grovewood.com • The asheville symphony chamber chorus performs carol reflections: an evening of Christmas music featuring “24 stellar voices and harp,” as the group’s schedule describes it. The concert takes place on Friday, Dec. 16, 8 p.m. at the first presbyterian church, 40 Church St. $15. ashevillesymphonychorus.com X

FUn For All: “Whether you honor Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Christmas, Solstice, all of them, or just the days getting longer again, there will be something for everyone,” says the Billy Jonas Band, pictured, of its all-faith holiday show. Photo courtesy of the band mountainx.com

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A&e

by Bill Kopp

bill@musoscribe.com

COLLECTIVE CONSCIENCE The New Mastersounds co-headline an Asheville show with Turkuaz

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with or withoUt JAM: The New Mastersounds brew up tasty instrumental music that is based in jazz, soul and funk; the band’s collaborative spirit is displayed on its current tour, sharing the bill with New York’s Turkuaz. Photo courtesy of the Windish Agency the new mastersounds have a long-standing and close relationship with music fans in Western North Carolina. Founded in Leeds, England, in 1999, the soul jazz/ fusion/funk band played its first Asheville date more than eight years ago at The Grey Eagle. Since that time, the group has returned more

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times than the musicians can count, gaining fans along the way. The New Mastersounds wrap up their 2016 touring schedule with an Orange Peel date (their first at that venue) on Saturday, Dec. 17.

“We’ve just always had such a great time in Asheville,” says guitarist eddie roberts. “From the first

time that we came through, we had a great audience.” He says that’s not the case everywhere the group goes. “A lot of towns, the first time [through] we were playing to no one, or to 20 people. But when we came to Asheville, it was a kind of ready-made audience there waiting for us.”

The jury’s out — even within the band itself — as to whether the New Mastersounds are a “jam band.” In an April 2016 interview, this writer came down on the “no” side; Roberts replied, “I’m glad you say that.”

A mere seven months later, the guitarist seems to have accepted the inevitable. “I guess at this point we have to admit that we are a jam band,” Roberts laughs. “We’ve existed longer in the jam band scene than we existed without it. So maybe the scales have tipped.”

There’s good reason for the confusion. On one hand, a trademark of The New Mastersounds across their 12-plus studio albums is a tight, concise approach to instrumental funk of the kind New Orleans legends The Meters made.

On the other hand, onstage, The New Mastersounds open things up. “We’re coming away from our early days as a British band where every song was 3 1/2 minutes long,” Roberts says. Mentioning a recent set that ran in excess of 2 1/2 hours, he explains, “When we’re feeling the right mood, we just keep playing until we fall over.”

Though they’re a four-piece — with pete shand on bass, drummer simon allen and keyboard player joe tatton — the group has often expanded with extra players, invited guests to collaborate onstage and in the studio, and even traded songs and personnel with other groups.

The New Mastersounds have done that trading on their latest release, a split single with New York City-based funksters turkuaz. The A-side features the British group playing Turkuaz’s “The Rules,” with guests from the New York band helping out. The flip side of the limitededition 7-inch record is Turkuaz playing The New Mastersounds’ “On the Border,” and features members of Roberts’ band.

That collaboration extends beyond the single: On the current tour, The New Mastersounds coheadline with Turkuaz. Roberts says that the shared tour is “a logical thing to do; musically, it’s such a great fit. There’s a certain amount of crossover with our audience.”

Turkuaz attracts a slightly younger demographic. “So [the tour] is introducing our audience to theirs, and vice versa,” Roberts says.

“Musically, it’s very complementary.

Every night, we get a few of those guys up onstage, and we get up onstage with them.”

The New Mastersounds have a

massive repertoire from which to draw, and though the quartet uses a set list, Roberts sometimes calls an unplanned tune. “You’ve got to get a vibe for the kind of grooves that people love,” he explains.

“Sometimes you play a groove and people are standing still; you hit another groove, and they all come alive. So I might tweak it while we’re onstage, and kinda go, ‘OK, these guys like it a bit more uptempo,’ or ‘These guys like more of a four-on-the-floor groove.’ I can direct the band in that way.”

That spontaneity is a hallmark of the band’s studio work as well.

The New Mastersounds will record their next album in Roberts’ adopted hometown, Denver, in February.

“We go in totally fresh,” he says.

“We write in the studio and record it there and then, usually in the space of a week.”

Then Roberts will mix the recordings and send his band mates the finished product. “They won’t have any recollection of having made that music,” he jokes. “They have to go about learning the songs so that we can add them to the set.”

Once the band is on the road, the musicians will choose one of those new songs and run through it during sound check. “Then we’ll put it in the set that night,” Roberts says.

“If you listen to a tune that we recorded in the studio, that’s the second or third time we’ve ever played that tune,” says the guitarist. “Then we play it out on the road for five or 10 years … 18 years in some cases. And the songs end up changing, evolving.”X

who The New Mastersounds with Turkuaz where The Orange Peel 101 Biltmore Ave. theorangepeel.net when Saturday, Dec. 17, 9 p.m. $20

mountainx.com

DEcEmBER 14 - DEcEmBER 20, 2016

41

Mr. K’s

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800 Fairview Rd. River Ridge Shopping Center (Beside A.C. Moore) • Hwy 240 exit #8 Open Mon-Sat 9am-9pm • Sun noon-6pm • Shop till you drop!

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The Area’s Largest Selection of Keyboards

Mon–Fri 9:30am–6pm Sat 9:30am–5pm

42

(828) 299-3000

800 Fairview Rd (at River Ridge Marketplace)

DEcEmBER 14 - DEcEmBER 20, 2016

mountainx.com

A&e

by O Ryne Warner

the_ohioan@hotmail.com

THE FAMILY AND THE FUTURE The Travelin’ McCourys bring their Bluegrass Ball to Asheville Country music is a tradition and, like any cultural keystone, has its heretics and loyalists. There are those willing to push against boundaries and their counterparts who hold fast to that same architecture. Most musical outlaws don’t blow apart tradition so much as expand upon it. In this way, musicians carry on what is actually the most traditional aspect of music: an ever-expanding dialogue between generations. Even though it has codified itself into a recognizable sound within the country spectrum, bluegrass continues to expand and develop. Few bands better represent that evolution than the Travelin’ McCourys.

On Thursday and Friday, Dec. 15 and 16, the Nashville-based group will bring its Bluegrass Ball to the Isis Restaurant & Music Hall in Asheville. The show will feature Leftover Salmon banjoist andy thorn, double-bassist travis book of the Infamous Stringdusters and local guitarist jon stickley for two nights of standards and expansive jams.

The Travelin’ McCourys consist of brothers ronnie and rob mccoury (on mandolin and banjo, respectively), along with fiddler jason carter and bassist alan bertram. The McCoury siblings have spent more than 20 years on the touring circuit backing up their legendary father, del mccoury — who fronts his eponymous band — and with their own project. When Del is leading, the crew sticks closely to the bluegrass tradition that he participated in as a member Bill Monroe’s genre-defining band, The Blue Grass Boys. But the McCoury patriarch didn’t discourage his sons from striking out own their own.

“What inspired us to perform without my dad was my dad,” says

Ronnie. “He may be [a] leading proponent of traditional bluegrass, but he is the one who kind of wanted us to be able to stand on our feet and get out and be prepared for the future.”

For The Travelin’ McCourys, part of this future includes plugging in and turning up, like the rock ’n’ rollers they revered as kids. “I grew up listening to The Allman Brothers at a young age and I’ve always loved their music,” says Ronnie, recalling The Travelin’ McCourys’ recent live collaboration with the Southern rock heroes at the Wanee Festival. “[Rock musicians] are able to use their amplifiers and crank it up,” says Ronnie. “Now [that] we use pickups, we, too, can reach that volume.”

This spirit of reaching for the rafters and out across genres comes to a real fruition in the Bluegrass Ball. The Travelin’ McCourys’ touring festival allows them to collaborate with artists from scenes as disparate as jam, jazz, even the occasional DJ. “We’ve been putting on the Bluegrass Ball for about five years,” says Ronnie. “I’ve had picking parties for many years, and it was a way to take what we do at home out on the road a little bit.”

The Bluegrass Ball, he explains, gives the fans a unique experience that they know they will never see again, “and I think that makes it a little extra special.”

Parking-lot picking — the afterhours impromptu jams when the musicians can swap ideas and styles without the expectations of a formal onstage performance — have long been the unintended highlight of many a bluegrass festival. By inverting this idea and bringing improvisation to the spotlight, the Travelin’ McCourys

loUD AnD proUD: For the Travelin’ McCourys, part of the future of bluegrass includes plugging in and turning up, like the rock ’n’ rollers they revered as kids. “Now [that] we use pickups, we, too, can reach that volume,” says Ronnie McCoury, second from right. Photo courtesy of the band underline the growing cross-pollination between the bluegrass and jam-band scenes. For both, festivals are a communal space where the music truly lives and grows.

“I believe bluegrass and jam band music have been [together for a while],” says Ronnie. “[Musicians such as] John Hartford and Sam Bush were doing this in the ’70s ... stretching out and play-

ing rock ’n’ roll tunes. [These] two distinct musics ... definitely have their moments of intersecting, but I don’t see the traditional sound ever dying.”

In that way, this lineage is renewed and carried forward. “It’s been happening for a while, combining different styles of music,” says Ronnie. “It’s an interesting time for this music.” X

what The Bluegrass Ball featuring The Travelin’ McCourys, Andy Thorn, Travis Book and Jon Stickley where Isis Restaurant & Music Hall 743 Haywood Road isisasheville.com when Thursday and Friday Dec. 15 and 16, 9 p.m. $20 advance/$25 day of show

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sMArt Bets

A&e

by Emily Glaser | Send your arts news to ae@mountainx.com

The Secret Sisters There’s honky-tonk, bluegrass and indie-pop in equal parts within the tracks of The Secret Sisters. Growing up just outside Muscle Shoals, Ala., Laura and Lydia Rogers found inspiration for their own sound in classic American music, from the Western swing of Loretta Lynn to the garagey rock of The Ramones. With guidance from producer T Bone Burnett on their first two records, the sisters trademarked a sound that ranges from moody pop studded with tambourines on “Iuka” to the steel-guitar-enhanced twang of “My Heart Skips a Beat.” Their latest album, produced with longtime friend Brandi Carlile, is due out early next year, but they’re ready to reveal the songs live. The Secret Sisters will be playing new tunes and fan favorites at The Grey Eagle on Sunday, Dec. 18, at 8 p.m. $15/$18. thegreyeagle.com. Photo by Olivia Rae James

JAZZ IS PHSH Musical duo the Chase Brothers were surprised to find that many of their fellow musicians, across genres and ages, were secretly fans of the jam band Phish (the brothers also count themselves among the closeted groupies). This discovery inspired their Phish tribute, JAZZ IS PHSH, an opportunity for musicians of all types to embrace and reinterpret their favorite songs from the long-touring band. Composed of a rotating cast of experienced players, the tribute band reimagines Phish hits with an instrumental twist. In anticipation of a debut album, due out next spring, JAZZ IS PHSH recently announced a nationwide tour. The band will stop in Asheville at the Salvage Station on Saturday, Dec. 17, at 9 p.m. $15. salvagestation.com. Photo courtesy of the band

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Hello Hugo “We had some material that we wanted to put down before [bassist] Nick Prather moved to Durham,” says Hello Hugo keyboard player Rosser Douglas. The band (including guitarist Justin Holt and percussionist Reid Weigner) set out to record a few songs while holed up in a cabin during a weekend in March 2015. “We ended up playing and recording so much that we found ourselves with enough to cut into a cohesive album.”

If Section Secrets, a nine-track mix of rock, experimental and ambient sounds (the bristling, thrashy-folk of “Hash Brown” is welcomingly celebratory; “Importing” is all dark thrum and resonance) will be released with a show — featuring the band’s full original lineup — at The Mothlight on Sunday, Dec. 18, at 9:30 p.m. Sharing the bill, Weigner’s other project, Giant Giants, drops its first full-length album. $5. themothlight.com. Photo courtesy of Hello Hugo

A Benefit for Our VOICE In restrooms across Asheville you’ll find Our VOICE fliers offering help to victims of sexual assault and abuse. Usually most of the tear-off tabs, printed with the organization’s hotline number, have been pocketed by women in need. It was that sight that inspired Lazy Diamond bartender Lorruh Vilhite to organize A Benefit for Our VOICE. “This is my personal dream bill,” Vilhite says of the lineup, which includes surf-rockers The Krektones, krautrockers Nest Egg, and DJ sets by Greg Cartwright. Attendees can also enter a raffle for gift certificates from local businesses such as Harvest Records and Izzy’s Coffee Den. All proceeds will benefit Our VOICE. The show takes place at Lazy Diamond on Friday, Dec. 16, at 9 p.m. $5-10 suggested donation. Photo of Nest Egg by Trent Lee Photography

A& e cA l e n DA r

by Abigail Griffin

=❄ Art gAllerY oF the MoUntAins Inside the Omni Grove Park Inn, 290 Macon Ave. • FR (12/16), 11am-5pm - Artisan-made jewelry trunk show. Free to attend.

Art At UncA art.unca.edu • TH (12/15), 10am - Ribbon cutting ceremony.

Free. Held at RAMP Studio Gallery, 821 Riverside Drive Art hop facebook.com/artgallerytrailwnc1, artgallerytrailwnc1@gmail.com • 3rd FRIDAYS, 5-8pm - Self-guided tour of artist studios in Hendersonville and Flat Rock. Free to attend.

❄crUciBle glAssworks 60 Clarks Chapel Road, Weaverville, 645-5660, crucibleglassworks.com • FR (12/16), 5-8pm & SA (12/17), 10am-6pm "Ornament Extravaganza," holiday sale. Free to attend.

MoUntAin gAtewAY MUseUM AnD heritAge center 102 Water St., Old Fort, mountaingatewaymuseum.org/ • 3rd SATURDAYS, 10am-3pm - Woodcarving demonstrations. Free.

Art/crAFt FAirs

❄Asheville AreA Arts coUncil 258-0710, ashevillearts.com • SA (12/17), noon-5pm - Holiday bazaar with vendors from ZaPow Gallery. Free to attend. Held at The Refinery, 207 Coxe Ave. Asheville AreA chAMBer oF coMMerce 36 Montford Ave., 258-6101, ashevillechamber.org • FRIDAYS & SATURDAYS through (12/17) - Native American jewelry and art exhibition and sale. Free to attend.

vAUDeville holiDAY: Asheville Vaudeville presents a Winter Holiday Extravaganza on Saturday, Dec. 17, at 7:30 and 10 p.m. at the Toy Box Community Art Space. Onkel Woland and the Black Forest Menagerie will be the hosts of the event, guiding the audience through the perilous paths of winter and introducing some lesser-known folkloric characters of this otherwise joyous season — it isn’t all sugarplum fairies, at Vaudeville. The show includes comedic antics by Rigel 7, belly dance by Claire Dima, Found World Bellydance and Sera Sahara, burlesque by MolliTov Tumult and Serenity Calypso, cabaret

by Queen April, pole dance by Ella Minnope and puppetry by Toybox Theatre and Jim Julien. Tickets are available at the door and cost $15 for the 7:30 p.m. show and $12 for the 10 p.m. show. For more information, visit avlvaudeville.com. Photo of Toybox Theatre courtesy of Asheville Vaudeville (p. 46) AUDitions & cAll to Artists

❄eAst-west 278 Haywood Road, 230-0377 • Through SA (12/17), 10am-8pm - Holiday arts and crafts pop-up shop. Free to attend.

❄greY eAgle MUsic hAll & tAvern 185 Clingman Ave., 232-5800 • SU (12/18), 10am-5pm - "Indie South Last Minute Market," holiday arts and crafts market. $2.

❄sAint nicholAs orthoDox chUrch 5 Park Ridge Drive, Fletcher, 681-8080, saintnicholasroc.org • SA (12/17), 10am-4pm - "St. Nicholas Christmas Bazaar," with vendors, refreshments, church tours music and children's activities. Free to attend.

AnAM cArA theAtre 545-3861, anamcaratheatre.com • Through FR (12/30) - Submissions accepted for play proposals for the 2017-2018 season. Visit the website for full guidelines.

Art leAgUe oF henDerson coUntY 692-9441, artleague.net • Through FR (1/6) - Submissions accepted for the annual "Mini Challenge" art show. Contact for full guidelines and fees.

BlAck MoUntAin college MUseUM & Arts center 56 Broadway, 350-8484, blackmountaincollege.org • Through WE (12/21) - Letter of intent accepted for the 2017 {Re}HAPPENING which takes place on

New Beer Thursdays

Dec. 15 HOOLIGAN SCOTCH ALE Staff Chili Cookoff!

