Calendar of Events

Bring your lawn chairs and blankets, sing along with the carolers, warm up inside the barn with hot chocolate, cider, and treats. Don’t forget to bring your wish list…Santa Claus will be in the barn from 4pm until 6:15pm. The Illumination of Shelton House will happen at 6:30pm on the front lawn after a reading of “The Night Before Christmas”. The Shelton House gift shop will be open with local crafts for sale. This is a FREE event so “Come All Ye Faithful” to the Shelton House on December 9 at 4pm. Parking is available at the Shelton House/Hart Theater parking lot. Hope to see you there! Lets start the Christmas Season with a little Happiness and Joy!

https://www.facebook.com/events/268350170546086/

Return to Tuna, Texas for Christmas. 2 actors portray over 20 zany characters as they prepare for the Christmas yard display contest with the Christmas Phantom running amuck. Only Cash is accepted at the door. To purchase with a credit card, you must purchase through EventBrite prior to the event. If you wish to purchase a Student Ticket (ages 6-17 only) via credit card, please contact us.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1977488039037277/?event_time_id=1977488062370608

The Welcoming Circle

Have you found yourself drawn to Asheville Raven & Crone without quite knowing why? Exploring your spirituality as a lone practitioner, wondering where your path will lead you? Would you like to meet others who are on their own path, or on one similar to yours? Do you have questions but not quite sure where to find the answers?

Join David and Tree as we explore different pathways and journeys, practices and faiths, rituals and celebrations. The Welcoming Circle is open to all faiths, genders, and beliefs. We ask that you join the circle with an open heart and mind, as we discuss and explore our eclectic paths. For further information, contact David Taliesin at www.facebook.com/davidtaliesinauthor. The Welcoming Circle meets the 2nd Sunday of each month and is co-hosted by David Taliesin and Tree Higgins.

December our opening discussion will be about the benefits and power of darkness in nature and our lives.

https://www.facebook.com/events/305206593656450/

Open 5:00 – 10:00 p.m. Advance Tickets Required. Enjoy the wonder of the park dazzlingly lit for the holidays, with a nighttime train and more.

Ghee is an ancient method of transforming grass fed butter into a nourishing butter oil which doesn’t need to be refrigerated, can tolerate high cooking heat, and is lactose and casein free. It has many other benefits which we will discuss while we are learning how to craft a delicious ghee. We’ll also cover the many ways to use ghee and recipes will be provided. We’ll also make a holiday spiced ghee + cover the methods of making traditionally infused ghee.

$20 per person. Gift sets of Goddess Ghee will be available.

Marion Hearth is the founder and creator of Goddess Ghee, an Asheville based company crafting nourishing ghee from grass fed butter. She is enthusiastic about ghee as a kitchen staple and also as a vehicle for herbal medicine.

** Please pre-register on our website **

https://www.facebook.com/events/482856598900809/

Candlelight Christmas Evenings*
Saturday, November 3, 2018 – Saturday, January 5, 2019 (Select Dates)

*Check website for availability/dates
*By reservation only.
*Pricing varies by date.

Candlelight, firelight, and live music bring holiday warmth to the extravagant holiday décor of Biltmore House, creating an evening to remember. Evening guests can also take advantage of Antler Hill Village & Winery to enjoy free wine tastings. Advance reservations are required for evening visits.

Learn more about #ChristmasAtBiltmore or plan your visit: biltmore.com/Christmas

https://www.facebook.com/events/1524627331014393/?event_time_id=1524627377681055

Come join us at the “Appalachia Guild of Healing Arts” for our monthly
*Reiki Recharge Circle!*

During these Circles, we will be uplifting one another, as well as the planet, through energetic therapy.

After a brief Chakra meditation, we will participate in a few energy building exercises before administering Reiki to one another as a group.
Then we will send distance Reiki to people/places/things around the world.

This group is to encourage Reiki practitioners to practice this modality with one another to strengthen our batteries so that we may become better conduits for Reiki.

This group is also for those who are not educated in Reiki so that he or she can learn and experience this healing energy. Whether you are or are not attuned to Reiki, you are invited!

Circles are held with an asking of $5-20 Love Donation.

• What to bring
You are welcome to bring crystals, wands, and other metaphysical props to participate in these gatherings.

• Important to know
Please come early as we have a limitation on our space. Doors shut at 5:45 to create a closed container.

