Calendar of Events

Draft your co-workers, BFFs, and neighborhood pals in your quest for kickball stardom! Registration for Buncombe County Recreation Services’ (BCRS) popular Adult Kickball League has opened. All games will be played on Wednesday evenings  from April 8-May 20 at Charles D. Owen Park (875 Warren Wilson Road in Swannanoa). Staggered matches will start at 6 p.m., 7 p.m., and 8 p.m.

REGISTER HERE

“We host low-cost adult sport and recreation leagues throughout the year including dodgeball and volleyball, but kickball is our most popular. It always sells out since it’s easy to learn for any skill level,” said Mac Stanley, BCRS Program Coordinator. “The league offers a low-stress, fun atmosphere in which to stay active and connect with others. The move to Charles D. Owen Park allows us to play multiple games at the same time which means we can start later in the evening for those folks busy with work, school, or parenting. Plus the mountain views can’t be beat!”

Registration is open through March 20 and cost $35 per player. Players can sign up as an individual, small group, or full team. Individuals and small groups will be placed together to form full teams.

Teams are co-ed and consist of 9-16 players, with at least three players of the opposite sex. (If a team is majority female, there must be at least three male players. If a team is majority male, there must be at least three female players.) Registration fees include a team shirt and help offset the cost of referees and field maintenance.

Follow Buncombe County Recreation on Facebook and Instagram.

Asheville Development Services Department to continue business, but will close doors Hello, we want to inform you of the latest news from the Development Services Department regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. The City recognizes the essential nature of construction activity and its impact on the lives of our community. We are continuing to do business, but with significant changes. First, the Department’s physical location at 161 S. Charlotte Street will be closed to the public indefinitely starting Tuesday, March 17. All inspections will take place as scheduled, but with social distancing precautions. Customers are encouraged to submit permit applications or other requests electronically using the Development Portal. We will make other online options available very soon. Customers may drop off paper plans when necessary at the building. A drop-off box will be made available at the north entrance of the building. You may call and email staff as usual. Our main number is 828-259-5846. Additional contact information is available on this page.  Please have patience with us, as there may be a higher-than-normal call volume. Please check our home page often for updates!

Statement from Asheville Mall Regarding Planned Events and Easter Photo Operations

The health and well-being of the community we serve, our customers, employees, and retail partners is our top priority. Out of an abundance of caution and based on guidelines for public meetings and events from the CDC and other governmental agencies, we have made the decision to cancel or postpone all planned events, which includes our seasonal Easter Bunny photo program.

We will continue to monitor updates from the CDC as well as local health officials and governmental agencies and will resume our event schedule as soon as it is appropriate.

Old Europe downtown will offer a free breakfast pastry and juice to any school-aged child from 7 a.m.-noon.

The door will be open for walk-in or call for curbside pickup, said an employee at the store.

“We hope this can help our community and reduce any struggles of replacing a school meal,” said the owners on Facebook. 13 Broadway St., 828-255-5999.

White Duck Taco Shop: One free regular priced taco for school-age children per day, Monday-Friday for lunch or dinner.

Baked Pie Company: Brown bag lunches will be available for school-age children, Tuesday-Saturday. Available at the Arden location, 4 Long Shoals Road from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Call ahead for curbside pickup: 828-333-4366.

Biscuit Head Biltmore: This popular biscuit shop has shifted to take-out only at its Biltmore location, with the request that customers call in orders. The West and South Asheville locations are now closed.  Call 828-505-3449. Pick up at 417 Biltmore Ave., suite 4F.

ConoSur: This Mills River restaurant will serve one free burger and fries to kids while schools are closed. Children have to be present. This restaurant has shifted to takeout only. 4195 Haywood Road, Mills River. www.conosurasheville.com. 828-513-1731.

Strada Italiano: Now through the end of March, this restaurant will offer a free slice of cheese or pepperoni pizza to grade-school students during weekday lunch.

The offer is available for curbside service only. The restaurant opens at noon. Call 828-348-8448 to order. 27 Broadway St.

Copper River Grill: Through April 3, this restaurant offers a complimentary lunch for school-aged children from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Order anything from the kids’ menu, no purchase necessary. 1302 Hendersonville Road. Call ahead: 828-210-8999.

Sand Hill Kitchen: Call 828-633-6868 to request a free bagged lunch. Lunches include peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, an apple, house-fried chips and pickles. Pick up in the drive thru at 491 Sardis Road.

Pescado’s Burritos: This Brevard restaurant offers free tacos for kids in need while schools are closed.

“If you or someone you know has children who may go hungry without a meal please come by and grab a taco, with chips and salsa,” they posted on social media. “No questions asked.”

