Mountain Xpress 12.24.14

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The spirituality issue

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In the emerging milieu of the 21st century, many traditional churches are being challenged to find new strategies to meet a rapidly changing culture. Xpress explores how some of them are meeting the demands of the millennial generation. covER DEsign Kathleen Soriano Taylor photogRaph Pat Barcas

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

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caRtoon By RanDy moLton

Reader responds to letter about police chief’s retirement Rev. [Keith] Ogden, where have you been for the past two months? [“Ogden: Two Officers Drive False Narrative about Chief of Police,” Dec. 10 Letters to the Editor, Xpress] [Chief] william anderson denied that there was a reprimand in Lt. Bill wilkie’s file, and that was proven untrue. Lt. mark Byrd advised that the radar equipment had not been certified. Anderson denied knowledge of this oversight only to have it proven that he was in a meeting where this was discussed.

Unfortunately, racism still exists, but even more unfortunate is that

coRREction In the Dec. 10 article, “Ingles Giving Tree Stands Against Hunger in WNC,” the correct day and time for the Swannanoa Welcome Table (216 Whitson Ave.) is Wednesdays, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.

you, a minister, were the first to throw out the race card.

Racisim is a two-way street, and until we as individuals change our attitude about people because of their skin color, religion, etc., nothing will change. You feel that all of the complaints are racially motivated, but how do you explain the African-Americans who were included in the “APD 44” [the fortyfour city police officers who signed a petition earlier this year saying they lack confidence in department leaders] and the resignations of several African-American officers?

Anderson, by denying the obvious and attempting to cover up misdeeds, only added to the problems within APD. His track record in Deland, Fla., and Greenville, N.C., indicates that he lacked the necessary leadership qualities needed.

This has absolutely nothing to do with the color of his skin.

Rev. Ogden, you are entitled to your opinion. You have more to gain by teaching us to love one another, as God has said, and above all to respect one another regardless of our skin color.

Brenda Webber Asheville

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N E W S

Churches in the fall Local churches get back to their roots in a rapidly changing millennial culture

By joRDan foLtZ

jfoltz@mountainx.com

On Oct. 26, the oldest church in Buncombe County — First Presbyterian Church of Swannanoa — held a Sunday service in celebration of its 220th anniversary. It was also the final service the church would hold.

With an aging congregation and dwindling membership, the church — founded in 1794 — had been exploring various options for its survival for the past decade, explains the Rev. sam hobson, who served as First Presbyterian’s transitional minister from November 2013 until its closing. It was after one of the more generous financial donors died earlier this year that the congregation elected to disband.

Two hundred twenty years of generations gathering, worshipping and praying week after week — and now no more. Why? First Presbyterian is only one local example within a national trend of struggling traditional, mainline Protestant churches that are seeing aging membership, scarcity of funds and emptier pews. In the emerging milieu of the 21st century, many traditional churches are being challenged to find new strategies to meet a rapidly changing culture.

NONES ON THE RISE 1970s/’80s 2010 AGE TOTAL 18-29 50-64 65+

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IDENTIFY AS “PROTESTANT” 60-65% 51%

IDENTIFY AS “UNAFFILIATED” 19.6% (15.3% IN 2007) 32% (25% IN 2010) 15% 9%

Pew Research Center’s Religion and Public Life Project. 10/09/2012

RELIGION AMONG MILLENIALS DEcEmBER 24 - DEcEmBER 30, 2014

For Hobson, it’s nothing new: “Every church has a life cycle, and they had just reached the end of theirs. There’s no church that I know of that existed during the time of the Bible that is still in existence.”

Still, he acknowledges that something profound is taking place.

“The church is in a transitional period,” reflects Hobson. “[One theory purports that] every 500 years, the church has to remake itself.” Now that we’re about 500 years out from the Reformation, he explains, “The church is going to have to decide what’s the next way we’re going to exist? It cannot continue in the way that it has been doing church — largely because what we’re seeing is that the younger generations have trouble dealing with the institutionalized version of it.”

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Raising ashEviLLE: Seacoast Church’s Asheville campus — one of 13 satellite locations — is defying the national trend of declining attendance. Photos by Pat Barcas

comE as you aRE casey Kelly, 27, and her husband, Kyle Kelly, 25, are members of Seacoast Church in South Asheville. Though she was raised Catholic, Casey departed from the tradition in college. “It just seemed very ritualistic,” she says, “which is why I love it here — because it’s not like you have to put on your Sunday best and sit there, and then stand, and sit, and kneel, and do all of these rules where you don’t know what you’re doing, and you don’t know what you’re praying for.”

Like many contemporary churches, Seacoast is nondenominational and has multiple campuses — the main one being in Charleston, S.C., where the founding pastor, Senior Pastor Greg Suratt, delivers sermons in plainclothes and everyday vernacular to 5,000-6,000 people on any given Sunday. The sermons are streamed in and screened live at the satellite campuses.

On Sunday morning in Asheville, Seacoast’s service starts at 9:30, but people flow in and out casually throughout the service, some getting coffee and chit-chatting in the lobby, others diligently taking notes on the

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sermon and none attracting more or less attention for their personal style of engagement.

It starts with a live band — guitar, drums, bass and backup singers — bathed in stage lighting and laying down uplifting Christian rock songs and adapted hymns with the lyrics displayed on large screens behind them. Children spontaneously trickle up through the aisles to the open area in front of the stage and dance around. Some of the adults sing along, while others sit or stand with arms crossed, arms wide open, arms waving — it’s all good.

“In church growing up, you had to look perfect,” says Casey Kelly. “You looked like everything was together, and you didn’t show that you had problems. Whereas here, I come some Sundays and bawl my eyes out if something’s on my heart … and it doesn’t really matter.”

Defying national trends, Seacoast’s Asheville campus has continued to grow since its inception in 2006, usually seeing a Sunday attendance of around 300 people.

“Out of everyone in our peer group, I could probably name just a handful that still go to the old, traditional-type churches,” says Casey Kelly. “For our age, this is more of our style of church because it isn’t that ‘fire and brimstone’ feel — we have tattoos, we drink beer — and the message from most traditional churches is that all of that is sin.”

muLtiDiREctionaL: “There’s something to be said for holding someone’s hand and singing … that you just can’t quite get by lighting a candle in your room,” says Jubilee! pastor Howard Hanger, seen here offering sage to the four directions.

IDENTIFY AS “PROTESTANT” 1970s/’80s 60-65% 2010 51% enough that God is actually alive and

moving and wantsAS to“UNAFFILIATED” be in relationAGE IDENTIFY ship with us.” 19.6% (15.3% IN 2007) TOTAL aren’t 18-29Church and Christianity 32% (25% IN 2010) just about abstract philosophy, or 50-64 15% 65+ 9%

Pew Research Center’s Religion and Public Life Project. 10/09/2012

RELIGION AMONG MILLENIALS AGE

As Seacoast’s worship director, aaron Lafalce, 31, is responsible for the music and other aesthetic aspects of services. Raised Catholic, he found the church six years ago after multiple attempts worshipping within several other Protestant denominations. “[But] there was something in all of them where I was feeling a lot of rules and regulations and not a lot of relationship,” he says.

The good fellowship drew him to Seacoast, combined with what he found to be a refreshing message: “That Jesus is not here to be the hall monitor of your life and tell you how many things you’re doing wrong, but is rather here to say: ‘I love you and I want to have a relationship with you.’”

Like LaFalce, campus Pastor alex johnson, 33, grew up going to church. Though reticent to criticize his experiences in the traditional church, he still notes, “I don’t think they took seriously

18-29 30+ 65+

SWITCHED TO “UNAFFILIATED”

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AFFILIATED AND ATTEND WEEKLY SERVICES

18-29 30+ 65+

18-29 30+ 65+

33% 41% 53%

BELIEVE HOMOSEXUALITY SHOULD BE ACCEPTED BY SOCIETY

63% 47% 35%

Pew Research Center’s Religion and Public Life Project. 2/17/2010

HOW AMERICANS FEEL memorizing ancient narratives, ABOUT RELIGIOUS GROUPS Johnson explains. Instead, the NEGATIVE MOST POSITIVE=100 church 0=MOST has to meet a culture where 60 61 CATHOLICS 67 it’s at, and it has to be contemporary 58 61 for people to be able to connect with EVANGELICALS 68 58 relate to a living God that they4750 can BUDDHISTS their own experience. 47 54 HINDUS ATHEISTS MUSLIMS

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continuEs on pagE 10 mountainx.com

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nEws

by Jordan Foltz

jfoltz@mountainx.com

continuED fRom pagE 9

Though statistically it is the younger — and particularly, millennial — generation that’s showing up less in the pews, there are contingents of elders as well whose needs are not being met by the mainline churches.

Louis Daniels, 71, discovered Seacoast after spending most of his life in the Methodist and Baptist churches. For he and his wife, Brenda Daniels, the music and style of Seacoast is nice — it’s engaging and uplifting, and they like to be around a diverse age group — but that’s not the critical draw for them.

The kicker is that the teachings are biblically based.

“Many churches are advertising ‘contemporary service’ and have been for years,” says Louis Daniels, “but many of those contemporary services that are being advertised are still a Baptist or Methodist or Catholic service. There is still the same set of rules, the same belief system. … The most important thing for us is that teachings are

a histoRy of woRship: “Every church has a life cycle,” says the Rev. Sam Hobson, former pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Swannanoa, which closed after serving the community for more than 200 years. Churches will “have to decide what’s the next way we’re going to exist.”

biblically based … and to shed all of that stuff that is not biblically based. And I think most [denominational] churches … do have some rules that are not biblically based at all. And that’s been going on for thousands of years ... to control people, I guess.” what’s thE woRD? When First Presbyterian closed, Hobson officially retired. Not long afterward, on a visit to Charlotte, he walked into a tattoo-and-piercing studio and got his ears pierced.

“I’d wanted to do it for a while, but that was just one of those things you can’t do,” he says. And though in many ways during his ministry, he was able to deliver a message consistent with what he understood to be the word of Jesus, in others, he had to conform to institutional rules for the sake of his job.

“One of the things for younger adults is that they don’t want to be involved in something that says, ‘we love all people … except for these.’ If we say we believe in social justice for all people, we can’t say, ‘except for those people,’” says Hobson. “And the other part of it is that they want hands-on experience. You can’t just say, ‘Give us your money,’ it’s got to be, ‘Let’s go out and do something with our own hands.’”

Brooke van der Linde, 28, is a member of Jubilee! Community and attends almost every Sunday service with her 3-year-old and her husband.

She describes it as a necessary “reset button” to sit for an hour and reflect on the week.

“But for me, I can’t go somewhere where gay people can’t feel comfortable. I can’t go somewhere where different nationalities and different ethnicities are not equal. However much good you are preaching from any book, my generation isn’t really having it anymore,” she says.

“There’s this divide here of wanting to connect to your religion, but leaders aren’t upholding the social values that a lot of us are coming around to having, which are largely that this whole ‘love’ thing really shouldn’t be limited.”

The Rev. howard hanger, founder and minister of Jubilee!, says, “If a church is going to call itself Christian or describe itself as following the teachings of Jesus, then it ought to be doing what Jesus did: feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, heal-

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RaDicaLs: “The church’s job is to remind us that we are actually subversive; we need to bring about justice and mercy and love,” says Rev. Milly Morrow, second from right, pictured here with Kairos West co-founder Rev. James Lee (left) and collaborators A.K. Benninghofen, Benjamin Rose and Jaque Combs (left to right). Photo by Jordan Foltz

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ing the sick, visiting the prisoner — whatever it takes to make the world a better place … And that’s what I think so many churches have forgotten about.”

Jubilee! does not call itself “Christian,” though Hanger bases the services, teachings and community action on the Bible. But he also incorporates teachings from other scriptures such as the Tao Te Ching and Quran. The “Jubilants” (regular attendees) may or may not even identify as Christians.

“Jesus never said, ‘Build a building in my name. He never said, ‘Establish a religion’ … The Christian church is supposedly the largest real estate holder in the world … and all of this in the name of a pauper,” he reflects.

Hanger hails from a line of Methodist minister-activists, and was originally ordained in that denomination. Jubilee! even had its start in the basement of Central United Methodist Church in 1984. In 1989, when there was enough critical mass, Hanger and the board members relocated to what is still their location at 46 Wall St. “We call it a community. When we founded it, the people said, ‘The word ‘church’ has too much

baggage,’ and also ‘church’ has come to be what people call a building. …. The original meaning was the people, so we thought ‘community’ expresses that better,” explains Hanger.

“I think mainline churches are missing the boat. The reason I’m not a Methodist anymore is because I got booted … for doing gay weddings. And the Methodists still don’t permit it — they can’t see the writing on the wall. … And we’re talking about love here — if you want to get all hung up on genitals, then go for it, but if you’re going to follow the teachings of Jesus: Love one another.”

On a recent Sunday morning, the seats at Jubilee! are filled for the 9:45 service. Natural morning light streams in from windows encased by exposed brick walls. An acoustic/electric band welcomes attendees with jazzy, world-influenced melodies and a song by Mumford & Sons. A large cast sculpture of the Earth hangs from the central rafter, hovering above the altar.

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nEws

by Jordan Foltz

continuED fRom pagE 11

Throughout the service, there are multiple opportunities to hold your neighbor’s hand, greet them, embrace them. A poem spiced with personal, social and political flavors is offered by one of the members whose birthday it is; a local singer-songwriter performs; and sage is burned as the 300-400 attendees turn in unison to face the four directions in the traditional Native American manner as Hanger leads in prayer.

Those present range from millennials to elders in their 70s and 80s, plus parents of many ages in between accompanied by their children. mimi shackelford, 78, was raised Presbyterian and spent a large part of her adult life in the Episcopal Church. She has collaborated with Hanger since Jubilee!’s beginning and has been a board member since its inception. “I think people either grow up in a church and stay there, or they search for what they need.

65+

9%

Pew Research Center’s Religion and Public Life Project. 10/09/2012 jfoltz@mountainx.com

RELIGION And I think AMONG most peopleMILLENIALS have found AGEJubilee! SWITCHED TO “UNAFFILIATED” because they were search18-29 18% ing,” she says.

30+ When asked why11% the younger gen65+ 7% erations are leaving traditional mainline church pews, she says: “You all AFFILIATED WEEKLY SERVICES are diverse.AND YouATTEND are accepting of all 18-29 33% kinds of people, all kinds of lifestyles.

30+ 41% You know when something happens 65+ 53% immeon the other side of the world diately and you react to it, and that’s BELIEVE HOMOSEXUALITY SHOULD different from what we knew.

We BE ACCEPTED BY SOCIETY knew our little town and that was 18-29 63% about it.”

30+ 47% 65+ Statistically, the younger the 35%generation, the more positive an attitude Pew Research Center’s Religion and Public Life Project. 2/17/2010 toward other cultures and religions.

HOW AMERICANS FEEL ABOUT RELIGIOUS GROUPS 0=MOST NEGATIVE

MOST POSITIVE=100 60 61

CATHOLICS EVANGELICALS BUDDHISTS HINDUS ATHEISTS MUSLIMS

58

47

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47 46 58

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aLL togEthER now: “We call it a community,” says Jubilee!’s Howard Hanger.

“The original meaning [of ‘church’] was the people.”

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That attitude comes with a frame of reference: Are one’s day-to-day considerations based on identifying/ interacting with a global community, a national community or even a completely localized community?

Getting back to the basics of Jesus’ teachings may look like quite different things for different generations.

Perhaps there is no disagreement between different churches or generations about the importance of “loving thy neighbor,” but just how that might look.

Many millennials may not even know their neighbor, all the while easily connecting with issues and people that are physically on the other side of the globe — and they demand spiritual support that is adept within that context.

Hobson believes that historically, the church has been too acquiescent to society’s dominant culture and often ends up promoting the status quo when it should be questioning it.

“If a culture is not seeking social justice, if it is not seeking inclusivity, then the church should question it — both within and outside of the church itself. The perfect church would be one in which every nation of the Earth could be seen represented — worshipping in one place.

But the way church is now, institutionally, is that it’s the most segregated time of the week. On Sunday morning for many, they go to a place where everybody looks and thinks just like they do — why is that?”

As the rules of churches change, as they strive toward inclusivity, contemporary services and breaking with the past, will people continue to seek out subcultural enclaves on Sundays? And if so, what can or should the church do about it?

LovE thy nEighBoR “The church is, first, the body of Christ,” says the Rev. milly morrow of The Cathedral of All Souls in Biltmore Village. “The people gathered in remembrance of Christ and Christ’s work in their world. And it’s for us to continue that — which is work of justice and mercy. We as humans don’t always prioritize justice and mercy, and so it is this constant need to subvert that human tendency for commerce, for gaining wealth and power.”

Morrow is co-founder of Kairos West Community Center, which opened at 742 Haywood Rd. in June, funded through a grant from the national Episcopal Church. Morrow describes Kairos as a place of “radical welcome” and highlights its mis-

sion as “simply being a sacred space where people can build community by being together, but also specifically to work with people who are emerging in the community as leaders and have a particular vision … around social justice and mercy.”

With leadership representation from multiple denominations and a central place amid the bustle of Haywood Road, the founders of Kairos envision it as a neutral, open meeting ground and place for collaboration across subcultural, socioeconomic and racial lines.

So far as checking cultural enclaves and that human tendency toward material gain, Morrow, along with Kairos’ six other cofounders, selected West Asheville because of a shared concern that it was sliding toward gentrification.

“We asked: ‘Who’s becoming central here?’… and how can we make the needs of the community central again and not just a place to buy and sell things,” says Morrow.

Since launching, Kairos has partnered with 16 groups that now use the space, including the Asheville Radical Mental Health Collective, Asheville Youth Mission, Soulspeak youth poetry collective and Asheville Transformers (advocacy and support for the trans community in Asheville), to name a few. It also helped organize an early-voting March and Roll to the Polls, held a vigil for Ferguson, Mo., and launched ongoing free food markets and potlucks.

Kairos co-founder Rev. james Lee grew up on Burton Street in West Asheville. He’s seen a lot of changes in the neighborhood over the past decade. Now minister at St. Paul Baptist Church, he explains that his congregation is largely an aging population; young to middle-aged adults are few in number. But he’s seeing a renewed interest among the youth in the church about making connections with the elder generation — but creating that connection is difficult.

“We’ve come to a point where oppression that was more subtle is becoming more blatant again.

But there is this question, ’Where do we go?’ Do we revert back to the tactics of the civil rights move-

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BucKing tREnDs: “Asheville — anticorporate, huge bent on local and the anti-religious trends — we defy all of those things,” says Seacoast’s Asheville pastor Alex Johnson.

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ment, and who’s going to lead that?” says Lee. Lee sees the elder population feeling at a loss of how to be useful in confronting modern problems; at the same time, the youth hunger for guidance but are eager for more radical and contemporary approaches. Connecting those generational polarities is vital to empowering the community, and the ministry is an indispensable leader in that effort.

“Wisdom without strength is foolish and strength without wisdom is foolish,” says Lee. “If we continue to do church in the same way, it will be a dead church,” he says. “And the black church, as far as being a vibrant part of the African-American community, will no longer exist. What will that mean for the church, and what will that mean for our community?”

For Lee, Kairos is serving as a place that multiple faiths, nonfaiths and diverse cultures can use

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to further the common cause of justice and community empowerment — something that’s hard to achieve in a standard church building where subcultures, ethnic groups or similar socioeconomic strata tend to congeal — no matter how much “come who may,” is preached.

The village well was once the place where people got to know their neighbors and where they solved problems and offered condolences. We all need to drink regardless of what we believe.

And like water, the organizers of Kairos believe we need justice, expression, communion and mercy. Rev. Bill Buchanan, one of Kairos co-founders, explains they are not “marketing” to a particular culture nor prescribing what culture should look like — they’re simply catalyzing initiatives and individuals in this community that are meeting those human needs. For him, such an approach — with or without doctrine — is the way of Jesus.

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maKE a joyfuL noisE: “It’s not like you have to put on your Sunday best and sit there, and then stand … and do all of these rules,” says Seacoast Church member Casey Kelly.

thE waLLs camE Down The best time to plant perennials is in the fall; plants put energy into their roots during the cold months of winter so that they can gather nutrients to blossom and yield fruit again.

Perhaps a similar phenomenon is happening in churches as well.

“Maybe church is not going to be so much a building as it will a group of people,” reflects Hobson.

“And that was the early church, too. What we’ve done to the church is we’ve institutionalized it, and part of that came about through the whole adoption of the Roman Empire of Christianity — and it was forced on people to be the religion of the state … and even the Reformation was followed by its own institutionalization.”

The current state of affairs may be alarming for many churches. It may seem like failure; it may seem like the religion is endangered. But others view it as a good thing: Leaves are falling and it’s an opportunity for the religion to get real with its roots. “[Historically] there is something that has survived and thrived and has gotten better when it’s gotten harder culturally,” says Johnson, the Seacoast campus pastor. “And I think Christianity is at its best when it’s not in a position of power. Anytime we are tempted to use the means to this world to adapt to our ends — we really lose our opportunity.”

LaFalce agrees: “Christianity is at its strongest when it’s not on top as far as handing out laws and handing out have-tos, because that’s not the

way the faith started to begin with.

It wasn’t something that was legislated. People were held captive by the love that Jesus had.”

The rise of the unaffiliated is a real thing. The demand for inclusivity, the closing of churches — all real. But is the opportunity to commune within the church threatened for future generations?

“I think people will find it,” says Hanger, Jubilee!’s founder.

“Since we began, we’ve always sought to connect … with each other and with what we don’t understand. People are going to find it one way or the other. I’m convinced of that.”

The statistics are informative, but they don’t denote a lack of interest in communing with each other, the divine, or even, perhaps, Jesus Christ — just a waning of traditional expressions of how it’s done. One thing that the statistics don’t consider is that people have their own definitions of religion.

As he steps away from his tenure as a Presbyterian minister, Hobson will keep a hopeful eye on the future: “What a lot of public schools have been teaching is that there is no meaning whatsoever,” he says. “But human beings have always sought meaning in life — and so we’re always going to be creatures of religion. But it’s how we see that meaning and how we get there. Ultimately, if you start listening to all religions, we’re called to love one another — but how does that happen? It happens in community, and that gives meaning and purpose.” X

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SPIRITUALITY

mysterious — many of us dedicate our hearts and minds to regular practice and day-to-day action in Western North Carolina.

So in the following pages, you’ll hear from 29 local spiritual leaders and teachers, faith-based groups and religious organizations who share what it is they stand for, the truths they live by and the services they are offering to nourish the local soul.

If you’re searching, maybe you’ll find something here. If you’ve found a path that works for you, then we hope you enjoy hearing from your neighbors and learning about theirs.

Stay warm, savor the longest nights and refresh yourself with these local expressions of how to connect with the divine and mysterious.

SOJ URNER Christian Church (D i s c i p l e s o f C h r i s t (

Spirituality, religion, faith, the esoteric and the

Some people have never had an experience they could identify as a “spiritual experience.” We believe that such experiences are all around: When people love, God’s love is made known. When we show grace to each other, we reflect God’s grace.

If you’re looking for carefully orchestrated and polished worship, shiny programs or a pleasing array of religious goods and services, there are other places to look. If you’re looking for community with imperfect people who are seeking spiritual, emotional, intellectual and practical maturity, then we might fit the bill. We’re still learning to be Christians.

We don’t have all the answers and we don’t know all the right questions, but we are committed to becoming more than we are. We welcome all the folks God brings into our midst, regardless of their journey. Bring your brain along with your heart, and enjoy the community that comes with exploring faith.

14 Mineral Springs Road | Asheville, NC 28805 | (828) 215-1628 sojochurch@gmail.com | www.sojournerchurch.org 16

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Appalachian Chapter of The American Society of Dowsers

Dowsers to Manifest New Realities through Intention Dowsing once meant using forked sticks to find water. Today, it is two-way multidimensional communication between the visible “real” world and an unseen world that many now realize is more “real” than the collective illusion most of us accept as reality.

Dowsing includes kinesiology, radionics, remote viewing, manifestation, distance healing, energy work, water dowsing, intuition, biogeometry, geobiology and much more.

The task before us is simple, but immense: to build a roadmap from our collapsing world of conflict and environmental degradation into a sustainable world of oneness and

cooperation. This simple idea requires new solutions that will be on display at the Spring Conference of the Southern Dowsers, which features workshops, vendors, readers, music, entertainment, a dowsing school and 56 speakers, from Raymond Grace, Penny Kelly, P.M.H. Atwater, and Scott Grace, to Cherokee elder Freeman Owle.

We are all dowsers, whether we know it or not. Please join like-minded folks at the gracious Kanuga Conference Center in Hendersonville, March 19-22, where you will begin to see unseen worlds, improve your wellbeing and help make the world a better place.

PO Box 932 | Asheville, NC 28802 | (828) 685-2273 appdowsers@gmail.com | www.appalachiandowsers.org

Transmission Meditation Transmission Meditation is a powerful new form of group meditation for the purpose of “stepping down” (transforming) spiritual energies from the Spiritual Hierarchy of Masters (the Kingdom above the Human Kingdom), which thus become accessible and useful to the general public.

These stepped-down energies provide a high level of service to humanity while boosting the evolutionary process of participating individuals. You need three people to form a group, which you can form yourself, or you can join an existing one.

There are hundreds of TM groups in over 40 countries around the world. TM is simple and easily fits into lifestyles of busy people, who meet once or twice each week to meditate for an hour or more. It doesn’t conflict with existing spiritual practices and can actually enhance them. Importantly, it promotes contact with, and eventually union with, the Soul — that mini-god or “kingdom of heaven” within you!

16 Sunview Circle, Arden, NC 28704 • 704-467-7649 irapalmer77@gmail.com • TransmissionMeditation.org

The Cathedral of All Souls

photo by Jules Smith

photo by Tom Whittington

All Souls is a eucharistically centered Cathedral whose life is shaped by Scripture, the Baptismal Covenant and our engagement with the world about us. It is a community where all are welcome, trust is present and risks are taken, and where our gifts and graces enable us to be who God knows us to be.