Please RSVP at the link for MeetUp.com to ensure your space is reserved. This will be a monthly gathering. We prefer to create small, intimate circles and so must cap the total # of attendees to 11. Make sure to RSVP!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As the Guild’s lead therapist, ‘earth’ is a LMBT with 10 years of experience with many modalities including Deep Tissue, CranioSacral & Reiki Master level. Her passion is to absorb knowledge on healing the body and then apply it with the heart.

https://www.facebook.com/events/668032790214596/

Lake Julian Festival of Lights has become a tradition for many mountain families and visitors. The driving-only tour includes thousands of dazzling lights and displays placed along a magical journey on the road circling Lake Julian Park.

Lake Julian Festival of Lights takes place nightly from December 2-23. Want to experience the show by foot? Lights by the Lake Stroll Night is on Saturday, December 1. Please check our Facebook event page for information on any closings due to winter weather.

Tickets are $10 at the gate ($8 in advance) for a standard passenger car or van. A portion of the proceeds benefit Buncombe County Special Olympics.

https://www.facebook.com/events/260293307959881/?event_time_id=260293347959877

Experience Asheville’s brightest holiday tradition at Winter Lights at The North Carolina Arboretum. Walk through an outdoor winter wonderland and see the Arboretum’s gardens dressed in more than half-a-million holiday lights. Roast s’mores by the fire, listen to your favorite holiday tunes or enjoy a cup of hot cocoa, cider or beer. Proceeds from the event will support the Arboretum’s educational programs, exhibit and facilities year-round.

Tickets range from $8-18 and must be purchased in advance online at www.ncwinterlights.com.

https://www.facebook.com/events/183329605927836/?event_time_id=183329675927829

This event is canceled for today ❄️❄️ We will reschedule, date tbt! enJOY the ❄️☃️☃️

Come and melt into a soundscape of gongs, crystal bowls, handpan, didgeridoo, west african harp, and other powerful and grounding sounds.?✨ Join Billy Zanski of Skinny Beats Sound Shop for a special Sunday evening class happening one time only this month at Primal Studios!

➳ 60 minute class – everyone is welcome to experience this deeply restorative and relaxing session!

➳ $12 drop in/ Pre-register on Mindbody app- Primal Studios to reserve your space + speed up the sign in process!

https://clients.mindbodyonline.com/classic/ws?studioid=781309&stype=-7&sTG=22&sVT=1021&sView=day&sLoc=0&date=12/09/18

* This class is also a part of the Primal Water and Fire Monthly Membership package! Sign up to reserve your spot!

➳ Our Studio is in the same building as Tribe Dance & Pole at 457 N. Lousiana Ave. in West Asheville

We can’t wait to restore with you! ✨

✨ Primal Studios is a Yoga/Buti Yoga/Movement studio that inspires you to move outside your comfort zone, and connect & thrive in the community as we evolve together! Visit us at 457 N. Louisiana Ave. in West Asheville, right inside the TRIBE Dance & Pole building! www.primalstudiosasheville.com ✨

https://www.facebook.com/events/307298263424234/

Tour Gatlinburg’s most dazzling light displays by hopping aboard the Gatlinburg Trolley Ride of Lights! This popular winter tradition is the perfect way to see our mountain town in all its Winter Magic splendor. Get your tickets today!

https://www.facebook.com/events/726348577700947/?event_time_id=726348641034274

Come experience the joy of Bhakti Yoga – the yoga of devotion!

Dr. Sarah Amedoro and Erin Gahan Clark will host this event the second Sunday of each month at Veda Studios. We will gather to chant and sing prayers from a variety of cultures and lineages. This offering is for everyone – no prior experience needed!

Song sheets will be prepared, pronunciation reviewed, and lineage/heritage discussed. This offering is donation based.

https://www.facebook.com/events/542252889548261/?event_time_id=542252912881592

Come to Budo Mountain Martial Arts December 7th-9th for our Chaos Seminar 2018: a weekend of martial arts training with six of our area’s greatest masters. This is a unique chance to discover many different styles of martial arts in one great training experience!

Teachers for the weekend:
Charly Aurelia – Combat Systema
RJ Burle – Systema
Spencer Bolejack – IMA & Filipino Martial Arts
Sean Kennedy – Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu
Steve Ledford – Krav Maga
Jeremy Miller – Shaolin Kung Fu
Stephen Opper – Neo-Classical Gong Fu

Friday, 12/7: 7pm – 9:30pm
Saturday, 12/8: 10:00am – 5:00pm
Sunday, 12/9: 9:00am – 2:00pm

Early Bird Pricing: $125 for the entire weekend, available until 11/28.
Entire Weekend: $150
Friday: $25, Saturday: $80, Sunday: $60

Enrollment is limited to 30 participants!
Enroll by 11/16 to be entered in a raffle drawing for prizes from local businesses! REGISTER ON OUR WEBSITE.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1936913649723104/

