FEATURES PAGE 18
MORE THAN THE MIDWAY
Asheville to host NAIA National Track Championships in ’26, ’27
Beyond the N.C. Mountain State Fair’s bright lights, exciting rides and fun foods, the fair’s Mountain Music Festival and Heritage Artisans craft booths and demonstrations offer unique opportunities to explore Western North Carolina’s cultural roots. Featured on this week’s cover is Henderson County basket weaver Donna Leven
Katie Davis, N.C. Department of Agriculture
COVER DESIGN
Scott Southwick
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CALLING ALL READERS
As our community prepares for the one-year anniversary of Tropical Storm Helene, we are asking readers to send us their reflections. If you are interested in sharing your thoughts to any of the following questions, please submit your 250300 word response to tcalder@ mountainx.com with the subject line: "Helene reflections.”
What steps should we as a community take to better prepare for the next natural disaster?
Is there a person in your life who continues to make a difference in our community post-Helene, but whose efforts are not on the public's radar?
Has Helene and the recovery process brought new meaning to your life or a new sense of purpose?
Relocating stadium would offer advantages
I attended the design charrette in the Grove Arcade on a recent weekend. We were able to come up with a design that has multiple advantages over the current proposal.
A drawing (an overlay on a map provided by Scott Burroughs) shows the layout of the southwest area of the UNC Asheville campus. Sketched in are a new 5,000-seat stadium with an adjoining covered stage located next to the Greenwood Fields. It keeps the existing field for track and field and practice activities. Also drawn is an area for food and beverage. The baseball diamond is easily relocated. There are several areas set aside for residential/retail buildings.
This beginning shows the possibilities. The advantages are access to Interstate 26 and keeping stadium traffic mostly to the west of W.T. Weaver Boulevard.
The sound and light issues are farther from residential areas. It consolidates the tennis, baseball, basketball, soccer, track and field in one distinct area. It saves the UNCA woods (making the chancellor and soccer team heroes instead of dastardly villains). Site preparation is simpler and cheaper (blessedly above the 1,000-year floodplain, if last year is any indication).
Downsides: It’s farther from downtown, hotels and restaurants; and grading companies lose work and ability to sell 5,500,000 cubic feet of fill dirt.
That’s all for now. We missed the chancellor at the charrette; maybe next time
— David Walter Asheville
Trees are infrastructure, too
I enjoyed a wonderful production of Cyrano de Bergerac by the Montford Park Players. While Roxanne was
wooed by regal suitors below, we the people were serenaded by owls and tree frogs above.
After the play, I examined the program and discovered an ad paid for by the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority. It’s a lovely photo of mountains and forests, along with these words: “Find out how our community benefits from visitors.” I’m thinking about the many ways that visitors benefit from our community, such as those I’ve just witnessed onstage, as well as the many activists who work to preserve forests used as backdrop to lure tourists here.
How strange, I think, that forests show up so often in advertising, but how absurd that forests don’t fit the criteria of projects the TDA is allowed to support. How strange to live in a city once known as “Cool Green Asheville” and once designated as a Tree City USA that only recently hired its first urban forester at a salary roughly that of a marketing associate.
shameful that the Urban Forestry Commission hasn’t met in a year. What myopia for city leaders to develop hotel overlays, but no forest overlays.
Even before Tropical Storm Helene, I believed that the TDA should invest more in infrastructure. Now I think, “If the TDA is going to use photos of trees, they should acknowledge that forests are infrastructure and lobby for the right to contribute funds to protect trees.” Alas, I fear that the TDA will be conned into funding UNC Asheville’s harebrained soccer complex that, if taken off “pause,” will wipe out the UNCA Woods and, very likely, the school’s reputation, too.
I wonder if the TDA will one day advertise the sad reality of a community melting into boiling asphalt in this city’s mad rush to chase tainted dollars. I wonder if photos of denuded forests and eroded red clay littered with single-use plastic discarded by beer-swilling hooligans will inspire guests to visit this place that sometimes feels hard to love.
wonder taxpayers say they’ll boycott Asheville City Soccer Club, their sponsors and any elected official who is too cowardly to speak for those stakeholders who are unborn, unheard and unseen.
By now, most of our neighbors with IQs above 40 have come to see that trees are infrastructure and forests are vital. But maybe it’s true that education doesn’t make one smarter.
Each time I learn more about the proposed plan to destroy an urban gem, I think, “What’s wrong with these people? What the hell is going on?”
— Robert McGee Asheville
The well-kept secret of senior hunger
There has been a great deal of news about the impact of the recently passed “Big Beautiful Bill” on virtually all U.S. residents, including those of us here in Western North Carolina. I want to highlight its devastating effects on a great number of people here age 60 and over.
I am a retired health care executive. I am also an AARP volunteer leading a project: Food Insecurity Among People Age 60+ in WNC: A Well-kept Secret. Over a three-month period earlier this year, another AARP volunteer and I visited nine different free food pantries and congregate dining sites across WNC. We interviewed about 50 older clients of those sites.
We have developed a unique presentation with their quotes and photos, as well as suggested action steps. Their stories reinforce the fact that at least 10% of people in this area over age 60 struggle to have enough food every day. The free food sites are truly a lifeline for them. Yet, the funding for free congregate dining sites is at risk; the food pantries, sponsored by a variety of religious organizations and others and supported by MANNA FoodBank, will be hard-pressed to meet the increasing demand for free food.
I am a soccer fan and have bingewatched all of Ted Lasso twice, so I set out to learn more about Asheville City Soccer Club. Visiting its website, I find these words: “Asheville City Soccer Club acknowledges the Anigiduwagi (commonly referred to as Cherokee) as the indigenous peoples of Western North Carolina. We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which our events take place.”
What the hell?
Isn’t UNCA situated on land once occupied by the Cherokee? Have they abdicated their implied duty to steward this one small but mighty patch of trees? No wonder so many donors have turned their backs on UNCA. No
This is not an issue of fraud, abuse or waste; rather, the issue is ensuring that such a wealthy country as ours can provide a meaningful and necessary safety net for the many thousands of our neighbors as they age. They must be helped so they may age with dignity. Over the next months, AARP will be reaching out to various area groups and organizations to educate them about the issue of senior hunger. Our goal is that senior hunger will no longer be a well-kept secret, and together, we will help reduce this long-standing problem.
— Kenneth A. (Ken) Tannenbaum Asheville
How
CARTOON BY RANDY MOLTON
NEWS Wheels in motion
City of Asheville plans temporary skating rink after Helene
BY JUSTIN M c GUIRE
jmcguire@mountainx.com
Carrier Park’s roller skating rink was left unusable when it was decimated by flooding from Tropical Storm Helene almost a year ago.
That’s created a major challenge for groups that depend on the rink — especially the Asheville Hockey League (AHL), which has had to scale back its schedule and hold games more than an hour away in Greenville, S.C.
At the same time, the City of Asheville has been unable to host its popular Skate Nights or offer other recreational skating opportunities.
Now, the city is moving forward with plans for a skating and hockey rink in a municipal parking lot on Asheland Avenue.
“The idea is to provide a temporary amenity for the community while a permanent rink is built to replace the rink at Carrier Park after it was damaged by Helene floodwaters and debris,” says city spokesperson Kim Miller. “The temporary rink will be available for recreational use, as well as for hockey practice and competitions.”
Construction on the rink will begin after the city selects a contractor and City Council approves the contract. A timeline on its opening will be announced after that.
City Council member Bo Hess hopes Council will be able to vote on the project this month, allowing the rink to open in late fall or early winter.
“I am thrilled to be able to bring more activities and recreation to Asheville, especially for our children and families,”
Hess says. “Our Parks and Recreation Department has really done a great job at bringing these temporary recreation activities to Asheville since Helene.”
The new rink will be installed in a repurposed parking lot next to the Asheville Regional Transit Station. The lot will undergo milling, grading, paving and some landscape work, Miller says. While final construction costs are still being negotiated, funding will come from a combination of grants and private donations.
The city said sponsorships will be announced as they are finalized.
HOCKEY GOAL
For the AHL, the new rink can't come soon enough.
The AHL runs in-line, or roller, hockey youth leagues in the fall and spring and adult leagues in the fall, summer and spring. The youth league typically has 110-135 participants, while the adult league is capped at 166 with a waiting list.
But since Helene, the league has had to cut its number of teams and games played, and players have had to travel to a rink in Greenville, S.C. In the winter, AHL held a shortened seven-week season with two combined adult divisions, says Dan Dean, vice president and adult commissioner. The spring season shifted to a tournament-style format, with each adult division playing its games over a single weekend.
To maintain youth involvement, the league organized several Saturday sessions in Greenville, grouping participants by skill level into lower and upper tiers. Over the summer, no formal youth
ON A ROLL: Before Tropical Storm Helene flooded and severely damaged Carrier Park, the site hosted monthly Skate Nights from May-October. The city is now planning to install a new rink in a repurposed parking lot next to the Asheville Regional Transit Station. Photo courtesy of Asheville Parks & Rec
programming took place — a typical pause for that time of year — but adult players continued to rent rink time independently in Greenville to stay active.
To keep younger skaters engaged closer to home, the AHL is partnering with a private landowner in the River Arts District to create a “RAD Pad” — a temporary minirink for ages 5-9 on a flood-damaged concrete slab, he says. The space may also host occasional public skate nights.
Dean was hoping the Asheland Avenue rink would be ready by October but thinks that timeline is now unrealistic without a contractor on board.
“Our [fall] seasons run from September into December,” he explains. “We are right now bracing at least a delayed start.”
While there’s still a chance Carrier Park could be rebuilt someday, Dean thinks the timeline could stretch to 2028 or beyond.
In the meantime, the AHL continues to explore the idea of building a permanent, roofed facility to host a portable rink it owns. But the nonprofit faces hurdles, such as high land and construction costs.
“There is not much flat land in the area that is not extremely overpriced,” Dean notes. “But our goal right now is to get back to playing hockey — however that may be.”
BROADER EFFORT
Efforts to rebuild Carrier Park and other damaged public parks are part of the city's French Broad Riverfront Parks Recovery project. City Council approved the design and engineering contract for that project on Aug. 26.
“All damaged parks have been thoroughly inspected and grouped into strategic projects for efficiency and to ensure crucial steps are followed to secure nec-
essary funding and resources,” Parks & Recreation Director D. Tyrell McGirt said in a statement. “This systematic approach allows us to not only rebuild, but to build back better by designing and constructing parks that are more resilient and enjoyable than ever before.”
The Asheland Avenue rink will follow typical city park hours — 6 a.m.-10 p.m. daily — and usage rules are expected to closely mirror those of the former Carrier Park rink, allowing for both recreational skating and roller hockey. While the city works toward longer-term solutions, officials hope this facility can help fill a recreational gap.
“We know how much community members miss dedicated spaces to connect with one another and do the things they love,” Miller says. “By offering temporary amenities, they can find a bit of what’s been missing since Helene upended our city 11 months ago.”
COUNTY SEEKS INPUT
Buncombe County Parks & Recreation is asking for public input to help shape the next phase of its Systemwide Parks & Recreation Master Plan, following major changes caused by Helene.
The planning process, which began in 2023, was interrupted as staff shifted focus to repairing storm-damaged parks.
Now, the county is ready to reassess goals and priorities for parks, trails, greenways and open spaces. Because the community’s needs may have shifted in the wake of the storm, officials are seeking updated public input.
Residents are encouraged to complete the survey at avl.mx/f2e by Friday, Sept. 26. They are also asked to share the survey with neighbors and community groups to ensure broad input. X
Distress signal
WNC veteran on why he burned a flag outside the White House — and what comes next
BY JUSTIN M c GUIRE
jmcguire@mountainx.com
Jay Carey, an Arden resident, decorated combat veteran and former congressional candidate, never expected to burn an American flag. But on Aug. 25, just hours after President Donald Trump signed an executive order calling for penalties against flag burning, Carey did exactly that — in front of the White House. The act, which led to his arrest and sparked international headlines, was not planned. “I was sitting at lunch, scrolling through social media and saw the video of Trump signing the executive order,” he recalls. “I said, ‘Oh no, that can’t stand.’”
In 1989, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that flag burning is a form of protected political speech under the First Amendment. “I did it out of love for the flag,” Carey says.
Carey faces charges related to violating federal park regulations, according to an Aug. 26 article by USA Today
This is not the first time the Army veteran, who served in Desert Storm and Afghanistan, has been in the news.
In 2022, he sought the Democratic nomination for North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District. Jasmine Beach-Ferrara ultimately secured the nomination before losing to Republican Chuck Edwards in that November’s general election.
And in March, Carey was escorted out of an Edwards town hall meeting by several law enforcement officers after he delivered an expletive-laden tirade.
Carey is part of a growing group of former service members who are in Washington under the banner of Remember Your Oath, an organization they formally launched Aug. 25. Their goal: to protest Trump’s deployment of U.S. troops in the nation’s capital.
Xpress talked to Carey over the phone about his arrest, the new movement and why he says he’ll never run for office again.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Xpress: Tell me about your decision to burn the flag.
Carey: I told my group I was going to do it, and they overwhelmingly supported it. I already had the flag. Got what I needed, went to Lafayette Park in front of the White House. Said who I was, why I was doing it. I did it in direct opposition to Trump’s executive order. I never thought I’d do it. Never thought there’d be a reason. But I was resolute. I felt confident that it was the right thing to do at this time.
Secret Service agents came, detained me, turned me over to the [U.S.] Park Police. I was in their detention block for about five hours. Then when it was dark, they released me and literally pointed me in the wrong direction to leave. I received two citations from the Park Police: starting a fire without an approved container and starting a fire in a national park without permission, resulting in destruction of property. That one’s false — I lit it on bricks with rubbing alcohol. No damage. The fire extinguisher they used did more damage than I did. I have confirmation that Secret Service agents have reached out to my family members trying to get information on me.
I want them to come for me. I want them to try to push BS charges. They’ve got nothing. Two nonprofits stepped up with legal support. One is offering reduced-cost legal help, and another is providing a pro bono attorney.
Were you concerned for your safety?
From the moment the idea came to me, I knew this reality: I’m a white, middle-class, cisgender veteran male. I’m the safest person in this country to do something like that. I wouldn’t be abused, disappeared or taken advantage of. I have no record. I felt very safe. That’s a privilege — that safety.
FROM WNC TO DC: Veteran and former congressional candidate Jay Carey discusses his recent flag-burning protest in Washington, his opposition to President Donald Trump’s policies and why he believes activism — not elected office — is now his path forward. He is photographed here at the April 5 Hands Off rally in Asheville.
Photo by Thomas Calder
Some warned me I might be held for days. I said, “I’ll be out tonight.” There was nothing to hold me on. And it was a high-profile event. I don’t fear dying when I get pulled over — I just wonder how much the ticket will be.
How much longer will you and others from Remember Our Oath be in Washington?
Our plan is to stay as long as any U.S. soil is occupied by U.S. troops under Donald Trump’s direct control — D.C., L.A., Chicago, wherever. We’re ready to stand up to new presences in any city that becomes occupied. The core group will remain in D.C. no matter what, but we can coordinate and project what we’re doing to other cities. We’re recruiting vets and supporters of the military to come out and join us. We maintain a 24-hour presence at Union Station. Right now we’ve got about 37 signed up, and more every day. Our goal is 50 to 60 vets per shift. We’re here to be visible. We walk around the Capitol to get our message out. We try to interact with the National Guard to let them know they have options. We have a hotline — the GI Help Line — 877-447-4487. They can find out if the orders they’re given are legal. But honestly, they’ve been instructed not to interact with us.
What’s the scene like up there? Is the National Guard presence apparent?
Three of them just walked right by me. They’re armed. At Union Station,
they have sidearms. I saw some carrying M4s over by the Smithsonian.
Do you think your message is getting through?
There was a story about us in a German newspaper the same day we arrived — before I even burned the flag. We started a GoFundMe, and within 12 hours we raised $120,000 to help with operations. People want this. They’re hungry for it. They want to see veterans speaking up.
International media are asking, “Why aren’t people protesting more?” And now they’re seeing it, and they respect it. The American people responded immediately — most of our donations were under $100. We actually turned the GoFundMe off because it was becoming too much, and we needed to manage the budget. Then a TikTok creator — a MAGA creator — made a fake video saying we weren’t here, and urged people to report our GoFundMe. It was locked for a couple days, but we just got it released. We’re working on setting up the LLC and formal structure now. Everything happened so fast.
