Mountain Xpress 05.14.25

The insider’s guide

FEATURES

WHEN A TREE FALLS

In the aftermath of Tropical Storm Helene, Liisa Andreassen founded Echoes of the Forest, a nonprofit that transforms fallen trees into public art to memorialize nature and support community healing in the region. The project brings together local artists and woodworkers to create sculptures and installations from salvaged wood. On the cover: Woodworker Chester Shuey works on a memorial bench made from a white oak tree. The bench will be unveiled in the River Arts District next month.

After

PUBLISHER & EDITOR: Jeff Fobes

ASSISTANT PUBLISHER: Susan Hutchinson

MANAGING EDITOR: Thomas Calder

EDITORS: Lisa Allen, Gina Smith

OPINION EDITOR: Tracy Rose

STAFF REPORTERS: Lisa Allen, Thomas Calder, Brionna Dallara, Justin McGuire, Greg Parlier, Brooke Randle, Gina Smith

COMMUNITY CALENDAR & CLUBLAND: Braulio Pescador-Martinez

CONTRIBUTING

EDITORS: Jon Elliston, Mindi Meltz Friedwald, Peter Gregutt, Rob Mikulak

REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS: Christopher Arbor, Edwin Arnaudin, Danielle Arostegui, Mark Barrett, Eric Brown, Carmela Caruso, Cayla Clark, Molly Devane, Tessa Fontaine, Mindi Meltz Friedwald, Troy Jackson, Carol Kaufman, Bill Kopp, Chloe Leiberman, Jessica Wakeman, Kay West, Clark Wilson, Jamie Zane

PHOTOGRAPHERS: Caleb Johnson

ADVERTISING, ART & DESIGN MANAGER: Susan Hutchinson

LEAD DESIGNER: Scott Southwick

GRAPHIC DESIGNERS: Tina Gaafary, Caleb Johnson, Olivia Urban

MARKETING ASSOCIATES: Emily Baughman, Sara Brecht

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES: Jeff Fobes, Mark Murphy, Scott Southwick WEB: Brandon Tilley

BOOKKEEPER: Amie Fowler

OFFICE MANAGER: Mark Murphy

FRONT OFFICE: Caitlin Donovan, Lisa Watters

DISTRIBUTION: Susan Hutchinson, Kyle Ramser

DISTRIBUTION DRIVERS: Cass Kunst, Cindy Kunst, Henry Mitchell, Courtney Israel Nash, Joey Nash, Carl & Debbie Schweiger, Gary Selnick, Noah Tanner, Mark Woodyard

Tax increase could raise rents

[ Regarding “Buncombe Inches Closer to a Property Tax Hike,” May 2, and “A Balancing Act: Asheville City Council Members Discuss Potential Property Tax Increase at CIBO Meeting,” May 7, both Xpress:]

A yearly $240 increase in property taxes is certainly not huge on paper, but for landlords, especially those with multiple properties or tighter margins, this can easily lead to rent increases to offset the cost.

Considering that around half of Asheville’s population rents, even modest hikes like this can have a noticeable ripple effect on housing affordability. Definitely something worth factoring into this piece!

— Malcolm Berman Asheville

Students deserve no-cuts school budgets

As an Asheville City Schools (ACS) parent, I’m seeing our schools be shortchanged and witnessing ripple effects in classrooms because the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners fears public blowback for a tax hike. This budget season, it’s up to them to correct taxation policies that have left ACS and Buncombe County Schools struggling to make ends meet.

The Board of Commissioners has been obsessed with keeping taxes revenue-neutral. People liked not paying more, and they hoped it would stimulate the economy. But our students and school staff have paid the price. People don’t stick around underfunded schools. After the double whammy of COVID-19 and Tropical Storm Helene, low taxes do no favors for students needing more supports. Students should not return to school in August with fewer resources than they had before the hurricane.

Our commissioners have two levers to fix their budget shortfall: the general countywide property tax and the supplemental Asheville City Schools tax. Used together, they can fund both school budgets without cuts.

Commissioners — especially those facing reelection or in new roles — worry about raising taxes after Helene. But consider:

• Property tax rates have been dropping. The Board of Commissioners has steadily cut the supplemental ACS tax

rate. Today it’s less than half of what it was in 1981 — 25 cents per $100 of assessed property value. It was 21 cents in 1997, 20 cents in 2006, 15 cents in 2015, 12 cents in 2018 and has been 10.6 cents since 2022. In recent decades, the board also cut the countywide property tax rate. In 2002, that rate was over 62 cents, but it was lowered to 52 cents in 2010 and 49.8 cents in 2024.

• Meanwhile, wealth in Asheville increased significantly. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated in 2023 that median household income shot up 36% (to over $90,000) over five years. An influx of wealthy retirees, teleworkers and COVID/climate refugees changed our financial picture.

• Unemployment was only 2.6% until Helene hit and is now bouncing back.

• The Board of Commissioners already postponed property revaluations to 2026 to give taxpayers a break after Helene. There’s at least one more budget cycle before commissioners can factor the new valuations into budgets.

Commissioners can raise taxes now and reassess once the new numbers come in — hopefully after also overhauling the valuation system to make it more equitable.

Tourism dollars are coming back. Tourism analysts forecast a rebound this fall driven by travel demand and a potential increase in domestic travel. Visitor spending is expected

to recover by 3.5% in 2025 and 5.2% in 2026.

Buncombe’s top property taxpayers are huge corporations: Mission, Duke, Ingles, Raytheon, Biltmore, Pratt & Whitney and New Belgium. Corporate shareholders don’t deserve another year of tax breaks at students’ expense. Our community’s needs trump their profit margins.

Buncombe’s children deserve a good education, and it’s their legal right. So let’s pay for it. The county Board of Commissioners should take all measures to fund no-cuts school budgets.

— Christina Mason Asheville

Editor’s note: Mason adds that she is an Asheville City Schools district resident, Asheville City Association of Educators community supporter and a member of

Families of Asheville City Schools and Public School Strong.

What about revenue from new developments?

[ Regarding “Buncombe Inches Closer to a Property Tax Hike,” May 2, and “A Balancing Act: Asheville City Council Members Discuss Potential Property Tax Increase at CIBO Meeting,” May 7, both Xpress:]

The City Council has OK’d an awful lot of developments in the past couple of years. And it continues.

I thought the idea was that there would be significant revenue from new developments. If managed correctly, revenue from those developments would prevent increased real estate taxes.

What happened?! Are the developers getting the money? Stockholders?

The way I see it, developers should pay Asheville substantially for permission to build in this area.

— Frances Burton Asheville

Calling Asheville City Council

Hello, you’ve reached the Asheville City Council. What development project can we green light for you today?

— Mark H. Bloom Asheville

Help neighbors keep access to mental health care

When my father ran for Congress in Upstate South Carolina (back in 2008), one of his positions was that

CONTINUES ON PAGE 6

CARTOON BY RANDY MOLTON

WHY I VOLUNTEER

Giving is greater than receiving

Sunshine Elim is a Hurricane Helene Helper for the United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County. Elim previously volunteered with the United Way as a Big Sister in 1991.

Xpress : What inspired you to become a volunteer with United Way, and what is your main responsibility?

Elim: I guess it goes back to my childhood since supporting others is a mainstay of my family. My main responsibility is being flexible and assisting in any way needed. What has your time with the nonprofit revealed to you about our community?

How close we are.

What advice would you offer someone who is considering volunteering their time with the United Way or some other local nonprofit?

Get out there and just do it! You may learn that giving is greater than receiving. X

Editor’s Note

As part of Xpress’ Spring Nonprofit Issue, we asked residents to send in accounts of their volunteer work with local nonprofits. X

“health care is a human right.” That was back when we talked about access and affordability to quality health care. That was 17 years ago, and yet the conversation continues.

This time, however, the conversation has expanded and now highlights the need for access to quality mental health care — something our region desperately needs. This time it is me holding the position that “mental health care is a human right,” and while I am not running for political office, I do engage deeply in my community and want the best for my fellow Western North Carolinians.

One of the ways to ensure access to quality mental health care is to ensure access to programs like Medicaid, which currently covers 26% of individuals of all ages in WNC (in some counties such as Graham and Swain, this number is well over 40%). Medicaid is a lifeline to those with significant mental health challenges — supporting more than 30% of this population alone.

Additionally, it is not a partisan issue — people (78%) overwhelmingly agree that Medicaid saves lives by helping people access mental health care, and 85% support protecting federal Medicaid funding. Since the N.C. Medicaid expansion (which began in December 2023), an additional 650,000 of our neighbors have received access to care.

We need to protect mental health by protecting Medicaid. We need to ensure that all our neighbors have access to quality care. While people pride themselves on mountain resiliency, I am sure you could agree that we could all use a little extra support after Hurricane Helene and the current state of our country.

If you care about your mountain neighbors, please take a moment to reach out to your elected officials and ask them not to reduce Medicaid funding from the upcoming federal budget vote. Six hundred fifty thousand of our neighbors can’t afford to lose this vital access to care, this vital access to human rights.

Please also join us for the NAMIWalks event on Saturday, May 17, at 9 a.m., in downtown Asheville as we walk to protect mental health

and protect Medicaid. For more information, visit [avl.mx/eru].

— Robin Payne Executive director

NAMI Western Carolina Weaverville

Raising awareness as son waits for transplant

I am the mother of Wilson, a 6-year-old boy currently hospitalized on a lifesaving device at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. We are from Asheville. On March 24, he was listed for a lung transplant after nine long months in the hospital.

Wilson is a vivacious, strong, witty boy who has shown us all what strength looks like as he has defied the odds. A healthy 5-yearold, Wilson contracted strep throat, and we believe his immune system responded in such a way that ruined his lungs. His father and I, as well as our family, grapple every day with the idea that we could lose him.

His story is uncommon, but through social media, I have found other parents who have struggled and fought to give their children lifesaving care as they wait to be granted the gift of life with a transplant. Wilson’s wait time for lungs may be prolonged because of the need for blood products and the devices that he needs to support his lungs and heart. According to a study dated January 2021, pediatric organ donation has dramatically been on the decline, which means Wilson will have a very long wait time to find a match due to having many antibodies against potential donors.

In April, we celebrated National Donate Life Month, with April 20-26 being National Pediatric Transplant Week. I urge everyone to think about helping others through the gift of life and ask you to share a story such as Wilson’s, bringing awareness to the need for pediatric transplants.

It is my sincere hope to raise awareness of this issue as many fight to stay alive, including my son, who just wants to go outside and play but cannot. I hope to share this story as one of hope, innocence and the beauty of life that can be given in the sorrow of loss.

— Mindy Wilson Asheville

Cut police but keep surplus equipment

Now is the time to cut the police, including cost share, but keep any free Army surplus equipment. There might be a few distant, ultraviolet city police forces with the urban

values, loyalty and preparation to hinder federal criminality, Montreal perhaps; but no such force is nearby.

We can, however, keep federal surplus equipment that some local peaceniks propose returning for use by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) or Ukraine. I hope such equipment can in some way be used for fire or rescue purposes and then for parts as repayment for historic use of firetrucks against protesters, instead of the far more violent likely use of any equipment refused.

However, this is budget season, and money is totally miscible and can be used by mayors to replace federal cuts to other services and constitutes physical action by blue communities far beyond the symbolism of local rallies and rhetoric.

Blue mayors and sheriffs can also use Trumpian civil service cuts to lay off disloyal cops now, even if we end up hiring loyal cops later, only after gaining full democratic control of police hiring fully consistent with urban values.

— Alan Ditmore Leicester

The right bamboo can be a help

There are a lot of bamboo haters out there and, I am sure, with good

reason, but I want to make a case for the right variety.

I purchased a house on Lake Lure in 2014 during a wet spring/summer and realized I had a serious slide potential in my side yard. I had seen an “Our State” PBS show featuring Haiku Bamboo Nursery in Edneyville and thought they might have suggestions on how to combat my unstable kudzu-covered hillside.

The successful answer was a clumping bamboo that grows in a contained 6-foot colony and grows to a height of 6 feet. I planted six of these, and not only are they beautiful year-round and have masterfully protected my steep slope, they require no maintenance and most importantly do not spread or run at all.

— Steve Woolum Asheville

Cut bills with clean energy upgrades

If your energy bill has ever made you take a deep breath before opening it, you’re not alone. Thousands of Asheville and Buncombe County families spend 20% of their income just on heating and cooling systems due to outdated energy systems and gas appliances that drive up monthly costs. Kids are most vulnerable

to the respiratory risks of indoor air pollution.

But what if you were told that there’s a way to lower your bills, make your home safer and help combat climate change — all at once?

The solution is Electrify AshevilleBuncombe (Electrify ABC) — a local educational program designed to help residents of Buncombe County switch to clean and efficient electric heat. Households using heat pumps can save up to $1,500 annually on their energy bills compared with those using regular heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems. These systems are safer, cleaner and more cost-effective, improving both comfort and indoor air quality.

I understand that most people are hesitant, thinking the process is complicated or too expensive. But this program is specifically designed with you in mind. Through the Home Navigator program, all residents can get a free consultation with an expert on how to make the switch without prohibitive upfront costs. The program also provides various educational resources for both homeowners and contractors, as well as multiple discounts and other financial options.

To maximize Electrify ABC’s impact on the community, broader outreach and increased funding are crucial. Expanding access means

more families can benefit from cleaner, healthier and more affordable energy solutions. Now is the time to act.

Clean energy isn’t just about saving the environment; it’s about your health and your wallet. Share information about the new program with friends and neighbors and help spread the word about all the resources available for free. With local leadership and public support, Electrify ABC can help transform energy use across the county, setting an example for the rest of the state.

Let’s work together to create a new reality where clean energy is accessible for every home in Asheville and Buncombe County!

— Elizaveta Konopeshko

UNC Chapel Hill

Class of 2028 Chapel Hill X

Word of the week

voluntourism (n.) the act or practice of doing volunteer work as needed in the community where one is vacationing

In the wake of Tropical Storm Helene, Western North Carolina has seen a growing number of voluntourism groups come to the region. Read more about these efforts on Page 10. X

CARTOON BY BRENT BROWN

Forest for the trees

Saving UNCA forest calls for big-picture thinking

BY KERRY GRAHAM-WALTER

Around mid-March, UNC Asheville campus police began patrolling the southern entrance to the 45-acre urban forest the university owns in Five Points — denying visitors access to one of the largest wooded areas in the city. Unannounced heavy-equipment incursions had begun back in January, and in March Chancellor Kimberly van Noort confirmed the university’s intention to develop the property, which is bounded by Broadway and W.T. Weaver Boulevard and is adjacent to the Southern Research Station.

This was a painful blow to a community that has already lost so much to Tropical Storm Helene, and it sparked fierce outcry. The police presence followed placement of “Not designated for public use” signs — notably absent from UNCA’s also heavily forested Chestnut Ridge property at the north end of the campus. The sequence of events made it difficult not to conclude that it was in retaliation for the growing opposition to the forest’s development (as of this writing, more than 11,000 petition signatures and counting).

After 10 weeks of lobbying for a meeting, our organizers finally got our first chance to sit down with the chancellor, who said the police presence was due to “miscommunication” and that community access to the forest would continue for the time being. Nonetheless, it was almost another week before the campus police finally stopped harassing visitors to the woods,

either preventing them from entering or telling them to leave.

FOLLOW THE MONEY

Two key factors seem to be at work here. First, UNCA is dealing with a budget deficit and badly needs new sources of revenue. Second, the 45-acre forest is part of 210 acres of university property, spread across various discontinuous parcels, that has been designated the Millennial Campus. This exempts the areas in question from the North Carolina law that bars state-owned entities from competing with private businesses, enabling universities to enter public-private partnerships in order to fund development that seeks to turn a profit. The designation also expands the university’s mission beyond research, education and service to require that it also “enhance the economic development of the region served by the institution.”

This kind of mission drift merits healthy skepticism, as the promised regional economic benefits are rarely supported by empirical evidence. For example, East Carolina University’s Millennial Campus, now called the Research and Innovation Campus, comprises a sprawling 536 acres of properties. In 2023, it brought in a paltry $118,000 in annual revenue after expenses. And under state law, such revenues can only be used to fund development of the millennial campus that generated them rather than helping address that institution’s other needs.

“UNCA’s urban forest may be the next victim of this unproven, taxpayersubsidized model.”

Simply put, most universities are just not that good at stimulating economic development, and UNCA’s urban forest may be the next victim of this unproven, taxpayer-subsidized model.

Although the school has yet to reveal its plan for the urban forest, it’s important to note that millennial campuses come with few restrictions, as long as an argument can be made that the development will stimulate regional economic growth. The annual statewide Millennial Campus Report issued by the university system lists a considerable variety of businesses on these taxpayer-owned parcels, including a couple of restaurants, a nail salon and a Verizon office. In addition, a couple of hotels have been built on current or former millennial campus land, and in at least one instance, the millennial campus mechanism was what enabled the project to go forward. It’s rumored that UNCA may also be looking to erect a hotel on the property in question, alongside its other plans for the parcel.

The regional economic impact of these kinds of leases is debatable at best. But what isn’t debatable is the property tax revenue that’s lost when such businesses rent from a nonprofit entity rather than from

private property owners. Thus, besides being a questionable model for regional economic growth, UNCA’s Millennial Campus could end up causing local governments here to lose much-needed revenue.

BACK TO THE FUTURE

The chancellor and members of the board of trustees claim that they have no proposals for the urban forest at this point. Yet during our group’s March 25 meeting with Mayor Esther Manheimer, she very strongly implied, based on her recent conversations with the chancellor, that they do have a specific use in mind, which the mayor called “very exciting,” adding that she can’t wait for the university to announce it. At the end of our meeting, the mayor strongly implied that it would be an athletic facility requiring a flat area much larger than the other nearby Millennial Campus properties could accommodate. Such a project would require clear-cutting and grading a significant portion of the forest. In the wake of the devastating tree loss during Helene, does acquiring another sports venue really justify the destruction of one of the last remaining forests in the city?

As Asheville has shown so many times in the past, our collective voice can help shape this community’s future. Back in the ’80s, concerned residents stopped City Council from razing much of downtown to build a mall. In the ’90s, my parents and their neighbors prevented Broadway from becoming just another Patton Avenue and won approval from the city for what eventually became the Reed Creek Greenway. In 2007, Progress Energy tried to build a fossil fuel power plant in the French Broad River flood plain. Imagine how much worse off our city would be today if we hadn’t fought those battles and won.

