Mountain Xpress 03.22.23

ROYAL RESILIENCE

The local and national climate for drag queens and kings feels especially fraught. Events are protested, and in Tennessee performances on public property are now banned. But despite these challenges, the Asheville drag community continues to host events practically every day. And many of these performances benefit communities in need.

COVER PHOTO Courtesy of Asheville Drag Brunch

COVER

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More downtown views

In this issue, readers continue to express their opinions about the state of downtown Asheville after a recent Xpress newsletter highlighted three articles covering concerns about public safety and cleanliness in the area. Those stories can be found at avl.mx/chu, avl.mx/chw and avl.mx/cht. To sign up for Xpress’ free newsletter, go to avl.mx/8st. X

Downtown problems need city, county attention

I have felt a creepy vibe when I have gone downtown because of the difficulty of finding parking and the homeless folks camped out on sidewalks. I have also witnessed mentally ill or drugged people yelling and shrieking at passersby. Not good for tourism, folks.

Parking is so difficult to find and so expensive once found that I seldom go there. There are some cool places I would like to frequent more often, such as the library, the art museum and city restaurants. However, parking is such a pain that I find myself going to East Asheville, Weaverville and Black Mountain.

I pity the homeless people. It must be traumatic to be in that situation. It is difficult to know by glancing at them which ones have suffered adverse financial situations and which ones are substance abusers. Are there “no loitering” laws in Asheville? If there were and they were enforceable, that would lower the numbers of vagrants. Are some people stranded in Asheville because they were kicked out of their homes, and they can’t afford anyplace to live? There are organizations that are trying to build tiny homes to help a few.

Not only Asheville but every community in Western North Carolina should have robust substance abuse treatment options. Unless people

Asheville’s sad descent

I felt a great deal of sadness reading about the increase in vagrancy, crime and homelessness in Asheville.

I have lived in this area for 24 years and have loved Asheville, but it has changed. It’s no longer the delightful and quirky place it used to be, with its street musicians, wonderful music and little shops. It’s full of traffic, chain stores and tourists.

It has become a place where local people cannot afford to live and many of us no longer want to visit. These changes are what happens when a city (or a state or a country) puts the accumulation of wealth by the few above the well-being and quality of life of its own people. It’s not just Asheville, of course. It’s happening all over this country.

pressure their elected representatives, they will not do anything that suggests helping through social programs. The representatives are primarily focused on assisting the people and entities that have given them funding for their political campaigns. This is a sad situation that burdens us all.

Far from defunding the police force, we should be thankful that there are people willing to do the job of keeping the peace and of dealing with difficult people. Being a police officer is a really difficult job with long hours and often unpleasant working conditions — not to mention possible loss of one’s life. Couple that with low wages, and it is easy to see why the city finds it difficult to hire and keep staff.

Is the state legislature taking up the issue of providing more funding for treatment and care of people with serious mental health problems? The rise in cases of suicide is really alarming. Do mental health patients contribute to campaign funding? If not, they are not likely to get attention from legisla-

tors other than a mere token project. The same goes for why legislators refuse to provide government-funded medical care. Poor people don’t contribute to campaign funding.

One ongoing problem is the hotel tax that goes to the tourism board. This is crazy, and the state legislature needs to overhaul this particular cash cow so that the funds go for infrastructure projects.

The city has serious issues to deal with. I want to give my support to the city and county elected officials and trust that they do have the best interests of the people at heart. As part of my support, I know that I need to let them know the problems that I see and to ask them to find solutions.

— Anne Barker Asheville

A disconcerting downtown experience

Recently my partner and I enjoyed a rare evening out, which included dinner at Rhubarb and a performance at Diana Wortham Theatre. It was a pleasant evening, so we chose to walk from our home in Montford.

Coming back about 10:30, it was dark, and downtown was a ghost town. It felt dystopian. Clusters of mostly men had gathered in the shadows of every doorway. No one spoke to us or even acknowledged us, but I was glad I wasn’t alone.

In our eight years of living here, it was a new and disconcerting experience. I can’t imagine how a tourist might feel. I was sad and embarrassed for our beautiful city.

— Cherie Morris Asheville

When people lack the basics of a comfortable life and have to struggle just to survive, when the difficulties they face are too much to deal with, they will do whatever they can to get what they need and to find some relief and comfort.

As long as the “powers that be” do not put attention and resources toward the welfare of ordinary citizens, these problems will unfortunately continue.

I realize, of course, that there are many people in Asheville who work very hard to assist those who need help, and I commend their efforts. But theirs is an uphill battle, with insufficient support.

— Susan A. Stone Black Mountain

Solutions needed for downtown homeless situation

I visited Asheville for the first time last summer. It was wonderful! The only part I didn’t enjoy was the homeless situation downtown. I didn’t feel completely safe, and I wondered how the business owners felt about it. I am glad to see this is being addressed.

I moved here at the end of 2022, and I am thrilled to be a part of this amazing community. Every time I go downtown, though, I am still bothered by the homeless situation I see.

One of Asheville’s greatest assets is its tourism industry. I feel like if this situation isn’t seriously addressed, it will have a long-term negative effect on Asheville and its many businesses that rely on tourism. There must be a humane and practical way to clear this up quickly.

— Carrie Fuller Arden

CARTOON BY RANDY MOLTON

Promote trees, not roads, in our national forests

A new land management plan for Pisgah and Nantahala national forests, finalized by the U.S. Forest Service in February, includes a sharp increase in logging, opening up almost half of its 1 million acres of forests to logging, including 44,000 acres of oldgrowth forest [avl.mx/cim].

This forest management plan was supposed to be a framework for longterm sustainability of our national forests and carbon storage but instead puts wildlife habitats and old-growth areas at an increased risk, catering to new roads that will increase water pollution and habitat fragmentation.

Imagine if humans could live hundreds of years and only get stronger. If, as each day passes, we not only experience more life, but we develop the ability to protect more life. A world in which ageism is flipped on its head because our oldest and wisest humans are also our protectors and saviors.

Now replace this vision of strong, aging humans and look out your window. Imagine (or if you’re lucky, acknowledge) that the biggest tree outside of your window is 200 years old and that it is making your family comfortable by shielding you from extreme weather such as heat and

CARTOON BY BRENT BROWN

flooding. It is also cleaning your air by using sun and water, through a process called photosynthesis, to suck the carbon dioxide that you exhale, a greenhouse gas, and trap heat back into the earth to insulate your family and all humans from a warming planet.

If we take a moment and consider this backyard as a larger vision of the world, where huge, old trees in Pisgah and Nantahala national forests were left alone to protect our climate and build biodiverse communities, we can change the human world and make it comfortable for our own human family to live comfortably on this planet for centuries to come. If humans stop logging wood (which releases carbon dioxide that was safely stored) for our own purposes (to make room for roads, and provide us with energy, fuel, paper) and we invest in the power of nature, we can live to see what new human generations are capable of. And we can live on this planet as proud participants of a biodiverse Earth.

For those of us who love the mountains of Western North Carolina, let’s all start talking the talk and walking the walk of working together. Call your senators and representatives and tell them to leave our natural forests alone so they can grow old. Tell your senators and representatives to fund alternatives to human living

that don’t include logging and to edit the Nantahala Pisgah Forest Plan to preserve old growth. And finally, talk to your friends and family to build this simple vision. Let our forests live, and we can all live, too. Simple as that.

— Carrie Pettler Asheville

Women need to use their voting power

Thank you so much for asking readers to weigh in on child care [Xpress newsletter highlighting “Extra Hands: Home-based Child Care May Help With Buncombe Needs,” Feb. 15, Xpress].

I’ve been fighting for child care since the early 1970s. The demand for child care has been part of the women’s movement since its inception. Another way that the United States has really betrayed and abandoned families — sold itself to corporations.

There was a movement among women in the labor movement. I was a founding member of the Coalition of Labor Union Women, and including child care in collective bargaining agreements was at the top of our list.

We women have to wake up and use our voting power to support what we need. This is clearly the way to protect the future.

— Roberta Wall Asheville

The trouble with electric buses

I oppose electric buses, cars, lawn mowers, stoves and heaters because they use nuclear power (except perhaps in Cleveland, not even Marshall) and because they promote the throwaway society exemplified by the Cash for Clunkers tragedy. We should use and maintain what we have (except nukes), manufacture mainly twostroke diesel bus (and fire engine) parts and address climate change exclusively with municipal abortion funding.

Replacing electric buses with twostroke diesels can fund many abortions and greatly reduce climate change, more still if smog is mitigating. Two-stroke diesels can also co-generate with old bus heaters; though even the smallest ones, at 71 cubic inches, are too big for most houses, the smallest liquid-cooled diesels aren’t.

A fleet the size of Asheville’s might also fund abortions by dumping gasohol, another PC fiasco. Sell parks, too, and extra schools, which are extra because abortions and contraception were underestimated, as I told you all at the time.

— Alan Ditmore Leicester

A thinner blue line

Down 40% in numbers, Asheville police are overstretched

BY JOHN BOYLE, SALLY KESTIN AND JOHN MAINES AN ASHEVILLE WATCHDOG REPORT

bark@avlwatchdog.org

Editor’s note: The following is an abridged version of Asheville Watchdog’s March 12 article by the same headline. It is the second in Asheville Watchdog’s ongoing “Down Town” series. For the full version, visit avlwatchdog.org.

Asheville Watchdog continues its series “Down Town” with an examination of the impact of a diminished police force especially downtown, where — as The Watchdog reported in Part 1 — merchants and residents have complained of increased breakins and shoplifting, human waste and needles in doorways, and aggressive panhandlers.

Police patrols citywide are down. In the city’s core, officers on bicycles are gone, the Haywood Street police substation was closed in 2020, and downtown staffing has shrunk from eight cops per shift to two.

Asheville police Capt. Mike Lamb said that 20 years ago, when Asheville had about 20,000 fewer residents, the city had 255 officers. As of March 1, the number trained and available to work was 142.

City Manager Debra Campbell described the impact of the officer shortage to the City Council in an Aug. 16, 2022, memo.

A traffic safety unit with seven officers had been “temporarily disbanded as only a single officer and sergeant remained,” she wrote. “Serious accident investigation will be han-

dled by less qualified patrol officers. … Proactive traffic enforcement, which has already been greatly curtailed, will be reduced even further. Neighborhood traffic concerns (stop sign, speeding, loud muffler, etc.) will also receive limited attention.”

A police unit dedicated to public housing, where violent crime is the

highest in the city, was disbanded because five of the eight officers left. The other three were reassigned to a team focusing on violent crime, Campbell wrote.

And the community engagement team, headed by Lamb and created to deal with many of the issues generating complaints downtown, had lost all eight of its officers. The department, Campbell wrote, “will no longer have officers exclusively assigned to respond to … illegal camping, panhandling, illegal parking, drug complaints, graffiti and trespassing.”

2020: A PIVOTAL YEAR

To some in Asheville, a shrunken police force is cause for celebration. In the summer of 2020, following the murder of George Floyd by police officers in Minneapolis, thousands of protesters assembled in cities nationwide, including downtown Asheville, calling for an end to traditional policing that too often had culminated in violence, particularly against people of color.

A “Defund the Police” movement arose, calling for elected leaders to dilute the power and size of police departments and shift responsibilities to others with more training on the root causes of crime, such as mental health, poverty and drugs.

Asheville City Council responded with a commitment to reparations for Blacks, who had endured decades of systemic racism in criminal justice and other areas. City Council solicited public input on “Reimagining Public Safety” and decreased the total number of positions in the police department from 314 in 2020 to 269 the past two years, shifting some jobs away from police to other departments to handle calls such as animal control and noise complaints.

Within about a year of the George Floyd protests, 80 Asheville officers — one-third of the force — had retired or quit, an exodus that made Asheville the focus of a July 2021 article in The New York Times headlined, “Why Police Have Been Quitting in Droves in the Last Year.” Officers who had found themselves facing off against protesters complained that they had lost support from City Council and Campbell, who oversees the police department.

Former Asheville police Sgt. Melissa Lackey, 44, is one of those who left. She’s now a police officer in Winston-Salem. Lackey spent 10 years in Asheville but left in August, citing the pay, the high cost of living, a sense that she’d never get off night shift — and what she felt was a lack of support from city officials.

Lackey said she makes more in Winston-Salem as an officer, $66,000, than she did as a supervisor in Asheville earning about $60,000 a year. She said she also received a $10,000 signing bonus from Winston-Salem.

Lackey said she felt unsafe in Asheville, particularly downtown, after June 2020, when the George Floyd protests escalated into near riots. She said she had been attacked two years earlier, in 2018, by a man with a knife as she sat in her patrol car in front of the now-closed Haywood Street downtown police substation. “But it wasn’t until after 2020 that I was terrified,” she said. “I was like, ‘I don’t want to go downtown.’”

SAFETY, IN NUMBERS

To many residents, Asheville does feel less safe.

Residents of the city’s public housing developments report being afraid in their homes because of gun violence. Downtown merchants and residents say they see more erratic behavior, including yelling, illicit sex

ON THE SCENE: Capt. Mike Lamb, who’s been with the Asheville Police Department for 25 years, responds to a call at the Bartlett Arms public housing apartments on Feb. 22. Lamb says the department saw a wave of departures in 2020. Asheville Watchdog photo by John Boyle

and defecating in public spaces. Used drug needles litter some sidewalks.

People living on the streets say they, too, are afraid and have been robbed and assaulted.

Asheville police Chief David Zack, in a recent interview at police headquarters, said most of the city’s crimes occur downtown, but the more serious crimes — violent assaults and homicides — are predominantly in the city’s public housing developments.

Asheville native Whitley English, 34, lived in Deaverview Apartments in West Asheville for 10 years but moved to the newly constructed Maple Crest public housing apartments off Biltmore Avenue near downtown two years ago.

English said she understands crime is a problem in all parts of town, including downtown, but she noted that Maple Crest has had three homicides since July. That includes a double homicide in late February.

English has a 13-year-old daughter, and the shootings have them on edge.

“I don’t feel safe at all,” English said. “The police know what’s going on, but there’s nothing being done, so I don’t know what to say. I guess it’s fend for yourself — figure it out for yourself.”

English said having an officer stationed at Maple Crest would help.

“I think by having the police presence around, crime wouldn’t be as bad as it is,” she said. “But first off, it would be a relationship with the community — building a better relationship with the community and the police force.”

At a March 3 meeting of downtown business owners, Asheville police Capt. Lamb said, “Everybody wants officers everywhere, between communities, businesses, different areas that are having criminal issues. We’re getting a consistent demand across the city that wants to see more officers.”

’PRESENCE DETERS CRIME’

The chief said he has heard complaints for two years about the lack of a police presence downtown, as well as “concerns about homeless and just the overall feeling of safety downtown.”