Do you plan to run for office again?
No! I can’t say that emphatically enough. I will never run again. I can make a bigger impact doing this kind of social justice work. I can say what I want. I don’t have to worry about upsetting voters. I’m more effective this way. My wife agrees. A lot of people say I would’ve made a good congressman. I believe I could’ve won [against Edwards]. I ran against Jasmine BeachFerrara. She's an amazing person and deserved to win. But Western North Carolina isn’t ready yet.
What message do you want to send to people here in Western North Carolina?
It’s time to stand up for your rights. Protest what’s going on. No matter your politics, this is going to affect every one of us. If you’re in a gated community thinking you’re safe, it’ll still catch up to you. This administration is cutting SNAP, threatening Medicare and Medicaid. Health care has always been a problem in Western North Carolina. They’re going to defund it more. [Tropical Storm Helene] recovery? Less than 8% of federal funding has come through. [According to a July 31 article in the Citizen Times, the federal government has awarded the state $3.8 billion for recovery, 6% of the nearly $60 billion in estimated damage the state sustained from the storm.] They don’t care about us. They care about cutting resources and enriching themselves. It’s time to speak up.
For the full interview visit avl.mx/pryz. X
Fast forward Asheville to host NAIA National Track Championships in ’26, ’27
BY JUSTIN M c GUIRE
jmcguire@mountainx.com
Not long ago, the Karl Straus Track at UNC Asheville was in such bad shape that it was deemed unsuitable to host meets for several years.
“Our track was unbelievably poor,” said UNCA Athletics Director Janet Cone
Now, following a $4.5 million renovation completed in 2023, the Olympiclevel, eight-lane facility has been tapped to host national college championship events.
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track and Field National Championships will be held in Asheville in 2026 and 2027, local and national officials announced at a press conference Aug. 27. The NAIA is the governing body for athletics at small colleges and universities, including Black Mountain's Montreat College.
The three-day events are expected to draw more than 1,300 athletes, as well as family members and fans to the region each year, generating an estimated $1.3 million in direct spending annually, according to tourism officials. The championships will be held May 20-22 in 2026 and May 26-28 in 2027.
UNCA, Montreat, the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority (TDA)/Explore Asheville and Airstream Ventures, the Florida company hired by the TDA last year to attract sports events to the area, collaborated to bring the track meets to the mountains.
“Hosting these championships underscores the Asheville area’s standing as a leading sports destination in the Southeast,” said Vic Isley, president and CEO of TDA/Explore Asheville. “This event will support jobs for our neighbors and the well-being of small
businesses, hotels, restaurants and shops across Buncombe County.”
Isley and Cone said the news is especially welcome as Western North Carolina continues to feel the loss of tourism following Tropical Storm Helene.
“Sports really does bring people together, and particularly after the fall we had last year, to know that we can help our community by doing this together and creating some economic impact is very, very important,” Cone said.
‘THIS WAS THE LOCATION’
Austin Bennett, NAIA vice president of championships, said Asheville stood out during the competitive bid process because of its facilities and the community’s spirit.
“It became very clear to us early on that this was the location for us to not only provide a great track and facilities, but to provide a great student athlete and school experience for our athletes, coaches and their fans,” he said. “This is one of our most anticipated competitions in track and field. It’s obviously the pinnacle of what they [athletes] work so hard for in their collegiate careers, and we’re so excited that it’ll culminate in a city like this one that reflects resiliency, dedication, excellence.”
The championships are the highest-profile events landed since the TDA and Airstream partnered in 2024. The contract with the sports marketing company was signed after TDA’s controversial decision to cut $230,000 in annual funding to the nonprofit Asheville Buncombe Regional Sports Commission. Founded in 2010, the commission has brought the Southern Conference (SoCon) basketball championships, the Billie Jean King Cup and more to town.
In other tourism-related news
Below are key takeaways from the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority’s (BCTDA) Aug. 27 meeting.
• New chair: Board members tapped Matthew Lehman, general manager at Grand Bohemian Hotel Asheville, to serve one year as board chair. Lehman was first appointed to the BCTDA board by Asheville City Council in 2021 and has previously served as vice chair. His role as chair began in July and will run through June 2026.
• Occupancy rates drop: A presentation by Explore Asheville president
TDA officials said at the time that the Airstream deal was designed to attract new events to the county rather than duplicate the commission’s efforts.
Alan Verlander, CEO of Airstream, praised Asheville’s strong sense of teamwork. “This championship-type event can’t happen without the embodiment of a team,” he said. “Everybody was there to help with this. And then, of course, Austin and his team from the NAIA embraced Asheville from the moment that they stepped off the tarmac.”
Montreat College President Paul Maurer emphasized the importance of athletics as a platform for personal growth and resilience. Championships are about more than medals and records, he said.
“They’re about the opportunity to test themselves, to grow as human beings and to rise above challenges,” Maurer said. “Bringing the event here to Asheville means athletes … come into a community that understands resilience and has been tested greatly and is showing its model.”
'DREAM BIGGER'
The renovations to the Karl Straus Track wouldn't have been possible without a $1.5 million grant from TDA, Cone said.
Isley noted the TDA’s long history of investment in community projects and the economic benefits of hosting events like the NAIA championships. “This one event alone will bring in $1.3 million in direct spending. That’s a pretty good ROI,” she said, referring to return on investment.
She also highlighted the benefits to local athletes, who often travel outside the region for competitions.
“So many of our families are burning up highways going to other communities for competition,” she said. “Investing
TITLE TOWN: “Today is testament that when we work together, we can host a national championship right here in Asheville,” said UNC Asheville Athletics Director Janet Cone. Cone and other officials announced the city will host the NAIA Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track and Field National Championships in 2026 and 2027. Photo by Justin McGuire
in projects like this and other facilities makes it possible for our own families to stay here and compete as well as bring events here.”
Cone said UNCA’s goal initially was to make basic repairs to the track but decided to do more with the encouragement of GeoSurfaces, a Mooresville-based company that worked on the renovations.
“They challenged us to dream bigger,” she said. “They said, ‘You can make this facility into something that will really benefit our community.’”
And it has, she said, as witnessed by community members of all ages using the track for walking, running and other recreation activities.
“This track is making a difference.” X
and CEO Vic Isley showed that hotels continue to outpace vacation rentals. Hotel occupancy, which is measured as the percentage of rooms occupied, reached 71% in July, down 10 points from the pre-pandemic level in 2019. Occupancy for vacation rentals was at 62% for the same month, down four points from 2019.
• Demand down: Room demand, which is the total number of rooms
occupied during a specific period, was over 210,000 rooms for hotels last month, which was down 2% from 2024. Vacation rentals demand was down 23% for the month of July.
• WNC is open: Vice President of Marketing Dodi Stephens said that Explore Asheville, the BCTDA’s marketing arm, is preparing for a media blitz as the one-year milestone of Tropical Storm Helene approaches. In addition to reflecting on the region’s recovery, the organization plans to continue messaging that emphasizes that WNC is open and ready for visitors by showcasing upcoming events, such as
the Asheville Sessions, and fall happenings, such as the upcoming leaf season.
• Community investments: Isley noted that the Aug. 27 meeting was held at the Asheville Art Museum in an effort to showcase one of the authority’s investments in community through its tourism-related capital projects. The BCTDA will hold its annual meeting Monday, Sept. 8, from 3p.m.-6p.m., at The Wortham Center, another Tourism Product Development Fund investment. The next BCTDA monthly meeting is Wednesday, Oct.1, 9 a.m. at Explore Asheville, 27 College Place.
— Brooke Randle X
Council passes expansion of panhandling ordinance
Asheville City Council passed, 6-1, an expansion of the city's panhandling ordinance. Council member Kim Roney was the lone dissenter in the Aug. 26 vote.
Before the vote, verbal panhandling was prohibited in two high-traffic zones: downtown Asheville and Biltmore Village. Now, as requested by the Asheville Police Department (APD), the rule has been expanded to include Patton Avenue, Haywood Road, Merrimon Avenue and the South Slope.
Panhandling with a sign remains legal in high-traffic zones. However, panhandling and solicitation on a median are prohibited throughout the city.
Violation of the public solicitation ordinance is a Class 3 misdemeanor, according to the N.C. General Statutes. However, according to APD spokesperson Rick Rice, Asheville’s ordinance on panhandling, which supersedes the state’s mandate, dictates that a fine cannot be more than $50. The city's ordinance also states that a person will not be fined if there are no new violations within 12 months. Additionally, people will not be found in violation of the ordinance if they provide documented proof of a good-faith effort to seek assistance for underlying factors leading to the violation of the ordinance, such as enrollment in a treatment court.
The ordinance initially passed the Council’s Public Safety Committee in July.
During public comment at the Aug. 26 meeting, the majority of speakers condemned the new policies on panhandling. Some argued it was an attempt to relocate the unhoused community to less visible locations. Others urged Council to expand services to the homeless community rather than criminalize solicitation.
Public commenter Elliot Gordon shared his five-year experience of being homeless in Asheville. The real danger
to public safety, he said, is the “NASCAR wannabes,” not panhandlers.
Council member Bo Hess said public commenters were “conflating two different things here” — safety precautions and broader issues around homelessness. “Setting safety boundaries is not the same as criminalizing poverty,” Hess said. “This is not a homelessness [restriction] — it is a pedestrian safety measure.”
Regarding opposition to the expansion of panhandling restrictions, Hess continued, “I’m just struck by the callous disregard of the lives of our most vulnerable neighbors. … I strongly reject that our unhoused residents’ lives don’t have value.”
Council member Sage Turner said she appreciated Hess’ perspective and agreed the matter was a safety issue. “I’m not saying I don’t want to see [homeless people] — I want to see them safe,” she emphasized.
Council member Roney called attention to criticism of President Donald Trump’s executive order Ending Crimes and Disorder on America’s Streets. The order requires the U.S. attorney general to assess federal resources to ensure “detainees with serious mental illness are not released into the public because of a lack of forensic bed capacity at appropriate local, State, and Federal jails or hospitals.” Critics note the order could force treatment on individuals against their will. Roney said she was worried that Asheville’s expansion of a panhandling ordinance was “complying in advance” with a crackdown on homelessness.
Council hears housing study results
Council heard a presentation from Patrick Bowen of Bowen National
ISSUES: Sean Aardema, deputy chief of the Asheville Police Department, spoke at the Aug. 26 Asheville City Council meeting, addressing safety concerns associated with panhandling. Screen grab courtesy of the City of Asheville
Research on housing affordability in Asheville, which was commissioned by the City of Asheville in partnership with the Land of Sky Regional Council.
According to the study, Asheville has a housing gap of 11,658 units. Other key takeaways include:
• Affordability remains an issue for residents, especially renters.
• The volume of annual home sales has slowed in recent years, but the median sales price of $437,500 in 2025 is a record.
• Tropical Storm Helene had an outsized impact on housing units in Buncombe County compared with the rest of the study area, which includes Henderson, Madison and Transylvania counties.
Bowen emphasized that the number does not solely represent the need for new construction. “There's a lot of ways through this,” Bowen told Council.
“Adding new housing, repairing and preserving what you have, providing financial assistance to those that are less fortunate.”
In other news
• Council voted 6-1 to give permanent zoning approval to Safe Shelter. The shelter sought approval to reflect its current use as a nightly shelter and to increase shelter size to 35 beds.
• Council approved several agenda items related to ongoing Tropical Storm Helene recovery efforts, including the controversial resolution to establish four Helene recovery boards. The measure shifts the existing 15 citizen advisory boards to meet on an as-needed basis. As previously reported by Xpress, these boards bring expertise in the topics on which they advise, providing community input on projects, long-term plans and other strategies. Hess voted against approval.
• Council approved engineering design services for the North Fork Transmission Main No. 3 project, which the Water Resources Department has deemed necessary to reduce risks of system outages caused by natural disasters.
• Council adopted a resolution to enter into a contract with Sasaki Associates for design and engineering services needed to rebuild the French Broad Riverfront park system.
• Council eliminated language prioritizing diversity among members of the Human Relations Commission of Asheville.
— Jessica Wakeman X
SAFETY
In harmony
Linda Metzner’s musical journey through Western North Carolina
BY CAROL KAUFMAN
ckaufman828@gmail.com
At 73, longtime musician Linda Metzner is surprised to find herself still in high demand. She not only works as a private piano tutor but also directs two choirs — one of which raises money for a wide range of organizations.
Metzner launched the Sahara Peace Choir in 2008, when a friend and fellow singer, Roberta Newman, asked her to organize a benefit concert for her women’s group.
“Roberta was part of a group of women from three faiths — Muslim, Christian and Jewish,” says Metzner. “They met regularly to learn about each other’s cultures and beliefs. When they were raising funds for a trip to the Holy Land, we thought, ‘Why not hold a benefit concert?’”
More recently, the choir performed its annual benefit concert, Blessings on the River, along the shores of Lake Tomahawk in Black Mountain, featuring songs inspired by water.
to honor the rivers, lakes and oceans of the world,” says Metzner.
Rather than performing other people’s compositions, Metzner tends to focus on her own. The Sahara Peace Choir sings her original pieces alongside her arrangements of other works.
This year’s fundraiser benefited Swannanoa Communities Together, a grassroots organization focusing on rebuilding.
“Seeing how Swannanoa was severely impacted by Hurricane Helene, I figured this organization could use our help,” says Metzner. “I’m happy to say, we were able to collect nearly $700 for them at last month’s concert.”
An earlier choir Metzner founded in 1987 is also rooted in fundraising. Womansong continues to thrive, raising money for worthy causes, including New Start Fund, which helps local women who leave abusive relationships start anew. Metzner notes that to date, Womansong has donated more than $250,000 in scholarships.
AROUND THE REGION
“Since our first river concert in Woodfin in 2010, I’ve been collecting and composing water-themed music
“[It’s] something I’m very proud of,” she notes.
Despite her busy schedule, Metzner also serves as music direc-
tor for the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Swannanoa Valley (UUCSV) choir — a role she has held since 2008.
“The UUCSV choir performs once a month during the congregation’s Sunday service in Black Mountain,” she explains. “I accompany the singers on piano and often invite local guest artists.”
Originally from New York, Metzner has lived in the South since she was 20 years old.
“I was blessed with a good musical education, which eventually led me to composing,” she says.
After completing her studies at Florida State University, where she held a fellowship grant in composi-
tion, Metzner faced a choice about where to live.
“I saw two options: Go where the academic jobs were or go where the mountains were. I chose the mountains,” she says with a smile.
Nearly 20 years later, Metzner still resides in Black Mountain — thriving, creating, working on publishing her songs and being grateful for a decision she has never regretted.
On Sunday, Oct. 12, at 11 a.m., Metzner will perform some of her original songs on piano, accompanied by soprano Alison Adams at UUCSV’s Sunday service, 500 Montreat Road, Black Mountain. All are welcome to attend. uusv.org/ X
Whistleblower Run, Prayer from Asheville, NC to Washington DC up BlueRidge Parkway
Communion America “Awaken the Dawn” event on the National Mall, DC
Reformation Day, Silent Circles around city halls & world capitols. Jesus Forgiveness Parties with Holy Ghost Treats. 9/28 - 10/9-31: 10/9 - 10/21: 10/31:
SONGS OF SERVICE: Linda Metzner's organization Womansong, which she established in 1987, has donated more than $250,000 in local scholarships. Along with her work at Womansong, she is the founder of Sahara Peace Choir, which recently raised funds for the Swannanoa community. Photo by Carol Kaufman
For a full list of community calendar guidelines, please visit mountainx.com/calendar. For questions about free listings, call 828-251-1333, opt. 4. For questions about paid calendar listings, please call 828-251-1333, opt. 1.
Online-only events
More info, page 24
WELLNESS
Gentle Tai Chi for Balance
This class works on improving our balance through exercises that help you to think with your feet while strengthening your balance muscles.
WE (9/3, 10), 11:30am, Dragon Phoenix, 51 N Merrimon Ave, Ste 109
Tai Chi Fan
The Fan forms include movements from Yang, Chen and Sun styles of Tai Chi.
WE (9/3, 10), 1pm, Dragon Phoenix, 51 N Merrimon Ave, Ste 109
Free Community Functional Fitness
Build muscular endurance through exercises that focus on multiple repetitions with lower weights while moving in all planes of motion.
