In WNC we are so lucky to have a bounty of incredible natural spaces surrounding us. These ancestral lands of the Cherokee Indian are full of life, beauty, and magic that deserves to be experienced by everyone. This Earth Day we want to celebrate our planet and natural resources with you and your family!

Join RiverLink and a host of local environmental organizations to learn about: plants and animals, mountains and streams, composting and recycling, and so much more. Every participating organization will have fun games and activities, interactive displays, arts and crafts, etc for kids to engage with. We hope that these future stewards will have a chance to connect deeper with their environment and learn about what these groups are doing to protect it.

At the festival we will also be showcasing entries and announcing the winners for RiverLink’s Voices of the River: Art and Poetry contest. Our mountains and rivers are an incredible source of creative inspiration and artistic exploration. These talented young artists and writers have created beautiful works that honor our rivers and Mother Earth herself.

We hope you’ll join us for a day of fun, education, and creativity as we celebrate everything that our planet does for us.

Each ticket includes one hand-crafted bowl (all donated by area potters) and a soup-based meal
(a variety of soups, breads and desserts). Tickets are available at St. John in the Wilderness
Parish House Office, from Backpack team members or at the door on the day of the event. For
more information, call 828-693-9783. Credit cards are accepted; checks should be made out to
SJIW, noting Empty Bowls.
Please join us for this fun community event. Donations are gratefully accepted throughout the
year.
Updated COVID-19 restrictions will be in place.

Flat Rock Backpack Program: Each week during the school year, volunteers gather at Hubba
Hubba Smokehouse on Friday mornings to pack between 100-125 grocery bags of food;
nourishment for area nursery and school age children identified as those in need of weekend
food. Food includes oatmeal, tinned meat, rice, pasta, beans, vegetables and fruit. To do this,
volunteers buy food and supplies (with supplemental food from MANNA FoodBank), organize
packing, pack, and then deliver bags to the schools where the administration slips the bags into

backpacks for discreet delivery home (when there is a home). Annually, the group buys for, and
packs approximately 6,000 backpacks which cost about 22 thousand dollars. Neighbors from
throughout the community donate their time while Saint John in the Wilderness acts as the
‘home’ base providing technical and administrative assistance (including 501c3 status). To
meet our budget, we rely on corporate and individual donations, and our local pottery artists,
pivotal partners, who generously donate their time and talents for this annual fundraiser.

Empty Bowls was started over 25 years ago in Michigan as a high school service project. The
goal is to address hunger needs in local communities. The event concept is a simple one. The
community is invited to a meal of soup, bread and dessert (donated by local businesses and
organizations). As part of the admission fee, the ticket holders choose a
handmade bowl (crafted/donated by local artists) to take home as a thank you gift. The bowl
serves as a reminder that, as long as children in our community go hungry, we will help.

A video of the mission was produced by volunteers to show how the program works. Here’s the
link: https://youtu.be/AYKbzLHI_zM The video is also available by visiting YouTube – St. John
in the Wilderness, Flat Rock NC

Join us for the Spring Fling Farm Fest, taking place at 91 Holbrook Road, Candler, NC, 28571 on April 30th, 2022 from 11:30 AM to 4 PM. In addition to the beautiful greenhouses being open, guests are invited to enjoy live music, food trucks, curated vendors selling art, craft, CBD products, and much more in one of Asheville’s most remarkable locales.

Spring is in the air and we are ready to celebrate with the community!
We are thrilled to announce a vibe session meet and greet with Lauren Davis of @fiddyshadesofgreen from 12 PM to 1 PM, with photo opts available.

We will also have an amazing line-up of local musicians, including Joker’s Trade, Istari, John Kirby and the New Seniors, and Appalachian Standard’s very own Substandards. Bear’s Bar-B-Que will be on site with incredible food, as well as kettle corn.

We’ll have a fun mechanical bull and several artisans in our greenhouse selling their beautiful wares, including Honey Creek Pottery! And, of course, our greenhouse will be bursting with a few new and glamorous plants.

The Spring Fling Farm Fest is free to the public. Parking is available on site, however can be limited so it is
recommended that groups carpool. This is an outdoor event.

The first 100 people to join us will receive a goodie bag!

Appalachian Standard is a veteran-owned, craft hemp farm and greenhouse nestled in the Appalachian Mountains of Asheville, North Carolina. Our hemp is greenhouse, field, and indoor grown in small batches year-round by a team of experienced growers. Come experience music in one heck of a unique venue!

Website: www.AshevilleHerbFestival.org

Contact 828-301-8968 or 828-301-3010 for additional information.

Grab your golf clubs and the best players you can find for The Grey Eagle Classic Golf Tournament. This tournament welcomes local businesses, community partners, and supporters of the music and arts for a day full of golf, games, food, drinks, and lots of fun! Your participation and proceeds will directly support Asheville Music School.

We are hopeful that by May, we will be able to host what we believe will be our largest event yet – and it will coincide with the release of the full-length movie Where the Crawdads Sing in June!

If you have already purchased tickets, we ask you to please mark your calendar for Thursday, May 5, 2022. If you can attend the new date, you may do so with your current tickets and requested seating arrangements. Nothing will need to be done on your part.

