Mountain Xpress 06.24.20

OUR 26TH YEAR OF WEEKLY INDEPENDENT NEWS, ARTS & EVENTS FOR WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA VOL. 26 NO. 48 JUNE 24-30, 2020

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WELLNESS

FEATURE

NEWS

FEATURES 10 MONEY AND MONUMENTS Buncombe County commissioners agree on budget, split on Confederate monuments

12 COVID CONVERSATIONS Views of the pandemic from a math teacher, record-shop owner and French visitor

PAGE 8 OUTSIDE LOOKING IN As protests against systemic racism continue in Western North Carolina, Xpress spoke with local residents involved in international exchange about insights they’ve gained into individual and community healing through their global work.

COVER ILLUSTRATION Jade Young COVER DESIGN Scott Southwick 5 LETTERS

19 ASSISTING THE UNINSURED County to fund testing for long-term care staffers

5 CARTOON: MOLTON 7 CARTOON: BRENT BROWN 8 NEWS 10 LOCAL GOVERNMENT

GREEN

12 COVID CONVERSATIONS 20 SEASONS OF CHANGE WNC’s Latino farmworkers feel COVID-19 impacts

14 ASHEVILLE ARCHIVES 18 COMMUNITY CALENDAR 19 WELLNESS 20 GREEN SCENE

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23 KEEP POUNDING Brewery construction and expansions have pushed on during the COVID-19 crisis

22 FOOD 23 CAROLINA BEER GUY 24 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT 28 MOVIES 29 COVIDTOWN CRIER

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24 THE ORACLES OF ROCK Andrew Scotchie and the River Rats release a hyperrelevant new album

30 FREEWILL ASTROLOGY 30 CLASSIFIEDS 31 NY TIMES CROSSWORD

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STAFF PUBLISHER: Jeff Fobes ASSISTANT TO THE PUBLISHER: Susan Hutchinson MANAGING EDITOR: Virginia Daffron OPINION EDITOR: Tracy Rose GREEN SCENE EDITOR: Daniel Walton STAFF REPORTERS: Able Allen, Edwin Arnaudin, Thomas Calder, Laura Hackett, Molly Horak, Daniel Walton COMMUNITY CALENDAR & CLUBLAND: Madeline Forwerck, Laura Hackett MOVIE SECTION HOSTS: Edwin Arnaudin, Bruce Steele CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: Peter Gregutt, Rob Mikulak REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS: Mark Barrett, Leslie Boyd, Bill Kopp, Cindy Kunst, Alli Marshall, Brooke Randle, Gina Smith, Luke Van Hine, Kay West ADVERTISING, ART & DESIGN MANAGER: Susan Hutchinson LEAD DESIGNER: Scott Southwick MEMBERSHIP AND DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR: Laura Hackett MARKETING ASSOCIATES: Sara Brecht, David Furr, Brian Palmieri, Tiffany Wagner OPERATIONS MANAGER: Able Allen INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES & WEB: Bowman Kelley BOOKKEEPER: Amie Fowler-Tanner ADMINISTRATION, BILLING, HR: Able Allen, Lauren Andrews DISTRIBUTION: Susan Hutchinson, Cindy Kunst DISTRIBUTION DRIVERS: Gary Alston, Russell Badger, Clyde Hipps, Joan Jordan, Angelo Sant Maria, Desiree Davis, Charlotte Rosen, Carl & Debbie Schweiger, David Weiss

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OPINION

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Confederate monuments remind us of our history The removal of Confederate monuments in Asheville and Western North Carolina is close to anti-free speech and the beginning of controlling what we think and believe.

I have traveled the world and seen good and evil. The most moving experiences I have witnessed are the opposites: good vs. evil.

The “good” was my visit to the Normandy American Cemetery.

There, we pay tribute to men who gave their lives so that we remain free.

Certainly, I can’t imagine removing those Normandy monuments; I admit, there probably are some who would want them removed.

The second, the pure embodiment of “evil,” I visited Nazi death camps.

The Germans after World War II didn’t remove them. They kept most of them intact, ovens, gas rooms and all, to remind us of that evil, to remind us never replicate ever again that evil.

In the same vein, Confederate monuments are our history, like it or not.

Their existence represents a teachable moment to future generations of the evil of slavery. However, these statues are not really all about slavery, they are about the history of our nation.

President Lincoln said, “Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves.” And so, why do we not want to keep them to remind us about the growing pains of our country, to remind us of the sacrifices made by our ancestors on both

sides to make this country and to use those statues and monuments to teach future generations?

We need to do the “right” thing, not the politically expedient.

— Francis Strazzella Asheville

Cover focus should have been on Black leaders In the midst of a global, Black-led uprising, the June 10 cover of Xpress focused on white artists who created works in support of the Black Lives Matter movement [“Storefront Solidarity: Local Artists Paint Downtown Businesses to Show Support for Protests”]. While the art is impressive, the focus in this moment should be on the Black leaders who are and have been leading us all to freedom.

If we want to dismantle racism, we must disrupt the dominant narrative that centers on white voices and perspectives. The white-led action featured in your cover story was inspired

by Black-led protests — which are the real story.

— Jason Krekel Asheville Editor’s note: We agree that including and highlighting the voices of the community members most affected by an issue — in this case, Black and brown communities responding to disproportionate police violence — is of critical importance.

The murals inspired by recent protests began appearing on Wednesday, June 3, and the project was in full

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OPI N I ON swing by Friday, June 5. To meet our Monday, June 8, print deadline, our writer had to depend on sources immediately available to him. However, that week’s paper and all of our recent issues have featured the voices of African American and Latinx community members, including artists, community leaders, elected officials, youths and others.

Freedom vs. reducing coronavirus risk [Regarding “No Way to Live in Land of the Free,” June 10, Xpress]: Yes, we live in the land of the free and as such, you, Gardner Hathaway, are free to make a decision concerning your own health and welfare. You imply that your civil liberties (all inclusive) have been curtailed for no appropriate reason, and this situation has resulted in more harm than the COVID-19 virus. To say that the lockdown has caused more jeopardy than the virus is simplistic and may I posit, ridiculous.

As an “at-risk person,” I am grateful that an effort has been made to minimize my risk, but I’m also concerned for those other than myself.

How about you?

— Margot Kornfeld Asheville

Pandemic challenges those with hearing loss May has been designated Speech and Hearing Month. This May, it was especially difficult for those with hearing loss in the Asheville area and elsewhere to deal with barriers to communication set up to prevent virus spread. These barriers are necessary. Slowly, those of us with hearing loss have been finding ways to deal with them, at least to some extent. They may be with us for quite some time.

People with hearing loss need to share ideas about communicating in this situation, and it is important for others in the community to realize what some of their friends, customers or patients are experiencing.

Masks heavily reduce volume and clarity of speech. Across 6 feet, it’s impossible for many to hear, even with

moderate loss. Lip-reading, on which a lot of us depend, is also impossible across that distance. Masks with clear centers are made but are not yet available widely. A particular problem is that people with hearing loss need the other person to wear one. Some medical settings are trying to obtain them. And telehealth can be helpful, too.

Wearing masks of any kind is difficult, especially with glasses, too.

Commonly they attach behind the ear with elastic extensions. Great care is needed in removal if hearing aids are not to go flying. Losses are frequent, which can create big problems. Some headgear is made with buttons, and some masks tie, which helps. Some advocate using a paper clip extended to catch both elastics behind the head, which can work quite well.

There are apps that transcribe for captioning, so someone can speak close to a phone held toward them while reading the captions is attempted by someone else. But across 6 feet?

Difficult!

American Sign Language (ALS) is the language of choice for those who are completely or almost deaf, and those with serious hearing loss from childhood may also find that the easiest way to communicate with similar others. We’ve all seen interpreters at work.

However, often it’s not understood that those represent a minority of people with hearing loss. A large proportion of such people only developed it late in life, so they have to get by in the hearing world, virus or no.

Please, readers, particularly in medical settings and grocery or other stores, be patient and as helpful as possible when you encounter people with hearing loss. They may be stressed out.

For more, contact akarson57@gmail. com. Or better, go to the Hearing Loss Association of America website for tips and information: [avl.mx/7bv].

— Ann Karson Candler

Support for the Justice in Policing Act I just watched the U.S. House Judiciary Committee meeting on the Justice in Policing Act of 2020, which has been put forward by the Democrats

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C AR T O O N B Y B R E N T B R O W N on that committee. Both Democratic and Republican congresspersons called witnesses to speak to these issues. The act bans certain lethal actions by police, creates an accountability system and proposes implementing services in communities that would ultimately create less of a need for policing.

I encourage everyone to read the act.

It says nothing about abolishing police departments, yet most of the witnesses that the Republican congressmen called focused on this and on supporting police rather than addressing the issue at hand. Why, in this time, when the inequities in our justice system are laid bare and at a tipping point as a result of the latest police abuses and murder of George Floyd and other African Americans, does the GOP choose to turn this opportunity for true healing and growth and change in our country into a fight?

Since I wrote this, another Black man running away from police, this time in Atlanta, was shot by police.

Before another person is killed in our neighborhood, I am writing to and calling my North Carolina Sens. Richard Burr and Thom Tillis, along with my representative, Patrick McHenry, asking them to do the right thing and co-sponsor the Justice in Policing Act.

— Erica Burns

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NEWS

OUTSIDE LOOKING IN

Lessons from local international exchange programs

BY THOMAS CALDER tcalder@mountainx.com The nationwide protests over the May 25 death of George Floyd have gone global. From England to Australia, South Africa to Tokyo, marchers have taken to the streets demanding police reform and genuine racial equality after four Minneapolis police officers were charged in connection with the African American man’s death.

Amid this worldwide outcry, Xpress reached out to several local organizations to discuss what insights their international work — much of which has been put on hold due to COVID-19 — might offer Western North Carolina residents who are grappling with the ongoing legacy of white supremacy in America.

KNOW THYSELF

Ken Richards has been involved in international work since the late 1950s, living and teaching abroad for much of his adult life. He retired to Asheville in 1980.

Eight years later, he helped launch Asheville Sister Cities, a nonprofit that aims to promote international awareness and cultivate relationships with the organization’s seven “sisters”: Vladikavkaz, Russia; San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico; Saumur, France; Karpenisi, Greece; Valladolid, Mexico; Osogbo, Nigeria; and Dunkeld-Birnam, Scotland.

Among the many benefits of global work, says Richards, are its introspective insights. “You start getting to know yourself better,” he explains. “You compare yourself to people in host countries, and when you host them here, you’re doing a lot of research to learn how to be a good host.”

Rumination and study, paired with exposure to different cultures and beliefs, help broaden an individual’s perspective, says Richards, adding that over the last 60 years, his own

DISARM HATE: Xpress reached out to several local international organizations to discuss what insights their global work could offer Western North Carolina residents grappling with the ongoing legacy of white supremacy in America. Photo by Jarret Porter views about America have shifted because of his work.

“We have the wrong image,” he says. “We want everyone to know how much better things are in our nation.

Well, everyone feels where they live is pretty good too, and they take pride in it. We’re no better than anybody else; we’re no worse than anybody else — we’re all just as good as.”

Stepping down from the imaginary pedestal of American exceptionalism is essential for the advancement of all global citizens, Richards maintains.

“We have to realize that we must respect people, and I dare say must

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love people. But first, we have to respect and know ourselves.”

NO PITY, PLEASE

But getting to know yourself can be a challenge, says Yetunde Bashorun.

In 2016, while an undergraduate at Western Carolina University, she interned at Folkmoot, a Waynesvillebased nonprofit that organizes cultural exchange programs.

During her time with the organization, Bashorun helped launch Cultural Conversations, a discussion-based series designed to bring diverse community members together to address their biases. The weeklong initial run featured five different groups. And while the majority of participants were white, she notes, the mix included everyone from business owners to public leaders, law enforcement personnel to community activists.

Despite these individuals’ willingness to participate, however, there were obstacles. “There’s a lot of fear and defense that comes with confronting one’s biases,” says Bashorun, who has since earned a master’s degree in international studies from N.C. State. “It puts you in a vulnerable space where you have to admit there is something a bit eschewed with the way you view things.”

To ease tensions, Bashorun began each session by acknowledging her own prejudices. “It’s about letting people know that even those who do activism work and people who preach are imperfect in their own ways,” she explains.

At the same time, however, she worked to discourage mere surface-level participation by members who were willing to acknowledge white privilege or express a sense of guilt but then refused to further examine those positions.

“We don’t want you to do it out of pity,” Bashorun explains. “We want you to do it with intention and because you really want to educate yourself.”

Cultural Conversations will return to Folkmoot this fall via online sessions, with in-person meetings as well if health and safety guidelines permit them.

THE WHOLE WORLD IS WATCHING But what happens if, come fall, the current push for equality and justice has dissipated? What if, particularly among white Americans, the present outrage and demands for change prove to have been temporary? It’s a real possibility, but for many involved in international work, the killing of Floyd and the ensuing protests feel different this time, in large part because of the global response.

Jennifer Pickering, executive director of LEAF Global Arts, has been in conversation with a number of the Asheville-based nonprofit’s international partners, including members in Haiti and St. Vincent.

According to Pickering, the death of Floyd has resonated in both nations, inspiring residents there to reflect and demand action on racial injustices in their own backyards.

Meanwhile, LEAF instructor Adama Dembele says his family has been watching the protests closely from their homes in Ivory Coast.

“They only see the bad stuff,” says the master djembe player, referring to the looting and riots that have occurred

alongside peaceful protests. “So they get a little bit scared.”

Bashorun, who emigrated from Lagos, Nigeria, to the United States in 2001, has also been in contact with her extended family in West Africa. Their perception of America, she says, has changed because of the country’s response to COVID-19 as well as the killing of Floyd.

“I think they’re starting to wake up to the idea that … the promised land isn’t really all it’s cracked up to be,” she says. “They know what’s going on and see that a lot of what is happening here resembles a lot of what sometimes is going on down there in Nigeria.”

Elise Guillemet, an English teacher from Saumur, described a similar experience after visiting Asheville in February as part of a Sister Cities exchange program. The trip, she said in an email to Xpress, feels like a lifetime ago in light of all that’s transpired since then.

“As far as the current protests are concerned, I think it is symptomatic of how angry and desperate American people feel right now,” Guillemet wrote. “What was striking for me was to see how far-reaching George Floyd’s death has been. In a way this has allowed many deep-seated issues to come out — even in France, where people have been demonstrating.”

Asheville Sister Cities member Stephanie Hellert, who teaches French at The Franklin School of Innovation, says this global chorus of voices sends a very clear message: “The whole world is watching us to see if we can act upon the moment and make significant and lasting reparations and change.”