TASTING ROOM LOCATIONS

32 Banks Ave Asheville, NC 28801 63 Brook St Asheville, NC 28803 212 S Green St Morganton, NC 28655 catawbabrewing.com mountainx.com

DEcEmBER 14 - DEcEmBER 20, 2016

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A& e c A l en DA r Saturday, Mar. 25. For more information visit the website.

BUrger BAr 1 Craven St. • Through SA (12/31) - Open call for artists and teachers who wish to offer free classes to the community on Saturday's from 4-7pm at the Burger Bar. Contact: burgerbar.asheville@gmail.com. cAlDwell Arts coUncil 601 College Ave., SW Lenoir, 754-2486 • Through TU (1/31) - Portfolio submissions accepted for 2018 exhibitions. Information: caldwellarts.com/157-guidelines/ CALDWELL. trAnsYlvAniA coMMUnitY Arts coUncil 349 S. Caldwell St., Brevard, 884-2787, tcarts.org • Through TU (2/7) - Open call for submissions for the Folk Art exhibition taking place Friday, Feb. 10 through Tuesday, Feb. 28. Submission accepted Monday, Feb. 6 and Tuesday, Feb. 7.

Contact for full guidelines.

by Abigail Griffin Ringers holiday concert. Free. Held at Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, 22 Fisher Road, Brevard

MUsic Village MariMba Classes • All Ages (pD.) New session of classes beginning January. Sue Ford, voted Best Music Teacher in WNC, Mountain Xpress, 3 years in a row. Registration/information: (828) 776-7918 or suef444@ gmail.com AMiciMUsic 802-369-0856, amicimusic.org • TH (12/15), 7:30pm - "Jewish Jazz," klezmer jazz concert. $20/$18 advance. Held at All Souls Cathedral, 9 Swan St. • FR (12/16), 6pm - "Jewish Jazz," klezmer jazz concert. $20/$18 advance. Held at Agudas Israel Congregation, 505 Glasgow Lane Hendersonville • SU (12/18), 2pm - "Jewish Jazz," klezmer jazz concert. $20/$18 advance. Held at Congregation Beth Israel, 229 Murdock Ave.

❄BlUe riDge ringers hAnDBell enseMBle blueridgeringers.tripod.com, blueridgeringers@gmail.com • SU (12/18), 4pm - Holiday concert.

Free. Held at First Presbyterian Church of Hendersonville, 699 N. Grove St., Hendersonville • TU (12/20), 7pm - Blue Ridge

❄FlAt rock plAYhoUse Downtown 125 S. Main St., Hendersonville, 6930731, flatrockplayhouse.org • THURSDAYS through SUNDAYS until (12/18) - "A Celtic Christmas," music concert. Thurs.: 7:30pm. Fri. & Sat.: 8pm. Thurs., Sat. & Sun.: 2pm. $28. ❄Fletcher coMMUnitY

chorUs 651-9436, fletchercommunitychorus.com • TH (12/15), 7-8pm - "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas!" holiday concert. Free. Held at Feed & Seed, 3715 Hendersonville Road, Fletcher

❄green river liBrArY 50 Green River Road, Zirconia, 6974969, library.hendersoncountync.org • TH (12/15), 4pm - Camerata Antiqua holiday concert. Free. ❄J.e. BroYhill civic center 1913 Hickory Blvd., SE Lenior, broyhillcenter.com • SA (12/17), 7:30pm - “A Celtic Christmas,” featuring The Silvio Martinat Swing Band and Puddingstone . $11/$5.50 students & children.

❄st. MAtthiAs chUrch 1 Dundee St., 285-0033, stmatthiasepiscopal.com/ • SU (12/18), 3pm - Musicke Antiqua holiday concert. Admission by donation.

❄the BrevArD philhArMonic • TH (12/15), 7:30pm - Christmas Splendor Concert. $35. Held in the Brevard College, Porter Center

❄trAnsYlvAniA coUntY liBrArY 212 S. Gaston St., Brevard, 884-3151 • TU (12/20), noon - Musicke Antiqua holiday concert. Admission by donation.

❄trYon Fine Arts center 34 Melrose Ave., Tryon, 859-8322, tryonarts.org • TH (12/15), 7:30pm - "Do It Yourself Messiah,: community sing-a-long.

Free. theAter

❄35Below 35 E. Walnut St., 254-1320, ashevilletheatre.org • WEDNESDAY through SUNDAY (12/14) until (12/18) - Santaland, oneman play. Wed.-Sat.: 7:30pm. Fri. & Sat.: 9:30pm. Sun.: 2:30pm. $15.

❄Asheville coMMUnitY theAtre 35 E. Walnut St., 254-1320, ashevilletheatre.org • FRIDAYS through SUNDAYS until (12/18) - Snowbound. Fri. & Sat.: 7:30pm. Sun.: 2:30pm. $12-$18.

henDersonville historic coUrthoUse 1 Historic Courthouse Square # 4 Hendersonville, 694-1619 • THURSDAY through SUNDAY (12/15) until (12/18) - Unwrapping Local History, play by Tom Orr. Thurs.Sat.: 7:30pm. Sun.: 2pm. $10.

Asheville vAUDeville facebook.com/AshevilleVaudeville/ • SA (12/17), 7:30pm & 10pm - A night of vaudeville performance, including burlesque, puppetry, comedy, and dance. $15 for 7:30pm show/$12 for 10pm show. Held at Toy Boat Community Art Space, 101 Fairview Road, Suite B

❄MontForD pArk plAYers 254-5146, montfordparkplayers.org • FRIDAYS through SUNDAYS until (12/23) - A Christmas Carol. Fri. & Sat.: 7:30pm. Sun.: 2:30pm. Free to attend.

Held at Asheville Masonic Temple, 80 Broadway • SATURDAYS & SUNDAYS through (12/18), 3pm - "Day with Dickens Festival," Victorian themed event with crafts and food and A Christmas Carol. Festival from 3-5pm. Showtime at 5pm. Free. Held at Hazel Robinson Amphitheatre, 92 Gay St.

❄citY oF MorgAnton MUnicipAl AUDitoriUM 401 South College St. Morganton, 433-SHOW, commaonline.org • TH (12/15), 7:30pm - Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, musical. $36 and up. ❄FlAt rock plAYhoUse 2661 Highway 225, Flat Rock, 693-0731, flatrockplayhouse.org • WEDNESDAYS through SUNDAYS until (12/17) – A Christmas Carol.

Wed. & Thurs.: 7:30pm. Fri. & Sat.: 8pm. Wed., Thurs., Sat. & Sun.: 2pm. $15-$40.

❄nc stAge coMpAnY 15 Stage Lane, 239-0263.

• WEDNESDAYS through SUNDAYS until (12/23) - All Is Calm. Wed. - Sat.: 7:30pm. Sun.: 2pm. TU (12/20): 7:30pm. SA (12/17): 2pm. $16-$40.

❄the MAgnetic theAtre 375 Depot St., 279-4155 • THURSDAYS through SATURDAYS until (12/23), 7:30pm & WE (12/21), 7:30pm - Bernstein Family Christmas Spectacular. Saturday, Dec. 10 & 17 also have 10pm shows. $24.

THIS HOLIDAY SEASON, GIVE A GIFT THAT TOOK

10,000 YEARS TO MAKE

Shop

AuthenticallyCherokee.com for traditional and contemporary Native American Art

Ancient culture for a modern world 46

DEcEmBER 14 - DEcEmBER 20, 2016

mountainx.com

gAllerY DirectorY AMericAn Folk Art AnD FrAMing 64 Biltmore Ave., 281-2134, amerifolk.com • Through FR (12/30) - The Wish List Celebration, group exhibition.

Art At MArs hill UniversitY 689-1307, mhu.edu • Through (12/16) - Mentors and Heroes, photography exhibition by David Holt.

• Through FR (12/16) - Exhibition of the work of Claire Sordoni, Mark Flowers, Kristy Higby, and Titus Mills.

Held in the Weizenblatt Gallery Art At UncA art.unca.edu • Through TU (12/20) - Care Artifacts, exhibition of works by Megan Van Deusen. Held in the Owen Hall Second Floor Gallery.

Asheville AreA Arts coUncil 258-0710, ashevillearts.com • Through SA (1/7) - Beauty + Function: Ceramic Artists in Western North Carolina, exhibition. Held at The Refinery, 207 Coxe Ave. Asheville Bookworks 428 1/2 Haywood Road, 255-8444, ashevillebookworks.com • Through TU (2/28) - Let the Good TImes Roll, printmaking exhibition.

Asheville gAllerY oF Art 82 Patton Ave., 251-5796, ashevillegallery-of-art.com • Through SA (12/31) - All Squared Away, exhibition featuring small works by gallery artists.

BlAck MoUntAin center For the Arts 225 W. State St., Black Mountain, 669-0930, blackmountainarts.org • Through FR (2/17) - Clay Studio exhibit and pottery market featuring the work of 12 local potters.

BUncoMBe coUntY pUBlic liBrAries buncombecounty.org/governing/ depts/library • Through FR (12/30) - Exhibition of the watercolor, acrylic and oil paintings of Barbara Frohmader. Held at West Asheville Library, 942 Haywood Road crUciBle glAssworks 60 Clarks Chapel Road, Weaverville, 645-5660, crucibleglassworks.com • Ongoing - Exhibition of the glass work of Michael Hatch. hickorY MUseUM oF Art 243 3rd Ave., NE Hickory, 327-8576 • Through SU (3/5) - "Innocent & Ethereal: The Visionary Work of Paul Lancaster," exhibition.

• SA (12/17) through SU (4/23) Woman Made, exhibition of the works of over 80 women artists.

Something for everyone on your list!

MAhec eDUcAtion center 121 Hendersonville Road, 257-4400, mahec.net • Through TU (1/31) - Painting exhibition by Rich Elwyn and Valerie McGaughey.

MorA conteMporArY JewelrY 9 Walnut St., 575-2294, moracollection.com • Through SA (12/31) - Exhibition of the jewelry of Stacey Lane. oDYsseY cooperAtive Art gAllerY 238 Clingman Ave., 285-9700, facebook.com/odysseycoopgallery • Through SA (12/31) - Exhibition of the ceramic art of Anna Koloseike and BlueFire MacMahon. pUsh skAte shop & gAllerY 25 Patton Ave., 225-5509, pushtoyproject.com • Through MO (1/23) - Running From Madness, a group show curated by Maxx Feist. rAMp stUDio gAllerY 821 Riverside Drive • Through SA (12/31) - We're not who we thought we were, exhibition of the multimedia sculpture by Jameid Ferrin.

With 70,000 square feet of shopping in a historic tobacco barn, we have the largest selection of antiques and collectables in North Carolina!

Asheville, NC • minutes from the Biltmore Estate 75 Swannanoa River Rd (Hwy 81, Asheville) 828-252-7291 • www.atbarn.com

soUthern highlAnD crAFt gUilD 298-7928, craftguild.org • Through SU (2/12) - Legacy of Makers and Mentors, exhibition from the University of Georgia members.

Held at Folk Art Center, MP 382, Blue Ridge Parkway trAnsYlvAniA coMMUnitY Arts coUncil 349 S. Caldwell St., Brevard, 884-2787, tcarts.org • Through FR (12/16) - Seven from Seven, exhibition of the work of seven gallery artists.

❄ trAnsYlvAniA

heritAge

MUseUM

189 W Main St., Brevard, 884-2347, transylvaniaheritage.org • Through TH (12/22) - Aluminum Christmas Tree Museum, exhibition of vintage trees and ornaments. Free to attend.

❄ trYon

Arts AnD crAFts

school

373 Harmon Field Road, Tryon, 859-8323 • Through FR (12/23) - Holiday Gift Show, exhibition.

Contact the galleries for admission hours and fees

mountainx.com

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clUBlAnD the sociAl loUnge DJ Phantom Pantone (international soul, R&B), 8:00PM town pUMp Open mic w/ Billy Presnell, 9:00PM tressA's Downtown JAzz AnD BlUes Blues & Soul Jam (blues, soul), 9:00PM wilD wing cAFe Jordan Okrend (acoustic) , 7:00PM wilD wing cAFe soUth Ashley Heath, 7:00PM

thUrsDAY, DeceMBer 15 185 king street Standing Rock Benefit, 8:00PM 5 wAlnUt wine BAr Pleasure Chest (blues, rock, soul), 8:00PM AltAMont theAtre Millie Palmer Trio (jazz), 8:00PM Asheville gUitAr BAr Will Ray & The Space Cooties, 7:00PM BArleY's tAprooM & pizzeriA Alien Music Club | Freddie Hubbard, 9:00PM BlAck MoUntAin Ale hoUse Bluegrass Jam w/ The Big Deal Band, 8:00PM BlUe MoUntAin pizzA & Brew pUB Matt Sellars (Americana, blues, roots), 7:00PM BonFire BArBecUe Social Function, 8:30PM

there AnD BAck AgAin: After forming in 2009 after a chance meeting in Asheville, Appalachian folk duo Tina & Her Pony spent the next two years up in Taos, New Mexico, developing the high, wistful blend of traditional American folk, heart-breaking harmonies and evocative lyrics it’s become known for. Since then, “Tina” (Tina Collins) and “her Pony” (Quetzal Jordan) have toured North America, eventually returning to Asheville in 2012. Bask in the subtle beauty of Tina & Her Pony when the duo rides into The Crow & Quill in downtown Asheville for a Dec. 16 show, beginning at 10 p.m. Photo courtesy of The Crow & Quill weDnesDAY, DeceMBer 14 185 king street Vinyl Night, 6:00PM 5 wAlnUt wine BAr Ryan Oslance Duo (jazz), 5:00PM Les Amis (African folk), 8:00PM Asheville gUitAr BAr Brad Hodge (singer-songwriter), 7:00PM BArleY's tAprooM & pizzeriA Dr. Brown's Team Trivia, 8:30PM

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crow & QUill Teach Me Equals (experimental, ambient), 9:00PM DoUBle crown Classic Country w/ DJ David Wayne Gay, 10:00PM FUnkAtoriUM Staves & Strings (bluegrass), 6:30PM gooD stUFF Jim Hampton & friends perform "Eclectic Country" (jam), 7:00PM

BlUe MoUntAin pizzA & Brew pUB Open Mic w/ Mark Bumgarner, 7:00PM

greY eAgle MUsic hAll & tAvern Luke Bell w/ The Krektones [CANCELLED], 8:00PM Savannah Smith & Southern Soul (Southern rock), 8:00PM

BonFire BArBecUe Trivia Funtime w/ Kelsey, 8:00PM

grinD cAFe Trivia night, 7:00PM

BUFFAlo nickel Michael Reno Harrell (singer-songwriter, storytelling), 7:00PM

highlAnD Brewing coMpAnY Woody Wood Wednesdays (rock, soul, funk), 5:30PM

BUrger BAr Karaoke, 9:00PM

isis restAUrAnt AnD MUsic hAll Franklin School of Innovation Winter Benefit Concert, 7:00PM

