OUR 28TH Y EA R OF W E E K LY I NDE PE NDE NT NEWS, A RTS & EVE NTS FOR W E STE R N NORTH CA ROLI NA VOL . 28 NO. 37 A PR I L 13 -19, 2022
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SHARP OBJECTS Syringe disposal units are a ‘balancing act’
14 GREEN ROUNDUP MountainTrue seeks ban on single-use plastics and other environmental news
PAGE 28 BIG IDEAS
PUBLISHER & EDITOR: Jeff Fobes
Asheville-based writer Dennis Drabelle’s latest book, The Power of Scenery: Frederick Law Olmsted and the Origin of National Parks, began as a means of honoring the 150th anniversary of the country’s first national park, Yellowstone, on March 1. But it just so happened that this year also marks the 200th anniversary of Olmsted’s birth.
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COVER DESIGN Scott Southwick 21 ‘SPICK AND SPAN’ Local officials promote a cleaner city, 1909
26 HEALTH ROUNDUP South Slope acupuncture clinic opens and other wellness news
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LETTERS
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CARTOON: IRENE OLDS
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NEWS
12 BUNCOMBE BEAT
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30 ‘THE GRAND VIEW’ Celebrating Poetry Month with Jessica Jacobs
22 COMMUNITY CALENDAR 26 WELLNESS 28 ARTS & CULTURE
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OPINION
Send your letters to the editor to letters@mountainx.com.
An all-out war on the homeless Felonies for feeding the homeless?! It’s an outrage that 15 mutual aid workers who volunteer their time and resources to help feed houseless people were recently charged with “felony littering” for being part of a food distribution event with an art build in Aston Park last December. Furthermore, most of the 15 have been banned from all Asheville parks. Aston Park hosted a city-sanctioned sanctuary camp for part of 2021, until April. Asheville’s own Human Relations Commission proposed ending sweeps, back in May 2021; the Human Relations Commission of Asheville and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention support sanctuary camping with sanitation services, especially during the COVID pandemic. And yet, there have been 26 homeless camp evictions! Now, about 30 people have been evicted from the former Ramada Inn, with no choice but to be back on the street. There is even a draft ordinance proposing a limit of two food distributions per park per year! What is going on? It’s an all-out war on the homeless, supported by comfortable people who profit from tourism and gentrification. Where is our compassion for those less fortunate than we are? Making it illegal to offer mutual aid is not placing value on human life. Homelessness is created by policies that prioritize tourism and gentrification over affordable housing. In the name of our common humanity, Council must stop the sweeps and drop the felony charges. — Cathy Holt Swannanoa
More support needed for the homeless [Regarding “Homelessness, Safety Rank as Top Downtown Concerns,” March 16, Xpress:] I agree that homelessness is the most important challenge facing downtown. It is, of course, a multifaceted issue. In order to move forward with a solution, more support must be provided to the homeless in the areas of affordable housing, mental health and substance abuse treatment and pet-friendly shelters. I realize that this third item may be the most challenging of all, but as one whose pets are literally part of the family, I understand why homeless people are unwilling to
C A RT O O N B Y R AN DY M O L T O N go to shelters if doing so requires them to give up the companionship and unconditional love provided by their beloved animals. These companions contribute to a sense of “home” to us all and freely give the kind of support that allows us to weather many types of challenges. The homeless should not be denied this critical type of support. While I realize that having a downtown public restroom would most likely require 24/7 supervision, to expect the homeless to refrain from “relieving” themselves in alleys and on streets when they have no other option is simply unreasonable. — Phebe Watson Asheville
Asheville should set example for helping homeless It is a bit tragic and a bit embarrassing that our homeless aren’t recognized as “refugees.” Refugees from the American culture. Many of them are the victims of Big Pharma, like the privately owned Purdue Pharma company. A company owned by the Sackler family, which is currently worth $13 billion. Will our homeless be included in the settlement in process for those
addicted to the opioids pushed on our society by malfeasance? No baby is born to be homeless, whatever the circumstances. Hopefully, Asheville can step up and set an example of how to show compassion and grace in helping those of ours most in need the way to a bearable life. Clearly, our youths need avenues for success to protect them from this outcome. — Anita Pandolfi Asheville
Whitesides offers truly progressive, dedicated leadership As a longtime citizen of Buncombe County, I now live in County Commissioner District 1, in Black Mountain. I support the truly progressive, dedicated leadership of Al Whitesides. He is my commissioner (AlWhitesides.com). Al has lived his life as a role model the way his parents raised him, by humbly and positively leading our community. He leads without fear or favor, I will say, more than any other living citizen
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Editor’s note Due to changing health recommendations related to COVID-19, readers are encouraged to check with individual businesses for the latest updates concerning upcoming events. MOUNTAINX.COM
APRIL 13-19, 2022
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OPINION
Send your letters to the editor to letters@mountainx.com.
who has served in this office. His and Shirley Whitesides’ service to children in our community, including the two I raised here, in so many ways is a model that everyone could follow to lift achievement for all students. As commissioner for five years, Al’s business savvy led the cleanup and recovery of integrity and money from the past county staff management failures. Al has led commissioners working together to set ambitious goals
for accelerating decarbonization, while saving huge taxpayer money through energy efficiency, beneficial electrification and solarization of our county’s operations, schools and community college buildings, efforts that are quite resolutely leading our state and nation. The danger of treating the first African American county commissioner in Buncombe County history the ways some did Al Gore in Florida in 2000, Hillary Clinton in Wisconsin, Michigan and
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Pennsylvania in 2016, and Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson in March 2022 is the law of unintended consequences cannot be repealed. No one can honestly claim to be “progressive” and pull that trick. — Keith Thomson Black Mountain
Prevent more weapons factories with Branyon Most of the arguments made in support of the Pratt & Whitney plant, which will build parts for the horribly destructive F-35 fighter jet, are so transparent that it’s obvious there must be some other reason for building it. Luckily, we have a county commissioner candidate, Bill Branyon, who can see through them to the horrible crux of the matter. There’s the “only 20% of the plant will be dedicated to making parts for war machines” argument. But that’s like subsidizing the Mafia and saying that since it has scrumptious restaurants and rollicking nightclubs, we should ignore the 20% of its business that’s murder, extortion and racketeering. Only the military industrial complex is worse than the Mafia because it kills millions in illogical and counterproductive wars. Then there’s “the subsidies are not real money” argument. But it is real money, money that Buncombe County’s citizens would not otherwise have to pay in taxes. Money that
we could be using to attract a factory that’s not a merchant of death. Then there’s the argument that Buncombe County’s renouncing the F-35 parts plant will have no effect on America’s war policy. This is a nihilistic argument born of extreme cynicism about our country’s march toward more horrible wars, as well as a misunderstanding about how democracy works. The civil rights movement would never have gotten off the ground with that attitude. Or how about “it’s a done deal” fallacy. But almost nothing is done that can’t be reversed. Our contract with Pratt & Whitney could be modified or broken. It may cost some money, but nowhere near the $100 million in subsidies our tax dollars are already paying for. Then there’s the “weapons make America more safe” argument. The congressional Nye Committee in the 1930s concluded that the pursuit of profits by weapons manufacturers, what it called merchants of death, was in great part responsible for the U.S. entering World War I. That’s what is happening now. In addition, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan and many other American wars since World War II have only made other countries hate America more. They have only made us much less safe. We need to get rid of the atrocity that is the P&W factory and prevent the county Board of Commissioners from recruiting more weapons factories to Buncombe County.
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C AR T O O N B Y IRE N E O L D S
CARTOON BY BRENT BROWN Vote Branyon for county commissioner, District 1. — Cynthia Yancey, M.D. Mars Hill
What about the history of common good? [Regarding “Speaking Out After City COVID Policy Firing,” March 30, Xpress:] Dear Danny Walton: “fleeting social trends” — really? Going back many years before you were born I imagine, in order to enter public school, I was vaccinated for various viruses. In order to enter nursing school, there were six vaccines I was obliged to take, including the one for yellow fever. And subsequently, in order to be employed as a hospital RN, the annual flu vaccine was mandatory. What part of the history of common good don’t you understand or appreciate? — Margot Kornfeld Asheville
Good sidewalks should be city priority Reading the city’s website, I was very disappointed that providing for an accessible city is not a priority to this City Council. Providing
sidewalks and multiuse paths that connect our city is good for the entire community, regardless of race, education or income. People in wheelchairs and those with strollers are dependent on the city to provide sidewalks and multiuse paths that are in good condition so that they have freedom of movement. Providing good sidewalks compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act is the right thing to do, and it is the law. Asheville is home to many seniors, and they deserve walkways that they can use. I would like to hear from the City Council on how they will be funding improving our desperately needed sidewalks in the coming year. — Mike J. Zukoski Asheville
Hello Spring!
Correction In our recent article, “Propagating Miracles: Bee City USA Celebrates 10th Anniversary,” Xpress should have attributed the 11th annual Black Jar International Honey Tasting Contest to the Center for Honeybee Research. Additionally, the article should have noted that Bountiful Cities’ FEAST program participates in the local monarch butterfly-tagging program.
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OPINION
Want affordable housing? Get real The Gospel According to Jerry
BY JERRY STERNBERG It’s no news that Asheville’s lack of affordable housing is only getting worse, and meanwhile, the mayor and City Council are teaming up with Buncombe County to hire another consultant to study Asheville’s homelessness crisis. Although these are separate issues, they’re related — and both have already been studied to death with no real solutions in sight. Mayor Esther, if you reach down into that big left-hand drawer of your desk you’ll find a stack of housing studies going back 50 years — a stack so tall that a show dog couldn’t jump over them. You don’t have to worry that the print will be faded, because they’ve never seen the light of day since they were completed. I’ve been a part of some of those studies, which never result in anything useful because they don’t include the right mix of people, and they shy away from the essential messy questions whose forthright answers always end with BUTS. BEEN THERE, DONE THAT This new consultant will help the group compose a “mission statement” that he’ll write on a whiteboard. Along with the group’s comments, it will be distilled into a scholarly treatise and fed back to us in a beautiful leather-bound book. Don’t worry, folks: “Breakout groups” will give you a break from
the stench of mendacity and hypocrisy permeating the room. And now for those essential messy questions: If you ask the assembled citizens, “How many people want to build more affordable housing in Asheville and Buncombe County?” almost every hand in the room will go up, including mine. Then ask how many people want affordable housing built in their neighborhood, and we’ll have trouble getting our hands up because we’re busy scratching our BUTS. Don’t even think of asking who wants a homeless shelter for a neighbor. The only group that will be honest is the Coalition of Asheville Neighborhoods, which will say they’re all for affordable housing — BUT not where their members live. Given the scarcity of buildable land, it could be “Game Over!” right there. THUMB ON THE SCALE Let’s start with the various city agencies whose nitpicking regulatory delays and demands drive up prices or kill projects outright. “It’s out of scale with the neighborhood; the structure is too white; the lines are too straight; the awnings are the wrong color; it just doesn’t have the right feel, etc.” I wonder how they’d explain their behavior to Homeward Bound and the other groups that say, “We’ve got people sleeping in tents on the
JERRY STERNBERG
“We don’t need a highly paid Captain Obvious to tell us what the real problems are.” riverbank in 20-degree weather waiting for shelter while you dither over subjective details.” Let’s have past and present City Council members try to explain why, over the last 10 years, they’ve denied permitting for hundreds, if not thousands, of housing units because they didn’t have the courage to confront the hordes of neighborhood advocates shouting about traffic, property values and tree removal. Meanwhile, the city strong-arms developers to make 10% or 20% of their apartment units “affordable” — in effect, forcing builders to pay for local governments’ failure to solve our housing woes. Let city government explain to our hardworking police officers, teachers and nurses why they should pay higher rents to offset the subsidized units the city mandates. REALITY CHECK Let’s bring in a few of those greedy developers — the folks who are willing to take great financial risks to grow our housing stock despite ever-increasing land and construction costs and continuing governmental obstruction. I’m confident that many of them support affordable housing, but they have to show a profit to make a living and pay their employees. Then, there are the banks and other lenders to which you’ve entrusted your money. I’m sure they, too, favor affordable housing, but in order to make loans and protect their depositors, they have to see evidence
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that the rent will be sufficient to cover the debt service. Meanwhile, assorted other groups will weigh in. “We must have affordable housing BUT we mustn’t cut trees. High-rises will block our view of Mount Pisgah, etc.” And the No Growthers (most of whom came from someplace else) will simply say, “Don’t come here: We’re full up!” Of course, we mustn’t forget to include lawmakers and judges, who can explain to Helpmate why abusers are allowed to stay in the house while the victims, including children, become unsheltered. They can also tell Pisgah Legal why we have so many unnecessary evictions. I’m sure they’re in favor of affordable housing BUT we have to observe the law while doing nothing to improve the laws. Perhaps these notables can advise our dedicated and caring police officers on how they’re supposed to manage the “unhoused” people — somehow this new term for “homeless” is going to put a roof over their heads — who vandalize property, break into stores and office buildings, and camp on private property while trashing everything in sight. Let’s also ask some homeless folks, many of whom are educated and articulate, what they actually need in order to get off the street — and why some among them simply refuse to comply with societal rules. DON’T HOLD YOUR BREATH How do the county commissioners, while declaring their unqualified support for housing the homeless and low-income residents, justify maintaining a fairly restrictive cap on the number of residential units per acre? I am sure they would never admit their true motive, which is to keep Black people out of white neighborhoods — and Black students out of the county schools. Folks, we don’t need a highly paid Captain Obvious to tell us what the real problems are. I will spell them out for free: drug and alcohol abuse, mental health concerns, unwanted pregnancies, excessive governmental regulation, economic disparity caused by low wages — and, most of all, rampant tribalism. Until the professed advocates of affordable housing and assistance for the homeless get off their BUTS and honestly attack these issues, nothing significant will happen. In the meantime, hiring this high-dollar expert for yet another study is just an exercise in municipal masturbation that won’t produce a “happy ending.” Asheville native Jerry Sternberg, a longtime observer of the local scene, can be reached at gospeljerry@aol.com. X
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NEWS
Sharp objects
Syringe disposal units are a ‘balancing act’
BY JESSICA WAKEMAN jwakeman@mountainx.com In September 2018, Malaprops Bookstore/Cafe placed its first needle disposal box in its bathrooms. “We were finding needles in the bathroom on the floor,” explains lead bookseller Justin Souther. Sometimes, people would open the top of the toilet tank and hide used needles inside, he says. The Malaprops’ staff felt it was “a safety hazard … to be picking these [needles] up and not really knowing how to dispose of them,” Souther explains. So they discussed installing a sharps disposal container in each bathroom. Thus, the bookstore became a player in the delicate statewide dance between keeping people safe while not encouraging illegal drug use. In North Carolina, an average of nine people died from a drug overdose each day in 2020, the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services announced March 21. Over 70% of those overdose deaths likely involved illicitly manufactured fentanyl, the department said. Syringe service programs are one of the 12 evidence-based strategies for preventing opioid overdose recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2016, North Carolina legalized needle exchange programs, citing the desire to reduce the spread of HIV, hepatitis and other blood borne illnesses. Another component of syringe service programs is “access to and disposal of sterile syringes and injection equipment,” the CDC says. The disposal units are called sharps disposal boxes, needle boxes or sharps containers. ASHEVILLE-AREA
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HAZARDOUS WASTE: A large needle box is located on Buncombe County property in front of Pack Memorial Library on Haywood Street. Photo by Jessica Wakeman “People are using drugs — they’re not going to stop using drugs,” Amy Upham, executive director for Eleanor Health Foundation and former opioid response coordinator for Buncombe County Health and Human Services, tells Xpress. “The only thing that not having a needle box does is give them no place to put it,” she says. The Malaprops staff was initially hesitant to install a disposal container. “We were worried about the optics of having one in our business,” Souther explains. Ultimately, the staff realized its bathrooms, which were open to the public prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, were one of the few private places downtown where drug users might go to use, Souther explains. “Eventually, we just decided we have
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to have one,” Souther says of needle boxes. SHARPS DISPOSALS Advocates attest sharps disposal boxes are an essential component of harm reduction, which is defined as “a set of practical strategies and ideas aimed at reducing negative consequences associated with drug use,” according to the New York-based National Harm Reduction Coalition. Anyone can anonymously deposit used needles in sharps disposal boxes. It is unknown how many exist across the county, as the boxes can be both privately purchased or publicly funded. For example, Malaprops purchased the 5-quart, mountable plastic sharps containers for its bathrooms on its own, Souther says.
