Chuck Beattie's Blues

After finishing a fifth encore at England’s Bury Blues Festival in 2003, Chuck Beattie was filled with emotion. “I just couldn’t go back out,” Chuck says from his rehearsal space off of Hendersonville Road in Asheville. “I was too emotional. It was very humbling.” ... read more

Green Sage Opens New Location

Many in the Asheville know The Green Sage Coffeehouse and Café, situated at the corner of Broadway and College Streets in downtown Asheville. The Green Sage has now opened a second location, this one south of town at 1800 Hendersonville ... read more

Beirut to Play the Peel December 5

The six-piece indie band Beirut comes to The Orange Peel in Asheville December 5. The group consists of Zach Condon (vocals, trumpet, ukulele), Perrin Cloutier ((accordion, piano), Nick Petree (drums, percussion), Paul Collins (electric bass ... read more

Mars Hill College Hosts Christmas Concert

Experience the beautiful sounds of the Christmas season at the annual Mars Hill College Christmas Concert December 2 at 7:30 p.m. in Moore Auditorium. The concert will feature the Mars Hill College Wind Symphony, conducted by Michael Robinson, and the College Choir and Chamber Singers, conducted by Dr. Joel Reed. The event is open to the ... read more

Dillsboro Celebrates Luminaries Festival

For the 28th year, the Dillsboro Festival of Lights & Luminaries illuminates this mountain village during the first two weekends in December. Dillsboro's celebration is a throwback to earlier times. Adapted from a Scandinavian custom of lighting the way for the Christ child, more than 2,500 candles in white bags line the streets. This year's dates are ... read more

UNCA Offers Festival of Plays

Theatre UNCA will present Perspectives, a festival of six short plays directed and performed by UNC Asheville students. The festival is free and open to the public December 2-5 in various campus locations. Works by Jean Paul Sarte and Jean Genet will be presented together. Senior Bobby Abrahamson will direct Genets dark drama of violent fantasy ... read more

Local Students Become Dreamers

For some students, the end of a school day signals hours of surfing the Internet and watching TV. Mindless after-school reprieves from scholastic stress can be instant relief, but they can have consequences for young students hoping to eventually attend institutes of higher-education. Ken and Ida Brown, sponsors of Asheville’s local “I Have a Dream” ... read more

Local Hiker Vies to Become Top Adventurer

National Geographic released the list of Top Ten Adventurers of the Year recently, and now the polls decide who will be the People's Choice winner of 2012. On the list is Jennifer Pharr Davis, who completed her first Appalachian Trail (AT) thru-hike in 2005. Since then, she has hiked more than 11,000 miles on six continents. She is a member. ... read more

Booty Band Funks Up Asheville

Born in Boone a decade ago, the members of Yo Mama's Big Fat Booty Band are survivors. They band has had some lineup changes and, like most musicians, the members juggle other jobs to make ends meet. But the group is releasing a new album, Doin' It Hard, that will be out just in time for the holidays and the band continues to live by its ... read more

Area Quilt Trails Drive Tourism

Vivid quilt blocks—whether hanging on a barn, house, or local business—tell a story and convey a message of historical significance. Donna Sue Groves began the original Barn Quilt Trail Project in honor of her mother in Adams County, Ohio. Since then, more wood blocks have appeared in other rural Appalachian counties, inviting second glances ... read more

Asheville Choral Society Presents "Winterfest"

The Asheville Choral Society presents its holiday concert, “Winterfest: Songs of the Season” December 2 at 7:30 p.m. and December 3 at 4 p.m. in Arden Presbyterian Church. “Winterfest” is the first concert of the ACS’s 35th season. For her first concert as ACS’s new music director, Dr. Melodie Galloway promises "glittering holiday ... read more