BYwAter The Woodshed, 9:00PM

JAck oF the wooD pUB Old-time session, 5:00PM

creeksiDe tAphoUse Open mic w/ Roots & friends, 7:00PM

lAzY DiAMonD Killer Karaoke w/ KJ Tim O, 10:00PM

DEcEmBER 14 - DEcEmBER 20, 2016

mountainx.com

loBster trAp Ben Hovey (dub, jazz), 6:30PM

rooM ix Fuego: Latin night, 9:00PM

MoUntAin MoJo coFFeehoUse Open mic, 6:30PM

sAnctUArY Brewing coMpAnY Ugly Christmas Sweater Party w/ Santa & DJ Troy, 7:00PM

noBle kAvA Open mic w/ Caleb Beissert, 9:00PM o.henrY's/the UnDergroUnD "Take the Cake" Karaoke, 10:00PM oDDitoriUM Synergy Story Slam, 7:30PM Funny Girlzz (comedy, storytelling), 9:00PM oFF the wAgon Piano show, 9:00PM olive or twist Swing dance lesson w/ Bobby Wood, 7:30PM 3 Cool Cats (vintage rock), 8:00PM

slY grog loUnge Sound Station open mic (musicians of all backgrounds & skills), 7:30PM the Block oFF BiltMore Jonathan Scales listening party (piannist), 6:00PM Morgan Spurlock's "What Would Jesus Buy?" (documentary), 8:00PM the BiltMore estAte Michael Cash (Southern gospel, soul), 6:00PM the Joint next Door Laura Thurston (folk, singer-songwriter), 7:00PM

one worlD Brewing Redleg Husky, 8:00PM

the Mocking crow Open Mic w/ Jeremy Indelicato & Susan Bargar, 8:00PM

orAnge peel Rising Appalachia w/ Hope For Agoldensummer & Dustin Thomas (world, folk, soul), 9:00PM

the Mothlight JEFF The Brotherhood w/ Mom and Dad & Plastic Pinks (psychedelic, grunge), 9:30PM

pisgAh Brewing coMpAnY Frank Lee & Allie Burbrink (bluegrass), 6:00PM

the phoenix Jazz night w/ Jason DeCristofaro, 8:00PM

BUrger BAr Garage/surf rock w/ DJ PAPA Wheelie, 9:00PM Bar Hop for Standing Rock! (benefit), All Day cAtAwBA Brewing tAsting rooM AAFA Holiday Party and Toy Drive, 5:30PM clADDAgh restAUrAnt & pUB Irish Music Thursdays, 7:00PM creeksiDe tAphoUse Company News, 7:00PM crow & QUill Carolina Catskins (gritty ragtime jazz), 10:00PM DoUBle crown Sonic Satan Stew w/ DJ Alien Brain, 10:00PM elAine's DUeling piAno BAr Dueling Pianos, 9:00PM FoggY MoUntAin BrewpUB Paper Crowns (Americana, folk), 9:00PM French BroAD BrewerY Momma Molasses (indie folk), 6:00PM greY eAgle MUsic hAll & tAvern Chatham County Line's "Electric Holiday Tour" (bluegrass), 9:00PM isis restAUrAnt AnD MUsic hAll The Bluegrass Ball w/ The Travelin' McCourys, Andy Thorn, Travis Book & Jon Stickley, 9:00PM JAck oF the wooD pUB Bluegrass jam, 6:00PM lAzY DiAMonD Heavy Night w/ DJ Butch, 10:00PM loBster trAp Hank Bones ("The man of 1,000 songs"), 6:30PM

pUrple onion cAFe Dogwhistle (classic country), 8:00PM rooM ix Throwback Thursdays (all vinyl set), 9:00PM sAnctUArY Brewing coMpAnY Billy Litz (one man soul band), 7:00PM scAnDAls nightclUB DJ dance party & drag show, 10:00PM soUthern AppAlAchiAn BrewerY Cabo Verde (Latin, jazz, fusion), 7:00PM spring creek tAvern Open Mic, 6:00PM

SUPATIGHT

BYwAter Noah Proudfoot & The Big Peace (Standing Rock benefit), 8:00PM

tiMo's hoUse TRL REQUEST NIGHT w/ DJ Franco Nino, 7:00PM

cork & keg The Old Chevrolette Set (country, Americana), 8:30PM

town pUMp Redleg Husky (Americana), 9:00PM

creeksiDe tAphoUse King Garbage (soul), 7:00PM

trAilheAD restAUrAnt AnD BAr Open Cajun & swing jam w/ Steve Burnside, 7:00PM tressA's Downtown JAzz AnD BlUes Jesse Barry & The Jam (live music, dance), 9:00PM

UpcoUntrY Brewing coMpAnY Armadilla, 9:00PM weDge Brewing co.

Bar Hop for Standing Rock! (benefit), All Day wxYz loUnge At AloFt hotel WXYZ Unplugged, 8:00PM

185 king street The Get Right Band (funk, rock, reggae), 8:00PM 5 wAlnUt wine BAr CaroMia & Ryan Oslance (soul, R&B), 9:00PM

12.16 9PM

FirestorM cAFe AnD Books Travel By Haiku w/ Marshall James Kavanaugh & Searra Jade, 6:00PM FoggY MoUntAin BrewpUB Zapato (funk, jazz), 10:00PM French BroAD BrewerY Todd Cecil & Backsouth (rock.

Americana), 6:00PM

FriDAY, DeceMBer 16

FREE!

DoUBle crown DJ Greg Cartwright (garage & soul obscurities), 10:00PM elAine's DUeling piAno BAr Dueling Pianos, 9:00PM

twisteD lAUrel Karaoke, 8:00PM

Album Release w/ GROOVE FETISH

crow & QUill Tina & Her Pony w/ 10 Cent Poetry (indie folk), 10:00PM

gooD stUFF In Flight & Nathan Robinson, 8:00PM

12/14 12/15 12/16 12/17 12/18 12/18

SAVANNAH SMITH SOUTHERN SOUL

AND

12/20

CHATHAM COUNTY LINE’S “ELECTRIC HOLIDAY TOUR”

HOLIDAY HANG W/ TOWN MOUNTAIN + THE HONEYCUTTERS

7PM DOORS

BUrger BAr Bike Night, 9:00PM

8PM 7PM DOORS DOORS

the sUMMit At new MoUntAin Avl Summit Jam, 6:00PM

A MUSIC SHOALS MUSIC REVUE W/ THE AMY BLACK BAND

7PM DOORS

pisgAh Brewing coMpAnY Aaron Austin Trio w/ members of The Broadcast (jazz, funk), 8:00PM

Boiler rooM Beni-Hana (hip hop), 10:00PM

INDIE SOUTH HOLIDAY MARKET

10AM DOORS

pAck's tAvern Hope Griffin Duo (acoustic folk, rock), 8:00PM

the Mothlight The Moth: True Stories Told Live (storytelling), 7:30PM

lAzY DiAMonD Rotating Rock 'n' Oldies DJs, 10:00PM

THE SECRET SISTERS CHRISTMAS TOUR W/ HANNAH MILLER

TROLLEY LA LA LALA LA LA LA

CAN’D AID FOR WNC WILDLIFE RELIEF W/ SILENT KNIGHTS

7PM DOORS

pUlp Slice of Life Comedy Open Mic, 9:00PM

BlUe MoUntAin pizzA & Brew pUB Acoustic Swing, 7:00PM

5:30PM DOORS

oskAr BlUes BrewerY Bradley Carter (singer-songwriter), 6:00PM

the Mocking crow Acoustic night w/ Steve Moseley & Heath Lewis, 8:00PM

k loUnge DJ Phantom Pantone (Korean pop, trap, dance), 10:00PM

WED

orAnge peel Rising Appalachia w/ Hope For Agoldensummer & Dustin Thomas (world, folk, soul), 9:00PM

Ben's tUne-Up Woody Wood & the Asheville Family Band (acoustic, folk, rock), 7:00PM

JerUsAleM gArDen Middle Eastern music & bellydancing, 7:00PM

THU

one worlD Brewing Matt Walsh, 8:00PM

the Joint next Door Tricky Trivia w/ Sue, 8:00PM

JAck oF the wooD pUB Jonny Monster Band (rock, blues), 9:00PM

FRI

one stop At Asheville MUsic hAll An evening w/ Flux Capacitor, 10:00PM

AthenA's clUB Dave Blair (folk, funk, acoustic), 7:00PM

isis restAUrAnt AnD MUsic hAll The Bluegrass Ball w/ The Travelin' McCourys, Andy Thorn, Travis Book & Jon Stickley, 9:00PM

SAT

olive or twist Michael Filippone's Guest Artist Night, 7:30PM

the BUll AnD BeggAr Bar Hop for Standing Rock! (benefit), All Day

Asheville MUsic hAll Supatight's Album Release w/ Groove Fetish, 10:00PM

SUN

ole shAkeY's O.S.O.M. Open Mic, 10:00PM Bar Hop for Standing Rock! (benefit), All Day

the Block oFF BiltMore Unite! Open mic night (sign up @ 7 p.m.; Happy birthday, Tate!), 7:30PM

highlAnD Brewing coMpAnY Raising Caine (country), 7:00PM

SUN

oFF the wAgon Dueling pianos, 9:00PM

550 tAvern & grille Zuzu Welsh Band (rock, blues, Americana), 9:00PM

stone roAD restAUrAnt & BAr Open Mic w/ Tony the Pony, 8:00PM

TUE

oDDitoriUM Jeff Two Names, Beige Curtains & Gullible Boys (punk), 9:00PM

12/21 MOVIE NIGHT W/ 2 CHRISTMAS CLASSICS (FREE)

A CHRISTMAS STORY (6PM) CHRISTMAS VACATION (8PM)

12/22 GREG PAYNE AND THE PIEDMONT BOYS

greY eAgle MUsic hAll & tAvern 5th annual Holiday Hang Benefit Show w/ Town Mountain & The Honeycutters, 8:00PM

Holiday Plant-based Potluck - 12/25 Proceeds go to ELIADA theblockoffbiltmore.com 39 S. Market St., Downtown Asheville

AMH

(Funk/Rock)

A Very Jerry Xmas 12.23 9 PM AMH w/ Mother McCrary’s (Grateful Dead) adv. $10 Uptown Electic Jug Band 12.29 8PM AMH THE NTH POWER w/ DYNAMO

The Goodies!

Ring in 2017 w/ Grass is Dead

(Soul/Jazz/Funk) adv. $10

12.30 9 PM

AMH

(Rock n Roll) adv. $12

12.31 9 PM

AMH

(Bluegrass/Dead) adv. $12 mountainx.com

DEcEmBER 14 - DEcEmBER 20, 2016

49

clU B lA n D loBster trAp Calico Moon (Americana), 6:30PM MArket plAce The Sean Mason Trio (groove, jazz, funk), 7:00PM

ASHEVILLEFOODPARK.COM

Happenings WED 12/14

ADULT COLORING PARTY 6pm

FRI 12/16

Eggnog Party!

SAT 12/17

Holiday Get Down!

SUN 12/18

Toy Exchange 6:30-7:30pm

All night

w/ New Belgium w/ New Belgium

Maker’s Mark Night

TUE 12/20

Gingerbread House Contest 6-9pm

Hot Toddies & Old Fashioneds w/ Sierra Nevada, Winners Announced- 9pm

Ugly Sweater Contest & Party 6-9pm w/ Foothills Brewing Co. Winners Announced- 9pm

daily updates @

AshevilleFoodPark

MONDAY: OPEN MIC Jam Session 7pm - 11pm TUESDAY: ELEANOR UNDERHILL Americana Roots Fusion 7pm - 10pm WEDNESDAY: WINDOW CAT Future Soul, R&B, Jazz 8pm - 11pm THURSDAY: CRIS COLEMAN Blues Experience 8pm - 11pm FRIDAY: WOODY WOOD Live Acoustic Sounds 8pm - 11pm SATURDAY: GYPSY GUITAR TRIO 3pm - 6pm WILDCARD SoulFunkJazzFuzion 9pm - 12am SUNDAY: DUB KARTEL Roots, Rock, Reggae 6pm - 10pm 50

Where The Blue Ridge Mountains Meet the Celtic Isles

w/ Bell’s Brewing

MON 12/19

WED 12/21

o.henrY's/the UnDergroUnD Drag Show, 12:30AM

DEcEmBER 14 - DEcEmBER 20, 2016

MONDAYS Quizzo – Brainy Trivia • 7:30pm Open Mic Night • 9pm CAJUN TWO STEPPIN’ TUESDAYS

Featuring THE CREOLE & IN THE WAY

Every Tuesday in Nov. • 7pm Gumbo, Po Boys and more!

WEDNESDAYS Asheville’s Original Old Time Mountain Music Jam • 5pm THURSDAYS Mountain Feist • 7pm Bluegrass Jam • 9:30pm Bourbon Specials

MONSTER FRI JOHNNY BAND 12/16 9PM / $5

SAT LEFT LANE CRUISER W/ ADAM LEE 12/17 8PM / $7 BAYOU DIESEL CAJUN

FRI CHRISTMAS DANCE 12/23 PARTY 9PM / $5

IRISH SUNDAYS Irish Food and Drink Specials Traditional Irish Music Session • 3-9pm OPEN MON-THURS AT 3 • FRI-SUN AT NOON CRAFT BEER, SPIRITS & QUALITY PUB FARE SINCE 1996

95 PATTON at COXE • Downtown Asheville

252.5445 • jackofthewood.com

mountainx.com

oDDitoriUM Kitty Tsunami, Del Sur, Flower City Conspiracy & The No Ways (rock), 9:00PM oFF the wAgon Dueling pianos, 9:00PM olive or twist 42nd Street Band (big band jazz), 8:00PM one stop At Asheville MUsic hAll Free Dead Fridays w/ members of Phuncle Sam (jam), 5:00PM Mustacheville presents "A Very Merry Unbirthday", 10:00PM one worlD Brewing Hustle Souls, 9:00PM orAnge peel Rumours (Fleetwood Mac tribute), 9:00PM oskAr BlUes BrewerY Shotgun Gypsies (Americana), 6:00PM pAck's tAvern DJ MoTo (dance hits, pop), 9:30PM pAtton pUBlic hoUse Marc Keller (acoustic classic rock), 6:00PM pisgAh Brewing coMpAnY Skunk Ruckus (hillbilly gutrock), 8:00PM sAlvAge stAtion Phuncle Sam, 9:00PM sAnctUArY Brewing coMpAnY Sean Bendula (singer-songwriter), 8:00PM scAnDAls nightclUB Zumba!, 7:00PM DJ dance party & drag show, 10:00PM scArlet's coUntrY DAnce clUB Open Mic night w/ Sam Warner, 8:00PM soUthern AppAlAchiAn BrewerY Ugly Sweater Christmas show w/ The Stipe Brothers, Kent Rector & Jeff Hinkle, 8:00PM stone roAD restAUrAnt & BAr 3 Cool Cats (vintage rock 'n' roll), 7:30PM the ADMirAl Hip-hop dance party w/ DJ Warf, 11:00PM the Block oFF BiltMore Jazzy Happy Hours w/ Marilyn Seits Duo, 5:00PM Folk 'n' Roll (acoustic, classic folk, rock), 8:00PM LOOK Fridays Dance Party w/ DJ Audio, 10:00PM the DUgoUt Justified Vibe, 9:00PM the Joint next Door Upland Drive (experimental rock), 8:00PM the Mocking crow Trivia and karoke night!, 9:00PM the Mothlight Public Life w/ Sours, Not Yet & Annelise Kopp, 10:00PM

twisteD lAUrel Request-powered dance party w/ Phantom Pantone, 10:30PM UpcoUntrY Brewing coMpAnY Jerry Garcia Jam Band, 9:25PM white horse BlAck MoUntAin Malcolm Holcombe (singer-songwriter), 8:00PM wilD wing cAFe Vintage (classic rock), 9:00PM wilD wing cAFe soUth A Social Function, 9:00PM wxYz loUnge At AloFt hotel WXYZ Electric, 8:00PM zAMBrA Zambra Jazz Trio, 8:00PM

sAtUrDAY, DeceMBer 17 185 king street Malcolm Holcombe (folk, country), 8:00PM 5 wAlnUt wine BAr Nimbus (world, dub, lounge), 6:00PM Chuck Lichtenberger Collective (funk, jazz, rock), 9:00PM AthenA's clUB Michael Kelley Hunter (blues), 6:30PM BhrAMAri BrewhoUse Bend & Brew (yoga class), 11:00AM BlAck MoUntAin Ale hoUse Jason Moore & Trust Trio (jazz, funk), 8:00PM BlUe MoUntAin pizzA & Brew pUB Ben Phan (indie, folk, singer-songwriter), 7:00PM Boiler rooM Dance party & drag show (Top 40, house, hip hop), 10:00PM BUrger BAr Asheville FM 103.3 DJ Night, 9:00PM BYwAter Earthtone Soundsystem (DJ), 9:00PM cork & keg The Barsters (old-time), 8:30PM creeksiDe tAphoUse Heirlum, 7:00PM DoUBle crown Pitter Platter w/ DJ Big Smidge, 10:00PM elAine's DUeling piAno BAr Dueling Pianos, 9:00PM FoggY MoUntAin BrewpUB Gruda Tree Trio (funk, jam), 10:00PM French BroAD BrewerY Ryan Barrington Cox (country, folk), 6:00PM gooD stUFF Elvis Moore (rap, spiritual), 9:00PM green rooM cAFe & coFFeehoUse Elise Pratt Jazz Trio, 5:30PM

the sociAl Steve Moseley (acoustic), 6:00PM

greY eAgle MUsic hAll & tAvern Muscle Shoals Music Revue w/ The Amy Black Band, 8:00PM

the sociAl loUnge Ultra Lounge w/ Phantom Pantone, 10:00PM

highlAnD Brewing coMpAnY Patrick Dodd Band (singer-songwriter), 7:00PM

tiger MoUntAin Friday Nite Mash Up w/ B-Boy Evan & Nex Millen, 10:00PM

isis restAUrAnt AnD MUsic hAll Jeanne Jolly & the Mistletoes, 7:00PM Jeanne Jolly & the Mistletoes (late show), 9:15PM

town pUMp Loose Leaves, 9:00PM

JAck oF the wooD pUB Left Lane Cruiser w/ Adam Lee (blues, rock), 8:00PM

tressA's Downtown JAzz AnD BlUes Mark Shane (acoustic guitar), 7:00PM Ryan "R&B" Barber (r&b, soul), 10:00PM