LASTING IMPACT: In 2016, while an intern at Folkmoot, Yetunde Bashorun helped create Cultural Conversations, a discussion-based series that brings diverse community members together to address their cultural biases. The series continues this fall. Photo courtesy of Bashorun

INTO THE LOOKING GLASS

Angeline Schwab, Folkmoot’s director, echoes those sentiments. Over the last few weeks, she’s been involved in a number of ongoing conversations with colleagues around the world, including a text exchange with Ghanaian artist and dancer Samuel Baidoo.

“He said he’s heard about the U.S. and that he’s worried about our safety,” Schwab reveals. “And he says, ‘I only want Americans to be great always,’” she adds with a weary laugh.

Their exchange, continues Schwab, resembled many other conversations she’s had since Floyd’s death. Most of those who contact her say they hope that America will make the necessary changes to live up to its ideals.

“They admire us in so many ways,” she points out.

ONGOING EXCHANGE: Angeline Schwab, center, executive director of Folkmoot, says she’s been in touch with some 20 colleagues around the world, all of whom are concerned about the current state of America. Also featured, from left, Alejandro Camacho, vice president of CIOFF International, and Christian Hidalgo-Mazzei, president of CIOFF Canada. Photo courtesy of Schwab Yet others, notes Schwab, send messages of pity, as if the American experiment had entered its final descent.

But whatever the nature of the exchange, she maintains, “It makes you self-reflect about how [other

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countries] think and feel about our culture.” That’s the beauty of international work, says Schwab: “We get a constant opportunity to have someone hold the mirror back up to us.” X

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LOCAL GOVERNMENT

LONG NIGHT

Less than a week before the summer solstice — the longest day of the year — the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners held 2020’s longest meeting to date. Exceeding four hours, the June 16 meeting included two contentious segments of public comment, both of which concerned the county’s reckoning with recent local protests for racial justice.

2021 Buncombe budget passes immediately after public hearing

BY DANIEL WALTON dwalton@mountainx.com For the first time in three months, the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners came face to masked face with residents seeking to comment on government business. Over a dozen speakers ventured out on June 16 to share their thoughts on the fiscal year 2020-21 budget during the COVID-19 era’s first county public hearing. The commissioners subsequently gave their unanimous approval to a spending plan little modified from that recommended

by County Manager Avril Pinder.

Nearly two-thirds of the 20 total comments on the budget delivered in person, left as voicemails or sent via email called for commissioners to reduce funding for the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office and instead spend more on public health and social programs.

Many mentioned Asheville’s recent protests for racial justice, part of a nationwide movement sparked by the police killing of Black Minneapolis resident George Floyd on May 25.

The 2020-21 Buncombe County budget as adopted includes roughly $22.5 million for the Sheriff’s Office, a 3.5% increase over last year’s allocation. In contrast, the public health allocation of about $21.56 million is essentially unchanged, representing less than a tenth of a percent reduction from the current fiscal year’s spending.

“Putting more money to an already bloated sheriff’s department while cutting public health funding tells me that you would rather your constituents live with police violence and die of COVID19,” said West Asheville resident Taija Ventrella, who spoke in person during the meeting. “You would rather us die than reallocate funds.”

And Asheville resident Katy Estrada, who submitted a comment before the meeting, asked the board to delay its 10

JUNE 24-30, 2020

vote on the budget so county leaders could further discuss redirecting money that now goes to law enforcement. “Research shows that a living wage, access to holistic health services and treatment, educational opportunity and housing are far more successful at reducing crime than police or prisons,” she argued.

The commissioners briefly discussed holding off on their decision until the following week, with Democratic Chair Brownie Newman noting that it was not the board’s usual practice to vote on the budget at the same meeting as the public hearing. However, both Republicans and other Democratic commissioners pushed to hold the vote immediately after public comment: Republicans Joe Belcher and Anthony Penland made and seconded the budget motion, respectively, while Democrat Al Whitesides said that “waiting a week wouldn’t change much for me.”

Asheville City Council took a different response to community pressure over the city budget and police funding.

After receiving over 3,000 comments prior to their June 9 meeting, Council members now plan to adopt an interim budget, conduct further public input and pass a budget amendment regarding the Asheville Police Department on Tuesday, Sept. 22.

Belcher’s motion did increase funding for K-12 schools over the budget as recommended by the county manager. The Buncombe County school system will receive its full requested increase of $1.49 million over the previous year’s $68.22 million allocation, nearly twice Pinder’s recommended increase of $745,000, and the recommended Asheville City Schools funding increase will go up proportionally to about $272,000. That boost still leaves ACS roughly $898,000 under the $1.17 million increase requested by interim Superintendent Bobbie Short.

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SLICE AND DICE: Buncombe County’s fiscal year 2020-21 general fund budget divvies up roughly $336.5 million, with more than 26% ($89.5 million) going to education. Photo by Getty Images

Commission split in vote to remove Confederate monuments “I hope we can get to a unanimous vote on this because of the message it will send our community,” said Commissioner Jasmine BeachFerrara minutes before a June 16 vote by the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners to decide the fate of several Confederate monuments in downtown Asheville.

“A message that we are ready to turn the page, that we are ready to heal, that we are ready to stand shoulder to shoulder in this work — and perhaps above all, that we are ready to do more than remove monuments and replace them,” BeachFerrara continued. “We’re ready to tackle the really critical policy questions that get to the structural inequities that haunt our community and that simply don’t need to.”

But when the votes were tallied, the board sent a decidedly different message. Commissioners remained divided along partisan lines: BeachFerrara and her three Democratic colleagues voted to remove the monuments, while Republicans Joe Belcher, Anthony Penland and Robert Pressley voted against the move.

Pressley, who is running against Democrat Brownie Newman to become the commission’s chair, seemingly dismissed the overwhelming tide of public comment asking the board to take action. Earlier in

OBVIOUS OBELISK: Despite the June 16 passage by the Board of Commissioners of a resolution calling for the Vance Monument to be shrouded until its fate is decided by a joint Asheville-Buncombe County task force, the monument remained in sight as of June 22. Photo by Daniel Walton

MARKED: Graffiti visible on the Robert E. Lee monument in Pack Square Park as of June 19 calls the Confederate general a “coward.” Photo by Daniel Walton the meeting, Beach-Ferrara reported that the commissioners had received 549 email or voicemail comments in support of monument removal, with only 19 comments asking for the markers to remain.

“Yes, there was more to take it down, but that was because of what was publicized: ‘Hey, let’s everyone get together.’ We know how people post and paste on here,” Pressley said. “Half of these people, or probably more than that, that wrote in here really don’t even know about that monument, what it really — we have people that read the headlines. And I’ve always said, that is what I dislike about the media the most.”

Meanwhile, Penland objected to being left out of earlier consultations between the board’s Democrats and Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer regarding the resolution’s scope and wording. Asheville City Council had unanimously passed a similar resolution regarding the Confederate monuments on June 9.

Penland also suggested that changes to the Vance Monument in particular would not help Buncombe County address issues of racial justice. “You want to repurpose the Vance Monument? Put a 65-foot cross in the center of downtown Asheville, because the only way we’re going to heal this land is to look to our almighty God and pray to him that

we change people’s hearts,” he said.

“I don’t look at that monument for my values: I look upward.”

And although Belcher noted he “would not disagree that [the resolution] would be a start, a movement that something was being done,” he said that removing monuments wouldn’t fix the county’s inequities.

Instead, he remained focused on opportunity gaps within county and city schools and said the commissioners needed to have deeper discussions about change.

“I’m not going to defend anybody.

I don’t know the history of Vance.

It really doesn’t matter; it’s what it represents, and I get that people are concerned about that and hurt by that,” Belcher said. “But I don’t think that the way this is written and I don’t think this is the answer, and for that, I’m not going to be supporting it.”

Democratic Commissioner Al Whitesides, the board’s only Black member, agreed with Belcher that the Confederate monuments were of only symbolic importance. But having lived with the monuments since his time as a student at Asheville’s segregated Stephens-Lee High School, he continued, change to those public symbols was well past due.

“What we’ve got to stop doing is passing that 800-pound gorilla down from generation to generation, and by that, I mean racism,” Whitesides said. “We got to deal with it. It’s going to be some uncomfortable conversations, but we’ve got to have them.”

With the passage of the resolution, the United Daughters of the Confederacy has until Monday, Sept. 14, to remove a monument to Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee and Col. John Connally in Pack Square Park and one to the 60th Regiment of N.C. Confederate solidiers near the county courthouse. Asheville and Buncombe County will also establish a joint task force to make “a recommendation regarding the removal and/or repurposing of the Vance Monument” within three months of being appointed.

The resolution also calls for the Vance Monument to be immediately “shrouded in order to reduce its impact on the community and to reduce the risk of harm it presents in its current state.” As of press time, the 65-foot granite obelisk in Pack Square remained visible. X

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JUNE 24-30, 2020

11

COVID CONVERSATIONS

FEA T U RE S

Summer has arrived, and the coronavirus pandemic remains with us. Local middle school teacher Kate Whittier shares thoughts about transitioning to online education and, more recently, to vacation. We also hear from Elise Guillemet, a high school teacher in Saumur, France, about her experience visiting Western North Carolina in February with 34 French students. Plans for a group of local teens to complete the exchange with a trip to France in April were disrupted by the pandemic.

On the record Mark Capon brings an analog pastime into the digital age

Harvest Records co-owner Mark Capon discusses ways he’s trying to duplicate the record store experience online. The shop has also focused on supporting Black artists through a recent fundraiser; Capon points out the foundational importance of Black music on the entirety of his store’s collection.

Teachable moment The end of the school year is bittersweet for teacher Kate Whittier Most Western North Carolina students and educators have left behind a disrupted and oddly challenging academic year to shift into summer vacation mode. But for A.C. Reynolds Middle School sixth-grade math teacher Kate Whittier, that normally welcome transition is a tough one.

“This was the hardest end to a school year that I’ve ever had,” she says. “I feel like our relationships got a lot deeper, because we were holding Zoom meetings in our living rooms. We got to see a different side of [the students]. I mean, our pets came to our meetings.

We were all just vulnerable and going through all of this together.”

She credits Buncombe County Schools with facilitating a smooth and agile switch from classroom teaching to virtual learning platforms when the state suddenly closed schools in March.

The BCS Digital Learning Initiative had already supplied each student with a digital device, and the county provided hot spots for those without internet access. “So we were already prepared, and we were teaching on day three,” Whittier says. “I was just blown away by it.”

But figuring out how to design meaningful, high-impact math lessons for online platforms that students could navigate with minimal parental oversight was a tricky problem to solve.

And with child care facilities closed due to COVID-19, she and her husband were also caring for their 3-year-old daughter while trying to work at home.

She acknowledges that preparing virtual lessons and hosting her daily classroom Zoom meetings was

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JUNE 24-30, 2020

NEW APPROACH: While Harvest Records remains shuttered, the business has started offering curbside pickup, mail orders and the occasional local delivery as co-owner Mark Capon tries to reimagine the usual record store experience through a virtual platform. Photo courtesy of Capon

LIFE LESSONS: A.C. Reynolds Middle School math teacher Kate Whittier, center, with husband Andy and daughter Nela, found that virtual learning, while challenging, also afforded new opportunities for bonding with students. Photo by Margaret Graton extremely labor intensive. “It was so much harder, too, mentally, because we were all struggling, and I had my daughter here, too,” Whittier says.

“Sometimes she was in my lap during the Zoom meetings because that’s all I could do.”

Despite the intensity of the past few months, she’s finding it hard to relax into a vacation mindset. “There are so many unknowns going into next year,” says Whittier. “It’s good, though, that I can focus on my daughter and not feel like I’m pulled in two directions.”

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— Gina Smith X

Mark Capon, co-owner of Harvest Records on Haywood Road in West Asheville, says his shop has been closed to the public since March 17. Despite being allowed to reopen at a limited capacity, he plans to wait to ensure the safety of his staff and the community at large.

But while the storefront remains shuttered, the business has started offering curbside pickup, mail orders and the occasional local delivery as Capon tries to reimagine the usual record store experience through a virtual platform. Instead of customers leisurely thumbing through hundreds of vintage and new vinyls — which includes about 10,000 pieces of vinyl among its 15,000-item inventory — Capon says he’s using the store’s social media accounts to present glimpses of its collection and highlight noteworthy offerings.

“It’s a physical store with physical media that people like to come in and comb through, so you kind of have to rewire your brain to get people to feel like they’re still combing through the records,” he says.

Why I support Xpress:

Capon also says he plans to use the store’s online platform to uplift Black musicians, artists and labels. On June 11, the store held an online sale of records representing some of his staff’s favorite Black recording artists. All of the proceeds from the albums, which sold out in less than 24 hours, were donated to Asheville’s Racial Justice Coalition. He says he plans to continue to highlight and support Black artists through the record store and, just as importantly, to listen to Black leaders as communities around the world continue to face systemic racial injustice.

“The world is feeling very different, and it’s important to us that we keep progressing and making the right decisions and listening,” Capon says. “None of the music in here exists without the ingenuity of Black artists, and we stand by that.

We’re proud of the diversity of the music that we have in our store and we’re going to continue to make it a priority to keep that diversity upheld.”

— Brooke Randle X

“Local news sources are important to a vibrant community.

It’s as simple as that.”

– Charles Robinson

Join Charles and become a member at SupportMountainX.com

Bonjour!

International exchange group visits Asheville on the cusp of COVID-19 In February, Elise Guillemet left Saumur, France, to visit Asheville as part of an exchange program co-organized by Asheville Sister Cities.

She was joined by a colleague as well as 34 high school students from Lycée Duplessis Mornay. Local families hosted the visitors during their two-week stay; meanwhile, Franklin School of Innovation and a handful of other educational institutions welcomed the visitors to their classrooms.

Along with daily school courses, the group toured UNC Asheville, Biltmore Estate, French Broad Chocolate Factory and the Folk Art Center. (For more on the students’ perspectives about the recent trip, visit avl.mx/7bt.)

“Asheville was the perfect opposite of the USA cliché,” says Guillemet.

Many of her fellow French citizens, she notes, do not care for President Donald Trump but understand that his words and actions do not reflect the United States as a whole. “We all felt really grateful to visit such a friendly and progressive community.”

Upon their return home, Guillemet and her pupils prepared for an April reunion, when 13 students from Franklin School of Innovation were scheduled to arrive in Saumur.

COVID-19, however, placed those plans on hold indefinitely.

During France’s nationwide lockdown, which began in mid-March, “We were not allowed to leave our homes except for one hour per day,” Guillemet says. Those who disobeyed, she continues, received fines of 135 euros (roughly $151). Restrictions, she notes, ended in May. “I think we’re famous for protesting,” she says of her fellow French citizens. “But strangely enough, we did not protest [the COVID-19 restrictions] much.”