Dave Desmelik With An Army Of Love at The Grey Eagle

‘Army of Love’ (Childhood Battles) is an album of 11 songs written and recorded by Dave Desmelik. The songs are sung by an all-star cast of Western NC musicians including Amanda Anne Platt (Honeycutters), Michael Ashworth and Mike Guggino (Steep Canyon Rangers), Andrew Scotchie, Jay Brown and Aditi Sethi-Brown, Alexa Rose, Jimmy Davidson and Rob Brown (The Worthless Son-in-Laws), Melissa Hyman and Ryan Furstenberg (The Moon and You), Aaron Woody Wood, Laura Blackley, Jane Kramer, and Shannon Whitworth. Additional musicians are Andy Gibbon, Josh Gibbs, and Derrick Gardner.

Dave Desmelik is a journeyman songwriter and musician. His wife is Clare and their two sons are Holmes and Vincent. Dave and Clare’s oldest son, Holmes has an inoperable brain tumor. He was diagnosed in June of 2014 at age five. These songs were written during the summer of 2017 after watching their child go through intensive chemotherapy, surgeries, countless doctor appointments, and too much time for any kid to spend in hospitals. Along the way, Clare and Dave realized that although there is no cure for brain cancer, there is hope. Hope is powerful. This collection of songs revolves around pediatric illness and covers a wide range of emotions from anger and confusion to love and compassion.

Dave knew right away that although he wrote these songs, he was not the one to sing them. He wanted to involve more people, so he turned to some of his fellow musicians and friends in the Western North Carolina region for this project. Unbeknownst to them, the Desmeliks started calling them ‘Army of Love’. The truth is that the ‘Army of Love’ includes anyone who supports and cares for kids dealing with life-threatening battles.

The goal with this album is to raise awareness of pediatric illness. Any and all funds raised by this project will be donated to charities that have helped so many families on this journey. These are the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation (in which funds will be delineated to brain tumor research), Make-A-Wish Central & Western NC, and Angel Flight Soars.

Music unifies. We are all connected. Love heals.

Some things you may not know…
– More than 28,000 children in the United States are living with the diagnosis of a brain tumor, and close to 13 more cases are identified each day.
– In the United States, the tax payer funded National Cancer Institute provides only 4% of its annual budget to childhood cancer.
– Make A Wish grants a wish, on average, every 35 minutes to a child with a life-threatening medical condition.
– A combined 89% of doctors, nurses, and health professionals surveyed say they believe a wish experience can influence wish kids’ physical health.
– In 2017, total missions coordinated by Angel Flight were 3,431. That is 9 missions a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

Why is your donation so important?…
– Because funding for research is essential in saving childrens’ lives.
– Because your gift gives children renewed strength to fight their illnesses, brings families closer together, and unites communities.
– Because nonprofit organizations are dependent on community support.
– Because your generosity creates a bond, helping to bolster relationships through a shared goal, and may inspire others.
– Because every donation counts, whether $1,000, $100, $10, or $1, every donation matters and makes a difference.

Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation (curethekids.org) – The PBTF is the world’s leading nonprofit dedicated to children and teens with brain tumors. Headquartered in Asheville, NC, with chapters and programs available across the country, the PBTF’s mission is to care for families along their journey, cure all childhood brain tumors, and help survivors and families thrive.

Make-A-Wish Central & Western NC (nc.wish.org) – Together, we create life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses. The wish experience can be a game changer for a child; it’s more than a nice thing, it’s necessary! This one belief guides Make-A-Wish in everything they do.

Angel Flight Soars (angelflightsoars.org) – Angel Flight Soars is a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to the coordination of free air transportation for patients in need of distant, specialized medical treatment. Angel Flight utilizes the contribution from their incredible volunteer pilots – who selflessly donate their time, aircraft and fuel to fly patients to the medical care they require and deserve. The core vision behind Angel Flight is that the obstacle of transportation should never stand in the way of people receiving the proper medical care.

https://www.facebook.com/events/879158605614146/

KARAOKE TIME!

https://www.facebook.com/events/277074999611674/

Join us at the 15th International Wildland Fire Safety Summit & 5th Human Dimensions of Wildland Fire Conference in Asheville, North Carolina. The theme of this years event is Rethinking the Global Wildfire Problem: Are we focusing on the right problems and right solutions?

https://www.facebook.com/events/195135391279157/?event_time_id=195135394612490

Reclaimed Creations is a unique sculpture exhibit created by renowned artist Sayaka Ganz. Utilizing reclaimed plastic objects, such as discarded utensils, Ganz creates amazing sculptures that visually appear unified at a distance, but are in fact separated when examined up close. Described as using a “3D impressionistic” style, Ganz’s exhibit includes installations of animals in motion, which are in rich in color and energy, to create an illusion of form.