The harm reduction organization Steady Collective operates a mobile syringe exchange program, where needles can also be disposed of, at four locations in Asheville. The group maintains over 20 sharps disposal boxes around the city; many are in public parks, such as the French Broad River Greenway. BCHHS spokesperson Stacey Wood says she only has data regarding needles collected at 40 Coxe Ave, the Health Department headquarters. In fiscal year 2020, it collected 4,300 needles, which rose to 19,593 the next year. In fiscal year 2022, that location collected 32,719 needles. (It is unknown how many of the needles collected were used for day-to-day medical care and how many were used for drugs.) BCHHS operates four large sharps disposal boxes in Asheville, Wood says. Two are located on city property; the one at 40 Coxe Ave. and another in front of Pisgah View Apartments in West Asheville. A third sharps disposal box is located on county property in front of Pack Memorial Library; the fourth is located on the footbridge over Interstate 240, which is owned by the state Department of Transportation. BCHHS contracts with Sunrise Community for Recovery and Wellness, a peer support nonprofit, to maintain its boxes. BCHHS is discussing with a community partner installing one large sharps disposal box, now in storage, on its property, Wood says. (She declined to name the partner.) BCHHS also has 15 small sharps disposal boxes intended to be bathroom units in storage. The boxes are free but must be installed by the recipient (Wood advises anyone who is interested in getting a box to email ina.ponder@buncombecounty.org.) Several groups involved in exchanging or collecting needles declined to comment. Representatives from Steady Collective did not respond to multiple requests for comment from Xpress. Nor did Peggy Weil, chief operating officer of Western North Carolina AIDS Project. (WNCAP operates two syringe exchange programs in Asheville and Franklin, as well as a mobile unit.) Lance Karner, harm reduction specialist for Sunrise, referred all questions to BCHHS. ’SAFETY ISSUE’ Like Souther at Malaprops, the impetus to get a sharps disposal box
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NEWS is usually to prevent accidental needle sticks. Upham notes that when any needles are disposed of in regular trash cans it can present “a huge safety issue for people who work in waste management.” She suggests every business place a needle box in its bathrooms. “ I think we need the bigger boxes in strategic locations of heavy needle traffic that’s found on the sidewalks,” she says, citing Haywood Road in West Asheville as an example. The county contracts with Carolina Biomedical Disposal to collect materials from the sharps disposal boxes used by BCHHS, Wood says. The syringes are incinerated at its facility. ’GROWING BLIGHT’ But plenty of people don’t dispose of used needles in trash cans or sharps disposal boxes. Frank Palmeri, owner of Asheville Beds on South Tunnel Road, says he finds a syringe outside his business at least once a week. He frequently posts about his frustration about needle litter, as well as people who use drugs, in a Facebook group about health and safety in Asheville.
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“I can’t see someone who is getting high have the willpower, civic responsibility or wherewithal to keep track of their needles for an entire week.” — Frank Palmeri “I’ve seen syringes in this area since I started my business in 2017,” he tells Xpress. “It has been an escalating occurrence as time has progressed. … The growing blight in Asheville has been growing steadily worse. “If I really looked, I could find more [needles],” he says. “They get thrown out of sight, usually, so there are always a bunch in hiding. The landscaper usually uncovers them as he is working on the property.” However, Palmeri doesn’t think that making needle boxes more prevalent or accessible is the way to go. “I don’t think traditional solutions like extra sharps containers are going to make enough of an impact,” he tells Xpress. “I can’t see someone who is getting high have the willpower, civic responsibility or wherewithal to keep track of their needles for an entire week.” Palmeri is angered by people who leave litter on his property, have
physical fights or become “aggressive” while panhandling in his business’ neighborhood. He says he’s experienced thefts from his business, including catalytic converters from his vehicles and security cameras installed outside his store. He thinks people who use drugs are to blame. Palmeri wants to see more “tough love measures” to address drug addiction, including permitting family members to force a loved one with an addiction into detox and rehab. He also thinks needle exchanges need to operate on a one-for-one model. (The one-for-one model is prohibited under North Carolina law, according to NCDHHS. “Giving a participant the amount of new needles … they require cannot be dependent on returning used supplies,” its website states. “Participants should be encouraged to return used syringes and supplies so exchanges can dispose of them safely.”)
‘A BALANCING ACT’ Additionally, Souther doesn’t think the role of collecting and disposing needles should necessarily fall on individual businesses. (An employee from Malaprops has in the past emptied the boxes at a Steady Collective location, as well as a BCHHS location, he says.) “I really love what Steady Collective has been doing and been trying to do, but also they’ve signed up to do it,” he says. “I don’t know if it’s fair to everyone to be taking on that burden, even though as a human being I want to be able to help as much as I can.” Having needle boxes in bathrooms means additional vigilance. “You have to police that a little bit on your own as a business,” he notes. For example, employees have asked people to leave when they seem to be “making a beeline” to the bathroom, he says. Souther repeatedly calls the situation “complicated” while speaking to Xpress. “It’s tricky — as a business, we don’t want to promote it,” he says. “At the same time, myself as a person, I don’t want to stigmatize it. … It’s hard to know what the right answer is.” X
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N EWS
BUNCOMBE BEAT
Buncombe considers housing partnership with UNC Buncombe County leaders have already flagged four sets of county-owned property as potential fits for affordable housing, including a 137-acre parcel off Ferry Road and three downtown Asheville locations. But to turn those plans into reality, the county is considering nearly $221,000 in advice from the UNC School of Government. As outlined in an April 5 presentation to the Board of Commissioners by Tim Love, Buncombe’s director of economic development and governmental relations, the county would contract with the school’s Development Finance Initiative. The DFI functions like a consulting firm for municipal and county governments to help them carry out creative development efforts. Its previous local work includes the Grey Hosiery Mill reuse project in Hendersonville, which created 35 units of workforce and moderate-income housing. For Buncombe County, the DFI would work to determine what projects might be feasible at each location, create financial models for public-private partnerships and arrange agreements with private developers. Love emphasized that the consultant would be hired “at risk,” meaning it wouldn’t receive full payment until those agreements had been reached. Love also said the DFI would leverage the county’s previous work, particularly on the Ferry Road parcel, for which taxpayers have already funded roughly $150,000 in consulting from Asheville-based Equinox Environmental. In another presentation to the board earlier April 5, he noted that Buncombe residents surveyed through public
SITE TO SEE: Previous consulting work by Equinox Environmental has established broad outlines for the potential development of a county-owned property off Ferry Road for affordable housing. Buncombe now seeks to partner with UNC’s Development Finance Initiative to secure an agreement for the property with a private developer. Graphic courtesy of Buncombe County engagement efforts had expressed a desire for lower-density, sustainability-focused development on the site. Because DFI is considered another unit of government, the county doesn’t have to open bidding to the public for the services it would provide. Buncombe board members are scheduled to vote on approving a contract with the consultant at their regular meeting Tuesday, April 19. The full presentation on the DFI proposal is available at avl.mx/bga. The update on public engagement
about the Ferry Road property is available at avl.mx/bgb.
County COVID metrics in the green On the same day that the Buncombe board declared April 4-10 as Public Health Week, the county’s public health director had good news to share. New local COVID-19 cases, said Stacie Saunders, had reached a
“low-level plateau” after falling from all-time highs in January. The new case rate is now about 40 per 100,000 residents, well under the 200 per 100,000 threshold for the low community level outlined by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As of April 5, the latest date for which data was available, just 14 people were hospitalized for COVID-19 across Western North Carolina, down from more than 280 in late January. Only three of those 14 patients have required intensive care. In light of these declining numbers, Saunders said, Buncombe would be moving to monthly COVID19 briefings instead of its previous biweekly schedule. The county’s dedicated Ready Team call line for pandemic-related issues is also being discontinued; those with questions are instead asked to call the general Public Health line at 828-250-5000. Saunders continued to advise residents to stay up to date on their coronavirus vaccinations. Those experiencing symptoms of COVID19 or who have been exposed to the virus, she added, should continue to seek testing. Free coronavirus tests are now available through StarMed at the Asheville Mall 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday-Friday, as well as every third Saturday at the same time. Testing is no longer taking place at A-B Tech or Harrah’s Cherokee Center – Asheville. Free at-home COVID-19 tests are also available through the federal government at COVID.gov/Tests. Households who previously ordered a set of four tests are now eligible for a second set.
— Daniel Walton X
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N EWS
GREEN ROUNDUP
MountainTrue seeks ban on single-use plastics
MICROPLASTICS, BIG PROBLEM: Kylie Barnes, water quality administrator for MountainTrue, inspects microplastic samples through a microscope. The nonprofit is seeking local bans on single-use plastics, which break down into microplastics, in light of their detrimental health and environmental impacts. Photo courtesy of MountainTrue
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In the wake of new research showing that microplastics are present in watersheds throughout Western North Carolina, Asheville-based nonprofit MountainTrue is calling for bans on single-use plastics in Asheville, Buncombe County and Boone. A study conducted by MountainTrue found an average of 19 microplastic particles — pieces smaller than 5 millimeters, formed by the breakdown of larger plastics — per liter of water in local river systems. Exposure to microplastics has been tied to allergic reactions and other health impacts in humans, as well as negative effects on fish. “The first step to stop the contamination of our environment and our bodies is to reduce the amount of plastic that enters and escapes the waste stream,” says Anna Alsobrook, MountainTrue’s French Broad watershed outreach coordinator. “And that starts by breaking our dependence on single-use plastics like plastic grocery bags and fast-food utensils and packaging.” The nonprofit’s model ordinance would prevent restaurants and retailers from offering many single-use products,
mandate that all single-use utensils be recyclable or compostable and require merchants to charge a 10-cent fee for paper bags. (Customers using government benefits such as the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program would be exempt from the fee.) North Carolina state law doesn’t explicitly prevent local governments from establishing such rules, and communities in the Outer Banks got the General Assembly to pass a local plastic bag ban in 2009. However, that ban was repealed by a Republican legislative supermajority in 2017. More information on the MountainTrue proposal is available at PlasticFreeWNC.com.
Local solar companies join legal challenge to Duke Energy A battle over a Duke Energy proposal to change how owners of home
STUDENT-LED ACTIVISM solar panels are compensated for the power they generate now involves several Western North Carolina businesses. Weaverville-based Sundance Power Systems has formally objected to the new rule through the N.C. Utilities Commission; the company also joined Asheville-based Asheville Solar Co., Rhino Renewables Solar & Electric, Sugar Hollow Solar and SolFarm Solar Co. in signing an open letter to Gov. Roy Cooper urging him to reject Duke’s changes. The companies claim that the new rules, which would let Duke pay less for solar electricity sent to the grid during hours of peak sunshine, would reduce the average value of rooftop solar by 25%-35%. “If approved by the N.C. Utilities Commission, Duke’s revised [net metering] rider will dramatically slow the fast-paced growth of the rooftop solar industry, cost thousands of well-paying solar jobs and also slow the transformation of North Carolina’s economy to clean energy,” says Dave Hollister, president of Sundance Power Systems. In a statement to Xpress, Duke spokesperson Randy Wheeless argued that the changes would not hurt solar customers and pointed to support from environmental groups, including the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, Southern Environmental Law Center and Vote Solar. “Duke Energy is committed to finding collaborative paths forward to help with the clean-energy transition and carbon-reduction goals in the Carolinas,” Wheeless wrote. “Our settlement with many leading solar groups ensures fair and reasonable treatment for all customers whether they choose to install solar or not.” Duke has until Thursday, April 28, to reply to the formal objections over its proposal. The NCUC will then consider whether to allow the new rules. The full docket for the case is available at avl.mx/prwp.
Community kudos • Three teams of students from Buncombe County’s Nesbitt Discovery Academy placed among the top seven in the Area 1 Regional Envirothon, qualifying for the state Envirothon later this month. The interactive, outdoor competition tests students on wildlife, aquatic
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ecology, soils and other environmental topics. Five students from Asheville High School and the School of Inquiry and Life Sciences at Asheville were selected by NASA to develop an experiment that will be launched to the edge of space next year. The group plans to collect air samples and test them for new pollutants that may be formed when fracking chemicals interact with wildfire smoke. Western North Carolina farms received $320,000 in WNC AgOptions grants for 2022. The funded projects will help 41 local agricultural businesses grow and expand their offerings. Recipients include The NeverEnding Flower Farm in Buncombe County, Cold Mountain Angus Beef in Haywood County and Clem’s Organic Gardens in Transylvania County. More information is available at WNCAgOptions.org. The Waterfall Keepers of North Carolina removed over 2,400 gallons of trash from WNC’s public lands during the nonprofit’s second annual Waterfall Sweep. Nearly 50 volunteers participated in the effort, collecting items such as mattresses, tires and televisions. The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners declared April to be Food Waste Reduction Month during its April 5 meeting. The proclamation estimates that the county generates over 57,000 tons of food waste each year and urges residents to adopt food saving and composting practices.
Read all about it • Brad Rouse, co-founder of the Asheville-based Energy Savers Network, published Climate Warrior: Climate Activism and Our Energy Future in March. The book describes Rouse’s personal journey from the business world to environmental work and outlines his model for a sustainable energy system. More information is available at ClimateWarriorBook.com. • Juliet Blankespoor, founder of the Asheville-based Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine, released The
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The
Sustainability Every Week in April!
Series
Making sustainability more accessible Growing up in rural Edneyville, Drake Elder Bruner did not hear a lot of talk about sustainability. “The older generations where I’m from typically either don’t know what it means, or they shrug it off as an obstruction to their way of life,” says Elder, a senior at Brevard College. “My generation, especially those who attend college after high school, have a much stronger awareness of what sustainability is.” In the face of that kind of generation gap, Bruner thinks he and others like him can be most effective by encouraging others to be aware of their environmental impacts and by finding ways to move away from single-use products and fossil fuels. “I am about to start a masters program in landscape architecture at North Carolina State University,” he says. “My goal is to come back and help the surrounding area develop in a sustainable way by making environmental planning accessible to a wider range of social classes.” Below, Xpress speaks with Bruner about food waste, gardening and building community. The interview has been condensed and lightly edited. What environmental or sustainDRAKE ELDER BRUNER ability efforts on your campus are you most proud of? One really awesome way that Brevard College intends on becoming more sustainable is by the construction of a school farm. Not only will it provide fresh produce for the campus cafeteria, but it’ll also allow them to recycle the food waste that is produced every day. The most meaningful contribution made by the new farm will be the locale that it provides for community outreach and education. This makes me particularly proud because of my strong background in and connection to the local food system and the countless pounds of produce that I’ve provided to local restaurants and farmers markets as a kid. As an activist, how do you keep yourself motivated in light of the lack of meaningful efforts to combat climate change? I don’t get discouraged because of a lack of action by others. Haven’t we all been told that if we want something done, we must do it ourselves? The way I see it, this situation is no exception. We shouldn’t rely solely on the government to fix issues such as climate change or the poor conditions that our communities are riddled with, but we should also remember that no man is an island. There are a great deal of people who are passionate and willing to contribute to finding solutions. I strongly believe that if the right people with the right minds get together, we can find ways to work together with the government in order to solve these problems. What’s one thing you would like to see Xpress readers do to promote sustainability in WNC in the coming year? I would like to see the readers not only eating but also producing more locally grown foods. If we find ways to make the food system more efficient, more productive and more resilient to changes in the climate, then we have already won several battles. Steps toward this goal could look like growing your own garden and educating others about the benefits or building your own farm/homestead. I am completely confident in the strength of our mountain inhabitants, and I look forward to the day where common goals such as this lead us to true sustainability and revitalizes genuine communities.
— Justin McGuire X
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N EWS Healing Garden: Cultivating and Handcrafting Herbal Remedies earlier this month. Buyers of the book can also access an online course on medicinal herb gardening and medicine making. More information is available at HealingGardenGateway.com. • Robert Turner, director of the Creekside Farm Education Center in Arden, will publish Lewis Mumford and the Food Fighters: A Food Revolution in America Sunday, May 15. The work of narrative nonfiction outlines Turner’s work to counter the industrial food system in favor of regenerative, local agriculture. More information is available at RobertETurner.com.
Opportunity knocks • The N.C. Department of Transportation holds its Spring Litter Sweep from Saturday, April 16, through the end of the month. Those who volunteer to pick up trash from roadsides during that period will receive supplies and support from local NCDOT crews. More information is available by contacting the program coordinator
CLEANUP CREW: Volunteers pose with a pickup full of trash collected from Roy Taylor Falls as part of the Waterfall Keepers of North Carolina’s Waterfall Sweep. Photo courtesy of the Waterfall Keepers of North Carolina for each county, with details listed at avl.mx/bg6. • The National Park Service seeks volunteers for the fourth annual Project Parkway, a workday taking place throughout the Blue Ridge Parkway, 9 a.m.-noon, Saturday, April 23. Tools and safety gear will
City of Asheville wants to hear from you! Opportunity to Comment on a Proposed De Minimis (minimal impact) Section 4(f) Finding for the Charlie Bullman Park
The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), in conjunction with the City of Asheville’s Capital Projects Department, proposes to construct a sidewalk along New Haw Creek Road from Beverly Road to Bell Road in Asheville, through State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) Project No. EB-5947. The proposed sidewalk would require the use of approximately 0.07 acres of permanent easement from the parking lot of Charlie Bullman Park. As a facility owned by the City of Asheville, Charlie Bullman Park is afforded special protections under Section 4(f) of the Department of Transportation Act (recodified in 49 U.S.C. 303 and 23 U.S.C 138). City of Asheville representatives have signed a letter of concurrence agreeing that acquisition of permanent easement from the parking lot of Charlie Bullman Park for construction of a sidewalk along New Haw Creek Road would not adversely affect the activities, features, and attributes that qualify the park for protection under Section 4(f). Comments regarding the proposed Section 4(f) De Minimis finding are due by May 13th, 2022 and may be submitted to: Project ManagerLora Sepion, PE City of Asheville Capital Projects P.O Box 7148 Asheville, NC 28802 lsepion@ashevillenc.gov Comments are (828) 575-4385 due by 5/13/22 16
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be provided. More information is available by emailing BLRI_ Volunteers@nps.gov. • The Pisgah Conservancy holds its Pisgah Project Day at locations throughout Pisgah National Forest, 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m., Saturday, April 30. Volunteers will conduct trail maintenance, invasive species removal, habitat improvement and other projects, with an after-party to follow at Oskar Blues Brewery in Brevard. More information and registration are available at avl.mx/bg1. • Conserving Carolina’s Habitat at Home photo contest is accepting submissions through Sunday, May 15. Images should showcase native plants used in gardens or landscaping, local habitat improvement projects or wildlife observed close to home. Full details on the contest and prizes are available at avl.mx/bg2. • The N.C. Tomato Growers Association is offering a $1,000 scholarship to a North Carolina student pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree in horticulture or agribusiness. Applications are due Tuesday, May 31; more information is available at avl.mx/bg9.