Public input produces better outcomes for our community. In our meeting with the chancellor, she said she’s thinking about what UNCA will be like 100 years from now, and I couldn’t agree more. Once the forest is clear-cut, it’s gone forever: Its value to the university, the city and a resilient future for our community can’t be measured solely in dollars. Let’s help UNCA find a solution that leaves this urban forest intact. Longtime Five Points resident Kerry Graham-Walter is a UNCA alumnus and a Save the Woods campaign organizer. To learn more or to sign the petition, visit saveuncawoods.org.  X

KERRY GRAHAM-WALTER

Purposeful travel

BY BROOKE RANDLE

brandle@mountainx.com

When Tropical Storm Helene slammed into Asheville at the start of peak tourist season last year, many would-be visitors watched the devastation unfold from afar, unsure of how to help or what to do. As area nonprofits began recovery efforts, some out-of-towners wanted to be a part of it — literally.

While “voluntourism” — which can be thought of as travel with a purpose — isn’t a new concept, it’s seeing a surge in Western North Carolina as travelers from around the country want to help the area recover.

In fact, Explore Asheville, which promotes tourism in Buncombe County, launched a landing page last month dedicated to connecting volunteers with local nonprofits.

“This economy is so built on guests visiting the area, and to do it with sensitivity and respect, volunteerism is probably as good as that gets,” says Lisa Raleigh , executive director at RiverLink, an Ashevillebased nonprofit that promotes the environmental and economic vitality of the French Broad River.

From planting trees to repairing storm-damaged areas, repairing homes and providing meals for local residents, these volunteers are blending service with sightseeing, charity with cultural exchange.

MANY HANDS

Volunteering has long been hailed as the backbone of many nonprofits, which depend on unpaid hands to help support their missions. The

‘Voluntourism’ sees boost after Helene

Asheville metro area is home to more than 3,000 nonprofits that use thousands of volunteers, according to Cause IQ, an online database of nonprofit information.

Asheville-based Equal Plates Project purchases locally grown food and relies on volunteers to help prepare and distribute madefrom-scratch meals for local residents, says Rachel Letcher , who oversees marketing and volunteer management

“What volunteering looked like in early September, late August of 2024 was two to four volunteers each shift, and we’d have two shifts Monday through Friday. Volunteers would help us process all of the local ingredients that we purchase from small farms,” remembers Letcher. “In October, November and December, we just had a huge influx of volunteers coming from all over the country. We even had folks drive from New York and Vermont,

which was incredible. And so we definitely saw really high volumes.

“We were doing around 1,200 meals a week before Helene, and after like we’re sustaining at around 5,000 a week,” says Letcher.

Elijah Charette , who serves as stewardship coordinator and helps manage the volunteer program at RiverLink, saw a similar response.

“Especially the days right after Helene, we had such an influx of messages from people just wanting

TEAM EFFORT: While visiting Asheville, a volunteer group from Visit Greenville SC joined Equal Plates Project in the kitchen to chop locally grown bok choy from Lee’s One Fortune Farm. Photo courtesy of Equal Plates Project

to get out there and start to help clean up the community, and that was so great to see,” says Charette. “One of the real highlights post-Helene was just all this humanity that came forth, and we’ve still seen sustained volunteer numbers since then. Helene has brought a whole different group of people to the area that are looking to specifically do that recovery work.”

Among the groups visiting from out of town, says Charette, are students, religious mission groups and companies offering team-building opportunities to their employees.

Both Charette and Letcher say that they’ve seen an influx of college students who choose what’s called an “alternative” spring break. For example, instead of a break focused on leisure, travel and relaxation, students from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and Howard University from Washington, D.C., spent their spring breaks volunteering at the Equal Plates Project.

“Instead of a typical beach spring break experience, they’re choosing to plug in and work with different communities, or even their own community,” Letcher explains. “What I saw is that it really creates a sense of camaraderie, and so I think it’s a really meaningful way to connect with people that maybe you wouldn’t know.”

GIVE SOME, LEARN SOME

While volunteering is by definition offering free help to complete a task or mission, that doesn’t mean it’s not fun or engaging, says Charette. RiverLink’s two- to threehour outings teach volunteers about Western North Carolina’s native species and the importance of the riparian zones along the river. Charette guides participants in removing invasive plants, clearing litter or debris and planting native wildflowers and other species to restore the city’s riverside parks.

“I really like to start the day discussing the history of the area, both cultural and ecological history. I find that it really kind of sets the tone for the day, and it gets people thinking about the future of what this space is going to look like,” says Charette.

Over in the kitchens at Equal Plates Project, volunteers get the chance to work directly with local produce — peeling potatoes, chopping squash and zucchini and helping prepare and package individual meals that will be distributed to thousands of local residents, all while learning about ways to

address food insecurity and the importance of creating resilient food systems.

“And you know, we’re always happy to provide a little taste test

for our volunteers,” Letcher says with a laugh.

She notes that volunteers often get to try regional ingredients that they may not otherwise be exposed

GIVING BACK: Students from Howard University in Washington, D.C., volunteered with the Equal Plates Project during their alternative spring break, preparing meatballs with locally sourced beef from J4 Cattle Co. Photo courtesy of the Equal Plates Project

to. “It’s really a learning opportunity for some folks as well that haven’t really had the opportunity to work with a lot of local produce. Our agriculture is incredible, and so being able to share that with folks that aren’t from here and maybe don’t have the same types of produce available to them has been really meaningful.”

The impact that both visitors and local volunteers have in Western North Carolina’s recovery has been monumental, she adds.

“It’s really touching — people are definitely aware of what this region went through, and they really just want to get their hands dirty, roll up their sleeves and really do something to really help our community.”

Charette notes that volunteering outside your local community gives visitors a way to connect to the world around them in a meaningful and long-lasting way.

“You know, you can visit national parks and you can have an experience there, but this is a way for you to really shape the future of the place and have an impact in a way that you just can’t in other spaces,” he says. “And it’s turned into really a therapeutic process for a lot of people. This kind of gardening work, that light labor along with chatting and sharing stories, is a great way for people to open up to each other.”

PLANTING THE FUTURE: Volunteers for RiverLink help plant native species at the Karen Cragnolin Park meadow.

Photo by Michael Oppenheim

parts of the forests that could emerge in the absence of native trees and plants.

“Following Helene, what could happen on some stretches of the parkway is a loss of diversity, a loss of richness and more homogenization,” says Kelly. “Particularly in the areas around Asheville, there’s already a lot of invasive species pressure, and I think that’s just going to get worse because of all the increased sunlight and soil disturbance from the storm.”

SUPPORT EN ROUTE

Swartout explained that funding for storm repair is coming from multiple sources, including more than $2 billion in supplemental disaster funding allocated to the National Park Service to rebuild and repair national park roads and facilities. The parkway also received $25 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration emergency relief funds to repair several slide locations, remove debris and repair roadway guardrails.

“These are very, very significant, multimillion dollar projects,” Swartout said. “The debris removal is immense.”

Andy Otten, project manager at the National Park Service who is overseeing some of the parkway’s road repair, said at the March 28 press meeting that eight locations from the Virginia state line through Devil’s Courthouse near mile marker 422.4 are targeted for completion in late summer to early fall.

“Several of the sites have multiple slides that are being repaired. Some of these slides are down on the large fill slopes below the road, jeopardizing the stability of the road, while others took out the road along with the fill slope,” Otten explained. “The initial effort is removing over 30,000 cubic yards of material, and this is just the first pass at addressing some of the more significant locations.”

Of the 469 miles of road, 312 miles are open, and 157 miles are closed. All of the closed roads are in North Carolina, where hundreds of barriers and road closure signs litter sections of the parkway.

As visitors and residents begin making their way up to the parkway this summer, Swartout said visitors should use the parkway’s road status page as they plan their visit and emphasized that heeding the road closures is important, not only for safety reasons, but to avoid delaying recovery efforts.

“These closures are very important, and what we have done is closed not only the road itself but the adjacent trails. And the roadway and the adjacent trails are closed to all use, motor vehicles, bicycles, pedestrians and hikers,” she said. “It may not be obvious. You may be looking at a piece of pavement that looks quite fine from above, and yet it’s undercut, and we have a

project in development for doing that repair work.”

THE ROAD AHEAD

As work to repair begins, parkway staff is not only looking at repair, but resilience and long-term preservation.

Swartout noted that while the parkway is naturally susceptible to future landslides, park service workers are taking new engineering into account as they rebuild.

“When you think about the geology of the parkway, we’re characterized by steep slopes, rocky outcroppings and fragile soils. And as such, we are really sensitive to weather events like this,” Swartout explained. “And so that combination of both the high altitude, the rugged terrain and shifting weather. Weather patterns make areas along the parkway susceptible to geologic transformation. And certainly, that’s what we saw.”

“Some of these fill slopes were built 80 years ago, using the best technology at the time, but now we’re able to use detailed engineering models to design these systems for greater durability,” added Otten.

MountainTrue biologist Kelly says that his organization plans to partner with groups like Carolina Mountain Club, the National Parks Conservation Association and other conservation groups to help with environmental repair and protection.

“The parkway is going to be forever changed by this, but I think that we can make a difference,” he says. “We

can help steward the land and the forest back to its glory, but it’s going to take a big investment of effort and time and money.”

Meanwhile, George Ivey, North Carolina development director at the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, a nonprofit that supports historic preservation, conservation and visitor services for the parkway, says that the foundation is creating a program dubbed Detours of Discovery, which directs visitors to lesser-known towns, restaurants and recreational opportunities sprinkled between the parkway’s closed sections.

“We’re trying to work with those communities, from Avery County down through Mitchell, Yancey and Buncombe, and looking at detours for people who are wanting to experience the whole parkway to have some other

good options that they take them into those communities. They can have a great experience and support the economic recovery in those areas,” Ivey explains.

Swartout added that while rebuilding is going to take many years, some destinations along the parkway are beginning to reopen, including The Pisgah Inn, The Bluffs restaurant and several campgrounds and hiking trails.

“I really want to share that despite the fact that we have a lot of recovery work to do, and the images are very dramatic, there is a lot to see and do on the parkway, very many of the parkways miles are open,” she said.

“The recovery from Hurricane Helene is going to be a marathon, not a sprint. …We are going to have some early wins, and we’re going to celebrate those wins together.” X

TOTAL LOSS: Tropical Storm Helene caused severe damage to the Linville Falls Visitor Center. Photo courtesy of the National Park Service

‘Total

shock’

DOGE cuts AmeriCorps program, sending WNC recovery volunteers home

RECOVERY WORK: AmeriCorps members work at Grassroots Aid Partnership after Tropical Storm Helene. Photo by Kendra Grillo

BY GERARD ALBERT III A BLUE RIDGE

news@bpr.org

For weeks, one spent hours in the sun handing out free food. Another crawled under houses to get muck out of the insulation. Others repaired homes and worked in warehouses, organizing donations.

The volunteers were some of the 50 members of AmeriCorps, a federal agency program for national service and volunteerism, who worked throughout Western North Carolina on recovery efforts.

Then came the email: The federal grant money that was paying for their programs was eliminated. It “no longer effectuates agency priorities,” the email read.

The cuts came as the Trump administration and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) slashed the government workforce and some services.

DOGE cuts eliminated all of the Western North Carolina AmeriCorps programs where members were working with local organizations, including Habitat for Humanity, MANNA FoodBank and Conserving Carolina.

The move came as people in Western North Carolina were still recovering from the deadliest and costliest storm to ever hit the state. Conserving Carolina Executive Director Kieran Roe called the decision “a major blow, especially when we have so much work to do as we recover from Hurricane Helene.”

Attorneys general from dozens of states call DOGE’s elimination of AmeriCorps programs “unlawful.”

N.C. Attorney General Jeff Jackson filed a lawsuit against the Corporation for National and Community Service — or AmeriCorps — “for unlawfully terminating congressionally approved grants that fund jobs and critical programs supporting Western North Carolina’s recovery from Hurricane Helene.”

“These funds — which Congress already appropriated for North Carolina — are creating jobs, cleaning up storm damage and helping families rebuild,” Jackson wrote in a press release. “AmeriCorps must follow the law so that people in Western North Carolina can confidently move forward.”

AmeriCorps sends about 200,000 corps members across the country as part of its service programs. It also employs more than 500 full-time federal workers and has an operating budget of roughly $1 billion.

CUTS WILL AFFECT FOOD BANK EMPLOYEES

AmeriCorps member Ilsa Kelischek worked with MANNA FoodBank, where she organized food drives and coordinated donations from local farmers and grocers. She had just left a planning meeting for the first major food collection drive after Hurricane Helene when she checked her email.

The elimination came as a “total shock.” Looking at the termination email from her AmeriCorps supervisor, Kelischek, 27, was left wondering how she would get through the coming weeks.

“Am I still going to have health care? Am I going to be paid for this month?” Kelischek, an Asheville native, grew up hearing about the work that the food bank did for the community. After leaving the city in high school, she returned through an AmeriCorps program that has been operating in WNC since 1998.

Project POWER — an acronym for Putting Opportunity Within Everyone’s Reach — is a team of AmeriCorps members “focused on addressing food insecurity and promoting education.”

She called working at MANNA an “incredible experience” that made her feel closer to her community. “ It’s insane the number of people that I knew in the line at the farmers market after Hurricane Helene,” she said. “I was accepting food dona-

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BY BRIONNA DALLARA

Inside The Mule at Devil’s Foot Beverage, located on Sweeten Creek Road, there’s little evidence of Tropical Storm Helene. But through spoilage and business interruption, the craft drink maker accrued nearly $500,000 in damage.

Seven months later, owner Ben Colvin is still fighting to get an insurance payout. His company is one of 50 local organizations part of the Recovery Leadership Alliance (RLA), a group connecting storm-impacted businesses with resources such as business loans and grants, government contacts, legal assistance and advocacy.

Colvin says that most of the businesses in the alliance suffered business interruption and product loss more than property damage, and proving that to insurance companies has been challenging.

Since October, Colvin has filed four insurance claims totaling $60,000 between his two LLCs — Devil’s Foot Distillery and Devil’s Foot Beverage Co. — with his New York-based insurance provider Utica National Insurance. So far, he’s received $10,000 for business interruption caused by utility issues.

That payment is atop a $5,000 grant from Explore Asheville and $50,000 from the business network B Local, adding up to about 13% of his losses.

The insurance company states it has met its obligations, asserting in an email to Colvin that “our investigation has confirmed that the flood waters from Hurricane Helene flooded Duke

Energy’s substation, which caused the power to go out.” Colvin’s policy exempts flood damage.

Using National Weather Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reports and time stamps, Colvin counters that the substation failed before the damage could have been caused by floodwaters, indicating winds were to blame.

“It’s written like only an expert can understand it, and every glimmer of hope you have in that policy, the next paragraph down, you find there’s an exception that you probably fall in.” Colvin says. “Essentially, every policy has a flood exemption. Unless you have a specific flood policy, you’re never going to get that covered, or they’re not going to do it easily.”

Colvin’s insurance provider did not respond to requests from Xpress for comment.

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS

For the past seven months, Ginger Frank, founder of Poppy Hand-Crafted Popcorn, has had similar struggles interpreting Michigan-based Auto-Owners Insurance Co.’s flood exemption.

“That business interruption insurance doesn’t kick in unless the building itself is physically impacted. They do not count not being able to use the building as being impacted. So power being out, water being out, roads not being cleared, employees not being able to get to work, all of those things don’t qualify for the business being impacted. We would be better off if the roof of our buildings flew off,” Frank says.

‘Failure is not an option’

Legacy of past mistakes looms over Helene recovery efforts

DEVASTATED LANDSCAPE: East Asheville residents survey the widespread destruction of their community near the

Helene swept through Western North Carolina. Photo by

BY LUCAS THOMAE

A CAROLINA PUBLIC PRESS REPORT

lthomae@carolinapublicpress.org

Securing federal relief funds after Tropical Storm Helene has been a challenge. Now, a new North Carolina agency must prove it can wisely manage a $1.4 billion home rebuilding program after the last effort fell short.

State lawmakers are still fuming after ReBuild NC, the recovery office created in the aftermath of Hurricanes Matthew (2016) and Florence (2018), informed them that it went broke with more than 1,000 homes yet to be rebuilt.

The legacy of that blunder looms over the Division of Community Revitalization, the new office tasked with administering a rebuilding program for areas hit hardest by Helene. Gov. Josh Stein created the office within the Department of Commerce during his first day in office.

“I want to make sure that we’re getting maximum value out of each dollar,” Stein said of insufficient disas-

ter relief funding in an interview with Carolina Public Press last month.

The leaders of the new state agency have appeared in front of lawmakers twice already this year to answer questions about how they plan to succeed where ReBuild NC failed.

“North Carolina cannot afford another failed disaster recovery program,” state Rep. Brenden Jones, R-Columbus, said during a March 6 hearing conducted by the Joint Oversight Committee on Hurricane Response and Recovery. “The failures we saw with [ReBuild NC] in Eastern North Carolina cannot be repeated. I sincerely hope those leading this effort have learned from those mistakes.”

’LAST RESORT’

In January, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced the allocation of $1.6 billion for disaster recovery grants in North Carolina. The federal agency plans to send $1.4 billion to the state and

earmarked an additional $225 million specifically for Asheville.

Soon after North Carolina submitted its required plan on how it intends to use that money, the federal government approved the effort April 25. Asheville is still waiting for approval of its own action plan, which was submitted last month.

But despite Stein boasting that North Carolina submitted its action plan faster than any other state in history, the projects that this grant program funds will not happen quickly. That’s because rather than addressing immediate needs, the Community Development Block Grants are meant to facilitate long-term recovery. The state has six years to administer the $1.4 billion rebuilding program, according to the terms of the grant.

In a press release, the governor’s office called the money “last resort” funding to be used after other recovery sources like private insurance have been tapped.

By tempering expectations, the state is trying to avoid the criticism and

public scrutiny that plagued ReBuild NC in recent years.

Tasked with managing more than $1 billion in state and federal relief funding, ReBuild NC’s leaders told lawmakers at an oversight hearing in November that the office was more than $200 million in debt despite having a backlog of nearly 1,200 unbuilt homes. The state legislature reluctantly granted the money in its latest disaster relief bill, but not before former director Laura Hogshead was ousted from her job.

’SMALL AND NIMBLE’

Stephanie McGarrah, who leads the new Division of Community Revitalization, is well aware of the pressure on her.

McGarrah told CPP that “there are lessons to be learned” from how ReBuild NC operated.