On Nov. 8, 1896, All Souls Episcopal Church was consecrated. Built by George Vanderbilt as the parish

church for the village adjacent to the Biltmore House, it was seen by Vanderbilt as the connecting piece for the daily life of all persons, all souls, in the region.

This mission, connecting faith and life in the region, is seen throughout the life of All Souls. In its early days, it sponsored a school for mountain children, and in later decades, was the home for Asheville’s first school designed for children with special needs. In its early days, it supported the establishment of a nearby hospital, and

in recent years, it has established a therapeutic counseling center for under- or non-insured persons.

The thread that runs through the years for The Cathedral of All Souls is work that brings mercy and justice to our community. Come, join us.

Wednesday Noon Healing Eucharist Service Sunday Services at 7:45 am , 9:00 am & 11:15 am

9 Swan St. • Asheville, NC 28803 (828)274-2681 • milly@allsoulscathedral.org • allsoulscathedral.org spEciaL aDvERtoRiaL sEction

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Heart Sanctuary

Jesus People Church of Asheville You are precious and loved!

Open Heart Meditation Through Open Heart Meditation™ and the natural process of opening our hearts we can: • Live from our hearts with a greater sense of joy, fulfillment, positivity, and purpose;

Open Heart Meditation™ offers weekly, free, guided sessions for beginners and experienced meditators. It is a universal, nondenominational practice of connecting to the spiritual heart, centered on gentle, heart-based connection instead of mind control techniques. In the weekly sessions we experience and deepen the spiritual connection to the peace and love within our hearts as well as the cleansing of negative emotions.

• Reduce daily stress and enhance emotional balance, which allows the natural healing process to happen much faster; • Improve our spiritual growth and strengthen our beautiful connection with the Source of True Love; • Enjoy a deeper experience of heart-felt gratitude; • Learn how to forgive others and ourselves — a transformational experience when done at the heart level; • Let our hearts be strengthened and cleansed of negative emotions, such as anger, sadness, fear and dissatisfaction.

Come and experience your beautiful heart connection. Free group sessions are every Tuesday night from 7-8 p.m. at the Heart House, located at 5 Covington St., Asheville, 28806 More info at heartsanctuary.org, or call 296-0017.

We believe that God has given us a special call to help those of us who have been rejected and disenfranchised by the Christian Church. This is especially true of those coming from the LGBT community.

We believe that the LGBT people have a unique and high calling from God and have been given special creative gifts from God. Those gifts and dreams may have been crushed by the religious system, but our mission is to help you find your destiny and restore your vision.

While Jesus People Church of Asheville has a specific call to the LGBT community, we are an “inclusive church” where all are welcome.

We meet every Sunday at the Scandal’s Nighclub Complex at 10 a.m. We also have a mid-week gathering but please check out our website for mid-week dates and location.

We are not perfect nor is any church, but we will love you and with God’s help show you the real Jesus.

Religious people may say that you are an abomination, but God says you are His creation. He made you gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender for a great purpose and call.

11 Grove St. | Asheville, NC 28801 | (828) 423-9790 jesuspeopleavl@aol.com | www.jesuspeopleasheville.org

Tigg’s Pond Retreat Center: Natural Beauty Spiritually Rooted The Tigg’s Pond Retreat Center is a place of stillness and beauty where you can spend prayerful time with God and yourself. We encourage you to take time away from your busy life and to ground yourself in activities that support your spiritual life. Our programs help seekers of all kinds open up to God and strengthen their faith.

We conduct retreats for groups and individuals, offer instruction on spirituality and forgiveness, provide weekly yoga classes and monthly Circle Dances, present special concerts, screen Movies that Matter and conduct facilitated labyrinth walks — all to help you find the sacred in your daily life. Monthly, our Standing on the Side of Love Coffee House showcases musicians who honor the spiritual in their work. (Most recently: David Wilcox!) We use our organic garden to demonstrate sustainable practices

and the outdoor Labyrinth and in-progress Forgiveness Walk to teach spiritual practices.

But it’s not all about “doing.” The deep peace you find here, walking the trails, reading in the Library or sitting by the pond, provides profound rest and rejuvenation.

Tigg’s Pond is a daytime retreat place. If you or your group are interested in a retreat, or you want to know more about our programs and events, please call (828) 697-0680 or visit our website at TiggsPondRetreatCenter.com for a calendar of events and information on our fees for space rentals and other services.

We look forward to seeing you here.

— Rev. Posy Jackson and Lyndon F. Harris, co-directors

212 Fiddlehead Lane | Zirconia, NC 28790 | (828) 697-0680 tiggspond@gmail.com | TiggsPondRetreatCenter.com 18

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TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION PROGRAM Free Introductory Talks every Thursday, 6:30-7:30.

The Transcendental Meditation technique is an easy, effective way to dissolve stress, reduce anxiety, and revitalize mind and body. It’s not contemplation, concentration, watching your breath, or trying to be mindful. Nor is it common mantra meditation. The TM technique allows you to dive deep within, effortlessly — beyond the busy or agitated mind — to access inner reserves of calm, clarity, and awareness. You don’t even have to believe in it for it to work.

TM has been taught free to 500,000 people over the past 10 years — inner-city youth, military veterans, Native Americans on reservations,

the homeless, and others at risk for traumatic stress. Part of every TM course fee funds someone to learn who can’t afford to pay.

Stress relief can save lives.

That’s why the American Heart Association recommends TM as the only meditation technique that lowers high blood pressure (based on their own scientific research).

But reduced stress and anxiety are just side effects. The main benefits?

Improved focus, more creativity and heightened awareness. Inner peace and a greater well-being. The whole world gets better. Because the world is as you are.

165 East Chestnut Street • 828-254-4350 • MeditationAsheville@TM.org www.MeditationAsheville.org

FAIRVIEW SPACE FOR TRANSFORMATION Spirituality is simply the realization that who we are is greater than our normal identification with what Alan Watts called the “skin-encapsulated ego.” Rather than being an idea or concept, spirituality must be felt. Any experience that provides relief from the belief in our separateness could be spiritual, whether it is a connection with nature, another person, a community or the oneness of all existence.

The word is derived from the Latin “spiritus,” which means both “soul” and “breath.” Similarly, the Chinese term “chi,” the Sanskrit “prana,” and the Hebrew “ruach” have the same dual meanings. It turns out that the breath can be a powerful tool for accessing spiritual experience.

Breathwork is a technique that combines accelerated breathing, evocative music and focused body work to transcend the normal limitations of our identity. It can be experienced in individual sessions or in workshops.

Besides opening the potential for spirituality, Breathwork might also connect the participant to unfinished biographical material, birth memories and residues of trauma stored in the body.

Upcoming Workshops Sunday, January 18 Focus Breathwork

Saturday, February 28 Holotropic Breathwork™

tedriskin.com • tedrisk@gmail.com • (828) 338-5020

In April 2014, an article by the Asheville Citizen-Times’ Casey Blake asked, “How many homeless children is OK with you?”

ABCCM invites everyone to help us answer: “NONE.” At Steadfast House last November, we took in a pregnant woman who was living in her car and due to have her child in a couple of weeks. She was a domestic-violence victim and did not know how she was going to be able to deliver and take care of her baby. During her one-year stay with us, she: got a scholarship from Genesis Alliance, a local women’s organization that helps victims of domestic violence get an education to obtain better jobs; received her Medical Technology certification; and found a good-paying job. She recently purchased a home for herself and her children. Her son just turned 1, and they will celebrate this Christmas together in their own home, with her very first Christmas tree ever!

In this Holy Season, please care for another homeless child with a generous gift. Steadfast House has more than 300 on the waiting list now. Loving God is best reflected in caring for the hungry, hurting and homeless, the way ABCCM does every day … please help today.

Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry 30 Cumberland Ave. • Asheville, NC 28801 (828) 259-5300 • advent@abccm.org • abccm.org spEciaL aDvERtoRiaL sEction

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Willow Wellness and Recovery

photos by: Leea Gorell

Urban Dharma NC’s mission is to foster a deeper understanding of the teachings of the Buddha, build meaningful community and integrate contemplative teachings into everyday, ordinary life by providing a welcoming and educational space in downtown Asheville.

At Willow Wellness and Recovery, we believe there are many roads to recovery. We chose our name because the willow is a majestic symbol of resilience, strength and hope; deeply rooted, it allows bending rather than breaking during the tumult of life’s storms.

abuse and co-occurring mental health issues.

Unlike larger clinics, we know each of our clients by name. The heart of our practice is supporting clients through mindful psychiatry and psychotherapy as they revision and rebuild their lives.

Urban Dharma NC exists for both dedicated practitioners and the broader Asheville community: We offer a meditation space to sit and be quiet; a consecrated shrine to experience the sacred and be blessed; a place to hangout with friends, tea or a book; a social space for community wellness, art, music, food and culinary and literary events; and a Tibetan ritual-arts gallery where you may browse and shop.

As colleagues and close friends fueled by the desire to offer quality, relationship-based care, we created an innovative, mindfulness-based outpatient program providing integrative and comprehensive opioid dependence treatment for those struggling with addiction, substance

We believe in the resilience of the human spirit and that change is possible. Whether it be in a mindfulness meditation group, a family group or meeting with the doctor, we are here to support you.

29 Page Ave. | Asheville, NC 28801 | (828) 225-6422 info@udharmanc.com | www.udharmanc.com

9B All Souls Crescent | Asheville, NC 28803 | (828) 772-1803 beintouch@willowwellnessandrecovery.com | willowwellnessandrecovery.com

Kairos West Community Center Our dream of this ministry in West Asheville began while visiting Cuba in 2013. We were pilgrims on a journey to learn from our brothers and sister in Matanzas, Cuba, and to gain knowledge from their ministry at Kairos, Cuba.

When we returned, we held a vision of a community center in the heart of West Asheville — a sacred space in a secular world, accessible to all and set apart for communitybuilding and for the empowerment of emerging leadership through fellowship, community service and radical welcome in the spirit of Jesus. Community space that is dedicated to and steeped in relationship and community-building offers an extension of the Church that is visible and needed.

All of the events at Kairos West are commercefree, allowing us as a community to gather together without regard for production or consumption of goods. Instead, we make relationship the valued currency.

Kairos West Community Center and Social Justice Reading Room currently hosts 14 ministries of radical welcome that address social justice issues ranging from mental health support to free food markets to music jams and community potlucks. The hope is that all events at Kairos West build a community that is deeply connected.

742 Haywood Road |Asheville, NC 28806 |(828) 772-1429 kairoswest742@gmail.com | www.kairoswest.wordpress.com 20

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Unity Center is excited to welcome our new minister, Rev. Darlene Strickland, who begins on Jan. 4.

Darlene became an Ordained Unity Minister in 2004 and previously served ministries in Washington, Kansas and Hawaii. She is an engaging, humorous, inspired speaker and teacher who creatively weaves deep spiritual insight with real-life stories and transformational tips for living. She is also a singer/songwriter with a passion for helping others access their inner wisdom and attune to the rhythm of their soul.

Unity Center is an inclusive, open and accepting community demonstrating practical application of spiritual truths. We honor all paths to God as we provide a philosophy that is spiritual, not religious; and love-based, not fearbased. Unity is a “green congregation” that is active in community outreach.

We have a youth education program, from infants to toddlers to high school.

If you enjoy speakers like Wayne Dwyer, Marianne Williamson and Deepak Chopra, you will love Unity Center!

Unity Center of Mills River (828) 891-8700 • unity@unitync.net • www.unitync.net 2041 Old Fanning Bridge Road • Mills River, NC 28759

Still Point Wellness is a spa in the truest sense, in the tradition of providing healing waters. The combination of Saltwater Floatation (sensory deprivation), Esalen® Massage, Cranial Sacral Therapy, Yoga Therapy and Somatic (body) Psychology is unique in Asheville.

At Still Point Wellness we believe that the journey of wellness is deeply personal. Our spa is a nurturing space to unplug, get quiet and support the gentle unfolding of your body’s wisdom. Our practitioners are highly trained professionals. We listen to you, honor who you are and appreciate your experiences of the past and goals for the future.

Come visit us and access deep relaxation with the support of our experienced, personalized and worldclass care through a single session or a custom tailored Wellness Plan.

81B CENTRAL AVE • (828) 348-5372 CONNECT@STILLPOINTWELL.COM • WWW.STILLPOINTWELL.COM

Encountering God Through Relationships, Renewal, Recreation and Rest Montreat is a center for spiritual renewal located in Western North Carolina. Montreat hosts youth conferences, adult conferences and retreats throughout the year.

Join us for our fall conference — Neighbor: Being Christian in a Multifaith World, Oct. 12-15, 2015

NEIGHBOR Being Christian in a Multifaith World

The Scriptures command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” As our world and our communities become more diverse, how do we have loving, respectful interactions with neighbors of other faiths while still being true to our call to share the Gospel? Join author, speaker and public theologian Brian McLaren and other critical thinkers as we explore what it means to be Christian in a multifaith world.

401 Assembly Inn Dr. | Montreat, NC 28757 (828) 335-6444 | info@montreat.org | www.montreat.org spEciaL aDvERtoRiaL sEction

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Asheville Yoga Center Asheville Yoga Center provides a bright, welcoming and supportive environment for personal growth and transformation.

Unitarian Universalism: A Religion for Our Time One of the ways that Unitarian Universalists create spiritual or theological common ground is so simple it’s almost embarrassing: We agree to do so. We make a commitment to each other to create a space that is held in common.

We come hoping for, yearning for, so much. We come to be reminded of how we want to live. We come to celebrate the passages of our lives and to find support and consolation through life’s troubles. We come to find and give each other the courage to act on our hope in the larger world. We know that if the Beloved Community is to be built, we will be the builders. Atheists and theists, humanists and pagans, Buddhists, Christians, Jews, those who resist any label — all of us. So, please know that.

Whoever you are, wherever you come from, whomever you love, you are welcome here.

We invite you to learn more about us at our website, uuasheville.org — or better yet, join us for worship at 1 Edwin Place in North Asheville on Sunday at 9:15 or 11:15 a.m.

1 Edwin Place | Asheville, NC 28801 | (828) 254-6001 information@uuasheville.org | www.uuasheville.org

School for Esoteric Studies

Training in Purposeful Living Based on the Ageless Wisdom

Our beautiful green-built studio reflects the peaceful and powerful changes that take place in a student’s physical, emotional and spiritual beings as they practice with us. Our world-class instructors offer personalized attention to support you as you open your heart, expand your awareness, and calm your mind. Whether you are new to yoga or have been practicing for years, you will fall in love with yoga at AYC. We offer over 100 classes weekly for every body and every budget, including $7 community classes at our main studio, donation-based classes at Asheville Yoga Donation Studio and membership packages.

Choose to go deeper into your practice with a weekend yoga workshop or immerse yourself in one of AYC’s stellar Yoga Teacher Training Programs.

New students: Check out the yoga love this winter at AYC! New Students, sign up for 30 days of yoga for only $60. Plus, new members get one month of free yoga (see studio for details). Happy holidays to all! We look forward to seeing you on the mat in the new year.

211 S. Liberty St. | Asheville, NC 28801 | (828) 254-0380 aycfrontdesk@gmail.com | www.youryoga.com

Interested in deepening your spiritual practice?

The School for Esoteric Studies provides structured esoteric discipleship training based on the Ageless Wisdom.

The School for Esoteric Studies is a nonprofit organization providing training to spiritual seekers around the world. Headquartered in Asheville, the School is part of a network of similar spiritually oriented organizations; its services are supported by donations and grants. Our training goal is a practical understanding of the nature of the Cosmos, the Self or Soul, the Soul’s relation to the little self or personality, and the process of integrating and fusing the Soul and the personality using well-defined techniques.

This fusion enables us to acquire direct knowledge of the spiritual worlds rather than functioning by faith alone. Esotericism is a practical science, useful not only in daily life but also in world affairs as it reveals the workings behind current events.

The sequence of training we offer has been developed and tested over a period of 60 years. Coursework is by correspondence and includes structured meditation, study, the preparation of papers and practical application through service.

Visit our website for:

345 S. French Broad Ave., Suite 300 | Asheville, NC 28801

(828) 225-4272

info@esotericstudies.net | esotericstudies.net 22

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Alice Bailey talks, aids for meditation, our eNews quarterly newsletter, inspirational images of key Ageless Wisdom concepts, and information about courses and applying to the School.

Courses available in English, Spanish and Italian. spEciaL aDvERtoRiaL sEction

The Light From Within

AwakeningSoul There is a yearning within the heart of each of us — a longing to connect and to live lives that are generous, meaningful and productive. There is a need for times and places to gather to stretch, strengthen, nurture and encourage us.

A Contemporary Practice of the Ancient Art of Shamanic Healing with Desiree DeMars

The intention of AwakeningSoul is to create events where all who are present will be immersed in conversation about things that matter, enfolded in breathtaking music and art, and affirmed that we are not on this journey alone.

Shamanism is a healing art that accesses a non-ordinary state of consciousness through the ancient practice of “journeying.” In my training around the world, over the last 30 years, I have developed the skill of shamanic journeying on behalf of others who are seeking guidance for restoring physical, emotional or spiritual balance.

We invite you to come in the spirit of gratitude, inhabiting the wonder, hopefulness and potential of our time together. We recognize and celebrate that each gathering is shaped by everyone who comes because of their stories, wisdom and presence.

Shamanic healing sessions are Spirit-guided through direct revelation with the intention of restoring one’s Power, returning lost or disconnected Soul Parts or assisting in the clearing of negative or unwanted energy.

AwakeningSoul 2015: With Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann

Sessions can be in person or from a distance. The journey can consist of instruction and symbols, ceremonies or exercises, and includes a follow-up consultation to allow for a process of “integration” to unfold. This period is recommended as a time to provide conscious self care and allow subtle changes to be brought to light in order to create new patterns and beliefs.

and storyteller Valerie Tutson Nov. 5-8 at Lutheridge Conference Center in Arden, N.C. Come for Sanctuary ~ Come for Sustenance ~ Come for Inspiration

Desiree also integrates 25 years of private practice in the holistic health field with yoga, flower essences, herbs and bodywork.

AwakeningSoul (865) 414-8509 ann@awakeningsoulpresents.org

Asheville, NC | (312) 437-4325 desireeddemars@gmail.com | www.thelightfromwithin.org

www.awakeningsoulpresents.org

Legion of Light Global Ministries Modern Magi Mystery School We knew deep in our hearts there would come a time, that no matter what we were doing in our lives, we would be called to act, to bring forth that which serves the highest good, for the benefit of all beings!

Have You Ever Had Visions of walking with many others on a pilgrimage, performing ceremony as you go? Do you have ancient memories of living in other star systems? If so, then you will know in your heart that you are a member of the most ancient tribe here on Planet Earth.

Now is the Time to Fulfill Our Agreement.

The Modern Magi Mystery School, for men and women, is an Ascension Integration Intensive to activate, integrate and bring forth Divine Masculine and Divine Feminine Codes that have been DNA-dormant for thousands of years.

This 11-week Intensive Immersion is not for the faint of heart, it is forever lifechanging. As we linger back through the veils of time, we will discover the deepest aspects of ourselves and retrieve that which has been hidden from our waking

consciousness, activating and retrieving aspects of our soul and DNA that have been hidden, tucked away for safekeeping.

NOW is the time to RECLAIM our power and DESCEND into our full embodiment and PERFORM our mission, the agreement that we each came to fulfill.

JOIN ME on this exquisite journey and reveal the ANCIENT TRUTH of who you are!

The Portal opens Jan. 11, 2015.

Conscious Way, Asheville, NC | (541) 221-5430 powerpriestess@gmail.com | www.priestessportal.wordpress.com spEciaL aDvERtoRiaL sEction

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Asheville Compassionate Communication Center

Hello, my name is Jerry Donoghue.

My goal is to add more ease of being heard and understood to your relationship than you ever dreamed possible by giving you sophisticated tools that you can immediately use to improve your communication. I’m known for the unconditional presence and clarity I bring to the confusion and frustration that couples often experience.

Compassionate Communication is an eight-week course that lifts you out your ineffective communication grooves and gives you a new framework from which to communicate so that you experience peace, harmony and a deeper intimacy in your relationship.

The course gives you the tools necessary for you to express honestly what is going on with you, and to connect with what is going on with your partner. I’ll coach you to foster this mutual connection in such a way that many problems are effortlessly and calmly resolved.

When I’m on my deathbed, I want to have tears of joy in my eyes thinking back on all the sweetness in my relationship, not look back and think about all the times I was right! How about you?

Two new eight-week Compassionate Communication courses begin soon: Thursday, Jan. 8-Feb. 26, and Wednesday, March 11-April 29, both from 6:30-8:30 pm.

150 E. Chestnut St. #1 (828) 252-0538 | Asheville, NC 28801 ashevilleccc.com | jerry@ashevilleccc.com

Southern Dharma Retreat Center Southern Dharma Retreat Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit offering affordable, residential, teacher-led, silent Buddhist retreats. Traditions include Vipassana, Soto Zen, American Zen, Thich Nhat Hanh, New Kadampa and Won-Buddhism, all of which share the unifying thread of meditation, contemplation and silence.

Small groups (limited to 30 retreatants), excellent teachers, opportunities for private meetings with teachers, delicious meals, simple yet comfortable accommodations, and our setting’s natural beauty distinguish Southern Dharma’s retreats. The Center is nestled on a 130-acre forest preserve adjacent to Pisgah National Forest about one hour northwest of Asheville. Retreatants can walk in the woods, enjoy the view from the knoll, or hike up to the top of Hap Mountain.

At Southern Dharma an atmosphere of peace and tranquility prevails, offering opportunities for quiet reflection and enabling one to uncover truths within the heart conducive to personal growth and transformation. The 2015 retreat season includes 24 teacher-led retreats varying in length from three to ten nights plus two work weekends. The Center welcomes people with all levels of experience, but some retreats are limited to experienced Buddhist meditators. Scholarships are available to those with financial need. Please find retreat and teacher descriptions on our website.

Online Registration opens early in January.

1661 West Rd. Hot Springs, NC SouthernDharma.org | (828) 622-7112

SPIRITUALIT Y, JUS TICE, MUSIC, AND THE ARTS The Wild Goose Festival is a gathering at the intersection of spirituality, justice, music and the arts. We join together each summer to form a community that strives to live as Jesus lived. We pursue this bold vision with over 80 inspiring speakers, interactive workshops, activities for kids and youth, visual art and dynamic musical performances — all in a gorgeous riverside setting.

July 9-12, 2015 Hot Springs, NC spir it. justice. music. ar ts.

At the Wild Goose, we embrace beauty in art, music and nature while welcoming strangers who quickly become friends. While we are still learning how to live into the promise of beloved community for all, we know it starts in a spiritually grounded place where we value everyone, ask difficult questions, stretch toward the truth and build authentic relationships with people we might not meet any other way.

As one attendee enthused, “There is a way to create a container that widely differing folks can meet on common ground for discussion, sharing, teaching, learning and experiencing.”

As a community we seek to be transformed, united and propelled toward justice.

We invite you to get involved, and to join us July 9-12, 2015, in Hot Springs, N.C.

WILDGOOSEFES TIVAL.ORG 24

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spEciaL aDvERtoRiaL sEction

Mother Grove Goddess Temple

Visiting a new church or any new group is similar to meeting a new person. You can listen to the content of their words, but thereʼs a whole lot more to gather, like posture, tone and facial expressions. Thereʼs something intangible, too: the feel, atmosphere and climate of the conversation. So, whatʼs underneath our words? What shapes the climate or culture you may find at Grace, since it could be different from what youʼve experienced before or might expect to find in church?

We want to be a safe place for those exploring the Christian faith.

We hope that you find the heart of our ministry to be full of hope and encouragement. As a church we are serious about building your faith, providing you with a continuing spiritual education, respecting your conscience, joining you on your journey and distributing your presence and service to the community at large. We would love for you to join us any Sunday morning at one of our two services: 9:15 or 11:00.

Visit our web site to learn more: GraceInfo.org 495 Cardinal Road | Mills River, NC 28759

(828) 891-2006

Grove Temple has been around for five years and has a full schedule of programs including public rituals for the ancient holy days (and Earth Day), religious education for adults and children, Full Moon ceremonies, Sunday morning meditation time, It says everything about Asheville that the and rites of passage by appointment. chapel and offices of Workshops and the Goddess temple classes are frequently are across the street offered in the little from the First Baptist chapel, and “In the Church. Mother

Arms of the Goddess” gathers clothing and food for members of the community in need. The temple also manages the Women’s Garden at Herland in north Asheville.

Mother Grove is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit church with a focus on the many faces and names of the global Divine Feminine. You are welcome to join us for a Spiral Dance in the park or in the temple,and to stand with us under a bright full Moon.

70 Woodfin Place, Suite 1, Asheville, NC 28801 828-230-5069, Info@mothergrovetemple.org, mothergrovetemple.org

Sacred Space Painting Sacred Space Painting is Asheville‛s Intuitive Painting studio.

It has been dedicated to being a safe and supportive environment for creativity to flourish in each person who walks through the door. Here you will find lots of natural light streaming through, an array of vibrant paints, large smooth sheets of painting paper and high-quality, supple brushes.

Unlike regular art classes and workshops, with Intuitive Painting there is no emphasis on product, technique or criticism. You are invited to rediscover the childlike passion of being free to create, even if you have never painted.

You learn to trust your intuition, follow what feels alive, experiment and explore.

You will be provided with tools to move past the inner critic, perfectionism and fear, to re-establish the wonder, mystery and freedom of the creative process: a freedom that extends beyond the paper and into your everyday life. Check out our website to learn more about upcoming workshops and classes!