“Presence deters crime — there’s no doubt about it,” Zack said. “People can debate how much of an effect it has. Quite frankly, we know when you [see] officers downtown — and a lot of this is perception, too — when you see officers and you’re a shop owner or a business owner, you have a level of comfort.”

The 16-18 officers on duty at any time are divided among three police districts: Adam, covering mostly West Asheville; Baker, for the city’s north and east sides; and Charlie/David, combining downtown, the Biltmore Village area and South Asheville down to Airport Road.

Downtown used to be its own district, Charlie, with eight full-time officers and two to three additional on duty for each 12-hour shift, Lamb said. Now, “we have two officers and maybe two working extra.”

Some have suggested pulling officers from other districts to reinforce downtown, Zack said. But that’s not an option, he said, because of the need to respond urgently and safely to critical calls.

“These gunshots and shots fired [calls], they’re occurring all over,” Zack said. “And when they do occur, somebody’s got to go, and somebody’s got to get there, and they’ve got to get there safely, and in sufficient numbers to deal with whatever the threat might be.”

Certain calls strain police resources even further. “We had a guy the other night, he had warrants for his arrest and he would not get in the car, and it took seven officers about 30 minutes,” Lamb said at the March 3 business meeting.

Officers are paid overtime to work “augment shifts.” The department spent $681,626 on overtime in 2020, $813,842 in 2021, and $390,708 in 2022, and Zack said he is under “no pressure whatsoever” to reduce that cost.

The department is “constantly increasing the number of augment shifts to try and get more coverage and more of a presence downtown,” the chief said. But officers have been “burning the candle at both ends for two years ... and it’s like, ‘How much more overtime can we make them work?’”

CRIME TRENDS MIXED

Measuring how the perception of safety squares with reality is imprecise.

Asheville police incident data show that in the three years beginning in 2020, when the exodus of officers began, violent crime increased, driven by more aggravated assaults.

Property crimes dropped, mirroring a national trend resulting from more people being home during the pandemic and fewer reported burglaries and break-ins.

Two notable consequences of the decline in officers: From 2020-22, Asheville police arrests were at their lowest in more than a decade, and police response times increased. Priority calls now take an average of eight minutes, compared with 6.8 minutes three years ago, according to Asheville police records. It takes officers an average of 23.4 minutes for lower-priority calls, compared with 19.9 minutes three years ago.

Build Community, Fellowship, and

Friendship

Learn about volunteer options in your community.

Volunteering is not only good for our health, it’s a solid way to build community, fellowship, and friendship. By getting to know and appreciate what’s in our surrounding community, we have more opportunities to break out of isolating situations - or break out of our own shells by sharing our sense of purpose and the joy of serving others.

Participants at this event will hear from author Val Walker directly, connect with other who have similar interests, and meet the volunteer coordinators with local organizations. There will be virtual and in-person options throughout Western North Carolina. Those who attend in person will receive the added benefit of lunch provided by AARP.

Building Community Through Volunteering: Lunch with The Author Join us in-person or virtually - Thursday, April 6, 12:30: Lunch, 1-2:30 Presentation and local community resources.

Learn more and register at: events.aarp.org/BuildingCommunity

Mountain Region

/AARPmountainnc /AARPNC @AARPmountainnc aarp.org/NC

Author: Val Walker

Downtown, in the police beat known as Charlie 1, the picture since 2020 shows violent crimes climbing in 2021 and then dropping in 2022. Breaking and entering went up, and assaults were down.

Drug overdoses downtown nearly doubled, to 41 in 2022 from 21 in 2020.

Some of the crime statistics are likely underreported. The police department announced in June 2021 that due to staffing shortages, officers would no longer respond to a variety of nonviolent crimes ranging from thefts under $1,000 with no suspect information, to fraud, scams and identity theft.

And several downtown business owners told Asheville Watchdog they stopped calling the police because of how long it took for officers to respond — if they came at all — or they felt prosecution of the offenses would be ineffective.

Lamb, the police captain, noted that shop owners and employees at a recent public meeting said they’d seen people downtown acting aggressively with knives and clubs.

“That is something that we need to respond to, but we’re not getting a lot of those calls,” Lamb said at the meeting of business owners. “A lot of folks are not calling the police department because they think we will not respond.”

Trespassing incidents downtown have actually decreased since 2020, despite persistent complaints from businesses of people hanging out and sleeping in doorways and leaving human waste, trash and needles. A police program gives business owners the option of signing a “no trespassing” letter that allows officers to charge violators.

Only 38% of businesses downtown have “no trespassing” signs, and 20% have trespass letters on file, according to the police department. Without the letters, officers can’t force people to leave, Lamb said.

“If you’re concerned about trespassing at your establishment,” Zack said, “how about signing a letter that says, ‘We’ll prosecute for trespassing’?”

THE RECRUITING PROBLEM

Replenishing the police force is a top priority for the chief, but recruiting new officers or luring cops from other departments is challenging. Asheville often ranks as the most expensive place in North Carolina to live.

Earlier this month, the nonprofit Just Economics of WNC released its “living wage” calculation for 2023, which represents what the group said “would allow a single person working full time to qualify for a one-bedroom apartment in the Buncombe County

area.” The 2023 figure is $20.10 an hour, which comes to $41,808 a year.

The Asheville Police Department’s starting salary for officer trainees is $42,548. It rises to $45,856 upon completion of the academy and state certification.

Of 174 officers on the force, Zack said, just eight own homes in the city limits, and another 19 rent apartments, mostly because it’s cheaper outside Asheville. The chief lived in the city limits his first year here, but he married recently, and he and his wife own a home just outside city limits. His wife owns a condominium downtown, and they stay there often, Zack said.

The city has boosted starting police salaries in recent years and added such perks as a $1,000 annual uniform allowance and a 5% pay increase for advanced law enforcement training, Zack said. But Asheville also has to compete with other police forces and sheriff’s offices in the state.

“I think we have to be more competitive with an agency like Charlotte or the state police,” Zack said. He said he would like to see Asheville become a destination department, where officers want to spend their careers and would leave other departments to come here.

Zack says Asheville has lost officers to the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office, mainly because of pay. The Sheriff’s Office runs the Buncombe County Detention Center, and starting pay there is $48,353.

But Asheville has also lost officers to local agencies that pay less but have less stressful demands on officers or that cut down on commuting time.

“I think we have to be not equal to everyone else — we have to be well ahead,” Zack said. “Ideally, I think you need to be for a starting salary, you need to be closer to $60,000.”

Speaking at an Asheville City Council retreat March 3, Zack went further: “We need to be the highest-paid agency in the state.”

Zack said an Asheville senior police officer (three years of experience) now starts at $51,653 but it should be $70,000.

ASHEVILLE POLICE RECOVERY COULD TAKE A DECADE

Zack said it will be years before the Police Department returns to full

staffing unless it can attract transfers from other departments. And Asheville’s flow of officers has never gone in that direction, Zack said. Far more officers leave Asheville and go to other departments than vice versa.

“Unless we were able to really attract lateral transfers, I put our recovery anywhere from five to 10 years, closer to 10,” Zack said, noting that training time to solo patrol is 14 months.

Asheville has 10 officers in training now, and the largest class the department could accommodate is 15 officers. With two classes per year, that would mean 30 officers annually, assuming they all stay with the program and pass state exams.

In 2020, one entire class of seven recruits quit before completing their field training, some going to other departments, some leaving policing altogether, Zack said.

Zack said the department now requires officers to stay for three years or repay some of their training costs, depending on when they leave.

Zack, who has served 36 years as a police officer, said recruitment was difficult even before 2020. The “glamour, or whatever you want to call it,” Zack said, started to evaporate in 2014, after the police killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo.

About 15-20 officers retired or resigned each year for years, but that increased to 58 in 2020, the year of the George Floyd protests, and 23-38 each subsequent year, according to Zack.

“You’re always in the deep end, and you’re bobbing up and down trying to breathe,” Zack said.

The department has contracted with a recruiting firm for two years at a cost of $225,000. Asheville has to compete with other police departments not just on salary and benefits but also on the community’s “reputation toward law enforcement,” Zack said.

By that he means an anti-police sentiment in Asheville. In 2020, protesters painted “Defund the Police” on a downtown street in bright yellow and marched behind signs that read, “Fund communities, not cops.” At another protest, a casket full of dirt and cow manure was delivered to the police station.

Zack said the pendulum may be shifting toward more support for police, now that business owners and downtown workers are complaining that a lack of police presence is contributing to safety and cleanliness problems.

“I think for the longest time, a small, loud minority was being heard. And now you’re seeing others have their voices heard,” Zack said. “The feedback that I’m getting from Council is they are listening and they are hearing.”

EASTBOUND: Melissa Lackey left the Asheville Police Department in 2022 to work for the Winston-Salem Police Department. While she is an Officer I in Winston-Salem, Lackey makes $6,000 more a year than when she was a sergeant in Asheville. Photo courtesy of Melissa Lackey

WHERE IT’S AT: Asheville Police Chief David Zack, in a recent interview at police headquarters, said most of the city’s crimes occur downtown, but the more serious crimes — violent assaults and homicides — are predominantly in the city’s public housing developments. Watchdog photo by Starr Sariego

Council approves up to $20M for McCormick Field

“Given the number of baseball folks here, we should probably sing the national anthem,” quipped Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer as City Council kicked off its March 14 meeting. Those spectators got the win they were hoping for after Council voted unanimously to commit up to $20 million over 20 years for renovations to McCormick Field, the home of the minor league Asheville Tourists. (Vice Mayor Sandra Kilgore was absent and did not participate in the vote.)

Before the vote, Council member Sage Turner noted that she and her colleagues had been sent more

than 1,700 emails on funding for the ballpark. “We received 35 pages of public comments,” she said. “There were three that did not support it, and then all the others did support finding a way to fund this.”

“Let’s play ball,” Turner added, before moving to support the funding measure.

Council’s decision represents the first of several funding commitments the Tourists are seeking to bring McCormick Field up to Major League Baseball standards, a requirement for the team to stay in the city. According to a city presentation, the money would pay for improvements to the stadium’s clubhouse, construct facilities for female umpires and other baseball staff, expand the concourse and cover deferred maintenance, among other updates.

Although the language approved by Council allows for a commitment of up to $1 million per year, Chris Corl, Asheville’s director of community and regional entertainment facilities, said the “worst-case scenario” for the city would involve spending roughly $875,000 per year. That figure, he continued, could go down if the project receives additional funding from the state of North Carolina.

The total cost of the project, including interest payments on borrowing

for the work, was estimated at more than $56.1 million in a March 7 presentation to the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners. Asheville plans to share that expense with other funding partners, though commitments have not yet been secured.

Under the scenario presented by Corl, the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority would contribute $1.4 million annually for 15 years, as well as a one-time allocation of $1.95 million previously earmarked for a streetscape project on Coxe Avenue. County government would chip in $250,000 annually for 20 years; the commissioners are slated to vote on that funding at their next meeting, Tuesday, March 21.

The Tourists themselves would pay an average of about $469,000 per year toward the project for 20 years. And attendees at baseball games would also pick up part of the tab through a new 50-cent “facility fee” to be added to each ticket.

Public comment during the meeting echoed the sentiments of those who had written to Council, with nine of the 13 speakers supporting the McCormick Field renovations. But four speakers voiced concern about taxpayers footing the bill for the repairs, saying that the city’s budget has fallen short on initiatives

such as expanded transit services and public safety investments.

“I just don’t think it’s the responsibility of the city anymore to do this,” said resident and former mayoral candidate Jonathan Wainscott. “I want my streets paved.”

Council hears update on ARPA projects

Council also heard an update on 24 projects funded by $24.9 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds. Asheville received the money from the federal COVID-19 relief package in 2021.

After narrowing funding priorities, including affordable housing and workforce development investments, Council voted on specific projects in May. About $1.4 million has yet to be awarded; federal rules require that funding be obligated toward projects by the end of 2024, and spending to be completed by Dec. 31, 2026.

Kim Marmon-Saxe, project manager for the ARPA funds, said that 18 of the initiatives were currently underway and six projects were still moving through the contracting process. Nearly $7 million of the awarded funds has been spent to date.

— Brooke Randle X

BATTER UP: The $20 million funding commitment approved by City Council March 14 is only part of the patchwork of support needed to cover $56.1 million, including interest, for upgrades and extra fan amenities for McCormick Field. Photo courtesy of the Asheville Tourists

Compared to 8 other districts, pay-to-cost-of-living gap highest in Asheville

A local teachers group presented a grim picture to the Asheville City Board of Education on March 14 illustrating that Asheville teachers are paid less but face a higher cost of living compared with eight similar North Carolina districts.

While the state sets a base salary for various levels of teacher experience and education, local districts offer supplemental pay to offset varying costs of living, says Dillon Huffman, ACS public information officer. Using the comparison of teachers with less than master’s degrees and 10 years’ experience, the Asheville City Association of Educators showed that eight other districts have higher supplementals while each one’s cost of living was lower.

“We have a huge discrepancy in this district and Buncombe County compared to other districts in cost of living,” Daniel Withrow, president of ACAE, told the board.

Withrow presented a budget petition for fiscal year 2023-24 that advocates raising teacher pay by 7% and paying a living wage to all staff.

Asheville City Schools supplements the state-mandated salary of $47,000 for a 10-year teacher with 10% of the base rate, or $4,700 annually. By comparison, New Hanover County Schools in Wilmington pays 8% more while its cost of living is 14% less than Asheville’s.

For the analysis, ACAE used MIT’s 2022-23 cost of living calculator, which pegged Asheville’s living wage at $19.62 per hour. More recently, local nonprofit Just Economics of Western North Carolina determined Asheville’s living wage to be $20.10.

Wake County has the closest cost of living to Asheville of those compared — 5.7% lower than Asheville — but its supplement is 7% higher compared with Asheville.

ACAE also compared Asheville to Chapel Hill-Carrboro, CharlotteMecklenburg, Durham County, Guilford County and Forsyth County.

ACAE created the Our Kids Can’t Wait petition in January in tandem with Buncombe County Association of Educators. Distributed via email and Facebook, it has been signed by more than 82% of ACS staff and more than 2,000 ACS teachers, Buncombe County staff, parents and community supporters.

“Our kids need support, and we just cannot wait for the state to do what they’ve needed to do for a very

long time,” said ACAE Vice President Liz

LeBleu

Board member Amy Ray asked if Withrow compared salaries of more veteran teachers, since ACS teacher pay increases as they stay with the district longer. Withrow said he used the 10-year mark for ease of comparison.

Several board members expressed support for the work of ACAE and asked for its continued involvement as budget talks continue in the coming months.

