Calendar of Events

Black Balsam Knob and Tennent Mountain feature expansive views of Shining Rock Wilderness. With sunset at 5:20p, we will begin the hike at 4p to reach the summit of Tennent Mountain in time to watch the sun dip below the horizon.
We will be doing this loop counterclockwise, which is the more challenging way. This is for safety – the latter portion of the hike will be in the dark, so going this direction means we will only have to navigate Ivestor Gap, an old Jeep road, after the sun goes down, rather than more technical trails.
This hike is 4.3 mi with just under 700 ft elevation gain. We will be doing most of the climbing in the first half. We will only have one hour to hike about 2 miles to Tennent Mountain summit. This is an easy pace on flat ground, but not with the elevation. If you are not accustomed to hiking like this, please join for a different hike (more will be planned).
I’m normally not a stickler for rules, but for this event, there are a few :-/

1. We will depart the trailhead at 4pm sharp. If you are not there, we will be leaving without you. I can’t guarantee phone service, so I may not see messages letting me know you’ll be late. And since the sunset is the goal, we don’t want the group to miss it by waiting for someone who is late. The trailhead is about an hour from Asheville, so please account for that, traffic, and time to find a parking spot. I’ll be there around 3:45.
2. Bring enough water for you (and your dog if you are bringing one).
3. Dogs are welcome if they are leashed (6 ft or shorter), well behaved, and socialized with other dogs and humans. I will be bringing my pup.
4. Bring a headlamp! We will be hiking in the dark.
5. Wear appropriate/supportive shoes – the trail is rocky.
6. Bring layers. It will be very windy at the summit, and up to 20 degrees colder than in Asheville.
7. Feel free to bring snacks. The goal is to chill and watch the sunset so we will have some time to rest.
8. You are responsible for you (and your dog, if applicable). I am not a trained guide and I am not trained in wilderness first aid. By RSVPing “yes” to this event, you are acknowledging that I will not be held responsible for any injuries you may sustain on this hike.

Okay, now that that unpleasant part is done, I’ve got some fun links below! I have not done this hike yet, but the links below are where I gathered my info! Please read :-)

Thanks! Can’t wait to see you there!

https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/north-carolina/ivestor-gap-trail-to-tennent-mountain-and-black-balsam-knob-trail

Black Balsam Knob and Tennent Mountain Loop

Looking for a great holiday gift? You’ve probably seen these super soft, super snuggly blankets in your favorite home goods store for over $100. Now you can make your own for a lot less once you learn the technique. No knitting experience necessary!

Purple Crayon owner Pam Robbins will step you through the process. First, she’ll show you how to “cast on” to start your project. Then, you’ll learn how to “knit” your blanket until it’s approximately 45”x 60”. Finally, Pam will show you how to “bind off” your piece to give it a professional look. And you’ll do all of this using just your hands; no needles required!

Enjoy a guided tour on our beautiful Community Farm and see all the terrific projects we have in the works. Participants will hike The Discovery Trail in a 2-mile loop, returning to our education and event center. You are welcome to bring a packed lunch to enjoy there while overlooking the entire farm and surrounding mountains

This holiday season, give your friends and family (or yourself) beautiful alcohol ink gifts that they can use to accessorize their home or wardrobe!

If you’ve been wanting to try a new and vibrant medium that works on a wide variety of materials and surfaces, you’ll love alcohol inks. As you drip, blow, and manipulate the brilliant colors of this art form, you’ll be amazed at the intricate patterns that emerge!

The multi-talented Deana Murchison will show you how to create beautiful, professional-looking artwork with very little effort. You’ll leave with at least one print, a ceramic coaster(s), a fashionable 11”x60” silk scarf, and a nifty stuffable cotton tote. Only you (and your fellow classmates, of course!) will know how quick and easy your masterpieces were to make!

No dyeing, drawing, or painting experience necessary!

Though we usually don’t get a lot of snow in Asheville, this super cute needle felted snowman is sure to get you into the holiday spirit! Join us for this fun workshop with fiber artist, Camille Daunno.

In just a few hours, you’ll learn the basics of needle felting, including what fibers are appropriate for creating a needle felted structure, how to build a three-dimensional piece (and how to shorten the process by using a Styrofoam ball), and how to embellish creations by needle felting details and attaching accessories.

You’ll leave the class with an adorable 8-1/2” free-standing snowman that will make a charming addition to any seasonal décor!

Camps are Mon-Thurs, December 19-23 and 26-29th from 9:00 am – 3:30 pm, with a daily and weekly sign-up option!
The age group for these camp sessions is 6-11-years-old (K-5th grade).
Sign up for Session 1 here: https://ashevillescience.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=5af64a890dd5e292ce82d197b&id=8f3d934c4e&e=16408a818c

Daily rates start at $60 per participant/day and $225 per participant/week!
To learn more, contact [email protected].

