Calendar of Events

The Fall Studio Tour Preview Exhibition opens in the Kokol Gallery, in Toe River Arts’ Spruce Pine location at 269 Oak Ave, October 29 and runs through the end December 2022.  This exhibition gives visitors an opportunity to have a glimpse into each studio and plan their route. It’s also a great place to begin the tour or take a break from a day of non-stop art and artists.

There’s something breathtaking and awe-inspiring about driving through the mountains of western North Carolina in the Fall.  The way the trees show off by turning vibrant shades of red, yellow, and orange before leaving bare branches to the crisp winds and snowy days of winter, reminds us that nature herself is the original artist.

For more than a quarter century, the Toe River Arts Studio Tour has intrigued those who make the journey to visit places of inspiration and creation. Situated between Roan Mountain which boasts the world’s largest rhododendron garden and Mt. Mitchell, the highest peak east of the Mississippi, the Toe River Arts Studio Tour is a free, self-guided journey of the arts. This arts adventure through Mitchell and Yancey Counties will take visitors along the meandering Toe River, across its many bridges, around barns, acres of fields and miles of forests all while visiting the 83 talented studio artists who often take inspiration from the mountains they call home and 8 galleries featuring local and international art.

It doesn’t matter if you live up the hill or across the state. The Studio Tour provides an adventure for the intrepid seeker of the art experience. Artist studios come in many iterations—the building off to the side of the house, or across the field or down the road or right off the main road or down a gravel one-lane. Two-stories with a gallery space or small and cozy with a table set up or cleared off for display. Still there are others that devote a corner to each artist sharing the space. Wherever and however they are set up, the studios are exciting places to visit because they demonstrate the dynamic process used to create a finished piece. Every artist has their own way of telling a story, inviting visitors to ask questions, hold their work, and share a moment.

The art is as diverse as the artists who create it and features the work of glassblowers, jewelers, printmakers, potters, fiber artists, ironworkers, painters, sculptors, and woodworkers.

Collage paintings, assemblages, textiles, & faux artifacts designed by Jean Hess to explore the 1920 WV mining labor dispute as metaphor for the human condition.

Three rooms are filled with an eclectic mix of collage paintings ranging in scale from 6×6” to 50×70”; 3-D assemblages and faux artifacts; hand-stitched textiles; documentation in the form of historic notes, catalog entries for a collection of ephemera, photographs.
Call 828-273-3332 for weekend hours or to make an appointment. Exhibits through November 30, 2022.
Flood Gallery Fine Art Center is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization, and educates, encourages, challenges and inspires the community through music, film, literary, and contemporary art.

“Matewan as Metaphor” is an experiment in artistic license. Mixed-media artist Jean Hess creates a personal story by combining real and imagined resources with the intention of healing her own memory and transcending limits on what is possible and allowed in creative and scholarly endeavors as well as in visual art. The 1920 mining labor dispute in Matewan, West Virginia, which involved her own family, stands for a full life and its adversities.

Matewan was, in 1920, the scene of an armed skirmish between coal miners, mining companies, local union officials and hired strike-breakers. Baldwin-Felts Detective Agency thugs hired by the coal operators traveled by train to cast striking miners and their families out of their homes. The local mayor and several Baldwin-Felts agents were killed. The chief of police, the Matewan mayor, and several other locals gathered at the train station to confront the hired guns about the unlawful evictions. The Baldwin-Felts agents refused to recognize the local authority, and a shootout ensued. The mayor, some miners, and several detectives were killed. This was one of many violent conflicts that took place in Southern WV between pro-union miners and men hired by coal companies to use force and intimidation to prevent miners from unionizing.