However, opposition did break out in France following the May 25 death of George Floyd, an African American man killed by white Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.

“We currently see many debates in the news about the French police, about racial profiling and our judicial system’s [handling of] police officers’ ‘blunders,’” Guillemet writes Xpress in an email follow-up.

Why I support Xpress: IN THE NICK OF TIME: Elise Guillemet spent nearly a year organizing her class’s trip from Saumur, France, to Asheville. The group arrived in mid-February, just before COVID-19 restrictions began. Photo courtesy of Guillemet

“I’ve been reading this paper since I moved to Asheville 26 years ago and it has never let me down.” – Eleanor Ashton

Join Eleanor and become a member at SupportMountainX.com

Guillemet continues that she was not surprised to learn about similar conversations and protests in Asheville. “Your community had really made an impression on us,” she writes. “People really seemed tolerant, welcoming and open-minded. I’m sure they felt the need to express themselves and I admire their support.”

What did surprise Guillemet, however, was news of the violence and destruction carried out by some protesters as well as members of the Asheville Police Department. “It is probably a sign that everyone is on edge,” she writes. “It makes me feel like what we had when we visited was precious and that even if we visited last February only, it seems like a long time ago — probably because of the pandemic and all the unfortunate consequences that have ensued, including this outrageous murder on top of everything else.”

— Thomas Calder X

MOUNTAINX.COM

JUNE 24-30, 2020

13

F E AT UR E S

ASHEVILLE ARCHIVES

by Thomas Calder | tcalder@mountainx.com

Stay informed on

‘Ridiculous’ Sugar-free theory for curing polio elicits harsh criticism, 1948

Local Matters

PUT DOWN THAT CAKE: In 1948, as a polio outbreak continued to spread in Buncombe County, one local nutritionist urged residents to give up sugar and starches as a way to combat the virus. Photo courtesy of Mani Dreyfuss

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In August 1948, amid a citywide shutdown due to a polio outbreak, Dr. Benjamin P. Sandler made a name for himself. A staff member of the VA Hospital at Oteen (today’s Charles George VA Medical Center), Sandler insisted that diet alone could prevent a person from contracting the virus.

“The crisis is here and hours have become precious,” Sandler told The Asheville Citizen on Aug. 5. “I have been impelled to bring this directly to the newspapers because of my profound conviction that, through community cooperation and general acceptance of a diet low in sugars and starches, this epidemic can be got under control in about two weeks time.”

Sandler’s theory stemmed from his 1938 research with rabbits. At the time, the scientific community thought the creatures were immune to the virus. But according to the Aug. 5, 1948, edition of The Asheville Citizen, Sandler infected a number of these animals by lowering their blood sugar levels.

In the following day’s paper, The Asheville Citizen presented Sandler’s theory to Dr. Roy Norton, state health officer, who was visiting Asheville to assess the city’s current health crisis. While Norton

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said he could not reject Sandler’s claims, he noted that he could not endorse them either without additional research.

Not everyone was as diplomatic. On Aug. 8, 1948, The Asheville Citizen reported that Dr. James H. Cherry, president of the Buncombe County Medical Society and the chief of staff of the Asheville Orthopedic Home, called Sandler’s theory “ridiculous.” Cherry’s criticism, the paper continued, was part of an official statement made on behalf of both organizations the doctor represented.

“We feel Dr. Sandler’s theory is absolutely without foundation,” Cherry continued. “We do not feel that reducing the intake of soft drinks, pastries, and other sweets has been proved to have any effect on the immunity of the human body against polio.”

In an Aug. 11 letter to the editor, Sandler rebuked Cherry’s comments, writing: “In the history of science and medicine many discoveries were so new and radical when first introduced, that antagonists, for reasons of their own, ridiculed both the ideas and the men who produced them. In the Dark Ages, the discoverers were burned at the

stake, or put in chains, or made to recant. Mankind has advanced somewhat and today the discoverer is merely ridiculed. Our age isn’t dark, it’s just still dim.”

Sandler went on to write that if Cherry “had taken pains to read my scientific papers and the papers of others who support me, he would not have made such rash remarks.”

Unfortunately for Sandler, other medical professionals who had reviewed his research agreed with Cherry, albeit in far kinder terms. In the Aug. 15, 1948, Sunday edition of the Asheville CitizenTimes, The National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis provided background on Sandler’s research. According to the organization, the majority of the rabbits Sandler worked with did not contract polio, and those that did exhibited symptoms not exclusive to the virus.

The foundation also reported that the University of Michigan had attempted to duplicate Sandler’s findings in 1941, but without success. “So far as we are aware there are no published data from any other source that would be regarded as convincing evidence in his support,” the foundation concluded.

Despite all of this, Sandler appears to have been unfazed. In 1951, the Lee Foundation for Nutritional Research published his book Diet Prevents Polio. And while there are no known reviews of the work, Sandler’s ideas and contributions made a lasting impression.

“Dr. Benjamin P. Sandler, who specialized in preventive nutrition, died Friday in Asheville, N.C., after a long illness,” The New York Times reported on May 23, 1979. “He was 77 years old and a resident of Asheville.”

The Times continued: “Dr. Sandler gained attention in the 1940’s when he began to publish his controversial theories linking refined sugars and starches to the development of diseases, specifically tuberculosis, polio and heart disease. He believed that a diet low in sugars and starches and high in proteins would decrease the body’s susceptibility to disease. Dr. Sandler wrote two books developing his theories, ‘Diet Prevents Polio,’ and ‘How to Prevent Heart Attacks.’ He also wrote numerous articles on nutrition, some of which appeared in the diet and health magazine, Prevention.”

Editor’s note: This is part of an ongoing series exploring the 1948 polio outbreak. Previous articles can be found at avl.mx/760, avl.mx/77k and avl.mx/79e.

Punctuation and spelling are preserved from the original documents. X

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Sovereign Kava Sovereign Kava wants to change your head, and we’re very, very good at it. Kava comes from the roots of a pepper plant (piper methisticum) that has rocked faces in the S. Pacific for 1000s of years. It provides an unmissable, unmistakable buzz. Nobody buys weird-tasting drinks that don’t do anything. Lots of people buy our weird-tasting drinks. Often with kava, it takes a few experiences (or one big experience) to feel its signature headchange. Our bartenders can get you “there.”

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The Chinese Acupuncture & Herbology Clinic “Deemed Essential, Not Alternative”, we are OPEN! Have a consultation in the comfort of your home. The Chinese Acupuncture Clinic offering “VIRTUAL VISITS” for concerns like: General Health, COVID-19 Concerns, Allergies, Bronchitis, Coughing, Digestive Upset, Fever, Head Cold, Migraine/ Headache, Seasonal flu, Sinus Congestion, Sore Throat & More • 15-Minute Online Evaluation with Herbal Medicine & Dietary Consultation $45 through July • No-Contact prescription pickup available. NEW PATIENTS WELCOME 369 Montford Ave., Asheville 828.258.9016 ChineseAcupunctureClinic.com

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Daoist Traditions College Acupuncture Clinic Yes, We Are Open! $15.00 Acupuncture Treatment Special Through July 31st at The Daoist Traditions College Acupuncture Clinic, in Downtown Asheville. We are committed to being part of the solution and change for healthcare and other disparities in our community. Schedule your appointment online today at daoisttraditions.edu/clinic.

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Silverball Subs

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We are a locally owned Sub Shop located at 347 New Leicester Hwy. We craft our subs using fresh produce from the WNC Farmers Market, bread from Annie’s Bakery, and sliced to order Thumann’s Meats and Cheeses. With rotating specials and a customizable menu there are options for all sandwich enthusiasts.

Draft and canned beer from our favorite breweries are always revolving as well. We offer takeout, easy online ordering, curbside, outdoor and indoor dining, and delivery through TakeoutCentral. www.silverballsubs.com 828-412-5281

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JUNE 24-30, 2020

15

OP E N F OR B U SI NE SS

The North Carolina Arboretum Explore over 400 acres of woodlands and stunning gardens at The North Carolina Arboretum, located minutes from downtown Asheville in Pisgah National Forest.

Featuring miles of hiking trails, spacious gardens, including the popular Bonsai Exhibition Garden, and an abundance of native flora and wildlife, the Arboretum welcomes all ages, abilities and interests. Don’t miss the return of the Arboretum’s highly anticipated outdoor exhibit Nature Connects®: Art with LEGO® Bricks featuring 16 larger-than-life sculptures, including a giant peacock, towering dragonfly and majestic monarch butterfly made entirely out of LEGO Bricks. The Arboretum is open daily from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Visit ncarboretum.org or call 828-665-2492 for more details. Sign up to become an Arboretum Society Member on your next visit and save on your registration fee!

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Thank You FOR VOTING!

BEST OF WNC Results coming later this summer!

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JUNE 24-30, 2020

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Cherry Tree Beads We are a direct importer specializing in gemstone beads and specimens, jewelry making supplies, unique gifts, and one-of-a-kind handmade jewelry. Our beautiful showroom is located at 202 Railroad St. in Swannanoa, NC and is open TuesdaySaturday 10am - 5 pm, or you can shop online anytime at www.cherrytreebeads.com.

We offer free shipping on all orders $48+ and free curbside pick up!

During these unprecedented times, we have slowly opened our showroom following the guidelines set forth by Buncombe County. We ask that all persons entering our shop sanitize their hands, keep a 6 feet distance, wear a face covering, and, if possible, use a credit or debit card for your purchase. These measures will protect not only our employees but also our more vulnerable customers who regularly visit our showroom.

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Forest Floor - Summer Camps Outdoor summer day camps with weekly camps thru mid-August for Grades K-10.

Camps take place in all-outdoor forested locations. Each day is an unforgettable adventure with skilled and caring mentors leading small groups. Kids have fun, make friends, learn wilderness skills & traditional crafts with lots of movement, exploration, stories, and more.

Wide variety of camps including crafting, forest stealth, archery, foraging for wild foods, role playing and games.

Convenient in-town drop off & pickup location at Haw Creek Commons with flexible times, and available after-camp experiences for early evening pickup. We provide round trip transportation to and from the forest.

Get your kids out doors and loving it with Forest Floor Wilderness Programs. Providing awardwinning nature connection programs for kids in Asheville since 2011. Give your children an amazing experience with important psychological and physical health benefits. Also offering year-round programming for home schoolers and after school programs.

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OP E N F OR B U SI NE SS

Earth Path Education Our summer and autumn programs are open for registration. Through imaginative, nature connection camps for children, Rites of Passage for young women, and Women’s Wilderness programs, we nourish our natural selves and deepen connection with the Earth in conscious community.

Earth Path programs help us to nurture a healthy culture from the inside out. We learn Earth Skills and Ceremonial Arts, connect with elders, engage in ritual, and tune into place based wisdom.

As we emerge from this inward time, gift your child and yourself the powerful experience of community, exploration, and connection with the Earth Path. Family Overnight Camp - July 13-15 at Black Balsam all ages, Growing Goddess and Moon Mystics Rites of Passage - July 20-24 at Earthaven Ecovillage (young women ages 11-14 and 15-18), Nature Sisters Day Camp July 27-31 at Mountain Light Sanctuary (ages 8-11), Enchanted Forest Day Camp - Aug 3-7 at Pisgah National Forest in Candler, (co-ed ages 4-6 and 7-9), Women of Earth - Aug 14-18. 5-day Wilderness Immersion, Adults, Women Rewilding - Oct 2-8. 7-day Immersion: Adults, Moon Daughters: Mother & Daughter Retreat Oct 23-25., Rites of Passage Guide Training (on-line)- September-May. http://www.earthpatheducation.com/ services-registration

Greenhands Healing Center Here at GreenHands Healing Center, we stand with our community in supporting thoughtful and responsible action in response to the ongoing pandemic. We care about other local businesses having to make hard decisions during this time. After voluntarily closing for 1 month we have done a progressive opening and are now happy to offer all of our services including; Chiropractic care, Massage, K-Laser, Whole Body Vibration and Standard Process nutritional support. All patients and staff wear masks and Dr. David also changes gloves between each patient. We are dedicated to providing a safe environment for your essential care. Research has shown that chiropractic is effective not only for headaches, neck and back pain but also improves immune system function, stress tolerance and overall wellness. Call today for an appointment in our office.

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BlackBird Frame & Art You probably have some precious family photos, valued art or memorabilia...things worth framing that deserve professional design and honest advice for long-term preservation.

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GERALDINE’S Fresh Goods. Baked Daily.

We are re-opening on Monday, July 6th, 7:00am - 3:00pm. Call in your breakfast sandwich orders or just stop by. Fresh baked danish, eclairs, breads, and coffee ready to go! Please maintain the positive 3 W’s: Wash or sanitize your hands. Wear a face covering. Wait patiently with 6 feet distancing. There is plenty of outdoor space!

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JUNE 24-30, 2020

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COMMUNITY CALENDAR JUNE 24 - JULY 2, 2020

CALENDAR GUIDELINES For a full list of community calendar guidelines, please visit mountainx.com/calendar. For questions about free listings, call 828-251-1333, ext.

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

ONLINE EVENTS = q MUSIC A CAPELLA SINGING (PD.) WANNA SING? ashevillebarbershop. com WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24 • Trivia Night: PRIDE Edition. 7pm, 185 King Street, Brevard • Brie Capone (soul, folk) at The Grey Eagle.

7pm, avl.mx/7al q • Mountain Spirit Acoustic Series: Anna Tivel. 7pm, avl.mx/798 q • Quarantine Concert Series: Pretty Little Goat (Appalachian roots). 7pm, avl.mx/77y q • Lucky James (soul, Americana). 8pm, The Root Bar, 1410 Tunnel Rd THURSDAY, JUNE 25 • The Saylor Brothers (bluegrass). 2pm, The Funkatorium • The Harrows (blues).

6:30pm, 185 King Street, Brevard • Mountain Spirit Acoustic Series: Abbie Gardner (folk). 7pm, avl.mx/7b2 q • Quarantine Concert Series: Bless Your Heart (Americana, country).

7pm, avl.mx/77y q • The Comedy Show w/ Mia Jackson. 8pm,YMI Cultural Center FRIDAY, JUNE 26 • On the Bus Sessions: Dreads for Brains (reggae). 5pm, avl.mx/7c9 q • Doug Ramsay (jazz, soul). 5:30pm, Whiteside Brewing Co., 128 NC-107, Cashiers • The Patrick Lopez Experience (jazz, funk, Latin). 6pm, The Funkatorium • Riyen Roots by the River (rock, blues).

6pm, Hickory Nut Gorge Brewery, 461 Main St, Chimney Rock • Lawn Concert w/ Zoe & Cloyd (bluegrass).