This announcement is revised from the original Dec 15th to Dec 22nd.
John Muir didn’t like the word ‘hike’. “We ought to saunter through them reverently, not ‘hike’ through them.”
I am going to scout the Stone Mtn Tr in DuPont; A few of you are welcome to join me.
Hike Distance: 4.0 Total (optional) ascent: 675 ft
Pace: 1.5mph – because I’m an ol’ Codger.
Difficulty: Well established Tr. No water Xings.
Optional Climb to Stone Mtn is 600 ft ascent in 1 mile.
(I, and the more leisurely of us, will skip this part. ;-)
Drive time: 25 min/14 mi 1-way

Hey everyone, let’s go see the Christmas lights at the Arboretum!

I’m going to reserve a spot for one car, but if more than one car-load show interest I can always buy another.

Tickets for next Thursday night are $55 per car so we’ll divide that up by the number of people in the car. If someone’s willing to sit in the middle we can get 5 in my car.

We’ll meet at the Ingles up the road on 191 (863 Brevard Road) and head over from there. We should plan on leaving the parking lot at 6:45(tickets are for 7pm entry).

Camps are Mon-Thurs, December 19-23 and 26-29th from 9:00 am – 3:30 pm, with a daily and weekly sign-up option!
The age group for these camp sessions is 6-11-years-old (K-5th grade).

Sign up for Session 2 here: https://ashevillescience.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=5af64a890dd5e292ce82d197b&id=dd3c976dc2&e=16408a818c
Daily rates start at $60 per participant/day and $225 per participant/week!
To learn more, contact [email protected].

Kick off the new year in Chimney Rock at Chimney Rock State Park during this First Day Hike! Start your morning bright and early with a stroll, hike or bike ride up to the 3.2-mile Park road. Usually restricted to motor vehicle traffic only, there will be no cars in your way if you show up for this special, early morning hike that’s free to participants! Bicyclists are allowed to use the road also on this special morning to climb and descend the steep park road under controlled speed. Helmets are required.

Meet at the Old Rock Café at 8am. Registration is not required.

Gelli printing is an easy, innovative way to create vibrant, one-of-a-kind monoprints. The results are striking, and all you need is a gelli plate, acrylic paint, and some kind of substrate (paper, canvas, etc.). In this fun, hands-on workshop, paper artist Kristen Grady will teach you everything you need to get started with this super versatile process.

Among other techniques, you’ll learn how to build multiple layers of design, create textures and an “old wall” look, and add stenciling and shimmer to your prints. Kristen will also teach you how to create two-sided prints, work with multiple prints at the same time, create a theme for your prints, use thick and thin paints in different ways, and find your color palette.

There will be plenty of time to practice each technique, and you’ll complete at least four, two-sided prints. You’ll also leave with plenty of ideas on how to use your finished prints, including incorporating them into junk journals, and how to care for and store your gelli plate, which will be yours to keep—a $25 value!

Do you have intentions to start making art, but for some reason aren’t? Or were you making stuff all the time, but now it’s become a chore to get into your studio? Whether you’re struggling to get going with your art or have fallen into a creative slump, this workshop is for you!

Join creativity coach and veteran instructor Robyn Crawford as she takes you on an exciting, 4-week artistic adventure that’s sure to get your creative juices flowing! In this 12-hour, highly interactive course, you’ll kickstart your creativity by watching interesting artistic techniques, solving challenging creativity-building puzzles, participating in stimulating cross-media art experiments, working through selected The Artist’s Way best practices, and doing fun, optional homePLAY assignments.

We’re excited to finally get to offer this popular course. Don’t put your art (and YOU!) on the back burner again. Register today and make 2023 your most inspired year yet!

January is the perfect time to start keeping a “junk journal”: a hand-made book used to collect and store daily memories, mementos, photos, collages, inspiring quotes, or anything you want to remember. You can also use junk journals as art journals, a place for collage or daily gratitude lists, or to inspire a daily art practice in general. In this highly imaginative workshop, paper artist Kristen Grady will show you how to design a junk journal to fit your needs.

You’ll start by cutting and sizing an empty cereal box to create the cover for your journal. After strengthening and decorating your cover, you’ll learn how to turn your precious papers—including any gelli prints that you may have made in Kristen’s Introduction to Gelli Printing workshop—and actual “junk” mail into various types of pages (decorative, envelope, writing, etc.) until you fill your book. Next, Kristen will show you how to stitch your pages into the cover and then go over ways to fill in your journal as you go. You’ll be surprised at how full your book can become in just an afternoon! Finally, you’ll add decor, embellishments, and ephemera to finish your project.

You’ll leave the workshop with a beautiful, personalized keepsake that’s anything but junk! You’ll also have a newfound appreciation for the useful and beautiful creations you can make out of things that you used to throw away!

