KEY FACTS: 

• In the past few days, hospital partners are reporting they are using blood at a much higher rate than normal. When demand is high, and the supply is critically low – that is a dangerous equation for the community.
• Because of the critically low supply, The Blood Connection (TBC) is now having to back-order blood products. This has affected 12 hospital partners so far.
• 48% of days this month, TBC DID NOT collect enough blood to cover hospitals’ needs. For comparison, in May of 2020 (during the pandemic) TBC collected enough to cover those needs 84% of the days.
• There is a high likelihood that TBC will have to start rationing blood by the end of the weekend.
• Heading into a holiday weekend – hospitals are stocking up their blood supply. TBC has already not been able to provide those products.
• The community is the ONLY solution to this dangerous problem. The blood supply for local hospitals is in the community’s hands. 

Juneteenth is the celebration of the timeframe when slavery was abolished. During the weekend of Juneteenth, GRIND Coffeehouse will hold GRINDfest – a celebration of black business and entrepreneurship. GRINDfest will highlight the progress made by people of color while also connecting people across cultures. This weekend of fun will include a play entitled “Savagery”, a poetry slam, local storytellers, game tournaments, a lip sync battle, vendors selling unique items, Black food from around the world and an outdoor dance party with local DJs. This event promises to be one of the most fun and enlightening of the year.

⚡WHAT IS GRINDFEST?

Juneteenth is the time where we celebrate the timeframe where slavery was abolished. It took time for word to spread so it is recognized as Juneteenth.

During the weekend of Juneteenth, we will have GRINDfest – a celebration of black business and entrepreneurship. After slavery was abolished the people held as slaves began to use their skills and talents to do business in an economy that previously thought of them as property. Nonetheless, they made progress and became business owners.

GRINDfest will bring people together to celebrate Black Business and Black Entrepreneurs. It will highlight the progress made by people of color while also connecting people across cultures. Economies do not exist in a bubble. They include everyone.

⚡WHY THIS WEEKEND?

Our commissioners just declared Juneteenth a Holiday in Buncombe county. This was the time that slavery was abolished. We know that the effects of slavery and white supremacy still torment our communities, but we have determined to celebrate the life and progress of Black people in Asheville.

We will be hosting GRINDfest on June 18th-20th, our celebration of Black Business and Entrepreneurship. Conveniently located in the River Arts District, we will have a weekend full of fun and learning: “Savagery” (the play), a poetry slam, local storytellers, game tournaments, a lip sync battle, vendors selling unique items, Black food from around the world and an outside dance party with local DJ’s. This event promises to be one of the most fun and enlightening of the year.

⚡WHAT WILL HAPPEN?

🔥EVENT HIGHLIGHTS🔥

📍XTREME HIP HOP AEROBICS: Supercharge your morning with movement set to great music.

📍PINK DOG BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS: Neighboring businesses opening up for breakfast so patrons can come purchase meals

📍ROOTS REVEAL: We have done this activity already with Bowie State University and will do it during the festival. People will order their DNA test that shows countries of origin and features that run in their bloodline. But they will wait until the event to open the results. In this 90 minute workshop, people will open their results and reveal their ancestry. Then they will be engaged in activities led by Dr. Masica Jordan, Clinical Psychologist and College Professor, that highlight the similarities and overlaps shared among people in the room that may not know each other, but share similar histories, countries of origin, and features. By sharing their ancestral DNA, we see that we are more alike than different.
** participants must order their own DNA test results ahead of time

📍SAVAGERY: Another event during the festival will be the play, “Savagery”. This play was scripted by local author, Nichole Lee and was written as a collection of stories and music from people of color. It is therapeutic in that it tells the story, but it is also entertaining and engaging.

📍GAMES TOURNAMENT: We will have card game tournaments in addition to family fun activities. This in addition to local food vendors with West African cuisine, Jamaican Island cuisine, and a Seafood Boil/Fish Fry, we will host community awards given to people who have made significant progress and contributions such as “single fathers/mothers, blended families, people who had to switch careers, and those succeeding after recovery/re-entry.

📍LIP-SYNC BATTLE: Another event that will happen is the lip-sync battle where contestants perform in the goofiest, funniest way they can to win the prize.