About the Artist

Born in Yokohama, Japan, Sayaka Ganz grew up living in Japan, Brazil and Hong Kong. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Indiana University, Bloomington, and a Master of Fine Arts degree in sculpture from Bowling Green State University in Ohio. A lecturer and teacher, Ganz’s work has been displayed at various institutions around the globe, including the Hermann Geiger Foundation in Cecina, Italy, the Isle Gallery in Isle of Man, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California.

My work is about perceiving harmony, even in situations that appear chaotic from the inside. When observing my sculptures up close, one might see gaps, holes and items being held on only by small points; step away, however, and the sculptures reveal the harmony created when the objects are aligned to the same general (but not identical) direction. Similarly, it is important to gain perspective by stepping back from current problems and look at the larger picture. Then one can perceive the beauty and patterns that exist.”

Christmas at Biltmore Daytime Celebration*
Saturday, November 3, 2018 – Sunday, January 6, 2019 (daily)

*Included with estate admission.
*Does not include “Candlelight Christmas Evenings”

Experience the holidays wreathed with the wonder of Biltmore. Our celebration presents Christmas on a grand scale with more than 55 trees decorated by our talented staff, accented with miles of ribbon, garlands, and lights. Festive menus in our restaurants and holiday wine tastings make for a memorable visit.

Learn more about #ChristmasAtBiltmore or plan your visit: biltmore.com/Christmas

https://www.facebook.com/events/104655743803303/?event_time_id=104655800469964

Write your letter to Santa and mail it at the Swain County Visitor Center. All materials provided. Cookies and cocoa served in the lobby all day.

https://www.facebook.com/events/443572629497392/

Holiday Season + Tattoos + WMR!

Get tattooed by @jeery and help homeless pets in the process! For the month of December you can come get a sweet tat off of this flash and all proceeds will go directly towards helping the pets in our care!

Appointment required
Limited Availability

Email [email protected] today to reserve your spot! Hurry, these appointments will go FAST!

https://www.facebook.com/events/287542735215900/?event_time_id=287542785215895

Merry Christmas and happy New Year!
We would like to express our appreciation to clients by offering special gifts from Dec,3rd to December 31, 2018.
Enjoy your holiday!

https://www.facebook.com/events/513049235869566/?event_time_id=513049289202894

When reflecting on the current state of the environment, it seems that we have entered into times of seismic sorrows. Carbon emissions, water pollution, fracking, and changing climate patterns all point to a troubling reality with serious consequences for human and non-human populations. Through weavings, installations, sculpture, and print, artists Rena Detrixhe and Tali Weinberg (Tulsa, OK) explore the complex relationship between humans and the planet, offering insights, expressing grief, and creating space for resilience and change.

In Time of Seismic Sorrows is curated by Marilyn Zapf and organized by the Center for Craft. The Center for Craft is supported in part by the N.C. Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

The South has always been home to a blend of cultures — from Native Americans here by 14,000 years ago to Europeans 500 years ago, followed by Africans forced to migrate. By 1500, cultures in the South included Creek, Cherokee, Catawba, Choctaw, Chitimacha, and Coushatta, from Europe English, Scottish, Irish, and German, and Africans from Senegal to Congo. Baskets were integral in daily life, as agricultural equipment for gathering, sifting, storing, and serving the finished product or as receptacles for tools, clothes, sacred objects, and even infants.

Initially each culture had its own preferred basket material and method of manufacture — twilled rivercane for Native Americans, plaited oak for Europeans, and coiled grasses for Africans. Interaction between groups spurred adaptations to changing circumstances, such as the use of white oak by the Cherokee in the 1800s, as rivercane stands were decimated by European settlements. Native Americans also adopted the European picnic, flower, egg, and market baskets to sell in the 20th-century art market. Native and European Americans wove honeysuckle into baskets after 1854, when introduced from Japan. By the 17th century African Americans discovered bulrush along the coasts, coiling it into large, round “fanners” to winnow rice. Later bulrush was one medium among sweetgrass, pine needles, and palmetto, giving rise to the name “sweetgrass baskets” along the coast.

Baskets were woven not only for use in the fields and homes or for sale in art galleries but also as a connection to ancestors and spirits, as designs were said to come from inside one’s head, from memories of one’s mother’s motifs, or from the Creator. Indeed, working with one’s hands in nature to gather materials and to form them into a basket was considered spiritually and physically healthy, becoming a part of the practice of occupational therapy around World War I.