Jean Hess takes serious training in cultural anthropology and visual art to playful levels. Her mixed-media paintings and constructions come from personal memory and nostalgia, ancestral ties and historical fact. Mining illustrations and maps signify coal mining in early twentieth century Appalachia, as well as issues concerning extractive industries, population displacement, exploitative labor practices, suffering and loss. Using collage, paint, layered resins and found ephemera Hess experiments with myriad ways one can obfuscate, surprise and entice. Found imagery is from geography and history textbooks from the early 1900’s and before. Dimensional objects are from her family or found in junk shops over time. Much of her material may be deconstructed, obscured, scrambled or carefully embellished.
Jean Hess’ multi-variant creative output segues with an equally unpredictable life. She has lived in Washington, DC, Baltimore, Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Abiquiu, New Mexico as well as Atlanta, Dallas and now Knoxville, Tennessee. Her work-for-pay background includes stints as a computer programmer, Montessori teacher, museum registrar, writer and research consultant for government and private industry. With degrees [BA, MA] in cultural anthropology she tends to draw inspiration from wide-ranging interests, and not always according to established rules.

Hess is well-known for experimental mixed-media collage paintings and assemblages that combine the skillful use of layered paint and resins, light refraction and found materials such as antique ephemera and pressed plants. Because her palette, surface and touch are consistent, one can always tell a work of art is hers. And yet Hess likes surprises, plays with materials that are sometimes unfamiliar, operates in a controlled-experiment spirit and likes accidental detours that energize her work. While she took some undergraduate art courses she is largely self-taught.

Public collections include: Huntsville Museum of Art; Evansville Museum of Art, History and Science; Knoxville Museum of Art; University of Virginia; Farm Credit Administration; Knoxville Convention Center; City of Chattanooga; St. Mary’s Hospital Heart Institute [IN]; Canon USA.

Jean Hess is proud that much of her work is in private collections, cared for by sympathetic individuals.

Capacity is limited.
Tasting room by reservation only. Make reservations in-person on the day of your Winery visit.

To participate in this activity, guest must have a daytime ticket, a Biltmore Annual Pass, or a stay at one of the estate’s splendid overnight properties.

Reservations are required for all wine tastings and must be made on the day of your visit. Because our complimentary wine tastings fill up quickly, we recommend you reserve your tasting when you arrive for your visit.

Verner Center for Early Learning is a nonprofit agency providing high quality, affordable early care and education to children birth to five years of age throughout Buncombe County. The mission of Verner Center is to foster holistic learning environments where young children and families thrive. The organization embraces a philosophy that includes excellence in early childhood practices, diversity among children and families, and partnerships and collaboration with families and communities. This philosophy is demonstrated through provision of high quality education, family services, health and nutrition services, and professional development for teachers.

We are currently looking for compassionate volunteers to support our experiential garden.

Volunteer Opportunity Includes:

• Pulling weeds
• Cleaning out garden beds
• Prepping new garden beds
• Building small projects
• Mowing
• Weed eating
• Laying mulch
• Watering

Volunteer Requirements:

• Respond to the shift
• Comfortable working in various weather conditions
• Comfortable bending, stooping, twisting
• Ability to stand for 1-2 hours at a time

Four Seasons serves patients in 13 counties of western North Carolina. As a non-profit provider of hospice and palliative care services, we rely heavily on volunteers who contribute in a variety of settings. New Volunteer Orientation prepares volunteers to work in administrative offices, at the Hospice Home Store, and to provide outreach to the community. Further training is required for those who would like to serve patients and grief clients.

Join us for our next New Volunteer Orientation via Zoom Webinar on November 15th at 1pm. To register, call the volunteer team at (828) 692-6178 or email [email protected].

Join WNC Medicinal Herb Growers for an afternoon of networking with fellow growers, wholesale buyers and other professionals working with medicinal herbs. Highlights include:

• Buyer presentations and “most wanted” lists
• Opportunities for growers to share product samples of available herbs and planting stock
• Small group roundtables with local and domestic buyers
• Networking and celebrating medicinal herbs grown in North Carolina

Hosted by: The Buddhist Studies Institute

FREE – ONLINE – 30 MINUTES – DAILY
🌺Guided meditation support and community🌺

🌸Stabilization and Liberation:
In order to liberate our minds– we need stable calm.