Save the date • The town of Woodfin opens the new Silver-Line Park at 4 p.m. Thursday, April 21. The $3.2 million facility offers boat ramp access to the French Broad River, as well as walking trails, picnic shelters and a pirate-themed playground. The park represents the first stage of the Woodfin Greenway and Blueway, which will construct a standing wave feature in the French Broad and 5 miles of greenway along the river.
• RiverLink’s Earth Day Kids Festival returns to Rabbit Rabbit in downtown Asheville, noon-4 p.m. Sunday, April 24. Now in its seventh year, the event features interactive displays from local environmental organizations, eco-friendly vendors and an awards ceremony for the Voices of the River art and poetry contest. More information is available at avl.mx/bg3. • The N.C. Arboretum celebrates the 200th birthday of Biltmore Estate landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted noon-6 p.m., Tuesday, April 26. Festivities include guided trail walks, children’s games, live music and a seedling giveaway. More information is available at avl.mx/bg7. • Appalachian Standard, a craft hemp farm in Candler, hosts its Spring Fling Farm Fest 11:30 a.m-4 p.m. Saturday, April 30. TikTok CBD influencer Lauren Davis of @fiddyshadesofgreen will hold a meet-and-greet noon-1 p.m., and local music, food and vendors will be on-site throughout the afternoon. More information is available at avl.mx/bg4. • Also on April 30, the Brevard Music Center hosts its inaugural MindTreks Forum on the topic of “Climate Change in Western North Carolina — Why Should I Care?” Facilitated by Asheville Watchdog reporter Tom Fiedler, the forum includes presentations by Deke Arndt of the National Centers for Environmental Information, James Fox of UNC Asheville’s National Environmental Modeling and Analysis Center and Ben Teague of Biltmore Farms. More information and registration are available at avl.mx/bg5.
— Daniel Walton X
SNAPSHOT CONSERVATION HERO: On April 8, the George Masa Historical Marker Committee gathered outside Kimpton Hotel Arras on Patton Avenue downtown to reveal the city’s latest historical highway marker. Masa, born in Osaka, Japan, arrived in Asheville in 1915. Though he worked as a valet at the Grove Park Inn, he soon developed an interest and side business in photography. Masa later became an early and passionate advocate for the creation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, where he played a crucial role in identifying and naming the park’s natural features. Additionally, he was a chief engineer of the North Carolina portion of the Appalachian Trail. Photos by Jennifer Castillo
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Q&A: Joe Hollis, founder of Mountain Gardens Joe Hollis’ whole life is Mountain Gardens, a botanical garden in Western North Carolina that he has cultivated over 50 years. Hollis focuses on growing useful plants, especially medicinal herbs and perennial vegetables, and passing along his plant wisdom to students and apprentices. Workshops, seeds and bare root plant sales support Hollis and his garden. After moving from Detroit in 1972, Hollis settled on almost 3 acres of land in Burnsville. His personal philosophy mingled with the location to create what he calls paradise gardening. “Paradise gardening is trying to figure out a way to live that’s good for the Earth, society and me,” he says. His gardens contain “plants grown ecologically and arranged ornamentally.” But earlier this year, Mountain Gardens suffered a devastating loss. In March, the central pavilion — the heart of human activity in the garden — burned down. The fire of unknown origin was discovered too late to avoid the complete loss of his extensive library, seed collection and herbal apothecary. Yet Hollis remains dedicated to his vision and is overseeing a rebuild. “I would like to see this rebuilding be a community effort as much as possible,” he says. “That would get people that much more invested in it, because they’re going to end up owning it one way or another. It’ll be accessible to whoever wants to come and use it.” Xpress spoke with Hollis about the fire, the community support he’s receiving and the future of Mountain Gardens might hold. Has the fire affected what’s happening this year at Mountain Gardens? Totally. It’s springtime, so of course there’s all this planting to do and seed
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PLANT MAN: Joe Hollis has run Mountain Gardens, a botanical garden in Burnsville, for 50 years. Its pavilion was recently devastated by a fire. Photo courtesy of Hollis starting. Meanwhile, we’re still in the phase of cleanup. I’ve just got piles and piles of charcoal mixed with broken glass. We managed to find somebody to come and haul off all the gnarled roofing tin and so on, and they hauled off all the lead from the solar system batteries. But cleanup’s still going on, and then the reconstruction will start. What support will you need to get Mountain Gardens back on its feet? I’m being offered a fair amount of building materials, which is very nice. I’ve got helpers, apprentices who are good with gardening, but they know nothing about construction. Older people with a lot of construction experience, just merely with advice, would be good. But construction help is even better. We’ve been given lots of tools. I lost all my hand tools, but those are pretty much replaced. Mainly it’s human assistance that I need more than stuff at this point. It sounds like the community has really come to your aid. How does that make you feel? It keeps me afloat. To put it simply, I would just be curled up in a little ball, probably from being utterly overwhelmed by everything. This very large outpouring of support that I’m
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getting really keeps me feeling positive about everything at this point. What would you like to see happen with Mountain Gardens in the future? I’d like to put it back. I had a whole herb shop. I had a whole apothecary. I had a whole wall of tinctures. All that’s gone. So it’s going to take a long time to reconstruct that. The whole seed bank has gone; I’m getting donations in that regard. It was a fabulous library, a lifetime collection of books. This was a library about how to live on Earth, everything from eco-psychology and eco-philosophy down to the nitty-gritty of plant identification, seed germination — just everything. I had the whole shot. And that was, I thought, my legacy to the community. So we’ll see. I’m 80 years old this year. We’ll see how far I can get with reconstruction. I’ll never get it back the way it was; a lot of those books are irreplaceable. Ten thousand books in there! But I’m going to try and put back together whatever I can, and it will all be available to my community. As far as I was concerned, what I had was just about perfect. So I want
to just get back to it as far as I can, in this lifetime. Who will take over ownership? I’ve been making efforts to figure out how to legally make it a community property. …. I have a small committee, and for the past two years, we’ve been working on trying to figure out how to donate the whole library, herb shop, the land, everything to my community. So we’re looking at different options and also thinking about possibly donating to the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians. So it’s really two issues. One is where do I park the title to the land? And then the second is how do I set up a little community of the people who are going to run the place? The issue with gardens is that they have to be maintained. It’s not just giving something away. If nobody looks after it for a couple of years, that whole plant collection is going to get lost. Nobody will know what’s what. Learn more about the GoFundMe campaign for the restoration of the Mountain Gardens’ pavilion here avl.mx/bgf.
— LA Bourgeois X
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ASHEVILLE ARCHIVES by Thomas Calder | tcalder@mountainx.com
‘Spick and span’ Local officials promote a cleaner city, 1909 The message was clear (and quite sexist). On May 6, 1909, The Asheville Citizen declared:
High-Rated Salon in West Asheville
“All ye housewives and women of Asheville take notice. Tomorrow is the cleaning up day, so ordained by the city fathers who, after consideration, decided to follow the example of other cities and fix a day when every house and yard should be made clean and every room thoroughly overhauled.” Morning wagons, the paper informed readers, would be out collecting overlooked and unwanted items, including carcasses! “Think of those dead cats that are hidden away somewhere on the premises,” the article stated. “Had you know it, certainly they would have been removed long ere this.” And so began Asheville’s inaugural Clean-up Day, which subsequently became Clean-up Week. By 1911, the paper reflected on the annual happening’s growing popularity among residents. “The people have for the past few years co-operated with the city officials in an effort to keep Asheville clean and attractive and it is believed that they will again co-operate this year,” The Asheville Citizen wrote on May 2. Momentum and enthusiasm continued over subsequent years. “Don’t forget that next week is ‘clean-up week,’” The Asheville Gazette-News reminded readers on April 23, 1913. “Let’s make the old town shine like a kid just fixed for Sunday school.” But hands down, the most enthusiastic response to the annual event arrived courtesy of Carl V. Reynolds, the city’s health officer. In 1914, he paid an official visit to Pennsylvania. While there, “Reynolds took advantage of an opportunity to visit the health department of Philadelphia in search for new ideas,” The Asheville Citizen reported on April 16, 1914. Along with posters to advertise Clean-up Week, Reynolds walked away with a poem that he shared with local residents; a work that the paper
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OPEN SUNDAYS CLEAN LIVING: Unfortunately, images of the trash wagons could not be located. But the featured postcard depicts Asheville in 1909, when Clean-up Day (which later became Clean-up Week) began. Photo courtesy of Buncombe County Special Collections reprinted in its April 16 edition. The six-stanza masterpiece included such lines as: “Whitewash cellar, disinfect; Every corner, please inspect. What a lot of things need cleaning. Surely you will get our meaning. Sweep-up, spick and span.” These actions, the poem concluded, would bring participants much satisfaction: “After you are through with this, Cheerful smiles are not amiss. Don’t forget it through the year. Every day make full of cheer. Cheer-up, spick and span.” But by 1915, not all residents remained as committed as local officials. On April 25, 1915, The Asheville Citizen informed readers that wagons would be making a second round, after Capt. W.H. Bird of the sanitation department received multiple calls from residents who failed to place their trash out on time.
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“Many reasons were assigned for the failure of the residents of the different streets to comply with the request that the trash be placed on the curbing before the first day of the clean-up campaign,” the paper stated. “A number of citizens said that they had run out of barrels to hold their trash and asked that the remaining rubbish be sent for. Others said that they had discovered unsightly spots since the wagons passed their homes and wanted to improve their appearances before the boy scouts got after them.” Even so, the paper touted Asheville’s progress since the 1909 launch of Clean-up Week. “The sanitary department [has] the hearty co-operation of the local board of trade, the civic league and the boy scouts in the campaign and support from numerous other sources,” the article stated. “Asheville today doubtless is cleaner than ever before.” Editor’s note: Peculiarities of spelling and punctuation are preserved from original documents. X
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COMMUNITY CALENDAR APRIL 13 - 21, 2022 For a full list of community calendar guidelines, please visit mountainx.com/calendar. For questions about free listings, call 828-251-1333, opt. 4. For questions about paid calendar listings, please call 828-251-1333, opt. 1.
Online Events = Shaded WELLNESS Guided DVD Chair Workout for Older Adults Bring hand weights and a stretch band. Registration is required, email enka.library@ buncombecounty.org or call (828)250-4758. WE (4/13, 20), 1pm, Enka-Candler Library, 1404 Sandhill Rd, Candler Montford Tai Chi Hosted by local acupuncturist Tyler White. All ages, every Thursday. TH (4/14, 21), 9am, Free, Montford Recreation Center, 34 Pearson Dr Introduction to Tai Chi Pre-registration required ashevillecommunityyoga. com. TH (4/14, 21), 10:30am, Asheville Community Yoga Center, 8 Brookdale Rd Queer & Trans Yoga Class For everyone who identifies outside the lines and hasn't felt comfortable in a traditional yoga space. TH (4/14, 21), 6pm, avl.mx/b1t Yoga in the Park Asheville All-level friendly yoga class based on Hatha and Vinyasa traditions, along the French Broad River. SA (4/16), SU (4/17), 1:30pm, $10, Carrier Park, 220 Amboy Rd Carrie Mae Weems: The Usual Suspects This exhibition features recent photographic and video works questioning stereotypes that associate black bodies with criminality by MacArthur Genius Award-winning artist. Tuesday through Friday, 10am. WCU Bardo Arts Center, 199 Centennial Dr, Cullowhee Ray Baccari: Humans Excited About Being Human Described by the artist as an “empathy machine,” this interactive, sonic installation amplifies visitor heartbeats. Tuesday through Friday, 10am. WCU Bardo Arts Center, 199 Centennial Dr, Cullowhee Faces of Change Youth Artists Empowered captured images and narratives from Asheville residents and neighborhoods that are being most negatively impacted to spark meaningful conversation.
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Daily except Tuesday, 11am. $15, Asheville Art Museum, 2 S Pack Square Gillian Laub's Southern Rites Gillian Laub engages her skills as a photographer, filmmaker, and visual activist to examine the realities of racism and raise questions that are essential to understanding the American consciousness. Daily except Tuesday, 11am. $15, Asheville Art Museum, 2 S. Pack Squar Tarah Singh & Alex Stilber: LOAM Mother and daughter explore layers of the human experience through mixed media, revealing their multi-generational connection of consciousness as they explore the feminine experience. Meet the artists April 9, 4pm. Exhibit daily except Wednesday, 11am. Free, Art Garden, 191 Lyman St, Ste 316
ART/CRAFT STROLLS & FAIRS Hi-Wire Twilight Pop-Up Market This market of 20+ vendors will feature a variety of local creatives highlighting some of the best in arts, crafts, and artisanal products from Asheville and surrounding areas. Rain or shine. WE (4/13), 4pm, Hi-Wire Brewing RAD Beer Garden, 284 Lyman St Makers Market Each month will showcase vendors and artisans selling housewares, vintage clothing, original art, handmade crafts, fair trade imports and more. SA (4/16), 12pm, Atelier Maison & Co., 121 Sweeten Creek Rd
COMMUNITY MUSIC Downtown After 5 with The Fritz and Abby Bryant & The Echoes The kickoff for the 34th season of free community concerts. April’s nonprofit partner is Asheville Mardi Gras. Food and beer vendors onsite. FR (4/15), 5pm, 115 N Lexington Ave Dance Night with Running Wolfe & the Renegades Dance to live music. Food available for
DOING IT HER WAY: Cindy Williams, best known for her role as Shirley on the iconic comedy series “Laverne & Shirley,” will take the stage at the Wortham Center for the Performing Arts in a one-woman show Tuesday-Wednesday, April 19-20, at 8 p.m. Me, Myself & Shirley will feature Williams sharing stories about her life and career — from overcoming childhood challenges to memories of working with Oscar-winning directors and actors. Photo courtesy of Duggan & Zucker Entertainment purchase. SA (4/16), 6pm, $5, Fines Creek Community Center, 190 Fines Creek Rd, Clyde
SPOKEN & WRITTEN WORD Discussion Bound Book Club Participants will discuss Prosperity Gospel by Keith Flynn and Charter Weeks. WE (4/13), 12pm, Asheville Art Museum, 2 S Pack Square
Bill Kopp presents Disturbing the Peace: 415 Records and the Rise of New Wave The Asheville music writer discusses his book. Sponsored by Malaprop's. Registration required. TH (4/14), 7pm, avl.mx/bfa FOREPLAY! In the Mountains Monthly open mic adult storytelling event. 21+ TH (4/14), 7pm, Asheville Beauty Academy, 28 Broadway
Landis Wade presents Deadly Declarations in conversation w/Heather Newton The authors discuss Wade's book. In-person and virtual. Registration required. WE (4/13), 6pm, Malaprop's Bookstore and Cafe, 55 Haywood St
THE MOTH Presents the Asheville StorySLAM: Books Prepare a five minute story about the written word, such as the novels that changed your life, or the ones you only pretended to read. MO (4/18), 7:30pm, The Grey Eagle, 185 Clingman Ave
Book Discussion and Reading: And the Crows Took Their Eyes with author Vicki Lane Pre-registration strongly recommended. TH (4/14), 10am, Black Mountain Library, 105 N Dougherty St, Black Mountain
Roy Hoffman presents The Promise of the Pelican in conversation with Mallory McDuff The authors discuss Hoffman's novel. Sponsored by Malaprop's. Registration required. WE (4/20), 6pm, avl.mx/bgj
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Virtual Evening w/Mary Laura Philpott & Kimberly Williams-Paisley The authors discuss Philpott's book. Sponsored by Malaprop's. Ticket required. WE (4/20), 8pm, $27, avl.mx/bgi Malaprop's Notorious HBC (History Book Club) Participants will discuss The Comanche Empire by Pekka Hamalainen. Registration required. TH (4/21), 7pm, avl.mx/9s9
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Tartuffe The Montford Moppets Youth Shakespeare Company presents the classic French satire in which a con artist worms his way into a family’s affections. Donations suggested. FR (4/15), SA (4/16), 6pm, Free, Attic Salt Theatre, The Mills at Riverside, 2002 Riverside Dr, Ste 42-O
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Cindy Williams starring in Me, Myself & Shirley Cindy “Laverne & Shirley" Williams stars in her laugh-packed, one-woman show sharing stories and video clips. TU (4/19), WE (4/20), 8pm, Diana Wortham Theatre, 18 Biltmore Ave
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BENEFITS & VOLUNTEERING Community Garden Nights Seeking volunteers for the School Garden. Gloves and tools will be provided. Email volunteer coordinator, Polly, at pphillips@verneremail. org for more details. Verner Center for Early Learning, 2586 Riceville Rd Blossom & Become: A Courtney Brooke Memorial Benefit Festival A full day of family-friendly festivities to celebrate spring and bring awareness for
the Courtney Brooke Memorial Scholarship, in honor of a lead facilitor for the Growing Goddess program. With Roots Grown Deep band and songstress Samara Jade, nature awareness games, a flower essence workshopn, a spring plant walk, intuitive readings, flower blessings and more. Sliding scale admission. SA (4/16), 11am, Willow Moon Farm, 3652 Gabriels Creek Rd, Jupiter Black Maternal Health Week Walk & Fundraiser Walk, dance and celebrate with Sistas Caring 4 Sistas to raise money and awareness of health inequities for Black families. With a DJ, bounce house, and Easter egg hunt. SA (4/16), 12pm, Friendship Center, 142 Shiloh Rd Mountain Pet Rescue Dog Adoption Event The third Saturday of every month. SA (4/16), 12pm, Archetype Brewing, 265 Haywood Rd Asheville Downtown Lunchtime Cleanup Join Beloved Asheville, Asheville GreenWorks, the Asheville Downtown Association and the City of Asheville at Rabbit Rabbit to sign in, collect your gear, and receive instructions and safety information. After the cleanup, celebrate with refreshments provided by Devil’s Foot Beverage Company, coupons for The Hop Ice Cream, and a raffle for volunteers. TU (4/19), 11am, Rabbit Rabbit, 75 Coxe Ave
CLASSES, MEETINGS & EVENTS Walk through History: Lake June of Swannanoa A guided walking tour of the former site of Lake June, part of the planned community of Grovemont-On-Swannanoa. Led by Alan Dye, Board Chair of The Swannanoa Community Council.
