Artsville Collective proudly presents the Virtual Gallery of Artists (VGA) program,
an initiative designed to help elevate the careers of local artists. VGA offers artists a unique
opportunity to gain global exposure, valuable marketing skills, and an array of promotional
resources. The VGA program invites individual artists to apply for three months of marketing
exposure through print, digital, and podcast platforms. Artsville provides guidance on building
relationships with the press and art buyers, empowering artists by coming alongside them and
forming connections. Notably, Artsville does not take any commissions on art sales, ensuring
artists keep their full earnings.
Nine artists introduced in first cohort from Oct- Jan include a carefully curated group
showing diversity in age, mediums, experience and exposure in the art markets so they may also
learn from each other. Meet Amy Massey, Candice Hensley, Elizabeth Walton, Georgia Deal,
Jean McLaughlin, Joseph Pearson, Max Cooper, Selene Plum, and Wendy Newman.
Accessible only online, Artsville’s VGA also provides VGA artists a comprehensive toolkit,
including newsletters, podcasts, discussion groups, and learning programs. Committed artists
who actively participate can earn recognition and further opportunities, such as involvement in
Artsville events, pop-up exhibits, and networking groups. In preparation for the holiday season,
Artsville will also present a curated holiday catalog of handmade gifts, offering a unique
opportunity for VGA participants to showcase their work to a wider audience.
Artsville Collective is dedicated to supporting and empowering the artistic community in
Western North Carolina. For further information about Artsville programs and opportunities,
contact Meredith McBride at [email protected] or 828-216-8050. Images and

Instagram- ArtsvilleUSA
Facebook- ArtsvilleCollective

Since 2005, the Asheville Habitat ReStore has
hosted a bi-monthly Silent Auction featuring a vast array of items including turn-of-the-
century furniture, antique toys, vintage bicycles and sports memorabilia, all sort of
collectibles, locally made art, and occasionally items so rare and unique that no one
even knows what they are.
The auction running November 1 st through the 15 th will be particularly special. The
curated items are all locally handmade and contributed by Asheville Habitat staff
and core volunteers! Nearly 30 staffers and volunteers donated their art, and there will
be over 90 items to bid on including stained glass, wood-turned pieces, pottery, oil
paintings, and much more.

Asheville Outlets will again host the Venardos Circus, a Broadway-style animal-free circus, with its all-new “Let’s Build a Dream” Tour from November 2-19, 2023. This season the wondrous Venardos Circus cast will take audiences on a journey under the big top as it unveils a fresh, magical, and all-new experience for fans. The show features an original score, amazing performers, stunning lighting, and dazzling costumes. The 2023 Venardos Circus is traveling with a new, custom-crafted, Italian-made red-and-white striped tent that offers expanded seating around a central stage for an immersive experience.

Additionally, Venardos Circus will host a special Sensory Friendly Performance on Saturday, November 4 at 11am. General Admission tickets start at $16.95 for youth under age 12 and $27.95 for adults. For schedules and more information, please visit VenardosCircus.com or ShopAshevilleOutlets.com.

Hendersonville Theatre is holding a series of tap workshops to stay on top of your newfound tap skills or to refresh your brain on the basics ahead of our Spring 2024 Tap Classes. This class is NOT for those who have never tapped before as we won’t be learning new moves, but rather refining your previously acquired skills. This workshop is for beginners with at least a minimal understanding of tap and will be a hybrid of a traditional tap class and time to work on your own with coaching from Allison.

Buncombe County Special Collections is excited to announce a call for proposals for the third year of its creative residency program.

This is an annual opportunity for artists in Buncombe County to create new, research-driven creative work using BCSC’s historic resources as source material and/or inspiration, and to present their work in the Carolina Record Shop, a dedicated exhibition space in the BCSC reading room. Artists age 18 and up, based in Buncombe County, working in any creative discipline are invited to apply.

Buncombe County Special Collections is looking for projects that will:

• Offer new, diverse perspectives on our shared history
• Identify and address gaps and/or amplify narratives that are historically underrepresented in the collection
• Educate and inspire non-traditional users of archives and special collections to engage with the collection in new ways.

More information (including the PDF of the call for proposals) is available at here. The 2024 Creative Residency is made possible in part by the Trust Fund for Buncombe County Public Libraries.

You can also visit Buncombe County Special Collections in the lower level of Pack Memorial to view the current exhibition in the Carolina Record Shop, “Belonging & Non-Belonging: The History and Future of Zines in Western North Carolina,” curated by 2023 resident Miles Lamberson.

Food Scraps Drop Off

The City of Asheville, in partnership with Buncombe County and the Natural Resources Defense Council, is offering a FREE Food Scrap Drop-Off program in two locations for all Buncombe County residents.  This organic matter will be collected and turned into good clean compost, keeping it OUT of our landfill and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Register for Food Scraps Drop Off

Need a handy kitchen countertop food scrap bin?  Let us know on the registration form! We’ll be having bin giveaways at city and county facilities and would love to give you one.