First, the Division of Community Revitalization will be much smaller with only 10 full-time and seven parttime employees compared with the

Swannanoa River days after Tropical Storm

Colby Rabon, Carolina Public Press

more than 200 workers that made up ReBuild NC. Instead of relying on its own workforce to complete rebuilding projects, McGarrah said her office’s approach will be to use more outside vendors and contractors.

By building a “small and nimble” new agency, McGarrah said that the office can move more quickly through bureaucratic policies and cut down on administrative tasks.

As for her own pedigree, McGarrah comes from another office within the Department of Commerce that focused on pandemic recovery. In that job, she managed relief funding nearly eight times the amount of this federal housing grant, and in the process North Carolina’s economy came out of the pandemic stronger than most other states.

“I just spent the last 4 1/2 years managing $11 billion in pandemic recovery funds with clean audits, and we were audited about 16 times in four years,” McGarrah said. “So I have a strong team and a strong, good experience in making sure that we are complying with federal and state rules, and I take it very seriously.”

’A MASSIVE JOB’

The terms of the grant require that at least 80% of the funds must be spent in areas determined by the federal government to be “most impacted and distressed” by Helene.

Areas with that designation include 12 counties (Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Haywood, Henderson, McDowell, Mitchell, Rutherford, Transylvania, Watauga and Yancey) and parts of Caldwell, Cleveland, Madison, Mecklenburg and Polk counties.

As for how the state plans to spend that money, most of it is reserved for housing. Reconstruction and repairs for owner-occupied homes make up the bulk of that funding at $807 million, while $244 million is set aside for repair and construction of small

rental properties, multifamily homes and affordable housing specifically for middle-income workers.

While housing is required to be built within six years from the start of the grant funding, McGarrah said her goal is to complete those projects faster.

“I think (six years) is too long,” she told lawmakers at the March 6 oversight hearing. “But I also know from managing grants that you run into problems.”

The remaining $374 million of the federal grant money is set to go toward infrastructure repairs, commercial district revitalization and administration costs.

McGarrah said that the infrastructure repair and commercial district revitalization programs will be good, secondary options for communities that did not have all of their financial needs covered by other funding sources like Federal Emergency Management Agency reimbursements and small-business grant programs.

“One of the hard things about disaster recovery funding is it’s not like you just go to one place and it’s straightforward and easy,” McGarrah said. “The way that we do this as a nation, you really have to piece together different programs.”

The process will be a long one. McGarrah thinks the new state agency can provide communities with the final few pieces of the puzzle that is disaster recovery. She committed to sharing regular public updates on the program’s progress as it gets underway.

“This is a massive job, but failure is not an option,” Jones told her at the March 6 hearing. “You see, I’m pretty passionate. I mean, I still have over 1,000 folks out (of their homes). We cannot do this, and I just want you to know that we’re counting on you, but more importantly, the folks in the west are counting on you.”

This article first appeared on Carolina Public Press and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. X

NEWS Domino prevention Preservation Society’s 32 Grail St. project nears completion

BY EDWIN ARNAUDIN

earnaudin@mountainx.com

In 2021, Jessie Landl received an alarming phone call. The executive director of the Preservation Society of Asheville & Buncombe County was notified that the house at 32 Grail St. was slated for demolition. The age of the home and its location in one of Asheville’s historically Black neighborhoods propelled her organization into action.

“The house was built in 1910, and Grail Street is one of the most intact streets in the East End/Valley Street neighborhood — a neighborhood that was really impacted by urban renewal,” Landl says. “So, you have the street where all the houses on the block are still historic, and this would’ve been the first domino to fall on that street.”

A few months later, additional dominos fell. Landl learned the Cappadocia Church and its adjacent lot at 55 Max St. — a property line that backs up to 32 Grail St. — had been bought by the same developer, as well as the lot at 61 Max St. Fearful that a larger development was in the works, the Preservation Society began working with the East End/Valley Street Neighborhood. Members of the community, Landl says, “did not want to see the church or the house lost.”

After speaking with the developer multiple times, “we reached an agreement where we purchased the two historic structures, and they got the vacant lot [at 61 Max Street] to do infill,” Landl says.

Two years into the restoration project, Landl says the first of the two major projects is nearing its end. But plenty of work remains to protect both the home and the church from gentrification.

COMMUNITY TRUST

Landl notes that, historically, Black neighborhoods have not benefited from preservation efforts and that when such projects are started, gentrification remains a constant threat.

“The closest thing we’ve been able to come to as a solution is to do preservation work that the neighborhood desires,” she says. “Before we purchased either of these properties, we

worked with the neighborhood association, and they voted to have us purchase these properties to save them.”

She continues, “But also, how do we save them without gentrifying the neighborhood? And this goal of making these properties affordable is the best solution we’ve come up with so far on that front.”

As a small nonprofit, the Preservation Society enacts significant fundraising efforts throughout the year and seeks grant support. In turn, the group had sufficient funds to purchase and rehabilitate the 32 Grail St. home.

“We don’t expect to make money on a project like this — in fact, we expect to and will lose money on it, which is fine,” Landl says. “But the goal is to not lose so much that we don’t have enough to buy and save the next house.”

Throughout the 32 Grail St. project, the Preservation Society has been working alongside the AshevilleBuncombe Community Land Trust. Once the renovations are complete and preservation protections are placed on the house, the goal is to sell the property to the land trust so the group can then sell it through its homeownership program and make it permanently affordable.

“The problem is the dollar amount,” Landl says. “[The total that] the land trust can buy it from us is significantly less than what we have invested into the property.”

The Preservation Society is looking to bring in additional funding partners to close the gap, which Landl says could be as high as $250,000.

Throughout the process, she notes, her organization has been transparent with the he East End/Valley Street Neighborhood Association: Affordability is the nonprofit’s goal, but it’s one that’s not guaranteed without proper funding.

PROGRESS CHECK

Significant foundation issues were the main challenges that awaited the Preservation Society at 32 Grail St. The house also needed a new roof and all new electrical, plumbing and HVAC components. But it has, in Landl’s words, “good bones” and offered several welcome surprises.

“It was covered in aluminum siding that was worn, and the original wood siding was underneath and was in rela-

tively good shape,” she says. “The same went for the hardwood floors. There’s carpeting in the house, and when we pulled that up, we found that the hardwood floors were in surprisingly good condition for being from 1910.”

Though the Preservation Society typically strives to save plaster elements, the original walls had been drywalled over and, once removed, it was determined that over 80% of the plaster needed to be replaced. As a

result, workers took out the plaster and replaced it with new drywall.

Tropical Storm Helene temporarily slowed repairs, but the 32 Grail St. house was not damaged by the extreme weather event. Currently, the finishing touches are being applied, and Landl anticipates a completion date later this month. Open houses and private tours have been conducted, and feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.

“We toured the house with someone who grew up in the neighborhood and had played in that house,” Landl says. “It was really fun to experience that. And they’re really appreciative that we were able to save it and that it didn’t get demolished.”

Once 32 Grail St. is finished, the Preservation Society will turn its attention to Cappadocia Church. The site has been rezoned for residential use, and the modest-sized structure

will be turned into three one-bedroom apartments. And Dogwood Health Trust has funded the first phase of construction.

“That will be structural stabilization that the building needs and exterior rehabilitation,” Landl says. “We’re going to be addressing any of the structural issues and also replacing the roof, repointing the brick, repairing the windows — that sort of thing.”

To learn more, visit avl.mx/ep2. X

HISTORIC IMPROVEMENTS: Before, left, and after images of the Preservation Society of Asheville & Buncombe County’s renovations at 32 Grail St. Photos courtesy of PSABC

County budget proposal calls for tax increase

The county budget proposed May 6 in the wake of Tropical Storm Helene did not please a lot of people.

Buncombe County Manager Avril Pinder presented what she called the “break-even” fiscal year 2025-26 recommended budget — featuring a 3.26-cent tax rate increase — to the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners following an hour of impassioned public commentary.

Pinder reiterated the enduring economic impacts of North Carolina’s worst natural disaster, pointing to Buncombe’s higher-than-state-average 5% unemployment rate as of March; $1.2 million in agricultural crop losses; and occupancy, sales and property tax shortfalls. According to Pinder’s budget in brief, the “budget is balanced and as responsible of a spending plan as can be provided given the financial uncertainties ahead.” It also stays out of the fund balance, which is right at its recommended amount.

The recommended $435 million general fund budget prioritizes maintain-

ing operations, with a freeze on new positions and a property tax rate of 55.02 cents, a 6% increase of 3.26 cents above the current rate of 51.76 cents to generate $17.1 million in additional revenue. For residents with a home valued at $400,000, the increase would cost an additional $130.40 annually. The bulk of spending (28%, or $121.8 million) would be allocated toward education, followed by public safety (23%, $99.1 million) and human services (22%, $97.3 million).

Even with the tax rate increase, operating expenditures would be $5.4 million less than this year’s amended budget because of a drop in sales tax and other revenues.

The county manager’s proposed budget falls short of what both the Asheville City and Buncombe County school boards had hoped for when they presented their funding plans to commissioners. Together, the districts requested a $12.7 million increase over their current year’s budget in order to pay for rising costs outside their control and to maintain the

same level of staffing and service. The county recommends spending at the same level as this year, forcing the districts to absorb those increased costs. Asheville County Schools also asked for a separate property tax increase of 1.32 cents per $100 assessed property value, which Pinder didn’t include.

In January, commissioners voted to claw back roughly $4.7 million from the school districts as part of acrossthe-board cuts to the county’s budget in response to Helene’s negative impact on revenues from the critical fall tourism season.

More than half of the 23 people who spoke to the board focused on public education funding. Speakers, including parents, teachers and a janitor, shared anxiety about how decreased spending could degrade cleanliness of classrooms and reduce access to crucial services for special education students.

Four students from Asheville High School spoke in favor of fully funding the district’s budget to avoid staffing cuts. Junior cellist Maya McDermott

said learning the cello at her school “made me feel confident” and “inspired [me] to be the best person I can be, both in strings and out.”

She expressed alarm that her favorite teacher, orchestra instructor Franklin Keel, could lose his job for her senior year: “All I’m hoping for is that we

keep strings live in Asheville schools because it’s meaningful to me and so many others. I want it to impact many more people after I leave.”

Minutes later, Keel told commissioners that his position is one that would be impacted by the cuts. He told of his passion for “cultivat[ing] a love

of music for the kids” and implored the board to provide additional funding to “protect and provide for those who cannot do so for themselves.”

Representatives from IC Imagine Public Charter School also expressed frustration over their school’s lack of a designated school resource officer,

with hope that the board would find a way to bring an SRO to their campus despite the freeze on new positions.

Following public comment, Pinder said that while it might look as if the school districts are experiencing a funding decrease from the county, the ever-increasing needs at the state level are a large reason they are facing a shortfall. “I know we’ve had a lot of conversation tonight around the decrease in schools and not funding the schools. But also, as you look on the screen and look at the slide, we have grown that budget over time,” Pinder said. “We’re actually basically flat in this recommended budget.”

Board Chair Amanda Edwards closed the meeting with a reminder to her fellow commissioners that they “serve every single resident and serve the community” and to “not lose sight of our job as commissioners.”

A public hearing on the proposed budget is slated for 5 p.m. Tuesday, May 20, before the board’s regular meeting. Commissioners are expected to vote on the final budget Tuesday, June 3.

This story was supported by the Fund for Investigative Reporting and Editing.

—

Morgan L. Sykes  X

SOUR NOTES: Franklin Keel, music teacher at Asheville High School, pleads for his job. Also featured, Curt Euler, left, interim county attorney. Photo by Brooke Randle

by Lisa Allen | lallen@mountainx.com

New leader

AJ Hardie, a Charlotte native, is Asheville GreenWorks’ new executive director. “Bringing my skills, experience and education to serve this community is a tremendous privilege for a

Volunteer corps

Sister-Corps, an all-women disaster recovery organization based in Houston, deployed more than two dozen volunteers from across the United States to Black Mountain for 10 days beginning May 14. They are focused on repairs, restoration efforts and debris removal at the Black Mountain Home for Children, according to a media release. X

Golf for a cause

The Pine Gate Renewables Community Impact Fund is hosting an inaugural Charitable Golf Classic on Thursday, Sept. 25, at the Golf Course at The Omni Grove Park Inn & Spa. Proceeds from the event will support

municipal parks and recreation projects and community emergency services, as well as a variety of nonprofits. The Pine Gate Community Impact Fund, a philanthropic and community giving program, began in 2024 as an employee-led initiative in response to Tropical Storm Helene. To sign up for the golf event, or find out how to apply for grants to go www.PineGateGiving.org. X

Ranger District. In all, SAWS crews have cleared over 600 trees and made thousands of cuts using only traditional crosscut saws and hand tools.

Ellie’s sweet nature is displayed instantly in her love of rolling over for belly rubs, says the staff at Brother Wolf Animal Rescue. She is a smart and motivated companion that loves snacks and works hard to earn them. Add this smushy face to your home for a boost of fun. Go to www.bwar.org or email info@bwar.org to find out more. X

RESCUING THE AT Dollars

The Madison County Community Foundation and the North Carolina Community Foundation awarded $180,000 in grants from its Disaster Relief Fund to the following local organizations to support long-term recovery, resiliency and unmet needs related to Tropical Storm Helene: $25,000 grants to Beacon of Hope and the Walnut Volunteer Fire Department; $40,000 grants to Marshall Relief Alliance and Rebuild Hot Springs Area; and a $50,000 grant to the Community Housing Coalition of Madison County X

The Council on Aging for Henderson County and MountainCare are merging to form Mountain Aging Partners (MAP), a nonprofit collaboration focused on meeting the needs of the region’s rapidly growing aging population, according to a media release. X

EDITOR OF THE YEAR

Blue Ridge Public Radio News Director Laura Lee won the 2025 Editor of the Year Award, the top recognition from the Public Media Journalists Association. The group asks newsrooms nationwide to nominate colleagues who foster “a culture of journalistic integrity, innovation and collaboration within their station,” as outlined in a media release.

BPR senior regional reporter Lilly Knoepp wrote in her nomination about Lee’s leadership during Tropical Storm Helene:

“She has been a bold, tireless advocate for her team and a steady voice of truth in moments of crisis. … Laura ensured BPR reporters across the region were supported. She opened BPR’s doors to other journalists, helped launch a text-only website for accessibility, made the ‘Voices of Helene’ podcast, added Spanish translations to news coverage and reshaped the station’s on-air format to serve a community in crisis — all while editing, mentoring and leading coverage.” X

Mic drop

BY JUSTIN M c GUIRE

jmcguire@mountainx.com

In a city more known for its breweries and bluegrass than its box scores, a quirky radio show has spent the last 12 years carving out a welcoming space for sports lovers of all stripes.

Every Wednesday night, “Run That Back” airs live on Asheville FM, the nonprofit station that typically features eclectic music and community journalism. Hosted by Tom Chalmers and Scott Bunn, the show never engaged in the usual sports talk. There are no hot takes, no betting advice, no relentless speculation about the New York Jets’ second-string quarterback.

Instead, the broadcast brought together coaches, comedians, community leaders and fans to talk sports (and other things) with humanity and humor.

“We’ve always tried to be a show that belongs on Asheville FM,” explains Bunn, whose day job is development director for the National Farm to School Network.

As “Run That Back” nears its final broadcast on May 28, the hosts reflect on a decade-plus of offbeat sports talk, unexpected friendships and one angry former All-Star second baseman.

“Nonshouting sports radio” was how Chalmers and Bunn often described the show, which they launched in 2013 under the cheeky title “Steve Sax Syndrome” — a nod to the infamous 1980s-era case of the “yips” suffered by Sax, then with the Los Angeles Dodgers. That title went away in 2021.

“Steve Sax himself called us and asked us to change it,” Bunn recalls with a laugh. “He was very upset.”

SPORTS ADJACENT

Talking sports in a city that has no major professional teams or top college athletic programs may seem like a challenge, but Chalmers says that absence freed the hosts to focus on unconventional and community-rooted topics. “It turned out to be a good thing that we weren’t held to talking about, like, the Atlanta Braves all the time,” he says.

Instead the show featured “sports-adjacent but not sports-dependent” segments like a fantasy draft for a rare liquor collection and an art auction draft, says Chalmers, an Asheville theater veteran and member of the improv comedy troupe Reasonably Priced Babies. “We have tried to focus on community issues when we could, like funding for [McCormick Field],” Chalmers says. “We have tried to highlight groups that

After 12 years, Asheville’s indie sports show signs off with a smile

are using sports to build community, like Girls on the Run and Blue Ridge Roller Derby. And we have talked a lot of football, basketball, soccer and more with many of our friends, famous or otherwise.”

One of those friends is Sarah Spooner, who had never heard the show when Bunn asked her to be a guest during its early days. The two were acquaintances through church, and one day she shared a humorous anecdote about inheriting a fantasy football team from an ex. “Somehow, I ended up better than all the guys in the league, including all my ex’s family members,” she recalls. “They were way too angry to have fun with it.”

Bunn knew the tale would be ideal fodder for “Steve Sax Syndrome.”

But Bunn and Chalmers quickly realized Spooner wasn’t just a guest with a funny story — she had a genuine passion for sports and had contributed to Sports Illustrated, covering the Washington NFL team now known as the Commanders. She became a frequent guest, talking all things Washington, D.C., sports and earning the title of “senior schadenfreude correspondent” for the glee she takes in other teams’ misfortunes.

“Sarah is the perfect example of someone we didn’t really know before

doing the show,” Bunn says. “Now I count Sarah as one of my favorite people in Asheville, a great friend.”

THE LOVE OF THE GAME

Bunn and Chambers met more than 20 years ago and immediately bonded over a shared love of football while watching a New England PatriotsBuffalo Bills game (Bunn is a Bills diehard). They became fast friends and even performed sketch comedy together. More than anything, though, they talked sports — a lot. They were the kind of guys you would see lingering by the door as guests filtered out of a dinner party, arguing about NBA star LeBron James and dissecting the Patriots’ defensive schemes.

“My wife, Jenny, said, ’You talk about sports all the time. You’re funny. Why don’t you do it in front of microphones instead of at the door?’” Bunn recalls. Chalmers adds with a laugh: “It was almost out of annoyance.”

The two first considered doing a podcast. But Bunn, then working for food and farm organization Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Program (ASAP), had just finished a guest appearance on “The Asheville FM News Hour” in 2013 when he mentioned the podcast idea to Kim Roney,

then station manager. Roney encouraged them to bring the idea to what was then an internet-only station. It became an FM broadcast station in 2015.