JerUsAleM gArDen Middle Eastern music & bellydancing, 7:00PM

k loUnge DJ Phantom Pantone (Korean pop, trap, dance), 10:00PM lAzY DiAMonD Sonic Satan Stew w/ DJ Alien Brain, 10:00PM loBster trAp Sean Mason Trio (jazz), 6:30PM MArket plAce DJs (funk, R&B), 7:00PM new MoUntAin theAter/ AMphitheAter Holiday Liquor & Dance Party, 9:00PM o.henrY's/the UnDergroUnD Drag Show, 12:30AM oDDitoriUM Drunk In A Dumpster, The Dimarcos, Valence & No Anger Control (punk), 9:00PM oFF the wAgon Dueling pianos, 9:00PM olive or twist Crown Jewels (1920s-1990s dance music), 8:00PM Dance party (hip-hop, rap), 11:00PM one stop At Asheville MUsic hAll Funk You (progressive funk, rock), 10:00PM orAnge peel The New Mastersounds & Turkuaz (funk, jazz fusion), 9:00PM oskAr BlUes BrewerY Dave Desmelik Duo (Americana), 6:00PM pAck's tAvern Crocodile Smile (classic covers, rock), 9:30PM pisgAh Brewing coMpAnY Captain Midnight Band (rock 'n' roll), 8:00PM

the sUMMit At new MoUntAin Avl 10th annual holiday liquor & dance party, 9:00PM town pUMp Jonny Monster Band (rock), 9:00PM toY BoAt coMMUnitY Art spAce Asheville Vaudeville, 10:00PM tressA's Downtown JAzz AnD BlUes Ruby Mayfield & Lenny Pettinelli (live music), 7:00PM Al "Coffee" & Da Grind (blues, soul, dance), 10:00PM twisteD lAUrel Dance Party w/ Phantom Pantone, 10:30PM UpcoUntrY Brewing coMpAnY Grand Opening Holiday Extravaganza w/ Josh Phillips and more, 4:00PM white horse BlAck MoUntAin AmiciMusic: Jewish Jazz, 2:00PM Carolina Ceili's 3rd annual Celtic Yulefest, 8:00PM wilD wing cAFe Saturday karaoke, 6:00PM Karaoke, 9:00PM wxYz loUnge At AloFt hotel WXYZ Live, 8:00PM zAMBrA Zambra Jazz Trio, 8:00PM

sUnDAY, DeceMBer 18

Ben's tUne-Up Sunday Funday DJ set, 3:00PM Dub Kartel (reggae, dub), 6:00PM BhrAMAri BrewhoUse Sunday brunch w/ live music, 11:00AM BlUe MoUntAin pizzA & Brew pUB Larry Dolamore (acoustic), 7:00PM BYwAter Grateful Sunday (Grateful Dead covers), 8:00PM creeksiDe tAphoUse Nate Robinson, 7:00PM DiAnA worthAM theAtre A Swannanoa Solstice w/ Al Petteway, Amy White, Robin Bullock & more, 2:00PM DoUBle crown Killer Karaoke w/ KJ Tim O, 9:00PM FlooD gAllerY True home open mic (sign-up @ 7 p.m.), 7:30PM gooD stUFF Gracie Lane (folk, Americana), 4:00PM greY eAgle MUsic hAll & tAvern Indie South Holiday Market (holiday fair), 10:00AM The Secret Sisters w/ Hannah Miller (country, roots, rock 'n' roll), 8:00PM highlAnD Brewing coMpAnY Reggae Sunday w/ Dennis "Chalwa" Berndt, 1:00PM

5 wAlnUt wine BAr Up Jumped Three (original jazz), 7:00PM

isis restAUrAnt AnD MUsic hAll Barefoot Movement Holiday Show, 5:30PM Russ Wilson "Have Yourself a Swinging Little Christmas", 7:30PM

Asheville gUitAr BAr Guitar Bar Jam Sunday, 3:30PM

JAck oF the wooD pUB Irish session, 5:00PM

pUrple onion cAFe Bad Popes (rock), 8:00PM

And

BREWS East Asheville’s Craft Beer Destination

BEST DEALS IN TOWN

MON: Burgers & Trivia 7-9pm TUE: Tacos + Blues w/ Matt Walsh WED: Wings & Open Mic Jam - 7pm THU: Company News - 7pm FRI: King Garbage- 7pm (Funk/R&B) SAT: Heirlum- 7pm (Country/ Americana) SUN: Football Nachos & FOOTBALL!

rooM ix Open dance night, 9:00PM sAlvAge stAtion Jazz Is Phsh, 9:00PM sAnctUArY Brewing coMpAnY Letters to Abigail (Americana), 8:00PM scAnDAls nightclUB DJ dance party & drag show, 10:00PM scArlet's coUntrY DAnce clUB The Fine Lines Band (classic Southern rock), 8:00PM soUthern AppAlAchiAn BrewerY King Possum (indie, folk, blues), 7:00PM the ADMirAl Soul night w/ DJ Dr. Filth, 11:00PM the Block oFF BiltMore Conscious Comedy Night w/ Grayson Morris, 7:00PM International Salsa Night w/ DJ Malinalli & DJ Audio, 12:00 AM

All the

the DUgoUt Daddy Rabbit, 9:00PM

NFL, NHL & SEC

the Joint next Door Trio de Chuck (funk, Americana), 8:00PM

action on our 10 TV’s

the Mocking crow Karaoke w/ Josie, 9:00PM

Call us to book your next party!

the Mothlight Bendy Cat w/ Camp David & Seabreeze Diner (rock), 9:30PM the riDge At new MoUntAin Avl 10th annual holiday liquor & dance party, 9:00PM

Parties of 10+, please call ahead

the sociAl loUnge Ultra Lounge w/ Phantom Pantone, 10:00PM

mountainx.com

DEcEmBER 14 - DEcEmBER 20, 2016

51

clU B lA n D

Wed•Dec 14

Woody Wood

lAzY DiAMonD Punk night w/ DJ Homeless Plumber aka "Chubberbird", 10:00PM

5:30pm

Fri•Dec 16

loBster trAp Hunnilicious (singer-songwriter), 6:30PM

Raising Cane 7-9pm Sat•Dec 17 Patrick Dodd Band 7-9pm Sun•Dec 18 Reggae Sunday with Dennis CHALWA Berndt 1-4pm Tue•Dec 20 Team Trivia 6-8pm

oDDitoriUM 90s Dance Party, 9:00PM oFF the wAgon Piano show, 9:00PM

COMING SOON wed 12/14

7:00PM – THE FRANKLIN SCHOOL OF INNOVATION WINTER BENEFIT CONCERT THU 12/15 & FRI 12/16 TWO NIGHTS, 9:00PM –

THE BLUEGRASS BALL FEATURING

THE TRAVELIN’ MCCOURYS, ANDY THORN, TRAVIS BOOK, AND JON STICKLEY sat 12/17

JEANNE JOLLY & THE MISTLETOES IN THE JOLLY HOLIDAY REVUE

7:00PM- EARLY SHOW 9:15PM- LATE SHOW sun 12/18 5:30PM – BAREFOOT MOVEMENT

HOLIDAY SHOW

7:30PM – RUSS WILSON’S “HAVE YOURSELF A SWINGING LITTLE CHRISTMAS”

tue 12/20 7:30PM – TUESDAY BLUEGRASS SESSIONS wed 12/21 7:00PM – DE LA NOCHE: TANGO EXPERIENCE 8:30PM –CELEBRATE THE SEASON WITH

SWEET CLAUDETTE AND BIG SOUND HARBOR thu 12/22 7:00PM – WARM DECEMBER:

AN INTIMATE EVENING OF YULETIDE JAZZ, CAROLS AND SONGS FROM CHRISTMAS PAST WITH AMANDA HORTON 8:15PM – EVERYBODY IS A STAR:

UPLIFTING SONGS TO CELEBRATE THE SEASON WITH PEGGY RATUSZ & FRIENDS fri 12/23 8:30PM – DON CLAYTON CD RELEASE

BENEFIT FOR LEAF tue 12/27 7:30PM – TUESDAY BLUEGRASS SESSIONS thu 12/29 8:30PM – JAMIE LAVAL’S

CELTIC CHRISTMAS

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

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

52

DEcEmBER 14 - DEcEmBER 20, 2016

Send your listings to clubland@mountainx.com

mountainx.com

olive or twist Zen Cats (blues), 7:00PM one stop At Asheville MUsic hAll Bluegrass brunch w/ Woody Wood, 11:00AM Sundays w/ Bill & friends, 5:00PM pisgAh Brewing coMpAnY Sunday Travers jam, 6:00PM scAnDAls nightclUB DJ dance party & drag show, 10:00PM soUthern AppAlAchiAn BrewerY Gospel Brunch w/ Redneck Mimosa, 12:00PM the Block oFF BiltMore Sunday brunch w/ Tephra Vegan & Duo Vela, 12:00PM "Christmas for Kat" w/ Lyric, Jesse Jr., Jim Arrendell & Tom Leiner (Kat Williams benefit), 6:30PM the iMperiAl liFe DJ Phantom Pantone (french pop, disco house), 9:30PM the Mothlight Hello Hugo & Giant Giants w/ Mushigo Palm (instrumental, rock), 9:00PM the oMni grove pArk inn Lou Mowad (classical guitar), 10:00AM Bob Zullo (pop, rock, blues), 7:00PM the sociAl Get Vocal Karaoke, 9:30PM the sociAl loUnge Sunday brunch on the rooftop w/ Katie Kasben & Dan Keller (jazz), 12:30PM

Asheville gUitAr BAr Classical Guitar Mondays, 7:00PM BUrger BAr Honky Tonk night, 9:00PM BYwAter Open mic w/ Rick Cooper, 8:00PM coUrtYArD gAllerY Open mic (music, poetry, comedy, etc.), 8:00PM creeksiDe tAphoUse Trivia, 7:00PM DoUBle crown Country Karaoke, 10:00PM gooD stUFF Songwriter's "open mic", 7:30PM greY eAgle MUsic hAll & tAvern Contra dance (lessons, 7:30pm), 8:00PM JAck oF the wooD pUB Quizzo (trivia), 7:00PM Open Mic Night, 9:00PM lexington Ave BrewerY (lAB) Kipper's "Totally Rad" Trivia night, 8:00PM loBster trAp Bobby Miller & friends (bluegrass), 6:30PM o.henrY's/the UnDergroUnD Geeks Who Drink trivia, 7:00PM oDDitoriUM Risque Monday (burlesque), 9:00PM ole shAkeY's Jonathan Ammons & Take The Wheel (honky-tonk karaoke), 9:00PM orAnge peel Tory Lanez w/ A Boogie, Kranium, Kurt Rockmore & VeeCee (hip hop, R&B, dancehall), 9:00PM oskAr BlUes BrewerY Mountain Music Mondays (open jam), 6:00PM

the soUthern Yacht Rock Brunch w/ DJ Kipper, 12:00PM

sAlvAge stAtion Salvage Station to Standing Rock, 6:00PM

tressA's Downtown JAzz AnD BlUes Benefit for Tammy Lou Barry (benefit, music), 7:00PM

the Joint next Door Trivial trivia w/ Geoffrey & Brody, 8:00PM

white horse BlAck MoUntAin Billy Jonas Band Holiday Show, 3:00PM Sheila Kay Adams and friends (old-time, ballads), 7:30PM

MonDAY, DeceMBer 19 185 king street Open mic night, 7:00PM

the Mothlight Zack Mexico w/ Grace Joyner, Gold Light & Secret Guest (psychedelic, pop, indie rock), 9:00PM the oMni grove pArk inn Bob Zullo (pop, rock, blues), 7:00PM the sociAl loUnge Rooftop movies w/ Phantom Pantone DJ Collective, 8:00PM

5 wAlnUt wine BAr Siamese Jazz Club (soul, R&B, jazz), 8:00PM

the vAlleY MUsic & cookhoUse Monday Pickin' Parlour (open jam, open mic), 8:00PM

AltAMont theAtre An Evening w/ California Guitar Trio (rock), 8:00PM

tiger MoUntAin Service industry night (rock 'n' roll), 9:00PM

UpcoUntrY Brewing coMpAnY Old-time jam w/ Mitch McConnell, 6:30PM UrBAn orchArD Old-time music, 7:00PM white horse BlAck MoUntAin Jay Brown & Chris Rosser (Americana, singer-songwriter), 7:30PM

tUesDAY, DeceMBer 20 5 wAlnUt wine BAr The John Henrys (hot jazz), 8:00PM 550 tAvern & grille Shag Night, 6:00PM Asheville gUitAr BAr Gypsy Jazz Jam Tuesdays, 7:00PM Asheville MUsic hAll Tuesday Night Funk Jam, 11:00PM BAck YArD BAr Open mic & jam w/ Robert Swain, 8:00PM BlAck BeAr coFFee co.

Round Robin acoustic open mic, 7:00PM BlAck MoUntAin Ale hoUse Trivia, 7:30PM BlUe MoUntAin pizzA & Brew pUB Patrick Fitzsimons (roots music), 7:00PM BonFire BArBecUe Thunder karaoke w/ Jason Tarr, 8:00PM BUFFAlo nickel Trivia, 7:00PM BUrger BAr Old Time Blues Jam, 9:00PM BYwAter Spin Jam, 9:00PM creeksiDe tAphoUse Matt Walsh (blues), 6:00PM crow & QUill Boogie Woogie Burger Night (burgers, rock n' roll), 9:00PM DoUBle crown Honky-Tonk, Cajun, and Western w/ DJ Brody Hunt, 10:00PM gooD stUFF Old time-y night, 6:30PM greY eAgle MUsic hAll & tAvern 2nd annual Trolley La La La La La La La (caroling), 5:30PM iron horse stAtion Open mic, 6:00PM isis restAUrAnt AnD MUsic hAll Tuesday bluegrass sessions w/ Stig & friends, 7:30PM JAck oF the wooD pUB Cajun Two-steppin' Tuesday w/ The Cre'ole & In the Way (Cajun, zydeco, dance), 7:00PM lAzY DiAMonD Heavy Metal Karaoke, 10:00PM

loBster trAp Jay Brown (folk, singer-songwriter), 6:30PM MArket plAce Rat Alley Cats (jazz, Latin, swing), 7:00PM oDDitoriUM Odd comedy night, 9:00PM ole shAkeY's Booty Tuesday, 11:00PM olive or twist Blues Night w/ Remedy, 8:00PM one stop At Asheville MUsic hAll Turntable Tuesdays (DJs & vinyl), 10:00PM one worlD Brewing TRIVIA! w/ Ol' Gilly, 7:00PM oskAr BlUes BrewerY Trivia night w/ DJ Josie Breeze, 6:00PM sAlvAge stAtion Asheville Singing Sessions, 5:30PM sAnctUArY Brewing coMpAnY Taco and Trivia Tuesday!, 7:00PM the Block oFF BiltMore Jazz-n-Justice Benefit Tuesday, 6:00PM the Joint next Door Open jam w/ Rob Parks & Chuck Knott, 7:00PM

BlUe MoUntAin pizzA & Brew pUB Open Mic w/ Billy Owens, 7:00PM BonFire BArBecUe Trivia Funtime w/ Kelsey, 8:00PM BUrger BAr Karaoke, 9:00PM BYwAter The Woodshed, 9:00PM creeksiDe tAphoUse Open mic w/ Roots & friends, 7:00PM DoUBle crown Classic Country w/ DJ David Wayne Gay, 10:00PM FUnkAtoriUM Staves & Strings (bluegrass), 6:30PM gooD stUFF Jim Hampton & friends perform "Eclectic Country" (jam), 7:00PM greY eAgle MUsic hAll & tAvern Movie Night: A Christmas Story, 6:00PM Movie Night: Christmas Vacation, 8:00PM grinD cAFe Trivia night, 7:00PM highlAnD Brewing coMpAnY Woody Wood Wednesdays (rock, soul, funk), 5:30PM

the phoenix Open mic, 8:00PM

isis restAUrAnt AnD MUsic hAll De la Noche (tango experience), 7:00PM Celebrate the Season w/ Sweet Claudette & Big Sound Harbor, 8:30PM

the sociAl loUnge Phantom Pantone (DJ), 10:00PM

JAck oF the wooD pUB Old-time session, 5:00PM

tressA's Downtown JAzz AnD BlUes Early Funk & Jazz Jam (funk & jazz), 9:00PM

lAzY DiAMonD Killer Karaoke w/ KJ Tim O, 10:00PM

the Mothlight The Franks w/ The Lo Wolf & TJ Johnson (Southern Gothic, Americana), 9:00PM

