Buncombe County Public Libraries have free wifi hotspots available outside any library building. To use the wifi, look for the LibraryGuest network and use the password readmore. The wifi is available all day every day, whether the library is open or not. Please observe all Buncombe County social distancing and gathering requirements while using the wifi. Questions? Call (828) 250-4700 or email [email protected].

The Craft Futures Fund will fund up to $30,000 each month from May 2020 – October 2020 to support craft-based education projects. These one-time, unrestricted grants of $5,000 will be disbursed to craft-based education projects that envision and build new futures for craft.

The Blue Ridge National Heritage Area Partnership
(BRNHA) has announced its 2020 Heritage Grants Program, which will provide funding for
projects that preserve, interpret, and promote Western North Carolina’s agricultural, craft,
Cherokee, music, and natural heritage. These five distinctive legacies earned the region a
Congressional designation as a National Heritage Area in 2003.

Nonprofit organizations, academic institutions, and units of state and local governments are
eligible to apply. Applicants must provide at least an equal match. The total pool of funding for
the 2020 grant cycle is $180,000.

Grants awarded in previous cycles have supported exhibits, demonstration gardens, oral history collections, video documentaries, interpretive programs, teaching materials, artist training, visitor brochures, music venue improvements, and the marketing of heritage destinations. The grant projects have provided engaging and authentic cultural experiences to hundreds of thousands of visitors and residents.
The deadline for grant applications is October 1, 2020. Complete information on the 2020 Heritage Grants Program can be found at www.blueridgeheritage.com/partners/grants.

Are you interested in helping Buncombe County expand reliable, high-speed internet? If so, we need your help. Please consider joining the Buncombe Broadband Working Group. Applications are due by Friday, July 17.

Objective:

This posting is for 3-5 community members to the Buncombe Broadband Working Group which will support the evaluation of proposals submitted to Buncombe County for high-speed internet solutions.

Term:

Members shall serve for approximately 6 months, but the term may be extended or reduced based on responses from high-speed internet providers. Members may be replaced at any time at the sole discretion of the respective institution or organization. Time commitment is an estimated 4-5 hours each month.

Responsibilities:

The workgroup will:

• Develop a Request for Proposal document for high-speed internet services in Buncombe County,
• Objectively evaluate the proposals received,
• Weigh proposals based on cost, and ability to deliver excellent, sustainable service using the scoring matrix provided to bidders through the RFP, and
• Provide a recommendation to County leadership.

Qualifications:

Applicants must be Buncombe County residents. Ideal candidates have an understanding of the technical requirements of high-speed internet operations, experience leading or supporting community high-speed internet initiatives, or experience/relationships working with high-speed internet providers. Candidates must report any potential conflicts of interest.

To Apply:

Please complete the Boards and Commissions application found here and return to Lamar Joyner at [email protected] by Friday, July 17.

“The goal of Hungry Paws is to provide pet food for homes that are having to choose between feeding themselves or their pets. We don’t want people to surrender their animals to shelters because they cannot afford them right now.” says Derek Fox. “The fund is intended to cover the needed window until people can go back to work or who need the support to get by. Until then, it’s up to us to provide for these wonderful animals.”

Derek got to work, contacting area rescues and finding other partners. Pet Source, a local Hendersonville pet supply store, jumped on board, contacting their suppliers to setup a discounted purchasing program that will make the donated funds go even further.

The fund partners with Blue Ridge Humane Society, as both a recipient and as distributer of funds and food to other rescues in the area with food support programs or that have a need in their community.

“The fund will help to set pet owners up for success and bridge the gap until folks are employed again or able to get ahead again.” shares Angela Prodrick, Executive Director of Blue Ridge Humane. “This is even more vital during this time as there is an increased need as people are finding themselves in the new situation of needing help when they haven’t before, and we are here to help.”

There are several ways to donate to the fund. The Hungry Paws Initiative can be found on Facebook with an easy donation process, or on www.refinedpup.com/. Donations can also be made to Blue Ridge Humane with a note designating it for Hungry Paws online at www.blueridgehumane.org or by mail to 14 Towne Place Drive, Suite 130, Hendersonville, NC 28792.

The Blue Ridge Humane Society, Inc., is a 501(c)3 animal welfare organization started in 1950 dedicated to ensuring the highest quality of life for animals in Henderson County and our neighboring communities. BRHS cares for pets awaiting adoption at the Adoption Center; offers low-cost vaccine clinics, animal education programs, pet training classes, and youth education and projects; coordinates community pet food assistance, emergency vet assistance, and the Spay Neuter Incentive Program (SNIP), which is a collaboration with Henderson County, the City of Hendersonville, and the Henderson County Animal Services Center.

If you believe in our cause, consider making a donation or learning how to volunteer by visiting the Blue Ridge Humane Society’s website at www.blueridgehumane.org or call (828) 692-2639.

Miss browsing the library’s shelves? Let us help with Bookfix. Call or email your local library to have a librarian put together a bundle of books tailored to your specific interests. You can pick up your personal Bookfix bundle at our curbside hold pickup service. Our Ask a Librarian line is available Monday-Saturday at (828) 250-4700 or you can email [email protected].