What made the show feel like a natural fit, Roney recalls, was its embrace of the station’s broader ethos, a mix of perspectives and programming. “They’re really exercising that free-form community radio format that makes it so special,” says Roney, who has served on Asheville City Council since 2020.

Bunn did some broadcasting as a student at Wake Forest University (and has a radio-friendly voice), but otherwise the hosts were radio novices when the show debuted. “To be honest, it took a lot of work on their end, a lot of training to get all the skills they needed to produce a talk program,” Roney says.

The work paid off, as “Run That Back” became one of the most listened-to shows on the station’s website, and the hosts began to realize people were actually listening.

“I’ve been recognized by my voice,” Bunn says. “People will ask, ’Are you on the radio? Are you that sports guy?’ It’s weird, because I forget the microphones are there. We’re just having a fun conversation.”

Roney counts herself among the show’s fans and has been a guest several times, often discussing her beloved Baltimore Orioles. “They have a great banter with each other. And it’s never a dull moment between the two of them and whoever they’ve got on the air. And I’m just so excited that it’s been on for so long.”

But after more than 600 episodes, “Run That Back” is nearing its final chapter. Chalmers is planning to leave Asheville in search of a more affordable place to put down roots and wants to end the show on his own terms. Bunn briefly considered continuing solo, or with guest hosts. But in the end, the chemistry between them was the heart of the show.

“I can’t do this without Tom,” he says.

Roney was disappointed to hear the show is ending but acknowledged the reality of a volunteer-run station. “Everyone’s doing this work and not being compensated. They’re doing it literally for the love of the game.”

SAYING GOODBYE

The AshevilleFM studio on Haywood Road in West Asheville doesn’t look like a place where sports talk happens. Shelves are stacked with LPs and CDs. Turntables sit near the broadcast console. There are no jerseys or bobbleheads — just the gear of a volunteer-run music and talk station.

After 12 years on the air, the hosts have a familiar routine each Wednesday. Bunn operates the board while Chalmers picks the music, often

DOUBLE PLAY: Tom Chalmers, left, and Scott Bunn have been hosting a sports talk show on Asheville FM since 2013. “Run That Back” will broadcast its final episode on Wednesday, May 28. Photo by Justin McGuire

uncovering obscure songs or ones tied to the night’s guest or topic. He is especially proud of the time he found a track featuring NHL star Alex Ovechkin rapping in Russian.

Before the broadcast starts, and again during music breaks, the hosts talk through the upcoming segments, deciding when to bring a guest into the studio and how to pace the discussion.

A recent episode featured Bunn, Chalmers and Spooner tackling a variety of topics, including the recently concluded NFL draft. But, in a sure sign that “Run That Back” doesn’t follow the crowd, the three never brought up Shedeur Sanders, the University of Colorado quarterback whose unexpected slide to the fifth round dominated ESPN coverage and social media for days. It even elicited a response from President Donald Trump

“We could talk about Shedeur Sanders or [UNC Chapel Hill football coach] Bill Belichick and his girlfriend, but it’s just icky,” Chalmers explains. “Unless we have something interesting or different to say, we mostly try to avoid that kind of stuff.”

The main guest that night was Charlie Flynn-McIver, artistic director and co-founder at N.C. Stage Company. Flynn-McIver was there to discuss a

play he was directing, King James, a four-act story of friendship between two Cleveland sports fans told through the lens of LeBron James’ career. Before the segment, Bunn reminded the director not to mention the price of tickets to the play because of the station’s nonprofit status.

Bunn and Chalmers say King James was a perfect “Run That Back” topic: a play about sports produced by a community theater troupe. And FlynnMcIver, an avid fan of UNC Tar Heels men’s basketball, always makes a good guest, they add.

In another segment, the hosts asked Spooner to name some of her favorite moments from her appearances on the show. One story she highlighted didn’t take place on the air but at Harrah’s Cherokee Center –Asheville. Bunn, Chalmers, Spooner and other friends of the show were attending a Southern Conference basketball tournament game when all became distracted — some would say obsessed — by a female fan who was eating shrimp out of her purse.

As the three laughed about the memory, Bunn said: “I can’t believe we’re saying goodbye to this.”

He probably forgot the microphone was there.  X

Standing at a picnic table, Erik “Lake Julian” Konkoli, tournament director for the weekly game at the county-owned lakeside park in South Asheville, manages sign-ups and collects a modest $5 fee from members and a $6 fee from nonmembers (with optional add-ons for closest-to-the-pin and ace challenges). After paying out weekly winners, the remainder of proceeds goes back to the organization for course maintenance and event hosting costs, Scott says.

“Fifteen minutes!” Konkoli shouts above the bustle of players sorting themselves into three and foursomes.

The picnic shelter where players gather feels like an anticipated reunion among best friends who have looked forward to talking trash and sharing the love with each other all week.

That camaraderie is what drew Corey Ginley, now a board member, to the sport in 2020, even though he initially played solo games.

“He would never play with anybody,” Konkoli says. “We’d see him out here every day playing and we’re like, ‘Come on, play with us.’ One day he decided to and he’s been with us ever since.”

“These guys are great, the community is great,” Ginley says. “I got way more involved. I started coming to everything. The Western North Carolina scene is just fantastic.”

Part of the sport’s allure is its accessibility.

Hunter Embler, a board member and aspiring pro, came to the sport after his high school run on the baseball team. It’s trickier, he notes, to organize an informal baseball game than a disc golf outing. Cost barriers are also low, as most courses are free to play.

STATE OF THE COURSES

Several courses remain closed due to significant damage from Helene. Richmond Hill Park, home to one of the area’s most played designs, has no projected reopening date.

In Hendersonville, Jackson Park’s course remains officially closed but should reopen “in the next few months,” according to Bruce Gilliam, Henderson County Parks and Recreation director. In Black Mountain, Helene obliterated the front nine holes at Veterans Park. Scott says the damage will require a full redesign. But the back nine is open and playable.

Other area courses like Lake Julian and Sand Hill are reopened thanks to significant volunteer hours.

“A bunch of club members have spent a long time getting the courses cleaned back up to be able to play,”

TEEING OFF: Tournament Director Erik “Lake Julian” Konkoli hands player and board member Hunter Embler his scorecard before the WNC Disc Golf Association’s Wednesday singles event at Lake Julian April 30. Photo by Greg Parlier

notes former board member Daniel Williams. “The storm, while it was really devastating, hasn’t curbed any enthusiasm for the sport in the area. [Club members are] actively working to help get the courses rebuilt and reopened.”

Sand Hill, located at the Buncombe County Sports Park, is back to a full 18 holes after being shortened for years due to construction on the park’s soccer fields and then sustaining damage from Helene.

The west Buncombe course is slated to host the club’s first Professional Disc Golf Association-sanctioned event, the WNC Memorial on Saturday, May 24.

Other courses are relatively unscathed, including those at Haywood Community College and Mars Hill University.

Meanwhile, in January, Innova, a disc golf equipment maker, donated 18 baskets to WNC Disc Golf Association. The nonprofit, in collaboration with Brookstone Church, has installed a temporary course on the church’s Weaverville campus.

And in East Asheville, Highland Brewing Co. — the area’s most popular course with more than 10,000 rounds played in 2024, according to data collected by disc golfing app UDisc — is also back. The Highland staff manages the grounds and has done significant work to clean up the property after the storm.

Scott, Ginley and Embler say the beer maker has been a great partner in growing the sport locally, and its course is playing better than ever.

PLAYING THE LIE

Back at Lake Julian, I manage to avoid sending my Innova Star Beast for a swim. At least on the fifth, which prior to Helene was the course’s first hole. After shanking my second shot, sending my putter sailing over the basket, I salvage a par 3. The sweet sounds of plastic circles rattling the chains draped inside each catcher signals that

Get involved

The Western North Carolina Disc Golf Association (WNCDGA) holds weekly events four to five days a week at courses throughout Buncombe and Henderson counties. Check avl.mx/ers for details. The club will also host a Professional Disc Golf Associationsanctioned event, the WNC Memorial, at the Buncombe County Sports Park on Saturday, May 24, 9 a.m. The event is the first PDGAsanctioned event held in Asheville since 2019, according to WNCDGA President Bobby Scott  X

another purposeful round in the woods has commenced.

“It’s a fun activity that anybody can do and anybody can learn,” Embler says when asked why someone should give the sport a try. “You don’t have to be some special person to be good at it, if you just commit some time to it and learn the basics.”

From “7 to 70,” as Konkoli likes to say, the sport is for everyone.

Heading to the revamped holes 6 through 8 along the lake’s eastern edge, it won’t be long before I throw a disc straight into a tree. That’s how it goes. “You have to pay the tree tax,” as some players say.

It’s a tax worth paying. See you on the course. X

“We

– Eric and Ellen Vontillius Join them and become a

WHY I VOLUNTEER

Educating the public about wildlife

Elaine Bailey Anderson is the board director and volunteer with Appalachian Wildlife Refuge (AWR). She began volunteering in February 2024 and joined the board on July 1.

Xpress : What inspired you to become a volunteer with Appalachian Wildlife Refuge , and what is your main responsibility?

Bailey Anderson: I’ve always loved wildlife. Moving from the U.K. to the Appalachian Mountains felt like a calling, an invitation to live more closely with nature and give back to the land and its creatures. I felt a strong nudge to do something more hands-on and deeply meaningful, and volunteering with Appalachian Wildlife Refuge was the perfect fit.

I started by doing husbandry work in the outdoor enclosures, hand-feeding orphaned wildlife like opossums, squirrels, flying squirrels and groundhogs. Since then, I’ve joined the board, earned my apprentice rehab license and now support the organization through animal care, strategic leadership and community outreach. I also serve on the development committee, where I help expand the public’s understanding of native wildlife and build awareness and support for the refuge’s work.

What has your time with the nonprofit revealed to you about our community?

There’s a quiet but powerful current of compassion in this community. So many people — including volunteers, transporters, vet partners and donors — are stepping up to help in small but meaningful ways. It’s been incredibly moving to witness.

I’ve also realized how much education about coexisting with wildlife is still needed. Most people genuinely want to help but need the proper knowledge and tools. That’s where Appalachian Wildlife Refuge makes such a vital impact.

What advice would you offer someone who is considering volunteering their time with AWR or another local nonprofit?

Follow the nudge. If something keeps gently tapping you on the shoulder, pay attention to it. You don’t need to be an expert or have loads of free time — start where you are, with what you have. Say yes to what tugs at your heart. Volunteering has changed my life. It’s connected me to incredible people, to a deeper sense of purpose and to something much bigger than myself. You don’t have to be an expert; you just have to show up with care, curiosity and a willingness to help. The rest will unfold in ways you probably can’t even imagine.  X

Elaine Bailey Anderson poses with an owl. Photo courtesy of Bailey Anderson

installing dedicated bus lanes are not technically difficult to implement, but they will likely require an increase in transit ridership and political will to get done. To that end, Wheeler shared a handful of simple steps folks can take right now to strengthen public transit in Asheville.

First and foremost, use the bus.

“A lot of federal funding is based on ridership and miles driven,” Wheeler explains. “So I’m currently advocating for ways to get additional people on the bus.

“You don’t need to go sell your car right now and commit to never driving again,” she continues. “But can you switch one ride to transit? Can you ride the bus downtown for First Fridays or take transit to pick up your groceries?”

Wheeler points to Strive Not to Drive, an annual weeklong event to encourage people to try using alternatives to driving, as a great opportunity to practice using public transit. This year’s event runs Friday-Saturday, May 16-24, and is hosted by a coalition of local partners, including the French Broad River Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) and the Land of Sky Regional Council.

Beyond riding transit, people can advocate in favor of policies that will make it easier to densify along existing transit corridors. Wheeler points to policies eliminating mandatory parking minimums and enabling missing middle housing and multifamily zoning as particularly beneficial.

“Transit thrives on density,” Wheeler says. “If we build places that are all easy to get to and connected and have that density, that is going to have such a big impact on individual emissions and our emissions as a city.”

Asheville’s City Council recently passed a number of policies along these lines with the intention of making it easier to build housing along transit corridors and is expected to consider more proposals along these lines in the coming months.

Wheeler also recommends that folks who use the bus email Asheville City Council members and the French Broad River MPO and let them know that you use the service and appreciate it.

“It’s a matter of political will and demonstrating demand,” Wheeler says. X

Hammer time

Habitat for Humanity’s Women Build program starts 21st house

BY EDWIN ARNAUDIN

earnaudin@mountainx.com

You may have encountered a wombat in various natural or artificial habitats. But have you ever seen a WomBAT?

Short for Women Build Advocacy Team, this group whips up support for the nonprofit Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity’s Women Build program, recruiting fellow volunteers and raising $55,000 to construct the annual Women Build House. It’s one of numerous local Habitat for Humanity efforts that help provide affordable homeownership and home repair programs to qualified low-income residents.

“ The mission of Women Build is for affiliates to recruit, educate and nurture women to build and get into construction, which is typically a pretty male-dominated industry,” says Maddy Alewine , communications specialist for Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity. “It’s to create a comfortable and welcoming space for women, but also people of all genders. You don’t just have to be a woman to build a Woman Build house. Everybody’s welcome.”

Though not exclusive to the Asheville Area Habitat affiliate, the program has proved especially popular on the local level, where it attracts some of the highest volunteer numbers for Habitat house builds each year. The first Women Build house was completed in 1994 and the second in 2007, after which it soon became an annual event. The program’s 21st house will get underway on Thursday, May 22, with a wall-raising event at Habitat’s Glenn Bridge neighborhood in Arden.

NEW SKILLS

The program’s ethos resonated with Julie White when a co-worker invited her to help out on a build day in 2009. The Black Mountain resident says she “ knew nothing about construction at all” but took a risk and found a warm, encouraging environment.

“ Everyone is very supportive, and supervisors have always been

great and welcoming and patient as they teach you things,” White says. “ You don’t have men telling you what to do. You have women supporting one another, so it’s a very nonthreatening way to get involved with building. And they’re really doing something that makes a difference in the community.”

In addition to becoming competent on a build site and comfortable using a wide variety of hand and power tools, White has become more handy around her own house. The skills gained with Women Build allow her to assist her husband with his string of home projects, and the landscaping experience she’s gained through the program have enhanced the couple’s property. But the perks don’t stop there.

“The people who volunteer are all wonderful folks, and I’ve become friends with a good number of them,” White says. “And the staff at Habitat is wonderful, and everybody’s very supportive and caring. It’s another circle of friends that has enriched my life.”

’ANOTHER PIECE OF THE PUZZLE’

Over the past 16 years, White has become a core volunteer, dedicating at least one day per week to Habitat house construction. And she’s currently, in her words, “the head WomBAT” and ready to bring more women into the program.

Aiding that recruitment is the annual Rock the House fundraiser on Saturday, May 17, at 6:30 p.m., at The Mule at Devil’s Foot Beverage Co. The WomBATs hosted their first Rock the House fundraiser in 2017, and this year’s event includes live music, dancing and refreshments. Everyone is invited to the free event, and donations are encouraged.

“The goal of that specific fundraiser is to raise $10,000,” Alewine says. “The WomBATs will be there and probably Women Build homeowners who’ve bought their homes in past years. That community’s pretty strong, so it should be a fun time.”

Volunteers can sign up for shifts Tuesdays through Saturdays. Alewine notes that the initial months of construction will include floor

and wall framing and wall building. Then subcontractors come in to handle plumbing, electricity and other important details, after which

volunteers will be called upon for the home’s finishing touches.

According to Alewine, Habitat homes typically take six-eight

months to complete. The Asheville Area affiliate usually finishes a new house every month or every other month, and the latest Women Build house is estimated to be completed in December. No signifiers are placed on the finished house to denote that it’s a Women Build project, and because of Fair Housing laws, female applicants aren’t prioritized for Women Build houses. But since the homeowners are required to perform 200 hours of “Sweat Equity,” many accrue hours by helping build their house alongside volunteers, forming strong bonds in the process.

This unique collaboration is one aspect that keeps White dedicated to Habitat’s mission, and she encourages all who are interested to sign up.

“ It’s kind of intimidating for women to come out and work on a build. This is a great way to do it because you’re working with a bunch of supportive women,” she says. “Right now, a lot of people are looking for ways to help our community, so this is just another piece of the puzzle.”

To learn more, visit avl.mx/do5.  X

POWER (TOOLS) TO THE PEOPLE: Julie White started volunteering with Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity through its Women Build program in 2009. Photo courtesy of Asheville Area Habitat

WHY I VOLUNTEER

Everyone deserves to feel safe

Amira El-Dinary is an AmeriCorps Project POWER member and volunteers with Children First/Communities in Schools of Buncombe County. She began with the organization Sept 23.

After speaking with Xpress, El-Dinary’s position with AmeriCorps was eliminated by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Her last day was May 9. Her responses to the questions below were provided prior to her termination. Xpress: What inspired you to become a volunteer with Children First, and what is your main responsibility?

El-Dinary: My role with Children First/Communities in Schools is in the learning center at Woodridge apartments. This is a cost-free after-school program in a subsidized housing complex. Monday through Thursday, we provide food, homework support and developmentally appropriate activities to students from Emma Elementary School.

I volunteer at Children First/Communities in Schools because I believe strongly in children’s need for safe and supportive spaces in their community; spaces of love that allow children to be themselves. Everyone deserves to feel safe, acknowledged and unconditionally held in community with love.

My education in human development taught me how impressionable children are. Children are sponges, absorbing information about how the world works. Their concept of the world forms at a young age. Anyone who interacts with kids has a special opportunity to contribute to the development of a person’s worldview. I want to show children resilience, confidence and compassion. By sharing these values through the way I interact with people, I am actively creating an optimistic future.

What has your time with the nonprofit revealed to you about our community?

My time at Children First/Communities in Schools has opened my eyes to systemic dysfunction within the public school system. When I first moved to Asheville in August, I noticed the signs advocating better pay for North Carolina teachers. Now, I understand the importance of this issue. The people who are trying to help children and build a positive future are doing so without the support they need. School staff are burnt out to an alarming extent. I see little benefit in the present school system. Children and school staff alike are worn down by this dysfunction.

What bit of advice would you offer someone who is considering volunteering their time to Children First or some other local nonprofit?

For those considering volunteering with nonprofits, get clear on your “why.” Purpose is an anchor; clarity about “why” fuels your action and ensures you don’t lose sight of what is truly important. How you use your time and energy is how you spend your life. I choose to spend my life upholding the values I care about deeply. Serving others through a value-based lifestyle is challenging (anything that is genuinely rewarding will be challenging). For those who want to support others, I offer this question: How are you allowing yourself to be supported? Giving is about sharing the overflow; diminishing your well-being to support someone else’s well-being is an empty cycle.