UrBAn orchArD Billy Litz (Americana, singersongwriter), 7:00PM white horse BlAck MoUntAin Irish sessions & open mic, 6:30PM wilD wing cAFe Sons of Ralph & The Cole Mountain Cloggers, 6:00PM

weDnesDAY, DeceMBer 21 185 king street Vinyl Night, 6:00PM 5 wAlnUt wine BAr Ten Cent Poetry (folk, pop), 5:00PM Les Amis (African folk), 8:00PM

loBster trAp Ben Hovey (dub, jazz), 6:30PM MoUntAin MoJo coFFeehoUse Open mic, 6:30PM noBle kAvA Open mic w/ Caleb Beissert, 9:00PM o.henrY's/the UnDergroUnD "Take the Cake" Karaoke, 10:00PM oDDitoriUM Bake Sale and Show for Harry Potter Alliance, 5:00PM oFF the wAgon Piano show, 9:00PM olive or twist 3 Cool Cats (vintage rock), 8:00PM

rooM ix Fuego: Latin night, 9:00PM sAnctUArY Brewing coMpAnY Adoptable Pet Night w/ Blue Ridge Humane Society, 6:00PM Tessia Doerfler (singer-songwriter), 7:00PM slY grog loUnge Sound Station open mic (musicians of all backgrounds & skills), 7:30PM the Block oFF BiltMore Hemp Day w/ Endymion is the Moon (folk), 6:00PM the Mocking crow Open Mic w/ Jeremy Indelicato & Susan Bargar, 8:00PM the phoenix Jazz night w/ Jason DeCristofaro, 8:00PM the sociAl loUnge DJ Phantom Pantone (international soul, R&B), 8:00PM town pUMp Open mic w/ Billy Presnell, 9:00PM tressA's Downtown JAzz AnD BlUes Blues & Soul Jam (blues, soul), 9:00PM white horse BlAck MoUntAin The Core (jazz), 7:30PM

thUrsDAY, DeceMBer 22 185 king street Trufant & friends Holiday Jam, 8:00PM

TAVERN

5 wAlnUt wine BAr Pleasure Chest (blues, rock, soul), 8:00PM

Downtown on the Park Eclectic Menu • Over 30 Taps • Patio 14 TV’s • Sports Room • 110” Projector Event Space • Shuffleboard Open 7 Days 11am - Late Night

AltAMont theAtre Grateful Dead Night w/ Phuncle Sam, 8:30PM Asheville Guitar Bar Will Ray & The Space Cooties, 7:00PM

Looking for the Perfect Gift? bo

A How

BArleY's tAprooM & pizzeriA Alien Music Club | Holiday Songs, 9:00PM

THU. 12/15 Hope Griffin Duo

BlAck MoUntAin Ale hoUse Bluegrass Jam w/ The Big Deal Band, 8:00PM

(acoustic folk, rock)

BlUe MoUntAin pizzA & Brew pUB Ionize, 7:00PM

FRI. 12/16 DJ MoTo

(dance hits, pop)

BonFire BArBecUe Social Function, 8:30PM

SAT. 12/17 Crocodile Smile

BUrger BAr Garage/surf rock w/ DJ PAPA Wheelie, 9:00PM

one worlD Brewing Billy Litz, 8:00PM

clADDAgh restAUrAnt & pUB Irish Music Thursdays, 7:00PM

Asheville gUitAr BAr Brad Hodge (singer-songwriter), 7:00PM

orAnge peel Ralphie May w/ Ricky Cruz (comedy), 8:00PM

crow & QUill Carolina Catskins (gritty ragtime jazz), 10:00PM

BArleY's tAprooM & pizzeriA Dr. Brown's Team Trivia, 8:30PM

pisgAh Brewing coMpAnY Dennis "Chalwa" Berndt & friends, 6:00PM

DoUBle crown Sonic Satan Stew w/ DJ Alien Brain, 10:00PM

ut a Pa ck’s Tave rn Gift Card!

(classic covers, rock)

20 S. Spruce St. • 225.6944 packStavern.com mountainx.com

DEcEmBER 14 - DEcEmBER 20, 2016

53

c l UB l AnD

12/14 wed

jeff the brotherhood w/mom and dad, plastic pinks

12/15

thu

the moth:

true stories told live

12/16 12/17 12/18

fri

public life

w/ sours, not yet, annelise kopp sat

bendy cat(album release)

w/ camp david, seabreeze diner sun

hello hugo & giant giants

album release show w/ mushigo palm Woodpecker Pie

Savory and Sweet Hand Pies!

5pm to last call

Yoga at the Mothlight

Tues., Thurs., and Sat. 11:30am Details for all shows can be found at

themothlight.com

Send your listings to clubland@mountainx.com

elAine's DUeling piAno BAr Dueling Pianos, 9:00PM

JAck oF the wooD pUB Bluegrass jam, 6:00PM

FoggY MoUntAin BrewpUB Siamese Jazz Club (jazz), 9:00PM

lAzY DiAMonD Heavy Night w/ DJ Butch, 10:00PM

French BroAD BrewerY Benjo Saylor from Brushfire Stankgrass, 6:00PM

loBster trAp Hank Bones ("The man of 1,000 songs"), 6:30PM

greY eAgle MUsic hAll & tAvern Greg Payne & The Piedmont Boys w/ Corey Hunt (country), 9:00PM isis restAUrAnt AnD MUsic hAll Warm December : An evening of Yuletide jazz, carols and songs, 7:00PM "Everybody is a Star" w/ Peggy Ratusz, 8:15PM

Bywater UPCOMING MUSIC DEC

16

FRI

DEC

17

SAT

DEC

23

FRI

NOAH PROUDFOOT & THE BIG PEACE Standing Rock Benefit, 8pm

EARTHTONE SOUNDSYSTEM (DJ)

TUE

THU

18

SUN

DEcEmBER 14 - DEcEmBER 20, 2016

one stop At Asheville MUsic hAll Holiday Vybz w/ DJ Atreau & Haiku Bastard, 10:00PM

BlAck MoUntAin Ale hoUse Fox Medicine, 7:30PM

one worlD Brewing Matt Sellars, 8:00PM orAnge peel 15th Annual Make-A-Wish Christmas Party benefit w/ The Dirty Soul Revival, White Soul, Log Noggins, The Company Stores, Up Dog & more, 7:30PM pUlp Slice of Life Comedy Open Mic, 9:00PM pAck's tAvern Marc Keller (acoustic rock), 8:00PM pisgAh Brewing coMpAnY The Lazybirds, 8:00PM

sAnctUArY Brewing coMpAnY Just Carver (Americana), 7:00PM scAnDAls nightclUB DJ dance party & drag show, 10:00PM spring creek tAvern Open Mic, 6:00PM

BlUe MoUntAin pizzA & Brew pUB Acoustic Swing, 7:00PM BUrger BAr Bike Night, 9:00PM BYrish hAUs & pUB 3 Cool Cats (vintage rock 'n' roll), 7:30PM clUB eleven on grove Hot Bachata Nights (salsa dance), 9:30PM cork & keg Old-Time Jam, 7:30PM creeksiDe tAphoUse Jason Homan (gospel), 7:00PM DoUBle crown DJ Greg Cartwright (garage & soul obscurities), 10:00PM elAine's DUeling piAno BAr Dueling Pianos, 9:00PM FoggY MoUntAin BrewpUB Palm Sweat Quartet (funk, jam), 10:00PM French BroAD BrewerY Ty Alan & Friends, 6:00PM gooD stUFF Benjo Saylor (banjo, singer-songwriter), 8:00PM

OPEN MIC

stone roAD restAUrAnt & BAr Open Mic w/ Tony the Pony, 8:00PM

highlAnD Brewing coMpAnY The Circus No. 9 (bluegrass, Americana), 7:00PM

8pm

the Joint next Door Tricky Trivia w/ Sue, 8:00PM

OPEN DRUM CIRCLE

the Mocking crow Acoustic night w/ Steve Moseley & Heath Lewis, 8:00PM

isis restAUrAnt AnD MUsic hAll Don Clayton CD Release Benefit For LEAF, 8:30PM

ft. ROOSTER

6pm

SPIN JAM

the sUMMit At new MoUntAin Avl Summit Jam, 6:00PM

COCKTAIL NIGHT

tiMo's hoUse TRL REQUEST NIGHT w/ DJ Franco Nino, 7:00PM

9pm

town pUMp John Dickie (acoustic, singer-songwriter), 9:00PM

ft. DJ KYURI

BOOJUM BREWING TAP TAKEOVER ft. ASHLEY HEATH

GRATEFUL SUNDAY ft. DIRTY DEAD 8pm

796 RIVERSIDE DR. ASHEVILLE, NC BYWATER.BAR 54

Ben's tUne-Up Woody Wood & the Asheville Family Band (acoustic, folk, rock), 7:00PM

rooM ix Throwback Thursdays (all vinyl set), 9:00PM

7:30pm DEC

Asheville MUsic hAll A Very Jerry Xmas w/ Mother McCrary's Uptown Electric Jug Band, 9:00PM

olive or twist Michael Filippone's Guest Artist Night, 7:30PM

SONGS FROM THE ROAD BAND ft.

9pm WED

5 wAlnUt wine BAr Firecracker Jazz Band, 9:00PM

AthenA's clUB Dave Blair (folk, funk, acoustic), 7:00PM

pUrple onion cAFe Sally and George, 8:00PM

MEMBERS OF LEFTOVER, STEEP CANYON, AND MORE

185 king street Holiday Blues Bash w/ Lee Griffin & Brian Phillips, 8:00PM

oFF the wAgon Dueling pianos, 9:00PM

9pm

WEEKLY EVENTS MON

oDDitoriUM Bloom w/ Fractured Frames & Ghostdog (rock, punk), 9:00PM

FriDAY, DeceMBer 23

mountainx.com

trAilheAD restAUrAnt AnD BAr Open Cajun & swing jam w/ Steve Burnside, 7:00PM tressA's Downtown JAzz AnD BlUes Jesse Barry & The Jam (live music, dance), 9:00PM twisteD lAUrel Karaoke, 8:00PM white horse BlAck MoUntAin The Circus No. 9 (bluegrass, Americana), 7:30PM wxYz loUnge At AloFt hotel WXYZ Unplugged, 8:00PM

JAck oF the wooD pUB Bayou Diesel Cajun Christmas Dance Party, 9:00PM JerUsAleM gArDen Middle Eastern music & bellydancing, 7:00PM k loUnge DJ Phantom Pantone (Korean pop, trap, dance), 10:00PM lAzY DiAMonD Rotating Rock 'n' Oldies DJs, 10:00PM loBster trAp Rob Parks Trio (swingin' grass), 6:30PM MArket plAce The Sean Mason Trio (groove, jazz, funk), 7:00PM o.henrY's/the UnDergroUnD Drag Show, 12:30AM oDDitoriUM A Very Metal Xmas (metal), 9:00PM oFF the wAgon Dueling pianos, 9:00PM olive or twist 42nd Street Band (big band jazz), 8:00PM

one stop At Asheville MUsic hAll Free Dead Fridays w/ members of Phuncle Sam (jam), 5:00PM Bald Mountain Boys, 10:00PM one worlD Brewing Spanky, 9:00PM orAnge peel Wham Bam Bowie Band! (David Bowie tribute), 9:00PM oskAr BlUes BrewerY Zuzu Welsh, 6:00PM pAck's tAvern DJ MoTo (dance hits, pop), 9:30PM pAtton pUBlic hoUse Marc Keller (acoustic classic rock), 6:00PM

JerUsAleM gArDen Middle Eastern music & bellydancing, 7:00PM lAzY DiAMonD Sonic Satan Stew w/ DJ Alien Brain, 10:00PM loBster trAp Sean Mason Trio (jazz), 6:30PM MArket plAce DJs (funk, R&B), 7:00PM

olive or twist Crown Jewels (1920s-1990s dance music), 8:00PM Dance party (hip-hop, rap), 11:00PM pAck's tAvern Grand Theft Audio (classic rock), 9:30PM rooM ix Open dance night, 9:00PM

o.henrY's/the UnDergroUnD Drag Show, 12:30AM

sAnctUArY Brewing coMpAnY Yoga w/ Cats with Blue Ridge Humane Society, 10:00AM

oFF the wAgon Dueling pianos, 9:00PM

scAnDAls nightclUB DJ dance party & drag show, 10:00PM

the ADMirAl Soul night w/ DJ Dr. Filth, 11:00PM the Block oFF BiltMore Conscious Comedy Night w/ Grayson Morris, 7:00PM white horse BlAck MoUntAin Annual free Christmas Eve Community Concert, 7:00PM wilD wing cAFe Karaoke, 9:00PM wxYz loUnge At AloFt hotel WXYZ Live, 8:00PM zAMBrA Zambra Jazz Trio, 8:00PM

pisgAh Brewing coMpAnY Holiday Travers Jam (open jam), 6:30PM sAlvAge stAtion 80's Night w/ The Spazmatics, 9:00PM sAnctUArY Brewing coMpAnY Jamison Adams Project (Americana), 8:00PM scAnDAls nightclUB DJ dance party & drag show, 10:00PM scArlet's coUntrY DAnce clUB Christmas Party at Scarlet's w/ White Soul Band (classic rock, Southern rock), 8:00PM the ADMirAl Hip-hop dance party w/ DJ Warf, 11:00PM the DUgoUt Mudlick, 9:00PM the Mocking crow Trivia and karoke night!, 9:00PM the Mothlight Holy Ghost Tent Revival (rock, soul, folk), 9:00PM the sociAl Steve Moseley (acoustic), 6:00PM the sociAl loUnge Ultra Lounge w/ Phantom Pantone, 10:00PM tiger MoUntAin Friday Nite Mash Up w/ B-Boy Evan & Nex Millen, 10:00PM tressA's Downtown JAzz AnD BlUes Chuck Lichtenberger (jazz, dance), 7:00PM Lyric (funk), 10:00PM twisteD lAUrel Request-powered dance party w/ Phantom Pantone, 10:30PM white horse BlAck MoUntAin Ian Ridenhour & band (rock), 8:00PM wilD wing cAFe Andalyn Lewis Band, 9:00PM wxYz loUnge At AloFt hotel WXYZ Electric, 8:00PM

12/15 @ 9PM Amadilla

zAMBrA Zambra Jazz Trio, 8:00PM

sAtUrDAY, DeceMBer 24

12/17 12/16 @ 9PM @ 4PM John Hardy Party Jerry Garcia Jam Band @ 7PM Jerry Garcia Jam Band w/ Jacob Baumann, Chris Kew, Chris O’Neill @ 9:30PM Josh Phillips and Friends

AthenA's clUB Michael Kelley Hunter (blues), 6:30PM BUrger BAr Asheville FM 103.3 DJ Night, 9:00PM DoUBle crown Pitter Platter w/ DJ Big Smidge, 10:00PM elAine's DUeling piAno BAr Dueling Pianos, 9:00PM highlAnD Brewing coMpAnY The Paper Crowns (indie, folk), 7:00PM

2-28-17

mountainx.com

DEcEmBER 14 - DEcEmBER 20, 2016

55

Movies

REVIEWS & LISTINGS

BY JUSTIN SOUTHER & SCOTT DOUGLAS

= PICK OF THE WEEK

Casey Affleck delivers a devastating performance in Kenneth Lonergan’s masterful Manchester by the Sea.

Manchester by the Sea HHHHH

DiREctoR: Kenneth Lonergan PLaYERS: Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams, Kyle Chandler, Lucas Hedges, C.J. Wilson, Heather Burns, Tate Donovan, Josh Hamilton, Anna Baryshnikov, Matthew Broderick, Gretchen Mol.

56

tHE StoRY: An emotionally repressed loner in the Boston suburbs must confront a painful past when his brother’s death drags him home to care for his teenage nephew.

DRama RATED R

tHE LoWDoWn: An almost incomprehensibly moving portrayal of anguish and resilience that gracefully avoids maudlin contriv-

DEcEmBER 14 - DEcEmBER 20, 2016

mountainx.com

ance, Manchester by the Sea is unquestionably among the best films of the year.

Cinema is a multifarious mistress, just as capable of empty inanity as it is of affective profundity. When a film is able to bridge the gap between truth and artifice by presenting a story on a human scale with almost incomprehensible emotional stakes —

M A X R AT I N G

while maintaining a genuine sense of grounding in the world in which we all live — audiences should take notice.

Kenneth Lonergan’s Manchester by the Sea is the rare movie that transmutes its audience’s emotional preconceptions by taking them somewhere they’ve been before (or at least a place they recognize) without degenerating into manipulative melodrama. This is a film that respects its audience’s experience and intelligence. Honesty is perhaps the greatest of all virtues, and Lonergan, by crafting a soulcrushingly earnest story populated by fully realized and painfully relatable characters, has conveyed one of the most heartrendingly honest portrayals of humanity to grace the screen in recent memory.

