Wilma Dykeman, savior of the French Broad. Photo courtesy of Wilma Dykeman Legacy
On Thursday, September 6, New Belgium Brewing Company will host a concert and film screening to benefit the Center for Cultural Preservation. The Center is currently at work on a film about river heroes of WNC and proceeds from this event will go to support the creation of that film. “We’ve already completed more than 40 interviews and these funds will help us complete film production and help cover the costs for post-production,” says David Weintraub, executive director for the Center. “The film will include interviews with Cherokee elders, dam fighters who fought the TVA’s plans to turn all of our waterways into major lakes and other heroes like Wilma Dykeman who fought to improve the condition of the French Broad watershed.”
The event will begin at 7 p.m. with a performance by local singer/ songwriter David Wiseman. “What first attracted me to David was his powerful song titled ‘Flooding Swannanoa’ that details how the Great Flood of 1916 affected our community,” says Weintraub. “I liked it so much that the song is featured in my film on the 1916 flood.” A screening of the Center’s award-winning film, Come Hell or High Water, Remembering the Great Flood of 1916, will follow Wiseman’s performance.
Both the concert and the screening will be held at New Belgium’s Brew House on the French Broad River. “Water is the main ingredient in beer and a healthy and reliable watershed is something we care deeply about as brewers and community members,” says Sarah Fraser, sustainability specialist at New Belgium. “We decided to host this benefit to help raise funds for a documentary that celebrates local waterways and tells the story of the challenges they have faced historically and in the present. It’s important that we each realize our role in sustaining and improving these waterways for the critters that depend on them and for the generations of North Carolinians that will come after us.”
New Belgium’s Brew House is located at 21 Craven Street in Asheville. A $10 suggested donation provides entry to the event. Advanced reservations are recommended and can be made online at saveculture.org or by calling the Center at 828.692.8062.