If you cannot attend the new date, you may contact LuAnn Arena, 828-254-3442 ext. 206 or email [email protected] with your preferences to either:

Donate the cost of the ticket, which will be a fully tax-deductible gift
– OR –
Request a refund which will be processed promptly and credited to your account within 10-14 business days.

– New York Times bestselling author Delia Owens will keynote Literacy
Together’s 13th Annual Authors for Literacy Dinner & Auction on October 28, 2021.
Delia Owens lived in some of the most remote areas of Africa for twenty-three years while she conductedscientific research on lions, elephants, and others. Based on these expeditions and adventures, sheco-authored three internationally bestselling nonfiction books about her life as a wildlife scientist.
She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in zoology from the University of Georgia and a Ph.D. in
Animal Behavior from the University of California in Davis. She has won the John Burroughs Award for Nature Writing and has been published in Nature, Journal of Mammalogy, The African Journal ofEcology, and International Wildlife, among many others.
Where the Crawdads Sing is her first novel, with more than 11 million copies sold worldwide and over 2½ years on the New York Times Bestseller List, it is soon to be a major motion picture.
The Authors for Literacy Dinner & Auction featuring Delia Owens will begin with a cocktail hour
followed by a three-course dinner and presentation by a current Literacy Together student. Delia Owens will then give the keynote presentation and autograph guests’ books. Malaprop’s Bookstore & Café will
manage book sales.
Event guests may upgrade tickets to attend a VIP reception just before the event with Delia Owens. This reception will include the opportunity to spend one-on-one time taking pictures and talking with the author and enjoy hors d’oeuvres. There are a limited number of VIP tickets available.

Proceeds from the Authors for Literacy Dinner benefit Literacy Together’s programs, which provide
comprehensive literacy and English language skills to 300 students and over 4,300 book recipients in Buncombe County annually. Literacy Together transforms lives and communities through the power of literacy. Literacy and English language skills are tools that help people rise out of poverty, get better-paying jobs to support their families, and read to their children. Improved literacy skills benefit the struggling reader and everyone in our community regardless of age, race, gender, or background.

Part science fair, part county fair, and part something entirely new, Maker Faire is an all-ages gathering of tech enthusiasts, crafters, educators, tinkerers, hobbyists, engineers, science clubs, authors, artists, students, and commercial exhibitors. All of these “makers” come to Maker Faire to show what they have made and to share what they have learned. With an emphasis on interactive, hands-on exhibits, people of all ages will leave inspired to make something of their own! Get your FREE tickets today!

Grab your friends, grab your family and join Odyssey Community School for an evening of music, dance and joy! Ticket includes food, 1 drink and headphones for our Silent Disco fundraiser event!

Plants, plants, & more plants will be showcased at the Black Mountain Garden Sale on Friday, May 20, 4 -8pm and Saturday, May 21, 9am-4pm at the Town Square Parking Lot at the corner of E. State St. and Richardson Blvd.

Hosted by Black Mountain Beautification Committee the sale will feature annuals, herbs, native plants, perennials, shrubs, trees, and vegetable starts from specialty plant vendors. Plus garden décor including garden containers, wood carvings, and other special items.

The popular Clothesline Sale will have personal services for sale. Buy raffle tickets to take a chance to win plants. Proceeds help support the Seed Money Award and to keep the town beautiful!

More info at blackmountainbeautification.org. Let us help you create the garden of your dreams!

he Kiwanis Club of Hendersonville invites the entire community to
participate in its 2nd Annual Sneaky Scavenger Race. Event registration goes live on
Friday, April 1 – no joke! This event is being held in conjunction with National
Scavenger Hunt Day on Saturday, May 21, 2022 from 10:00 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Berkeley
Mills Park in Hendersonville. Proceeds from the event will benefit the club’s Shoes and
Socks program for Henderson County youth.
Participants will engage in outdoor activities that are designed to be interactive and fun,
while challenging both the body and mind, much like traditional ‘field day’ activities.
Registration is open to teams of four, children ages 5 and up and adults. Snacks and
beverages will be provided throughout the event, and an awards ceremony will take
place around 2 p.m.
Event registration is $35 per team. For additional details and to register, please visit
https://www.hendersonvillekiwanis.org.
All proceeds from the Sneaky Scavenger Race support the Shoes & Socks program, a
Kiwanis managed program that provides shoes and socks to underprivileged students
identified by their teachers in the Henderson County school system. The program has
provided more than 5,600 pairs of shoes since its inception in 1955

After a two-year hiatus, the Saluda Arts Festival returns to Saluda’s historic downtown, the event will feature approximately 85 artists from the Carolinas and Tennessee, children’s’ activities, and live music on Main Street in downtown Saluda

ccess the Groove – Celebrating Disability and Neurodiversity is a benefit concert, art fair, and inclusive community gathering on May 22nd from 1-5 pm at the Grey Eagle Music Hall in Asheville, NC.

The event will feature performances by a stellar lineup of musicians from Johnson City and Asheville with and without disabilities including Jordan Scheffer and Chinobay, Mad Mike Martinez , Will Gott, DIYabled, and Lavender Latte.