Locations

Murphy Oakley Community Center and Library – “Food Scrap Bin Shelters” on the east side of the parking lot

749 Fairview Road, Asheville

• • Dawn – Dusk

Stephens-Lee Recreation Center “Food Scrap Shed” next to the Community Garden on the North side of the parking lot

30 Washington Carver Avenue, Asheville

• • Monday – Friday, 7 a.m. – 6 p.m.
  • Saturday, 8 a.m. – 2 p.m.
  • Sunday, 12 – 4 p.m.

West Asheville Library – “Food Scrap Bin Shelters” on the south side of the building

942 Haywood Road, Asheville

• • Library open hours
  • Buncombe County Landfill – Convenience Center

    85 Panther Branch Road, Alexander

    • • Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
      • Saturday, 8 a.m. – 12:30 pm

Green Drinks lives on every Saturday as The Free & Open University of Eco-Sustainability on Facebook

Did you know you could take a course in the Cherokee language for free with your library card?

Buncombe County Public Libraries offers access to Transparent Languages for online language instruction from home computers, laptops and mobile devices. To log in, your ID is your library card number and your PIN is the last four digits of your phone number.

Transparent Languages partners with 7,000 Languages, a nonprofit organization working to empower communities around the world to sustain their endangered languages. As a result of this collaboration, the library can offer free instructional courses for over 25 indigenous languages, including Cherokee.

Cherokee is spoken by about 2,000 people mainly in Western North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. 7,000 Languages partnered with the Cherokee PINS Project Foundation to create two beginner Cherokee courses. The Cherokee Alphabet Course teaches the shapes, names, and pronunciation of the Cherokee syllabary. The Cherokee Beginner Course introduces learners to a common, practical language that they can hear, write, and speak throughout the course. Language learners can practice their listening and speaking skills with voice recognition software guided by native speakers.

Both of these courses, along with hundreds of other language courses, are available free with your library card. If you have any questions, let us know.

It’s November again and that can only mean one thing: National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)!

NaNoWriMo began in 1999 as a daunting but straightforward challenge: to write 50,000 words of a novel during the thirty days of November.  Now, each year on November 1, hundreds of thousands of people around the world begin to write, determined to end the month with 50,000 words of a brand-new novel.

If you are doing NaNoWriMo this year, the Buncombe County Public Libraries are here to help! Several branches will be hosting “Write-ins” throughout the month of November, offering quiet spaces for writers to come chip away at their word count. Each Write-in will have its own unique spin (snacks, ambient music, writing prompts, local author hosts, etc.), so please check the library event calendar for specific details.

In addition to the Write-Ins, a NaNoWriMo Wrap Party will be held at rEvolve Mercantile on Wednesday, December 6th from 6pm – 8pm. All NaNoWriMo participants are invited to join us for food, activities, prize raffles , and “micro mic” readings that will give each writer a chance to share a paragraph or two from their novel.

Any questions? Let us know.

We love contra dance, and nobody gets paid for making the dances happen. We all just pitch in. You can too. Here’s how it works:

• Help us OPEN or CLOSE, and dance for free all night long! It only takes 30 minutes to an hour.
• Help us at the DOOR, and dance for free half the night AND another whole night!

ALSO – if you want to volunteer on a regular basis, e.g. work the early door every 3rd Thursday, tell us and we’ll set that up!

The Volunteer page on the OFB website has a convenient, easy-to-use sign-up form for each of our dances.

Kayla Birstein is our volunteer coordinator. If you have questions or ideas about volunteering, contact info is on the Volunteer page.

Volunteer Opportunities

Early Host: Arrive by 7:15, greet the sound tech, band, and caller. Get into the safe, take out the starter money, count and fill out pay-out sheet. And advise/supervise volunteers.

Openers (3 people needed): Early Arrive by 7:15 pm, check in with Early Host, sweep the hall, set up chairs, make sure the bathrooms are clean and stocked.

Early Door Person (2 people needed): Arrive by 7:30 check, in with Early Host, work when needed to take money at the door. Alternate with your other door people and Early host to switch off who sits and who dances. Goes ’til 9:00pm.

Closers (3 people needed): Job time: 10 minutes. Break down the hall, put away chairs, tables, sweep the floors, empty and take out trash. Check in with the Late Host to make sure everything is done

Late Host: Arrive by 9:30, check-in with Early Host, the pay-out form should be filled out. Dancers should pay full price until first contra after the waltz break. Count the money, do the payout, supervise breakdown and close the hall.

More than half a million low-income, uninsured North Carolinians will gain access to comprehensive health coverage when Medicaid expansion launches on December 1, 2023.

Pisgah Legal is here to help people in Western North Carolina enroll in Medicaid and understand their options for coverage. Pisgah Legal has spent a decade advocating for this change and is proud to help make it a reality for people in this region.

“Medicaid expansion is going to save lives,” said Chief Operations Officer Jaclyn Kiger. “This is a momentous occasion and Pisgah Legal is thrilled to be in a position to help guide people through this process.”

