Calendar of Events

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

Come to for the annual grape stomp, where you can actually stomp the grapes! Enjoy live music, great wine and winery tours, and the highlight of the day, the “I love Lucy” Look-alike contest, which is at 2:30pm, Free,

New Seltzer Launches Holy Water Brew Pub (located inside Thirsty Monk Biltmore Park) is launching two new Hard Seltzers: Cranberry Lime Cosmo and Piña Colada Smoothie seltzer – this amazing creation will be their first smoothie seltzer offering. Flights and Cans will be available for purchase. Visit the Thirsty Monk Facebook page for their enticing weekly food specials. Don’t forget Thirsty Monk Biltmore Park and Tasty Greens (next door to Thirsty Monk) offer 10% off to Biltmore Park Residents!

PUFFS (A One Act For Young Wizards) Ages: 7 – 18 Rehearsals Start: Monday, September 12th Rehearsal Times: Every Monday from 1:00-3:00 pm (Please note we will take a break around the holidays) Tech Week: Week of February 6, 2022  (please note, all rehearsal this week are mandatory) Shows: February 10-12, 2023

Chapter Two is presented as readers theatre by The Autumn Players.

In life, love and loss can intertwine in sometimes painful, sometimes funny ways. Recent widower George Schneider finds that especially true when he re-enters the dating world at the insistence of his interfering brother. The road to love is bumpy, and for George it’s a bittersweet journey towards hope and finding someone worth fighting for…again.

RTS: Chapter Two

By Neil Simon; Directed by Elliot Weiner

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/

The Prep Program is a pre-conservatory style program for those students who are excited to dive deeper into musical theatre. Each Prep Program student takes a variety of classes to help develop the groundwork for further arts education. This program is designed for beginning/intermediate artists in Elementary and Middle School.

Rehearsals: Tuesdays & Thursdays, 4:30pm – 7:30pm; Saturdays 10:00am-2:00pm (when called)

The Company is an individualized pre-professional performing arts conservatory for intermediate/advanced artists in Middle and High School who are committed to deepening their performing arts education in American Musical Theatre.

The Company at the APAA is an individualized pre-professional/pre-collegiate performing arts conservatory, for artists committed to deepening their performing arts education in American Musical Theatre.

The Company program is for rising 6th-12th graders who show a love for being on stage. This conservatory program offers weekly classes in Dance, Acting, and Music. The Company students also put on a fully produced musical and attend theatrical performances/conferences.

Please note, students must apply and be accepted into the program before Registering.

Tuesdays & Thursdays, 4:30pm – 7:30pm; Saturdays 10:00am-2:00pm (when called)

The Company is an individualized pre-professional performing arts conservatory for intermediate/advanced artists in Middle and High School who are committed to deepening their performing arts education in American Musical Theatre.

The Company at the APAA is an individualized pre-professional/pre-collegiate performing arts conservatory, for artists committed to deepening their performing arts education in American Musical Theatre.

The Company program is for rising 6th-12th graders who show a love for being on stage. This conservatory program offers weekly classes in Dance, Acting, and Music. The Company students also put on a fully produced musical and attend theatrical performances/conferences.

Please note, students must apply and be accepted into the program before Registering.

 828 Jersey Giveaway

  vs.

Strap on your favorite shoes, grab the kids, and come dance at the Home Farm in gorgeous Fairview, NC! Come out September 3 from 6pm-9pm to see Zydeco Ya Ya, a powerhouse band that plays the high energy Zydeco sound of Louisiana. What goes better with Zydeco music than a cold brew and fabulous Southern food? Root Down Farm‘s food truck will be serving up some farm to table fare, featuring local delights and seasonal favorites. We’ll also be serving local beers, ciders, seltzers and non-alcoholic beverages to quench your thirst between dances.