“When I look at the case you’re making, I couldn’t agree more. When I think about the creativity we’ll need

to achieve this, I hope you’ll be with us to help us think through what are the ways forward with some of the realities that we face in North Carolina and Buncombe County.” said board member Rebecca Strimer.

Budget discussions for fiscal year 2023-24 are ongoing, and ACS must submit an approved budget to the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners by Monday, May 15. ACAE had scheduled a public rally in Pack Square Park for March 20 before it was to deliver its petition to the Buncombe County Commission.

Superintendent search progress

Summit Search Solutions reported to the board about progress on its superintendent search, highlighting results from an electronic survey and seven in-person community forums. Identified as most important were classroom and administrative experience, commitment to and investment in ACS, and ability to recruit and retain teachers. Participants also highlighted the district’s strengths and concerns they had with district operations. In total, 169 parents, 121 employees and 681 students responded.

So far, 31 applicants from 13 different states, including eight from North Carolina, have applied, said Summit representative Arasi Adkins Applications for superintendent remain open through Thursday, March 23, when Summit expects to select 10-12 candidates for the board to interview based on applicants who are “particularly aligned” with the desires outlined by the board and community.

“It’s really exciting to me to know that we’ve got this input and it’s helping to guide how we start to vet these candidates. That’s really exciting to me,” said George Sieburg, ACS board chair.

— Greg Parlier X

TEACHER PAY: Liz LeBleu, left, and Daniel Withrow lobby the Asheville City Board of Education to raise teacher pay. Photo by Greg Parlier

MARCH 22 - 30, 2023

For a full list of community calendar guidelines, please visit mountainx.com/calendar. For questions about free listings, call 828-251-1333, opt. 4. For questions about paid calendar listings, please call 828-251-1333, opt. 1.

COMMUNITY CALENDAR

SU (3/26), 9:30am, Dunn's Rock Community Center, 461 Connestee Rd, Brevard

Early Spring Flow

Designed to build heat in the body and release excess kapha during the early spring. Class is held inside. Bring your mat.

SU (3/26), 11am, One World Brewing West, 520 Haywood Rd

WELLNESS

Narcotics Anonymous

Meetings

Visit wncna.org/ basic-meeting for dates, times and locations.

Tai Chi for Balance

A gentle exercise class to help improve balance, mobility, and quality of life. All ages are welcome

WE (3/229), 11:30am, Dragon Phoenix, 51 N Merrimon Ave

Hello Sunshine Healing & Wellness Showcase

An evening of healing and renewal holistic wellness practices. Light bites and beverages will be provided.

TH (3/23), 6pm, Rhubarb, 7 SW Pack Square

Asheville Aphasia

Support Group

Every Friday in Rm 345. No RSVP needed.

FR (3/24), 10am, WCU at Biltmore Park, 28 Schenck Pkwy, Ste 300

Therapeutic Recreation

Tennis

Facilitated by an Asheville Tennis Association professional, this free 4-week course is open to individuals with intellectual disabilities, ages 8 and above.

SA (3/25), 1pm, the Omni Grove Park Inn, 290 Macon Ave Yoga for Everyone

For all ages and abilities. Bring your own mat, water bottle and mask. Registration is required.

SA (3/25), 9:30am, Black Mountain Presbyterian, 117 Montreat Rd, Black Mountain

Therapeutic Slow Flow Yoga

A blend of meditation, breathing and movement. All bodies, genders and identities welcome.

SA (3/25), 10am, Mount Inspiration Apparel, 444 Haywood Rd, Ste 103

Beginner Dance

Lessons: Two-Step Country two-step dance class for beginner dancers. No partner is needed, bring one if you can.

Register at http:// avl.mx/cik

SA (3/25), 12:45pm, The Grey Eagle, 185 Clingman Ave

Intermediate Dance Lessons: Two-Step Country two-step dance class for intermediate dancers. No partner is needed, bring one if you can.

Register at http:// avl.mx/cij

SA (3/25), 12:45pm, The Grey Eagle, 185 Clingman Ave

Magnetic Minds: Depression& Bipolar Support Group

Free weekly peer-led meeting for those living with depression, bipolar, and related mental health challenges. Email depressionbipolarasheville@ gmail.com or call or text (828) 367-7660 for more info.

SA (3/25), 2pm, 1316 Ste C Parkwood Rd

Wild Souls Authentic Movement Class

A conscious movement experience in a 100year old building with a community of women at all life stages.

Gentle Yoga for Queer & GNC Folks

This class is centered towards creating an affirming and inclusive space for queer and gender non-conforming individuals.

SU (3/26), 1:30pm, West Asheville Yoga, 602 Haywood Rd

Rueda de Casino

Salsa dancing for all skill levels.

SU (3/26), 2pm, Stephens Lee Recreation Center, 30 George Washington Carver Ave

Sparkle Time Holistic Exercise

Aerobic, strengthening, balance and flexibility.

MON (3/27), WE (3/22, 29), 10:30am, Avery’s Creek Community Center, 899 Glennbridge Rd SE, Arden

Medical Qigong

Classical exercises to promote the flow of chi in the body for a healthy lifestyle.

TU (3/28), 9am, Dragon Phoenix, 51 N Merrimon Ave

Old School Line Dancing

Old school dances, and some new.

TH (3/30), 6:15pm, Stephens Lee Recreation Center, 30 George Washington Carver Ave

Zumba

Mask and social distancing required. Registration not necessary. Por favor usa tu cubre bocas antes de la clase.

TU (3/28), 6:30pm, St. James Episcopal Church, 424 W State St, Black Mountain

HISTORY, HOPE AND LIFE: Art Garden will host “But Where There’s Hope, There’s Life,” a performance by Carisa Armstrong and Christine Bergeron on Thursday, March 23, and Friday, March 24, at 7 p.m. This evening-length work is made up of nine choreographed sections, including visual and audio elements, to communicate the impact and importance of the Holocaust in history. Photo courtesy of The Asheville Fringe Arts Festival

ART

55th Annual Juried Undergraduate Exhibition

WCU undergraduate students share their artwork with a larger public and to enhance their skills in presenting artwork in a professional gallery setting. Free and open to the public. Tuesday through Friday, 10am. Exhibition through March 24.

WCU Bardo Arts Center, 199 Centennial Dr, Cullowhee

Daily Craft Demonstrations

Two artists of different media will explain and demonstrate their craft with informative materials displayed at their booths, daily. These free and educational opportunities are open to the public. Daily, 10am.

Folk Art Center, MP 382, Blue Ridge Pkwy

Courtney M. Leonard

- BREACH: Logbook23

| Coriolis

Exploring cultural and historical connections to water, fishing prac-

tices, and sustainability.

Created by Shinnecock

Nation ceramic artist Courtney M. Leonard as part of her BREACH series, the installation is a response to the artist’s research in Western North Carolina. Free and open to the public, Tuesday through Friday, 10am.

WCU Bardo Arts Center, 199 Centennial Dr, Cullowhee

Kirsten Stolle: The Grass Isn't Always Greener

Working in collage and text-based imagery,

Stolle’s research-based practice examines the influence of pesticide companies on our food supply. Gallery open Tuesday through Saturday, 11am to 5pm. Exhibition through April 8.

Tracey Morgan Gallery, 188 Coxe Ave

COMMUNITY MUSIC

Fourever His Gospel Quartet Southern gospel music. Offerings accepted

to fund the North Buncombe Music Scholarship. FR (3/24), 7pm, First Baptist Church of Weaverville, 63 N Main St, Weaverville Student Organ Recital Organ students led by Dr Joby Bell from Mariam Cannon Hayes School of Music at Appalachian State University will be playing works by Bach, Matthias, Gigout, Howells, and more. SA (3/25), 3pm, Christ School, 500 Christ School Rd, Arden

Tempting Fate, Finding Fortune: Carmina Burana

Featuring the Asheville Choral Society's 120 singers and two pianists, in collaboration with UNC Asheville's Visual and Performing Arts Program.

SA (3/25), 4pm, Lipinsky Auditorium at UNCA, 300 Library Ln

Ben Krakauer Band

Banjo player and composer rooted in bluegrass, jazz, and new acoustic music.

SA (3/25), 7pm, Black Mountain Center for the Arts, 225 W State St, Black Mountain

The Blue Ridge Jamboree: Doc Watson at 100

All proceeds benefit

Friends of the Blue Ridge, a volunteer and membership nonprofit organization. See p25

SA (3/25), 7pm, Wortham Center For The Performing Arts, 18 Biltmore Ave

Seraph Brass Quintent

A diverse repertoire including programs of original transcriptions, newly commissioned work and well-known classics.

SU (3/26), 3pm, Central United Methodist Church, 27 Church St Asheville Ukelele Society

Training available at 5pm. All ages and skill levels are welcome to jam.

WE (3/29), 6pm, East Asheville Library, 902 Tunnel Rd

Berklee Indian Ensemble

Grammy-nominated ensemble playing genre-bending classical, folk, Sufi, and contemporary Indian music, with influences ranging from progressive rock and jazz to Middle Eastern and African.

WE (3/29), 7:30pm, AyurPrana Listening Room, 312 Haywood Rd

Sitkovetsky Piano Trio

Consisting of violinist Alexander Sitkovetsky, pianist Wu Qian and cellist Isang Enders.

TH (3/30), 7:30pm, Brevard Music Center, 349 Andante Ln, Brevard

LITERARY

Montford Story Time:

Unicorns, Magic, and Slime, Oh My!

Followed by a related activity. Participants will receive a copy of the book to take home with them. Ages 3-5 years old with a parent or guardian.

WE (3/22), 11am, Tempie Avery Montford Community Center, 34 Pearson Ave

The Myth of Normal Book Club

Changing community by healing in commu-

nity.

WE (3/22), 5:45pm, N Asheville Library, 1030 Merrimon Ave

Poetry Open Mic

Hendo

A poetry-centered open mic that welcomes all kinds of performers every Thursday night. Performances must be no longer than ten minutes. 18+

TH (3/23, 30), 7:30pm, Shakedown Lounge, 706 Seventh Ave , Hendersonville

Shut Up and Write!

Join fellow writers to write, together. No reading or critiquing, and no real talking, except for the optional socializing following the session.

MO (3/27), 2pm, Dripolator, 909 Smokey Park Hwy, Candler

Montford Story Time:

When the Sky Roars

A story followed by a related activity. Participants also receive a copy of the book to take home with them.

Ages 3-5 years old with a parent or guardian.

WE (3/29), 11am, Tempie Avery Montford Community Center, 34

Pearson Ave

Joke Writing Workshop

Hosted by Disclaimer

Stand Up Lounge and moderated by Cody Hughes, weekly. Bring 90 seconds of material that isn't working.

WE (3/22, 29), 6:30pm, Asheville Music Hall, 31 Patton Ave

THEATER & FILM

But Where There’s Hope There’s Life

This evening-length work consists of nine choreographed sections that include various visual and audio elements with a focus on the Holocaust.

TH (3/23), FR (3/24), 7pm, Art Garden AVL, 191 Lyman St #316

Inside Amanda

An interactive dance piece that explores the theme of inwardness expressed outwardly.

TH (3/23), 7pm and SA (3/25), 9pm. BeBe Theatre, 20 Commerce St

Kristen Adlrich: Flawed & Whole

One white woman grappling with self acceptance and racial identity, while trying to be the best ally and accomplice possible.

TH (3/23), SA (3/25), 7pm, Tyger Tyger Gallery, 191 Lyman St, Ste 144

Life Review: The Hospice Musical Cabaret

A new musical comedy that brings fresh perspective to some of the oldest taboos: death, dying, illness, aging, and loss.

TH (3/23), SA (3/25), 9pm, Story Parlor, 227 Haywood Rd

Sweet Charity

This screenplay follows a dance hall hostess named Charity Hope Valentine as she searched for love and happiness in New York City. Thursday March 23 through Saturday March 25 at 7:30pm and Sunday at 2:30pm.

Owen Theatre, 44 College St, Mars Hill

Swipes Right: An Incomplete Guide to the Ultimate Date Night

A brand-new comedic experience presented by The Second City.

TH (3/23), 7:30pm, The WCU Bardo Arts Center, 199 Centennial Dr, Cullowhee

Halvsies

Nick and Amanda have each written one half of a play. Neither has seen the other half.

TH (3/23), SA (3/25), 9pm, Tyger Tyger Gallery, 191 Lyman St, Ste 144

In Loving Memory: The Poet and Citizen Martha Whythblath

A staged funeral of the fictional poet and icon.

TH (3/23), FR (3/24), 9pm, Art Garden, 191 Lyman St, Ste 316

On The Move

Troupe VarieTEASE trudge across the stage dragging moving boxes bearing totems from their past productions, setting into motion the latest deeply personal dance show.

TH (3/23), SA (3/25), 9pm, The Magnetic Theatre, 375 Depot St

Yellow

An exploration of a woman's internal life when the lights go off and the world fades away. TH (3/23), 9pm and SA (3/25), 7pm. BeBe Theatre, 20 Commerce St

Women’s History

Month Movie: A League of Their Own

As America’s stock of athletic young men is depleted during World War II, a professional all-female baseball league springs up in the Midwest. Free drinks and popcorn.

FR (3/24), 6pm, Dr. Wesley Grant, Sr. Southside Center, 285 Livingston St

Ambrose (The Dumb Doctor)

An original, multicultural comedy of mistaken identities and trickery. All proceeds benefit Asheville Community Theatre. FR (3/24), SA (3/25), 2:30pm Asheville Community Theatre, 35 E Walnut St

Love & Laughter

Comedy Theatre

A series of sketches that highlight challenges, and also bring to life some of the mystery and gains of leaning into the presence of

God. FR (3/24), 7pm, Gateway Church, 20 Integrity Dr, Woodfin

The Campfireball

A storytelling show about the audience. The entire experience is created in the moment around the stories, lives and anecdotes of the people in attendance.

FR (3/24), 7pm and SU (3/26), 4pm.

Tyger Tyger Gallery, 191 Lyman St, Ste 144 Heart Ripped out Twice & So Can You!

A one-woman (mostly) comedy about pain. FR (3/24), 9pm and SU (3/26), 6pm. Story Parlor, 227 Haywood Rd

All My Dandelion Wishes & Merling Speaks With Kids

Asheville Fringe double feature focusing on kids. FR (3/24, 25), 9pm, Empyrean Arts, 32 Banks Ave, Studio 108

One Last Night with Mary MacLane

Nora Bonner performs her original-one woman acoustic rock musical, based on the life and mysterious death of Mary Maclane. FR (3/24), 9pm, House of Kismet, 27 Foundy St Sweetlumps

A bouffon-inspired look at how weird, grotesque, and desparate are beautiful. FR (3/24), 9pm and SU (3/26) at 6pm.

