One in five people in the Carolinas don’t have enough food to eat.  As we enter the holiday season, November is historically one of the hardest months for food banks across the country.  Many North and South Carolinians are either looking for ways to help those in need or looking for help themselves. The Blood Connection (TBC), the non-profit community blood center serving these two states, is dedicating the month of November to addressing the issue of food insecurity in the region by offering blood donors a way to help those in need.

In the month of November, TBC will partner with Feeding the Carolinas – a network of food banks across North and South Carolina that works to provide a healthy, adequate, and consistent food supply – to promote blood donation and food donation.  Each year, Feeding the Carolinas estimates they supply food to more than 2.3 million Carolinians facing hunger.  Feeding the Carolinas also supports the Augusta, Georgia region, which TBC has recently begun operations in.

TBC needs around 1,000 blood donations per day to supply blood to more than 100 hospitals across the Carolinas, and TBC must ensure the shelves are stocked with life-saving blood products when hospital partners call. TBC has set a goal of raising $5,000 for food banks in November, with the hopes of helping neighboring non-profits stock their shelves, as well. Like the need for blood, the need for charitable food does not go away: people in this community will always need food – especially now with inflation at never-before-seen levels.  With one blood donation, a donor can save three lives and help a family in their own community have enough food on the table for Thanksgiving.

Throughout the month of November, blood donors will have the option to donate their TBC reward points in
the TBC Store to Feeding the Carolinas. At TBC centers, food collection boxes will also be placed out for
donors to give non-perishable food items. TBC is also looking for organizations to host blood drives
benefiting Feeding the Carolinas. Blood drive hosts have the option to donate $10 or $20 per blood donor to
Feeding the Carolinas. For more information about hosting a blood drive in November, go to
thebloodconnection.org/host.

Sixty years ago, a doctor from Greenville, South Carolina saw a need: a need for a community blood center that supported the people who lived, worked, and sought care in the Upstate of South Carolina.  Sixty years later, his vision for that community blood center is the bedrock of The Blood Connection (TBC) – a non-profit community blood center serving hospitals across the Carolinas, Georgia, and Virginia.  While many things have changed in the past sixty years, TBC’s dedication to its hospital partners and to saving local lives has not.

 

Despite the current difficulty to collect blood and blood products, The Blood Connection remains steadfast in continuing its mission for the next sixty years to come.  Without volunteer blood donors and community blood centers like TBC, shelves will be empty when neighbors, family, or friends are in need.  Neighbors like Kristen Odom, a mother from Taylors, South Carolina, who received more than twenty units of blood after the birth of her first daughter.  It is because of community blood donors that blood products were available that day, and she has a full life with her husband and two daughters.

 

“I often think about it in the little things like we celebrate her birthday, it’s a pretty day outside, or we’re at the beach,” said Odom.  “This day I get to enjoy because somebody donated blood. I had this overwhelming sense of gratitude…it just still shocks me to this day…here we are, living a completely normal life…because blood was available and they did what they needed to do right away.”

 

It is estimated roughly 60% of the U.S. population is eligible to donate blood, but only 3% does.  While the demand for blood products is constantly increasing, unfortunately, the number of volunteer blood donors is decreasing.  As the core donor base gets older, and the younger generation is not donating blood at the same rate, TBC is noticing emptier blood mobiles, and fewer people signing up to donate blood.

 

“We all play a part in supporting the community’s blood supply,” said Delisa English, President and CEO of The Blood Connection.  “We hope people think about what their part will be, whether that is donating blood for the first time, donating blood more often, or hosting a blood drive.  We all have a responsibility to our community to ensure that blood products are available when our friends, family, and neighbors need it most.”

 

Founded in 1962, The Blood Connection spent the first 16 years of its existence under another name: The Greenville Blood Assurance program.  In 2001, the Board of Trustees adopted the name ‘The Blood Connection’ – designed to better reflect the mission of connecting healthy donors to patients in need. With just a handful of hospital partners when the organization was created in the 1960s, TBC now serves more than 100 hospitals and has expanded from the Upstate of South Carolina to three other states.

 

The world around us looks vastly different now than it did in 1962, but one thing remains the same: blood still cannot be replicated or made in a lab.  Blood must be donated and is a true gift to those who need blood products to maintain their quality of life.

 

The Blood Connection is celebrating it’s 60^th anniversary by thanking the donors who make its mission possible.  All blood donors between October 31 and November 6 will receive a commemorative ‘60^th Anniversary’ pin.  To find a center or mobile location to donate, go to thebloodconnection.org/donate.

Join the Blue Ridge Audubon, a chapter of the National Audubon Society for their monthly bird walk at Jackson Park, a renowned birding location. On the 2nd Saturday of each month, meet at the Administration Building parking lot, located on Glover Street, and join the group to see the many wonderful birds found at Jackson Park, Hendersonville’s largest park.

Welcome to Western NC’s most premier farmers market!

Since 1980, we have been providing Asheville and the surrounding area with a full range of local, sustainably produced produce, meats, eggs, cheeses, breads, plants, prepared foods and crafts. Day vendors complement the members’ offerings with additional products and services.

The North Asheville Tailgate Market is a weekly, Saturday morning gathering of the best farmers, craftsmen, and bakers. With over 40 vendors and more than 40,000 annual customers, the market’s energetic and warm environment welcomes all.