Today, basketweavers in the South from all three traditions are teaching the next generation to continue this art. Artists from across the region work with old and new materials in old and new forms, innovating for their legacy, for art’s sake, and for political causes, as embodied in the varied vessels in this gallery and epitomized in the virtuosic miniature examples in the case at right.

We’re back this holiday season popping up at the Asheville Masonic Temple!

Shop our festive 20-day pop up shop featuring some of the area’s best in handmade and vintage. We’ve curated goods featuring over 125 local & indie makers, designers, and vintage wares including clothing, jewelry, decor, greeting cards, and more. You’re sure to find the perfect gift for everyone on your list!

HOLIDAY POP UP SHOP
Open November 30 – December 19
10am-8pm everyday
The Asheville Masonic Temple
80 Broadway St, Asheville, NC 28801

OPENING PARTY
Saturday, December 1 | 6-9pm
Join us Saturday evening for our Opening Party, December 1st from 6-9pm and enjoy complimentary Bhramari Brewing Co beer, sweet bites, live music, and fairy hair.

SPECIAL EVENTS
Saturday, December 1 | 12-7pm
Take a timeless portrait with Revelry Tintype

Sundays, December 2, 9, and 16 | 1-3pm
Take some time for your self during this busy season with a relaxing chair massage with LMBT Massage by Amy Gallagher Massey

For more details and a full list of vendors visit: https://www.showandtellpopupshop.com/

https://www.facebook.com/events/2336118139996988/?event_time_id=2336118203330315

FREE Santa Photos will be available at the center through December 24 at the The North Carolina Arboretum sponsored Santa Set. Every family who visits Santa at Asheville Outlets will receive two FREE 4” x 6” Santa photo prints and a digital download of a single image. Free Santa Photos is hosted by Great Beginnings Lead To Great Smiles.

(Additional photos and Christmas merchandise are available for purchase. One giveaway per family, per Christmas season. Some restrictions may apply. Valid only through December 24, 2018.)

https://www.facebook.com/events/337462147058287/?event_time_id=337462213724947

FREE Santa Photos are back at Asheville Outlets (ShopAshevilleOutlets.com)! From November 17th through December 24th, every family who visits Santa will receive two FREE 4”x6” Santa photo prints and a digital download of a single image. Additional photos and Christmas merchandise are available for purchase. FREE Santa photo is sponsored by Great Beginnings Great Smiles; the FREE Santa photo set is sponsored by North Carolina Arboretum Winter Lights.

Santa’s Photo Hours are:
11 a.m. – 8 p.m. Monday – Saturday, Sundays, 12 p.m. – 6 p.m. and Christmas Eve, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Santa takes a break to feed his reindeer weekdays and Saturdays: 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. + 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. and Sundays, 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Located at food court. One giveaway per family, per Christmas season. Some restrictions may apply, valid only through December 24, 2018.

As Virginia Woolf said, “one cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.” Food and water are essential for survival, but mankind’s relationship to food has transformed over time from one of sustenance to one laden with personal and cultural significance.

A Matter of Taste explores depictions of food and drink in art and reveals how images of fruits and vegetables can function as complex metaphors for excess, status, memory, and politics. Drawn from southern museums and private collections, this exhibition showcases over 35 paintings, decorative arts, and works on paper by artists such as Andy Warhol, Wayne Thiebaud, Henri Cartier-Bresson and Claes Oldenburg.

This show spans 400 years and multiple continents, revealing the evolving role of food and drink in various media and cultural contexts. While depictions of fruit and vegetables appeared in ancient times, still life painting as an independent genre dates to 16th-century Holland.

In 19th-century America, still life paintings remained popular but evolved in terms of subject matter, media, and message. Painters such as Thomas Wightman, George Forster, and De Scott Evans embraced Dutch still lifes and used food as commentary on the current political climate and the transient state of the human condition.

Illustrated newspapers led to an increase of cartoons by artists such as Winslow Homer and William Hogarth, who utilized food and drink as social satire. The 20th-century modern art movement further changed the perception of food. The culture of mass production enabled Pop artists to elevate seemingly mundane foodstuffs to high art. Yet, other contemporary artists explored the symbolic and nostalgic role of food seen in works by Tim Tate, Linda Armstrong, and Laquita Thomson.

Visitors will also experience an elaborately set dining table fit for a sumptuous feast. Dining became its own art form over time and communicated one’s social standing and wealth. Each of the table’s six place settings represent a different culture and offer a glimpse into global dining customs. Selective drinkware will accompany this section revealing how tea sets and even punch bowls reflected an owner’s prestige.