Photo courtesy of Amira El-Dinary

‘Be

deliberate’

Local consultant discusses the role of creativity in business

BY LISA ALLEN

Spoiler alert: Creativity is not magic.

Creativity is a skill that Amy Climer outlines in her book Deliberate Creative Teams: How to Lead for Innovative Results .

After all, we were all creative once. Remember what our imaginations could make of that shadow on our bedroom wall or the world we could build with a blanket, a table and a few pillows?

But that light, Climer writes, is often extinguished along the way by a not-so-great teacher, a parent’s impatience or the playground bully. Case in point: Kindergartners score the highest in building a structure with marshmallows and sticks; MBA graduates score the lowest, Climer points out in her book.

Climer, an innovation and team development consultant, walks readers through rekindling that power and using it to fuel innovation in the work world.

The most important ingredient for creativity, she says, is being deliberate about it. Follow an established process and foster fertile team environments. Look at your company’s team dynamics. Are they destructive, stagnant or sporadic? Or are they sustainable and scalable? Do team members feel safe to share ideas? Do they trust their colleagues? Are they bonded together for a common purpose, or do they bond over a shared disdain for the task/boss/company?

Climer, who earned a Ph.D. in leadership and change from Antioch University, tries to clear the way for productive teamwork to thrive and offers team exercises throughout the book.

Her clients have included the Mayo Clinic, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Fox Sports and the University of Wisconsin. She and her wife, Julie Koenk e, live in West Asheville.

Xpress spoke with Climer about her book and how the topic applies to Asheville, post-Helene.

Xpress : Who is your intended audience?

Climer: The book is written for leaders who want their teams to be more innovative but maybe they’re not quite sure where to start. A lot of teamwork happens in team meetings. And so what are those meetings like? It’s often left to the leader to design them and facilitate them. Creativity is a process. And if you want to be innovative, you follow this system. Ideally, everyone on the team understands the whole system and the whole process.

I also see that you teach canoeing at North Carolina Outward Bound School. What are the similarities between teaching canoeing and teaching leading innovation?

In both innovation and canoeing there are these techniques you can learn. You have tools, you have techniques, and there’s a process or a system that you can use — in the case of canoeing, to successfully get down a river or across a lake. Same thing with innovation. There are different ideation techniques and different tools. ... [In both instances] there’s not a right or wrong answer. You could have five canoers who are very skilled all do it a little differently and that’s OK. That’s sort of the beauty of it; that there’s so many different

PUT IN THE WORK: “The big message in the book that I want people to know is that if they want to be creative, you have to work at it,” says Amy Climer.

ways to do the same thing. And I think that’s where canoeing and innovation overlap.

How well do you see Asheville as a city and as a community innovating after Helene?

I am seeing some really interesting ideas come up. I think what happens in situations like the hurricane is it’s all these little tiny things that come together. You know, all of these little projects that someone’s really interested in — this art project or someone’s really interested in this architecture and someone else is interested in policy, and it’s like, great, everyone go to your strengths, do your thing, and it’s all going to make us better. I feel like we live in a city that is very innovative and open, and I’m excited about what evolves as long as we can keep that open, which I think we can.

How does one sustain innovation and creativity?

There’s this assessment tool that I use called foresight, which measures our preferences in the creative process. Some of us love clarifying and asking a lot of questions; some of us love implementing and are like, “Why are we talking so much? Let’s get started.” You can imagine those two people would butt heads. But

when everyone understands the system and each person’s personality, the result can be really amazing. I think it takes team members being a bit graceful with each other and showing patience and respect with each other. When team members can build the skills to do that, I think it’s just remarkable.

Is there anything else you want people to know about the book?

The big message in the book that I want people to know is that if they want to be creative, you have to work at it. I have this mantra that you have to be deliberate to be creative because it won’t happen by accident. You got to put in the work to do it. ... Be intentional. ... Give everybody a stack of Post-It notes, lay out the problem and tell everyone they have three minutes to come up with as many ideas as they can. And in three minutes, each person’s going to have at least three ideas, usually five. It just changes the dynamics. It changes the type of ideas you get. That’s what I mean by be deliberate. It’s just these small little changes you can make just skyrocket the innovation and the ideas that you have. You have to set aside time to address it. It can even be just a few minutes or an hour. You’ve got a massive problem and you can’t set aside an hour? Then I don’t really know what to do for you.  X

Photo courtesy of Climer

White Horse Black Mountain, 105C Montreat Rd, Black Mountain

Las Monta ñ itas: A Latin American Musical Experience

Las Monta ñ itas draw heavily from the Chicha Cumbia scene that emerged in Peru in the late 1960s, featuring psychedelic surf guitar tone, Afro-Colombian dance grooves and Andean inspired melodies.

TH (5/22), Folkmoot Auditorium, 112 Virginia Ave, Waynesville Americana Concert

Series w/The Darren Nicholson Band

This outdoor concert series features Americana-folk to bluegrass and beyond that's filled with foot-stomping and heartfelt music. This week will feature The Darren Nicholson Band.

TH (5/22), 6:30pm, Peterson Amphitheater, 34 Melrose Ave, Tryon

COMMUNITY WORKSHOPS

1-Hour Make Ahead

Freezer Meals for the Week

In this class, we’ll meal-prep 6 tasty and nutritious freezer meals that can be heated and eaten at a later point.

WE (5/14), 5:30pm, Madison County Cooperative Extension Office, 258 Carolina Ln Marshall

Create Your Own Nature Bracelets

Create your own nature bracelet as a wearable reminder of the wonders of the outdoors using a variety of natural materials including leaves, flowers, and twigs.

WE (5/14), 6pm, Burton Street Community Center, 134 Burton St

Magical Resistance Workshop

A one-hour class that will provide attendees with some ideas and magical techniques for supporting yourself and community, to help ensure that we’re all staying safe in this tumultuous political climate.

FR (5/16), 6pm, House of Black Cat Magic, Co., 841 Haywood Rd

Walk Audit Training

1 A 30-minute training on assessing walkability based on specific criteria and assigning scores. SA (5/17), 9:30am, Hendersonville Farmers Market, 650 Maple St, Hendersonville

Bike Polo Newbie

Night

Bikes and mallets provided by the club. No experience necessary, but must know how to ride a bike.

SU (5/18), 5pm, Malvern Hills Park, 75 Rumbough Pl

Tai Chi Open Clinic

All are welcome in this new curriculum course, regardless of the style of internal martial arts you practice, your skill development or age level.

SU (5/18), 7pm, Dragon Phoenix, 51 N Merrimon Ave, Ste 109

Birding by Ear

A four-session introduction to the wonderful world of birding, the first two instructional sessions emphasize birding by ear. In the last two classes, participants embark on two birding nature walks.

MO (5/19), 10am, Harvest House, 205 Kenilworth Rd

The Foxy Chef: A Night of Vegan Cooking Chefs will take us on a culinary journey, explaining health benefits of nature’s herbs and spices.

MO (5/19), 5:30pm, AmeriHealth Caritas, 216 Asheland Ave

Yoga & 12 Step Recovery

Open to anyone, especially those impacted by substance use and behavioral health concerns.

TU (5/20), 8:30am, AmeriHealth Caritas, 216 Asheland Ave

How to Price Your Product or Service

Identify internal and external factors to consider in setting prices for products and services and learn to estimate potential market share.

TU (5/20), 10am, A-B Tech Small Business Center, 1465 Sand Hill Rd, Candler

Therapeutic Recreation Adult Crafting

A variety of cooking and crafts, available at two different times. Advance registration required. Open to individuals ages 17+ with disabilities.

TU (5/20), 11am, Murphy-Oakley Community Center, 749 Fairview Rd

Walk & Bike Audit

Training Session

This session is for folks who will participate in the Lucy Herring Walk and Bike Audit.

TU (5/20), 5:30pm, West Asheville Branch Library

Change Your Palate Cooking Demo

This free lunchtime food demonstration is open to all but tailored towards those with type 2 diabetes or hypertension and/ or their caretakers.

WE (5/21), noon, AmeriHealth Caritas, 216 Asheland Ave

So You Want to Start a Farm...Now What?

This one-half day workshop is designed to assist new and aspiring farmers in taking the first steps in thinking through a farm start-up.

TH (5/22), 2pm, A-B Tech Small Business Center, 1465 Sand Hill Rd, Candler

LITERARY

Julia Elliot Presents: Hellions w/Nathan Ballingrud

Julia Elliot celebrates the release of Hellions, her new story collection. Asheville horror writer Nathan Ballingrud will join her in conversation.

WE (5/14), 6pm, Malaprop's Bookstore and Cafe, 55 Haywood St Book Study of The Anxious Generation

A discussion around this best seller and how we can help our kids and schools overcome tech dependence.

TH (5/15), 6pm, East Asheville Library, 902 Tunnel Rd

Asheville Storyslam: Only In Asheville

Prepare a five-minute tale of events that transpired in your town that couldn’t happen elsewhere. Secret histories or local mysteries. Tourist traps or hidden gems.

TH (5/15), 7:30pm, The Grey Eagle, 185 Clingman Ave

Hadestown: Teen Edition

This intriguing and beautiful folk opera follows two intertwining love stories – that of young dreamers Orpheus and Eurydice, and that of immortal King Hades and lady Persephone.

FR (5/16), 7:30pm, SA (5/17), SU (5/18), 2:30pm, The Grey Eagle, 185 Clingman Ave,

Author Readings w/ Luke Lamar & James Cooper Features Luke Lamar reading from his book, Kick the Darkness and James Cooper reading from his book, Recovery Rocks with Jesus SA (5/17), 1pm, Blue Ridge Books, 428 Hazelwood Ave, Waynesville

Katherine Scott Crawfod w/Jennifer McGaha

Katherine Scott Crawford will share her new novel, The Miniaturist’s Assistant , in conversation with fellow author Jennifer McGaha.

SA (5/17), 3pm, City Lights Bookstore, 3 E Jackson St, Sylva Flooded Poetry

Each poet will be able to share 2-3 poems, and occasionally we will have local celebrity poets close out our night with a featured reading.

MO (5/19), 6:30pm, free, Flood Gallery, 802 Fairview Rd Ste 1200

Dark City Poets Society Open Mic Night

Everyone is welcome to share a few poems (3-5 min. each), or just sit back and have a drink for a good cause.

TU (5/20), 6pm, Oak & Grist Distilling Co., 1556 Grovestone Rd, Black Mountain

THEATER & FILM

King James Basketball fans and theatre lovers alike will enjoy this very funny and surprisingly moving play full of sports mania and a strong storyline about male friendship and the powerful social currents beneath it.

WE (5/14) , TH (5/15) , SA (5/17) , 7:30pm, FR (5/16), SU (5/18) , 2pm, NC Stage Co., 15 Stage Ln CATS

Based on T.S. Eliot’s cherished collection of poems, Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, this innovative production breathes new life into the beloved story.

WE (5/14) , TH (5/15) , FR (5/16) , SA (5/17), 7:30pm, Flat Rock Playhouse, 2661 Greenville Hwy, Flat Rock

Free For All: The Public Library Documentary Screening & Discussion

This documentary explores the transformative power of public libraries in America—from their pioneering origins to their enduring role as sanctuaries in the face of modern challenges like closures and book bans.

TH (5/15), 2pm, Black Mountain Library, Black Mountain Circle: The Gatherings Community Film Premiere

A film commemorating and carrying on the vision of the Southeast Permaculture Gatherings. This film is an invitation

Youth Mental Health

First Aid For Adults

Program designed to teach adults how to help an adolescent who is experiencing a mental health or addictions challenge or is in crisis.

MO (5/19), TU (5/20) , 10am, AmeriHealth Caritas, 216 Asheland Ave

The Hindrances & Beyond

The Social Sangha and Paul Linn will lead guided meditation, a dharma talk, and discussion.

MO (5/19), 6:30pm, The Lodge at Quietude, 1130 Montreat Rd, Black Mountain

IBN Biz Lunch: Arden

The meeting will consist of introductions by every guest, a discussion of future networking opportunities, a roundtable business needs and solutions segment, a time for gratitude and testimonials and more.

TU (5/20), noon, Wild Wing Cafe S, 65 Long Shoals Rd, Arden

Age Well Buncombe

Learn how to age in place with resources provided by area organizations and a panel discussion. Plus

free refreshments, blood pressure readings and giveaways.

TU (5/20), 1pm, East Asheville Public Library, 3 Avon Rd

EveryDay Strong

A program that equips caring adults with training and tools to support the mental health and wellness of children aged 8 to 18.

WE (5/21), 10am, AmeriHealth Caritas, 216 Asheland Ave

ART Passport Program: Webinar for Employers

Learn how businesses can provide free bus service for employees. Register at avl.mx/es5 for the webinar.

WE (5/21), 11am, Online

Village Elders w/ NC Guardian & Care Management

This program offers a unique approach designed to support seniors in maintaining their independence and quality of life as they age.

WE (5/21), 5pm, AmeriHealth Caritas, 216 Asheland Ave

Up In the Air: Monitoring Our Mountain Air Quality

Local air quality staff

will provide updates on post-Helene conditions, tips for protecting against pollution and wildfire smoke, and information on finding reliable air quality information.

WE (5/21), 5:30pm, Black Mountain Library, Black Mountain

Treks Hiking Club for Adults 50+

A low-impact hiking club offering leisurely-paced hikes for active adults 50 or better. Bring lunch, water, good walking shoes, and dress for the weather.

TH (5/22), 9:30am, Murphy-Oakley Community Center, 749 Fairview Rd

NSA-WNC Meeting

Professional keynote speakers, coaches, trainers, facilitators, and consultants who cover a broad range of topics, skills and knowledge.

TH (5/22), 10am, AmeriHealth Caritas, 216 Asheland Ave

GAMES & CLUBS

Outdoor Field Bingo

Bring a lawn chair and friends to play bingo outdoors for prizes.

TH (5/15), 1pm, Burton Street Community Center, 134 Burton St Indoor Walking for Wellness Club Weather doesn’t matter when you have a community gym. Let us crank up the tunes to get you motivated.

TH (5/15, 22), TU (5/20), 9:15am, Stephens-Lee Recreation Center, 30 George Washington Carver Ave

Bid Whist

Make bids, call trumps, and win tricks. Every Saturday for fun competition with the community.

SA (5/17), 1pm, Dr Wesley Grant Sr. Southside Community Center, 285 Livingston St

Community Bingo Prizes awarded to winners of each game. Recurs the third Saturday of each month.

SA (5/17), 1pm, Ste -

more.

SU (5/18), noon, Fleetwood's, 496 Haywood Rd Magical Market

Stock up on magical supplies in the shop, browse our market of local vendors, pet some panthers in the cat lounge, and finish your day off with an intuitive reading.

SU (5/18), noon, House of Black Cat Magic, Co., 841 Haywood Rd, Meadow Market

This vibrant outdoor market features a curated selection of local makers and artisans. Browse a delightful array of one-of-a-kind textiles, handcrafted jewelry, beautiful pottery, and more.

SU (5/18), 1pm, The Meadow at Highland Brewing Co., 12 Old Charlotte Hwy, Ste 200

West Asheville Tailgate Market

This market features an array of goods including fruits, vegetables, baked goods, bread, eggs, cheese, plants, specialty items, locally made art and crafts and more. Every Tuesday through November.

TU (5/20), 3:30pm, 718 Haywood Rd

FESTIVALS & SPECIAL EVENTS

Asheville Beer Week

Kick Off Party

Celebrate the start of Beer Week with great beer, live music and good company.

TH (5/15), 4pm, French Broad River Brewery, 101 Fairview Rd

Huge Swannanoa Community Yard Sale

The twice-annual yard sale regularly attracts dozens of sellers and hundreds of buyers. Whether you're looking to sell some stuff or snag some treasures mark your calendar now,.

SA (5/17), 8am, Owen High School, 99 Lake Eden Rd, Black Mountain Black Mountain Beautification Committee’s 19th Annual Garden Sale

Featuring 20 vendors, a members’ market, bake sale and plant raffle during this 2-day event.

FR (5/16) , 2pm,

SA (5/17), 9:30am, Black Mountain Town Square, Black Mountain

Saluda Arts Festival

Celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Saluda Arts Festival in historic downtown. This special event will feature fine art and crafts, children’s tent and activities, family fun, food, and live music. See p65

SA (5/17), 10am, Historic Downtown Saluda, 24 Main St, Saluda

Sandy Mush Spring Fling 2025

This free community celebration features a plant exchange, youth bake sale, local food vendors, artisan market, and kids' science fair. Bring plants to exchange, cash for purchases, and your community spirit.

SA (5/17), 11am, Sandy Mush Community Center, 19 School Rd, Leicester

What's Shaking?

Music Presents: Summer Music & Dance Series

An afternoon of music, food and fun for kids and their adults. The full What's Shaking Band will be onstage with poems, songs, and dances for pre-K (and cool kids of all ages). See p64

SA (5/17), 3pm, Sweeten Creek Brewing, 1127 Sweeten Creek Rd

Battle of the Breweries Volleyball Tournament

To celebrate Asheville Beer Week, Highland is hosting a friendly tournament to honor all the great beer and breweries around the area.

SU (5/18), 11am, Highland Brewing Co., 12 Old Charlotte Hwy, Ste 200

Ride of Silence: AVL

This international event promotes sharing the road with cyclists and honors those injured or killed in road collisions. Participants are asked to wear white, follow all road rules, and ride silently.

WE (5/21), 6:30pm, City of Asheville, 70 Court Plaza

3rd Annual Hope is in Bloom

Enjoy a vibrant evening filled with live music by The Lefties, delicious bites, and meaningful connections with others who share a passion for

mental health support in WNC.

TH (5/22), 5:30pm, The Event Center at Highland Brewing, 12 Old Charlotte Hwy Ste 200

ABSFest: Thursday Speakeasy Show

Opening Party

The festival kicks off with the ABSFest Speakeasy. Local sweethearts Drayton & the Dreamboats play jazz all night with bellydancers, sword-swallowing and more.

TH (5/22), 8pm, Crow & Quill, 106 N Lexington Ave

BENEFITS & VOLUNTEERING

Oakley Community Closet

A cost-free opportunity to shop clothes, shoes, and toys. Donations for Oakley Community Closet happily accepted at Murphy-Oakley Community Center throughout the week.

WE (5/14), 1pm, Murphy-Oakley Community Center, 749 Fairview Rd

Fundraiser for Zillicoah Beer Co.