The restaurant is asking diners to “pay it forward by and donating what you can spare. We can’t do this ourselves, the whole community needs to come together during this time of need.” 265 N Broad St., Brevard 828-884-5559.

According to experts, outdoors might not be much safer as far as this fast-moving virus is concerned. Maintaining a distance of at least 6 feet from others, no matter indoors or outdoors, is the recommended practice during this pandemic.

 the Blue Ridge Parkway closed its year-round Visitor Center in Asheville, at Milepost 384 near the U.S. 74A entrance, out of safety concerns for staff, volunteers and visitors.

“Other year-round facilities on the parkway managed by local partners will remain open at this time,” according to a statement from the National Park Service. “These sites include the Folk Art Center at Milepost 382 and the Museum of NC Minerals at Milepost 331.”

The parkway motor road and all accessible trails will also remain open where not otherwise closed due to weather. Decisions regarding planned seasonal, spring openings, such as park campgrounds and visitor centers, will be made at a later date.

Similarly, Great Smoky Mountains National Park announced March 17 that Sugarlands, Oconaluftee, and Cades Cove visitor centers are closed until further notice for public safety.

Seasonally open park campgrounds, picnic areas, roads, trails and restroom facilities located adjacent to visitor centers remain open and accessible to the public.

Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site temporarily closed the Sandburg Home and Barn on March 17. This includes Sandburg Home tours, the park store, access to the goats and farm animals, all special events, all volunteer shifts, and in-park and off-site programs. Park grounds, except for the barn area, trails, and restrooms will remain open.

All nonessential, public-facing functions are closed. Essential operations — including emergency services, Public Health and Health and Human Services mandated services, sheriff’s office, permitting, solid waste, and Transportation — will continue.

“Since this is a rapidly evolving situation, we will reevaluate these changes as more information becomes available and provide more detailed information at buncombecounty.org,” said Day.

Until further notice, Buncombe is taking the following measures until further notice:

• Some nonessential employees will temporarily telecommute and/or be in emergency on-call status.
• For essential employees unable to work remotely, increasing physical working space between employees and modifying operations are among the options being evaluated.
• Public access to county facilities that house nonessential functions will be restricted or closed.
• All public libraries will be closed.
• All County parks will be closed.
• Permitting Office will be closed, but permitting remains available.

The county also offers the following online resources:

• Apply for Pistol Purchase Permit:  https://buncombeso.permitium.com/
• Pay Property Tax:  https://www.billpayit.com/buncombeconctax
• Request Birth, Death, Marriage Certificate: https://payonline.buncombecounty.org/RoD/Default.aspx
• Records: https://www.buncombecounty.org/Governing/Depts/register-of-deeds/recording/default.aspx
• Building Permits, Planning, Septic, Well, Water Testing Portal (account registration required, only “simple” permits can be applied for online):  https://onlinepermits.buncombecounty.org/CitizenAccess/Default.aspx

Kick off spring in the mountains at the 23rd annual French Broad River Festival.  It’s part outdoor adventure, part music festival with whitewater rafting, biking, hiking, kid’s village, camping, great music, and much more.  Painter John, a popular FBRF musician, compares the atmosphere to “a big potluck at your best friend’s house”.  If you’ve been you know . . . what better way to enjoy spring in these mountains?

$120 online by 3/31/20
$125 online by 4/30/20
$140 at gate
$65 Saturday only
$45 whitewater rafting

• Henderson County Department of Public Health
• NC Department of Health and Human Services
• Centers for Disease Control
• World Health Organization

Beginning March 18, the Meals On the Bus mobile feeding site will operate its traditional summer route, stopping at six neighborhoods on the following schedule:

• King Creek: 10:30-10:55 a.m.
• Dodd Meadows: 11:05-11:30 a.m.
• Shorty Collins: 11:40 a.m.-12:05 p.m.
• Leisure Lane: 12:15-12:35 p.m.
• Sugarloaf Apartments: 12:55-1:20 p.m.
• Conner Creek Mobile Home Park: 1:35-2 p.m.

Families who lack transportation should contact their child’s school so HCPS staff can deliver meals to their children.

 The Bob Moog Foundation announced today that it will temporarily close the Moogseum, located in downtown Asheville, NC, until March 31, 2020. The closure comes in response to a call for Americans to practice social distancing to help “flatten the curve” of an anticipated widespread Coronavirus outbreak.

“Given the critical importance of early self-isolation in stemming the spread of COVID-19, we believe it is our moral imperative to protect our staff, as well as our visitors and our community by temporarily closing the Moogseum to the public,” stated Executive Director Michelle Moog-Koussa. “During this time, the work of the Bob Moog Foundation will continue, with our staff working remotely to advance our projects. While the considerations around the spread of the virus remain fluid, we will continue to reassess when we will  reopen the Moogseum.”