6:15pm, Isis Music Hall • Concerts on the Creek: Geoff McBride & Scott Baker (classic

18

hits). 7pm, Bridge Park, 76 Railroad Ave, Sylva • Quarantine Concert Series: Floyd Philharmonic (Pink Floyd tribute). 7pm, avl.mx/77y q • Secret B Sides (R&B, hip-hop) at the Orange Peel. 7pm, avl.mx/7c0 q • Supatight (funk, indie). 8pm, 185 King Street, Brevard • Formal Friday: a Fancy Comedy Show.

8pm, avl.mx/77i q • Jackie Venson (blues. soul) at The Grey Eagle.

10pm, avl.mx/7be q • The Freeway Jubilee (rock). 10pm, One Stop at Asheville Music Hall • DJ Kilby Spinning Vinyl. 10pm, Ben’s Tune Up • DJ Databoy & DJ Woodside (hip-hop).

11pm, Aux Bar SATURDAY, JUNE 27 • MusicGroove Artist Showcase. 12pm, avl.mx/7ca q • Cup o’ Joe Variety Show (rock, pop, classical). 1pm, avl.mx/7ai q • Shelby Rae Moore Band (rock, country).

6pm, The Funkatorium • Lawn Concert w/ the Lazybirds (American roots). 6:15pm, Isis Music Hall • Quarantine Concert Series: VIA (alternative, soul). 7pm, avl.mx/77y q • The Get Right Band (psychedelic, indie) at The Grey Eagle. 7pm, avl.mx/7ac q • Big Blue (hip hop, rock, funk). 10pm, Ben’s Tune Up • Shady Recruits Duo (funk, jazz). 10pm, One Stop at Asheville Music Hall SUNDAY, JUNE 28 • Lawn Concert w/ Autumnwud (Americana). 6:30pm, Isis Music Hall • Eleanor Underhill Album Release Show.

7pm, Ambrose West, 312 Haywood Rd • Mountain Spirit Acoustic Series: Mare Wakefield & Nomad

JUNE 24-30, 2020

(Americana). 7pm, avl.mx/7ad q • Upland Drive (rock, funk) at the Grey Eagle.

7pm, avl.mx/7am q MONDAY, JUNE 29 • Old Time Jam w/ Banjo Mitch McConnell.

6pm, Archetype Brewing, 265 Haywood Rd • Quarantine Concert Series: Andrew Scotchie (rock). 7pm, avl.mx/77y q • Waxahatchee (indie) at the Grey Eagle. 9pm, avl.mx/7c5 q TUESDAY, JUNE 30 • Hustle Souls (rock, soul) at the Grey Eagle.

7pm, avl.mx/7bp q • Quarantine Concert Series: Krave Amiko (folktronica). 7pm, avl.mx/77y q WEDNESDAY, JULY 1 • Sound Bath w/ Will Bear Harris. 7:30pm, Move Nourish Heal, 130 Center Ave, Black Mountain • Lucky James (soul, Americana). 8pm, The Root Bar, 1410 Tunnel Rd THURSDAY, JULY 2 • The Saylor Brothers (bluegrass). 6pm, The Funkatorium • Dennis Carbone (folk, acoustic). 8pm, The Root Bar, 1410 Tunnel Rd FRIDAY, JULY 3 • Concerts on the Creek: The Rewind House Band (classic rock). 7pm, Bridge Park, 76 Railroad Ave, Sylva • Matt Waters & The Recipe (soul, blues).

7pm, One World Brewing West, 520 Haywood Rd • Ashli Rose Acoustic Showcase. 8pm, Luella’s Bar-B-Que, 501 Merrimon Ave

WELLNESS WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24 • COVID-19 Testing.

Free and open to all.

9am, East Henderson High School, 150 Eagle Pride Dr, East Flat Rock THURSDAY, JUNE 25 • 48-Week Diabetes Prevention Class.

Begins June 25, 6:30pm, Registration required, Free, ymcawnc.org/ virtual-ymca q TUESDAY, JUNE 30 • Free Prostate Cancer Screening.

5:30pm, Pardee Cancer Center, 805 6th Ave W, Hendersonville

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ART FRIDAY, JUNE 26 • Slow Art Friday: Land of the Sky. Discussion led by master docent Sarah Reincke at Asheville Art Museum.

Register: 828-253-3227 x 122. 12pm, Free, avl.mx/7af q • Brevard’s 4th Friday Gallery Walk. 5pm, Transylvania Community Arts Council, 349 S. Caldwell St, Brevard TUESDAY, JUNE 30 • Asheville Gallery of Art Opening: Time to Create. 5pm, avl.mx/7ci q

THURSDAY, JULY 2 • A Cause for Big Paws: Dog-friendly exhibition opening benefiting Blue Ridge Humane Society.

11am, M.Hammel Studio, 1901 Kanuga Rd, Hendersonville FRIDAY, JULY 3 • Slow Art Friday: Artist Couples. Discussion led by master docent Doris Potash at Asheville Art Museum. Register: 828253-3227 x 122. 12pm, Free, avl.mx/7af q • First Friday Art Walks. 5pm, Downtown Asheville, Biltmore Ave/ College St

OPEN MIC & KARAOKE WEDNESDAYS, JUNE 24 & JULY 1 • Karaoke Night. 7pm, South Rock Sports Grill, 830 Greenville Hwy, Hendersonville • Open Mic w/ Thomas Yon. 7pm, Twin Leaf Brewery • Sovereign Kava: Poetry Open Mic. 8:30pm, avl.mx/76w q • Open Mic Night.

9pm, 185 King Street, Brevard THURSDAY, JUNE 25 • Trivia Night. 7pm, Mad Co. Brew House, 45 N Main St, Marshall SUNDAY, JUNE 28 • Open Electric Jam. 6pm, 185 King Street, Brevard TUESDAY, JUNE 30 • Open Mic w/ Riyen Roots. 8pm, The Social, 1078 Tunnel Rd

SPOKEN & WRITTEN WORD WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24 • St. George’s Episcopal Talks About Racism Reading Group: The Cross & the Lynching Tree, Chapter 2.

Register: stgeorge office28806@gmail.

com. 12pm, avl.mx/7as q

• Firestorm Books: Stay Home & Write(rs) Group. 7pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/79z q THURSDAY, JUNE 25 • Malaprop’s: Wave Books Poets in Conversation. 6pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/wordcaot q

• Liberation through Consistent Anti-Oppression w/ Julia Feliz Brueck & Zoie (Zane) McNeill. 8pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/79y q MONDAY, JUNE 29 • Malaprop's Author Panel: NC Young Adult Debut. 6pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/wordcaou q TUESDAY, JUNE 30 • Great Jackson County Read 2020: Time Traveler. Adult reading program meeting.

10am, Jackson County Public Library, 310 Keener St, Sylva • Malaprop's: Lauren LoGuidice & The Melania Trump Roadshow. 6pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/wordcaov q WEDNESDAY, JULY 1 • St. George's Episcopal Talks About Racism Reading Group: The Cross & the Lynching Tree, Chapter 3.

Register: stgeorge office28806@gmail. com. 12pm, avl.mx/7as q

• Malaprop’s: Lisa Alther presents the novel Swan Song. 6pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/7d5 q

FILM WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24 • Tranzmission Movie Screening: Mala Mala.

6pm, avl.mx/7cb q SATURDAY, JUNE 27 • Tranzmission Documentary Screening: Stonewall. 6pm, avl.mx/7cf q

BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24 • Leadership Asheville Summer Buzz Breakfast. 9am, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/761 q • Asheville Chamber Annual Meeting. 4pm, Registration required, avl.mx/796 q • Financial Planning 101: 7 Habits of Financially Successful People.

7:30pm, Registration required, avl.mx/79t q

THURSDAY, JUNE 25 • WNC Nonprofit Pathways: 2020 Nonprofit Compliance Update.

1pm, Registration required, avl.mx/7a1 q

CLASSES, MEETINGS & EVENTS Empyrean Arts Online Live Classes (PD.) The physical studio is closed for now but we are offering some of our regular class offerings online - Go to our website at EMPYREANARTS.ORG, create a new student account, then purchase and sign up for classes.

THURSDAY, JUNE 25 • Truly Trivial: A Fundraiser for Jewish Family Services of WNC. 7pm, avl.mx/7a3 q SUNDAY, JUNE 28 • Equality NC Asheville Monthly Meeting. 2pm, avl.mx/7c4 q TUESDAY, JUNE 30 • FAFSA Fill-out Night.

Register: avl.mx/7cl.

4pm, Free, Blue Ridge Community College - Henderson County Campus, Thomas Auditorium Gallery THURSDAY, JULY 2 • Spanish Conversation Group for adults. 5pm, Free, avl.mx/7c6 q FRIDAY, JULY 3 • Asheville Women in Black: Monthly peace vigil. 5pm, Vance Monument, 1 Pack Square

ECO & OUTDOOR WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24 • MountainTrue University: Forest Communities of the Southern Appalachians. 11:30am, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/7bk q • Organic Growers School: Info Session on Farm Beginnings Class. 7:30pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/7a2 q FRIDAY, JUNE 26 • Interactions between Plants & Pollinators: Highlights from the Southern Appalachian Mountains. Presentation by Timothy Spira.

10:30am, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/77c q SATURDAY, JUNE 27 • Forest Bathing & Nature Therapy. 9am,

GoFINDOutdoors. org q • Asheville GreenWorks: Hard 2 Recycle.

Drop off styrofoam, electronics, scrap metal and more. 10am, Aaron's Rent to Own, 1298 Patton Ave • Pollination Celebration: Creating a Pollinator-Friendly Garden. 10:30am, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/77d q SUNDAY, JUNE 28 • Forest Service Public Comment Info Session.

4pm, 185 King Street, Brevard WEDNESDAY, JULY 1 • MountainTrue University: The State of the French Broad w/ Riverkeeper Hartwell Carson. 11:30am, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/7bl q THURSDAY, JULY 2 • Bearly There: Safe Encounters w/ Bears.

Webinar by NC Wildlife Resources Commission & Sierra Club. 7pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/7cc q

FOOD & BEER WEDNESDAYS, JUNE 24 & JULY 1 • Asheville City Market South. Wednesdays, 12pm, Biltmore Park Town Square • Jackson County Farmers Market.

Wednesdays, 3:30pm, Innovation Station, 40 Depot St, Dillsboro • RAD Farmers Market.

Wednesdays, 3pm, Pleb Urban Winery, 289 Lyman St THURSDAYS, JUNE 25 & JULY 2 • Enka-Candler Tailgate Market. Thursdays, 3:30pm, 70 Pisgah Hwy, Candler SATURDAY, JUNE 27 • ASAP Farmers Market at A-B Tech. Saturdays, 9am, 340 Victoria Rd TUESDAY, JUNE 30 • Feeding the 828: Free meals for musicians and music venue employees. 6pm, Harrah's Cherokee Center, 87 Haywood St FRIDAY, JULY 3 • The Inferno Challenge: Spicy food eating competition.

11am, Mosaic Cafe & Coffee House, 1 Town Square Blvd

FESTIVALS SATURDAY, JUNE 27 • Hemp Hangout: Vendors, music and games. 1pm, Carolina

Hemp Company, 290 Haywood Rd • Mystical Market: Local readers, healers and makers. 2:30pm, Violet Owl Wellness, 62 Wall St WEDNESDAY, JULY 1 • Crafts After Dark: Night Market.

Handmade items from local crafters. 5pm, Fleetwood's, 496 Haywood Rd FRIDAY, JULY 3 • Open Streets: Weekend-long closure of Main St for an enhanced pedestrian environment. 6pm, Historic Downtown Hendersonville

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THURSDAY, JUNE 25 • Jewish Power Hour w/ Rabbi Susskind.

Thursdays, 6pm, chabadasheville.org q SATURDAY, JUNE 27 • Climate Ambassador Training for People of Faith. 11:30am, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/7c8 q

VOLUNTEERING THURSDAY, JUNE 25 • Blood Connection Blood Drive. Free COVID-19 antibody tests for donors. 12pm, McCormick Field • Blood Connection Blood Drive. Free COVID-19 antibody tests for donors. 1pm, North Henderson High School, 35 Fruitland Rd, Hendersonville MONDAY, JUNE 29 • People with Purpose Volunteer Training & Info Session. Register: avl.mx/7c7. 9am, Mountain Home Thrift Store, 10 Lake Eden Rd, Black Mountain THURSDAY, JULY 2 • Blood Connection Blood Drive. Free COVID-19 antibody tests for donors. 10am, All Ways Caring HomeCare, 1328 Patton Ave

WELLNESS

ASSISTING THE UNINSURED County to fund testing for long-term care staffers

BY MOLLY HORAK mhorak@mountainx.com $75 can buy a lot of things: groceries, a night of babysitting, a few tanks of gas. Or, it can pay for a COVID19 test — a hefty sum for long-term care facility employees without insurance coverage to shell out, especially when testing might need to be repeated weekly.

Buncombe County’s nursing homes have borne the brunt of local COVID19 cases so far. Despite health officials’ attempts to quash the county’s six current outbreaks — defined by the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services as two or more lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in staff or residents at a single facility — viral infections continue to spread. Right now, the primary need in long-term care facilities is testing, Dr. Jennifer Mullendore, the county’s interim health director, told the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners on June 16.

The commissioners directed county staff to use up to $250,000 of previously allocated COVID-19 relief funds toward testing all employees of Buncombe’s 35 licensed skilled nursing and adult care homes, allowing the county to become the payer of last resort for individuals not covered by health insurance. The funding will also be used to cover repeated testing costs when outbreaks occur.

Testing long-term care residents, who are all covered by insurance, is fairly simple, Mullendore explained.

But health officials are “hitting a wall” when it comes to testing facility staff.

“We have some staff who don’t have insurance, we have some staff where their insurance plan pays for a few rounds of testing but no more, and some [have] health plans where testing has to be ordered by a primary care provider,” she said.

County health officials currently partner with Raleigh-based MAKO Medical Laboratories and Asheville’s Range Urgent Care to conduct testing at long-term care facilities. The Medicare-allowable fee for a COVID19 test is $100; MAKO Medical offers testing for $75, or $72.50 if tests are paid for in advance. Individual facilities may have preexisting con-

CONTINUING CONCERNS: Repeated testing is needed to curb COVID-19 in long-term care facilities, but county staff is “hitting a wall” when it comes to testing employees without health insurance. Buncombe County is poised to become the payer of last resort in these instances. Photo courtesy of Getty Images tracts with other testing providers, Mullendore noted during a June 18 press conference.

If a resident or employee at a congregate living facility tests positive for COVID-19, state guidelines require all residents and staff to be tested immediately. The state has asked facilities to then follow recommendations from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which call for weekly retests of all previously negative staff and residents until 14 days have passed with no new positive cases.

The primary need for testing is at Aston Park Health Care Center, Mullendore explained, the site of the largest COVID-19 outbreak among Buncombe County long-term care facilities. COVID-19 testing for roughly 96 Aston Park employees costs over $7,000 weekly.