Cakeballs Come to Asheville

Biltmore Cakeball Bakery started operating on October 1 in the food court of the Biltmore Square Mall in Asheville and will celebrate its Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony on November 29 at 4:30 p.m. Biltmore Cakeball Bakery’s Master Baker Enrique Figueroa has a mission to redesign the cake industry. Classic cakeballs ... read more

Catch November Fly Fishing Deals

November is a prime month to fish the Western North Carolina Fly Fishing Trail. Sections of the trail are stocked with 12,700 trout early in the month, creating an infusion of hungry trout at a time when typical fly fishing activity tails off. Throw in the fact that much of the trail is located a—or just above—2,000 feet in elevation ... read more

UNCA Study Abroad Photos Exhibited

An array of photos from all over the world are now on display in the Study Abroad Photo Contest Exhibition, in UNC Asheville’s Blowers Gallery, in Ramsey Library. The top ten selected photos are featured in large reproductions, with descriptions by the photographers that set the scene. A total of 50 photographs by UNC Asheville students ... read more

Chef Adam Hayes Brings Passion to Red Stag Grill

When Adam Hayes first got a call a few years ago regarding the job of executive chef at Red Stag Grill, he was elated. "The call was sort of out of the blue so I was thinking that out of all the chefs in the world, they had found me and were asking me to interview," Adam says. Turns out that his wife had sent his information in to the Red Stag Grill ... read more

Center for Craft, Creativity & Design Offers Textile Events

The Center for Craft, Creativity & Design (CCCD) is pleased to announce a series of events taking place in conjunction with the current exhibition, “Common Threads: Innovative Textile Practices in India & Western North Carolina.” Textile artist Catharine Ellis will lecture on her weaving and dyeing processes at 12:45 p.m. November 8, at UNC ... read more

Two Area YMCA's Combine

The Boards of Directors of the Henderson County Family YMCA and the YMCA of Western North Carolina have officially voted to combine forces in having the Henderson County Family YMCA become a member of the YMCA of Western North Carolina effective January 1, 2012 ... read more

Cullowhee Hosts Annual Crafts Show

A popular post-Thanksgiving tradition once again fills Western Carolina University's Ramsey Center November 25-26. The 24th annual Hard Candy Christmas Fine Art and Craft Show in Cullowhee features more than 110 artisans hand-picked by show organizer and veteran crafter Doris Hunter ... read more

Kimmett Gallery Makes Splash in Asheville Art Scene

The Kimmett Gallery at Restaurant Solace offers its premiere exhibition, “Perceptions,” which features the paintings of local artist Julie Robinson. The public is invited to the opening reception December 2 from 5 - 7 p.m ... read more

New App Aids Exploration of Asheville

Visitors and locals alike will soon have a new way to explore downtown Asheville. The Asheville Art Adventure, powered by Fingo Adventures’ new iPhone app, is part navigation, part tour guide, and part scavenger hunt. The Asheville Art Adventure will feature 30 Urban Trail stops and six city-supported pieces of public art ... read more

Smith-McDowell House Museum Gears Up for the Holidays

The Carolina Christmas Celebration at Asheville’s Smith-McDowell House Museum’s runs November 16 - January 4, 2012. A tradition since 1981, the mansion and local history museum will again be authentically decorated with fresh trees, garlands, ornaments, and toys of the Victorian era. Seven period rooms will be decked out with gold, silver, and glassware from the museum’s permanent collection ... read more

Meet Author Ellen Horovitz at Malaprops

Author Ellen G. Horowitz will be at Malaprops Bookstore & Cafe November 17 to discuss and sign copies of her new book Digital Image Transfer: Creating Art With Your Photography. You can meet the author beginning at 7 p.m ... read more

Dramatic Play The Laramie Project Comes to Asheville

The Laramie Project, by Moisés Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theatre Project, is based on a series of interviews with Laramie, Wyoming, residents just after the 1998 murder of gay college student Matthew Shepard. Time named the production "one of the 10 best plays of 2000." Now the play comes to Asheville to be performed by Different Strokes! Performing Arts Collective Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays December 1-10 at the BeBe Theatre. ... read more