WE (4/13), 10:30am, $25-35, Swannanoa Valley Museum & History Center, 223 W State St, Black Mountain Learn About Polymer Clay Learn how to work with polymer clay with the guidance of the Blue Ridge Polymer Clay Guild. Newcomers welcome to drop in to observe and practice. No supplies needed. WE (4/13), 11am, Leicester Library, 1561 Alexander Rd, Leicester Run, Slither, Swim! For preschool and kindergarten ages, outdoors. Presented by WNC Nature Center. TH (4/14), 4pm, Swannanoa Library, 101 W Charleston St, Swannanoa TRAP (The Rhythmic Arts Project) for Everyone The class will enhance the mind, body, and spirit through playing drums and percussion instruments in an all-inclusive environment. TH (4/14), 4pm, Enka-Candler Library, 1404 Sandhill Rd, Candler The Secret World of Birds: An Introduction to Bird Language This workshop will give you an understanding of the most common types of bird vocalizations and behaviors, how to interpret their meanings on the landscape, and a new awareness of the conversations that have been happening around us. SA (4/16), 9am, $35-45, Charles D. Owen Park, 875 Warren Wilson Rd, Swannanoa Jackson County NAACP Meeting The topic is “The May North Carolina Primaries: What’s at stake in local elections.” Email jcnaacp54ab@gmail.com to receive instructions to join online. All are welcome. SA (4/16), 10am
Skyland Library Knitting & Crochet Club Welcoming knitters and crocheters of all skill levels. SA (4/16), 3pm, Enka-Candler Library, 1404 Sandhill Rd, Candler Quilting Bee Quilters of all ages welcome. Bring your own sewing machine and project or work on a community project. TU (4/19), 10am, East Asheville Library, 902 Tunnel Rd Bringing Back the Passenger Pigeon: The Key to Saving Eastern North America's Forest Biodiversity Join Blue Ridge Audubon for a talk by Ben Novak of Revive and Restore on the role of paleogenomics and the rebirth of the passenger pigeon. TU (4/19), 7pm, Free, OLLI/Reuter Center, UNCA, 300 Campus View Rd Weaverville Library Knitters & Stitchers A morning of crafting and conversation. WE (4/20), 10am, Weaverville Library, 41 N Main St, Weaverville Men's Cancer Support Group RSVP to Will at (412)9130272 or acwein123@ gmail.com. WE (4/20), 6pm, Free, Woodfin YMCA, 40 N Merrimon Ave, Ste 101 Ushering in a New Paradigm in Healing Interact with Dr. Vishal Rao, a leader in compassionate medicine who has pioneered new, affordable treatment thereby transforming lives among the underserved communities of India. Presented by Asheville Wisdom Exchange. WE (4/20), 7pm, avl.mx/8u5 All Things Recycling Information Program Casi Lohmeyer, Buncombe County’s Recycling Coordinator, presents on all things recycling and composting in Buncombe County.
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Registration required. TH (4/21), 11am, Fairview Library, 1 Taylor Rd, Fairview
WNC. Over 60 rotating vendors. SA (4/16), 8am, 3300 University Heights
WNCHA History Hour: NC 11: Partisanship, Polarization, and Politics in a Mountain District Chris Cooper, political science professor at Western Carolina University, will discuss the politics of this mountain district and explore how it has shifted from a Democratic stronghold, to a district that swung from party to party so often that it became known as “the turnstile,” to its current status as the home of far-right congressman Madison Cawthorn. TH (4/21), 6pm, avl.mx/bgt
Asheville City Market Over 50 vendors and local food products, including fresh produce, meat, cheese, bread, pastries and more. SA (4/16), 9am, 52 N Market St
Democracy in Action: Voting in NC Questions and topics related to volunteering, registration, early voting and absentee voting will be covered in this community-wide information session led by Buncombe County Election Services. TH (4/21), 6:30pm, First Baptist Church of Asheville, 5 Oak St
LOCAL FOOD MARKETS RAD Farmers Market Weekly, with local vegetables, breads, sweet treats and more. WE (4/13, 20), 3pm, Pleb Urban Winery, 289 Lyman St Weaverville Tailgate Market Local foodstuffs, alongside a small lineup of craft and artisan vendors. WE (4/13, 20), 3pm, 60 Lake Shore Dr, Weaverville Les-ter Farmers Market Opening day with over 20 vendors. WE (4/13), 3:30pm, 3393 New Leicester Hwy, Leicester North Asheville Tailgate Market The oldest Saturday morning market in
Mars Hill Farmers Market Fresh local produce, herbs, cheeses, meats, eggs, baked goods, honey, soaps, tinctures and crafts. SA (4/16), 10am, College St, College St, Mars Hill Jackson Arts Market Local makers and producers, with live music from David Cheatham on Saturday, and an open jam on Sunday. Rain or shine. SA (4/16), SU (4/17), 1pm, Downtown Sylva
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Sundays on the Island Local market located on Marshall's island in the middle of the French Broad River. SU (4/17), 12pm, Blanahasset Island Marshall West Asheville Tailgate Market Over 40 local vendors, every Tuesday. TU (4/19), 3:30pm, 718 Haywood Rd, Asheville YMCA Mobile Market Bring your grocery bags and get fresh food for your family. All are welcome, regardless of income or family size. Distributions are free and no paperwork is required. WE (4/20), 1pm, Leicester Library, 1561 Alexander Rd, Leicester
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SPIRITUALITY Baha'i Sunday Devotional Friends gathering virtually for readings, music, prayers, and conversation. All are welcome. SU (4/17), 10am, avl.mx/a9m
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HEALTH ROUNDUP by Jessica Wakeman | jwakeman@mountainx.com
Acupuncture clinic opens
The
Sustainability Series
CELEBRATING EARTH DAY 2022
ON PINS AND NEEDLES: South Slope Acupuncture & Wellness, a clinic founded by Autum Kirgan, licensed acupuncturist, opened in February. Photo from iStock
Every week in April
South Slope Acupuncture & Wellness, a clinic founded by Autum Kirgan, licensed acupuncturist, opened in February. Her focus is on chronic pain, failed surgery and rheumatoid conditions. In addition to acupuncture, the clinic’s services include dry needling and fertility treatments. South Slope Acupuncture & Wellness is at 141 Asheland Ave., unit 200. For more information visit SouthSlopeAcupuncture. com or call 575-5904.
Hopebridge’s program provides intensive behavioral interventions for children ages 15 months to seven years, according to its website. The Asheville center is currently scheduling diagnostic, applied behavior analysis evaluations and other autism services. Asheville Hopebridge Autism Therapy Center will be located at 200 Ridgefield Ct., suite 204. For more information visit avl.mx/bgr or call 855-324-085.
Autism therapy center opening in June
Give blood, give life
Hopebridge Autism Therapy Centers, a nationwide network, announced the opening of a new center in Asheville in June. This will be Hopebridge’s sixth center in North Carolina; it operates over 100 centers nationwide.
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The Blood Connection is hosting several blood drives at hospitals in the region. On Thursday, May 5, The Blood Connection will be at Transylvania Hospital, 260 Hospital Drive, Brevard. It will have a bloodmobile set up in the emergency department parking lot from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. On Monday, May 9, The Blood Connection will be at
Blue Ridge Hospital, 125 Hospital Drive, Spruce Pine. The bloodmobile will be in the hospital parking lot from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. On Friday, June 3, The Blood Connection will be at Angel Medical Center, 56 Medical Park Drive, Franklin. The bloodmobiile will be in the parking lot from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. To schedule an appointment at any of these locations, visit TheBloodConnection.org.
Local resources offering second doses of COVID-19 booster On March 30, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its guidance regarding second booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. According to CDC guidelines, adults ages 50 years and older who are not moderately or severely immunocompromised may receive a second booster dose using an mRNA COVID19 vaccine at least four months after a first booster dose. More information about vaccines and booster doses for this group at avl.mx/bgp. Additionally, people ages 12 years and older who are moderately or severely immunocompromised may receive a second booster dose using an mRNA COVID-19; eligibility varies based on the person’s age and previous vaccine brand. More information about vaccines and booster doses for this group at avl.mx/bgo. All COVID-19 vaccines, boosters and second boosters for eligible populations are available at the Buncombe County Health Department immunization clinic, 40 Coxe Ave. The clinic
is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. COVID-19 vaccines are available on a walk-in basis. Second booster doses will be available for qualified individuals at the Charles George Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Asheville. All veterans, their spouses and caregivers can receive free COVID-19 vaccines and booster doses. The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, which is an mRNA vaccine, is currently available at the Charles George’s COVID-19 vaccine clinic, 1100 Tunnel Road, building 70, room 123. The clinic is open Mondays through Fridays, 8:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m. and closed on federal holidays. No appointments are needed, but patients must bring their CDC vaccination card or medication documentation of previous COVID-19 vaccinations.
Welcome aboard • All Souls Counseling, a nonprofit offering mental health care for uninsured and underinsured patients, has named Meredith Switzer as executive director. Switzer served as executive director for three months prior to her acceptance of the role. She previously served as executive director of Homeward Bound of WNC. • Alex F. Howard will join Dogwood Health Trust as vice president of impact for health and wellness on April 18. Howard will oversee the organization’s support of programs addressing substance use disorder, particularly those that reduce deaths, treat addiction and prevent first use. He most recently was the assistant vice chancellor of student affairs at Appalachian State University, leading the departments of counseling and psychological services, student health services, university recreation and wellness and prevention services. • Kaitlyn Breiten has joined Appalachian Mountain Community Health Centers, one of the region’s federally qualified health centers,
as its first women’s health nurse practitioner. Breiten is based in AMCHC’s office at 409 Tallulah Road in Robbinsville. • Stephanie Bowman, neonatal nurse practitioner, has joined The Baby Place at AdventHealth Hendersonville as a pediatric hospitalist. She was previously a neonatal nurse practitioner at Wake Forest Baptist Health: Brenner Children’s Hospital in Winston-Salem. • Dr. Cristina Ipatii, a board-certified internal medicine physician, has joined the Comprehensive Wound Healing Center at Pardee UNC Health Care in Hendersonville.
Clients report reduced pain, decreased stress & overall improved well-being.
Modalities include Healing Touch & CranioSacral Therapy
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Mark your calendars • Mission Health hosts a free trauma survivors support group the fourth Thursday of every month. Meetings are online and each one discusses a different topic surrounding trauma. The next group meets April 21, 6-7 p.m. Contact Stephanie Lindsay at stephanie.lindsay@hcahealthcare. com for more information. • Haywood Regional Medical Center will host a free skin cancer screening Saturday, April 30, 9:30 a.m.-noon. Screenings will take place at The Homestead, 127 Sunset Ridge Road. Walk-ins are welcome, but RSVPs are encouraged. Register at avl.mx/bgl • Hendersonville Family YMCA is holding Healthy Kids Day Saturday, April 30. The free event will include youth class demonstrations, healthy snacks and more fun events. Check avl.mx/bgm for more details closer to the event. • Asheville’s Parks and Recreation is holding two free classes on healthy Latin cooking on Thursday, June 16 and Thursday, Aug. 25. Both classes will be 5:30-7 p.m. at Burton Street Community Center, 134 Burton St. For more information and to register, visit avl.mx/bgs. X
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movement /childbirth preparation)
• Somatic Experiencing ® (Nervous-System Regulation)
• Massage Therapy • Swim Lessons/Song Circles @ShaleneSwimSchool
Contact: Sarah Eisenstein NCLMBT#16350 (828)-620-9861 • saraheisenstein32@gmail.com
Donate your car. Change a life. Do you have an extra car that needs a new home? Your donated car can open the doors to independence, increased income, and higher education for a hardworking member of our community. Vehicles of all types and conditions are welcomed and appreciated! The donation is tax-deductible. The process is simple. The impact is real.
Keeping Asheville Weird Since 2010 workingwheelswnc.org | 828-633-6888 VOTED WNC #1 KAVA BAR
Where your favorite aunt & her “roommate” hang out. OPEN DAILY • 828.505.8118 268 Biltmore Ave • Asheville, NC
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APRIL 13-19, 2022
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ARTS & CULTURE
Big ideas
Local author’s new book honors Olmsted’s work with national parks
THE PATH FORWARD: Asheville-based writer Dennis Drabelle’s new book on Frederick Law Olmsted builds on previous articles he wrote about the legendary landscape architect. Author photo by Ron Rosenblum
BY EDWIN ARNAUDIN earnaudin@mountainx.com As the saying goes, timing is everything — and the idiom holds true even when that synchronicity is unintentional. Such was the case for Ashevillebased writer Dennis Drabelle. His latest book, The Power of Scenery: Frederick Law Olmsted and the Origin of National Parks, began as a means of honoring the 150th anniversary of the country’s first national park, Yellowstone, on March 1, 2022. But it just so happened that this year also marks the 200th anniversary of Olmsted’s birth. “I didn’t know that until I was already way involved with the research,” Drabelle says. “It was like a little gift from heaven.” DESTINY CALLING In many ways, The Power of Scenery is the book Drabelle has been working toward his entire career. A native of St. Louis, the author holds degrees in English and law; he is also an avid hiker with a deep love for the outdoors, dating back to his time as a Boy Scout. “Part of it is the beauty and the serenity and getting away from the bustle of big cities,” says Drabelle, who previously lived in Philadelphia and 28
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Washington, D.C., before moving to Asheville in 2016. “And then I began to get really interested [in the outdoors] as a lawyer and policymaker, surrounding the duty that we maybe take for granted when we’re out there: If we don’t protect [that beauty and serenity] with laws, it won’t stay that way.” Beginning in 1971, Drabelle served as an attorney-adviser at the Department of the interior. Then, from 1973-77, he worked as counsel to the assistant secretary of Interior who oversees the national parks. There, he witnessed firsthand the early days of the Environmental Protection Agency and other federal conservation efforts. Despite the exposure, the author says he knew very little about Olmsted, outside of his role as superintendent and co-designer of New York City’s Central Park. But in the late 1980s, Drabelle began work on The Art of Landscape Architecture (1990), a book he wrote for the National Endowment for the Arts. One of the chapters focused on efforts to restore Olmsted’s urban parks as closely as possible to their original designs. Drabelle followed that project up with “The Most Beautiful Street in Berkeley,” an article for the East Bay Express about the handful of surviving blocks from Olmsted’s first foray into parkways. “Then I sort of put Olmsted on the back burner for a long time,” Drabelle says. “But I read a couple of books
STUDENT-LED ACTIVISM about him, so I knew what a protean figure he was and an incredibly hard worker. And, boy, when you get a combination like that, somebody who can do almost anything and can do it 18 hours a day, you’ve got somebody.” BACKYARD RESEARCH With an eye toward writing a book on how the national parks came to be, Drabelle read Dayton Duncan’s and Ken Burns’ The National Parks: America’s Best Idea, the companion tome to Burns’ 2009 documentary series by the same name. Expecting his research to focus on pioneering geological surveyor Ferdinand Hayden, Drabelle was surprised to find Olmsted “sort of popping up everywhere.” The trend continued as the author further explored the topic, ultimately shifting Drabelle’s interest and focus onto the landscape architect. Throughout the research process for The Power of Scenery, Drabelle was in contact with academics and experts across the country. Meanwhile, he also benefited from Olmsted’s history with Asheville. Late in life, while designing the landscape of the Biltmore Estate, Olmsted had planned to create the most comprehensive research arboretum in the U.S. on the Vanderbilts’ sprawling acreage. The dream never materialized, but Olmsted’s vision served as an inspiration for The N.C. Arboretum, which was established in 1986. Thirty years after its opening, the facility added a sculpture of Olmsted in 2016. In late 2019, Drabelle was at the arboretum for a two-hour evening educational course. During a break, he walked around the library, discovering a collection that made his jaw drop: 11 volumes of The Papers of Frederick Law Olmsted, published by Johns Hopkins University Press. “I’d had this kind of dread in my mind that I would have to access them and probably some other stuff in Washington, D.C. And that I would just be sitting in the Library of Congress day after day, trying to copy as fast as I could because you don’t want to be away from home too long,” Drabelle says. “[The arboretum staff] just said, ‘Sure, come on out!’ So [in January 2020], I would drive up to the arboretum and hole up there for as long as I wanted.” TWO-CENTURY LEGACY While Drabelle notes that Olmsted had no direct influence on the creation of Yellowstone National Park, Olmsted’s “seminal” 1865 report advising the governor of California on how
to manage Yosemite — established the previous year as the first U.S. wilderness park — had an indirect influence. The report lived on in the journalism and books of Olmsted’s friend Sam Bowles, who stressed that Yosemite need not be a singular endeavor, but that the same or a similar treatment — withdrawal from settlement and development, and preservation in its pristine state — could be given to other wild wonders, especially the Adirondacks and Maine’s coast. “Bowles’ books were bestsellers and undoubtedly known to the Montana businessmen and lawyers who visited Yellowstone in 1870, as well to Hayden, who came a year after them and did more than anyone else to persuade Congress to preserve Yellowstone, which, being located in three territories — Montana, Wyoming and Idaho — stayed in federal ownership and hence became the world’s first national park,” Drabelle says. “In a nutshell, this is why a painting of Yosemite Falls is on the book’s cover rather than one of, say, Old Faithful.” As Olmsted’s April 26 birthday approaches, Drabelle sees the landscape architect’s strong, enduring influence on a local level through the arboretum and Biltmore connections, as well as the principles adopted by those responsible for Pisgah National Forest and the Great Smoky Mountains (the latter of which Drabelle calls “our own almost backyard national park”). But the ongoing work to return Olmsted’s urban parks to his original visions — particularly the Olmsted parks and parkways in the greater Buffalo area — has Drabelle even more optimistic that their core intentions will be preserved and live on. “Especially today, it’s all the more important to realize that parklike experiences are important for everybody,” Drabelle says. “A bit of wilderness in the heart of the city — that’s what [Olmsted] originally did with Central Park, and I think we need a lot more of those spaces.” X
WHO Dennis Drabelle WHERE N.C. Arboretum, 100 Frederick Law Olmsted Way. avl.mx/92b WHEN Tuesday, April 26, 3:30 p.m. (book signing); Thursday, April 28, 6:30 p.m., in conversation via Zoom with Drake Fowler, arboretum deputy executive director. Regular admission fees apply.
