Please note: Nature Connects^®: Art with LEGO^® Bricks has been postponed until July; however, the exhibit will have an extended schedule and will be open until November 1. We look forward to seeing you!

The Arboretum is excited to welcome back the widely popular traveling exhibit, Nature Connects^®: Art with LEGO^® Bricks by Sean Kenney. Featuring 14 larger-than-life-size sculptures place created with nearly 500,000 LEGO Bricks, this family-friendly exhibit draws inspiration from the living world and combines art, play and science to create an inspiring intersection of education, entertainment and the environment. New sculptures include a 5-foot tall colorful peacock, giant dragonfly, bonsai tree and more!

Blue Ridge Humane Society will be offering a free pet distribution for those in need or affected by COVID-19, on Monday, August 10, from 9am-1pm at the Blue Ridge Humane Society Adoption Center located at 88 Centipede Lane in Hendersonville, NC. Cat and dog food will be distributed first come, first serve, as supplies last. Social distancing and protective measures will be taken by all staff and we ask the public to do the same during the drive-thru pick-up.  Additional resources and supplies will also be available.

The Fairy trail is open Monday thru Saturday, 9am-4pm. We encourage all visitors to be patient as there will be limits to the number of people allowed on the trail at the same time. While the trail is outdoors, there are some small spaces and we want to ensure our guests and fairies are safe. Please practice appropriate social distancing and bring a mask in case. Masks are not required, but are considerate in a close area. Our restrooms are not open to the public at this time. Please make arrangements prior to visiting.

Rules of the trail:

Do not move or rearrange fairy displays. The fairies are very fond of their own decorating.

Do not leave trash on the trail. Fairies do not like litter in their town.

Please ensure children and pets are supervised at all times. Dogs and loud noises can scare the fairies into hiding.

Do not disturb wildlife or vegetation. The fairies depend on the vegetation to build their homes.

The trail is one way only. Please stay on the trail at all times.

The Fairies can’t wait to see you all here!

P.S. the Fairies would like us to remind you that we are a non-profit and donations are greatly appreciated. Help us keep the fairies living in the style with which they’ve become accustomed.

When a friend gave Toland Sand a stained glass studio in 1977, he embarked upon a journey that would lead him to explore the myriad qualities that define glass as a medium. Sand’s 43 years as a sculptor has resulted in works of stained glass, blown glass, and every combination in between. A pioneer in utilizing the unique properties of dichroic glass, Sand begins his current sculpture with optical crystal and dichroic coated glass, hand worked by grinding in ever finer stages until a polish is achieved. Seeking balance, harmony, and symmetry, with an accent on deconstructed form, his work inhabits the symbolic, the cosmic, and the mystery. Sand is inspired by his peers as well as artists such as Isamu Noguchi, David Smith, Henry Moore, and Mark Rothko.
Sand’s work can be found numerous public and private collections including the Bergstrom-Mahler Museum of Glass, Neenah, WI, Hunter Museum of American Art, Chattanooga, TN, Imagine Museum, Sarasota, FL, and others.

Bender Gallery continues to be open and welcoming visitors into our gallery in limited numbers and with facemasks, of course. We remain dedicated to supporting our artists during these unprecedented times by making ourselves available almost anytime you wish to speak with us to answer questions and sharing their work online and through social media. We and our artists thank you for your support!

Join us for another free legal name change clinic. We will supply you with all of the paperwork needed for the name change and help you answer any questions you may have while navigating this often confusing process. It’s easier with friends!

Our clinic is free, but there are different costs associated with the name change process that you will pay to different agencies along the way, and they are as follows:

Fingerprint fees: $10 each (you’ll need 2 sets)
State background check: $14
FBI background check: $18
Name change petition: $120
Notary fees: vary by location
There is also a charge for a new copy of your birth certificate, but that depends on what state you were born in. To find that info, check https://www.vitalchek.com.

Not all fees are due at the same time in the name change process. Fingerprints are the first step in the process which you then send off for the the state and FBI background checks. The federal background check can take up to 3 months to return, so you will have a little time to get the filing fee for the name change petition together.