Proceeds of the sales from one of the Czech side-pull taps will be donated to the brewery. There will also be a silent auction featuring donations from local breweries, distributors and importers, all tickets sales will be going to the Zillicoah crew. See p62 FR (5/16), noon, Appalachian Vintner, 745 Biltmore Ave

Project Linus: Makea-Blanket Day

Participants will have the opportunity to make both no-sew fleece and quilted blankets. Or they can join the knit/crochet circle to work on their own work-in-progress projects.

SA (5/17), 8:30am, Lutheran Church of the Nativity, 2525 Hendersonville Rd, Arden

NAMIWalks: WNC

This annual event aims to raise awareness and funds for mental health in our community. It highlights the need to protect Medicaid which serves 30% of people with significant mental health challenges. With  26%

of people in WNC.

SA (5/17), 9am, Pack Square Park, 1 South Pack Square Park

Rotarians & Friends Walk The Walk

A fun and meaningful walk with proceeds benefiting MANNA FoodBank, MemoryCare AVL and Alzheimer's Research. You may contribute but there's no entry fee.

SA (5/17), noon, Bear's BBQ Smokehouse, 135 Coxe Ave

Rock the House for Women Build

A fun evening of live music, dancing, and refreshments to raise money for Asheville Habitat's Women Build program.

SA (5/17), 6:30pm, The Mule, 131 Sweeten Creek Rd Ste 10

Empty Bowls

A community meal benefiting the Flat Rock Backpack Program. Each ticket includes one hand-crafted bowl donated by area potters, a soup-based meal, plus homemade cookies baked by church members.

SU (5/18), noon, Parish Hall of St John in the Wilderness, 1905 Greenville Hwy, Flat Rock

Sound Effects: Asheville Music School's Benefit Concert Sound Effects is Asheville Music School’s primary fundraising event and showcases all of their student bands. The goal is to raise $15,000 to support AMS operations and the Paul Thorpe Music Education Fund.

SU (5/18), noon, One World Brewing W, 520 Haywood Rd

Jazz for the Woods

Help the community save 45-acres of forest from destruction by UNCA with Jazz for the Woods, a benefit to Save the Woods campaign.

SU (5/18), 5:30pm, Little Jumbo, 241 Broadway Lake Tomahawk Wildlife Garden Workday

A garden workday at the edge of Lake Tomahawk that'll be focusing on removing invasive species by hand to prepare the space for planting this fall.

TU (5/20), 9am, Lake Tomahawk, Lake Tomahawk, Black Mountain

those relying on our services and for our community as a whole.

You put together the local Dining Out of Life annual event. I imagine it’s a really important fundraiser for WNCAP. How did it go this past month?

This was our 23rd year. We were worried about the impact of [Tropical Storm] Helene on the restaurant industry, but we felt like it was important to still hold the event to raise awareness and promote local restaurants. We decided to manage it a lot like we did during COVID with less emphasis on restaurant donations.

The restaurant community is so generous. Over 40 restaurants participated, and it was incredibly heartwarming. It was such a positive experience and defied expectations, given the context of the political climate. For me, all of the people who came out were saying that they care about people with HIV, they care about this public health issue, and they care about queer and marginalized folks.

I really felt like our whole community was supporting us and the mission. It was so uplifting.

How did you get into this work?

I had an uncle named Belvin who died in ’89 from AIDS. He was really special to me. He was an artist, he was spiritual, and we had a special relationship. I remember going up to visit him in New York, where he ran a gallery, and he was sick when we went to visit him. My parents didn’t tell me that he was sick or what he was sick with. It wasn’t until he passed away when I was a middle schooler that my mom sat me down to tell me why.

I have more stories and reasons, but basically I’m really drawn to anything that confronts unfair social discrimination and stigma, and this just happened to be an issue close to my heart.

You and I have talked a bit before during our last tea meeting about some of the history of the HIV/AIDS crisis. I remember reflecting about how for most people under the age of 40, it’s hard for them to fathom how much things have changed. I’m 44 years old, so I was on the cusp of that change as I was coming up as a young person. When one

of my best friends told me he had tested positive for HIV in 2004, I thought he was telling me he was given a death sentence. I didn’t leave my bed for three days out of despair. The only association I had with HIV was losing another person in my life to AIDS. Things have changed so much since then, and we live in an age where things like preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) are widely used. My friend is not only still alive, but his viral count is undetectable. It’s mind-blowing to hear from others from older generations who witnessed dozens of their loved ones pass away. I deeply resonate with your story and with the passion you have for this community.

Yes! Today people are living and thriving with HIV. WNCAP is here to help those that are struggling to access care. Many of our clients are underemployed, underinsured and medically vulnerable. We help people get into care and stay in care, and we also help people access and afford PrEP and PEP, HIV prevention treatments. Most of the general public thinks that the HIV/AIDS epidemic is over, but it won’t be over as long as people go undiagnosed and untreated.

OK, my next questions are going to be asking for your personal advice, but no pressure! My favorite sex advice columnist, Dan Savage, often says that in order for a person to qualify to give advice, one just needs to be asked their opinion. So, what do you think most challenges our modern romantic/sexual relationships in today’s world?

There are a lot of deeply ingrained ways in which we think about how relationships should be in our culture. Some of them are antiquated and don’t serve everyone equally. Historically, women more so than men have been taught to accept that their needs are not important. It’s important to learn how to trust one’s own desires and process them and really try to figure out how to be intentional with honoring self and whoever else is involved while remaining as ethical as possible. Trust yourself and communicate. That’s what it comes down to. Communication and boundaries are so hard. We grew up in a culture where we’re not really taught boundaries and how to express

Creative healing

Workshop invites community members to confront trauma through the creative process

BY JESSICA WAKEMAN

Healing can come from work we do with a therapist, a spiritual leader or a higher power. But a truism in the mental health community is that we are also healed with others — witnessing and sharing our individual and collective pains.

On a Thursday night in April, I drove to Henderson County for the Trauma Recovery Art Process series Creating Calm After Chaos, hosted at the Parks and Recreation Center on South Grove Street. The free workshop was one of four co-facilitated by trauma recovery coach Amy Lloyd Huggins and multimedia artist Kate Stockman. When I arrived, a mother and two teenage girls were my fellow art students. The series can accommodate up to eight people per event.

Huggins begins each workshop with a grounding exercise and then discusses different aspects of trauma processing and healing. In our class that evening, we learned about post-traumatic growth. The phrase, coined by psychologist Richard Tedeschi, is sometimes used interchangeably with the word “resilience.” But Huggins emphasized that the two concepts are different. Resilience is like a rubber band that stretches out and then stretches back into its original shape, she explained. Post-traumatic growth, however, is when the rubber band stretches and snaps. It slingshots you into a future that you were not anticipating or prepared for, she continued.

Trauma rocks you to your core and challenges your belief systems, Huggins continued. But post-traumatic growth, which is catalyzed by that trauma, brings new possibilities and relationships your way, reveals personal strength and may even bring a new appreciation for life.

‘NOT WHAT I SIGNED UP FOR’

Stockman led the collage portion of the evening’s gathering.

We clipped pictures from magazines — a lot of older copies of The Laurel of Asheville — and affixed them onto mat boards with Elmer’s washable school glue sticks. Stockman didn’t instruct us to depict post-traumatic growth or to create anything in particular. Instead, she set a tone for a safe environment where we could talk about our lives while making our collages.

We chatted about a lot of topics. Helene. Work. Racism. Bullying in school. Bullying by teachers. College. Applying for scholarships.

But at times the room fell silent except for the sounds of scissors snipping and the scrape of a glue stick across paper.

In those quieter moments, I thought about post-traumatic growth in my own life. What caused me to seek a new belief system? What rocked me to my core? What propelled me into a future that I was not anticipating or prepared for?

In 2019, my best friend Lilit Marcus was diagnosed with Stage 2B breast cancer. She had just moved to Hong Kong for a new job, and the coronavirus arrived in the region right as she began chemotherapy. (You can read Lilit’s own essay about her cancer journey at avl.mx/erd.) It is not an exaggeration to say that this chaotic time — mind you, I lived in Brooklyn, where COVID arrived in early 2020 — broke me.

I knew that suffering is not fair. I knew that hardship is not apportioned out according to one’s goodness. But the cruelty and randomness of cancer can’t be easily explained or intellectualized in the way that I would have found comforting. Accepting that someone I love might die before her 40th birthday — someone who is kind, smart, witty, moral, adventurous and wise — really did rock me to my core. I had never felt so powerless before. In the moment, it did not feel like a catalyst for growth. It simply felt completely terrifying.

In the first portion of the workshop, Huggins spoke about how post-traumatic growth can arise from a “feeling of betrayal of whatever our higher power is” and that

HANDS ON: Multimedia artist Kate Stockman co-leads Trauma Recovery Art Process, an art workshop at Hendersonville Parks and Recreation, alongside a trauma recovery coach. Stockman encourages participants to express themselves through collage. Photo by Jessica Wakeman

our traumatic experience is “not what I signed up for” in life. Well, that certainly resonated. I had considered myself an atheist-leaning agnostic since my teen years. But Lilit’s cancer diagnosis made me realize I do believe in God. Because I found myself angry at God. Furious at God, really. A new belief system — I’m a believer, after all! — suddenly appeared quite unpleasantly after a lifetime of apathetic dormancy.

NEW INSIGHTS

My experience with post-traumatic growth started rocky, which Huggins had indicated is not unusual. I experienced the deepest depression of my life from fall 2019 through winter 2020: I cried frequently, slept double-digit hours each day, had an upset stomach and my memory held onto new information like a Slip ’N Slide. A hard conversation with my mother, who asked me point-blank if I was considering suicide, is forever burned into my brain. All of this — the physical symptoms, the despair — were wrought by the multiple traumas I endured at once. Part of my post-traumatic growth experience was moving through, and past,

those beliefs (which were aided by Wellbutrin, an antidepressant).

My other classmates at Creating Calm After Chaos didn’t share their own stories about post-traumatic growth. What matters, though, is that we were alone making our art but together for the experience. The collage workshop gave us three indulgent hours together to think only about ourselves, our pain, our growth and our healing.

As for Lilit, she is in remission from breast cancer as of a year or so ago. She still lives and works in Hong Kong. She has been channeling her experiences into stand-up comedy — her own processing of trauma through art.

Loving someone through a cancer diagnosis and treatment was the hardest experience I’ve ever lived through. But I grew from it and changed. I respect and trust the person I am today all the more for having come out on the other side. After my art therapy session last month, I have a better understanding of why.

The Creating Calm After Chaos series runs through May on various days, times and locations. For more information, visit avl.mx/erg. X

Accepting New Patients

Demystifying reproductive health

Local author aims to illustrate a topic many leave unexplored

BY MORGAN L. SYKES

morgan.l.sykes@gmail.com

Julia Considine Pierce is more scared of Appalachian black bears than anything in the Sahara Desert. When Xpress reached out to the local author and health expert about her forthcoming book, My Body Is Sacred: Tales of Health and Wellness for Little Girls , Pierce was in Marrakesh, Morocco, on a 60-mile trek into the Saharan sand dunes as part of a women’s retreat.

“I’m afraid to sleep in my backyard in Gerton because of the bears,” she says. “But here, you take this wool blanket that’s been on the camel all day, then you throw it on the ground, throw your sleeping bag down and sleep under the stars.”

Pierce, who holds a master’s degree in public health as well as a master’s in divinity, will celebrate her book’s launch Saturday, May 17, at 2 p.m., at Laughing Water, an outdoor retreat space in Henderson County. The event is free to attend, and guests are encouraged to explore the site’s waterfalls and hiking trails.

Here, Pierce talks to Xpress about her work as a longtime educator and her book’s mission to normalize the discussion around sex education.

Editor’s note: This conversation has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

Xpress : Can you speak to what inspired you to write your book?

Pierce: It’s really the intertwining of my education and work with public health and divinity. I saw — through teaching puberty, sex ed and health — the profound impact these messages have on children and the way that reproductive health is often left out. The shame and the stigma, specifically about women’s reproductive health, is like a veil that covers the reproductive organs of a woman. And so that part of the body is not taught about and ends up being very confusing for girls and women. I wanted to find a way to intertwine teaching about reproductive health with this message that your body is sacred.

DIRE EFFECTS: “Only 22% of elementary schools in the entire country are teaching puberty,” says local author Julia Considine Pierce. Not learning the basics, she warns, can have dire effects. Photo courtesy of Pierce

You’re coming to this from an academic background with hands-on teaching experience in local schools. Could you expound on that?

I was in grad school at Chapel Hill. That program is spectacular. And my internship was with the N.C. Department of Public Instruction, and I got to spend over a year interviewing teachers and administrators. But my heart really called out to teaching fourth and fifth graders about puberty. I got to really see what the kids connect with — what they think about their bodies, healthy relationships and consent. It really gave me this broader understanding of what is needed.

Only 22% of elementary schools in the entire country are teaching puberty. This is so important. This can support your health throughout your entire life. This prevents sexual assault, sexual abuse, teenage pregnancy, STDs. It is so preventative, and it is very simple information.

But because adults sexualize it and bring all of their experiences, fear and concern, education doesn’t happen. I wanted to create material that’s gentle, that’s

beautiful, that’s informative, that’s grounded in science and health information but delivered in a sweet way that’s not sexualized.

The book is so colorful and inviting. How involved were you with the illustration and the visual presentation?

I had a very clear idea of what I wanted this to look like, but I’m not an artist. So it was amazing to work with Liz Evy , the illustrator, and Otterpine, the publisher. It was a lot of back and forth, and Liz did an incredible job.

Now that the book is about to be released into the world, what are your hopes? How do you envision parents interacting with this?

Some people are going to be just completely drawn to the book; others will be triggered. There was this recent survey out of the U.K. that found only about 9% of women who participated were able to identify the parts of the vulva. Nine percent! That’s because, again, we haven’t been taught that. So, my request is that people are

gentle with themselves in reading the book.

Parents should read the book first and sit with what that brings up for them. Allow yourself to feel the gentleness of the message and it being delivered from a place of love and understanding and the sense of sacred and see how that resonates for you.

And then when you’re ready to share that with your daughter, you could share it with her. Again, in that sense the book is for little girls; but it is also for women of all ages. Everyone that has read it has learned something at whatever age they are. And the men that have read it have said, “This is a treasure.” Twice, two men said to me, “I hope you write one for boys.” I have two sons, so I really hope that I get that opportunity.

So the book launch event that’s coming up on May 17 looks really fun. It’s among waterfalls and trails. Can you share how you’re feeling about the event?

I am so excited just to bring people together and celebrate the book. In a sense, the book has felt so held by the community. People that connect with this message are so supportive about the ways that it supports health and wellness and prevents sexual abuse. It talks about consent and honoring your body in a time where girls get this message of sexualizing their bodies and self-objectification.

People seem to be really excited to come together and share and talk about [the book]. I’m excited to hear the illustrator speak about her process. We’ll eat some food, and people can go outside and enjoy the waterfalls.

It’s so special, too, because it’s an area at the beginning of the gorge that has had really severe damage from the storm. Gerton is a really wonderful, tight community, and so to have neighbors, friends, family and the public come to celebrate this book, I really hope that it does support the health and wellness of girls, women, their families and their dads. That it’s able to bring support to public health and to support the heart, the spirit and the soul of girls, women and those who love them.  X

grain of the wood in ways that resemble natural landforms. For this project, he’s blending both: precision seat carving with organic, free-form reliefs.

“I wanted the bench to feel like it came out of the land,” he explains. “Not just to sit in the landscape, but to feel part of it.”

As part of the Echoes of the Forest project, the bench will be accompanied by a plaque explaining its origins and intent. But Shuey hopes the work can speak for itself through its form, texture and the physical invitation to sit, slow down and take in the world around it.

This is his first piece of public art. Most of his work goes into private homes across the country, never seen by him again once it leaves his shop. “It means something to make a piece that’s going to stay here,” he says. “To be part of the community in this way, it’s different.”

’A SECOND LIFE’

Morganton-based Chris Markey, another artist who will create a piece for Echoes of the Forest, is a fulltime chain saw carver known for his wildlife sculptures, especially bears and foxes.

Markey’s first Helene-related project was in Asheville’s upscale Ramble neighborhood, where he was commissioned to carve a fallen chestnut oak. The resulting piece, a relief carving of an owl, was created for a retired forester passionate about trees, as Markey puts it.

He also took on a smaller project, a fox carved from a Helene-downed oak tree in Laurel Park in Henderson County. “The fellow who owns the property didn’t want to see this tree cut up and turned into firewood,” he says.

Markey has been carving professionally for about three years. But his connection to the craft goes back much further. “I’ve been a fan of whittling and Scandinavian-style carving since I was a kid. My dad was a sign maker, and he would also power-carve signs with power tools. And I realized maybe I should get involved with the chain saws.”

Through Echoes of the Forest, Markey sees an opportunity to bring visibility to the work of local artists while honoring the region’s trees. “We do this work anyway, but we wondered whether there was a way to combine our efforts and do something more community-oriented. That’s kind of where the Echoes of the Forest comes in, to try to give us some organization, some administrative assistance in a way that we can keep doing the work we do.”

For Markey, the post-Helene work is emotional. “Trees are living organisms,” he says. “They have life spans just like we do. To see them basically die is sad. But by creating monuments and public artwork with what remains of them, it’s giving the trees a second life. It’s like paying homage to the tree.”

Andreassen echoes that sentiment, noting how the project has evolved beyond its original scope. “It started out as a healing project, but now it’s really about healing in more ways than just one,” she explains. “It’s about healing our hearts, healing the artists who have been devastated and healing the economy, creating opportunity wherever we can.”

She adds: “My little tree trail has turned into something that seems to be a lot bigger than I anticipated.”

For more information about Echoes of the Forest, go to avl.mx/ero. X

BRANCH MANAGER: Chain saw artist Chris Markey carves what will become a fox from a Helene-downed oak tree in Henderson County. Photo by Justin McGuire

Tight-knit

Seth Walker and Colin Miller release new albums with longtime collaborators

BY EDWIN ARNAUDIN

earnaudin@mountainx.com

The destruction from Tropical Storm Helene made people rethink numerous aspects of society and their own lives. It even made Seth Walker wonder if he should scrap his nearly completed 12th album.

The Fairview-based singer-songwriter and guitarist had completed most of the tracking and was working on last-minute overdubs in late September when flooding knocked out the bridge leading to his neighborhood. After two weeks, he managed to evacuate to Florida — then promptly had to pack up again as Hurricane Milton made landfall.