Approximately 1,000 of the nearly 2,400 employees working in the county’s 35 “most fragile” facilities have not yet received COVID-19 tests, said Buncombe County Manager Avril Pinder. Completing a first round of “point-in-time” testing for those workers will cost up to $80,000, she explained, depending on how many have health insurance.

Repeated testing will keep long-term care facilities protected, Mullendore said. While baseline point-in-time test-

ing reveals existing cases, there’s no guarantee an employee won’t contract COVID-19 after the initial test.

“We have to remember every one of us, if you followed every one of our interactions, could indirectly lead to

someone who is on staff at a long-term care facility,” Mullendore explained.

“With the level of community spread that we have, assuming that all of the staff act the same when they go home, it’s potentially luck.”

Of the county’s 35 skilled nursing and adult care homes, 16 are expected to complete initial staff and resident testing by Friday, June 26, Mullendore said. A deadline for the baseline testing to be completed countywide has not been set.

According to data released June 19 by NCDHHS, the following COVID-19 outbreaks are reported at Buncombe facilities: 52 staff, 82 residents and 30 resident deaths at Aston Park Health Care Center; two staff and one resident at Brian Center Health and Rehabilitation/ Weaverville; four staff at Carolina Pines at Asheville; seven staff, three residents and one resident death at Deerfield Episcopal Retirement Community’s Simonds Health Care Center; two residents at Harmony at Reynolds Mountain; and five staff and five residents at Stonecreek Health and Rehabilitation. X

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19

GREEN SCENE

SEASONS OF CHANGE

WNC’s Latino farmworkers feel COVID-19 impacts

BY KAYLA GUILLIAMS kaylapg@live.unc.edu Every year, several waves of migrant workers with agricultural work visas come from Mexico to lend a hand on Tracy Taylor’s Christmas tree farm in Watauga County. The first group arrives around March, ready to help with initial fertilization and seeding.

However, those initial workers are experiencing a much different season than normal at Stone Mountain Farms.

With the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to spread across North Carolina, Taylor and her crew are having to adjust to a new, more cautious way of operating.

“I am scared,” says Taylor. “But confident that we’re doing all we can to stop the spread.”

FEELING VULNERABLE

As of June 16, Western North Carolina has 15 cases of COVID-19 among farmworkers, all at Grouse Ridge Tree Farm in Ashe County, according to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. A total 108 farmworker cases have been reported throughout the state — nearly double what had been reported just a week earlier.

Marianne Martinez, however, says these numbers don’t necessarily tell the whole story because they only reflect cases confirmed by testing. Martinez is the executive director of Vecinos, a Cullowhee-based nonprofit that provides free medical care to uninsured and underinsured farmworkers across eight WNC counties.

“Testing is still extremely limited, especially outside of Buncombe County,” says Martinez. “I’ve been working with the health departments for weeks to get tests, but the cost of running them is prohibitive.”

While free community testing for COVID-19 is available in Sylva, a regional hub for much of rural WNC, Martinez says it’s inaccessible for the vast majority of farmworkers who lack personal transportation. Another obstacle to receiving a test in Sylva is mandatory online preregistration.

“If you don’t have access to a computer or the internet, how are you going to do that?” asks Martinez. “There are a lot of barriers to testing, even where there are testing sites.”

This lack of testing concerns Martinez because of how vulnerable migrant farmworkers are to the coronavirus. As 20

JUNE 24-30, 2020

CHECKUP: A farmworker receives a health screening from a mobile clinic operated by the Vecinos Farmworker Health Program. Photo courtesy of Vecinos “congregate living settings,” migrant farmworker camps have been listed as high-risk locations for virus transmission — not just by local counties throughout WNC, but by the NCDHHS and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“If you look at a lot of migrant camps, they live, say, six men to a motel room in bunk beds. There’s no social distancing.” explains Martinez. “So if a farmworker gets infected, he’s going to spread it to six of his roommates, and they’re all going to get infected. There’s no way to stop it at that point.”

SAFE TRAVELS?

North Carolina’s first wave of migrant farmworkers this year arrived at the N.C. Growers Association office in Vass, located in the state’s Sandhills region, in early March. The workers came to Vass from the travel hub of Monterrey, Mexico, on 40-person buses. Their temperatures were taken before leaving the city, as well as at the U.S. border, according to reporting by NC Policy Watch. Routine COVID-19 testing for incoming workers wasn’t conducted and isn’t yet available.

Upon arrival, the workers’ health was screened, and they were given Spanishlanguage information provided by the CDC regarding COVID-19. From there, they went to farms across the state.

Taylor’s workers arrived at her farm around March 14.

MOUNTAINX.COM

It wasn’t until March 26 that NCDHHS released official recommendations for farms to prevent the spread of the disease among migrant farmworkers. These voluntary guidelines encourage growers to provide sanitation supplies weekly, make COVID-19 information available in Spanish and spread beds in housing at least 6 feet apart.

Local county agricultural extension offices have helped WNC farms follow these guidelines, says Jim Hamilton, extension director for Watauga County.

He says his office has provided translation support, as well as cloth masks for workers and sanitation supplies such as hand sanitizer, bleach and sanitizing wipes.

Steve Duckett, extension director for Buncombe County, says his office has also been providing supplies and education to the farms and several hundred migrant workers in the county. “If I had to boil it all down, we’re kind of performing one of our age-old roles in a new way,” says Duckett. “We’re kind of being that resource clearinghouse for producers.”

Providing personal protective equipment such as masks has been a priority for these offices because the supplies are needed by employees who work with chemicals. When high demand at health care facilities created PPE shortages, Hamilton says, the N.C. Agromedicine Institute helped get masks to farms that were running low. Duckett adds that the

federal government also reserved some masks specifically for use in agriculture.

The need for PPE to reduce chemical exposure will be even more prevalent later this growing season, Duckett continues, which could cause problems if the mask supply chain remains constrained. He notes that masks aren’t as much of a concern in and around Buncombe County as in other parts of the state because many local farms use organic practices.

Disseminating Spanish-language information about health care has been another focus for both county offices and Vecinos. Martinez says her organization has been prioritizing information outreach since the start of the outbreak.

“A lack of general health education coupled with misinformation, in particular for this community, has been a major challenge,” said Martinez. “Our community health workers from day one started going out to migrant camps and giving reliable sources for information in Spanish and spreading the information we knew at the time. And we have continued this outreach over the phone.”

BUSINESS AS UNUSUAL

Taylor says for her workers at Stone Mountain Farms, she is taking all precautions, following all guidelines and supplying all materials necessary to keep

SPREADING THE NEWS: Marianne Martinez, executive director of Vecinos, says getting Spanish-language information about COVID-19 into the hands of migrant farmworkers should be a public health priority. Photo courtesy of Vecinos

them safe. Those steps include liberal supplies of hand sanitizer, wipes and disinfecting spray, and twice-daily temperature checks as they clock in and out from the farm.

Many sanitation measures, Taylor points out, were in place before COVID19. “Why wouldn’t you do this even prior to the pandemic?” she asks. “Who would want their worker to get sick or be unsanitary? Not me — they’re family to me.”

What is new for Taylor is making sure that when her workers leave the farm, they are social distancing and taking precautions. “They have masks, and we tell them all the time that when they go to Walmart or the grocery store, we want them to change clothes,” she says. “We’ve given them extra jugs of laundry detergent, and I think it’s smarter for me to give them, you know, $50 in laundry detergent than it is for me to take the chance of one of my guys getting sick.”

Roberto, a migrant farmworker with an H2-A agricultural visa working in WNC, agrees that this season has been different from any other. He provided a statement to Vecinos in Spanish; the nonprofit translated his words and agreed to use only his first name for privacy.

“I’ve personally seen a radical change in how we see things and think about them since the government has deemed us essential workers. That puts us in a position of risk, not only on the local level, but on the international level as well,” Roberto says. “We are vulnerable workers, but we are still deciding to contribute to the United States with our essential and basic work for the well-being of others.”

But Roberto notes that his actual duties on the farm haven’t changed much since COVID-19 began. “We’ve continued to work as normal, albeit with a lot of restrictions like using face masks and hand sanitizer as preventive measures,” he says.

TOUGH CASE

Martinez emphasizes that COVID19 prevention is just half of the issue.

Farmworkers who aren’t working through the H-2A program often lack access to health insurance, while those with visas have access to highly subsidized rates but often still choose not to participate due to cost.

“As a farmworker, paying for it takes away from what you can send back home,” Martinez explains. “I could pay for health insurance each month, or I could use that to send my children to school back home.”

coughing and sneezing toward the end of March.

“We told those workers that they had to stay home until we figured out what was going on, and within three days they were fine — it was just a cold,” says Taylor. “But I’m not going to lie: We went hard and we were superserious about it. I think that it was our test, because we immediately acted upon it and had a plan on if something were to happen.

“I think a lot of our response was because I was educated from all the paperwork that’s been sent to me by various different departments in the state and county,” Taylor continues.

“Because we had been reading up on it so much, we’d like to think we did everything right.”

CLOSE QUARTERS: Many of WNC’s migrant farmworkers live in congregate settings, creating worries about the rapid spread of COVID-19. Photo courtesy of Vecinos And even workers with insurance may not seek primary care if they get sick. Martinez says most farmworkers don’t ask for time off to get help because they don’t want to lose pay, and for those who lack personal transportation, getting to clinics can often be a challenge.

Cultural incompatibilities also pose an obstacle to care. According to a 2017 study published in the Journal of Agromedicine, many migrant farmworkers are distrustful of Western medicine because of their unfamiliarity with local health care systems and differences in how diseases are treated.

Martinez says this is true in WNC as well.

“A lot of our farmworkers come from very small indigenous communities where their health care ways are vastly different than what you encounter in Western medicine,” says Martinez. “As far as primary care goes, that’s a major barrier to care.”

Despite these barriers, Taylor says that if any of her workers were to start showing symptoms of COVID-19, they would get paid time off, be quarantined and receive immediate access to the care they needed.

“We have workers’ compensation, so they would get two weeks paid, and as far as health care, they don’t have any out-of pocket-expenses,” she explains.

“And if for any reason there was an issue, it would be out of my pocket, because they would never go without health care. That would be ridiculous.”

Taylor’s farm has yet to see any cases of COVID-19. However, she did have a scare when two workers started

INTO THE UNKNOWN

More waves of workers are set to come into WNC for the fall harvest season, especially to areas like Henderson County that have a lot of apple farms, says Duckett with Buncombe County.

This influx will make farms and housing even more crowded, and having enough supplies and information avail-

able will be even more of a challenge.

The fall will also raise concerns about new workers bringing COVID-19 to these farms — especially if testing is still not routine for incoming workers.

“The future is very scary to me, No. 1 because as a society, we’re still learning about what COVID-19 is,” says Martinez. “We still don’t really know what we’re dealing with, and that terrifies me.

“In the future we will be doing testing, we will continue to do health education, we will continue to do telehealth,” she continues. “We’re just taking it day by day and trying to be as proactive as possible.”

Taylor also expresses concerns about the future. She implores her fellow growers, in WNC and beyond, to prioritize the well-being of their workers.

“I know we all have to continue working, but what’s more important: the almighty dollar or your employee?”

Taylor asks. “For me, it’s my employee.

I have to go with them every time. The trees will still be there. I might not make all that money this year, but I’ll sell it next year. The employees have to come first.” X

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21

FOOD

EARTH ANGELS

Resurrected and refreshed Earth Fare supermarket reopens in West Asheville

BY KAY WEST kwest@mountainx.com “Trying to save Earth Fare was like trying to save a melting iceberg,” says Randy Talley with a laugh. “As soon as I’d get my hands around a piece of it, it would melt.”

Talley and Earth Fare founder Roger Derrough opened the Westgate location of the Ashevillebased, health-focused grocery store chain in 1994. Together, they then led the early expansion of the business before selling it in 2007 and going on to open four locations of Green Sage Cafe.

When the private equity firm that owned Earth Fare abruptly filed for bankruptcy and closed all 50 of the chain’s stores in 10 states in early February, social media were filled with posts from customers voicing dismay and expressing their love of the stores — particularly the Westgate one. Employees were in

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FARE-MINDED: Earth Fare’s new sign has been installed in preparation for the reopening of the resurrected company’s first store in the Westgate Shopping Center. Photo courtesy of Earth Fare shock; Talley says Derrough was particularly devastated.

On June 22, thanks to Talley, Westgate Earth Fare got a second chance. He pushed a deal through for the acquisition of the Earth Fare name and eight stores so far, including Westgate and locations in Boone; Athens, Ga.; Roanoke, Va.; and Columbia, Rock Hill, Charleston and Summerville, S.C. Part of the drive to save the Westgate store in particular, Talley says, was knowing how its closure would impact the other tenants in the shopping plaza, including one of his Green Sage locations. “Supermarkets are anchor tenants that draw people,” Talley explains. “As soon as I heard the news, I went to work to find investors to buy Earth Fare back. It is a complicated process, and first I looked for Asheville investors to buy this one store and was also looking for large investment groups for the 31 stores that were profitable.”

He says he went to bed the night before bids were due thinking he had

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failed, but in the morning got a call from Dennis Hulsing, who, among other holdings, owns Crowne Plaza Resort and two Asheville Racquet Club locations. “He heard I was trying to buy Earth Fare and wanted to know more. We got on the phone with the lawyers, and by the end of the day, we had a bid ready for a number of stores. It was a miracle,” he says.

The first step of the miraculous resurrection — Hulsing is the primary but not the sole investor — was the purchase of the Westgate, Roanoke and Athens stores, as well as the Earth Fare name, followed by the other five, with the possibility of more down the road.

(Whole Foods snatched up the South Asheville location.)

Westgate was the first to reopen, with new flooring, fresh paint, new aisle signage, less clutter, refreshed fixtures and a renewed commitment to the company’s food philosophy that is particularly apparent, says Talley, in the produce, dairy, meat

and seafood departments. The company’s mission of “improving lives by making healthy food available to everyone” is stenciled on the supermarket’s glass entry door. The iconic Earth Fare tomato, designed by Franzi Talley in 1994, remains on the new logo, paired with an updated font.

The extremely popular $5 Monday rotisserie chicken special is back as are the Wednesday sushi special and Friday pizza deal. But most importantly, customers will see lots of familiar faces stocking the shelves, staffing departments, working behind counters and at the registers as employees from both the Westgate and South Asheville stores raced to reapply for jobs, most notably 35-year customer service institution Sherrilynn Clark.

“In all my career, I’ve never seen people with such love and dedication for the place they worked as Earth Fare staff and so excited about coming back,” observes Lynese Cargill, vice president of public relations and human resources for Hulsing Enterprises.