Toward a carbon-neutral future When UNC Asheville officials signed a pledge to be carbon neutral by 2050, Lindsey Nystrom was one of the students at the ceremony. That’s a reflection of Nystrom’s leading role in making UNCA’s Carbon Commitment a reality. Nystrom, a senior, helped develop the climate action plan draft that the university will use as it moves toward its goal of net zero carbon emissions. “I think this commitment is one of the most forward-thinking and accessible sustainability initiatives on campus, and provides not only a pathway toward carbon neutrality, but an opportunity to build a community of students, faculty, staff and Asheville residents that value our environment,” Nystrom says. “It allows for the LINDSEY NYSTROM intersection of student activism and climate change mitigation, all while breeding connection and empathy along the way.” Below, Xpress speaks with Nystron about distress, holistic approaches to environmentalism and divestment. The interview has been condensed and lightly edited. How do you keep yourself motivated in light of the lack of meaningful national efforts to combat climate change? In 2019, UNC Asheville divested 10% of our endowment from fossil fuels. This was a turning point in my personal history, as it represented an intervention point that may seem hidden but makes a significant change. Doing work around climate change is inherently committing yourself to grief. Communities, cultures, histories and places will all be lost to impending climatic changes. However, what I have seen on UNCA’s campus is the growth of climate activism, despite the sense of stress and hopelessness that often accompanies this kind of work. How is your approach to environmentalism different from that of earlier generations? I believe in a holistic, equity-based and data-driven approach to environmentalism. I intentionally aim to include social, environmental and economic factors in the decision-making process and actively try to engage with communities and marginalized groups to both mitigate and prepare for climate change. I think earlier generations may leave out parts of the sustainability story, leaving blind spots that do not protect or advocate for people most in need. On campus, as I was helping to get the Carbon Commitment signed, it was very important to hear student input and get creative when deciding on the how of the project. What’s one thing you would like to see Xpress readers do to promote sustainability in WNC in the coming year? Commit to climate action in spaces you are already functioning within. If you’re working in finance, consider learning about divestment. If you’re working in the tourism industry, think about sustainable tourism. If you’re a public official, think about how committing to racial equity and justice may benefit the sustainability and environment of your community. Use what you have, and connect with people you love.
— Justin McGuire X
field guide
Asheville to
New Edition coming in May
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ARTS & CU L T U R E
LITERATURE
‘The grand view’
Celebrating Poetry Month with Jessica Jacobs
BY THOMAS CALDER tcalder@mountainx.com Xpress continues its celebration of Poetry Month with a look at local, award-winning poet Jessica Jacobs’ work, “Because You Waited for Me to Fly Your First Kite,” from her 2019 collection, Take Me With You, Wherever You’re Going. As a lonely kid growing up in central Florida, Jacobs says, “Books were my companions and my comfort, my assurance a larger world existed beyond the one I saw.” As a teenager, she discovered Sylvia Plath’s Ariel, a collection of poems published posthumously in 1965. Jacobs says her life changed upon reading the work. In particular, the poem “Daddy” left her breathless. “I started writing then in earnest, believing if I could create even one work that made a single person feel that way, it was the finest thing I could do with my life,” she says.
Because You Waited for Me to Fly Your First Kite by Jessica Jacobs
NOTICER: “One of the reasons I write poetry and essays is because I don’t excel at the world-building fiction requires,” says Jessica Jacobs. “To compensate, I work hard at being a noticer.” Photo by Lily Darragh Featured is Jacobs’ poem, which appears with permission of Four Way Books; all rights reserved. The work, notes Jacobs, was written following an afternoon visit to Max Patch.
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Let our love be this clutch of dogs off-leash: the preen and posture, snort and snuffle, of saying, I smell you and, therefore, know you. The rolling on the backs and baring of the bellies. And the tails! An exaltation of metronomes, keeping time for their joy. If this summer is a body, let me be its tongue. Tasting the green tang of the spittlebug nests foaming the oat grass, the iron of this good dirt. A tongue to lick the salt from your upper lip, the rosary of sweat risen on your chest. A tongue to tap the top teeth and suck back like a wave whose tide rolls out through lips pursed as though for a kiss. Listen again: Thank you. As in, thank you, please, let me be this kite lifting from your hands—ruffled nylon paradise bird, with its taut spine and cross spar, the pop of its ripstop sails, snap of its translucent tails. Give me the grand view: white water and mountains; but mostly of you — head thrown back, face to the sun, holding my traceline: tethered to you, always, responding to the slightest tick of your fingertips. Let me be a kite that trusts itself to the sky. Yes, gravity is inevitable as death. But why let that desecrate even a moment of this flight?
Q&A WITH JESSICA JACOBS Xpress: This poem was written after visiting Max Patch. As a poet, do you find that locations often inspire your work? Or was this a unique poem in that sense? Jacobs: One of the reasons I write poetry and essays is because I don’t excel at the world-building fiction requires. To compensate, I work hard at being a noticer. My first book [of poetry], Pelvis with Distance, was about Georgia O’Keeffe; so to write it, I made many trips to the high desert of New Mexico to observe firsthand, with all my senses, what no field guide or Wikipedia article could tell me. Because really, I believe poetry comes from not our heads but our bodies, from trying to fit what we experience into language. So instead of dismissing things with simple labels like “tree” or “dog,” we can be present to the wonder of how light falls through a particular set of branches or the play of joy and fear across a child’s face as they bravely pet a beast towering above them, panting sweetly at the end of my leash. These observations then lead me to research, one of my favorite parts of writing, which now means when I walk in the fields here I know the foamy pods on the grass are the nests of spittlebugs and the witchy purple switches on the side of a trail hold within them a feast of future raspberries, which makes the world simultaneously more known and more wonderfully strange. That feeds into another question I had. The visuals in this poem are delightful to consider. The one that always makes me grin is when you write, “And the tails! An exaltation of metronomes/keeping time for their joy.” As you’ve already noted, poets have this amazing gift for interpreting common, quiet moments and offering readers the chance see it anew. Is this part of your thought process as you enter a new work, or is your approach more open? Dogs make me smile, too, so I’m happy to be able to pass that on through this poem. As for your generous question, I strive to enter each new poem without a rigid intention. Instead, I try and approach the page with a curiosity for where a poem might take me — into what new darkness it might shine a light, what part of myself or the larger world it might force/help me to face, what questions it might answer or inspire. Though it’s one of the most consistently difficult things I’ve done, writing is how I make sense of the
world. And by sharing what I’ve found, I can only hope that one of my poems might offer a reader a fraction of the joy and wisdom the work of other writers gives me. This poem plays with perspective. Readers are low to the ground in some stanzas, while high above by the work’s end. Was perspective a concept you set out to explore when you began writing this piece? If so, can you tell us a little bit about the thought process behind it? I love that you noticed this; thank you! I often think of perspective in a piece of writing in cinematic terms. This poem opens with a kind of establishing wide shot to let a reader set the scene in their mind. The second stanza, following the sensuality of that opening metaphor of the speaker being the “tongue” of summer — which I hope makes more sense in the context of the poem! — zooms in for a close-up of both the ground and the beloved’s lips, offering up the intimacy that comes with bodily love. And finally, by the end, when the speaker’s delight has transformed her into a high-flying kite, we get a god’s-eyeview of both Max Patch and her
loved one holding the kite string, a perspective that I hope offers up that transcendent feeling love can sometimes, if we’re lucky, give us. Finally, I’m asking each poet I speak with to offer a recommendation. Is there a new collection of poems written by a local poet that you’re particularly fond of? If so, what makes the collection stick out to you? Given Asheville’s impressive literary community, this is a tough one to answer. My shelf is a party with Eric Tran’s The Gutter Spread Guide to Prayer, Brandon Amico’s Disappearing, Inc., Gary Hawkins’ Worker, Brit Washburn’s Notwithstanding, Keith Flynn’s The Skin of Meaning, Luke Hankins’ Radiant Obstacles and Maggie Anderson’s Dear All — along with so many others. But just published in March is Eric Nelson’s Horse Not Zebra, a collection filled with insightful, tender poems, electric with surprising images, and, best of all for locals, a good number of these draw on the walks he takes around town with his dog, so you’ll likely find in these pages places and moments that feel drawn from your own life. X
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FILM
Seen and heard
Justice Film Collective brings ethical practices to movie and TV productions
Over the past few years, in the wake of the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements, members of the film and TV communities have raised awareness about harassment, assault and discrimination throughout their industries. Turning that elevated consciousness into action, however, has proved a gradual process. But thanks to Justice Film Collective, positive change is already evident within the Asheville area. Launched in 2018, the production company seeks to shift the values of the independent film industry toward collective care, accountability and liberation, and is attracting similarly minded allies to help sustain its mission. PROBLEM-SOLVING Justice Film Collective was founded by Durham native Andie Morgenlander, who studied theater performance in college. While in school, she began auditioning for commercial projects but felt dissatisfied with the results. “I became pretty quickly disenchanted by what the acting industry was offering me and my friends who wanted more agency with storytelling, so I decided to try some film classes,” says Morgenlander, who moved to Asheville in 2018. “I thought it would help me be a better actor as well, which I think it definitely did, but I soon fell in love with the autonomy and the collaboration that comes with directing and producing and writing.” Further spurring Morgenlander’s evolving consciousness were frequent negative experiences in the classroom. Her directing professor (whose mindset Morgenlander describes as “very old, white Hollywood”) regularly spoke down to her and had a reputation for assigning women sexually explicit scenes that often required nudity. She says upperclassmen would warn freshmen and sophomores about that problematic culture and urge them to speak up quickly if they were uncomfortable, but little else was being done to improve matters on a systemic level. (It’s a common experience, Morgenlander later learned, for many aspiring actors in colleges and universities across the U.S.) At the same time, Morgenlander and her classmates were being instructed that they had to be “easy to work with” if they wanted to get cast, a constriction that made many of them feel powerless in less-than-ideal situations. Though she’s encouraged by an increasing number of undergraduate arts students now fighting back against their programs’ 32
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LOVE IS LOVE: A still from “Whistle Down Wind,” a queer-centered independent short film from Justice Film Collective. A feature-length version is currently in development. Photo courtesy of Justice Film Collective inherently patriarchal structures, looking back, she finds it “mind-blowing” that her professors didn’t understand the impact of their actions — or, if they did, they didn’t care. “It became more and more obvious that a lot of the injustices and systems of oppression that are active in our country in different ways on a bigger scale were also very much active within the film industry,” she says. A BETTER WAY Committed to being a filmmaker, Morgenlander sought to change on-set culture, but the task felt daunting. Whenever she steps on set, she’s conscious of how she can subvert white dominant culture as a queer, white, gender fluid femme, while also creating a healing space and establishing pathways of communication and reporting so that if something does happen, people can find ways to get support. “But one person can’t do all of those things, so, really quickly, I was like, ‘Well, if I’m the only one that feels this way about things and l don’t share that and nobody else does, it’s not going to help anything,’” Morgenlander says. “So my thought process became, ‘How do I start to put this ethos on paper and start to talk to people about it to see if anyone feels the same way?’” Morgenlander, her husband (and fellow filmmaker) Joshua Overbay and a few friends began brainstorming changes that they wanted to see on sets both locally and nationally — conversations that prompted her to begin work on a sharable document for others to use. Aiding these efforts is her online pursuit of a Master of Fine Arts degree via Arizona’s Prescott College, where
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Morgenlander is currently writing an ethical filmmaking framework for independent film that she plans to complete this summer. Though she stresses that the work-in-progress isn’t intended as a one-size-fits-all document, its inclusion of everything from having shorter days and putting pronouns on call sheets encourage filmmakers to peruse her work’s content and see what makes sense for them. “If you’re a director and producer, especially on independent projects, you have a lot of power and you’re at the forefront of the process,” Morgenlander says. “I wanted to make sure that, as much as I could on my sets, that I was creating space where people could hear and connect and feel cared for. I’m not perfect, and I’m still learning about how to do that, but that has been my mission.” DISCERNABLE DIFFERENCES Justice Film Collective’s approaches are already proving popular with the local filmmaking community. Julia Christgau, who wrote the LGBTQ+ short film Whistle Down Wind and co-directed it with Morgenlander in 2019, says she felt empowered by her collaborator to develop the story of best friends turned lovers in rural North Carolina. Working outside their creative partnership, however, reminds Christgau how others in the industry still have much to learn. “I was just part of a production in New York City where the producers — they just weren’t very kind. And I think I was really shocked because of how compassionate a process it is with Andie,” Christgau says. “I got back to New York and was like, ‘Oh,
no … damn it.’ That shouldn’t be the norm, but it is. And I feel like putting people’s mental health and safety first, a lot of the time it’s touted, but then [producers] don’t take measures to make sure that it’s done.” By contrast, Morgenlander has committed to having an intimacy coach in place for the upcoming feature-length expansion of Whistle Down Wind to ensure that actors feel comfortable filming romantic scenes. In her recent return to stage acting, Christgau was reminded of the mental and physical toll that acting takes, and such caring steps give her even greater confidence in being part of future Justice Film Collective productions. “I trust going onto that set,” Christgau says. “It feels like I’m going to be fully supported and have what I need to succeed as an artist, as opposed to showing up at a place and just hoping that everyone knows what they’re doing.” Fellow local filmmaker Tabitha McDonald has also worked with Morgenlander on several projects. With a background that includes everything from production assistant to producer, she’s witnessed the incongruence in how creatives are treated, paid and held space for in the industry, but also sees opportunities to move away from the toxic status quo. “By practicing filmmaking that is in alignment with their values from the development stage of filmmaking and on, they are allowing people to see that the processes can be better,” McDonald says. “Creating films can truly be a collaborative, inclusive and healing experience from day one of development. Through accountability as part of the growth process — and intention-
ally doing the work to move forward — change in the industry is inevitable.” She adds that Justice Film Collective’s values closely align with hers in creating equitable and inclusive films. McDonald especially praises the emphasis her collaborators place on acknowledging the individuals who are part of the creative process of filmmaking, plus their commitment to elevate the voices of those who have historically been denied opportunities in film and other creative industries. “Having experience working on both large and small productions, seeing this intentionality around how they navigate the creative process is refreshing,” McDonald says. “Large productions are guilty of marginalizing, overworking and undervaluing the majority of their crew. Even when the stories on screen are meant to break these patterns — nothing has changed behind the scenes. Justice Film Collective has the goal to change the narrative both in front of and behind the camera.”. GLASS HALF FULL Additional Justice Film Collective works include Spare the Child, Overbay’s documentary short about the long-term effects of childhood spanking. While the film wasn’t picked up on the 2021 festival circuit, organizations across the country that advocate for peaceful parenting have screened it in their communities. And last July, it was also shown to the Superior Tribunal de Justiça, a high court in Brazil. At that screening, Overbay and Morgenlander (with help from an interpreter) participated in a remote talkback with Overbay’s brother Archer and Trenton, N.J.-based Rev. Darrell Armstrong, an international advocate for children who appears in the film and is one of its executive producers. That kind of engagement gives Morgenlander optimism that the collective will continue to grow and find new allies. She recently connected with Reel Works, a youth filmmaking organization in Brooklyn whose leaders are passionate about ethical and compassionate filmmaking, and she’s working on forging bonds with additional groups. “Being able to connect with people on these ideas and hear that it’s something they’re passionate about, too, helps me feel like I’m not in a vortex doing this work,” she says. “There are people all across the United States and beyond that are trying to create more compassionate, equitable systems. And so I think for me, actually feeling small and feeling like I’m piece of a bigger body of work, gives me a lot of confidence and a lot of hope.” To learn more, visit avl.mx/bel
— Edwin Arnaudin X MOUNTAINX.COM
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AR T S & C UL TU R E
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Ryan ‘RnB’ Barber discusses the finances behind music endeavors
BY JOHANNA PATRICE HAGARTY johannahagarty@gmail.com Producer and Grammy-winning vocalist Ryan “RnB” Barber has a theory about people: No matter how much you try to better yourself, there’s always going to be someone with something negative to say — possibly even yourself. That’s why his latest mantra, “Funk Yo Feelings,” became the title track of his 2021 album and the soundtrack for his most recent music video, which playfully depicts music as an antidote to bad behavior. The stress of cancel culture, polarizing political climates and the pandemic all inspired the work, which Barber says seeks to bring a positive vibe to listeners. “Since music is a universal language that can make folks forget about negativity for a few moments, I felt that writing the song and releasing the video and album was necessary,” he explains. Yet for Barber, the cost of producing the album and video wasn’t a universally positive experience. Speaking with Xpress as part of its ongoing “Cost of Creativity” series, Barber shares the financial, mental and emotional tolls that came with his latest musical endeavor and the ways he sustained himself throughout the process. FEELING FUNKY In January 2020, Barber had a full calendar of live shows scheduled and was projecting his largest earnings to date as a performing artist. But — as the now well-known story goes — COVID-19 upended all his plans. Like so many others, Barber experienced major income loss and job uncertainty as bars closed and events were canceled. Shaken but undeterred, the artist immersed himself in writing music, ultimately releasing “Funk Yo Feelings,” a song that revels in overcoming hardships and embracing the positive side of life. With so many “songs that make people cry or angry, there’s got to be someone to put a smile on people’s faces,” Barber explains. Without live performances to offset the cost of producing both the album and video, Barber launched a crowdfunding campaign. He raised
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FUNK IT: Producer and singer Ryan “RnB” Barber discusses the costs that come with releasing an album and video during a pandemic. Photo courtesy of Barber $2,000, covering just under a third of the project’s overall cost. Barber says hundreds of hours went into recording the album and filming the video, all of which were done in between odd jobs. The endeavor’s total cost came in around $6,500, which covered new recording gear, marketing, CDs, T-shirts, vinyl and the music video produced by Kira Bursky. Barber emphasizes that expenses could have run much higher had he not already established a home studio, allowing him to record, produce, mix and master the project on his own. HAND TO MOUTH Despite the cost, Barber believes the overall project was an important and worthy pursuit. “Music makes folks happy and helps them forget about the negative for a few moments,” he says. “Even if it only inspires one person, it’s still a step in the right direction toward more happiness in the world.”