📍DEPOT STREET DANCE PARTY: We close the night out with a huge dance party. It is a festival that has great purpose and practical fun. The whole idea is to celebrate differences and learn from them while uniting people. We have already gathered all the businesses on our block in the River Arts District in addition to 20 other black businesses that are part of our Black Wall Street Program to make this festival a success. Tension can exist between people who look differently, but we designed this festival to bring folks together to celebrate and learn in a fun-filled weekend.

✅Download our Media Kit: https://bit.ly/3hB1U9Z

✅Be one of the sponsors: https://bit.ly/3w1SmbR

✅Be a volunteer: https://bit.ly/33HmVHy

⚡Free-Entry event made possible by our amazing sponsors. Bring the whole family and friends and enjoy the Blackest Weekend in Asheville

The North Carolina Arboretum is going wild for art and nature in 2021 with Wild Art! On view April 1 through September 26, this outdoor sculpture exhibition features works by 17 local and national artists drawing inspiration from the natural environment. Situated throughout the Arboretum’s spacious, open-air gardens, the show offers guests a doorway into the wild world from the comfort and safety of cultivated landscapes transformed by art.

The 18 sculptures on display represent a variety of approaches to the theme of “wild art,” from the literal to the abstract, and are crafted from a diverse array of materials that will delight and inspire. Let your imagination take you on a wild journey into the world of plants and animals near and far with Wild Art at The North Carolina Arboretum.

The exhibit is available to all guests during normal Arboretum hours, and there is no admission cost to view the sculptures beyond our usual parking fee of $16 per personal vehicle.

With the convenience of being open year-round, 7 days a week, the WNC Farmers Market offers a selection of farm-fresh produce at the lowest prices in Western N.C. Our popular retail buildings, providing a selection of non-perishables, fruits, vegetables, crafts and more, are open daily.

River’s End Restaurant is an iconic spot for locals and visitors to Bryson City. Enjoy spectacular views of the gorge, with paddlers passing through as they complete their Nantahala River Rafting trip. Stop in for year-round lunch and dinner, with weekend brunch during the summer season, and choose from a wide range of appetizing entrees, burgers, salads, pizza, and sandwiches. Hang out for a while and enjoy a large selection of signature cocktails, wine, and beer, including local favorites.

In River’s End Restaurant, every seat has a view of the river! Enjoy music by the river and views of paddlers passing through as they complete their Nantahala River Rafting trip. Join our waitlist online to reserve a table or order online and grab your meal to go, for a sunny lunch right by the river!

Included with admission

Our fun-for-all-ages botanical model train displays invite you to experience our grounds in an engaging new way. Located in the Conservatory in the Walled Garden, the displays feature replicas of structures connected with Biltmore and its founder George Vanderbilt. Each beautifully executed piece was handcrafted from such natural elements as leaves, bark, and twigs.

In compliance with state and local mandates related to COVID-19, all guests must enter the Conservatory via the ADA entrance in the back and follow a one-way route.

Included with admission

A unique-to-Biltmore, large-scale outdoor sculpture will be crafted and installed in Antler Hill Village this spring by Patrick Dougherty. Over the last three decades, this internationally-acclaimed artist has combined his carpentry skills and love of nature to build over 300 of these wondrous works, captivating the hearts and imaginations of viewers worldwide.

Image: Close Ties (2006) Scottish Basketmakers Circle, Dingwall, Scotland. Photo: Fin Macrae
NOTE: This is an example of Patrick Dougherty’s work; the artist will create Biltmore’s unique structure in Antler Hill Village this spring.

Summer at Biltmore offers an abundance of opportunities to explore our 8,000-acre Blue Ridge Mountain backyard and create the kind of memories that last a lifetime. Wander through historic gardens, along winding trails, and within the spacious halls of America’s Largest Home^®. Enjoy extraordinary experiences and peace of mind in one spectacular setting: only at Biltmore.

Featuring more than 40 paintings and works on paper, Beauford Delaney’s Metamorphosis into Freedom examines the career evolution of modern painter Beauford Delaney (Knoxville, TN 1901–1979 Paris, France) within the context of his 38-year friendship with writer James Baldwin. The works in this exhibition bring into special focus Delaney’s intensified experiments with abstraction sparked by the artist’s 1955 move to the Paris suburb of Clamart, as well as the ways that the artist and Baldwin’s ongoing intellectual exchange shaped one another’s creative output and worldview from their first meeting in 1940 until Delaney’s death in 1979. This exhibition also calls attention to Baldwin’s role as “witness” to the painter’s evolution, which he deemed “one of the most extraordinary personal and artistic journeys of our time.”