Are you looking for a way to develop your Spanish language skills or a way to keep your skills fresh? Join this friendly and welcoming Spanish Language Practice Group organized by Pack Library. Newcomers are always welcome on the first Thursday of each month at 5 p.m. This group meets online and is focused on providing an intermediate level, immersive discussion experience. This event is free, but you do need to register. Please visit the library web page and use the link on the calendar for this program to sign up.

Beginning in early 1942, Axis diplomats, consular staff, and families—particularly Japanese and Germans living in Central and Latin America, along with many individuals of Japanese descent living in Hawaii—were detained in several inns or resorts in southern Appalachia and WNC. Among these facilities, many were transported to the Grove Park Inn and the Assembly Inn at Montreat. This program specifically focuses on the predominantly Japanese-American individuals detained and housed at Montreat 1942-1943 as they awaited exchange or repatriation.

About the Speaker:

Ronald Vinson has served as Executive Director of the Presbyterian Heritage Center in Montreat since 2007. The Presbyterian Heritage Center at Montreat is a 501(c)(3) non-profit educational organization to educate (onsite and online) people about the Presbyterian and Reformed heritage, the church’s tradition of worldwide mission and the history of Montreat.

Ron has served as consultant to many museums and clients on historical projects, including:

• The Commission on the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution
• The National Center for the Study of History
• Discovery Place
• The Schiele Museum of Natural History
• Gaston County Museum of Art & History
• North Carolina Business Hall of Fame
• Centennial of Golf (Golf Magazine, PGA et al)
• Insurance Information Institute (Bicentennial of Insurance) Columbia Theological Seminary
• North Carolina Business Hall of Fame

Tickets: $5 for WNCHA members/ $10 for General Admission. We also have no-cost, community-funded tickets available. We want our events to be accessible to as many people as possible. If you are able please consider making a donation along with your ticket purchase. These donations are placed in our Community Fund, which allows us to offer tickets at no cost to those who would not be able to attend otherwise.

Viewing: Registrants will receive a Zoom link with which to view the program. It will also be recorded and later available on our website.

(Image: Several Japanese women and girls at Montreat, courtesy Presbyterian Heritage Center)

For questions or more information, email Trevor Freeman at [email protected]

Summer is around the corner and lifeguards are in high demand. Sign up to take our spring, Red Cross certified, lifeguard course today. Class is available to ages 15 and up. The class dates are May 11-15, with a Pre-test on May 11, 7-8 pm. The cost is $250 and includes your own Resuscitation mask.

Contact Kitty Schmidt, Director of Aquatics to register or call 828.254.7206 ext 115.

Dates: July 11 – 16, 2022
Application: Available now through MyBMC
Cost: A $600 fee covers all housing, meals, classes, materials, and concert tickets. Spots are limited and applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

Please note: Proof of COVID-19 vaccination is required for all students, faculty, and summer staff for the 2022 season. Please see our FAQ page for more information.

Program Summary

Brevard Music Center (BMC) presents The Brevard Project: Reimagining the Future of Orchestral Programming, a six-day intensive seminar and think-tank on orchestral programming intended for professionals and influencers in the orchestral field. Presented by Brevard Music Center in partnership with Bard College, the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University, the Chicago Sinfonietta, the South Dakota Symphony, the University of Michigan School of Music, and Project Director Joseph Horowitz, The Brevard Project takes place July 11-16, 2022. The central goals of The Brevard Project are to re-evaluate the artistic mission of the American orchestra and to share the skills needed to curate a more comprehensive, more inclusive American orchestral repertoire.

Curriculum

The Brevard Project: Reimagining the Future of Orchestral Programing complements Brevard Music Center’s week-long “Dvořák’s Prophecy” festival from July 11-16 and is inspired by Joseph Horowitz’s acclaimed new book Dvořák’s Prophecy and the Vexed Fate of Black Classical Music. Part think-tank, part seminar, this inaugural Project gathering equips practitioners and scholars alike to begin to answer questions about the dense nexus of culture and race, of historical, political, and moral reckonings surrounding the story of American orchestral music. The central goals of this program are to re-evaluate the artistic mission of the American orchestra and to share the skills needed to curate a more comprehensive, more inclusive American orchestral repertoire. The Brevard Project is designed for conductors, artistic administrators, executive directors, community engagement specialists, conservatory students, and engaged orchestra Board members.