Performers: Get out of your head and inhabit your character!

In this workshop, acting coach, director and performer Jamie Knox will lead you through a series of exercises to:
– Make your work more physically dynamic
– Prepare for giving a memorable audition
– Approach a character from the outside in, to work quickly with new direction
– Talk yourself up…to yourself! Learn the art of getting into a good headspace and focusing on being a character, not acting
– Work on a specific monologue OR learn to work with any piece given to you

Sunday, January 15th, 2:30pm – 5:30pm
at The Magnetic Theatre
375 Depot St, Asheville NC 28801

About the instructor:
Jamie Knox juggles writing, directing, and acting in plays with running a yoga business and wrangling a four-year-old. She has been coaching characterization since 2008 and is a strong believer in being the character, not simply pretending to be the character. In this workshop expect to be challenged to get out of your head and into your body, finding more authenticity in your work.

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 the next level of success. This program begins January 18, 2023, and meets 8:30 am – 1 pm every other Wednesday for five months. Mission Acceleration Business Accelerator is designed by entrepreneurs to help for-profit, family owned, and nonprofit businesses innovate and increase profitability. If you approach the business the same way as you did in the past, it will limit future profit growth. Now is the time to innovate with cutting edge best practices in business management, leadership, planning, branding, marketing, sales, accounting, purchasing, raising capital, information technology, human resources, time management, new business development, operations and distribution. The Program will help you identify Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in each department of your company to track, monitor and accelerate the success of your business. Peter Drucker said, “you can’t manage what you don’t measure.”

Join writers and poets from across the country each month for a virtual writing workshop. A link will be added to their name when more details and sign-up information becomes available. These workshops are geared towards amateur writers, ages 16 and older recommended. Follow us on Facebook for notifications too.

Join QuickBooks Certified Pro Advisor, Candy Williams, as she helps you to understand bookkeeping concepts for your small business.

Our first passholder-exclusive event of the year! Join a naturalist for an intimate hike with fellow passholders in an area of the Park not typically open to the public. This moderate hike traverses our own old growth forest and gives you the opportunity to learn what makes this ecosystem unique. This event is exclusively for Annual Passholders.

This 6-mile, moderate hike with some steep inclines crosses the beautiful Bailey Mountain Preserve near Mars Hill, NC. This hidden gem consists of adjoining properties under a conservation easement that the SAHC monitors each year. The Preserve encompasses over 250 acres. Please note that this property is open to the public, but if you wish to join this guided hike you must pre-register for this event. FREE for SAHC members, $10 for non-members.

Organic Growers School is now accepting work trade applications for the 30th Annual Spring Conference & Market!

The OGS Spring Conference will be held at Mars Hill University from February 24-26, 2023.

In exchange for each shift worked you will be compensated for the same day of the Conference. For example; if you work trade on Saturday, you will have access to the Conference on Saturday and will be free to attend workshops throughout the day, as long as they don’t conflict with your shift hours.

Work traders can select two shifts if they would like to attend on Saturday and Sunday, or three shifts, if they would like to participate the whole weekend.

General work trade shifts do not require special skills or backgrounds. They do, however, require timeliness and a friendly demeanor. Classroom Assistants/Moderators require training and classroom experience.

You should expect to be working during some of the class time unless you are approved for a pre-or post-conference shift, or come as a paying participant.

Please review the website for shift descriptions and complete the Work Trade Application if you are interested.

Work Trade at Spring Conference – Organic Growers School

We appreciate your interest in work trading for the 30th Annual Spring Conference & Market. Work traders play a vital role in the success of this event!

Thanks for your support,

Work Trade Deposit:

All volunteers are required to submit a $40 deposit. Please complete one registration and submit only one deposit. You may include any additional interest shifts in the additional notes section of the work trade application. Deposits are refunded once you complete your work trade shift. Once your schedule and duties are confirmed, it is up to you to show up for your shifts on time and to complete your shift as asked. In the unfortunate event that you do not fulfill your shift, we will process your credit card for the deposit amount. If providing a deposit is not possible, please email [email protected] so we may consider other options.

Fluid art is a form of abstract art that uses acrylic paints with a runny (fluid) consistency. The water-based paints, when combined with silicone oil, react to create beautiful, often awe-inspiring, “cells.” As the paints run amok and spill across your canvas, the possibilities are endless!

In this workshop, local artist Brooke Szweda will share her “secret recipe” for creating the perfect fluid art paint mixture, and you’ll use it to do several different acrylic pours—including a couple of more advanced options. You’ll practice the techniques, making multiple 8” x 10” abstract paintings, and you’ll learn how to finish your painting with an acrylic coating.

This class is great for people who have never created fluid art, but it also gives “frequent flyers” opportunities to try new paint mixtures and pouring methods and continue experimenting with color!