With his third feature, playwrightturned-filmmaker Lonergan has delivered a masterwork in no uncertain terms. His writerly background has served him especially well, as he orchestrates an intricate narrative structure while still managing the story’s the foreground character development, a feat few contemporary filmmakers seem capable of achieving.

Manchester focuses on emotionally crippled anti-hero Lee Chandler — the modern filmscape is replete with protagonists who could be described as such. But Lonergan’s meticulous scripting and Casey Affleck’s extraordinary performance take this tired trope and turn it into a work of breathtaking beauty. Playing the part of Lee, a Boston janitor with a short fuse and a suspiciously absent family, Affleck conveys a simmering intensity that is constantly on the verge of erupting, a result of tribulations revealed through Lonergan’s complex, almost literary flashback structure.

When the abrupt death of his brother leaves Lee with more to think about than his own self-pity, the layers of his personal tragedy are slowly made clear, rendered all the more unsettling by the sudden responsibility of caring for his effectively orphaned teen nephew, Patrick. Played with a pithy blend of adolescent cockiness and insecurity by Lucas Hedges, Patrick provides the perfect counterpoint to

Lee’s self-destructive tendencies, a foil that humanizes a character whose backstory becomes increasingly less palatable.

If depression can be defined as rage turned inward, Lee’s strained interactions with the characters in his life externalize his internal conflict and bring it into unavoidable centrality. In planning the mundane details of his brother’s burial, arranging for the guardianship of his nephew and confronting an exwife he’d just as soon never see again, the dark recesses of Lee’s character are illuminated through his responses to a larger world that needs him to be more emotionally present than his sadness will allow.

There are no weak performances in this film. Affleck and Hedges carry the weight of the narrative, but are supported ably throughout. Kyle Chandler embodies Lee’s deceased brother, Joe (present only in flashback), with a sense of naturalism that belies his character’s basic plot function, as does C.J. Wilson in the role of the brothers’ lifelong friend, George. But the real standout in the supporting cast is Michelle Williams, scintillating as Lee’s ex, Randi. A climactic scene in which the two confront the lingering emotions left unresolved following their unspeakably tragic split is a masterpiece of understatement and a remarkable example of what two actors can accomplish through inflection and body language alone when flowery dialogue is left on the cutting room floor.

Manchester balances its pathos with a heavy dose of black humor, augmented by its setting. The central cast are all definitive Boston Irish Catholics, but their multidimensional shading belies any stereotypical overtones that such a designation might imply. When Lee and Patrick bust each others’ chops, it’s impossible to overlook the deep sense of loss and grief underlying their flippancy.

It’s also a regional film in more ways than culture. Lonergan’s visual cues are elaborated upon by cinematographer Jody Lee Lipes’ delicate eye, with coastal New England seascapes transitioning from bucolic to hellish with a subtle shift in lighting. The cold becomes a character, mirroring Lee’s isolation and psychological paralysis as he comes to terms with the life he left behind.

Affleck and Lonergan have created something truly remarkable with Manchester, a thoroughly moving and believable portrait of flawed masculinity and its capacity

to inhibit the natural human desire to connect. The film packs one of the most brutal second-act climaxes I’ve ever seen and an ending that refuses to cop out with a contrived catharsis that would undermine its delicate narrative construction. There can be little doubt that both director and star will be nominated for the industry’s highest honors come awards season. In my opinion, any wins they take home will be entirely justified. Rated R for language throughout and some sexual content.

Opens Friday at Fine Arts Theatre. reviewed by Scott Douglas jsdouglas22@gmail.com

Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened HHH DIRECTOR: Lonny Price PLAYERS: Stephen Sondheim, Harold Prince, Lonny Price, Jim Walton, James Weissenbach, Jason Alexander, Ann Morrison, Tonya Pinkins, Abby Pogrebin, Daisy Prince, Many Patinkin, James Bonkovsky, Frank Rich MUSICAL THEATER DOCUMENTARY RATED NR THE STORY: The cast of a rare flop by Broadway royalty Stephen Sondheim and Harold Prince, leaning on the benefit of 35 years of hindsight, reflect on the ups and downs of their lives leading up to and following their disastrous work with their idols.

THE LOWDOWN: A moving and well-constructed documentary that will play to fans of musical theater but may leave others cold.

Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened is a moving and heartfelt documentary about a subject I have absolutely no interest in, namely the unexpected failure of Stephen Sondheim and Harold Prince’s 1981 Broadway musical Merrily We Roll Along. It’s no secret that I’m not a fan of musicals in general, and even the duo’s renowned successes like Sweeney Todd leave me flat. So, in the interest of explicitly stating my biases, it’s necessary to point out that this documentary will likely score much higher with fans of musical theater than it did with me.

Directed by Lonny Price, one of three leads from the original cast of Merrily, the film details the rapid ascent to prominence — and even quicker fall from grace — of the production’s young cast. Ranging in age from 16 to 24, the actors tasked with Sondheim’s unconventional narrative structure had their work cut out for them in more ways than one.

Not only was this group of talented, but inexperienced, thespians called upon to portray themselves as bitter, middle-aged adults for the entirety of the first act, they also had to act out their character arcs in reverse chronology. Even if the cast handled growing younger on stage as gracefully as their lack of professional maturity would permit, critics and audiences were unwilling to accept the conceit, and the show was nixed after only 16 performances. Though Merrily would go on to become a well-regarded cult hit, its initial failure indelibly affected the cast in ways that would alter the courses of their adult lives.

Price has constructed a proficient and poignant examination of the dangers — and often unforeseen benefits — of achieving too much too soon and of the character-building impacts that early failures can have on people as they reach adulthood. Price’s documentary mercifully follows a linear chronology, showing the starry-eyed ambition of a bunch of theater kids fighting their way through auditions for the chance to work with their idols, only to have their hopes dashed by audience reactions ranging from indifference to disdain. Price builds his narrative through modern interviews with the original cast members (including a pre-Seinfeld Jason Alexander), as well as foot-

mountainx.com

T HE AT E R INFO R MATION Asheville Pizza & Brewing Co. (254-1281) ashevillebrewing.com/movies Carmike Cinema 10 (298-4452) carmike.com Carolina Cinemas (274-9500) carolinacinemas.com Co-ed Cinema Brevard (883-2200) coedcinema.com Epic of Hendersonville (693-1146) epictheatres.com Fine Arts Theatre (232-1536) fineartstheatre.com Flatrock Cinema (697-2463) flatrockcinema.com GRAIL moviehouse (239-9392) grailmoviehouse.com Regal Biltmore Grande Stadium 15 (684-1298) regmovies.com United Artists Beaucatcher (298-1234) regmovies.com

age of Sondheim and Price, supplemented with recently unearthed archival material from an unaired documentary shot while the stage production was still in rehearsals.

If Best Worst eschews Sondheim and Price’s flashback gimmick, themes from the musical resonate with the cast’s post-Merrily biographical details to an almost eerie degree of similarity. While Alexander and the rest of the cast went on for the most part to bigger and better things, their journeys were not without disillusionment.

As is the case in any life, things seldom go as planned. But there’s something undeniably touching about hearing the unpredictable ways in which the early flirtation with Broadway stardom would affect the later careers of the cast, many of whom remained rooted in the industry that so callously disregarded their efforts.

As a documentarian, Price occasionally projects his psychological suppositions onto his subjects in a way that may well be unavoidable given his intimate connection with the story, but the effect can be distancing for the audience. The film itself is competently structured and well-executed, and Sondheim fans

DECEMBER 14 - DECEMBER 20, 2016

57

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DEcEmBER 14 - DEcEmBER 20, 2016

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M o vies

by Scott Douglas

will undoubtedly derive more enjoyment than I did from its soundtrack, which was principally taken from a cast recording completed the day after the show was cancelled.

Those with even a passing interest in Broadway will likely find a great deal of merit in Price’s film, but to my eye, it was little more than an exercise in self-indulgent nostalgia grounded in a world I’ve never fully appreciated. As was likely the case with many of the critics assessing the musical on which this film was based, I found the documentary to be a well-crafted work that simply wasn’t to my liking. Your mileage may vary. Not Rated.

Opens Friday at Grail Moviehouse. revieweD BY scott DoUglAs JsDoUglAs22@gMAil.coM

Miss Sloane HHH

DiREctoR: John Madden PLaYERS: Jessica Chastain, Mark Strong, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Alison Pill, Michael Stuhlbarg, Jake Lacy, Sam Waterston, John Lithgow.

PoLiticaL tHRiLLER RATED R tHE StoRY: A ruthless D.C. power broker picks a fight with the gun lobby over a set of ill-defined moral principles when she’s asked to convince females to vote against gun control. tHE LoWDoWn: A passable political thriller that avoids the assurance of complete obscurity thanks solely to a bravura performance from Jessica Chastain.

It would be inaccurate to call Miss Sloane a John Madden movie, since the Shakespeare in Love director has never had much of a distinctive visual style to call his own. It would be closer to the truth if we were to call it a Jonathan Perera film, as the novice screenwriter’s feature debut is distinctly colored by his lack of experience and tendency to lean on other, better writers. Yet, neither of these descriptors would adequately express the fact of the matter, which is that Miss Sloane is a Jessica Chastain movie through and through.

Chastain’s role as Elizabeth Sloane — a high-powered D.C. lobbyist who defects from her conservative firm when asked to sell female voters on defeating a new gun control law — is possibly the best she’s been offered since her star-making turn in Zero Dark Thirty. The actress seems preternaturally well-suited to playing tough women succeeding in maledominated fields, and the Sloane character offers her a chance to outmaneuver her opponents in some very gratifying ways. The character’s capacity for ruthless cunning — coupled with her almost preposterously prescient gamesmanship — will be sufficiently entertaining for those who love the backroom dealings of House of Cards. But the political-thriller angle can only carry the film so far in the absence of a more credible story.

The film’s greatest shortcomings lie in its script, and Perera’s practically nonexistent background as a writer proves too great a challenge for one any one performer to overcome. His excessively verbose and persistently awkward dialogue falls frustratingly short of his obvious aspiration to the literary levels of Aaron Sorkin or David Mamet. As the plot contrivances become more ludicrous, the dialogue becomes more obtrusive, until the potential emotional affect of an intriguing character study is all but lost in a sea of meaningless dilettantism. Perera seems to have been on the verge of making a point, but got distracted by an impulse to gussy up hot-button topics — like the debate over gun-control legislation or the role of women in politics — with some hastily amended intrigue. Sloane’s gender, as well as the Second Amendment conflict in which she’s engaged, play as little more than MacGuffins, moving the story forward arbitrarily without harboring any deeper significance to character or theme.

If Miss Sloane fails to convey anything more profound than its protagonist’s foibles, that doesn’t preclude it from being moderately entertaining. Madden’s direction, though largely uninspired, at least never fails to make Chastain look good, and her performance carries the film further than could justifiably be expected given the circumstances. However, it’s difficult to overlook the political climate in which the film was released, following just weeks after the ignominious defeat of a serious female

contender for the highest office in the land. Had the election gone differently, Miss Sloane might have come across as a more timely and resonant film — which may well be the reason its production was fasttracked in the first place. Things being what they are, it’s just another largely forgettable piece of quasi-political filmmaking, the merits of which fail to achieve its grandiose ambitions. Rated R for language and some sexuality.

Now Playing at Carmike 10, Regal Biltmore Grande, Epic of Hendersonville. revieweD BY scott DoUglAs JsDoUglAs22@gMAil.coM

Office Christmas Party H DiREctoR: Josh Gordon, Will Speck PLaYERS: Jason Bateman, Olivia Munn, T.J. Miller, Jennifer Aniston, Kate McKinnon, Courtney B. Vance, Jillian Bell, Rob Corddry, Vanessa Bayer, Randall Park comEDY RATED R tHE StoRY: A frivolous man-child and his hypercompetent underling concoct a harebrained scheme to save their struggling corporate branch with a massive Christmas party after the boss’ sister, the company’s newly minted CEO, threatens them with closure. tHE LoWDoWn: A trite and predictable entry into the holiday raunchcom subgenre that fails to deliver laughs and doesn’t seem to know its way around a party.

Let’s face it, Christmas can be pretty depressing. It’s no wonder that a profusion of Christmas comedies, dramedies and raunch-coms have proliferated in recent years, a seemingly healthy response to the strained sentimentality of the season. For this to work, however, these films have to actually be funny. The filmmakers responsible for Office

mountainx.com

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M ovies

Christmas Party have either lost sight of that fact or never cared in the first place.

Party plays like some ungodly Frankenstein’s monster, an abortive aberration that feels like it was cobbled together in extreme haste from the pieces of dozens of sitcom Christmas episodes over the last 30 years. It’s almost as though someone developed a random comedy-script generator, input the word Christmas and let the algorithm take it from there. When I reviewed The Night Before last year, I went in with rockbottom expectations and was rewarded with a pleasantly anarchic diversion. It may not have been a candidate for anyone’s best-of list, but at least didn’t leave me feeling like I would’ve had a better laugh drunkenly watching my brother’s futile attempts to get my nieces to put down their iPads. Office Christmas Party couldn’t even give me that much. If the filmmakers were aiming for verisimilitude, they succeeded, and the proceedings felt very much like my conception of an actual office Christmas party. I was bored enough I wanted to leave almost immediately, yet I stayed, strictly out of a sense of professional obligation.

My speculation regarding the sitcom pedigree of Party is apt. Some digging reveals that half of the six (!) credited writers behind this script have little experience beyond a few TV episodes, and those with more extensive backgrounds in writing for the big screen are responsible for some of the most reprehensible affronts to the medium to come about in recent years. When the screenwriters of Pixels and Bridget Jones’ Baby collaborate on a story that is then fleshed out by someone who penned exactly one episode of The Good Wife prior to landing this gig, there’s little chance of producing anything substantial, much less good. Directors Josh Gordon and Will Speck — whose curricula vitae include the 2007 Will Ferrell debacle Blades of Steel and a few episodes of the ill-conceived sitcom based on the cavemen from those car insurance ads — do less than nothing to elevate the material, delivering the thoroughly uninspired pseudo-comedic experience that their professional background would suggest.

If Gordon and Speck fail to realize any memorable sight gags or set pieces, their more egregious directorial shortcoming is in shamefully underutilizing the talent at their disposal. Jason Bateman languishes in the same straight-man role he’s

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been handed in practically everything since Arrested Development, and Jennifer Aniston is essentially playing a de-sexed version of her role in Horrible Bosses — meaning there is literally nothing left of interest about her one-note character. T.J. Miller (who clearly has the comedic chops to pull off his turn as a well-meaning man-child on the basis of his exemplary work in Deadpool and Silicon Valley) founders under the restrictions imposed by the script’s saccharinity and utter lack of comedic sensibilities.

So we have what no one asked for this Christmas: A purported comedy with no story to tell, no character development and no jokes to make up for its myriad inadequacies. The less said about the narrative the better, and only those actors I consider to be capable of more were singled out for criticism since the performances were uniformly weak across the board. And then we come to the central conceit of the film — the party itself. What was billed as a raucous bacchanal of perverse debauchery comes across as being tamer than most parties I attended in farm fields and cow pastures during high school.

Whoever was ultimately responsible for the festive misconceptions on display here must not have been to an actual party since the ’80s, as everyone seems to have an unnatural predilection for cocaine and Bud Light.

The moral of this story, I suppose, is everyone should be very bad for the remainder of the year in the hopes that Santa will put enough coal in our stockings, so they can then be used to inflict blunt force trauma on the people responsible for this dreck.

Rated R for crude sexual content and language throughout, drug use and graphic nudity.

Now Playing at Carmike 10, Carolina Cinemark, Regal Biltmore Grande, Epic of Hendersonville. revieweD BY scott DoUglAs JsDoUglAs22@gMAil.coM

FilM BUncoMBe coUntY pUBlic liBrAries buncombecounty.org/governing/depts/library • FR (12/16), 4:30-6pm - Pixar Film Series: Monsters, Inc. Free. Held at West Asheville Library, 942 Haywood Road • SA (12/17), 1:30pm - Saturday Movies at Pack: Elf. Free. Held at Pack Memorial Library, 67 Haywood St.

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by Edwin Arnaudin | edwinarnaudin@gmail.com

locAl vAMpire: Erik Odom, who played Peter in the hit Twilight series, stars in the feature film Luke and Jo. The Asheville-based Solis Films’ local production wraps Dec. 16 after a two-week shoot. Photo courtesy of Solis Films • Asheville-based Solis Films’ local production of the feature film Luke and Jo wraps Friday, Dec. 16. Shooting began Dec. 1 and has incorporated various locations in Black Mountain, Old Fort and Asheville, including the Fine Arts Theatre.