Kiger continued: “Each and every person has a right to health care. Pisgah Legal Services will continue to advocate and strive for a future where everyone can access the care they deserve.”

Pisgah Legal is poised to help people start the Medicaid enrollment process as soon as expansion launches. Pisgah Legal’s certified Navigators help local people find quality, affordable health insurance plans.

Pisgah Legal also helps people who have had their Medicaid terminated during the unwinding period that began in April 2023. If you or someone you know has lost coverage, Pisgah Legal can help you determine if you’re eligible for a plan on the Healthcare.gov Marketplace and can help you access legal resources. Pisgah Legal’s NC Medicaid Ombudsman Program can help current Medicaid beneficiaries who are experiencing problems with their plans.

To make an appointment for free help enrolling in Medicaid or exploring your options, visit http://www.pisgahlegal.org/health or call 828-210-3404.

As the summer is waning and the leaves change colors, anglers across the country eagerly await the start of fall fishing season in some of America’s most attractive locations. To help anglers plan their ideal adventure, FishingBooker has created a list of the 9 Best Fall Fishing Destinations for 2023. The Berkshires have been named at the top of the list. Here’s why:

Fall foliage is the perfect setting for chasing that trophy-sized catch while enjoying the scenic beauty of the landscapes along the way, and the Berkshires encompass it all. Comprised of extensive forests, breathtaking Appalachian trails, and numerous rivers and lakes, this region is beyond wonderful. If you’re an angler, hearing about mountain rivers and fall fishing probably tells you a lot about the species you can target in this region. The cold waters that run through the Berkshires are a fly fishing heaven.

To provide readers with an immersive experience of the beauty and excitement the Berkshires offer, here is a custom-made video we have created specifically for this destination. This video showcases the finest fishing spots, expert insights, and professional narration that will capture the attention of your audience.

The full unranked list of 9 best fall fishing destinations includes:

• Berkshires, MA

• San Diego, CA

• Casper, WY

• Lake of the Ozarks, MO

• Grayling, MI

• Buffalo, NY

• Virginia Beach, VA

• Asheville, NC

• Kissimmee, FL

About FishingBooker:

With an offer of more than 42,000 fishing trips spanning over 2,000 cities across 110 countries, FishingBooker has gained the trust of countless fishing enthusiasts. Our platform has enabled hundreds of thousands of anglers to embark on fishing trips and create long-lasting memories with friends and family across the US – and beyond. By connecting anglers with skilled captains and the best fishing locations, we are committed to making fishing accessible and enjoyable for everyone.

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Here is a Dropbox folder that contains a long-form video of all destinations, as well as an additional image you may need if you decide to cover the story. Please feel free to use any of the materials included in the link, and do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or need further assistance.

Registration is ongoing through the year. Get new updates and access all previous entries in a convenient online library.

The Curator’s Journal by Bonsai Curator Arthur Joura is a year-long course offering the ultimate insider’s view of bonsai at The North Carolina Arboretum. Regular entries chronicle growing an art and growing an enterprise. Some journal entries will be long and others more brief; some will be mostly words and others mostly pictures; some will be close-up studies of detail and others will step back to take in the wider scene. The path will not be linear, but all the entries will be steps along a journey.

You’re invited to come along.

Once a year Buy, Sell or Trade in your unwanted and un needed camera gear. Find special prices on new and used gear. PhotoLab printing and scanning specials as well. We stock a wide selection of analog film and new film cameras by Instax and Polaroid. Find camera bags, backpacks and tripods amongst other items.

One of Lem’s first decisions after opening River Arts District Brewing Company was to get this giant Silver Maple recognized as a Treasured Tree. We estimate this beautiful tree to be around 124 years old.   Thank you Lem & the rest of the RAD Brewing Company for honoring the oldest trees in our urban canopy! If you are interested in dedicating a tree of your own, check out our website for the Treasured Tree application.

We need your help and the help of your network to make this holiday drive as successful as possible in putting new books into the hands of Buncombe County elementary and middle school students during the holiday break.

What better way to spread holiday cheer than by donating books? Imagine the joy on a child’s face when they receive a brand-new book. It’s like sprinkling a little bit of magic into their lives!

We’ve partnered with over a dozen local organizations serving K-12 students throughout the county. They’re eagerly waiting for book drop-offs like kids waiting for the first snowfall! 

You can make a positive impact right now by donating directly using the button below, or why not turn giving back into an outing?

Holiday Book Drive 2023 (givebutter.com)

Visit the Barnes & Noble on Tunnel Road at the Asheville Mall to shop in-store and donate them on the spot.

The Weaverville Art Safari is one of the original studio tours in the Asheville Area and one of the longest-running such events in Western North Carolina. It is a juried studio tour that takes place twice a year during the last weekend of April and the first weekend of November. It is widely recognized for both the quality of work on display and for the unique opportunity it provides the public to ramble through this beautiful area, meeting our artists and seeing the spaces where they work and live. It is a favorite of both locals and visitors and draws thousands of art lovers to our area each year!