Walker and his family finally found refuge halfway across North Carolina thanks to friends in Saxapahaw in Alamance County. And it was there that the artist had a memorable phone call with his longtime pal and collaborator Oliver Wood of The Wood Brothers.

“I was so upside down about it all. I was like, ‘I don’t know if I’ll finish this record,’” Walker recalls. “Just the energy of putting myself out there again and all the hoops [to jump through] and raising money and all the things. We had a really good talk, and we just reminded ourselves there’s so much service in the music.”

The conversation realigned Walker with that mission and inspired him to not only finish the album but name it after his original track, “Why the Worry,” which he co-wrote with Wood.

“[‘Why the Worry’] really did become the mantra of it,” Walker says. “Not worrying about stuff is — I mean, the Buddhist monks haven’t mastered this. It’s not an easy thing to do, and it’s not that I’ve found this ‘always with the blissful peace and the blissful letting go’ [mindset]. But the music on this record helps me point myself toward that. And that’s about all we can do.”

Even though he temporarily couldn’t see it, a sense of revolutionary optimism ripples throughout Why the Worry. Walker’s five originals and six Walker-fied covers of songs by such artists as Al Green (“Take Me to the River”) and Bobby Charles (“I Must Be in a Good Place Now”) feel like a warm embrace — even when the words aren’t so happy. That’s the case

with his album-opening take on Bill Withers’ “The Same Love That Made Me Laugh” which, filtered through Walker’s soulful voice and his silky co-production with Wood Brothers drummer Jano Rix, sounds decidedly upbeat.

Walker credits his inherent optimism to a loving, supportive family. But, as evinced by the phone call with Wood, his musical family also sustains him. That community also includes — though is hardly limited to — Rix, bandmates Rhees Williams (bass) and Mark Raudabaugh (drums), and fellow local resident Ed Jurdi (Band of Heathens), whom he’s known since their mid-’90s days in Austin, Texas, yet whose Why the Worry collaboration “Midway Girl” marks their first co-write.

“After 12 albums of recording music, I do feel the support of the collectiveness — of this kind of water that I’m floating in,” Walker says. “It’s not all on me. I feel supported by the whole thing. Maybe that was kind of a thread through [Why the Worry] unconsciously when I recorded it.”

To learn more, visit avl.mx/bou.

COMMUNITY TRUST

A tight-knit crew is likewise central to Colin Miller’s life and art, and he keeps doubling down whenever possible.

Primarily known as the drummer for indie rock extraordinaries MJ Lenderman & The Wind, the longtime local has tightened his bonds with those bandmates over the past few years during frontman Jake Lenderman’s meteoric rise. Buoyed by the critical acclaim of Lenderman’s 2024 album, Manning Fireworks, The Wind has brought its distinct Asheville sound to “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon,” “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and an NPR Tiny Desk Concert, as well as sold out shows around the world.

“It’s been awesome. You get to play your best friend’s songs every night and watch people go crazy for him,” Miller says. “When you’re close friends with someone, you want to support them to be the best version of them themselves they can be. And it feels like that — supporting Jake in such a deep and honest way.”

Lenderman reciprocates that dedication by playing drums and the occa-

sional lead guitar on Miller’s second album, Losin’, which will be released on Friday, April 25. Fellow members of The Wind — who, like Lenderman, are also in the Asheville-rooted band Wednesday — Ethan Baechtold (bass) and Xandy Chelmis (pedal steel) rounded out the recording sessions at West Asheville’s Drop of Sun Studios. And though including those artists naturally imbues Miller’s songs with a Wednesday/The Wind-adjacent sound, the multi-instrumentalist remained confident that his distinct vision would shine through.

“When I include my friends, I’ve never really thought about trying to get, like, a seasoning of what they have. It’s more like acknowledging that that’s going to be a natural byproduct of involving the same people — and leaning into that and loving that,” Miller says.

“We all listen to so much music, and we listen so much different music together. It helps to have people around that you might play in bands with but you know their range of interests. And I think it’s easy to trust that they’re going to listen when you have that sort of relationship.”

Miller’s sharp songwriting further sets him apart as a unique artist. In addition to sprinkling in vivid imagery and dryly comic lyrics across his new album’s nine tracks, he pays tribute to Gary King, his longtime father figure and landlord in the East Asheville’s Haw Creek community. King passed away in July 2022, and though Miller, Lenderman and Wednesday vocalist Karly Hartzman stayed on, maintaining King’s property, they were forced out in spring 2024 when the land was sold to a developer. Over those two years, Miller worked on Losin’, carefully crafting his homage.

“I knew I wanted to write an album about my grief and loss, but I didn’t want to do it in a way where I couldn’t play any of the songs [live],” says Miller, who now lives in Black Mountain.

“I leaned more into things having embellishment and kind of their own

world so that it softens that blow of it being about this grief — both for the audience’s sake, but also totally for mine. There’s one song on the album that I don’t know if I’ll be able to emotionally get through playing. But, who knows? In time, maybe.”

To learn more, visit avl.mx/epz. X

FRIENDS INDEED: On their latest LPs, Seth Walker, left, and Colin Miller received plentiful help from some of their favorite people. Walker photo by Parker Pfister; Miller photo by Charlie Boss

Flights of fancy at Zebulon Artisan Ales

BY CHRISTOPHER ARBOR

On Jan. 1, Christopher Arbor and his friends pledged to visit one Asheville brewery each week for all of 2025 in the order that they opened, then share the experience with Mountain Xpress readers. To read about their recent success at Sweeten Creek Brewing’s trivia night, visit avl.mx/ert.

In her song “Look Up,” Joy Oladokun sings, “Sometimes your life feels like a broken roller coaster/A thousand useless moving parts.” Four hundred years earlier, the Bard wrote that life often seems like a tale “told by an idiot, full of sound and fury. Signifying nothing.” Melancholy may be nothing new, but — my goodness — when it hits, it sure feels fresh, and that’s where my head and heart started on the first Saturday in May.

Not an uplifting start to an article about beer, I know. Don’t worry. I won’t leave you there.

Over the years, I’ve learned to embrace the wisdom: If you want to change how you’re feeling, change what you’re doing. So, I went to the Mountains-to-Sea Trail with the incomparable Wes Miller and outran my ghosts for a few hilly miles. Then I returned home and continued the endless work of removing storm debris from neighborhood woods. Sometimes the best way to clear your mind is to clear a trail.

Later, at Zebulon Artisan Ales, we encountered two more things that can really lift a mood: good beer and good dogs. When we walked into the Weaverville taproom, I noted that there were about as many canines as humans. And they (that is, all of the dogs and most of the people) were well-behaved.

Now, from my experience “artisan” is generally a meaningless marketing buzzword. It seems as if someone is always trying to sell me some “gourmet soda,” “housemade popcorn,” or “handcrafted salt.” But at Zebulon, they mean it. Husband-and-wife co-owners Mike Karnowski and Gabe Pickard really put the craft in craft beer.

Our visit coincided with the Kentucky Derby, and regular David Stravos had collected a few dollars from most of us to bet on the outcome. I felt certain the winner would be a descendent of the legendary horse Secretariat because, well, every single horse in the race was a descendent of Secretariat.

We toasted with tiny glasses from beer flights instead of

mint julips. Zebulon specializes in Belgian and French farmhouse ales, but to my mind the coolest thing the brewery does is historical re-creations, such as its porter and one of its IPAs, which follow recipes from 1840. Tasting them is time travel. Like several of the other beers, they were barrel-aged for a year, which simulates the time they would have been shipbound and also does some ludicrously good things to their flavor profiles. Yum.

When Wes and I rolled out, we went to Asheville Pizza & Brewing Co. to catch Marvel’s The Thunderbolts, a superhero flick that actually tackles issues of mental health with a surprising degree of nuance and heart.

Cheers to all the things that bring us joy — be it beer, dogs, horses, heroes, the woods or Wes Miller. Come join us on another adventure. We gather at 5:30 p.m. Wednesdays. You can email me at yearinbeerasheville@gmail.com or just show up.

• May 21: Fahrenheit Pizza & Brew • May 28: New Belgium Brewing  X

BEER ME: Wes Miller sips a sample at Zebulon Artisan Ales. Photo by Christopher Arbor

by Gina Smith | gsmith@mountainx.com

Fundraiser for Zillicoah Beer Co. James Beard TasteTwenty

Zillicoah Beer Co.’s taproom on the banks of the French Broad River was destroyed by floodwaters from Tropical Storm Helene. With Zillicoah’s recovery dependent on community support, Biltmore Village bottle shop Appalachian Vintner will host an event on Friday, May 16, noon-6:30 p.m., to help the brewery get back on its feet. Throughout the day, 100% of sales from silent auction tickets (in-person only), pours from a donated keg of Privatbrauerei Ayinger lager and beer sales from the shop’s Czech side-pull beer taps will benefit Zillicoah. New vegan sourdough pizza truck Pizza Finta will be on-site starting at 2 p.m. Appalachian Vintner is at 745 Biltmore Ave. No. 121. Learn more at avl.mx/erp.

Ashleigh Shanti, founder of Good Hot Fish, was named this month to the James Beard Foundation’s cohort of 2025-26 TasteTwenty chefs. Shanti will join 19 other chefs in hosting tasting events in 20 U.S. cities as part of the Taste America series. “These chefs represent the future of American dining — combining culinary excellence with positive leadership that drives our industry forward,” said JBF CEO Clare Reichenbach in a press release. The second Taste America event takes place in Asheville on Wednesday, Sept. 3, at 5:30 p.m. Shanti will collaborate with chef William Dissen of The Market Place. For information, visit avl.mx/erq. X

Rite Rite coffee shop owners Essy and Logan Hatchett closed their downtown location on Wall Street. The shop’s last day was May 4. The lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic then Tropical Storm Helene combined with climbing downtown rent prices and increasing competition made maintaining the space untenable, Logan Hatchett says. Rite Rite’s second shop at 96 Weaverville Road, Suite 107, remains open, and downtown staff have relocated there. “At this point, we probably do two to three times the amount of sales on average daily at our Woodfin location,” Hatchett says. In announcing the location’s closure in April, the owners posted on Instagram a reminder to support local small businesses. “Many of us are still struggling,” the announcement reads.

“With more support and funding post-Helene, this story might have had a different ending — not just for us, but for many others facing the same tough decision.”

WNC World Beer Cup wins

Four Western North Carolina breweries brought home medals from the Brewers Association’s World Beer Cup competition held May 1 in Indianapolis. Gold medals went to Diatribe Brewing Co. for its chocolate porter, Highland Brewing Co. for its Daycation Gold German-style kolsch and Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. for its weizenbock. Hi-Wire Brewing’s Hi-Wire Lager received a silver medal in the Internationalstyle Pilsner category. For more, visit avl.mx/err. X

and reo p e n ings

This month is seeing the launch of some new restaurants as well as the post-Helene reopening of some local food and beverage businesses.

• Chefs Beth Kellerhals and Dana Amromin launched their biscuit and coffee shop ButterPunk at 372 Depot St. on May 8. The space was flooded with several feet of water during Tropical Storm Helene, postponing the opening by several months. avl.mx/e9k

• Zen Sushi opened a second location inside the S&W Market food hall downtown on May 7 in the vendor space that previously housed Mikasa Criolla. The restaurant’s original location is 640 Merrimon Ave. avl.mx/es1

• Red Stag Grill, the game-focused steakhouse inside the Grand Bohemian Lodge in Biltmore Village, reopened May 8 after extensive renovations following catastrophic flooding during Tropical Storm Helene. The reimagined restaurant features a “newly restored private dining room, cozy seating nooks and an elevated wine vault with over 700 labels,” according to a media release. avl.mx/es3 X

Photo courtesy of Appalachian Vintner

Photo courtesy of the Brewers Association

Photo of Ashleigh Shanti courtesy of James Beard Foundation

Alive and Kicking What’s Shaking

Alive and Kicking, a quartet of intimate concerts by a trio of musicians, will showcase works by three living composers. AmiciMusic, the award-winning, Asheville-based chamber music organization, is committed to breaking down barriers between performers and audiences through staging a relaxed and informal atmosphere in nontraditional spaces to present informative talks about each composer’s life before their particular piece is played.

The musicians for this series are pianist and artistic director Daniel Weiser, violinist Emmanuel Borowsky and his sister Frances

Borowsky on cello; the siblings are from Baltimore.

The program includes a lively trio based on the tango, samba and blues by Dutch composer Heleen Verleur; “Cafe Music” by Paul Schoenfield with touches of jazz, ragtime, Dixieland and klezmer; and a neo-Romantic piano trio by Stephen Dankner that is evocative of Johannes Brahms, Frédéric Chopin and Sergei Rachmaninoff.

The concerts will be held FridaySunday, May 16-18, at four different venues; the Friday evening show is in a private home with limited seating. For more information and ticket costs, visit avl.mx/erj. X

It’s unlikely that a certain female superstar whose name rhymes with “Baylor Clift” will show up and perform her mega hit “Shake It Off” to kick off the What’s Shaking? family-friendly music series on Saturday, May 17, at Sweeten Creek Brewing.

But there will be fun for all who attend the series — with a live, interactive 60-minute concert by Asheville musician, teaching artist and What’s Shaking? creator Ryan Glass.

He will delight the tykes with his original poems, songs and a few classic covers from the brewery’s outdoor stage. Shakers and children’s instru-

ments will be shared for a “drum jam,” call-and-response games will be played, and dance breaks will take place.

All shows run 3-4 p.m. and are free to attend. Sweeten Creek Brewing’s lawn has shade trees, picnic tables, a sandbox, places to play and a dog park. Bear’s Smokehouse BBQ is on-site with sandwiches, plates, sides and the famous moink balls.

Subsequent shows are same time, same place, the last Saturday of the month, June to September. Sweeten Creek Brewing is at 1127 Sweeten Creek Road. For more information, visit avl.mx/erl. X

Pictured, from left, are Emmanuel Borowsky, Frances Borowsky and Daniel Weiser. Photo courtesy of Borowsky Trio

Photo courtesy of Ryan Glass

MOUNTAIN XPRESS 2025

Saluda Arts Festival

Sing “Happy (170th) Birthday” to Madame Phoebia Cheek Sullivan on Saturday, May 17, at the 20th annual Saluda Arts Festival. The town’s most famous citizen, Sullivan was a renowned divine healer, herbalist, seer and woman of God who dedicated herself to healing others with her elixirs as well as touch and prayer. Her reputation led legions of devotees to Saluda during her lifetime.

In 1947, she founded the Sullivan Temple Missionary Baptist Church, and the site is being transformed into Saluda’s Madame Phoebia Cheek Sullivan Memorial Park, a haven spanning nearly 40 acres that will feature an amphitheater, community gardens, a dog park, event spaces, nature trails and a tranquil memorial.

This year, the festival honors her memory and celebrates Saluda’s heritage and arts culture. Historic Main Street will be the linear gallery for displays of paintings, pottery, metalwork, woodwork, jewelry, sculptures, fiber and more.

Tea in the Tempest

Mixed-media artist Heather Divoky and textile artist Emelie Weber Wade have been studio mates in Pink Dog Creative’s Big Room studio for over two years.

That relationship inspired the idea for a joint exhibit, Tea Time for Two, celebrating friendship and collaboration. Then came the ultimate disrupter, Tropical Storm Helene. Delayed but not defeated, the artists kicked off Tea in the Tempest on May 9. The show’s works reflect themes of destruction and loss, while also celebrating the resilience and rebuilding that has followed the storm.

“We wanted to stay true to the show we had originally envisioned but also process the powerful emotions the hurricane stirred in us,” Divoky said in a media release. “The collaborative pieces especially speak to how Emelie and I use our art to channel those raw, transformative feelings.”

Divoky’s work include a dozen of her signature ornate paper crowns plus several new hand-drawn pieces exploring the storm’s aftermath and an elaborate mobile installation. Wade’s work uses handwoven pattern inlay wall art combining traditional Appalachian weaving patterns and nontraditional quilts incorporating personal symbols of home and

Singer/songwriter Daryle Ryce will perform 1-2 p.m. at Ella Grace Mintz Stage in McCreery Park. The festival takes place 10 a.m.–4 p.m. in Saluda. For more information, visit avl.mx/erk. X

Collaborative paper doll by Heather Divoky and Emelie Weber Wade, courtesy of Tea in the Tempest

resilience. The exhibition’s centerpiece features three collaborative installations that relate to the Helene experience: a woven paper and fiber blanket, a life-size tree and an interactive house installation.

The exhibit continues through Sunday, June 8. For more information, visit avl.mx/er9. X

Photo of Daryle Ryce courtesy of Ryce

WEDNESDAY, MAY 14

CROW & QUILL

Firecracker Jazz Band (swing, jazz), 8:30pm

EDA'S HIDE-A-WAY

Songwriters Open Mic w/Miriam & Drayton, 7pm

FLEETWOOD'S PSK Pole Dancing w/ Karaoke, 9pm

FOOTHILLS GRANGE Trivia Nights, 6pm

FRENCH BROAD RIVER BREWERY

Bluegrass Jam Wednesdays, 6:30pm

JACK OF THE WOOD PUB

Old Time Jam, 5pm

LEVELLER BREWING

CO.

Folk Club Open Mic, 6:30pm

NEW BELGIUM

BREWING CO.

Music Bingo w/DJ Spence, 5:30pm

ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC

HALL

The Shady Recruits (rock, R&B), 10pm PULP

Standup Comedy Contest, 7:30pm

PISGAH BREWING

CO.