But he stresses to young and emerging artists the importance of being strategic. Though money never drives his creative endeavors, he notes “being deep in a hole of debt definitely takes its toll on your mental and emotional health.” In Barber’s case, an additional $1,000 grant from the Asheville Area Arts Council, along with the $2,000 from his GoFundMe campaign, offset some costs. Still, the artist notes he took out two small private loans to fund the rest. The creative lifestyle can look flashy and fun, Barber points out, yet it isn’t a hobby for most. It requires work, discipline, a business mindset and resilience, the musician says. “Many artists live hand to mouth, especially right now,” he notes. “So when I hear people taking it lightly or calling it fun, I hope to remind them that this is also our livelihood.” Nevertheless, Barber stresses, the pursuit is worth the ups and downs. “Never give up and never stop creating,” he says. Among other things, he adds, “Music is great therapy.” X
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FOOD ROUNDUP
What’s new in food Jamaican specialties arrive to the Asheville Mall food court
“Cooking and feeding others have always been deep in our family,” says Donna Jones. “My dad and mom taught us all.” Family is a key ingredient at the new Jamaican restaurant Island Pan, which Jones’ son, Kemar Moulton, opened in the Asheville Mall food court on April 1. Jones and other family members, all of whom emigrated from the Caribbean island, will pitch in to help cook Island Pan’s Jamaican dishes. Jones first arrived in Asheville in 2009, working at the Biltmore Estate; two years later, Moulton joined his mother in WNC, starting his own cleaning business. Jones says she and her son have always cooked for friends, but as word of their jerk and curry chicken spread, they began filling preorders a couple of times a week.
“We got so much encouragement from people who love our food, telling us we need to open our own place,” Jones explains. “Kemar signed the lease on the space in the mall food court in January and has been working on getting it ready since.” In addition to traditional jerk chicken, Island Pan serves barbecue jerk chicken, fried chicken and fried plantains. The restaurant also has oxtail, slow-cooking the meat to fall-from-the-bone tenderness and adding butter beans, tomatoes and carrots for a deeply flavored stew. Jones reports that on opening weekend, oxtail proved the most popular item. “It’s not easy to find it in Asheville,” she says. “It was what most of the people came for.”. Island Pan is at 3 S. Tunnel Road, Suite FC-3. Hours correspond with mall hours. For more, visit avl.mx/bf4.
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CARIBBEAN FOOD: Mother-and-son team Donna Jones and Kemar Moulton celebrate the opening of the new Jamaican restaurant Island Pan at the Asheville Mall. Photo by Jennifer Castillo
Cultural exchange
Hola Oaxaca
On Friday, April 22, Ayni51 will host its latest vegan Peruvian food pop-up dinner at Blue Ridge Hemp. Co., 61 1/2 N. Lexington Ave. Created by Caro Gutiérrez, who uses the pronoun they, the pop-up debuted Feb. 24 with a soldout, five-course dinner at West End Bakery. During the event, Gutierrez and their partner, Crain Gutiérrez, who also uses the pronoun they, discussed the culinary and cultural history of Peru. Caro staged two more pop-ups in March at the same location. Before moving to Asheville in January, Caro worked as an artist and set/lighting designer for more than 15 years in Peru. During that time, they began home cooking to explore veganism. In September 2020, Caro and Crain met online. In late 2021, Crain invited Caro to lecture on the legacy of queer art in pre-Columbian Peru at Crain’s Trust Studio, a multidisciplinary art space they founded in South Slope in 2020. Shortly thereafter, the couple married, and Caro joined Crain in Asheville. The 51 in Caro’s business represents Peru’s phone code, they explain; “ayni” is a Quechan term meaning “Today for you, tomorrow for me.” “It’s a philosophy that means reciprocity in the community,” Caro explains. “With Ayni, I want to create community and show my culture.” Ultimately, Caro hopes to move into a food truck. Wherever they land, guests can expect to taste four foundations of Peruvian cuisine: aji amarillo peppers, lime, cilantro and potatoes. “In Peru, we have more than 3,000 types of potatoes,” says Caro. “We do magical things with them.” Learn more at avl.mx/bf8.
Chef Luis Martinez, who has been staging pop-up dinners and partnerships since leaving El Gallo last summer, will present another of his popular OaxaCalifornia dinner pairings on Wednesday, April 20, with Botanist & Barrel cidery at its downtown tasting room. “The pairing makes so much sense to us,” says Lyndon Smith, co-founder of Botanist & Barrel. “We want the entire experience to revolve around different expressions of mole, which is Luis’ specialty.” Tickets for the four-course dinner are $105 per person, including beverages paired by Botanist & Barrel co-founder and certified pommellier Amie Fields. Botanist & Barrel is at 32 Broadway. To purchase tickets, visit avl.mx/bfp.
Table talk With the Wednesday, April 13 opening of Grateful Table Café & Provisions in Canton, locals and visitors can take a seat at an indoor table for breakfast or lunch or pick up locally sourced products to cook for their home table. Before moving to WNC in 2017, owner Jeanne Forrest operated three bakery/cafes in Las Vegas. She signed the lease for two adjoining Main Street buildings in January. “The buildings connect on the interior,” says General Manager Abigail Anzelmo. “One side will have some groceries, a deli, ice cream and our kitchen. The other will have the counter to order food, which we will bring to you, and just over 30 seats.”
Grateful Table will also offer several choices of hot dinners to take away, with leftovers packaged the next day into individual containers and frozen for reheating at home. Cinnamon rolls, cakes and pies will be baked on-site; wine and beer will also be available for purchase. Grateful Table Café & Provisions is at 473 Main St., Canton. For more information, visit avl.mx/bfc.
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The American Legion Post 70 Coffee Shop welcomes veterans and active-duty military personnel to come by for coffee, doughnuts, conversation and camaraderie. “Our effort is to duplicate similar services that have been successful in other communities to help vets and service members find sanctuary and spend time together,” says representative Wally Lee. He adds that the Department of Veterans Affairs provides shuttle service from the nearby Charles George VA Medical Center to the post. American Legion Post 70 Coffee Shop is at 103 Reddick Road. Hours are Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. – 3 p.m.
RAD move In 2015, Lyric Antio’s first summer job in Asheville was as a market assistant at the River Arts District Farmers Market. “RAD was my introduction to local farms, and since then I have oriented my life to being as close to my food as possible,” she explains. “RAD was the beginning of it, and it seems important to return at this time.” At the end of March, Antio took over the position of RAD market manager and is preparing for the year-round market’s May 4 move from inside Plēb Urban Winery to the large gravel lot next to the building. Spots for vendors will double, and applications are now being accepted for the outdoor market season running through October. For an application, visit avl.mx/bfs. River Arts District Farmers Market is at 289 Lyman St., Wednesdays 3-5:30 p.m. and until 6 p.m. May-October.
Market place As communities emerge from strict COVID-19 policies, Buncombe County’s Community Engagement Markets are returning to pre-pan-
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ARTS & CU L T U R E demic models with in-person gatherings. The markets — which offer free food, medical services, information about mortgage, rental and weatherization assistance and other resources for those in need — were created in 2013 as a partnership between MANNA FoodBank and the Buncombe County Community Engagement Team. Other organizations such as United Way, Bounty and Soul, the YWCA and Asheville Buncombe County Christian Ministry have since joined in. Markets are held on various days at more than 10 locations. To view the complete list, visit avl.mx/bfe.
Les-ter Farmers Market Speaking of markets ... Lester Farmers Market reopens Wednesday, April 13. In its second year, the market features about 20 local farmers and vendors. In a press release, co-founder Jessica Wilbur states, “I’m so excited to see this market grow and bring our community together. Shopping at the Les-ter Farmers Market is a great way to keep dollars in our local community, support local artisans and farmers and have a great time coming together with neighbors.” The market takes place every Wednesday, 3:30-6:30 p.m. at the Leicester Community Center, 2979 New Leicester Highway. Rain or shine.
Bunny trail Locally-made Easter-themed and seasonal spring treats are hopping their way from bakeries and tailgate markets to buyers’ baskets. • Parents of toddlers may be weary of the “Hot Cross Buns” children’s song, but no one tires of the real thing. City Bakery buns have risen again, scented with cardamom and topped with turbinado sugar and an orange glaze cross, available at both locations, 60 Biltmore Ave. and 88 Charlotte St., through Saturday, April 16. avl.mx/bfh • Whisk, Candler’s drive-thru bakery, will have cardamom orange brioche dough hot cross buns with golden raisins and currants, by advance preorder for larger quantities and single sales through Saturday, April 16. 801 Smoky Park Highway. avl.mx/bfi • Pastry chef Beth Kellerhals will have hot cross buns, pineapple upside-down cake squares and whole coconut cream pie with raspberry jam Friday, April 15,
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at the East Asheville Tailgate Market, avl.mx/bfj, and Saturday, April 16 at Asheville City Market, North Market Street, downtown. avl.mx/bfk Beeswax and Butter has reached capacity for preorders of its whimsically shaped and decorated macarons but will have some for sale as singles and boxes on a first-come, first-served basis at Asheville City Market and East Asheville Tailgate Market, as well as the West Asheville Tailgate Market, on Tuesday, April 12, avl.mx/bfn, and at the RAD Market, Wednesday, April 13. http://avl.mx/bfm Marjory Rockwell reports her bean-to-bar Conjure Craft Chocolates is making dark chocolate eggs filled with white and milk chocolate bunnies and chicks, as well as dark chocolate bunnies filled with peanut butter ganache. Conjure can be found Saturday mornings at ACM and the North Asheville Tailgate Market at UNCA avl.mx/bei. OWL Bakery owner Susannah Gebhart has unveiled her spring and holiday menu, featuring a 9-inch fresh berry tart with pastry cream; spiced white chocolate babka knot with orange zest and spices; rose and mint-scented wheatless chocolate torte; and a 6-inch, four-layer carrot cake garnished with crystallized herbs. OWL 295 Haywood Road. avl.mx/bfo At Jargon restaurant, executive chef Ryan Kline has added three carrot-forward desserts to his spring menu: gluten-free and vegan passion fruit carrot cake with miso caramel and black sesame ice cream; Basque-style carrot goat cheesecake; and pecan streusel with honey poached carrots and candied carrot tops. Jargon 715 Haywood Road. avl.mx/9hw
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ARTS & C U L T U R E
ROUNDUP
Around Town
You’ve got to tip your hat to Dillsboro. Since 1989, the small Jackson County town has encouraged folks to don their prettiest, funniest, best-smelling, cutest and most outrageous hats and parade through downtown on the Saturday before Easter. “A small group of Dillsboro merchants decided to celebrate Easter by putting on big Easter hats and walking around the town laughing and visiting with the town visitors,” says parade organizer Brenda Anders. “The next year, more joined in, as well as a few visitors. From there it has grown.” The 33rd Easter Hat Parade (the event was canceled in 2020) will be Saturday, April 16. Things get underway at 10 a.m., with the parade itself slated to begin at 2 p.m. in front of Town Hall, 42 Front St. Last year, almost 300 people registered for the parade, and Anders expects at least that many this year. But she points out that you don’t have to register to walk in the parade. Festivities will include egg hunts on Webster Street every half hour by age group, face-painting sessions and visits with the Easter Bunny. Also, Dogwood Crafters, 90 Webster St., will host hat-making sessions. In addition to its signature array of colorful hats, the parade will have vintage cars provided by the Old Timers Model A Club. The Easter Bunny will ride in an antique convertible car. Ribbons and prizes will be given for hats in a variety of categories, including prettiest, largest, smallest, most unusual, most Easter-like, “poofiest” and Best in Show. More than 500 people attend the event most years. “People can expect to relax, see lots of interesting people and hats,”
HOLIDAY HEADWEAR: Dillsboro’s annual Easter Hat Parade gets underway at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 16. Photo by Kelly Donaldson Anders says. “We have old cars, rabbits, chickens, a cat and lots of dogs.” For more information, go to avl.mx/bfu.
Hopping down the bunny trail Speaking of Easter, you can check out the following Easter egg hunts in the Asheville area: • Bent Creek Community Park, 125 Idlewood Drive, will host it annual Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, April 16, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Those who
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Dillsboro welcomes Easter with annual Hat Parade
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have participating children should drop off a dozen filled eggs to the park that morning by 9 a.m. Kids under 4 will get a two-minute head start. For more information, go to avl.mx/bfx. • The Biltmore Easter Egg Scavenger Hunt takes place SaturdaySunday, April 16-17, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., inside the Biltmore House and in Antler Hill Village. Adults and kids can learn facts about the Biltmore Estate while searching for 25 giant decorated eggs. Cost for children 9 and younger is free with adult admission. For more information, go to avl.mx/bfw.
Looks at books The Swannanoa Valley Museum & History Center will host a discussion of the novel And the Crows Took Their Eyes, followed by a reading from author Vicki Lane, Thursday, April 14, 10 a.m.-noon, at the Black Mountain Library. The free event, done in conjunction with the Buncombe County Library System, will be the first in a monthly series of five visits by regional authors. Attendees will gather for a short discussion of a book, followed by a break, then an hourlong visit with the book’s author. The Swannanoa Valley Book Club Series includes historical fiction, poetry, short essays and historical nonfiction. This will be the sixth year for the series, but it is the first time that each discussion will be accompanied by a visit from the author. And the Crows Took Their Eyes, which was nominated for the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award, explores the perspectives of five people linked to the infamous 1863 Shelton Laurel Massacre in Madison County. Other books spotlighted in the series will be The Last Entry by Jim Hamilton (May 19); Unraveling the Spreading Cloth of Time: Indigenous
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Thoughts Concerning the Universe, edited by Marijo Moore (June 16); Woodsmoke by Wayne Caldwell (July 14); and Murder at Asheville’s Battery Park Hotel: The Search for Helen Clevenger’s Killer by Anne Chesky Smith (Aug. 4) All events will be held in the Education Room of the Black Mountain Public Library, 105 N. Dougherty St., except for Hamilton’s reading, which takes place at the Swannanoa Valley Museum and History Center, 223 W. State St., Black Mountain. To register, visit avl.mx/bfv.
Dark City Poets Society On Tuesday, April 19, the Dark City Poets Society will host is latest Poetry Night reading series at BAD Craft in Black Mountain. Poets of all experience levels are invited to share their work. The all-age event is free to attend. A portion of all beer sales will go toward Friends of the Black Mountain Library. The gathering is one of two monthly happenings presented by Dark City Poets Society. On the first Tuesday of every month, writers interested in receiving constructive feedback on their work can meet the group at the Black Mountain Library, 105 N. Dougherty St. Poetry Night runs the third Tuesday of every month, 6-7:30 p.m. at BAD Craft, 128 Cherry St., Black Mountain. For more information about the DCPS, visit its Instagram page at @darkcitypoetssociety.
Just the facts The N.C. Stage Company will present the comedy The Lifespan of a Fact starting Wednesday, April 13, and running through Sunday, May 15. The play follows the real-life story of author John D’Agata and fact-checker Jim Fingal as they navigate the high-stakes world of publishing. Performances will be WednesdaysSaturdays, at 7:30 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m. Ticket prices range $26-46. N.C. Stage Company is at 15 Stage Lane. For more information or to buy tickets, go to avl.mx/bg0.
Guiding light Mars Hill University’s Owen Theatre is getting a new sound and lighting system through donations from the Stonecutter Foundation and Dominion Energy. The university will purchase a new soundboard, wireless microphones, spotlights and other equipment to
improve the audio and visual experience of theater patrons. In its request for funding, the university noted that Owen Theatre has never had modern lighting equipment, such as quality spotlights, which is standard for most theaters. In a press release, Sue Fair, chair of the university’s Theatre Arts Department, states, “Not only does the MHU Theatre Arts Department and [the Southern Appalachian Repertory Theatre] benefit from gifts such as this, but our community at large uses Owen Theatre and will also benefit.” For more information, visit avl.mx/bfz.
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Call for artists The Weaverville Business Association and Art in Autumn Committee are seeking artist exhibitor applications for the 15th annual Art in Autumn outdoor arts and crafts festival, taking place on Main Street in Weaverville, Saturday, Sept. 17, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Juried artists will be eligible to receive awards of $1,000 for best of show, $500 for second place and $250 for third, as well as four $50 honorable mentions. This year’s judge is Whitney Richardson, associate curator for the Asheville Art Museum. Applications are being accepted via avl.mx/bfy through Wednesday, June 15.