Tyger Tyger Gallery, 191 Lyman St, Ste 144

Wendy, My Darling

A modern take on the classic story of Peter Pan, featuring five original pop songs, live accompaniment, multimedia and celebrity performances by Jon Cryer and Busy Philipps. FR (3/24), 9pm and SU (3/26), 4pm. LEAF

Global Arts, 19 Eagle St Acting Fundamentals Workshops with Nemesis Theatre Company Sharpen your choices in this intensive session. All levels welcome. 16+ SA (3/25), 11am, Attic Salt Theatre, The Mills at Riverside, 2002 Riverside Dr, Ste 42-O New Works Series

Script-in-hand readings of new plays by emerging local playwrights, followed by a talk back. SA (3/25), 3pm, Hendersonville Theatre, 229 South Washington St, Hendersonville

Navigating Synchronicity

A simultaneous arrangement and dance composition. SA (3/25), 7pm, Tyger Tyger Gallery, 191 Lyman St Vanya & Sonia & Masha & Spike

This is a comedy about middle aged siblings who live together, and the complexity of relationships. Wednesday through Saturday at 7:30pm and Sunday

COMMUNITY CALENDAR

at 2pm. Runs through April 16.

North Carolina Stage Company, 15 Stage Ln

How The Grinch

Reversed Racism

A playfully sardonic piece that unpacks discussions of race and identity in the United States. FR (3/24), 7pm and SU (3/26), 4pm. Fleetwood's, 496 Haywood Rd

The Blurr

Designed to create a dialogue about how race, privilege, and love intersect in a world full of color and chaos. FR (3/24), 9pm and SU (3/26), 4pm.

The Magnetic Theatre, 375 Depot St

MEETINGS & PROGRAMS

Community Co-Working

A place to work on your online magical, creative, and healing business.

Every Wednesday and Thursday.

WE (3/22, 29), TH (3/23, 30), 10am, Mountain Magic Studio, 3 Louisiana Ave

Sewing Club

Bring your machine or borrow one and be taught how to use it.

WE (3/22, 29), 5:30pm, The Burger Bar, 1 Craven St

The Learning Garden presents: Building an ADA Compliant Raised Garden

Alan Wagner will discuss the significant points on how to build an ADA compliant raised bed, including height, dimensions, and the materials to use.

TH (3/23), 10am, Buncombe County Cooperative Extension Center, 49 Mount Carmel Rd, Ste 102

WNC Career Expo

WNC businesses and organizations will be promoting career opportunities for job seekers in advanced manufacturing, technology, health care, tourism, professional services, and other high-growth industries.

TH (3/23), 11am, WNC Agricultural Center, 1301 Fanning Bridge Rd

Southside Card Game Night

Families and community members can play card games like bid whist/ spades, Apples to Apples, Uno, and more. Light refreshments served.

TH (3/23, 30), 6pm, Dr. Wesley Grant, Sr. Southside Center, 285 Livingston St

Tea & Tarot Fridays

Bring your cards, tea cup, and other favorite divination tools. All styles and experience levels welcome.

FR (3/24), Mountain Magic Studio, 3 Louisiana Ave

AMS Open House

Take a look at facilities, meet some of the teachers, students, staff and board members, and maybe even sign up for music lessons.

FR (3/24), 6:30pm, Asheville Music School, 10 Ridgelawn Rd

Marketing Your Business

This free in-person seminar helps attendees discover how to effectively and efficiently use marketing tools to help their small business.

SA (3/25), 9am, A-B

Tech Small Business Center, 1465 Sand Hill Rd, Candler

Southside Community Clean Up

Each participant will be provided gloves, masks, and trash bags or recycle bags to help pick up trash and recyclables. Contact (828) 259-5483 or grantcenter@ ashevillenc.gov.

SA (3/25), 10am, Dr. Wesley Grant, Sr. Southside Center, 285 Livingston St

Mentoring Workshop:

How to join the Southern Highland Craft Guild

Learn what it takes to join this organization of craftspeople, and prepare for your application.

SA (3/25), 1pm, Folk Art Center, MP 382, Blue Ridge Pkwy

Groove at the Grove

Enjoy 10 tables of games including cards, board games, billiards, and more. Questions: (828) 359-2062.

SA (3/25), 3pm, Grove St Community Center, 36 Grove St

Weekly Sunday Scrabble Club

No dues for the first three months.

SU (3/26), 12:15pm, Stephens Lee Recreation Center, 30 George Washington Carver Ave

Growing Your Brand Workshop: How to Hire Local Designers and Marketers

Participants will learn the difference between branding and marketing, mythbusting around hiring local for design and marketing needs, and what to look for in a local designer. MO (3/27), 9am, The Collider, 1 Haywood St

Lead By Example

Working with young men to build the skills to become confident leaders through guest speakers, games and activities, and homework assistance. Light refreshments served.

Ages 10-15. For more information, call (828) 350-2058.

MO (3/27), 6pm, Stephens Lee Recreation Center, 30 George Washington Carver Ave

Bilingual Birdies

Learn foreign language through music, dancing, puppetry, and theater

games at this free demo class for ages 0-5. Kids receive a mini puppet, digital materials, an album of Birdies "hits" songs.

TU (3/28), 9:30am, Asheville Music School, 10 Ridgelawn Rd

LOCAL MARKETS

RAD Farmers Market Winter Season

With 25-30 vendors selling a variety of local wares. Located at Smoky Park Supper Club. Handicap parking available in the Smoky Park lot, free public parking available along Riverside Drive. Also accessible by foot, bike, or rollerblade via the Wilma Dykeman Greenway.

WE (3/22, 29), 3pm, Smoky Park Supper Club, 350 Riverside Dr Weaverville Tailgate Market

A selection of fresh, locally grown produce, grass fed beef, pork, chicken, rabbit, eggs, cheese, sweet and savory baked goods, artisan bread, fire cider, coffee, pickles, body care, eclectic handmade goodies, and garden and landscaping plants. Open year round.

WE (3/22, 29), 3pm, 60 Lake Shore Dr Weaverville

Plant Show

Sustainable nursery showcasing native wildflowers, as well complementary plants such as groundcovers and herbs. Thursday and Friday at 1pm, and Sunday at 11am.

M R Gardens, 441 Onteora Blvd

North Asheville Tailgate Market

The oldest Saturday morning market in WNC, since 1980. Over 60 rotating vendors offer fresh Appalachian grown produce, meats, cheeses and eggs - with a variety of baked goods, value added foods, and unique craft items. Weekly through Dec. 16.

SA (3/25), 8am,3300 University Heights

Asheville City Winter Market

Local food products, including fresh produce, meat, cheese, bread, pastries, and other artisan products. Winter market through March 25.

SA (3/25), 10am, 52 N Market St

Spring Fling 2023

Vendors showcase antiques, vintage and retro items.

SA (3/25), 10am, Buckeye Antique Mall, 90 Buckeye Access Rd, Swannanoa

Transylvania Farmers Market

Dozens of vendors offering fresh, locally-grown produce, meat, poultry, eggs, honey, cheeses, mushrooms, juices, fermented vegetables, plants, herbs, cut flowers, baked goods, jams and jellies, prepared foods, and a variety of locally handcrafted and artisan items. Open every Saturday year-round.

SA (3/25), 10am, Transylvania Farmers Market, 190 E Main St, Brevard

WNC Farmers Market

High quality fruits and vegetables, mountain crafts, jams, jellies,

preserves, sourwood honey, and other farm fresh items. Open daily 8am, year-round. 8am, 570 Brevard Rd

FESTIVALS & SPECIAL EVENTS

Fringe Artists Party with Pop Up Previews

Artists preview their shows near the River Arts District. Food and drinks will be available.

WE (3/22), 6pm, Tyger Tyger Gallery, 191 Lyman St, Ste 144

BENEFITS & VOLUNTEERING

Book Nerd Trivia Benefit for AVL Prison Books

Face off in five rounds of book-focused trivia across a variety of literary themes and genres. This touhg-but-fun trivia challenge benefits Asheville Prison Books. Donations at the door.

TH (3/23), 7pm, Different Wrld, 701 Haywood Rd, Ste 101

REACH: Volunteer Training

REACH of Haywood County will be hosting a volunteer training day for any and all potential volunteers.

Lunch and snacks will be provided for all participants. To register, contact Buffy Queen at BQreach@aol.com

SA (3/25), 9:30am, Waynesville First United Methodist Church, 566 S Haywood St, Waynesville

WNC Charity Fire Truck Pull Teams will compete in a double-elimination

bracket race to pull two fire trucks in a race for the best time. A portion of the fundraising proceeds will be going to the North Carolina Firefighters' Burned Children Center.

SA (3/25), 10am, WNC Agricultural Center, 1301 Fanning Bridge Rd

Blue Ridge Humane Society: Annual Kitten Shower

Donations of much-needed kitten items such as kitten formula, food, kitten warmers, bottles, and supplements are encouraged. Learn about fostering by speaking to the Foster and Adoption Center Staff. Games, snacks, and other goodies will be provided for attendees.

SA (3/25), 11am, Guidon Brewing, 415 8th Ave, Hendersonville

AVL Spring Clothing Swap

Bring clothes you like and leave with clothes you love. A fundraiser for reproductive justice in Asheville. See p25

SA (3/25), 1pm, Hi-Wire Brewing RAD Beer Garden, 284 Lyman St

Eblen Charities Prom

Dress Express

Providing donated gently used and new prom dresses, shoes, and jewelry to high school students for prom and military balls at no cost. Saturday March 25 at 10am and Wednesday March 29 at noon. See p25 Eblen Charities Event space, 52 Westgate Pkwy

Fear factor

Schools address student anxiety over mass shootings

BY JESSICA WAKEMAN

jwakeman@mountainx.com

May 24, 2022, was only weeks away from Asheville High School’s graduation ceremony. Most of the students who attended Georgette Blackford’s American History II classes that day were seniors, prepared to learn about this country’s history from the Reconstruction era through the present day.

But on that Tuesday morning, a mass murderer shot and killed 19 students and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. So during Blackford’s three 90-minute long classes that day, she put previous American history on pause in order to address the current American history unfolding — one where mass shootings can feel like they occur with heartbreaking regularity.

Her students had already lived to hear about numerous mass shootings in schools, such as the Parkland, Fla., tragedy in 2018. But she tells Xpress that Uvalde felt particularly impossible to process in part because the children killed were so young — fourth graders — and reminded students of younger siblings. “The Uvalde [shooting] shook me and shook my kids deeply. … We’re all crying. I’m crying. It was just devastating.”

School shootings rose throughout the 2010s, according to the K-12 School Shooting Database, an opensource research project that tracks such shootings as far back as 1970. (It includes all incidents “when a gun is brandished, is fired or a bullet hits school property for any reason, regardless of the number of victims, time or day of the week.”) Recent years have seen those figures more than double, from 114 to 250, between 2020 and 2021. And in 2022, the country experienced 303 school shootings — the highest ever recorded.

Asheville City Schools and Buncombe County Schools have not experienced an on-campus shooting in the past five years, according to previous reporting. Nevertheless, widespread access to the media and social media means technologically connected students and their peers can be exposed to any tragic occur-

ance at any time. And a shooting in Texas or Florida can create terror and panic all the same.

‘FRUSTRATION’

Children who were directly impacted by mass shootings are the focus of most research on the adverse mental health effects of such events. However Dr,. Nick Ladd, child and adolescent psychiatrist at the Center for Psychiatry and Mental Wellness at the Mountain Area Health Education Center, points to a 2021 study published in JAMA Network Open, a peer-reviewed, open access general medical journal, that found “greater concern about school violence or shootings was prospectively associated with increased odds of reporting generalized anxiety and panic symptoms 6 months later.”

Additionally, in the aftermath of the Parkland shooting in 2018, Pew Research Center found that 57% of 13- to 17-years-olds reported feeling “very worried” or “somewhat worried” about a shooting happening at their school.

Ladd tells Xpress that in his role at MAHEC he is seeing increased anxiety in children “as the frequency of mass shootings has increased.” However, he notes that anxiety isn’t increasing uniformly and occurs “at variable levels.” Ladd explains, “Some children, based upon genetics or lived experience, will be at more risk of anxiety or an anxiety disorder (anxiety that impairs functioning).”

Blackford, who left ACS in June after six years of teaching, says that on the day of the Uvalde shooting, she dedicated the first 30 minutes of each class to giving her students a writing prompt to express their thoughts and concerns, and then held small group conversations about their writing.

Her students’ writing gave her a window into their emotion, which she described as frustration that “this sort of thing keeps happening, and that this is allowed to happen.” Her students also expressed in their writing “frustration that people — by and large, young men — keep being able to access weapons with little to no barriers,” Blackford says.

CONCERNED KIDS: Dr. Nick Ladd, child and adolescent psychiatrist at the Center for Psychiatry and Mental Wellness at the Mountain Area Health Education Center, has witnessed more anxiety in children “as the frequency of mass shootings has increased.” Photo courtesy of MAHEC

SCHOOL RESOURCES FOR ANXIETY

Both ACS and BCS have student services departments composed of licensed clinical social workers and licensed counselors.

In an email to Xpress regarding anxiety around mass shootings, Shanon Martin, assistant director of student services in BCS, writes that the district’s counselors and social workers work with students to “build resiliency skills to help manage difficult emotions.” Resiliency skills can include “breathing strategies, sensory fidgets or movement breaks …[which can]... calm anxiety and refocus the student’s mind back to learning and instruction,” she writes.

Martin also notes that the district employs social and emotional

learning coaches who, according to information shared by BCS spokesperson Stacia Harris, help students “understand themselves and others while forming strong relationships and building decision-making skills.”

Martin writes that SEL coaches also “help teachers have the resources they need to support students in their social and emotional learning.”

ACS spokesperson Dillon Huffman tells Xpress that the district’s mental health providers are finding that students’ anxiety is primarily related to peer relationships, family and community conflicts and academic concerns. “The majority of our students are not coming to them anxious about school shootings,” Huffman writes in an email.

Huffman continues, “We have had some parents, students and staff ask questions after incidents, like Uvalde, about our safety procedures and our response systems.” But the ACS counseling department hasn’t seen an increase in students voicing anxiety in the aftermath of mass shootings.

Huffman adds, “For many students, they voice that school is where they feel the safest.”

MENTAL HEALTH COMES FIRST

Anxiety manifests itself differently among various age groups. Elementary-school-age children might refuse to return to school, “cling” to a caregiver, have nightmares, scream during sleep or complain of physical ailments like stomachaches that have no discernible cause, Ladd says.

Adolescents experiencing anxiety may withdraw from family and friends, become startled easily or be preoccupied with the tragedy.

Ladd also notes that anxiety around mass shootings is “oftentimes not the presenting problem” — meaning the most visible reason for

suffering — when a child is anxious. Instead, that specific fear may be part of a cluster of fears the child is experiencing, and children may need to be prompted to open up about it.