🌸Consistency & Commitment:
Stabilizing in calm clear presence takes consistent training.

🌸Support & Community:
Daily Meditation is a container and support for your meditation focus.

Expand your meditation circle- join us online any day or every day!

Formerly known as 100 Days of practice to support a Tibetan Yogis tradition to practice 100 days in the winter, this has now been expanded to continue daily. To learn more and register: https://buddhiststudiesinstitute.org/daily-meditation/

We are seeking volunteers to assist us in our small after school program for children in West Asheville in low-income housing.  We provide a safe and nourishing environment, healthy snacks, and creative activities.  Our program currently meets during the school year on most Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from 3:00-5:00pm. You may volunteer for one or two days a week. 

Volunteer Responsibilities:

• Assist with serving snacks
• Interact with children during activity time
• Supervise games and outdoor free time
• For people with background in education, there is also an opportunity to assist with curriculum development and program planning and administration

Requirements:

• Background check
• Orientation booklets will be provided
• Masks are required if unvaccinated

Enjoy a cup of tea as we color for Fall! Supplies provided. Registration required. Email [email protected] or call 864-862-2576 to register. Audience: Adults

Imagine a solid trivia stack with a magnetic host in an outdoor intimate setting.  Then add the excitement of BYOB and pedaling around the City on a one-of-a-kind contraption.

Kinda like if Willy Wonka did Trivia… you will be completely entertained, with no sense left unfulfilled.

And come back for more as we have several questions sets available with a good ole just for locals option!

Trivia tours seat up to 15 people, 1.5 or 40 mins hours long.  Bring your own beer in cans or wine and your thinking while drinking caps on let’s do this thing!

Learn how to rock out to your favorite songs on the drums! There will be a 30 minute, once-a-week private lesson where you’ll start with the basics and work your way up to playing along to your favorite songs. Pre-registration required and lessons are filled on a first-come-first-serve basis.

In this class designed for beginners and younger performers, students will learn basic acting techniques and have a great time doing so! They’ll get creative with short scenes and play drama games that teach key skills in a fun and approachable way. This class builds the confidence to help them to shine on stage and in life –  even in their next audition or school play! Students will perform a showcase for family and friends during the last class.

Registration begins on Wednesday, September 14, 2022 at 10:00 am. Tuition will be $225 – Scholarships are available.

NOTE: If applying for a scholarship, please fill out the Scholarship Application INSTEAD of filling out registration. If your application is approved, we will be in touch with you to register.

Biltmore House glows with candlelight and firelight during this nighttime tour, changing the daytime visit’s mood and experience. Candlelight Christmas Evenings in Biltmore House allows guests to step back in time with an experience reminiscent of the Vanderbilt’s first Christmas spent in Biltmore House in 1895. Musicians stationed throughout the house perform seasonal favorites. Setting the scene is a 55-foot Norway spruce encircled by illuminated evergreens and shrubs sparkling in the center of the front lawn.

The Buncombe Partnership for Children and Mosaic Community Lifestyle Realty invite you to an evening for BPFC’s Reach Out and Read partnership, bringing books to children and families. Bid on great silent auction items including art, gift baskets, classes, fine food and drinks, and gift certificates. Donations are also gratefully accepted. Help meet the ambitious goal of $9,000 raised for early literacy.

Together with French Broad Pediatrics and Our Family Doctor, BPFC gives over 3,100 books per year to children ages birth to 5 at their doctors’ visits. Pediatricians use books in these appointments to encourage families to read, sing, and talk with their kids. Then each child takes a book home. For some families, these books are the only ones they have in their homes.Parents in the program are 2.5 times more likely to read with their infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. And children’s language development is improved by a whole 3-6 months by the age of 5!