Moving forward requires a fresh and closer look at our musical past – and to the lagging formation of an American symphonic canon. A new narrative of American classical music will be proposed that explores timely and topical issues that impact present and future orchestral programming. Why did our repertoire remain so stubbornly Eurocentric? What can we learn from this history? What can be mined from the treasure trove of long-hidden indigenous and Black music that can help to pave the future?

Classroom sessions will be highly interactive, drawing upon first-hand accounts of humanities-infused approaches to programming and community engagement. Topics of exploration include creating a “new paradigm” for American orchestral repertoire, rethinking the concert experience, and redefining the role of the music director. Participants will be challenged to envision programming and organizational initiatives to promote symphonic events grounded in the American experience, past and present.

The Faculty

A remarkable faculty has been assembled for this groundbreaking exercise.
*virtual participant

Joseph Horowitz, Project Director
Leon Botstein, President, Bard College; Music Director, American Symphony; Founder, Bard Festival and The Orchestra Now
Lorenzo Candelaria, Dean, Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University
Mark Clague, Music Historian, University of Michigan
JoAnn Falletta*, Music Director, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra
Christopher Gibbs*, Music Historian, Bard Conservatory; Artistic Co-Director, Bard Festival
Delta David Gier, Music Director, South Dakota Symphony
Blake-Anthony Johnson, CEO, Chicago Sinfonietta
Keith Lockhart*, Artistic Director, Brevard Music Center
Douglas McLennan, Founder/Editor, ArtsJournal
Jason Posnock, Chief Artistic Officer, Brevard Music Center
Jesse Rosen, Former CEO, League of American Orchestras
Larry Tamburri, CEO, Newark School of the Arts (former CEO, Pittsburgh and New Jersey Symphonies)

The Performers

Lara Downes, Pianist, producer, arts advocate
Sidney Outlaw, Baritone/pedagogue, Ithaca College
George Shirley, Tenor/pedagogue, University of Michigan

Enrollment Information

Conductors, artistic administrators, executive directors, community engagement specialists, conservatory students, and Board members are all encouraged to apply for The Brevard Project.

Capacity is limited. A $600 fee covers all housing, meals, classes, materials, and concert tickets for the week. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Apply now through MyBMC.

Summer is around the corner and lifeguards are in high demand. Sign up to take our spring, Red Cross certified, lifeguard course today. Class is available to ages 15 and up. The class dates are May 11-15, with a Pre-test on May 11, 7-8 pm. The cost is $250 and includes your own Resuscitation mask.

Contact Kitty Schmidt, Director of Aquatics to register or call 828.254.7206 ext 115.

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.

Dates: July 11 – 16, 2022
Application: Available now through MyBMC
Cost: A $600 fee covers all housing, meals, classes, materials, and concert tickets. Spots are limited and applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

Please note: Proof of COVID-19 vaccination is required for all students, faculty, and summer staff for the 2022 season. Please see our FAQ page for more information.

Program Summary

Brevard Music Center (BMC) presents The Brevard Project: Reimagining the Future of Orchestral Programming, a six-day intensive seminar and think-tank on orchestral programming intended for professionals and influencers in the orchestral field. Presented by Brevard Music Center in partnership with Bard College, the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University, the Chicago Sinfonietta, the South Dakota Symphony, the University of Michigan School of Music, and Project Director Joseph Horowitz, The Brevard Project takes place July 11-16, 2022. The central goals of The Brevard Project are to re-evaluate the artistic mission of the American orchestra and to share the skills needed to curate a more comprehensive, more inclusive American orchestral repertoire.

Curriculum

The Brevard Project: Reimagining the Future of Orchestral Programing complements Brevard Music Center’s week-long “Dvořák’s Prophecy” festival from July 11-16 and is inspired by Joseph Horowitz’s acclaimed new book Dvořák’s Prophecy and the Vexed Fate of Black Classical Music. Part think-tank, part seminar, this inaugural Project gathering equips practitioners and scholars alike to begin to answer questions about the dense nexus of culture and race, of historical, political, and moral reckonings surrounding the story of American orchestral music. The central goals of this program are to re-evaluate the artistic mission of the American orchestra and to share the skills needed to curate a more comprehensive, more inclusive American orchestral repertoire. The Brevard Project is designed for conductors, artistic administrators, executive directors, community engagement specialists, conservatory students, and engaged orchestra Board members.