WE (9/3, 10), 10:15am, YWCA of Asheville, 185 S French Broad Ave
Tai Chi for Beginners: Yang 10 & 24
In this Beginner Tai Chi class, the focus is on the Yang 10 and 24 forms as well as Qigong exercises for health.
TH (9/4, 11), 11:30am, Dragon Phoenix, 51 N Merrimon Ave, Ste 109
Chen Tai Chi
Chen style is known for its spiral movements and fajin, or issuing power. It is considered a very high level of Tai Chi.
TH (9/4, 11), MO (9/8), 1pm, Dragon Phoenix, 51 N Merrimon Ave, Ste 109
Free Community Zumba Gold
The class design introduces easy-to-follow Zumba choreography that focuses on balance, range of motion, and coordination.
FR (9/5), 10am, YWCA of Asheville, 185 S French Broad Ave
Intermediate Tai Chi Yang 24
Slow, gentle movements that promote good health.
FR (9/5), 10:30am, Dragon Phoenix, 51 N Merrimon Ave, Ste 109
The Professor's Tai Chi
This class is a step up from the Beginners Class and is a great class for those who have studied Yang 37.
SA (9/6), 8:30am, Dragon Phoenix, 51 N Merrimon Ave, Ste 109
Goat Yoga
Partake in a 45 minute all-levels yoga class, and then take all the time you want to snuggle and take selfies with your new goat friends.
SA (9/6), 9:30am, Candler
Yoga in the Park
All-level friendly yoga classes based on Hatha & Vinyasa traditions. Classes led by a rotation of certified yoga instructors.
SA (9/6), SU (9/7), 10am, W Asheville Park, 198 Vermont Ave
COMMUNITY CALENDAR
The Art of Yoga: Fall Series
Each class pass and yoga session includes a guided mindful looking session in one of the Museum’s exhibitions.
SA (9/6), 9:30am, Asheville Art Museum, 2 S Pack Square
Free Community Qi
Gong
Qi Gong improves balance and coordination, enhances physical and emotional energy, and promotes an experience of well-being.
SA (9/6), 11:30am, YWCA of Asheville, 185 S French Broad Ave
Kirtan w/Mantra Mandala
A sweet meditative practice of chanting mantras and divine names while experiencing the healing power of bhakti yoga, the yoga of love and devotion.
SA (9/6), 7:30pm, W Asheville Yoga, 602 Haywood Rd
Yoga Hike
Enjoy a moderate one mile hike up to the summit of a scenic mountain top plus an hour of yoga for all levels and opportunities for lots of pictures before heading down.
SU (9/7), 9am, Bearwallow Mountain Trail, 4899 Bearwallow Mountain Rd, Hendersonville
Wild Souls Authentic Movement w/Renee
Trudeau
An expressive movement class designed to help you get unstuck, enjoy cardio movement, boost immune health, dissolve anxiety and stress while celebrating community.
SU (9/7), 9:30am, Dunn's Rock Community Center, 461 Connestee Rd, Brevard Barn Yoga
Community Yoga class with yogi Mary Beth, who teaches a gentle and vinyasa flow.
CELEBRATING BURTON STREET: On Saturday, Sept. 6, Burton Street Community Center hosts the Burton Street Agricultural Fair, starting at noon. The event will feature community gardens, live music, games, inflatables, food, a 3x3 basketball tournament and a ribbon cutting to dedicate a new playground and basketball court at the community center. Photo courtesy of Yvette Jives
SU (9/7), 10am, Hickory Nut Gap Farm, 57 Sugar Hollow Rd, Fairview
Yoga Taco Mosa Come honor one another in yoga practice lead by Clare Desmelik. Bring your mat, a water bottle, and an open heart.
SU (9/7), 10am, The Grey Eagle, 185 Clingman Ave
Free Community Athletic Conditioning Combining strength training, HIIT, plyometrics, kickboxing and step, this class offers a diverse, challenging
training experience.
MO (9/8), 8am, YWCA of Asheville, 185 S French Broad Ave
Free Community Yoga (Level 2)
A full body movement series to get you poised for an energized day. This practice will help you tune in mindfully and wake up your body.
TU (9/9), 8:45am, YWCA of Asheville, 185 S French Broad Ave
Qigong for Health & Resilience
This class is an opportunity for people of all ages and abilities
to learn traditional Qigong exercises.
TU (9/9), 9am, Dragon Phoenix, 51 N Merrimon Ave, Ste 109
Yoga & Coffee Practice on the outdoor deck, get the body and mind balanced, and then you can hang out after for some coffee, tea and pastries.
TU (9/9), 9:30am, Cooperative Coffee Shop, 210 Haywood Rd Nia Dance
Nia is a sensory-based movement practice that draws from martial arts, dance arts and
healing arts.
TU (9/9), 10:30am, Dragon Phoenix, 51 N Merrimon Ave, Ste 109
Baguazhang Level 1
It is considered a very advanced style of Kung Fu with its complex use of geometry and physics.
TU (9/9), 1pm, Dragon Phoenix, 51 N Merrimon Ave, Ste 109
Midweek Rebalancing
Serenity Sound Bath
A one-hour Serenity Sound Bath that offers a full-body sound and vibrational experience.
WE (9/10), 6:30pm, Center for Spiritual Living Asheville, 2 Science Mind Way Thursday Evening Sound Baths These Sound Bath sessions focus on nervous system regulation, energetic balance, and seasonal, lunar, and solar alignment.
TH (9/11), 7pm, Ritual Skin and Wellness, 802 Fairview Rd building 3000 Ste 11
SUPPORT GROUPS
Virtual Listening Circle
This free virtual listening circle offers a judgement-free, trauma-informed spaced to gather, reset and reflect-together.
Register at avl.mx/f18.
WE (9/3, 10), noon, Online
Disordered Eating/ Eating Disorders
This support group is peer-led and facilitated by licensed therapists & dietitians specializing in eating disorders.
Register at avl.mx/es6.
WE (9/3, 10), 6pm, Online
Nicotine Anonymous
People share their experience, strength and hope to stop using nicotine. You don’t need to be stopped, just have a desire to attend.
TH (9/4, 11), 4:30pm,
Asheville 12-Step Recovery Club, 1 Kenilworth Knolls Unit 4
Marijuana Anonymous
Whether you’re exploring sobriety, new to recovery, or have been on this path for a while, you are welcome here.
TH (9/4, 11), 6:30pm, American Legion Post #2, 851 Haywood Rd
Mad Hatter’s Collective: Hearing Voices Network
A group collective that gathers to talk about encounters with visual, tactile, sensational, or fringe experiences with life and the interaction of energy.
TH (9/4, 11), 6pm, 12 Baskets Cafe, 610 Haywood Rd
Maternal Mental Health Support Group for Mommas w/Sistas Caring 4 Sistas
Sistas Caring 4 Sistas invites you to an afternoon of mental health
XPRESS EVENT PICK
Godspeed You! Black Emperor
• Pisgah Brewing Co.
2948 US Highway 70 W, Black Mountain
• Saturday, Sept. 6 | 7 p.m.
Godspeed You! Black Emperor’s rock compositions serve as soundtracks to late capitalist alienation.
“Take advantage of the chance to see a cult classic music act live. In light of their recent decision to remove their music from Spotify, chances to hear their music are becoming increasingly rare. Many of Asheville will no doubt recognize this group, so get out there and check them out!”
— Caleb Johnson X
support.
TH (9/4), 6pm, AmeriHealth Caritas, 216 Asheland Ave
Magnetic Minds: Depression & Bipolar Support Group
A free weekly peer-led meeting for those living with depression, bipolar, and related mental health challenges. For more information contact (828) 367-7660. SA (9/6), 2pm, First Congregational UCC of Asheville, 20 Oak St
Community Narcan Training
An important training led by Sunrise Recovery and hosted by AmeriHealth Caritas. Learn how to use Naloxone, an introduction into harm reduction, what’s going on in our community and more.
TU (9/9), noon, AmeriHealth Caritas, 216 Asheland Ave
Caregiver Support Group w/Stronger Together Wellness Stronger Together Wellness empowers stroke survivors and their caregivers through shared experiences, fostering a vibrant community that inspires healing, resilience, and hope on the journey to recovery.
TH (9/11), 3pm, AmeriHealth Caritas, 216 Asheland Ave
DANCE
Open-Level Adult Ballet Class (Ages 16+)
Whether you’re a first-timer or returning to the barre, this class offers physical and emotional benefits through timeless technique.
WE (9/3, 10), 6:30pm, Black Mountain Center for the Arts, 225 W State St, Black Mountain
Latin Night Wednesday w/DJ Mtn Vibez
A Latin dance social featuring salsa,
bachata, merengue, cumbia, and reggaeton with dance lessons for all skill levels.
WE (9/3, 10), 8pm, One World Brewing W, 520 Haywood Rd
BMCA Dance: Kids in Motion 2
This class focuses on growing the foundations needed for many dance techniques, including contemporary, ballet, jazz, and lyrical.
TH (9/4, 11), 3:45pm, Black Mountain Center for the Arts, 225 W State St, Black Mountain
BMCA Dance:
Contemporary 3 (Ages 13 - 16)
This class fuses contemporary, modern, lyrical, and jazz styles for diverse dance knowledge. Designed for experienced teens to refine artistry, technique, and performance.
TH (9/4, 11), 6:45pm, Black Mountain Center for the Arts, 225 W State St, Black Mountain
Monday Night Contra Dance
Contra dancing is a fun, social dance for everyone. Follow a lesson at 7 p.m. and then dance to a live band and caller at 7:30 p.m.
MO (9/8), 7:30pm, A-B Tech, 340 Victoria Rd
ART
Elizabeth Alexander: From the Book of Time
Alexander recontextualizes objects traditionally associated with domesticity such as wallpaper, upholstered furniture, and porcelain ware, probing at the societal, historical, and personal meanings embedded within. Gallery open Wednesday through Saturday, 11am. Exhibition through Sept. 27.
Tracey Morgan Gallery, 22 London Rd
Modern Bestiary: Creatures from the Collection
This exhibition explores the artistic legacy of the medieval bestiary through a selection of animals and fantastic beasts from the Museum’s Collection. Gallery open Wednesday through Sunday, 11am. Exhibition through March 15, 2026.
Asheville Art Museum, 2 S Pack Square
First Fridays
Open studios and exhibitions of local artists with over 60 plus artists, local musician, beer and wine.
FR (9/5), 5pm, Resurrection Studios Collective, 160 Broadway St
Gallery Walk
Explore exhibitions, meet artists, and enjoy a behind-the-scenes look at Asheville’s creative scene. Wander at your own pace, then stay downtown for dinner or drinks.
FR (9/5), 5pm, Gallery Mélange, 67 Biltmore Ave, Ste 20
Native America: In Translation
This exhibition, curated by Apsáalooke artist Wendy Red Starr, features the work of seven Indigenous artists who explore themes of community, heritage, and the lasting impact of colonialism in North America. Gallery open Wednesday through Sunday, 11am. Exhibition through Nov. 3.
Asheville Art Museum, 2 S Pack Square
Iron & Ink Exhibition
This exhibition focuses on a dynamic era in American history—the Machine Age—when industrialization and advances in technology transformed urban landscapes and redefined the nature of work and leisure nationwide. Gallery open Wednesday through Sunday, 11am. Exhibition through Sept. 27.
Asheville Art Museum, 2 S Pack Square
Janice Geller: Inner Worlds
An intimate glimpse into artist Janice Geller’s inner life of vivid dreams, inner figures, imaginary portals, hidden recesses of the body and the sumptuous allure of nature. Gallery open Monday through Saturday, 10am, and Sunday,
noon. Exhibition runs through Sept. 21.
Pink Dog Gallery, 348 Depot St
Enchanted Garden Art Show
Discover a magical blend of art and nature in this outdoor sculpture invitational featuring works by eight artists from North Carolina and beyond. Gallery open Monday through Sunday, 10am. Exhibition through Sept. 21.
Grovewood Gallery, 111 Grovewood Rd
COMMUNITY MUSIC
Pierce Pettis
Pierce Pettis is an American singer-songwriter from Fort Payne, Alabama
TH (9/4), 7:30pm, White Horse Black Mountain, 105C Montreat Rd, Black Mountain
Pan Harmonia: Crossing Over Pan Harmonia 26th season opens with lyrical crossover works of American Alec Wilder, Latina Alice Gomez and French jazz pianist Claude Bolling. FR (9/5), 7pm, SU (9/7), 3pm, Black Mountain Presbyterian, 117 Montreat Rd, Black Mountain
Briar Branch Concert
Expect to hear mountain music with sweet vocal harmonies, toe-tapping banjo songs, and hard driving Old Time fiddle tunes. FR (9/5), 7:30pm, Black Mountain Center for the Arts, 225 West State St, Black Mountain
The Altamont Jazz Group
Live Sunday music with the Altamont Jazz Group, Asheville-based quintet playing timeless jazz standards with a twist. SU (9/7), 1pm, Asheville Art Museum, 2 S Pack Square
WNC Pagan Choir: Fall Season
A community choir open to all voices in which everyone sings together to celebrate the magic of the natural world, inspired by folk and pagan traditions of Northwestern Europe. SU (9/7), 3pm, Weaverville Yoga, 3 Florida Ave, Weaverville
Robin Plays AL: A Tribute to AL Petteway
Al Petteway was a Grammy-Winning guitarist who played nearly every type of popular, folk and classical music – as a soloist, as part of an ensemble, and as an onstage accompanist.
MO (9/8), 7:30pm, White Horse Black Mountain, 105C Montreat Rd, Black Mountain
Lea Bertucci & Olivia Block
An experimental musician whose works revolve around electronic and spatial extensions of instrument and voice. Olivia Block is a media artist and composer based in Chicago.
WE (9/10), 7pm, Black Mountain College Museum & Arts Center, 120 College St
COMMUNITY WORKSHOPS
Simply Charmed: Drop In Workshop
Choose from more than 60 styles of metal stamps and a variety of jewelers hammers to complete your charm. After a quick demo by the instructor you will have time to complete your masterpiece.
WE (9/3), 11am, Ignite Jewelry Studios, 84 Walnut St Unit A
Dealing with Debt
Demystify debt in a shame-free, nonjudgmental space. It’s never too late to face your money and make a plan to manage, pay down, or resolve personal debt. Register at avl.mx/eyv.
WE (9/3), 11:30am, Online
Intro to Golf
Whether you’re a beginner or looking to improve your swing, this is a great opportunity for all ages to learn the game at the most beautiful golf courses in the area.
WE (9/3), 1pm, Rotating Golf Courses
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.
TH (9/4), noon, AmeriHealth Caritas, 216 Asheland Ave
A Day of Artful Adventures w/NAMI Come and set your creative nature free with different types of arts and crafts. Learn ways to support your mental well-being through the freedom of art and personal expression.
FR (9/5), 9am, AmeriHealth Caritas, 216 Asheland Ave
Money Foundations
This workshop is perfect for beginners or anyone looking to get back to basics. Discover habits and strategies to build financial confidence and stability. Register at avl.mx/eyv.
FR (9/5), noon, Online
Ignite Maker Nights: Stamped Brass Earrings
Each Ignite Maker Night will feature a different drop in workshop to make something fun for yourself or a friend.
FR (9/5), 5pm, Ignite Jewelry Studios, 84 Walnut St Unit A
Moving from Fear to Faith: Raising the Consciousness of Our Lives
Through conscious coloring with spiritually significant colors, guided meditation, and a reflective Fear to Faith Process worksheet, you’ll uncover limiting beliefs and replace them with faith-based truth.
SU (9/7), 12:30pm, Center for Spiritual Living Asheville, 2 Science Mind Way
Understanding Credit Credit is complicated. Learn what you can do to build it, improve it, and how to plan for future financial goals.
MO (9/8), 3:30pm, OnTrack WNC, 50 S. French Broad Ave
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. This class is open for anyone and everyone.
MO (9/8), 5:30pm, AmeriHealth Caritas, 216 Asheland Ave
Preparing for Homeownership
Take your first step toward homeownership by learning strategies to become mortgage ready. Register at avl.mx/eyv.
TU (9/9), 12:30pm, Online
QuickBooks Online: Bookkeeping for Your Small Business
Participants will learn QuickBooks account set up and customization, invoicing, bill entry and reconciliation, monthly reports, financial reviews, and tips for audit-ready books. Regiser at avl.mx/f2c.