Many kids are attuned to the gravity of tragedy through the emotional reactions of adults in their lives.

“It’s so important for the adults to take care of themselves and their own anxiety around these issues,” Erwin High School counselor Libby Wicker says. “Students pick up on adults’ reactions.” She advises that adults answer kids’ questions first, in order to directly address kids’ concerns, rather than provide explanations that may confuse or, worse, scare them.

Wicker explains, “Sometimes in our rush to reassure children, we run the risk of bringing up details that they hadn’t already known which can add to anxiety.”

Ladd adds that adults talking to kids about mass shootings should “highlight how other people are looking out for them.” (For example, ACS and BCS both have security protocols as well as state-mandated drills.) But he cautions grown-ups not to “automatically jump to dismissing [kids’ fears] or trying to change/ fix them.”

Not every parent may feel prepared to have these hard conversations; the experts who spoke with Xpress cited many resources for assistance. And not every educator may be as comfortable as Blackford, the AHS history instructor, discussing tragic current events in the classroom in service of addressing students’ well-being. Yet she felt ACS was “supportive of teachers making choices in their classroom that would focus a lot more on building community and resilience.”

She continues, “If it meant that a lesson didn’t get taught that day, it wasn’t that big of a deal. Because the students and their mental health and emotional health came first.”

Resources for talking to kids

The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry offers information on kids’ behavioral changes after a disaster and information about post-traumatic stress disorder in children at avl.mx/cih.

— Recommended by child and adolescent psychiatrist at the Center for Psychiatry and Mental Wellness at the Mountain Area Health Education Center Nick Ladd

The National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative within the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration provides resources on understanding child traumatic stress and childhood traumatic grief, as well as tips for parents, caregivers and teachers for talking with children after a traumatic event. Learn more at www.samhsa.gov/ child-trauma

— Recommended by Buncombe County Schools assistant director of student services Shanon Martin Common Sense Media, a nonprofit dedicated to educating caregivers about age-appropriate media and digital literacy, published several articles about discussing gun violence with kids. “How to Talk to Kids About School Shootings” can be read at avl.mx/cie and “Tips for Families Facing Hate Speech and Mass Shootings” can be read at avl.mx/cif.

— Recommended by Dr. Ladd

Elizabeth Garbarino, MD Grace Evins, MD

Royal resilience

Asheville’s drag community unites amid protests

BY EDWIN ARNAUDIN

Life as a royal is never easy, but the current climate for drag queens and kings feels especially fraught.

In its first year tracking anti-LGBTQ protests and threats targeting specific drag events, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation reported 141 incidents in 2022. Of those, 10 were in North Carolina, which ranks second only to Texas’ 20, and the numbers continue to grow in 2023.

Divine, a local performer and producer with Bearded Lady Productions, knows about those threats all too well. In January, a group of protesters gathered outside her event at the S&W Market.

Amanda Ball, Highland Brewing Downtown Taproom assistant manager, says the group was blocking entry

into the building and carried signs and fliers. “They had microphones and were being very loud about their beliefs,” she recalls. “When the cops arrived, they told them that they must stay on the sidewalk and that they cannot block entry nor block the door.”

Samantha Booth, spokesperson for APD, confirms that a call was received for a civil disturbance, officers made contact with the involved parties, and no arrests were made.

Instead of cowering, Divine performed that evening and walked out the door “in full drag, ready to take it on.” By then, the crowd had dispersed. Nevertheless, she was escorted to her vehicle by members of the Highland team and now has security at her shows.

“When you think that there’s a Listserve somewhere for [hate groups] to notify them where to go to protest or bash somebody — that’s frightening,” Divine says. “This is not just the bully at school. It’s a systemic planned attack.”

But there is support within the drag community. Amid the onset of the protest outside the S&W, Divine was instructed to avoid the windows. Fearful for her life, she texted her family and fellow local performers.

Voting

“Within a minute, every drag queen in Asheville was on guard, and the bar owners were on point knowing that this is happening,” Divine says. “So yes, there’s absolute network and strength here. It’s just not always visible because we’re always fighting about who’s pretty and who looks the best.”

That support also extends to kindly strangers within the broader community. After her performance at the S&W,

Divine was told that a group of locals emerged from the adjacent Times Bar and persuaded the protesters to leave.

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS

Dahmit Janet of the Beer City Sisters has noticed a similar increase in protests and threats against the drag community in the last year or two. But even before this rise in unwanted attention, her house (i.e., performance group) had safety precautions in place.

“Our rule that we go by is to never go anywhere alone, ever, when you’re what we call ‘in face,’” Janet says. “I’ve lived in the Asheville area most of my life, and I’ve never really felt unsafe here. But once you have that face on, it can change things.”

At Scandals Nightclub, where drag shows have been held since 1982, manager Kristin Presley is sure to have security standing at the stage during each event, which has been done from the start.

“Our security team is very good about keeping patrons clear of the floor,” Presley says. “If our drag queens ever feel uncomfortable leaving the bar, they know they have security there to make sure they are safe.”

Even with such precautionary measures, the drag community encounters plenty of other obstacles, including

political ones. On March 2, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed a bill banning drag shows on public property in the state and for those younger than 18. The bill equates drag performers with strippers but will have wide-ranging consequences that Divine says its sponsors have yet to realize.

“It means there can’t be a single drag performer or drag queen at Pride in the entire state of Tennessee. It means any piece of theater that uses drag as a convention or a plot convention will be illegal,” she says. “So, what about women who wear pants? And pastors who wear robes? Would the pope get arrested in Tennessee? Anyone wearing clothing that’s defined as nonaligned with their perceived gender breaks this law.”

Though such prohibitive actions are often framed as protecting children, Janet says the drag community and its allies believe that it’s actually rooted in LGBTQ persecution. Minors, Janet continues, aren’t allowed at the Beer City Sisters’ truly adult-themed performances.

“Not all drag is the same,” she says. “Most of our shows are at a bar, so you’re not coming in if you’re not of adult age. But then we’re also ... in the [Asheville] Mardi Gras parade, and that is very different from the midnight show at the 21-and-over bar.”

AB FAB: The Beer City Sisters enjoy Asheville Mardi Gras in 2022 — an appearance very different from their usual late-night shows at local bars. Photo courtesy of Beer City Sisters

POPULAR KIDS

Despite these challenges, the Asheville drag community continues to put on fabulous shows practically every day. And in the case of Asheville Drag Brunch and the Beer City Sisters, they make a difference for communities in need.

Both groups are nonprofits and donate all proceeds from performances to local charities. Upcoming beneficiaries for Asheville Drag Brunch include Arms Around ASD, Tranzmission, Healing Solutions

Counseling and — at the Sunday, April 9, return of Pageant: The Drag Show at The Grey Eagle — Blue Ridge Pride Center; and the Beer City Sisters have worked closely with the WNC AIDS Project, Loving Food Resources and BeLoved Asheville.

This philanthropic side of drag and the support that’s shown among its members have resulted in a robust scene that continues to grow. Divine says you “can’t throw a heel without hitting a queen” in Asheville. And Presley doesn’t have any trouble booking shows at Scandals.

“I’ve seen more people want to participate,” Presley says. “They’ve come together as a community as well, wanting to help each other promote themselves and also to help the younger ones or the newer ones learn the ropes.”

The gradual mainstreaming of drag, however, has been a blessing and a curse. Divine notes that while the “RuPaul’s Drag Race” reality show and competition has resulted in elevated attendance, it’s also led to impossible standards for certain patrons.

“RuPaul has projected the image that drag is all jaw-dropping spectacular and every drag queen should be able to sew,” Divine says. “[Asheville’s] drag queens are working, like, a 40-hour job at Cookout, and $10,000 minimum is what it will take you to be on ‘Drag Race,’ just to have the costume.”

Such unfair expectations for local performers are increasingly coupled

with drag audiences that aren’t aware of proper etiquette. Divine notes that bridal parties and “straight girl parties” choose to be at drag shows because they trust the queer community to provide a safe space in which to party. Though some of these groups are respectful and aware that the performers’ salaries come from tips, she says most aren’t.

“They’re invading the queer space and not really knowing the culture of what they’re getting into,” she says.

“And it pisses us off.”

At Scandals, Presley sees plentiful birthday parties, bachelorette parties and other groups celebrating special events — most of whom are well behaved.

“I’ve definitely seen drag gain popularity over the years but it’s kind of always been there,” Presley says. “I think that we could always use education, just with the diversity. For the most part, our patrons respect drag queens and drag shows. But given the circumstances, you always have one [who doesn’t] here or there.”

ROOM TO GROW

Additional performance homes at Banks Ave. Bar, O.Henry’s, Asheville Beauty Academy and various breweries and wine bars help sustain the demand for local drag perfor-

mances, though its members see plenty of opportunities for growth and improvement.

“I think that we have a great scene, but it’s still very much a late-night scene,” Janet says. “That’s sort of when the LGBTQ community feels more comfortable expressing themselves. It would be great if there were more events like [Blue Ridge] Pride, where there’s some exposure to the mainstream.”

In this writer’s conversation with Janet, the concept of a Drag Congress with representatives from each house was jokingly suggested but received support from the performer — who would nominate Divine for the assembly. Janet notes that her friend is a true leader who isn’t afraid to speak out about difficult topics or stand up to adversaries who want to intimidate her and her sisters.

“It’s scary to me, but inside me, larger than that fear is my want for equity and fairness and equality,” Divine says. “[Opposition groups] have no idea what they’re protesting. I want them to meet me — let’s talk. Let’s just be humans together. You’ll not be scared of me, I promise. My makeup may scare you, but that’s it.” X

WORK IT: Divine collects a well-earned tip at Chow Chow’s 2022 Appalachian Pride Brunch at Smoky Park Supper Club. Photo by Stephan Pruitt Photography

Dreams restored

BY TREVOR LEACH

mallowrosecottage@gmail.com

Local artist JoeRob believes creative endeavors have the potential to unite.

“Art brings people together in a diverse community,” he says. “If you can get people together, then they’ll find out they have a lot more likeness than they have differences.”

Such pursuit has led the artist to relaunch his Restored Dreams Project, which he’s operated on and off for several years. Currently unhoused, JoeRob is based out of the shuttered West Asheville Presbyterian Church on Haywood Road. The site is one of several properties involved in the Winter Safe Shelter program, organized by Counterflow, a local nonprofit, and several area churches.

On Saturday, March 25, 3-8 p.m., the Restored Dreams Project will present the exhibit, Diamonds in the Rough at nearby Trinity United Methodist Church, 587 Haywood Road. The show celebrates the artistry of marginalized voices through sculpture, painting, live music, mixed media and the premiere of Ben Phan’s latest short documentary about JoeRob’s community efforts.

A SENSE OF HOME

Art, says JoeRob, has saved him from drug addiction and has offered him a deeper sense of purpose in life. Through the Restored Dreams Project, he’s hoping to extend that message to others facing adverse experiences.

Reflecting on his childhood in Charlotte and Asheville, he notes

a near compulsion to create that often landed him in trouble with his parents. Initially, he drew on the walls inside his home. Later, to avoid punishment, he relocated his focus to the back of his bedroom door. Once this, too, was discovered, he started drawing inside the closet.

Throughout much of his adulthood, the concept for the Restored Dreams Project emerged through programs he launched in libraries across North Carolina as well as Augusta, Ga. Often, JoeRob’s ability to sustain a project, however, was disrupted by his ongoing housing issues.

Such was the case in December until the Winter Safe Shelter opened. JoeRob, along with nine other community members struggling with homelessness, was invited to stay in the space on a referral basis. The program prioritizes families, people of color and members of the LGBTQ+ community.

“I have a huge amount of admiration and respect for him as someone

who has stayed true to his creativity and art,” says Dan Pizzo, co-founder of Counterflow. “It’s given me an opportunity to reengage with that creative part of myself.”

“[JoeRob] is not a ‘homeless artist,’ but a masterful artist,” adds the Rev. Dustin Mailman of Trinity United Methodist Church. The religious leader emphasizes that JoeRob’s talents have been beneficial to all parties sharing the space. “On top of people finding their artistic sensibilities — because it all exists in each of us — there is this sense of belonging, and there’s a sense of home.”

As the project develops, JoeRob imagines the shelter providing a place for members of the community to make art, record music and hold live performances for the public. He also dreams of establishing a venue where low-income artists can enroll in internships so that “they can live at a place for a period of time and they can hone their skills,” he explains.

Ways to get involved

Winter Safe Shelter needs large and small donations, including bottled water, snacks, coats, cleaning supplies, hand soap, light bulbs and single-size mattresses. In the coming months, the Restored Dreams Project will also be seeking volunteers to assist with programs and events, as well as art supplies. To learn more, visit avl.mx/chy.

“The Restored Dreams Project is an evolving idea that can grow beyond this building” adds Pizzo. Counterflow and the affiliated churches hope to raise enough funds to keep the shelter running at West Asheville Presbyterian Church for at least the rest of the year, but without adequate support, they will have to consider additional options.

GIVING NEW LIFE

In speaking with JoeRob, the range of his artistic talents is readily apparent. He has previously made large, totemlike sculptures, which take him months to complete, as well as figurative busts and other painted works.

In the broken and twisted patterns of nature, JoeRob sees beauty where others might see neglect. “I love trying to tell a story in my art,” he says.

“I’m also in love with trees. To me, the tree is the most beautiful plant, the most beautiful creation of God.”

Elaborating, JoeRob says, “I feel like if I didn’t go out in the woods and find those pieces, then they would just rot, and no one would ever remember anything about it. But if I take it and I make it into a piece of art, then it gives it a whole other life.”

As a Black artist, he continues, trees also represent death. Between 1877 and 1950, more than 4,400 African Americans were lynched. “There’s been a lot of people hung in trees,” JoeRob says. “Trees can tell a lot about history. They’ve been around for a long time.”

Similar to how JoeRob revitalizes fallen branches, he says the Restored Dreams Project looks to save people by bringing them into the community, sharing the transformative power of art and “empowering the people to help themselves.” X

WHAT

Restored Dreams Project presents Diamonds in the Rough exhibition of artwork by JoeRob and other local artists.

WHERE

Trinity United Methodist Church, 587 Haywood Road. avl.mx/ch

WHEN

March 25, 3-8 p.m. Suggested donation at the door.

SHARING HIS MESSAGE: Art, says JoeRob, has saved him from drug ad-

diction and given him a better sense of purpose.