Park Place Building, 70 Woodfin Place, Suite 307 Asheville, NC 28801 | (828) 252-4828 justpaint@sacredspacepainting.com | www.SacredSpacePainting.com spEciaL aDvERtoRiaL sEction

First Congregational United Church of Christ As we end our 100th year, we step into the future with a bold spirit. We are a downtown, public church — and as such we engage in the life of the community and the important conversations about our public life together. We seek to let God’s still speaking voice guide us in ministries of justice, equality, compassion and love. Our educational classes encourage honest curiosity and genuine inquiry. We strive to worship with a liturgy that appreciates the best of our tradition and one that is open to where the Spirit is still leading.

We are engaged with children and youth in school settings, have an active art and music ministry, and are very active in working with those who are not housed.

We are a lively, growing church, believe in being joyful, and are grounded in the ways of Jesus. We are the first faith community in WNC to have solar panels and have just installed a geothermal system as well. In 2015 we will be offering classes to the public on a number of topics regarding faith, spirituality and public life.

Come find a place with one of our ministries.

20 Oak St. | Asheville, NC 28801 | (828) 252-8729 admin@uccasheville.org | www.uccasheville.org mountainx.com

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nEws

by Jake Frankel

jfrankel@mountainx.com

Visions of Tibet RING IN THE NEW YEAR, AS WE SAY GOODBYE TO OUR DOWNTOWN STORE

STORE CONSOLIDATION

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Dec. 26 - Jan. 4 Additional 15% Off Everything at Both Locations

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GREAT SELECTION Seasonal Clearance on Clothing, Footwear & Gear.

Cool Prices on Dealer Samples!

Last Day Downtown: Sun. Jan. 4

444 Haywood Rd. • West Asheville • 828-258-0757 15 Walnut St. • Downtown • 828-505-8160

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(828) 575-9494

www.lex18avl.com DONATE TO WIN:

w/ out LIBATIONS

26

Asheville photographer shares rare images of Buddhist culture taylor taz johnson recently went where no Asheville man has gone before.

The local photographer was granted unprecedented permission to shoot at some of the most isolated monasteries and nunneries in Tibet. He was joined by Dr. hun Lye, the founder of Asheville’s Urban Dharma Buddhist Center. Their goal is to eventually publish their images and stories in a book that shares the culture of Drikung Kagyu Tibetan Buddhism with a global audience. In the meantime, Johnson is displaying a sample of his photographs at Urban Dharma in an exhibit titled Visions of Tibet.

Those visions include glorious double rainbows framing the Himalayan countryside, ornately sculpted temples and intimate moments of prayer. Invited by the head of the Drikung Kagyu lineage, Johnson says he spent countless hours talking with monks and nuns over cups of hot butter tea, a rich stew of its namesack ingredient, black tea and salt.

“Learning about their daily lives made the experience of photographing the monasteries and nunneries infinitely more meaningful,” Johnson says. “Every aspect of everything was designed, sculpted and painted in a strikingly beautiful way. Combine that with the history of the area, and you get a depth of richness that is pretty much indescribable.”

However, many aspects of traditional Tibetan culture seemed to be under attack by the Chinese govern-

The photography exhibit Visions of Tibet runs through Feb. 15 at Urban Dharma Buddhist Center at 29 Page Ave. in downtown Asheville.

The Center is open to the public Sundays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, noon until 5 p.m. and Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, noon-8 p.m.

More information at 225-6422 and udharmanc.com.

Special Thanks to:

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“choLing nunnERy”: “When we entered … these nuns were in the middle of chanting a long life empowerment for the Dalai Lama. It was a risky practice considering there was a police station immediately next to the nunnery. It was more important to the nuns to do this practice than it was to worry about any potential repercussions of doing so.” — photographer Taylor Johnson

ment, Johnson reports. Helped by Tibetan guides as they trekked, camped and bused throughout the rugged countryside, the group faced constant intimidation by Chinese law enforcement.

“Every place we camped, the Chinese police drove up into the middle of our camp and questioned our guides with intimidating intensity. ‘What are you doing here?’ Their tone was always accusatory and threatening,” Johnson says. Most of the questioning was directed at the guides, who Johnson worries were endangering themselves by helping provide access to the religious sites. On one occasion, the group elected to meet with Buddhist

leaders secretly in the back of a small restaurant rather than subject them to military scrutiny.

Even the most remote monasteries they visited were encased by roadblocks and newly built police stations, where guards flaunted automatic rifles and documented the travelers with cameras. Monks are often treated as potential terrorists who could pose a threat to Chinese sovereignty. So documenting them and their Buddhist institutions in a flattering light for a global audience could help put pressure on the Chinese government to ease restrictions, which accounts for the hostile attitude encountered by the photography crew.

“I’ve been to many countries, some of which are Third World, but

“thRough thE pRayER whEELs”: “A group of monks danced just on the other side of this row of hundreds of prayer wheels. She stopped and watched peacefully, barely moving the entire time the monks danced.” — T.J.

“BEhinD thE scEnEs with ButtER tEa”: “This photograph was taken in a special kitchen building at the Drigun Til Monastery during the Cham Dances. These monks worked tirelessly to make gigantic vats of tea to serve to all of the dancing monks and the thousands of attendees.” — T.J.

never before have I experienced a country whose entire culture is being systematically destroyed,” says Johnson.

Amid such a tumultuous political situation, there’s no telling yet if Johnson’s project will ultimately help preserve the traditions it documents, or serve as a last historical glimpse of a dying culture. Either way, the privilege of being one of the few photographers in the world given permission to shoot at the sites was “incredibly humbling,” says Johnson.

“I remember being speechless inside the monasteries and nunneries a few times, feeling a deep sense of awe and gratitude mixed with the pressure of the reality that most humans would never be able to be in those places,” he says. “I needed to get photographs that shared not only the beauty of the space, but the actual feeling of what it was like to be there. If people can truly get a glimpse of that feeling, even if it’s only in one of the photographs I took, I will feel like I did my job well.” X

“BLacK hat DancERs”: “This photo was taken during the traditional mystical Tibetan dances held at the Drigung Til Monastery known as ‘Cham Dances.’

On the right side of the image are the personified forms of Love, Compassion, Joy and Equanimity – the four gatekeepers.

To the left are the traditional Tibetan long horns… resonant beyond words.” — T.J.

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C O M M U N I T Y

C A L E N D A R

DEcEmBER 24 - DEcEmBER 30, 2014

Calendar Deadlines In order to qualify for a fREE Listing, an event must benefit or be sponsored by a nonprofit or noncommercial community group.

In the spirit of Xpress’ commitment to support the work of grassroots community organizations, we will also list events our staff consider to be of value or interest to the public, including local theater performances and art exhibits even if hosted by a for-profit group or business.

All events must cost no more than $40 to attend in order to qualify for free listings, with the one exception of events that benefit nonprofits.

Commercial endeavors and promotional events do not qualify for free listings. fREE Listings will be edited by Xpress staff to conform to our style guidelines and length.

Free listings appear in the publication covering the date range in which the event occurs.

Events may be submitted via EmaiL to calendar@mountainx.com or through our onLinE submission form at mountainx. com/calendar. The deadline for free listings is the Wednesday one week prior to publication at 5 p.m.

For a full list of community calendar guidelines, please visit mountainx.com/ calendar. For questions about free listings, call 251-1333, ext. 110. For questions about paid calendar listings, please call 251-1333, ext. 320.

AnimAls Resolution Run 5k 505-3440, bwar.org • TU (1/1), 8am-1pm - Proceeds from this race benefit Brother Wolf Animal Rescue. Race begins at 10am. $22. Meets at Pack Square Park.

Benefits Jones scholARship fund ReindeeR Run jonesfamilyscholarship@gmail. com • WE (12/24), 9am - Registration fees for this 5K holiday race benefit the Jones family scholarship fund for seniors at north henderson high school. $20/$15 ages 18 and under. Held at North Henderson High School, 35 Fruitland Road, Hendersonville mAsqueRAde fuRBAll 505-3440, bwar.org

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3-2-1…pLungE!: The seventh annual Lake Lure New Year’s Day Polar Plunge, held Thursday, Jan. 1, invites adventurous (and possibly masochistic) souls to “freeze for a reason.” The $20 entry fee benefits Lake Lure Fire & Rescue and first responders. Participants are encouraged to dress up, as a costume contest, live DJ and other prizes are part of the festivities.

Photo by Bill Rhodes (p.28)

• WE (12/31), 9pm-1am - Tickets to this costumed gala with live entertainment and a silent auction benefit Brother Wolf Animal Rescue. $75.

Held at Celine and Company, 49 Broadway neW YeAR’s dAY polAR plunge 243-0540, facebook.com/ LakeLureNewYearsDay PolarPlunge • TH (1/1), 10:30am-1pm Proceeds from this ice-water dip will benefit local fire and rescue workers. Registration required. $20. Held at Beach at Lake Lure, 2930 Memorial Highway, Lake Lure

clAsses, meetings & events Asheville glAss centeR (pd.) Weekly course offerings in the art of glass blowing. Day, weekend, and evening offerings.

DEcEmBER 24 - DEcEmBER 30, 2014

A challenging medium expertly taught by our skilled instructors, one on one or group experiences. ashevilleglass.com, 828-505-7110 Asheville toAstmAsteRs cluB 914-424-7347, ashevilletoastmasters.com • THURSDAYS, 6:15pm Weekly meetings for sharpening public speaking skills. Free.

Held at YMI Cultural Center, 39 South Market St. BuncomBe countY puBlic liBRARies buncombecounty.org/governing/depts/library Free unless otherwise noted.

• MO (12/29), 6:30pm - “A Taste of the Connection Practice,” communication workshop. Free. Held at North Asheville Library, 1030 Merrimon Ave. cAthedRAl of All souls 3 Angle St., 274-2681, allsoulscathedral.org • SU (12/28) - Gaza pinwheels

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memorial for children killed in Gaza and Israel. Free. d&d AdventuReRs leAgue revtobiaz@gmail.com • WEDNESDAYS, 5:30pm Ongoing fantasy roleplaying campaign for both new and veteran players. Free. Held at The Wyvern’s Tale, 347 Merrimon Ave. • SATURDAYS, 12-4pm & 5-9pm - Episodic fantasy roleplaying adventures with persistent characters. Meets every other week. Free. Held at The Wyvern’s Tale, 347 Merrimon Ave. fletcheR liBRARY 120 Library Road, Fletcher, 687-1218, library.hendersoncountync.org Free unless otherwise noted.

• TUESDAYS, 3pm - Medium to advanced conversational Spanish class. Free.

smokY mountAin knitting guild smkguild.com • WEDNESDAYS, 1-3pm - Knitting classes. Free. Held at Blue Ridge Books, 152 S. Main St., Waynesville toAstmAsteRs 978-697-2783 • TUESDAYS, 7-8am - Works on developing public speaking and leadership skills. Free. Held at Reuter YMCA, 3 Town Center Blvd.

dAnce studio ZAhiYA, doWntoWn dAnce clAsses (pd.) Monday 6pm Hip Hop Wkt • Tuesday 9am Hip Hop Wkt 6pm Intro to Bellydance 7pm Bellydance 2 8pm West African • Wednesday 6pm Bellydance 3 • Thursday 9am Hip Hop Wrkt 4pm Kid’s Dance 6pm Intro to Bellydance 7pm West African • Saturday 9am Hip Hop Wrkt 10:30am Bellydance • Sunday 10am Intro to West African • $13 for 60 minute classes, Hip

Hop Wkrt $5. 90 1/2 N. Lexington Avenue. www.studiozahiya.com :: 828.242.7595

festivAls cARl sAndBuRg home 1928 Little River Road, Flat Rock, 693-4178, nps.gov/carl • SA (12/27), 10am - “Christmas at Connemara,” holiday music, storytelling and craft making.

Free to attend.

• TH (1/1) through TU (1/6) Christmas decoration home tour. $5/$3 seniors/free for 15 and younger. deck the tRees libbafairleigh@gmail.com, facebook.com/montevistahotel • Through WE (12/31) - Dollarvotes at this hand-decorated Christmas tree contest benefit Swannanoa Valley Christian Ministries. Free to attend. Held at Monte Vista Hotel, 308 W. State St., Black Mountain

holidAY events in RutheRfoRd 980-2883, experiencerutherford.com • FRIDAYS through SUNDAYS until TH (1/1) - “Hometown Holidays,” includes lights, carriage rides, hay rides and pet photos with Santa Paws. Held in downtown Forest City. n.c. ARBoRetum 100 Frederick Law Olmsted Way, 665-2492, ncarboretum.org • Through SA (1/4), 6-10pm - “Winter Lights,” light show and festivities in the garden.

Admission fees apply. shAdRAck chRistmAs WondeRlAnd 693-9708, shadrackchristmas. com/asheville • Through SU (1/4), 6-10pm Drive-through LED Christmas lights and music show. $20+/vehicle. Held at WNC Agricultural Center, 1301 Fanning Bridge Road sWAnnAnoA vAlleY fine ARts leAgue svfalarts.org • TUESDAYS through SUNDAYS until (12/31), 11am-3pm Holiday gift market. Free to attend. Held at Red House Studios and Gallery, 310 W. State St., Black Mountain WinteRfest in the goRge 625-2725, hickorynutchamber.org • Through TH (1/1) - Family activities including holiday lights, chili cook-off, hay rides and pictures with Santa. Contact for schedule. Free to attend. Held in Hickory Nut Gorge.

kids Asheville ARt museum 2 N. Pack Square, 253-3227, ashevilleart.org • MO (12/29) through WE (12/31), 1-4pm - Holiday Arts Extravaganza, art camp for grades 1-4. $20 per day/$18 per day members. hAnds on! childRen’s museum 318 N. Main St., Hendersonville, 697-8333

• FR (12/26) - “The Spirit of Kwanzaa,” self-directed educational activities. $5/free for members.

outdooRs lAke JAmes stAte pARk 6883 N.C. Highway 126, Nebo, 584-7728 • WE (12/24), 2pm - Christmas Eve hike along Holly Discovery Trail. Free.

• FR (12/26), 2pm - Day after Christmas hike for kids on Holly Discovery Trail. Free.

• SA (12/27), 9am - Ranger-led winter bird hike. Free.

YmcA of Wnc 210-2265, ymcawnc.org • SA (12/27), 8:45am - Hike to Glassy Mountain. Free or $5 for carpool. Meets at YMCA Woodfin, 30 Woodfin St. • TH (1/1), 10am - Three to four mile urban hike. Meets at UNCA campus. Registration required.

Free.

senioRs Adult foRum At fcc 692-8630, fcchendersonville.org • SU (12/28), 9:15am - Discussion of Evolutionary Enlightenment

by Andrew Cohen. Free. Held at First Congregational UCC of Hendersonville, 1735 5th Ave. W., Hendersonville

spiRituAlitY ABout the tRAnscendentAl meditAtion technique: fRee intRoductoRY lectuRe (pd.) Healing and Transformation Through Transcendental Meditation. Learn about the authentic TM technique. It’s not concentrating, trying to be mindful, or common mantra practice.

It’s an effortless, non-religious, evidence-based technique for heightened well-being and a spiritually fulfilled life. The only meditation recommended by the American Heart Association.

• Topics: How the major forms

of meditation differ—in practice and results; What science says about TM, stress, anxiety and depression; Meditation and brain research; What is Enlightenment? • Thursday, 6:307:30pm, Asheville tm center, 165 E. Chestnut. 828-254-4350 or meditationAsheville.org Asheville insight meditAtion (pd.) Introduction to Mindfulness Meditation. Learn how to get a Mindfulness Meditation practice started. 1st & 3rd Mondays.

7pm – 8:30. Asheville Insight Meditation, 29 Ravenscroft Dr, Suite 200, (828) 808-4444, www. ashevillemeditation.com 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.

AWAkening deepest nAtuRe meditAtion clAss (pd.) Consciousness teacher and columnist Bill Walz. Healing into life through deepened stillness, presence & wisdom. Meditation, lessons & dialogue in Zen inspired unorthodox enlightenment. Mondays, 6:30-7:30pm - Asheville Friends Meeting House at 227 Edgewood Ave. (off Merrimon). Donation. (828) 258-3241, healing@billwalz.com, www.billwalz.com hoseA’s messAge foR AmeRicA (pd.) is the subject of classes offered at Biltmore Church of Christ, 823 Fairview Street at 9:30 a.m., Sunday. Led by Dr. Gene Rainey, former UNCA professor and County Commission chair.

For directions to the church go to www.biltmorecofc.org. open heARt meditAtion (pd.) Experience and deepen the spiritual connection to your heart, the beauty and deep peace of the Divine within you.

Increase your natural joy and gratitude while releasing negative emotions. Love Offering 7-8pm Tuesdays, 5 Covington St. 296-0017 heartsanctuary.org

"Locally Owned, Regional Reach, Personal Touch" www.1350wzgm.com

Community Talk Official NASCAR Station for WNC mountainx.com

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community caLEnDaR

We are

asheville

by Carrie Eidson & Michael McDonald

the Blue mAndAlA (pd.) Jan 10th- Manifesting Your Intentions Using Sacred Path Vision Boards, 1-4PM payment & pre-registration by Jan 3rd $25; Jan 22nd- Energy Healing, Chakras & The Archangels $12 if preregistered or $15 at the door; Ongoing Events: Tues- Sat. by appointment Intuitive Readings & Holistic Healing. The Blue Mandala 1359 Cane Creek Road Fletcher, NC 28732 828-275-2755 www.thebluemandala.com

• WE (12/24), 5pm - “Advent Lessons and Carols,” Christmas Eve Nativity celebration. Free.

AsBuRY memoRiAl umc 171 Beaverdam Road, 253-0765 • WE (12/24), 5pm 1800s-themed Christmas Eve candlelight service with period music, attire and liturgy.

gReAt tRee Zen temple 679 Lower Flat Creek, Alexander, 645-2085, greattreetemple.org • Last SUNDAYS, 10:30am-noon - Family Meditation with Rev. Teijo Munnich

gRAce lutheRAn chuRch 1245 Sixth Ave. W., Hendersonville, 693-4890, gracelutherannc.com • WE (12/24) 5pm, 7pm & 9pmChristmas Eve services, bring a gift to benefit the women’s shelter. Free to attend.

• TH (12/25), 10am - Christmas carol-fest service.

Asheville tAntRA ciRcle journeyawake.wordpress.com/ events, elainecaban@gmail.com • MONDAYS, 7-9:30pm - Tantra, sexual healing, awakening and intimacy techniques. Contact for location. Admission by donation.

lAnd of the skY ucc 242-0268, landoftheskychurch. org, amanda@landoftheskychurch.org • WE (12/24), 5-6:20pm Candlelight Christmas Eve service. Held at Kenilworth Presbyterian Church, 123 Kenilworth Road

fiRst congRegAtionAl ucc of hendeRsonville 1735 5th Ave. W., Hendersonville, 692-8630, fccendersonville.com

shAmBhAlA meditAtion centeR 19 Westwood Place, 200-5120,

shambhalaashvl@gmail.com • 4th FRIDAYS, 7pm - Buddhistinspired films. Free.

• 1st THURSDAYS, 6-7pm - Public group sitting and Dharma reading/discussion. Free.

volunteeRing AARp tAxAide foundAtion 505-4373, ijhewitt@aol.com • Through (2/28) - Volunteers needed for preparation of free tax returns at various Buncombe County Libraries. Contact for details. childRen fiRst cis of BuncomBe countY 259-9717, childrenfirstbc.org • Through SU (12/28) - “Bedtime in a Bag,” drive for bedtime items for children in need. Held at NC Stage, 15 Stage Lane For more volunteering opportunities, visit mountainx.com/ volunteering

What makes the YW Asheville?

“Their work for the community.”

– Vickie “Their mission of eliminating racism and empowering women.”

– Eddie “Diversity.”

– Joyce

Limited time offer! Now through March 1, 2015 No enrollment fee • No annual contract • Free health assessment 185 S. French Broad Ave. Asheville, NC 28801 | 828.254.7206 | www.ywcaofasheville.org 30

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what: New Year’s Eve Masquerade Furball whEn: Wednesday, Dec. 31, 9 p.m.–1 a.m. whERE: Céline and Company, 49 Broadway, Asheville why: Want to ring in the new year with style? Well, you won’t go wrong with Brother Wolf Animal Rescue’s 2014 Masquerade Furball, an evening of heavy hors d’oeuvres, music, dancing, libations and masked revelry leading up to the ball drop and a Champagne toast to welcome in 2015.

Masquerades have a tendency to alter the way that people interact with one another, says Brother Wolf founder and president Denise Bitz. “Masks definitely make people more confident and sociable, especially when you add in an open bar and a little bit of anonymity,” she notes.

While no one will be turned away for not wearing a mask,

they are strongly encouraged. But don’t worry if you forget yours.

“There will be about 100 or so random masks available at the door,” says Bitz. “But many people make creative masks, especially animalfocused ones.”

Providing the entertainment for this year’s masquerade will be Raf from Bright Light DJ as well as hula-hoop girls and stilt walkers. In addition to the large buffet and open bar, the evening will feature a silent auction with local artwork, jewelry and small vacation packages.

Tickets for the ball are $75 per person or $140 per couple, and 60 percent of proceeds will benefit Brother Wolf’s general operating fund, providing food, shelter and medical care for the over 600 animals in its care.

However, “there are never any tickets available the day of the event,” Bitz cautions. “So get your ticket early if you want to attend.”

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit bwar.org/events/ 2014-new-years-eve-masqueradefurball. — Michael McDonald

Xpress readers are

caring they make great employees

Mountain Xpress classifieds work. mountainx.com

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Asheville Disclaimer by Tom Scheve

tomscheve@gmail.com

Find local standup comedy info at DisclaimerComedy.com • Twitter @AVLdisclaimer The Reason for the Season

asheville disclaimer

Briefs Interim APD chief does not see department as being in crisis, as he instead enjoys silver lining from sunny side of street with smile as his umbrella Robbinsville Black Knights celebrate state title before being tased, shot at by police during routine traffic stop of team bus Medical experts: Odds of Buncombe County students developing pertussis no greater than odds of Jenny McCarthy coming down with medical degree Christmas Jam house recipients shocked to learn Warren Haynes allowed to couch surf there naked anytime without advance notice

Nature’s Pharmacy & Compounding Center

Meet the Experts Kerbie Berggren Certified Pharmaceutical Compounder Having grown up in her fatherʼs pharmacy and working at Natureʼs Pharmacy for the last 16 years; Kerbie Berggren has many years of experience in western medicine and preventative medicine with a special interest in Bio-Identical Hormone Replacement and skin care. She is a wealth of knowledge in supplements, nutritional, herbal and pharmaceutical compounding. Come by and say Hello!

752 Biltmore Avenue • 828-251-0094 www.naturespharmacy.biz 32

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mountainx.com

Warren Wilson’s swimming pool to close indefinitely SWANNANOA, TUESDAY — The pool at Warren Wilson College is scheduled to close indefinitely on Friday after school officials learned students had been swimming in pure hope.

“We were upset to learn that students were fully submerged in hope, after diving in head-first and splashing about in it,” said Johnson Bowles, VP for Advancement at Warren Wilson.

Bowles said school officials first realized students were swimming in hope when a routine examination in the Office of Academic Affairs revealed more than 95 percent of Warren Wilson students were majoring in Environmental Studies.

“We cross-referenced our findings with those of other colleges and were shocked to learn that, in the year 2030, four out of every five citizens will have a degree in Environmental Studies,” said Bowles.

Bowles said the pool has been completely drained of hope and disinfected with a Masters in Business Administration.

Warren Wilson College has encountered issues with its pool before, notably during the “Philosophy” outbreak of 1999 and the “Comparative Literature” scare of 1996.

Sold! Key parcel on downtown’s South Slope sold for $3.14 million ASHEVILLE, MONDAY — Developers purchased a 25-square-foot patch of grass on Asheville’s booming South Slope this week, and the transaction has prompted speculation about what might be joining a growing list of businesses that are hanging a shingle in this popular part of town.

“While this five-foot-by-five-foot property is not big enough for most grown adults to lie down on without trespassing on our neighbor’s property, we see lots of potential,” said developer Dave Landling.

Landling notes that, vertically speaking, the sky’s the limit.

“We see potential in a high-rise hotel that caters to visitors with acid reflux The property (on left) who need to sleep may be the future home inclined,” Landling of a mixed-use development (tourist trap, said.

The property, at brewery and hotel).

226 ½ Hilliard, is conveniently located between a sidewalk and an abandoned building. The previous owner purchased it when it was covered in broken concrete and made improvements such as removing the broken concrete and planting grass.

“If we get a trolley stop down here for the tourists, we would be perfectly suited to offer high-volume, hand-squeezed lemonade service and sales,” said Landling, “along with other traditional South Slope offerings such as donuts, beer and hype.”

We want your feedback! What were the top local issues of 2014?

• Effects of the Middle East beard-oil embargo • 10-minute gap back in April when nobody was talking about beer, a brewer or a brewery • Study showing all Asheville residents will be living in hotels by 2030, if by “living” one means taking a small catnap on a pile of dirty towels while professionally cleaning a hotel room.

• Any of your choice of Chamber of Commerceapproved press releases.

Asheville Disclaimer is parody/satire Contact: tomscheve@gmail.com Contrib. this week: Joe Shelton, Tom Scheve

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LanguagE of LovE People advertising for love interests via online dating sites have apparently become picky about how they describe their sexuality. To the usuals (male, female, gay, heterosexual) have been added recently (as reported by NPR in December after surveying OkCupid) “asexual,” “androgynous,” “genderqueer” (evidently not the same as “gay”), “queer” (not quite “gay,” either), “questioning,” “trans man,” “transsexual,” “transmasculine,” “heteroflexible” and “sapiosexual” (turned on by “intelligence”). Still, some users of the site found the choices inadequate.

One young woman described her sexual orientation as “squiggly,” and the reporter cited others who thought highly of that term.