In addition to his role as the BMC Artistic Director, Keith is the Conductor of the Boston Pops Symphony Orchestra. Here, Keith discusses working with composer John Williams and recreating the music of Star Wars. The featured performance is of the main title from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, with Williams conducting the orchestra during its 1993 Japan Tour.

Independence Day events across the country will not look the same this year.

Many communities have been forced to cancel their annual Fourth of July events, including most in Buncombe County. Although the fireworks display at Lake Julian Park will not take place, there are other ways to celebrate locally.

Buncombe County Recreation Services‘ parks and trails will be open, though some areas may be restricted including grills, picnic shelters, and restrooms. Access to the French Broad will be available at our seven river parks. The five outdoor pools operated by Buncombe County will also be open with new safety guidelines.

Park and pool visitors will be required to practice the Three Ws: wear a cloth face covering, wait at least six feet apart from and avoid close contact with anyone who does not live in your household, and wash your hands or use hand sanitizer often.

The Asheville Downtown Association will host a virtual Independence Day Celebration in partnership with the City of Asheville with support from Explore Asheville. The online concert will feature eight Asheville area bands performing at local music venues.

Follow Buncombe County Recreation on Facebook and Instagram.

Ready to go wild? Join us “off the eaten path” as we uncover the Garden of Eden all around us. Learn how to safely identify, appreciate, and savor wild mushrooms, plants, and more. Then let one of Asheville’s top restaurants prepare it for you — for free!

We’ve been taking people “out to eat” for nearly twenty-five years. On TripAdvisor, we are the #1 foraging activity in the world. We have been featured on Bizarre Foods, The History Channel, PBS, CNN, and NPR as well as in Food & Wine, Travel + Leisure, Southern Living, USA Today, and more.

Discover how easy it is to “take in the landscape.” Our family-friendly tours available daily, year-round, by arrangement. Our introductory e-book is included and all equipment is provided. For a taste of the wild life, forage ahead.

Join us as we celebrate the global movement of going plastic-free this July! Our Plastic Reduction Task Force will be celebrating all month with community shoutouts, games, reading lists, resources, and more! Follow our Facebook page @goingplasticfreeAVL and Instagram @going_plasticfree for updates so that you won’t miss a thing.

Save these dates:
Saturday, July 11th – Going Plastic Free Scavenger Hunt
Thursday July 23rd – Plastic Free July Trivia

If your business has been affected by COVID-19, call us to learn more about Free Business Counseling.
Availability is limited and is offered on a first come, first served basis.

• One-on-one remote counsel
• Access to industry & content experts
• 100% Confidential
• FREE!

For the month of July, genealogists and historians can access the popular Ancestry.com database from home for free. All you need is a library card.

Among the billions of records available, Ancestry.com includes census records and indexes, vital, church, military, public member trees; birth, marriage and death records; tax, criminal, land and wills stories, memories and histories, pictures, city directories, immigration and travel schools, maps and more. There are records from the United States as well as international records, so no matter where your family might be from, you will probably be able locate them in the Ancestry database.

Find a new branch of your family tree with Ancestry. Visit the library website at buncombecounty.org/library and use the Virtual Library tab to access Ancestry. If you don’t have a library card, email us at [email protected] and we can give you a card by email. Call 828-250-4700 with any questions.

The residents of Buck House were woven in to the fabric of Asheville.

This driving tour begins at the Smith-McDowell House Museum on the campus of A-B Tech and continues through historic sites related to early occupants of the house.

Video of the Week Maestro Keith Lockhart leads the Brevard Concert Orchestra in a performance of the Vaughan Williams Symphony No. 2, “A London Symphony.” IV. Finale

This heartwarming video featuring the iconic song from RENT showcases the talents of the cast members and the unique steps that their theatre is taking to ensure safety amidst COVID-19. Though theatres across the globe have had to close their doors during the pandemic, this production offers hope for the future of performing.

ABOUT THE EXHIBIT The hillbilly stereotype is one that is alive and well in American popular culture as a quick survey of the cable dial reveals with such shows as Moonshiners, Appalachian Outlaws, Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, and countless others. Surprisingly, it is one often displayed among educated sorts here in Western North Carolina who would never dream of disparaging any minority or “out group,” but do not hesitate to characterize native Western North Carolinians, as a group, as ignorant, in-bred, hopelessly retrograde, violent, snake-handling, moonshining/meth-making rednecks. The Hillbillyland Exhibition explores the power, prevalence, and persistence of the hillbilly stereotype from the days of its beginnings in the late 19th century to the present day. The exhibit takes a unique approach by focusing on photography featuring the people of the region, some of them stereotypical images, combined with poetry and short prose pieces that challenge and complicate these stereotypes. Visit the Virtual Exhibit

ABOUT THE EXHIBIT In the midst of the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic, we take an in-depth look at the 1918 influenza epidemic in Western North Carolina through newspaper clippings, advertisements, ephemera, photographs, and oral history and place the events of 1918 into context with our present-day response to the coronavirus pandemic.

https://www.wnchistory.org/virtual-exhibits/influenza/?utm_source=Western%20North%20Carolina%20Historical%20Association&utm_campaign=78fa0bbdf8-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_01_23_05_25_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_7424f63c4d-78fa0bbdf8-329482143