A night of music and art! Experimental collage artist & accomplished guitarist Tom Johanson will exhibit repurposed & altered collages and mandalas; Tom will then play music influenced by folk flamenco jazz rock and psychedelic surf rock pop!
Taumi Johanson “paints” with paper, combining imagery and messages from print media into intricate mystical and personal compositions. As of late, he’s been channeling themes like Utopian landscapes and fairy realms, real world scenes with odd characters, the mystical woman, alien goddesses, as well as Dystopian and Paleolithic themes due to the regressive politics of the moment, and heroic themes of good, struggling with darkness. Most of his materials and frames have been found, recovered, or “thrift-stored”.

Johanson has written and recorded 100 songs on his Apple computer and created 500 unique collage album covers for them, and some 50 colored ink covers as well.

Johanson began his musical career in the early 60s playing guitar with Jimi Hendrix, Paul Butterfield, Jose Feliciano, Richie Havens, and many other inhabitants of the East Village in NYC. His band, The Fugitives, was the first rock band signed to Columbia Records, and they had several hits on the charts in NY in the 1960s.

His influences stretch out from the fifties, Little Richard, Elvis, Moody Blues, Beatles, Pink Floyd, The Doors, Santana, Van Halen, and many more. Also jazz and blues artists, like Coltrane, The Blues Project, Charlie Mingus, Paul Butterfield, and dozens of others since, like Jason Mraz.

Johanson lives in Scenic Resorts in East Asheville with his wife Hannah and his cat Lucky.

Doors open at 5:30. Open donation. Exhibits through Sept. 30

Chinobay is a Ugandan musician, educator, and creative arts producer whose work has been described as “some of the most exquisite music coming out of Africa today”. Since his youth, he has captivated audiences with world-roots rhythms and melodies that emanate from the diversity of the many traditional instruments he customized to develop his unique sound. The diverse textures of Chinobay’s music make it soothing, pulsing, meditative, and invigorating —much of it a mix of original and traditional with global influences—but the sounds are uniquely his.

Join us in our new monthly social swing event on the 1st Saturdays of every month, The
music, open vintage space and wood floors and is guaranteed to have you dancing East Coast and/or Lindy all night long, A free
lesson is offered to kick things off and will include a different combination of moves each time, No partner or rhythm needed and
dress is casual, $10 for lesson and/or social dance.

Blood at The Root written by Dominique Morisseau – BLOOD AT THE ROOT is a striking ensemble drama based on the Jena Six; six Black students who were initially charged with attempted murder for a school fight after being provoked with nooses hanging from a tree on campus. This bold new play by Dominique Morisseau (Sunset Baby, Detroit ’67, Skeleton Crew) examines the miscarriage of justice, racial double standards, and the crises in relations between men and women of all classes and, as a result, the shattering state of Black family life.

“Bursting with youthful exuberance, critical race issues, emotional authenticity, and astonishing beauty.  It is powerfully auspicious“-DC Theater Arts

“Blood at the Root vividly illustrates the near impossibility of getting through one’s teenage years-fraught in the best-case scenario-unscathed when also having to tackle larger societal problems. It’s a necessary and evocative production all-around.” – Chicago Reader

Directed by Kristen Hedberg

Jo Marsh wants to be a writer, and as she struggles to get published, she begrudgingly takes the advice of a friend to write about something more personal. Through soaring melodies and an unforgettable score, Jo weaves the stories of herself and her sisters, Meg, Beth and Amy, and their experience growing up in Civil War America. Based on Louisa May Alcott’s beloved novel, Little Women is filled with adventure (both lived and imagined), personal discovery, heartache, and a deep sense of hope. This timeless, captivating story encompasses a true night at the theatre providing you with laughter, tears, and a lifted spirit. 

A WNC PREMIERE! by Catherine Bush Directed by Rodney Smith Opening 8/19/2022 – 9/17/2022

Grammy Award-winning rapper, singer and songwriter Lil Baby (Dominique Armani Jones) has announced his Lil Baby & Friends Tour featuring Coi Leray, Nardo Wick (Horace Bernard Walls, III), Toosii, and Skully. Produced by AG Entertainment Touring, LLC, the 10-city tour kicks off on Friday, September 2 and includes a stop at Greenville at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena on Saturday, September 3rd. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Wednesday, July 13th.