Moving forward requires a fresh and closer look at our musical past – and to the lagging formation of an American symphonic canon. A new narrative of American classical music will be proposed that explores timely and topical issues that impact present and future orchestral programming. Why did our repertoire remain so stubbornly Eurocentric? What can we learn from this history? What can be mined from the treasure trove of long-hidden indigenous and Black music that can help to pave the future?

Classroom sessions will be highly interactive, drawing upon first-hand accounts of humanities-infused approaches to programming and community engagement. Topics of exploration include creating a “new paradigm” for American orchestral repertoire, rethinking the concert experience, and redefining the role of the music director. Participants will be challenged to envision programming and organizational initiatives to promote symphonic events grounded in the American experience, past and present.

The Faculty

A remarkable faculty has been assembled for this groundbreaking exercise.
*virtual participant

Joseph Horowitz, Project Director
Leon Botstein, President, Bard College; Music Director, American Symphony; Founder, Bard Festival and The Orchestra Now
Lorenzo Candelaria, Dean, Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University
Mark Clague, Music Historian, University of Michigan
JoAnn Falletta*, Music Director, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra
Christopher Gibbs*, Music Historian, Bard Conservatory; Artistic Co-Director, Bard Festival
Delta David Gier, Music Director, South Dakota Symphony
Blake-Anthony Johnson, CEO, Chicago Sinfonietta
Keith Lockhart*, Artistic Director, Brevard Music Center
Douglas McLennan, Founder/Editor, ArtsJournal
Jason Posnock, Chief Artistic Officer, Brevard Music Center
Jesse Rosen, Former CEO, League of American Orchestras
Larry Tamburri, CEO, Newark School of the Arts (former CEO, Pittsburgh and New Jersey Symphonies)

The Performers

Lara Downes, Pianist, producer, arts advocate
Sidney Outlaw, Baritone/pedagogue, Ithaca College
George Shirley, Tenor/pedagogue, University of Michigan

Enrollment Information

Conductors, artistic administrators, executive directors, community engagement specialists, conservatory students, and Board members are all encouraged to apply for The Brevard Project.

Capacity is limited. A $600 fee covers all housing, meals, classes, materials, and concert tickets for the week. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Apply now through MyBMC.

Led by Stewart/Owen Dance Co-Directors, Vanessa Owen and Gavin Stewart, this open level adult contemporary dance class gradually awakens the body and senses through guided improvisation and a follow along warm-up, followed by foundational across-the-floor exercises and center-work combinations. All experience levels welcome!

In person: $10, pay at the door

Online: $7 suggested donation, contact [email protected] for class link and details.

About Stewart/Owen Dance: Gavin Stewart and Vanessa Owen, a husband and wife duo, are the co-directors of Western North Carolina based Stewart/Owen Dance. Their choreography has been presented by festivals and companies across the U.S., and their careers have most notably taken them around the globe on fifteen U.S. State Department tours to teach, perform and choreograph contemporary dance with Washington D.C. based Company E. In 2017 they made North Carolina their home base where they work towards building a sustainable community for professional dance artists to set roots. They have choreographed music videos for artists such as Moses Sumney, Sylvan Esso and Ben Phantom. Gavin and Vanessa won the Audience Choice Award at the NYC Dance Gallery Festival 2018, were commissioned as Dance Gallery 2019 Level UP Artists, are recipients of a McDowell Regional Artist Project Grant, a North Carolina Artist Support Grant and were voted “Artists Who Most Pushed the Boundaries with the Human Body” by 2020 Asheville Fringe Arts Festival. Since the pandemic, they have focused on producing COVID-conscious dance experiences for live audiences, including drive-up performances and a guided walk-along dance exhibit presented in residence with Asheville’s beloved Wortham Center for the Performing Arts.

Extension Master Gardener^SM volunteers maintain a composting demonstration site at the Western NC Farmers Market, at the Jesse Israel & Sons Garden Center. After a two-year hiatus, due to Covid, the site is reinstituting public demonstrations, beginning April 9, 2022.

When to Visit?
The site is staffed and provides demonstrations from 10:00am to 1:00pm on the second Saturday each month, April through September.

What Will You See?
There are five different composting methods on display at the site. There is a single bin unit, a tumbling composter, a wood pallet bin and a classic 3-bin system — we also usually bring an example of vermiculture on each demo day.  The site is stocked with informational pamphlets on the how-to and why of composting and they complement the information available in the composting video on this website. Click here to view the video: Making and Using Compost at Home.