Inspired by nature and following the self-published released of How to Heal the Planet from Wherever You Are, Cortina Jenelle introduces Oshanna Church of Spiritual Activism, with Oshanna debuting as a dynamic experience rooted in ceremony and inviting nature as a co-facilitator through theater, art and spoken word. After each production, all ticket proceeds are donated to a mission partner who is doing work in service to Mother Earth while also furthering truth, healing and reconciliation across race, gender and class.

Black Starseed: Immaculate Conception is the second installment of the Black Starseed series, which goes back in time as a prelude to Black Starseed: Revolutionary Reimagination (2020) – a debut partnership between adé PROJECT and PechaKucha Asheville co-creating a storytelling experience in voice of Black women at the intersection of creativity x spirituality. In this prelude, the life story of Cortina Jenelle becomes a moving memoir and an embodiment of a shared story from the matriarchs of Black, indigenous descent in a world where femininity, Blackness, sovereignty and indigeneity were not just criminal, but a threat to society. Black Starseed: Immaculate Conception may appear to just tell the story of one, yet is actually one version of the same story that constantly loops through time. Do you know how purposeful, brilliant and divine you already are, Starseed? This is heart song of the black sheep generation + millennials, and those born torn between ancestral remembrance and playing the game of life to win. Join us in a gathering of art, theater, ceremony (with a bonus book signing post-show) and storytelling and leave reminded of how to heal the planet from wherever you are.

Ticket proceeds benefit cleanup of the French Broad River with our mission partner for this show, Asheville Greenworks.

White Horse’s legendary Open Mic re-starts after a year off for bad behavior (COVID, really). Host Bill Altork will help us present wonderfully talented folks on their way up. The signup sheet is placed on the bar at 6:30 and the first ten to sign in are the performers for the evening. Each gets 15 minutes or three songs. It’s a lot of fun… especially since it’s free!

We’ll be following all COVID-19 protocols and we ask that you wear your mask when you’re not singing or enjoying a beverage from the bar.

Join us to share your music or just enjoy an evening in the audience!

Thirsty Monk at Biltmore Park is excited to announce Tuesday Trivia nights with @notrockettrivia!

Come by, grab a beer, and play some trivia. See you on Tuesday nights at 7 p.m.! Prizes will include gift cards and merch.

No reservations needed, just get ready for a good time and a chance to win some Down Dog prizes!

Join us every Tuesday night for Trivia!

Trivia will run from 7-8:15 pm. We will be capping the teams at 20 and teams will not be able to join after 7 so make sure to arrive early to secure your spot!

No reservations needed, just grab your thinking caps and get ready for a good time and a chance to win a $10, $20, or $30 gift certificate to Down Dog!

White Horse’s legendary Open Mic takes place each and every Tuesday at 7pm.

You’ll hear a variety of wonderfully talented folks on their way up. You never know what you’ll hear… original songs, covers, guitar, piano….. and often something quite surprising.

The signup sheet is placed on the bar at 6:30 and the first ten to sign in are the performers for the evening. Each gets 15 minutes or three songs.

It’s a lot of fun… especially since it’s FREE !!!!!

Tony®-winning director Bartlett Sher and the team behind South Pacific and The King and I bring a fresh and authentic vision to this beloved theatrical masterpiece from Tony-winner Joseph Stein and Pulitzer Prize winners Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick.

The original production won ten Tony Awards, including a special Tony for becoming the longest-running Broadway musical of all time. You’ll be there when the sun rises on this new production, with stunning movement and dance from acclaimed Israeli choreographer Hofesh Shechter, based on the original staging by Jerome Robbins. A wonderful cast and a lavish orchestra tell this heartwarming story of fathers and daughters, husbands and wives, and the timeless traditions that define faith and family.

Featuring the Broadway classics “Tradition,” “If I Were a Rich Man,” “Sunrise, Sunset,” “Matchmaker, Matchmaker” and “To Life,” FIDDLER ON THE ROOF will introduce a new generation to this uplifting celebration that raises its cup to joy! To love! To life!