If you feel like you would be more comfortable with an escort to the ID Bureau for fingerprinting or to the courthouse to file papers, please let us know in advance of the clinic date so that we can make the proper arrangements.

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Do you have questions about Buncombe County’s 2021 Reappraisal? We’ll be hosting two virtual town halls in August on the reappraisal process. Join us for a community conversation with Buncombe County Property Assessor Keith Miller. We’ll cover everything from what is fair market value, how your property is appraised, how you can appeal your value, exemptions available, and more.

Register for the event at the link below to take part in the town hall, we’ll be answering questions from those registered, or watch live on Facebook. Simultaneous Spanish interpretation will be available for both events.

Tickets to the Pre-Event Virtual Reception are $25/person and will include a poetry reading by Clint Smith and a musical performance by local musician Kat Williams.

The Forum is free.

Advance registration is required.

Registration and ticket sales begin August 10^th 

Sponsorship opportunities are still available. Contact Ally Wilson: 210-3444.

WHERE: For the first time, the event will be held online via Zoom. Details will be shared with registered guests closer to the event.

WHO:  Clint Smith, Ph.D. is this year’s keynote speaker. Smith uses his experience as an award-winning poet and teacher to share personal stories of justice, community, and education. He illuminates how we can all find the courage to create change, overcome challenges, and unite ourselves through the power of the collective voice.

His two TED Talks, The Danger of Silence and How to Raise a Black Son in America have been viewed more than seven million times. He was named to the 2018 Forbes 30 Under 30 list as well as Ebony Magazine’s 2017 Power 100 list.

Smith is a 2014 National Poetry Slam champion, an Individual World Poetry Slam Finalist, a Cave Canem Fellow, a Callaloo Fellow, and has served as a cultural ambassador for the U.S. Department of State.

His first full-length collection of poetry, Counting Descent, won the 2017 Literary Award for Best Poetry Book from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association, and was a finalist for an NAACP Image Award. His other writing has been published in The New Yorker, The Guardian, Boston Review, American Poetry Review, Harvard Educational Review, and he has just joined The Atlantic as a staff writer.

Smith earned his Ph.D. in Education at Harvard University, a B.A. in English from Davidson College and is an alumnus of the New Orleans Public School System.

The Street Dances have been a tradition for over 100 years in Downtown Hendersonville! They began in 1918, at the end of World War I, when the city welcomed home its soldiers from the War by celebrating in the streets, and became nationally known after they were included in the guidebook Blue Ridge Music Trails, Finding A Place In The Circle, written by Fred S. Fussell. The guidebook was winner of the first PRESERVE AMERICA Presidential Award for Heritage Tourism.

The sounds of fiddles and banjos playing at the Street Dances have been a part of Henderson County’s heritage for more than 100 years, calling people of all ages put on their dancing shoes and journey to downtown Hendersonville to enjoy toe-tapping-good mountain music and dance right in front of the main stage. The dances are held every other Monday evening July 27, August 10, 24 & September 14 at the Visitor Center, located at 201 South Main Street.

Hendersonville comes alive with people square dancing and clogging to the traditional mountain and bluegrass music performed by a live band. Plus, special appearances are often made by area clogging teams, make the Street Dances an even more entertaining, foot stomping evening.

Lively instructions are given to the dancers by a local caller. At 6:30pm, our caller, Walt Puckett, will teach audience members some basic square dancing moves used in traditional Appalachian square dancing, such as the Right Hand Across, Open the Garden Gate and the Shoe Fly Swing.

Bring a chair, and sit back, relax and enjoy mountain heritage music and dancing from 7:00-9:00pm. The seating area opens at 5:30pm, and early admission is prohibited. Admission is free. No alcoholic beverages, backpacks or coolers allowed. 

Please leave your pets comfortably at home. A Hendersonville City ordinance allows event organizers to exclude animals from the event space for the health, safety and welfare of the community, dogs, patrons, and vendors and their products.

In case of inclement weather the dance will be postponed until 8:00pm, and if the weather does not cooperate by 8:00pm, the performance will be cancelled.

For additional information call the Henderson County Tourism Development Authority at 828-693-9708. The Street Dances are coordinated, produced, and sponsored by Henderson County Tourism Development Authority