The Restored Dreams

Project aims

to

extend

that message to others facing challenges. Photo by Trevor Leach

West Asheville shelter provides a place for creativity and hope

March 25th, 7pm (VIP dinner at 5pm)

Wortham Center for Performing Arts

Tickets are $45 and available at worthamarts.org

A $50 VIP event add-on includes dinner, two drink tickets, and a pre-concert talk on Watson’s legacy led by host East Tennessee State University Appalachian Studies professor Ted Olson. blueridgefriends.org

Wayne Henderson

Jack Hinshelwood

T. Michael Coleman

Jack Lawrence

Three years out

BY BILL KOPP

In the months leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Asheville music scene was running full throttle. Venues featuring local and touring acts boasted busy calendars. But once the government-mandated shutdowns went into effect, concert halls temporarily closed. And in some instances — Mothlight and Ambrose West — the closures proved permanent.

However, even as governmental restrictions lifted, artist-required safety measures continued well into 2022, says Jeff Santiago, operations manager for The Orange Peel and Rabbit Rabbit. And for many musicians, he continues, the rules were moot. “Some artists decided not to tour,” Santiago explains. “So, we saw a few tours — ones we already had on the books — go away.”

Three years after the initial shutdown, Xpress caught up with several in the local industry for an update on the state of the local music scene, how individual spaces weathered the storm and what the future looks like for Asheville’s venues on the whole.

TO EACH THEIR OWN

Today, operations at music venues that survived the lockdowns are seeing a return to normal, note many within the local industry. And there’s strong incentive for that: Audiences are ready to come out and see shows, and the venues are ready to fill up their open calendar dates.

“There’s a small handful of artists who aren’t comfortable yet,”

Asheville music venues reflect on the impact of 2020’s lockdown

Santiago says. “But [nearly] everyone’s back at it.” Meanwhile, vaccination requirements, mask mandates and enforced social distancing have all gone away. “The onus for attending shows has kind of reverberated back to attendees,” says Matthieu

Rodriguez , marketing coordinator for Harrah’s Cherokee Center –Asheville. “The ‘new normal’ is really defined by the people attending events.”

While the strict requirements of the pandemic era no longer apply to venues, Rodriguez continues, many

touring acts still follow safety protocols. “Over the past year, we’ve seen artists maintain the same level of standard operating procedures for health and wellness backstage,” he says. “They make most of their money on touring, so it’s imperative for them to keep continuing testing

POST-PANDEMIC JAM: Three years after the initial shutdown, Xpress catches up with local music venues about the state of the scene, how individual spaces weathered the storm and what the future looks like for musicians and concertgoers alike. Photo by Steve Atkins | Fox Cove Photography

and to wear face masks when they’re setting up.”

Santiago says that the same is true at his venues. “Our production team continues to wear masks when they’re working because they know they’re dealing with people who are traveling all around the country and coming into contact with a lot of people,” he says.

MAKING UP FOR LOST TIME

Meanwhile, VIP experiences and meet-and-greets, which were widely popular in the pre-pandemic era, are back in demand with levels near to what they were four years ago. “The artists want to get back to that,” Rodriguez says. “They miss people.”

“We’re seeing more and more meet-and-greet packages,” Santiago echoes. “Any kind of upsell that artists are doing is an opportunity for them to make more income. I think they’re just trying to maximize their income possibilities given the amount of income lost over the pandemic.”

This urgency to earn comes in the wake of inflation. But Rodriguez emphasizes that the city-owned Harrah’s Cherokee Center has a goal of “not pushing those rising costs onto our fans.”

And people are indeed coming out for shows once again. “We did see our drop count go down,” says Santiago, referring to the number of ticket holders who show up at an event. “But those counts have gotten increasingly [higher].”

THE SHOW MUST GO ON

Despite the uptick in sales and the general sense that universal safety measures are things of the past, the teams that run local music venues don’t want to get caught off-guard as they did in 2020. “We

had plexiglass screens everywhere for a while,” Santiago remembers.

“Between the monitor person and the stage, between our front-of-house technicians and the crowd, between bartenders and the crowd.”

And while all of those screens have now come down, they’re being kept handy. “We can’t afford to toss this stuff when we might have to possibly reuse it,” Santiago says.

As late as 2022, it wasn’t unusual for a concert to be canceled at the last minute due to an artist’s illness. That happens much less frequently these days. “And if a band needs to postpone due to COVID, we immediately try to rebook the show within a reasonable time frame, based on routing and venue availability,” Santiago explains.

It’s in everyone’s interest for the show to go on as soon as it’s practical to do so. “At this point, only a mandate closing down shows and/or venues can be considered a force majeure,” Santiago explains. “That motivates venues and artists to quickly work out rebooking a canceled show.”

Katie Hild, Salvage Station’s marketing director, says her crew has gained similar insights into the ways they approach their events. “All of the changes that took place due to the pandemic ended up making our team stronger, the venue better and the love for live music in Asheville to shine even brighter,” she says.

OPTIMISTIC OUTLOOK

Ultimately, for local concertgoers, there are reasons for optimism. While Ambrose West closed at the beginning of the pandemic, a new venue, AyurPrana Listening Room, recently opened in the same space near Beacham’s Curve in West Asheville.

Director David Newman says that the new music venue has a

character that sets it apart. “The Listening Room is a peaceful and pristine setting with stellar acoustics to enjoy music of diverse cultures, genres and traditions,” he says, noting that AyurPrana is alcohol-free and “focuses on the music.”

Meanwhile, talent booker/consultant Sam Katz of Charlie Traveler Presents is seeing more national performers returning to the area. “We’re getting huge [touring] acts in this city, and I don’t see that stopping.”

He believes that bands and ticket buyers alike recognize Asheville as a “destination town” for music. “It’s a place that people want to come to and bands want to play. And I see that continuing on for many years to come,” he says.

Back at The Orange Peel, Santiago believes that the pandemic has taught him some valuable lessons. In particular, he points to the formation of the National Independent Venue Association, which launched in 2020. The grassroots organization lobbied Congress for the Save Our Stages Act (renamed the Shuttered Venues Operators Grant Program). The initiative became law in December 2020, providing a fund of $16 billion in emergency relief for entertainment venues.

“NIVA was a big deal for coming together to help each other navigate through the problems we had to face,” Santiago says. “That was part of what helped us survive.”

Surviving the shutdown also emphasized to Santiago the strong role community plays in the local music industry.

“I think we’ve understood for a while here in Asheville that we are all part of an ecosystem together,” he says. “We watch and help artists develop. And because we’re such a tightknit community here — we all know each other, we’re all friends — we figure out how to make it all work.”

What’s new in food

Rabbit Hole at Sunny Point Café opens

The next time you drive by Sunny Point Café in West Asheville, you might see something missing: a long line down the block.

The almost 20-year-old restaurant, especially popular during weekend brunch, quietly opened its annex, Rabbit Hole, in early March. The smaller café, which is situated behind its parent restaurant, is a place to enjoy a beverage or snack if you are waiting for a table at Sunny Point.

“A large part of the inspiration for opening this was to give people a place to wait if it’s cold or if it’s raining,” says co-owner April

Moon Harper

But the space also serves as a much-needed baking kitchen for

MOVIE REVIEWS

Local reviewers’ critiques of new films include:

INSIDE: Co-writer/director Vasilis Katsoupis’ slow-burn thriller about an art thief who becomes trapped in a NYC penthouse probably should have been a short film. But star Willem Dafoe is so magnetic that it’s rarely dull. Grade: B

— Edwin Arnaudin

Sunny Point — and features pastries, small bites, coffee beverages and some cocktails. “We really want this to be a place where people can come get a quick pickup item that represents our food,” says Harper.

The deck of Rabbit Hole, which overlooks the on-site garden and can hold up to 40 people, is available for private events and will also host special pop-ups such as family-style dinners.

“We’ll have seasonal things that will come up and change,” says Harper. “And we’re excited to do special things out of here such as the family-style dinners, where folks can sit out over the garden and enjoy featured produce and local food.”

Harper and co-owner Belinda Raab conceived the idea for the new spot before the pandemic. The name comes from the phrase “going down the rabbit hole,” which is what Harper and Raab say they felt they were doing during the project’s early stages.

“It’s taken a while and it’s been challenging,” Raab says. “But we’re here!”

Harper adds that she hopes that the addition will appeal to locals who may have stayed away from the café due to those long lines. “This is our way to reach out and let them know we love them still,” she says.

Rabbit Hole is at 9 State St. and is open Thursday-Sunday, 8:30 a.m. - 2 p.m. For more information, visit avl.mx/ci5.

Mayfel’s opens under new ownership

Find full reviews and local film info at ashevillemovies.com patreon.com/ashevillemovies

At the end of February, husbandand-wife team Anthony and Sherrye Coggiola, who own The Cantina

in Biltmore Village, purchased and reopened Mayfel’s in downtown Asheville.

“Being natives of Asheville and enjoying Mayfel’s last 20 years of bringing the bayou to the Blue Ridge made it an easy decision to move forward with the purchase,” says Sherrye.

Changes to the downtown staple include aesthetic updates, maximizing the restaurant’s small space for efficiency and refocusing the menu to feature strictly Cajun and Creole cuisine.

The couple also plan to bring The Catina’s tradition of donating to MANNA FoodBank to Mayfel’s, where customers can support the local nonprofit through select menu purchases.

Sherrye says that once the weather warms up, the restaurant will also offer Mayfel’s Late, with a limited late-night menu and curated cocktails in the back courtyard.

Mayfel’s is at 22 College St. and is open Friday-Monday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. and 4-8 p.m. For more information, visit avl.mx/ci6.

A wine dinner celebrating women

When chef Terri Terrell took a recent road trip through the Mississippi Delta to visit her roots, she was inspired by the overwhelming female presence at many of the roadside diners.

“Now don’t get me wrong the men folx were present as well,” says Terrell in a Facebook post. “But it was the women that were PRESENT.”

Terrell, the owner of the catering and consulting business The

Clarksdale (named after her Mississippi hometown), returned to Asheville wanting to honor these women. At 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 29, Terrell will partner with local restaurateur Charlie Hodge and his Sovereign Remedies team, as well as Juniper Cooper of Johnson Brothers Mutual Distributing of NC, for the Women’s History Month Wine Dinner at Asheville Beauty Academy. The five-course dinner will feature plates and pours inspired by Deltabased female chefs and winemakers. Menu items include po’boy bites with fried oysters, braised short rib dumplings and bread pudding made with Moon Pies and buttermilk ice cream. The $89 per person dinner will also feature Mississippi Delta stories shared by Terrell.

Asheville Beauty Academy is at 28 Broadway. For more information, visit avl.mx/ci7.

Ag awareness

On March 7, the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners approved a proclamation that declared March 21 as Buncombe County Agriculture Awareness Day. “Buncombe County has over 1,000 farms and more than 72,000 acres of farmland, which produce $50 million in revenue,” read the proclamation. “Commissioners recognize that Buncombe County farmers produce safe, affordable and abundant food and fiber products that are used and consumed by Buncombe County citizens every day.”

To read the full proclamation, visit avl.mx/ci8.

— Andy Hall

GO ASK ALICE: Rabbit Hole, the annex to West Asheville’s popular Sunny Point Café, features baked goods and beverages. Photo by Andy Hall

Around Town

Concert honors Doc Watson’s 100th birthday

As a beginning musician, Jack Hinshelwood was thrilled by the sounds of legendary bluegrass guitarist Doc Watson.

“Doc’s playing was a thing to marvel at, to aspire to,” Hinshelwood says. “And yet it was also straightforward and relatable to anyone that wanted bad enough to learn it.”

Hinshelwood, who has gone on to a distinguished career as a guitarist, fiddler and singer, will be among four musicians playing at Blue Ridge Jamboree: Doc at 100 at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 25, at the Diana Wortham Theatre. The benefit concert will be presented by the nonprofit Friends of the Blue Ridge.

The jamboree will include guitarists T. Michael Coleman and Jack Lawrence, who performed, recorded and toured with Watson longer than any other musicians. They will be joined by fellow guitarists Wayne Henderson and Hinshelwood, who were influenced by Watson’s music.

Ted Olson , professor of Appalachian studies at East Tennessee State University, will lead a preconcert talk about Watson’s legacy. Olson is the author of Doc’s World: Traditional Plus, the book that accompanies a 2022 compilation of Watson recordings.

Friends of the Blue Ridge, which focuses its efforts on North Carolina and Virginia, held a jamboree in Watson’s honor in Roanoke, Va., in November. The organization’s leaders thought it was important to present the program in both states, says Michael Hemphill, marketing manager.

Watson was born in 1923 in Deep Gap, an unincorporated community in Watauga County, and rose to prominence during the folk music revival of the early 1960s. His fingerstyle and flatpicking skills proved enormously influential in the realms of country and folk music. He died in 2012.

“Doc was a product of the mountain culture of the Blue Ridge and the larger Appalachian region,” Hinshelwood says. “His personality and immense talents made him one of the region’s greatest ambassadors, someone that the area’s residents were proud to claim as one of their own.”

The Diana Wortham Theatre is at 18 Biltmore Ave. For more information or to buy tickets, go to avl.mx/ci0.

RAIL Memorial Project Symposium

First launched in 2020, RAIL, the Railroad and Incarcerated Laborer Memorial Project, is preparing for its next community event: a free symposium at UNC Asheville, which runs Thursday, March 30, through Saturday, April 1.

During the three-day conference, members from the project will discuss its brief but prolific history. Founded by UNC Asheville history professor Dan Pierce, Marion Mayor Steve Little and a dedicated group of Western North Carolina history enthusiasts, the group marshaled community support to erect a monument at Andrews Geyser in Old Fort to honor some 3,000 inmates who built the mountain division of the Western North Carolina Railroad in the late 1870s.

Most of the workers were African Americans serving lengthy sentences for petty crimes such as theft and vagrancy. Many died from hazardous working conditions and were buried in unmarked graves. (For more, see “Local Historians Honor Forgotten Railroad Workers,” Sept. 27, 2020, Xpress.

Along with featured RAIL board members, faculty from Western Carolina University, N.C. State and Warren Wilson College, as well as representatives of other local memorial groups, including the Buncombe County Remembrance Project and the African American Experiences in the Smokies Project will participate in the gathering.

The symposium kicks off with an address by Darin Waters, deputy secretary of the N.C. Office of Archives and History, at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 30, in the Mannheimer Room, Reuter Center, UNC Asheville. It continues from 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday, March 31, in the Mountain View Room, Kimmel Arena. On Saturday, April 1, participants may meet for guided visits along RAIL Project sites in Old Fort.

Pierce sees the symposium as the conclusion of the RAIL Project but notes work continues. Anne Chesky Smith, director of the Western North Carolina Historical Association, is creating panels to be placed at the top of Swannanoa Gap to tell a fuller story of the railroad’s construction.

A boulder memorializing workers who died will be placed opposite Ridgecrest Conference Center, where ground-penetrating radar and human-remains-detection dogs have located evidence of a mass gravesite.