The decision to close the Moogseum comes with considerable financial ramifications. During this time the Foundation encourages supporting its work through donations or a variety of other means, explained here: http://bit.ly/BMFWaysToSupport.

The Moogseum, which opened on May 23, 2019, is an interactive facility which brings the legacy of synthesizer pioneer Bob Moog alive for people of all ages to experience. It is the hallmark project of the Bob Moog Foundation, representing the convergence of its work in education and archive preservation.

In compliance with a directive from Bishop Jose McLoughlin, all worship services are cancelled through March in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Please stay safe.

The world has changed. It’s probably changed for you. For many people, working from home is a new experience. How do you make that work? Even if you’ve been working remotely for awhile, you may be facing new conditions. You may have people or pets wandering in and out of your workspace when that’s not happened before. How do you make working away from others work for you? We’ve got some help for you, today. We’ve got Carol Hamilton, a global communications expert to share with us some of her thoughts as she has worked with people and teams from around the world. How do you get your head right? How do you get your space right? How do you stay focused? How do you come to agreement with those around you on how you will create boundaries and work and life? We’ve got some answers in this episode of the Tech After Five podcast. Follow these steps: 1. Get Buy In From Your Household 2. Setting Your Environment for Success 3. Managing the potential for interruptions 4. Creating the Opportunity for Quality Contact with Colleagues 5. Keeping Yourself working with loops that preserve the self Looking to connect with Carol Hamilton? Look for her on LinkedIn.

ALL posted UNCA events are CANCELLED

These are unprecedented times for the YMCA, the nation, and the world. As the coronavirus pandemic continues to evolve, the YMCA of Western North Carolina is adapting to adjust operations. Effective Monday, March 16, all YMCA of WNC centers will close to the public for at least two weeks. These locations are the Asheville YMCA, Black Mountain YMCA, Corpening Memorial YMCA, Ferguson Family YMCA, Hendersonville Family YMCA, Reuter Family YMCA, Woodfin YMCA, YMCA at Mission Pardee Health Campus, and YMCA Youth Services Center at Beaverdam. All YMCA programs, including wellness programs, youth sports, and swim lessons, are also suspended. “The YMCA has a strong history of adapting to meet our community’s needs,” said President and CEO Paul Vest. “During this time of need, we are working with community partners to support our neighbors and to help them stay healthy in spirit, mind, and body.” Emergency child care programs Some parents must work and cannot stay home. We are here for them. Because the majority of our afterschool programs take place in schools that will be closed for the next two weeks, we are not able to run those programs. The Y will not charge families for afterschool care while schools are closed. Any payments that were made in advance have been credited to future weeks when our afterschool program resumes. We are in discussions with county emergency management officials, and are preparing to offer child care to healthcare providers and first responders in our centers while schools are closed. We are supporting our afterschool families by sending daily emails with fun activities, including active play ideas (scavenger hunts, kids yoga, kids Zumba and more), character development work, and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) projects for all ages. To help us assess community child care needs, we encourage area parents to complete this brief survey. Ensuring food security Starting March 16, our mobile food markets will hand out prepackaged bags for our neighbors to pick up at scheduled market sites. As always, there’s no charge for this service, and no questions are asked. We are also working with local school systems to deliver food to children in need. Starting Monday, March 16, we will serve packaged take-home dinners at Oakley, Estes, Black Mountain, Pisgah, West Buncombe, and Weaverville from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. alongside Buncombe County Schools lunch service. If anyone is quarantined and needs food resources, they can reach out to 828 775 7081 for assistance. Maintaining connections We realize this is an uncertain and anxious time, and that our members and participants depend on us for programs that support their health and well-being. Many of our evidenced-based health intervention classes, such as our Diabetes Prevention Program, are being held virtually. We are also pleased to offer our members access to a variety of free online workouts and group exercise classes to help them stay fit during this time of social distancing. These options offer high-quality workouts via TV, computer, tablet, and smartphone: MOSSA Move is free to Y members for 60 days. Y360 group exercise classes are also free to members for a limited time. “The Y is the leading nonprofit committed to strengthening community by connecting all people to their potential, purpose, and each other,” said Vest. “We have received an incredibly supportive response from our members and the community, with many members deciding to continue their membership dues to help us ensure vital services that preserve and protect community.” Those who need assistance with membership may call the Y Business Center at 828 210 5910. Providing emergency relief The community need for child care and food security is great. Please help us continue to provide these essential services by donating to our Community Emergency Response Fund. To volunteer to provide these services to the community, please see our volunteer signup page.