Betsy Bevis was in marketing with Earth Fare for more than two years before it closed and was one of the first in management to be rehired as the new company’s marketing manager. “Just being in the store with old colleagues, seeing the shelves being restocked and being part of this great mission is kind of surreal. We keep pinching ourselves,” she says with a laugh.

Part of the new reality for the revamped Westgate store is adhering to COVID-19 protocols of distancing, sanitizing, clear plastic shields at registers, masking of all staff and masks required of shoppers (with masks available for those who don’t have their own). That, adds Talley, is key to customer care.

“Earth Fare was built with customers for customers,” he says. “They helped move Earth Fare from a little natural foods store to a big supermarket. It was a shared spirit with a great sense of purpose. The last ownership lost that sense of purpose. We are committed to restoring the company to its purpose of making healthy food available to all. And we’re bringing back the suggestion boxes!” X

CAROLINA BEER GUY

by Tony Kiss | avlbeerguy@gmail.com

Keep pounding

Brewery construction and expansions have pushed on during the COVID-19 crisis

PATIENTLY WAITING: Dan Juhnke, brewer/owner of Asheville’s forthcoming New Origin Brewing Co., is one of many area beer industry figures who’ve experienced delays in construction stemming from COVID-19 obstacles. Photo courtesy of Juhnke Building a new brewery or making a significant expansion or improvement in an existing operation is never easy.

But it’s proved even more challenging during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Across the mountains, from Brevard to Old Fort and around Asheville, a number of brewery projects were already underway when the coronavirus thundered into the region in mid-March.

Like many small businesses, breweries took a nasty hit as taprooms temporarily closed and draft sales dried up. Many North Carolina tasting rooms have reopened in the wake of Gov. Roy Cooper’s Phase 2 reopening plan, though some remain closed to the public.

For those that were in the midst of construction, the projects have pushed on with owners still hoping to finish this year and start selling pints and packaged products.

In Brevard, Noblebräu Brewing is nearly complete at the 185 King St. music hall in the Lumberyard Arts District, an area that co-owner Madeline Magin describes as similar to West Asheville. She and her partner Cody Noble purchased the business in November and quickly started working on the brewery. “The music venue is going to continue, and

it will also serve as the taproom for the brewery,” Magin says.

Noble is an accomplished brewer who attended the brewing program at Blue Ridge Community College in Flat Rock. He was the head brewer at Boojum Brewing Co. in Waynesville before transitioning to Noblebräu.

The pandemic “has definitely delayed the opening,” Magin says.

“But it’s given us more time to do things ourselves instead of hiring people to do them.” The duo hope to open Noblebräu by early July or late August with a 5-barrel brewhouse, focusing on IPAs and Germanstyle beers.

Construction of Asheville’s New Origin Brewing Co. at 131 Thompson St., not far from Brouwerïj Cursus Kĕmē, has been delayed due to waiting on necessary city permits. “It’s been difficult,” says owner Dan Juhnke. He intends to sell all of his beer on-premise and doesn’t expect to open before late fall or early winter.

Hillman Beer has continued its construction of a big new production brewery in Old Fort. “We pulled back a little for safety reasons,” says co-owner Brandi Hillman. She’s not ready to announce an opening date but notes that the pandemic has delayed it some.

The pandemic has also pushed back plans for Highland Brewing Co. to open a tasting bar in the historic S&W building in downtown Asheville. “We still believe in the project,” says brewery President Leah Wong Ashburn. “[COVID-19] has slowed progress for sure. We had to turn our attention to the brewery during the crisis.”

Asheville Brewing Co. has continued construction on its outdoor entertainment venue — now named Rabbit Rabbit — in the former Wells Fargo bank property at 75 Coxe Ave., next door to the company’s South Slope brewery. The venture is a joint project with The Orange Peel.

Brewery President Mike Rangel says that they were lucky to have all of the project’s construction approved by the city of Asheville prior to the pandemic. “Being the optimistic bunch that we are, we went ahead with work on it during the crisis,” he says. “We’ve had some delays here and there.”

Rangel hopes Rabbit Rabbit will open in late July. The venue will host live music and movies, and include a bar and food trucks on-site. X

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

THE ORACLES OF ROCK

Andrew Scotchie and the River Rats release a hyper-relevant new album

BY EDWIN ARNAUDIN earnaudin@mountainx.com

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Packed with lyrics that reflect the widespread turmoil of the COVID-19 pandemic and the unifying social efforts of the Black Lives Matter movement, Andrew Scotchie and the River Rats’ new album, Everyone Everywhere, feels like it was written yesterday. The work’s prescient nature has proved so startling that it even prompted one fan in Boise, Idaho — who received a preorder of the collection in advance of its Friday, June 26, release — to ask the Asheville-based artist if he’d consulted a crystal ball.

In actuality, half of the six songs were recorded in spring 2019, including the release of singles “Stepping Stone” and “Natural Romantic,” followed by a stretch where the guitarist-singer says he, Eliza Hill (drums) and Keith Harry (bass) “toured our asses off.” Refreshed and wielding “a brand-new perspective,” the trio returned to the studio at the start of 2020 for productive sessions that resulted in the album being mixed and mastered by the frontman’s mid-January birthday. Though the release date’s numerous delays open speculation regarding last-minute, relevance-enhancing tinkering, the truth is far simpler.

“Maybe all this stuff was just bound to be written about. Maybe it was inevitable. It feels like coincidence, but at the same time, these are issues that I’ve always written about and things that I want to talk about — whether it be mental health or equality, the ups and downs of relationships, romantic or not romantic,” Scotchie says.

“I think it’s really relevant right now not only because of the pandemic, but also because people are reflecting and evaluating their lives more than ever: A) They have time or B) they see all the fires in the world, so to speak, and they’re looking into themselves to see how they operate as people and how they can hopefully affect the world in a positive way.

But, yeah, it was really interesting to see how these songs lined up.”

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RAT PACK: Once COVID-19 restrictions lift and Andrew Scotchie and The River Rats can return to music stages, they’ll have a new look — Logan Jayne has amicably taken over for Eliza Hill, pictured, on drums — and a reimagined set, including songs from new album Everyone Everywhere. “Whenever we do play live again, there are going to be a lot of surprises,” says Scotchie, left. Keith Harry (bass) rounds out the trio. Photo by Tom Farr

TIME BANDITS

Like nearly every musical act that’s released new material over the past three months, Scotchie and the Rats have been forced to be flexible and adapt to an ever-changing industry.

They originally planned to hold a celebration show for the record on April 23 at Ambrose West, then play the band competition at MerleFest that weekend and officially release the album May 8. Then COVID-19 concerns closed music venues nationwide and forced Scotchie to cancel a big show in Charlotte and a tour in Florida.

Following the leads of several other bands, Scotchie strongly considered delaying the release of Everyone Everywhere until his group could get back on the road. With Hill having amicably left the Rats to pursue other endeavors — Logan Jayne from Lyric is the new touring drummer — Scotchie consulted Harry, his “right-hand man,” for advice, as

well as the group’s booking agent.

He also sought guidance from Matt Williams, the album’s engineer and a key contributor on its standout title track, where his strings pair exquisitely well with Hill’s drums to give the song just the right amount of “Kashmir” vibes. Together, they decided to share the album despite the current atypical circumstances.

“We all came to the conclusion that people need music now more than ever. It was the best time to put out something that was so relevant, too. If it was just a happy-go-lucky rock record — which it really isn’t, opposed to some of our stuff we put out five years ago, this is way more of a conscious, high-energy music experience,” Scotchie says. “I remember thinking, ‘I want to share something with people. I want them to know where we’re at. I also don’t want it to feel dated when it comes out.’”

THE RATS AND THE TRAMP

The Rats’ third studio album with Williams, whom Scotchie calls “The Wizard,” a “freak of nature musician” and “the invisible fourth member of the band,” Everyone Everywhere finds the ensemble exploring new sonic territory. Favoring quality over quantity, Scotchie says each of the half-dozen tracks represents a different side of the band and, as opposed to being joined by four-six additional songs, encourages each composition “to get the love that we felt they deserve.”

“We definitely like to carry that rock ’n’ roll flag, but just like the bands that we look up to, they have a signature sound but they’re never pigeonholed into one genre or limited in what they do,” Scotchie says.

“I like elements of funk, alternative rock, ’90s, grunge, Southern rock, Steely Dan — it’s really hard for me as a songwriter to fit into one little mold. It’s also just because we’re relatively young musicians and we’re still figuring out what really works.”

That period of growth also included Scotchie’s first experience with clearing samples from a classic

film. The politically charged “Fear Mongers” features dialogue from Charlie Chaplin’s closing speech in The Great Dictator (1940), which finds the writer-director-actor’s noble barber character attempting to stir his countrymen to stand up for justice amid intense oppression, delivering such lines as: “You are not machines!

You are not cattle! You are men!

You have the love of humanity in your hearts! You don’t hate! Only the unloved hate.” To obtain permission to use the clip, Scotchie worked with Chaplin’s estate in Paris. The representatives liked the sample and officially approved it.

“It was really cool to communicate with them and to learn. It’s 2020, where a lot of people, they don’t go that route. They just find a loophole to include it,” Scotchie says. “Granted, not every single movie he put out is internationally copyrighted, but it just so happened that was one. And out of respect for the movie and for that speech — it’s kind of the cherry on top of the song. It was done already, and we went back in the studio and put that in and we all got goosebumps.” andrewscotchiemusic.com X

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A&E

by Alli Marshall

allimarshall@bellsouth.net

Dancing with myself As stay-at-home orders were announced to help slow the spread of COVID-19, much of the art world quickly pivoted. Classes turned to the Zoom videoconferencing platform, museum exhibitions moved online, and live concerts were swapped for livestreams. But for social dance — including well-attended weekly offerings in salsa, zouk, blues, English country dance and much more — little could replace the cheek-tocheek aerobic workout.

Most social dance idioms are performed with a partner and, in most cases, partners change with each new song. It’s a COVID conundrum.

“The majority of the board [of directors] and the group feels it’s just probably not going to be safe until at least the end of this year,” says Cathy De Troia, a board member of the Ashevillebased contra dance group Old Farmer’s Ball. “I think the majority of us in the organization believe we might have to wait for a vaccine.” The Summer Soiree — a weekendlong contra dance event also held at Warren Wilson College’s Bryson Gym (though not sponsored by the Old Farmer’s Ball) — isn’t happening in 2020. The Old Farmer’s Ball has already decided not to hold its popular New Year’s Eve party, and weekly Thursday night dances in Bryson Gym have been on hold since mid-March. The website of the Country Dance and Song Society (a national organization, of which the Old Farmer’s Ball is an affiliate) has closed its physical offices, while its online calendar hosts an extensive list of cancellations.

The initial pause for the Old Farmer’s Ball came, De Troia explains, when the college closed its campus to outside groups. “We are now effectively [unable] to hold the dances on Warren Wilson’s campus through the end of the year,”

Asheville’s social dance scene practices social distancing

TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT: Social dances across the country are on hold. Asheville’s dance communities, such as the Old Farmer’s Ball, pictured, turn to online lessons, Zoom hangouts and solo dance while waiting for the threat of COVID-19 to pass. Photo by Karl Hinterkopf she says. “We’re reassessing every couple of months to see when we might feel comfortable trying to come back.”

Meanwhile, the Asheville Monday Night Contra Dance (held at St. George’s Episcopal Church in West Asheville) has parlayed its dance community into an outlet for socially distanced happenings and events — such as a conversation on racism — led by the host congregation.

“Want to stay connected to your dance community and continue to build it and make it stronger especially during these times? Want to share a talent you have?

Or just wanna talk to your dancing buddies?” asked a recent post on the group’s Facebook page. “Come on out and say ‘Hey’ at The Asheville Monday Night Dancers Cafe!” The recurring

Zoom meeting takes place in lieu of the on-hold dance.

“The digital age that we’re in right now does make it pretty easy to keep up with your dancing,” says Annie Erbsen, a local multi-instrumentalist and member of swing dance collective Swing Asheville. She points out that as national and international dance workshops have been canceled, many turned to online platforms. “People still pay, and the teachers, especially those who are couples and live together, will stream workshops from their homes or studios.”

Solo dance workshops are especially accessible for quarantined dance enthusiasts and, Erbsen points out, “There’s also still a lot of music being streamed.”

Local stride pianist James Posedel, a reg-

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ular on Asheville’s swing dance scene, recently released the album Premiere Strut with his band Posey Royale, of which Erbsen is a member. Posedel also shares a weekly livestream of traditional jazz and ragtime songs from his living room. “I tune in every week and get my dance on,” Erbsen says.

Unfortunately, there are no immediate plans to bring swing dance back to the live, group format. Swing Asheville’s Tuesday dance takes place at The BLOCK off biltmore, which also hosts the Saturday Night Salsa at The BLOCK and the monthly Sunday Blues (both currently on hiatus). Russ Wilson’s Big Band (another ensemble Erbsen is part of) played a standing Thursday gig at The Foundry Hotel pre-quarantine; Erbsen’s other appearances included periodic shows at The Crow & Quill, where she says “swing dancers would show up.”

But for now, “none of us are comfortable saying when” social dance will return to public spaces, Erbsen says.

“Part of the issue is COVID-19 is a new disease, and we’re still learning about it.”

It’s not all bad news, though: Efforts such as the Rhythm Relief Fund, led by the Pacific Swing Dance Foundation, are raising money to provide scholarships to full-time swing dance musicians and teachers who are out of work.

Closer to home, the OFB Spread the Joy Fundraiser benefits local musicians, singers, callers and technicians who’ve shared their talents with the Old Farmer’s Ball. And, Erbsen points out, the website iDance.net, which originated in Asheville, “offers a lot of online dance lessons and is a really good resource.”

Other opportunities off the dance floor are also arising. For those interested in blues dance — a genre rooted in African American movement and music idioms — online workshops and discussions delve into that history, as well as of-the-moment applications to race and social justice. While the moderators may not be based in Asheville (Colorado-based writer, speaker and dance instructor Grey Armstrong is a leading voice among blues workshop presenters), many Asheville dancers — De Troia and Erbsen among them — are tuning in and gaining skills both physical and intellectual. X

by Bill Kopp

bill@musoscribe.com

Black metal and trance-acoustic

Feminazgûl and Sarah Louise release new albums

With live performances put on hold, many musical artists are releasing new albums as a means of creative expression and a way to foster the connection with listeners. Two very different Asheville acts — one specializing in a unique variant of black metal, the other exploring the cinematic qualities of acoustic folk — have made adjustments to their album release plans, debuting new music.