The symposium is free with registration. For more information, visit avl.mx/cic.

Prom season

Eblen Charities will host its annual Prom Dress Express 1o a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, March 25, at 52 Westgate Parkway in the Westgate Regional Shopping Center. The event also will be held Wednesday, March 29, noon4:30 p.m.

The nonprofit will give out free new and gently used formal dresses in sizes 0-24. Shoes and other accessories also are available. Last year, Eblen gave out 100 free dresses to people attending a prom or military ball and even outfitted two weddings.

Those attending this year will be entered into drawings for giveaways like makeovers, manicures and dinners.

For more information, visit avl.mx/ci2.

Clothes for a cause

AVL Clothing Swap will host a fundraiser 1-4 p.m. Saturday, March 25, at Hi-Wire Brewing RAD Beer Garden & Distribution Center. The event will raise money for local reproductive rights organizations

AVL Clothing Swap was first organized in August to raise funds for Asheville’s Planned Parenthood clinic in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision. That

decision, issued on June 24, overturned Roe v. Wade.

Tickets to the event range from $30$50. For more information or to buy tickets, go to avl.mx/ci3.

Call to artists

Spring is just around the corner, and Sow True Seed will be selecting around 30 artists to design the company’s seed packets for the year.

“We really love to showcase a range of artistic styles and always keep our eyes out for new and unique work,” says Chloe Grund, the company’s wholesale manager and creative director. “Seeds come in all shapes, sizes, colors [and] textures, and they all have their own histories and stories, so I love that the imagery that holds the seeds can reflect that unique nature.”

Artwork submissions are open through Monday, May 1. Winning packet artists will receive $150, an art packet with the artist’s commissioned artwork and name, five seed packets and 10 empty packets of the design.

Sow True Seed will also be choosing one artist as its 2024 catalog cover artist. The winning creative will receive $1,000, the commissioned artwork on the cover of the 2024 Seed Catalog, an artist biography on the front page of the catalog and highlights on the company’s social media page and newsletter.

“I think what this opportunity does is it holds a space for connection to gardening through art and gives our loyal customers a chance to be a part of something bigger,” says Grund. Visit avl.mx/ch2 for additional information.

— Justin McGuire X With additional reporting by Blake Becker and Arnold Wengrow

HONORING DOC: From left, Jack Hinshelwood, T. Michael Coleman, Jack Lawrence and Wayne Henderson will perform at Blue Ridge Jamboree: Doc at 100. Photo courtesy of Friends of the Blue Ridge

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22

12 BONES BREWERY

Robert's Totally Rad Trivia, 7pm

ALLEY CAT SOCIAL CLUB

Karaoke Night, 8pm

ASHEVILLE BEAUTY

ACADEMY

Aquanet Goth Party w/ Ash Black, 8pm

BIER GARDEN

Geeks Who Drink Trivia, 7pm

HI-WIRE BREWING

Weekly Trivia Night w/ Not Rocket Science Trivia, 7pm

HIGHLAND BREWING

CO.

Songwriter Series w/ Matt Smith, 6pm

JACK OF THE WOOD PUB

Old Time Jam, 5pm

ONE WORLD BREWING WEST

Latin Night w/DJ Mtn Vibez, 8:30pm

SALVAGE STATION

The Iceman Special (psychedelic swamp funk), 7pm

SHAKEY'S 80s Night, 8pm

SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN BREWERY

Jazz Night w/Jason DeCristofaro, 6pm

SOVEREIGN KAVA

Poetry Open Mic, 8pm

STATIC AGE RECORDS

His His, Night Walks (indie-folk), 8pm

THE GREY EAGLE

Sweet Pill w/Kerosene Heights (emo, pop, hardcore), 7pm

THE ODD

Dead Billionaires w/

CAM GIRL, Fix Your Hearts & Moon Kissed (Indie-punk, post-punk, indie-pop), 7pm

THE SOCIAL

Wednesday Night

Karaoke w/LYRIC, 9pm

TWIN LEAF BREWERY

Wednesday Open Mic, 5:30pm

WHITE HORSE BLACK MOUNTAIN

Irish Music Circle (celtic), 7pm

THURSDAY, MARCH 23

27 CLUB

Morrow Presents: Assimilation, 9pm

ASHEVILLE BEAUTY ACADEMY

Kiki Thursday: Drag Party w/DJ RexxStep, 7pm

BATTERY PARK

BOOK EXCHANGE

Mike Kenton & Jim Tanner (gypsy jazz), 5:30pm

FLEETWOOD'S

Aunt Vicki, Occult

Fracture & The

Mouthbreathers (punk, hard-rock, garage rock), 9pm

FRENCH BROAD

RIVER BREWERY

Jerry's Dead (Grateful Dead & JGB Tribute), 6pm

GINGER'S REVENGE

SOUTH SLOPE

LOUNGE

Hops Around Comedy: Nik Cartwright, 7pm

GREEN MAN BREWERY

Robert's Totally Rad Trivia, 7pm

HIGHLAND BREWING

DOWNTOWN

TAPROOM

Not Rocket Science Trivia, 6pm

IMPERIÁL

DJ Lil Meow Meow (house, hip hop, R&B), 9pm

JACK OF THE WOOD

PUB

Bluegrass Jam hosted by Drew Matulich, 7:30pm

ONE WORLD BREWING

Jake Burns (reggae, folk, rock), 7pm

ONE WORLD BREWING WEST

Jeff Caldwell Trio (pop, jazz, funk), 8pm

SOVEREIGN KAVA

Stand Up Comedy for Your Health, 8pm

THE GETAWAY RIVER BAR

Karaoke w/Terraoke, 9pm

THE GREY EAGLE

Avey Tare: 7s Tour (alternative-indie, experimental pop, rock), 7pm

THE ODD

Hex Traffic, The Silver Doors & Rougarou (lofi, rock, 90's), 7pm

THE ORANGE PEEL

MOE (funk, free jazz, classic rock), 7pm

THE ROOT BAR

Kendra and Friends (jazz, R&B), 6pm

THE WEDGE AT FOUNDATION

Big Dad Energy Comedy, 7pm

TWIN LEAF BREWERY

Thursday Night Karaoke, 8:45pm

URBAN ORCHARD

Trivia Thursday, 6:30pm

WEDGE BREWING CO.

Big Dad Energy Comedy, 7pm

FRIDAY, MARCH 24

185 KING STREET

The Vagabonds (Southern rock), 8pm

ON THE FRITZ: Asheville-based band The Fritz releases a new album this month, and to celebrate, the group plays a hometown show at Asheville Music Hall Friday, March 24, at 10 p.m. The band’s aggressive approach to funk, soul and rock creates high-energy, danceable songs that provide a great rhythm to groove to. Photo courtesy of Jamie Hendrickson from The Fritz

ASHEVILLE BEAUTY

ACADEMY

Venus (dark house dance party), 10pm

ASHEVILLE GUITAR BAR

Mr Jimmy's Big City Blues, 7:30pm

ASHEVILLE MUSIC

HALL

The Fritz Hometown Show (psychedelic funk, soul, rock), 9pm

BEN'S TUNE UP EK Balam (reggaeton, hip-hop), 8pm

BOTANIST & BARREL

TASTING BAR +

BOTTLE SHOP

David Earl Tomlinson (rock, country soul), 6pm

CORK & KEG

The Uptown Hillbillies (honk'n'tonk, country), 8pm

DIFFERENT WRLD

Dish, Sayurblaires, Lobby Boy & Drook (indie, pop), 8pm

DRY FALLS BREWING CO. Haphazard (rock), 7pm

GINGER'S REVENGE

CRAFT BREWERY & TASTING ROOM

The Tall Boys (rock, reggae), 6pm

GINGER'S REVENGE

SOUTH SLOPE LOUNGE

Modelface Comedy Presents: Ashevillians Comedy Showcase, 7pm

HIGHLAND BREWING CO.

We Have Ignition (surf rock), 7pm

HIGHLAND BREWING DOWNTOWN TAPROOM

Brown Mountain Lightning Bugs (folk, Appalachian), 7pm

IMPERIÁL DJ Cosmico (dance, electronic), 9pm

JACK OF THE WOOD PUB

Laura Blackley & The Wildflowers (blues, folk-country, soul), 9pm

ONE WORLD BREWING

5J Barrow Friday Nights (folk), 8pm

ONE WORLD BREWING WEST

Rebekah Todd w/ Florencia & The Feeling (soul, pop-funk, Americana), 7pm

SALVAGE STATION

Natti Love Joys (reggae), 7pm

SHILOH & GAINES FWUIT (retro-soul), 9pm

SOVEREIGN KAVA Fern (Phish & Dead tribute covers), 9pm

THE GREY EAGLE Harley, Kimbro, Lewis w/Sarah Siskind (Americana, blues, roots), 7pm

THE ODD

All Hell, Doomsday Profit & Mean Green (black-thrash, metal-punk, stoner doom), 8pm

THE OUTPOST Krave Amiko (indie-alternapop), 6pm

WHITE HORSE BLACK MOUNTAIN Asheville Vaudeville Collective, 8pm

Trivia

SATURDAY, MARCH 25

185 KING STREET

Jay Van Raalte (blues, rock, folk), 8pm

27 CLUB Candescent, Sanitytn, Darkhand & Loss of Consciousness (deathcore, metalcore, screamo), 9pm

ALLEY CAT SOCIAL CLUB Karaoke Night, 8pm

ASHEVILLE BEAUTY ACADEMY 80s MAXimum Overdrive w/DJ Nato, 10pm

ASHEVILLE CLUB Mr Jimmy (blues), 7pm

Snozzberries) &

ASHEVILLE GUITAR

BAR

Vince Junior Band (blues, Appalachian soul), 7:30pm

ASHEVILLE MUSIC

HALL

Steeln' Peaches (An Allman Brothers Tribute), 10pm

BATTERY PARK

BOOK EXCHANGE

Dinah's Daydream (gypsy jazz), 5:30pm

BEN'S TUNE UP

Jaze Uries (house, electronic), 8pm

BOLD ROCK

ASHEVILLE Bluegrass Brunch, 10am

BURNTSHIRT

VINYARDS CHIMNEY

ROCK

Myron Hyman (classic rock, blues), 2pm

CORK & KEG

Zydeco Ya Ya (Cajun, zydeco), 8pm

DIFFERENT WRLD

Latin Dance Party w/ Muy Mucho (salsa, cumbia, reggaeton), 10pm

DRY FALLS BREWING

CO.

Remedy 58 (blues, soul, covers), 7pm

FLEETWOOD'S Bad Sleepers w/Tiny

TVs & C.I. Ape (garage punk), 9pm

HIGHLAND BREWING

CO.

Ashley Heath (blues, rock'n'roll), 6pm

HIGHLAND BREWING

DOWNTOWN

TAPROOM

Anne Coombs Trio (swing, rock, blues), 7pm

IMPERIÁL

DJ Nex Millen (hip-hop, funk, R&B), 9pm

JACK OF THE WOOD

PUB

• Nobody's Darling String Band, 4pm

• Left Lane Cruiser (country, blues, rock), 9pm

NOBLE CIDER

DOWNTOWN Don't Tell Comedy, 8pm

ONE WORLD

BREWING WEST

E'Lon JD w/ Thommy Knoles & Paul Gladstone (funk, soul, jazz), 8pm

SOVEREIGN KAVA

Sister Ivy (neo-soul, jazz, R&B), 10pm

STATIC AGE

RECORDS

Isaac Thursday, Nostalgianoid (hip-hop, ambient noise, tehcno), 8pm

THE BURGER BAR

Best Worst Karaoke w/ KJ Thunderkunt, 9pm

THE GREY EAGLE

Jackie Venson w/Cynthia Mcdermott (blues, soul, R&B), 7pm

THE LOFT CAFE & PUB

Geriatric Jukebox (oldies), 6pm

THE ORANGE PEEL

Check Your Head (A Beastie Boys Tribute), 7pm

THE WEDGE AT FOUNDATION

Big Dad Energy Comedy, 7pm

URBAN ORCHARD

CIDER CO. SOUTH

SLOPE

DJ Cousin TL (hip-hop), 5pm

WEDGE BREWING

CO.

Big Dad Energy Comedy, 7pm

WHITE HORSE BLACK

MOUNTAIN

The Buddy K Big Band (swing, jazz), 8pm

SUNDAY, MARCH 26

27 CLUB

Michael Rudolph

Cummings, Nate Hall, Rob Willis & Justin Riffe (rock, folk), 8pm

ASHEVILLE BEAUTY

ACADEMY

• Life's A Drag Brunch, 12pm

• SOL Dance Party w/ Zati (soul house), 9pm

ASHEVILLE GUITAR

BAR

Mark's House Jam and Beggar's Banquet, 3pm

ASHEVILLE MUSIC

HALL

The World of Drum & Bass, 8pm

BEN'S TUNE UP

• Dub Kartel (reggae, ska), 8pm

BOLD ROCK

ASHEVILLE Bluegrass Brunch, 10am

BURNTSHIRT

VINYARDS CHIMNEY

ROCK

Letters to Abigail (Appalachian Americana), 2pm

CATAWBA BREWING

CO. SOUTH SLOPE

ASHEVILLE Comedy at Catawba: Anthony DeVito, 6pm

CORK & KEG

Larry & Joe (bluegrass, Appalachian folk), 4pm

FLEETWOOD'S

Harvey Mclaughlin Band & Morgan Geer (punk, garage-rock), 8pm

HIGHLAND BREWING

CO.

Catz in Pajamas (rock'n'roll), 2pm

HOUSE OF KISMET

Mary MacLane (acoustic rock), 6pm

IMPERIÁL

DJ James Nasty, 9pm

JACK OF THE WOOD PUB

Traditional Irish Jam, 3:30pm

KANUGA MAIN

CAMPUS

Free Planet Radio

SOULstice (jazz), 4:30pm

OKLAWAHA BREWING CO.

Mr Jimmy (blues), 4pm

ONE WORLD

BREWING WEST

• Sunday Jazz Jam, 1:30pm

• The James Jam, 6pm

SALVAGE STATION

Billingsley & Hustle

Souls (rock fusion, funk, R&B), 7pm

SOVEREIGN KAVA

Aaron Woody Wood (Appalachia, soul, Americana), 7pm

STATIC AGE RECORDS

Evil Sword, Eli Winter, Sender (punk, experimental folk, no wave), 8pm

THE GREY EAGLE

Bass Drum of Death w/

Dead Tooth & Tongues of Fire (rock, folk, punk), 7pm

THE ODD

Guillotine A.D., StormToker, Temptations Wings & Sunbearer (death-metal, stoner-doom), 7pm

WHISTLE HOP BREWING CO.