BRight iDEas • Britain’s Home Office revealed in November (by releasing archived documents from 1982) that among the contingency suggestions for worst-case nuclear attack on the country was commissioning “psychopaths” to help keep order. They are “very good in crises,” an advocate wrote, because “they have no feelings for others, nor moral code, and tend to be very intelligent and logical,” and thus could do quite well at containing the vigilante survivalist enclaves that might develop in the event parts of the kingdom became lawless. (After an apparently thoughtful debate, the suggestion was not agreed to.)

• Great art! At a recent art show at Paris’ Palais de Tokyo, Italian artist sven sachsalber, for his provocative piece, brought in a large haystack on Nov. 13, dropped a needle into it and gave himself two days to find it. Late the next day, he picked it up. (Palais de Tokyo calls itself an “anti-museum par excellence.”) iRoniEs • Three homes on the Pacific Ocean near Grayland, Wash., were washed away by violent rainstorms in early December, but the residents had seen it coming. The longtime local name for the area is “Washaway Beach.”

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Said one, “I knew it was going to happen sooner or later, but I had hoped it wasn’t this soon.”

• In November, an airline’s advertising staff created the catchy slogan (to attract impulse travelers), “Want to go somewhere, but don’t know where?” and convinced management to send it, via Twitter, to the airline’s thousands of followers. (Spoiler: The airline was Malaysia Airlines, whose Flight 370 still has not been found.)

• Hide the show program inside the porn: A theatrical producer in Madrid found a way around Spain’s recent steep sales tax increase on certain entertainment venues (sports, movies, live theater): It sold back issues of vintage pornographic magazines for the equivalent of $20 — with a “free” ticket to its latest stage production by noted director pedro calderon de la Barca. (A show ticket would carry a 21 percent tax, but a pornographic magazine is still taxed at 4 percent.) compELLing ExpLanations • Creative: Eric opitz, 45, who was indicted on 13 counts of fraud in Philadelphia in October, had explained that the reason he needed human growth hormone (that he would resell), despite being 6 feet 3 inches tall and 450 pounds, was that he was really a dwarf and feared he would recede if he stopped the medication.

• Bungling cinematographers: Zak hardy, 18, and terrill stoltz, 41, were arrested recently in separate incidents and charged with photographing women in bathrooms without their permission. Hardy, caught in a public restroom in June in Exeter, England, pointing his phone from one stall to another, explained that he was just trying to see whether his phone was waterproof. Stoltz professed his innocence as well, claiming the camera he set up in his ex-girlfriend’s bathroom in Billings, Mont., was solely to have a photographic record of him when he cleaned his chickens in the bathtub. X

REaD DaiLy Read News of the Weird daily with Chuck Shepherd at www.weirduniverse.net. Send items to weirdnews@earthlink.net or PO Box 18737, Tampa, Fla. 33679.

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Herbs, heroes, hearts and health insurance

By LEa mcLELLan

cacy groups, for his work “to help patients truly understand their disease, give them a sense of community, and encourage them to mobilize for change,” says CURE magazine in a press release.

Senyak was among nine award recipients honored at the awards ceremony in San Francisco. “This year’s honorees come from across the United States and represent a strong commitment to the MPN community and individuals with these rare blood disorders,” said silas inman, director of editorial and multimedia for the Cure Media Group. voicesofmpn.com

lmclellan@mountainx.com

hERBiaRy in Downtown ashEviLLE BEgins hosting hERBaL EDucation cLassEs The Herbiary, a new purveyor of herbal remedies in downtown Asheville, has announced a learning series featuring local teachers. The classes begin in January and will be held at the store’s North Market Street location. Class titles include “Plant Medicine for the Skin,” “DIY Delicious Herbal Syrups,” “Lotion Making” and “Local Mineral Medicine.”

The first class, “Plant Medicine for the Skin,” takes place Jan. 11 and is taught by Heather Buzzard.

“Plants that we ingest as tea, infusion and tincture, as well as those we use topically as salves and poultices, will be considered,” according to the event description.

Each class is $30 and requires no prior knowledge of herbs or herbal medicine-making. herbiary.com ashEviLLE man honoRED foR cREating community among patiEnts anD famiLy with RaRE BLooD DisEasE Shortly after Asheville’s Zhenya senyak lost his wife to cancer in 1994, he was diagnosed with a rare blood disease called myelofibrosis, a type of myeloproliferative neoplasm.

mission hEaLth’s hEaRt cEntER REcEivEs muLtipLE top Ratings

hERBs foR poREs: Local wild-crafter and herbalist, Heather Buzzard, will teach “Plant Medicine for the Skin: A Story of Our Pores” at the Herbiary on N. Market Street in downtown Asheville on Sunday, Jan. 11. Photo by Emily Nichols

Since then, he has been publishing the MPNForum, also known as “the MPN community’s hometown paper.”

Senyak has recently been honored as an “MPN Hero” by CURE magazine, a publication focused on cancer patients, cancer centers and advo-

Galaya Coaching ~ Readings Intuitive Consultations • Relationships • Health • Career • Animal

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With its 16th three-star rating from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, Mission Heart has once again established itself as one of the top-tier heart surgery centers across the United States for its coronary artery bypass surgery.

Mission Heart was also recognized with a three-star rating for its aortic valve replacement and coronary artery bypass grafting surgery. This is the first year the hospital received this rating.

A three-star rating is the highest rating given and indicates that the surgery results at Mission Heart are statistically better than the national mean. “We are honored to have our hard work recognized and to be one of just a select few hospitals in the U.S. to receive such a rating,” said Dr. stephen w. Ely, section chair for cardiac surgery at Mission Heart. “It is validation of the quality work we are doing on behalf of the patients we serve. However, the real payoff as care providers is in the excellent outcomes for our patients.” mission-health.org

mountainx.com

for the inaugural 2015 Resolution Run 5K on Thursday, Jan. 1, in downtown Asheville will support Brother Wolf Animal Rescue. Walkers, runners and volunteers are welcome to participate.

Winners will receive a prize of handmade pottery, as well as gifts from Brother Wolf.

Runners and spectators will be able to snack on vegan breakfast burritos, hot chocolate and coffee provided

by Whole Foods at the start/finish area. Cash donations will be accepted.

Runners older than 21 will have the opportunity to get one beer free.

The Resolution Run starts at 10 a.m. at the Vance Monument on Thursday, Jan. 1. Registration is $22 before Dec. 26. bwar.org/events/ resolution-run-5k fREE hEaLth insuRancE infoRmation sEssion at ashEviLLE community yoga Are you confused about your options when it comes to health insurance? Get more insight and information at Asheville Community Yoga’s free information session hosted by Platinum Exchange on Jan. 4 at 4 p.m.

During this meeting, participants will review the overall aspects of the Affordable Care Act and how it affects you and your family, determine an individual’s eligibility for coverage and help schedule a free consultation to review available plans and rates. For each person who enrolls in a plan, Asheville Community Yoga will receive a donation from Platinum Exchange. ashevillecommunityyoga.com X

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• SA (12/27), 11am-3:30pm - Appointments & info: 782-9020. Held at Lowe’s 2634, 24 N. Ridge Commons Parkway., Weaverville • MO (12/29), 10am-2:30pm - Appointments & info: 800-733-2767. Held at Buncombe County Administration Building, 200 College St. • MO (12/29), 2-7pm - Appointments & info: 299-3370. Held at Highland Brewing Company, 12 Old Charlotte Highway

mountainx.com

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Off-Broadway in Asheville New restaurants, bars and nightclubs revitalize downtown’s east side

angelo Karnezis, managing partner for Twisted Laurel. The Arcade “had their niche, and they did a great job, and [co-owner] Leonard [poe] I think had a good thing going there,” he says. But Laurel is “completely different. It’s a 100 percent, 180-degree turn.”

Along with the attractions inside these buildings, Im and Karnezis feel that the block’s biggest advantage is its wealth of free parking.

Though fee-based garages are visible to the block’s east and west, North Market has three decentsized lots that, while occupied by the area’s numerous lawyers during business hours, have signs reserving the spots for the block’s diners after 5 p.m.

By EDwin aRnauDin

edwinarnaudin@gmail.com

Check out the quiet side of downtown Asheville, say the restaurateurs and bar owners who inhabit the block of College, North Market, East Walnut and North Spruce Streets.

Dubbing the area the “East Village,” the owners of Korean House, Twisted Laurel, Off the Wagon and others want everyone to know that they offer a globetrotting variety of food, drinks and entertainment, plentiful parking and newly renovated interiors — all a mere block east of Broadway.

“It’s so close to Broadway, but there’s a big difference between being actually on Broadway and not on Broadway,” says Korean House general manager jayson im. “It’s an entertaining part of downtown — people just don’t know about it yet.”

Foot traffic is crucial for restaurants and bars, and Im notes that during the day, Korean House gets a healthy amount via the Buncombe County Courthouse, which is across the street. But for supper, the clientele is primarily local customers who drive in, having previously made plans to dine there. That’s a notable difference from the wealth of spontaneous walk-ins enjoyed on the main stretch from Wicked Weed down to Mellow Mushroom, says Im. A lack of street signage, he points out, is an issue. The one sign that is currently in place, at the corner of College and North Market, directs people away from the block and toward Broadway and Biltmore Avenue. He would like to see the sign either taken down or, better yet, have additional signs on Broadway pointing east toward his area’s range of dining and diversions.

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hiDDEn gEms In addition to Korean House’s cuisine, the block has Mediterranean (Twisted Laurel) and Italian fare (Vincenzo’s Ristorante & Bistro, a Market Street mainstay since 1990), as well as a Brazilian steakhouse (Brasilia Churrasco), a nightclub (Room Nine) and a dueling piano bar (Off the Wagon).

“If people are willing to come to this side of town and check us out, from any of these places they can get really good food, and after food, they can just go right around the corner and hit the piano bar or club,” Im says, also highlighting live music at Twisted Laurel and Vincenzo’s.

Recognizing the high quality of service around the block, the closeknit business owners agree that the time is right to raise awareness of its significant changes and show off the hard work put into building brandnew interiors.

“We feel like we’ve done a tremendous job renovating each of our stores,” Im says. “It’s not that we took over a business that was struggling and just covered it up with a new sign and started something new. We’ve gone through complete renovations.”

mountainx.com

sign of changE: Business owners on downtown’s east side want signage that brings more attention to their area. Pictured from left: Ben Reese, general manager of Off the Wagon; Kristina Im, owner of Korean House; and Angelo Karnezis, owner of Twisted Laurel. Photo by Jayson Im

Most of the owners spent more than quarter of a million dollars each to get their business started. Im renovated both floors of what used to be Fiore’s Ristorante Toscana. Diners don’t recognize that the space was once an Italian restaurant, he says, adding that his neighbors have accomplished similar transformations. Within the past year, Room Nine went from City Billiards to an upscale nightclub, Brasilia Churrasco reworked the spot previously inhabited by Magnolia’s, Cinjade’s nightclub became Off the Wagon, and Twisted Laurel turned the former Arcade bar/ vintage game hall into an upscale eatery and bar.

“We basically gutted the entire place and started over,” says

But even with all of these advantages, the block continues to lose business to its more publicized and visible Broadway peers.

Perpetuating that divide is an obstacle that caught many of the owners by surprise: the reputations of some of the area’s past tenants. At the forefront of this issue are nighttime businesses Off the Wagon and Room Nine which, through social-media outreach, have received discouraging comments from locals wary of what they perceive to be unsafe legacies.

“People still think this part of the downtown is the ’dark’ side of the town where nothing is ever going to succeed; it’s like a dead block where nothing is ever going to be good,” Im says before mentioning the Asheville Police Department’s presence across the street and the upgrade of Pack Square Park. “It’s really one of the safer blocks to walk around. Being out of the way doesn’t mean we’re dangerous.”

Aware of these deterrents yet wholly confident in their products and the area’s potential, the block’s proprietors have started making a more concerted effort to attract customers their way. In the coming months, they hope to work with the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce to assist with overall exposure — beginning with the aforementioned sign — and advertis-

ing, for which they currently lack significant funds.

“We’re doing all the typical social media. We’ve got a marketing group, i2 Marketing — they’ve had some suggestions, and we’re going to follow some of their suggestions,” Karnezis says of Twisted Laurel’s efforts.

“There’s such an expense that’s associated with all that too.

There’s only so much money allotted for that, and if you don’t have the business, whether it’s us or Jayson or the guys at Room Nine, that’s one of the first things you cut.”

Motivated in part by these tight budgets, the block’s owners have come up with imaginative ways to attract customers. Restaurants print out and distribute menus, cards and discount coupons while nonfood operations such as Off the Wagon use their own distinct approach.

“Since we don’t have much foot traffic, we make it using our street teams who hand out fliers and put our entertaining

staff on the back of a Mustang convertible, parade-style,” says Off the Wagon co-owner Benjamin Reese. “We like to get creative with getting people here because that’s what Asheville’s all about.”

Im, Karnezis, Reese and their neighbors also plan to come up with a catchy, representative name for the block that may help brand it as a food and entertainment destination. At the moment, East Village Downtown is a top candidate, but whatever wins out is sure to be a title on which all in this unified group agree as they continue fighting together to stay afloat in a competitive city.

“I really feel like owners and all the staff members and all the employees on this block have done a tremendous job to deserve — I think that’s the key word there — that we deserve attention,” Im says. “We just want to view this as a starting point to really let people know about this block and how great of a change it’s gone through for the last year.” X

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DEcEmBER 24 - DEcEmBER 30, 2014

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by Jonathan Ammons

jonathanammons@gmail.com

Labor of love On a Thursday, around 3 p.m., the crowds have just started to die down at the Mediterranean Restaurant in downtown Asheville. pete apostolopoulos stands in front of the grill he’s manned for 39 years.

With your face buried in the menu, you hear the sound of his spatulas scraping across the flattop. It’s a long scrrrraaaaape, followed by a quick and rhythmic tap-tap-tap, all in perfect syncopation, tempo and timing. It sounds, smells and looks the same way it has for the past four decades. In fact, as you pick up the newspaper off the counter, sip on your coffee and listen to the servers call out orders while waiting for your BLT, you can easily feel transported back in time.

“We still serve the same food,” says paula apostolopoulos, Pete’s wife. “We have done some updates and added some new foods, but we still have the basic meat and three vegetables.”

The Med opened in 1969, which makes it the oldest operational restaurant in downtown Asheville. The Apostolopoulos family bought it in 1975.

It has always served a simple menu of breakfast and lunch, and no dinner.

Pete moved to Asheville from Greece in 1967 at the age of 17. Immigrating through Ellis Island, he caught the train to North Carolina and has been here ever since. He worked at a McDonald’s for a year and a half to learn English, and worked with his cousins for eight years at their restaurant, the recently closed Athens Restaurant, until he bought the Med. “The only town that I have lived in the United States is Asheville. I absolutely love Asheville,” says Pete.

woRK Ethic: Louie Sellas owns the Five Points Restaurant with his wife, Patricia. He began working as a dishwasher in Baltimore at the age of 16 and now has more than 40 years of restaurant experience. Photo

by Alicia Funderburk

“I have seen the downtown from the times when everything was abandoned.

There were four restaurants back then, and now we have 84.”

Of those 80-plus restaurants, fewer and fewer are diners, the last bastion of affordable, blue-collar food in an increasingly expensive city. For some, it is the end of an era, the eclipse of a golden age of American cuisine.

“It’s a lot harder work than people think,” says David hinson, owner of Tastee Diner in West Asheville. “So many people get into this business,

PLANT

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DEcEmBER 24 - DEcEmBER 30, 2014

mountainx.com

The long-suffering Asheville diner

and before you know it, they’re out of it. There’s more to it than just opening and closing. I get a couple days off through the week, but I’ve still got an 80-hour week, easily. But you just have to have a passion for it.”

In the summer of 1946, morris Brown and his brother converted their old service station into the diner.

In 1989, Hinson took over the business, and over all the time that’s passed, not much has changed at the diner.

“You get people that moved away years ago, and they come back and say, ‘This tastes just like it did when I lived here,’” Hinson reports. “We have a reputation. There are a lot of processed foods out there, but we still do everything homestyle and make a lot of things from scratch. I think our breakfast is far better than pretty much anything else out there. The crowd speaks for itself.

“I worked for a steel company and was looking for something different, and I ended up here,” Hinson says.

He worked for Westinghouse as a steel fabricator, but after 11 years on that job, he was “tired of being treated like a number,” he recalls.

Which begs the question, what makes someone want to run a diner?

The margins are razor thin, because you have to keep the prices dirt cheap; the hours are long and continuous, with little to no time off; and the tables turn over twice as much as a regular restaurant, with a quarter of the gratuity. So why on earth would you do it?

“They say that the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree,” says Pete Apostolopoulos. “My dad was a cooper, making wine barrels back in Greece.

He was in such demand, and me and his grandsons would always tell him, ‘Dad, you are not charging enough for what you do.’ And my dad’s answer was always, ‘It might not be enough for me, but it is always too much for whoever is paying it.’ And we look at the restaurant that way. You have people working in shops that are not making a whole lot of money, and they have to eat somewhere too. And what makes this place so successful is those people. You have the lawyers and the bankers, but you also have us little people. We try to keep it that way.” In fact, the Med waited nearly three years to make slight increases in its prices recently, which is astounding, considering how much food costs have risen. patricia sellas and her husband are the new owners of Five Points Restaurant, a diner just north of downtown. She’s originally from Poland. “For me, coming from a communist country, I’m used to hard work,” she says. “My husband, he is the same. ... He works seven days a week. But as for my kids, I want my son to go to college, I want him to have a job with paid vacation time.

I think a lot of other immigrant parents are looking at it the same way.

We are very successful, but we would like our children to succeed in a different way. It is just a hard business to survive in.”

Patricia wound up in New York City while on vacation after completing high school, she says, and decided to stay and study human resource management and business law. She supported herself by waiting tables, rising up the ranks to manager and eventually meeting her husband, Louie. He came to the U.S. from Greece at the age of 16. Working as a dishwasher in Baltimore, he eventually worked his way up to ownership of an establishment in New York City and now has over 40 years of restaurant service.

There’s something about people who feel called to feed others that you inherently trust. Nowhere is that more clear than in the lives of the diner owner. “It’s fun, it really is,” says Patricia. “Working with the same people every day, seeing all the familiar faces coming in the door, it’s like a family. It really becomes your second home.” X

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by Jonathan Ammons

jonathanammons@gmail.com

Cheers to the new year

Holiday tipples for the home bar

With the influx of family that comes with the holidays, it’s always nice to have a little something to take the edge off. It’s amazing how a little whiskey allows the continuous sniveling of your cousin’s little ankle biters to fade into the distance like white noise. Here to assist in your holiday relief are a few recipes from local bartenders and their cocktail menus, as well as one I always keep in my back pocket for a snowy day. Note that these recipes call for ingredients with some make-ahead prep time.

HOT SAKE SPECIAL

The Proving grounds

1/2 Price Hot Sake Every Monday

by Russell Knighten of Seven Sows Bourbon & Larder 1 ounce Cognac 0.75 ounce Cocchi Vermouth di Torino 0.5 ounce Batavia arrack Bar spoon of demerara simple syrup (1:1 ratio of demerara sugar to water) Bar spoon of allspice dram (see below for direction on how to make your own)

Stir the contents and serve up in a cocktail coupe

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LiQuiD chEER: Kyle Beach of MG Road created the Chalet cocktail for the holiday season. One of its ingredients is Christmas tree tincture. Photo by Hayley Benton

Seven Sows, 77 Biltmore Ave., sevensows.com MG Road, 19 Wall St., mgroadlounge.com

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Nardini amaro might be found at ABC, but again, it is a special order for most bars. A substitution of the readily available Fernet Branca would make a comparable, if not quite accurate, rendition.

Combine ingredients and dry-shake without ice for about 10 seconds.

Then fill your shaker tin to the top with ice so as not to overly dilute your cocktail, and shake like hell for about 5 seconds. Strain into a cocktail coupe.

It should have a nice frothy head from the egg white, so put one big dot of black walnut bitters right in the middle of the froth as a garnish.

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2 ounces Four Roses bourbon 0.5 ounces Fernet Branca 0.25 ounces maple simple syrup (2:1 maple syrup to water) 1 egg white Dash of Fee Brothers black walnut bitters for garnish

ON CHRISTMAS DAY NEW YEAR’S DAY

2 ounces Tanqueray gin 0.5 ounce molasses syrup (2:1 ratio molasses to water) 0.5 ounce lemon juice 0.25 ounce Nardini amaro 5 drops Christmas tree tincture (organic Christmas tree clippings steeped in Everclear for 2 weeks) 1 egg white Dry-shake all ingredients without ice until frothy. Add a large chunk of ice and shake until chilled. Strain into a coupe and garnish with a Christmas tree frond.

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Cannot be combined with other offers.

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Does not include drinks. Dine in only. Must present coupon.

ChaleT

by Kyle Beach of MG Road

640 MERRIMON AVE. SUITE 205, ASHEVILLE • 828-225-6033 WWW.ZEN-SUSHI-ASHEVILLE.COM

640 MERRIMON AVE • SUITE 205, ASHEVILLE • 828-225-6033

Conveniently, this cocktail is currently on the menu at Seven Sows if you would like to try it before you commit to making it.

Cocchi Vermouth di Torino can be found at any wine shop that stocks cocktail supplies. The Batavia arrack can occasionally be found at the ABC store on Charlotte Street, but since it is still on the ABC’s special order list, it is often like finding the golden goose.

As for allspice dram, with a little planning, it is supereasy to make at home.

Simply take a cup of light rum, add in 1/4 cup of lightly crushed allspice berries, 1 cinnamon stick and let it sit for about five days. Then strain the contents and take all of the solid elements and heat them on a stove with 2/3 cup of brown sugar and 2/3 cup of water, until the sugar is completely dissolved. Add the infused rum back to the mixture and allow to sit for another 3 days, shaking the mixture daily. After a week, strain into a bottle and enjoy adding it to your cocktails.

The flavor will be rich and tannic.

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Send your beer news to avlbeerscout@gmail.com or @thomohearn on Twitter.

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by Thom O’Hearn

Hi-Wire expands the circus A huge increase in production for the brewery is on tap in 2015

If someone told you an Asheville brewery was expanding by opening a second location in the center of town, whom would you think of first? Highland would make sense.

Or wait, maybe Pisgah? Both of those breweries have been around and growing for years, and they might want a second location closer to downtown.

Yet it was Hi-Wire that just made the move. In conjunction with the Buncombe County Commission, Asheville City Council and the Economic Development Coalition for Asheville-Buncombe County, Hi-Wire recently announced it is investing more than $1.62 million in a new brewing facility and equipment and will add about 15 jobs.

“It’s going to be right in the middle of town … though we’re not ready yet to give away the exact address,” says Hi-Wire co-owner adam charnack.

Still he says it will be large, with about 20,000 square feet of additional space for the brewery.

The plan is for the new brewery to function as a production facility, focusing on Hi-Wire’s flagships and seasonal offerings — the beers that you see around town in bottles and most often on draft. To that end, Hi-Wire will install a much larger brewhouse with 100-barrel fermentors, as well as a new bottling line that will churn out 7,000 bottles an hour.

This will allow the brewery to increase capacity from 4,000 to 17,000 barrels per year for the first full year the production facility is open, with the potential to eventually produce up to 50,000 barrels per year.

In the meantime, Hi-Wire is partnering with Mississippi’s Lazy Magnolia Brewing Co. to contract brew some of its flagship beers.

“Essentially our kitchen isn’t big enough right now, and so we’re

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waLKing thE wiRE: Hi-Wire’s new production brewery will focus on making flagship beers like Hi-Wire Lager. Photo by Thom O’Hearn

sending our head brewer down there to brew large batches in their kitchen,” says Charnack. “But once we get our new facility online, we intend to bring that production back home to Asheville.”

Once the new brewery is built out and fully functional, which Hi-Wire hopes will be mid-2015, Charnack says it will welcome the public with its own tasting room and unique tours. “We’re excited that we’re moving into another old building. … It means everything about the facility will have a similar look and feel — and a similar taproom vibe — to our space downtown,” says Charnack.

For all the current Hi-Wire faithful who are worried about the company shuttering its popular taproom on Hilliard, Charnack says the opposite is true. The company plans to not only keep the brewery and taproom there open but make it even better.

“We love everything about our downtown location [except the constrained space for brewing], and there will

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be nothing changing except the type of beer we’ll be making there,” says Charnack. “We’re really excited to let our brewers explore more unique, funky beers as well as barrel-aged beers down there,” says Charnack.

“We can’t wait.”

BREwERiEs foR thE hoLiDays catawba’s christmas Eve: Biltmore Village is always a magical place during the holidays. This year, Catawba is taking advantage of the neighborhood’s seasonal spirit with a Christmas Story Cookie Swap. If you want to take part, bring about two-dozen cookies and plan to leave with the same amount. The brewery will screen A Christmas Story on the big screen, fill last-minute growlers and offer a variety of games with Catawba swag as prizes. The party starts at 4 p.m. and is expected to go through 10 p.m. highland’s Early new year’s Eve: As Highland Brewing is known

to do, it has scheduled an early show to kick off New Year’s Eve. Stop by for some free music from Woody Wood between 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. — then see the next listings if you want to stay out. thisty monk’s Keg Drop: For the second year, Thirsty Monk’s Biltmore Park Brewpub is hosting a two-story keg drop. “New York City drops a ball, Atlanta drops a peach, Miami drops an orange, and in Asheville, we drop a keg,” says Thirsty Monk Vice President chall gray. A variety of seasonal beers will be on tap, and Highland’s Cold Mountain Ale will be tapped at midnight. oskar Blues’ nyE hootenanny and can’uary 1st hangover Brunch: Oskar Blues is celebrating its second anniversary with a big New Year’s Eve party at the brewery. Music features headliner The Larry Keel Experience with special guest Jeff Sipe (Leftover Salmon, Aquarium Rescue Unit) as well as Steve “Big Daddy” McMurry, Jeremy Garrett and Travis Book (The Infamous Stringdusters), Mike Guggino (Steep Canyon Rangers), and The Jon Stickley Trio. The brewery will have its CHUBurger truck on site for food and a photo booth as well.