NONE MORE BLACK, NONE MORE FEMININE

From its inception, Ashevillebased atmospheric black metal duo Feminazgûl staked out its own distinct musical territory. The genre is known for its focus on punishing riffs, themes of violence and mayhem, and growling, bowels-of-hell vocalizing. And while Feminazgûl’s music displays all of those characteristics, its debut album, No Dawn for Men, adds two unusual elements to the mix: a feminist perspective and musical nuance.

The album was finished in February, and its release planned for later this year. But in light of the pandemic and quarantines — vocalist Laura Beach and instrumentalist Margaret Killjoy live miles apart — Feminzagûl decided to release No Dawn for Men digitally in March, with a pay-what-you-can policy that acknowledges the financial strain facing potential buyers.

Beach says that she received “quite the extensive education in metal” during her six years as a radio DJ in Knoxville, Tenn. But she detected some characteristics that didn’t impress her: “I noticed the very male-dominated subculture.” And she found that many black metal artists tended to limit themselves to a fairly short list of topics. Feminzagûl aims to move beyond that. “We do talk about hate a lot,” Beach says with a chuckle. “But it’s a different kind of hate.”

“Metal is so male-dominated that it’s hard to find space for women in it,” says Killjoy. “And I see very little active trans-inclusion.” Feminazgûl’s very existence represents a departure from that narrow perspective. “If we sing about goddesses, we’re going to sing about them with a different kind of reverence than men might,” she says.

Feminzagûl’s 2018 debut EP, The Age of Men Is Over, was a Killjoy solo instrumental work. But even without Beach’s vocals, the release stood apart from standard-issue black metal.

Killjoy laughs as she recalls that one

TOLKIEN-APPROVED: As Feminazgûl, Laura Beach, left, and Margaret Killjoy turn the concept of black metal on its head. The duo’s new album, No Dawn for Men, is out now alongside Earth and its Contents, an atmospheric folk album from Sarah Louise. Photo by Ross Jates reviewer characterized it dismissively as “the most effeminate black metal that’s ever been made.” Killjoy took that as a compliment.

“So as I began writing the music for No Dawn for Men, I really decided to just lean into that,” she says. Killjoy challenged herself: “How can I express this darkness and anger while also still being effeminate?” The album answers that question by combining themes familiar to black metal fans (e.g., “I Pity the Immortal”) with lyrics that celebrate the feminine (“Illa, Mother of Death”).

Feminazgûl’s music also colors well outside black metal’s perceived lines by employing a wide instrumental palette. “I like to call us avant-garde atmospheric black metal,” Killjoy says.

“Because we use all sorts of interesting instruments like accordion and theremin.” Beach adds that the resulting sound “can be a lot more soothing” than other black metal, to which Killjoy concurs: “It’s the most pleasant version of fast guitars and someone shrieking that you could possibly imagine.” feminazgul.bandcamp.com

ATMOSPHERIC AMERICANA

Describing herself as “a musical omnivore,” Sarah Louise makes music that draws inspiration from seemingly unrelated styles. The prolific Asheville musician has released five albums since

her 2015 debut — three of which have come out since early 2019. Her latest, Earth and Its Contents, finds Louise applying her talents to enhance the work of another creative artist.

Louise is already at work on her next record, but the lull in live activity brought on by the pandemic led her to release a project that she completed some time ago. “I had it on my computer for over a year,” she says, “and I didn’t [initially] know what to do with it.”

Part of that hesitation stems from her general solitary approach to making music, during which her voice and instrumentation find full expression.

But for Earth and Its Contents, she set aside her lyrics and created atmospheric music designed to serve as the score for Fire Underground, a film by Nick Crockett. Louise was introduced to the Pittsburgh filmmaker by her sister, who “had a sense we would be good collaborators.”

“This was a really good match,” Louise says. “I don’t think I would say ‘yes’ to anything that didn’t feel like a very natural fit.” A blend of Appalachian and experimental music, Earth and Its Contents helps reinforce what Louise calls Crockett’s “almost surrealistic approach” to the film’s subject — the history of coal mining.

But the music stands well on its own, completely separate from the film.

While it’s nominally folk-based, listeners may pick up traces of Indian ragas,

the “Frippertronics” style of electric guitar playing developed by Brian Eno and Robert Fripp, and even krautrock.

“From the very beginning — actually even with [2015 debut album] Field Guide — one of my biggest interests was the similarity between Appalachian and Indian music,” Louise says. The meditative qualities of both appeal to her as well, and that’s where the connection with the droning, repetitive rock of early ’70s Germany reveals itself. “The krautrock [artists] were, in many ways, exploring different states of consciousness,” Louise points out.

Earth and Its Contents is primarily instrumental, though Louise notes “there’s a little bit of singing to sort of honor the Appalachian singing styles.”

And with her work for Crockett’s film behind her, the focus on vocals and lyrics is returning. “What I’m working on now is all songs,” she says. “I like to keep things wide open. Hopefully, I can keep doing whatever I want, when I want it.” sarahlouise.bandcamp.com X

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MOVIE REVIEWS THIS WEEK’S CONTRIBUTORS

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

BRUCE STEELE bcsteele@gmail.com Kristina Guckenberger

= MAX RATING

The Audition HHHH

DIRECTOR: Ina Weisse PLAYERS: Nina Hoss, Simon Abkarian, Jens Albinus FOREIGN FILM/DRAMA NOT RATED

All I Can Say HHHHS

DIRECTOR: Danny Clinch, Taryn Gould, Colleen Hennessy and Shannon Hoon PLAYERS: Shannon Hoon, Lisa Sinha, Brad Smith DOCUMENTARY NOT RATED Being handed a box of home movies taken by a late, great, largely forgotten rock star with authorization to turn them into a documentary is many a filmmaker’s dream.

Such was the opportunity granted Danny Clinch, Taryn Gould and Colleen Hennessy when Lisa Sinha, partner of Blind Melon lead singer Shannon Hoon, gave them over 250 hours of video and 200 hours of audio recorded by him from 1990 until his untimely death in 1995.

All I Can Say, the brilliant, distilled version of that treasure trove, allows Hoon to tell his story in atypical cinematic fashion, laced with his witty humor, candid reflections and creative talent — and a devastating ticking clock.

Upfront about Hoon’s demise at age 28 by accidental drug overdose, the directorial team shows the last footage he ever shot — mere hours before he was found unresponsive on the band’s tour bus in New Orleans — within the film’s opening minutes.

This decision turns All I Can Say into a race against time as viewers see how much Hoon and his bandmates can accomplish during the remaining years, and are afforded the fascinating prospect of looking for warning signs that may have eluded the frontman and those around him.

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Most rock docs would settle for footage of remorseless young musicians making asses of themselves on tour, prompting viewers to wag fingers at stereotypical problematic behavior. Instead, we get Hoon presciently calling out and criticizing his own poor choices. Frequently unfiltered about his emotional and psychological issues, he’s also refreshingly honest about his struggles with sobriety and various deep-seated fears.

Insightful as these confessionary moments are, All I Can Say is far from one giant therapy session. Hoon’s camera passionately chronicles Blind Melon’s ascent — due in large part to smash hit “No Rain,” whose opening lyrics give the film its title — while demo recordings, musings on the transcendent nature of Neil Young on stage, and Hoon’s handling of Rolling Stone’s desire to put him on its cover present a complex artist and a loving human.

Near the end of All I Can Say, Hoon reveals that he got a camera because registering everything in the moment had become impossible and he wanted to eventually look back on what he and Blind Melon experienced. Though he tragically never got that chance, the filmmakers have provided that opportunity for those of us who remain — and their exceptional work should at last put Hoon in the same breath as other ’90s rock greats, especially the ones who left this planet far too early.

REVIEWED BY EDWIN ARNAUDIN EARNAUDIN@MOUNTAINX.COM

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Anna Bronsky, a violin teacher at an elite Berlin academy for young musicians, is not what she seems. As The Audition begins, she appears to be a champion of the underdog, arguing in favor of admission for a talented but high-strung youth named Alexander (newcomer Ilya Monte). The teenager is given six months to improve enough to pass an audition that will determine whether he can continue.

Over that time, Anna’s life starts to crumble, and the movie gradually shifts from the expected teacher-student drama to something darker and more amorphous.

Anna (Nina Hoss, Phoenix), it seems, has been cheating on her French husband, Philippe (Simon Abkarian, Casino Royale), a maker of custom string instruments, and she’s leaning on her young son, Jonas (Serafin Mishiev), to become a premier violinist when he’d really rather play hockey.

Anna is a concert-level violinist herself who’s no longer able to perform in public, but precisely what’s wrong with her is never quite clear, and it soon becomes apparent that no neat resolution will be forthcoming. The central relationship is between Anna and Jonas, not Anna and her student — whom her son sees as his rival. How that dynamic plays out determines the outcome of the movie, and it’s unlikely that viewers will be able to predict the icy ending.

That’s less of a spoiler than a caveat: If you dive into The Audition, keep in mind it’s less Mr. Holland’s Opus and more Whiplash. Director Ina Weisse keeps the movie gripping and unpredictable, but she has no interest in making it comfortable.

Music, she seems to be saying, is perfection, but the people who produce it are anything but.

REVIEWED BY BRUCE STEELE BCSTEELE@GMAIL.COM

Ella Fitzgerald: Just One of Those Things HHHS DIRECTOR: Leslie Woodhead PLAYERS: Ella Fitzgerald, Sophie Okonedo, Smokey Robinson DOCUMENTARY NOT RATED

AVAILABLE VIA FINEARTSTHEATRE.COM (FA) GRAILMOVIEHOUSE.COM (GM) 2040 (NR) HHHS(GM) Alice (NR) HHH (FA) All I Can Say (NR) HHHHS (Pick of the Week) (GM) The Audition (NR) HHHH (GM) Beanpole (R) HHHS(FA) Beyond the Visible: Hilma af Klint (NR) HHHS (FA) The Booksellers (NR) HHHS(FA) Fantastic Fungi (NR) HHHH (FA) Fourteen (NR) HHHH (FA) The Hottest August (NR) H (FA) House of Hummingbird (NR) HHHH (FA) Joan of Arc (NR) HHHS(GM) The Last Tree (NR) HHHH (GM) Lucky Grandma (NR) HHHH (FA) Military Wives (PG-13) HHH (FA) Miss Juneteenth (NR) HHH (GM) Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band (R) HHHH (FA) Pahokee (NR) HHHHS(FA) The Painter and the Thief (NR) HHHH (FA) Papicha (NR) HHH (FA) Proud (NR) HHH (FA) Shirley (R) HHHHS (FA) Slay the Dragon (PG-13) HHHH (FA) Someone, Somewhere (NR) HHHH (FA) Sometimes Always Never (PG-13) HHHH (GM) Sorry We Missed You (NR) HHHHS(FA) Spaceship Earth (NR) HHHS (FA) The Surrogate (NR) HHHHS (FA) The Times of Bill Cunningham (NR) HHHHS (FA) Vitalina Varela (NR) HHHHS (FA) The Whistlers (NR) HHHH (FA) The Woman Who Loves Giraffes (NR) HHHHH (FA)

In 1934, Norma Miller was one of the rowdy teenagers in the balcony of Harlem’s Apollo Theater who booed an aspiring performer named Ella Fitzgerald on Amateur Night as she took the stage.

But when the 17-year-old began to sing and, as Miller recalls in this new documentary, her voice immediately silenced the catcalls and soon the hall fell silent enough “to hear a mouse piss on cotton.”

Miller is one of the many remarkable interviews included in this compact new 90-minute biography of America’s most beloved jazz singer. It traces Fitzgerald’s

life and career from that first appearance to her final years in a largely chronological journey (with one generous flashback to fill in her tumultuous childhood), and unless you’re an Ella scholar, you’ll be surprised at how many things you didn’t know.

That said, Fitzgerald’s life — once her career took off — was remarkably free of the dramas of tragic romance, substance abuse or other gossip-worthy twists that often plague famous performers. So director Leslie Woodhead keeps things interesting with performance snippets, previously unseen footage and a remarkable roster of worshipful experts, including Smokey Robinson, Tony Bennett, Laura Mvula, Johnny Mathis and many others.

Fitzgerald’s only child, Ray Brown Jr., also gives Woodhead a thoughtful and touching interview.

Just One of Those Things is not a flashy film, and it sometimes buries important facts in subtitles that should have been included in Sophie Okonedo’s voiceover narration. It also might have benefited from allowing a couple of performances to run longer. But the film achieves its goal of putting Fitzgerald’s career in cultural and historical context — she thrived during the tumult of the civil rights era — so there’s plenty of Ella here for any fan to enjoy and be awestruck anew.

REVIEWED BY BRUCE STEELE BCSTEELE@GMAIL.COM

House of Hummingbird HHHH

DIRECTOR: Bora Kim PLAYERS: Ji-hu Park, Sae-byeok Kim, Seung-Yun Lee FOREIGN FILM/DRAMA NOT RATED Writer/director Bora Kim’s feature debut, House of Hummingbird, follows the journey of Eun-hee (Ji-hu Park), a timid 14-year-old girl who’s tasked with navigating the choppy waters of a toxic household and her budding adolescence in 1994 Seoul.

Smack dab in the middle of a dysfunctional, working class family who tirelessly runs a rice cake shop, Eun-hee does her best to silently survive among her neglectful and argumentative parents, a “delinquent” older sister and, worst of all, a physically abusive older brother. When she discovers a suspicious lump behind her ear and encounters a major health scare as a result, her loneliness is on full display as she’s forced to traverse the frightening crisis virtually all on her own.

As is customary with life (and adolescent life in particular), little things beget big changes, and Eun-hee’s focus quickly shifts to new relationships that keep her afloat just long enough to make it

to the other side. With a subject matter and sense of care reminiscent of Bo Burnham’s Eighth Grade, this coming-ofage film presents an achingly real portrait of the complex inner life of a teenage girl who’s seemingly too sensitive to exist in her unforgiving world.

With an understated but impactful approach, Kim capably steers her film, making sure to evoke empathy but never enter into teenage soap opera territory.

Her protagonist is reserved and agonizingly limited by her circumstances, but she never comes across as meek or incapable — she’s merely frustrated by the things she cannot change and longs for a sense of freedom and connection.

Read the full review at mountainx.com/movies/reviews REVIEWED BY KRISTINA GUCKENBERGER KRISTINA.GUCKENBERGER@GMAIL.COM

With more than a million people out of work due to the coronavirus shutdown in North Carolina, there are plenty of potential employees ready for work. At our creditors’ behest, this week’s Crier is introducing classified job listings, featuring opportunities created by the Phase 2 regulations that you’ll only hear about in this fine publication.

GRAFFITI CLEANER/ MURAL ARTIST

EYEBROW MOVEMENT INTERPRETER

Actively listening ... and plotting your doom.

Stepped on a LEGO.