WE (9/10), 1pm, Online
Intro to Archery for Adults
Archers learn the basics such as range safety and proper shooting using techniques according to the USA Archery.
TH (9/11), 10:30am, Tempie Avery Montford Community Center, 34 Pearson Ave
Fall Flames: A Soda Candle Making Series
Pour your own custom candle in a Devil’s Foot Soda can. Each session features different scents.
TH (9/11), 4pm, The Mule/Devil’s Foot Brewing, 131 Sweeton Creek Rd
LITERARY
Poetry Open Mic
This open mic welcomes any form of artistic expression from poetry to improv theatre to music to dance.
WE (9/3, 10), 8:30pm, Sovereign Kava, 268 Biltmore Ave
Storytime & Local
Author Talk
Three local authors all have new picture books out that they want to share with you and the kids in your life. The panel will ask each other questions, read from their books, and some interactive play to engage young readers.
SA (9/6), 11am, Firestorm Books, 1022 Haywood Rd
Wonders & Wanders
w/Wilma
This is a great way to meet new people and learn about one of Appalachia's great women writers, Wilma Dykeman, and the region in which we all live.
SU (9/7), 3pm, Hi-Wire Brewing RAD Beer Garden, 284 Lyman St
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 (9/8), 6:30pm, Flood Gallery, 802 Fairview Rd Ste 1200
Author Visit w/Terry Roberts
Local author, Terry Roberts, will read from his new book, In the Fullness of Time, and answer audience questions.
TU (9/9), 5:30pm, Madison County Public Library, 1335 N Main St, Marshall
THEATER & FILM
Bike-In Cinema
A bike-in movie on the lawn, presented by Asheville on Bikes and New Belgium Brewing. Featuring free bike valet from Asheville on Bikes.
TH (9/4, 11), 7pm, New Belgium Brewing Co., 21 Craven St
Foreign Film Fridays
Every Friday visitors can enjoy a cozy movie night in the gallery featuring some amazing foreign films curated by film-buff Carlos Steward.
FR (9/5), 7pm, Flood Gallery, 802 Fairview Rd Ste 1200
Miss Julie
The plot of the drama revolves around the titular Countess of a large estate in Sweden and her dangerous flirtation with her father’s valet, John.
FR (9/5), SA (9/6), 7:30pm, SU (9/7), 2:30pm, Attic Salt Theatre, 2002 Riverside Dr
King Lear
After attempting to divide his kingdom amongst his three daughters, Lear embarks on a ruinous and regenerative path that leads through political strife, familial tempests, and the nature of human condition, eventually plumbing the depths of madness, cruelty, and unassailable loyalty.
FR (9/5), SA (9/6), SU (9/7), 7:30pm, Hazel Robinson Amphitheatre, 92 Gay St
Journey To Skate the Worlds Highest Road
Getting to the highest Rd in the world was not easy. It took blood, sweat and many beers to realize this goal. This documentary features a journey to the Rooftop of the world (the Himalayas).
FR (9/5), 8pm, Eulogy, 10 Buxton Ave
Reel Obscura Mondays
A free weekly movie night that will be serving up a curated mix of cult classics, hidden indie gems and unforgettable films.
MO (9/8), 7pm, Eda's Hide-a-Way, 1098 New Stock Rd, Weaverville
Film Screening: Metropolis w/Live Metal Score
The Silent Light is a live film scoring project that performs original heavy metal soundtracks to classic silent films.
MO (9/8), 8pm, Eulogy, 10 Buxton Ave
Spirit of Carl Sandburg: The People's Poet in His Own Words
This play consists of Walter's impersonation of Sandburg through recitation of poems, stories and songs, as well as some of Lincoln's most profound utterances.
TH (9/11), 7pm, Tina McGuire Theatre, 18 Biltmore Ave
MEETINGS & PROGRAMS
IBN Breakfast Club:
Mills River
All are invited to attend and promote their business, products, and services, and meet new referral contacts.
WE (9/3), 8am, Mills River Restaurant, 4467 Boylston Hwy, Mills River River Snorkeling River snorkeling is a growing hobby that makes you feel like a fish while exploring a world just under the surface of the water that you won’t believe until you see it.
WE (9/3, 10), SU (9/6), 9:30am, Murphy-Oakley Community Center, 749 Fairview Rd
Southside Cyber
Wednesday
Dive into the exciting world of e-sports and gaming with friends and neighbors with two powerful PlayStation 5 consoles loaded with a variety of thrilling games to fuel your competitive spirit.
WE (9/3), 6pm, Dr Wesley Grant Sr. Southside Community Center, 285 Livingston St
Poor, Poor Pitiful
Me: What are you affirming?
Through a lively PowerPoint presentation, upbeat discussion, and even song lyrics you might know by heart, we’ll explore how our words, sayings, and everyday speech create our reality.
WE (9/3), 6:30pm, Center for Spiritual Living Asheville, 2 Science Mind Way
First Wednesday w/ Big Asheville Science Salon
Each month, a bona fide expert takes attendees on a thrill ride of science awesomeness with a lively Q&A afterwards.
WE (9/3), 7pm, The Mule, 131 Sweeten Creek Rd Ste 10
WNC Sierra Club Presents: Electric Vehicles & Sustainable Transportation Automotive engineer Dave Erb will lead a discussion on sustainable transportation, with a particular focus on electric vehicles.
WE (9/3), 7pm, Reuter Center, OLLI, UNC-A campus
IBN Biz Lunch: Hendersonville
All are invited to attend and promote their business, products, and services, and meet new referral contacts.
TH (9/4), noon, Thai Spice, 220 South King St, Hendersonville
Reconnecting Through Hard Times
In this 1-hour virtual training you’ll gain an understanding of how hard times affect us all, and what to do or say for others when it matters most. Register at avl.mx/f0s.
TH (9/4, 11), noon, Online
APR Afterschool
Discovery Den
Featuring mix of cooking, pottery, music, digital arts, STEM, and more for kids to explore their creativity, learn new skills, and make friends in a lively and engaging environment.
TH (9/4), 2:30pm, Grove St Community Center, 36 Grove St
Healthy Aging Day
This event will feature local community organizations, prizes and giveaways, fitness demonstrations, wellness resources, and more.
FR (9/5), 10am, Reuter YMCA, 3 Town Center Blvd
Reconnect for Better Days
In this 1-hour virtual training you’ll gain an understanding of how hard times affect us all, and what to do or say for others when it matters most. Register at avl.mx/f0s.
FR (9/5), noon, Online
A Course in Miracles w/Patricia Dobberke
It is a platform for clarification on a personal level uncovering the deeper truer self.
FR (9/5), 1pm, Center for Spiritual Living Asheville, 2 Science Mind Way
Parents Night Out
Let your child work off extra energy with a fun filled night of themed games, crafts, and special activities.
FR (9/5), 6pm, Stephens-Lee Recreation Center, 30 George Washington Carver Ave
Perversions Asheville's best play party and fetish night returns and will feature a spanking bench, a St.
suspension rig and more.
FR (9/5), 9pm, The Odd, 1045 Haywood Rd
Free Hickory Nut Gap Farm Tour w/Jamie Ager
Come out to the farm and learn about regenerative agriculture and our journey, see the infrastructure and the animals in a new way.
SA (9/6), 10am, Hickory Nut Gap Farm, 57 Sugar Hollow Rd, Fairview
Spiritual Tune Ups
Let our prayer practitioners attune your spiritual instrument with prayer. Limited availability, sign up for a 15-min private time slot today.
SA (9/6), 10am, Center for Spiritual Living Asheville, 2 Science Mind Way
Chinese Wrestling: Shuai Jiao
It is a standing grappling style, meaning that although there are hip throws, leg sweeps and hand techniques, like many other arts, there is no ground grappling.
SA (9/6), 4pm, Dragon Phoenix, 51 N Merrimon Ave, Ste 109 Push Hands
A two-person training routine practiced in internal Chinese martial arts such as baguazhang, xingyiquan and tai chi.
SU (9/7), 5:30pm, Dragon Phoenix, 51 N Merrimon Ave, Ste 109 Craft Class for Older Adults
This delightful series guides participants to create charming fall decorations including leaf garlands and pumpkin centerpieces.
MO (9/8), 1pm, Tempie Avery Montford Community Center, 34 Pearson Ave
Black Mountain
Democrats Meeting of the Minds w/Zelda Briarwood
September’s event will feature a special invited speaker: Zelda Briarwood, candidate for U.S. House of Representatives in the 11th District.
MO (9/8), 6pm, Pisgah Brewing Co, 2948
US Hwy 70 W, Black Mountain
IBN Biz Lunch: Candler
The meeting will consist of introductions by every guest, a discussion of future networking opportunities in the area, a roundtable business needs and solutions segment and more.
TU (9/9), noon, Elena's Mexican Grill, 101 Westridge Market Place, Candler Wild Food Community Walks
Each week you may forage mushrooms or
gather plants for food or medicine, spend time up close with the moss and forest critters, make tea from seasonal woodland plants, or explore different ways to safely begin incorporating wild food and medicine into your life.
TU (9/9), 5:30pm, Multiple Locations, Citywide Jam Session
Bring homemade or store-bought jams, jellies, and marmalades to share and sample a variety of flavors, learn new recipes, and connect with fellow jam lovers.
WE (9/10), 9:30am, Dr Wesley Grant Sr. Southside Community Center, 285 Livingston St
Mindful Stretching
Take a pause from chaos and reconnect with your body through this program designed to gently release tension, improve flexibility, and calm the nervous system through guided sessions.
WE (9/10), 6:15pm, Stephens-Lee Recreation Center, 30 George Washington Carver Ave
Peri & Menopause Class w/Kristen Olberz
A discussion of current treatments, ongoing research, exploring symptoms and advocating for yourself with your provider.
WE (9/10), 6:30pm, Period Nirvana, 315 Haywood Rd, Unit 113
Shamanic Journey Circle
Exploring your consciousness and meet your guides in the lower world, upper world, and middle worlds. Traveling in the tradition of Core Shamanism via drum beat.
WE (9/10), 6:30pm, The Well, 3 Louisiana Ave
NSA-WNC Meeting
Professional keynote speakers, coaches, trainers, facilitators, and consultants who cover a broad range of topics, skills and knowledge.
TH (9/11), 10am, AmeriHealth Caritas, 216 Asheland Ave
IBN Biz Lunch: Brevard/Pisgah Forest
Incredible Towns of WNC invites you to WNC's largest free and independent Business Networking group.
TH (9/11), 12pm, free, Hawg Wild Smokehouse & Taproom, 91 Pisgah Hwy, Pisgah Forest
Lifestyle Choices
A mentor group that offers an opportunity for young men ages 14-19 to engage in open discussion regarding the problems they encounter, why
behavior matters, community involvement and more.
TH (9/11), 6pm, Dr Wesley Grant Sr. Southside Community Center, 285 Livingston St
GAMES & CLUBS
Asheville Board Game Club Meet-Up
Featuring a wide variety of tabletop games—from light party games to deep strategy favorites. Whether you’re brand new or a seasoned gamer, you’ll find a welcoming group ready to play.
WE (9/3), 5:30pm, Well Played, 162 Coxe Ave, Ste 101
Music Bingo w/DJ Spence
Featuring music bingo hosted by DJ Spence with special prizes to win.
WE (9/3), 6pm, Green Man Brewery, 27 Buxton Ave
Senior Games Track & Field Club
Practice sprints, starts, and jumps or just get some exercise around the city’s brand new track.
TH (9/4), 1pm, Memorial Stadium
Bid Whist Make bids, call trumps, and win the tricks every Saturday with your community.
SA (9/6), 1pm, Dr Wesley Grant Sr. Southside Community Center, 285 Livingston St
Afternoon Bocce League
Players of all ages can compete with friends and family to roll, learn, and claim victory in this new league.
MO (9/8), 2pm, Tempie Avery Montford Community Center, 34 Pearson Ave
Ping Pong Tournament
Come by and shoot your shot against some of the best ping pong players in town. Free to enter and $50 bar tab to the winner.
MO (9/8), 6pm, Sovereign Kava, 268 Biltmore Ave
Music Bingo w/ Spencer
Bring your friends to Taproom Tuesdays featuring Music Bingo with Spencer and rotating food trucks.
TU (9/9), 6pm, Highland Brewing Co., 12 Old Charlotte Hwy, Ste 200
Neighborhood Strollers Walking Club
Socialize and get moving on the paved outdoor loop around the park at Crump Shiloh Center.
TU (9/9), 6pm, Linwood Crump Shiloh Community Center, 121 Shiloh Rd
Neighborhood Strollers Walking Club
Meet at Crump Shiloh Center and head to local neighborhoods to connect with each other while walking and enjoying a change of scenery.
WE (9/10), 10am, Linwood Crump Shiloh Community Center, 121 Shiloh Rd
Asheville Bridge Room: Mentor/ Mentee Game
The purpose of this game is to offer upcoming/newer players the opportunity to interact with more seasoned players for a better understanding of bidding and play.
WE (9/10), 12:30pm, Congregation Beth Israel, 229 Murdock Ave
Asheville Board Game Club Meet-Up
Featuring a wide variety of tabletop games—from light party games to deep strategy favorites. Whether you’re brand new or a seasoned gamer, you’ll find a welcoming group ready to play.
WE (9/10), 5:30pm, Well Played, 162 Coxe Ave, Ste 101
KID-FRIENDLY PROGRAMS
Family Story Time
A fun and interactive story time designed for children ages 18 months to 3 years.
WE (9/3, 10), 10:30am, Black Mountain Library, Black Mountain Baby Storytime
A lively language enrichment story time designed for children ages 4 to 18 months.
TH (9/4, 11), 10:30am, Black Mountain Library, Black Mountain Toddler Takeover Bring your toddler out to local parks on Thursday mornings in September for fun themed activities to stimulate creativity and motor skills.
TH (9/4), 10:30am, Jake Rusher Park, 160 Sycamore Dr, Arden Black Cat Tales: Story Time w/Cats
A special after-school workshop where families with children age 7 and under can relax and foster a love of reading while also socializing with the cats in the lounge.
TH (9/4), 4pm, House of Black Cat Magic, Co., 841 Haywood Rd Kids & Teens Xing Yi Learn complete systems of Xing Yi, Baguazhang, and Taiji, including weapons and sparring as optional classes.
TH (9/4, 11), MO (9/8), TU (9/9), 4pm, Dragon Phoenix, 51 N Merrimon Ave, Ste 109
Memory Vault: Time Capsules for Kids
Kids make their own time capsules with items that represent their interests and hopes for the future to take home until they are ready to be opened.
TH (9/4), 5:30pm, Tempie Avery Montford Community Center, 34 Pearson Ave
Tiny Tykes
Offering a variety of activities during playtime for toddlers to explore different aspects of learning while having fun.
FR (9/5), 10am, Dr Wesley Grant Sr. Southside Community Center, 285 Livingston St
Dr. Grant Gym Rats
A fun and active P.E. program specifically for homeschooled students. Offering a variety of physical activities, games, and sports to help your child stay healthy, fit and have fun.
MO (9/8), 11:45am, Dr Wesley Grant Sr. Southside Community Center, 285 Livingston St
Training with Tre for Teens
This teen exercise program will help you begin your fitness journey. Pushups, burpees and sit ups are part of the fun.
TU (9/9), 6:15pm, Stephens-Lee Recreation Center, 30 George Washington Carver Ave
Little Kids Kung Fu (Ages 5-7)
This class builds a solid foundation through playing Kung Fu games while building HandEye-Foot coordination as well as listening skills.
WE (9/10), 3pm, Dragon Phoenix, 51 North Merrimon Ave, Ste 109
Toddler Takeover
Bring your toddler out to local parks on Thursday mornings in September for fun themed activities to
stimulate creativity and motor skills.
TH (9/11), 10:30am, Murphy Oakley Park, 715 Fairview Rd
LOCAL MARKETS
Leicester Farmers Market
A community-led farmers market local produce, cheese, meats, honey, strawberries, asparagus, rhubarb, ramps, a variety of plants and more. Every Wednesday through October.
WE (9/3, 10), 3pm, Leicester Community Center, 2979 New Leicester Hwy, Leicester
Weaverville Tailgate Market
This market features a selection of fresh, locally grown produce, grass fed beef, pork, chicken, eggs, cheese, baked goods, artisan bread, eclectic handmade goodies, garden and landscaping plants. Open year-round.