Directed by joshua overbay, the film explores the power and complexity of human connection, following the titular characters as they collide, at the lowest point in their lives, during a winter film festival. Throughout a bizarre and unexpected week, their lives become increasingly connected, ultimately revealing the depth of their individual scars, fears and the meaning of trust. The cast includes local actors as well as erik odom, who played the nomadic vampire Peter in the hit Twilight series.

Solis Films’ first feature, As It Is in Heaven, played in major markets across the country and earned acclaim from major publications, including RogerEbert.com and The New York Times, which named it a “Critic’s Pick.”

It is currently available to stream on Amazon Prime. solisfilms.com • On Thursday, Dec. 15, from 7-8:30 p.m., Mechanical Eye Microcinema hosts an open screening at Grail Moviehouse. Asheville filmmakers and video artists are invited to share a work of 10 minutes or less with a live audience. All genres, styles and films old, new or works-in-progress are welcome.

Films will be accepted in DVD, QuickTime or MPEG file, 16mm or Super 8 form. Submit work early by email to mechanicaleyemicrocinema@ gmail.com to secure a spot. Other

works will be screened on a first-come, first-served basis. There will be a short discussion after each piece with a chance to gather feedback from the audience. Free and open to the public. mechanicaleyecinema.org • West Asheville Public Library’s Pixar Film Series continues Friday, Dec. 16, at 4:30 p.m. with Monsters, Inc. The feature will be preceded by the Pixar short For the Birds. Free and open to the public. avl.mx/37m • Asheville School of Film students of Filmmaking 201/301 will screen their student projects on Sunday, Dec. 18, from noon to 1 p.m. at Grail Moviehouse. Over the span of two eightweek courses, students produced their own short digital film from conception to completion under the guidance of ASoF co-owners brad hoover and w.s. pivetta. Free and open to the public. ashevilleschooloffilm.com • Registration is open for Asheville School of Film’s Youth Winter Filmmaking sessions, which run from Wednesday, Dec. 28, to Friday, Dec. 30.

Careers and Crew Positions runs from 9 a.m. to noon daily and takes students behind the scenes of filmmaking, from pre-production to post-production, and introduces them to the array of jobs and careers available on film sets. Green Screen Fundamentals goes from 1 to 4 p.m. each day and covers everything necessary for achieving believable green-screen effects on a budget. The sessions cost $150, or $250 for both. Register online. ashevilleschooloffilm.com X

Start IN G F r ID aY

S PeCIaL S CreeNIN GS

Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened

Babes in Toyland (March of the Wooden Soldiers) HHHHS

See Scott Douglas’ review

Collateral Beauty A star-studded, high-concept melodrama from David Frankel (Marley and Me, The Devil Wears Prada), featuring Will Smith, Hellen Mirren, Edward Norton, Keira Knightley and Kate Winslet.

According to the studio, “When a successful New York advertising executive suffers a great tragedy, he retreats from life. While his concerned friends try desperately to reconnect with him, he seeks answers from the universe by writing letters to Love, Time and Death. But it’s not until his notes bring unexpected personal responses that he begins to understand how these constants interlock in a life fully lived, and how even the deepest loss can reveal moments of meaning and beauty.”

No early reviews. (pg-13)

Manchester by the Sea See Scott Douglas’ review

director: Gus Meins and Charles Rogers players: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Charlotte Henry, Felix Knight, Henry Kleinbach comedy operetta Rated NR Babes in Toyland — which generations of children have grown up knowing only by its re-issue title, March of the Wooden Soldiers — is the second of Laurel and Hardy’s excursions into opera or operetta (no, they don’t sing), and it’s by far the most elaborate and most popular. It’s been a Christmas staple for as long as I can remember, which is kind of odd, since it’s not really a Christmas-themed film.

However, it is set in a place called Toyland, and Santa Claus does make an appearance — and it has the right tone for a Christmas movie, so who am I to argue? Fair is fair, so it really isn’t a Christmas movie, but it’d take an outright Scrooge to complain about that. And anyway, have you ever noticed how very little of Holiday Inn takes place at Christmas? Exactly. This excerpt was taken from a review by Ken Hanke published on May 13, 2014. The Asheville Film Society will screen babes in toyland on Tuesday, Dec. 20, at 7:30 p.m. at The Grail Moviehouse, hosted by Xpress movie critic Scott Douglas.

Breathless (A Bout de Souffle) HHHH director: Jean-Luc Godard players: Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean Seberg, Daniel Boulanger, Jean-Pierre Melville crime drama Rated NR in brief: Breathless marks the start of French New Wave cinema, and regardless of how one feels about Jean-Luc Godard’s later, less accessible works, it would be hard to find a more audacious debut feature. The problem today’s audiences have with it is that so much of what was fresh and revolutionary in 1960 has been assimilated into the standard vocabulary of filmmaking that the enormity of its accomplishments are be easily overlooked. In many ways, Godard’s approach was a reaction to the standard idea of a well-crafted film. His results electrified and changed the world of film — along with making a star of Jean-Paul Belmondo for his portrayal of the cheerfully amoral thief turned murderer, who idolizes and emulates Bogart. (It will always be as much a film about movies and the impact of movies as it is a narrative work.) It’s interesting to look at Belmondo’s ultra-cool performance today, because it now looks less like coolness than like someone desperately trying to be cool, which, I suspect was Godard’s real point all along. This excerpt was drawn from a review by Ken Hanke published on Dec. 13, 2006. Classic World Cinema by Courtyard Gallery will present breathless on Friday, Dec. 16, at 8 p.m. at Flood Gallery Fine Art Center, 2160 Hwy 70, Swannanoa.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story The first in a series of standalone stories set in the Star Wars universe, Rogue One follows events immediately preceding the original trilogy. LucasFilm’s synopsis: “In a time of conflict, a group of unlikely heroes band together on a mission to steal the plans to the Death Star, the Empire’s ultimate weapon of destruction. This key event in the Star Wars timeline brings together ordinary people who choose to do extraordinary things, and in doing so, become part of something greater than themselves.” No early reviews. (pg-13)

XPRESS

PRESENTS:

2016

Wellness Issues

Coming Soon!

Christmas Evil HHHHS director: Lewis Jackson players: Brandon Maggart, Jeffrey DeMunn, Dianne Hull, Joe Jamrog, Marian Vitale christmas slasher Rated R The second installment in Thursday Horror Picture Show’s three-week celebration of Santa slashers, 1980’s Christmas Evil, has been described by illustrious schlockmeister John Waters as “the best Christmas film ever made.” While I wouldn’t go quite that far, it is a shamefully underseen cult classic. Originally titled You Better Watch Out, director Lewis Jackson’s only feature was critically acclaimed (well, acclaimed might be too strong a word...) but poorly received by audiences expecting excessive gore on the level of other “calendar killer” flicks like Halloween and Friday the 13th. It’s difficult to imagine a better piece of counter-programing to the sentimentality of Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life than the story of a grown man so traumatized as a kid by seeing his mother felt-up by “Santa” that he embarks on a quest to hold the naughty accountable through extreme violence. Happy Holidays!

The Thursday Horror Picture Show will screen christmas evil Thursday, Dec. 15, at 9:15 p.m. at The Grail Moviehouse, hosted by Xpress movie critic Scott Douglas. mountainx.com

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FreeWILL aStrOLOGY Aries (March 21-April 19): “Living is a form of not being sure, not knowing what next or how,” said dancer Agnes De Mille. “We guess. We may be wrong, but we take leap after leap in the dark.” As true as her words might be for most of us much of the time, I suspect they don’t apply to you right now. This is one of those rare moments when feeling total certainty is justified. Your vision is extra clear and farseeing. Your good humor and expansive spirit will ensure that you stay humble. As you take leap after leap, you’ll be surrounded by light. tAUrUs (April 20-May 20): “We are torn between nostalgia for the familiar and an urge for the foreign and strange,” wrote author Carson McCullers. Are you ready to give that adage a twist, Taurus? In the coming weeks, I think you should search for foreign and strange qualities in your familiar world. Such a quest may initially feel odd, but will ultimately be healthy and interesting. It will also be good preparation for the next chapter of your life, when you will saunter out into unknown territory and find ways to feel at home there. geMini (May 21-June 20): “If you don’t use your own imagination, somebody else is going to use it for you,” said writer Ronald Sukenick. That’s always true, but it will be especially important for you to keep in mind in 2017.

You Geminis will have an unparalleled power to enlarge, refine, and tap into your imagination. You’ll be blessed with the motivation and ingenuity to make it work for you in new ways, which could enable you to accomplish marvelous feats of creativity and self-transformation.

Now here’s a warning: If you DON’T use your willower to take advantage of these potentials, your imagination will be subject to atrophy and colonization. cAncer (June 21-July 22): Why are Australian sand wasps so skilled at finding their way back home after being out all day? Here’s their trick: When they first leave the nest each morning, they fly backwards, imprinting on their memory banks the sights they will look for when they return later. Furthermore, their exiting flight path is a slow and systematic zigzag pattern that orients them from multiple directions. I recommend that you draw inspiration from the sand wasps in 2017, Cancerian.

One of your important tasks will be to keep finding your way back to your spiritual home, over and over again. leo (July 23-Aug. 22): Vault 21, a restaurant in Dunedin, New Zealand, serves sautéed locusts. For $5, patrons receive a plate of five. The menu refers to the dish not as “Oily Sizzling Grasshoppers,” but rather as “Sky Prawns.” Satisfied customers know exactly what they’re eating, and some say the taste does indeed resemble prawns. I bring this to your attention, Leo, because it illustrates a talent you will have in abundance during 2017: re-branding. You’ll know how to maximize the attractiveness and desirability of things by presenting them in the best possible light. virgo (Aug. 23-sept. 22): The literal translation of the German word Kummerspeck is “grief bacon.”

It refers to the weight gained by people who, while wallowing in self-pity, eat an excess of comfort food. I know more than a few Virgos who have been flirting with this development lately, although the trigger seems to be self-doubt as much as self-pity. In any case, here’s the good news: The trend is about to flip. A flow of agreeable adventures is due to begin soon. You’ll be prodded by fun challenges and provocative stimuli that will boost your confidence and discourage Kummerspeck. liBrA (sept. 23-oct. 22): “Since you are like no other being ever created since the beginning of time, you are incomparable,” wrote journalist Brenda Ueland.

Pause for a moment and fully take in that fact, Libra. It’s breathtaking and daunting. What a huge responsibility it is to be absolutely unique. In fact, it’s so monumental that you may still be shy about living up to it. But how about if you make 2017 the year you finally come into your own as the awesomely unprecedented creature that you are? I dare you to more fully acknowledge and express your singular destiny. Start today!

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MARKETPLACE

BY roB BrezsnY

scorpio (oct. 23-nov. 21): “To dream ... to dream has been the business of my life,” wrote author Edgar Allan Poe. I don’t expect you to match his devotion to dreams in 2017, Scorpio, but I do hope you will become more deeply engaged with your waking fantasies and the stories that unfold as you lie sleeping. Why? Because your usual approaches to gathering useful information won’t be sufficient. To be successful, both in the spiritual and worldly senses, you’ll need extra access to perspectives that come from beyond your rational mind. Here’s a good motto for you in 2017: “I am a lavish and practical dreamer.” sAgittAriUs (nov. 22-Dec. 21): Physicist Stephen Hawking is skeptical of the hypothesis that humans may someday be able to travel through time. To jokingly dramatize his belief, he threw a party for time travelers from the future. Sadly, not a single chrononaut showed up to enjoy the champagne and hors d’oeuvres Hawking had prepared. Despite this discouraging evidence, I guarantee that you will have the potential to meet with Future Versions of You on a regular basis during the next nine months. These encounters are likely to be metaphorical or dreamlike rather than literal, but they will provide valuable information as you make decisions that affect your destiny for years to come. The first of these heart-to-hearts should come very soon. cApricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): During these last few weeks, you may have sometimes felt like smashing holes in the wall with your head, or dragging precious keepsakes into the middle of the street and setting them on fire, or delivering boxes full of garbage to people who don’t appreciate you as much as they should. I hope you abstained from doing things like that. Now here are some prescriptions to help you graduate from unproductive impulses: Make or find a symbol of one of your mental blocks, and bash it to pieces with a hammer; clean and polish precious keepsakes, and perform rituals to reinvigorate your love for them; take as many trips to the dump as necessary to remove the congestion, dross, and rot from your environment.

AQUAriUs (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Singer-songwriter Tom Waits has a distinctive voice. One fan described it this way: “Like how you’d sound if you drank a quart of bourbon, smoked a pack of cigarettes and swallowed a pack of razor blades. Late at night. After not sleeping for three days.” Luckily, Waits doesn’t have to actually do any of those self-destructive things to achieve his unique tone. In fact, he’s wealthy from selling his music, and has three kids with a woman to whom he’s been married for 36 years. I foresee a similar potential for you in the coming weeks and months. You may be able to capitalize on your harmless weirdness ... to earn rewards by expressing your charming eccentricities ... to be both strange and popular. pisces (Feb. 19-March 20): Was punk rock born on June 4, 1976? A fledgling band known as the Sex Pistols played that night for a crowd of 40 people at a small venue in Manchester, England. Among the audience members was Morrissey, who got so inspired that he started his own band, The Smiths.

Also in attendance was a rowdy guy who would soon launch the band Joy Division, despite the fact that he had never played an instrument. The men who would later form the Buzzcocks also saw the performance

by Johnny Rotten and his crew. According to music critic David Nolan, these future pioneers came away from the June 4 show with the conclusion, “You don’t have to be a virtuoso or a musical genius to be in a band; anyone can do it.” I see parallels between this seminal event and your life in the coming weeks.

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REA L ESTATE | REN TA L S | R O O M M ATES | SERVI C ES JOB S | A N N OU N CEM ENTS | M I ND, BO DY, SPI R I T CL A SSES & WORKSH OPS | M USI C I ANS’ SERVI C ES PETS | A U TOMOTI VE | X C HANG E | ADULT Want to advertise in Marketplace? 828-251-1333 x111 tnavaille@mountainx.com • mountainx.com/classifieds If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Remember the Russian proverb: “Doveryai, no proveryai,” trust but verify. When answering classified ads, always err on the side of caution. Especially beware of any party asking you to give them financial or identification information. The Mountain Xpress cannot be responsible for ensuring that each advertising client is legitimate. Please report scams to ads@mountainx.com RENTALS

ADMINISTRATIVE/ OFFICE

CONDOS/ TOWNHOMES FOR RENT NORTH ASHEVILLE TOWNHOME 2BR, 1BA, laminate hardwood floors, on the busline, 1 mile from downtown. No pets. $795/month. 828-252-4334.

NORTH ASHEVILLE TOWNHOUSE 3BR, 1BA, laminate hardwood floors, only one mile from Downtown, and on the bus line. $895/month. Pets not allowed. (828) 252-4334.

HOMES FOR RENT AVAILABLE NOW • WEST ASHEVILLE 1200 sqft lovely updated 2BR, 2BA basement apartment. Washer/dryer, gas fireplace, garden area. • Wi-fi, electric, cable/DVR and water included.

Pets negotiable. $1275/month. Call 828-2809691.

ROOMMATES ROOMMATES ALL AREAS ROOMMATES. COM Lonely? Bored? Broke?

Find the perfect roommate to complement your personality and lifestyle at Roommates. com! (AAN CAN) ASHEVILLE • SHORT TERM AVAILABLE Shared housing.

Vegetarian, no smoking/animals.

On busline. Sliding scale. Peace.

Call (828) 348-9183.

EAST ASHEVILLE Mature female wanted for furnished room and bath. $425/month.

First and last months rent required. Must pass criminal background check. Safe, peaceful environment. (828) 707-6470.

EMPLOYMENT GENERAL PART-TIME GARDEN MANAGER Eagle's Nest Foundation is seeking a Part-Time Garden Manager. Located in Pisgah Forest, NC, we garden through the seasons for our camp and semester school programs.

See our full job announcement with how to apply at enf.org/ foundation/employment.

TROLLEY TOUR GUIDES If you are a "people person," love Asheville, have a valid Commercial Driver's License (CDL) and clean driving record you could be a great TOUR GUIDE! FULLTIME and seasonal part-time positions now available. Training provided. Contact us today! www.GrayLineAsheville.com; Info@GrayLineAsheville.com; 828-251-8687.

MOUNTAIN TECH SPA MANAGER/RECEPTIONIST A-B Tech is currently taking applications for Mountain Tech Spa Manager/Receptionist position with a start date of 01/23/2017.

For more details and to apply: www.abtech.edu/jobs P/T OFFICE ASSISTANT - CPA FIRM andrea@storckcpa.com SECRETARIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT America Inc. Secretary/Administrative Assistant Needed to be communicating with company customers in a well-organized and timely manner. Experience not required. send resume to: smccreativerrolls@yahoo.com for details.

