We’re pleased to be part of the Reader Meet Writer series of online events hosted by the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance.

This event is free but registration is required. Click here to RSVP. Prior to the event we will send an email with the link required to complete your registration and attend on Zoom.

“If or When I Call is a novel about desperate people shot through with arrows of grace that only a writer as sensitive and insightful as Will Johnson can wield. Lives in small towns are not small, and neither is this author’s heart.”
– Wiley Cash, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Ballad and A Land More Kind Than Home. Writer-in-residence at UNC-Asheville

Between interstates and county lines, life in rural Missouri unfolds in a progression of simple moments that carry the weight of every hard thing gone by. Parker and Melinda are searching for themselves in the hollows of their estranged marriage. Parker, haunted by the demons of addiction, lives every moment at the edge of an undiagnosed disorder — a darkness that steals his awareness and throws him into convulsions. Melinda, on an odyssey of her own, knows Parker’s struggles all too well, and as they try to help their teenage son come to terms with their lives apart, they have only their memories of a brighter life to get by.

Haunting and lyrical, Johnson’s powerful debut is a hymn to the lives we overlook in the quiet places around us. And how close we are to living them ourselves.

Will Johnson is a musician and songwriter who has played in the bands Centro-matic, South San Gabriel, Marie/Lepanto, Overseas, New Multitudes, and Monsters of Folk. He also releases records under his own name, and makes paintings centering on the subject of baseball and its history. His work has appeared in American Short Fiction. He was born in Kennett, Missouri, and currently lives in Austin, Texas. If or When I Call is his first novel.

This show was originally scheduled for April 11, 2020 and then October 3, 2020. Previously purchased tickets for either date will be honored at the rescheduled date. Please email [email protected] if you have any questions.

The Wood Brothers have partnered with Thistle Farms so that $1 from every ticket sold will go towards helping women survivors recover and heal from trafficking, prostitution, and addiction. Thistle Farms is a nonprofit social enterprise based in Nashville, TN, providing a safe place to live, a meaningful job, and a lifelong sisterhood of support. For more info, visit https://thistlefarms.org/pages/our-mission

Ages 18+

“Everyone has these little kingdoms in their minds,” says Chris Wood, “and the songs on this album all explore the ways we find peace in them. They look at how we deal with our dreams and our regrets and our fears and our loves. They look at the stories we tell ourselves and the ways we balance the darkness and the light.”

Hosted by Sahaja Yoga Meditation DFW
Join this FREE evening session for Meditation, specifically for Moms.

About this Event
We are creating this Meditation space for moms 💟 that can help
🤲 create a supportive community of moms who can come together and meditate
🤲 build a meditation routine
🤲 implement self-care, and take pause in hectic lives
🤲 bring calmness and balance that can reflect on kids and household
🤲 share experiences and learn to grow in this journey together

Join this FREE evening session for Meditation, specifically for Moms. Meditation is a simple way to de-stress, and it can help bring peace and balance, especially in these hectic times.

What we’re about

KEY FACTS: 

• In the past few days, hospital partners are reporting they are using blood at a much higher rate than normal. When demand is high, and the supply is critically low – that is a dangerous equation for the community.
• Because of the critically low supply, The Blood Connection (TBC) is now having to back-order blood products. This has affected 12 hospital partners so far.
• 48% of days this month, TBC DID NOT collect enough blood to cover hospitals’ needs. For comparison, in May of 2020 (during the pandemic) TBC collected enough to cover those needs 84% of the days.
• There is a high likelihood that TBC will have to start rationing blood by the end of the weekend.
• Heading into a holiday weekend – hospitals are stocking up their blood supply. TBC has already not been able to provide those products.
• The community is the ONLY solution to this dangerous problem. The blood supply for local hospitals is in the community’s hands. 

The North Carolina Arboretum is going wild for art and nature in 2021 with Wild Art! On view April 1 through September 26, this outdoor sculpture exhibition features works by 17 local and national artists drawing inspiration from the natural environment. Situated throughout the Arboretum’s spacious, open-air gardens, the show offers guests a doorway into the wild world from the comfort and safety of cultivated landscapes transformed by art.

The 18 sculptures on display represent a variety of approaches to the theme of “wild art,” from the literal to the abstract, and are crafted from a diverse array of materials that will delight and inspire. Let your imagination take you on a wild journey into the world of plants and animals near and far with Wild Art at The North Carolina Arboretum.

The exhibit is available to all guests during normal Arboretum hours, and there is no admission cost to view the sculptures beyond our usual parking fee of $16 per personal vehicle.

With the convenience of being open year-round, 7 days a week, the WNC Farmers Market offers a selection of farm-fresh produce at the lowest prices in Western N.C. Our popular retail buildings, providing a selection of non-perishables, fruits, vegetables, crafts and more, are open daily.

Take your business to the next level.

A comprehensive business innovation program designed to assist for profit, not-for-profit and family owned businesses to take them to the next level of success and sustainability.

August 25 – December 15, 2021

Registration for the 2021 Program now open.
Registration accepted through August 23, 2021.