WE (9/3, 10), 3pm, 60 Lake Shore Dr Weaverville
RAD Farmers Market Asheville’s only year-round weekly market, featuring 30+ vendors offering fresh produce, baked goods, handcrafted items, beverages, grab-and-go meals, and more. EBT and SNAP accepted.
WE (9/3, 10), 3pm, New Belgium Brewing Co., 21 Craven St Flower Market
Pick up freshly cut farm flower bunches and seasonal goodies directly from the farm. This is a self-serve flower stand at Bloom WNC.
TH (9/4, 11), 9am, Bloom WNC Flower Farm, 806 North Fork Rd, Black Mountain Biltmore Park Farmers Market
This market features fresh seasonal produce, delicious homemade pastries, premium
meats and seafood, beautiful vibrant flowers, and more.
TH (9/4, 11), 3pm, Town Square Blvd.
Enka-Candler Farmer’s Market
A grand selection of local foods and crafts, everything from produce to pickles, baked goods to body care, and even educational resources. Every Thursday through October 31.
TH (9/4, 11), 3:30pm,
A-B Tech Small Business Center, 1465 Sand Hill Rd, Candler Flower Market
Pick up freshly cut farm flower bunches and seasonal goodies directly from the farm. This is a self-serve flower stand at Bloom WNC.
TH (9/4), 9am, Bloom WNC Flower Farm, 806 North Fork Rd, Black Mountain
East Asheville Tailgate Market
Featuring over 25 vendors selling meat, seafood, produce, flowers, bread, eggs, baked goods, fruit, herbs, sweet treats, tamales, and more. Every Friday through Nov. 21.
FR (9/5), 3pm, Groce United Methodist Church, 954 Tunnel Rd
Mills River Farm Market
This market offers local food, live music, kids' activities, cooking demos, and a welcoming community. Browse fresh produce and pasture-raised meats to homemade breads, fresh flowers, and artisan goods.
SA (9/6), 8am, Mills River Elementary School, 94 Schoolhouse Rd, Mills River North Asheville Tailgate Market
Browse from over 70 vendors that will be offering sustainably produced produce, meats, eggs, cheeses, breads, honey, plants,
prepared foods, crafts and more.
SA (9/6), 8am, 275 Edgewood Rd
Asheville City Market
A producer-only market featuring local food products, including fresh produce, meat, cheese, bread, pastries, and other artisan products. Every Saturday through December.
SA (9/6), 9am, 52 N Market St
Black Mountain Tailgate Market
A seasonal community event featuring organic and sustainably grown produce, plants, cut flowers, herbs, local raised meats, seafood, breads, pastries, cheeses, eggs and locally handcrafted items. Every Saturday through Nov. 22.
SA (9/6), 9am, 130 Montreat Rd, Black Mountain
Swannanoa Farmers Market
This market will feature farm-fresh produce, local honey, eggs, baked goods, and delicious eats. You'll also find handmade jewelry, artwork, fiber crafts, wooden utensils, yard art, apothecary essentials, and more.
SA (9/6), 9am, 216 Whitson Ave, 216 Whitson Ave, Swannanoa
Mars Hill Farmers & Artisans Market
A producer-only tailgate market located on the campus of Mars Hill University on College Street. Offering fresh local produce, herbs, cheeses, meats, eggs, baked goods, honey, body care and more. Every Saturday through Oct. 26.
SA (9/6), 10am, College Street, College St, Mars Hill
WNC Farmers Market
This year-round market features locally grown produce, fruits and vegetables, mountain crafts, plants, shops, arts and crafts,
sourwood honey, and other farm fresh items.
Open daily, 8am. 570 Brevard Rd
Junk-O-Rama Vintage Market
Browse vintage clothing vendors, local crafters, antiques and more.
SU (9/7), noon, Fleetwood's, 496 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 (9/7), 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 (9/9), 3:30pm, 718 Haywood Rd
FESTIVALS & SPECIAL EVENTS
Goombay Festival
2025
This festival celebrates the Pan-African culture of local, regional and national recording artists. It will feature live performance from various musicians, vendors, art galleries, dance, storytelling, food, after-parties and more. Visit avl.mx/aar for the full schedule of events and times.
See p24
TH (9/4), FR (9/5), SA (9/6), SU (9/7), Pack Square Park
Mars Hill First Fridays
Celebrate First Fridays with live music, a vendor village, a kids corner, art, food, gifts
and more. FR (9/5), 5pm, Downtown Mars Hill, Mars Hill
Celebrating Weaverville's 150th
Anniversary
A fun evening of memories stories, music, and more. Bring your own Weaverville memory to share. Sponsored by the Town of Weaverville and the Dry Ridge Historical Museum. FR (9/5), 7pm, Weaverville Community Center, 60 Lakeshore Dr, Weaverville
Brevard Classic 5k & 12k
Both courses start and finish in the heart of Downtown Brevard and wind through scenic neighborhoods, greenways, and country roads. Expect a mix of fast, fun miles and classic race day excitement.
SA (9/6), 8am, Brevard, 65 E Jordan St, Brevard
Wrap the Woods
The Save the Woods organization in Asheville, NC, invites volunteers, community members, and activists to an art action: Wrap the Woods. See p24
SA (9/6), 9:30am, Glenn's Creek Greenway, Weaver Blvd
Therapeutic Recreation Family Kickball Game & Cookout
An afternoon of laughs and friendly competition as participants take on parents in a lighthearted kickball game. Stick around for a cookout featuring hotdogs, sides, and great conversation.
SA (9/6), 11am, Murphy-Oakley Community Center, 749 Fairview Rd
Historic Burton Street Ag Fair
Celebrate the spirit of the Historic Burton Street Community with live music, games, inflatables, food, a 3v3 basketball tournament and a ribbon cutting to officially dedicate the
new playground and basketball court at Burton Street Community Center.
SA (9/6), noon, Burton Street Community Center, 134 Burton St Oktoberfest w/ Lagerhosen Step into our biergarten and celebrate two full months of Oktoberfest. From September through October, enjoy steins, pretzels, and plenty of polka-inspired fun while the bands keep the party going.
SA (9/6), 2pm, The Funkatorium, 147 Coxe Ave
Asheville FM Record Fair
This is your chance to dig through crates of vinyl, score some killer finds, and support Asheville’s favorite free-form, volunteer-run community radio station.
SU (9/7), 11am, Harrah's Cherokee Center, 87 Haywood St
Alexa Rose & Blue Cactus
This summer concert series will feature music from Alex Rose and Blue Cactus. Additionally, you can purchase a ticket that includes the hike and bike trails, paddle options, swim and fishing in the lake as well as picnic options.
SU (9/7), noon, Camp Grier, 985 Camp Grier Rd, Old Fort
BENEFITS & VOLUNTEERING
Low-Cost Community Neuter Clinic
Please schedule and pay for your appointment prior to showing up. Appointments and additional services can be scheduled at avl.mx/dlq.
TH (9/4), 9am, House of Black Cat Magic, Co., 841 Haywood Rd
Blue Ridge Drag Bingo
Blue Ridge Drag Bingo is stampeding with a down-home hoe-down
full of high heels, hog calls, and hootenanny hilarity. This is a fundraiser for Blue Ridge Pride.
FR (9/5), 7pm, Hilltop Event Center, 21 Restaurant Court Camp Stephens Rise Up Round Up
Bring your friends and family for a great time under the late summer sky. The night will feature square dancing, a cake walk, a raffle, hot dog plates and more. All proceeds benefit the rebuilding of Camp Stephens. SA (9/6), 4pm, Camp Stephens, 263 Clayton Rd, Arden
Land O’Sky Doll Club: 36th Annual Doll Show & Sale This event will feature dolls and toys of every type, miniatures, clothing, parts and supplies. Proceeds are donated to children’s charities, free clinics and other worthy organizations. SA (9/6), 9:30am, NC National Guard Armory, 2025 Spartanburgh Hwy, Hendersonville Flowers Everywhere: A Garden Party Fundraiser
Whether you have been a gardener here since its start, or you have never been and want to learn more, everyone is welcome to come celebrate renewal and relationships in the garden.
SU (9/7), 4pm, Dr John Wilson Community Garden, 99 White Pine Dr, Black Mountain Life in Full Swing: An Evening of Jazz, Dancing & Resilience A night of rhythm, joy, and purpose at Life In Full Swing, a benefit concert for Cancer Active. Featuring the electrifying vocals and masterful sounds of Becki Janes and the Asheville Jazz Refugees. TH (9/11), 7:30pm, White Horse Black Mountain, 105C Montreat Rd, Black Mountain
September Herb: Angelica Root
September Stone: Angelite September Oil: Angel Oil
9/4: Reader: Violet 1:20-6
9/5: Reader: Krysta 12-7
9/6: Reader: Ed 12-6
Local Author, Catherine Carter, Book Reading of By Stone and Needle 3-4
9/7: FULL MOON in Pisces Reader: Andrea 12-4
Collage Playshop 4-5:30 Crystal Bowl Sound Bath 6-7
Sat. & Mon. 10-8 Tue., Wed., Thur. 10-7 • Sun. 12-6 640 Merrimon Ave. #207
ARTS & CULTURE
More than the midway
N.C. Mountain State Fair showcases WNC’s traditional music and arts
BY GINA SMITH
gsmith@mountainx.com
Early September is N.C. Mountain State Fair time in Western North Carolina, and the Ferris wheel and funnel cakes are calling. But beyond the midway’s colorful lights and alluring fried food aromas are some unique opportunities to experience WNC’s rich Southern Appalachian music and arts traditions.
The Mountain Music Festival and the Heritage Artisans craft booths both bring to life the area’s culture and talent through live performances and demonstrations taking place each day throughout the fair’s run — Friday, Sept. 5-Sunday, Sept. 14.
Now in its 31st year, the N.C. Mountain State Fair, operated by the N.C. Department of Agriculture (NCDA), is focused primarily on promoting and supporting agriculture in the western part of the state, says Ellerslie McCue, marketing and communications manager for the NCDA’s Western Ag Programs. But music, arts and crafts, she notes, are equally tied to the region’s heritage and culture.
“We believe that this fair should be — and is — a celebration of the people of Western North Carolina,” she says. “You cannot celebrate this region without celebrating the music and art that’s so important to it. It gives us such an identity, and it’s something we’re all so passionate about.”
BRING ON THE BANJOS
For historical context on the fair and its music and arts components, McCue defers to longtime local radio host and 2023 Bascom Lamar Lunsford Award winner John Roten, who has emceed the fair’s Mountain Music Festival for more than 25 years, working with festival coordinator Vickie Hensley-King
“We’ve talked about it and can’t remember exactly how long, so we’re just saying ‘25-plus,’” says Roten with a laugh.
According to Roten, the N.C. Mountain State Fair was originally modeled after the N.C. State Fair in Raleigh, which was established in 1853. Meanwhile, the inspiration for the Mountain State Fair’s Mountain Music Festival was the State Fair’s Folk Festival, which was designed by the legendary Madison County
SPREADING THE LOVE: Potter Cory Plott, pictured, says he loves telling people about his craft — and letting them try it out for themselves — as one of the N.C. Mountain State Fair Heritage Artisans. Photo courtesy of the artist
folklorist and Appalachian musician Bascom Lamar Lunsford.
As emcee of other Appalachian music festivals (including Mountain Dance and Folk Festival and its offshoot, Shindig on the Green), and host of the “Kiss Country Classics” radio show on 99.9 Kiss Country, Roten sees Mountain Music Festival as a special opportunity for both performers and fair attendees.
The festival’s showcase features a wide range of styles — from bluegrass and gospel tunes to traditional ballad singing and stage-thumping cloggers. On any given weeknight, Saturday evening or Sunday afternoon, these sounds compete with the chatter of the crowd and racket of midway rides for attendees’ attention.
Long-standing festival favorites, such as the Sons of Ralph, the Waymasters and White Rock Revival, share the spotlight with fresher faces. One group debuting this year, Roten says, is the all-female bluegrass and old-time band Pearly Blue. Famous national touring acts also make appearances, including renowned bluegrass and Americana group The Little Roy and Lizzy Show, performing this year on Friday, Sept. 12.
Even children are part of the lineup. This year’s younger performers include four-piece teen and tween band Newfound Gap and members of the JAM Kids of Henderson Co., an Appalachian music education group led by local musician Carol Rifkin. Often, Roten says, Little Roy and other experienced musicians will join the JAM Kids onstage to play along and offer pointers.
“It’s a great representation of mountain music,” Roten says.
He adds that the festival provides musicians more time in the spotlight than some other events. “They usually have about a 40- to 45-minute set, so it’s more of a regular festival performance than, say, Shindig on the Green or the Mountain Dance and Folk Festival, where they only step up and do two or three tunes,” he explains. “Having 10 days in a row and three hours each evening allows us to do that.”
Even more than the music, Roten points out, the festival’s dance performances — including notable groups such as the 2023 and 2024 National Clogging and Hoedown Council championship-winning team, Mountain Tradition Cloggers — never fail to enchant fairgoers.
“You cannot celebrate this region without celebrating the music and art that’s so important to it. It gives us such an identity, and it’s something we’re all so passionate about.”
— Ellerslie McCue, marketing/communications manager for NCDA’s Western Ag Programs
“People tend to walk around from event to event, but you put a dance team on the stage, and that mobility stops,” he says. “If you’re just going to the fair to ride the rides, and you’re walking around to see what you can see, and suddenly, here’s an award-winning clogging team just tearing it up onstage, you’re going to stop and check that out.”
WRESTLING WITH CLAY
The Heritage Artisans mountain arts and crafts displays and presentations are also big crowd-pleasers, says NCDA marketing manager Myrtle Earley, who helps coordinate this aspect of the fair.
Similar to the Mountain Music Festival, the Heritage Artisans is patterned after the N.C. State Fair’s popular Village of Yesteryear arts and crafts exhibition. Throughout all 10 days of the fair, about 50 regional artisans are stationed inside the WNC Agricultural Center’s Virginia C. Boone Building and in the outdoor area known as the Heritage Circle, where fair attendees can visit their displays to see and buy their handiwork.
Guests can watch — and often participate in — live demonstrations of molasses production, corn shelling, quilting, wool spinning, leather working, blacksmithing, basket weaving, woodturning and much more.
“These people truly love their craft — it’s their life — and they love to share it with others,” says Earley. “That’s what’s so different about this part of the fair: They don’t want you to just come buy something, they want to show you. They want to teach you. They love people stopping and asking them about what they’re doing.”
Clyde-based potter Cory Plott says he’ll let anyone stop by his booth in the Heritage Circle and try their hand at turning a lump of clay into a ceramic work of art on his old-fashioned, foot-powered treadle wheel. “There’s kids that come by every year, and I let them turn something up, I just let them go crazy with it,” he says. “They’ll wrestle this little old nasty bowl out and just do their best at it. It’s fun seeing that.”
A Maggie Valley native, Plott started making traditional North Carolina ash-glazed pottery right out of high school. (He now specializes
in German-influenced, two-colored stoneware.) He joined the fair’s Heritage Artisans in 2014 while still in his early 20s at the encouragement of the group’s coordinator, Brenda Anders, a founding member of Dogwood Crafters arts and crafts shop in Dillsboro.
“She said, ‘We need young people, we need people interested in tradition, interested in heritage,’” says Plott. “It was the best thing I ever did.”
Plott values the opportunity to sell his wares at the fair. But of equal importance, he says, are the “encouraging and inspiring” relationships he’s formed with other Heritage Artisans, many of whom are elders with years of experience in their craft — he mentions dulcimer maker Bill Newell, braided rug maker Dianne Ellis and traditional face jug potter Cherry Brown Corn, among others.
“They've really given me some of my better ideas,” he says. “To have folks that are so in touch with their art that they would still want to make crafts over anything else and do things with their hands, making everyday items for everyday people, I just think that’s golden.”
McCue of the NCDA says the N.C. Mountain State Fair offers WNC residents an annual opportunity to connect with and learn about the region’s musical and craft heritage. “These people are like living legacies, they are carrying on the traditions of Appalachian art forms, and they are very passionate about sharing them and teaching them to others,” she says. “It’s definitely a central part of the fair and something we’re very proud of.”
McCue points out that mornings are a great time to explore the Heritage Artisans and expo exhibits to avoid the crowds. The Mountain Music Festival starts at 6 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 2 p.m. Sundays throughout the run of the fair.