Explore Cherokee Forgiveness Journey at CSLA

The Center for Spiritual Living Asheville (CSLA) in conjunction with the Cherokee Healing and Wellness Coalition will host an evening about Cherokee Historical Grief and Trauma and the Cherokee 2012 Forgiveness Journey as presented by Patty Grant of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI). This event will take place at the CSLA, located at 2 Science of Mind Way in Asheville on November 9 from 7 - 9 p.m ... read more

Annual Voorhees Family Art Show and Sale is November 19 & 20

David and Molly Voorhees, owners of the Hand in Hand Gallery in Flat Rock, and several members of their talented family are hosting the 14th Voorhees Family Art Show and Sale from 10 a.m.–5 p.m. on Saturday, November 19, and from noon–5 p.m. on Sunday, November 20 ... read more

A Place for All Seasons: The Western North Carolina Nature Center

Asheville is cradled within one of the most unique ecosystems in the world. As a temperate rainforest, the southeast Appalachian Mountains experience a full range of environmental change. Our weather is both dramatic enough to give us four distinct seasons and mild enough to allow for an enormous diversity of plant and animal life all year round ... read more

WNC Fly Fishing Expo Set for November 5 & 6

There is something beautiful in watching a fly fisher’s line gracefully float over a bubbling creek. Professionals will tell you there is definitely an art to the sport—from throwing the line to tying the flies. Fly fishing enthusiasts and those interested in learning can experience all the sport has to offer at the Western North Carolina Fly Fishing Expo November 5–6 at the Western North Carolina Agricultural Center ... read more

Folk Art Center: “Pieces of the Story” Quilt Exhibition

The Folk Art Center is presenting “Pieces of the Story: The Asheville Quilt Guild Exhibition” through January 22 in the center’s Main Gallery. This juried show represents traditional and contemporary quilts made by members of the Asheville Quilt Guild (AQG) and includes educational displays about quilting, tools of the trade, and how the art of quilting has evolved. On the weekends, Asheville Quilt Guild members will be hand quilting in the Main Gallery, and docents will offer ... read more

From Brush to Fabric: Barbara Fisher Explores New Medium

Artist Barbara Fisher has embarked on a new adventure in the face of, but more in reaction to, the current economy. One of the early pioneers to recognize the creative possibilities of having a studio in the River Arts District, she began painting there nearly 13 years ago. “Last fall,” says Barbara, “I decided to explore the idea of textile design (though I have no training in it), with the idea that my paintings might make interesting scarves. I started researching, playing with design, getting fabric samples and test swatches, as well as exploring possible production and marketing options.” ... read more

Constance Williams Gallery: “Port-a-Gift-Ability”

Constance Williams Gallery pays homage to the joy of shopping with its November show featuring an exhibit of works by the artists whose studios are in the gallery. The opening reception days coincide with the River Arts District Studio Stroll on Saturday and Sunday, November 12–13, from 10 a.m.–6 p.m. The exhibit will run through December 8 ... read more

ASAP Launches New Interactive Community Website

Local foodies should be very excited. The Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP) has just launched a new interactive community website (fromhere.org) that will offer loads of information about ASAP’s work as well as serve as a platform for real-time conversations among the local food community ... read more

“Deck the Trees” Monte Vista Hotel

The Monte Vista Hotel in Black Mountain is inviting area businesses, groups, and nonprofit organizations to decorate one of the 12 Christmas trees that will be placed in the hotel for the holidays. Each group will decorate its tree November 28–30, and all the trees will be on display from December 1 through January 2 ... read more

Dillsboro Hosts Seventh Annual Pottery Festival November 4–5

The seventh annual Western North Carolina Pottery Festival returns to Dillsboro November 4–5. This juried event will showcase 45 master potters coming to our region from 17 states ... read more