STEWARDSHIP & FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATOR Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church, in Asheville, NC, is seeking a Stewardship and Financial Administrator to administer our church’s finances. Position includes bookkeeping and accounting functions, payroll, and helping to serve the needs of our integrated, year-round approach to stewardship. Competitive compensation, flexibility on hours, and working with a collaborative staff in a vital, caring, and active community.

This is a part-time, 15 hours per week position . For a complete job description, please contact: smeehan@gcpcusa.org

RESTAURANT/ FOOD PRODUCTION MIXER FOR WHOLESALE BAKERY Annie’s Bakery in Asheville NC is looking for an experienced bread production mixer to join our team.

This is a full-time position running from 5am-3pm, M-F. Hourly rate based on relevant experience. Please send resumes to caroline@anniesbread.com

CLINICIANS Meridian Behavioral Health Services is seeking NC licensed or Associate licensed clinicians to join our recovery oriented organization in the beautiful North Carolina mountains including the counties of Transylvania, Haywood, Jackson, Macon, and Cherokee. Clinical positions are available in a variety of adult service programs such as the Assertive Community Treatment Team, Recovery Education Center, as well as child and family service programs such as Day Treatment, Intensive In-Home, and Outpatient. Clinicians provide recovery oriented comprehensive clinical assessments, support, skill building, education, and team consultation both in the office and the community. To be considered, an applicant should be familiar with the recovery paradigm of mental health and substance abuse services, have a valid driver’s license, reliable transportation, flexibility, and moderate computer skills. • For further details about each position, please visit the employment section of our website, www. meridianbhs.org, then apply by completing the short online application and uploading your resume.

DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATE POSITION Helpmate, a domestic violence organization in Asheville, NC, seeks part-time Development Associate. Bachelor’s degree and minimum of 3 years’ experience in nonprofit fundraising. Resume and cover letter to HelpmateAsheville@gmail.com by 12/21/16 with “Development Associate” in the subject line.

No phone or email inquiries – please.

LOCAL GROUP HOME SEEKS FULL TIME DIRECT SERVICE PROFESSIONAL Seeking energetic individuals to assist adults with intellectual disabilities with aspects of daily living. Required: highschool diploma and drivers license. Send resume to PO Box 5514 Asheville NC 28813 Attn:DSP

MEDICAL/ HEALTH CARE UNIT MANAGER ADULT CARE HOME We are seeking applicants for a Unit Manager position with our care home.

Your duties will include assistance with activities of daily living for our residents, personal care and medication administration.

HUMAN SERVICES 2 POSITIONS • THE MEDIATION CENTER Is hiring for 2 positions in Henderson County's Family Visitation Program. No phone calls, faxes, emails or walk-ins accepted. See website for details. www.mediatewnc. org

NURSE • HAYWOOD COUNTY Assertive Community Treatment Team (ACTT) Meridian is seeking a RN or LPN to join our Assertive Community Treatment Team (ACTT) in Haywood County, which is located in the beautiful mountains of Western North Carolina. The ACTT nurse is responsible for assessing physical needs; making appropriate referrals to community physicians; providing management and administration of medication in conjunction with the psychiatrist; providing a range of treatment, rehabilitation and support services; and sharing

shift-management responsibility with the ACTT Coordinator.

Employee must have a valid driver's license without violations or restrictions which could prevent completing all required job functions. For more information and to apply, visit the employment section of our website: www. meridianbhs.org PART-TIME, TEMPORARY CLIENT SERVICE REP Seeking initial point of contact for clients interested in having their taxes prepared by OnTrack WNC’s IRS-trained tax preparers.

1/3/17-3/31/17. $12/hr. 15-25/ hrs week www.ontrackwnc. org for full listing.

PROFESSIONAL/ MANAGEMENT PART TIME EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Application Deadline: December 21, 2016. The Western North Carolina Historical Association seeks a self-directed, organized professional Executive Director.

Bachelor's Degree required.

Previous museum experience highly desired. The Director will be responsible for facilitating all fund raising; overseeing day to day operations; and coordinating changing exhibitions and educational programming at the Smith McDowell House. Please respond with a current resume and cover letter outlining your experience, interest, and qualifications to Smith McDowell House, 283 Victoria Road, Asheville, NC 28801 ATTN: Personnel Committee or email ashevillehistory@gmail.com (EOE)

TEACHING/ EDUCATION CANOPY GUIDE-NAVITAT CANOPY ADVENTURES Now hiring for spring/summer 2017.

If you are looking for a thrilling, educational and inspiring seasonal opportunity check us out at www.navitat.com.

CHILD CARE DIRECTOR Children’s Center at Gracelyn.

Responsible for educational programs and operations, hiring and managing Center staff.

Ensures programming is implemented within regulations of the NC Division of Child Development. Must have 5 years experience and North Carolina Early Childhood Administration Credential. email boardchair789@ gmail.com

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES PAID IN ADVANCE! Make $1000/week mailing brochures from home! No experience required. Helping home workers since 2001! Genuine opportunity. Start immediately! www.

IncomeStation.net (AAN CAN)

T H E N E W Y OR K TI M ES CR OSSWOR D PU ZZLE ARTS/MEDIA

HOME IMPROVEMENT

GRAPHIC DESIGNER NEEDED Highly skilled designer needed for page layout and creating compelling advertising. The ideal candidate has excellent graphic design and layout skills for print publication, has experience working with style guides and adhering to brand structures, understands project management, can thrive in a fast-paced environment, is exceptionally organized and deadline-driven, and has excellent communication skills, strong attention to detail, an exceptional creative eye and a desire to ensure high quality output. You must have the proven ability to create original, effective advertising and marketing materials, and to assist in the layout of our weekly print publication and guides.

Candidates must: • Be able to simultaneously handle multiple projects • Be proficient in Adobe CSC programs (inducing, InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, and Acrobat) • Be able to prepress and troubleshoot a variety of file types and to work interdepartmentally to organize, schedule and maintain workflows. • Be fluent in the Mac OSX platform • Be able to interface with other departments in the company. • Have a minimum of 2-3 years graphic design experience. Newspaper, and web-ad design experience a plus. This is a part time time position with opportunity to become full-time. Other skills such as admin or writing ability are a plus. Email cover letter explaining why you believe you are a good fit, your resume, and either a URL or PDF of your design portfolio to: design@mountainx.com No applications or portfolios by mail, and no phone calls or walk-ins, please.

HANDY MAN

CAREER TRAINING

CLASSES & WORKSHOPS

AIRLINE CAREERS BEGIN HERE Get started by training as FAA certified Aviation Technician. Financial aid for qualified students. Job placement assistance. Call Aviation Institute of Maintenance 800-7251563 (AAN CAN)

XCHANGE FURNITURE OUTDOOR FURNITURE 8 piece. Restoration Hardware. $650. Call 712-5815.

SOFA WHITE LEATHER XCLNT COND $200 OBO..

MEDICAL SUPPLIES

HIRE A HUSBAND • HANDYMAN SERVICES Since 1993.

Multiple skill sets. Reliable, trustworthy, quality results. $1 million liability insurance. References and estimates available. Stephen Houpis, (828) 280-2254.

ANNOUNCEMENTS ANNOUNCEMENTS CASH FOR CARS Any Car/ Truck 2000-2015, Running or Not! Top Dollar For Used/ Damaged. Free Nationwide Towing! Call Now: 1-888-4203808 (AAN CAN) MAKE THE CALL TO START GETTING CLEAN TODAY Free 24/7 Helpline for alcohol & drug addiction treatment.

Get help! It is time to take your life back! Call Now: 855-7324139. (AAN CAN) PREGNANT? CONSIDERING ADOPTION? Call us first. Living expenses, housing, medical, and continued support afterwards. Choose adoptive family of your choice. Call 24/7.

877-362-2401. (AAN CAN) STRUGGLING WITH DRUGS OR ALCOHOL? Addicted to Pills? Talk to someone who cares. Call The Addiction Hope & Help Line for a free assessment. 800-978-6674 (AAN CAN)

ACROSS

1 Zion National Park’s state 5 Long Island airport site 10 Rapper Snoop ___ 14 Farm female 15 Dixie, with “the” 16 NPR’s “___ a Game” 17 “Cosmos” subj.

18 Classic chocolate syrup brand 19 ___ tide (semimonthly event) 20 “Coach, make sure everyone’s here” [N.H.L.] 23 Subj. for those working the angles?

24 Tom of “Happy Days” 25 “Coach, get ’em to today’s game” [N.B.A.] 30 Nonsense 31 “Me too!”

32 Infield fly rule play 36 Many a Charlton Heston movie 38 Falls into a La-Z-Boy, say 40 Cornmeal bread 41 Scout’s job, briefly 43 “Star Wars” droid, informally 45 Halloween accessory

MIND, BODY, SPIRIT

COUNSELING SERVICES

BODYWORK

HAIR BY IRINA GRINDSTAFF 828-989-2463 hairbyirinagrindstaff.com hairbyirinagrindstaff@gmail. com Walk-ins welcome (wait time may vary).

thousands with relationships, finances, spiritual transformation & business. Mentoring & Courses available.

EQUIPMENT FOR SALE

Metaphysical Counseling and Energy Healing New to Asheville. 33 yrs. experience. Pechet Healing Technique: Experience intuitive counseling + have one core issue cleared for good every session! Trauma, Depression, Anxiety + more. Call today! Ellie Pechet, M.Ed. 508237-4929 phoenixrisinghealing.com

RETREATS

SERVICES #1 AFFORDABLE COMMUNITY CONSCIOUS MASSAGE AND ESSENTIAL OIL CLINIC 4 locations: 1224 Hendersonville Rd., Asheville, 505-7088, 959 Merrimon Ave, Suite 101, 785-1385 and 2021 Asheville Hwy., Hendersonville, 697-0103. 24 Sardis Rd. Ste B, 828-633-6789 • $33/ hour. • Integrated Therapeutic Massage: Deep Tissue, Swedish, Trigger Point, Reflexology. Energy, Pure Therapeutic Essential Oils. 30 therapists. Call now! www. thecosmicgroove.com

6 Chimney sweep’s target 7 Passionate desire 8 Persistent desire 9 One of the friends on “Friends” 10 1992 Clinton campaign song 11 Shaq in old RadioShack commercials 12 Angry look 13 Word before moth or cab 21 Popular fleece-lined boots 22 “All My Children,” e.g.

23 Literary figure of speech 25 Title in Uncle Remus tales 26 Do one better than 27 Islamic equivalent of kosher 28 Atlanta university 29 In the know about 33 Tailored wear imparting confidence 34 Come together 35 Cribbage or croquet needs 37 “It’s the real thing” brand 39 Old French coin

FOR MUSICIANS LOCAL INDEPENDENT MASSAGE CENTER OFFERING BEST BODYWORK IN ASHEVILLE December Special- 60 minute Deep Tissue for $65! All massage therapists are skilled and dedicated. Deep Tissue, Integrative, Prenatal, Couples, Reflexology. Complimentary tea room.

Beautifully renovated space.

Convenient West AVL location. Free parking in lot.

(828)552-3003 ebbandflowavl@charter.net ebbandflowavl.com

QUANTUM Q6 EDGE POWERCHAIR With charger. $21,000 new; used twice, asking $2000, obo. Call 651-9839.

BEAUTY/SALON

DOWN

1 Thurman of “Kill Bill” 2 Some exam graders, for short 3 Gallery-frequenting writer 4 “The French Connection” drug 5 Library catalog ID your past present and future or would like an outside consultation on an issue, leave a message at 252-597-5894 (donations appreciated.)

CLASSES & WORKSHOPS

CLAY CLASSES AT ODYSSEY CLAYWORKS Scratching The Surface with Laura Peery, Put A Lid On It with Cayce Kolstad, Beginner Wheel with Julia Weber, Garden Planters with Cynthia Lee, Online Marketing with Raina Lee Scott, Narrative Sculpture with Mac McCusker, Bottles and Plates with Becca Floyd, Valentine's Day Pottery For Couples

46 “Coach, get those guys a little ice water” [N.F.L.] 49 Belly flop effect 52 Muscle group targeted by Pilates 53 “Coach, nab a few of those curfew violators” [M.L.B.] 58 Movie featuring Ben Affleck as a C.I.A. agent 59 Born yesterday, so to speak 60 “That hurts!”

63 Walk like a tosspot 64 Two of the heart’s chambers 65 180s 66 Ferber who wrote “Show Boat” 67 Church choir selection 68 Proofreader’s “leave it”

edited by Will Shortz

DEEP FEELING EMOTIONAL RELEASE THERAPY - GET TO THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM Nell Corry, LCSW, NCGCll, Certified Primal Therapist | 828-747-1813 | http://www. nellcorrytherapy.com | ncc.therapy@gmail.com | Emotional Release Therapy uncovers the source, allows healing of depression, anxiety, addictions, trauma, PTSD. Call for free half-hour chat.

FREE TAROT AND CONSULTATION (ABOUT ANYTHING.) Hello reader, if you would like a hidden insight into

SHOJI SPA & LODGE * 7 DAYS A WEEK Day & Night passes, cold plunge, sauna, hot tubs, lodging, 8 minutes from town, bring a friend or two, stay the day or all evening, escape & renew! Best massages in Asheville 828-299-0999.

SPIRITUAL

GUITAR SPEAKERS AMP 2 Bang and Olufson speakers, 1 Beomaster amp $585. Gibson 1995 USA Nighthawk Fireburst electric guitar. Great condition. $950. Call 712-5815.

MUSICAL SERVICES WHITEWATER RECORDING Mixing • Mastering • Recording. (828) 684-8284 www. whitewaterrecording.com

PETS PET SERVICES ASHEVILLE PET SITTERS Dependable, loving care while you're away. Reasonable rates.

Call Sandy (828) 215-7232.

PROFESSIONAL AND RELIABLE PET CARE IN YOUR HOME! Mountain Pet Valet is an experienced pet sitting service with commitment to your pet's needs! Daily dog walks, pet visits and overnight stays. Mention ad for 10% off!

(828)-490-6374 www.mountainpetvalet.com

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JULIE KING: LICENSED MINISTER, TEACHER, INTUITIVE HEALER www.AcuPsychic. com. 828-884-4169. If you can see the Future You can Change it! For 35 years, she has helped

AUTOS FOR SALE 1980 VOLVO 244 DL 70k miles! All original. Excellent condition all around. No

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42 Munch between meals 44 “Free Willy” creature 47 Playful response to a zinger 48 Like occasions of celebration 49 Hair-raising experience 50 Trimmed back 51 Three-star U.S. Army rank: Abbr.

rust! Very safe, reliable, classic daily driver. New timing belt. $6,500. 828-625-2430.

2011 BMW 328i 4 DR SEDAN • BELOW BLUEBOOK Outstanding condition. All power, 55K miles, air, fully loaded, dark blue, black leather, sunroof, garaged, bluetooth, $16,500, obo. Call 274-5739 for Bob.

MOTORCYCLES/ SCOOTERS FOR SALE 2004 POLARIS RANGER 6X6 $2250. 746 Hours, Kept under roofed enclosure, many upgrades. Call: 520-222-7110 5202227110

RECREATIONAL VEHICLES FOR SALE 1981 SHULTZ MOBILE HOME 14 x 70 ft. 3BR, 1.5BA. Fair condition. Needs to be moved from property. $6,000, price negotiable. (828) 747-5002.

AUTOMOTIVE SERVICES

PUZZLE BY ANDREW KINGSLEY

54 Muesli morsels 55 Sorvino of “Mighty Aphrodite” 56 “Don’t be ___” (Google motto) 57 Copier paper buy 61 Clamp shape 62 “The buck stops here” presidential inits.

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE C R O W N

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D C E S H S P A I S A R C A R A W R I S E R T D U E S L A U S E C I A O T H O Z A D Y R O A R

L A N A T I E U P F O L K

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D J E M E M I D E N L I A O K I N G D E N S U R T S D A R E S G O E W R O T E E N T H E M R E O M E S V A S E X

A M O K

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A N P E P O

Paul Caron

Furniture Magician

WE'LL FIX IT AUTOMOTIVE • Honda and Acura repair.

Half price repair and service.

ASE and factory trained. Located in the Weaverville area, off exit 15. Please call (828) 275-6063 for appointment. wellfixitautomotive.com

• Cabinet Refacing • Furniture Repair • Seat Caning • Antique Restoration • Custom Furniture & Cabinetry

ADULT LIVELINKS CHAT LINES Flirt, chat and date! Talk to sexy real singles in your area. Call now!

(877) 609-2935. (AAN CAN)

mountainx.com

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ADULT AUTOMOTIVE

No. 1109

(828) 669-4625

• Black Mountain

DEcEmBER 14 - DEcEmBER 20, 2016

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