A variety of artists, entrepreneurs, and local agencies that act toward disability justice, equity, and inclusion will also be on-site selling wares and sharing information about their work. Vendors include Open Hearts Art Center, Madam Clutterbuckets Neurodiverse Universe, DIYabled, Austin Shreds, Bo Fisher, FIRST Resource Center, Access ETSU, and more.

Proceeds will help support Access ETSU, a new inclusive higher education program for students with intellectual disabilities at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, TN. In addition to raising crucial funds for program sustainability, Access ETSU will also be congratulating their first-ever graduate and second-ever full cohort of incoming students.

The Grey Eagle Taqueria will be open during the event, offering authentic and fresh Latin-American cuisine. There will also be a raffle with lots of local goodies available.

If you would like to perform, vend, or contribute to the raffle, please contact Daniel Scherer-Emunds ([email protected]).

Accessibility: The Grey Eagle building is ADA compliant and we always do everything we can to make sure that every guest we have is comfortable. For specific accessibility questions or needs, please contact [email protected].

It’s a suggested minimum donation of $15 for entry, but nobody will be turned away for lack of funds.

Join performers G Wick, Krave Amiko, Fiddlehead and Astoria for a groove-filled day of music, food trucks, lawn games and local bevs at French Broad Outfitters along the beautiful Hominy Creek.

Join the Chamber in kicking off GRINDfest 2022 hosted by Black Wall Street AVL!

BLACK WALL STREET AVL, a North Carolina based non-profit organization, is pleased to announce the 2nd Annual GRINDfest  – a celebration of local Black business and entrepreneurship.  Black Wall Street starts, grows and expands businesses, owners and networks to Honor History and Build Wealth together.

GRINDfest is a free, 4-day festival that celebrates Black Business and entrepreneurship. A block-party style event will take place on 8 River Arts Place! This includes a weekend full of music, games, live performance, food, local vendors + learning, employment and partnership opportunities. The goal of the festival is to highlight the progress made by people of color while also connecting folks in the community. A long weekend of fun and excitement.

The ribbon cutting/kickoff will feature Brian Hamilton, the founder of Brian Hamilton Foundation and its program, Inmates to Entrepreneurs. Come enjoy drinks, snacks and help kickoff this year’s festival.

FESTIVAL DATES: MAY 27-30, 2022

Parking Instructions: Parking is located behind, in front of and across the street from the Black Wall Street AVL Building at 8 River Arts Place.

Veterans Healing Farm (VHF) is excited to announce a benefit
performance of Brothers and Sisters Like These, Friday, May 27, 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the
Veterans Healing Farm, 38 Yale Rd., Hendersonville, NC. There is no fee to attend but
donations are welcome.
Brothers and Sisters Like These is a writing group founded by Vietnam combat veterans at the
Charles George VA Medical Center in 2014 to find their voices the war had taken from them. It
has since included veterans from all our wars and uses poetry and essay writing to help them
heal from past trauma.
The Veterans Healing Farm is a 501c3 nonprofit founded in 2014 to enhance the mental,
emotional, and physical well-being of our nation’s veterans through agri-therapy and
community.
This is an outdoor event so please plan on bringing a lawn chair or blanket to the Farm. For more
information, please contact the VHF at 828-595-6111 or [email protected]

The Lake Lure Arts & Crafts Festival offers 90+ artisans, multiple food vendors, continuous entertainment and kids activities in Downtown Lake Lure.

The Lake Lure Arts & Crafts Festival offers 90+ artisans, multiple food vendors, continuous entertainment and kids activities in Downtown Lake Lure.

The Lake Lure Arts & Crafts Festival offers 90+ artisans, multiple food vendors, continuous entertainment and kids activities in Downtown Lake Lure.

• May 30, 2022, will be the next festival. Follow us on social media or check back here for more details as we plan the 36th Carl Sandburg Music Festival in 2022.

The music festival began in 1987, to honor Carl Sandburg’s efforts to document the history of American music in his American Songbag. Carl Sandburg published the American Songbag in 1927 after spending years documenting and researching early American songs. As Sandburg said, “The American Songbag is a ragbag of strips, stripes, and streaks of color from nearly all ends of the earth. The melodies and verses presented here are from diverse regions, from varied human characters and communities, and each is sung differently in different places.” His publication does not focus on one genre of music, but rather on the human experience. “It is an All-American affair, marshalling the genius of thousands of original singing Americans.”

Sandburg enjoyed all American musical genres. He spent years interviewing musicians and singers, documenting their songs, including folk, gospel, jazz and blues. Carl Sandburg said, “the American Songbag comes from the hearts and voices of thousands of men and women.”

Compiling and publishing the American Songbag was one of the most difficult writing projects Sandburg took on during his life. Today, the Carl Sandburg Music Festival celebrates his work and the work of modern singers and songwriters to share diverse and original American music.

Music Festival is supported by:
Friends of Carl Sandburg at Connemara, Inc.
America’s National Parks, the non-profit partner that operates the park store
A grant from the North Carolina Arts Council; administered by the Arts Council of Henderson County.