The WNC Farmers Market is the premier destination for buying and selling the region’s best agriculture products directly from farmers & food producers to household & wholesale customers in an environment that celebrates the region’s diverse culture, food & heritage.

House of Operation:

WNC Farmers Market: 24/7, 361 days a year market access for farmers
Office: Monday- Friday, 8am-5pm
Market Shops: 7 days a week, 8 am-5 pm
Wholesale and Truck Sheds: 7 days a week

Even though it’s getting colder, you can still find fresh, local food at area farmers markets. Nine markets in Buncombe County will offer extended seasons in November and December. In addition to seasonal produce, meats, cheeses, and bread, these markets will feature local artists and handmade goods, such as wreaths, pottery, jewelry, and more. Plus, four markets will stay open through the winter!

Join us for our indoor holiday market on Saturday, Nov. 12.

Join us for our indoor holiday market on Saturday, Nov. 12.

Old Kentucky Home -The Thomas Wolfe Memorial

American Novelist Thomas Wolfe (1900-1938)

Considered by many to be one of the giants of 20th-century American literature, Thomas Wolfe immortalized his childhood home in his epic autobiographical novel, Look Homeward, Angel. Wolfe’s colorful portrayal of his family, his hometown of “Altamont” Asheville, North Carolina, and “Dixieland” the Old Kentucky Home boardinghouse, earned the Victorian period house a place as one of American literature’s most famous landmarks.

House tours are offered daily at half past each hour. Last tour leaves at 4:30 pm.
Group tours by reservation.

Adult – $5.00
Student (ages 7-17) – $2.00
Adult Group (10+) – $2.50 each
Student Group – $2.00 each
6 & under – Free

Hours of Operation

East Tennessee State, Elon University, Harvard University, and University of Louisiana at Lafayette to face off in second annual men’s early season college basketball tournament

As part of this year’s Championship events, Tournament organizer KemperLesnik, in partnership with Buncombe County Schools, Asheville City Schools and Haywood County Schools have announced the inaugural “Going Pro in Sports” program presented by Champion Credit Union. The initiative is a joint effort between the Asheville Championship and the three local school districts that will help enhance current curriculum, deliver practical training in the sports profession, and open new potential career opportunities for the students of the Asheville community.

Celebrate the forest heritage of Western North Carolina at the Cradle of Forestry in Pisgah Forest, NC during the annual Forest Festival Day, an activity-filled, family event that commemorates the traditions of mountain living and craft, During the event, four colleges and universities will compete for a trophy in the Annual John G. Palmer Intercollegiate Woodsmen’s Meet –an old-time lumberjack competition where students test their skills in a number of
events including archery, axe throwing, crosscut sawing, wood chopping, chainsaw, log rolling, pole climbing and pole felling, This
portion of the day was organized by Haywood Community College and is held in the Pink Beds Picnic Area of Pisgah National
Forest, the day also includes traditional crafters offering demonstrations of wood carving, textile crafts and traditional wood
working, as well as a presentation on Native American culture, history and craft at the Cradle of Forestry, all parking will be at the
Cradle of Forestry and a shuttle will be available to/from the Pink Beds Picnic Area, Admission $5-10, Cradle of Forestry, Pisgah
National Forest, GoFindOutdoors.org/forest-festival-day

Join us for the closing reception of The Sun Touches Everything, a collection of 18 artists from around the United States and Canada.

Ext The market will be open to the public from 10
am – 4 pm each day with no cost for attendance. The employees’ work, as well as Rite of Passage
garments, will be available for purchase.
The Sew Co. team is made up of talented makers across a multitude of creative disciplines. In
celebration of this talent and the fast-approaching holiday season, the Makers Market will feature
the work of 10+ team members with varying products including hand-knit hats, paintings +
prints, vintage upcycling, home goods, leather bags + wallets, and much more.
Rite of Passage’s newly released Fall Collection will also be on display. Come try on clothes and
enjoy hot apple cider and light refreshments in the open-air gallery while browsing handmade
goods and chatting with the Sew Co. team!

———-
Sew Co is a full-service cut and sew manufacturer of sewn objects with socially responsible and
unconventional business concepts. In the midst of thousands of textile jobs moving overseas,
Sew Co. was founded in 2010 as an effort to preserve the skill of sewing and our domestic
manufacturing economy.
RITE OF PASSAGE is a slow fashion label inspired by the darker, delicate details found in
nature. Designer Giovanni Daina-Palermo and entrepreneur Libby O’Bryan, two friends,
professional pattern makers, and conceptual artists founded the brand in 2018.

the ultimate day for dog lovers of all ages and a once a year opportunity to celebrate the companionship, joy and unconditional love that our furry friends bring to our lives, There will be 50 plus pet friendly vendors on Main Street as well as area animal shelters for adoption on the day of the event and even an adorable pet fashion show.

Kids have great imaginations – this is the place to let it loose! Our youngest students will learn to bring fun stories and characters to life. Through games and play, they’ll get comfortable expressing with their voices and bodies. And, their confidence will grow as they perform with other kids! Join us for play and creativity!

Registration begins on Wednesday, September 14, 2022 at 10:00 am. Tuition will be $175 – Scholarships are available.

NOTE: If applying for a scholarship, please fill out the Scholarship Application INSTEAD of filling out registration. If your application is approved, we will be in touch with you to register.