{"id":85693,"date":"2025-11-26T06:00:24","date_gmt":"2025-11-26T11:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/?p=85693"},"modified":"2025-11-23T11:12:50","modified_gmt":"2025-11-23T16:12:50","slug":"from-the-editor-december-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/lifestyle\/from-the-editor-december-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"From the Editor:<\/strong> December 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

This year, post-Helene and with slashes to arts funding as well as overall economic uncertainties, has been one of hardship for many, including our artists. When I say artists<\/em>, I include all who create, who interpret, who share their imagination and talents with others. This holiday season, if you\u2019re giving gifts to others, consider our many galleries, art markets and independent studios for tangible gifts. And don\u2019t forget experiences: tickets to concerts, plays, dance performances. How about books by local authors or albums by area musicians? There are so many ways to bring a little creativity to your holiday shopping while, at the same time, supporting our local recovering economies.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Gina Malone, Editor<\/p><\/div>\n

In this issue, we share many ideas, but be on the lookout throughout the month for other ways to share the love with your Western North Carolina neighbors. The Blue Ridge National Heritage Area\/Blue Ridge Craft Trails Winter Market is a great place to start. This digital gift guide introduces regional crafters in many mediums. Mica Gallery, in Bakersville, will hold its Holiday Open House on December 12. Gallery artists there share some of their own philosophies about gift giving.\u00a0 Stops at American Folk Art & Framing, the Lucy Clark Studio and Gallery, Salmagundi Gallery, the Asheville Gallery of Art, Grovewood Gallery and the Village Artist Market will yield a wealth of fine art and craft created right here at home. You\u2019ll become everyone\u2019s favorite gift giver.<\/p>\n

For experiences, how about the Blue Ridge Orchestra\u2019s BRO Revels<\/em> or the Wortham Center\u2019s A Swannanoa Solstice<\/em>, both long-running traditions in December.<\/p>\n

At delighted gift shop, find adorable ornaments created by local artists. Or, perhaps, you want to put your own hand to creating gifts for others, with a class on traditional crafting.<\/p>\n

This year, think about stepping off the conveyor belt of same old same old to make your holidays a wholly WNC experience\u2014from presents to feasting to entertainment. And offer yourself the gifts of reflection and hope. As May Sarton said: \u201cA holiday gives one a chance to look backward and forward, to reset oneself by an inner compass.\u201d<\/p>\n