Blue Ridge Community College and the Henderson County Chamber of Commerce have partnered once again to offer the Mission Acceleration Business Accelerator, a five-month, ten-course program.

August 25, 2021
Business Best Practices and KPI (Key Performance Indicators) Checklist by Department Identifying Opportunities for Acceleration

September 8, 2021
Management and Leadership

September 15, 2021
Human Resources, Legal and Insurance

September 29, 2021
Capital and Purchasing

October 13, 2021
Competition and Competitive Advantage

October 27, 2021
Branding, Marketing and Sales

November 10, 2021
Customer Service and Information Technology

November 17, 2021
Business Logistics: Best ways to meet customer needs

December 1, 2021
Accounting and Finance

December 15, 2021
Business Acceleration Plan Presentation and Graduation

Sessions run Wednesdays, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. except 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on August 25 and December 15, 2021.

Generation Z (also known as the iGeneration or Digital Natives) roughly started between 1996 to 2012. At the moment, that means they are between the ages of  9 and 25. Without a doubt, we all will have to manage someone from the digital age along with diverse multigeneration work culture. What is the perfect mixture? How does one approach a challenging situation with cancel culture being prevalent? With the correct training, communication, and emotional intelligence, any team will have the perfect synergy.

Everything from managing remote employees to living in a world where the line has become blurred between what happens online and offline, means what worked last year could be ineffective in the coming years. Managers and supervisors need to learn how to adapt to a compromised economy and an up-and-coming workforce that’s progressively challenging the “status quo” for work ethics and work habits.

Understanding how to plan, strategize and adapt to the disruptions caused by the pandemic, is why managers and supervisor’s need to develop the right tools.

The workshops below will help bring you and your management team into 2021-2022 with the right skills. Designed as 4 to 6-hour online “live” sessions, participants will learn about each topic, while also engaging in hands-on activities and group discussions.

Tanglewood Summer Camp

Looking for a way to give back and support our mission of eliminating racism and empowering women? The YWCA is looking for volunteers. If you have a few hours here and there or would like a regular volunteer gig, we could use your help. Please follow this link to see our current openings or email our volunteer coordinator to discuss alternate opportunities.

Included with admission

Our fun-for-all-ages botanical model train displays invite you to experience our grounds in an engaging new way. Located in the Conservatory in the Walled Garden, the displays feature replicas of structures connected with Biltmore and its founder George Vanderbilt. Each beautifully executed piece was handcrafted from such natural elements as leaves, bark, and twigs.

In compliance with state and local mandates related to COVID-19, all guests must enter the Conservatory via the ADA entrance in the back and follow a one-way route.

Included with admission

A unique-to-Biltmore, large-scale outdoor sculpture will be crafted and installed in Antler Hill Village this spring by Patrick Dougherty. Over the last three decades, this internationally-acclaimed artist has combined his carpentry skills and love of nature to build over 300 of these wondrous works, captivating the hearts and imaginations of viewers worldwide.

Image: Close Ties (2006) Scottish Basketmakers Circle, Dingwall, Scotland. Photo: Fin Macrae
NOTE: This is an example of Patrick Dougherty’s work; the artist will create Biltmore’s unique structure in Antler Hill Village this spring.

Summer at Biltmore offers an abundance of opportunities to explore our 8,000-acre Blue Ridge Mountain backyard and create the kind of memories that last a lifetime. Wander through historic gardens, along winding trails, and within the spacious halls of America’s Largest Home^®. Enjoy extraordinary experiences and peace of mind in one spectacular setting: only at Biltmore.

KEY FACTS: 

• In the past few days, hospital partners are reporting they are using blood at a much higher rate than normal. When demand is high, and the supply is critically low – that is a dangerous equation for the community.
• Because of the critically low supply, The Blood Connection (TBC) is now having to back-order blood products. This has affected 12 hospital partners so far.
• 48% of days this month, TBC DID NOT collect enough blood to cover hospitals’ needs. For comparison, in May of 2020 (during the pandemic) TBC collected enough to cover those needs 84% of the days.
• There is a high likelihood that TBC will have to start rationing blood by the end of the weekend.
• Heading into a holiday weekend – hospitals are stocking up their blood supply. TBC has already not been able to provide those products.
• The community is the ONLY solution to this dangerous problem. The blood supply for local hospitals is in the community’s hands. 

Brunch B’Yahad is now available through Zoom meeting here.   

Join new and old friends for light brunch, socialization and lively discussion.  Featured guest speakers, and relevant cultural and timely topics will fill our minds.

“Shine and Dine” on the railway! We cordially invite you to hop on board The Carolina Shine, GSMR’s All-Adult First Class Moonshine Car! We will be proudly serving hand crafted, triple-distilled, craft moonshine. Some of the smoothest tasting moonshine in the Carolinas!

Offered on the Nantahala Gorge excursion, this shine and dine experience begins in a renovated First Class train fleet car, The Carolina Shine. The interior features copper lined walls filled with the history of moonshining in North Carolina. Learn about the proud tradition that the Appalachians established when bootlegging was an acceptable way of life and local home brews were the best in town. Read about Swain County’s very own Major Redmond, the most famous mountain moonshine outlaw of the 19th century.