“A lot of people come for the food and the rides and the bright lights, but there’s so much more to the Mountain State Fair that is for all ages,” she says. “There truly is something here for every age and every interest.”
For tickets to the N.C. Mountain State Fair and more information on the Mountain Music Festival and Heritage Artisans, visit avl.mx/f20. X
Around Town Asheville Sessions celebrates historic recordings
BY EDWIN ARNAUDIN
earnaudin@mountainx.com
In August 1925, OKeh Records held recording sessions on the rooftop of the George Vanderbilt Hotel in downtown Asheville. Featuring such pioneering artists as Kelly Harrell, Henry Whitter, Bascom Lamar Lunsford and Wade Ward, these recordings predate OKeh’s more famous Bristol Sessions (held in Briston, Tenn.) — aka “The Big Bang of Country Music” — by two years, and stand as the first effort by a commercial recording company to document the sounds of Appalachian musicians in the performers’ backyard.
To honor the centennial of this event, the Blue Ridge Music Center, in conjunction with Explore Asheville, AVLFest and Buncombe County Public Libraries, present The Asheville Sessions: Celebrating 100 Years of Americana & Appalachia, ThursdaySaturday, Nov. 6-8. Offerings include concerts by Ketch Secor (Old Crow Medicine Show), Nest of Singing Birds and Jesse Smathers on Friday, Nov. 7, at The Grey Eagle, and a hometown showcase on Saturday, Nov. 8, at Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, featuring River Whyless, Tyler Ramsey, Toubab Krewe and Floating Action.
Free public events are also on the docket, including a kickoff history discussion with a panel of music historians on Nov. 6 at Wicked Weed Brewing’s Funkatorium and symposiums at Pack Memorial Library, Friday-Saturday, Nov. 7-8.
“The best way to honor history is to let it live, and that’s exactly what we’ll be doing this November when the Asheville Sessions centennial celebration becomes the flagship event for AVLFest,” says Jeff Whitworth, AVLFest co-founder, in a press release. “After [Tropical Storm] Helene forced the cancellation of AVLFest 2025, we’re proud to continue the tradition through this once-in-a-century milestone with concerts that create a bridge between the songs captured here a century ago and the music being made in Asheville right now.”
To learn more, visit avl.mx/f26
NEW ART MARKET JOINS
BILTMORE
VILLAGE SCENE
Village Artist Market will have its grand opening on Thursday, Sept. 4. The new marketplace at 32 All
Souls Crescent in Biltmore Village features the work of over 40 creators, spanning woodwork, textiles, jewelry, metalwork, mixed-media pieces and sculptures.
“We are so excited to finally open our doors and share this beautiful space with the community,” says owner Naomi Duncan in a press release. “Our artists have poured their hearts, souls and immense talent into their work, especially after navigating significant challenges. Their spirit is unbreakable.”
The opening celebration runs 4-7 p.m. Free to attend. To learn more, visit avl.mx/f24
EXHIBIT SPOTLIGHTS HISTORIC LOCAL ARCHITECTURE
The Asheville Art Museum opens Lasting Legacies: Architecture in Asheville on Friday, Sept. 19, highlighting work by Richard Sharp Smith, Albert Heath Carrier and Douglas D. Ellington, and their lasting contributions to the city’s urban landscapes.
Operating circa 1900, the firm of Smith & Carrier helped popularize the British Arts and Crafts Movement in Asheville, making a mark in Biltmore Village and with St. Mary’s Episcopal Church and private residences in Albemarle Park. Two decades later, Ellington spearheaded Asheville’s art deco era via the Asheville City
Building, Asheville High School, First Baptist Church and more.
The exhibition chronicles these distinct aesthetic contributions across the area’s civic, commercial, religious and domestic structures, and showcases the parallel revival of Western North Carolina’s craft and decorative arts.
Lasting Legacies will be on display through Sunday, Jan. 18. Standard admission rates apply. To learn more, visit avl.mx/f25
NEW RAD MURAL SERIES UNVEILED
Murals by local and regional artists Victor Palenque (aka Ishmael), Amar Stewart and Oscar Montes (aka Trek6) are now viewable on the Clingman Avenue exterior of The Wyre, a new mixed-use multifamily community in the River Arts District.
Palenque’s two panels depict a time-traveling train adorned with musical notes and such futuristic elements as spacecraft windows. Stewart’s three panels combine classic portraiture with hip-hop iconography to honor legendary jazz and soul artists with ties to the region, including Nina Simone. And Montes’ three panels feature bioluminescent hummingbirds interacting with scifi-infused flora that’s morphed with music speakers.
These creations complement works from fellow area artists featured on The Wyre’s interior, including Judith Cheney’s painted reproduction of the French Broad River and Dumah Morgan's Warren Haynes mural. To learn more, visit avl.mx/f27
CITY ANNOUNCES PLANS FOR NEW PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
The City of Asheville announced in an Aug. 28 press release that it will pursue plans for a new large-scale downtown arts and entertainment center in partnership with ATG Entertainment, a private, United Kingdom-based company. For years, the city has considered updating the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, but the projected cost of the needed renovations is prohibitively high. The proposed new 2,500-seat facility would be designed to accommodate concerts, community events and traveling Broadway productions, which are beyond the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium’s capacity.
Other partners in the project are Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority, ArtsAVL and the Asheville Symphony. ArtsAVL, Buncombe County’s designated arts nonprofit, will help evaluate the potential community and cultural benefits of such a facility as part of the Arts Recovery Plan. Read more about the project at avl.mx/f2d. X
BRAIN TRUST: From left, Blue Ridge Music Center program director Richard Emmett, Explore Asheville President/CEO Vic Isley, Wicked Weed Brewing community engagement and communications manager Rachel Dudasik, and AVLFest co-founder Jeff Whitworth are the brain trust behind The Asheville Sessions. Photo courtesy of Explore Asheville
Pulled pork and pints
BY CHRISTOPHER ARBOR
yearinbeerasheville@gmail.com
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 “trip” at DSSOLVR, visit avl.mx/eyh.
Riverside Rhapsody Beer Co. takes its name from a fairly obscure Grateful Dead song. But when the crew stepped inside on our recent visit, I thought not of Jerry Garcia, but of Kris Kristofferson.
The iconic country singer and songwriter passed away on Sept. 28 of last year — a day after the devastation of Tropical Storm Helene. With cell towers toppled and power poles snapped, the news of that silver-tongued devil’s demise didn’t reach me for weeks. When it did, it just added injury to injury.
Why does this brewery remind me of Kristofferson? Well, his legendary voice was as gravelly as the ground we walked on and as smoky as the barbecue sandwiches we ate there. His smile was as bright as the IPA I sipped on. But most of all, it’s about a shared spirit and originality.
Kristofferson’s songs and this brewery are both inviting in a way that’s mighty hard to describe. To me, the vibe of Riverside Rhapsody is much like “Me and Bobby McGee” (yes, Kristofferson wrote the song, not Janis Joplin). With both his music and this brewery, you can show up feeling melancholy, but it tends to evaporate upon arrival.
There’s just something about the place that feels utterly familiar while also being genuinely unique. The beer,
Feeling good is
enough at Riverside Rhapsody Beer Co.
too. It just hits differently. There are unique notes that are hard to classify.
I reached out to co-owners Mike Vanhoose and Joey Cagle in an
our beer. We love creating new beers with local or foraged ingredients.”
The barbecue is also a tale worth toasting. It made me think of a line from Kristofferson’s classic song, “Sunday Morning Coming Down,” (yes, written by Krisofferson, not his buddy Johnny Cash) in which he sings, “The beer I had for breakfast wasn’t bad, so I had one more for dessert.” Well, the Iron & Oak Brisket Co. barbecue sandwich I had was so good that I doubled down — dinner and dessert.
Vanhoose told me that Iron & Oak owner Nate Whiting used to work at Farm Burger. He asked Vanhoose and Cagle if he could do a pop-up at the brewery, and it proved so popular that Iron & Oak became a permanent fixture.
Our crew happened to be at Riverside Rhapsody for the open acoustic jam, which happens every Wednesday from 5:30-8:30 p.m. It’s mighty fine watching genuinely stellar musicians riff off one another — fiddle following mandolin, upright bass punctuating guitars. Even a harmonica!
There’s alchemy everywhere. The components of the beer, the ingredients in the barbecue, the instruments in the jam session, the patrons of the brewery — both strangers and stalwarts. It makes a magic that melts all melancholy.
As Kristofferson sang, “Feeling good is good enough for me.” Raise a glass.
attempt to better understand the magic. Vanhoose wrote back to me, “Joey and I have culinary and science backgrounds, and I think that shows in
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.
• Sept. 3: Leveller Brewing Co., Weaverville
• Sept. 10: Outsider Brewing Co. X
JAM SESSION: Musicians gathered for a weekly acoustic jam at Riverside Rhapsody Beer Co. during the Year in Beer gang's recent visit. Photo by Christopher Arbor
Little space, big taste
Piccolina gets set to serve Italian sandwiches, pizza and more in the upper RAD
BY KAY WEST
kswest55@comcast.net
To realize their big dream, Elana and Nate Pearlman went small. Their soonto-open restaurant, Piccolina, occupies just 800 square feet, split equally between the kitchen and dining room.
When it launches later this month with a menu devoted to Italian sandwiches, Neapolitan-style pizza and desserts, Piccolina will join culinary colleagues ButterPunk and Crusco in the post-Helene revitalization of Depot Street in the upper River Arts District. Though the Pearlmans are the new kids on the block, they arrive with solid resumes.
The couple met at the Culinary Institute of America in 2012 — Nate was in the culinary program, and Elena studied pastry. After graduating in 2014, they spent a decade in Austin, Texas, where Nate climbed the chef ladder through the city’s restaurant kitchens and Elana ultimately started her own wedding cake business. It’s also where they got married.
By 2024, the East Coast was calling them home — Nate was raised in New York’s Hudson Valley, and Elena’s parents are both from New York. That May, while staying in Charleston, S.C., where Nate’s parents were living, they decided to check out Asheville on a whim. Within a month they had found a place to live and made the move to Western North Carolina with the intention of launching Piccolina.
The concept was inspired by a trip to Italy in December 2021. “We both love Italian food, but in Italy, we really fell in love with their way with food, the freshness of it — especially the sandwiches — and wanted to bring something similar home,” Nate explains.
Unfortunately, when Tropical Storm Helene hit, they both lost their Asheville restaurant jobs and had to move back to Charleston to pick up work to pay the rent. It was pure luck, says Elena, that took them to Welton’s Tiny Bakeshop, a Charleston bakery with a near cultlike following, where Elana started baking and Nate began working pop-ups with the shop’s mobile pizza oven.
After returning to Asheville and a dismal job market in late November, the Pearlmans fired up their own backyard pizza oven and invited the neighborhood. After two speedy sellouts, some-
Thank you for voting us one of the Best for 14 years in a row!
one alerted the health department, and there wasn’t a third.
But the health department directed them to Mountain BizWorks to work on a legit business plan, and through that organization, they discovered an open space in the Aura Arts Building at 375 Depot St. The location already had a hood installed — Gypsy Queen Cuisine owner Suzy Philllips’ had been set to open Black Cat Sandwich Co. there before flooding from Helene wiped it out.
The Pearlmans signed the lease in May, got funding through Mountain BizWorks, ordered a Neapolitan pizza oven from Bread Stone Ovens in Dallas and began building out the kitchen and dining room. They are now fine-tuning the lunch and dinner menus — lunch will be counter service, WednesdaySunday; dinner will be full service, Friday-Sunday.
Both menus are succinct. Dinner offers three starters, including housemade stracciatella cheese, plus a couple
of 10-inch pizzas, four handmade pastas, two entrées and desserts.
The six lunch sandwiches are destined to be sensations. Each begins with a ball of dough dusted with toasted semolina and pressed into a disc; while it is baking in the 700°F oven, the meat and veggie fillings and condiments are prepared, then loaded inside the freshbaked warm, split bread.
Sweets include zeppole (deep-fried, filled Italian fritters), Italian ice and a gluten-free pistachio mound cookie. Wine, beer and nonalcoholic options will be available.
The dining room will have about 20 seats total and a glass-paned garage door to roll up when the weather allows. “This small space suits us,” Elana says. “That’s why we called it Piccolina — [it means] ‘little one’ in Italian.”
Piccolina is set to launch in late September at 375 Depot St. For updates, follow the restaurant on Instagram at avl.mx/ez5. X
Locally sourcing our meats & veggies to support our local economy & farmers. 807 Patton Avenue 575-2758 gypsyqueencuisine.com
Deli - Market - Food Truck - Catering
cafe & juice bar
Thank you for voting us one of THE BEST 7 years in a row!
We are a locally owned cafe & juice/smoothie bar proudly serving organic fruits & veggies so we can all feel good!
Serving Breakfast & Lunch Vegan & Gluten Free
828-774-5410
simpleasheville.com 643 Haywood Rd.
LITTLE ITALY: Piccolina owners Elana and Nate Pearlman are pictured inside their 800-square-foot restaurant space in the Aura Arts Building on Depot Street. Photo courtesy of Piccolina
SMART BETS
by Edwin Arnaudin | earnaudin@mountainx.com
Goombay Festival
A longtime downtown staple, the Goombay Festival returns to Pack Square Park and the YMI Cultural Center Thursday-Sunday, Sept. 4-7. The celebration of Pan-African culture features local, regional and national recording artists, including R&B performers Cherrelle and The LeVert Experience, hip-hop group Bungalow Collect and the band ReggaeInfinity. Other highlights include lectures and conversations about Black history and heritage as well as regional and local vendors.
While many of the events are free to attend, ticketed offerings this year include the Goombay Jazz Cabaret
kickoff; an R&B Mixer; The Ultimate Juke Joint, featuring line dancing to Southern soul music; the Goombay Film Festival; and a Gospel Brunch to help get attendees recharged for the final day of festivities. To learn more, visit avl.mx/aar X
Wrap the Woods
UNC Asheville temporarily paused its negotiations on controversial plans to build a soccer stadium and additional development on 45 wooded acres south of its main campus and is forming a commission to receive public input and consider other outcomes for the property. For local activists opposed to the plan, the key word is “temporarily.”
Planned before the university’s announcement, the Save the Woods organization’s Wrap the Woods pop-up art installation will proceed as scheduled on Saturday, Sept. 6. Inspired indirectly by environmental installation artists Christo and JeanneClaude, the event draws direct inspiration from Asheville organizer Peggy
Gardner’s 1980 undertaking to “wrap” downtown with over 200 volunteers holding a string of bed sheets to form a human chain. The protest was successful in saving numerous urban Asheville blocks from being demolished and turned into a proposed shopping mall and hotel complex.
Community members are invited to bring a sheet (used, from a thrift shop if you’d like to paint a message on it) and meet at 9:30 a.m., at the intersection of Weaver Boulevard and University Heights near the round-about, or at the intersection of Weaver Boulevard and Broadway near Asheville Botanical Garden. The Wrap event is slated to run 10-11 a.m. To learn more, visit avl.mx/ewz. X
ART
Asheville’s theater scene is wellknown for consistently staging superb productions. But go a little beyond the city limits and you’ll find comparably appealing options.
One of the most intriguing upcoming shows is co-production from The Actor’s Center of Asheville and host venue the Black Mountain Center for the Arts of Yasmina Reza’s Tonywinning play ART. The story centers on the purchase of a stark white painting and the unexpected conflicts it inspires among three male friends. The cast features Jeff Benninghofen, Kevin Patrick Murphy and Robert Dale Walker, directed by Henry Williamson III
“This play has been a worldwide cultural phenomenon, having been translated and performed in over 35 languages,” Williamson says in a press release. “There is a universal force to
Reza’s characters, and though she has insisted ART is a tragedy, it hasn’t stopped audiences from laughing at the familiarity and the absurdity of the situation they find themselves in.”