An additional Composting demonstration area is located at The Learning Garden at the Extension Office, 49 Mount Carmel Road, Asheville, NC 28806.  Click here for details about The Learning Garden.

Led by Stewart/Owen Co-Directors, Vanessa Owen and Gavin Stewart, this class begins with full body conditioning followed by a series of technical modern exercises, and culminates in either phrase creation or Stewart/Owen repertory. Dancers are encouraged to modify for their own bodies and spaces! We recommend this class to experienced dancers who are looking for a fast-paced contemporary class that pushes their physical and mental boundaries.

In person: $10, pay at the door

Online: $7 suggested donation, contact [email protected] for class link and details.

About Stewart/Owen Dance: Gavin Stewart and Vanessa Owen, a husband and wife duo, are the co-directors of Western North Carolina based Stewart/Owen Dance. Their choreography has been presented by festivals and companies across the U.S., and their careers have most notably taken them around the globe on fifteen U.S. State Department tours to teach, perform and choreograph contemporary dance with Washington D.C. based Company E. In 2017 they made North Carolina their home base where they work towards building a sustainable community for professional dance artists to set roots.They have choreographed music videos for artists such as Moses Sumney, Sylvan Esso and Ben Phantom. Gavin and Vanessa won the Audience Choice Award at the NYC Dance Gallery Festival 2018, were commissioned as Dance Gallery 2019 Level UP Artists, are recipients of a McDowell Regional Artist Project Grant, a North Carolina Artist Support Grant and were voted “Artists Who Most Pushed the Boundaries with the Human Body” by 2020 Asheville Fringe Arts Festival. Since the pandemic, they have focused on producing COVID-conscious dance experiences for live audiences, including drive-up performances and a guided walk-along dance exhibit presented in residence with Asheville’s beloved Wortham Center for the Performing Arts.

Join Ranger Brandon and Ranger Zach at Lake Julian Park on Saturday, May 14 and you will learn how to build your own handline fishing rig and then test it out on the fish of Lake Julian.

Handline fishing dates back to the earliest methods for catching fish on a line. You will leave with your very own pocket-sized handline fishing rig that can be used to catch almost any fish. Handlining take the concept of ‘light tackle’ to the extreme and gives you a level of feel and connection to a fish unmatched by a rod and reel.

Registration is required by May 7.

Register and get more information here.

Registration is limited to 25 participants and all ages are welcome. Ages 16 and over will need a NC Fishing License available at ncwildlife.org under “Buy a License”, Walmart, or Sportsman’s Warehouse for $25.

What: Handline fishing workshop

When: Saturday, May 14, 2-4 p.m. (Register by May 7)

Where: Lake Julian Park

Free for all ages. (Fishing license required for 16+, see above)

Enjoy an ornithology-focused walk on the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy Community Farm. Led by Simon Thompson, participants will hike the farm’s Discovery Trail searching to identify bird species. Simon is the owner and operator of Ventures Birding and has led birding trips all over the world. We are extremely excited to have him lead us on the hike. Diverse habitats across the farm lead to a great variety of bird species present.

Speaker(s): TenBiz

Co-Sponsor(s): Henderson County Chamber of Commerce, Brevard/Transylvania Chamber of Commerce

Webinar info will be emailed after registration

This class will be offered in person on the ACT Mainstage, following all the recommended protocols for safety and sanitation. Limited to 10 students. For ages 18+.

This course covers the fundamentals of improvisational acting with an emphasis on comedy; such as listening, commitment, intuitive reaction, as well as recognizing and capitalizing on emerging patterns. Final showcase to be held on Friday, May 27, 2022. Tuition will be $180.00 – payment plans and scholarships will both be available.

Ages 18+ April 18- May 23, 2022 | Mondays at 6:30-8:30 PM

Join us every Monday night for Singo (Musical Bingo)!

Singo will run from 7-8:15 pm.

No reservations needed, just get ready for a good time and a chance to win some Down Dog prizes!

Speaker(s): Gary Heisey

Co-Sponsor(s): Henderson County Chamber of Commerce, Brevard/Transylvania Chamber of Commerce

Webinar info will be emailed after registration

Join us on Tuesday, May 17th from 5pm to 9pm for a Pop Up Game Night with Well Played! Attendees are required to purchase a $5 game pass at the door. Choose from 30 games to play!