The Oskar Blues Trolley will be in action, ferrying folks to and from local hotels and to stops in downtown Brevard. General Admission is $30 in advance or $40 at the door, if it’s not sold out.

The brunch will be hosted the next day at the Oskar Blues REEB Ranch, featuring music from Jeremy Garrett and Travis Book (The Infamous Stringdusters), David Wax Museum, Sarah Siskind and Larry and Jenny Keel. Tickets are $80 and include a family-style meal and drinks featuring Mama-mosas and Café con FIDY in addition to the concert. Proceeds from the brunch will go to the Oskar Blues CAN’d Aid Foundation. Information and links to tickets to both events can be found at: http://brew.oskarblues. com/events/ X

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WednesdAY

BuRiAl BeeR co.: Jazz brunch w/ The Mandelkorn George Project, noon (until food runs out)

Asheville BReWing: $3.50 all pints at Coxe location; “Whedon Wednesday’s” at Merrimon location

gReen mAn: Food truck: Cecilia’s Kitchen

BuRiAl BeeR co.: Community potluck: Bring an appetizer or dessert, 3-7pm; New brew: Holiday saison w/ coriander, orange peel, grains of paradise & star anise cAtAWBA tAsting Room: Movie night: A Christmas Story; Cookie-swap, 4-10pm fRench BRoAd: $7 growler fills gReen mAn: Food truck: Tin Can Pizzeria lexington Ave (lAB): $3 pints all day oYsteR house: $2 off growler fills Wedge: Food truck: Root Down (comfort food, Cajun) thuRsdAY * Many recurring events may have been canceled for the holiday. Check venue website for updates.

Asheville BReWing: $3.50 pints at Merrimon location gReen mAn: Food truck: Cecilia’s Kitchen Wedge: Food truck: Tin Can Pizzeria fRidAY

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DANCING

oYsteR house: $5 mimosas & bloody Marys southeRn AppAlAchiAn: Live music: BlueSunday w/ Garry Segal (blues), 5pm Wedge: Food truck: El Kimchi (Korean/Mexican street food); Live music: Vollie McKenzie & Hank Bones (acoustic jazz, swing), 6pm Wicked Weed: Vertical tasting: Black Angel Cherry Sour & Genesis Blond Sour, 4pm @ The Funkatorium; Brewer’s casks: Milk & Cookies Stout, French Toast Stout w/ strawberries, “Latin” Freak w/ agave & lime, El Paraiso Coffee Stout w/ goji & ancho chiles, Fig, Pear & Cardamom IPA, Paloma Sour w/ agave & grapefruit, 6pm @ Wicked Weed mondAY AltAmont: Live music: Old-time jam, 8pm cAtAWBA: Mixed-Up Mondays: beer infusions fRench BRoAd: $2.50 pints

gReen mAn: Food truck: Little Bee Thai

oskAR Blues: Mountain Music Mondays, 6pm oYsteR house: $3 pint night

Wedge: Food truck: Melt Your Heart (gourmet grilled cheese)

Wedge: Food truck: El Kimchi (Korean/Mexican street food)

sAtuRdAY

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fRench BRoAd: Live music: Salt of the Earth, 6pm

AltAmont: Live music: Open mic w/ Chris O’Neill, 8:30pm

gReen mAn: Food truck: Melt Your Heart

Asheville BReWing: $2.50 Tuesday: $2.50 one-topping jumbo pizza slices & house cans (both locations)

oYsteR house: $5 mimosas & bloody Marys southeRn AppAlAchiAn: Live music: Letters to Abigail (Americana, country), 8pm Wedge: Food truck: El Kimchi (Korean/ Mexican street food)

CHAMPAGNE

lexington Ave (lAB): Live music: Bluegrass brunch; $10 pitchers all day

gReen mAn: Bottle release: Holly King

oskAR Blues: Live music: Dust ’n the Wynn (blues), 6pm; Food: CHUBwagon

DJ RA MAK

hi-WiRe: Bend & Brew Yoga ($15, includes beer tasting), 12:15pm

fRench BRoAd: Live music: Tyler Herring, 6pm oskAR Blues: Live music: Stevie Lee Combs (singer-songwriter), 6pm; Food: CHUBwagon

Join us for dinner featuring NYE menu 5-10:30 pm.

sundAY

Wicked Weed: Bend & Brew Yoga ($15, includes beer tasting), 11am; New brew: Terrible 2’s Centuplicate IPA (for Wicked Weed’s second anniversary, 14% ABV)

cAtAWBA: $2 off growler fills gReen mAn: Bottle release: Dweller hi-WiRe: $2.50 house pints highlAnd: Bend & Brew Yoga ($15, includes beer tasting), 5:30pm oskAR Blues: Tasty Tuesday: Candied Orange ale oYsteR house: Cask night Wedge: Food truck: Tin Can Pizzeria

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The future is now Ring in 2015 with music, food, drink and dance

By aLLi maRshaLL

amarshall@mountainx.com

Ready or not, here comes the new year. Whether you can’t unload 2014 soon enough or you could actually use another month or two to tie up loose ends, the countdown to 2015 is on. It’s up to you how (and, perhaps more importantly, where) you want to greet it. Yes, watching the whole televised Times Square madness from the comfort of your PJs is an option. But if you plan to venture beyond your own living room, Xpress has plenty ideas for New Year’s parties ranging from the sublime to the seriously over-thetop. For more New Year’s Eve events visit the Community Calendar and mountainx.com.

• Ball drops are a dime a dozen — thirsty monk south goes one better.

“We’ll be serving a special midnight keg of Cold Mountain, as we count down to our two-story keg drop,” says a Facebook invite. The evening starts at 5 p.m. monkpub.com • Ring in the new Year at nightbell.

The restaurant any lounge offers a prix fixe menu ($65) from 5-9 p.m.

Later, Dulítel Dj spins indie- and electro-rock. Admission is $10 from 10 p.m.-2 a.m. thenightbell.com • “When it’s 6 p.m. in Asheville, it’s already midnight in Barcelona,” reasons the asheville school of wine. The group hosts a New Year’s Eve happy hour at Metro Wines.

“Taste four different styles of cava, the sparkling wine of Spain, and learn about what’s in your glass” while counting down to the new year in that country. 5:30-7 p.m. $25 includes tasting paired with empanadas from Cecilia’s Kitchen, Barcelona on the big screen and a chance to win tickets to the Asheville Symphony Orchestra. metrowinesasheville.com

fonD faREwELL: Send 2014 off in style in any number of local celebrations.

The Grove House holds its party on three floors with lavish decorations, DJs and surprises throughout. Photo courtesy of The Grove House

• As part of a series of album release shows, local musician chris Rhodes does double duty on New Year’s Eve. He’ll be at Renaissance hotel asheville (renaissanceasheville.com, the cocktail show is in the lobby, 6-9 p.m., free.) and at Red stag grill (bohemianhotelasheville.com, 10 p.m.1 a.m.). Rhodes’ new album, the 13-track Naturally Blue, is a collection of “funky, bluesy, jazzy originals with vocals.” chrisrhodesmusic.com

at 6 p.m. Ring in the new year starting at 7 p.m. There will be music by christina chandler and, naturally, dueling pianos. $20 includes annual membership. RSVP: benjamin.reese@ offthewagonrocks.com

• It’s a three-fer: off the wagon Dueling piano Bar holds a grand opening, one-year anniversary and new year’s Eve celebration.

There’s a ribbon cutting ceremony with light refreshments and music

• “If you don’t know what you are doing for dinner yet on New Year’s Eve, come join us,” says mg Road. Chef Elliot Moss and the Thunderbird kitchen serve dinner from 6-9 p.m.; at 10 p.m.

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the all that glitters dance party kicks off with snacks, drinks and DJs Teenage Diplomat and Crescent Bae. Free. mgroadlounge.com • No mere party, oscar Blues Brewery hosts the new year’s Eve hootenanny — a marathon night of music and beer followed by the canuary 1st hangover Brunch the next afternoon. The celebration kicks off Wednesday night with sets by the Larry Keel Experience

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with Jeff Sipe, Jeremy Garrett & Travis Book (of the Infamous Stringdusters), Steve “Big Daddy” McMurry (of Acoustic Syndicate), Mike Guggino (of the Steep Canyon Rangers) and the Jon Stickley Trio.

7 p.m., $30 advance/$40 day of show or $100 including brunch on Thursday, Jan. 1. brew.oskarblues.com/events/ nye-brevard • Dance into the new year — contra dance, that is. The old farmer’s Ball holds a new year’s Eve dance with a Hollywood theme. Music by perpetual e-motion (Ed Howe on fiddle, John Coté on guitar) with caller Lisa Greenleaf. Held at Bryson Hall at Warren Wilson College. Waltzing at 7 p.m., contra dance at 8 p.m. oldfarmersball.com

DRop it: The Thirsty Monk’s keg drop returns. Photo courtesy of the pub

• Local kirtan band sangita Devi celebrates its 10th annual intention-setting ceremony and ecstatic dance. Held at Jubilee!, the evening promises a tearoom by Infusion Lounge, ceremonial cacao, raw and

organic Silvermoon chocolates, an altar and art space, kirtan, an interactive group ceremony and “an ecstatic dance wave, weaving us together in celebration as we embrace the new year.” Doors at 7 p.m. $25 advance/$35-$50 at the door/free for children under 12. brownpapertickets.com/event/948613 • The annual new year’s Eve Bash at Tressa’s is a tradition, what with the annual Champagne toast and balloon drop. This year features performances by asheville all stars, Ruby mayfield and westsound. Doors at 7 p.m., buffet in the upstairs lounge begins at 8 p.m. Ticket price TBA. tressas.com • Come for dinner or just for the party — pack’s tavern offers both options. The restaurant’s countdown to 2015 starts with a ticketed buffet at 6:30 p.m. followed by festivities at 9 p.m.

“Three floors, three bars, 96.5 House Band in the Century Room and DJ MoTo in the South Bar,” says a press release. $50 for buffet/$10 beginning at 8 p.m. packstavern.com • “Bring in 2015 with a dazzling soiree,” says the website for the grove house’s new year’s Bash.

The lavish party, held in the three venues of the complex (Eleven on Grove, Scandals and The Boiler Room), promises “elaborate holiday decor on every level, a balloon drop over every dance floor, complimentary party favors and midnight Champagne toast.”

There will also be five DJs, hors d’oeuvres and desserts, and cash and prizes. 8 p.m.-3 a.m. $20 members/$25 guests/$30 minors or save $5 and buy advance tickets online. thegrovehouse.com • “We’ll have a big dance floor for your enjoyment,” says white horse Black mountain of its celebration — “A rockin’ New Year’s Eve with the B.j.

Leiderman Band.” The NPR theme-song composer is joined by special guest singer-songwriter David Lamotte. 8:30 p.m., $30 advance/$35 at the door. whitehorseblackmountain.com

Reach wellness enthusiasts in our Jan. 28 and Feb. 4 special issues. advertise@mountainx.com • 828-251-1333 44

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• Looking for a more reflective New Year’s Eve? om sanctuary and Asheville Percussion host an illuminate your intentions celebration and ceremony. The alcohol-free evening includes performances by vocalist Lizz wright,

natuRaLLy BLuE: Chris Rhodes performs two New Year’s Eve shows as part of his album release. Photo courtesy of the musician

percussionist River guerguerian, multi-instrumentalist chris Rosser and john vorus on didgeridoo. Shelli Stanback leads a ceremony of intentions, chef Michael Gentry prepares savory and sweet treats, there’s tea from Dobra, a fire and drum circle and dances led by Tarleton Brooks and performed by LunaSpiral. 8:30 p.m.midnight. $35 advance (online and at Malaprop’s)/$40 after Friday, Dec 26. ashevillepercussionfestival.com/events • “This eclectic melding of genres will provide your ears and feet with plenty of material to get them moving,” says asheville music hall of its high-octane lineup: Funk-jam act the fritz shares the bill with Afropop group Zansa. 9 p.m., $15 advance/$18 day of show. ashevillemusichall.com • Do good while looking good: the masquerade furball gala (which requires a mask) benefit for Brother Wolf Animal Rescue. Celebrate with music, dancing, an open bar, heavy hors d’oeuvres and a silent auction.

Held at Céline & Company, 9 p.m.-1 a.m. $75. bwar.org • The new year’s Eve masquerade at new mountain promises an extensive lineup of performances, from funk and jazz to dubstep and hip-hop. Catch Empire strikes Brass, push pull, aligning minds, Disc-Oh!, KRI, Nex Millen of Digable Planets, Hank West & The Smokin’ Hots, Brett Rock, Medisin, In Plain Sight, Shuhandz, Disco3000, Sound

Introducing Dana Arrington, Clinical Pharmacist

Pimp, Ebb and Flow Project, WACK Radio, Emerald Curtain, Aquaboogy & Goldie Lox, Deb au Nare and Memphis Moonshine, all for one $19.99 ticket. 9 p.m. newmountainavl.com • In case you didn’t know, “For the past four years we have a 100-plusfoot crane drop the New Year’s ball,” says a Bywater representative. And the ball is larger than the Times Square ball by a foot, so deal with that, Ryan Seacrest.

Plus, Times Square doesn’t have local soul sensations the secret B-sides or reggae band common foundation — both will play The Bywater’s Black Light party. 9 p.m., $10. bywaterbar.com • Latin-Flamenco-Andalusianfusion outfit juan Benavides group teams up with indie-pop band stephaniesid to ring in the new year at isis Restaurant & music hall. Stephaniesid promises to play songs from a new album, slated for release in the spring, along with a few jazz standards.

And, “There will be song collaborations between the two bands,” says a Facebook invite. 9 p.m performance. $55 dinner and show/$15 show only. isisasheville.com • Local indie-rock/chill-wave trio RBts win bring their endless summer sound to a wintry night. The band will warm up the orange peel stage for headliner RjD2. The Moogfest alum, also a member of Icebird, is the artist behind the “Mad Men” TV show theme. His latest solo album is the collaborative More Is Than Isn’t. 9

gEt into thE gRoovE: The Fritz takes the stage at Asheville Music Hall.

Photo by Morgan Ford Photography

p.m., $25 advance/$30 day of show. theorangepeel.net • New Year’s Eve is not amateur hour, so it’s best to seek out experienced entertainment. Like the power-party lineup of yo mama’s Big fat Booty Band and the Broadcast at the grey Eagle. Together they bring high-energy funk and rock to the stage, not to mention seasoned showmanship. 9 p.m., $25 advance/$30 day of show. thegreyeagle.com • jack of the wood spices up the end of the year with a Louisianaflavored celebration. Local Cajun

band jackomo is joined by Zydeco ya ya, also from Asheville. 9 p.m., $10. jackofthewood.com • Reservations are encouraged for the 3 cool cats New Year’s Eve show at olive or twist. Come early for dinner, stay for the party. The band performs from 9 p.m.-1:30 a.m. $20. oliveortwist.net • Though each year they appear at a different venue, local absurdistGypsy-folk-funk-punk collective sirius.B always puts on a high energy show. They’ll do exactly that at the altamont Brewing co., starting at 9:30 p.m. $10. altamontbrewing.com • Why just ring in the new year when you can swing in the new year? The celebration at Lex 18 will have swing dance, Motown and R&B sounds

by DJ Cosmo Q along with dancing, hors d’oeuvres, a Champagne toast and a 1920s party mask. Elegant dress code or period costume suggested. $40. 9:30 p.m.-4 a.m. lex18avl.com

mama Knows BEst: Yo Mama’s Big Fat Booty Band brings the party to The Grey Eagle. Photo by Jabberpics.com

• “From the same crew that brought us T. Rex on Halloween, this Asheville-based all-star crew is bringing us all-things jeff Lynne while the ball drops,” says the mothlight’s website. “Come party while they jam the hits of Jeff Lynne, Traveling Wilburys, Tom Petty, George Harrison, Del Shannon, Roy Orbison, ELO, etc.”

10 p.m., $5. themothlight.com X

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It’s important to understand how your prescription and over-the-counter medications contribute to your health, especially if you have chronic conditions. That’s why The Family Health Centers proudly offers the services of Dana Arrington, Doctor of Pharmacy. Dr. Arrington helps our patients manage their medications and minimize unnecessary costs and side effects. It’s all part of our team-based approach to care.

To establish as a patient with The Family Health Centers, please call (828) 258-8681

www.fhconline.com When it comes to your health, we’re in this together.

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a&E

by Edwin Arnaudin

edwinarnaudin@gmail.com

Biennial men The Goodies reunite at Asheville Music Hall

Looking back to 1995 when The Goodies moved from Atlanta to Asheville, frontman holiday childress recalls a time of cheap rent, three restaurants and just as many bands. The first local entertainers to explore vaudeville and cabaret rock, the group made its mark on a slowly rejuvenating town. In the process, the band’s lead guitarist and vocalist became a trailblazer in another way. “The only other guy in town who had a handlebar mustache was an old man who worked at the post office who really didn’t like me,” Childress says. “I would wink at him and nod my head, like, ‘Hey, we’re in the same mustache club,’ but he wasn’t really feeling that. Now I’m getting to be the old guy.”

Though facial hair is now trendy, The Goodies have remained in style.

They continue their tradition of biennial reunion shows with a Saturday, Dec. 27, performance at Asheville Music Hall.

The band’s roots date to the middle school days of Childress and drummer Mike Allen. In the early ’90s, the two were part of a moody, Goth-sounding group in the style of The Cure and Jane’s Addiction.

(That band’s guitarist, Robin Finck, would go on to be in Nine Inch Nails

and Guns N’ Roses.) As the singer, Childress missed playing guitar. He and Allen started rehearsing with bassist/vocalist Patrick Kelly on the side — with a theatricality inspired

by Tom Waits, The Nightmare Before Christmas and Bob Fosse’s Cabaret, The Goodies were born.

Following the relocation to Asheville, The Goodies recorded The Greatest Hits in ’97 and toured heavily, including a run with keyboardist chuck Lichtenberger and Vic Stafford taking over drums for Allen, who’d moved back to Atlanta. In ’99, The Goodies called it quits, only to reunite in 2000 for a one-off gig. But the trio enjoyed being back together so much that they recorded postcard e.p. in 2001 and played another show, which Childress points to as key to the band’s continued partnership. “I remember just really loving that time,” Childress says. “We’d had enough time apart where we could see what we’d done in the past, but we were looking toward the future, too.”

When he’s not playing in The Goodies, Allen works for Comcast in a social media position and composes horror music on the side for the Atlanta haunted house extravaganza, Netherworld. Also back in Georgia, Kelly is in a few different bands, including one led by James Hall, an original member of Marry My Hope, whose work influenced The Goodies.

After a successful Kickstarter campaign (his $10,000 goal was exceeded by $6,000), Childress is making his debut album, Mind the Gap. Many of

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gooDfELLows: In the days between their biennial reunion shows, the members of The Goodies stay busy with their own individual musical pursuits.

Asheville musician Holiday Childress, front, is currently working on his debut solo album. Photo by Duncan Chaboudy

its tracks are ones that he performs with The Goodies at reunion shows.

“It’s not going to sound like a radical departure from what people are used to,” Childress says. “It’ll be an enhancement, if anything.”

As part of that growth, Childress plans to use the extra funding on music videos with local filmmaker shane meador, who directed the Kickstarter video. That session was Childress’ first time being filmed outside of a live performance, and it proved a challenging yet eye-opening experience. “I realized that it’s a whole new way of performing,” Childress says. “Live, if someone shoots you, you’re kind of at a distance. You’re able to get closer to the camera and more intimate as a performer in the video.”

Childress says there’s “a real childlike excitement and gratitude” that comes from playing with Allen and Kelly, and that each show feels like their first concert together. For the reunion, the band will play the bulk of its catalog. The trio will also bring

a few of Childress’ latest songs into the mix, which he says gives the old numbers a new feeling. “We’ve all gotten stronger individually, so when we come back and play, it’s not like a band that’s rusty and blowing off cobwebs and getting up there and embarrassing ourselves,” Childress says. “We bring all that individual stuff and breathe it back into the live show, and it sounds and feels as fresh as it ever did — even playing songs that are 20 years old.” X

who The Goodies whERE Asheville Music Hall ashevillemusichall.com whEn Saturday, Dec. 27, at 10 p.m. $12 advance/$15 day of show

a&E

by Alli Marshall

amarshall@mountainx.com

The show down Xpress readers weigh in on the best performances of 2014 “There’s nothing to do” is a complaint rarely heard around Western North Carolina. There are rivers to raft, trails to hike, breweries to visit, galleries to browse, shops to consider, historical sites to take in, restaurants to sample and neighborhoods to stroll. And then — as if all of that isn’t enough fun — there’s the entertainment. Music and art venues from large to small put eclectic performances onstage. Bands, comedians, poets, dancers, aerialists, actors and multi-media artists all share the spotlight. The shear number of concerts, plays, readings, installations, openings and exhibitions is enough to warrant a refresher course in how to work a Google calendar.

It also results in some fine memories at the end of the year. And probably plenty of resolutions to take in even more great productions in the coming months. Here, Xpress readers weigh in (via email, Facebook, Twitter and Reddit) on their favorite shows of 2014.

“Mine was one of my favorites of my lifetime! Bootsy Collins with The Funk Unity Band at LEAF Festival in May. Soul-shaking funkaliscioulsy funktastic!”

— Jennifer Pickering “The Asheville Lyric Opera would like to submit South Pacific as its favorite show this season.

One of the best things about it was the audience enthusiasm. We had some amazing national and regional talent join us to put on this production. We’ve received feedback from the audience that the sailor boys and Bloody Mary were some of their favorite characters. This production took place in July at the Diana Wortham Theatre.” — Erin O’Neil “Bruce Hornsby at Pisgah Brewing Co.’s outdoor stage: This show made me feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside. Here you have one of the most talented pianists and bandleaders of the last two decades, leading a bunch of other masterful musicians, and all I felt was ... awesome. Bruce nimbly tickled the keys and even stroked a mountain dulcimer for a few tunes. And he was kind and gra-

The Irene Wortham Center (IWC) is hiring Infant/Toddler and Preschool Teachers for our Early Learning Center Program.

This NC Five-Star rated program provides children with and without disabilities and inclusive child care and education setting.

IWC is an Equal Opportunity Employer and provides outstanding opportunities including: • • • • •

Competitive salary Paid vacations and sick days Paid holidays Tuition reimbursement Medical/dental/vision/STD Insurance

Preschool Teacher candidates must possess a B-K License or provisional accepted. All IWC employees are required to complete and pass a full background check.

For more detailed information, contact Matt Lands at (828)274-6067

ireneworthamcenter.org

whERE it’s at: Beck played all of his hits at Thomas Wolfe Auditorium in July. Photo by David Simchock

mountainx.com

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by Alli Marshall

amarshall@mountainx.com “Beck at Thomas Wolfe!”

— @carpeJamie “Old Crow Medicine Show at Pisgah [Brewing] absolutely blew my mind. I’ve seen a lot of bands from about every genre there is out there, and this show was simply amazing. The best concert I had ever seen. They are true performers.” — moosesquirrel “St. Paul and the Broken Bones was pretty damn good. Between the Buried and Me was also pretty damn good. Can I have two favorites?”

— bloodxandxrank “Favorite show in Asheville this year was Tegan and Sara with Lucius and The Courtneys at The Orange Peel. T&S are amazing and the two opening bands were also incredible, plus they signed my LPs that I bought at their merch area.” — Amokokins “That Lucius show at The Mothlight was GOLDEN! I can still hear the floor toms.” — katmcr “Cut Copy killed it when they came to The Orange Peel.”

— CarlSagansturtleneck “Best: Beck, Steely Dan. Worst: M.I.A. Shows I most regret missing: Future Islands, Method Man and Redman.” — ashevillain7 “There was practically no one there, but Lacuna Coil at The

Peel rocked my socks. One of the best live shows I’ve ever been to.”

— crazylikeavixen “Tipper at New Mountain was insane. Also, Bootsy [Collins] at spring LEAF was phenomenal!”

— anchoraroundmyfeet “Clutch at The [Orange Peel].”

— theinspiration7 “2014 Highlights: Mac DeMarco at [The Grey Eagle], Natural Child at The Mothlight.” — heygorges “Yonder Mountain at Pisgah [Brewing] was an amazing performance.” — jetermtnpkr “Cave Singers [and] Devil Makes Three at The Orange Peel.”

— princess_snark “Clutch and the f**king sword at The Peel. Wye Oak debuting the new album at The Peel. Rev Peyton tearing down the house at The Grey Eagle. Flogging Molly at The Peel. And Gwar killing everybody at The Peel.” — gwarrior5 “Crazy Tom Banana Pants and The River Rats. These two local bands know how to put on a show!

I love ’em both.” — WessyNessy “Beats Antique!” — Chesstariam “Avett Brothers (even though going to the arena/U.S. Cellular Center for a sold-out show is a pretty lousy experience).” — jblz X

hE’s got thE funK: Bootsy Collins, aka “The Man Who Put Bass In Yer Face,” played LEAF in May. Photo by David Simchock

cious to the audience and very much enjoyed Pisgah’s environs.”

— Joshua Stack “Favorite Show : Jason Isbell [at The] Orange Peel!” — Ben Carver “My favorite show of 2014 that I can remember vividly in my head right now as thoroughly enjoying, and not even worrying about the fact that no one was there because the music was just so damn good, would have to be Sinkane at Asheville Music Hall. Absolutely fantastic band.” — Sam Katz

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“Beck at The Thomas Wolfe [Auditorium] was the best concert I saw in 2014. As the show progressed, I thought he’d played everything I’d hoped to hear. He kept breaking out old favorites I’d forgotten. It was a great performance all around. The whole band rocked.” — Jeff Tallman “Sharon Van Etten at The Grey Eagle in October! Terrific show — made my AVL holiday extra-sweet.”