StumpWater Sunday (acoustic Celtic, folk, classical), 12am

WHITE HORSE BLACK MOUNTAIN

Autism Fundraiser Concert (roots, folk), 3pm

PLĒB URBAN WINERY

Robert's Totally Rad Trivia, 4pm

MONDAY, MARCH 27

ALLEY CAT SOCIAL CLUB

Comedy The Hot Seat, 8pm

DSSOLVR

Robert's Totally Rad Trivia, 7pm

GREEN MAN

BREWERY

Traditonal Old Time Jam, 5:30pm

HIGHLAND BREWING

CO.

Totally Rad Trivia w/ Mitch Fortune, 6pm

IMPERIÁL

DJ Short Stop (soul, Latin, dance), 9pm

JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Quizzo! Pub Trivia w/ Jason Mencer, 7:30pm

NOBLE CIDER

DOWNTOWN

Freshen Up Comedy

Open Mic, 6:30pm

ONE WORLD BREWING

Open Mic Downtown, 8pm

ONE WORLD BREWING WEST

Monday Mashup w/The JLloyd MashUp Band, 8pm

SOVEREIGN KAVA

Weekly Ping Pong

Tournament, 6pm

THE JOINT NEXT DOOR

Mr Jimmy and Friends (blues), 7pm

5 WALNUT WINE BAR

The John Henrys (jazz, swing), 8pm

ASHEVILLE BEAUTY ACADEMY

Karaoke w/Ganymede, 10pm

AYURPRANA LISTENING ROOM

Tom Paxton & The DonJuans (folk), 8pm

CATAWBA BREWING

SOUTH SLOPE Andie Main Comedy, 6pm

FRENCH BROAD BREWERY

Robert's Totally Rad Trivia, 7pm

HIGHLAND BREWING CO.

Tuesday Bluegrass w/The Jacktown Ramblers, 6pm

HIGHLAND BREWING

DOWNTOWN TAPROOM Not Rocket Science Trivia, 6pm

IMPERIÁL

DJ Mad Mike: Music for the People, 9pm

LOOKOUT BREWING CO.

Team Trivia, 6:30pm

ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL

Early Tuesday Jam (funk), 7pm

ONE WORLD BREWING WEST

The Grateful Family Band Tuesdays (Dead tribute, jam band, rock), 6pm

SHAKEY'S Booty Tuesday: Queer Dance Party, 8pm

SOVEREIGN KAVA

Weekly Open Jam hosted by Chris Cooper & Friends, 6:30pm

STATIC AGE RECORDS

28

TUESDAY, MARCH

185 KING STREET

Travis Book Band w/ Jeff Sipe, Mike Ashworth, Tommy Maher & Derrick Gardner (rock'n'roll), 6:30pm

Heavy Comforter, Busy Weather, Waste Man & Gull (punk, hardcore), 8pm

THE BURGER BAR

C U Next Tuesday Late Night Trivia, 9:30pm

THE GREY EAGLE

Shawn Mullins w/Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams (rock, folk, Americana), 7pm

THE ORANGE PEEL

Elderbrook w/Ford & Erez (electronica, dance, ambient beats), 7pm

THE SOCIAL

Travers Freeway Open

Jam Tuesdays, 7pm

TWIN LEAF BREWERY

Tuesday Night Trivia, 7pm

WHITE HORSE BLACK

MOUNTAIN

Open Mic, 7pm

WEDNESDAY,

MARCH 29

12 BONES BREWERY

Robert's Totally Rad Trivia, 7pm

ALLEY CAT SOCIAL CLUB

Karaoke Night, 8pm

ASHEVILLE BEAUTY

ACADEMY

Aquanet Goth Party w/ Ash Black, 8pm

AYURPRANA

LISTENING ROOM

Berklee Indian Ensemble, 7:30pm

BIER GARDEN

Geeks Who Drink Trivia, 7pm

DIFFERENT WRLD

Queer Comedy Party w/Hayley Ellman & Kevin Delgado, 8pm

HI-WIRE BREWING

Weekly Trivia Night w/ Not Rocket Science Trivia, 7pm

HIGHLAND BREWING CO.

Songwriter Series w/ Matt Smith, 6pm

JACK OF THE WOOD PUB

Old Time Jam, 5pm

ONE WORLD

BREWING WEST

Latin Night w/DJ Mtn Vibez, 8:30pm

SHAKEY'S

80s Night, 8pm

SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN

BREWERY

Jazz Night w/Jason

DeCristofaro, 6pm

SOVEREIGN KAVA

Poetry Open Mic, 8pm

THE ODD

The HIRS Collective,

DShK, Corpse Dust & Serrate (punk, industrial thrash), 7pm

THE ORANGE PEEL

Dirtwire w/Kirby Bright & Mystik Fool (blues, swamptronica, psychedelic trance), 7pm

THE SOCIAL

Wednesday Night Karaoke w/LYRIC, 9pm

TWIN LEAF BREWERY

Wednesday Open Mic, 5:30pm

WHITE HORSE BLACK

MOUNTAIN

John Ford (roots, blues), 7:30pm

THURSDAY, MARCH 30

27 CLUB

Shutterings, Father Figures & French

Toast (punk, alternative-rock), 7:30pm

ASHEVILLE BEAUTY

ACADEMY

Kiki Thursday: Drag Party w/DJ RexxStep, 7pm

ASHEVILLE MUSIC

HALL

Commodo, Murkury, Mistah, Arkzen & King Shotta (bass, electronic), 9pm

AYURPRANA

LISTENING ROOM

The Leah Song Project, 7pm

FRENCH BROAD

RIVER BREWERY

Jerry's Dead (Grateful Dead & JGB Tribute), 6pm

GINGER'S REVENGE

SOUTH SLOPE

LOUNGE

Hops Around Comedy: Nathan Owens, 7pm

GREEN MAN BREWERY

Robert's Totally Rad Trivia, 7pm

HIGHLAND BREWING

DOWNTOWN

TAPROOM

Not Rocket Science Trivia, 6pm

IMPERIÁL

DJ Short Stop (soul, Latin, dance), 9pm

JACK OF THE WOOD

PUB

Bluegrass Jam hosted by Drew Matulich, 7:30pm

ONE WORLD BREWING

South (pop, folk, roots), 7pm

THE ODD K!ng Sh!t: Episode III: Country Fried King Sh!t,

Kendra and Friends (multiple genres),

THE

FREEWILL ASTROLOGY BY ROB BREZSNY

ARIES (March 21-April 19): If we were to choose one person to illustrate the symbolic power of astrology, it might be Aries financier and investment banker J. P. Morgan (1837–1913). His astrological chart strongly suggested he would be one of the richest people of his era. The sun, Mercury, Pluto and Venus were in Aries in his astrological house of finances. Those four heavenly bodies were trine to Jupiter and Mars in Leo in the house of work. Further, sun, Mercury, Pluto and Venus formed a virtuoso “Finger of God” aspect with Saturn in Scorpio and the moon in Virgo. Anyway, Aries, the financial omens for you right now aren’t as favorable as they always were for J. P. Morgan — but they are pretty auspicious. Venus, Uranus and the north node of the moon are in your house of finances, to be joined for a bit by the moon itself in the coming days. My advice: Trust your intuition about money. Seek inspiration about your finances.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): “The only thing new in the world,” said former U.S. President Harry Truman, “is the history you don’t know.” Luckily for all of us, researchers have been growing increasingly skilled in unearthing buried stories. Three examples: 1. Before the U.S. Civil War, six Black Americans escaped slavery and became millionaires. (Check out the book Black Fortunes by Shomari Wills.) 2. Over 10,000 women secretly worked as code-breakers in World War II, shortening the war and saving many lives. 3. Four Black women mathematicians played a major role in NASA’s early efforts to launch people into space. Dear Taurus, I invite you to enjoy this kind of work in the coming weeks. It’s an excellent time to dig up the history you don’t know — about yourself, your family, and the important figures in your life.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Since you’re at the height of the Party Hearty Season, I’ll offer two bits of advice about how to collect the greatest benefits. First, ex-basketball star Dennis Rodman says that mental preparation is the key to effective partying. He suggests we visualize the pleasurable events we want to experience. We should meditate on how much alcohol and drugs we will imbibe, how uninhibited we’ll allow ourselves to be and how close we can get to vomiting from intoxication without actually vomiting. But wait! Here’s an alternative approach to partying, adapted from Sufi poet Rumi: “The golden hour has secrets to reveal. Be alert for merriment. Be greedy for glee. With your antic companions, explore the frontiers of conviviality. Go in quest of jubilation’s mysterious blessings. Be bold. Revere revelry.”

CANCER (June 21-July 22): If you have been holding yourself back or keeping your expectations low, please STOP! According to my analysis, you have a mandate to unleash your full glory and your highest competence. I invite you to choose as your motto whichever of the following inspires you most: raise the bar, up your game, boost your standards, pump up the volume, vault to a higher octave, climb to the next rung on the ladder, make the quantum leap and put your ass and assets on the line.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): According to an ad I saw for a luxury automobile, you should enjoy the following adventures in the course of your lifetime: Ride the rapids on the Snake River in Idaho, stand on the Great Wall of China, see an opera at La Scala in Milan, watch the sun rise over the ruins of Machu Picchu, go paragliding over Japan’s Asagiri highland plateau with Mount Fuji in view, and visit the pink flamingos, black bulls, and white horses in France’s Camargue Nature Reserve. The coming weeks would be a favorable time for you to seek experiences like those, Leo. If that’s not possible, do the next best things. Like what? Get your mind blown and your heart thrilled closer to home by a holy sanctuary, natural wonder, marvelous work of art — or all the above.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): It’s an excellent time to shed the dull, draining parts of your life

story. I urge you to bid a crisp goodbye to your burdensome memories. If there are pesky ghosts hanging around from the ancient past, buy them a one-way ticket to a place far away from you. It’s OK to feel poignant. OK to entertain any sadness and regret that well up within you. Allowing yourself to fully experience these feelings will help you be as bold and decisive as you need to be to graduate from the old days and old ways.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Your higher self has authorized you to become impatient with the evolution of togetherness. You have God’s permission to feel a modicum of dissatisfaction with your collaborative ventures — and wish they might be richer and more captivating than they are now. Here’s the cosmic plan: This creative irritation will motivate you to implement enhancements. You will take imaginative action to boost the energy and synergy of your alliances. Hungry for more engaging intimacy, you will do what’s required to foster greater closeness and mutual empathy.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Scorpio poet Richard Jackson writes, “The world is a nest of absences. Every once in a while, someone comes along to fill the gaps.” I will add a crucial caveat to his statement: No one person can fill all the gaps. At best, a beloved ally may fill one or two. It’s just not possible for anyone to be a shining savior who fixes every single absence. If we delusionally believe there is such a hero, we will distort or miss the partial grace they can actually provide. So here’s my advice, Scorpio: Celebrate and reward a redeemer who has the power to fill one or two of your gaps.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Poet E. E. Cummings wrote, “May my mind stroll about hungry and fearless and thirsty and supple.” That’s what I hope and predict for you during the next three weeks. The astrological omens suggest you will be at the height of your powers of playful exploration. Several long-term rhythms are converging to make you extra flexible and resilient and creative as you seek the resources and influences that your soul delights in. Here’s your secret code phrase: higher love.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Let’s hypothesize that there are two ways to further your relaxation: either in healthy or not-so-healthy ways—by seeking experiences that promote your long-term well-being or by indulging in temporary fixes that sap your vitality. I will ask you to meditate on this question. Then I will encourage you to spend the next three weeks avoiding and shedding any relaxation strategies that diminish you as you focus on and celebrate the relaxation methods that uplift, inspire, and motivate you.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Please don’t expect people to guess what you need. Don’t assume they have telepathic powers that enable them to tune in to your thoughts and feelings. Instead, be specific and straightforward as you precisely name your desires. For example, say or write to an intense ally, “I want to explore ticklish areas with you between 7 and 9 on Friday night.” Or approach a person with whom you need to forge a compromise and spell out the circumstances under which you will feel most open-minded and open-hearted.

P.S.: Don’t you dare hide your truth or lie about what you consider meaningful.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Piscean writer Jack Kerouac feared he had meager power to capture the wonderful things that came his way. He compared his frustration with “finding a river of gold when I haven’t even got a cup to save a cupful. All I’ve got is a thimble.” Most of us have felt that way. That’s the bad news. The good news, Pisces, is that in the coming weeks, you will have extra skill at gathering in the goodness and blessings flowing in your vicinity. I suspect you will have the equivalent of three buckets to collect the liquid gold.

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ACROSS

1 Kit Kat component

6 Heal (over)

10 “Ruler,” in Quechua

14 Words before “darned”

15 What ice cream and hearts may do

16 Transport up a bunny hill

17 Investigative journalist and civil rights pioneer who co-founded the N.A.A.C.P.

19 Some bunts, in brief

20 Exhaust

21 Boiling sensation

22 California’s “Eureka,” for one

23 Novelist and civil rights activist who wrote “Go Tell It on the Mountain”

28 Language in which “eleven” is “once”

30 One way to crack

31 Holiday pie flavor

32 Automated tweeter

33 Ribs serving

37 “___ away!”

38 W.W. II-era campaign that helped usher in the civil rights movement … and a hint to four answers in this puzzle

42 Letter after phi

43 Make a pit stop at a punk show?

45 Bodybuilding supplement co.

46 Interrupt, as at a dance

48 Rank above a viscount

50 Road flare, e.g.

52 African American who received a posthumous Medal of Honor for valorous service in W.W. II

56 “Star Wars” beeper, informally

57 Nest egg inits.

58 Transcript stat

61 When repeated, a sport fish

62 Historian, essayist and civil rights leader who was the first African American to receive a doctorate at Harvard

66 Manipulates

67 Whimper

68 Waze way

69 Trimester, e.g.

70 ___-bitsy

71 Many, informally DOWN

1 Consoles whose controllers have wrist straps

2 Hawkeye’s player on “M*A*S*H”

3 Griddle goodies

4 Beach retreat?

5 Give juice to

6 Enemy org. in Bond novels

7 Big name 8 “That’s ___ she wrote”

9 K-pop megastars

10 “We’re through!”

11 Where to see Timberwolves battle Grizzlies

12 Mojave flora

13 Crime of combustion

18 Competes (for)

22 G.P.s, e.g.

24 Actress de Armas

25 Yours might be made up

26 Off-base, in a way

27 Lo-cal, perhaps

28 ___ folder

29 Durango dough

32 Original “Fleabag” airer

34 Throwing a tantrum, say

35 Facial feature that many characters on “The Simpsons” lack

36 “___ me!” (checkers cry)

39 Fairy tale baddie

40 Silver State sch.

41 Bygone home theater components

44 Selfless courage

47 Popular card game

49 In the past

50 Like a songbird

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS NY TIMES PUZZLE

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