Performances run FridaysSaturdays, Sept. 12-20, at 7:30 p.m., and Sundays, Sept. 14 and 21, at 2 p.m. Tickets are $20. To learn more, visit avl.mx/f22 X
Music Video Asheville
Still from Magnolia Roses by The Mobros, a 2024 Music Video Asheville finalist, courtesy of MVA
After a successful multiyear run at Salvage Station (R.I.P.), Music Video Asheville returns to the Wortham Center for the Performing Arts on Wednesday, Sept. 10. The popular event’s 17th edition celebrates the inspiring collaborations between local filmmakers and musicians. Approximately 25 music video entries — whittled down from 85 submissions, critiqued by over 25 local and national judges (including this writer) — will be screened at the showcase. Attendees will get to select the People’s Choice winner via text-to-vote and are invited to wear their “Asheville-style” red-carpet best attire
The Judges’ Choice winner will get a $500 cash prize, and the People’s Choice winner receives a local recording and record producing opportunity valued at $2,500. Other categories include Best Director, Best Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects, Best Music Production, Best Wardrobe/Makeup and two new awards for nonlocals: Best Beyond Asheville – USA and Best Beyond Asheville – International. Tickets are $25 general admission and $40 for VIP premium seating. To learn more, visit avl.mx/f23 X
Photo of Save the Woods group organizers courtesy of Save the Woods
From left, Jeff Benninghofen, Kevin Patrick Murphy and Robert Dale Walker star in ART at the Black Mountain Center for the Arts. Photo by Murphy
Photo from the 2022 Goombay Festival courtesy of the YMI Cultural Center
The insider’s guide
CLUBLAND
ECLECTIC SINGER-SONGWRITER: Green Man Brewery hosts The Z-Man Experience on Saturday, Sept. 6, starting at 3 p.m. The show will feature Zach Cleven’s experimental rock, busker punk and freak folk music. Photo courtesy of The Z-Man Experience For questions about free listings, call
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3
12 BONES
SMOKEHOUSE & BREWING
Trivia w/King Trivia, 7pm
CAMDEN'S COFFEE HOUSE Open Mic Night, 7pm
EDA'S HIDE-A-WAY Open Mic Wednesday, 7pm
ELUVIUM BREWERY
The Candleers (country), 5:30pm
EULOGY Conan w/Mares of Thrace & Sunbearer (doom metal, hardcore), 8pm
FLEETWOOD'S Jayke Orvis & the Bullshit Brothers, Coleman Williams & Scarecrow Jenkins (country, punk), 9pm
FOOTHILLS GRANGE
Trivia Night, 7pm
FRENCH BROAD RIVER
BREWERY
Bluegrass Jam Wednesdays, 6:30pm
GALACTIC PIZZA
Fast Eddie's Trivia, 6:30pm
JACK OF THE WOOD PUB
Old Time Jam, 5pm PULP
Gabrielknowseverything w/Lo Wolf, Claire Whall & Austin Sebak (hip hop, folk, pop), 8pm
PISGAH BREWING CO. Paper Crowns Duo (Southern-rock, Americana, folk), 6pm
SHAKEY'S SSIN w/DJ Ragga Massive, 10pm
SLY GROG LOUNGE
Weird Wednesday Open Jam, 7pm
STATIC AGE RECORDS
Simon Joyner & the Nervous Stars, Leah Senior & Jackie Kelsh (folk, country), 8:45pm
THE GREY EAGLE
Lucero: Celebrating 20 years of Nobody’s Darlings (rock, soul, punk), 8pm
THE JOINT NEXT DOOR
Rod Sphere (soul, rock), 6pm
THE MEADOW AT HIGHLAND BREWING CO.
Well-Crafted Music
Series: Whitney Mongé (multi-genre), 6pm
THE ODD
Terraoke Karaoke Takeover, 9pm
THE ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL
• Trivia Night, 7pm
• In Flight Duo (multigenre), 10pm
THIRD ROOM
Disclaimer Stand-Up Lounge: Comedy Open Mic, 9pm
URBAN ORCHARD Wayward Trivia, 6:30pm
WHITE HORSE BLACK MOUNTAIN
Straight Ahead Wednesdays w/Pavel Wlosok & Nod to Chick Corea (jazz), 7:30pm
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 4
185 KING STREET
Dawn Landes (folk), 7pm
CROW & QUILL
The Deltaz (Americana, blues-rock), 8pm
EDA'S HIDE-A-WAY
Bless Your Heart Trivia w/Harmon, 7pm
FLOOD GALLERY
True Home Open Mic, 6pm
FRENCH BROAD RIVER
BREWERY
Jerry's Dead Thursdays (Grateful Dead & JGB tribute), 6pm
GREEN MAN
BREWERY
Thursday Night Trivia, 7pm
JACK OF THE WOOD PUB
Bluegrass Jam w/Drew Matulich, 7pm
OKLAWAHA BREWING CO.
Phibian (folk-indie), 7pm
ONE WORLD
BREWING WEST Fee Fi Phaux Fish (Phish tribute), 8pm
PISGAH BREWING CO.
Congdon Griffin Band (rock'n'roll, Americana, folk), 7:30pm
SHAKEY'S Karaoke w/DJ Franco Nino, 9pm
SLY GROG LOUNGE
Mr. Gnome, Powderhorns & Mellowfield (experimetal, alt-rock, psych), 8pm
STATIC AGE LOFT Auto-Tune Karaoke w/ Who Gave This B*tch A Mic, 10pm
THE GREY EAGLE An Evening With Boot Scootin’ Boogie Nights (country), 8pm THE MEADOW AT HIGHLAND BREWING CO. Gold Rose (Americana, alt-country), 6pm
THE ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Alex Bradley Unhinged (multi-genre), 9pm
THE ORANGE PEEL Jim Norton: Now You Know, 8pm TWIN WILLOWS The Candleers (country), 6pm
WICKED WEED
BREWING
Andy Ferrell (folk, country, Appalachian), 5pm
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 5
ALL DAY DARLING
Leo Johnson (jazz), 6pm
AMERICAN VINYL CO
Friday Night Music
Series w/Ponch Bueller, Ramblin' Ricky Tate & Matt Rivers (multigenre), 5pm
ASHEVILLE MUSIC
HALL
Cordovas & Jesse Roper (rock'n'roll, Americana, blues), 9pm
COFFEE, ART, MUSIC
TYPE PLACE
Open Mic, 6pm
CORK & KEG
Knackered Ramblers (old-time, country), 8pm
CROW & QUILL
DJ Dr. Filth (rock, funk, blues), 9pm
EULOGY
Dance Underground w/
In Plain Sight (house, edm), 10pm
GINGER'S REVENGE
CRAFT BREWERY & TASTING ROOM
Frances Eliza (jazz, indiefolk, pop), 6pm
JACK OF THE WOOD
PUB
Charles Walker (rock, indie), 8:30pm
LOBSTER TRAP
Dinah's Daydream (jazz), 6:30pm
MAD CO. BREW
HOUSE
Connor Hunt Duo (country), 6pm
NEW BELGIUM
BREWING CO.
Cody Matlock (soul, funk, R&B), 5:30pm
ONE WORLD
BREWING
Juke Joint Night with All Crawfish Go To Heaven (blues), 8pm
ONE WORLD
BREWING WEST
Boukou Groove (funk, soul), 9pm
PISGAH BREWING CO.
Phuncle Sam w/Cassana Monje (Grateful Dead tribute), 8pm
SHAKEY'S
• Big Blue Jams Band (multi-genre), 9pm
• Total Gold w/DJ Abu Disarray, 9pm
2000s Karaoke w/DJ Franco Nino, 10pm
SOVEREIGN KAVA
Lactones (psych-rock, funk), 9pm
TACO BILLY
Tacos & Tunes w/The Dead Strings Trio (rock), 6pm
THE GREY EAGLE
Patio: Beer and Loathing (rock, country, psych), 5:30pm
THE MEADOW AT HIGHLAND BREWING
CO.
The Feels (soul, funk, R&B), 7pm
THE ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC
HALL
Katrina & The Lovers (alt-R&B, soul-pop, house), 10pm
THE ORANGE PEEL
The Breakfast Club (1980's music tribute), 8pm
THE STATION BLACK MOUNTAIN
Mr Jimmy (blues), 5pm
THIRD ROOM
The Fritz w/Jonathan Lloyd & Rebekah Todd (psych-funk, soul, rock), 9pm
WHITE HORSE BLACK MOUNTAIN
Sourwood Ridge (Appalachian, old-time), 7:30pm
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 6
ALL DAY DARLING
Ryan Furstenberg (Americana), 6pm
ASHEVILLE CLUB
Mr Jimmy (blues), 6pm
ASHEVILLE MUSIC
HALL
Grateful Allman Band Experience (Grateful Dead & Allman Brothers tribute), 9pm
BATTERY PARK BOOK EXCHANGE
Dinah's Daydream (jazz), 5:30pm
CORK & KEG
The Old Chevrolette Set (country), 8pm
CROW & QUILL
Hearts Gone South (country, honky-tonk), 8pm
EULOGY
Frankie Cosmos w/Fantasy of a Broken Heart & Moontype (indie-rock, pop), 7pm
GINGER'S REVENGE
Eyes Up Here Comedy, 8pm
GREEN MAN
BREWERY
The Z-Man Experience (experimental, rock, punk), 3pm
JACK OF THE WOOD PUB
• Nobody’s Darling String Band, 4pm
• Jimmi Lang's Almost Doors (The Doors tribute), 8:30pm
OKLAWAHA BREWING CO.
Dr. Bacon & Jesse Velvet (rock, funk, psych), 9pm
ONE WORLD BREWING
Dan Davis Organ Trio (jazz, funk, Latin), 8pm
ONE WORLD
BREWING WEST
• Invitational Blues Showcase hosted by Peggy Ratusz & Daddy
Long Legs Band w/Jason DeCristofaro, 4pm
• Saturday Sessions-September, 8pm
PISGAH BREWING CO.
Godspeed You! Black Emperor (post-rock), 7pm
SIERRA NEVADA
BREWING CO.
Andrew Wakefield & Friends (bluegrass), 2pm
STATIC AGE RECORDS
Cardiel, Shred Crust & Rest Home (punk, psych, rock), 9pm
THE GREY EAGLE
The Stews w/Pink Beds (rock, indie), 8pm
THE HOUND LOUNGE
Hell Hounds: Dark & Dirty Comedy Show, 10pm
THE MEADOW AT HIGHLAND BREWING CO.
The Doors Unhinged (Jim Morrison Tribute), 6pm
THE ODD Party Foul Drag, 8pm
THE ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL
• Jorden Okrend (funk, blues, soul-pop), 6pm
• Randomonium (progrock, yach-rock), 10pm
THE ORANGE PEEL
The Brian Jonestown Massacre w/Flavor Crystals (psych-rock, space-rock), 8pm
THIRD ROOM
Sexbruise?, Nerd Alert & Yahzay (electro, funk, electronic), 9pm
WHITE HORSE BLACK MOUNTAIN
Free Planet Radio w/ Jane Kramer, Anya Hinkle & Jake Wolf (world-jazz), 7:30pm
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 7
ASHEVILLE MUSIC
HALL
Kendra Morris w/ Julianna Jade (soul, pop), 8pm
EULOGY
Temptations Wings EP
Release w/ Shadowcloak & Killiad (metal, psych), 8pm
FLEETWOOD'S
Feyleux, Cold Choir & Psychic Death (goth, dark-wave, synth-pop), 8pm
FRENCH BROAD RIVER
BREWERY
Reggae Sunday w/ Chalwa, 3pm
JACK OF THE WOOD PUB
• Bluegrass Brunch w/ The Bluegrass Brunch Boys, 12pm
• Traditional Irish Music Session, 3:30pm
ONE WORLD BREWING WEST
• Suns of Stars Sunday Residency (bluegrass), 2pm
• One Love Sundays w/ Dub Kartel (reggae), 7pm
PISGAH BREWING CO.
Pisgah Sunday Jam, 6:30pm
SHAKEY'S Stand Up Comedy Open Mic, 8pm
SIERRA NEVADA BREWING CO. Sugar Bomb (jazz), 2pm
SLY GROG LOUNGE
Open Mic w/Mike Andersen, 6:30pm
THE GREY EAGLE
Patio: Dave Desmelik (rock), 11:30am
THE MEADOW AT HIGHLAND BREWING
CO.
• Beer and Loathing (rock, country, psych), 2pm
• Pinkish Floyd Bright Side Of The Moon (Pink Floyd tribute), 7pm
THE MULE/DEVIL'S FOOT BREWING
JeoPARTY: A Jeopardy
Inspired Trivia Tournament, 5pm
THE ODD
Destroy All Music w/ Jimbo, 1pm
THE ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC
HALL
Doom Gong (denim-psych, rock, jazz), 10pm
THE ORANGE PEEL
Christone “Kingfish”
Ingram w/Artur Menezes (blues, rock), 8pm
THE RIVER ARTS
DISTRICT BREWING
CO.
Comedy from the Future, 7pm
VOWL
Freshen Up Comedy Open Mic, 7pm
WHITE HORSE BLACK MOUNTAIN
Baptista Babes & Honey
Music Collective (Indigo Girls tribute), 5pm
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8
27 CLUB
27 Club Karaoke, 10pm
FLEETWOOD'S Best Ever Karaoke, 9pm
FRENCH BROAD RIVER BREWERY
Alex Bazemore & Friends (bluegrass), 6pm
HIGHLAND BREWING CO.
Trivia Night w/Two Bald Guys & A Mic, 6pm
ONE WORLD BREWING
Open Mic Downtown, 7:30pm
ONE WORLD BREWING WEST
Mashup Mondays w/ JLloyd, 8pm
SHAKEY'S
Live Band Honky Tonk Karaoke, 9pm
STATIC AGE LOFT
Hot Seat Comedy w/C.J. Green, 8pm
STATIC AGE RECORDS
Frank Hurricane (blues, folk), 8:45pm
THE JOINT NEXT DOOR
Mr. Jimmy & Friends (Blues), 7pm
THE ORANGE PEEL
The Brook & The Bluff w/William Hinson (alt, indie-folk, indie-pop), 8pm
THIRD ROOM
Grateful Dead Mondaze w/Clouds of Delusion, 7pm
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9
ARCHETYPE BREWING
Trivia Tuesdays w/Party Grampa, 6:30pm
EULOGY
Boldy James (rap, hiphop), 8pm
FRENCH BROAD RIVER BREWERY
Robert's Totally Rad Trivia, 7pm
LOOKOUT BREWING CO.
Team Trivia, 6:30pm
ONE WORLD BREWING WEST
The Grateful Family Band Tuesdays (Grateful Dead tribute), 6pm
SHAKEY'S Booty Tuesday w/DJ Mad Mike, 10pm
THE GREY EAGLE
The Steel Wheels (folk, rock), 8pm
THE JOINT NEXT DOOR
The Lads AVL (rock, blues), 6pm
THE ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL
• Early Tuesday Jam, 7pm
• Uncle Lenny's Krazy Karaoke, 10pm
THE ORANGE PEEL
Prof w/Snotty Nose
Rez Kids, Reeves Junya & Willie Wonka (rap, hip-hop), 8pm
THIRD ROOM
Open Decks, 8pm
WHITE HORSE BLACK
MOUNTAIN
White Horse's Open Mic, 7pm
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10
12 BONES
SMOKEHOUSE & BREWING
Trivia w/King Trivia, 7pm
ASHEVILLE YARDS
Pixies w/Spoon & Fazerdaze (alt-rock, new wave, indie-pop), 6pm
CAMDEN'S COFFEE
HOUSE
Open Mic Night, 7pm
EDA'S HIDE-A-WAY
Open Mic Wednesday, 7pm
ELUVIUM BREWERY
The Candleers (country), 5:30pm
EULOGY
Nick Hexum of 311 w/Water Tower (Americana, bluegrass, punk), 8pm
FOOTHILLS GRANGE
Trivia Night, 7pm
FRENCH BROAD RIVER BREWERY
Bluegrass Jam Wednesdays, 6:30pm
GALACTIC PIZZA
Fast Eddie's Trivia, 6:30pm
JACK OF THE WOOD PUB
Old Time Jam, 5pm
PISGAH BREWING CO.
Bear Bones: Spiro & David (Grateful Dead Tribute), 6pm
SHAKEY'S SSIN w/DJ Ragga Massive, 10pm
SLY GROG LOUNGE
Weird Wednesday Open Jam, 7pm
THE GREY EAGLE
James McMurtry (rock), 8pm
THE MEADOW AT
HIGHLAND BREWING CO.