— @lisawit17

mountainx.com

thE musicaL: A scene from Asheville Lyric Opera’s production of South Pacific. Photo courtesy of ALO

by A&E Staff

a&E

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by Rob Brezny

ARIES (March 21-April 19): “Hell is the suffering of being unable to love,” wrote novelist J.D. Salinger.

Using that definition, I’m happy to announce that you have a good chance of avoiding hell altogether in 2015. If there has been any deficiency in your power to express and bestow love, I think you will correct it. If you have been so intent on getting love that you have been neglectful in giving love, you will switch your focus. I invite you to keep a copy of this horoscope in your wallet for the next 12 months.

Regard it as your “Get Out of Hell Free” card.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Beetles are abundant and ubiquitous. Scientists have identified more than 350,000 species, and they are always discovering new ones. In 2011, for example, they conferred official recognition on 3,485 additional types of beetles. I’m seeing a parallel development in your life, Taurus. A common phenomenon that you take for granted harbors mysteries that are worth exploring. Something you regard as quite familiar actually contains interesting features you don’t know about. In 2015, I hope you will open your mind to the novelties and exotica that are hidden in plain sight.

Carolina Wray When it comes to genres, brothers Dillon and Jantzen Wray refuse to pick just one ... or two. Their band Carolina Wray’s 2014 single “America,” for example, combines uncharacteristically slow banjo strums with vocal and electric guitar tracks made of undiluted pop rock. The former Old North State band members take decisive strides into the realm of country while continuously borrowing from their bluegrass past. This genre-bending sound, according to Dillon, allows Carolina Wray to connect with a broader listener base and have more fun onstage. The siblings, who describe their live performances as “stripped-down, intimate and honest,” play at 5 Walnut on Sunday, Dec. 28, at 7 p.m. Free. 5Walnut.com. Photo courtesy of the band

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Auguste Escoffier (1846-1935) was an influential French chef who defined and standardized the five “mother sauces.”

But he wasn’t content to be a star in his own country.

At the age of 44, he began his “conquest of London,” bringing his spectacular dining experience to British restaurants. He thought it might be hard to sell his new clientele on frogs’ legs, a traditional French dish, so he resorted to trickery. On the menu, he listed it as “Nymphs of the Dawn.” According to my reading of the omens, this is an example of the hocus-pocus that will be your specialty in 2015.

And I suspect you will get away with it every time as long as your intention is not selfish or manipulative, but rather generous and constructive.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): The entomologist Charles P. Alexander (1889-1981) devoted much of his professional life to analyzing the insect known as the crane fly. He identified over 11,000 different species, drew 15,000 illustrations of the creatures and referred to his lab as “Crane Fly Haven.” That’s the kind of single-minded intention I’d love to see you adopt during the first six months of 2015, Cancerian. What I’m imagining is that you will choose a specific, well-defined area within which you will gleefully explore and experiment and improvise.

Is there a subject or task or project you would have fun pursuing with that kind of intensity?

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): In Don DeLillo’s novel Underworld, Cotter Martin is a young boy living in New York in the 1950s. The following description is about him: “In school they tell him sometimes to stop looking out the window. This teacher or that teacher.

The answer is not out there, they tell him. And he always wants to say that’s exactly where the answer is.” I propose we regard this passage as one of your themes in 2015, Leo. In other words, be skeptical of any authority who tells you where you should or should not be searching for the answers. Follow your own natural inclination, even if at first it seems to be nothing more than looking out the window.

Jamie Laval’s Christmas in Scotland Internationally renowned Celtic violinist Jamie Laval’s Christmas in Scotland performance calls on a patchwork of art forms to revive traditional Celtic celebrations of the winter solstice and Christmas. Local guitarist and banjoist David Brown and multi-instrumentalist Rosalind Buda are among Laval’s supporting lineup of Celtic-influenced artists, in addition to a Welsh harpist and a Scottish Highland dancer. The de facto variety show, which also incorporates storytelling by Laval, is presented twice at Isis Restaurant and Music Hall on Saturday, Dec. 27. The matinee showing starts at 1:30 p.m. (brunch seating available from 10 a.m.), while the evening performance begins at 8 p.m. (dinner seating available from 5 p.m.). $24 advance/$28 door/$12 children under 12. isisasheville.com. Photo courtesy of Laval

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): “It is always important to know when something has reached its end,” writes Paulo Coelho in his book The Zahir. Use this advice heroically in 2015, Virgo. Wield it to clear away anything that no longer serves you, that weighs you down or holds you back. Prepare the way for the new story that will begin for you around your next birthday. “Closing circles, shutting doors, finishing chapters,” Coelho says, “it doesn’t matter what we call it; what matters is to leave in the past those moments in life that are over.”

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): “On some nights I still believe,” said rascal journalist Hunter S. Thompson, “that a car with the gas needle on empty can run about fifty more miles if you have the right music very loud on the radio.” In 2015, I invite you to adopt some of that push-it-to-the-edge attitude for your personal use, Libra. Maybe not full-time; maybe not

mountainx.com

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): When he was 37 years old, actor Jack Nicholson found out that Ethel May, the woman he had always called his mother, was in fact his grandma.

Furthermore, his “older sister” June was actually his mom, who had given birth to him when she was 17. His relatives had hidden the truth from him. I suspect that in 2015 you will uncover secrets and missing information that will rival Nicholson’s experience.

Although these revelations may initially be confusing or disruptive, in the long run they will heal and liberate you. Welcome them!

with the same manic intensity that Thompson did.

Rather, simply tap into it as needed — whenever you’ve got to up your game or raise your intensity level or rouse the extra energy you need TO ACHIEVE TOTAL, WONDROUS, RESOUNDING VICTORY!!! The coming months will be your time to go all the way, hold nothing back and quest for the best and the most and the highest.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Twenty miles long, the Onyx River is the longest body of moving water on the continent of Antarctica. Most of the year it’s ice, though. It actually flows for just two or three months during the summer. Let’s hope that continues to be the case for the foreseeable future. It would be a shame if global warming got so extreme that the Onyx melted permanently.

But now let’s talk about your own metaphorical equivalent of the Onyx: a potentially flowing part of your life that is often frozen. I’d love to see it heat up and thaw. I’d love it to be streaming and surging most of the time. And in 2015, I think that’s a distinct possibility. Consider making the following declaration your battle cry: I am the Flow Master!

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): “The best way to keep a prisoner from escaping is to make sure he never knows he’s in prison.” That quote is attributed to both Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky and Russian author Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. Regardless of who said it, I urge you to keep it in mind throughout 2015. Like all of us, you are trapped in an invisible prison: a set of beliefs or conditioned responses or bad habits that limit your freedom to act. That’s the bad news. The good news is that in the coming months, you are poised to discover the exact nature of your invisible prison and then escape it.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): “Meupareunia” is an English word that refers to a sexual adventure in which only one of the participants has a good time.

I’ll be bold and predict that you will not experience a single instance of meupareunia in 2015. That’s because I expect you’ll be steadily upgrading your levels of empathy and your capacity for receptivity.

You will be getting better and better at listening to your intimate allies and reading their emotional signals. I predict that synergy and symbiosis will be your specialties. Both your desire to please and your skill at giving pleasure will increase, as will your understanding of how many benefits you can reap by being a responsive partner.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): “Be good and you will be lonesome,” said Mark Twain. Do you agree? I don’t — at least as it applies to your life in 2015. According to my understanding of the long-term astrological omens, you will attract an abundance of love and luck by being good — by expressing generosity, deepening your compassion, cultivating integrity and working for justice and truth and beauty. That doesn’t mean you should be a pushover or doormat.

Your resolve to be good must be leavened by a determination to deepen your self-respect. Your eagerness to do the right thing has to include a commitment to raising your levels of self-care.

DEcEmBER 24 - DEcEmBER 30, 2014

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ARt visuAl ARtist AvAilABle (pd.) experienced Art instruction: Drawing / Mark-making / Watercolor Painting; Private, groups, homeschool, all ages. ArchiScapes: Architectural Portraits, make Excellent Gift Certificates. For more information visit www. mcchesneyart.com.

ARtetude gAlleRY 89 Patton Ave., 252-1466, artetudegallery.com • Through WE (12/31), 11am-6pm - Holiday Gift Market, works by various local artists.

by Carrie Eidson & Michael McDonald

gReAt smokies WRiting pRogRAm 250-2353, agc.unca.edu/gswp • Through FR (1/30) - Submissions accepted for the Thomas Wolfe Fiction Prize. Contact for guidelines. $25/$15 NC Writer’s Network members. the mAgnetic theAtRe 372 Depot St., 257-4003 • Through TH (1/1) - Short scripts accepted for consideration in Brief Encounters 2015.

Contact for details.

Wnc oRchid societY wncos.org • Through SA (1/31) - Submissions of artwork incorporating orchids accepted for 2015 WNCOS Annual Orchid Show. Contact for guidelines. Free to submit.

Auditions & cAll to ARtists

music

ATTENTION ARTISTS • CRAFTERS (pd.) Space available (2,000 sqft) in downtown Waynesville, that would provide a place to work and sell. Heat, parking. 30 minutes from Asheville. • Individual booths. • Could be co-op. I will develop the space to a plan, if there is interest. (828) 216-6066.

Asheville AReA ARts council 258-0710, ashevillearts.com • Through TH (1/15) - Applications accepted from WNC artists for the Art in the Park Arts and Community Grant. Contact for guidelines.

• Through TU (12/30) - Local artists may apply for the Creative Industry Management Course. Contact for details. cAldWell ARts council 601 College Ave SW, Lenoir, 754-2486 • Through FR (1/30) - Portfolios accepted from local and regional artists for 2016 exhibitions. Contact for guidelines.

BlAck mountAin communitY dRum ciRcle 545-0389 • SATURDAYS, 4-6pm - Covers traditional West African rhythms. Free. Held at Carver Community Center, 101 Carver Ave., Black Mountain music At uncA 251-6432, unca.edu • SUNDAYS, 3pm - Brevard Music Center faculty concerts, co-sponsored by OLLI. Free.

Held in the Reuter Center. om sAnctuARY 87 Richmond Hill Drive, omsanctuary.org, 252-7313 • WE (12/31), 8:30pm-midnight - “Illuminate Your Intentions” New Year’s Eve concert featuring Lizz Wright, River Guerguerian, Chris Rosser and John Vorus. $40/$35 advance

aRts in thE paRK: Don’t forget! There’s still time to apply for the Asheville Area Arts Council’s Art in the Parks community grant. The grant is offered to qualifying committed artists in Western North Carolina as part of the council’s efforts to enhance public spaces and encourage artists to interact with the community. Previous recipients include the Urban Landscape Project, UWABE and LEAF Community Arts. (p.50)

gaLLERy DiREctoRy

AmeRicAn folk ARt And fRAming 64 Biltmore Ave., 281-2134, amerifolk.com • Through WE (12/31) - Wish List Celebration, exceptional pieces collected throughout the year.

BlAck mountAin centeR foR the ARts 225 W. State St., Black Mountain, 669-0930, blackmountainarts.org • Through FR (2/20) - Clay studio exhibit and pottery market.

ARt At Wcu 227-3591, fineartmuseum.wcu.edu • Through FR (1/9) - David Raymond’s Other People’s Pictures and Eric Oglander: Craigslist Mirrors, photography.

In the Bardo Arts Center.

gRoveWood gAlleRY 111 Grovewood Road, 253-7651, grovewood.com • Through WE (12/31) - Hops & Crafts, mugs, steins & tankards by regional artist.

Asheville AReA ARts council gAlleRY 1 Page Ave., 258-0710, ashevillearts.com • Through FR (1/9) - Odyssey ClayWorks: A Collective Perspective, ceramics.

Asheville ARt museum 2 N. Pack Square, 253-3227, ashevilleart.org • Through SU (3/15) - What You See Is What You See: American Abstraction After 1950, American Abstract Expressionism.

Xpress readers are

caring they make great employees

Mountain Xpress classifieds work.

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mountainx.com

Asheville gAlleRY of ARt 16 College St., 251-5796, ashevillegalleryof-art.com • Through WE (12/31) - The Power of Place, pastels by Everett Schmidt.

BendeR gAlleRY 12 S. Lexington Ave., 505-8341, thebendergallery.com • Through SA (1/31) - Microcosms: Our World in Paperweights, handmade paperweight exhibition.

pulp 103 Hilliard Ave., 225-5851 • Through WE (12/31) - Poster art by Joshua Marc Levy. seven sisteRs gAlleRY 117 Cherry St., Black Mountain, 669-5107, sevensistersgallery.com • Through SU (1/25) - Paintings and wood etchings by Jim Southerland. the gRAnd BohemiAn gAlleRY 11 Boston Way, 877-274-1242, bohemianhotelasheville.com • Through WE (12/31) - Expressionist landscapes by Jean Claude Roy. • Through WE (12/31) - Near and Far, plein air paintings by Stuart Roper and jewelry by Claudia Herr.

ZApoW! 21 Battery Park Suite 101, 575-2024, zapow.net • ONGOING - She-Pow, mixed media exhibit inspired by women.

Contact the galleries for operating hours and admission fees.

C L U B L A N D iRon hoRse stAtion Mark Shane (R&B), 7pm

* many recurring events may have been canceled for the holiday. check venue website for updates.

isis RestAuRAnt And music hAll Larke (jazz), 7pm JAck of the Wood puB Dex Romweber w/ Couple Skate (surf, rockabilly, ), 9pm

WednesdAY, decemBeR 24 Ben’s tune-up Live band karaoke w/ The Diagnostics, 9pm

JeRusAlem gARden Middle Eastern music & bellydancing, 7pm

BlAck mountAin Ale house Buncombe County Boys (folk, bluegrass), 7:30pm

lex 18 Xpresso (Latin jazz trio), 7:30pm DJ Cosmo Q (swing dance party), 11pm

Blue kudZu sAke compAnY Bill Gerhardt’s Trio South (jazz), 6pm

loBsteR tRAp Riyen Roots Band (roots, world), 6:30pm

BuRgeR BAR Tom Waits night, 9pm

mARket plAce The Sean Mason Trio (groove, jazz, funk), 7pm

BYWAteR Soul night w/ DJ Whitney, 8:30pm

off the WAgon Dueling pianos, 9pm

cRoW & quill Orphan’s Christmas (classic movies & hot drinks), 5pm

olive oR tWist 42nd Street (jazz, swing), 8pm Latin late night band, 11pm

dugout Karaoke, 9pm

one stop deli & BAR Free Dead Fridays w/ members of Phuncle Sam (jam), 5pm

gRind cAfe Trivia night, 7pm JAck of the Wood puB Old-time session, 5pm lex 18 Patrick Lopez (Latin jazz piano), 7pm loBsteR tRAp Ben Hovey (dub-jazz, trumpet), 7pm

Big infLuEncE: Dex Romweber, one-half of the two-piece underground rock group the Flat Duo Jets, has been cited by Jack White as a huge influence on The White Stripes’ music. “His songwriting, along with his love of classic American music from the South, be it rockabilly, country or R&B, is one of the best kept secrets of the rock ‘n’ roll underground,” says White. Romweber will play a solo show at Jack of the Wood on Friday, Dec. 26 at 9 p.m.

moJo kitchen & lounge DJ Molly Parti “Get Over the Hump-day” dance party (funk, soul, hip-hop), 5:30pm mountAin moJo coffeehouse Open mic, 6:30pm noBle kAvA Open mic w/ Caleb Beissert, 9pm off the WAgon Piano show, 9pm olive oR tWist Swing dance lessons w/ Bobby Wood, 7:30pm 3 Cool Cats (vintage rock), 8pm pisgAh BReWing compAnY The Lazybirds (old-time, swing, blues), 8pm

Room ix Latin night w/ DJ Carlos Carmona, 9pm tAllgARY’s At fouR college Open mic & jam, 7pm the phoenix Jazz night, 8pm the sociAl Ashli Rose (singer-songwriter), 6:30pm Karaoke, 10pm the southeRn Disclaimer Comedy open mic, 9pm tigeR mountAin Sean Dail (classic punk, power-pop, rock), 10pm timo’s house Spectrum AVL w/ Dam Good (dance party), 9pm

To qualify for a free listing, a venue must be predominately dedicated to the performing arts. Bookstores and cafés with regular open mics and musical events are also allowed / To limit confusion, events must be submitted by the venue owner or a representative of that venue / Events must be submitted in written form by e-mail (clubland@mountainx.com), fax, snail mail or hand-delivered to the Clubland Editor Hayley Benton at 2 Wall St., Room 209, Asheville, NC 28801. Events submitted to other staff members are not assured of inclusion in Clubland / Clubs must hold at least TWO events per week to qualify for listing space. Any venue that is inactive in Clubland for one month will be removed / The Clubland Editor reserves the right to edit or exclude events or venues / Deadline is by noon on Monday for that Wednesday’s publication. This is a firm deadline.

toWn pump Open mic w/ Aaron, 9pm Christmas Eve Polka Party, 9pm tRessA’s doWntoWn JAZZ And Blues Blues & soul jam w/ Al Coffee & Da Grind, 8:30pm vincenZo’s BistRo Lenny Petenelli (high-energy piano), 7pm White hoRse BlAck mountAin Kim Hughes & Bob Hinkle, 7pm Wild Wing cAfe south Karaoke, 6pm

thuRsdAY, decemBeR 25 cRoW & quill Orphan’s Christmas (classic movies & hot drinks), 5pm

oskAR Blues BReWeRY Stevie Lee Combs (singer-songwriter), 6pm pAck’s tAveRn DJ MoTo (pop, dance, hits), 9pm pisgAh BReWing compAnY Yess-I (roots, rock, reggae), 8pm Root BAR no. 1 Ty Nemicek (roots), 7pm scAndAls nightcluB DJ dance party & drag show, 10pm

fRidAY, decemBeR 26 185 king stReet Hometown Holiday Jam, 8pm

scullY’s DJ, 10pm spRing cReek tAveRn Al Coffee & Da Grind (R&B), 8pm

AthenA’s cluB Dave Blair (folk, funk, acoustic), 7pm

tAllgARY’s At fouR college Apple Blue Horse Band (country, Southern rock), 9:30pm

Blue mountAin piZZA & BReW puB Mark Bumgarner (Americana), 7pm

the AdmiRAl Hip Hop dance party w/ DJ Warf, 11pm

BoileR Room We Got The Juice Show w/ Po’Folk, E Snapz, Meana Shyy, Just James & Ponkin Heat Ent., 9pm

the phoenix Dust ’n the Wynn (rock), 9pm

BuRgeR BAR Live ragtime, 7pm BYWAteR Don Lewis & Marc Keller (Americana, rock), 8pm clAssic WineselleR Mike Pilgrim & Drew Kirkpatrick (gypsy jazz), 7pm coRk & keg One Leg Up (D’jango jazz), 8:30pm douBle cRoWn DJ Greg Cartwright (garage & soul obscurities), 10pm elAine’s dueling piAno BAR Dueling Pianos, 9pm fRench BRoAd BReWeRY Tyler Herring, 6pm gReen Room cAfe & coffeehouse Doug Johnson Woody & Gary Lockaby (pop, blues), 6pm highlAnd BReWing compAnY Lyric (funk, pop, rock, soul), 6:30pm

mountainx.com

the sociAl Get Vocal Karaoke, 9:30pm tigeR mountAin Soul dance party w/ Cliff, 10pm toWn pump Carolina Wray (singer-songwriter), 9pm vincenZo’s BistRo Steve Whiddon (classic piano), 5:30pm Wild Wing cAfe Contagious (acoustic), 9pm Wild Wing cAfe south A Social Function (acoustic), 9:30pm

sAtuRdAY, decemBeR 27 185 king stReet Cody Siniard & Dem Boys album release (country), 8pm 5 WAlnut Wine BAR Rough Coat (Americana), 6pm Leigh Glass & The Hazards (roots-rock), 9pm

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Send your listings to clubland@mountainx.com.

Asheville music hAll The Goodies (art-rock), 10pm

scullY’s DJ, 10pm

AthenA’s cluB Dave Blair (folk, funk, acoustic), 7pm

southeRn AppAlAchiAn BReWeRY Letters in Abigail (Americana, country, bluegrass), 8pm

BlAck mountAin Ale house Lyric (acoustic soul), 9pm Blue mountAin piZZA & BReW puB Bob Zullo (acoustic), 7pm clAssic WineselleR Joe Cruz (Beatles, Elton John, James Taylor covers), 7pm coRk & keg Buddy Davis & the Session Players (honkytonk, classic country), 8:30pm dugout Flashback Sally (classic rock), 9pm elAine’s dueling piAno BAR Dueling Pianos, 9pm fRench BRoAd BReWeRY Salt of the Earth, 6pm good stuff Sheila Kay Adams and Dan Lewis (old time, folk, story), 7pm gReY eAgle music hAll & tAveRn Wham Bam Bowie Band w/ Aaron Price Trio (David Bowie tribute), 8pm iRon hoRse stAtion Barb Turner (R&B), 7pm isis RestAuRAnt And music hAll Jamie Laval’s Christmas in Scotland Brunch (Celtic fiddler), 1:30pm Jamie Laval’s Christmas in Scotland (Celtic fiddler), 8pm JAck of the Wood puB Johnny Monster Band (acoustic blues, rock), 9pm

Wednesday Dec. 31st - NYE Celebration w/ champagne toast

one stop deli & BAR Dillon ’n’ Ashe w/ Young Cardinals (blues, rock, grunge, indie), 10pm

olive oR tWist 42nd Street (jazz, swing), 8pm

oskAR Blues BReWeRY Dust ’n the Wynn (blues), 6pm pAck’s tAveRn Three Cool Cats (rock ’n’ roll), 9pm pisgAh BReWing compAnY Shane Pruitt’s Band of Ballers w/ Brandon Guilliard, Scotty Hawkins, Chris Duval (blues, gospel, jam, soul, ), 9pm

KITCHEN & BAR OPEN TIL 2AM www.facebook/thesocialasheville 1078 Tunnel Road | 828-298-8780

UNDER NEW OWNERSHIP! 52

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vincenZo’s BistRo Steve Whiddon (classic piano), 5:30pm White hoRse BlAck mountAin Yes The Raven (folk, alternative), 8pm Wild Wing cAfe Karaoke, 9pm Wild Wing cAfe south Caribbean Cowboys, 9pm

sundAY, decemBeR 28 5 WAlnut Wine BAR Carolina Wray (Americana), 7pm Blue kudZu sAke compAnY Karaoke & brunch, 2pm

iRon hoRse stAtion Mark Shane (R&B), 6pm

off the WAgon Dueling pianos, 9pm

Thursday Jan. 29th - 8:00 - 11:00 Unit 50

toWn pump Strawman (pop-fusion), 9pm

loBsteR tRAp Crossroads String Band (bluegrass, blues, jazz), 6:30pm

Monday Dec. 29th - Old Time Jam w/ Kevin Scanlon 6:00 - 9:00 (Closing at 9:30 for Private Party)

Thursday Jan. 22nd - 8:00 -11:00 Joe Lasher Jr. Trio

the sociAl Get Vocal Karaoke, 9:30pm

douBle cRoWn Karaoke w/ Tim O, 9pm

nightBell RestAuRAnt & lounge DJ Rezrekt (indie-electronic), 9pm

Thursday Jan. 15th - 8:00 - 11:00 Thicket CD release party

the phoenix Dave Desmelik Trio (singer-songwriter), 9pm

lex 18 Michael Jefry Stevens Trio (jazz), 8:30pm

neW mountAin Travers Brothership (alternative, soul), 9pm

Thursday Jan. 8th - 9:00 - 12:00 Rory Kelly

the AdmiRAl Soul night w/ DJ Dr. Filth, 11pm

BuRgeR BAR Trivia, 7pm

mARket plAce DJs (funk, R&B), 7pm

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tAllgARY’s At fouR college Jarvis Jenkins (Southern rock), 9:30pm

JeRusAlem gARden Middle Eastern music & bellydancing, 7pm

mARco’s piZZeRiA Sharon LaMotte Band (jazz), 6pm

THE BANDS RETURN!

spRing cReek tAveRn The Sweet Treats (acoustic Americana), 8pm

isis RestAuRAnt And music hAll Jazz showcase, 6pm JAck of the Wood puB Irish session, 5pm Shake It Like A Caveman holiday show, 9pm lex 18 Bob Strain (modern jazz piano), 7pm loBsteR tRAp Dana & Susan Robinson (bluegrass, folk, old-time), 8:30pm moJo kitchen & lounge Sunday night swing, 5pm off the WAgon Piano show, 9pm olive oR tWist DJ (oldies rock, swing), 8pm one stop deli & BAR Bluegrass brunch w/ Woody Wood, 11am Steely Dan Sunday, 9pm scAndAls nightcluB DJ dance party & drag show, 10pm southeRn AppAlAchiAn BReWeRY BlueSunday w/ Garry Segal (blues), 5pm

puRple onion cAfe Clay Ross, 8pm

tAllgARY’s At fouR college Jason Brazzel (acoustic), 6pm

Root BAR no. 1 Duke & the Situation (rock), 7pm

the phoenix Mike Sweet (acoustic covers), 12pm

scAndAls nightcluB DJ dance party & drag show, 10pm

the sociAl Karaoke, 9:30pm

WED & THURS DEC 24 – 25 CLOSED FOR THE HOLIDAY

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gEt youR funK on: The Charles Walker Band has been compared to Sly and the Family Stone, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings and James Brown, with one critic calling the band “classy,” “kick ass,” and “high-energy music to season your soul with.” The band draws their inspiration from classic Motown and funk bands, gospel hymns and a focus on positive lyrical messages. Catch them at 185 King Street on Friday, January 2.

tigeR mountAin Seismic Sunday w/ Matthew Schrader (doom, sludge, drone, psych-metal), 10pm timo’s house Asheville Drum ’n’ Bass Collective, 10pm vincenZo’s BistRo Steve Whiddon (classic piano), 5:30pm White hoRse BlAck mountAin Asheville Jazz Orchestra, 7:30pm

mondAY, decemBeR 29 5 WAlnut Wine BAR Lyric (acoustic soul), 8pm AltAmont BReWing compAnY Old-time jam w/ John Hardy Party, 8pm Blue mountAin piZZA & BReW puB Patrick Fitzsimons, 7pm BuRgeR BAR Honky-tonk ladies night, 4pm