Bear Bones (Grateful Dead tribute), 6pm

SLY GROG LOUNGE

Weird Wednesday Open Jam, 7pm

STATIC AGE RECORDS Bone Bag, Wastoid, Pharmacy & Machine

13 (hardcore, punk, experimental), 8:30pm

THE JOINT NEXT DOOR

Company Swing (jazz, swing, blues), 7pm

THE MULE

Wednesday Jazz Sessions, 6pm

THIRD ROOM

• Stand-Up Comedy Open Mic, 8pm

• Abby Bryant (soul, rock, country), 10:30pm

TWIN LEAF BREWERY

Open Mic Night, 6pm

URBAN ORCHARD Wayward Trivia, 6:30pm

WHITE HORSE BLACK MOUNTAIN

• Irish Session, 5pm

• Melissa McKinney's Bad Ass Blues Jam, 7:30pm

THURSDAY, MAY 15

12 BONES

SMOKEBOUSE & BREWING

Elizabeth McCorvey (country, Americana), 5:30pm

ASHEVILLE MUSIC

HALL

Fooz Fighters (Foo Fighters tribute), 9pm

CROW & QUILL

Lock, Stock & Teardrops (country), 8pm

EDA RHYNE

DISTILLERY & TASTING ROOM

The Gilded Palace of Metamodern Sounds, 6pm

EDA'S HIDE-A-WAY

Bless Your Heart Trivia w/Harmon, 7pm EULOGY

Upon a Burning Body, Left to Suffer, Half Me & Bleedseason (hardcore, metal), 7pm

FLEETWOOD'S Jared Petteys & The Headliners w/Pleasure Chest & 81 Drifters (rock, Americana), 9pm

FLOOD GALLERY

True Home Open Mic, 6pm

FRENCH BROAD

RIVER BREWERY

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

CLUBLAND

ANDES TO APPALACHIANS: Las Montañitas brings its Andean-inspired melodies to Crow and Quill on Saturday, May 17, starting at 8 p.m. Listeners can expect music that draws from the chicha cumbia scene that emerged in Peru in the late 1960s with psych-surf guitar tones and Afro Colombian dance grooves. Photo courtesy of Las Montañitas

JACK OF THE WOOD PUB

Bluegrass Jam w/Drew Matulich, 7pm

LEVELLER BREWING CO. Old Time Jam, 6pm

ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL

Third Thursdays w/ Anne Coombs & Kompany Swing, 9pm

ONE WORLD BREWING

Julianna Jade (alt-pop), 8pm

ONE WORLD BREWING WEST

Fee Fi Phaux Fish (Phish tribute), 8pm

PISGAH BREWING CO.

Ajeva (funk, rock), 6:30pm

SHAKEY'S • Comedy Showcase in The Office, 8pm • Karaoke w/DJ Franco Nino, 9pm

SIERRA NEVADA BREWING CO.

Cimafunk w/JLloyd Mashup (Afro-Cuban, funk, jazz), 6pm

STATIC AGE LOFT

Auto-Tune Karaoke w/ Who Gave This B*tch A Mic, 10pm

STATIC AGE RECORDS

Crate, Poorly Drawn House & i26connector (shoegaze, jazz, country-goth), 8:30pm

THE MEADOW AT

HIGHLAND BREWING

CO.

Jake Clayton (country, rock, bluegrass), 6pm

THE ORANGE PEEL Sunami w/Pain of Truth (hardcore, punk), 7pm

TWIN LEAF BREWERY Trivia Night, 6:30pm

WHITE HORSE BLACK

MOUNTAIN

Three Guitar Perspectives (jazz, Brazil, Spanish), 7:30pm

WICKED WEED

BREWING

Pete Townsend (acoustic), 5pm

FRIDAY, MAY 16

ASHEVILLE MUSIC

HALL

Debí Tirar Más Fiestas (reggaeton, merengue, Latin-pop), 9pm

ASHEVILLE YARDS Wilco w/Waxahatchee (rock, alt-indie), 7pm

CORK & KEG

The Uptown Hillbillies (honky-tonk, country), 8pm

CROW & QUILL

Queen Bee & the Honeylovers (jazz, blues, Latin), 8pm

EULOGY

Logan Halstead & Willy

Tear Taylor (country, folk, Americana), 8pm

FLEETWOOD'S Wagging, Small Country & Camo Face (indie-rock), 9pm

FRENCH BROAD

RIVER BREWERY

Hunter Root (rock, folk, grunge), 7:30pm

GINGER'S REVENGE

Secret Headliner Comedy Show, 7pm

ONE WORLD BREWING

Open Mic Downtown, 6:30pm

ONE WORLD BREWING WEST

Mashup Mondays w/ JLloyd, 8pm

STATIC AGE LOFT

The Hot Seat Comedy, 7pm

THE GREY EAGLE

Joywave w/Little Image (indie, post-punk, electro), 8pm

THE JOINT NEXT DOOR

Mr. Jimmy & Friends (Blues), 7pm

THE ORANGE PEEL

Between The Buried & Me Protest The Hero (metal), 7:30pm

WHITE HORSE BLACK MOUNTAIN

Local Live w/Vollie

McKenzie & Wyndham Bard (multi-genre), 7pm

TUESDAY, MAY 20

ARCHETYPE

BREWING

Trivia Tuesdays w/Party Grampa, 6:30pm

EDA'S HIDE-A-WAY

Eda's Bluegrass Jam w/ Alex Bazemore, 6pm

FRENCH BROAD

RIVER BREWERY

Robert's Totally Rad Trivia, 7pm

LOOKOUT BREWING

CO.

Team Trivia, 6:30pm

ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC

HALL

• Tuesday Early Jam, 7pm

• Allmost Brothers Band (Allman Brothers tribute), 10pm

ONE WORLD BREWING WEST

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

SOVEREIGN KAVA Open Jam, 8pm

THE BURGER BAR

C U Next Tuesday Trivia, 9:30pm

THE GREY EAGLE

Golden Folk Sessions, 7pm

THE JOINT NEXT DOOR

The Lads AVL (rock, blues), 6pm

THE ORANGE PEEL

Obituary, Nails, Terror, Spiritworld & Pest Control (metal), 6pm

THIRD ROOM Open Decks, 8pm

WEDNESDAY, MAY 21

EDA'S HIDE-A-WAY

Songwriters Open Mic w/Miriam & Drayton, 7pm

ELUVIUM BREWERY

The Candleers (country), 5pm

EULOGY

Buffalo Nichols (blues), 8pm

FLEETWOOD'S PSK Pole Dancing w/ Karaoke, 9pm

FOOTHILLS GRANGE

Trivia Nights, 6pm

FRENCH BROAD

RIVER BREWERY

Bluegrass Jam Wednesdays, 6:30pm

JACK OF THE WOOD PUB

Old Time Jam, 5pm

LEVELLER BREWING

CO.

Hard Beer Trivia & Blind Taste Test, 6pm

ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL

Slim Pickin's (bleugrass), 10pm

PULP

Julianna Jade & The Wild w/McKinney & Eli Kahn (pop, rock, funk), 7:30pm

PISGAH BREWING

CO.

Angel Chantel & Underbrush (bluegrass, swing, roots), 6pm

SLY GROG LOUNGE

Weird Wednesday Open Jam, 7pm

THE GREY EAGLE

Richard Shindell w/ Many a Ship (acoustic), 8pm

THE MULE

Wednesday Jazz Sessions, 6pm

THE ODD

Radian, Silent Monolith & Sunbearer (rock, sludge, doom-metal)), 8pm

THE RIVER ARTS

DISTRICT BREWING

CO.

Bottoms Up! Comedy Showcase, 8pm

THIRD ROOM

Stand-Up Comedy Open Mic, 8pm

TWIN LEAF BREWERY

Open Mic Night, 6pm

URBAN ORCHARD

Wayward Trivia, 6:30pm

WHITE HORSE BLACK

MOUNTAIN

Straight Ahead

Wednesdays w/Tim Fischer (jazz), 7:30pm

THURSDAY, MAY 22

12 BONES

SMOKEBOUSE & BREWING

Alma Russ (folk, blues, bluegrass), 5:30pm

BOTANIST & BARREL

TASTING BAR + BOTTLE SHOP

Comedy Show, 6:30pm

EDA RHYNE

DISTILLERY & TASTING ROOM

The Gilded Palace of Metamodern Sounds, 6pm

EDA'S HIDE-A-WAY

Bless Your Heart Trivia w/Harmon, 7pm

FLEETWOOD'S The Cheeks & DJ Bird

Flu (dark-surf, punk), 9pm

FLOOD GALLERY

True Home Open Mic, 6pm

FRENCH BROAD

RIVER BREWERY

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

JACK OF THE WOOD PUB

Bluegrass Jam w/Drew Matulich, 7pm

LAZOOM ROOM BAR & GORILLA

YIKES! Dating Disaster

Comedy w/Sarah Love, 7:30pm

LEVELLER BREWING CO.

Irish Session, 6pm

OKLAWAHA

BREWING CO.

Felonious Monks (blues, funk, rock), 7pm

ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC

HALL

Cannon Rogers (psych-folk, blues), 9pm

ONE WORLD

BREWING

Andy Fontenot (acoustic-soul), 8pm

ONE WORLD

BREWING WEST

Fee Fi Phaux Fish (Phish tribute), 8pm

PISGAH BREWING CO.

Charlotte Bluegrass Allstars, 6:30pm

SHAKEY'S Karaoke w/Franco Nino, 9pm

SIERRA NEVADA

BREWING CO.

The Infamous String Dusters (prog-bluegrass), 6pm

SOVEREIGN KAVA

Stand Up Comedy Night, 8pm

STATIC AGE LOFT

Auto-Tune Karaoke w/ Who Gave This B*tch A Mic, 10pm

THE JOINT NEXT DOOR

Hope Griffin (folk), 7pm

THE MEADOW AT HIGHLAND BREWING CO.

Kimberly Morgan York (country, pop), 6pm

TWIN LEAF BREWERY Trivia Night, 6:30pm

TWIN WILLOWS

The Candleers (country), 6pm

WICKED WEED

BREWING

Owen Walsh (acoustic), 5pm

FREEWILL ASTROLOGY BY ROB BREZSNY

ARIES (March 21-April 19): What may appear to be slow or static is actually moving. The developing changes are imperceptible from day to day, but incrementally substantial. So please maintain your faith in the diligent, determined approach. Give yourself pep talks that renew your deeply felt motivation. Ignore the judgments and criticism of people who have no inkling of how hard you have been working. In the long run, you will prove that gradual progress can be the most enduring.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): The most successful people aren’t those who merely follow their passion, but those who follow their curiosity. Honoring the guidance of our passions motivates us, but it can also narrow our focus. Heeding the call of our curiosity emboldens our adaptability, exploration and maximum openness to new possibilities. In that spirit, Taurus, I invite you to celebrate your yearning to know and discover. Instead of aching for total clarity about your life’s mission, investigate the subtle threads of what piques your curiosity. Experiment with being an intrigued adventurer.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Gemini author Huston Smith was a religious scholar who wrote 13 books. But he was dedicated to experiencing religions from the inside rather than simply studying them academically. Smith danced with Whirling Dervishes, practiced Zen meditation with a master and ingested peyote with Native Americans, embodying his view that real understanding requires participation, not just observation. In the spirit of his disciplined devotion, I invite you to seek out opportunities to learn through experience as much as theory. Leave your safety zone, if necessary, to engage with unfamiliar experiences that expand your soul. Be inspired by how Smith immersed himself in wisdom that couldn’t come from books alone.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): More than 2,000 years ago, people living in what’s now the Peruvian desert began etching huge designs of animals and plants in the earth. The makers moved a lot of dirt! Here’s the mystery: Some of the gigantic images of birds, spiders and other creatures are still visible today, but can only be deciphered from high above. And there were, of course, no airplanes in ancient times to aid in depicting the figures. Let’s use this as a metaphor for one of your upcoming tasks, Cancerian. I invite you to initiate or intensify work on a labor of love that will motivate you to survey your life from the vantage point of a bird or plane or mountaintop.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): You now have extra power to detect previously veiled patterns and hidden agendas. That’s why I urge you to be alert for zesty revelations that may seem to arrive out of nowhere. They could even arise from situations you have assumed were thoroughly explored and understood. These are blessings, in my opinion. You should expect and welcome the full emergence of truths that have been ripening below the surface of your awareness. Even if they are initially surprising or daunting, you will ultimately be glad they have finally appeared.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Renowned Virgo author Nassim Nicholas Taleb has called for the discontinuation of the Nobel Prize in Economics. He says it rewards economists who express bad ideas that cause great damage. He also delivers ringing critiques of other economists widely regarded as top luminaries. Taleb has a lot of credibility. His book, The Black Swan, was named one of the most influential books since World War II. I propose we make him your inspirational role model for now, Virgo. May he incite you to question authority to the max. May he rouse you to bypass so-called experts, alleged mavens and supposed wizards. Be your own masterful authority.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): I predict that your usual mental agility will be even more robust than usual in the coming weeks. Although this

could possibly lead you to overthink everything, I don’t believe that’s what will happen. Instead, I suspect your extra cognitive flexibility will be highly practical and useful. It will enable you to approach problems from multiple angles simultaneously — and come up with hybrid solutions that are quite ingenious. A possibility that initially seems improbable may become feasible when you reconfigure its elements. P.S.: Your natural curiosity will serve you best when directed toward making connections between seemingly unrelated people and fields.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): You’re ready to go to the next evolutionary stage of a close alliance. Although you may not feel entirely prepared for the challenge, I believe you will be guided by your deeper wisdom to do what’s necessary. One way I can help is to provide exhilarating words that boost your daring spirit. With that in mind, I offer you a passage from poet William Blake. Say them to your special friend if that feels right, or find other words appropriate to your style. Blake wrote, “You are the fierce angel that carves my soul into brightness, the eternal fire that burns away my dross. You are the golden thread spun by the hand of heaven, weaving me into the fabric of infinite delight. Your love is a furnace of stars, a vision that consumes my mortal sight, leaving me radiant and undone. In your embrace, I find the gates of paradise thrown wide.”

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): In ancient Egypt, mirrors were composed of polished copper. To remain properly reflective, they required continual maintenance. Let’s take that as a metaphor for one of your key tasks in the coming weeks. It’s high time to do creative upkeep on your relationships with influences that provide you with feedback on how you’re doing. Are your intended effects pretty close to your actual effects? Does your self-image match the way you are perceived by others? Are you getting the right kind of input to help you stay on course?

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Chances to initiate creative transformations will come from unexpected sources in the coming days. I guarantee it. But will you be sufficiently receptive to take maximum advantage? The purpose of this horoscope is to nudge you to shed your expectations so you will be tenderly, curiously open to surprising help and inspiration. What sweet interruptions and graceful detours will flow your way if you are willing to depart from your usual script? I predict that your leadership qualities will generate the greatest good for all concerned if you are willing to relinquish full control and be flexibly eager to entertain intuitive breakthroughs.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): For many Indigenous people of California, acorns were part of every meal. Nuts from oak trees were used to create bread, soups, dumplings, pancakes, gravy and porridge. But making them edible required strenuous work. In their natural state, they taste bitter and require multiple soakings to leach out the astringent ingredient. Is there a metaphorical equivalent for you, Aquarius? An element that can be important, but needs a lot of work, refinement and preparation? If so, now is a good time to develop new approaches to making it fully available.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): When Piscesborn Jane Hirshfield was a young poet, she mostly stopped writing poetry for eight years. During that time, she was a full-time student of Zen Buddhism and lived for three years at a monastery. When she resumed her craft, it was infused with what she had learned. Her meditative practice had honed her observational skills, her appreciation of the rich details of daily life and her understanding that silence could be a form of communication. In the spirit of the wealth she gathered from stillness, calm and discipline, I invite you to enjoy your own spiritual sabbatical, dear Pisces. The coming weeks will be an excellent time to relax into the most intriguing mysteries.

MARKETPLACE

Want to advertise in Marketplace? 828-251-1333 advertise@mountainx.com • mountainx.com/classifieds

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Remember the Russian proverb: “Doveryai, no proveryai,” trust but verify. When answering classified ads, always err on the side of caution. Especially beware of any party asking you to give them financial or identification information. The Mountain Xpress cannot be responsible for ensuring that each advertising client is legitimate. Please report scams to advertise@mountainx.com

REAL ESTATE

REAL

ESTATE SERVICES

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EMPLOYMENT

GENERAL

JOIN OUR MISSION: SENIOR FINANCE MANAGER AT UNITED WAY United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County seeks a Senior Finance Manager to lead accounting, reporting, and grants. Must excel in

coaching, systems, and compliance. If you’re analytical, proactive, and process-focused, join our mission-driven team shaping long-term community impact. For more information and to apply, visit unitedwayabc.org/ employment-opportunities

SALES/ MARKETING

SENIOR SALES ASSOCIATE

Work for a local company that has covered the local scene for 30 years! Mountain Xpress newspaper is a supportive, team-oriented environment serving local readers and businesses. We are seeking an experienced and enthusiastic advertising sales representative. Ideal candidates are personable, organized, motivated, and can present

STUDIO CHAVARRIA

Hair Salon

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• Take pride in your craft and be a part of this luxurious, vibrant salon in downtown Asheville

Want freedom and flexibility?

Studio Chavarria is not a just a salon. Its a creative space where stylists grow their business on their own terms while being part of an experienced group of stylist.

our company with confidence. Necessary skills include clear and professional communications (via phone, email, and in-person meetings), detailed record-keeping, and self motivation. Experience dealing with varied and challenging situations is helpful. The position’s responsibilities include account development and lead generation (including cold-calling), account management, assisting clients with marketing and branding strategies. If you are a high energy, positive, cooperative person looking to join an independent media organization, please send a resume and cover letter (no walk-ins, please) explaining why you are a good fit for Mountain Xpress to: xpressjob@mountainx.com. This is a noncommissioned position. There is potential for a performance-based annual bonus. Salary: $22 per hour.

SKILLED LABOR/ TRADES

MAINTENANCE TECHNI-

CIAN LEVEL 2 The LightEn Center of Consciousness & Action (LCCA) is a new 489-acre retreat center in Marshall, NC, set to open in September 2025. LCCA is hiring a Maintenance Technician Level 2. If you are interested in learning more please email cirwin@light-en.org for the full job description.

HOTEL/ HOSPITALITY

DIRECTOR OF HOUSEKEEPING The LightEn Center of Consciousness & Action (LCCA) is a new 489-acre retreat center in Marshall, NC, set to open in September 2025. The Director of Housekeeping will report directly to the Deputy General Manager and will manage a team of Housekeepers and Campus Attendants to create an exceptional guest experience. For the full job description please email cirwin@ light-en.org. Annual salary range: $112,000-$118,000

RETAIL

PART-TIME SALES/GALLERY

ASSOCIATE Kress Emporium in Downtown Asheville is hiring for a part-time Sales Associate. We are looking for a friendly, energetic addition to our team to assist with customers and our artists/ vendors. Weekend availability is essential. Please email your resume to kressemporium@ yahoo.com

HOME IMPROVEMENT

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HANDY MAN

HANDY MAN 40 years experience in the trades, with every skill/tool imaginable for all trades with the exception of HVAC. No job too small. $35 an hour. Carl (828) 5516000 electricblustudio@ gmail.com

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GET A BREAK ON YOUR TAXES! Donate your car, truck, or SUV to assist the blind and visually impaired. Arrange a swift, no-cost vehicle pickup and secure a generous tax credit for 2025. Call Heritage for the Blind today at 1-855-869-7055