Lil Baby’s ascent to stardom began in 2017 with the release of his mixtape “Perfect Timing.” His debut studio album, “Harder Than Ever,” (2018) was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of American (RIAA) and included “Yes Indeed” featuring Drake. The song reached number one on Billboard’s Streaming Songs chart and topped the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, becoming Lil Baby’s first Top 10 hit. Following the release of “Yes Indeed,” he released his 2018 mixtapes, “Drip Harder” and “Street Gossip.” His most popular song, “Drip Too Hard,” peaked at number four on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and “Street Gossip,” landed at number two on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart. Lil Baby released his second studio album, “My Turn” (2020), topping the U.S. Billboard 200 and is RIAA three-time platinum-certified. His two-time Grammy®-nominated song, “The Bigger Picture,” is his highest-charting song as a lead artist on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and was later added to the deluxe edition of “My Turn.” Lil Baby’s surge of consecutive successes has established him as a formidable force in hip-hop.

Coi Leray started her career by posting music to SoundCloud and released her single “Huddy”, along with her debut mixtape Everythingcoz in 2018. Sje signed a record deal with 1801 Records and Republic Records and released her second mixtape, EC2 (2019), and her debut extended play, Now or Never (2020). In 2021, the Lil Durk-assisted remix of her single, “No More Parties”, reached the top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100, and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. In September 2021, she released the single “Twinnem” which went viral on TikTok. In 2022, Leray released her debut studio album Trendsetter, which spawned her collaborative single with Nicki Minaj, “Blick Blick”, which also reached the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100.

Florida Native Nardo Wick emerged onto the hip-hop scene with his January 2021 single, “Who Want Smoke?,” which quickly erupted and inspired a remix featuring Lil Durk, 21 Savage and G Herbo and an accompanying dance, both of which rallied the song to go viral. Capitalizing on his success, Wick released his full-length debut album “Who Is Nardo Wick?,” in December 2021, debuting at number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The album includes the remix version of “Who Want Smoke?” and featured artists such as Lil Baby and Future.

The CARLEANS are a New England based acoustic trio. It’s members include singer-songwriters/guitarists Jim Carpenter (The Hoolios) and Sarah MacLean (The MacLean Sisters). Joined by bassist, Corina Malbaurn, the trio has toured to Austin, New Orleans, Nashville, Key West, Asheville, NYC, and Maine.

Their simple onstage sound of acoustic guitar and upright bass is at once subtle and emotional, then explosive within the diverse rhythms of americana, cajun, bluegrass, reggae, and Texas folk.

Equally notable is the trio’s vast repertoire. Currently recording their fourth album, and drawing from an 85-song setlist, The CarLeans’ original compositions are as eclectic as their musical style: intimate ballads ala’ Ricki Lee Jones and Townes Van Zant; humorous, thought-provoking introspections not unlike Randy Newman or Lyle Lovett; and driving, hypnotic grooves by Jim Carpenter and Corina Malbaurn supporting Sarah MacLean’s soulful vocals, ala’ The Subdudes and Lucinda Williams, provoking the audience to its feet to dance.

The trio has performed throughout the country, sharing the stage with the likes of Mipso, The Birds of Chicago, Marcia Ball, The Subdudes, Hooray For The Riff Raff, Walt Wilkins, Sarah Borges, The Wolff Sisters, and The Preservation Jazz Band . . . in such renowned venues as Daryl’s House CT, Ossipee Music Fest ME, Kate Hepburn Theater CT, Isis NC, Neutral Ground NOLA, The Southern TX, Skinny Pancake VT, Knickerbocker Music Hall CT, Proclamation FL, The Buzz Mill TX, The Narrows RI, Eugene O’Neil Theater CT, and Jimmy Buffett’s Lulu’s in AL.

Come enjoy an evening of live music, food and drinks at Isis Music Hall.  Advanced Reservations are highly recommended.