PHASE PLANNERS

The Last Tree HHHH DIRECTOR: Shola Amoo PLAYERS: Samuel Adewunmi, Denise Black, Gbemisola Ikumelo DRAMA NOT RATED The Last Tree has been dubbed “the British Moonlight” — a lofty comparison that it nevertheless mostly warrants.

Like Barry Jenkins’ Best Picturewinner, the semiautobiographical sophomore feature from writer/director Shola Amoo features a three-act structure, a young Black male lead played by different actors at different ages, a flawed single mother, the temptations of crime and violence, plus mature, emotional explorations of masculinity.

The differences are evident from the opening frame, however, as preteen Nigerian immigrant Femi (Tai Golding) plays with his best friends — three white boys who, with him, call themselves “Wolf Gang” — in gorgeous rural Lincolnshire.

Despite apparently being the lone person of color in the town, his support system of these pals and loving foster mother Mary (British TV veteran Denise Black) is more diverse and traditional than Chiron’s Miami experiences in Moonlight, though it’s altered just as quickly and tragically.

Against his wishes, Femi’s estranged mom, Yinka (Gbemisola Ikumelo), brings him to live with her in south London, disrupting his happiness and creating a rift between them that’s only deepened when The Last Tree jumps ahead to check in with him as a teen.

Read the full review at ashevillemovies.com REVIEWED BY EDWIN ARNAUDIN EARNAUDIN@MOUNTAINX.COM

Many surviving businesses want murals painted to show solidarity with a cause, others need graffiti removed after inactivity. If you know your way around a spray can, be it Krylon or Scrubbing Bubbles, your services are in demand. $7.50/hr for creation or $8.50/hr for cleaning.

“Wait, Biden’s the nominee?”

“I told you this could have been done over email.”

Are you an empath with a gift for body language? Business lunches and livestreamed meetings that require masks need your services to understand what the heck anybody is talking about behind their lumpy, homemade mask. Is the commissioner from District 1 truly excited about the motion up for discussion, or is it simply the bean burrito she had for lunch making itself known?

Only you and she can be certain.

You will lead the development of new phase options following an extensive, data-driven planning process.

Experience establishing targeted metrics, planning for phases related to the metrics, disregarding performance against those metrics and phasing in incremental planned phases is required.

HUG BLOCKER AT HOUSE OF WORSHIP

MASK ENFORCEMENT BOUNCER Bars are closed, but restaurants with alcoholic beverages are open, so bar staff is needed to keep the unruly mask haters in line. Big? Strong? Got a scary beard after being locked inside for three months? This may be the temporary (?) career for you.

EARLY CHILDHOOD EXPERTS Only those with a master’s degree or higher need apply for this challenging role to instill mask-wearing and handwashing habits in preschoolers.

Additional duties include teaching kids to maintain 6 feet of distance from one another, even as they whine, “He hit me!” or “Annie’s making a face at me under her mask!”

Churches may have scored a religious exemption for their group services, but cautious pastors still worry about faith-inspired physical outpourings of brotherly love. Boxing referee, soccer goalie and/or football special teams experience preferred.

Check the Crier’s online classified listings for information on additional openings, including • Crowd simulators: Small groups who spread out at sporting events and change seats every five seconds • Pop-up gym personal trainer • Mobile bingo caller • Outdoor disco ball installer • Door-to-door museum docent • Mediator at Celebrity’s Hotdogs • Movie reenactor • Fine art describer • Gov. Roy Cooper mind reader

“Why are they publishing this Crier rubbish?” you may be asking. We certainly are. The rest of this edition of Mountain Xpress can’t help but show the tough times WNC is facing. Here’s one little spot in the paper where we offer a bit of levity, to possibly brighten someone’s day, poking a bit of fun at the outrageousness of it all.

MOUNTAINX.COM

JUNE 24-30, 2020

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FREEWILL ASTROLOGY ARIES (March 21-April 19): In addition to being a magnificent storyteller, Aries author Barbara Kingsolver raises chickens at her home. “There are days when I am envious of my hens,” she writes, “when I hunger for a purpose as perfect and sure as a single daily egg.” Do you ever experience that delightful rush of assurance, Aries? I suspect that you’re likely to do so on multiple occasions in the coming weeks. And if you are indeed visited by visions of a perfect and sure purpose, your next task will be to initiate practical action to manifest it in the real world.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): When Libras become authoritative enough to wield clout in their own sphere of influence, it’s often due to three factors: 1. the attractive force of their empathy; 2. their abilities to listen well and ask good questions, which help enable them to accurately read people’s emotional energy; 3. their knack for knowing specific tricks that promote harmony and a common sense of purpose. If you possess any of these talents, dear Libra, the next eight weeks will be a favorable time to employ them with maximum intensity and ingenuity and integrity. You’re primed to acquire and wield more leverage.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Nobel Prize-winning Taurus physicist Richard Feynman got his undergraduate degree from prestigious MIT and his PhD from prestigious Princeton University.

Later he taught at prestigious Caltech. But his approach to education had a maverick quality.

“Study hard what interests you the most in the most undisciplined, irreverent, and original manner possible,” he advised his students. I think his strategy will work well for you in the coming weeks, which will be a favorable time to gather valuable information and polish your existing aptitudes.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): There is only one kind of erotic intimacy between consenting adults that can truly be called “unnatural”: an act that is physically impossible to perform. Everything else is potentially vitalizing and holy. No one knows this better than you Scorpios. You’re the champions of exotic pleasure; the connoisseurs of blissful marvels; the masters of curious delight and extraordinary exultation. And from an astrological perspective, the coming weeks will be a time when these aspects of your character could be especially vivid.

But wait a minute. What about the pandemic?

What about social-distancing? What about being cautious in seeking intimate connection? If anyone can work around these constraints so as to have sexual fun, it’s your tribe. Use your imagination!

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): You’re entering a phase when you’ll have the potential to upgrade and fine-tune your relationship with money. In the hope of encouraging that prospect, I offer you the counsel of author Katharine Butler Hathaway. “To me, money is alive,” she wrote. “It is almost human.

If you treat it with real sympathy and kindness and consideration, it will be a good servant and work hard for you, and stay with you and take care of you.” I hope you’ll consider cultivating that approach, dear Gemini: expressing benevolence and love toward money, and pledging to be benevolent and loving as you use the money you acquire.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): “Who would deduce the dragonfly from the larva, the iris from the bud, the lawyer from the infant?” Author Diane Ackerman asks her readers that question, and now I pose the same inquiry to you—just in time for your Season of Transformation. “We are all shape-shifters and magical reinventors,” Ackerman says. I will add that you Cancerians now have the potential to be exceptional shape-shifters and magical reinventors. What new amazements might you incorporate into your life? What dazzling twists and twinkles would you like to add to your character? What will the Future You be like?

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Qabalistic teacher Ann Davies asked, “If you stick your finger in the fire, do you then complain that it is unfair when your finger gets burned? Do you call the fire bad?” I offer you this caution, Leo, because I want to encourage you not to stick your fingers or toes or any other parts of you into the fire during the coming weeks.

And I’m happy to inform you that there are better approaches to finding out what’s important to learn about the fire. The preferred way is to watch the fire keenly and patiently from a modest distance.

If you do so long enough, you’ll get all you need.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): In accordance with upcoming astrological portents, I urge you to engage in a vigorous redefinition of the term “miracle.”

That will open you up to the full range of miraculous phenomena that are potentially available in the coming weeks. For inspiration, read this passage

by Faith Baldwin: “Miracles are everyday things.

Not only sudden great fortune wafting in on a new wind. They are almost routine, yet miracles just the same. Every time something hard becomes easier; every time you adjust to a situation which, last week, you didn’t know existed; every time a kindness falls as softly as the dew; or someone you love who was ill grows better; every time a blessing comes, not with trumpet and fanfare, but silently as night, you have witnessed a miracle.”

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JUNE 24-30, 2020

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): When he was 22 years old, Sagittarian-born Werner Heisenberg received his doctorate in physics and mathematics from a German university—even though he got a grade of C on his final exams. Nine years later, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics because of his pioneering work on quantum mechanics. What happened in between? One key development: He was mentored by physicists Niels Bohr and Max Born, both of whom also garnered Nobel Prizes.

Another factor in his success was his association with other brilliant colleagues working in his field.

I hope this story inspires you Sagittarians to be on the lookout for catalytic teachers and colleagues who can expedite your evolution. The planetary omens are favorable for such an eventuality.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): You Capricorns aren’t renowned for causing controversy. For the most part you’re skillful at managing your reputation and keeping it orderly. But there may soon be a departure from this norm. A bit of a hubbub could arise in regards to the impressions you’re making and the effects you’re generating.

I’m reminded of Capricorn author J. D. Salinger, whose book Catcher in the Rye was for a time widely taught in American schools but also widely banned because of its allegedly controversial elements. These days the book is regarded as a beloved classic, and I suspect you will weather your commotion with similar panache.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Novelist Tom Robbins articulated a vision of what it means to be bold and brave. He said, “Real courage is risking something that might force you to rethink your thoughts and suffer change and stretch consciousness.” I’m hoping you will make that formula your keynote in the coming weeks. The time is right for you to summon extra amounts of fortitude, determination, and audacity. What new possibilities are you ready to flesh out in ways that might prod you to revise your beliefs and welcome transformation and expand your awareness?

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Joan of Arc performed her heroic and magical feats in 1430 and 1431. But she wasn’t canonized as a saint until 1920—almost five centuries later. It took a while to garner the full appreciation she deserved. I’m sure you won’t have to wait as long to be acknowledged for your good deeds and fine creations, Pisces. In fact, from what I can tell, there’ll be a significant honor, enhancement, or reward coming your way sometime in the next four months. Start visualizing what you’d like it to be, and set your intention to claim it.

MOUNTAINX.COM

MARKETPLACE

BY ROB BREZSNY

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2 hour, deeply transforming, massage :) Give me a call at (828) 707-2983, and I will do what I can to Help You feel more at Peace. :) Thank You! (828) 707-2983 Creator_of_Joy@Hotmail.com, FB: shorturl.at/qxT07 TIME IN NATURE Spend time in Nature drawing, painting, or writing in a small group setting. We’ll co-create with the Fairies and the Devas in Nature’s peaceful spaces.

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15 Something an athlete should bring 16 Beethoven’s “Ah! perfido,” e.g.

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17 Part of the throat whose name comes from the Latin for “little grape”

edited by Will Shortz 18 French cheese tasting that lasts only a minute?

21 Convince 22 Symbol of nakedness 23 “Shining” place in “America the Beautiful” 24 She-sheep 26 “Every kiss begins with ___” (jeweler’s slogan) 28 “That handlebar has gotta hurt!”

38 Actress de Armas of “Knives Out” 39 ___ Chu, Nobel Prize-winning member of Obama’s cabinet 40 WikiLeaks source, perhaps 41 Edges 43 Gas station adjunct 44 Canadian sketch comedy show of the 1970s-’80s 45 Type of weasel 47 Stir up 50 Dig up dirt 51 Headline about a pagan rotisserie shop?

54 Sushi fish

No. 0520 55 Massachusetts’ Buzzards ___ 56 Bit of Quidditch equipment 59 Predictably 64 Garments typically fastened in the back 68 Screed about Old Glory that goes too far?

71 Place to wear a toga 72 Western town that inspired Georgia O’Keeffe 73 Middle ship of three, it’s said 74 Poker-faced 75 Estimation words 76 Recipe phrase

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1 Applies with a cotton ball 2 Fairy tale menace 3 It might be painted in the bathroom 4 Breakfast dish from a “station” 5 Zebra, slangily 6 Org. with skyrocketing expenses?

puzzle by Natan Last, Andy Kravis And The J.A.S.A. Crossword Class 7 La-di-da 8 Tender kind of lettuce 9 Asian wrap 10 Pregnancy estimation 11 Modern reproductive procedure: Abbr.

12 Pool necessities 13 “Or ___!”

14 “The world’s most valuable resource is no longer oil, but ___”: The Economist 19 Oust 20 Nettles 25 Is, in retrospect 27 Dish next to stuffing and cranberry sauce 28 Habitat for rails and bitterns 29 Anagram and antonym of 34-Down 30 Girl Scout cookie variety 31 Coop up 32 Captain America portrayer Chris 33 Concert tees and the like 34 Let loose, in a way

35 Secret supply 36 Flirt with 37 Keebler crew 42 Overfill 46 Private employer?

48 Small Indian drum 49 Capt.’s announcement 52 “Frozen” queen 53 Animal crossing 56 Contacts list faves 57 Much 58 Pacific root vegetable

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS NY TIMES PUZZLE

B A S K S A L O O F

L L A N O

D I G N I T H A I R S Y

U P F O R

T H E B O M U B N L E A G B O E S L E D

Hey Y’all,

AUTOMOTIVE AUTOMOTIVE SERVICES CASH FOR CARS! We buy all cars! Junk, high-end, totaled – it doesn’t matter!

Get free towing and same day cash! Newer models too! Call 1-866-535-9689 (AAN CAN)

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

HOME ON .94 ACRES Located next to historic Asheville School.

Wonderful no-thru street neighborhood where no one parks on the road. 3/2, 2300 sq. ft., beautiful hardwoods throughout, 2 fireplaces, detached garage/workshop. Granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, etc. $419,000.

Owner/Broker • 828-582-4509

H A P A D R I E N A M A S A I N A T H O E N M O

I N S I T U

M I S S Y

S T A C C A A T C B O O S N A C C I E A R R S D T E R S S Y

E T R O G E J H A A M L O K A O N S E L O E G S

E P I C V E R D U R E

W I N A T L I F E

O P E N E N D E R

W A D

I R V I N

E A R N S

S W E D E

R E E D Y

MOUNTAIN X P R ES S

HEALTH & FITNESS ONE-STOP-SHOP FOR ALL YOUR CATHETER NEEDS We Accept Medicaid, Medicare, & Insurance. Try Before You Buy. Quick and Easy. Give Us A Call 866-282-2506 (AAN CAN)

60 Quaint preposition 61 Headliner 62 Some people believe swamp gas causes them, for short 63 Furthermore 65 McNally’s partner 66 Opposing 67 Van Gundy of the N.B.A. 69 Rev, as an engine 70 Transcript stat

is Locally owned & operated since 2001

Remember the Asheville that made you want to move here?

Let’s be that Asheville again… cuz that Asheville was great.

2020 X AWARDS

• Curbside pickup and delivery service

Thank You FOR VOTING!

• Don’t forget your mask, but if you do… we got your back!

(For a minimal fee of course)

RESULTS COMING LATER THIS SUMMER!

• Indoor & patio seating is open

• Order online for date night, family night and movie night.

50 Broadway • Asheville, NC (828) 236-9800 • mellowmushroom.com/asheville

mountainx.com/ bestofwnc MOUNTAINX.COM

JUNE 24-30, 2020

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JUNE 24-30, 2020

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