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MOVIE REVIEWS Local reviewers’ critiques of new films include: EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE: The team of Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert follows up its quirky, creative, hilarious and emotionally rich Swiss Army Man with this even more quirky, creative, hilarious and emotionally rich feature. The story of overextended wife/ daughter/mother/entrepreneur Evelyn (Michelle Yeoh) discovering that she’s a key player in the multiverse is wild and wacky, but at its core is a well-developed family drama and midlife crisis story Grade: A — James Rosario and Edwin Arnaudin
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The featured icon indicates which venues or artists require proof of vaccination for upcoming shows. Due to the evolving nature of the matter, the list may not be comprehensive. Before heading out, please check with all venues for complete information on any vaccine or negative COVID-19 requirements. For questions about free listings, call 828-251-1333, opt. 4.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13 185 KING STREET Trivia and Karaoke, 7pm ASHEVILLE BEAUTY ACADEMY • Beauty Parlor Comedy: John Michael Bond, 7pm • Aquanet Goth Party w/Ash Black, 9pm ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Disclaimer Stand-Up Lounge Comedy Open Mic, 8pm CATAWBA BREWING SOUTH SLOPE Trivia Night, 7pm FLEETWOOD'S Terraoke! Karaoke w/ KJ Terra Ware, 6pm HI-WIRE BREWING RAD BEER GARDEN Game Night, 6pm ICONIC KITCHEN & DRINKS Marc Keller (acoustic), 6pm LAZY HIKER BREWING SYLVA Trivia Night, 6:30pm ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Wild Wednesday Funk-n-Rock, 10pm ONE WORLD BREWING Pingo Wednesdays, 7pm ONE WORLD BREWING WEST Latin Night Wednesdays w/DJ Mtn Vibez, 7pm
RIVERSIDE RHAPSODY BEER CO. Wednesday Acoustic Jam, 5pm SWEETEN CREEK BREWING Witty Wednesday Trivia, 6:30pm THE BARRELHOUSE Open Mic Hosted by Kid Billy, 8pm THE GREY EAGLE Tab Benoit w/Lightnin' Malcolm (blues)k 8pm THE ODDITORIUM Trash Police w/Mary's Letter (rock), 8pm THE ORANGE PEEL The Milk Carton Kids (indie folk)k 8pm TOWN PUMP Perry Wing Combo (rock), 6pm TWIN LEAF BREWERY Open Mic, 6pm
THURSDAY, APRIL 14 131 MAIN Aaron LaFalce (soul, rock, pop), 6pm 305 LOUNGE & EATERY Bob Sherill (singer-songwriter), 1pm ALLEY CAT SOCIAL CLUB Open Mic & Pop Up Art Show, 8pm ASHEVILLE BEAUTY ACADEMY Classic Beauties Drag Show, 8pm ASHEVILLE GUITAR BAR KB and the LMD (jazz standards, classic pop) k 7:30pm
WELCOME, MATT: Country singer-songwriter Matt Stell will perform an outdoor concert at Silverados in Black Mountain on Saturday, April 16, at 7 p.m. Stell’s latest single, “Boyfriend Season,” was released in October. George Birge and Swannanoa’s Ryan Perry will open the show. Photo courtesy of Matt Stell CREEKSIDE TAPHOUSE Thursday Night Trivia w/Kelsey, 6:30pm CROW & QUILL Black Sea Beat Society (Baltic, Klezmer, Turkish)k 8pm DOUBLE CROWN Rock & Roll w/DJ Fast Eddy (punk, soul, garage), 10pm DOWN DOG Singo (musical bingo), 7pm FLEETWOOD'S Fortezza, Sylmar & Computer Science (punk, indie), 8pm
FRENCH BROAD RIVER BREWERY Jerry's Dead (Grateful Dead & JGB Tribute), 12am
JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Bluegrass Jam w/Drew Matulich & Friends, 7pm
HIGHLAND DOWNTOWN TAPROOM West of Caroline (blues, rock), 6pm
OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. Laura Thurston (Americana, folk), 7pm
ISIS MUSIC HALL & KITCHEN 743 • Asheville Sessions ft. Linda Mitchell (jazz, blues, rock), 7pm • Into the Fog (acoustic, Newgrass, stringband), 8:30pm
ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Gunslinging Parrots (Phish tribute), 9pm ONE WORLD BREWING WEST Aimless Wave (jam band), 8pm PULP Slice of Life Comedy Open Mic w/Morgan Bostk 8pm ROOM IX College Night Dance Party, 10pm RYE KNOT KITCHEN BREWERY DISTILLERY John O'Connor (Americana, singer-songwriter), 6pm SALVAGE STATION The Elovaters & Ballyhoo! (rock), 7pm SOVEREIGN KAVA Weekly Table Tennis Tournament, 7pm THE GETAWAY RIVER BAR Karaoke w/Karaoke Jackazz, 8pm
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THE GREY EAGLE Ouroboros Boys, Krektones & Reverend Finster (psychedelic, surf rock, acoustic R.E.M. tribute)k 7pm THE ROOT BAR Karma Mechanics (blues), 6pm TWIN LEAF BREWERY Craft Karaoke, 8pm UPCOUNTRY BREWING COMPANY Open Mic , 6pm
FRIDAY, APRIL 15 185 KING STREET Brevard Power Trio (soul, blues, country), 8pm 305 LOUNGE & EATERY Geriatric Jukebox (oldies), 5pm AMERICAN VINYL CO. Pyletribe (Southern rock)k 7pm ASHEVILLE BEAUTY ACADEMY VENUS (dark house dance party), 10pm ASHEVILLE GUITAR BAR Mr Jimmy's Big City Chicago Bluesk 7:30pm ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Kursa, K.L.O., Scopic & Vera Fox (dance, electronic), 9pm
SATURDAY, APRIL 16TH
SALVAGE STATION
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CLU B LA N D BIG PILLOW BREWING David Hughes & Friends (Americana, bluegrass, singer-songwriter), 5:30pm BREWSKIES Karaoke, 10pm BURNTSHIRT VINEYARDS Gene Holdway (acoustic), 2pm
ROOM IX Ladies Night Dance Party w/DJ Moto, 10pm
CITIZEN VINYL Friday Happy Hour ft. Melissa McKinney (singer-songwriter), 4pm
SALVAGE STATION Toubab Krewe w/The Nth Power (funk), 8pm
CORK & KEG D'Joukil (Gypsy jazz/ swing), 8pm DRY FALLS BREWING CO. Skies of Avalon (progressive, metal), 7pm GINGER'S REVENGE CRAFT BREWERY & TASTING ROOM Wyatt Espalin (country), 7pm GUIDON BREWING Sunlight Drive (acoustic duo), 6pm HARRAH'S CHEROKEE CENTER ASHEVILLE Bela Fleck & The Flecktones (bluegrass), 8pm HIGHLAND BREWING COMPANY Lua Flora (reggae, roots, folk), 7pm HIGHLAND DOWNTOWN TAPROOM Drag Music Bingo w/ Divine the Bearded Lady, 7pm ISIS MUSIC HALL & KITCHEN 743 • The Foreign Landers (acoustic, Americana, bluegrass), 7pm • The Trailblazers (acoustic, Americana, bluegrass), 8:30pm JACK OF THE WOOD PUB The Old Chevrolet Set (classic country), 8pm LAZY HIKER BREWING SYLVA Dustin Martin (country soul), 8pm MAD CO. BREW HOUSE The Lads avl (classic rock, blues, roots), 6pm
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APRIL 13-19, 2022
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ONE WORLD BREWING WEST • The Get Right Band (psychdelic indie rock), 6pm • Rougarou w/Mosey (swampy psych rock), 9pm
SILVERADOS Trial by Fire (Journey tribute), 7pm THE GETAWAY RIVER BAR Getaway Comedy: Kevin O'Brien, 8pm THE GREY EAGLE • Hannah Kaminer, Kathryn O'Shea & Laura Boswell (folk, Americana)k 6pm • Slothrust w/Calva Lousie (alt/indie)k 9pm THE ODDITORIUM Bold Burlesque Presents: LOL, 8pm THE POE HOUSE Bill Altman (blues), 7pm UPCOUNTRY BREWING COMPANY Live Music w/Iggy Radio, 6pm
SATURDAY, APRIL 16 185 KING STREET Acoustic Syndicate (bluegrass, rock), 8pm 305 LOUNGE & EATERY Old Men of the Woods (folk, pop), 1pm AMERICAN VINYL CO. Sham (devotional, acoustic, folk)k 7pm ASHEVILLE BEAUTY ACADEMY • Beauty Parlor Comedy: Mara Wiles, 7pm • Maximum Overdrive 80's Dance Party w/DJ Nato, 10pm ASHEVILLE GUITAR BAR Miami Gold (rock), 7:30pm
MILLS RIVER BREWING Jesse Barry & The Jam (soul, blues), 7pm
ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL The Doniac Schvice w/ Jerry's Dead (Phish, Dead tributes), 10pm
OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. The Last Full Measure (folk, blues), 8pm
BATTERY PARK BOOK EXCHANGE Dinah's Daydream (gypsy jazz), 5:30pm
ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL • GE Early Free Dead Friday (jam band, rock), 6:30pm • Free Dead Friday w/ Gus & Friends (Grateful Dead tribute), 9pm
BIG PILLOW BREWING The Jukebox Jumpers (Piedmont & Delta blues), 5pm
ONE WORLD BREWING 5j Barrow (folk rock), 8pm
BURNTSHIRT VINEYARDS Eric Congdon (acoustic), 2pm
BREWSKIES Pool Tournament Saturdays, 7pm
BURNTSHIRT VINEYARDS CHIMNEY ROCK Supper Break (bluegrass), 2pm CITIZEN VINYL Saturday Spins, 1pm CROW & QUILL Hearts Gone South (honky tonk)k 8:30pm DRY FALLS BREWING CO. Carolina Freightshakers (rock, blues), 7pm FLEETWOOD'S Cloud City Caskets, Busy Weather & The Playwrights (punk), 8pm GUIDON BREWING High Sierra (acoustic trio), 6pm HIGHLAND BREWING COMPANY The Chris Mondak Band (jazz), 6pm HIGHLAND BREWING DOWNTOWN TAPROOM Falcon 3 (improvosational), 7pm ISIS MUSIC HALL & KITCHEN 743 • AmiciMusic presents Latin Cello, 7pm • Amy Steinberg (storyteller, comedy, blues-infused pop), 8:30pm JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Little Lesley & the Bloodshots (American roots), 8pm MILLS RIVER BREWING • Hope Griffin Trio (Americana, folk), 2pm • Joker's Trade (jam), 7pm OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. Jamie Wright Band (jazz, soul, R&B), 8pm ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Little Raine Band (prog rock, jazz fusion, jam band), 8pm ONE WORLD BREWING WEST Free Flow Band (funk), 8pm PARKER-BINNS VINEYARD Phil Ruff (acoustic), 3pm RIVERSIDE RHAPSODY BEER CO. Many A Ship (indie folk rock), 6pm ROOM IX Asheville's Biggest Dance Party, 10pm SALVAGE STATION Yacht Rock Review, 8pm SILVERADOS Matt Stell (country), 7pm THE DUGOUT The Lads avl (classic rock, blues, roots), 8pm THE GREY EAGLE • Eli Yacinthe (jazz, blues, rock, country) k 6pm • Provoker (alt/indie) k 9pm
THE POE HOUSE Mr Jimmy (blues), 7pm
SUNDAY, APRIL 17 185 KING STREET Open Electric Jam with the King Street House Band w/Howie Johnson, 8:30pm ASHEVILLE BEAUTY ACADEMY • Life's A Drag Brunch w/Ida Carolina, 12pm • SOL Dance Party w/ Zati (soul house), 9pm BURNTSHIRT VINEYARDS Rory Jagedo (folk, rock, pop), 2pm BURNTSHIRT VINEYARDS CHIMNEY ROCK Myron Hyman (classic rock, blues), 2pm The JackTown Ramblers (bluegrass, swing, jazz), 2pm CITIZEN VINYL Sunday Live ft. Tina Collins (singer-songwriter), 11am CROW & QUILL The Roaring Lions (parlour jazz)k 7pm HIGHLAND BREWING COMPANY Soul Jazz Sundays w/ Taylor Pierson Trio, 3pm HIGHLAND DOWNTOWN TAPROOM Mr Jimmy Duo (blues), 1pm ISIS MUSIC HALL & KITCHEN 743 Reggie Headen w/The Connor Law Quartet: Requests (jazz), 7:30pm JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Sunday Bluegrass Brunch w/Supper Break, 12pm MILLS RIVER BREWING The Get Right Band (psychedelic indie rock), 2pm OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. Hope Griffin (folk, Americana), 3pm ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Shakedown Sundays (rock, jam band), 8pm ONE WORLD BREWING WEST Sunday Jazz Jam w/ The Fully Vaccinated Jazz Trio, 1pm OSKAR BLUES BREWERY Bob Keel (folk, singer-songwriter), 2pm PARKER-BINNS VINEYARD Eric Congdon (acoustic), 3pm RIVERSIDE RHAPSODY BEER CO. Drinkin’ & Thinkin’ Trivia, 5:30pm SALVAGE STATION Samantha Fish w/ Eddie 9V & Django Knight (blues), 6:30pm
THE GETAWAY RIVER BAR Bike Night w/Ashley & Big Matty, 2pm THE GREY EAGLE • Burlesque Brunchk 12pm • Buffalo Wabs & The Price Hill Hustle (rowdy honky tonk & old-time)k 5pm • Hillbilly Casino w/ Franks and Deans (rock'n'roll American roots, crooner classics) k 8pm ZILLICOAH BEER CO Sunday Bluegrass Jam Series, 4:30pm
MONDAY, APRIL 18 BREWSKIES Open Jam w/Tall Paul, 7:30pm DOUBLE CROWN Country Karaoke, 10pm HAYWOOD COUNTRY CLUB Open Mic w/Taylor Martin & Special Guest, 7:15pm HIGHLAND BREWING COMPANY Totally Rad Trivia w/ Mitch Fortune, 6pm LITTLE JUMBO Fly Casual Organ Quartet (jazz)k 7pm
OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. It Takes All Kinds Open Mic Night, 7pm
FRENCH BROAD RIVER BREWERY Robert's Totally Rad Trivia, 7pm
ONE WORLD BREWING WEST The JLloyd Mashup (soul, funk, reggae, Afrobeat), 8pm
MILLS RIVER BREWING Grey's Anatomy Trivia, 6pm
THE GETAWAY RIVER BAR Trivia by the River w/ James Harrod, 8pm THE JOINT NEXT DOOR Mr Jimmy (blues), 7pm TRISKELION BREWING CO. Matthew G. Bailey (one-man band), 7pm
TUESDAY, APRIL 19 185 KING STREET Tuesday Casual Collaborations ft. Travis Book Bluegrass Band with Mike Guggino, Jon Stickley and Bennett Sullivan, 6pm 305 LOUNGE & EATERY Bob Sherill (singer-songwriter), 1pm ASHEVILLE BEAUTY ACADEMY Drag Bingo w/ Calcutta, 8pm DOWN DOG Trivia Tuesdays, 7pm
OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. Team Trivia , 7pm ONE WORLD BREWING WEST Grateful Family Band Tuesdays (Dead tribute, jam, rock), 6pm SWEETEN CREEK BREWING All Arts Open Mike w/ Mike Waters, 6pm THE ORANGE PEEL Circle Jerks (punk) k 8pm THE SOCIAL Open Mic w/Riyen Roots, 7pm TWIN LEAF BREWERY Eister's Twin Leaf Trivia, 7pm
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20
• AQUANET Goth Party w/Ash Black, 9pm ASHEVILLE GUITAR BAR Christine Havrilla & Mama's Black Sheep (neofunkadelicfolkpoptwangrock)k 7:30pm ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Disclaimer Stand-Up Lounge Comedy Open Mic, 8pm CATAWBA BREWING SOUTH SLOPE Trivia Night, 7pm FLEETWOOD'S Terraoke! Karaoke w/ KJ Terra Ware, 6pm HI-WIRE BREWING RAD BEER GARDEN Game Night, 6pm ICONIC KITCHEN & DRINKS Marc Keller (acoustic), 6pm ISIS MUSIC HALL & KITCHEN 743 The Rachel Brooke Band (country/alt-country), 7:30pm
185 KING STREET Trivia and Karaoke, 7pm
LAZY HIKER BREWING SYLVA Trivia Night, 6:30pm
ASHEVILLE BEAUTY ACADEMY • Hissy Fit Comedy Takeover: Atlanta Comedy Showcase, 7pm
ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Free Anesthesia (psychedelic power trio), 10pm
ONE WORLD BREWING Pingo Wednesdays, 7pm ONE WORLD BREWING WEST Latin Night Wednesdays w/DJ Mtn Vibez, 7pm REVERIE EVENTS ASHEVILLE Pipe Dream Comedy, 7:30pm RIVERSIDE RHAPSODY BEER CO. Wednesday Acoustic Jam, 5pm SWEETEN CREEK BREWING Witty Wednesday Trivia, 6:30pm THE BARRELHOUSE Open Mic Hosted by Kid Billy, 8pm THE GREY EAGLE Cody Canada & The Departed w/Them Dirty Roses (American rock, alt/country)k 8pm THE ODDITORIUM Desolation w/DJ Exo (industrial, EBM, darkwave), 9pm TWIN LEAF BREWERY Open Mic, 6pm
THURSDAY, APRIL 21 131 MAIN Aaron LaFalce (soul, rock, pop), 6pm
185 KING STREET Electric Blue Yonder (folk), 7pm 305 LOUNGE & EATERY Bob Sherill (singer-songwriter), 1pm ALLEY CAT SOCIAL CLUB Open Mic & Pop Up Art Show, 8pm ASHEVILLE BEAUTY ACADEMY Classic Beauties Drag Show Downtown, 8pm ASHEVILLE GUITAR BAR MGB at the AGB (covers, singer-songwriter) k 7:30pm ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Jonathan Scales Fourchestra (steel pan jazz fusion), 9pm CREEKSIDE TAPHOUSE Thursday Night Trivia w/Kelsey, 6:30pm CROW & QUILL Black Sea Beat Society (Baltic, Klezmer, Turkish)k 8pm DOUBLE CROWN Rock & Roll w/DJ Fast Eddy (punk, soul, garage), 10pm DOWN DOG Singo (musical bingo), 7pm
FRENCH BROAD RIVER BREWERY Jerry's Dead (Grateful Dead & JGB Tribute), 6-8pm HIGHLAND BREWING DOWNTOWN TAPROOM Up Jumped Three (jazz), 6pm ISIS MUSIC HALL & KITCHEN 743 • Jesse Terry & Bruce Sudano (Americana, folk, indie, storyteller) k 7pm • Asheville Sessions ft. Jesse Barry & The Jam Dance Party (funk, soul, pop/rock), 8:30pm JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Bluegrass Jam w/Drew Matulich & Friends, 7pm MAD CO. BREW HOUSE Franklin's Kite (jam, rock), 6pm OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. Billy Litz (roots, blues, ragtime), 7pm ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Gunslinging Parrots (Phish tribute), 9pm ONE WORLD BREWING WEST Lemon City Trio (soul, NOLA funk), 8pm
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ROOM IX College Night Dance Party, 10pm RYE KNOT KITCHEN BREWERY DISTILLERY John O'Connor (Americana, singer-songwriter), 6pm SALVAGE STATION Caamp w/Jade Bird (rock), 7pm SILVERADOS The Steel Woods (country, Southern rock), 7pm THE GETAWAY RIVER BAR Karaoke w/Karaoke Jackazz, 8pm THE GREY EAGLE • Jane Kramer w/Matt Smith (singer-songwriter)k 5pm • The Pack A.D. w/ Fantømex (heavy psychopop/garage rock)k 8pm THE ODDITORIUM Dakota Moss, TDG Demon, Leo Era & Yung Scoob (hip hop), 7pm THE ORANGE PEEL Todrick Hall (R&B, pop)k 8pm TWIN LEAF BREWERY Craft Karaoke , 8pm Thursday Night Karaoke, 9pm
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FREEWILL ASTROLOGY ARIES (March 21-April 19): “I have lived my life according to this principle: If I’m afraid of it, then I must do it.” Aries author Erica Jong said that. Since I’m not an Aries myself, her aspiration is too strong for me to embrace. Sometimes I just don’t have the courage, willpower and boldness to do what I fear. But since you decided to be born as an Aries in this incarnation, I assume you are more like Erica Jong than me. And so it’s your birthright and sacred duty to share her perspective. The coming weeks will be an excellent time to carry out another phase of this lifelong assignment. TAURUS (April 20-May 20): “Sometimes suffering is just suffering,” writes novelist Kate Jacobs. “It doesn’t make you stronger. It doesn’t build character.” Now is your special time to shed suffering that fits this description, Taurus. You are authorized to annul your relationship with it and ramble on toward the future without it. Please keep in mind that you’re under no obligation to feel sorry for the source of the suffering. You owe it nothing. Your energy should be devoted to liberating yourself so you can plan your rebirth with aplomb. GEMINI (May 21-June 20): “I am very much afraid of definitions, and yet one is almost forced to make them,” wrote painter Robert Delaunay (1885–1941). “One must take care, too, not to be inhibited by them,” he concluded. He was speaking of the art he created, which kept evolving. In his early years, he considered his work to be Neo-Impressionist. Later he described himself as a “heretic of Cubism,” and during other periods he dabbled with surrealism and abstract art. Ultimately, he created his own artistic category, which he called Orphism. Everything I just said about Delaunay can serve you well in the coming months, Gemini. I think you’ll be wise to accept definitions for yourself, while at the same time not being overly bound by them. That should ultimately lead you, later this year, to craft your own unique personal definition. CANCER (June 21-July 22): As a postgraduate student in astronomy, Cancerian-born Jocelyn Bell Burnell discovered radio pulsars in 1967. Her supervisor, who initially dismissed her breakthrough, was awarded the Nobel Prize for her work in 1974 — and she wasn’t! Nevertheless, she persisted. Eventually, she became a renowned astronomer who championed the efforts of minority researchers. Among the 25 prestigious awards and honors she has received is a three-million-dollar prize. I urge you to aspire to her level of perseverance in the coming months. It may not entirely pay off until 2023, but it will pay off.