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gReY eAgle music hAll & tAveRn Contra dance, 7pm JAck of the Wood puB Quizzo, 7pm lexington Ave BReWeRY (lAB) Kipper’s “Totally Rad” Trivia night, 8pm loBsteR tRAp Bobby Miller & Friends (bluegrass), 6:30pm off the WAgon Open mic, 8pm oskAR Blues BReWeRY Mountain Music Mondays (open jam), 6pm the phoenix Carver & Carmody (Americana), 8pm the sociAl Kevin Scanlon (folk, old-time), 6pm tigeR mountAin Country night w/ John Black (country, honkytonk, Southern rock), 10pm

BYWAteR Open mic w/ Taylor Martin, 9pm

timo’s house Movie night, 7pm Memorial Show w/ Cody Catlett, 7pm

couRtYARd gAlleRY Open mic (music, poetry, comedy, etc.), 8pm

toWn pump Rachel Rose (guitar), 9pm

douBle cRoWn Punk ’n’ roll w/ DJ Leo Delightful, 10pm

vincenZo’s BistRo Steve Whiddon (classic piano), 5:30pm

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5 WAlnut Wine BAR The John Henrys (ragtime jazz), 8pm AltAmont BReWing compAnY Open mic w/ Chris O’Neill, 8pm Asheville music hAll Tuesday Night Funk Jam, 11pm BlAck mountAin Ale house Trivia, 7pm Blue mountAin piZZA & BReW puB Mark Bumgarner (Americana), 7pm BuffAlo nickel Trivia, 7pm

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cluB eleven on gRove Swing lessons & dance w/ Swing Asheville, 6:30pm Tango lessons & practilonga w/ Tango Gypsies, 7pm coRk & keg Honky-tonk Jamboree w/ Tom Pittman, 6:30pm douBle cRoWn Punk ’n’ roll w/ DJs Sean & Will, 10pm

Dec 2014

iRon hoRse stAtion Open mic, 6pm isis RestAuRAnt And music hAll Bluegrass sessions, 7:30pm lex 18 Andrew J. Fletcher (old-time, jazz), 7pm loBsteR tRAp Jay Brown (acoustic-folk, singer-songwriter), 7pm mARco’s piZZeRiA Sharon LaMotte Band (jazz), 6:30pm mARket plAce The Rat Alley Cats (jazz, Latin, swing), 7pm odditoRium Odd comedy night, 9pm off the WAgon Rock ’n’ roll bingo, 8pm one stop deli & BAR Turntablism Tuesdays (DJs & vinyl), 10pm pouR tApRoom Frank Zappa night, 8pm scullY’s Open mic w/ Jeff Anders, 9pm tAllgARY’s At fouR college Jam night, 9pm the mothlight Tempus Fugit design party w/ Daddy Candy & The Sweet Treats (a.k.a Hank West & The Smokin’ Hots), The Last Word Benders, Runway show by Tempus Fugit & lots of candy, 7pm the sociAl Jason Whittaker (acoustic-rock), 6:30pm tigeR mountAin Tuesday Tests w/ Chris Ballard (techno, house, experimental, downtempo), 10pm timo’s house Music Video night w/ VJ Nex Millen, 10pm tRessA’s doWntoWn JAZZ And Blues Funk & jazz jam w/ Pauly Juhl, 8:30pm uRBAn oRchARd CaroMia (Americana, soul, blues), 7pm vincenZo’s BistRo Steve Whiddon (classic piano), 5:30pm Westville puB Blues jam, 10pm

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PiCK oF tHE WEEK

tHEatER LiStinGS

Big Eyes HHHHS

tHuRSDaY, DECEMBER 25 tHuRSDaY, JanuaRY 1 Due to possible scheduling changes, moviegoers may want to confirm showtimes with theaters.

DiRECtoR: Tim Burton PLaYERS: Amy Adams, Christoph Waltz, Krysten Ritter, Danny Huston, Jason Schwartzman, Jon Polito, Terence Stamp

Asheville PizzA & Brewing Co. (254-1281) CArmike CinemA 10 (298-4452) Closed Christmas Day Alexander and the Terrible, horrible, no good, very Bad Day (Pg) 1:00, 4:00

FaCt-BaSED CoMEDY DRaMa RatED PG-13 tHE StoRY: The story of Margaret Keane, the painter of all those big-eyed children in the 1960s. tHE LoWDoWn: A rewarding, funny, moving, even slightly frightening look into the world of art and artists from Tim Burton that benefits from the talents of Amy Adams and Christoph Waltz.

When I walked out of the awards screening of Big Eyes, my first thought was that it was a very good movie, but that it wasn’t really a particularly good Tim Burton movie. Well, the further away I got from it, the more I realized that I had been wrong. (That’s the problem with immediate responses and the reason I don’t like to say much about a movie the moment it’s over.) Big Eyes is a very, very good Tim Burton film.

Yes, it lacks the Gothic trappings and fantasy we’ve come to expect.

And, once we get past its virtually trademarked Burton opening and the Edward Scissorhands suburbia that Margaret Keane (Amy Adams) flees, it doesn’t — at least on the surface — look very much like a Burton film. But looks can be frightful liars, and that’s the case here. Moreover, on a purely thematic basis, Big Eyes is very much a part of the fabric of Tim

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Fury (r) 7:00, 10:00 CArolinA CinemAs (274-9500) Annie (Pg) 11:30, 2:05, 5:00, 7:35, 10:10

Christoph Waltz and amy adams in Tim Burton’s pretty terrific Big Eyes.

Big eyes (Pg-13) 11:25, 1:55, 4:30, 6:55, 9:20, 10:05 Birdman or (The Unexpected virtue of ignorance) (r) 1:35, 6:50

Burton’s oeuvre. It is also the only really personal movie opening this holiday season.

To put the film in perspective, who but Burton would want to make a movie about the woman who painted those inescapable kitschy paintings of grotesquely big-eyed children that turned up everywhere in the 1960s?

I mean, you absolutely couldn’t get away from them. Reproductions — and I suspect more than a few knockoffs — were everywhere. They were even sold in grocery stores. The point of this is brought home forcefully late in the film when the question of who really painted them comes up, and art critic John Canaday (a wonderfully arch Terence Stamp) marvels over the fact that anyone would want the credit for them. It’s exactly the kind of obsession — the ones that make no sense to the outside world — that drives virtually all Tim Burton movies. This one is no different in that regard. Both Margaret Keane and her husband, Walter (Christoph Waltz), are obsessed over things that — financial concerns aside — seem absurd to just about anyone else. But — starting with Pee-Wee Herman’s quest for his missing bicycle in Pee-

Mountainx.CoM

Wee’s Big Adventure (1985) — Burton responds to this type of (possibly delusional) person.

Big Eyes can be viewed as something of a companion piece to Ed Wood (1994) — and not just because both were written by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski. But I think the story of Margaret Keane strikes a very different — possibly deeper — chord with Burton. Margaret Keane is a product of suburbia, who runs away from that environment — both repressive and protective — to take a stab at being an artist in a big city.

What she never seems to realize is that — even in her art — she didn’t so much run away from suburbia as she co-opted it and brought it with her. It’s a background and a basic truth that closely matches Burton’s own — as does the fact that even great success doesn’t necessarily guarantee acceptance or that you’ll be taken seriously. The primary difference is that Burton quite clearly knows he has a complex love-hate relationship with the strange trappings of a suburban background.

Of course, there’s also a strange story of a different kind at work here with Walter Keane taking credit for

exodus: gods and kings 2D (Pg-13) 11:05, 5:05, 8:10,10:30 The gambler (r) 12:05, 2:35, 5:05, 7:45, 10:15 The hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies 2D (Pg-13) 11:15, 1:20, 2:15, 4:20, 5:15, 7:20, 8:30, 10:20 The homesman (r) 11:20, 2:00, 4:55, 7:30 The hunger games: mockingjay -- Part 1 (Pg-13) 11:10, 1:50, 4:35, 7:15, 10:00 The imitation game (Pg-13) 11:40, 2:10, 4:45, 7:10, 9:45 into the woods (Pg) 11:00, 1:45, 4:25, 7:05, 9:50 night at the museum: secret of the Tomb (Pg) 11:15, 1:30, 3:45, 6:00, 8:15 The Theory of everything (Pg-13) 11:00, 4:15, 9:25 Unbroken (Pg-13) 10:45, 12:15, 2:10, 3:20, 6:45, 9:40 wild (r) 10:50, 1:40, 4:10, 7:00, 9:35 Co-eD CinemA BrevArD (883-2200) Annie (Pg) 1:00, 4:00, 7:00 ePiC oF henDersonville (693-1146) Fine ArTs TheATre (232-1536) The imitation game (Pg-13) 1:00, 4:00, 7:00, Late Show Fri-Sat 9:30 wild (r) 1:20, 4:20, 7:20, Late Show Fri-Sat 9:40 FlATroCk CinemA (697-2463) Annie (Pg) 12:30 (Fri-Sun), 3:45, 7:00 regAl BilTmore grAnDe sTADiUm 15 (684-1298) UniTeD ArTisTs BeAUCATCher (298-1234)

staRting thuRsDay his wife’s painting — something she goes along with for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is the question of fraud. I’m not going to get into the possibilities this aspect of the story might connect to in real life. That’s tricky speculation at best, and there’s not room for it here. Regardless, Keane — as presented in the film — is a fascinating creation. He’s the man who wanted to be a painter but couldn’t, so he does the next best thing — latch onto someone else’s work and call it his own. It’s how to be an artist without actually being one, and while it’s a monstrous, even soul-killing thing, there remains something sympathetic about the man — at least in Christoph Waltz’s hands. This is a rich, richly entertaining, often very funny movie with fine characterizations, and it definitely deserves your attention. Rated PG-13 for thematic elements and brief strong language.

Starts Thursday at Carolina Cinemas and possibly other (as yet undetermined) area theaters. reviewed by Ken Hanke

Annie HHHS DiREctoR: Will Gluck pLayERs: Jamie Foxx, Quvenzhané Wallis, Rose Byrne, Bobby Cannavale, Cameron Diaz, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje musicaL RatED pg thE stoRy: Film version of the Broadway show. thE LowDown: By no means the disaster some have claimed, this new take on Annie is often clever and stylish and unfailingly good humored, but it’s also uneven and a bit shy of greatness.

You will probably be surprised when you read this: Annie is not the awful film it’s been painted as. In fact, it has much in its favor. Your surprise at reading that is nothing compared to my surprise at having typed it. But it’s true. This is not the disaster you may have heard.

Now, let me say that I am not an Annie purist, and that may factor into this review. I don’t care that the new Annie is black any more

than I cared that previous stage and screen Annies had, you know, eyes instead of white circles like the comic strip Annie. I’ve always found the score undistinguished, and though I know it has become a “classic” through the magic of nostalgia, I find the 1982 John Huston film unwatchable. So I approached the new take on Annie free of fears of blasphemy.

Still, the trailer looked bad, and I went in with low expectations and grave misgivings, fully prepared to hate it. In fact, I kept waiting to hate it — but the worst that happened was a few momentary cringes. While those cringes were cringe-worthy indeed, I didn’t and don’t dislike this Annie, and simply as filmmaking (note italics), it’s much more interesting than Rob Marshall’s very straightforward Into the Woods.

Updating the story and goosing the songs into a more modern sound is not really a big deal.

Anyone who rails against this not being in keeping with the “real” Annie needs to realize that their traditional (circa 1977) idea of the character is hardly in keeping with the source comic strip.

(Celebrating FDR’s “New Deal” is about as far from the conservative comics as possible.) It’s standard practice when musicals are restaged or remade for the music to reflect modern tastes (or lack thereof). In no significant way is this Annie a radical departure — except that Annie and Daddy Warbucks (rechristened Will Stacks) are black. So what? The story is essentially the same. The songs are mostly the same. It’s still the adorable little orphan — or foster kid — whose cheery optimism melts nearly all hearts and comes out on top.

Am I recommending the film? Not entirely. It has issues. The choreography is often uninspired and occasionally embarrassing (we’re talking amateur-night embarrassing).

The vocals have been auto-tuned within an inch of their lives — and several inches beyond the realm of believability. The performances are uneven. Quvenzhané Wallis has great charm, which carries her over some rough patches that may be as much the script’s fault as hers. The rest of the cast wavers to a degree that they sometimes feel more like they’re playing dress-up rather than acting. And some of the film’s ideas — like the helicopter musical number — are just plain bad.

Big Eyes See Review in “Cranky Hanke.”

LOVE YOUR LOCAL

The Gambler Perhaps the oddest of all Christmas releases is Rupert Wyatt’s (Rise of the Planet of the Apes) remake of Karel Reisz’ 1974 film The Gambler starring Mark Wahlberg in the old James Caan role. It’s odd because the original film is not a lot fun — or any fun at all. It’s one downbeat movie — not the sort of thing most people want for Christmas. As you may suspect, it’s the story of a compulsive gambler who seems determined to bring about his own destruction by going deeper and deeper into the hole. (R)

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The Imitation Game See Review in “Cranky Hanke.”

Into The Woods See Review in “Cranky Hanke.”

Unbroken See Review in “Cranky Hanke.”

But director Will Gluck — who made such stylish comedies as Easy A (2010) and Friends with Benefits (2011) — proves himself a savvy musical stylist on many occasions, even evoking the building rhythms technique of Rouben Mamoulian’s Love Me Tonight (1932), and, if nothing else, knows how to keep a film moving and visually inventive. Plus, his comedic timing is impeccable. As he’s done in the past, he’s peppered his film with great bits for actors from his other movies (Patricia Clarkson, Mila Kunis) and a cameo for his father, “Lance Kerfuffle.” Here, he’s also tossed in some nods to the comic strip — Jamie Foxx’s political opponent is named Harold Gray after Annie’s creator, and the band in a nightclub is called the Leapin’

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MOVIES

by Ken Hanke & Justin Souther

Lizards. There’s even a gag reference to Daddy Warbucks’ bald head. This kind of good humor permeates the film even at its weakest and makes it unfailingly pleasant, if only sometimes great.

Rated PG for some mild language and rude humor.

Playing at Carmike 10, Carolina Cinemas, Epic of Hendersonville, Flat Rock Cinema, Regal Biltmore Grande. reviewed by Ken Hanke

Into the Woods HHHH

DIRECTOR: Rob Marshall PLAYERS: Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, Anna Kendrick, Chris Pine, James Corden, Lilla Crawford, Johnny Depp MUSICAL RATED PG THE STORY: Musical revisionist take on classic fairy tales.

THE LOWDOWN: It ought to be more of an event than it is, but this film version of the Stephen Sondheim show is good and ought to please the fans.

This year we get two musicals for the Christmas season — with this, Rob Marshall’s film of Into the Woods, being far and away the more anticipated and certainly more respectable — not to mention boasting an all-star cast. And the results are fine, though rarely inspired. Even bearing in mind that Into the Woods isn’t one of my favorite scores (a lot of it sounds like recycled Sweeney Todd to me), I think the reason for the film not being more than just good has less to do with the material than it has to do with the direction. I’ve seen every theatrical feature Marshall has made and have liked each of them — yes, even Nine (2009) and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2011) — while they were on-screen. And then they simply evaporated from my mind — except for Chicago (2002), which is not in its favor. I suspect this will suffer the same fate. I also suspect

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that it will delight fans of the show because it takes few liberties, and it will do the same for fans of the performers — except Johnny Depp admirers hoping for more than his five minutes of screen time. (Granted, Johnny Depp as a pedophilic wolf in a zoot suit is a sight to behold.)

Those who were worried about early claims that the film version would be Disneyfied out of recognition can rest easy — more or less. The softenings — and they exist — are largely insignificant, though I think they do conspire to make the ending feel rushed and perfunctory. Even so, this is still pretty dark stuff, and despite its PG rating it isn’t really aimed at children. Whether it is suitable for them depends entirely on the child. Since the greater point of this material is about the loss of innocence and the debunking of the happily-ever-after mindset, a certain degree of worldliness is perhaps required.

If you don’t know, the story takes several well-known fairy tales and has them cross paths — even collide with each other — in the woods of the title. (In some ways, the dichotomy of the fairy tale town and the magical — if unsafe — woods evokes something of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.)

As noted, this is all intended as a debunking of the tales — almost a dark spoof of them — and that really wasn’t all that daring in 1986 when the show first appeared, and it’s even less so now in our postmodern snarky world. It’s not novelty that makes the concept work, but the slightly unsettling darker undercurrent that’s always present that comes to the forefront in the latter parts of the story. That there is also a degree of what feels like genuine magic in the mix certainly doesn’t hurt.

The film — especially as a version of the play — has much to recommend it. The very fact that a great deal of it takes place in real — or soundstage — settings keeps it anchored and not awash in cartoonish CGI. Even a number of the effects are practical or basic cinematic sleight of hand, which is refreshing. That such things as grandma’s house seem pretty artificial matters less than the fact that you feel like you could touch it. There is, however, a downside to this. All too often the film seems too much like canned theater — a mere recording of a stage event.

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HHHHH = max rating The line between theatrical and stagey is a thin one, and Marshall seems unable to tell where it is.

Even so, it’s a solid work, and the performers are generally excellent — though I personally think two singing children is pushing it. If I had to single out a performance, I’d probably have to go with the obvious choice — Meryl Streep’s witch, and I am not one who believes Streep can do no wrong. It’s not just that she would make the whole thing worth the price of the ticket. It’s also the realization that when she takes her final leave all the air goes out of the movie, and you’re just waiting for it to wrap up the story. Should you see it? If you like musicals, yes. If you like this particular musical, most definitely. Rated PG for thematic elements, fantasy action and peril, and some suggestive material.

Starts Thursday at Carolina Cinemas and other (as yet undetermined) theaters. reviewed by Ken Hanke

Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb H

DIRECTOR: Shawn Levy PLAYERS: Ben Stiller, Robin Williams, Owen Wilson, Steve Coogan, Rami Malek FAMILY ADVENTURE RATED PG THE STORY: With the magical tablet that allows museum exhibits to come to life slowly corroding and failing, the museum night watchman who oversees it heads to London to find out the tablet’s secrets.

THE LOWDOWN: More of the same from this drab little franchise, a mish-mash of generally unfunny comedy and flat adventure.

If you happened to be at The Carolina on Saturday night and heard a long, frustrated, audible sigh emanating from Theater 14, that was me, suffering through Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb. I’d been

lucky enough to miss the other two films in the series, only having heard tale of their awfulness, so I went knowing exactly what to expect and still got it. Add on the law of diminishing returns to an already soggy franchise, and you end up here, in a hell made of CGI hijinks and Ben Stiller camera-mugging.

This is the part in a review of a Shawn Levy film where I mention that I liked Levy’s Real Steel (2011), which seems more and more like a fluke when compared to the director’s other works. Secret of the Tomb is more in step with his other films in that it’s workmanlike at best, and drab, lowest common denominator nonsense at worst. The first film’s concept of museum pieces that come to life at night and wreak havoc was already cannibalized in its sequel, Battle of the Smithsonian, and goes the same route this time around, too. The best idea anyone could think of to juice the franchise is sending the movie’s main character, the museum night watchman Larry (Stiller), and a handful of secondary characters (including the late Robin Williams once again as Teddy Roosevelt) to London.

There’s a plot device about the magical tablet that brings everyone to life slowly failing, but it’s only a contrivance. It simply exists as a means of having new stuff become ambulatory in a wash of cheap CGI and lowrent adventure. The London setting is purely superficial, since the bulk of the film takes place on a soundstage. Then again, this is a film whose knowledge of England is an idea of Arthurian legend and — unfortunately — Rebel Wilson (who is, in fact, Australian).

Tacked on is some familial discourse between Larry and his son (Skyler Gisondo, The Amazing SpiderMan 2), something which seems to exist only to give the plot some semblance of tension, even though it has all the weight and import of a family sitcom. This is about where the level of comedy lies, family friendly enough (despite a heavy dose of gay jokes from Steve Coogan, still being made in the year 2014), but with a dose of pop culture dropped in and Stiller occasionally gussied up as a caveman. None of it’s funny. Even with the caveat that humor is subjective, none of it’s funny.

So it’s not inspired, it’s not humorous and it’s definitely not original, which combined makes for a wholeheartedly dull time. Rated PG for mild action, some rude humor and brief language.

Playing at Carolina Cinemas, Epic of Hendersonville, Regal Biltmore Grande, UA Beaucatcher. reviewed by Justin Souther

MOVIES

by Ken Hanke & Justin Souther

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies HHS

DIRECTOR: Peter Jackson PLAYERS: Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Ian McKellan, Aidan Turner, Evangeline Lilly FANTASY ADVENTURE RATED PG-13 THE STORY: A wee hobbit and a handful of dwarves must defend a mountain stronghold full of treasure from a number of enemies.

THE LOWDOWN: A mostly dull, repetitive, surprisingly humorless end to the stretched-thin trilogy.

Where Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) — the end to his original fantasy trilogy based on J.R.R Tolkien’s popular books — was met with critical acclaim, Oscars and unending fanfare, the conclusion to his prequel trilogy, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, has limped home. I wouldn’t consider myself a huge fan of the Lord of the Rings films (I saw them all, enjoyed them and that’s all I need from them), but there was something special about them, even if it’s solely their standing popularity inside of pop culture. That a bunch of movies about elves, dwarves and various wizards could make this much money and be seen by this many people is in itself an astonishing outcome when you really think about it. But the Hobbit films have always been another matter.

They’ve been a theoretical financial success, though they’ve lagged behind the original trilogy, but I doubt many people would stick up for them as an artistic triumph for Jackson’s struggling filmography.

There are a couple of things factoring into this. The decision to stretch out the 300-some-odd pages of Tolkien’s The Hobbit over three films was an obvious mistake, something that seemed wrongheaded when it was originally announced and looks even greedier now, since it directly harms The Battle of the Five Armies. This isn’t a surmountable

offense, unfortunately, since on top of this is Jackson, whose direction — while professional and occasionally inspired in brief fits and starts — feels listless. Here and there signs of the old Jackson pop up — his ticks and eccentricities as a filmmaker. But instead of being part of original, vibrant filmmaking, these flashes instead only remind us of Jackson’s salad days, and how far he — as a creative entity — and the world of his fantasy epics have fallen.

Either Jackson’s lost his touch or these types of films no longer inspire him creatively. Regardless of the reason, Battle of the Five Armies feels incredibly rote. You might have noticed that I haven’t gone anywhere near describing the plot because it’s basically the same thing we’ve seen in five prior movies. The specifics are negligible, since the film’s purpose is to build up into various battles (especially the none-toointeresting 40-minute one that takes up the biggest chunk of the movie) and action sequences.

Everything else feels like filler.

Most of this is structural mistakes on the part of Jackson. The dragon Smaug (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch), who’s been built up over two movies as the trilogy’s main villain, is knocked off in the film’s first 20 minutes.

Battle of the Five Armies’ more weighty concerns, like its very on-the-nose ideas about greed and corruption — specifically in the dwarf leader Thorin (Richard Armitage) — play as ham-fisted on-screen and chew up way too much screen time.

The rest of the film’s problems are the same ones that have plagued the other Hobbit movies. An over-reliance on CGI (a CGI Billy Connolly on a CGI pig is kind of the tipping point of too much) and a general — and surprising — humorlessness drag the film down. There’s enough money thrown at the thing, and it’s paced well enough (for once — at 144 minutes — one of these things doesn’t quite feel like a chore), to make Battle of the Five Armies watchable, but that’s about it. Rated PG-13 for extended sequences of intense fantasy action violence and frightening images.

Playing at Carolina Cinemas, Epic of Hendersonville, Regal Biltmore Grande, UA Beaucatcher reviewed by Justin Souther

The Imitation Game HHHHS

DIRECTOR: Morten Tyldum PLAYERS: Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Rory Kinnear, Allen Leech, Matthew Beard, Mark Strong, Charles Dance BIOGRAPHICAL DRAMA RATED PG-13 THE STORY: The story of Alan Turing, the math genius who headed up breaking the secret of the German Enigma machine.

THE LOWDOWN: Sure, it’s Oscarbait, but if only all Oscar-bait was this finely crafted and intelligent, awards season would be a much more pleasant experience. Terrific direction, writing and performances carry the day.

Morten Tyldum’s The Imitation Game very much is in the Oscar-bait mode. It’s the Weinsteins’ bid for this year’s The King’s Speech (2010), and it shows; and it might work, but it’s by no means a lock. This isn’t as cozy as The King’s Speech, nor is it as finely tuned for audience pleasure.

That comfy-chair, Brit-movie feel is absent. Oh, it’s still a pleasurable experience overall, and it’s laced with the kind of humor you only find in British movies (even when they’re directed by Norwegians). It’s entertaining and expertly made, but it’s a little too angular to be warm and fuzzy. Actually, I consider this a point in its favor — especially after the bland The Theory of Everything — but how that plays with audiences is another matter. However, this is by no means a difficult picture. It’s a fairly straightforward biopic, but with thriller/mystery trappings.

The film tells the story of Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch) — the mathematical genius who pretty much fathered the computer — focusing on the WWII era when he and a team of other experts (ultimately under his direction) broke the secret to decoding the “unbreakable” German Enigma machine. (Some viewers may recall that this ground was covered

by Michael Apted’s 2001 Enigma — a largely fictionalized account complete with name changes.) The Imitation Game is structured around a framing

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story of Turing telling his tale (with the caveat of the listener needing to be sure he wants to hear it). The actual Enigma events are flashbacks — into which other flashbacks are nested. On examination, it’s possible to see that the film’s structure — while seeming very basic — is actually quite complex.

It’s a testament to first-time screenwriter Graham Moore and director Tyldum that the ride is so smooth that it feels a lot simpler than it is. The tricky point from a reviewing standpoint is just how much of the structure — which itself holds some mystery — to discuss. I’m erring on the side of caution and leaving it alone.