May your holidays be filled with light and love,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This year, post-Helene and with slashes to arts funding as well as overall economic uncertainties, has been one of hardship for many, including our artists. When I say artists, I include all who create, who interpret, who share their imagination and talents with others.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":41796,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-85693","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle"],"yoast_head":"\nFrom the Editor: December 2025 - The Laurel of Asheville<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This year, post-Helene and with slashes to arts funding as well as overall economic uncertainties, has been one of hardship for many, including our artists. When I say artists, I include all who create, who interpret, who share their imagination and talents with others.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/lifestyle\/from-the-editor-december-2025\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"From the Editor: December 2025 - The Laurel of Asheville\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This year, post-Helene and with slashes to arts funding as well as overall economic uncertainties, has been one of hardship for many, including our artists. When I say artists, I include all who create, who interpret, who share their imagination and talents with others.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/lifestyle\/from-the-editor-december-2025\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Laurel of Asheville\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/thelaurelofasheville\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-26T11:00:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/gina-sig-e1622723217600.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"694\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"361\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Amy Pryor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@AshevilleLaurel\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@AshevilleLaurel\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Amy Pryor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/lifestyle\\\/from-the-editor-december-2025\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/lifestyle\\\/from-the-editor-december-2025\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Amy Pryor\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13d76582350fe4093b37d2b69174af00\"},\"headline\":\"From the Editor: December 2025\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-26T11:00:24+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/lifestyle\\\/from-the-editor-december-2025\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":378,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/lifestyle\\\/from-the-editor-december-2025\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/03\\\/gina-sig-e1622723217600.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Lifestyle\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/lifestyle\\\/from-the-editor-december-2025\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/lifestyle\\\/from-the-editor-december-2025\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/lifestyle\\\/from-the-editor-december-2025\\\/\",\"name\":\"From the Editor: December 2025 - The Laurel of Asheville\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/lifestyle\\\/from-the-editor-december-2025\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/lifestyle\\\/from-the-editor-december-2025\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/03\\\/gina-sig-e1622723217600.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-26T11:00:24+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13d76582350fe4093b37d2b69174af00\"},\"description\":\"This year, post-Helene and with slashes to arts funding as well as overall economic uncertainties, has been one of hardship for many, including our artists. When I say artists, I include all who create, who interpret, who share their imagination and talents with others.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/lifestyle\\\/from-the-editor-december-2025\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/lifestyle\\\/from-the-editor-december-2025\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/lifestyle\\\/from-the-editor-december-2025\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/03\\\/gina-sig-e1622723217600.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/03\\\/gina-sig-e1622723217600.jpg\",\"width\":694,\"height\":361},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/lifestyle\\\/from-the-editor-december-2025\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"From the Editor: December 2025\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Laurel of Asheville\",\"description\":\"The Arts and Culture of Communities Across the Mountains\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13d76582350fe4093b37d2b69174af00\",\"name\":\"Amy Pryor\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4afbb9c963c7a0e8f027aafb31772d626615a03db2472868007f1e429a48cc2f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4afbb9c963c7a0e8f027aafb31772d626615a03db2472868007f1e429a48cc2f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4afbb9c963c7a0e8f027aafb31772d626615a03db2472868007f1e429a48cc2f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Amy Pryor\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"From the Editor: December 2025 - The Laurel of Asheville","description":"This year, post-Helene and with slashes to arts funding as well as overall economic uncertainties, has been one of hardship for many, including our artists. When I say artists, I include all who create, who interpret, who share their imagination and talents with others.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/lifestyle\/from-the-editor-december-2025\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"From the Editor: December 2025 - The Laurel of Asheville","og_description":"This year, post-Helene and with slashes to arts funding as well as overall economic uncertainties, has been one of hardship for many, including our artists. When I say artists, I include all who create, who interpret, who share their imagination and talents with others.","og_url":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/lifestyle\/from-the-editor-december-2025\/","og_site_name":"The Laurel of Asheville","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/thelaurelofasheville","article_published_time":"2025-11-26T11:00:24+00:00","og_image":[{"width":694,"height":361,"url":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/gina-sig-e1622723217600.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Amy Pryor","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@AshevilleLaurel","twitter_site":"@AshevilleLaurel","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Amy Pryor","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/lifestyle\/from-the-editor-december-2025\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/lifestyle\/from-the-editor-december-2025\/"},"author":{"name":"Amy Pryor","@id":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/#\/schema\/person\/13d76582350fe4093b37d2b69174af00"},"headline":"From the Editor: December 2025","datePublished":"2025-11-26T11:00:24+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/lifestyle\/from-the-editor-december-2025\/"},"wordCount":378,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/lifestyle\/from-the-editor-december-2025\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/gina-sig-e1622723217600.jpg","articleSection":["Lifestyle"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/lifestyle\/from-the-editor-december-2025\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/lifestyle\/from-the-editor-december-2025\/","url":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/lifestyle\/from-the-editor-december-2025\/","name":"From the Editor: December 2025 - The Laurel of Asheville","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/lifestyle\/from-the-editor-december-2025\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/lifestyle\/from-the-editor-december-2025\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/gina-sig-e1622723217600.jpg","datePublished":"2025-11-26T11:00:24+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/#\/schema\/person\/13d76582350fe4093b37d2b69174af00"},"description":"This year, post-Helene and with slashes to arts funding as well as overall economic uncertainties, has been one of hardship for many, including our artists. When I say artists, I include all who create, who interpret, who share their imagination and talents with others.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/lifestyle\/from-the-editor-december-2025\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/lifestyle\/from-the-editor-december-2025\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/lifestyle\/from-the-editor-december-2025\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/gina-sig-e1622723217600.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/gina-sig-e1622723217600.jpg","width":694,"height":361},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/lifestyle\/from-the-editor-december-2025\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"From the Editor: December 2025"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/#website","url":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/","name":"The Laurel of Asheville","description":"The Arts and Culture of Communities Across the Mountains","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/#\/schema\/person\/13d76582350fe4093b37d2b69174af00","name":"Amy Pryor","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4afbb9c963c7a0e8f027aafb31772d626615a03db2472868007f1e429a48cc2f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4afbb9c963c7a0e8f027aafb31772d626615a03db2472868007f1e429a48cc2f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4afbb9c963c7a0e8f027aafb31772d626615a03db2472868007f1e429a48cc2f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Amy Pryor"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85693","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85693"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85693\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":85697,"href":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85693\/revisions\/85697"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41796"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85693"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85693"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85693"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}