Well-Crafted Music
Series: Taylor Pierson, Jacob Rodriguez, Justin Ray & Evan Martin (multi-genre), 6pm
THE MULE/DEVIL'S FOOT BREWING
Jazz Trio & Wine Wednesdays, 6pm
THE ODD
Terraoke Karaoke Takeover, 9pm
THE ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL
• Trivia Night, 7pm
• J.A.M.B Quartet (multigenre), 10pm
THE ORANGE PEEL
Prof w/Snotty Nose
Rez Kids, Reeves Junya & Willie Wonka (rap, hip-hop), 8pm
THIRD ROOM
Disclaimer Stand-Up
Comedy Open Mic, 9:30pm
URBAN ORCHARD
Wayward Trivia, 6:30pm
WHITE HORSE BLACK
MOUNTAIN
• Irish Session, 5pm
• White Horse Bad Ass Blues Jam, 7:30pm
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11
CROW & QUILL
Russ Wilson & The Kings of Jazz (jazz, swing), 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
Smith. w/Montycler (edm, dubstep), 9pm
FLEETWOOD'S
Added Color, Machine 13 & East Ritual (alt-rock, goth, indie), 8pm
FLOOD GALLERY True Home Open Mic, 6pm
FRENCH BROAD RIVER
BREWERY
Jerry's Dead Thursdays (Grateful Dead & JGB tribute), 6pm
GINGER'S REVENGE
CRAFT BREWERY & TASTING ROOM Books & Brews Trivia, 6pm
GREEN MAN
BREWERY
Thursday Night Trivia, 7pm
JACK OF THE WOOD PUB
Bluegrass Jam w/Drew Matulich, 7pm
ONE WORLD
BREWING
KATRINA (alt-R&B, soul, pop), 8pm
ONE WORLD
BREWING WEST
Fee Fi Phaux Fish (Phish tribute), 8pm
PISGAH BREWING CO.
The Shoaldiggers (folk), 7:30pm
SHAKEY'S Karaoke w/DJ Franco Nino, 9pm
SOVEREIGN KAVA
Django Jazz Jam, 7pm
STATIC AGE LOFT
Auto-Tune Karaoke w/
Who Gave This B*tch A Mic, 10pm
STATIC AGE RECORDS
Tear Dungeon, Ton of a B*tch & Rest Home (metal, punk), 8:45pm
THE GREY EAGLE Patio: Tony Kamel (bluegrass, alt-country), 5:30pm
THE JOINT NEXT DOOR All Female Singer-Songwriter Night, 7pm
THE ODD Porcelain Parrot, Tanner York & Hippie Love Party (art-pop, shoegaze, emo-rock), 8pm
TWIN WILLOWS The Candleers (country), 6pm
WICKED WEED BREWING Mike Hollon (roots, blues, Americana), 5pm
FREEWILL ASTROLOGY
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Austin Curtis was a prominent Black scientist whose work had spectacularly practical applications. Among his successes: He developed many new uses for peanut byproducts, including rubbing oils for pain relief. His work exploited the untapped potential of materials that others neglected or discarded. I urge you to adopt a similar strategy in the coming weeks, Aries: Be imaginative as you repurpose scraps and leftovers. Convert afterthoughts into useful assets. Breakthroughs could come from compost heaps, forgotten files, or half-forgotten ideas. You have the power to find value where others see junk.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): In Polynesian navigation, sailors read the subtle rise and fall of ocean swells to find islands and chart their course. They also observe birds, winds, stars, and cloud formations. The technique is called wayfinding. I invite you to adopt your own version of that strategy, Taurus. Trust waves and weather rather than maps. Authorize your body to sense the future in ways that your brain can’t. Rely more fully on what you see and sense rather than what you think. Are you willing to dwell in the not-knowingness? Maybe go even further: Be *excited* about dwelling in the not-knowingness. Don’t get fixated on plotting the whole journey. Instead, assume that each day’s signs will bring you the information you need.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): The umbrella thorn acacia is an African tree whose roots grow up to 115 feet deep to tap hidden water beneath the desert floor. Above ground, it may look like a scraggly cluster of green, but underground it is a masterpiece of reach and survival. I see you as having resemblances to this tree these days, Gemini. Others may only see your surface gestures and your visible productivity. But you know how deep your roots run and how far you are reaching to nourish yourself. Don’t underestimate the power of your attunement to your core. Draw all you need from that primal reservoir.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): To make a tabla drum sing, the artisan adds a black patch of iron filings and starch at the center of the drumhead. Called a *syahi*, it creates complex overtones and allows the musician to summon both pitch and rhythm from the same surface. Let’s imagine, Cancerian, that you will be like that drum in the coming weeks. A spot that superficially looks out of place may actually be what gives your life its music. Your unique resonance will come not in spite of your idiosyncratic pressure points, but because of them. So don’t aim for sterile perfection. Embrace the irregularity that sings.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): There’s a Zen motto: “Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water.” I hope you apply that wisdom in the coming weeks, Leo. Your breakthrough moments of insight have come or will come soon. But your next move should not consist of being self-satisfied or inert. Instead, I hope you seek integration. Translate your innovations into your daily rhythm. Turn the happy accidents into enduring improvements. The progress that comes next won’t be as flashy or visible, but it’ll be just as crucial.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): The Gross National Product (GNP) is a standard of economic success by which countries gauge their health. It reflects the world’s obsession with material wealth. But the Buddhist nation of Bhutan has a different accounting system: Gross National Happiness (GNH). It includes factors like the preservation of the environment, enrichment of the culture, and quality of governance. Here's an example of how Bhutan has raised its GNH. Its scenic beauty could generate a huge tourist industry. But strict limits have been placed on the number of foreign visitors, ensuring the land won't be trampled and despoiled. I would love to see you take a similar GNH inventory, Virgo. Tally how well you have loved and been loved. Acknowledge your victories and awakenings. Celebrate the beauty of your life.
BY ROB BREZSNY
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): In Japanese haiku, poets may reference the lingering scent of flowers as a metaphor for a trace of something vivid that continues to be evocative after the event has passed. I suspect you understand this quite well right now. You are living in such an after-scent. A situation, encounter, or vision seems to have ended, but its echo is inviting you to remain attentive. Here’s my advice: Keep basking in the reverberations. Let your understandings and feelings continue to evolve. Your assignment is to allow the original experience to complete its transmission. The full blossoming needs more time to unfold.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): In the Australian desert, there’s a phenomenon called desert varnish. It’s a thin, dark coating of clay, iron, and manganese oxides. It forms over rocks due to microbial activity and prolonged exposure to wind and sun. Over time, these surfaces become canvases for Indigenous artists to create images. I like to think of their work as storytelling etched into endurance. In the coming weeks, Scorpio, consider using this marvel as a metaphor. Be alert for the markings of your own epic myth as they appear on the surfaces of your life. Summon an intention to express the motifs of your heroic story in creative ways. Show the world the wisdom you have gathered during your long, strange wanderings.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): In Indigenous Australian lore, the Dreamtime is a parallel dimension overlapping the material world, always present and accessible through ritual and listening. Virtually all Indigenous cultures throughout history have conceived of and interacted with comparable realms. If you are open to the possibility, you now have an enhanced capacity to draw sustenance from this otherworld. I encourage you to go in quest of help and healing that may only be available there. Pay close attention to your dreams. Ask your meditations to give you long glimpses of the hidden magic.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Saturn is your ruling planet and archetype. In the old myth of the god Saturn, he rules time, which is not an enemy but a harvester. He gathers what has ripened. I believe the coming weeks will feature his metaphorical presence, Capricorn. You are primed to benefit from ripening. You are due to collect the fruits of your labors. This process may not happen in loud or dramatic ways. A relationship may deepen. A skill may get fully integrated. A long-running effort may coalesce. I say it’s time to celebrate! Congratulate yourself for having built with patience and worked through the shadows. Fully register the fact that your labor is love in slow motion.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): In Greek mythology, the constellation Aquarius was linked to a heroic character named Ganymede. The great god Zeus made this beautiful man the cupbearer to the gods. And what drink did Ganymede serve? Ambrosia, the divine drink of immortality. In accordance with astrological omens, I’m inviting you to enjoy a Ganymede-like phase in the coming weeks. Please feel emboldened to dole out your gorgeous uniqueness and weirdness to all who would benefit from it. Let your singular authenticity pour out freely. Be an overflowing source of *joie de vivre* and the lust for life.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): In 1932, trailblazing aviator Amelia Earhart made a nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic, steering through icy winds and mechanical trouble. When she landed, she said she had been “too busy” to be scared. This is an excellent motto for you now, Pisces: “too busy to be scared.” Not because you should ignore your feelings, but because immersion in your good work, mission, and devotion will carry you through any momentary turbulence. You now have the power to throw yourself so completely into your purpose that fear becomes a background hum.
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REAL ESTATE SERVICES
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RENTALS
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2 BEDROOM 1 BATH APARTMENT In Black Mountain. $995 per month. With new laminate hardwood floors. Heating and cooling. Washer dryer connections. Great neighborhood! 828-252-4334
CONDOS/ TOWNHOMES FOR RENT
2 BED 1 BATH TOWHOUSE FOR RENT 1 mile from downtown. $895 per month. Hardwood floors, very nice neighborhood. Pets allowed. 828-252-4334
MOBILE HOMES FOR RENT
2 BEDROOM 2 BATH MOBILE Accepting Section 8. $1595 per month. New laminate hardwood floors. 2-3 miles from town. On the bus line. Very quiet neighborhood. 828-252-4334
HOME IMPROVEMENT
ELECTRICIAN
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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) 551-6000 electricblustudio@gmail.com
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RENEWAL OF BEAUTIFUL BELONGING
Contemporary oil painter and master of cold wax methods demonstrates and discusses her energetic “letting paint and creativity flow.”
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UNCLAIMED / RECEIVED FIREARMS The following is a list of Unclaimed / Received firearms currently in possession of the Asheville Police Department. BLK/TAN, S&W, M&P, 9MM; BLK/BRO, F.LLIPETTA, REVOLVER, UNK; BLK, FMJ, D.D, 0.45; TRQ, GLOCK, 43, 9MM; BLK, S&S, 7.65, 0.22; TAN, FN, 510, 10MM; RG, RGREVOLVER, 38SPECIAL, 0.38; BLK, HI-POINT, 45ACP, 0.45; SIL/BLK, RUGER, SR40, .40CAL; BLK, RUGER, LCP2, 0.38; BLK, IBERIA, S&W, .40CAL; BLK, GLOCK, 17, 9MM; BLK, SPRINGFIELD, SA-XD, 9MM; BLK, GLOCK, 23, .40CAL; GRN/BLK, TAURUS, G2C, 9MM; BLK, GLOCK, 43, 9MM; BLK, S&W, .38SPECIAL, 0.38; BLK,
CZ, P-10F, 9MM; BLK, S&W, M&P, 9MM; BLK, GLOCK, 19, 9MM; BLK, GLOCK, 43X, 9MM; BLK/SILV, SCCY, CPX-2, 9MM; BLK, KELTEC, P11, 9MM; BLK, H&R, UNK, 0.32; BLK/ SILV, F.I.E., TITAN, 0.25; BLK/ BRO, ARMINUS, HW5, 0.22; SILV/BLK, S&W, GOVERNOR, 0.45; SILV/BRO, N.AMERICANARMS, UNK, 0.22; SIL, 5SHOTBREAKFRONT, UNK, UNK; BLK, RUGER, 9E, 9MM; BLU/BLK, RUGER, LITE, 0.22; BRO/RUST, S&W, UNK, 0.38; BLK, S&W, SPRINGFIELD, 9MM; BLK/TAN, TAURUS, PT140G2, 0.4; BLK, SIGSAUER, UNK, 0.22; BLK, WALTHER, PPX, 9MM; BLK, S&W, M&P, 9MM; BLK, GLOCK, 43X, 9MM; BLK, GLOCK, 19, 9MM; BLK, TAURUS, 709SLIM, 9MM; BLK/ BRO, ROCKISLANDARMS, M1911-A1, 0.45; BLK, S&W, CTG, 0.38; SIL/BLK, BERETTA, TOMCAT, 0.32; SILV/RUST, ARMITANFOGLIO, GT380, 0.38; SIL/BLK, AMT, BACKUP, .40CAL; BLK, RUGER, UNK, 9MM; BLK, RG, 66, 0.22; BLK, HERITAGE, UNK, 0.22; SILV, NORTHAMERICANARMS, UNK, .22MAG; BLK, GLOCK, 26, 9MM; BRO/BLK, SAVAGEARMS, 69RXL, 12GA; BRO, SAVAGE, MOD95, 12GA; BRO/ BLK, CHAINGKAI-SHEKRIFLE, UNK, 8.57MM; BLK, MARLIN/ GLENFIELD, MOD70, 0.22; CAMO, TRISTAR, VIPER, 12GA; BLK/BRO, REMINGTON, 511P, 0.22; BLK, MOSSBERG, MAVERICK, 12GA; BRO/BLK, WINCHESTER, 22LR, 0.22; BLK, STEVENS, 12GA, 12GA; BRO/BLK, RUSSIANMADE, BAIKAL18M-M, 0.41; BRO, NORINKO, SKS, 7.62; UNK, SEARS, SHOTGUN, 12GA;
BLK/BRO, REMINGTON, 870, 12GA; BLK, MOSSBERG, UNK, 12GA; TAN, KELTEC, SUB-200, 9MM; BLK, HIGHPOINT, 4595, 0.45; BLK, MARLIN, 336W, 30-30; GRY, STEN, MKII, 9MM; BLK, REMINGTON, UNK, 12GA; BRO, BROWNING, UNK, 0.22; BLK, MOSSBURG, MAVERICK88, 12GA; BLK, EAAREVOLVER, EA/R, 38; BLK, BERETTA, APX, 9MM; BLK, S&W, M&P, 9MM. Anyone with a legitimate claim or interest in this property must contact the Asheville Police Department within 30 days from the date of this publication. Any items not claimed within 30 days will be disposed of in accordance with all applicable laws. For further information, or to file a claim, contact the Asheville Police Department Property & Evidence Section at 828232-45
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WE BUY VINTAGE GUITARS!
Looking for 1920-1980 Gibson, Martin, Fender, Gretsch, Epiphone, Guild, Mosrite, Rickenbacker, Prairie State, D'Angelico, Stromberg. And Gibson Mandolins / Banjos. These brands only! Call for a quote: 1-833-641-6577. (NC Press)
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LEGALS
OTHER PUBLIC SALE OF VEHICLES
To satisfy a lien for a 2008 Audi
A6 against Marcus Samuel Robinson for $7,725.00. To satisfy a lien for a 2010 Chevrolet Equinox against Camron Brian Hall and Kings Auto Sales LLC for 5165.00. To satisfy a lien for a 2013 Hyundai Elantra against Destini Ashton-Mae Lopez and Auto Credit Assistance Corporation for $15485.00. Auto Safe Towing Inc., 474 ½ N. Louisiana Ave., Asheville NC 28806. 828-236-1131
Publication: September 3, 2025
Publisher: Mountain Xpress
1 Dallas baller
4 Doesn’t have
9 What you might add to fruit to make a drink?
12 Popular oldies
14 Sch. whose mascot is Tim the Beaver
15 Zugspitze, for one
16 Put a cork in, say
17 Grishnákh or Gothmog in “The Lord of the Rings”
18 Got ready to post on Insta, say
21 Where everyone is at home
23 Word after sand or speed
24 Murkiness 27 Beer hall recyclables
28 Beverage served alongside the treats in this puzzle
30 Summer hangout locale
32 Man’s name that’s a woman’s name backward
34 Hectic home, metaphorically
35 Extra-thick Nabisco treats, hinted at four times in this puzzle
39 Like poker champion Chris Moneymaker’s name
40 Years ago 41 Gamble
42 Bunny with a Brooklyn accent
44 Empty spaces
45 In on
47 Monomaniacal sea captain of literature
50 Scrumptious camp treat 51 15 to 29, for “American Idol”
Cut down
59 Tech ___ (stereotypical Silicon Valley sort)
60 Insect that “farms” aphids for their honeydew 61 Consequence 62 “Really?”
63 Entered, as data
64 Sigma preceder DOWN
1 Exam for a prospective osteopath 2 Ration out
3 Trail left by a jet 4 Sigmatism
5 When Elphaba and Glinda sing “Defying Gravity” in Broadway’s “Wicked”
6 Like some cookies or ice cream treats
Money in Laos
R-V hookup?
Writes off over time
Object
Land of llamas and Llosa
Since
Bout stoppers, in brief 30 It might appear to give you options
Supplementary result
Like a body temperature of around
Gently apply
Schadenfreude source
Riff like Ella Fitzgerald
___ Sunak, former British P.M. 43 Word shouted before and after “yes”
Fashion icon