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LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): A team of biologists unearthed a fascinating discovery in Costa Rica. When the group planted a single tree in pastureland that had no trees, biodiversity increased dramatically. For example, in one area, there were no bird species before the tree and 80 species after the tree. I suspect you can create a similar change in the coming weeks. A small addition, even just one new element, could generate significant benefits. One of those perks might be an increase in the diversity you engage with. SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Smallpox has been eliminated thanks to vaccination, but it was once among the most feared diseases. Over the course of many centuries, it maimed or killed hundreds of millions of people. For 35% of those who contracted it, it was fatal. As for the survivors, their skin had permanent scars from the blisters that erupted. As disfiguring as those wounds were, they were evidence that a person was immune from future infections. That’s why employers were more likely to hire them as workers. Their pockmarks gave them an advantage. I believe this is a useful metaphor for you. In the coming weeks, you will have an advantage because of one of your apparent liabilities or imperfections or “scars.” Don’t be shy about using your unusual asset. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Sagittarian author Pearl Cleage sets the tone for the future I hope you’ll seek in the coming weeks. The Black feminist activist writes, “We danced too wild, and we sang too long, and we hugged too hard, and we kissed too sweet, and howled just as loud as we wanted to howl.” Are you interested in exploring such blithe extravagance, Sagittarius? Do you have any curiosity about how you might surpass your previous records for rowdy pleasure? I hope you will follow Cleage’s lead in your own inimitable style. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): “I can never rest from tenderness,” wrote author Virginia Woolf. I won’t ask you to be as intense as her, Capricorn. I won’t urge you to be constantly driven to feel and express your tenderness. But I hope you will be focused on doing so in the coming weeks. Why? Because the astrological omens suggest it will be “in your self-interest to find a way to be very tender.” (That’s a quote by aphorist Jenny Holzer.) For inspiration, consider trying this experiment proposed by Yoko Ono: “Try to say nothing negative about anybody: a) for three days; b) for 45 days; c) for three months.”
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): “One should always play fairly when one has the winning cards,” wrote author Oscar Wilde. Let’s make that your motto for the next six weeks. If life could be symbolized by a game of poker, you would have the equivalent of at least a pair of jacks and a pair of queens. You may even have a full house, like three 10s and two kings. Therefore, as Wilde advised, there’s no need for you to scrimp, cheat, tell white lies or pretend. Your best strategy will be to be bold, forthright and honest as you make your moves.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): “I gamble everything to be what I am,” wrote Puerto Rican feminist and activist poet Julia de Burgos, born under the sign of Aquarius. Her gambles weren’t always successful. At one point, she was fired from her job as a writer for a radio show because of her progressive political beliefs. On the other hand, many of her gambles worked well. She earned awards and recognition for her five books of poetry and garnered high praise from superstar poet Pablo Neruda. I offer her as your role model, Aquarius. The rest of 2022 will be a fertile time to gamble everything to be what you are. Here’s a further suggestion: Gamble everything to become what you don’t yet know you must become.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): “In all the land, there is only one you, possibly two, but seldom more than 16,” said comedian and actor Amy Sedaris. She was making a sardonic joke about the possibility that none of us may be quite as unique as we imagine ourselves to be. But I’d like to mess with her joke and give it a positive tweak. If what Sedaris says is true, then it’s likely that we all have soul twins somewhere in the world. It means that there are numerous people who share many of our perspectives and proclivities; that we might find cohorts who see us for who we really are. I bring these thoughts to your attention, Virgo, because I suspect the coming months will be an excellent time for meeting and playing with such people.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Piscean jazz saxophonist and composer Ornette Coleman was a trailblazer. He created the genre known as free jazz, which messed with conventional jazz ideas about tempos, melodies and harmonies. In the course of his career, he won a Pulitzer Prize, Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and MacArthur Fellowship “genius” grant. He was a technical virtuoso, but there was more to his success, too. Among his top priorities were emotional intensity, playful abandon and pure joy. That’s why, on some of his recordings, he didn’t hire famous jazz drummers, but instead had his son, who was still a child, play the drum parts. I suggest you apply an approach like Coleman’s to your own upcoming efforts.
APRIL 13-19, 2022
MOUNTAINX.COM
MARKETPLACE
BY ROB BREZSNY
REAL ESTATE & RENTALS | ROOMMATES | JOBS | SERVICES ANNOUNCEMENTS | CLASSES & WORKSHOPS | MIND, BODY, SPIRIT MUSICIANS’ SERVICES | PETS | AUTOMOTIVE | XCHANGE | ADULT REAL ESTATE OUT-OF-TOWN PROPERTY GORGEOUS MOUNTAIN PROPERTY WITH VIEWS FOR SALE Beautiful mountain property located in Swannanoa. Private and 10 minutes from Asheville. 25.7 acres of gorgeous mountain property with building sites. $259,000. Call Wayne at Purcell Realty at 828-279-8562 for more information.
Job Title: Cleaning Crew Member. Compensation: $17.50-$25.00 /hour. Job Types: Full-time, Part-time. Application: nicefreshclean. com/job-application/.
RESTAURANT/ FOOD
EMPLOYMENT
TOUR GUIDE-CDL DRIVERS If you are a "people person" you could be a great TOUR GUIDE! Part-time and seasonal FULL-TIME. Training provided. MUST have a Commercial Driver's License (CDL). Call 828-436-0202 or email Info@ GrayLineAsheville.com.
LINE COOK AT ZADIE'S MARKET - LIKE CBGB WITH AN EARLIER BEDTIME Come join the crew at Zadie's Market as a line cook! We know there are lots of opportunities for line folks right now. We hope you'll work with us because we are a team where everyone matters, and where everyone is invited to grow their skills. Plus, we might be cool. Like CBGB cool, but with an earlier bedtime. People start bands here, and celebrities eat here. Located just 25 minutes outside of Asheville in the Old Marshall Jail, we are downtown Marshall's newest hub for hanging out on the river, events and live music. We are looking for inspired line looks to join our quality-driven, hyper-local kitchen team. Send your info to info@zadiesmarket.com, and check us online at www. zadiesmarket.com.
SKILLED LABOR/ TRADES
DRIVERS/ DELIVERY
NEED A FLEXIBLE SCHEDULE WHERE YOU ARE EARNING A SOLID LIVING WAGE? We are looking for the best, most detailed, and punctual cleaners. Join The Nice and Fresh Cleaners Dream Team!
MOUNTAIN XPRESS DELIVERY Mountain Xpress is seeking an energetic, reliable, independent
GENERAL JOIN UNITED WAY'S COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TEAM United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County is seeking to fill THREE positions within our Community Engagement Department. We are looking for teammates who build relationships, enjoy collaborative projects, and have good attention to detail. For more information, and to apply: https://www. unitedwayabc.org/employment-opportunities
Creative Company & Events Service Seeking DJs, Bands, Musicians, Singers, Promotional Models, Artists, Karaoke Hosts, Bartenders, Live Creative Performers Audition to be a part of a winning team that provides a service to local parties and events. Payment is based on expertise in your eld!
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contractor for part-time weekly newspaper delivery. The contractor must have a safe driving record, a reliable vehicle with proper insurance and registration, and be able to lift 50 lbs. without strain. Distribution of papers is on Tuesday mornings and afternoons and typically lasts about 7-8 hours per week. Occasional Wednesday morning delivery is is sometimes needed or can be an option. E-mail distro@mountainx.com. Far Western route; preference for individual or couple who lives in Western Buncombe or Haywood County.
MEDICAL/ HEALTH CARE DIRECT SUPPORT PROFESSIONAL Full time benefitted position for a Direct Support Professional in a Mental Health Group Home in Waynesville. Staff will participate in the daily core of the home by providing guidance, supervision and verbal prompting to persons supported. Call 828-778-0260.
HUMAN SERVICES HELPMATE POSITIONS Hiring! For more information go to helpemateonline.org. Email resume and cover letter to hiring@helpmateonline.org. HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER Community Action Opportunities is hiring. Send resume, cover letter and complete contact information for three (3) professional references to: admin@communityactionopportunities.org. WILDERNESS THERAPY FIELD INSTRUCTOR $34,000-$49,000 a year, $750 sign-on bonus, retention bonuses up to $4250 if all requirements met. Benefits available include medical, dental, vision, 401k, paid time off and pro-deals. SUWS of the Carolinas is hiring Wilderness Therapy Field Instructors. We are a wilderness therapy program that operates in the Pisgah National Forest, 30 minutes east of Asheville. We serve youth and adolescents ages 10-17. This is an eight
days on and six days off shift schedule. Duties and responsibilities include; safety and supervision of students, assists primary therapist with therapeutic outcomes, lead backpacking expeditions with students and co-staff, teach student curriculum, leave no trace ethics and primitive skills to students. Must be able to hike in strenuous terrain with a backpack. Applicants must be at least 21 years of age. High school diploma/ GED required, college degree preferred. Must pass a background check and drug screen. For more info email Gus Atten at gus. atten@suwscarolinas.com. Apply at: suwscarolinas. com/careers suwscarolinas.com
PROFESSIONAL/ MANAGEMENT JOB ANNOUNCEMENT FOR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR PATHWAYS FOR THE FUTURE, INC. DBA DISABILITY PARTNERS MARCH 21, 2022 Pathways for the future, Inc. dba Disability Partners is seeking a dynamic, forward thinking person for the position of Executive Director. Disability Partners is a local Center for Independent Living serving 14 counties in Western North Carolina, with offices in Sylva and Asheville, North Carolina. People with disabilities are served through the center for independent living, Homecare Partners and Person First Services, a provider of the Innovations waiver through Vaya. The Executive Director job description and application can be found at https:// www.disabilitypartners. org/employment-opportunities. All applicants must submit by email: cover letter, current resume and a complete application to: ssacco@disabilitypartners. org. The deadline to apply for the position is April 29, 2022 at 5:00pm. Documents submitted after the deadline will not be accepted. Persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply for the position.
The Key to a New Barbering Career PROGRAMS 1 Hour Drive from Asheville GI Bill Accepted
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THE N EW Y OR K TI M ES C ROSSWORD P UZ Z LE MOUNTAIN HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES IS SEEKING A DIRECTOR OF PHILANTHROPY The Director of Philanthropy will support the sustainability of Mountain Housing Opportunities' mission. The ideal candidate will have experience in a successful resource development program. To apply, visit https:// www.armstrongmcguire. com/jobs.
TEACHING/ EDUCATION JCC IS HIRING ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAMS This position partners with the Early Childhood Education Director, providing daily operational support and strategic leadership to Shalom Children’s Center. To apply, email your resume to tiffany@jcc-asheville. org. NOW HIRING: LEAD & ASSISTANT TEACHER The Christine Avery Learning Center is hiring for a Lead Teacher and Teacher Assistant for our Early Learning Program. The position is full time and the pay rate is $15$20/hr. walearningcenter. com RAINBOW COMMUNITY SCHOOL SEEKS DIVISION HEAD To oversee operations for the 4-8 Division and contribute to a safe, inclusive, and dynamic culture. For details, requirements, and application visit www. rainbowcommunityschool. org.
HOTEL/ HOSPITALITY SOUS CHEF FT Sous Chef for CooperRiis: Wed-Saturday 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Guaranteed Hours/Schedule, Full Benefits Package, Creativity of menu using local, organic foods. Pay starting at $16/hr based on experience. Email: hr@cooperriis.org. Online: www.cooperriis.org
RETAIL PART TIME MERCHANDISER Lawrence Merchandising needs Representatives in Asheville and/or Arden. Flexible scheduling that fits your availability. Maintain product displays at the Target & other local retailers. Retail exp preferred; must have email/internet-capable device. Please call (763)383-5792. To learn more visit: www.LMSVC.com.
XCHANGE ANTIQUES & COLLECTIBLES STILL BUYING ANTIQUES Seeking old stuff! Cast iron, advertising signs, military, primitives, collections, art, pottery, estates, crocks, bottles, silver, license plates, unusual stuff, taxidermy, rifles, bbguns, more. Call/ Text 828-582-6097,steadyaim1@yahoo.com.
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ACROSS 1 Italian sauce with meat and tomatoes 5 Person seeking damages 9 Letter that’s only 25% of the way through the Greek alphabet, surprisingly 13 Cheers for banderilleros 14 Martial artist/ actor who played the emperor of China in 2020’s “Mulan” 15 Good name for an ophthalmologist 16 “You and I should eat that” 18 Salmon, e.g. 19 Force out 20 Flowering plants associated with the Augusta National golf course 22 Utter 23 Actress Garr 25 Dating app description 26 Kid at a college bar who seems, to me as a bouncer, too young to allow in 32 Palestinian president starting in 2005 34 Place 35 Calendar box 36 Essential point 37 Bill worth billions 39 When most Geminis are born 40 Spoil 41 Dog breed whose coat resembles dreadlocks 42 Drinks at soda shops 43 Easter item that the woman is going to decorate 47 More, in Mexico 48 Short johns? 49 Nowhere to be found, informally 52 Risk territory bordering Siberia 56 Sponsored boys at baptisms 58 Desertlike
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39 Middle Brady family daughter 41 Cool, in old slang 42 Botch 44 Photocopy flaw 45 Waiters at busy restaurants might be handed them 46 Declares openly 50 Like helium 51 Sure-footed pack animals 52 Sure-footed pack animals 53 Number that’s often in Italian 54 Sharp twist, as in a hose 55 Remain fresh 57 Whole bunch 60 Tattletale
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