What I am not leaving alone is the major topic that Enigma skipped over — Turing’s sexuality. This, too, is something that The Imitation Game reveals slowly, but it’s hinted at throughout the film, buried to some degree by the man’s self-possessed arrogance, literal-mindedness and cosmic social ineptitude. That these are perhaps part of his closeted homosexuality — and not just part and parcel of the movie world’s notions of a prickly genius — is only suggested and then only slowly. But this aspect of the film is essential. Some of my more fired-up critical comrades think The Imitation Game is insufficiently outspoken on this aspect of Turing.

After all, we are talking about a man who was instrumental in helping to win the war, and who was a few years later vilified and destroyed by his own government’s barbaric laws. I understand their point but stop short of embracing it. I believe there is something to be said for the chilling matter-of-fact approach the film chooses to take. It has, after all, spent a great deal of time making a not inherently likable character into a likable one and never goes back on that.

Its quiet condemnation strikes me as bitterly eloquent in its own right.

That the film is conceived as a thriller — there are mysteries upon mysteries in its fabric — makes it clear why Morten Tyldum was tapped to direct. His twisty, cerebral thriller Headhunters (2011) makes him close to a perfect choice. In many ways, The Imitation Game reminds me of Tomas Alfredson’s (another Scandinavian director) Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), though less complex and certainly less ambiguous.

Much has been said in praise of Cumberbatch’s performance, and I don’t say it’s undeserved. At the same time, it seems to me that Keira Knightley is being largely overlooked in the role of the woman on the team who loves Turing regard-

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less — and maybe partly because — of his sexuality. It’s not as showy a part, but playing a brilliant woman in a society with very clear and condescending ideas about what women should and shouldn’t do still affords her a worthy role. The rest of the cast is also fine — with Mark Strong a standout as the pragmatic, sardonic but maybe not entirely unsympathetic MI6 official. Is The Imitation Game middlebrow stuff as some have claimed? In a sense, yes, it probably is, but that doesn’t prevent it being compelling entertainment. Rated PG-13 for some sexual references, mature thematic material and historical smoking.

Starts Thursday at Carolina Cinemas and Fine Arts Theatre. reviewed by Ken Hanke

Unbroken HHH

DiREctoR: Angelina Jolie pLayERs: Jack O’Connell, Domhnall Gleeson, Finn Wittrock, Garrett Hedlund, Miyavi fact-BasED DRama RatED pg-13 thE stoRy: The fact-based story of Louis Zamperini. thE LowDown: Safe, competent, well made, well acted, but far less involving than it ought to be given the story and subject.

spEciaL scREEnings

Holiday Inn HHHHS Director: Mark Sandrich (Top Hat) players: Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Marjorie Reynolds, Walter Abel, Virginia Dale, Louise Beavers musicaL comEDy Rated NR Yeah, it’s the film that gave us the song “White Christmas” (and inadvertently launched a hotel chain), but Mark Sanrich’s richly entertaining Holiday Inn (1942) is the movie equivalent of a one-size-fits-all greeting card for just about every holiday to come down the pike. We get Christmas, New Year’s Eve, Lincoln’s birthday, Valentine’s Day, Washington’s birthday, Easter, the Fourth of July and Thankgiving in one package — each with its own Irving Berlin song to set the mood. It’s basically a showbiz story about Jim Hardy (Bing Crosby) looking for a simpler — and lazier — life by opening Holiday Inn, a homey nightspot that’s only open on holidays. It works surprisingly well — with Jim even finding romance and a ready-made star in Linda Mason (Marjorie Reynolds) — at least until Jim’s old partner, Ted Hanover (Fred Astaire), intrudes with designs on Linda as a new dancing partner and more. The plot is wafer thin, but the songs, the production values, the comedy and the performers more than make up for that. And it’s the closest thing you’re likely to get to a New Year’s movie. The Asheville Film Society will screen Holiday Inn Tuesday, Dec. 30, at 8 p.m. in Theater Six at The Carolina Asheville and will be hosted by Xpress movie critics Ken Hanke and Justin Souther.

Visiting Asheville? read

Unbroken is quite probably the safest movie you’ll see all awards season. It is calculated to offend no one, even while reveling in sadism and masochism (PG-13 style). It ticks every Oscar-bait, audience-pandering, prestige-picture box on the list, and follows this with insisting that the movie is as important as its subject — to criticize it is to criticize a great American hero. This is not new, of course, but Unbroken ups the ante by boldly announcing, “This is a true story,” at the film’s opening.

You have to sit all the way through the ending credits to read the fine print saying, “While this picture is based upon a true story, some of the characters have been composited or invented, and a number of incidents fictionalized,” which almost no one will see and is strictly there for legal reasons. So, this is a true story — more or less.

Still, Angelina Jolie has made a slick, professional piece of work and — in part because of its subject matter — one likely to be loved by a lot of people. What she has not made is a distinctive one. Nothing about Unbroken suggests that it qualifies as “an Angelina Jolie film.” If I saw it without knowing it was hers, I might as easily think it was made by Clint Eastwood or Ron Howard or Robert Zemeckis (in serious mode) or, indeed, just about any Hollywood professional out there. What’s wrong with this? Well, nothing — except the movie has no real identity and feels like it was made by a committee. I realize this doesn’t matter to a large portion of the audience — at least consciously. But if you come away from Unbroken feeling less than fulfilled, this may be why.

The film tells the story of Louis Zamperini (Jack O’Connell) — at least up through WWII, with the next 60-plus years given over to

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the inevitable series of “rest of the story” on-screen titles. The story is remarkable, the execution less so. Despite a screenplay by (among others) the Coen brothers, Unbroken is a basic biopic. Its only concession to being more lies in its use of flashbacks to break up the narrative, but even these are fairly traditional. The film gives us Zamperini’s story from fleet-footed juvenile delinquent to track star to Olympic star to WWII, when his bomber crashes in the ocean, leaving him and two other survivors adrift in a life raft for 47 days — before two of them are “rescued” by the Japanese. From there it mostly consists — with time out to tempt him to defect — of Zamperini being tortured by a sadistic prison commandant known as “The Bird” (Miyavi) until the war ends.

The crux of all this — aside from the muted homoerotic aspect of The Bird’s obsession with Zamperini — is that Zamperini, as the title already tells us, will remain unbroken by all this. The problem is that the film doesn’t really seem to know how to tell us what makes him survive, except through carefully seeded bromides like “a moment of pain is worth a lifetime of glory” and some safely vague nods to his growing spirituality. What the film mostly offers instead is a series of endless — and ultimately numbing — tortures, culminating in some heavyhanded Christ imagery (see the poster). Is it well made? Yes, it is.

In fact, the opening sequence is a stunner, but, unfortunately, nothing afterwards lives up to that.

Is it well-intentioned and heartfelt? Probably so. Is it well acted?

Undeniably, but if you really want to see what Jack O’Connell can do, check out David Mackenzie’s Starred Up (2014). Is it intensely moving? Now it gets tricky. I’m sure many will find it so. To me, it’s missing something. I almost think it drowns in its own competence.

If Unbroken had ever taken a risk, it could have been more than it is. As it stands, The Railway Man from earlier this year deals with similar — also fact-based — material much more effectively. Rated PG-13 for war violence including intense sequences of brutality and for brief language.

Starts Thursday at Carolina Cinemas and other (as yet undetermined) area theaters. reviewed by Ken Hanke

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Thank you for your interest in the Director of School Age Programs position. The YWCA of Asheville is dedicated to the empowerment of women and to eliminating racism. We strive to be a leader in the community of Western North Carolina, fully representing its diversity and working for peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all people. Each staff member makes the difference. If you share our commitment and passion, and think you would be a great fit for the Director of School Age Programs position, please submit an application today. Thank you for your interest in joining our team at the YWCA of Asheville! position summary: The Director of School Age Programs is a member of the senior leadership team of the YWCA and is responsible for providing quality care for children in kindergarten through sixth grade outside of school hours. The Director of School Age Programs works closely with a racially, culturally, and economically diverse group of participants and colleagues. The position is responsible for creating and sustaining a community of learning, and creativity that ensures that children grow academically, socially, physically, and emotionally in a safe, educational, and fun environment. • The ideal candidate will have skills

and/or successful experience in the following: • Develops, coordinates, and oversees implementation of an interactive hands-on curriculum.

The position provides age appropriate experiences consistent with the mission and values of the YWCA. • Creates and implements program plans and activities that support the learning of life and social skills, educational achievement, nutrition, and physical activity for children from kindergarten through sixth grade after school and during the summer. • Establishes and sustains relationships with families, community organizations, and schools to identify areas of need for individual children. Carries out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the YWCA’s policies. Responsibilities include interviewing, hiring, mentoring, training and appropriate certifications for staff. Regularly observes staff interactions with children and continually improves their quality of program implementation. • Participates in the development of the program budget. Manages the budget to achieve income, revenue, and expense goals.

• Monitors state regulations and funding to ensure all requirements are met for attendance, accurate participation records are maintained, sanitation guidelines are followed, and funding is sustained. education and experience: Masters in Social Worker preferred or closely related field or 10 years of experience working with youth or families.

Minimum 400 hours of verifiable experience working with school age children in a licensed facility. Must have or be able to complete the North Carolina Early Childhood Administration Credentials within 6 months of hire. Please visit our website www.ywcaofasheville.org WHO WE ARE> Job Openings prior to our application deadline of January 31, 2015 for information on the full position description and application instructions. eldeR cluB pRogRAm AssistAnt at JeWish fAmilY seRvices of Wnc Facilitate a non-medical, structured social group program for older adults.

Must have work experience assisting elders, some with dementia and physical challenges, in a group setting.

• Requires: strong organization and communication skills, activity planning, volunteer management. • Preferred: Bachelor’s degree; knowledge of Jewish culture.

12 hours/week: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10am-3pm, plus planning time; Wednesdays may be added in the future. • Submit resume by

12/30/2014 to: info@jfswnc. org • No phone calls please!

To view the full job description, go to www.jfswnc.org helpmAte seeks childRen's speciAlist Helpmate seeks a full-time Children’s Specialist. Responsibilities include case consultation, case management, safety planning, court accompaniment and related services to victims of domestic violence and their children. This position will work very closely with DSS Social Workers, and be housed at Helpmate and DSS. Candidates must hold a Bachelor’s degree in social work, child development, human services, or related field: work experience in these fields strongly preferred. Bilingual staff are incentivized but not required. Email resume and cover letter to HelpmateAsheville@gmail.com

by December 31. No phone or email inquiries. www.helpmateonline.org

pARents needed Do you believe that all youth deserve the opportunity to experience what it feels like to belong, to be happy and to look forward to the future? Are you willing to open your heart and your home to a child or adolescent who needs a fresh start? if so ... Become a treatment partner in an innovative and highly successful program for youth with behavioral issues. Who is eligible? Anyone who is 21 years old or older, who is financially stable, owns or rents their own home, is willing to engage in shared parenting, and able to be flexible and provide for the unique needs and challenges of children and adolescents who are experiencing substance abuse and/or mental health issues. • Please Call: (828) 339-1518. psYcho-sociAl RehABilitAtion position Hiring full-time individual passionate about recovery and mentoring relationships.

Bachelor degree required, Human Service Field preferred. Must have driver's license and a 5 year clean DMV record. More info: www.thrive4health.org quAlified mentAl heAlth pRofessionAl Now hiring for Rutherford and Gaston Counties Qualified Mental Health Professional. Monarch is committed to supporting, educating and empowering people with developmental and intellectual disabilities, mental illness, and substance use challenges to choose and achieve what is important to them. We are seeking a dedicated and reliable

mountainx.com

Qualified Mental Health Professional to provide support for adults with mental illness and to develop, monitor and implement of person centered plans and program development to ensure that agency standards and best practices are met. Requirements Desired candidates must have solid understanding of best person-centered practices, have the ability to work closely with families, and work well in a changing environment. Candidates will be QMHP qualified with adults as outlined in NC DHHS staff definition 10A NCAC 27G .0104. • Benefits: Competitive salary, major medical insurance/ dental coverage, life insurance, PTO, 401(K) Retirement Plan. • Apply online at www.MonarchNC.org • Fax resume’s to 866-4045622. An Equal Opportunity Employer.

RecoveRY coAch - fouR ciRcles RecoveRY centeR Four Circles Transition Program is hiring a full time Recovery Coach. Schedule is Wed-Wed (shift work).

Competitive pay with OT hours.

Benefits eligible.

Please send cover letter and resume to jobs@fourcirclesrecovery.com.

Rn Nurses – RN Help make your community a better place. Mountain Area Recovery Center is growing and we are currently seeking an RN to work part-time as a medicating nurse at the Asheville facility. Requirements are early morning hours-Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. Candidate must be dependable. Criminal background check required for all final candidates. EOE. Please e-mail resume to rhonda. ingle@marc-otp.com or fax to 828.252.9512, ATTN: RHONDA INGLE.

teAching/ educAtion executive diRectoR mountAin sun communitY school Mountain Sun Community School in Brevard, NC is seeking an Executive Director to represent its mission through leadership of the organization in administrative, business, and educational processes. For more details, email employment@mountainsunschool.org or visit mountainsunschool.org/ employment-opportunities

Business oppoRtunities $1,000 WeeklY!! mAiling BRochuRes From home. Helping home workers since 2001. Genuine opportunity. No experience required. Start Immediately www.mailingmembers.com (AAN CAN)

ARts/mediA Wnc mAgAZine photogRAphY inteRnship Get your images published in a nationally distributed magazine. Personal digital SLR equipment and good understanding of digital photography and lighting required.

Unpaid spring semester internship requires 10+ hours per week. Visit wncmagazine.com/careers for details.

cAReeR tRAining AiRBRush mAkeup ARtist couRse For: Ads. TV. Film. Fashion. 35% Off Tuition - Special $1990 Train & Build Portfolio . One Week Course. Details at: AwardMakeupSchool.com 818-980-2119 (AAN CAN)

pRofessionAl/ mAnAgement

computeR/ technicAl

chief development officeR (cdo) MANNA FoodBank, Asheville, North Carolina. Lead a team of professionals in the development and implementation of a comprehensive fundraising and donor relations program to ensure both immediate and sustainable financial support for the mission and programs of MANNA FoodBank. Requires seven or more years of relevant experience, including extensive knowledge and experience in philanthropy; direct supervision and management; volunteer management; marketing and communications. • Position description available under “Careers” at www.MANNAFoodBank. org • Send cover letter and resume to sschwartz@mannafoodbank.org

mAc RepAiR techniciAn Local company seeking Mac repair technician. Must be fluent with all supported Apple platforms, iCloud, laptop/desktop hardware and diagnostic/troubleshooting processes. 1-2 years professional experience desired.

Certifications helpful. Email resume to avlresumes@ gmail.com pc RepAiR techniciAn Local company seeking PC Repair Technician. Must be fluent with all supported Windows platforms, PC hardware and diagnostic/ troubleshooting processes.

Desires candidate with 1-2 years professional experience. Certifications a plus.

Email resume to avlresumes@gmail.com

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emploYment seRvices neW compAnY seARching foR diligent WoRkeRs I am the Founder and the Owner of Szeles Company, We are currently searching for workers that will work from home for just 3 hours in three weeks and get paid instantly, He or She must be good with Microsoft Word. Kindly submit your resume if you know you are ok for the work. +1 (717) 835-4526 gregevans171@yahoo. com

seRvices

You know about saving money here. How about earning big opportunity?

being smart with money means paying great people great wages, Our benefits are among the best too. The ALDI difference is about being more, expecting more and delivering more.

Store Associates–$10.00/hour (30-40 hrs/wk) Shift Managers–$14.00/hour Hiring Event:

Time: 8am–1pm and 2pm–6pm

Be a team player Be able to lift 45 lbs

Date: Monday, December 29, 2014

Must have a flexible schedule Have a High School diploma or G.E.D Be able to work in a fast-paced environment Must pass a drug test as well as background check

Excellent customer service skills ALDI is an Equal Opportunity Employer. No Calls Please.

Where: Aldi, Inc.

58 Weaverville Rd. Weaverville, NC 28787

Hiring for Hendersonville, Asheville, Weaverville and Arden area locations

GetMoreBeMore

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DEcEmBER 24 - DEcEmBER 30, 2014

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good Wood piZZA ovens Hand built, wood fired Pizza Ovens. Mobil or stationary models.

Great for Restaurants, Home or Catering. Call Brian for pricing: (980) 241-9099. www.goodWoodpizzaovens.com pRegnAnt? thinking of Adoption? Talk with caring agency specializing in matching Birthmothers with Families Nationwide.

Living Expenses Paid. Call 24/7 Abby’s One True Gift Adoptions. 866-4136293. Void in Illinois/New Mexico/Indiana (AAN CAN)

legAl notices

dish tv Starting at $19.99/month (for 12 months) Save! Regular Price $32.99. Call today and ask about Free same day Installation! Call now!

888-992-1957 (AAN CAN).

notice of divoRce

COMPANION • CAREGIVER • LIVE-IN Alzheimer's experienced. • Heart failure and bed sore care.

• Hospice reference letter. • Nonsmoker, with cat, seeks live-in position.

• References. • Arnold, (828) 273-2922.

Dianna Aleman v Faisal Shah. To Faisal Shah: Take notice that a pleading seeking relief against you has been filed in the aboveentitled action. Nature of relief being sought is as follows: Dianna Aleman has filed a complaint for absolute divorce. You are required to make defense to such pleading not later than January 9th, 2015 and upon your failure to do so, the party seeking service against you will apply to the court for the relief sought. 12/19/14.

finAnciAl

If you’re ready for more, pick up an application from the store manager or visit aldistorejobs.com for more info.

Requirements:

Announcements

Audio/video

cARegiveRs

The ALDI philosophy is about doing things differently and being smart. And

Announcements

ARe You in Big tRouBle With the IRS? Stop wage and bank levies, liens and audits, unfiled tax returns, payroll issues, and resolve tax debt Fast.

Call 844-753-1317. (AAN CAN)

clAsses & WoRkshops clAsses & WoRkshops

tRAnspoRtAtion Best medicAl tRAnspoRtAtion seRvices David’s Transportation Services for elderly and physically disabled, non emergency transportation anywhere in the USA. Certified Nursing Assistant and Spanish translator available. For more information please contact 828-215-0715 or 828-5051394. www.cesarfamilyservices.com

home impRovement hAndY mAn 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.

conscious cooking: leARning to pRepARe delicious & heAlthY food February 20 – 22 Prama Wellness Center www.pramawellnesscenter.org Learn to cook delicious, healthy, glutenfree, and vegan food. Faculty: Ramesh Bjonnes and Alex Dickie Cost: $375 – $450 (More Info Below) potteRY clAsses At odYsseY clAYWoRks Winter Classes Begin January 12. Gift Certificates Available! Throwing Hollow Forms, Beginner Wheel, Etsy For Beginners, Pinch Me, I'm Dreaming, Independent Study, Wall Art, Tell Me A Story, How To Glaze Anything, Clay Instruments For Kids. 828-285-0210. www.odysseyceramicarts. com.

thE nEw yoRK timEs cRosswoRD puZZLE

sAlsA clAsses W/ hectoR gutieRReZ & JennifeR stAlnAkeR Salsa Classes start back Wednesday Jan 7th with a new 6wks @ Extreme Dance Studio, 856 Sweeten Creek Rd, Asheville NC 28803. Beginners 7:30-8:30pm & Intermediate 8:30-9:30pm. $10/ class or $40/6wks.

8286742658 JenniferWCS@aol.com www.facebook.com/2umbao

mind, BodY, spiRit

silent meditAtion & YogA RetReAt Silent Meditation & Yoga Retreat Jan 30 – Feb 1, 2015 Prama Institute www.pramainstitute.org 828 649 9408 info@pramainstitute. org A weekend experience of silence, reflection, meditation, and peace.

spiRituAl cAll ninA the AuRAcle: 253-7472 "I have used Nina's insight for more than 15 years. She offers clarity and grounding in my artistic pursuits and life experience." Chris Bouchan, Artist, Tryon.

BodYWoRk

foR musiciAns musicAl seRvices

#1 AffoRdABle communitY conscious mAssAge And essentiAl oil clinic 3 locations: 1224 Hendersonville Rd., Asheville, 5057088, 959 Merrimon Ave, Suite 101, 785-1385 and 2021 Asheville Hwy., Hendersonville, 6970103. • $33/hour. • Integrated Therapeutic Massage: Deep Tissue, Swedish, Trigger Point, Reflexology. Energy, Pure Therapeutic Essential Oils. 30 therapists.

Call now! www.thecosmicgroove. com SHOJI SPA & LODGE • 7 dAYs A Week Looking for the best therapist in town--- or a cheap massage? Soak in your outdoor hot tub; melt in our sauna; then get the massage of your life!

26 massage therapists.

299-0999. www.shojiretreats.com

RetReAts

Asheville's WhiteWAteR RecoRding Full service studio: • Mastering • Mixing and Recording.

• CD/DVD duplication at the best prices. (828) 6848284 • www.whitewaterrecording.com

pets

47 “Fire away!”

50 Instrument in the

11 Instrument with

1

2

3

4

No.1119 5

6

7

8

9

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sympathetic strings 14 15 16 12 Dots on a map painting “The Spirit of ’76” 13 Act badly, in a way 17 18 19 52 Contest with seconds 19 It has a reciprocal function 56 Convention outcome 20 21 22 61 Where the Joads were 21 Self-proclaimed leader of ISIS, e.g. driven from 23 24 25 26 24 ___-dieu 63 Presto or largo 25 Prosciutto and others 27 28 29 64 See 18-Across 29 Big wheel 67 Adopt-a-thon adoptee 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 30 Discharge letters?

68 Krupp Works city 31 ___ polloi 69 Took a spin 40 41 42 43 32 Aardvark’s morsel 70 Bard’s preposition 34 IBM-compatibles, e.g. 44 45 46 71 Dirty looks?

36 Tropicana Field site, 72 “Cowboy and the informally 47 48 49 50 51 Senorita,” e.g.

37 Factor in club 73 One in knickers 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 selection 38 Canon offering DOWN 61 62 63 39 Nestlé ___ Caps 1 Noodle dish 41 Stephen of “Citizen X” 2 Last Oldsmobile 64 65 66 67 42 Lower one’s A.P.R., 3 Car wash machine perhaps 68 69 70 4 Cold sufferer’s drink 43 “Heads ___, tails …”

5 Gaelic “Gee!” 71 72 73 48 Elitist 6 It might go away for 49 ___ dragon (huge the summer lizard) PUZZLE BY JACOB STULBERG 7 Not so iffy 51 Like a “before” 8 Something a versus “after” 54 “Family Ties” mother 58 Urge forward 62 A Katzenjammer kid seismograph picks up photo subject, say 55 ___ tag 59 Record store section 65 Rug rat 9 Buffalo ___ 52 Carpentry peg 10 Be wild for 53 Czar’s edict 57 Tierney of “ER” 60 Jotted down 66 “You’re all ___ got”

pet seRvices

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE

Asheville pet sitteRs Dependable, loving care while you're away. Reasonable rates. Call Sandy (828) 215-7232.

A G G I E S

D A R N I T

V I A G R A

S E R A P H S

B A T A N E Y E

R O D C A R E W

Automotive Automotive seRvices Auto insuRAnce stARting At $25/ month! Call 855-9779537. (AAN CAN) cAsh foR cARs Any Car/ Truck. Running or Not! Top Dollar Paid. We Come To You! Call For Instant Offer: 1-888-420-3808 www.cash4car.com (AAN CAN) USED TIRES • HARD TO find tiRes All size tires: 13-22 inches. • Hard to find tires, call me! • Axle • Brakes • Tune-ups and Engine lights. MondayFriday: 8am-5pm. (828) 707-4195. 10-4 mechanic services.

neW YeARs Resolution 5 dAY YogA detox & Juice cleAnse Jan 14 – 18, 2015 Prama Wellness Center 828 649 9911 www.pramawellnesscenter.org 3 days of fasting, delicious meals, workshops, health consultations, group support, daily yoga and meditation knowledgeable supportive staff.

ACROSS 1 Like a new recruit 4 Raise, as Old Glory 9 Fritter away 14 Patterned after 15 Come to mind 16 “In the red,” e.g.

17 NAFTA signatory: Abbr.

18 With 64-Across, words of certainty … or a hint to 23-, 40- and 56-Across 20 At attention 22 One headed for Ellis Island, say 23 “Silkwood” screenwriter 26 Gaelic tongue 27 ___ Croft (Angelina Jolie role) 28 Clerical nickname 30 Cuisine in which “phat mama” is a noodle dish 33 Little pain in the you-know-where 35 Archipelago makeup 40 Like Advil vis-à-vis Vicodin 44 Mormon’s obligation 45 Make darts, say 46 Bit of dinero

edited by Will Shortz

Adult Adult dReAms Your destination for relaxation. Now available 7 days a week! • 9am11pm. Call (828) 275-4443. feeling WhAcked? Let Kaye's revive you back!

Incall/outcall: 280-8182.

P S S T P U T U N D M E R E A N N E C O R D T S E T A D D O K E N E P I C M O C H I E R E L T H E E C O R N A W I E D L O

S P E E E D O U E C R E D A C O I R D A L M Y A

M O H E A B O N C O R D E S O E S E R L C S I A E C O R D I N T E A M R D A U L N I N I N A B E L S R

L E S S T A R

O S A G E S

Paul Caron

Furniture Magician

That’s no moon...

It’s the Bywater Ball Drop Bywater 796 Riverside Dr. Asheville NC 28801

www.bywaterbar.com 828-232-6967 facebook.com/thebywater mountainx.com

• Cabinet Refacing • Furniture Repair • Seat Caning • Antique Restoration • Custom Furniture & Cabinetry (828) 669-4625

• Black Mountain

DEcEmBER 24 - DEcEmBER 30, 2014

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